I'm in shock! Jessica Mauboy just lost Australia Idol to Damien Leith. Damien is a really nice guy, I wouldn't mind listening to him sing from time to time. Actually neither of them have the talent of Bobbly Flynn. But this really should have been Jessica's moment.
Jessica comes from Alice Springs in the centre of Australia, and is half Aboriginal, half Indonesian. She is young, talented, down-to-earth, an amazing singer, and will be (is!) an incredible role model for young Australians. But it really would have been a further fantastic symbol for - and signal to Australia's long marginalised Aboriginal and remote communities, if one of their own had won the top award in this national version of the international phenomenon. As they interviewed her Nanna and cut to Darwin the Northern Territory where it seemed like at least half the town had turned out for the live cross (more like a U2 audience than a fan club) I was almost in tears.
While it's wonderful the Australian voting public are open to choosing an expat Irishman as their Idol, I can't help but wonder why they didn't choose such an obviously inspiring young woman.
Hard to believe, but it's almost two months since I arrived back in Australia. So what have I been up to?
On the work front, I'm starting to feel properly settled into GetUp. Sometimes it feels like our small full-time team of three is in a David vs Goliath battle against the rest of the world, which some days is stressful and bit overwhelming. On the other hand, sometimes it feels like we're winning. On Monday, the government dropped it's proposed changes to the Migration Act, which would have meant all refugees arriving by boat in Australia would be processed 'offshore', in another small Pacific country called Nauru. This was after a concerted campaign by community groups, much involving GetUp - our petition attracted 100,000 online signatures, and to drive the message home we hired a skywriter and wrote "Vote No" in the sky above Parliament House. Fun and effective - it was on every evening news.
I'm also getting into the Sydney groove. While there was an insane hail storm the other day, the weather here is generally beautiful - 24 degrees celcius tomorrow and that's the middle of winter. A bit different to grey London and artic Toronto! The first week I was here Alex came to visit and we also went north to a beach town called Noosa. Other than that, I've made the requisite trips to Bondi Beach, the Opera House and made myself comfortable on Sunday in many a Surry Hills cafe. Often, joined by Rohan who coincidently turned out to live directly behind my house. Which I'm sharing with a bunch of lovely people from Spain, Australia, New Zealand, and the Czech Republic.
Missing many people around the world, but looking forward to you visiting.
I'm moving to Sydney in late June to take up a new job at an organization called GetUp! which is organizing online a new movement of Australians interested in seeing a more progressive government.
It'll be interesting to delve more directly into national level politics. My take: For the last 10 years, Australia has been governed by the conservative "Liberal Party", under the leadership of Prime Minister John Howard. They're against Kyoto & supporting George Bush in Iraq. They've slashed funding for many community, cultural and public media institutions, and introduced very harsh policies on refugees. The PM and the people around him and have done nothing for reconciliation with Australia's marginalized Aboriginal people, and scuttled any momentum in Australia's new millennium move to become a republic. They've introduced several waves of 'reforms' that significantly reduce people's rights at work, but during their time in office Australia's economy has increasingly relied upon the wealth generated by raw materials rather than from any new innovative companies (the only time I ever hear about an Australian technology company in the news, it's the illegal file-sharing company Kazaa!). So, in my view something needs to change. The problem is that the political opposition doesn't seem much better from a policy perspective (and they certainly are not very successful at winning national elections...). Australia remains a great place, but we could, and definitely need to, do much better, if we are to remain a relevant, safe, and constructive country -- part of a globalising and risk-filled world.
While I've been overseas mostly for the last couple of years, I've also been back to Australia quite a bit, and I think it is true that the quality of the political debate is much poorer in Oz compared to the UK and Canada. In both these other countries, there is genuine and relatively open discussion and reflection happening *within parties* (of all perspectives) and a whole community of people from community groups, policy groups, universities, activists organizations, the media, and all sorts of professions who take an active interest in reflecting on issues in an often non-partisan but generally progressive and constructive manner. Perhaps because voting is not compulsory they have to at least try to keep people engaged (rather than accept apathy). And just more parties (of varying degrees of health). There are also many more initiatives that exist that use new technologies (and after all, some of these things like "email" are not really new at all anymore - we all use them on a daily basis) to engage people in political discussion & mobilization.
