January 2010
ISSUE 1
WARWICK GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
University of Warwick
1
Warwick Global Development
Society Newsletter
Editor’s Letter
Dear reader, you are about to engage in the first
issue of the Warwick Global Development Society
Newsletter 2010.
This issue will contemplate a variety of topics
covered in the module of Globalisation, Governance
and Development and linking them with current
affairs.
Last year‟s Conference on Climate Change in
Copenhagen rose various concerns of the future of
our planet and the limitation of politics. The
awareness of the planet is demonstrated in this
newsletter as something not to be taken for granted,
but rather engaging with it and tackling it to
overcome these problems.
Other interesting topics are addressed here, such as
“land grabbing”, fair trade, drugs, education &
development, trade, gender & feminism and
globalisation of music. Not only are they broad
topics but the peculiarity of this issue are the diverse
writing approaches applied and the different ways
into which students view globalisation and
development.
This issue will evolve around images and art; images
through which GGD Students consider development
and underdevelopment; and through graphic art by
Harsha Biswajit.
I would like to thank all of those who collaborated
with the outcome of this issue and to our professors
Shirin Rai, Mat Doidge and Ian Pirie for making us
look into depth and be critical of the world today.
Land Acquisition and its
implications for the
Human Development by
Kat Hughes. P3.
Check before
Consumption by Stephen
White. P6.
Justification of our
realities by Ali Datoo. P9.
Gender, Health and
Climate Change, let’s see
the Progress by Alessa
Rigal. P11.
COP15 by Katherine
Melton and Carina
Flueckiger. P14.
Feminism and the City by
Bethan Calvert-Lyons.
P16.
The Doha Development
Round by Kim van
Kalleveen. P18.
The Globalization of
Music, by Asif Khan. P22.
GGD Student Perspectives
on Development and
Underdevelopment. P24.
Art and Humor present
“Climate Change” by
Harsha Biswajit. P26.
Events by Rasool Daya.
P27.
WGDS Activities. P29.
2
Land Acquisition and its implications for the Human Development
Kat Hughes, MA. International Relations
T
he
concept
of
land
acquisition,
sometimes
referred
to
as
“land
grabbing”, has been around
for decades as seen in the attempts
by Europeans to take-over farms in
ex-colonies, the emergence of the
term „banana republics‟ to describe
servile dictatorships dependant on
the exploitation of large agricultural
plantations for export crops, and the
scramble to own the large amount of
arable land following the break up of
the Soviet Union. However the
trends in acquisitions are changing.
The scale of purchasing arable land
has increased, land is now being
purchased by governments as well
as private sector, and the land is
now being used to cultivate staple
crops rather than cash crops.
The International Food Policy
Research Institute estimated that
between 15 and 20 million hectares
of farmland in developing countries
has changed hands since 2006.
Individual land deals are now done
in multiples of 100,000 hectares.
For example, in Sudan, South Korea
has signed deals for 690,000
hectares, and the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) for 400,000
hectares.
The trend towards cultivating staple
crops such as wheat, maize and rice,
reflects the growing global need for
bio-fuels in an effort to reduce
negative impacts on climate change
caused by excessive use of non-
renewable fuels. Countries lacking
favourable conditions for cultivation
look to where they can acquire land
to do so. China, for instance, secured
the right to grow palm oil for biofuel on 2.8m hectares of Congo and
is negotiating to grow bio-fuels on
2m hectares in Zambia. Moreover,
global population growth and
increasing incomes in emerging
economies such as China puts
pressure on global food markets to
supply adequate food imports, due
to
increasing
per
capita
consumption and changing eating
habits towards more luxury foods
including meat products. This
dependency
questions
whether
global food markets have the
capacity to guarantee foods at
predictable and affordable prices. As
a result governments choose to
invest in land which is suitable and
cost effective for farming, usually in
Africa, where land is relatively
cheap.
Concern over food security has led
to speculative investment in arable
land. Many countries and businesses
are looking to invest in land which is
predicted to rise in value later. This
realisation of strong returns on
agricultural
investment
has
prompted
governments
to
encourage businesses to invest
abroad. For example, China adopted
its „Going Out‟ policy in 2004. This
initiative encourages Chinese firms
to invest abroad, first to create
3
business opportunities and second
to secure access to non-food
resources where Chinese demand
outstrips
domestic
supply.
Furthermore, some agribusiness
players traditionally involved in
processing and distribution, such as
Lonrho, have started integrating
vertically to enter direct production,
in order to guarantee supply.
This investment from abroad can
bring with it social and economic
advantages to the host country and
its communities. For instance,
investors will contribute to tax
revenues, may create employment in
the area, and develop irrigation
systems and other infrastructure
such
as
roads
and
telecommunications in areas that
have been too poor to invest in such
technology. The investment also has
the potential to bring capital into the
region, transfer knowledge and
expertise to locals, and allow market
access to rural areas. All are key
starting points contributing to
economic development.
However,
these
predicted
advantages may not be so beneficial
if local land-right holders are
displaced as a consequence of
foreign land investment. The
negative effects brought along with
this type of investment are
frequently unseen as they affect
local
communities
whose
oppositions may not be heard or are
too weak in terms of fighting
government and large enterprise
decisions.
More
worryingly,
governments
of
developing
countries may also be unable to
resist investments proposed by large
enterprises. Acceptance is often
without consultation with local land
users and a lack of transparency in
contract negotiation encourages
corruption and benefits elites.
Take for example the case of
Daewoo Logistics in 2008 who
leased half of all Madagascar‟s
arable land (1.3million hectares),
most of which is located in
rainforests, for 99yrs in return only
for the promise of job creation. This
came with the backing from the
South Korean government which
hoped the move would guarantee its
national food security. Many have
deemed deals like this as neocolonialism. In 2009 a military coup
against President Ravalomanana of
Madagascar was able to cancel the
deal.
Another sad fact is that some host
countries face food shortages
themselves and rely on food imports
and food aid to feed its population.
Ethiopia, for instance, is plagued by
long droughts and famines, and
whilst there is arable land available,
it lacks the technology, and capital
to cultivate this land in mass. Land
deals for host countries such as
Ethiopia offer the chance to reverse
underinvestment in these areas.
However as mentioned previously,
deals do not always bring about
positive change.
So what are the future effects of
these land deals on the human
landscape and are they enough to be
worried about? At a sub-national
level the areas of land for land
4
acquisition are mostly a relatively
small proportion of the total
agricultural land but this is based on
figures provided for legal deals.
There may still be more deals that
are unregistered or are yet to be
negotiated which must be taken into
consideration. The effects on local
communities may not be recognised
from a national perspective as what
governments deem to be wasteland
may in fact be used by locals as
areas for cattle grazing and
cultivation.
compliance. Mutual food security
will also depend on collaboration to
allocate supplies between the
countries.
In
addition,
the
international community must try to
re-establish
confidence
in
multilateralism to avoid countries
turning to protectionism and
reconfigure the global food supply
system to avoid uncompetitive deals
being made.
