G7 pledges to cancel Haiti debt
The world’s leading industrialised nations have pledged to write off the debts that Haiti owes them, following a devastating earthquake last month. Canada’s finance minister announced at a summit in Iqaluit, northern Canada, that Group of Seven countries planned to cancel Haiti’s bilateral debts. Jim Flaherty said he would encourage international lenders to do the same. Bi- and multilateral lenders including international bodies cancelled some $1.2bn (£800m) of Haiti’s debt in 2009.
”We are committed in the G7 to the forgiveness of debt, in fact all bilateral debt has been forgiven by G7 countries vis-a-vis Haiti,” Mr Flaherty said at the end of the two day gathering of finance ministers in the Arctic town. “ It must be right that a nation buried in rubble must not also be buried in debt ”
Gordon Brown UK Prime Minister
“The debt to multilateral institutions should be forgiven, and we will work with these institutions and other partners to make this happen as soon as possible,” he added. At least one million people are in need of aid in Haiti after the magnitude 7.0 earthquake which struck in mid-January, killing more than 200,000 people.
The G7 group – which includes Canada, the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy and Japan – has been under pressure to help Haiti recover since the 12 January quake by cancelling the money owed by Haiti. Haiti was rated as the poorest nation in the western hemisphere even before the earthquake struck.
Though exact figures are difficult to obtain, the exact amount owed bilaterally to G7 countries is believed to be quite small. Venezuela and Taiwan are Haiti’s other biggest bilateral creditors.
Brown’s pledge
In Iqaluit, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown hailed the pledge, saying: “It must be right that a nation buried in rubble must not also be buried in debt”. ”The UK has already cancelled all debts owed to it by Haiti and I strongly welcome today’s G7 commitment to forgive Haiti’s remaining multilateral debt,” he added. ”We will work with others to make sure this is delivered.”
On Friday, the US voiced support for the plan to extend international debt relief for Haiti. ”The earthquake in Haiti was a catastrophic setback to the Haitian people who are now facing tremendous emergency humanitarian and reconstruction needs, and meeting Haiti’s financing needs will require a massive multilateral effort,” said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
He said the US would seek to reach an agreement for the funds owed to the multilateral donors, which include the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the International Development Association.
Mr Geithner also echoed the call by the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Kahn, to provide full relief of the country’s outstanding debt to the body, including a $102m emergency loan approved in January.
Last June, the international community agreed to cancel some $1.2bn (£800m) of the country’s total debt of $1.9bn owed to bi- and multilateral lenders including the IMF, World Bank and the US government, as part of a programme for heavily indebted poor countries.
UK-based charity Oxfam has urged the writing off of about an additional $900m (£557m) that Haiti still owes to donor countries and institutions.
Source: The Daily Star, 07 February 2010
Drivers of Economy
Farmers, Workers and Migrant Labours – these three heroes’ made stable our economy during unprecedented economic recession at last two years. The government takes measures to boost the agricultural production to achieve food self-sufficiency to meet local demands. Along with farmers, the migrant’s labourers have a great role to make stability of economy, but the government fails to secure jobs of migrants labourers at foreign countries. The industrial workers particularly the readymade garments workers added their sweat to remain the exports of the country stable without getting their minimum labour rights from the entrepreneurs. The workers of state owned industries face the privatization dogma fearing job losses at every moment.
Recently published Finance ministry report on macro-economic situation briefs that the government’s cash balance up to December 2009 reached Tk.12,000 crore on receipt of more foreign aid and revenue but low expenditure. As per the report, around Tk 39,560 crore or 34.8 percent of the national budget for fiscal year 2009-10 was spent during July-December. The total budget size is Tk 1,13,819 crore. Of the amount already spent, revenue expenditure in the first six months of the current fiscal stood at Tk 30,753 crore, or 36.9 percent of the allocated Tk 83,319 crore. Meantime, the amount spent for the annual development programme (ADP) is Tk 8,807 crore, or 29 percent of the ADP size of Tk 30,500 crore. On revenue earnings, it said Tk 35,115 crore, or 44.2 percent of the targeted amount has been collected. The foreign aid received is Tk 6073 crore. It was Tk 1112 crore in the same period a year ago.
