Ideas for Change - Because the right idea can change the world » Human Rights

Extractive industries…what’s the problem?

Invited Contributor — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 11:08:09 +0000

New Routes is a quarterly journal offering analysis and commentary on issues of peace, justice and development as they relate to LPI concerns and programme areas. It includes information about current LPI activities, projects and publications.

The first New Routes issue for 2010 will be a mixed issue with, among other things, an article on UNRWA’s role in Gaza and an article on the xenophobic violence in South Africa.

The second issue is planned to be be a thematic issue with focus on extractive industries and their roots in and effects on conflicts and human rights.
Click here to download the issue

Ship to Gaza – The world is never black and white

Invited Contributor — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 10:51:47 +0000

The world talks about the Ship To Gaza issues and all media report on how the peaceful convoy [...] Related posts:

Google displays all requests from governments for shutdown

Daniel Daboczy - Editor in chief — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 10:57:43 +0000

Government requests directed to Google and YouTube

Like other technology and communications companies, we regularly receive requests from government agencies around the world to remove content from our services, or provide information about users of our services and products. The map shows the number of requests that we received between July 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009, with certain limitations.

We know these numbers are imperfect and may not provide a complete picture of these government requests. For example, a single request may ask for the removal of more than one URL or for the disclosure of information for multiple users. See the FAQ for more information.

http://www.google.com/governmentrequests/

Just received a photo from Palestine

Daniel Daboczy - Editor in chief — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 11:30:29 +0000

On both sides of that wall, regular people like me and you are stuck.

I am so proud to tell you about this photo that I received from Palestine. This is what you can see there right now.

No one is alone in this world, not anymore. This project shows how a simple idea can move the world and hopefully bring everyone closer and open the eyes.

Please support our friends at www.sendamessage.nl

Project management on the edge of chaos

Invited Contributor — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 10:46:07 +0000

Project management on the edge of chaos

by Arne Vestergaard and Marianne Smedegaard

We have for a number of years taught project managers how to manage people and processes. We have heard stories from many different organisations describing numerous ways to understand and execute projects. It seems that there exists not a single correct way to manage projects, but many possible ways. One thing, though, seems to be characteristic of most of the cases. Top management expects the project manager to have complete control over the project and to have answers to any question anyone might want to ask. In many cases it is also a requirement that the project manager ensures that members of the project group have clear goals and that the development of the project is on schedule.

In this paper we want to explore to what extent the effort to control and direct a project is useful, and to what extent a project can be restricted by tight control. Perhaps there are other concepts for project management that better fit with the complexity and variability that characterise projects in today’s world. Perhaps it is preferable to see projects as a living system rather than strategically and bureaucratically.

A change in perspective of this kind would mean that the project organisation must relinquish the idea of having control over the project all the time and, if they do achieve control, see it as a temporary state of affairs. Some degree of chaos then becomes a necessary (but not exclusive) condition for innovation and for handling complexity and change. In other words, the project manager must place the project on the edge of chaos. In this paper we will try to understand what this means in practice.

GLOBAL TRADE LOGISTICS IMPROVING, BUT MORE NEEDED TO BOOST RECOVERY

Invited Contributor — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:24:08 +0000

GLOBAL TRADE LOGISTICS IMPROVING, BUT MORE NEEDED TO BOOST RECOVERY

Brazil, China, Bangladesh and Uganda see upgrade in rankings, as Germany tops list

WASHINGTON, January 15, 2010—The capacity of countries to efficiently move goods and connect manufacturers and consumers with international markets is improving around the world, but much more progress is needed to spur faster economic growth and help firms benefit from trade recovery, according to a new World Bank Group survey on trade logistics.

Germany is the top performer among the 155 economies ranked in the Logistics Performance Indicators (LPI), which are included in the report Connecting to Compete 2010: Trade Logistics in the Global Economy. The study is based on the most comprehensive world survey of international freight forwarders and express carriers.

“Economic competitiveness is relentlessly driving countries to strengthen performance, and improving trade logistics is a smart way to deliver more efficiencies, lower costs and added economic growth,” said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick, who is visiting Berlin January 13 -15 to discuss global development and economic issues. “Streamlining the connections among markets, manufacturers, farmers and consumers offers tremendous growth and investment opportunities and should be a top focus for developing country growth strategies. As we issue this global report, I’m pleased to be in Germany, the top performer on efficient logistics.”

According to the LPI, high income economies dominate the top logistics rankings, with most of them occupying important places in global and regional supply chains. By contrast, the ten lowest performing countries are almost all from the low and lower income groups.