To a large extent, GetUp! is modeled on the success of activist websites in other countries (perhaps most of all, U.S. based Moveon.org). So, at least my understanding (I may well find I have this very wrong, so don't quote me!) is that GetUp is here to fill this niche - to use technology, the media, and community, to connect a progressive movement that can take effective action to make Australia a more progressive place. It's about giving a community, voice, and opportunity for influence to those that want to be part of Australian progressive politics, but have found themselves impotent, disconnected, and alienated by more traditional political structures.
I'm slightly daunted by the challenge ahead (I'll be Online Director), but excited to be working with a fabulous team including Brett Solomon (founder of the Oxfam International Youth Parliament). I've spent a lot of time these last few days reading the literally hundreds of blogs and comments that GetUp!'s existence (positive, negative, constructive and not so constructive) has already generated online since it's launch (in its first, very much start-up year, the website has garnered more than 100,000 members!). So I've have become very aware of the sizable needs ahead in terms of ensuring GetUp generates a lively and active following and becomes a trail-blazer (much like TIG) at learning about, using and mashing up new technologies to create new & experimental forms of political community.
The move to Sydney will I hope go relatively smoothly and beyond work (the majority of the day, I do need to remind myself), it'll be fun to explore this great city (even if I am arriving in Australian winter). I'm looking forward to catching up with - and making many more Sydney friends, and being much closer to my family. At the same time, I'm sure I will miss even more my 'global family' (I just have to convince, coax, encourage, and help, you move to Australia too!) and specifically my friends from London and Toronto. And I guess that's why we have TakingITGlobal- which, of course I intend to remain even more actively involved with!
More details and I'm sure blogs, once I (ahem) sign the contract, move, start work, and work out exactly what it is they want me to do!
It's many many months since I last posted a personal update, so before returning to the present... (and new new news I'll keep for tomorrow), first I should let everyone know that I left Amnesty's International Secretariat at the end of March. The International Council Meeting (see my blog entry) was the high point in my time at AI, with the Youth Strategy passed amidst what I felt was a relatively solid degree of excitement. I then spent eight months attempting to navigate the bureaucracy and "strategic" planning processes towards getting some serious implementation happening. But it just wasn't going far fast. I guess we'll all wait (a bit longer) to see whether Amnesty as an international movement can become a more relevant organization for new generations, but I certainly enjoyed working with some great colleagues there and learnt a lot about important human rights issues (which I'd like to explore more) and a lot about big organizations (which I'd prefer to forget).
But beyond work, these months have been very special, on many levels. Thank you to everyone who has been part of my life and travels, in particular in Australia, the UK, Germany, Belgium, and since mid April, Canada.
Below are a few random photos of some key highlights.
After Jarra helped me buy a new camera, we spent an afternoon shooting
Seeing in the New Year overlooking Melbourne
Enjoying my last summer day in Melbourne before heading back to cold London!
Amnesty - lots of meetings & always a bit of a blur (but fun for the moment)
Amazing times with Marc and friends in Berlin
Making Wontons, under the direction of Head Chef Franziska, in Hamburg
Having a drink Alberto and Alice, strangely enough this time not at "Seymours".
First day after leaving the great AI (Photo by Owen in Brussels)
The official photo call for "ICTs 4 Chocolate and Beer" Workshop in Brussels
Just spent a few minutes checking out Google's latest "toy", Google Trends, which enables you to track searches and news articles in their system.
One of the more interesting things I came across was the startling increase in interest around HIV/AIDS at the time of World AIDS Day. No other major global issue seems to get this much 'bounce' on just one day.
You can also see how "Make Poverty History" died off as an issue after the G8/Live8.
