// world citizen // world citizen is meant as a place on the internet, where references to interesting articles are collected, in the subjects of international affairs, globalization, sustainable development, social and society issues, developing world, world citizenship, art & technology, architecture and a little bit lifestyle... // world citizen is a weblog by Christopher Baan Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 0 0 9 3611

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Africa Day 2007 2007-04-19 09:08:43 The Dutch Africa Day 2007, this year in the Hague Polytechnic University and organized by the Evert Vermeer Stichting, was a great success: around 1500 poeple came to listen to speeches, workshops and debates by a.o. Jan Pronk, Mo Ibrahim, Jerry Rawlings, Minister of Development Cooperation Bert Koenders, and many more… Click here for a photo collection from this day Click here for a video report of the Africa Day 2007… A collection of press reports can be found here. Tags Photography & journalism, Articles by Christopher Baan, Actuality, Developing Countries Share This ...

Global warming an issue for UN Security Council 2007-04-17 13:32:25 It’s the first time that such “hard core” issue as international politics, has been spoken about in connection with “soft issues” such as gender rights, HIV/AIDS and peacekeeping. On the eve of the first United Nations Security Council debate on global warming, the UK foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, warned US businesses to invest in carbon-free technology or lose out to Europeans. The theme of the open debate, a UK initiative, is energy, security and climate. The UK currently holds the Security Council presidency. “Clean-tech is going to be a massive market” and the largest economic opportunity of the century, Beckett said on Monday to business leaders in New York, US. “Those who move into that market first – first to design, first to patent, first to set the technology standard, first to sell, first to invest, first to build a brand – have an unparalleled chance to make money,” Beckett said. Read more in the New Scientist& ...

India welcomes ethical investing fund launched by ABN AMRO 2007-04-15 18:18:25 ABN AMRO has launched the first Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) fund in India. The initiative was warmly welcomed in the Indian business media. “India joined the globally growing ethical-investing force,” exults the Asia Times Online. For India the fund is a novelty. Not for ABN AMRO Asset Management, having similar schemes in 24 countries in Europe, Latin America and Asia. Read more in P+ magazine… or in the Asian Times article: Ethical investing comes to India. Tags Sustainable Development, Politics & International Relations, Developing Countries, Globalization & Global Culture Share This ...

Livestock’s long shadow 2007-04-15 16:34:27 Livestock and climate change, an article by Joris Tielens Anyone who wants to help prevent climate change would do better to give up eating meat rather than their car, suggests a recent FAO report. Scientists agree that livestock are a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, but not all of them endorse the proposed solution – more intensive livestock production. Read more in the new magazine The Broker… Tags World, Sustainable Development, Developing Countries Share This ...

Sustainable development is dead! Long live sustainable development! 2007-04-10 04:39:08 A 20-year international effort to put the planet on a path to sustainable development has been woefully inadequate and will need a radical rethink if it is to achieve its aims, says a report published today by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). The report was written by Steve Bass, a senior fellow at IIED and former chief environment advisor at the UK government’s Department for International Development. It is being released to mark the 20th anniversary of the influential Brundtland Commission’s report Our Common Future, which first put sustainable development on the mainstream political agenda. The IIED report calls for: Traditional, local and non-Western approaches to play a major role in a new, globally constructed and globally shared drive towards genuine sustainable development. A shift from the inviolability of economic growth to the inviolability of human well-being and environmental limits. Governments to account for the economic and so ...

India’s Growing Pains 2007-04-05 16:09:40 India’s torrid economic expansion over the past five years delighted investors internationally, but the inevitable shakeouts of rapid growth are starting to rub some nerves raw at home. Thousands of Indian farmers battled police (Telegraph) in the country’s West Bengal state in March, protesting government plans to confiscate their land and turn it into a special economic zone (SEZ). After fourteen deaths and chastisement from groups like Amnesty International, the state abandoned its plans for the SEZ. But after reviewing the SEZ policy, India’s Prime Minister announced in late March that new zones will continue to go up across India (Jurnalo). Read more about the influence of Special Economic Zones in India, at the Council of Foreign Relations… Read more in Frontline: Brave new world of tax exemptions… Tags Asia, World, Politics & International Relations, Developing Countries, Society, Globalization & Global Culture Share This ...

Good 50×70 2007-04-04 15:34:15 Good 50X70 is a communication design competition focusing on five of the burning social issues which the UN recognizes as the plagues of our millennium: AIDS, Environmental damage, Human rights violation, Underdevelopment and War. Designers are invited to submit a 50cm X 70cm poster design addressing one of the categories above. The international jury will initially shortlist 30 entries from each category, ultimately choosing 10 winners from each category. There will be one outright winner, “The Good 50X70″. An exhibit of all the entries will follow the conclusion of the competition. Thanks to Core77 Blog and Anothercompany.blogspot.com Read more on Good 50×70…> Tags Earth & Environment, World, Sustainable Development Share This ...

The most urgent North-South challenge? 2007-04-04 11:01:26 The world’s richest countries, which have contributed by far the most to the atmospheric changes linked to global warming, are already spending billions of dollars to limit their own risks from its worst consequences, like drought and rising seas. But despite longstanding treaty commitments to help poor countries deal with warming, these industrial powers are spending just tens of millions of dollars on ways to limit climate and coastal hazards in the world’s most vulnerable regions — most of them close to the equator and overwhelmingly poor. Read more in NY Times Tags Earth & Environment, World, Sustainable Development, Developing Countries Share This ...

Time for True Market Reform 2007-04-04 10:53:29 The mantra of economists, central bankers, the World Bank, the IMF and others advising developing countries calls for , above all, market reform. Un-packing the jargon, they mean de-regulation, free trade, privatization, convertible currencies, export and debt-led growth and flexible labor markets – summarized as the “Washington Consensus.” Today, the call for market reform is morphing into demands for reforming markets and capitalism itself. Read more at WorldChanging… Tags World, Politics & International Relations, Globalization & Global Culture Share This ...