Raj Chandola: Online Diary Norway
Raj Chandolar`s online diary: ISFiT 2007, written for the e-mail list of the Community of World Citizens
Day 1, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Unforgettable Images, Forgettable Images, ISFiT: Global Boundaries
Twenty-one hours after leaving home, I arrived in Trondheim — the original capital of Norway, on 16th February to see snow-covered landscape and slippery streets. Infact the very first step on the airport tarmac warned that one had to be very careful lest one slip and break a bone.
Was surprised to see three cheery students (Erlend, Sandra and Elisabeth)standing in a line and each holding up a paper that read "Mr Chandola". I asked them why three and they just smiled. In the excitement I forgot to change my Euros to Norwegian Kroners, a mistake that I was to repent later in the day when I couln't make a call nor access internet.
During the 30 minute ride to the city from the airport, the students asked me if I found the weather cold. I said at minus five degrees, it is obviously cold (we had been told the outside temperature before exiting the aircraft). One of the girl says, "Actually its pretty hot today. Last week it was minus 20 degrees." I said I know you are pulling my leg, calling minus five "hot".
After leaving the luggage in Thon Hotel and the necessary abulitions, came out to see the famous Olaf memorial pillar and the 900 years St Olaf Church right next to the hotel. Soon Erlend and Sandra were back to take me to the Students Union Office. We walked the 2kms soaking in the snow covered scenery. The Students Union Office, a 100 year old building is the centre of student activities in Trondheim. They told me 1200 students are working as volunteers to make ISFiT work. About 400 participants had already arrived and the place was full of excited youngsters animatedly discussing things and issues.
Soon I was surrounded by about 8-10 students each asking me "Are you the one from world's largest school". Soon the discussion got arround to World Parliament and I was surprised to see how little all of them knew on the subject. So I told them about the Earth Constitution and Garry Davis's WGWC and they were all spellbound. They had not heard any of these stories. After I had spoken for about 20-30 minutes, I was appraoched by a guy who runs a student radio station based in the same building and he asked if I would like to have a short, live-interview on their radio in an hour's time. I said ofcourse why not and soon we were in the radio room.
They started the program with a question for all present (about 50 or so) and asked them to give written replies to the question "What would you dare President Bush to do?" I wrote the reply "I dare President Bush to send his daughters to fight in Iraq"
The first interview was of the President of ISFiT Martin Svarva, who was presented a bottle of Champagne for the sucessful start to ISFiT. He opened the bottle there and then and they all had a drink even as the interview continued. He informed that preparations had been going on for nearly two years now and confessed that he was feeling relieved that everything had gone without a hitch.
The second interview was of an intense looking Palestinian student — Al Kazmi — who was born to refugee parents living in Lebanon and was now studying in Turkey. The anchor introduced him as from Lebabnon, Palestine and Turkey and the boy said he was a Palestinian without Palestine and urged Israel to end the genocide in Palestine and give up occupied lands.
Then it was my turn and they asked about CMS, its Guinness record and the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education. They were surprised to know that CMS had been nominated for the UNESCO prize by the Government of India and even more surprised when I told tham that our nominee, Judge Weeramantry got this award in 2006. Finally they asked about the theme of ISFiT, "Global Boundaries" and I said the problem is that even though it is becoming increasingly clear that the political boundaries have become obsolete and that we are all passengers on spaceship Planet Earth, that our welfare is all linked together and we need to take better care of our planet, in practice we are not able to get rid of past mindsets and thinking habits. Then I gave the example of Australian aborgines and mentioned how 80,000 years ago there was a vast migration from Africa and people came up from Maldives, Mauritius, Sri Lanka to India and then went down to Andaman and Nicobar Islands finally ending up in Australia. A recent genetic-study of people showed that 60% of Indians had African genes. So I asked the interviewer if the Australian Aborgines should be considered Australian, India or African. This brought loud cheers from the audience. And finally I said that my Palestinian friend obviously had a strong emotional pull for Palestine, the land of his parents but I am sure he must be having strong love for Lebabnon where he grew up and where all his friends are. He must also be having some love for Turkey where he currently lives and where he surely has friends. The point I said was that the mindset that caused Israel-Palestine conflict is the same that causes all wars - me and mine. Unless we recognize that we are all citizens of Planet Earth, we cannot have the large-heartedness necessary to rise above our prejudices and to solve our conflicts in the spirit of give and take." I was a little taken aback with the uproarious shouts and "Yea,Yea" from the youngsters present.
Going back to my seat, I was called back midway because my answer to "Dare President Bush" got the second prize - a music CD. The first prize went to the answer by a student that said "I dare Presidnet Bush to do a Monica Lewinsky, and then he will change his mind on Iraq .. (or something like that I couldn't get the exact ending because the first part of the answer brought the house down).
The last interview was of a singer from Brazil who sang a beautiful love song and drew loud applause.
Was surprised to be told that Norwegians take their dinner at 5 pm in the evening. But it actually worked fine for me because that was 9.30 pm by my bodyclock (Indian time).
After dinner discussions were mainly focused on discussing the hows and
whys of
World Parliament because all the students wanted to discuss that with me.
Half of them were convinced it is a utopian idea but thankfully after discussions
and clarifying their doubts, most of them seemed to have changed their mind.
I think this festival has given us a unique chance to propogate the idea of World Parliament amongst the new generation at the grassroots level. There are 8000 students in this university and 450 participants from other countries. If we can convey our ideas to even half of them and enroll their support, it will be a big step forward towards our goal.
With best wishes
The second day's program was only for the evening, the official opening ceremony
which dominated by songs, dances and comedy routine by three very talented
students.
The President of ISFiT, Martin Suvara, gave an inspiring speech wherein he said 'Our job at ISFiT is to throw snowballs' and then went on to explain how snow balls as they roll downhill collect more snow flakes and if allowed to roll far enough can even cause an avalnche. He also quoted Margret Mead's famous words about a small group's ability to change the world.
The Chief Guest for the evening was Kimmie Weeks, Executive Director of Youth Action International, a former Liberian who saw civil war as a child and then challenged Charles Smith by exposing his misdeeds and when Smith tried to kill him, he was sheltered by the American Embassy and later given asylum in USA from where he runs his NGO (www.peaceforkids.org)
Kimmie has agreed to team up with CMS and has also promised to try to get
the Chief Justice of Liberia to come for our next Conference of Chief Justices.
In his speech Kimmie urged the youth not to let their generation be known
as the generation of video games but to work for saving the world. He made
a great impression with his speech that was wildly cheered and he was given
a standing ovation.