I thought it was interesting to see how people search more for "poverty" but there are more articles about "terrorism".
But then I realized it was clearly broken/biased as it doesn't understand how much more trendy Melbourne is than Toronto. And I won't even provide a link to the comparison with Sydney!
Joystick warfare About this category: Independent Media & Mass Media
I was interested to read an article about U.S. outrage that extremist Islamic groups are making modifications to computer games such as "Battlefield 2" to turn them into 'training programs for terrorists'. It's not unusual for savvy game-players/computer programmers to change or customize a game - but the difference here is that now players (represented by characters wearing Arab clothes) attack the U.S. forces who are seen as the bad guys.
One line in the article particularly stuck out for me: "Battlefield 2 ordinarily shows US troops engaging forces from China or a united Middle East coalition."
Um... do I have this right? It's just fine for games to be a 'training ground' for U.S. kids, inculcating them into a culture of mistrust and violence towards Chinese or (fictional and vaguely muddled) Middle Eastern baddies.. but oh no, it's just not right for Middle Eastern kids to have Americans as the enemy!?
My hypocrisy meter is registering off the scale!
When will, by the way, someone create a cool and compelling game that involves something slightly more aware and socially responsible? Even if it does have to involve the military, how about a game that simulates a protection force for Sudanese refugees? Or better yet, a game where your goal is to stabilize Iraq and get out (rather than just kill everyone!). Any takers?
Canada recently had a general election. The conservative party has formed a minority government.
Mr Harper, the prime minister-elect, has appointed Michael Fortier, a member of his campaign team, as Minister of Public Works. In doing so, he has put control of the majority of Canada's federal governmental spending, regulation of all public lands and property, and the execution of any government member's bidding firmly outside the system of checks and balances which our parliamentary democracy exists to provide.
Mr. Harper has placed control of Canada's cheque- and rule-books in the hands of an unaccountable, non-representative individual.
He has also appointed Mr. Fortier to the senate, the body which, under Canada's parliamentary system, serves to hold parliament accountable to the interests of the country at large.
In other words, Mr Fortier, inaccessible to the remained of parliament (he is not a member of parliament, and is therefore unable to sit/speak in the house) is effectively accountable to himself only.
I have sent the below letter to my member of parliament. I urge all Canadians to do the same. (http://www.parl.gc.ca allows you to look up your MP and obtain their email address). You will need to include your full name and address (with postal code - important!) in your email or letter, as these are used to ensure that correspondence has been sent to the correct member of parliament. MPs act based on the opinions expressed to them by their constituents. Use the power that you have to help take back the house!
(Incidentally, it is the 80th anniversary of the first and last time that a Governor General refused to dissolve parliament upon the fall of a government. High time for a repeat! Write to her, too!)
-m
--------------
Mr Peterson,
As many other Canadians, and, I am certain, yourself, I am deeply concerned about the Prime Minister's recent appointment of Mr. Fortier to the ministry of public works.
It is my understanding that only members of parliament may sit and speak in the house. It is also my understanding that the senate serves as a check/balance on parliament. How, then, can an unelected minister, unaccountable to parliament by virtue of having no right to speak in the house in the same breath sit in judgement of and hold accountable that same house with a seat in the senate?
Handing the reigns of the public works ministry to an unaccountable, unrepresenting functionary strikes me as a fundamental blow to the very political philosophy upon which our system of representation and governance are based. It is most definitely does not lend any credence to the motto of 'good governance'.
I urge you to take all possible measures to see that this government falls at the earliest opportunity!
Microsoft had a draw the other month to give away copies of the big moo. Great stuff. Thirty-three strong business thinkers throwing out ideas about how to go from passable to brilliant.
Tonight I had a great time at Cirque du Soleil's 'Alegria' here in London. What an amazing show - full of high wire acrobatics, crazy tumbling, fire dancing, incredibly flexible and fit performers, and I'm still humming the tunes a few hours later! It was inspiring to think of the commitment and focus these performers have when they're on the bars 10 meters up, or rushing around stage juggling batons of fire. And the trust and collaboration between acrobats as they throw and catch each other to create human chains in the sky. Lots of fun, dreamlike stuff.