The availability of arable land
depends on access to water, and in
many parts of Africa the availability
of this resource is constrained. This
prioritises water over many other
resources and has the potential to
cause conflict over who has the right
of access to it. This implies that
long-term
land
leases
and
agricultural production contracts
will be unsustainable unless there is
consultation with locals beforehand.
It is also important for governments
to ensure greater transparency,
robust social and environmental
impact assessments, and more
specific and enforceable investor
commitments through contracts to
empower the host government to
apply penalties in cases of non-
Brown and A. Crawford, (2009),
„Climate change and security in
Africa’ Winnipeg: International
Institute
for
Sustainable
Development
Bibliography
http://www.farmlandgrab.org/
The Economist, „Outsourcing’s third
wave: buying farmland abroad’, 23
May 2009.
Lonrho plc, ‘Substantial progress at
Lonrho Agriculture’, press release,
13
Jan.2009,
http://www.lonrho.com/Press/New
s_(RNS)/RnsNews.aspx?id=779&ri
d=2066343, accessed 01 Jan. 2010.
International Affairs 85: 6 (2009)
„Deal or no deal: the outlook for
agricultural land investment in
Africa‟ p.1233–1247.
5
Check before Consumption: the fight for Fair Trade in a growing Free Market
Stephen White, MA. Globalisation and Development
growing phenomenon in the
market of consumable goods
such as cocoa, sugar, coffee,
and many more is the notion
of Fair Trade.
The idea
behind Fair Trade is to cut the
growing gap between the producer
and the consumer in order to put
more of the profits in to the hands of
farmers rather than middlemen and
large companies and firms. Often
this brings a side effect of increased
cost to the consumer; yet the Fair
Trade movement has lasted due to
increasing media attention on the
plight of producers in the developing
world.
This has in-turn led to
increased consumer awareness as
they push the grocery cart around
the supermarket on the weekend.
This awareness improvement can be
seen from the steady increase in
sales in the UK.
A
Sales of Fairtrade Certified Products in the UK
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
2008
Coffee:
13.7
15.0
15.5
18.6
23.1
34.3
49.3
65.8
93.0
117.0
137.3
Tea:
2.0
4.5
5.1
5.9
7.2
9.5
12.9
16.6
25.1
30.0
64.8
Chocolate/cocoa: 1.0
2.3
3.6
6.0
7.0
10.9
16.5
21.9
29.7
25.5
26.8
Honey products:
n/a
n/a
0.9
3.2
4.9
6.1
3.4
3.5
3.4
2.7
5.2
Bananas:
n/a
n/a
7.8
14.6
17.3
24.3
30.6
47.7
65.6
150.0
184.6
Flowers:
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
4.3
5.7
14.0
24.0
33.4
Wine:
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
1.5
3.3
5.3
8.2
10.0
Cotton:
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
0.2
4.5
34.8
77.9
Other:
n/a
n/a
n/a
2.2
3.5
7.2
22.3
30.3
45.7
100.8
172.6
TOTAL
16.7
21.8
32.9
50.5
63.0
92.3
140.8 195.0 286.3 493.0* 712.6
Estimated UK retail sales by value 1998-2008 (£ million)
Figures Available at: http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/what_is_fairtrade/facts_and_figures.aspx
6
For small farmers becoming a Fair
Trade producer involves joining a
co-operative or enclave of small
farmers which has a democratic
structure focused on increasing the
prosperity of their village, and
family. There are also requirements
to follow environmental guidelines
as well as social guidelines
prohibiting segregation. If these
standards are met then they are
authorized to use the Fair Trade
symbol.
There are also similar
standards for larger commercial
farms whose workers are hired
labour, paid a decent wage, and
allowed to join trade unions.
The beauty of being able to garnish
the symbol of Fair Trade is that
these
producers
have
some
protection from the
dramatic price flux
on
the
global
market.
Buyers
that want to sell
Fair Trade branded
products
must
purchase them at a
FairTrade
minimum price that is set by the
FairTrade Labeling Organisation
(FLO). This ensures that even in
bad economies that their products
will have to be purchased at a price
that ensures that they can continue
to produce in a sustainable fashion.
Taking into consideration the facts
surrounding Fair Trade, it is
important to be aware of the
marketers
that
support
this
movement. Many companies such
as Starbucks, and Cadbury have
recently switched to Fair Trade
practices as they have been
shammed by media releases and
even independent films (i.e. Black
Gold) on the social and living
conditions in the areas that they
purchase their raw materials. All in
the name of lower prices to the
consumer and increased profits in
their pockets.
The premium that is absorbed by
the purchaser and consumer gives
these developing world producers a
chance at not only surviving but
thriving.
The increased revenue
stream allows the cooperatives to
give back to their own community
by increasing food stock, clean
water, and even education through
the construction of schools with the
intended hope of thwarting the cycle
of poverty and allowing the children
other options. The impact can be
seen in these cases:
This Co-Op was set-up in response
to
the
partial
liberalization of the
coca growing sector
in Ghana and is the
only farmer owned
organization
granted a license by
the government to
trade cocoa. This
Co-Op represents
50,000 small growers and in 07 sold
12% of production to the FairTrade
market.
The recent news in March 09 of
Cadbury move to convert all milk
chocolate in the UK and Ireland to
FairTrade “will triple the sales of
cocoa under Fairtrade terms for
cocoa farmers in Ghana to 10,000
tons a year. As well as the
guaranteed minimum Fairtrade
price, the farmers will benefit from
the
Fairtrade
premium,
an
additional sum of $150 for every ton
of cocoa, which goes straight to the
farmers‟ groups to spend on
business
improvements,
cash
payments, and social projects such
7
as healthcare and clean drinking
water.”
"We have taken our destiny into our
own hands. Through Fairtrade and
Kuapa we now have a lot of
progress. We have good drinking
water, toilet facilities and schools.
Kuapa pay the farmers on time and
there is no cheating when the cocoa
is weighted. We meet every two
weeks to share our problems”
Comfort Kwaasibea, cocoa farmer
http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/produc
ers/cacao/kuapa_kokoo_union.asp
x
Coocafe (Costa Rica) Coffee
"Without the alternative trade
market, the reality for our cooperatives would have been
different. The learning process and
price premium have made the
difference between a group of
producers with a chance of
obtaining a dignified level of life
and those producers without."
Carlos Vargas Leiton, Coocafe
Manager
(http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/produ
cers/coffee/coocafe_coffee_coopera
tive_nicaragua/default.aspx)
The stable price provided by the
Fairtrade market has allowed our
organization to develop social and
environmental initiatives, as well as
projects to help our farmers
diversify their sources of income. At
the same time, the higher price has
allowed our cooperatives to reinvest in their communities with
projects like credit for housing, land
reform, and the repair and
construction
of
municipal
infrastructure.”