Farmers
The farmers of Bangladesh produce crops to feed the nation. What are the socio-economic situation of major drivers of econmic like farmers? The government has provided soft loan and subsidies to the farmers for boosting agriculture and the parliamentary committee on agriculture asked the agriculture ministry to introduce crop insurance for farmers to encourage them to increase their crop production. But the farmers do not get fair prices of the crops which they produce due to lack of government initiative.
The agricultural land reduces alamingly and only hope that the parliamentary committee on agriculture takes an initiative to hold a tripartite meeting of the land, agriculture and environment ministries to formulate a law to save the country’s net cropland.
A total of 40,000 landless families are planned to provide khas land an initiative has been taken by Land Ministry of Government. Under this programme the government plans to prodvide khas lands to at least 100 landless families in every upazila by June this year. A total of 40,000 landless families will be provided with lands in this programme. The land minister also says that the government has already arranged land for a total of 14,000 families by December 2009 following its electoral pledge.
Workers
The Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina yesterday urged the country’s businessmen to help remove the income inequalities between the rich and the poor by generating job opportunities in the industrial sector. “We need to eliminate income inequality for a balanced society. Creating more employment, the businessmen in the private sector can help end such discrimination”. The the government do not take any initiative to revise the existing minimum wages of workers while living cost increases double within last two years.
An alarming news published at newspaper which says five sugar mills like Joypurhat, Pabna, Natore, North Bengal and Rajshahi sugar mills have suspended cane crashing due to a shortfall in sugarcane production. Another five mills in Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Panchagarh, Shampur and Rangpur are likely to face closure for the same reason. All the 15 sugar mills in the country produce around 2.1 lakh tonnes of sugar against national demand for around 12-14 lakh tonnes a year.
The acute shortage of sugarcane forced growers into other cultivable crops. Moreover, farmers also incurred losses in previous years despite a record production of sugarcane as they failed to get proper prices. Sugarcane prices have been fixed this season at Tk 66 a maund at mill gate and Tk 64.50 at outer centres by the government.
The mismanagement of state-owned industries should be counted while privatisation dogma waiting to see the looser profile of these industries to privatise these industries. From experiences of privatisation of state owned companies were not set any example to make profit and increases jobs rather it proved that any privatised industries could able to continue production which reduces of unemployment of the country.
Migrant Labourers
Remittance crosses $10 billion mark for the first time in Bangladesh history in the year 2009 because migrants, a main driver of the country’s economic progress, sent more money home despite all odds during global recession. With 20 percent growth, remittance inflow reached $10.72 billion last year, although the year marked a fall in manpower exports. In 2008, the remittance was $8.97 billion. The overseas employment ministry data shows that the number of migrant workers declined 46 percent to 475,278 persons in January-December of 2009. In 2008, the number was 875,055.
The monthly average number of the workers going abroad with jobs almost halved last year from around 80,000 persons in 2008. Still, the remittance inflow grew 20 percent, turning down World Bank forecast of 12-15 percent such growth for 2009. The international lender in a recent report expressed its fear about low growth on the basis of the declining trend of manpower exports.
In first 8 months of this year (The daily Somokal, dated 13 September 2009), manpower export decreases 47.10 percent than same period of last year; but the remittance flow increases 17.08 percents. Experts say that manpower export reduces due to global economic recession, mal-practices of man-power recruitment agencies and lack of proper initiatives of government.
| Period | Manpower Export (Person) | Remittance Earning (Tk) |
| January – August 2008 | 618,806 | 412,469,500,000
(592,421,428.57 USD) |
| January – August 2009 | 327,359 | 482,902,500,000
(6,898,607,142.86 USD) |
| Reduced (-)/Increased (+) | - 291,447 (47.09%) | +70,433,000,000 (17.8%) |
Foreign Loan and Loan Payment
| Period | Foreign Loan Received by Govt. | Govt. Paid to Creditor | Remain (Net) Amount of Foreign Loan |
| First 6 Month
2009-10 |
130,40,00,000 | *45,58,00,000 | 84,82,00,000 |
| First 6 Month,
2008-09 |
107,00,00,000 | ** | 88,00,00,000 |
All Amount in USD, Source: The Daily Ittefaq, 05 February 2010, * Original Loan: USD 35,87,00,000 + Interest: USD 9,71,00,000 = Total: USD 45,58,00,000, ** Data is not available
The above data shows that the government should invest their energies to secure overseas employment rather securing foreign loans. But the migrants labourers face difficulties at foreign lands due to mal-practices of some man-power recruiting agencies. The government should take some bold steps to major employer countries to ensure job security of migrants labouers.
