[Global Poverty] Poverty Reduction: Tourism Fund for Developing Nations

ANALYSIS
June 2, 2005
Posted to the web June 3, 2005

Justina Okpanku
Seoul, Republic of Korea

Nigeria, along with the entire international tourism community, may be heading for a new all time record as tourism funds will soon be made available for less developed countries.

This fact came to light at the ongoing conference where Tourism ministers from all over the world met in Seoul, South Korea, to discuss an initiative of United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) STEP aimed at eradicating poverty through tourism.

The STEP (Sustainable Tourism Eradicating Poverty) Foundation shall provide support to countries and organisations for the conduct of research and development projects that support research and tourism projects that are in line with the UN Millennium Development Goals and meet UN standards as well as conduct promotions, events, fund-raising activities and other self-financed operations to re-info STEP's own image brand and so on.

Already, in response to Africa's request for funding tourism projects, STEP agreed that Cameroon, Ethiopia, Zambia and Mali would constitute the first batch for funding by the STEP Foundation.

But on Wednesday May 25, most of the representatives were hopeful that the beneficiaries of the funds is not the issue now as efforts are still being made to have more countries to support STEP. Nigeria and some of the champions of the STEP initiatives are likely to be considered as they are asking for projects in the region that will help alleviate poverty.

Evidently, Nigeria's tourism industry is facing tougher funding problem than any other circumstances currently faced by the sector.

Apart from exchange of views on how to optimize the role of STEP, the Seoul conference was also a unique occasion for the STEP Working Group chaired by Nigeria to rub minds with ASEAN+3 NTOs ( China, Japan and Korea) at the opening of their Tourism Conference " Strengthening Tourism Partnership among Asean in Sokcho City, Korea in May 25 2005. The representatives include Nigeria representing Africa, Jordan representing Middle East, Brazil representing Latin America, Italy representing Europe, Indonesia representing Asia, and policy makers from international organizations, tourism SME, large enterprises and observers.

Minister of Culture and Tourism Ambassador Franklin Ogbuewu who is the Chairperson of the STEP Working Group was invited to speak at the ASEAN+3.

Ogbuewu played a highly pivoted role in the international conference just like

President Olusegun Obasanjo is playing in the African Union in Paris, France. He carried the representatives along with the different activities lined up for tourism.

The Minister praised the Asians for the achievements they have made in the tourism industry. Thanking them of their support, he explained to the gathering the meaning of STEP saying, " Poverty alleviation through tourism, including STEP Initiative which was approved by Beijing General Assembly remains firmly on track, and poverty is a disease WTO is determined to eradicate at the global level."

The headquarters of STEP Foundation has been established in Seoul, Korea as a result of the patrimony of the Korean government

Apart from the agreement with the Korea to host the UNWTO STEP Foundation, which was signed on September 2004, the first installment on the committed US$5 million has been deposited in a STEP Foundation account in Seoul (US$2 million).

In the same vein, an agreement has been signed with Netherlands development agency to collaborate on STEP projects through contributions in kind in order to enlarge the scope of the agreement. The Dutch contribution to support WTO's technical assistance linked to STEP amounts to two million euros.

Similarly, Macao (in China, close to Hong Kong) has contributed to the STEP Foundation with an initial amount of US$200,000 in November last year.

Ogbuewu, while delivering an official message at the ASEAN+3 conference, urged the Plus Three countries, the major economies in Asia, for increased support or the UNWTO STEP.

He said:" The meting is planned to coincide with the ASEAN +3 NTOs (National Tourism Organisations). We are therefore asking this group to convey the message of STEP Initiative to your governments as you go home."

He added, " In Africa, we are ready to partner and work with the Foundation. It's similar to NEPAD."

Beyond individual countries, ASEAN is promoting itself as a single destination, to encourage more private sector establishments from China, Japan and Korea and ensure that their tourism is immune against disaster as " it is a special melting point of the world's multi- racial, multi-religious and multi-linguistic characteristics and the sights and sounds are not easily replicated elsewhere in the world."

Even though a draft constitution was formulated for the Foundation in accordance with Korea laws and relevant to UN procedures, Korean tourism officials insist STEP should not be seen as Korean baby as it is truly an international organization.

Before the conference came to a close in Yong Pyong resort, near Seoul, Ambassador Dho of Korea was in position to say that "having the headquarter of STEP in Seoul, the world is already coming. I can see how the world is going to develop. The Republic of Korea has the sincere stand to support tourism."

