The Mirror July 2011 by NZ Manufacturer

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R e f l e c t i o n s & O b s e r v a t i o n s

Security in Africa My face is my fortune Blood on the Stone

We need innovative innovation

No end to high food prices

JULY 2011

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editorial

Someone’s sure making a lot of money

‘No End for High Food Prices in Upcoming Decade’ is fast becoming the norm. High global food prices and volatile commodity markets are expected to persist over the next decade, according to a joint report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Issues that were salient points of discussion at a June meeting of agriculture ministers from the Group of 20 (G-20) leading economies. The Agricultural Outlook 2011-2020, released on 17 June, focuses on the global state of agriculture for the next ten years. The report indicates that although strong harvests are expected to push down commodity prices later this year, real prices are projected to be an average of 20 percent higher for cereals and 30 percent higher for meats over the 2011-2020 period, in comparison with the last decade.

contents

3 Economic crisis can be ended through Farz Methodology

LOHAS.

New Technology: We need innovative innovation.

So, someone is doing well, don’t you think? Way down – at the last bus stop – in New Zealand, Fonterra, the giant dairy producing company is about to be investigated by no less than three government departments as to the price of their products. China has problems with rice, Vietnam with coffee production and out there on the wide open spaces of the deserts of Africa, people cannot afford to buy food.

Oxfam is bothered and human rights groups don’t have an answer. When people can not afford the basics and food banks are reporting pressure on their food supplies from growing numbers of people in need of a feed you just know we all have a big problem.

Where does all the money go, who is making all the profit?…it’s been the question since time began. Why are there food shortages? It is believed that the rise in prices can be blamed on expanding biofuel production. By 2020, it is expected that 13 percent of global coarse grain production, 15 percent of vegetable oil production, and 30 percent of sugar cane production will be used for the production of biofuels. Do you have a garden at home? If not, why not? Stop supporting the system which is driving you broke. Lease some land with friends; grow your own vegetables…its not that hard!

And keep your bolt cutters off my bike.

China goes into the World News Business.

The John le Carré of Ulster loyalism.

Reflections and Observations

the Mirror’s Faces MANAGING EDITOR Doug Green RESEARCH WORDS PRODUCTION & DESIGN Karl Grant ADMINISTRATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS Media Hawkes Bay Ltd

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Economic crisis can be ended through Farz Methodology

Before I come to the point that I want to make today, I have a little story to narrate. About four years ago, I stumbled on to the microfinance sector by a sheer stroke of chance. Before that I had always dreamt of doing something for the teeming millions suffering in the ruthless clutches of poverty. Microfinance, as you all know, was supposed to be one important tool in fighting the menace of poverty. I began my new assignment in this sector with all sincerity. Soon I was awakened to the fact that conventional microfinance, in most cases, was producing the results directly opposite of the stated aims. I cannot doubt the intentions of the donors, but in the intermediary layers there was a rampant abuse, which, in fact, was further plunging the poor into a bottomless pit of misery. That was the point when I began to reflect on the causes of the setbacks in the sector. During the same period the news of failures in the worldwide conventional microfinance sector began pouring in. this also coincided with the worst recession since the great depression of the 1930s. By the way it began with the sub-prime loan crisis and sooner, rather than later, it took over the whole developed world. Even today the world is still reeling under this crisis with no end in sight so far. The most striking realisation which I had during the period I was working with conventional microfinance, was the nature of the relationship between the client and the facilitating agency. It was a cold, business-like, kind of matter of fact type relationship. I was surprised to see the utter disregard of the facilitators towards the clients’ education, skills, abilities and plight. Here was the root cause of the set backs which led to the painful process of defaults and subsequently late night recoveries.

creates problems instead of offering any solution. Here was the point when I, along with a few other friends, decided to enter the market with a new methodology, which we subsequently named as the Farz methodology. We had a few assets that we sold and took the plunge. Napoleon once said 25 percent of his decisions were always a leap in the dark. But to me, our decision to embark upon the partnership and asset-based microfinance was no leap in the dark.

Having gone through this experience I further pondered upon the causes of failures and came to the conclusion that extending micro loans to the poor without evaluating the capabilities and skills is absolutely selfdefeating.

To put a long story short, our one-year pilot project produced amazing results, at a time when not only the poor microfinance clients were defaulting but even the states began their journey on the painful course of bankruptcies and defaults. Though, there can’t be a comparison between our humble organisation and the mighty states, it at least gives food for thought to many as to how did we achieve hundred per cent recoveries when the mighty organisations like Grameen were faltering.

I also came to the conclusion that extending cash to the cash-starved poor

The secret lies in the fact that we trained our clients, provided them with

By Farhat Abbas Shah

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Microfinance, as you all know, was supposed to be one important tool in fighting the menace of poverty.

Continues page 7

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LOHAS

For newcomers to the LOHAS space, “LOHAS” is an umbrella acronym that stands for Lifestyles Of Health And Sustainability. It refers to a wide range of industries, corporate activities and products/ services that are designed to be environmentally conscious, sustainable, socially responsible and/ or healthier – both for people and the planet. The LOHAS consumer is the leading-edge portion of the population who is attracted by their belief systems and values and who make their purchase decisions with these criteria in mind. LOHAS consumers are also used as predictors of upcoming trends, as they are early adopters of many attitudinal and behavioural dynamics.

By Adam Horler

Market research conducted in 2010 reveals a multi-billion dollar consumer demand that is being starved of supply. Guided by the eco-savvy consumers of today, its more than just a fad or a trend to fade away in three years; sustainability is at the core of this consumer choice, and that means the demand is also here to stay. More consumers than ever are using their purchasing power to make a genuine statement about their concern for the environment. Combined, they make a dedicated group, fond of everything from organic potatoes to hybrid cars, and marketers have given them their very own name to wear as a badge of honour: ‘Lohasian’.

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LOHAS represents a social movement that has conscious consumption at the centre of its values.

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The latest research shows that 80% of these environmentally mindful consumers say their purchase decisions are directly influenced by a company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies. A far more wide-reaching term than the semantics of “eco” or “green” could encompass, LOHAS represents a social movement that has conscious consumption at the centre of its values. Stemming from a business movement that began in the USA in 2000, LOHAS has morphed in Asia to become a brand used to describe all manner of environmental products and services. Companies gaining the leading edge recognise that customers expect them to act, are more interested in lowering their carbon footprint, and are much more in tune with creating the image that they care. They associate environmentally sound practices with their brand image to consumers and the industry, and associate these practices with their ethical responsibility to the community in anticipation of stealing market share as the customer’s green demands grow.

Who are LOHAS consumers? • 60% female www.themirrorinspires.com

• highly educated • above average income • highly influenced by brand image • least price sensitive • very influential over the buying decisions of family and friends • exercise their values when choosing products and services: ethical business, environmental sustainability, human rights, fair trade, personal development and spirituality are the standards that speak to them Research repeatedly confirms that the LOHAS trend is no mere shift in demographics but rather a wave of cultural transformation altering the very roots of business, politics and society. To the LOHAS consumer, the brand and the company are inseparable. For them, the decision to buy has three critical points: • pre-purchase - is this a company and brand whose mission and values I support? • point of purchase - does this product or service meet my needs for the right price? • post purchase is this packaging recycled or recyclable? Are the profits from my purchase going to be used ethically and responsibly? Consumers have traditionally expected governments to take the lead in protecting the environment, but now they are looking more to the corporate world to take action.

The growth of LOHAS in the Asia Pacific region Increasingly, Asians want economic growth but believe it should be achieved through greener industry. The Asia/Pacific arm of LOHAS was established in Singapore in 2009 reflecting a rapidly growing market trend. The boom in Asia began via Japan, a country renowned for many health

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foods, alternative methods of medication, and technologies that satisfy the needs of LOHAS consumers. The LOHAS Asia and NMI research on China questioned 1,000 consumers across the five cities of Beijing, Chengdu, Dalian, Guangzhou and Shanghai. Results showed that 88% agreed that it is important for companies to be mindful of their impact on society. But the ripple effect has seen LOHAS becoming increasingly popular in other Asian countries and Taiwan is a good example of how quickly LOHAS is growing. Taiwan is a country that is one of the top economic powers in the Asia/Pacific region along with South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore. The rise of Taiwan’s economy and emphasis on education has developed a fast growing middle class that has recently been questioning the path that their country has taken to get to where it is. The positive thing about this is that there is no way to go other than up and in spite of all the environmental difficulties LOHAS is gaining traction in Taiwan. The public is putting pressure on business and government to implement change in current business and policy standards, and the government is working to improve its environmental issues by enforcing stringent recycling and energy efficiency rules for businesses and the public. The demand for organic foods and new ways of approaching life in a simple and holistic way is also on the rise. Health and well-being is a very important component of Chinese culture and the country has a long-standing tradition of Buddhism and vegetarian cuisine. Green building is being taught on University campuses and new building developments. Environmental awareness is being taught in elementary schools and rice companies are promoting organic rice

farming. Hotels are promoting themselves as green by promoting their low energy consumption and organic food menus. It is clear that Taiwan nationals want to live healthier lifestyles and educate is population about the benefits of LOHAS, Many Taiwanese are interested in developing relations with companies familiar with LOHAS and are very eager to learn more about sustainable business practices partly our of necessity but mostly from sincerity. “We are looking for partners” says Tom Xiao, Editor and chief of Organic Lifestyle Magazine, “We want the world to know about the opportunities in Taiwan and educate Taiwanese on how to live better lives. LOHAS brings a traditional concept to a modern audience. Our ancestors lived simply and in harmony with nature. It is part of the Chinese philosophy. LOHAS provided the opportunity to show this to the younger generations in a trendy and fashionable way.” The literal translation of LOHAS into Chinese means ‘happy life’ and it appears that Taiwan Chinese want to live a traditional lifestyle with a modern twist. ❙

Many of Taiwan’s environmental issues are linked to Its dense population of 23 miliion over 14,000 square miles. This averages out to approximately 1,600 people per square mile making it one of the most densely populated countries on earth

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Adam Horler, President of Asia/Pacific LOHAS Pte. Ltd. says LOHAS is primarily about ideas rather than products. “LOHAS provides a roadmap on how to live a healthy and fulfilling life, while minimising the individual impact on the environment. However, we live in a modern, progressive world, and the average person wants to enjoy the modern convenient life, so LOHAS has become more and more about the products that enable this sort of life but are designed, manufactured and used in such a way that they support a low impact modern life.” “LOHAS will continue to push the boundaries of low/no impact modern living, and other consumers in the market will follow LOHAS consumers and look to them for the trends in how to consume and live responsibly. Lohasians are pioneers” he says.

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Security in Africa Africa continues to face serious challenges. On several measures of human development, many of its 54 countries rank near the bottom of the scale.

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The continent has been the source of encouraging good news, particularly in the spheres of knowledge creation and innovation.

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Lately, however, the continent has been the source of encouraging good news, particularly in the spheres of knowledge creation and innovation. In recent years Africans have made significant progress in crucial sectors such as communications technology, food security, and governance.

Tilt toward peace According to South African researcher Jakkie Cilliers, Africa has advanced also in the area of human security. Since the turn of the millennium, he says, “We have seen a dramatic decline in conflict – something like a two-thirds decline.” There are several reasons for the sudden shift toward peace, says Cilliers: (1) African governments have improved their performance generally, which includes boosting their capacity to provide security. (2) Africans are taking more of a leadership role in peacemaking and other forms of international engagement. Increasingly they seek “African solutions to African problems.” (3) Although much still needs to be done, the continent has witnessed a strengthening of democracy and respect for human rights. (4) And, thanks to improved macroeconomic management, strong commodity prices, and reduced debt, most African economies have grown steadily for almost a decade.