Coocafe web site, www.coocafe.com
These are only two cases of many,
and to ensure that this trend
continue to thrive it is important to
have awareness and check before
consumption.
8
Justification of our realities
Ali Datoo. MA. Globalisation and Development
"
It‟s time for fun now," Pariyar
told his friend Rajen Subba as
he took out the packet of
dendrite.
"You know, this helps us to get rid of
our hunger," justified 14-year-old
Rajen Subba, who now works as a
rag picker having fled his home in
the Jhapa district in southeast Nepal
due to a lack of education and
grinding poverty. Rajen Subba
cannot afford regular food or
clothing to keep warm, and has been
living on the streets for the past six
years.
He tries to forget his
hardship by inhaling the fumes from
the carpet glue.
Many of these youngsters are street
children with no shelter, no healthy
food and no sufficient protection.
Another street child Khemraj Puri
explains “Life was very difficult
because
there
weren't
many
generous people to depend on. Most
of the time we used to collect plastic
garbage in order to sell it. But the
money we would get for a whole
day's work was not enough for one
breakfast.” With this plastic bag
they stick in their noses and mouths,
they have merely found something
to play with in order to pass the time
and forget the realities of street life.
They are not so different from rich
children playing with any toy - the
only disparity being that these
children depend on the rags littered
on the streets for their playthings.
Drug addiction and solvent abuse is
a relatively new phenomenon among
street children in Nepal. The low
price (20-30 rupees), the relative
ease as to which it can be obtained,
lack of education and the after
effects of the civil war have
significantly contributed to the
dramatic increase in solvent abuse.
The most common form of glue used
by children is Dendrite. The
adhesive glue contains toluene, a
sweet-smelling and intoxicating
hydrocarbon, which is neurotoxic.
The solvent dissolves the membrane
of the brain cells and causes
hallucinations as well as dampening
hunger pangs, and wards off cold. “I
forget everything. I won‟t feel cold
and hungry and can sleep easily,”
says Shyam Tamang, 12, another
street boy.
Many Children as young as five have
been known to sniff this form of
glue. A shocking survey conducted
by Child Workers in Nepal (CWIN)
found that around 95 percent of the
1,200 street children living in the
capital sniff glue. Krishna Thapa,
Director of Voice of Children, a nongovernmental organisation said,
"Street children suffer various
psychological problems in society
before they end up on the streets.
They think sniffing glue empowers
them to face any vulnerable
situation on the street."
Nepal is one the poorest countries in
Asia, and is experiencing an
uncertain political future. The
decade long Civil War has taken a
toll of around 13,000 lives. The
conflict has hampered government
efforts to deliver basic services such
as health and education. While the
civil war seems to have ended, it has
significantly
restricted
Nepal‟s
development. This has led to a
breakdown
of
family
and
community networks. The majority
of street children come from
9
orphanages and poor families who
cannot afford to send them to
school. A survey conducted by the
World Health Organisation (WHO)
illustrates that children leave their
homes due to dire poverty, to find
shelter, escape domestic violence
and
poorly
run
orphanages.
Children have also left home to
make room for siblings; Khemraj
Puri explains “My siblings worked in
the carpet factory for very little
money that wasn't enough for food
and housing. In desperation I left
my parents and started a life on the
streets.”
Many
community
based
organisations (CBO) have shown
that education for street children
can pull them out of poverty.
Khemraj Pur from the Nawa Asha
Griha foundation said “I was lucky
enough to join a school for street
children, the Nawa Asha Griha
(NAG). There I not only got food,
clothes and shelter, but also a very
good education. It was a great
change in my life.” Gopal Gurung
another street child says “When I
entered the gate of the school I felt
happy for the first time in my life.
My success belongs to the future.
“There are a variety reasons of why
children take to the streets. However
the WHO report suggests the
underlying reason is a lack of
education.
The government of Nepal has only
been active in the field of Education
for the past 50 years. Before that,
the ruling monarchy believed it
unwise to educate the masses. Even
today the focus of education is on
building as many schools as
possible, rather than making schools
accessible to the poor, training or
recruiting teachers. According to
the local CBO Rural Education
Development
Centre
(REDC)
children do not go to school as many
families cannot afford to send
children to school due to cost of
books, stationary and uniforms.
Education is paramount to human
development; Nepal recognises this
and is committed to making
education universal. Despite the fact
that substantial progress has been
made in this direction, much still
remains to be done. Children like
Gopal Gurung clearly want to go to
school “I saw kids going to school. I
was very jealous as I also wanted to
study. I was seven years old and I
had not known what education was.
I wanted to study and become a
good human being.” However the
country is still trapped in the vicious
cycle of poverty, lethargy of
illiteracy, and tradition. In the
1990s, the country clearly moved
towards
democratisation;
nonetheless,
the
unstable
governments
and
tenuous
leadership have not yet yielded clear
benefits for the masses. The
education system is plagued by a
lack of financial support, a lack of
trained human resource, a lack of
leadership and inadequate physical
infrastructure
No child dreams of being a drug
addict, homeless,
lonely and
illiterate. Like any other child they
dream of being an astronaut, lawyer,
doctor or teacher. Education can
make that dream a reality. Sita, a
former street child, now working to
educate young Nepalese street girls
said, "If I had an education when I
was a young girl in Nepal, I would
never have suffered the life I have
today” “Education truly is power."
10
Gender, Health and Climate Change – Let’s see the Progress!
Alessa Rigal, MA. Globalisation and Development
G
ender and health is arguably
on the most dangerous
relationships developing as
climate change is everincreasing. It is widely believed, and
with every reason, that as water
levels rise, a massive outbreak of
water borne diseases will likely
follow. For example, climate
variability played an important role
in initiating malaria epidemics in
the East African Highlands (Zhou et
al., 2004, IUCN) and accounts for
over seventy per cent of variation of
recent
cholera
outbreaks
in
Bangladesh (Rodo et al., 2002,
IUCN). Pregnant women above all
are going to be the most susceptible
to the possible disease outbreaks.
Anaemia, which is a product of
malaria, is already responsible of a
quarter of maternal mortalities
(IUCN). Pregnant women attract
malaria-carrying mosquitoes at
twice the rate of non-pregnant
women. Maternal malaria can also
cause risk of spontaneous abortion,
premature delivery, still birth and
low birth weight, which then
becomes one of the leading causes of
child mortality (Mitchell 2007).
Other health issues include higher
rates of malnutrition due to
increasing loss of food security from
temperature
changes
and
unpredictable
rain
patterns,
increased respiratory diseases from
worsening pollution, and increased
heat related mortality (Brody 2008).
Children under five are the main
victims
of
sanitation-related
illnesses, and along with the elderly,
are the most affected by heat stress
(Bartlett 2008).
From
sickness
comes
care.
