Citizen Dialogue

Racism are one of the most ugly faces of the Swedish society. And I´ve been talking a lot with young people from cities where racist and neo-nazi organizations operate. Today I got an SMS from a friend from the city of Nyköping, that it´s been a riot in the city center. The media now reports that around 100 people where fighting and that the police now have the situation under control.

I fear we will see more of this towards the Swedish election two years from now. I think that racist parties will get into the parliament. And I think that the neo nazi activist will grow stronger if we don´t do anything.

The good news are that these forces can be pushed back, we did it in the mid-90s and we can do it again now. But we need to work together for make it. The struggle need to make some changes:
* No platform for racist groups
* Show who they are, make the racist leaders visible
* Stand up against racism every time, everywhere

Sweden can do it, just like we did 15 year ago, the time is now.

From todays news:

The British House of Lords - the country’s highest judicial body - has ruled that the exiled inhabitants of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean may not return to their homeland. The ruling is the latest in a case which has already lasted 40 years.

Two years ago, the High Court ruled that the islanders had the right to return to 65 of the Chagos Islands, with the exception of the main island of Diego Garcia where the United States has an air force base. The US leases the island from the United Kingdom.

Between 1968 and 1973, around 2,000 islanders were moved to Mauritius and the Seychelles. The US did not want any civilians near its airforce base. The Chagossians, who now number around 5,000, will now probably take their case to the European Court of Human Rights.

That 2 000 people can be moved just because that the US want to have a military base there are a clear violation of the human rights and one of the ugly faces of the US foreign policy with the help of the British.

If you would like to know more about, watch John Pilgers film about the issue.

Many people have asked me what are the best step towards a better world for all people. I answer that it´s a hard question, but one thing we can do today that will have a huge impact are to release the poorest countries from their old debts. In 2002, the total debt from the 60 poorest counties was 523 billion dollars.

The campaign Jubilee South are working on this issue since many years.

Global hunger and the growing impact of climate change are dramatic symptoms of the persistent problem of debt domination. Large debt service payments on both external and domestic debt claims mean that scarce resources are diverted from needed investments to insure food sovereignty and climate change protection. This is part of the injustice of the debt and for this alone debt cancellation, debt repudiation or other forms of nonpayment are urgent.

These debts are both illegitimate and reactionary. And the fact that the poorest countries of the world are paying back more money on their debts to the rich countries then they receive in development aid are a provocation. The developing world now spends $13 on debt repayment for every $1 it receives in grants.

The loans are often based on loans taken out by prior rulers and dictators, many of which various Western nations put into power to suit their interests. Many counties got rid of their dictator in the 80s, but the people are still suffering from their loans.

These loans are killing people every day, and I join the millions of people standing up against these loans. The richest countries have the money to cancel the debts and release much needed funds to the poorest of the poor.

That´s what I believe is the first step.

The last two weeks very worrying debates around the European Unions strategy to attack the climate challenge have taken a new turn the last days. At the meeting between the union environmental ministers both Italy and Poland treat to veto the new climate goals.

The discussion are that EU will adopt a goal to reduce the CO2-emissions by 20 percent to 2020, 30 percent if the rest of the world agrees on common goals in Copenhagen next years. But many Eastern European countries and Italy claimed that it was too expensive; economic turmoil and rising unemployment meant that implementing the CO2 goal was no longer affordable.

- We do not think that now is the time to be playing the role of Don Quixote, when the big producers of CO2, such as the United States or China, are totally against adherence to our targets, says Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Faced with failure, the final EU summit declaration dropped all reference to the legal implementation of the climate targets and instead introduced a new pre-condition. Any future climate bill must now be “cost-effective to all sectors of the European economy and for all member states, respecting each member state’s specific situation.”

This is very dangerous to compare the work against climate change and economy. This short time thinking, often worked out by lobbyists within the European Union can make a new climate agreement next December impossible. And then throw the world into a discussion about who will pay for what for many years while our way of living damages the planet even more.

We know about the challenges, and we know the solutions. Let´s just do it!

Africa

* In Lagos, Nigeria, 100,000 people are expected to gather on October 17-19 for a concert by Femi Kuti to commemorate the life of renowned Nigerian Musician Fela Kuti and demand that the government pay closer attention to the country’s poor people by investing more petro dollars in education, healthcare and other pro-poor development programs.

* In Pretoria, South Africa on October 17, an expected 5,000 campaigners led by the workers’ trade union COSATU and the South Africa Council of Churches will march to Union Buildings, the official seat of government in South Africa, to demand guaranteed state social security schemes covering all children under eighteen. They will also call for the abolition of the value added tax on basic foodstuffs, the abolition of user fees on water, and the ratification of the UN Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

* In Harare, Zimbabwe, 5,000 people are expected to gather when Pastor G and Victor Kunonga perform at “Do the Right Thing” on October 18 to call on the government to improve service delivery in health, water and sanitation. Using the case of Chitungwiza, a heavily populated dormitory town of Harare with an estimated population of 1 million, the groups participating in the campaign are arguing that years of neglect of the water system and the government’s failure to provide safe drinking water has led to outbreaks of cholera and other related diseases.