Cirque is a really inspiring company. Last time I wrote about them, I watched an incredible performance with young people from five continents they developed with Oxfam's International Youth Parliament in Sydney. Cirque is also financially supporting some incredible youth performance/circus projects in communities around the world. Noticed I'm using the word 'incredible' a lot - but they do put on a great show!
Just arrived home from a fabulous evening of conversation, prior to attending the Global Voices workshop tomorrow. Elated and inspired, just waiting to be even more challenged and provoked tomorrow during the actual workshop. Supposedly, this gathering is meant to be a sort of annual get-together of people involved with the international web-blog run by Harvard. It seems to have taken on a bit of a life of its own, bringing together a who’s who of worldwide bloggers, internet democracy activists, online hip-hop diarists, technoprenuers, media analysts, former foreign correspondents, and.. you name it. In four sweet hours of conversation tonight I found myself discussing in depth the future of wikipedia (with someone actually closely involved in running it), the legitimacy of foreign intervention in democracy building (with someone pushing the boundaries in Morroco), new/surprising models for internet organizing with the founder of Pledgebank (check it out!), and e-democracy with the young former MP and one of the architect of Estonia’s world first effort at national elections via the web (and a former delegate to IYP who I may well have met in Sydney in 2000!). Not to mention brief conversations with the guy who popularized blogs in Iran, and the thinker behind the UK’s constitutional devolution (tomorrow I hope to catch up with them more!). Truly one of the most stimulating dinners of my life, and a real glimpse into the future of civic engagement, expression. I promise to write much more about this amazing event and some of the ideas being discussed over the coming days, as I know many of you also wanted to be here in London. Now I’ve got to take a deep breath and head to sleep to make sure I wake up early for tomorrow!
This time last week I was still in Tunis. Now, the World Summit on the Information Society seems a bit like a dream - you know, those dreams involving 100 of your favourite people from different parts of your life (and indeed the world) doing extraordinary things in a surreal, slightly claustrophobic location – punctured momentarily with fleeting exchanges with world leaders, police with big guns, wonderful panoramic ocean views, and the bed-time lullaby that is BBC World.
It was fascinating to finally come to Tunisia, after hearing so much about this country - great, good, bad and ugly - for the last few years. The nation seemed to be taken over by the WSIS - schools were closed, public employees told to remain home, and half the population apparently newly hired as slightly menacing (but really rather lost?) security guards stationed three to every street corner. The absence of people (other than police) was unsettling and weird to say the least. And let's just say that the Tunisian National Flag Company seems to have done a recent roaring trade, with streets decked out in tens of thousands of coloured flags (totally beautiful, although I'm not sure how I'd feel if the UK lined every street of London with the Union Jack). The Tunisians put on a good show and everything (apart from giving the official bus drivers directions!) seemed to run smoothly.
Inside the Summit venue, it was quite easily to forget or ignore the reports outside (and in the global media) about Tunisia clamping down on freedom of expression just as it was hosting a Summit on the global Information Society. Certainly on the first day I spoke with a nice guy from Intel who seemed genuinely unaware of the human rights issues raised by local groups, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty and others. Although Summit delegates did get a minor taste for arbitrary procedures when plain clothed, un-badged guards would randomly block access between different rooms inside the Summit venue (Some of us tried to run/ram through but were mostly held back). Outside, towards the town centre, there were more serious protests and a counter-Summit organized by excluded human rights activists.