Earlier in the day, after nearly falling/slipping on icy streets nearly 20 times I saw a guy using portable spikes on his shoes and went bought a pair. These spikes are put on the soles of the shoes using rubber-bands and can be taken off / put on quickly. A great invention indeed. Funnily, Erlind, my guide told me that an average Norwegian slips and falls about half a dozen times a year
During lunch and dinner I kept having these youngsters appear out of nowhere and ask me - are you the one from the world's largest school? And several of them specifically wanted to discuss World Parliament.
So it has been a great day and tomorrow I am supposed to give the opening speech at the Grand Hall on the topic 'Global Boundaries'. Since Kimmie Weeks will also speak (after me fortunately) the hall will be packed.
So thanks friends for your good wishes and hope to keep you posted.
Raj
First the bad news. Yesterday night returned from the meeting at 11.30 pm and sat at the hotel computer writing the third day's report till 1.00 pm and when pressed the send button, the computer crashed and lost all data. Still reeling from the crushing heartbreak. Now let me see if I can recall what all happened yesterday.
My third day in Norway was the big day when I was to speak at the opening
discussion meeting of ISFiT together with Kimmie Weeks. The meeting was to
start at 7.00 in the evening and the topic was 'Global Boundaries'. Was told
that I was expected to define the term 'Global Boundaries'. So the whole
day I stayed in my hotel room thinking about what to say and doing meditation
(i.e.
Agni-Kriya and Varun-Kriya).
At around 2 in the afternoon got a brainwave, went down to the computer in the hotel lobby and prepared two simple certificates in word file (they had only a B/W printer). The certificates stated that the World Unity and Peace Education Depåartment of City Montessori School was bestowing on Kimmie Weeks the Mahatma Gandhi Youth Role Model Award 2007 ''for standing upto injustice and oppression'' and on Martin Svarva (the very popular head of the student union here and the President of ISFiT) the CMS Global Youth Leadership Award ''for suggesting Global Boundaries as the theme for ISFiT-2007 thereby focusing attention of the youth on issues that concern the very survival of humanity.'' It was clarified that the awards were being presented on behalf of 31,000 CMS students and 3,000 staff and the founders Mr and Mrs Gandhi.
A 3 inch brass bust of Mahatma Gandhi and a foot long wooden replica of the Ashokan Pillar that I had taken with me from Lucknow as gifts came in handy to go with the awards. Incidentally I had already gifted Mahatma Gandhi's brass bust to Kimmie Weeks the previous night so I had go to him and take it back explaing that I wanted to present it publicly along with the certificate/citation. He was happy to oblige.
Armed with these, I arrived at the Student Council House at 6.30 pm and contacted Erlend my guide and explained that I wanted to present these awards but wanted to keep it a surprise for Martin. He talked to Daniel Ross, the moderator for the meeting and it was decided to keep this as the last item of the day's program. They asked Martin Svarva to stay back till the end of the meeting but didn't tell him why.
The evening's program began with a short film where they showed replies from residents of Trondheim (young boys and girls, mothers and fathers, granddads and grandmoms) what did they understand by the phrase 'Global Boundaries'. Some of them said 'don't know' but most said it must have something to do with ”the world” since the word ”global” was being used. Then they showed a short video message from Bishop Desmond Tutu who said though he couldn't come personally, he wished success to ISFiT and praised the effort.
Finally Daniel took the chair. The hall was overflowing with 600 youngsters crammed into seats meant for 500. Daniel briefly raised the question what does globalization mean and is it good or is it bad or is it both good and bad and then asked me to answer these questions.
I began by saying that whenever I lay my hand on a new dictionary I check it to see if it has the words 'Globalism' and 'Globalization'. If it doesn't, I mark that dictionary as old and outdated because all new dictionaries include these words. I explained that these are new words that have been coined recently and globalization is usually meant to indicate the process of economic integration of economies of countries of the world. Globalism refers to the mindset that this process of integration has given rise to.
Then I went on to point out that that this globalization which is being driven by technological revolution particularly in the filed of communication and information technology, has also started giving rise to the realization amongst people that despite our manifold differences in culture, beliefs and political and social systems, humanity is basically one big family.
The word 'Boundaries' refers to divisions or dividing lines and while some of these divisions particualry the political divisions are clearly marked on maps and even on the ground, the dividing lines that separate people economically, socially, linguistically and even intellectually are not clear at all and are diffused and blurred. But the heat generated by the pace of technological developments was melting these dividing lines also and humanity would soon realize that despite all our differences we were on our way to One World.
However, time was short and we need to get there before the threat from climate change and global warming destroys all our gains. The I mentioned how the melting polar ice caps could raise sea levels alarmingly high and the ice sheet on the Greenland, if it melts and flows into the sea could divert the Gulf Stream which kept northern Europe ice free and if that happens – as some studies indicate – northern Europe could be buried under an ice sheet 2 kms thick. And one projections said this could happen before 2020 (a big audible gasp from the audience).
I said I had read an article that said that children born after the year 2000 could look forward to a life span of one thousand years (another gasp from the audience). The article mentioned that artificial human blood was already in the market. Artifical kidney was set to be available within 2-3 years, titanium heart within 7-8 years, fibre lungs within 12-15 years and within the next 20-25 years artificial replacements for all human body parts would be readily available. The brain couldn't be replaced but its aging process could be slowed down with medicines and healthy living and thus children born after 2000 AD could look forward to a life span of nearly 1000 years. This could herald perhaps the most glorious period in human history.
So to say that humanity today was at a crossroad was no longer just a cliche but a literal reality. One path leads to the most gloden of all ages in human history while the other leads to total destruction and devastation of our civilization. The choice was ours and the youth of today was our only hope since the politicians were too self centred and power hungry to think about the future.
Now the point was what can the youth do as individuals. Here I suggested a seven point action plan but since Daniel signalled that I had only two minutes left, I announced that I would be passing on the page to Martin with request to display on notice board for information of all.
1 Go to www.voteworldgovernment.org and cast your vote for democratic global governance. If you are more committed, start a chain voting cycle by convincing two of your friends to vote and convince two of their friends to vote etc. See more details on the website
2 Join www.studentworldassembly.org a growing community of students interested in saving the world. Discuss global issues, deliberate of proposals and vote.
3 Ratify Earth Constituion at http://www.wcpa.biz/english/constitution/about_earth_constitution.htm
4 Sign World Citizens Registry at www.recim.org/ascop/ascop-an.htm
5 Take World Citizens Passport at www.worldservice authority/docexit.html
Before I could come
to the sixth and the last points Daniel stood up and said, sorry I had
to stop so I said thank you I will pass this sheet of Seven Point Action
Plan to the organisers and ask them to put it up on notice boards for all
to see.