Nearly 2 lakh farm suicides since 1997
P. Sainath
| Over two-thirds in ‘suicide belt’ of five States, more than one-fifth in Maharashtra |
MUMBAI: There were at least 16,196 farmers’ suicides in India in 2008, bringing the total since 1997 to 199,132, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
The share of the Big 5 States or ‘suicide belt’ in 2008 — Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh — remained very high at 10,797, or 66.6 per cent of the total farm suicides in the country. This was marginally higher than it was in 2007 (66.2 per cent). Maharashtra remains the worst State in the nation for farm suicides with a total of 3802. (This is just 40 short of the combined total of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.) The all-India total of 16,196 represents a fall of 436 from 2007. But the broad trends of the past decade reflect no significant change. The national average for farm suicides since 2003 stays at roughly one every 30 minutes.
Within the Big 5, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh recorded higher numbers. The increase of 604 in these three States somewhat offset the dip in Maharashtra (436) and Karnataka (398). But a fall in suicide numbers in other States (for example, a decline of 412 in Kerala and 343 in West Bengal) means that the Big 5 marginally increased their two-thirds share of total farm suicides in 2008.
The NCRB data now cover all States for 12 years from 1997. In the first six years (1997-2002), the Big 5 witnessed 55,769 farmers’ suicides. From 2003 to 2008, they totalled 67,054, a rise of nearly 1900 a year on average.
Maharashtra has logged 41,404 farm suicides from 1997 (over a fifth of the national total) and 44,468 from 1995, the year when this State began recording farm data. No other State comes close. During 1997-2002, Maharashtra saw, on average, eight farmers kill themselves daily. The corresponding figure rose to 11 during 2003-2008. The rise was from an average of 2,833 farm suicides a year in the first period to an average of 4,067 in the next period.
Professor K. Nagaraj, an economist who has worked at the Madras Institute of Development Studies, says of the NCRB data: “There is hardly any decline in the suicide belt, though individual States may show variations across 12 years. If this is the state for 2008, the year of the Rs. 70,000 crore loan waiver and multiple farm packages, then 2009, a drought year, could show very disturbing figures. The underlying agrarian problems seem as acute as ever.”
Please Read the News: http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/22/stories/2010012258950100.htm
UN ESCAP and GoB role in organizing LDC BPoA seminar has criticized: LDC must challenge the existing global financial and governance structure
Press Release
Dhaka, 18th January. Today a group of rights activists criticized the role of UN ESCAP and Government of Bangladesh (GoB), the host country of the on going Asia Pacific LDC conference, as they ignored CSOs participation from a ‘broad spectrum’ and violated the ‘aid memorie’ between GoB and the UNESCAP in organizing this high level meeting of the LDCs from the Asia and Pacific. The organizers claimed this through organizing a press conference in national press club in Dhaka today. They categorically alleged that the organizers have violated the UN General Assembly resolution which emphasized and called for broader spectrum of civil society participation. They claim that, as the organizers invited corporate NGOs as civil society representatives who in fact do not challenge global financial and governance architecture. They also mentioned that in fact ERD of GoB favors the proposition of the international financial institutions and they do not want any criticism in this regard. Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, convener EquityBD, moderated the press conference while Md. Shamsuddoha of EquityBD read out the written statement. Among other organizers, Badurl Alam of La Via Campesina, Ahemd Swapna of VOICE, Sahadat Islam Chowdhuray of PRADIP, Zaid Iqbal of Bangladesh Krisak Federation, Prodip Kumar Roy of Online Knowledge Centre and Mostafa Kamal Akanda of EquityBD spoke in the press conference.
In the written statement Shamsuddoha put forward specific demand in respect of five thematic cluster of the seminar, which includes immediate debt cancellation of the LDC especially, debt of the earthquake affected Haiti must be cancelled and LDC leaders should raise this demand from here. He also demanded a UN resolution for the establishment of international court on food rights so that there wouldn’t be any protectionism that we observed in 2008 food crisis. LDCs leaders also should demand to keep agriculture out of WTO, duty free and quota free access of LDC products and tangible commitment on aid for trade to strengthen supply side of the LDCs. In respect of climate negotiation the group demanded a separate negotiating block of the LDCs and MVCs (most vulnerable countries) which should be independent from G 77 and China block that is largely dominated by the interest of the advanced developing countries. The LDC country parties should also demand the social, cultural and economic rights of the climate change induced migrants, which has been considering a major threat to the LDCs. The group has also demanded that the whole UN governance structure need to be reconsidered as the present governance mechanism failed to come up with a legally binding commitment from the country parties in Copenhagen to response global popular demand to save the planet.