Although the study shows a substantial “logistics gap” between rich countries and most developing countries, it finds positive trends in some areas essential to logistics performance and trade. Some of them include the modernization of customs, use of information technology, and development of private logistics services.

“Following our first survey in 2007, many developing countries have improved their capacity to connect to international markets, which is a key ingredient for competitiveness and economic growth,” said Otaviano Canuto, World Bank Vice President for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management. “But if developing countries want to come out of the crisis in a stronger and more competitive position, they need to invest in better trade logistics.”

“Countries with better logistics performance can grow faster, become more competitive and increase their level of investment,” said Bernard Hoekman, World Bank Trade Department Director. “Our research shows that increasing logistics performance in low income countries to the middle-income average could boost trade by around 15 per cent and benefit all firms and consumers through lower prices and better quality services.”

The report, headed by World Bank Group economists Jean Francois Arvis and Monica Alina Mustra, notes that among developing economies logistics performance transcends the level of per capita income: Many countries perform better than what their income level would suggest. The ten most significant over-performers include China (27), India (47), Uganda (66), Vietnam (53), Thailand (35), the Philippines (44), and South Africa (28).

Likewise, the countries with significant improvement in performance between the two surveys (the 2007 and 2010 LPI) are often those which implemented comprehensive logistics and trade facilitation reforms earlier, such as Colombia, Brazil, and Tunisia.

In terms of how developing countries are doing per region, South Africa (28) is the top performer from Africa; China (27) from East Asia; Poland (30) from Central and Eastern Europe; Brazil (41) from Latin America; Lebanon (33) from the Middle East; and India (47) from South Asia.

According to the study, logistics performance is heavily influenced by the quality of public sector institutions and the effective coordination of border clearance processes among all border management agencies. In this area, customs performs better than many other agencies, pointing to the need for border management reforms. In low performing countries, on average, half of the containers are physically inspected and one container out of seven at least twice.

Other areas for improvement include better transport policies, increasing competition in trade-related services such as trucking, freight forwarding and railways; and better trade-related infrastructure. For many low-income countries the most binding constraints are often in logistics services and international transit systems. Given they perform better on many other indicators, improving trade infrastructure is often reported to be a priority for middle-income countries.

The World Bank Group has a number of projects designed to improve trade logistics in developing countries. The US$250 million East Africa Trade and Transport Facilitation Project improved the corridor infrastructure and upgraded the main border crossing between Uganda and Kenya at Malaba, reducing border crossing times from three days to three hours. In Tunisia, a US$250 million operation is improving competitiveness by reducing trade costs and streamlining border clearance procedures. And in Afghanistan, the Bank is providing funding for a US$31.2 million project to modernize and computerize four major border crossings, increasing customs revenues from US$50 million when the project started in 2004 to over US$399 million in 2008.

In addition, the Bank is working with IBM, Microsoft and the Global Express Association as part of a public-private partnership on “Aid for Trade Facilitation.” The objective is to develop pilot projects in developing countries that apply innovative IT solutions to streamline border procedures.

To access the report under embargo, please visit: www.media.worldbank.org

The report and related material will be available to the public after the embargo expires at:
www.worldbank.org

Can you feel the winds of change?

Daniel Daboczy - Editor in chief — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:41:37 +0000

I´m not talking about Obama, nor Google leaving China, nor Iran, Thailand or other. I´m talking about We The People.

I´m talking about the new times where more and more people migrate from Facebook, couchsurfing, aimless consumption of media and become involved. They begin to share, to spread, to interact. Never before has the opinions and the knowledge of the grassrots been more effective, saught for or relevant. We are used to listen. We are used to look upwards to leaders for guidance bur now projects like ours builds forces on connecting the dots. On harvesting the wast ammount of knowledge that you and your friends might have.

Please share your cognitive surplus and do some good.

Click here to view the embedded video.

http://laughingsquid.com/clay-shirky-on-cognitive-surplus/

http://www.shirky.com/

Write your own message on the Palestinian wall

Hank Nokanami — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 13:23:49 +0000

The Wall won’t fall just because your text is written on it. True.
But your message reminds Palestinians trapped inside the Wall they have not been forgotten. You help to keep hope alive. ‘Our’ Palestinians want to send you one single, simple message: “we are human beings, just like you, with sense of humour and lust for life.” That’s why they do this, and enjoy it.

http://www.sendamessage.nl

If you tolerate this, then your children will be next

Daniel Daboczy - Editor in chief — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 13:27:39 +0000

Just happened to stumble upon this blog. A guy in the swedish metro stands up for our rights. He was photographing some undercover swedsih policemen who use threat to make him erase footage on his phone.

This kind of actions are what we all need to do.