The sixth and the seventh points were
6 Attend the World Judiciary Summit and Global Symposium at Lucknow, India in Dec 2007
7 Meditate and try to find the centre of your being inside you, where answers to all your questions are.
Anyway, I was surprised by the discipline of the audience who didn't even fidget during the entire speech and listened attentively throughout.
Then it was the turn of Kimmie Weeks who started by telling us about his early life in Liberia where during the Civil war, so many people died that they stropped burying the dead and would just pile them up. He recalled how he had to hide in a room with his mother and 16 other people and survive on roots and leaves. He became sick and for some days didn't even move at all and people thought he had died and his mother was hiding this fact and in order not to catch infection from the dead body they threw him on a pile of the dead when his mother was out searching for food. When she came back she searched for him for five hours and people thought she had gone mad. Ultimately she found him and he was unconscious and when he heard her voice he managed to open his eyes and she took him back. He said his pain and suffering convinced him he had to do something for others and he was inspired by the example of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. He said we are all living in a small global village and no country could exist in isloation. He said people think Africa is poor but it is Africa that sustains the world. He gave example of Sierra Leone and said it had diamond mines and much mineral wealth but it was making the corporations rich and the wealth was not being used to take care of the poor in Sierra Leone. He urged the rich countries to come and help Africa become self sufficient.
After Kimmie's speech the Trondheim Folk Dance Club presented three Romanian folk dances followed by a break of five minutes and then the Q&A session began. During the dance performance they had collected the questions in writing from the audience. There were eight questions and we were told to limit our answers to two minutes each.
The first guy wanted to know what Kimmie and I had done 'personally' for peace. Kimmie spoke about his organizations various projects in Africa. I said our Department had several peace projects but perhaps the most satisfying amongst them, atleast for me personally, was the Indo-Pak Children's Friendship Club that I had helped launch and that had facilitated exchange of nearly 20,000 letters between our students and children in Pakistan. The Club had also facilitated exchange visits and last year our School hosted nearly a thousand Pakistani delgates for the various international events we organize. We had also sent more than 200 children to Pakistan during the same period.
Another guy asked Kimmie and me what we thought was the best and the worst aspects of Globalization. Kimmie said globalization had brought unprecedented prosperity to many areas but it needed to be made fair so that thsoe left behind can also reap the fruits of globalization.
I said that for me the best aspect of globalization was that it enabled me to come here and participate in ISFiT, something that wouldn't have been possible earlier because I applied for (duplicate) passport on 9th Feb, got it on 12th, got the visa on 14th and was here on 16th February. The worst part was the growing inequality that globalization seemed to be bringing about and which needed to be addressed quickly.
A participant from Palestine came up and said from Kimmie's speech one got
the impression that all the suffering was in Africa. Doesn't Kimmie know
about the genocide of Paletinians by the Zionists he asked and questioned
why Kimmie didn't say anything on the Palestine issue. Kimmie said he wished
the organisers had arranged for a speakers panel that had a broader spectrum.
He said no matter how much research he did on the Palestine issue, he couldn't
probably do justice to it as only a Palestinian could. I interjected and
said that the pain of a family that has lost a son or a daughter or a father
or a mother is the same everywhere, whether that death occurs in Palestine
or
Sudan or anywhere else.
So the questions went and soon it was all over and the audience started getting up to leave when Daniel announced that I wanted to make a special announcement. The audience settled down back into their seat and I took out the brass bust of Mahatma Gandhi and showed it to the audience and then read out the citation announcing the first Mahatma Gandhi Youth Role Model Award 2007 to Kimmie Weeks. There were loud cheers and particularly the African students in the audience went really wild, shouting and screaming.
After they had settled down again I took out the wooden replica of the Ashokan Pillar and told the audience that this a copy of the stone pillar erected by Empreor Ashoka in 2300 BC to mark the spot where Lord Buddha gave his first sermon. Also told them the lions on top, form the offocial emblem of the Government of India and then I read out the citation announcing the CMS Global Youth Leadership Award to Martin Svarva. This time the audience went truly wild and there was such thunderous ovation that the 100 year old hall seemed to actually shake.
Martin is really very popular (and very handsome and humble too). People went absolutely crazy hugging each other and screaming. Martin looked dazed and could hardly smile even. He came up to receive the Award but I held it back and said I will give it only after extracting a promise from him, even as I held his hand in a tight handshake. He was still in a daze and could only smile feebly. I said Martin you have to promise me one thing, that for the rest of your life, no matter who you become, no matter where you are and even if you are in the Sahara desert, you will never ever stop throwing snowballs. This brought the house down. (It alluded to Martin's speech at the opening ceremony wherein he had said, 'Our job at ISFiT is to throw snowballs' and had then gone on to explain how snow balls as they roll downhill collect more snow flakes and if allowed to roll far enough can even cause an avalnche. He had also quoted Margret Mead's famous words about a small group's ability to change the world.')
Finally when the meeting dispersed, Kimmie and I were mobbed by eager youngsters wanting to shake hands and asking for autographs. For more details on the stir the awards created here please see http://www.isfit.org/node/210
Finally when everyone had left me alone, a boy and girl approached me and gave me their visiting cards and a pamphlet for the 11th International Culture Week in Pecs (Hungary) and asked if I could come and speak there. The dates are 19th to 29th July 2007. Pecs is a thousand year old settlement that is going to become the European Culture Capital in 2010. For more details see www.icwip.hu
So thanks friends for your good wishes and take care.
Raj
The internet connection at the Hotel has been down for the last 24-30 hours so I had to send my last email from a cybercafe across the street. Was shocked when asked to pay 120 kroners (nearly 900 Indian Rupees for) a little over 2 hrs of net use.
Earlier the day started with snowfall which went on intermittently throughout the day. In the afternoon attended a workshop on the theme 'The End of Poverty'. The speakers were Poul Enberg-Pedersen, the Director of the powerful NORAD or Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation, and Jorn Rattso Professor of Economics at NTNU University, Trondheim. It was interesting. After the meeting managed to give them both invitations to come to our World Judiciary Summit and the Global Symposium this December.
It was evening by the time we came out and there was a strong cold wind coming from the north, carrying the polar chill. It was so cold that the wind seemed to pass right through your cap and jacket, and even through your body, leaving the bones chilled to the core. The streets were covered in 8 inches of snow and walking became very difficult. At every step, the leg came out leaving the shoe buried in snow. Then I understood why most people here wore boots that covered their ankles. And then it happened, I slipped and fell.