The Daily New Age, 19 January 2010
Govt blasted for not allowing dissent in Asia-Pacific dialogue: Some ERD officials want to become
WB’s consultants, says EquityBD
Staff Correspondent
A group of civil society organisations on Monday criticised the government for ignoring the alternative voices at the three-day Asia-Pacific dialogue on least developed countries, terming it a violation of the memoir of the conference.
They, however, expressed the hope that the high-level regional conference would come up with stronger resolutions to uphold the interests of the LDCs that include debt cancellation, right to food, protection of the environment and adequate representation of the poor in the international organisations.
The Equity and Justice Working Group, South Asian Alliance for Poverty Eradication, Online Knowledge Centre, PRADIP, Rehabilitation Center for Social Victims, Rural Reconstruction Nepal and VOICE came up with the criticism at a media conference in the National Press Club.
The civil society leaders said the Economic Relations Division, which is a co-organiser of the policy dialogue to review the Brussels Programme of Action, was contacted thrice but it did not invite them to express their alternative views at the conference.
‘Those who have been invited are supporters of the so-called neo-liberal economic regime who hobnob with organizations such as the World Bank,’ said Mohammad Shamsuddoha, secretary of the EquityBD.
Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, convener of EquityBD, said there were bad elements in the ERD who ‘desperately wanted to become consultants of the World Bank’. ‘Those officials made that lending agency the focal point for operating the multi-donor trust fund on climate change, clearly going against the position of the government,’ he said.
The development activist pointed out that the memoir of the conference talked about the participation of the ‘broader spectrum of the civil society’ but the ERD authorities ignored that for the sake of their self-interest.
Badrul Alam of La Via Campesina, Ahmed Swapan Mahmud of VOICE, Shahadat Islam Chowdhury of PRADIP, Zaid Iqbal of Bangladesh Krishak Federation, Mostafa Kamal Akanda of EquityBD and Prodip Kumar Roy of Online Knowledge Centre were among those who addressed the media conference.
http://www.newagebd.com/2010/jan/19/nat.html
Are human rights universal?
By William Gomes
The Roman Catholic Archbishop Dom Helder Camara famously said, “When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.”
I work to protect and promote the rights of people. The government and groups with different names and notions challenge me. Most associate themselves with different races, religions, colors, and political and national identity. I also like to identify with my nation and notion, but I don’t want to forget that my first identity is I am a human and my responsibility is seeking rights for humanity. Unfortunately, human rights are denied in times and places where human led crisis cause maximum hatred for a minimum of reasons.
Human rights are the birthrights of all human beings, which are inherent and inalienable and not granted or bestowed by a sovereign power and are not capable of being given or taken away. But it is very sad that there is no place in the world where one can enjoy all rights. Rather, there are many places where people have bare minimum rights.
In the early ages when nature was out of control, man fought against animals and nature. Today, the same man is fighting against the system of suppression and brutality waged by the powerful towards the powerless.
Powerful people are the fuel source of powerful institutions like the state and sometimes they indulge in immoral acts, which are the sources of suppression and oppression.
Some states dictate rights like God edits our wants through our prayers. When we pray, God edits and corrects them and brings them in line with his will. He detects our rights and the boundaries, which according to him should not be crossed at any cost.
Through the charter of the United Nations, almost all sovereign states have recognized the existence of human rights and understand that such rights should be promoted and protected.
The universality of human rights is closely related to the promotion of public moral imperatives under the notions of equality or non-discrimination without distinction to race, sex, language or religion.
But sometimes, religion and political system become a burden before fulfilling any human rights standards. The Abraham religions clearly violate human rights standards by taking the position that men are created higher than women while others like Islam say that those who desire any religion other than Islam will never be accepted.
In some countries dominated by Abrahamic faith believers, the ignorance of believers is causing serious human rights violations in different ways and degrees.
The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of others, which is seen in India’s democratic system.
On Mar. 17, 1998, the then Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi at a commemorative ceremony of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Geneva appealed for a “revision of the Declaration.”