* In Togo, caravans will travel around the country to towns and villages, with each visit focusing on a specific MDG. The tour will culminate at a beach where 5,000 people are expected to gather to Stand Up together on October 19.

* In Nairobi, Kenya on October 18, several top artists including Sarah Mitaru, Jua Kali and Jaky Malley Ringtone will join hands to host a concert aimed at protesting rising costs and reminding world leaders that Africans will not accept a new slavery through retrogressive trade policies such as the Economic Partnership Agreements.

Asia

* In Delhi, India, members of the National Conference of Dalit Organizations and Amnesty International, India will meet with Parliamentarians on October 17 to demand resources for the most vulnerable and socially excluded groups. Also in Delhi, celebrities and more than 10,000 people are expected to gather for a mass mobilization on Parliament Street.

* In Daltonganj, Jharkhand, India more than 30,000 people from 600 villages and 18 districts are expected to gather on October 17 and 18 at a mass mobilization to demand poverty alleviation measures from the government and the achievement of the MDGs. The gathering, called Mahapanchayat, will be addressed by the Chief Minister of Jharkhand.

* In Indonesia on October 17, Muslims will Stand Against Poverty at more than 400 mosques in a statement of solidarity to encourage the government to commit to more pro-poor policies.

* In the Philippines, the National Anti-Poverty Commission and other civil society actors are expected to mobilize more than 10 million people at events including a National People’s Day on October 18, which will offer medical services and a job fair. Also in the Philippines there will be a “Stand Up and Take Action” Rap Contest for community youth groups in metro Manila on October 17 and a bike run on October 19.

* In Thailand, at least 180,000 people living below the national poverty line are expected to participate in poverty reduction clinics organized by the Ministry of Interior, which will encourage domestic and individual savings, health promotion, and empowerment of the poor.

* In China, a Poverty and Migration Forum hosted in Beijing will include large numbers of people Standing Up.

* In Singapore, bands including Vertical Rush and Jack and Rai will play at Youth Park on October 18 to express their demands to end world poverty and a new 2015 Countdown Clock will be launched to show leaders how much time — person by person, second by second – is left to achieve the MDGs.

Europe

* InItaly, 80,000 people are expected to take part in 10 simultaneous Stand Up events in 9 cities including Venice, Bologna, Florence, Milan and Rome on October 18. Nine huge chairs without seats will be installed simultaneously in 9 squares to signify that people will not remain seated until their government delivers more and better aid. On October 19, 300,000 supporters are expected to Stand at the Italian Premier League football match.

* In Armenia, anti-poverty-campaigners will organise a competition in a minimum of four Armenian regions, among children coming from different parts of Armenia. The thematic scope will be articulated around poverty and inequality.

* In Belgium the United Nations Regional Information Centre (UNRIC) in collaboration with 11.11.11 and CNCD (GCAP Belgium platforms) is hosting a Stand Up and Take Action activity with the Belgian Professional Football League to take place during the weekend of October 17-19. Banners will be shown at the start of each game with the logo ‘‘Stand Up and Take Action Against Poverty’‘.

* In Malta, SKOP (Solidarjeta’uKoperazzjoni) in collaboration with STOPoverty, Kopin and Global Action Schools, is inviting all organisations/institutions, social groups and schools to perform a one-minute STAND UP on October 17 as a sign of urgency to eliminate the violations of Human Rights and Extreme Poverty around the World.

* In Luxembourg, the Whiteband Coalition will organise the event: « Ta voix contre la pauvreté » (your voice against poverty) a sociocultural activity combined with a solidarity march in Luxembourg-city. Participants will Stand Up Againt Poverty. The activity is co-organized by a coalition of North-South NGOs as well as NGOs from the social sector.

* In Scotland/ UK, the Glasgow City Council has passed a motion to recognize the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty and will call on all Glaswegians to “Stand Up and Take Action” against child poverty in Scotland. A march from Glasgow Cathedral to Glasgow’s George Square aims to mobilize 3,000 people.

* In Slovakia, campaigners are organising a press conference and a “Development Day” event in the centre of Bratislava. Louis Michel (European Commissioner for development and humanitarian aid) will attend as speaker of one round table that will also gather NGOs representatives, southern partners and officials from the Slovakian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Finance.

* In Spain, thousands of people are expected to gather to march against poverty in Madrid on October 17 under the “Rebélate contra la Pobreza” initiative. Simultaneous anti-poverty mobilizations will occur on October 17 and 18 in more than 20 cities, including Palma de Mallorca, Sevilla, Zaragoza, Donosti, Bilbao, A Coruña, Badajoz, Cuenca and Valencia.

* In Germany, Bianca Jagger will host an event at the Sony Center in Berlin on October 17 presenting 8 video messages from members of the World Future Council who received alternative Nobel prizes, to demand more and better aid. At the end, the pop group Chulca Candela will lead the Stand Up moment.