Stand up for your rights. Or as the Manic Street Preachers sing “If you tolerate this, then your children will be next!”

http://tuggarna.posterous.com/polisen-som-mitt-i-tunnelbanan-star

Click here to view the embedded video.

“HOPE – the Obama Musical Story” World Premiere

HOPE-Musical — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:43:27 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

“HOPE - the Obama musical story” celebrates its world premiere on 17 January 2010!The venue Jahrhunderthalle in Frankfurt will experience a sound it has never heard before: formed to a huge percussion ensemble, the audience accompanies US president Barack Obama on his successful way into the White House. The event organizer MOVE GmbH promises a double world premiere: at the premiere of “HOPE – the Obama Musical Story” on Sunday, 17 January at 8:00 pm, the audience will rhythmically participate on specially developed percussion chairs – for the first time ever worldwide. “Hope is the first interactive musical of a new generation”, says musical producer Roberto Emmanuele, CEO and creative director of Move GmbH based in Bad Soden. “This is an enormous sound and a great musical experience for the audience.”

The musical stages two moving and exciting stories in parallel plots. The audience looks behind the scenes of the presidential election in 2008 and follows the career of the present US president Barack Obama. The main character is presented less on a political level, but rather as an emotional person who fights for a new, more forgiving and peaceful world and a better future. At the same time, the viewer experiences the societal events from the point of view of a multi-cultural apartment-sharing community in Chicago. Caused by the prevailing tight political and economic situation, societal and social frictions and emotions arise. The people are given new hope by the new spirit of the age.

Author and composer Randall Hutchins works with the best Afro-American singers and actors of the German musical scene. He produces inter alia for “The very Best of Black Gospel”, “Musical the Gift” and he participated in “Starlight Express” as a musician. In “HOPE”, he combines an affectionately arranged mix regarding taste and aesthetics of different music styles in the field of Pop, Soul, Gospel, HipHop and Rock. The diversified mixture of catchy melodies electrifies the audience right from the beginning. Undoubtedly, the songs have what it takes to become hits.

For “HOPE”, 30 world-class artists, singers, dancers and actors perform on stage. They participate in the production with great enthusiasm and dedication. “The spirit of the show is carried by the spirit of the entire team”, praises the producer Roberto Emmanuele. Della Miles and Jimmie Wilson, known as the dream duo of the Michael Jackson musical “Sisterella”, as well as Dynelle Rhodes, the original lead singer of the Weather Girls, join the cast as soloists. They are supported by well-known performers who are leads in “Cats”, “The Lion King” and “We will rock you”. The rehearsals took place inter alia at mediaArt FORUM in Bad Soden.

The production is realized in German and English, so that the story line can be followed by everyone.

On percussion: the audience sitting on specially developed musical chairsIn the course of the musical, the audience develops to co-musicians. For they sit on a musical instrument with an astoundingly high sound quality. Approximately 1200 of the 2000 available seats in the domed hall of the venue Jahrhunderthalle will be equipped with design chairs which house the smallest set of drums worldwide. The special construction of this musical furniture allows for a distinctive bass and snare sound. The people play while sitting, drumming with their hands on the percussion surface. Inspired by this characteristic sound, Roberto Emmanuele and his partner Patrick Strese call the innovation “BAFF musical furniture”. The other musical spectators do not sit quietly on their chairs either. They are handed out rattles, so that the sound of “HOPE” will fill the entire hall. The producers want all people to have access to music as a strong medium.

As early as in September, the musical company enthused about 45,000 viewers with a first musical foretaste during a successful performance at Commerzbank Arena next to stars like Bob Geldorf and Samy Deluxe. After only a short period of time, the entire stadium swung and clapped along to songs never heard before like “Rock the Vote”. Experts of the German music scene praised the high level of the American Pop music and certified the sound to have “Earth Wind and Fire quality”. The most important concert organizer worldwide, Fritz Rau, says: “Respect and two thumbs up for this musical”. According to the slogan “Yes we can”, the musical is to tour in Germany after having premiered in Frankfurt.

Tickets for the premiere can be purchased via the ticket seller EVENTIM within the price scope of 40 to 149 Euros in several seat categories. Following the premiere, a VIP premiere party will take place, at which special culinary refreshments will be served to the guests and the musical performers can be experienced up close in an “unplugged performance”. The VIP tickets can be bought for 99 Euros directly from the HOPE production.

Important note from the HOPE production team:
The “HOPE musical production” does not pursue any political interests with their production. Being artists, we merely stage a piece of attitude to life of the “historic year 2008″ with topics still prevailing today as well as good entertainment and music!