While Islamic criminal laws have a vast official and informal jurisdiction, the UDHR and other U.N. instruments are promoting human rights in countries like Iran.
For example, in 1986, Section 295-C was introduced in Pakistan’s penal code, making the death penalty mandatory for anyone convicted of blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad. Over 200 Ahmadi Muslims were charged with “blasphemy” between 1986 and 1993. The prominent human rights activist John Joseph, Bishop of Faisalabad killed himself to protest against the law. Christians are continuously facing suppression, detention and torture in Pakistan.
The Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam defends its own Declaration but challenges the UDHR, “All the rights and freedoms stipulated in this Declaration are subject to the Islamic Sharia and the Islamic Sharia is the only source of reference for the explanation or clarification of any of the articles of this Declaration.”
While such divisions only help to dissolve human rights, there is still a good opportunity for the world to unite and promote human rights.
William Nicholas Gomes is a human rights activist and freelance journalist. He can be reached at E-mail:cda.exe@gmail.com
Countdown CLIMATE TALKS
19.12.2009
Copenhagen Accord on Climate Change
World Media React on Climate Deal
Copenhagen Deal: Reaction in quote
Copenhagen climate deal meet qualified UN welcome
Meaningful deal reached at Copenhagen Climate Summit
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President Obama warns leaders over climate summit deal
US, China offer no new emission cuts: India seeks more climate talks in 2010
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 President Obama said it was time to act. And if we are to act, then I have to ask you – starting from now, please fulfil the Kyoto Protocol  Evo Morales, President of Bolivia
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Climate funds start to take shape at UN talks
Emission cut pleadges fall away short
Climate change impacts on biodiversity of Sundarbans
Can Copenhagen deliver `hope’ for Bangladesh
Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise in Pacific Islands
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It is now evident that beating global warming will require a radically different model of politics than the one in Copenhagen John Sauven, Greenpeace UK
|
18.12.2009
Khulna under grave risk: Climate report sees it among 15 most threaten cities
Khaleda wants 25 pc more carbon cut: She slates govt’s lobbying for `handouts’ at Copenhagen
New climate deal may have to wait: Developed and developing nations fail to burry differences
World Leaders pledge support: Hasina urges them to give priority to mankind
Poor cannot be secrified to climate pact: Indian PM
17.12.2009
COPENHAGEN LATEST (From BBC)
- Australia’s Kevin Rudd, Indonesia’s Susilo Yudhoyono, France’s Nicolas Sarkozy and Germany’s Angela Merkel among world leaders due to address the conference on Thursday
- Japan offers $5bn a year to poor nations if a deal is reached
- Australia, France, Japan, Norway, the UK and US collectively commit $3.5bn over three years to combating deforestation
- Ethiopia, on behalf of African Union, endorses the G8 and EU target for maximum temperature rise of 2C
New Climate deal may have to wait (LATEST)
No headway in carbon cut: Climate summit chiefs resigns amid protests
Hasina seeks consensus on emission cut: Meeting with Brown
Climate change a `ticking time of bomb’ for food: UN experts say
16.12.2009
Copenhagen police battle climate protesters
Obama phones Hasina, says US to Stand by Bangladesh
No climate deal yet insight: Negotiators struggle to close up gaps, Hasina arrives
4 Leaders assess climate talks progress
Seal a deal to change history: UN cheif urges nations
Climate Change: Realise compensation from rich states
15.12.2009
Climate talks resume: Developing countries return for informal consultations on procedural issues
Bangladesh, UK parliamentary group presents inquary report
`Acidifying occeans’ threaten food supply, warns UK
Reduce carbon emmission : Speakers urges developed nations
EU seeks twin-track push for climate deal
14.12.2009
WB pledges help in battle of climate
Photo Exebition on Climate Change: Effective utilisation of climate funds
Gayoom calls on Hasina: Consequences of climate change discussed
Introduce early warning system for tornado
Brown updates Hasina on Adaptatin Fund
13.12.2009
Climate Adapation techniques: Using Indigenious knowledge and experiences sharing needed
Brick kilns going green: Operator eye benefit from carbon trading
Call for Legal Framework to save climate refuzees: Copenhagen Cliamte Conference
Climate Change: Compensation for affected state demanded
12.12.2009
Climate Change Aid: Poor nations to get 7.2 billions euros from EU
Bangladesh showcases adaptation experiences
Rich nations must give compensation: Says Motia on Climate Change Impacts
Address climate change issue as national crisis: EU envoys urges political leaders
