UNESCO Courier articles from September 2000

UNESCO Courier archives from September 2000

A PIROUETTE AROUND POVERTY.(modern dance program set up by Alvaro Restrepo and Marie-France Delieuvin to help teach underprivileged children in Columbia)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2000... Two enthusiastic and seasoned choreographers open new horizons for underprivileged children in Cartagena by introducing them to modern dance Alvaro Restrepo, a Colombian dancer and choreographer, could have pursued his career anywhere in...

VENICE: DUELS OVER TROUBLED WATERS.(preservation of the city and the restoration of its canals and waterways)(Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2000... How can the ecological balance of Venice be reconciled with the demands of industry? Is the highly controversial construction of mobile floodgates the solution? The decision will be made by 2001 The traveller to Venice should arrive at the...

CHINA'S MIGRANT CHILDREN FALL THROUGH THE CRACKS.(unlicensed schools)(education)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2000... Despite China's educational achievement, migrant children in the country's big cities are struggling to find a place in school. For many, the unlicensed route is at best, the only option I Every semester, Li Shumei and Yi Benyao turn away...

Renewing the state.(effects of globalization)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Many view globalization as a technology-driven global order that has led to an intensification of interconnectedness among nations. This, however, is merely one facet of globalization, and does not presuppose the ideological homogenization or...

Social pioneers come of age.(development of Non Govermental Organizations around the world)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2000... Non-governmental organizations took centre stage in Seattle, but many have been spinning their web for several decades around the globe Everywhere we turn there is good economic news. The massive growth of the global economy, fed by...

Globalization: a moral imperative.(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2000... A leading international trade theorist argues that free markets and integration into the world economy are key to making a dent on poverty "Globalization" has become today's buzz word. It has also become a battle ground for two radically...

Tomorrow's humane economy.(economic theory, past and present)
September 1, 2000... Countering the previous viewpoint, the author turns to history to show that belief in the market as the best of all social orders is an old ideal that does not bear up to scrutiny Since the early 1980s, when the Thatcherite and Reaganite...

Unequal gains.(Global Gross Domestic Profit has grown but poverty is still an issue)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2000... While the world is growing richer, inequality is increasing and extreme poverty remains deeply entrenched, as critics of globalization's current style are quick to underline. Global GDP has grown fivefold in real terms over the past 25...

Organic rebel.(globalization and its effect on developing countries)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... After dodging police in the streets, a young activist in the U.S. takes the battle against corporate forces onto firmer ground "Eat your food. Children in Ethiopia are starving." It is a familiar refrain at the American dinner table to...

Igorots: in defence of home.(the work of the Tebtebba Foundation to protect the rights of indigenous people and address the effects of globalization)(Chico River Dam Project)
September 1, 2000... In the mid-1970s, the Igorot people won fame for fighting the largely World Bank-funded Chico River Dam project. Now, their survival is increasingly linked to changing the rules of international trade, as a leading advocate explains I had...

Ecuador: beyond the dollar coup.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Globalization is fine, say Ecuador's indigenous leaders, as long as it allows us to preserve our traditional culture and begin talks with the North on a level playing field Luis Macas is one of the most prominent leaders and thinkers in...

Banana blues.(Burkina Faso)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... A farmers' group in Burkina Faso gains clout in its battle against the liberalization of agriculture, and turns to the global movement for support Ousseini Ouedraogo, forty-something, looks like a lumberjack. He has the moral strength of...

The fishermen's firebrand takes on the fleet.(India)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Father Thomas Kocherry has been catapulted into leading India's 10-million-strong fishing community in its campaign against industrial fleets, shrimp farms and coastal pollution "The life of the planet and the dependent health and welfare...

Justice for Janitors in Silicon Valley.
September 1, 2000... By exposing the flagrant gap between rich and poor, janitors in America's high-tech heartland have captured nationwide attention in their fight for decent working conditions Vicente Mendoza, an immigrant from Mexico, travels about 15 miles...

Connected and capable.(The Charles Leopold Mayer [1] Foundation for Human Progress)(The Charles Leopold Mayer [1] Foundation for Human Progress)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... First, civil society acted as an opposition force, then it brought a critical voice into major world forums. Now the time has come to offer alternatives It all starts with a sense of powerlessness, springing from a paradox that can be...

Governance: time for a radical remake.(protests about globalization)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... Despite their vastly different agendas, NGOs stand united in their plea for stemming the power of transnational corporations through more plural global structures As protest movements go, the mass gatherings that shouted down trade...

NGOs: searching for solid ground.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2000... The role of NGOs should be to foster the emergence of a worldwide civil society, the first step towards making globalization a more democratic affair NGOs were not born yesterday, but the rising number of conflicts that have reverberated...

SPORT MEDICINE: TO HEAL OR TO WIN?
September 1, 2000... On the eve of the Sydney Olympic Games, sport medicine is faced with ethical dilemmas that stretch well beyond the domain of top-level competition Advances in life sciences and biotechnology are stirring up a broad debate about ethics....

KOSOVO: BURNED BOOKS AND BLASTED SHRINES.(Interview)
September 1, 2000... Kosovo's cultural heritage was deliberately targetted during the 1998-1999 conflict says Harvard University's Andras Riedlmayer', co-author of the first survey assessing the damage You spent three weeks in Kosovo in October 1999 documenting...

CRIMES AGAINST CULTURE.(the former Yugoslavia)
September 1, 2000... In the former Yugoslavia, the destruction of cultural heritage erased a common identity in cities and fulfilled an archaic dream in the countryside In 1991, in the early days of the Cold War's end, Western Europeans were shaken by...

CUDDLING UP TO CYBORG BABIES.(children and electronic toys)
September 1, 2000... A "cybershrink" traces relations between children and their electronic pets and computer toys over three generations Children have always used their toys and playthings to create models for understanding their world. Fifty years ago, the...

TIM BERNERS-LEE: THE WEB'S BRAINCHILD.(interview with World Wide Web inventor)(Interview)
September 1, 2000... A staunch idealist, the British inventor of the World Wide Web is worth more than his weight in gold. Tim Berners-Lee has shunned opportunities in the private sector to captain an international consortium grouping the Web's who's who. His...

WEBSITE OF THE MONTH: http://www.unicef.org.(United Nations Children's Fund)
September 1, 2000... Nearly everyone is familiar with the United Nations Children's Fund through its greeting cards. Yet the activities of this 1965 Nobel Peace Prize laureate go far beyond Christmas fundraising. Its programmes on child health, nutrition, education...