Leading think tank Cilliers had served for 14 years as an artillery officer in the South African Defence Force, but resigned for political reasons in 1989. In 1991 he co-founded the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies (ISS), and is today its executive director. Initially, ISS focused on researching defence issues such as the institution of civilian control over South Africa’s military. When that was achieved, the organization adopted a more expansive definition of human security. Its website says, “ISS www.themirrorinspires.com

works towards a stable and peaceful Africa characterised by sustainable development, human rights, the rule of law, democracy, collaborative security and gender mainstreaming.” A long-time IDRC grantee, ISS has been named one of Africa’s foremost think tanks. In November 2010, Cilliers visited IDRC to talk about the future of Africa. Here follow some highlights from his presentation.

Population growth = economic growth According to Cilliers, the basis of sustainable African security is a healthy economy. Furthermore, he argues that bigger cities fuel healthier economies: “Historically, population growth and urbanization have been the main drivers of economic growth, and that will also be the situation in Africa.” Cilliers notes that Africa now has 14% of the world’s population. Even factoring the impact of AIDS, by 2050 it will have 25% – that is, one in every four persons on the planet will be African. Before 2027, Africa will have more people than does China or India. Although the picture is hugely complicated, ultimately Africa’s demographic momentum is expected to translate into economic momentum. The ISS forecasts that gross domestic product (GDP) will increase in Africa, and eventually, so too will per capita GDP. Economic well-being bodes well for African security because, Cilliers agues, “The most powerful predictors of civil conflict are weak economic growth and volatile low income.”

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theEMirrorE Climate change Although in itself not a direct cause of conflict, climate change can make existing problems worse, and so it can pose a serious threat to Africa’s security. For example: (1) Reduced supplies of water combined with growing demands for it could lead to increasing competition, perhaps ultimately to violence. (2) Reductions in crop yields and increasingly unpredictable global weather patterns may contribute to higher food prices and greater food insecurity, eventually triggering riots. (3) Sea level changes, natural disasters, and the reduced viability of farmland may cause destabilising population movements.

The impacts of climate change will not happen in a uniform manner across Africa, but will be magnified or moderated by underlying conditions of governance, local poverty levels, and the nature of resource management.

Much more Cilliers touched on many other issues, including Africa’s relationship with China and India, trans-boundary disputes over water, and the conflicts in Somalia, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He concluded by arguing that the major security challenge facing Africa is the management of its urban spaces, and he highlighted flashpoints such as the large numbers of unemployed and poorly educated young men, urban gangs, and private security firms. ❙

Climate change can make existing problems worse

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From page 3

Economic crisis can be ended through Farz Methodology market linkages and health care before extending productive assets. Another important factor was the fact that we proceeded with our clients on partnership basis. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the humble saga of the Farz Foundation until now and I stand here before you, along with my wonderful team, without whom I could not have achieved whatever I have achieved so far. During the last two decades, the world has seen the biggest events of human history. One being the worst ever recession of the west, which now seems poised to hit the poor world. The experience of the west gives us food for thought. While embracing all that was good in western economic structures, we should not shut the door on innovation. We usually feel comfortable to tread a beaten path, but THE world has always progressed with innovations. We do not, and never intended to, take a plunge in the dark. There is a striking similarity between the post second world war Europe and Pakistan. After the floods 20 million people have been affected. Their tools and lands need repair. They need funds to kick start their productive work. They are a challenge as well as an opportunity for us. It’s a huge untapped market awaiting intelligent investors. Our one year pilot project opens a window to this new economic opening. Quite surprisingly, Islamic banking and finance has witnessed about 15% growth at a time when conventional banking

was hit the hardest and is being bailed out with huge sums, rendering the states bankrupt. Islamic banking is destined to play an important role in a not too distant future. By combining Islamic microfinance and rehabilitation work, we can work miracles. We all agree that investment in human capital is always of a paramount importance for any society’s development. A povertyridden society is always a hub of growing militancy and crime. It can effectively be countered through creating a partnership with the poor along with creating awareness among them. We also believe that the Farz Foundation can also bridge the local investor with international financial institutions for curing our ailing economy and to have a healthy but so far an illusive growth rate. The Farz SME and Entrepreneurial village can pave our way to that coveted goal. There is no denying the fact that industrial peace is a key to the smooth running of any unit as well as the overall economy. We extend our hands to you to exploit this opportunity at the most opportune moment when millions of skilled people await our help to be re-engaged in a productive process. Our country at least owes that much to us. This is not a mere dream. We have many precedents in that past when countries like Malaysia have prominently emerged on the economic map of the world. Believe me another world is possible.

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How did we achieve hundred percent recoveries when mighty organisations like Grameen were faltering?

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Fair-trade indigo in El Salvador Last August, 18 families from the community of San Lucas, located northwest of El Salvador’s capital, celebrated their first harvest of indigo under fair and sustainable conditions. Jose Cosme is a 54-year old family man. From 4 a.m. to 1 p.m., he grows true indigo plants from which indigo is made. “I heard about Asociación Bálsamo’s project,” he says. “I got involved because there are many problems plaguing the community, like unemployment and poverty.” Santos Inocente Conce, 48, is a native of Los Conce. Every morning at 5 a.m., she and the youngest of her three children head over to the indigo plantation, where they clean and fertilize the crops. Jose and Santos Inocente are among the 18 families of the San Lucas community – which is located about an hour’s drive northwest of El Salvador’s capital – who celebrated their first harvest of true indigo leaves under fair and sustainable conditions, last August.

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Since 2000, Asociación Bálsamo, a Salvadorian organization, has been trying to introduce a new method of growing indigo

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Since 2000, Asociación Bálsamo, a Salvadorian organization, has been trying to introduce a new method of growing indigo that would help increase the revenue of small producers. Now a group of researchers from the University of Alberta and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) has joined the project.

PRODUCTION OF INDIGO IN AMERICA At the time of the Spanish colonization, indigo was South America’s main export. When Asian countries, most notably India, started growing a greater number of True Indigos than the South Americans, coffee became South America’s main export. During the late 1990s, when it was discovered that natural dyes were safer than synthetic dyes, there came a greater demand for natural indigo. As a result, the sale price of indigo skyrocketed; it now sells for roughly $100/kilo, as opposed to coffee, which sells for $4/kilo.

GREATER REVENUE

The first step in raising the income of small farmers is to turn them on to the idea of making more money by getting involved in the production of indigo. Cane sugar farmers, who are also present in this region, make US$350 for every hectare of cane sugar crops they grow. This is in contrast www.themirrorinspires.com

to indigo farmers who receive US$430 for every hectare of cultivated land—or rather, $860, since they yield two harvests per year. “Nevertheless, we don’t want the community to put all their eggs in one basket,” says Luc Mougeot, the project leader at IDRC. Thus, the 18 families who are partaking in the project are using indigo in other ways; to dye clothes, jewellery and craft items. “When we sell products that are dyed rather than just sell the indigo in its powdered form, we can make 5 to 10 times more profit,” explains Luc Mougeot. “And if the product sold is certified organic, that’s even better—we can boost the sales price up 25%.”

GREATER PRODUCTIVITY “Our desire to market indigo meant that we had to do field research and find out how we could increase productivity,” says Luc Mougeot. The teamwas able to get their hands on True Indigos with a 45% higher dye content in their leaves.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS From production to waste management, this project follows green practices. The upright growth of the True Indigo’s roots enhances the soil’s fertility, so there’s no need for chemical fertilizers. The drying of the leaves is done in vats outside, so only solar energy is employed. The researchers alsomade a vow to avoid using chemical insecticides to get rid of insect pests; they set up “light traps” to attract them instead. Even the amount of nutrients in the crop residue, which is composted, is studied.

A TARGET MARKET First, the indigo products from the community of San Lucas will be sold exclusively in El Salvador. “The local market, which includes the tourist market, is already booming,” says Luc Mougeot. Later, they will expand their market to neighbouring countries like Guatemala and Honduras, and eventually, maybe even Europe. ❙

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Citizen Lab honoured for defence of the Internet

The Citizen Lab, an IDRC grantee at the University of Toronto, has won this year’s Canadian World Press Freedom Award for its dedicated defence of free expression online. The Citizen Lab team, based at the university’s Munk School of Global Affairs, has received the 13th annual award for its ongoing work to track and expose Internet censorship and surveillance around the world. “The Internet has changed forever the way we impart and receive information, and it is critical that we keep it free,” said Rafal Rohozinski, Senior Research Advisor for the Citizen Lab. “We are greatly honoured by this award.” Rohozinski and Citizen Lab Director Ron Deibert helped spearhead a recent IDRC-funded research project, OpenNet. Asia, in which researchers across South and Southeast Asia explored aspects of digital

censorship and surveillance in their own countries. “Coming on World Press Freedom Day the award lends support to the mission of the Citizen Lab, which is to engage in advanced research and development around global security, human rights, and cyberspace,” Deibert said. “We dedicate this award to our partners and colleagues around the world, including OpenNet.Eurasia and OpenNet.Asia, both of whom have been instrumental throughout the years in our endeavours.” The Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom has given this award annually since 1998 to honour a Canadian person or group that has advanced the cause of freedom of expression. Last year, the Citizen Lab won the Vox Libera Award presented by the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. ❙

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The Citizen Lab team, has received the 13th annual award for its ongoing work

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Developing nations pledge bigger emission cuts than richer nations

A new study for Oxfam reveals that developing countries are pledging to cut their emissions of greenhouse gases by more than developed countries. Oxfam estimates that over 60 per cent of emissions cuts by 2020 are likely to be made by developing countries.

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All the studies show that developing countries have pledged to make bigger cuts in their greenhouse gas emissions than industrialised countries

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Delegates from 195 countries gathered recently in Bonn, Germany to resume negotiations on a global deal to tackle climate change. At last December’s climate conference in Cancun, countries recorded their pledges to cut emissions of greenhouse gases, but making comparisons between them has proved difficult because every country calculates and records their pledges in different ways. The new analysis by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), commissioned as part of Oxfam’s new global GROW campaign, compares four of the most widely respected studies of these pledges. All the studies show that developing countries have pledged to make bigger cuts in their greenhouse gas emissions than industrialised countries, compared to a business-as-usual scenario. Barry Coates, Executive Director of Oxfam New Zealand said, “One of the main stumbling blocks over the past four years of climate change negotiations has been that governments of rich countries, including New Zealand, have refused to make strong commitments to cut their emissions unless developing nations did the same. From Oxfam’s perspective, this isn’t fair, because it fails to recognise that poor countries didn’t cause climate change and shouldn’t have to shoulder an equal share of the burden for it. But more importantly, this study shows it’s a false argument – poor countries have already pledged to do more. “New Zealand can no longer hide behind the argument that we’re doing our fair share to avoid dangerous climate change that would devastate the lives of vulnerable people in the poorest countries. It is clear we are not doing so. We know what it will take to keep global warming from exceeding 1.5°C.