On the surface, with the police presence, pictures of President Ben-Ali ubiquitous, and a media that glowed in the government's triumph and little else, Tunisia certainly seemed totalitarian. At the same time, I got the sense (and was told by expats as well as local people) that there is little public dissatisfaction with the political situation. Certainly, I can appreciate that compared with its neighbours, Tunisia is an island of wealth, peace, religious moderation, and stability. You might say this is because it is not 'cursed' with much oil, or because it lacked the violent or confused de-colonisation of its neighbours. Or you might not care and just say 'well, things work pretty well here and I wouldn't want to live in someplace like Iraq.. or Algeria...or Egypt... or wherever'. In the areas I visited (mostly the more wealthy bits I guess) Tunisia seemed more apathetic than repressed. I wonder where resignation ends and apathy begins? And are there lessons for my own countries(s) and the rest of the world?
Reflecting on Tunisia might seem an odd way to start this blog - I had only a few moments to think about these questions, and it is true that Tunisia is sadly not the worst offender when it comes to Internet censorship. And the country - especially the Tunisian people- deserve everyone's thanks for hospitality and role in making this event happen. But just like I experienced in Johannesburg in 2002, the place - and it's political and economic reality- really does set the scene and the tone of your experience at a UN event.
On the Sunday after the Summit, Tom, Maja, Marouen and I headed to Korbus, a beautiful little hot spring on the beach a few hours out of the capitol, Tunis. It was great to be able to see a bit more of this country, feel its dynamic and unique cultural spirit and natural beauty. I'll have to come back and learn more - anyway I think about it, it was fascinating. And it was great to be able to spend short but very sweet time with these, and so many other good friends.
As for the Summit itself, I feel a deep sense of accomplishment. If you had asked me six weeks ago (as many did) whether I thought everything we had planned would come together, I could not have answered clearly. It is to Marouen's great credit that Youth participation in Tunis was smooth and dynamic. And this time last year, I would never have believed that the WSIS Youth Caucus would do so much in 2005, eclipsing even our work in 2003. From National & Rural Campaigns to the Award programs, the capacity building workshops, and the Youth Hub, we learnt so many lessons from the past, became more efficient and demonstrated once again a model for youth (indeed civil society) participation in global decision-making processes and forums that will be looked to and (for sure) replicated elsewhere. Titi and Robert, who took over from me as the Facilitators of the Caucus did an incredible job managing everyone's contributions as well as high expectations!
The week was also a celebration of TakingITGlobal's growth and maturity. This probably deserves an entire blog entry of its own, but I'm immensely proud of what TIG has achieved in its short five years. It was fitting that on the same day we held our fifth anniversary dinner in Tunis (great night!) TIG launched in its 7th language - Chinese, and reached (well, roughly) 100,000 members! The value of UN Summits is rarely (or never) just the formal documents developed but in their ability to bring great people together- that so many of TIG's active staff and members could attend and gain renewed strength and insight for the work of this unique network was fantastic. I'm also excited about new potential partnerships in the Middle East and Africa, as well TIG's new key role in Telecentre.org, a global support program for local community access initiatives [always a key part of the big TIG vision].
Now finally to the issues that WSIS was supposedly held to address. It's fair to say that in a formal sense, not much really was achieved at all - no huge new financial commitment to bridging the digital divide, no really new paradigm or international legal standards relating to the role of information in development and human rights. And not even really a clear road-map for how the Internet will be governed after the US decided it wasn't ready to cede final control over ICANN's functions - except for a vague new UN Forum that won't have teeth. But really, when was WSIS ever about ICANN anyway? As someone astutely pointed out to me, no one seems to be complaining about the dictatorship of Google, despite the fact that they have far more influence over how people use the net on a daily basis than the U.S., ICANN, or that perennial bogey, Microsoft.
At least however, as a result of WSIS and the great amount of media coverage it generated (including in influential publications) policy makers around the world and in many NGOs (such as those I work with) have started to take these issues much more seriously and are beginning to recognize that new information and communications technologies are truly transforming our educational, professional, political, and social lives. The quality of the discussion and decision-making, as well as the grassroots innovation, can only improve as a result.
It's the end of WSIS, but just the beginning of the story....
I bought an ericsson T39m on ebay last week. Cost me CAD$50 including shipping to Toronto from New York.
The model is just over four years old, but is solid as anything. I love Ericsson's old industrial design - that great flat back with chunky antenna; gorgeous!