Bangladesh needs $4.2 billions to save coastal people
Climate change threathen human security: FM
Catastrophic impact of Climate Change on health
11.12.2009
Climate Fund: LDCs kept in wait
Soros: Finance gap could wreck climate talks
10.12.2009
Dhaka demands new framework to benefit LDCs: Small islanders stage protest on climate change
Denish text leak sparks debate over talks success
Hasina asks developed nations to cut emission
09.12.2009
Adaptation Fund: LDCs not happy with progress
Bangaldesh to demand 15pc of Adaptation Fund: Hasan
08.12.2009
Act Now or Lose: World Leaders urges as UN Climate Summit opens in Copenhagen
Bangladesh points at Bali Mandate
PM for raising capacity to fight fall out
EU to offer poor countries billions for climate change
People Worldwide want action on climate change
07.12.2009
Climate bell tolls – Livlihood changes with weather
Rising sea to cost Bangladesh dear
MPs raise their voice on climate change
All eyes on Copenhagen : The world looks expentantly a deal
Protected: December 2009
Report from the UN : Measuring national progress
Joseph Stiglitz put it well: “What you measure affects what you do…if you don’t measure the right thing you don’t do the right thing.” So how should we judge the progress of a nation?
The much-quoted Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a tally of goods and services bought and sold with no distinction between transactions that add to well-being and those that diminish it. A car accident that creates business for hospitals, insurers, lawyers and auto repair shops increases the GDP. So does economic activity that damages the environment. But household and volunteer work, which improve our well-being, aren’t counted if no money is exchanged.
The man who created the GDP, New Deal economist Simon Kuznets warned us not to use it as the sole measure of a nation’s health. As he told Congress, “Distinctions must be kept in mind between quantity and quality of growth, between cost and returns and between the short and the long run. Goals for more growth should specify more growth of what for what.” We would also add “for whom.” The GDP includes no measure of income distribution. For example from 1973 to 1993 the GDP of the United State rose by over 50 percent while wages declined by almost 14.
The GDP was better than no measure at all. During World War II, it allowed policymakers to track production for the war and it now gives us useful information on consumer purchases, which are linked to new jobs. But the GDP should not be our sole measure of progress.
The current economic crisis has spurred renewed interest in finding alternatives. Last year President Sarkozy of France created a Commission on the Measurent of Economic Performance and Social Progress. Nobel laureates Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen, who serve on the commission, have both urged that new assessment tools incorporate a broader concern for human welfare than just economic growth.
Several new ways to measure national progress have been proposed:
- The Genuine Progress Indicator adjusts the GDP for changes in income distribution, adds the value of household and volunteer work and subtracts for crime and pollution.
- The Gross National Happiness measure includes subjective and objective indicators such as sustainable development, preservation of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment and good governance. This idea comes from King Wangchuck, the former ruler of Bhutan.
- The Happy Planet Index combines subjective life satisfaction,based on surveys, life expectancy and environmental impact as measured by the ecological footprint which is based on a complicated formula relating to CO2 emissions and the use of natural resources.
The trouble with these and other indexes is that they include data that require interpretation.
The founding charter of the United Nations calls for the promotion of social progress and a better standard of life. The UN publishes a yearly Human Development Report (HDR), which tabulates each member country’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product—the dollar value of all the goods and services produced by a nation that year—as well as measures of life expectancy, education, health, nutrition, sanitation, the availability of clean water, gender discrimination and the distribution of income. The aim of the HDR is to track how development affects daily life. To measure progress, the United Nations frequently refers to the Human Development Index (HDI) which combines GDP, life expectancy, and educational level. As an example, Oman, which has a very high GDP per capita, but relatively low educational levels, ranks 58th,lower in HDI than Uruguay, which has about 60 percent of its GDP and has rank 46.
It’s time to measure what is most important: improvements in national well-being.
Dr. Sylvain Ehrenfeld, representative to the UN from the International Humanist Ethical Union and Temma Ehrenfeld. Dr. Ehrenfeld writes a monthly column reporting on developments at the United Nations.