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“We call on the government to develop a plan to pull our weight and avoid massive damage and suffering to those who cannot defend themselves. New Zealand needs to prepare our plan for a low-carbon future as agreed in the UN negotiations,” said Coates. Oxfam’s analysis shows that the total emissions cuts pledged by all countries are not sufficient to prevent global temperatures rising above the 2°C target agreed by governments in Cancun. Global temperature increases of more than 1.5°C will have catastrophic consequences for societies across the globe. Coates said; “In the end, cutting emissions isn’t about who does the most, but whether the total efforts are enough to avoid the worst effects of global warming – we will either sink or swim together. The pledges currently on the table mean we are sinking.” The new analysis of efforts on emissions cuts comes days after Oxfam published a report “Growing a Better Future” which forecasts that average prices of staple foods such as maize will increase by between 120 and 180 per cent by 2030. Up to half of this increase will be driven by climate change. Coates said, “We need bolder action to cut emissions and stop climate change driving generations of children into hunger. All countries must step up and deliver their fair share of the emissions reductions needed. Countries must also ensure the most vulnerable get the support they need to adapt. Rocketing food prices signal climate change red alert.” Oxfam is calling for action on climate change as part of a new global GROW campaign to ensure everyone always has enough to eat. nextSTEP Visit: www.oxfam.org.nz/grow

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My face is my fortune, sir, she said

Laurie Essig said in spring 2007 that the United States was on the verge of a major crisis, during a conference call from Middlebury College, Vermont. Her level of economic expertise barely allows her to sort out her coffee break bill, but her area of sociological research – cosmetic surgery – perfectly positions her to observe “the subprime mortgage crisis of the body” (1). People in the US pay for 85% of cosmetic procedures (surgery, laser and injections) by borrowing. There is no minimum downpayment, as is required in every other country except Mexico and Australia. This is the result of measures Ronald Reagan introduced after he became president in 1981: the authorisation of medical advertising and credit deregulation. The institutions that specialise in financing medical procedures – the largest is CareCredit, a subsidiary of General Electric – approve loans widely and easily. Interest rates can reach 28%, and double if a debtor misses a single monthly payment (2). Cosmetic surgery was once only available to the wealthy, but has become an enormous industry producing “a much more widespread standardisation of Americans’ faces and bodies”. A practitioner said it now attracts “everyone from hairdressers to Walmart executives’ wives”. Patients are 90% female and 80% white, and between 2000 and 2010, spent almost $12.5bn annually. Sector growth, at 465% over the past decade, has kept up with the widening of the gap between the rich and poor. Essig believes that it is the result of an attempt to resolve the contradiction between grandiose dreams, intensified by media depictions of the way of life of a privileged class, and decreasing real incomes. It also fits with the neoliberal vision of a malleable subject, free from predetermined traits and expected to work continuously towards personal perfection. It is based on the conviction that responsibility for everything – problems as well as solutions, failure as well as success – lies with the individual, rather than society. The industry did not suffer much from the great financial crisis. Essig noticed that in fact people became more determined to change their appearance, even if that meant a second mortgage on their home. She thought they viewed their bodies as assets that had to be managed in order to grow in

value on the market (love or labour), to have any chance of fulfilling the American dream. Upgrading the body seemed a sensible investment. A friend of Essig’s is self-employed and, although penniless – or rather, because she’s penniless – has spent $800 on injections to fill in the nasolabial folds (between the nose and the corners of the mouth). “I thought maybe if I didn’t look so old, so tired, I’d get more clients,” she said. The procedure was her only possible response to her insecurity and lack of external control.

Younger you The French aren’t impervious to all this, as a recent “Younger You Special” in Elle magazine attests. “Chloé, 36”, among others, was given a dermatologist’s feedback: “In the future, it’s not hyaluronic acid she’ll need for the lines on her forehead, but Botox. As for keeping her perfect oval face, it’s now she needs to start looking after it. At 50, if it’s really lost its firmness, you need a facelift to fix it” (3). Essig reminds us that neoliberal ideology relies on the belief in freedom of choice, but her interviewees seem helpless and say things like: “Appearance is all that counts in our society” or “The job always goes to the one who looks youngest”. She says facelifts and Botox seem to them as inevitable as death and taxes. In fact, the interviewees create a reality over which they claim to have no control, and thereby constantly escalate demands – foreheads must be ever smoother, features ever more frozen and breasts ever larger. The ubiquitous images of models’ and celebrities’ smooth, shiny, artificial faces and bodies set a precedent, and feed anxiety, contempt and hatred of the real body. What about the cosmetic surgery practitioners? Most began by wanting to do something else, something better, especially reconstructive or reparative surgery; but they ended up doing breast implants and liposuction because they had loans (often for medical education) to repay. Some claim that their work is pro-feminist, as it allows women to “gain more self-esteem”. Laurie Essig points out that cosmetic surgery has always been an attempt at normalisation that is as much

Cosmetic surgery and allied procedures were less hard hit by the great global crash than many other businesses. Women saw their faces and bodies as assets needing investment to help them in a tough market

by Mona Chollet

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People in the US pay for 85% of cosmetic procedures (surgery, laser and injections) by borrowing.

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Continues page 12

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Taking liberties with egality by Serge Halimi

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French political and media pundits – purported to be shocked by this “violence of egalitarian justice”. From page 11

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“To be more feminine”, “to increase selfconfidence”

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Any criticism of the privileges enjoyed by the oligarchy, of the venality of the ruling classes, of generous handouts to the banks, the joys of free trade or savage wage-cuts in the name of international competition, is now construed as “populism” and “playing into the hands of the extreme right”. When New York’s courts refused to grant special treatment to the IMF’s managing director, Dominique StraussKahn, accused of raping a chambermaid in a Manhattan hotel, a commentator – joining the chorus of French political and media pundits – purported to be shocked by this “violence of egalitarian justice”. He added, almost automatically: “The only comment one can make with any certainty is that the anti-elite feelings aroused by the scandal will increase the chances of the far-right Front National of Marine Le Pen

in the [French] presidential elections” (1). So protecting the elite, and their policies, against an angry mob of down-and-outs is a democratic exercise? Fear of Islamic fundamentalism exonerated Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali’s predatory regime in Tunisia, fear of “Marxism” justified Silvio Berlusconi’s victories in Italy. And a (legitimate) fear of the Front National (FN) and another 21 April (2) could mean that any policy the FN is against would become sacrosanct in France. Ordinary people don’t like political parlour games? They can be told protesters are all fascists at heart, whether they know it or not. To accept this intellectual straitjacket is an act of political folly. The far right in France is well aware that the erosion of social inequalities and decline of public services have undermined its Thatcherite

Continues page 15

My face is my fortune, sir, she said racial as sexual: it aimed to erase marks of “non-whiteness”, and deliver patients from their inferior bodies; it was also meant to accentuate the difference between the sexes. In the early days “Jewish or Irish noses” were corrected; now an Iranian surgeon says: “Disney made the Persian nose a problem.” “To be more feminine”, “to increase self-confidence”: in France, such objectives are at the heart of the “makeover days” organised by the French job centre Pôle Emploi for women who have been unemployed long-term. The centre works in partnership with the Ereel Fund, a charity that has on its board two deputy mayors from the wealthy 16th arrondissement of Paris, the Hôtel Matignon’s chef de cuisine, and the philosopher Cynthia Fleury; its informal patron is the British-born wife of the French prime minister, Penelope Fillon. The project has provoked bad reactions – the satirical weekly Le Canard Enchainé

wrote: “On the website of the makeover studio responsible for this warpainting of unemployed women, every model who arrived with a frizzy mop left a few hours later with her hair straightened or more formally curled” (4). At the January launch of the makeovers, which got a lot of media coverage (5), the actress Marie-Anne Chazel said she believed “girly tricks” could overcome mass unemployment. Fillon was seen in the press photos, wearing black and grey: maybe she should have been in warmer tones, with a lower neckline and scarlet lipstick? Bernard Debré, an MP, honorary president of the Ereel Fund and a regular contributor to the weekly magazine Valeurs actuelles, where he discusses “the paradox of egalitarianism” (6), said of the guinea pigs: “For months, and sometimes even longer, they’ve been out of the habit of getting up, doing their hair, putting on makeup.” Will there soon be a special facelift fund for those on social welfare? ❙

(1) This and other references unless otherwise stated are from Laurie Essig, American Plastic: Boob Jobs, Credit Cards, and Our Quest for Perfection, Beacon Press, Boston, 2011. (2) In August 2010, the New York State public prosecutor launched an enquiry into CareCredit and other medical credit institutions accused of deceiving their customers. (3) “Spécial Rajeunir”, Elle, Paris, 4 February 2011. (4) “Penelope ‘soigne son look’ à Pôle Emploi”, Le Canard Enchaîné, Paris, 26 January 2011. (5) “Opération relooking pour des chômeuses”, 11 January 2011. (6) Valeurs actuelles, Paris, 16 December 2011.

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India’s unjust land grabbing from poor farmers

TEAR Fund executive Steve Tollestrup said fertile land was being taken from poor tribal farmers across several regions of India, including rural areas where TEAR Fund partners were working, to “satisfy the corporate greed of big business”.

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“Using a mixture of the historical colonial Land Acquisition Act of 1894, and the deregulation of investments and commerce, the Indian Government is forcibly buying the land at a fraction of the cost that it is being on-sold to developers.” In some cases, land has been forcibly taken from farmers against their will, according to physicist, philosopher and activist, Dr Vandana Shiva. An example of some of the enforced deals is in Jagatsinghpur, Orissa, where 20 battalions have been deployed to assist in the “anticonstitutional land acquisition”. In this district the land was being bought from peasant farmers for Rs 300 (NZ $8) per square metre by the government - using the Land Acquisition Act - and sold by developers at Rs 600,000 (NZ $ 16,450) per square metre - a 200,000 per cent increase. Last month four protesters died and many were injured in clashes with police over the land acquisition issue.

Dr Vandana Shiva

The biggest companies buying the land were Korean Steel giant Posco Steel, French nuclear energy company, AREVA, and Indian land developer, Jaypee Infratech Ltd. Mr Tollestrup said, “The Land Acquisition Act was used by colonial powers against Indians, now it is the Indian Government that is using it against its own people to allow foreign business to ‘re-colonise’ large tracts of India,” Mr Tollestrup said. “This unjust land dispossession will only compound the poverty and misery being faced by rural people in India, and could create widespread unrest.” ❙

The biggest companies buying the land were Korean Steel giant Posco Steel, French nuclear energy company, AREVA, and Indian land developer, Jaypee Infratech Ltd.

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1 4 EtheEMirror

New technology: We need innovative innovation

By Mallen Baker

There is a phrase that dates back to the 17th century: “Necessity is the mother of invention”.

Mallen Baker says we shouldn’t invent new things, but maintain a more sustainable way of living.

We’re into the land of generalisations here, but arguably over the past hundred years or so, invention has broken free from necessity. UK economist Will Hutton recently complained that the ability of innovation to transform our lives has simply not kept up. Indeed in spite of the illusion of change presented by the internet, our lives are actually “stagnating”.