Therefore meaning it is no surprise
that despite facing their own
possible health problems, women
and girls are generally expected to
care for the sick, particularly in
times of disaster and environmental
stress (IUCN/WEDO 2007). Women
and girls are being prone to stressrelated diseases and exhaustion
from the burden of having travel
further to find firewood and clean
water whilst trying to care for sick
dependents
(Voluntary
Service
Overseas 2006, CIDA). This can also
mean that women are less able to
contribute to community level
decision-making
processes
on
climate issues or disaster risk
management.
Further
barriers
include little to no access to
healthcare services due to financial
constraints from either already
poverty conditions, or being forced
into hardship from incurring family
member medical costs. Another
important factor to consider is
possible cultural restrictions on
mobility can also prevent travel for
health care services.
As one can see, a clear picture has
been provided as to how women‟s
possible increasing health problems,
including what is already being
faced are impacting processes of
gender development. In the context
of the developing world, and in
terms of lower class women
specifically, health problems are
arguably keeping them in poverty.
The possible increase of outbreaks,
along with other problems could and
most likely would have gender
differentiated impacts as from
mentioned above, women tend to
11
have less access to healthcare then
men.
Discrimination
in
the
allocation of resources, such as
medicine and nutrition, puts women
are greater risk (Nelson et al.,
2002). How can this be fair?
Thankfully there is a long list of
hopefully possible and successful
recommendations
that
would
encourage
stronger
gender
development, such as: Programmes
are needed to improve access to
healthcare particularly for the
women and elderly; this includes
introducing cash transfers, free
health checks and mobile health
units. Programmes to offset the
demands and responsibilities of care
work from women is critical
Knowledge regarding appropriate
support and interventions to
alleviate women‟s care burden in the
context of HIV should be drawn
upon to inform climate change
policy and programming (Brody
2008).
Being healthy is the core to having a
successful livelihood. As a result, all
that can be done to provide
necessary measures to achieve this
should be employed. This is much
easier in theory than in practice, I
am aware. However we need to start
somewhere, as women we need to
continually keep fighting to achieve
what is rightfully ours to have. We
are at a point in today‟s world where
climate change is affecting all
aspects of our lives, both in the
North and South. How can we think
of future generations to come if our
health standards are constantly
being affected? For this reason
adaptation and mitigation policies
are fundamental. Theses policies
however can and only will be
successful if they are gender equal,
then and only then will we see the
best results for our future.
Concluding thoughts:
Climate change is no longer a
figment of our imagination. It is
something that will be more severe
in years to come, but lasting
consequences are already starting to
appear throughout various regions
of the world. These consequences as
has been argued are affecting mostly
poorer women in the developing
world. Aspects of everyday life such
as agriculture, water access and
health are being conversely affected
by climate change, thus propelling
even greater frequencies of natural
disasters
causing
further
vulnerability and disparity. Years of
fighting, raising awareness and
becoming part of the main agenda
with the global stage are what
women‟s organisations have been
suffering. Monumental moments
have been achieved such as the
UNFCCC COP13 conference in Bali,
and most recently the UNFCCC
negotiations in Barcelona just before
the
climatic
environmental
conference in Copenhagen in
December 2009. We have a long
way to go as women before us as a
group are considered to be on the
forefront of the climatic agenda not
just because of disproportionate
impacts, but as agents of power and
change. Soon, one can only hope,
women will be equally considered as
men for their valuable insight into
not just climate change mitigation
and adaptation, but with every issue
we face within this world. We have
come so far from what used to be.
But we cannot forget that there are
still so many women who have not
had the luck or ability of finding this
path yet. Constructive help and
encouragement, while breaking
through culture and poverty barriers
will get us there; there is a light at
the end of the tunnel. We must
continue to fight and think
12
positively to achieve results. We
cannot repair the gravity of damage
caused to our planet in the past
century, it is too severe. All we can
hope to do now is realise climate
change is not some idea that effects
people somewhere far away from us,
choosing its victims, but rather we
will all be hit, and innovative actions
and solutions need to be done now if
we have any hope of defeating it.
References:
Mitchell, T., Tanner, T. and Lussier,
K., (2007), “We know what we
need!” South Asian women speak
out on climate change adaptation,
London: Action Aid International
and the Institute of Development
Studies (IDS)
www.actionaid.org/assets/pdf/Actio
nAid%20%20IDS%20Report%20_
We%20know%20what%20we%20n
eed.pdf
Aguilar, L., (2006), “Climate Change
and Disaster Mitigation: Gender
Makes the Difference”, World
Conservation Union (IUCN)
Rodo, X. (2002) “ENSO and
cholera: A nonstationary link related
to climate change?” Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences.
(IUCN Climate Change Report)
Brody, Alyson, Demetriades, Justina
and Esplen, Emily. (2008) “Gender
and climate change: mapping the
linkages: A scoping study on
knowledge and gaps” BRIDGE, IDS,
www.bridge.ids.ac.uk/reports_gene
ral.htm
Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO),
(2006), „Reducing the Burden of
HIV and AIDS Care on Women and
Girls‟, Voluntary Services Overseas
(VSO) Policy Brief, UK: VSO,
http://www.vso.org.uk/Images/RB
HACWG_tcm8-8415.pdf
Bartlett, S. (2008) „Climate Change
and Urban Children: Impacts and
Implications for Adaptation in Low
and Middle Income Countries‟,
International Institute for
Environment and Development
(IIED) Human Settlements
Discussion Paper – Climate Change
2, UK: IIED, www.iied.org
WEDO, (2003), Women‟s
Environmental and Development
Organisation.
http://www.wedo.org/
Canadian International
Development Association (CIDA),
http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/home
Zhou, G. (2004). “Association
between climate variability and
malaria epidemics in the East
African Highlands” Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences.
(IUCN Climate Change Report)
13
COP15: Climate Change Conference 2009
Katherine Melton, MA. Globalisation and Development
Carina Flüeckiger, MA. International Relations
T
he United Nations Climate
Change Conference was held
between December 7th and
18th at the Bella Centre in
Copenhagen, Denmark. It was the
15th conference including the
Conference of the Parties (COP 15)
and the 5th Meeting of the Parties
(MOP 5). According to the Bali Road
Map (a two year process to finalise
an agreement between the 2007
conference in Bali and the
2009 conference in
Denmark), the goal of
the 2009 Climate
Change Conference
was to reach a
framework for climate
change
mitigation
beyond 2012. After
twelve days, numerous
protests and an intense
walkout, a document
was
created
that
recognises
climate
change as one of the
greatest
challenges
facing the world today.
The Copenhagen Accord
is seen as progress to
some but a powerless piece of paper
to many.
Copenhagen Accord
On the final day of the conference, a
“meaningful
agreement”
was
reached between Brazil, China,
India, South Africa and The United
States. The accord endorses the
continuation of the Kyoto Protocol
but is not legally binding and does
not include any emission reduction
targets. A reduction in emissions is
essential to achieving another detail
of the accord that the increase in
global temperature should be below
2 degrees Celsius. While it does
acknowledge that cuts in emissions
are required, this lack of response
with regards to the percentage
decrease by the assessment deadline
of the accord in 2015 is one of many
reasons heads of state view the
summit as a failure.