North America

* In the United States and Canada, students will join campus programs and challenges to build political will to end extreme poverty by hosting teach-ins, Stand Up rallies, and other campus events.

* Throughout the United States and Canada, faith groups are organizing Sabbaths, Sevas, and Sadaqas to rally believers of all faiths —Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and others — to learn about and take action on behalf of people living in extreme poverty and dying from preventable diseases.

Middle East/ Arab region

* In Palestine, 500,000 pupils are expected to Stand Up in schools. Students in 15 university branches will organize media debates to demand a lending fund for poor students.

Latin America and Caribbean

* In Santiago, Chile there will be a walk between Arms Square and Constitution Square on October 17 featuring a moving wall on which people can take action by writing messages. At the event, citizens will ask municipal candidates to sign a commitment against poverty.

* In El Salvador, citizens will Stand Up at a Presidential Candidates Forum on October 17.

Global

Members of the Art of Living Foundation, one of the largest spiritual movements in the world, will mobilize to plant more than 100 million trees around the world. Screenings of the independent film “The End of Poverty?” by Cinema Libre Productions will take place in about 15 locations worldwide including the Sao Paulo Film Festival, London, Sydney, Washington DC, and Brussels. 


Since I´ve been working hard in Brussels I´ve not been able to follow the Stand Up Against Poverty events around the world as I wanted to. But it seems that they´ve arranged the largest manifestation in history, with more the 100 million people submitted to attend.

I hope this event can show the leaders of the world that we still need to focus on the global poverty, despite the financial crisis. And that we work even harder to make the promises of the Millennium Development Goals.

And people working with the campaign are confident.
-The global movement in support of the Millennium Development Goals is growing, and on October 17-19 more than one percent of the people on earth will send a clear message to their leaders that they will no longer stay seated while promises to end extreme poverty remain unfulfilled, said Salil Shetty, Director of the UN Millennium Campaign.

I will follow this story with some articles from local events around the world. Showing people committed to solve this issue and end extreme poverty.

I will release my package of education for 2009 in just 22 hours. It feel inspiring and I hope I can travel around with them a lot during next year.

Last week I participated at the European Youth Media Days at the European Parliament in Brussels. My group had 24 hours to produce a TV-show around the European Unions climate work. And here´s the result.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Here´s the article I wrote for the blog OLPCNews.com.

Let’s take the next step: content

I’ve had the privilege to meet some of the poorest people in countries like Uganda and Zambia during my travels over the last years. And the thing that I remember the most are that the poorest of the poor have a clear knowledge about the situation and often have a vision of how to create a better life for themselves, and especially their children.

When I asked them what the lack to reach the vision, most people say the same, education. Some of them have only gone one year in school, some have never attended.

I’ve followed the development of OLPC since several years in my role as a public educator, and I’m very inspired by the action to give the children of the development world the best tool we have for knowledge and commutation. But I’m getting frustrated about the fact that content often are overlooked.

While most initiatives, both OLPC and others, focusing on to spread the hardware, I would like to get more people to focus to provide the most innovative and pedagogical software to give opportunity for different levels of education and commutation over cultural boarders.

The people working to bridge the digital divide will be remembered as important for development and intercultural understanding in the 21st century. But the movement is very young and I can see large potential for new forms of collaboration between development activists, open source community and aid donors to fill the infrastructure with the right tools.

We need to sit down together and build the best software for primary educations like reading, writing and entrepreneurship, the best software for communication between young people over cultural boarders, and the best initiatives to spread the knowledge in the communities. All the software should be open source and under a public license.

Education are a key factor for development, with an education, it’s easier to get a job, build a business and start climbing towards a better life. Let’s take the next step and work for a world where everyone get a primary education. And where everyone have the opportunity to reach his or her full potential.

Tomorrow I will go to Brussels and the second European Youth Media Days. Three intense days of networking and media production with people from all over Europe.

New media, open minds and challenging ideas. From 15 to 17 October 2008, the next generation of European journalists meets at the European Parliament in Brussels for the second European Youth Media Days. 200 youngsters from all 27 EU member states, chosen to be the most creative and motivated amongst 1767 high-quality applications, have now been awarded with a place.

The European Youth Media Days 2008, to be opened on Wednesday 15 October by European Parliament Vice-President Alejo Vidal-Quadras, have started already: The recently selected 200 participants interact, debate and prepare their European media productions in the online community www.youthmediadays.eu. This also enables those who are not able to go to Brussels to stay in touch with their peers and share their thoughts about Europe.

The hands-on workshops for creation of new European media formats – on air, online, and printed – are the core-element of three days EYMD 2008. Complemented by high-ranking-debates and events with the President of the European Parliament, political group chairmen, correspondents, and media professionals from across the continent the EYMD will provide insights into the Brussels sphere of media, culture, and politics. Moreover participants have the chance to share knowledge, improve media skills and gain a unique international experience at the centre of European political life.

My ambition are to give a global view, where media are one of the most important tools and one of the pillars for change. And if the next generation journalists will think more global then the current, we have a better opportunity to make progress.