After all, he observed, 1910 to 1960 saw the shift from a world of horse and carts and candle-light to an astonishing one that had cars, television, penicillin, you name it. As the industrial revolution really bore fruit, people’s lives changed dramatically. Now, we have widescreen TV in high definition, but it’s still essentially TV. We have hybrid cars, but they are still cars. OK, we have computers and smart phones that have changed the way we communicate, but these things haven’t changed our lives in such a dramatic fashion. The conclusion? One that any chief executive or politician would sign up to: the importance of innovation as a driver of growth and the imperative to exploit it. But maybe what we’re actually seeing is a shift to the need for a different type of innovation. For a lot of what has come before, and announced itself before us as bold and innovative, has been what I would describe as opportunity innovation. Nobody needed a television before they existed. But an opportunity existed to change the way people see the world beyond their daily lives, and it was an opportunity that could go to scale. Nobody needed a car, or an iPhone. They fulfilled desires and as they became normal, these became defined as needs. But they were about spotting an opportunity. You could get it right, or you could get it wrong. It was all about finding something people wanted on their lives that they didn’t need.

At the limit

Let’s not keep innovating, but simply maintain a more sustainable way of living.

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So much for necessity being the mother of invention. But now, of course, we have a real necessity. We are bumping against the physical limits of the planet, while still nowhere near a situation where people are enjoying the fruits of all this opportunity innovation.

That brings us to necessity innovation. While Hutton wants to see the world transformed anew with new things, actually the real need in innovation has shifted to the far less sexy area of defending what we have against the consequences of how we consume. Strange though it may be to say it, we need innovation to be less sexy. There is perhaps a parallel here with the world of fine art. It used to be that artists painted pictures, and were heralded for their skill. And then the narrative of what art was there to do went further and further away from its starting point story telling and more towards “art for art’s sake”. Now, we get so-called fine artists cutting animals in half and putting them in formaldehyde. And in the meantime, skill in execution has moved to a much more despised forum that of TV, print and online advertising. No glamour there. No name recognition. Actually, much like the early painters in the days when it was seen as a craft. But it’s where the creativity lives today. So it is with innovation. For every glamourpuss out there such as Apple, there needs to be a dozen companies large and small piling innovation into solving the things that have become necessities. Energy without emissions. Systems that produce little waste even though humans

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are predisposed to be wasteful. That kind of thing.

Is that wealth creation? I mean, if innovation gave us the motor car and that created wealth because it enabled us to do things we couldn’t before what about the invention of double glazed windows, that helped to cut out some of the noise that had arisen from the spread of the motor car? That’s about trying to reclaim something we had before, isn’t it? The reason for the distinction is that necessity is only the mother of invention when we perceive the necessity. Nobody has to persuade us to buy food if we don’t, we die. But if we get energy to power all the things we want, we don’t perceive the need for that energy to be produced differently. It all looks much the same at the point of use.

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The ability of innovation to transform our lives has simply not kept up.

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That’s why the next wave of innovation needs political will, and the leadership of companies that look to the long term. Consumers wont demand the kind of innovation that is needed for sustainability. They wont know it when they see it. ❙

Mallen Baker is founder of Business Respect and a contributing editor to Ethical Corporation. mallen.baker@businessrespect.net www.businessrespect.net

From page 11

Taking liberties with egality ideology, its hatred of civil servants and its Poujadist resistance to taxes, and it is now quite ready to support causes historically associated with the left. Jean-Marie Le Pen paid tribute 25 years ago to the Vichy government and the rebel generals in French Algeria, and elbowed his way into a group photograph with Ronald Reagan. His daughter, Marine, now quotes General de Gaulle, talks about the Resistance and advocates the renationalisation of energy and telecommunications (3). Xenophobia is still part of the far right mix, but it is well established in society and endorsed by government, so the far right propaganda

machine can afford to concentrate on other issues. Socialist parties, converted to middleclass values and globalisation, should not be solely blamed for this ideological theft. The more radical left, with its strategic weakness and its inability to achieve unity, has a responsibility too. In any case, combating the far right does not mean opposing the progressive causes that the far right now ostensibly supports (and distorts), it means offering a political alternative to a justifiably angry electorate. Isn’t this what the Spanish demonstrators in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol called for? ❙

(1) Dominique Moïsi, “The Strauss-Kahn earthquake”, International Herald Tribune, Paris, 18 May 2011. (2) On 21 April 2002, the Socialist candidate in the French presidential elections, Lionel Jospin, was overtaken by Jean-Marie Le Pen and was consequently not in the second round. Jacques Chirac was re-elected, with an 82% majority. (3) See “La défense des services publics, nouveau cheval de bataille du parti lepéniste”, Le Monde, 21 May 2011.

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Jean-Marie Le Pen elbowed his way into a group photograph with Ronald Reagan.

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And keep your bolt cutters off my bike by David Napier

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The difference is less in who does what and why things are taken than in the way people respond and what that tells us about what we agree society now to be.

As I contemplated a few nights ago how to frame my views on global citizenship and governance, and the need to think globally about problems like climate change and immigration, my bicycle was stolen from outside my home. It was not taken by a joy rider after a Saturday night pub crawl but, like so many Oxford bikes, by someone using bolt cutters, a professional recycler; it had been secured with a strong steel cable locked to a bolted ring in the wall. Next day the local bike shop owner said well-maintained old examples with steel frames are hot for making single-speed retro bikes. What does petty theft in Oxford have to do with global citizenship? After all, while the UK has a relatively low rate of high crime, taking from your neighbour is as British as Marmite. British petty thieves have occupational rights and if you interfere too much with them you may find yourself on the wrong side of the law. But there is a global dimension here: when

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people are wronged they universally blame outsiders: foreigners first; non-locals next; and bad kids on the street as a last resort. I have an anthropological obsession with observing and finding meaning in things local, but as an American returning to the UK after two decades away, I find something different now about petty crime in global UK. The difference is less in who does what and why things are taken than in the way people respond and what that tells us about what we agree society now to be. In more punitive cultures people resort to violent fantasies (and sometimes practices) when offended, to the bodily mutilations that severe systems of governance allow, to the right to bear firearms (the American way of protecting self and property), or to Divine Justice (in places where Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Judgment Day decisions are public matters). None of these applied when I called Thames Valley Police. I would not demand that the thief suffer physically or ask the police to join me in prayers to St Anthony. And

the call to report the robbery would be disappointing at the level of basic empathy: the UK is not a Mary Poppins place anymore. Two years ago, the police failed to visit me after a burglary in Belsize Park, London, and I did not expect much over a missing bicycle in Oxford. Britain has become more global in its hysteria and entertainments, yet I recall endearing aspects of a less global Britain: frugality, stoicism, good manners, the usual clichés. So, like that old Pink Floyd line about “hanging on in quiet desperation” being “the English way”, I decided to honour the past by suffering silently for my bicycle. During the phone call, I knew nothing would happen, and laughed cynically. The receptionist was not amused: I was supposed to follow the script. But reporting my theft gave me a global lesson: when we perceive that our society fails us personally, we either appeal to a higher order or give up. If there can be no appeal to divine justice or state punishment or civil codes of fairness, we pretend that nothing happened, the “he’ll-get-his-someday” response we used to have towards lawbreakers replaced by the acceptance of life’s messy, disorderly amorality. One of the things about being away for two decades is that you notice the changes in habit that long-term residents overlook: the bus queue gets replaced by the door funnel (a fanning out from point of entry); the visit from the local bobby gets replaced by the Thames Valley Police voice message directing you where to get counselling if you are a crime victim. When I ask my neighbours about these changes, outsiders are blamed for perceived civil collapse. Giving up is not part of the conversation. Instead, people say that if Britain hadn’t let so many foreigners in without socialising them first, they would not have brought their bad habits with them. As Cameron just announced, multiculturalism has failed.

A kinder, more frugal nation The problem for the new globalised Britain is that the absence of a perceived higher order leads not just to an anger about the presence of the Other in our lives, but to an absence of questions about the basic values that enhance pride of place, and how to nourish those values. And it is this absence that has led so many to give up on expectations of a civil society. How do you make Britain attractive to those who remember a kinder, more frugal nation where people recycled everything, and

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where saying that something was “unfair” was a major insult?

As an anthropologist I believe that these are not questions about policy, politics or leadership. Provision of public bicycles in London or the removal of speed cameras will not increase public trust in policymakers when the real issues are about giving up on place, and about the perception of disorder. These are related to deep cultural ailments, chronic English diseases, that historically led to the creation of colonies abroad, and later to offshore banking, and to the habit of investing and hiding as much money as possible elsewhere in the world. If the publicly perceived role of politics is, as the tabloids suggest, to enhance life quality and social status for politicians, then the public cannot blame politicians for a collapse in orderly life. People must accept responsibility for their own actions when the moral order of everyone and everything appears eroded; either that, embrace anarchy, or go global, meaning go elsewhere to take a good look back. Since the time of Aristotle we have understood that cultures are very much like people: they are conceptualised as organic units that work or don’t work, that falter or grow. Just as physical bodies respond to wellness, societies become healthy, sick, productive and moribund. They are autonomous, prior, and persistent, and defined at their borders where they are contested and challenged. Under stress, you begin to sense who you really are as a person, your moral fabric. Challenges bring out the best and worst in individuals and societies. You know yourself by how you deal with adversity and the unfamiliar, the true spirit of exploration. If you have not been tempted to go elsewhere to improve your lot in life, you will be hard-pressed to transcend the stereotypes about migrants and understand what genuinely motivates others to want to move to the UK; you will not know as much about negotiating that boundary between your world and theirs as they will. Unilateral migration is not good, but time abroad can be healthy for you, the places you visit and the places you return to. Moving away is less telling than “return migration”, moving back. Immigrants often become successful new citizens and then return to their place of origin. They also bear the brunt of what we perceive to be society’s global burdens.

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When I ask my neighbours about these changes, outsiders are blamed for perceived civil collapse. Giving up is not part of the conversation.

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1 8 EtheEMirror ➼ Influence of the Other

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I believe that Britain’s own global citizens – those who have lived abroad and returned – are more likely to address current social problems than are politicians.

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UK election debates last year proved the centrality of higher order – the question of moral order – to Britain and to the British as global citizens. After endless tepid conversation about topics on which candidates and pundits seemed to share the same unmemorable view, the conversation often stumbled on to the only thing the public got excited about: the influence of the Other, immigration. This concern is an important but unacknowledged reason why global citizenship matters; there is no way to understand why they want to come here if you have no interest in experiencing there, and cannot understand what might happen when you do so. Global citizenship also matters because it helps us understand why the un-travelled political candidate (George Bush who had not left America before running for office) can never make informed decisions about the limits and limitations of his own authority, and why he and his appointees spend so much time demonising outsiders. And it’s not just an American or a British problem: in France, some 70-80% of disgruntled voters approve of President Sarkozy’s initiative to remove the citizenship of criminals who can be proved to be of foreign origin, by implication connecting crime by minority (Roma, black) criminals with immigration. As Mark Twain said, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrowmindedness.” I believe that Britain’s own global citizens – those who have lived abroad and returned – are more likely to address current social problems than are politicians who promote themselves as patriotic representatives of the British

people. If you have no complex experience of other places, you will not negotiate well with outsiders when they appear at your doorstep, for they will have more global experience than you. We need to be curious about what motivates unfamiliar behaviours, which brings me back to my bicycle thief. In my office in London things – sometimes expensive things like computers – go missing. There is always a temptation, often openly voiced, to believe that they are removed by underpaid cleaners, foreigners who come to Britain in search of a better life and for whom the low risk of prosecution and the high value of personal property make thieving irresistible. Immigrants take on jobs locals disdain, and if they are irregular (illegal) migrants, they will also work for low illegal wages paid by employers who traditionally keep their own profits untaxed, or even offshore. Migrant labourers are invisible and voiceless, unlikely therefore to dispute their reputation for robbery. Those who inhabit our diminishing world in silence bear disproportionately the brunt of our anger when things go wrong. This is why the future rests not with the politically powerful, but with those who are honest enough to admit that they do not know things, and brave enough to take a lasting interest in their own ignorance. There is no better way of learning this than by having to negotiate with things genuinely different, where possible by living elsewhere. And there is no better way of applying that new learning than by investing it in the home you know best and love most, whether it is your place of origin or home you have adopted. “Think globally; act locally” – empowering words. ❙

NZ plays key role in breakthrough for domestic workers Millions of domestic workers around the world stand to gain improved working conditions following a vote at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) last week. The ILO has adopted a set of international standards requiring domestic workers to get the same labour rights as other workers. Countries that adopt the standards will have a commitment to enforce those rights. New Zealand’s ILO employer representative, BusinessNZ employment specialist Paul Mackay, was the lead negotiator representing global employers. Mr Mackay said the historic vote was well overdue. “It has taken years for this issue to be dealt with

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partly because of sensitivities among countries that have historically failed to institute protections for domestic workers. It is a credit to the ILO process that the rights of domestic workers can now be recognised everywhere.” Domestic workers are vulnerable to abuse in many parts of the world, including migrant workers whose passports are often confiscated and who are worked long hours for little pay. The new ILO standards would require ban such practices and require domestic workers to receive normal workplace rights. The ILO is a United Nations body that brings together Government, employer and worker delegates from all member countries to set standards on workplace practice. ❙

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China goes into the world news business

by Pierre Luther

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China would like the world to see the news its way. And it’s willing to pay big money to set up news media in those places from which the West is withdrawing cover.