Impacts
of
the
“Agreement”
The
agreed
emission
reductions are far behind what
would be necessary to prevent
potentially
hazardous
consequences
of
climate
change.
The
following
emission
reductions
of
greenhouse gases need to be
implemented until 2020: The
United States needs to reach
a 17 percent reduction
compared to 2005 (or 3-4%
compared to 1990). China
strives
to
achieve
a
reduction of 40 to 45 percent
of
its
industrial
output
in
comparison to 2005. India wants to
reduce its emission by 20 to 25
percent compared to 2005. The EU
wants to cut its emissions by 20
percent or possibly even 30 percent
compared to 1990. Japan needs to
achieve a 25 percent reduction of its
emissions compared to 1990.
Developed
and
Developing
Nations
Regardless of these necessary
reductions in emissions, it is clear
that not all developed nations are
committed to this goal. During the
14
summit, documents were leaked
which led to some delegates from
developing countries walking out of
the
conference.
These
disagreements were a result of
developed nations working amongst
themselves regardless of the needs
of developing nations.
The
abandonment of the emissions
limits of the Kyoto Protocol has a
huge impact on developing nations
who require these in order to thrive.
If global warming is not considered
a serious issue and industrialised
nations do not decrease their
emissions further, the global
temperature could increase by 3.75
degrees, undermining the accord.
African countries would become an
oven, especially Ethiopia where
climate
change
is
extremely
noticeable. The lack of rain forces
many villagers to change their
farming methods radically. Climate
change also impacts social issues of
developing nations. Due to lack of
rain, their income by agriculture has
decreased what increases the social
issues: thefts and child work are
rising.
Another consequence of global
warming is the rising sea levels,
which in the worst-case could
increase 1-1.5 meters by 2100. Such
an increase would have devastating
consequences
particularly
for
developing countries since many lie
at roughly sea level, for instance the
islands in the Indian Ocean and
Bangladesh. With a sea level rise of
1.5 meters, substantial parts of
Bangladesh would be under water.
The same applies to many islands in
the tropical seas.
While Copenhagen was neither a
grand success nor a massive failure,
it is certainly a step in the right
direction. However, the agreement
needs more commitment from the
developed nations and more
transparency of the agreed $100
billion in aid to be provided to
developing
countries.
Without
putting measurable limitations on
emissions, no country, no matter
how developed, can survive the
dangerous concentrations of carbon
dioxide.
15
FEMINISM
AND THE
CITY
Bethan Calvert-Lyons, MA. Globalisation and Development
A
s we begin a new decade I
wanted to take stock of
feminism in today‟s world.
Having decided to use this
article to say something about the
big feminist issues still to be
addressed in the twentieth century I
came across the Guardian “Reviews
of the Decade”. All pop culture
reviews, looking at the best films,
songs, and headlines of the
naughties. What I found particularly
interesting was the selected female
Icons of the decade, in this case –
Carrie Bradshaw and Britney
Spears. This seems slightly worrying
at first glance; a woman famed for
her sex life and shoes, and a mad
woman with a shaved head are not
the guiding lights of feminism I
think we would hope for as we
embark upon the adolescence of the
new millennium. One of these
articles go on to note what a
successful career Britney Spears has
and that she is on the Forbes list of
the most powerful celebrities, so
perhaps not quite the nightmare role
model for women‟s empowerment
her bad press might sometimes lead
us to believe. Carrie Bradshaw is
hailed as a shining light of feminism.
In Sex and the City she plays a
writer who spends most of her time
talking, pondering on and writing
about men, shoes, sex and life in the
big city. Naomi Wolf of the Guardian
believes though that the message
she sends to women (especially
influence able teenage girls) is that
Carrie Bradshaw is a woman who
thinks about everything she does
and that this woman‟s thoughts
matter. A notion that might
empower some women.
These „icons‟, however, could still be
seen as a fairly narrow view of
women in the 21st century. Both
Britney
Spears
and
Carrie
Bradshaw‟s popularity are partly
based on their well-marketed
sexuality. Even if as characters
within the entertainment industry
they represent a strong feminine
image they do not offer anything
tangible to the development of the
world or women‟s place in it. The
female icons that really offer
empowerment are the women that
challenge pre conceived notions that
women can only bring sexuality,
beauty and feelings to the table.
As we approach 2010 Women are
about to exceed 50 % of the
American workforce (economist 2nd
January). So there must be iconic
women that contribute more to
modern
society
than
these
traditional characteristics. Over a
hundred years on from the
suffragette movement is it enough
for a woman to be hailed as an icon
of feminism because she has
thoughts that matter? Women are
no longer picketing from the
kitchen. We can vote, we have
infiltrated governments, banks and
business: isn‟t it time we were
recognised as doing more than just
thinking?
16
If I were to look back over the
decade and pick out some positive
female icons I would mention;
Hilary Clinton, the first woman who
seemed safely in the running for
presidency.
Aung San Suvkyi,
courageous stand against the
oppressive military regime in
Burma. Christine Lagarde, for her
confident
work
amongst
the
predominantly
male
finance
ministers of the European Union.
Angela Merkel, the first chancellor
of Germany and Susan Greenfield,
the first female president of the
royal society and someone who has
done much to improve popular
understanding of medical science.
Martha Lane Fox, demonstrating
that women can be successful
entrepreneurs even at the forefront
of the digital revolution; Nicola
Horlix, running a successful hedge
fund and combining her career with
a large family.
I think the significant difference
between
these
women‟s
contributions to their view is that in
this list the women are taking on
roles that are traditionally male.
They are also making a tangible
difference to the shape of the
political, scientific, financial and
business
sector.
Both
Carrie
Bradshaw and Britney Spears are
female
icons
within
the
entertainment industry neither of
which manage to break the
traditional image of women as
slightly frivolous. The important
thing about women working in
positions where they are capable
about influencing important world
decisions is that they can ensure
women‟s interests are properly
considered in the international
arena.
So sisters there‟s still work to be
done. Whilst ever Britain‟s most
liberal newspaper is summarising
women‟s contributions to the decade
through
their
sexuality
and
entertainment value there is still a
fight to be fought.
17
The Doha Development Round: Overview and Prospects for Completion
Kim van Kalleveen, MA. International Political Economy
F
rom the 30th of November
until the 2nd of December
2009 the seventh World Trade
Organization (WTO) ministerial
conference was held in Geneva. The
theme of the ministerial was „The
WTO, the Multilateral Trading
System and the Current Global
Economic Environment‟. While
previous ministerial conferences
were negotiating sessions, the
character of this conference was
slightly different as it concentrated
on reflecting on the activities thus
far and exchanging ideas on how to
move forward. The working sessions
named „Review of WTO activities,
including
the
Doha
Work
Programme‟ and „The WTO‟s
contribution to recovery, growth and
development‟ reflect this character.