Well it was bound to happen sooner than later, but when it did happen, it came as a surprise. And it was made worse because the seams of my right shoe came apart and I hurt myself on the chin and pulled a muscle in my left hip. Had a tough time getting up. I have already booked train tickets for Oslo to go there for a day and distribute invitations to the Chief Justice, the Law Minister, the Education Minister, the Foreign Minister and some other dignitaries and am now worrying how am I going to make it with a torn shoe and a 10 kg bag to lug around.
So wish me luck friends and cheers to all.
Raj
Day five was bright and sunny, the first time I saw sun in Norway. From
the room it looked real nice and bright but once I stepped out, it was a
freezing 12 degrees below zero !!! These people say it always become colder
when the sun comes out and the snow starts melting. It was sooo cold that
the flap of my ears would start paining within 2-3 minutes. I would cover
them with my palms for 2-3 minutes and then the palms would start paining
so back they went into the pockets till the pain in the ears brought them
out. Funny thing is these people keep the indoor temperatures in 20s so once
in, you have to peel off all warm clothings and before going out again put
them on.
The fact that we have breakfast in one place, lunch at another and dinner at a third place doesn't help at all. And the walk back to the hotel at night is the worst part.
In the afternoon I participated in the meeting on 'Is media defining the truth' and later became friends with one of the speakers, Mr Abdel Atwan, a Palestinian, now a UK citizen and Editor of 'Al Quds Al Arabi' a daily newspaper published from London, Frankfurt and New York.
During his speech, Mr Atwan focused on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and how the media was being managed and manipulated. He recalled that he had been offered war coverage as embedded journalist and he filled up many forms and was ultimately told that he had been accepted and that he would be stationed at a warship in the Indian ocean and also that he was required to assure in advance that he would not leave the ship for six months. Mr Atwan had interviewed Bin Laden at Bora Bora caves and while describing all this he casually said that we all know all this is a part of War on Islam. That upset me a little so I got up and put my name in the list of question-askers. Since Mr Atwan was yet to end his speech I was surprised to see one name already on that list. It was Naji Kasemi, the Palestinian boy.
When the Q&A session started Naji came up to the mike and said, :I am going to read out some headlines form the newspapers." He then proceeded to read out headlines announcing Palestinians attacking Israeli civilians with F-16s and depleted uranium coated ammunition. Someone from the audience shouted, "Where is the question?" Naji read out another headline and this time several voices shouted "Where is the question?" He then ended abruptly saying, all this imaginary but this is what the Zionists are doing everyday and it is not even mentioned in the media but if Palestinians were to do this it would become world headlines. So my question is, "Why is this?"
Mr Atwan said that this was because media was owned and controlled by big corporations with vested interests. Then it was my turn to ask and I began by saying that I personally am a great admirer of Prophet Mohammed and his contributions to civilization. I said Mr Atwan talked about war on Islam, but if we look at the history of Islam, whether over the last 25 years, or 100 years, or 500 hundreds, we see that more Muslims have died at the hands of their own brother Muslims, than have been killed by non-Muslims (I should have also mentioned that the same can be said for Christians, Hindus and all others). I said I can hardly think of a single Islamic country that trusts its own citizens with freedom of expression. My wuestion is, "Is it not time the Muslim world did some introspecting ?"
There were some extra-loud cheers from a section of the audience. Mr Atwan said it was true that Muslims were killing Muslims in Iraq but he said his point was, we expect dictatorships to behave in a certain way and we expect democratices to behave in a certain way. For democracies to behave like dictatorships was more harmful and therefore his first concern.
The person after me asked about Mr Atwan's impressions of Bin Ladin. Mr Atwan said actually when he did the interview it was after a terrifying two-day walk and five minutes after he met Bin Laden, he heard sounds of bombings and everyone picked up a gun and ran out leaving him alone in the cave. He said he was alone for nearly half and hour and felt really scared. Afterwoards, they all came back and said they had been thinking that the Americans had followed Mr Atwan but it was rountine bombing raid and the aircrafts had gone. He said to him Bin Laden sounded very simple and committed person leading frugal and simple life. He said at New Delhi airport on his way to London, journalists asked him to describe Bin Laden and he said I think Bin Laden is like a Mahatma Gandhi who believed in violence so a violent Mahatma Gandhi. He said by the time he arrived at Heathrow airport the international press was waiting for him because many people in Indian had objected to him comparing Bin Laden with Mahatma Gandhi. He said that for the next few weeks he had to go around on all British TVs and newspapers clarifying what he had exactly meant.
The next questionnaire
began by saying that there is so much of tension in the hall that it is
almost cutting
him in half. That surprised me because
sitting in the front row I had not been aware of any tension at all. The
mystery cleared up after dinner in the evening when I met one of the organisers
of the ISFiT team who told me that he had been sitting next to Martin Sverva,
President of ISFiT, who told him after my question to Mr Atwan, "Chandola
has again saved the day for us." I asked him why did he say that, and
he clarified that apprently the tension was because some sparks
had been flying between the large Palestinian group and the few Israeli youngsters.
The next day I met Naji Kasem, the Palestinian youngster, who accosted me with burnings eyes and said, "You talk of World Parliament but it will never happen. If you can show me a way to make world democracy happen, I can give it to you in writing that I will follow you for the rest of my life. But it cannot happen because it will not be allowed by world powers. I don't see any hope at all."
I was a little taken aback with his intensity and not knowing what to tell him, I spontaneously grabbed him in a tight bear hug and said, "No my friend, please don’t say that. As long as we have ernest young people like you, there is always hope for the world." He kind of calmed down somewhat and we kept hugging for a while. We often met and talked during the remaining days, and although he didn't seem to get rid of his grudge altogether, by the time ISFiT ended we had become friends.
In the evening met Prof Andrew Strauss and Prof Jan Scholte and we had long discussions on World Parliament. Was meeting Prof Strauss after World Social Forum 2001 Mumbai. Dr Rasmus Tenbergen was suppose to arrive at 11.30 but hadn't checked into the Hotel till 12 midnight when we returned.
----------------------------------------------
It was even colder today, if that is possible. Met Rasmus in the dinning hall during breakfast. It turned out that Professors Strauss and Scholte were at the townhall conducting a workshop on World Parliament so both of us also went there. It was a bright and sunny morning and I thought by now it would be warm and so didn't take my cap or gloves, a mistake I was to rue for the rest of the day. It was windy and the cold seemed to pierce your body like pine needles. Fortunately we didn't have to do much walking. Just once to the Students Union building and then to the Trondheim University building. Luckily we were dropped back by car in the night.