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If soft power is the ability to influence ideas and behaviour, news and its global diffusion are among soft power’s strategic components. The People’s Republic of China has launched a campaign of seduction, prestige and omnipresence in countries where, for lack of money or interest, former big media players are disappearing. There are cooperation agreements, plus free news bulletins, text articles and radio programmes, and the creation of media. CNCWorld, a rolling news channel in English, was launched by the Xinhua (New China) Press Agency on 1 July 2010 in Beijing, and broadcasts on satellite, internet and mobile phone. Its goal is to “present an international vision with a Chinese perspective”, according to its director Li Congjun; it wants to compete with the US’s CNN and the UK’s BBC. CNCWorld’s ambition is to be present on all continents and to add news bulletins in Japanese, Russian, Portuguese, Arabic and French. The channel was created after the Chinese government’s announcement in January 2009 of a project estimated to cost $6bn, covering China Central TV (CCTV); the Xinhua Agency; and People’s Daily, the international English-language version of the Communist Party organ Renmin Ribao. The finance was motivated by a desire to improve China’s image abroad and to make Beijing’s voice carry. These media are completely dependent on the central government, via the State Council’s Information Office. In contrast to western media – even those financed by a public licence fee, whose directors are appointed by the authorities – the Chinese media’s editorial line expresses only the government’s diplomatic directions. Beijing’s objective is to broadcast its news everywhere, without worrying about profitability. This also involves radio, especially in Africa, where it is the main source of news. On 27 February 2006 Radio China International (RCI) inaugurated an FM channel broadcasting in Chinese, English and Swahili in the

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Kenyan capital Nairobi (home to Xinhua’s African head office since 1987) – over 5,000 km from Beijing. This was the first of about a hundred radio stations. In August 2010 RCI opened offices in Dakar (Senegal) and Niamey (Niger) with the ultimate goal of broadcasting in French, Chinese and local languages. In Africa, people now learn about EU decisions through the news from the 10 or so correspondents of Xinhua’s Brussels bureau. And it is increasingly through Xinhua and its partnership agreements that Cameroonians follow developments in Chad, the Congolese follow those in Tunisia, and Zimbabweans those in Senegal.

South-South exchange This puts the Chinese point of view at the heart of political life in Africa and in the majority of the least developed countries in Asia and South America. This includes the “pragmatic” approach that has led to China’s abstention from the UN Security Council vote on resolutions against Sudan over Darfur (1). The attraction of this “SouthSouth cooperation between developing countries” is that it involves no interference, let alone lessons in good governance, on human rights, corruption, environmental standards or employment law. Journalists with Chinese media abroad, an army of entry-level workers, are recruited less for their professional competence than for their loyalty to the regime. They are intelligence agents, empire representatives, promoters of a “mutually beneficial cooperation”, and megaphones of official rhetoric. “Here, if you want journalists to come

to your press conference, you have to give them a present,” said the president of an association in Bamako (Mali), who did not want his name used. He was referring to envelopes handed to journalists along with press communiqués, which they then reproduce willingly. What journalist requesting permission to report in Africa, or asking for an interview, has not been asked how much he would cost? The African and pan-African press is very used to this, and has always gone along with massaged sales figures and “exclusive interviews” that are merely advertorials. In September 2010 professional press organisations in Niger and Senegal decided to condemn this custom “where everyone wins” (not going so far as to call it corruption). They reminded newspaper directors that it was their responsibility to pay employees, and demanded an end to payments to journalists by the private and public sector.

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This situation, where truly independent media can be counted on the fingers of one hand, was partly inherited from “Françafrique” (the web of relationships between France and its former African colonies). But it is about to be replaced by “Chinafrica”. African media are now fed by the Xinhua Agency with its 10,000 employees, including about 150 correspondents in Africa. In Togo, whose relationship with China is “set fair”, the government internet portal links to the Xinhua Agency under a 2007 partnership agreement. The agency has concluded similar agreements with Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Burundi, Syria, Egypt and dozens of other countries, where it has also become a main news source.

Broadcasting to the world Xinhua broadcasts about 1,000 bulletins a day to its subscribers around the world, in Chinese, English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Russian and Portuguese. It also transmits articles and reports to newspapers in 150 countries, exchanges photos with dozens of press agencies, and supplies its subscribers with a ready-to-run news service. TV images and radio reports are also exchanged. The goal is not so much giving African or Arab agencies the opportunity of having their news picked up in China, but to enable China to benefit from channels in Africa which allow it to broadcast its vision of the world. While Africa is almost absent from western newspapers, Xinhua’s French

language site puts Africa in third place, behind its China and World sections, but ahead of Economy, Culture, Sports, and Society and Health. Last August People’s Daily opened an office in the Nigerian capital Abuja. Its website there now publishes all the football scores, as well as articles on Nigerian politics and economics. The constant round of seminars to which journalists and African civil servants are invited makes valuable allies. But it also aims to create interpersonal relationships that will help muffle popular protests triggered by the practices of Chinese companies in the countries where they have established themselves. The International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF) considers the Senegalese Press Agency (APS), founded in 1959, to be the most consulted agency in West Africa’s French-speaking countries. Its partners are International Islamic News

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2 2 EtheEMirror mouthpiece of the Organisation of the ➼ (the Islamic Conference), the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the OIF, and now Xinhua.

In 2009 the African Press Agency (APA), the continent’s first private agency, based in Dakar, received $12,500 in financial support from the Chinese embassy in Senegal, in the form of a TV camera and a subscription to its services. Was this a first step in garnering favour? Xinhua, which was called Red China News Agency until 1949, is not just a press agency. In China, where it is considered to be “the ears, eyes, throat and tongue of the

Party” (2), it has an absolute monopoly over news broadcasting and depends entirely on the authorities. Its rank is that of a ministry. Since it has no commercial objective, unlike the global press agencies Agence France-Presse (AFP), Britain’s Reuters and American Associated Press (AP), its mission is strategic. AFP covers 65 countries with 110 bureaus and 50 correspondents; Reuters has 150 correspondents; and AP has bureaus in 72 countries. In 2009 Xinhua had 100 bureaus; by July 2010 it had 130. This policy of expansion will, according to Newsweek, eventually mean Xinhua has 6,000 journalists outside China (3). ❙

(1) Philip S Golub, “La Chine, l’Iran et le Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU”, La valise diplomatique, Le Monde diplomatique (French website), 15 April 2010. (2) Wang Heyuan, “A quoi servent les publications internes de l’agence Xinhua?”, Perspectives Chinoises, no 5-6, Hong Kong, July-August 1992. (3) Isaac Stone Fish and Tony Dokoupil, “All the Propaganda That’s Fit to Print”, Newsweek, New York, 3 September 2010.

Reasons for YIP By Reinoud Meijer

I saw a video of a German professor recently, who spoke at a conference. He was telling how his father used to say that what separated man from animal was stupidity. It took him 54 years in which he was an advocate for sustainable development to have to admit that there is a lot of truth in that statement. There are no stupid cows. They do exactly as is best and suitable for them. Whereas us humans, how utterly and willingly thick we often prove ourselves to be! We can build airplanes. From the first man digging in the earth for the raw iron to the last hovering the cabin before the plane leaves the works. And what do we do with them? We use them to put kiwis on European tables instead of apples. Nothing wrong with kiwis, I like them, but on the whole, what does this add to civilization? Where is the cultural and human development that really matters in doing this? How much of our incredible innovative powers are used up and tied up in things that really don’t move us further? Recently I find myself wondering to what extent we create scenarios in our physical and social surroundings in order to (consciously or subconsciously) catalyse a crisis that will force us to change/develop, because we are unable to force ourselves to that same development or change from within. To what extent do I/we project things into the world that really have no place there, but should be tackled inside us instead? Especially with the planet in crisis, it seems urgent to me to be clear on what are ‘real’ challenges, and what are ‘alibi crises’ we create for ourselves because we know no other way to make the change inevitable. We have one shared existence, one source and one planet that we have to manage with.

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We cannot afford to project our inability to change/ develop into that world until it comes round hitting us in the face and forcing us to change. Not much longer anyway… At the same time as feeling stupid and inadequate, I have an almost naïve, fundamental trust in people and development, and in the fact that decisions can alter both for the better. I guess as my answer to ‘what differs man from animal?’ I would have to say the ability to decide. I feel that in the capacity to decide, lays the most tremendous and humane potential and much of our freedom. I see a world full of everything we need to become everything we are meant to be. We have all the skills, the knowledge and resources, but fail to put them together in a way that makes each part a necessary part in the whole; put them together in a way that makes each part so, that its purpose derives from the whole it is a part of. I see so many symptoms of part being deprived of their purpose and being lost, as they have lost the connection or have no idea of the whole they would have to derive it from. I see it in people, professions, cultures and countries. It might be naïve, but I truly believe that we have what it takes. It’s there, or ‘out there’. I believe and continue to believe that ‘we can do it’. It’s up to us to decide. We can decide to renegotiate values, to rearrange and connect the parts that are displaced in new and healthy ways, to use the best of our abilities to serve rather than consume our livelihood. ❙

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The John le Carré of Ulster loyalism

by Colin Murphy

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Even as the Northern Irish peace process has consolidated and the world’s attention has turned elsewhere, one writer remains marginalised because of his plays.

Below:

One evening in November 2005, as Gary Mitchell sat on his sofa at home in a Belfast suburb, watching Rangers play Porto on the telly, he heard his wife shout from the kitchen: “They’re on top of the car!” Then, she shouted, “They’re smashing the windows! It’s on fire!”