Amassador Dho praised Nigeria and Ogbuewu in particular for his ernergy and commitment towards sustainable tourism.

The approval of the STEP (Sustainable Tourism Eradicating Poverty) Initiative will take place in WTO General Assembly in Dakar, Senegal in September 2005.

[Africa] Marching in Europe Will Not End African Poverty

OPINION
June 2, 2005
Posted to the web June 2, 2005

DR Tajudeen (Kampala)

- The Western mindset infantalises Africans and can't trust them to help themselves!

Sir Bob (aka Saint Bob) Geldof on Tuesday ended speculation about staging a repeat of his 1985 Live Aid concert that raised global awareness about famine in Africa. The successful re-release of the record Do they Know its Christmas time? last Christmas, 20 years after the original one fuelled speculations that Live Aid could be repeated this year too.

Further pressures for this restaging had to do with the prominent role Geldof played in instigating Blair to set up his Commission for Africa and committing him to make Africa a centre piece of British Chairmanship of both the EU and the G8 from next month. A number of campaigns by NGOs and development lobbyists in the UK culminating in the yearlong 'Make Poverty History' campaign are also contributing to shaping the British agenda for the British chairmanship. The symbolism and propaganda value of these coincidences were just overwhelming.

The NGO world is more and more media-driven therefore packaging misery and targeting critical national and global events have become necessary tool kits for massive fundraising. It was difficult to see how Geldof could 'resist the pressure for another show'. Despite initial declarations to the contrary, Tuesday's announcement showed how Bob, despite being the global face of this humanitarian effort, does not have all the aces.

The campaign has been so successful that even if he refused to cooperate they would have manufactured another media saint to front it. It has become a global brand for sleek missionary activity on Africa. The compromise show that will still be regarded by many as Live Aid is called, Live 8. Despite the fact that it will bring together all the big names in Western music the concert will not be just about music and charity. Geldof and his colleagues both from two decades' experience of doing charity and criticisms of opponents have come to accept that charity (while still important) is not the way forward for helping Africa.

It is a very important shift. So Live 8 will focus on the G8 leaders' meeting the same week as the concert is being held in London and other four Western cities. The organisers hope that they will be able to mobilise a million protesters to converge on Edinburgh to demand an end to poverty in Africa, fair trade, debt write-off and more aid for Africa. Similar protests are supposed to take place simultaneously in all G8 countries.

As one of those people critical of aid-addicted Africans and their Western aid pushers, what can I possibly have against the proposed concert and the shift to direct action?

I welcome the shift and salute the courage of those building this solidarity movement for Africa. In particular, shifting the debate away from aid may help to recover some of the loss of self-respect and attacks on the dignity of Africans consequent to constant negative images of starving Africa in order to extract Western sympathy.

It may help to stop seeing Africa and Africans as victims but agents of our own fortunes and misfortunes in collusion with others. More importantly, the shift should help focus on the structural linkages between our mass poverty and the riches of the West.

So pervasive has been the humanitarian disaster ideology about Africa that many westerners do not know that their computers, mobile phones, jewellery, motor cars, museums and many of their day-to-day comfort items began life in Africa as precious metals and raw materials. While all these changes are both desirable and necessary, I cannot help being troubled by the processes.

Even good things can be done in the wrong ways. How is it defensible that 20 years after Live Aid and all the changes that Africa and the rest of the world have witnessed these activities are still being planned and executed without full participation of Africans? It is like trying to shave someone's head in their absence! Who are the big or small African artistes and musicians involved in this concert?

Did they ask Hugh Masekela and he was too tired? Did Miriam Makeba say she was too busy? Is Fela Kuti unable to break an engagement? Where is Baba Maal? What about Yousou Ndor? What of Yvonne Chaka Chaka or Angelica Kidjo? Where are the Congolese musicians? We can go on and on. Even the wider anti- poverty campaigns essentially use Africans as background to be wheeled on and off as the propaganda demands. Could there not have been a symbolic African venue?

Surely, even if many African countries do not have the facilities South Africa does have the infrastructure to broadcast to the whole world? These omissions are not because of ignorance but the result of a mindset that infantilises Africans and cannot trust the Africans to do anything for themselves. Things have to be done for us.

A more fundamental challenge for reversing this 'whiteman's burden' ideology is for us to do things for ourselves and invite those we like instead of wanting to be invited by others to seek solutions to our problems.