In the afternoon had to speak at a meeting on conflict resolution alongwith Professor Yongo-Bure of Kettering university, Michigan, Professor Finn Schudi of Oslo University and Dr Klem van Vogt of the Desmond Tutu Centre for Peace Studies South Africa. At the beginning they showed a film titled 'Breaking Bows And Arrows'. It was a powerful film about the island of Bouganvaliea in Papua New Guines and how the traditional conflict resolution method reconciled the tribals after a bloody civil war. Truly heart moving stuff that left most people teary-eyed.
Klem spoke first and talked about civil war and Finn talked about the importance of traditional methods of conflict resolution so I said that to me all wars were basically civil wars. Gave the example of the Israel-Palestine conflict and asked were they not both children of Abraham?
During the question answer session (the students were very bright) we got questions like - so what, if you resolve one conflict and war breaks out somewhere else, what good is that. How do we prevent wars? And how good is conflict resolution without justice? etc etc.
We had to confess there were no easy solutions but I added that firstly we needed to modernize the educational curriculum and emphasize worldcitizenship over narrow identities of tribe/nation and secondly that in preventing wars women had a greater role to play because men were instinctively aggressive. Recalled vaguely remembering that in ancient Greece or somewhere there was an instance when women refused conjugal rights to their husbands unless they stopped fighting. The youngsters loved that one.
In the evening listned to Ms Eva Joly, crusader against corruption speak on 'Globalization corrupted'. She was phenomenal. She said that the annual world GDP was about 60 trillion dollars and out of that 11 trillion dollars was generated in black. Talked in detail about tax-havens and hedge funds and how even governments of UK and France were collabortaing and protecting the violators because the pay-offs involved top politicians and leaderships of political parties. Gave details of syphoning of wealth from Africa into the tax heavens etc etc. Ended by exhorting everyone not to compromise, to pay taxes honestly and to keep fighting corruption at all levels. Heady energizing stuff. She was great. I invited her to come and speak at the Chief Justices Conference and she agreed.
Then we had an hour's meeting with the ISFiT organizing team to prepare for the World Parliament Experiement tomorrow when we will have 450 youngsters from over 100 countries simulating a WOrld Parliament, discussiong Darfur and then voting whether UN should intervene or not. Going to be a long day from 9 am to 6.30 pm. Well its 11.45 pm now so I will also go to bed.
Cheers friends and take care.
Today was the big day when the World Parliament Experiment was held at ISFiT
2007. Nearly 450 students from about 110 countries participated. Must say
that the students of Trondheim University surpassed our wildest expectations
with the amount of care and attention given to the minutest of details.
It's certainly not easy managing a crowd of 450 youngsters. And to get them to simulate a World Parliament, to discuss a complex issue and then to vote and finally to manage to do all that in time, well hats off to the organizers.
To us from the East/South, what was even more amazing was that the bulk of the work was done by girls (well they constitute the vast majority here, the boys being the side-show, not that they are any less brilliant/committed).
The cars were at the Hotel to pick us (Rasmus, Andrew, Scholte, yours truly and Nina Dessau - environmentalist) at 8.20 am. We were carted to the Grand Hall and reached there by 8.30 am, as planned. The place was already crowded. The full ISFiT organising team was there, visibly nervous (some of them atleast). Slowly the youngsters filled the seats and bang on time, everything started with clockwork precision.
The students were divided into 16 constituencies (e.g. S.E.Asia, N. America, Ocenia, Central America, etc but since there were so many participants from Europe, they had groups called Central Europe, Northern Europe, N.E. Europe, S.E. Europe, Middle Europe etc. Infact, 7 out of 16 constituencies were Europe in one form or the other. And in order to make groups roughly equal, they had to do crazy juggling like putting Vietnam in S.E.Asia and Indonesia, Malaysia etc in Ocenia etc etc.
The event began with Prof Andrew Staruss speaking on the need for democratic global governance. He called for a World Parliament and suggested that it should be given only an advisory role in the beginning since that will make it more likely to be accepted by powers that be. He argued that later it would acquire more power since the delegates would be directly elected by the people of the world. His clear and concise exposition of the various aspects and dimensions of the issue at hand was most impressive indeed and I was glad that I had agreed to give up my slot to him (originally I was suppose to give this intro). I couldn't have done what he did so superbly.
They began by explaining the rules to the participants ... that they had to elect a Representative and a deputy Representative who would vote on their behalf. Actually first they took a general vote whether the participants wanted resolution and amendments to be voted by all (which would have been much time consuming) or by their representatives. There was big sigh of relief when the students agreed to let their representatives vote for them on the resolution and the amendments.
Finally, Prof Yonge-Bure, of the University of Michigan (and orginally from Sudan) explained the history of Darfur conflict to the students. Then Dr Andreas Vogt of the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs explained the process of conflict resolution and also gave details about the UN followed in cases of intervention, including the differences between resolution based on chapter 6 and 7 of the UN Charter (under 6, the concerned country asks for UN help while under 7, the UN sends in peacekeeping force whether the country accepts or not). After that the students broke up into their respective 16 constituencies to elect their representatives and to discuss whether they wanted UN to intervene or not. It was amazing to see how smoothly the ISFiT team managed the shifting of 450 students into 16 different rooms for discussion without any confusion and in the shortest of time.
The Observers, Andrew, Scholte, Nina and yours truly (along with Rasmus) moved amongst the various groups watching the discussions silently. Scholte and Andrew also took notes. All of us were particularly interested in the Middle East group that had Israli and Palestinian students, expecting fireworks there. There were none. One of the two Isrelis couldn't come due to sickness and the remaining girl was left alone by the seven Palestinians. The group as a whole was rather confused as they didn't want armed UN intervention but knew some sort of intervention was required so they kept proposing that NGO and human rights group should move in to help.
The other groups that I saw were basically very strong on UN intervention saying UN couldn't watch silently as thousands were being massacred. The students had done their homework and were full of facts and figures. Then all were shepherded back into the Grand Hall where the 16 Representatives went up and sat on the stage. They were required to select which resolution to vote on. In order to speed up the proceedings, the organisers had already drafted two resolutions - one calling for intervention and the other voting against it. The representatives voted in favour of intervention with North Africa (including Sudan), South Africa and Middle East (including Palestine) voting against and the rest in favour. The meeting then broke up again and the onstituencies went back to their discussion rooms to discuss the resolution and suggest aendments.
Again we moved amongst them observing the discussions. They came back again
into the Grand Hall after about an hour and we again had voting. Some of
the onstituencies changed their Representatives with more effective ones.
This ime the new Palestinian Rep (for Middle East) was very active and vocal
and tried his best to reverse the vote for intervention with all kinds of
ingenuous aguements. The new Rep for North Africa (an Ethiopian) drew thunderous
response with his very effective arguements against intervention but it was
all to no avail. The European groups were convinced the world community couldn't
just sit and watch the massacre continue. The Indian guy representing S.E.