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Gary Mitchell

He grabbed a baseball bat, and rushed outside. There was a series of small explosions as the tyres on the burning car – his car – burst. Behind him, his wife had panicked; she had picked up their sevenyear-old son and fled out the back of the house. When the police arrived, hours later, Mitchell asked what had taken them so long. “We were busy with the rest of your family,” they said. His family’s homes had also been targeted, as had that of a stranger mistaken for one of his family. “What’s going on?” he asked the two policemen. “You should stop writing these plays that annoy people,” said one. “Or just leave,” said the other. “Stopping writing just wasn’t an option,” says Mitchell, when we meet in Belfast. “So I took my family, and we left.”

’The Taigs will get you’ Gary Mitchell was an unlikely playwright. Though “the Troubles” (as the Northern Irish conflict is known) has produced an extensive body of artistic work (1), none of it has come from where

Mitchell comes from. That is an area north of Belfast called Rathcoole. In 1965, when he was born, Rathcoole was an area of mixed religion and social class. But by the mid 1970s the population had fallen by half, and it had become a garrison of working-class (and unemployed) loyalism, dominated by paramilitary organisations such as the Ulster Defence Association, or UDA (2). Mitchell’s first encounter with the UDA came in 1974 when he attempted to cross a barricade set up at the entrance to Rathcoole, during the Loyalist Workers’ Strike, in order to visit some friends. “Outside Rathcoole are Taigs,” the UDA told him. “These Taigs will get you and they will hurt you, or worse.” The “Taigs” were Catholics. Though Mitchell didn’t know any, and his parents held no bias, the Taigs became the bogeymen of his boyhood. And, gradually, “the fear of the bogeyman turned to hatred”. “When I look back now, the journey is clear: to become a man in that culture, you cast off your fear of the Taig, and you start hating the Taig, and you start plotting against the Taig. The notion of not leaving Rathcoole because you were afraid is transformed into the intention to leave Rathcoole to hurt people, and then rush back into the safety of Rathcoole.” He eventually tried to join the UDA, but his father, who had previously been a member (and had left, disillusioned by rising criminality), blocked him. Mitchell had by then left school, early, and was barely educated. “I doubt I could read a newspaper properly.” Eventually, he got a lowly job in the civil service, and the bleakness of it convinced him that he had to educate himself. He joined an amateur drama group, but grew quickly frustrated that none of what they did reflected the reality of where he was from. “You keep going on about there being no plays about Protestants,” his colleagues (who were Catholics) told him. “So go away and write one.”

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He bought a dictionary and a thesaurus, and started to read them, daily. Gradually, he noticed his articulacy improve. He stumbled upon a BBC radio-play competition, and entered. He won. He wrote more radio plays, and then some plays for a Belfast theatre company. When his second stage play didn’t get on in Belfast, the script wound its way to the Irish national theatre, the Abbey, in Dublin. In a Little World of Our Own shone a light inside the murky world of post-ceasefire loyalism, revealing previously hidden tensions underlying the universally acclaimed peace process. It won that year’s Irish Theatre Award for best new play. The veteran political commentator Dick Walsh wrote that it “bristles with edginess and menace, as a generation that has grown up with guns and masks and baseball bats is asked to talk to people it has been taught to hate”. But in Rathcoole, there was less interest in the content of what Mitchell was saying than in where he was saying it. “I was spat at in the street, and punched in the chest. It was the fact that Catholics were clapping, that I was getting awards from Taigs in Dublin. They thought I must be a traitor.” Unlike the Northern nationalist community, where even active politicians double as writers (Gerry Adams, for example, has published memoirs and fiction), the loyalist community had no tradition of art or literature. “It’s our inferiority complex. We believe we can’t be writers.” Mitchell proved the exception. He wrote further plays for the Abbey, and then for the Royal Court in London. One of his plays, As the Beast Sleeps, was filmed by the BBC in 2002 (although not available commercially, it remains one of the outstanding Irish films of recent years). He became, effectively, the John le Carré of Ulster loyalism, doing for the peace process what le Carré did for the cold war: he took the grubby compromises, conflicted loyalties and sickening violence that underlay the rhetoric, and brought it to the stage in taut thrillers with anti-heroes at their heart. His anti-heroes, though, were not flattered. He was repeatedly warned off, sometimes with violence. At one point, somebody shot through the window of his home study. But the incidents didn’t seem organised, and he didn’t pay much attention. “Growing up in Rathcoole, somebody tells you they’re ‘going to fucking

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kill you’ every single day. I didn’t see the pattern.”

That pattern became clear in retrospect when his car was firebombed. That made him, briefly, a cause célèbre. “One of the most talked about voices in European theatre is in hiding,” reported The Guardian. “There were tons of letters and articles,” recalls Mitchell. “But that attention lasted about a day. The real things that I needed were missing.” What were they? “Productions.” “These are my weapons. They can use firebombs and guns, shoot through my window, blow up my car. My weapons are plays. Before the firebombing of my car I had 16 stage plays produced in Belfast, Dublin, London and Londonderry. I had 18 radio plays broadcast on the BBC, and three television plays, and won nine awards. Since the firebombing, I’ve done four radio plays and one stage play” (3).

No longer so shocking Why such a fall off? He doesn’t know. His writing suffered initially, because of the dislocation, but he is writing furiously again, and has numerous scripts under consideration with theatres and commissioning editors. But it may be that the world outside has moved on. The young man who emerged to tell a shocking story of the bleak reality of disaffected loyalism is no longer so young, and that story is no longer so shocking.

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Mitchell proved the exception. He wrote further plays for the Abbey, and then for the Royal Court in London. One of his plays, As the Beast Sleeps, was filmed by the BBC in 2002.

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Part of the reason it is no longer so shocking, of course, is because he has told it so well. For Mark Phelan of Queen’s University Belfast, Mitchell’s plays provided a “necessary counterpoint” to the “relentlessly upbeat” coverage of the peace process. But Phelan worries that Mitchell, paradoxically, might be trapped by the very community that has excluded him. “Working class loyalism was the most underrepresented constituency in Ireland. But Gary Mitchell helped to change that. He covered that terrain for ten to fifteen years. So where does he go from here?” Anthony McIntyre, a former IRA prisoner who became an outspoken dissident voice within republicanism, had similar experiences to Mitchell, though never as severe. He set up an influential online “free speech” journal, The Blanket (4), “because society is better off when it knows more rather than less”.

➼

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2 6 EtheEMirror McIntyre believed that the republican ➼ leadership had constructed “a regime

of truth” (quoting Foucault) in order to persuade the nationalist community that the peace process did not involve reneging on their core objective of a united Ireland. In enforcing that regime, they were prepared to isolate and alienate dissident voices – such as his own. “I was ostracised. They picketed my home. I was physically attacked on the street once.” But, as the political process has evolved, this regime has dissipated. “It’s much easier to be a dissenting voice in nationalist Belfast now than it was in my day [1997 to 2007].” Gary Mitchell wonders might that be the case, too, in loyalist Belfast. “I still have a deep and sincere understanding of the people that attacked my home,” he

says. “I don’t support the action that they took, but I support their right to feel what they feel. I still want to drag people out of Rathcoole and get them into the arts. I would love them to see films in the cinema about themselves. I would love to make a film in Rathcoole. It is six years later. Maybe this is the time.” Is it safe? He doesn’t know. “It would be a good challenge though, wouldn’t it?” ❙ (1) See «Culture of Northern Ireland» on Wikipedia. (2) The Ulster Defence Association was formed in the early 1970s in response to the threat from the Irish Republican Army (IRA). (3) These radio plays, including Forgotten People, were produced by Kevin Reynolds for RTÉ, and are available on the radio website. A radio interview with Mitchell by Colin Murphy is also available.

Planting trees brings prosperity to Nagaland In India’s remote mountainous Nagaland region, food security was boosted and the health of threatened forests restored. With new cash crops, many residents from the region’s 1,000 villages report increases in income, up to a five-fold rise. For the first time, women have purchased land and established tree nurseries. Increased prosperity has led to better nutrition, improved homes, and education for children.

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The remarkable transition in land use The remarkable transition in land use practices and resource management flows practices from the work of NEPED — the Nagaland and resource Environmental Protection and Economic management Development project — funded by the government of Nagaland, IDRC, and the flows from Canadian International Development the work Agency from 1994 to 2006. of NEPED Old agricultural ways under threat funded For generations, Naga farmers practiced subsistence agriculture, under jhum—a by the sophisticated form of slash and burn government agriculture, clearing plots to plant rice of Nagaland, intermixed with dozens of other crops. After two or three seasons, the farmers would IDRC, and leave the land fallow for 12 or more years. the Canadian That way, “the soil would be rested and International its nutrients replenished,” explains Merle now program leader with IDRC’s Development Faminow, Agriculture and Food Security program. Agency from But with rapid population growth and 1994 to 2006. greater demands for food, the fallow

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period grew shorter. Erosion increased, forest cover and biodiversity declined, soil quality diminished – factors that could have an impact on food security. www.themirrorinspires.com

Income streams lead to sustainability The NEPED team argued that jhum could be made sustainable and food security assured if farmers had a way to earn an income. Their strategy was simple. Since farmers already planted a variety of crops, why not ask them to plant another perennial crop —commercially viable trees, such as alder which also fixes nitrogen in the soil. This, they thought, would provide an economic incentive to not clear the land until the trees matured. More than 7 million trees were planted in the first six years. The environmental impact is clear. “It’s obvious to any observer that tree cover in Nagaland is much more than what it used to be,” reports NEPED project administrator Vengota Nakro. NEPED deputy team leader Raj Verma says that the economic incentive local people now have to preserve the forest was key to this success. Researchers and farmers worked together to find the best means of planting. Soil conservation efforts — using traditional knowledge and methods — accompanied the planting. Later, shade-dependent cash crops such as ginger and cardamom were introduced to give farmers a more immediate source of cash. In effect, the research provided the missing link between the traditional farming systems and the modern cash-oriented systems. Women have been active participants, first planting their own test plots then establishing nurseries to supply trees on a commercial scale. ❙

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No end for high food prices in upcoming decade

H “ While higher prices are generally good news for farmers, the impact on the poor in developing countries who spend a high proportion of their income on food can be devastating.

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High global food prices and volatile commodity markets are expected to persist over the next decade, according to a joint report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). These issues are likely to be salient points of discussion at this week’s meeting of agriculture ministers from the Group of 20 (G-20) leading economies. The Agricultural Outlook 2011-2020, released on 17 June, focuses on the global state of agriculture for the next ten years. The report indicates that although strong harvests are expected to push down commodity prices later this year, real prices are projected to be an average of 20 percent higher for cereals and 30 percent higher for meats over the 2011-2020 period, in comparison with the last decade. Continued high food prices could be disastrous for populations in developing countries. At the press conference for the report’s release, OECD SecretaryGeneral Angel Gurría observed that, “While higher prices are generally

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good news for farmers, the impact on the poor in developing countries who spend a high proportion of their income on food can be devastating.” Gurría later warned that “people are going be forced, either to literally eat less, or find other sources of income.” Adding to these problems, the average annual growth rate for global agricultural production is projected to decline from 2.6 percent to 1.7 percent in the next decade due to high energy and fertiliser costs. The report does suggest a possible solution to volatile food prices in the form of farm investments. In a statement, FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf emphasised the importance of “boosting investment in agriculture and reinforcing rural development,” especially for smallholder farmers in low-income food-deficit countries. Price volatility could also be mitigated if governments provide better information on commodity markets. “If we’re trying to avoid volatility, information is absolutely of the essence,” said Gurría. Diouf affirmed Gurría’s statement, noting that an improved information system

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“ would also be key for improving the transparency of these markets.

were already rising thanks to marketdriven growth in ethanol demand.

