The background is, that there is good news out there although
these days it doesn’t seem to make headlines very often. Most don’t know
e.g. 4 out of 8 UN millennium goals have been reached from 2000-2015 and 3
other goals are well on their way to be reached. (source)
In fact, income, education and lifespan have increased while too
many remain negative toward- or unaware
of - progress achieved.
The campaign challenges this negative attitude by providing actual
success stories through social and conventional medias.
Furthermore, the campaign organize a yearly action day, which took
place Thursday September 8 2016 for the 6thth time.
All over Denmark “World’s Best News”-newspapers and fruit juice
were distributed by 1500 volunteers to people going to work and students on
their way to school, and anyone else in the streets.
Deepening links:
Danish version: http://verdensbedstenyheder.dk
International version in English: https://worldsbestnews.org
“”World’s Best News” spreads from Denmark to the rest of Europe” Click
The main story in 2016 was the start of implementation of UN´s 17
Global Goals decided in 2015. There’s now for the first time ever a plan to end
poverty & protect the planet by 2030.
- In Danish:
“Verdensmålene – den mest ambitiøse plan nogensinde” Click
- In English:
“The Global Goals – the most ambitious plan for our planet” Click
- Click on the icons to get examples of actions in order to reach
each goal: (UNDP
website)
The topics in this newsletter will also focus on good news about
progress, which are not covered in the mainstream medias!
Good News no. 1: Culture on the Move
“Shiriki kuhifadhi utamaduni wetu!” (Swahili):
“Get involved in preserving our culture!”
This slogan has been turned into action by everyone involved in
the Cultural Arts Centre.
The CAC is situated at Tumaini University Makumira on the slopes
of Mount Meru in Northern Tanzania.
They teach, document, preserve and promote the traditional dance
and music culture of the tribes before it disappears together with their old
crafts of music instrument making.
- They organize documentation teams that work with tribes in order
to film and collect and document traditions, music & dance.
- They develop a permanent dance and music group that employ young
dancers and musicians, develop their skills and entertain countrywide
& generates income for the center.
- They organize workshops where the old craft of drum making is
being learned.
- They perform outreach to local communities and schools in order
to let young and old experience traditional music, dance and instruments.
All the activities will be placed in a permanent center that is
under construction secured by a 1.7 million Euro grant from The European Union
(60 % from EU / 40 % from Tumani Makumira University). Construction of the
Cultural Arts Centre began in February 2016 on 15,5 acres of land purchased by
the university.
I visited the construction site in August 2016: Phase 1 of 3 is
well under way. Performance space for audience of 300, a dance studio,
conference facilities, cultural arts displays, music library, offices, research
video editing facilities, and outdoor classrooms are all under way.
While the center is being constructed, the dance group trains
daily and performs 2 times a week in a temporary setting.
The Center´s professional dancers performing at the new site. See
examples here: Click
The performances demonstrate how old traditions and instruments
are not only being preserved but also transformed into modern performances that
bridge past and future.
When the CAC outreach groups go out to schools they find the kids
– after a bit of hesitation – eagerly involve themselves in dancing and
drumming.
The possibilities are manifold for preserving the art and dance
culture activities that make the young proud of themselves and their heritage.
Good News Choice no. 2: Africans Rising
Civil society organizations in every country in Africa have been
fighting for peace justice and sustainable development. But they have not had many
possibilities of working together across borders with all the civil society
organizations that fight for the same in other countries on the huge continent.
Now a new
initiative is changing this.
“On 23rd
& 24th of August 2016, 270 people, from 40 countries,
congregated and deliberated on citizen’s responses to the structural and
systematic challenges facing the African continent. … The conference attracted
responses from people from all walks of life ranging from the faith based
representatives, trade unions, youth groups, parliamentarians and
representatives of women’s movements. When the work was finally done and the
declaration pronounced, there was a lot of excitement in the air: People chanted,
danced, ululated at the prospect that a new dawn for (a more united) Africa was
indeed on the horizon. With over 60 % of participants below the age of 35, the
message was clear that young people are not only the future, but they are
present. Their voices does not only matter but also count!” Reference https://africans-rising.org
The
conference took place in Arusha in North Tanzania titled “African Rising
Conference: African Rising for justice, Peace and Sustainable Development”
This event demonstrated that African civil societies are on the
move to play a bigger role by working together across borders:
- See the result of the conference: The Kilimanjaro Declaration
- Follow
“Africans Rising” on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AfricansRising/
- See video with highlights from the conference: https://vimeo.com/181011730
Deepening:
- Definition of civil society: “… Communities, networks and ties
that stand between the individual and the state” (Encyclopedia Britannica)
- “What is civil society? – Definition & examples” A
video lesson from an US Social Science Course ( 5 min, video) http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-a-civil-society-definition-examples.html
Last words
There is a
lot of good news but these are often less advertised than the bad news.
Accordingly, today’s medias give us an unbalanced view of reality.
It is up to each of us to find an answer to the question:
How do we avoid “… the bubble that news consumers increasingly
live in – their views reinforced by what they choose to watch and read.”?
(The quote is from Time, page 37, September 26, 2016)
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Teach GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP network newsletter no.
26
To read any of the
previous 21 newsletters/ simply visit the blog (link). The content are thematic introductions & curated
learning possibilities.
May 2017, Copenhagen,
Denmark
Egon Hedegaard
Email: eghedegaard@gmail.com
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