This change of character was not
surprising as in the past years three
of the WTO ministerial conferences
have collapsed, including the miniministerial that was held in Geneva
in 2008. The main problem seems
to be the difference in interests
between developed and developing
countries. This article will provide a
concise overview of the Doha
Development Round by focusing on
the negotiating process and some of
the main issues, and examines the
chances of a successful conclusion of
the round.
Ministerial Conferences
The Doha Development Round was
launched in Doha, Qatar, in
November 2001, two years after the
collapsed ministerial conference in
Seattle. The Doha Development
Round can be seen as a compromise
between developed countries, who
sought after a market access round
aimed at further trade liberalization,
and developing countries, whose
goal was to have a true development
round as they were already
struggling with the implementation
of the commitments that were
formulated during the Uruguay
Round (from 1986 until 1994, which
resulted in the creation of the
WTO).1 The negotiating agenda,
named Doha Development Agenda
(DDA), included 21 various topics,
ranging from agriculture to special
and differential treatment.2
The shape of the DDA can only be
understood in light of the events at
the ministerial conference in Seattle
in November 1999. Although this
ministerial is mostly known for the
protests of the anti-globalization
movement outside the conference
centre where the meeting was held,
also referred to as „the Battle of
Seattle‟, it is more interesting to pay
attention to the contents and the
actual process of negotiations and
Oxfam International, „Empty Promises:
What Happened to “Development” in the
WTO‟s Doha Round?‟, Oxfam Briefing
Paper no. 131 (16 July 2009), 11.
2 Topics include: implementation-related
issues and concerns; agriculture; services;
market
access
for
non-agricultural
products; trade related aspects of
intellectual property rights; the relationship
between trade and investment; interaction
between trade and competition policy;
transparency in government procurement;
trade facilitation; WTO rules on subsidies
and regional trade agreements; dispute
settlement understanding; trade and
environment; electronic commerce; small
economies; trade, debt and finance; trade
and transfer of technology; technical cooperation and capacity building; least
developed
countries;
special
and
differential treatment; and organization and
management of the work programme.
Source: www.wto.org
1
18
the reasons for collapse. A first
source of tension was that while
developing countries were still
focusing on the implementation of
the commitments of the Uruguay
Round - agreements on services,
intellectual property and investment
measures3 - developed countries
stressed the need to include the socalled
Singapore
issues
investment,
government
procurement, trade facilitation and
competition policy - and the launch
of a new trade round.4 One of the
problems related to the process of
negotiations was that the conference
was not sufficiently prepared by the
diplomats in Geneva, who normally
prepare consistent proposals and
are usually able to settle certain
issues before the conference begins,
and therefore the ministers had to
negotiate and reach decisions on
many different topics under serious
time pressure.5 Another issue has to
do with the attitude of the Chair
Charlene Barshefsky, who was
criticised for threatening to make
use of more exclusive meetings in
order to achieve an outcome.6
Moreover,
many
developing
countries were excluded from the
so-called „Green Room‟ meetings:
small group meetings that are called
by the Director-General or a
Chairperson.7 During the Doha
In addition to the agreements on services,
intellectual property and investment
measures, agreements on agriculture, and
textiles and clothing were included in the
Uruguay Round.
4 Amrita Narlikar and Rorden Wilkinson,
„Collapse at the WTO: A Cancun PostMortem‟, Third World Quarterly, 25:3
(2004), 455.
5 Amrita Narlikar, „The Ministerial Process
and Power Dynamics in the World Trade
Organization: Understanding Failure from
Seattle to Cancún‟, New Political Economy,
9:3 (2004), 420.
6 Idem, 421.
7 Idem.
3
Conference
similar
problems
occurred. Despite these problems,
consensus was reached. In general,
the launch of the Doha trade round
is seen as a consequence of the fact
that the Ministerial Conference took
place just after the terrorist attacks
of 9/11.
However, the agreement that was
reached in Doha was not a very
stable consensus as the subsequent
ministerial conference in Cancún,
Mexico,
in
September
2003
collapsed as well. The different
expectations between the developed
and developing countries could not
be bridged: developed countries
expected negotiations on the
Singapore issues, while developing
countries focused on agriculture and
the extension of Special and
Differential
treatment.8
Furthermore, the strategy of the
facilitators – the people assigned to
organise discussions on certain
issues – was seen as a way to put
pressure on countries, because the
meetings focused on exploring
countries‟ „bottom lines‟, and also
the role of the Chair Luis Ernesto
Derbez, who did not extend the
meeting, has been criticised.9 When
taken into account that most
developing countries did not have
substantial delegations and lacked
specialist expertise in order to really
engage in the negotiations, it is not
surprising
that
they
formed
coalitions - such as the G20 of
developing countries led by Brazil,
China and India - in order to resist
the
demands
of
developed
countries.10
In December 2005 the Hong Kong
ministerial conference was held. The
preparations preceding this meeting
Narlikar and Wilkinson, „Collapse at the
WTO: A Cancun Post-Mortem‟, 456.
9 Idem, 451.
10 Idem, 452- 456.
8
19
were different from the previous
conferences as member states
showed
more
willingness
to
continue to make progress.11
Because of the fact that they were
unable to bridge all the differences
in interests before the actual
conference, they decided to adjust
their expectations and reflect on the
progress that had been made, and
also the decision was taken to form
an agreement on a package to
support Least Developed Countries
(LDCs).12 The negotiations further
emphasized
agriculture,
NonAgricultural Market Access (NAMA)
and services. Although the actual
agreements that were made at this
meeting did not really satisfy most
member states, the outcome was
important because it brought the
conclusion of the DDA a step
closer.13 The remaining part of this
article centralizes some of the most
important issues that have been
discussed
during
the
Doha
Development Round and pays
attention to the interests of
developing countries in specific.
Important Issues
TRIPS – The Trade Related
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
cover
copyrights,
patents,
trademarks, industrial designs etc.
Member states are obliged to
introduce minimum standards in
order
to
protect
intellectual
property. Two problems arise for
developing countries. First of all, the
access of developing countries to
knowledge decreases, as, in general,
developed
countries
produce
intellectual property and developing
Rorden Wilkinson, „The WTO in Hong
Kong: What it Really Means for the Doha
Development Agenda‟, New Political
Economy, 11:2 (2006), 294-295.
12 Idem, 295.
13 Idem, 300.
11
countries consume it.14 The second
problem relates to intellectual
property and medicines. Although
the goal of the agreement on „TRIPS
and Public Health‟ negotiated at the
Doha meeting was to make sure that
countries can access generic drugs
in case of a national health
emergency, the results have been
disappointing: the exception has
only been applied once, because it
seen as a complicated process.15
GATS – The General Agreement on
Trade in Services (GATS) covers the
trade in services, such as finance,
education, water supply, sanitation,
energy, tourism and health services.
It can be quite difficult for local
companies that provide services in
developing countries to compete
with established foreign firms.16
Although it is possible for member
states to exclude a small number of
sectors from the GATS agreement, it
is hard to determine beforehand
what sectors should be selected.