One positive finding of the report was that global agriculture production is expected to continue outpacing population growth, with production per capita rising slightly. However, this is not the case for all regions: in sub-Saharan Africa, local production is unlikely to keep pace with population-driven demand, leading to increased food deficits.

Maize prices were inflated by as much as 17 percent in this year alone, according to Babcock’s findings. In addition, had US ethanol production not increased from its 2004 levels, 2009 maize prices would have been 21 percent lower than they actually were.

Biofuels deemed a culprit in food price increases Invigorating the “food for fuel” debate, the Outlook reports that the projected rise in commodity prices can be blamed on expanding biofuel production. By 2020, it is expected that 13 percent of global coarse grain production, 15 percent of vegetable oil production, and 30 percent of sugar cane production will be used for the production of biofuels. Diouf called for cuts to biofuel subsidies, arguing that “the problem is not biofuels themselves…the problem is the policies adopted by certain governments to encourage the development of biofuels.” Similar concerns about the impact of biofuel subsidies on food prices came up in a June 2011 ICTSD study, prepared by economics professor Bruce Babcock of Iowa State University. His findings revealed that US ethanol subsidies - which amount to approximately US$6 billion a year magnified increases in maize prices, which

In mid June, the US Senate voted to make substantial cuts to ethanol subsidies; however, the bill still requires approval from the US House of Representatives and President Barack Obama to become law. The Senate also voted to cut a tariff on imported ethanol; for more, see our article on the USBrazil cotton controversy in this issue.

Invigorating the “food for fuel” debate, the Outlook reports that the projected rise in commodity prices can be blamed on expanding biofuel production.

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G-20 Agriculture Ministers meeting crucial forum for these issues The food security issues reviewed in the Agricultural Outlook will likely be discussed at the meeting of G-20 Agriculture Ministers, which is currently taking place in Paris. These discussions are being held as a precursor to the November G-20 Summit. French Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire told reporters on Friday that it is crucial for these G-20 agricultural ministers to reach an agreement on resolving the growing food security problem. Le Maire cautioned that without an agreement in Paris on these issues, the next hundred years could become “the century of hunger.” ❙ www.themirrorinspires.com

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c o m m o n ?

Nothing, except they’re on the speakers circuit.

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Joint research tackles challenges to improve rural life

Government-backed initiatives that are bridging the urban and rural divide (BURD) projects will address the research challenges of making life in the countryside a sustainable option, a topic agreed to be of importance to both nations. The BURD panel held in London was chaired by Dr Rajagopala Chidambaram, principal science adviser to the government of India. Successful projects will be funded by more than seven million pounds from the Research Councils UK (RCUK), with resources from the Department of Science & Technology of India (DST). More than seven million pounds from the RCUK, with resources from the DST, will fund successful projects. Those recommended for funding are: Rural Hybrid Energy Enterprise Systems - led by the University of Nottingham and the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore examines research into small-scale energy generation systems in rural areas that can be adapted in the UK and India to enable communities to tackle energy poverty, increase revenue generation and create opportunities. The BioCPV project - led by Heriot-Watt University and Visva-Bharati University seeks to develop an integrated system of solar energy, biomass and waste power generation, and hydrogen generation and storage to provide low-cost integrated renewable energy to the countryside.

Distributing Industrial Optimisation Tasks to Rural Workers - led by the University of Strathclyde and IIT Allahbad - aims to develop a business model that demonstrates that many industrial tasks can be outsourced to rural workers and provide a sustainable source of skilled employment. In addition, fuel cells have been identified by India and the UK as an area of significance in providing solutions to the problem of meeting future energy needs. At least three million pounds from the Research Councils UK Energy Programme with resources from India through the Department of Science & Technology (DST) has been committed to collaborative research projects addressing this area. The four projects recommended for funding under the India-UK Collaborative Research Initiative in Fuel Cells are: Jetcell - led by Cambridge University and the Non-Ferrous Materials Technology Development Centre in Hyderabad - will focus on developing solid oxide fuel cells, using ink-jet printing technology, that operate at much lower temperatures, to address issues such as cost reduction, durability and reliability of the fuel cell.

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Developing fuel cells and investigating how to make rural living more sustainable are just two of the many high-tech projects being researched in a partnership of leading scientists in India and the United Kingdom.

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Trump (Trusted Mobile Platform for the Self-Management of Chronic Illness in Rural Areas) - led by the University of Aberdeen and the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. This will explore the potential of mobile technologies in the development of a platform to support chronic disease management in rural areas of the UK and India.

Image by Lucy Davies/Oxfam.

Scaling the Rural Enterprise - led by the University of Nottingham and the Society for Economic & Social studies. This aims to establish the next generation of enterprise where mobile devices are used to empower rural communities and scale up the activities of their businesses.

Empowering people: India and the UK are working to make life in both countries’ rural areas a sustainable option, a topic agreed to be of importance to both nations.

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3 2 EtheEMirror Mind The Gap - jumping the hurdles ➼ limiting polymer fuel-cell performance

and commercialisation - led by Imperial College London and the Centre for Fuel Cell Technology in Chennai.

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The UK government’s focus on India underlines the importance it places on the bilateral relationship.

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The team is researching into reducing the necessary quality of fuel needed for the fuel cell, cutting the cost and robustness of the catalysts in the system and improving overall efficiency. Advancing Biogas Use Through FuelFlexible SOFCs - led by the University of St Andrews and the Central Glass & Ceramic Research Institute in Kolkata. This will look to improve the performance of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) electrodes for converting biogas into electricity, thus generating energy from waste. Using fuel cells in this way could potentially increase the efficiency of this process significantly compared with the process of thermal conversion employed today. Modelling Accelerated Ageing & Degradation of SOFCs - led by Keele University and the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras - will be modelling accelerated ageing and degradation of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) to serve as a useful tool to understand the degradation mechanism.

The understanding gained from these experiments and the developed model can be used to develop materials that give improved performance or can perform at lower temperatures, reduced degradation and better tolerance to contaminants in the fuel. The UK government’s focus on India underlines the importance it places on the bilateral relationship across a range of policy areas. From security, defence, business and trade, to development, education, science and research these projects are an excellent example of working together to improve areas of mutual interest. The Research Councils UK has committed at least 10 million pounds to the initiatives over a three-year period, with matched resources from the Department of Science & Technology of India. Contact details:

Name: Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council Website: www.epsrc.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0)1793 444 404 Email: pressoffice@epsrc.ac.uk Address: Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Polaris House, North Star Avenue, Swindon, Wiltshire, United Kingdom, SN2 1ET

BRICS looking to formalise growing economic influence

H “

Heads of state from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - the so-called BRICS countries are calling for a reshuffling of the global and financial political order.

The five At a recent meeting, trade naturally BRICS featured on the agenda, with the BRICS countries reaffirming a commitment to a “rule-based multilateral trading system embodied together in the World Trade Organization and a represent successful, comprehensive and balanced around conclusion of the Doha Development Round.” Brazil, India, China and South $12 trillion Africa further extended their full support in value, of Russia’s accession to the WTO, which compared to Russia hopes to complete by the end of the $15 trillion this year. US economy Sanya Declaration calls for reforms

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The one-day summit resulted in the Sanya Declaration, named after the host

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city. The declaration addressed the groups “broad vision” for “shared prosperity” and echoed calls for reform made during previous summit meetings. BRICS leaders, for instance, reiterated their view that the UN Security Council should be more representative, while supporting Brazil’s, India’s, and newly-joined South Africa’s aspirations to play a greater role in the multilateral institution. The declaration also repeated calls for reform of the Bretton Woods institutions - the World Bank and International Monetary Fund that constitute the international monetary system. Specifically, the statement called for a larger role for emerging and developing economies in those institutions, which have been dominated by developed countries since their emergence after World War II.

Unlike previous summits, however, the group addressed specifics on changes to the world financial system other than greater representation at the IMF. Among the recommendations listed in the declaration were an agreement for development banks in BRICS countries to open mutual credit lines in local currencies and a call for “a broad-based international reserve currency system providing stability and certainty.”

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prices while China, a major importer, has been criticising those prices.

In fact, the declaration calls for a stabilisation of commodities prices through regulation of derivatives markets for commodities, among others. Despite their differences, the five countries, at least in statements, have agreed to “continue further expanding and deepening economic, trade and investment cooperation” between each other.

This constituted a knock on the current dollar-based system and Washington’s monetary policy, which the BRICS leaders think has allowed the dollar to depreciate. While failing to cite specifically what the new reserve currency would be, the members mentioned the currencies that comprise the Special Drawing Rights (SDR), the IMF’s reserve asset, supporting continued debate over the composition of the SDR basket of currencies.

The Sanya Declaration clearly communicates that these countries, which all share the common trait of historically being left out of the group of world economic decision makers, want to translate their growing position in the world into a more representative stake. In particular, some commentators argue that the BRICS forum provides China with a new international vehicle to push its agenda.

The declaration noted that the reforms stem in part from concerns about the potential for “massive” capital flows that can have a destabilising effect on emerging economies.

“The economic size of BRICS countries accounts for about 18 percent of GDP,” said Jin Conrong, a professor of international studies at Beijing’s Renmin University. “But these countries are not the decision makers in the international economic system. They are only the athletes. The Western countries are the rulemakers and judges. Right now, the BRICS countries want to join the judging committee, too.”

In addition, the countries called for cooperation on climate change measures and support for the development and use of renewable energy. The leaders also found common ground in expressing their concern for the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, urging all parties to resolve their differences peacefully.

Emerging economies The five BRICS countries together represent around $12 trillion in value, compared to the $15 trillion US economy, but are on pace to surpass the US by 2020, economists say. More importantly, they represent the engines of growth in the global economy, with China expected to grow by 9.5 percent a year and India 8 percent, while Russia and Brazil are expected to grow at 4 percent.

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Among the recommendations listed in the declaration were an agreement for development banks in BRICS countries to open mutual credit lines in local currencies.

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The meeting brought together Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chinese President Hu Jintao, and South African President Jacob Zuma. ❙

Given their position as the engine for global growth, BRICS leaders have come together to demand a greater voice on the world stage. Nevertheless, the five countries represent divergent political and economic systems and are often competing instead of cooperating. Brazil and India have been worried about the negative effects of an undervalued Chinese currency on their exports. Russia, on the other hand, has been benefiting from soaring oil and commodities www.themirrorinspires.com

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Nelson Mandela by Himself

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It can turn tragedy into hope and victory.

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‘A good pen can also remind us of the happiest moments in our lives, bring noble ideas into our dens, our blood and our souls. It can turn tragedy into hope and victory.’ FROM A LETTER TO ZINDZI

MANDELA, DATED 10 FEBRUARY 1980

The first wholly accurate and authorised record of Nelson Mandela’s most inspiring and historically important quotations. Nelson Mandela by Himself is the complete and fully authorised book of quotations from one of the great leaders of our time. This definitive collection – gathered from privileged access to Mandela’s vast personal archive of private papers, speeches, correspondence and audio recordings – features nearly 2000 quotations, over half of which have never before been published. Categorised for easy reference, Nelson Mandela by Himself is the only authorised and fully authenticated collection of quotations by one of the world’s most inspiring and admired individuals. ❙

RRP: $35.00

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WAR By Junger, Sebastian

War is a narrative about combat: the fear of dying, the trauma of killing

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They were known as “The Rock.” For one year, in 2007-2008, Sebastian Junger accompanied a single platoon of thirty men from the storied 2nd battalion of the U.S. Army, as they fought their way through a remote valley in Eastern Afghanistan. Over the course of five trips, Junger was in more firefights than he can count, men he knew were killed or wounded, and he himself was almost killed. His relationship with these soldiers grew so close that they considered him part of the platoon, and he enjoyed an access and a candidness that few, if any, journalists ever attain.