Trade Justice! Act Now
Trade Justice! Act Now
Urges the Global Leaders to give Priorities to LDCs in Global Trade: Please Sign the Petition
Petition submitted by: Online Knowledge Centre
Read More: Trade Justice! Act Now
PICTURE
25.11.2009, Dhaka: Trade Justice! Act Now
25.11.2009, Dhaka: Trade Justice! Act Now
Leaflet on Trade Justice Campaign in Bangla.
MEDIA COVERAGE:
Campaign: Trade Justice! Act Now
- Online Petition Submission
- Blogging
- Online Leaflet
Human Chain in Front of National Press Club, 25 November 2009, 11.30 AM-12.45 PM, Organised by Online Knowledge CentreElectronic Media:
Thanks Diganta Television and My TV to Broadcast the News and Interview of this Human Chain.Print Media:Thanks Daily Star and The Daily Prothom Alo to Publish the Pictures and News of this Human Chain.Please Read the News:The Daily Prothom Alo, 26 November 2009: Human Chain at Dhaka targeting WTO Conference (WTO er Sommelon Upalokhkhe Dakay Manob Bandhan)
e-Prothom Alo: http://www.eprothomalo.com/index.php?opt=view&page=15&date=2009-11-26
The Daily Star publishes Picture in Business Page.
25.11.2009, Rajshahi: Trade Justice! Act Now
Follow Up:Bangladesh demands granting DFQF by 2010 in WTO Ministerial Conference, The Daily New Nation, 01 December 2009
Online Activism: Possibilities and Prospects
I could connect everywhere of the globe in a second, but not my village. Everyday I could use skypee and messenger to see my friends lived outside of Bangladesh, but not able to see my family members, school friends and neighbours living in my village. I could visit Asia, Europe, America, Africa, Arctic, the moon and my villages also within few minutes using google earth, but my friends never get these opportunities. I could enjoy my time, but could not share these with my childhood friends. Everyday, I talk about agriculture, rural economy, indigenous knowledge etc in different meetings and seminars and discuss about development. But I could not discuss these issues with my family and friends who are lived at rural areas engaged in agriculture!
Realising this context, anybody find only difficulties rather opportunities on online activism. But I feel hopeful while I see, a lot of people, in Bangladesh also expresses their own opinion in different social network sites like Somewhereinblog, prothom alo blog, mukto-mona, wordpress, blogger etc! Facebook, a great tools of social network is popular in Bangladesh. I also get return back of some friends due to facebook. With all the limitations, I find, people particularly the youth are becoming more optimistic about welfare of common people who have not access in online world.
Only two years ago, I created this blog and just updated it with only news which fulfilled my needs to prepare my write-up on different issues. Later I found some opportunities to use this blog as social mobilisation tools and I started to post some articles in some selected areas related to my work. But I couldn’t able to reach the people, but I found from my dashboard (control panel) that more and more people visiting my blog everyday.
As a social worker, I have always try to connect people as much as possible. But the blog gave me the opportunities to connect the global people, but I found a great limitation to connect my own people through this blog. I found a great possibility of online activism through participating at different forum through online; but not able to use these possibilities for my own people who are living in the remote villages. So, I searched way to create an opportunity for my own people whose for I work. Discussing with friends, I planned to develop a telecentre at remote areas; mobile technologies enhanced the possibilities to create an opportunity.
But problem is there also; I found again that people, particularly youths are more interested to chat with others as per their own interest rather uses the internet technology for serving the interest of lives and livelihood; so I tried to organise the youths in colleges and universities and started to conduct study circles through creating a bangla blog. A few youths showing interest to join in discussion and together we planned to use these social networking sites as alternative media. For these reason, now we are organising the youths at rural areas through founding clubs, associations and asked them to join with us through using internet from cyber cafe and mobile phone. Journey is started and I dream, my friends and families from my villages connects me at early of the morning, at noon, at afternoon, evening and also after mid-night through a telecentre where rural youths will be become as a social entrepreneur to provide the services to my villagers.
I also dream, my villagers are taking part in discussion on agriculture, rural employment, rural economy at the blog and together we are acting as pressure group to formulate public policy to protect live and livelihood of rural people. Together we will build another world! A Knowledge Based Society through online activism. Do you mean! Just join with us!
Ashoka: Innovators for the Public are hosting Tech 4 Society, a conference exploring technology, invention and social change, in Hyderabad, India, in February 2009. Find out more about the conference here. This blog post is an entry in their competition to find the official blogger to travel to and cover the event.
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