Asia was also very effective. The Middle East, N.African and S.Africans had
been saying that UN was not impartial but he shut them by pointing out that
it was Bangladesh, India and Pakistan that had been sending the largest number
of troops in the UN Peacekeeping force and they certianly couldn't be accused
of bias. In the end it was rather pathetic to see the Africans/Middle Easterners
out-numbered and out-voted and they were clearly upset. Infact the Ethiopian
representing North Africa even stopped taking part in the voting.
At the end the Observers were suppose to give their comments but since we had little time left, the organisers asked the four of us (Strauss, Scholte, Nina and myself) to elect one who would speak on behalf of us all. I suggested Nina since all of us had already spoken several times at ISFiT but she suggested that since Strauss had opened the day with the intro, for the sake of continuity he should give the closing speech also. We all agreed and once more Andrew did a superb job of summing up the World Parliament Experiment. He called it a truly historic day because never before had such an experiemnt been done at such a large scale - more than 110 countries and 450 participants.
In the end Rasmus took the stage and congratulating the participants, exhorted them all to continue working for a world parliament. I took pictures with his camera for posterity and helped him distribute pamphlets of his World Parliament Experiment website (www.tgde.org). Rasmus announced an informal meeting in Edgar Cafetaria at 8 pm for those interested in his WPE. About 50 students filled up the form for his WPE.
The meeting ended with everyone giving a big sigh of relief that everything went as per plan and no hitches. I took the opportunity to congratulate all the members of the ISFiT organising team.
At dinner I met the legendary Oystein Dahle, former Executive Diretor of Exxon Norway and founder Chairman of World Watch Institute. A genial old man, he was full of facts and figures and had the uncanny ability to slice through the most complex of questions with short answers, softly delievered. It was a great experience talking to him and I stayed back for his speech on 'State of the World' that began at 9.30. After the speech I stayed with him talking and at 11.30 in the night the organisers had to ask me to let him go. He also agreed to come and address our Chief Justices' Conference and the Global Symposium. As with other invitees, I passed him the Invitation with the Pictorial Report of last year's Conference and the VCD. Meeting him was quite an unforgettable experience and his demeanor and body language reminded me of my sister's Father-in-Law, another great mind who has influenced me a lot.
It was past midnight when I arrived at the Hotel and finding the Hotel computer working and vacant (both rare) sat down to write this report. But an hour later still hadn't finished it, so saved it and went to bed and am now finishing it in the morning of the seventh day.
The previous night (of day six when I wrote the report [erroneously] titled Report of day four and five), after sending the email I got up and went out in the street for a stamina-stick and was amazed by the cold. Asking the Receptionist, was told that it was 18 degrees below zero. So I thought this is once in a life-time opportunity to experience such temperatures and went out for a walk. Boy was that a mistake?
It was so cold that by the time I had crossed the street, I shivering and shaking from head to toe. Just the act of breathing made one feel as if one was drinking cold air through the nose. You could feel the cold going in and chilling the lungs and the whole process was slow and laborious and took effort. So once I had crossed the street, I changed my mind and started back. The wind was strong and every step required a herculean effort. I leaned forward into the wind and used the body weight to propel myself forward. It seemed like ages when I finally managed to cross back and reach the safety of the hotel lobby. I never would have believed that the mere act of crossing a street and coming back could make one feel like an Everest-conqueror but that was close to how I felt.
Today (day eight), I have no commitments. They are giving the Students Peace Prize and the prize ceremony is a formal affair with dress code. I have already told them I don't like wearing tie and suit (they had offered to find one for me) so Gro told me she will try to get the rule waved for me. But these people are sticklers for rules and I think I will use the opportunity to visit the Science Museum and the City Library. Unless they get me before I can slip away.
Tomorrow is my last hurrah. Am to speak for 30 minutes at workshop no. 5 on 'Global Governance'. The topic for speech is 'Global Democracy – World Parliament and other alternatives'.
So long friends... Every good thing must come to an end and so even as the cutain starts coming down on ISFiT, am a bundle of mixed emotions... Missing friends and family back home and knowing once there, will be missing these wonderful young friends I had the good fortune of meeting here.
Cheers and take care!
RAJ
Friends, yet again I am forced to re-type this report because of computer's antics.
Day eight was when I had to give my last speech to Workshop group 5 on the topic " Global Governance" from 9.00 to 9.30 am.
Rasmus said since he was free he wanted to come and listen to me speak. "Would you mind?" he asked. Rasmus is always so polite I often get surprised. Why should I mind, it is a privilege anyway.
So we reached the place in time (actually we had some trouble finding the place) and then learnt that the timing had been rescheduled and I would speak from 10.00 to 10.30 am.
Before I could start I was told by the coordinator if I could tell the students the "interesting stories" she had heard me tell on my first day. Turns out she meant the Garry Davis story and about Earth Constitution.
So when the time came I began by pointing out to the students (about 30 were present) that the world was already being governed but it was not democratic. Infact for the last two three hundred years we had had big business and corporations running the world but after the first and the second world war the governments had tried to organise global governance. The League of the Nations which failed because USA didn't join it and then the UNO. Recalled how after the UNO was formed Einstein was amongst the first to announce it was inadequate, that what was needed was World Government. Soon we had even Winston Churchill, one of the founders of UNO, arguing that we needed World Government. Then told them about Garry Davis, relinquishing his US citizenship and interrupting the UN General Assembly to announce his citizenship of the United Nations, his Paris sppeches, hide and seek with Paris police, his stay at the bridge at Strassbourgh and marrying and his establishment of World Government of World Citizens and WSA and issuing of World Citizen's passport, birth certificates and marriage certificates etc. Must say the students seemed spellbound. Later I found my World CItizen's passport and showed it to the students and many of them keenly got themselves photographed holding it.
Rasmus has these pictures and has promised to email them to me. Later also told them about how a democratic system of global governance seems the best solution and told them about the Earth Constitution and its three cameral World Parliament. Also told them about Student World Assembly, Vote World Government, World Parliament Experiment, World Citizens Foundation of Troy Davis etc.
At the end the students started asking questions and some of these were quite tough to answer. One guy said the whole idea of World Parliament looked far fetched and seemed unlikely to happen soon. I said there was no other alternative and we had to make it happen. How, he asked. By talking and discussing it with as many people as possible, raising public awareness and building public support in favour of it. Pointed out that many people had been working for this for many many years and there were lots of supporters but we needed them in far larger numbers. Urged them that as future leaders of tomorrow it was their moral obligation to provide leadership to youth and help take the world in the general direction of democratic global governance.