War is a narrative about combat: the fear of dying, the trauma of killing and the love between platoon-mates who would rather die than let each other down. Gripping, honest, intense, War explores the neurological, psychological and social elements of combat, and the incredible bonds that form between these small groups of men. This is not a book about Afghanistan

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or the ‘War on Terror’; it is a book about the universal truth of all men, in all wars. Junger

theEMirrorE3 set out to answer what he thought of as the ‘hand grenade question’: why would a man throw himself on a hand grenade to save other men he has probably known for only a few months? The answer elusive but profound, and goes to the heart of what it means not just to be a soldier, but to be human.

Sebastian Junger is the bestselling author of The Perfect Storm and A Death in Belmont. He is a contributing editor to Vanity Fair, and has been awarded a National Magazine Award and an SAIS Novartis Prize for journalism. He lives in New York. ❙

RRP $ 28.99

The Beekeeper’s Lament

The honeybee is a miracle. It is the cupid of the natural world. It pollinates crops, making plants bear fruit, and, in turn, helping farmers make money. But in this age of vast industrial agribusiness, never before has so much been asked of such a small wonder. Never before has the honeybee’s future survival been so unclear.

(How one man and half a billion honey bees help feed the world)

By Nordhaus, Hannah

In steps John Miller, a boundingly energetic and charismatic beekeeper, who tasks himself with the care and the sustainable keeping of honeybees.

Hodder & Stoughton

He is descended from America’s first migratory beekeeper, N.E. Miller, who, at the beginning of the 20th century, transported thousands of hives from one crop to another, working the Idahoan clover in summer and the Californian almonds in winter. Back then beekeepers used to pay farmers to keep a few dozen hives on their land. But now farmers pay beekeepers millions of dollars to have their crops pollinated by upwards of ten thousand hives. With the rise of the monocrop and increasingly efficient pesticides, there are simply not enough natural pollinators to complete the massive task of sexing-up millions of acres of almond groves. With bees, an acre of almonds can produce two thousand pounds of nuts. Without bees, that same acre would produce no more than thirty pounds. The Californian almond industry, which currently produces 80% of the world’s almond crop, may control most factors responsible for a booming crop, but it is still utterly dependent on the unpredictable honeybee. As the stresses mount on bee populations, beekeepers like John Miller have been faced with devastating hive losses. Not only do they continue to face traditional, or at least expected, scourges like bears, wax moths, American foulbrood, tracheal mite, and the infamous varroa mite; but they now lose hives in the most mysterious ways. Whole colonies of bees simply fly away, abandoning their hives, an epidemic known by the media as Colony Collapse Disorder. In a remarkable show of research, reporting, and storytelling, Nordhaus tells the complex

RRP $ 29.99

and fascinating story of honeybees in American today, tracking their place in our lives from the first American beekeeping authority, Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth, to the thousands of dedicated individuals who continue to care about honeybees despite all the reasons not to. The Beekeeper’s Lament is an essential history of an unsung animal. A full-time freelance writer since 2001, Hannah covers environmental and outdoor topics and writes general news and cultural pieces about the American West. Her stories have been published in The LA Times, The Financial Times, Outside, High Country News, Bicycling, The Village Voice, Ski Magazine, Powder Magazine, Wilderness, SF Weekly, and other publications. She also pens a regular outdoors column for the Denver Rocky Mountain News. She has received numerous awards for her writing, including Associated Press and California Newspaper Publishing Association awards for feature writing and business reporting. ❙

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With the rise of the monocrop and increasingly efficient pesticides, there are simply not enough natural pollinators

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Struggle For Freedom:

Aung San Suu Kyi – A Biography By Bengtsson, Jesper

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While her struggle has fascinated the whole world, it has also meant that she has been kept apart from her family.

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Aung Sun Suu Kyi was confined to house arrest in 1989 by the junta in Burma and since then she has been cut off from the world outside. Few people have seen or spoken to her during this time, yet despite her isolation and forced reticence, Suu Kyi - leader of Burma’s National League for Democracy and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize - remans an enduring symbol for hope and freedom to her supporters within Burma and abroad, and one of the most powerful symbols of human rights of our era. While her struggle has fascinated the whole world, it has also meant that she has been kept apart from her family. Her husband Michael Aris died in 1999 without their having been able to meet to say farewell to each other. Their sons Alexander and Kim have had to live most of their lives without any contact with their mother. Who is she? And what drives her to make such huge personal sacrifices for her country? In Struggle for Freedom journalist and author Jesper Bengtsson draws a portrait of one of the most talked about political personalities of our times. He demonstrates that Aung Sun Suu Kyi’s magnetism is a matter of charisma and courage, but also that she personifies one of the major questions of our era: what conditions are necessary for the emergence of democracy

MEET DISCUSS EVALUATE

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out of profoundly authoritarian systems? Jesper Bengtsson is a Swedish journalist and author. He has followed developments in Burma for more than ten years. Jesper is the chairman of the Swedish section of Reporters sans frontières [Reporters Without Borders]. ❙

Price $ 39.99

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The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood

By Gleick, James

The story of information begins in a time profoundly unlike our own, when every thought and utterance vanished as soon as it was born. From the invention of scripts and alphabets to the long misunderstood “talking drums” of Africa, James Gleick tells the story of information technologies that changed the very nature of human consciousness.

Price $ 39.99

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From the invention of scripts and alphabets to the long misunderstood “talking drums” of Africa

He provides portraits of the key figures contributing to the inexorable development of our modern understanding of information: Charles Babbage, the idiosyncratic inventor of the first great mechanical computer; Ada Byron, the poet’s brilliant and doomed daughter, who became the first true programmer; pivotal figures like Samuel Morse and Alan Turing; and Claude Shannon, the creator of information theory itself. And then the information age comes upon us. Citizens of this world become experts willy-nilly: aficionados of bits and bytes. And they sometimes feel they are drowning, swept by a deluge of signs and signals, news and images, blogs and tweets. The Information is the story of how we got here and where we are heading. It will transform readers’ view of its subject. James Gleick is our leading chronicler of science and modern technology. His first book, Chaos, a National Book

Award finalist, has been translated into twenty-five languages. His best-selling biographies, Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman and Isaac Newton, were short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize. The Information was seven years in the making. Gleick divides his time between New York and Florida.

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Canadian Funding for a Green Revolution in Africa

As food prices rise around the globe, Africa faces increased challenges to feed its citizens. IDRC’s grant will support AGRA’S innovative research to improve agricultural productivity and access to markets. Spiralling food prices and economic instability have hurt the poor, some of whom spend nearly 70% of their incomes on food. But relying on food aid or commercial food imports is not a sustainable option for Africa. As part of the solution, Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is providing a CA$3.3 million grant to the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). AGRA, founded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, works to make Africa food

secure and prosperous by promoting rapid, sustainable agricultural growth on small farms. IDRC’s grant will support AGRA’S innovative research to improve agricultural productivity and access to markets. Funding will seek to strengthen the agricultural policy-making environment in West Africa and ensure that countries make the leap from policy to action to ensure agricultural growth and food security. “On a continent where initiatives tend to be led on a small scale, it is tremendously exciting to work closely with an organization of and for Africans that has made such a large impression on the African continent.” said IDRC President David Malone. ❙ www.themirrorinspires.com

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Blood on the Stone

Ian Smillie in his own words

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My interest in diamonds started 43 years ago, by chance. I went to Sierra Leone as a CUSO volunteer and was posted to the Koidu area, in the centre of the diamond mining area. There were 5,000 illicit miners in Koidu – it really was a Wild West scene.

responsibility for ending the diamond wars, but the three years of Kimberley Process negotiations were critical to ending those wars. Suddenly there was a bright spotlight on the diamond industry, and everybody who was behaving badly had to stop.

I didn’t expect that diamonds would be part of what I’d be doing 43 years later. But a war started in Sierra Leone in 1990 and by 1995 we had a terrible situation. Half the population was displaced, most of the schools were closed, clinics had been destroyed. There was little in the way of international peacekeeping.

The Kimberley Process has a couple of serious problems, however. One of the most serious is that it operates on the basis of consensus. Every government that is party to the Kimberley Process must agree on an initiative or it won’t happen. If you want to expel Venezuela, for example, it only takes one country – Venezuela, for example – to object.

Back in Ottawa, we formed a small group called the Sierra Leone Working Group, hosted by Partnership Africa Canada. A Sierra Leonean-Canadian, Adrian Labor, who worked at IDRC at the time, said: “This is actually about the diamonds, and until somebody does something about them, the conflict will never be over.”

Ian Smillie traces his involvement in the Kimberley Process struggle to So we began the study, The Heart of the halt conflict Matter, which turned into a 12-year project and was a major factor in the start of the diamonds, Kimberley Process negotiations. In May which have 2000, the South African government called together NGOs, industry, and governments fuelled in the town of Kimberley, to discuss African wars whether a solution could be reached. that cost By January 2003, we had the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme for rough millions of diamonds. lives. He The scheme covers 75 countries and describes the 98% or more of the world’s trade in rough diamonds. There’s no treaty – it’s simply campaign in governments who came to the meeting his new book, the and said they wanted to be in. But there Blood on the were conditions: They had to pass national Stone: Greed, legislation saying they would conform to minimum standards in the Kimberley Corruption Process. So Congo, South Africa, the United States, Canada, China, Sri Lanka, the and War in European Union, Russia, etc., are all in. the Global They all agreed that they will not trade Diamond rough diamonds with any country that is Trade, conot in the Kimberley Process. And they will not export diamonds to any country unless published they have a Kimberley Certificate saying by IDRC and the diamonds are clean. The scheme has the force of national law in more than 70 Anthem countries, which makes it much tougher Press. than any United Nations treaty.

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The Kimberley Process can’t claim direct

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The Kimberley Process needs to end this ridiculous decision-making arrangement and introduce independent third-party monitoring. Major controversies that currently surround Venezuelan and Zimbabwean diamonds cannot be solved because of this issue, seriously compromising the ability of the Kimberley Process to guarantee conflict-free diamonds.

Diamond Development Initiative Diamonds are mined in 16 African countries. In some, they’ve been a real engine of growth, but in many they’ve been a curse. There are about 1.3 million artisanal diamond diggers in Africa, mining the alluvial diamonds that are scattered over vast areas. These are usually not mined by big companies, but they are readily accessible to people with shovels and sieves. In 2004, Partnership Africa Canada and Global Witness, a British NGO that was the other leader in all this, co-sponsored a study called Rich Man, Poor Man, which looked at the problem of artisanal diamond digging. About 15% of the world’s gem diamonds are mined by people who earn less than $1 a day and work in abysmal circumstances. The Kimberley Process is about regulation and was reluctant to address the idea of development solutions to what are essentially development problems. So we created a new organization that complements the Kimberley Process, bringing together industry, interested governments, and civil society to tackle the development challenge that lies at the heart of the conflict diamond problem. The Diamond Development Initiative, an international NGO with headquarters in Ottawa, is now very much a going concern ❙

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