Agriculture – During the Uruguay
Round agriculture, one of the most
vital
sectors
for
developing
countries, was included in the
agreements. Still, the progress thus
far has been modest, because of the
continued protectionism of the US
and the EU. In Hong Kong an
agreement was made to phase out
export subsidies by 2013.17 However,
Robert Hunter Wade, „What Strategies
are Viable for Developing Countries Today?
The World Trade Organization and the
Shrinking of “Development Space”‟, Review
of International Political Economy, 10:4
(2003), 624.
15 Oxfam International, „Empty Promises:
What Happened to “Development” in the
WTO‟s Doha Round?‟, 25.
16 Wade, „What Strategies are Viable for
Developing Countries Today? The World
Trade Organization and the Shrinking of
“Development Space”‟, 629.
17 Wilkinson, „The WTO in Hong Kong:
What it Really Means for the Doha
Development Agenda‟, 297.
14
20
no progress was made on the more
important issue of the subsidies that
are given to support domestic
producers. Also, the agreement on
the cotton sector only included
export subsidies (used by the US),
but excluded domestic subsidies.18
Aid for Trade – Aid for Trade is
seen as the only true development
related initiative.19 It was launched
at the Hong Kong meeting with the
goal of improving market access and
capacity building in developing
countries. It focuses on issues as
assistance in trade policy formation
and regulation, mainstreaming trade
in national development strategies,
developing trade supply capacity,
infrastructure building, and trade
adjustment costs arising from
implementation of agreements.20
Conclusion
During the closing session of the
Ministerial Conference in Geneva
the commitment to conclude the
Doha Development Round in 2010
was re-affirmed. However, the
question remains if this goal can
actually be reached taking into
account the diverging interests that
are inherent to the many and diverse
topics that are included in the DDA
and the problems that can be
associated with the negotiating
process. Moreover, the growth of
bilateral and regional free trade
agreements shows that countries are
losing interest in the multilateral
trade regime and focus on other
ways to achieve their goals. In
addition, the current economic and
financial crises could be used as an
excuse to implement protective
measures and slow down the
negotiation process. Another small-
scale meeting will be held in the
beginning of this year in order to
determine if it is possible to
conclude the Round in 2010. The
next
ministerial
meeting
is
scheduled for the end of 2011.
Bibliography
Narlikar, Amrita, „The Ministerial
Process and Power Dynamics in the
World
Trade
Organization:
Understanding Failure from Seattle
to Cancún‟, New Political Economy,
9:3 (2004) 413-428.
Narlikar, Amrita and Rorden
Wilkinson, „Collapse at the WTO: A
Cancun Post-Mortem‟, Third World
Quarterly, 25:3 (2004) 447-460.
Oxfam
International,
„Empty
Promises: What Happened to
“Development” in the WTO‟s Doha
Round?‟, Oxfam Briefing Paper no.
131 (16 July 2009).
Wade, Robert Hunter, „What
Strategies are Viable for Developing
Countries Today? The World Trade
Organization and the Shrinking of
“Development Space”‟, Review of
International Political Economy,
10:4 (2003) 621-644.
Wilkinson, Rorden, „The WTO in
Hong Kong: What it Really Means
for the Doha Development Agenda‟,
New Political Economy, 11:2 (2006)
292-303.
Idem.
Oxfam International, „Empty Promises:
What Happened to “Development” in the
WTO‟s Doha Round?‟, 26.
20 Idem.
18
19
21
The Globalization of Music
Asif Khan, MA. International Relations
I
n the debate over globalization
one
often
hears
about
McDonalds, Starbucks, child
labour, pollution, and exploitation of
the global south, amongst others,
but one aspect of globalization that
often tends to get ignored is music. I
believe that music has an intense
quality to bring people together and
has been doing so for centuries in
almost every part of the world.
Holidays, weddings, celebrations
like New Year‟s, Christmas, Eid etc.
would not be the same without
music.
In today‟s increasingly globalized
world
music
is
also
very
interconnected. A band from
Brooklyn, New York releases a single
and within days if not hours people
are listening to it in Sydney and
Tokyo. Music also tends to travel not
just from the north to the south and
from the west to the east, like most
other popular products today but
the reverse is also very true. This has
been exemplified more recently by
the Colombian-Lebanese superstar,
Shakira whose songs are heard
virtually all over the world and who
even sang in the last football world
cup, alongside Haitian-American
Wyclef Jean. This blending of
cultures is not a recent phenomenon
and dates back to The Beatles
recording songs with the Indian
sitar player Ravi Shankar; Pakistani
qawalli singer Nusrat Fateh Ali
Khan teaming up with Peter Gabriel
to record the soundtrack for “The
Last Temptation of Christ”; and
Senegalese singer Youssou N‟Dour
joining with Swedish Neneh Cherry
to record the super hit song, “Seven
Seconds”. The inter-mingling of
nationalities, languages and cultures
is very prevalent, more than ever in
today‟s music scene. A good example
is the Portuguese-Canadian singer
Nelly Furtado who not only sings in
her native languages of English and
Portuguese but has also recorded
songs in Urdu and now has a
successful Spanish language album.
In the wake of the tremendous
earthquake and the consequent loss
of life in Haiti, Haitian-American
musician Wyclef Jean has launched
a worldwide appeal for donations
and support for the Haitian people
in order to provide emergency relief
and supplies to the millions left
homeless. His organization Yéle
(www.yele.org) has been collecting
donations mostly by text messaging
and internet. Another way in which
globalization and the advances in
communication technology have
helped people from all over the
world come together and support
and help the under-privileged and
helpless. Even prior to the
earthquake Yéle Haiti has been
involved in community outreach
efforts in the country, including
sports, arts & entertainment, the
environment and education. Less
than a week after the earthquake
musicians U2, Jay-Z and Rihanna
teamed up to record a track called
„Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)‟. They
gathered together in London on
January 25th to sing the now popular
song, "When the sky falls and the
earth quakes/ We gonna put this
back
together/
We
won't
break," they chanted. All the
proceeds for the song, which is
available for sale on iTunes will go
to the Haitian Earthquake Relief
22
Fund. The Hope for Haiti Telethon
which featured many celebrities
raising money for Haiti also features
another song recorded by the
Barbadan-American singer Rihanna
called
“Redemption
Song”,
originally sung by Bob Marley.
Musicians have always come
together in times of disaster and
grief and have lent their support to
many an important cause over the
years and they have proved this yet
again after the unfortunate events in
Haiti.
raising awareness of global issues
and concerns. Israel‟s 2009 entry to
Eurovision exemplifies this fact,
which was a duet sang by a
Palestinian singer, Mira Awad and
an Israeli singer, Achinoam Nini.
The recent musical and cultural
exchanges between long time foes
India and Pakistan; as well as
Greece and Turkey are also notable
examples.