A girl from China, Kiki, said that the western model of democracy was not the only one and that they also had a different kind of democracy in China and that the western model didn't suit China and why should World Parliament be based on the western model. I said I would agree that imposing the western model on China would not be a good idea and might even prove counter-productive and disruptive in the short run but as far as i could tell the Chiense were also moving in the same direction with more opening of economy and giving more freedom to the citizens and said that hopefully in a few years time the gap between the Chinese model and the western model would narrow down to tolerable limits.
There were many other questions and perhaps Rasmus could fill some of the gaps here if something important has been left out. I have already received some messages suggesting that some of my reports are too long and should be shorter.
After that we moved for lunch and Rasmus went looking for students interested in joining his online World Parliament Experiment. He got lot of interest from the Palestinian students. Later in the afternoon we had the awarding of Students Peace Prize to Charm Tong of Burma. She showed a film about the atrocities being committed in Shan province of Burma from where she hails. There was a Q&A session and then we dispersed to meet later for the official Prize Ceremony which was colourful and had seveal cultural presentations.
----------------------
Today we had no official engaement except lunch and the closing ceremony in the evening.
I received an email form Vegar, dialogue group incharge from ISFiT 2003 and member of Transcned, with whom I had been in contact before coming to Norway. He invited me to see the presentations of the dialogue groups that were working on preparing post ISFiT programmes, about how to carry forward the conflict resolution work started at the dialogue groups particularly regarding dialogue between people in Sudan/Chad and Eritria/Ethopia. Prof Yongo-Bure of Kettering University and expert on Sudan said he would also like to come since he also didn't have any other engagement.
The dialogue group memebrs from Sudan, Uganda, Chad and Kenya presented their plans, how they intended to carry forward their dialogue by organizing regional conferences in their countries culminating in a conference at South Africa in September 2007 at the Desmond Tutu Peace Research Centre.
The group from Eritria/Ethopia were handicapped in that they were all living in countries like Denmark, Uganda and South Africa since they could not go back to Eritria. They had planned to invlolve ex-pat community and also use a radio station they had in Uganda which could reach people in Eritria.
We were also invited to give our comments and I said that even if the Eritrians and Ethopians couldn't work directly with people within their countries, it was far better to keep trying something even from far off, rather than do nothing. Then recalled Martin Svarva's famous words on the importance of keep throwing snowballs and hoping atleast one of them will roll down long enough to launch an avalanche.
The closing ceremony was impressive. There were music, song, dance and comedy routines, plus another impressive speech by Martin who recalled that at ISFiT 2005 Chief Guest Wangari Maathai chucked away her prepared speech and sang a song instead. He said he had been hoping the tradition would continue and some speaker would do the same but since none did, he was now going to sing a song. And he picked up the guitar and surprised everyone with his beatiful playing and singing. He was GOOD. And the audience was on its feet, shouting and screaming.
The Chairperson of the ISFiT foundation gave a short speech and presented memnetoes to all Board Members of ISFiT (i.e. the students in the organising committee) and finally the closing ceremony also eneded and the entire audience was singing and dancing all over the hall. There were lots of teary eyed youngsters hugging and crying and it all got a bit too emotional.
Rasmus had left a day earlier and we had gone shopping for a quickfix tube which cost 59 kroners and I mentioned that it was my last kroner and he grew concerned that I should have at least some money on me. I said what will I need it for. I leave tomorrow and these people will drop me to the airport. But he kept squirming and saying he would feel better if I took some kroners. He offered me a hundred but I finally took 250 saying I will ask Mr Gandhi to wiretransfer the amount to him. He kept saying it was too small an amount so needn't worry.
I am mentioning this story here because this money indeed came is very useful. After the Closing ceremony we learnt that we had to manage our own dinner as the Students House closed down and then next morning when we were supposed to be picked up at the hotel at 4.30 am, the Hotel receptionist informed that he had received a call from ISFiT saying they couldn't pick us up and we should take the 4.40 bus to the airport.
So Rasmus, thanks for your help and foresight. Every good thing must come to an end and ISFiT was very good and left some very good lessons for us all.
I will later write one more report of ISFiT, or rather of memorable images form ISFiT 2007.
So bye and take care.
Raj
UNFORGETTABLE IMAGES FROM NORWAY
Friends, am back in India. Its raining here in Delhi. Surprisingly, my last day in Trondheim was the warmest. It was cloudy and overcast and the Norwegians say the clouds trap the heat so its always warm when cloudy.
Perhaps my most unforgettable image from Norway is from the first day's meeting when I gave the CMS Global Youth Leadership Award to Martin Svarva, Presdient of ISFiT. It felt odd to see his colleagues from the ISFiT organizing team crying. They got so emotional they were all CRYING. That guy is really popular and I think he will go places. Also, we are likely to hear a lot of Kimmie Weeks in future. He is also going to go places.
Another memorable moment was when during the World Parliament Experiment, we were circulating amongst the 'constituencies' discussing the topic and I went to get some coffee for myself. Since there was no volunteer around at the Coffee Bar, I jumped in and started helping myself. A voice from behind me said, "Can I have some coffee also please" so I turned and started pouring coffee for the boy who had asked for it. He looked at me and said. "Who are you?"
I said I am Raj Chandola from India. He said, I know that. I heard your speech the first day. But I also saw you arranging chairs at the meeting on Poverty. And now you are serving coffee here. Are you a student or a participant or orgnaiser I can't figure out. That was a big kick for me. Since I had stayed there for so long I had been trying to help the organisers whatever way I could. After I explained he introduced himself as Zunayed from Bangladesh.
Another kick was when Professor Jan Scholte told me that he was surprised to learn that the South East Asia group at the World Parliament Experiment had twelve Indians and only one Pakistani and yet the Indians elected the Pakistani as their leader. Must say I felt proud and told him that Indians are usually like that, supportive of the underdog.
Also, it felt cool to have all these youngsters I met on the stairway, in halls, cafeteria and even on the streets who would walk up to me and say they liked my speech(es). Many of them specifically said they appreciated/liked/supported the idea of Worldcitizenship that I had been plugging for in my speeches.
I spent the last day with Professor Yongo-Bure from Kettering University, Michigan. We talked for hours on the situation in Africa (he was originally from Sudan) and I suggested he write a paper on the advantages of forming an African Econmic Union which we would then circulate to the Heads of States and Heads of Govwernment in Africa when we send out the invites for the next Chief Justices' Conference.
And now the really BAD news. During my ten days in Norway I had taken more than five hundred pictures on my mobile and now in Delhi, I have managed to lose the handset.