My mum has been visiting from Australia for the last two weeks, and will be here for one more. This was planned to coincide with three-four weeks of time off from Amnesty for me. So, I've had pretty much my longest 'holiday' ever, cramming in almost every tourist sight there is into my days. We also went to Paris last weekend, which was great. This is my mum's first time to Europe (and first time out of Australia since she was about 20), and it's the first time I've seen her for any real length of time since I left Australia four years ago - so it's been nice..
I've been to so many galleries - National Gallery, Portrait Gallery, Louve, Musee d'Orsay, Tate Modern... And churchs - from St Pauls to Notre Dame, Saint Chappelle and Sacre Coeur. And Palaces like Kensington and Buckingham. And sites like Westminster, Tower Bridge, the Eifel Tower. And so many gardens... Even went to the "Proms" at Royal Albert Hall to see a 40-person choir sing 40-part 16th century church music (that was quite serene, and a good deal too for London...).
The weather has been perfect here for days - but this afternoon it rained, so I've taken the opportunity to stay home (while my mum heads back to the National Gallery for a second visit) and take a bit of a break!
Arrived here in Mexico at 4am on Saturday for the 2005 International Council Meeting of Amnesty International. My job here is to support the (hopeful) passing of Amnesty's new global youth strategy, and then run a big 2 hour meeting on how the movement should go about implementing it. The Strategy is pretty ambitious and interesting stuff... about becoming more outward looking, incorporating new types of activism (i.e. not just Amnesty's mainstay of letter writing) and ensuring that young people - who are 50% of the members - are actually effectively represented in decision-making. (At the moment, young people are woefully represented, sometimes because they're not even allowed to vote -- I think this poor internal democracy means AI tends to be a more conservative, cautious organization than it could be..). So that's work.
Apart from that, three things really stand out to tell you about. Firstly, this is probably the most relaxing meeting venue I've ever been to. It's a beautiful old 'ranch', with lovely rooms set around a massive garden with pools and huge powerful waterfalls. Not necessarily five star luxary, but charming, and the avocado dip and salsa with every meal is my kind of thing. It's certainly creates a friendly atmosphere for what could otherwise be a very stressful gathering.
Certainly, I've got a new, much more dynamic, sense of Amnesty after being here. This is a virtually a 24/7 meeting- with first meetings scheduled at 7 and final meetings scheduled at 11. The agenda is packed with meaty issues - from addressing emerging human rights crises, to growth in Southern members, to the need to raise more money to do all this. And of course there are a lot of diverse views on everything - although better than the UN, everyone knows that at the end of the day they are 'on the same team'. So after all the work yesterday there was a big party. I was sooo exhausted (almost asleep before I went) but it was cool to meet new people from different parts of this sprawling organization.
Finally, I was really impressed and interested yesterday by a session at the Opening Plenary (in the pic/credit AI). Four prominent human rights activists who are not part of Amnesty were invited to take the floor and provide an outsiders critique of the organization and identify areas of greatest influence and the greatest need for change. The whole session was based around questions from the floor. They included Makau Mutua, one of the most prominent critics of Amnesty, who argues Amnesty's work is too western and has a 'savior mentality'. (I tend to think this is somewhat true... although it is an area Amnesty is certainly trying to change..). Irshad Manji spoke extraordinarily eloquently and daringly about the need to 'not be afraid' in criticizing cultural practices and wedded attitudes that are contrary to universal notions of human rights. While grounded in 'what amnesty should do', the wide-ranging session included intelligent comment on issues ranging from women's rights to abortion, gay rights in Muslim countries [and worldwide], and the root causes of terrorism. Irshad was certainly provoking and convincing (if sometimes perhaps a little too strident)-- I'm going to give her book, 'The Trouble With Islam' a read anyway!!
So that's my check in. Off now to make final preparations for tomorrow's Theme Meeting on Youth, and then more Avocado dip for lunch!! Maybe find some sleep. Back to London on Wednesday.