In today‟s world it‟s
sometimes important to look at the
positive aspects of globalization and
I definitely think that music is one of
those aspects.
Music has an enormous capacity of
bringing cultures together, and also
23
GGD Students Perspectives on Development and Underdevelopment
S
ometimes images can strike you more than a thousand words. As the old
saying goes, GGD Students represent through pictures what they consider
development and underdevelopment. This will be a silent claim of how the
world has been led; the conclusions and thoughts will be left to the reader.
Temaikén Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Bibi Gonzalez
Progress down the drain?
One day at the beach, one person…
Moscow, Russia, Rasool Daya
UK and Aruba, Kim van Kalleveen
A developed
country with
two different
water taps and
an
underdeveloped
country with „all
in one‟?
24
South Africa and Iceland, Damon Boughen
“The guitar photo was taken at a project where they give space for
those in shanty towns to craft goods out of recycled material as form of
income, this man ended up making a fully functioning electric guitar out
of a Castrol can; it sounded fantastic!”
“The photo shows geothermic pools in Iceland, which are the main source
of electricty in Iceland: 85% of homes are heated by it, and it’s extremely clean”
25
Art & Humor
H
arsha Biswajit is this issue‟s special guest. He is a Master student but
also a graphic artist, through which he will consider climate change in
the light of the recent Copenhagen Conference. After accepting to
illustrate an exclusive image, the WGDS Newsletter is happy to present,
“Climate Change”
by Harsha Biswajit, MA. International Political Economy
26
Events
LSE International Organisations Day
O
rganised by the
London School
of
Economics
and offered to a limited
number of students
from only the UK‟s top
universities, attending
this careers event had a
slight air of exclusivity
about it. Recruiters
from organisations such
as the UN, World Bank,
Red Cross, and Asian
Development
Bank
came to London to
address those gathered.
Seeing as the day‟s
programme was aimed
at
postgraduate
students, it seems as
though nothing less
than a masters level
qualification
is
sufficient in attaining a
full time position at an
International
Organisation such as
the UN.
given
due
consideration.
Applicants should think
carefully about what
they enjoy doing and
work
on
honing
competencies
accordingly. This will
save
some
from
applying for every job
available and possibly
accepting an offer and
later realising it is not
what they wanted.
Networking was one of
the themes of the day.
Often considered a
somewhat
pejorative
term, some prefer to
use the slightly cleaner
phrase
relationship
building. One of the
speakers outlined the
differences
between
passive, active and
creative networking as a
way to make a positive
impression on those in
positions of influence.
Important nuggets of
information were made
available, such as the
possibility of being
offered a stipend if
accepted onto the UN
Volunteers programme
or the fact that one does
not necessarily require
a
health
related
qualification to conduct
programme work for
the WHO.
It was stressed that job
satisfaction should be
Opportunity scanning
was
mentioned.
Interested
applicants
were encouraged to
„follow the money‟; not
in terms of the highest
paid jobs, but rather
looking at sectors where
budgets are high or
growing. This will help
with job security and
growth
prospects
further down the line.
Working
for
an
international
organisation
requires
you not only to be
academically
and
analytically smart, but
also to have other
smarts not often taught
in formal educational
institutions. One of
these
is
emotional
intelligence, an area of
study attracting the
interest of more and
more recruiters of large
organisations, both in
the public and private
sectors. To learn more,
books
by
Daniel
Goleman and Malcom
Gladwell
were
recommended.
The closing remarks
were
centered
on
smaller attributes to
distinguish
yourself
from the masses of
other candidates. These
include having the same
values as the UN
(integrity, commitment,
flexibility, creativity and
respect for diversity,
among
others),
to
complete
plenty
of
interview training and
to choose a good boss
over a good job.
Overall, the day was
useful in order to find
out
what
students
should think about, and
what they can start
working
on
before
applying to positions in
International
Organisations. Making
the trip to London may
well prove to have been
worth it for some.
27
Warwick International Development Summit
H
eld
at
the
University
of
Warwick
campus for the fourth
year running, this was
an entirely different
event altogether – more
about engaging with the
speakers
and
their
opinions.
Global Poverty Project
and the wise insight
from
the
Gender
equality panel, chaired
by our very own Prof.
Shirin Rai brought a
much-needed
social
perspective to a fairly
economic
focused
conference.
There were leading
speakers in attendance,
who
ranged
from
government,
civil
society, academia and
international
organisations such as
the OECD, UN and
IMF.
Other notables included
Warwick‟s Prof. Chris
Woodruff
(who
suggested that more
research needs to be
done in the field of
microfinance,
before
proclaiming it as the
developing
world‟s
magic formula), and
John
Hammock,
representing the Oxford
Poverty and Human
Development Initiative
(who claimed to have
devised a new way of
measuring
poverty,
taking into account
factors previously not
accounted for).
Prominent among them
were Benny Dembitzer
who, while promoting
his new book, suggested
that rather the existence
of a single global
economy, the world
should be split into four
distinct
groups:
a)
OECD
countries,
primarily living on
credit,
b)
fast
developing
and
resource rich BRIC
countries,
c)
Oil
exporting
countries,
living in a rentier
bubble and, d) the
remaining
50+
outsiders.
The impressive visual
presentation by the
The weekend did well to
span
the
entire
development spectrum,
from
the
opening
address by Mike Foster,
MP – representing DfID
–
speaking
about
multilateral aid, all the
way to the story from
Royston Maldoom, who
started
up
Dance
United, promoting the
performing arts and
working
with
disadvantaged children
at the grassroots level.
While applauding the
efforts of the organising
team and recognising
the
difficulty
of
coordinating an event of
such scale, one item of
constructive criticism
springs to mind. The
lack of outside speakers
from the global south,
while doing nothing to
stifle critics of neoliberal
intervention,
only served to act as the
„elephant in the lecture
theatre‟ and as such, the
weekend seemed to lack
any degree of cultural
diversity and removed
the
international
flavour
one
would
expect, given the title of
the conference.
On the whole, however,
the event can be
considered a success
and as the UK‟s largest
student-run
development
conference, should be
held up as an example
of an effective platform
to raise awareness and
provide
intellectual
debate on one of the
more important issues
facing our generation.
By Rasool Daya
MA. Globalisation & Development
Event Correspondent
28
WGDS Activities
Ali Datoo
President
Regular activities:
WGDS Film Club.
Thursdays afternoon
there is a documentary
showing and discussion on
relevant topics to the
module of Globalisation,
Governance and
Development.
Bibi Gonzalez
Editor
Warwick Global
Development Society
WGDS
Upcoming activities:
Global Futures
Symposium: a Daylong Workshop on
Challenges for
Development and
Governance.
Week 20
http://www2.warwic
k.ac.uk/fac/soc/pais/s
taff/rai/teaching/po9
01/wgds
University of
Warwick
Issue 1
January 2010
This is a student led
symposium and is now
taking shape, so don’t
miss your chance to get
involved!
29