What an anticlimax !!!
AND NOW FINALLY FOR SOME FORGETTABLE IMAGES FROM NORWAY
Perhaps the most forgettable of all was my surprise at being called Ray although I knew many East and North European languages pronounced j as y (as in Hindi too where they are interchangeable e.g. river Jamuna is also called Yamuna) yet so used were my ears to Raj (j as in January) that it always took a few minutes to realise that Ray was me being called)
Then there was this strange feeling when addressed as "Professor" by some African students. (At CMS I often tell students of our Sunday Seminars that I don't consider my self a "teacher" but rather as "Senior Student" because I believe we are all students come to this world to learn the lesson(s) of life and figure out what's going on. Then to be called Professor! Made me winch !!
Then there were some who called me Shandola (when Chan of Chandola is as in Chance).
By the third or fourth day I had started wondering and commenting that I hadn't seen any policeman/women. Well not even a traffic cop !!! On my second last day, while coing back with Rasmus, I did get to see a poilice man and a police women walking past but they had no gun. The Norwegians came across as very straight and honest folks, helpful, kind and caring. Almost always the cars stopped to give walkers the right to cross the street first, even if the streetlight indicated otherwise. Surprisingly I also saw two or three beggars, well clothed straddling tough men but standing or sitting with a paper coke glass in front. Several times I saw old Norwegian women giving them food. I accosted the one near our Hotel (who was at the same place outside a Mall every second day). He told me in broken English he was a Romanian.
Another striking feature of the Norwegian streets was the absolute lack of any other form of life in the streets - only human beings - unlike in India where we have horses, dogs cows, bulls, sometimes even pigs, buffaloes and an occasional elephant, or camel other with two wheelers, three wheelers, four wheelers, bullock carts, horse carriages, bull carts, human driven three wheelers (Rickshaws) and God knows what else (monkeys, cats, donkeys, goats and others depending on the locality you are in). So to such eyes, such sanitised streets and cities did look different. And quite. Compared to the cacophony on Indian streets and cities, Trondheim almost seemed a town in mourning, even though there was a festival going on in the city - ISFiT - which I am told is held in February to bring some cheer to the city after the gloomy winters. I hope these comments are taken in the lighter spirit because the Norwegian people are a splendid lot and could teach us Indians several things about social responsibility, hygiene and ethical behaviour.
So long Trondheim. May your spirit swell and overflow and the goodness of your people spread all over the world.
Amen.
By
Raj Shekhar Chandola
Head, World Unity and Peace Education Department
City Montessori School (CMS), Lucknow INDIA
rajchandola@cmseducation.org
"We are all passengers
on the spaceship Earth!"
Sunday
the 18th of February, the first Grand hall meeting at ISFiT 2007 took
place at the Student Society. With prominent guests such as children
rights activist Kimmie Weeks and Raj Shekar Chandola everything was set for
an interesting and inspirational first meeting.
Already at six o clock participants
and other visitors showed up at the Grand Hall to experience the first
Meeting of ISFiT 2007 regarding the festival
theme “Global Boundaries”. At 19:00, the whole room was filled
to the limit with people sitting at their respective seats, people standing,
people standing on the railings that surround the stage and also people lying
in the stairs!
The meeting was initiated by Raj Shekar Chandola, head of the World Unity
and Peace Education Department at City Montessori School (CMS) in India.
CMS is known for giving its students ”world citizenship” and
making sure that they maintain a global perspective during their education.
Chandola spoke of how increased technology and communication possibilities
in underdeveloped countries are a good contributor for globalization. “We
are growing into world citizenship” Chandola said. Cellular phones,
internet and express mail delivery services are bringing people closer to
each other. People are now able talk to each other over the internet in live
broadcasts from anywhere in the world. This development is working towards
integration and is one of the many good things about globalization. Chandola
stated that the absolute best part is that he’s able to come to Norway
and visit the International Student Festival in Trondheim. During the rest
of the festival Chandola will participate at the World Parliament Experiment
(WPE) as an observer. In addition he will also be present at Workshop 5,
and at the Dialogue meeting at Wednesday (Breaking Bows and Arrows).
After a solid round of applause to Raj Shekar Chandola, Mr. Kimmie Weeks
took the podium to give the audience his speech. Kimmie Weeks has played
an integral role in supporting UNICEF's Learning Tree Initiative, which has
provided education supplies to over 1 million children in West Africa.
So is Globalization good or bad? “It can be both, but it depends on
how we use it” said Weeks. Farmers in Africa can now go online to read
about how to improve their crops. Improved crops mean more food. This is
a good side of globalization. However, Weeks underlined the term “fair
globalization”. In short, the idea is a form of globalization that
should benefit all people around the globe. Of course, many obstacles need
to be crossed on the journey. Weeks firmly believes that if fair globalization
is going to work, some drastic changes need to be made. “The UN-council
should stop making decisions. Decisions should be made by the world public” Weeks
stated.
It seems like Chandola and Weeks are on the same level. They both believe
that we need to work together for a common cause. As Chandola said “We
are all participants on the spaceship Earth” Everything we do here
in Norway affects other people another place in the world. Whenever we drive
the car to work instead of walking we increase the level of CO2 in the atmosphere. “We
swim together, we drown together” as it was said during the meeting.
During the 15 minute break, the dance group “Pojas” from Trondheim
Folk Dance Company performed Balkan dances for an applauding audience.
After the break, the podium was open for questions from the audience. Without
getting into detail about the questions, it should indeed be mentioned that
the questions seemed to come from students that had experienced a lot of
violations to human rights in their home country. Both Kimmie Weeks and Raj
Shekar Chandola showed their deepest sympathy for all conflicts presented.
Weeks underlined that they didn’t have all the answers and knowledge
about the certain conflict areas, and thereby couldn’t “preach” as
much as a representative who have lived inside the conflict and experienced
events personally. “You would still present causes far better than
another person’s lifetime of studies” Weeks told one of the participants.
Unexpected award show
As the end of the meeting drew near it turned into an unexpected award show to
the surprise of everyone! Raj Shekar Chandola asked for the microphone. Within
ten minutes he announced two awards.
Kimmie Weeks (LBR), internationally acclaimed child rights activist revieved
the "Mahatma Ghandi Youth Role-Model Award" for standing up to injustice
and oppression, and striving for a better world. This is the first time this
award has been awarded to anyone. The prize was given on behalf of 31.000 students
and 3.000 employees from City Montessari School in India. The school is actually
the largest school in the world in terms of number of students.
http://www.isfit.org/node/289
by BJØRN ERIK N. JOHNRUD
johnrud@isfit.org