No number of marches in Europe and global concerts for Africa will end poverty in Africa if Africans are not marching in their millions demanding and enforcing pro-poor and pro- people policies and governance from their own governments and institutions.

We cannot be spectators in our own affairs.

[Asia] World Bank, China join hands to fight poverty

BEIJING, June 3 -- The World Bank yesterday launched the China Development Marketplace (DM), a programme to identify and support innovative development ideas which can be expanded or replicated in China.

The project is in partnership with the State Council Leading Group Office for Poverty Reduction and Development (LGOP) and the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Country-level Development Marketplaces (CDMs) are "mini marketplaces" for innovative ideas that address local development challenges.

They consist of a competitive process that awards small grants to social innovators, and a knowledge forum to share ideas and provide networking opportunities.

The China DM, which is scheduled to take place on December 7 and 8 this year, will be the first country-level competition among Chinese organizations.

It has chosen as its theme "Supporting Innovations for Scaling-Up Services that Reach the Poor", reflecting the joint efforts of the World Bank and the Chinese Government to work with civil society organizations (CSOs) to fight poverty.

Chinese CSOs will be invited to submit their project concepts during June and July.

An independent team of assessors will select 100 finalists, who will be invited to Beijing for a public exhibition of their projects on December 7 and 8 this year.

Fifty winning projects will be selected to receive funding of up to US$30,000.

Through making these small grants, the China DM is expected to support innovative projects that will help scale-up services for vulnerable groups, such as women and children, the disabled, and ethnic minorities, in areas such as education and health, environmental protection, and resource management.

It is also expected that the China DM will address topics including urban poverty, unemployment and migrant workers, the use of science and technology for poverty reduction, and rural integrated community poverty alleviation.

The World Bank has committed US$250,000 for the China DM and expects to raise additional resources from donors, the business sector and individuals who have an interest in supporting CSOs for their innovative poverty fighting projects, said David Dollar, World Bank Country Director for China.

Similar programmes in other countries raised up to US$1 million, and Dollar hopes the programme in China can set a new record in fund raising.

Since 1998, the World Bank's global Development Marketplace programme has awarded nearly US$40 million to more than 1,000 ground-breaking projects in over 70 countries.

(Source: China Daily)

[Global Poverty] Miles Per Hour bid to Make Poverty History

World debt campaign boosted by Marathon Pedalling Haringtons

By DAVID MARSH
david.marsh@ypn.co.uk
03 June 2005

AN intrepid Leeds family are preparing for the cycling trip of a lifetime as part of the Make Poverty History campaign. Their epic journey will take in Kenya, Tanzania, England and Scotland and culminate at the huge anti-poverty demonstration taking place in Edinburgh on July 2 just days ahead of the G8 Summit in Scotland.

The leaders of the world's eight richest nations will gather at Gleneagles to discuss ways of helping the Third World. Coun Roger Harington (Lab, Harehills), his wife, Ginia, and their children Aidan, 28, Katya, 26 and Dominic, 20, fly to Nairobi on Sunday. Coun Harington and his children will join 12 other cyclists in riding through Kenya and on to Tanzania. Ginia will be part of the back-up team providing support to the cyclists. Along the way they will visit projects run by Christian Aid and the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (Cafod).
After cycling hundreds if miles through Africa, the group will then fly back to the United Kingdom to prepare for the second leg of their journey. They will leave London on June 24 and pedal to Edinburgh to join thousands of other activists campaigning for fairer trade with the Third World, cancellation of debt and the donation of more aid.

While Coun Harington will arrive in Edinburgh by bike, other protesters are turning to more unusual forms of transport. A rickshaw team, led by Bill Phelps, will travel from Southampton to Edinburgh, passing through Leeds on June 25. Coun Harington said: "I have to be honest and say there is a large element of self interest in this. All our family enjoy cycling and this is going to be quite an adventure. "We also feel strongly about the Make Poverty History campaign and this journey presents us with an opportunity to show our support. A suitable response to the problem of poverty from the leaders of the world is long overdue. Chancellor Gordon Brown has made debt cancellation a priority although a great deal more needs to be done."

Bob Geldof this week announced the line-up for Live 8, a series of concerts around the world to coincide with the G8 Summit. Madonna, Coldplay, Sir Paul McCartney and Robbie Williams are among the stars taking in the biggest music event since Live Aid 20 years ago.