CORPORATE VERSUS INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Caption:
SHELL employees working to clean an oil pool spilled in a forest river in Ogoniland, Nigeria. Across the world the line between riches and poverty is drawn on resources; people and traditions, minerals and biomass as well as technology and institutions.


Focus:
Provide forum to discuss conflicts between corporate and rural and indigenous communities in resource use, livelihoods and environmental protection in Tanzania and abroad.

RESOURCES AND INDIGINITY

Oil has been an important part of the Nigerian economy since vast reserves of petroleum were discovered in Nigeria in the 1950s. For example, revenues from oil have increased from 219 million Naira in 1970 to 10.6 billion Naira in 1979. Currently, Nigeria earns over 95 percent of its foreign exchange from the sale of oil on the global market. Foreign oil companies have dominated oil exploration, drilling, and shipping in Nigeria. For example, Shell Oil controls approximately 60 percent of the domestic oil market in Nigeria. Shell operates many of its oil facilities in the oil-rich Delta region of Nigeria. The Ogonis, an ethnic group that predominate in the Delta region, have protested that Shell's oil production has not only devastated the local environment, but has destroyed the economic viability of the region for local farmers and producers. The Nigerian Federal Government, on the other hand, has been charged with failing to enact and enforce environmental protection against oil damage by Shell and other oil companies. Furthermore, many Ogonis have been harassed and even killed by the Federal government for organizing protests and threatening sabotage of oil facilities.

Oil has been an important part of the Nigerian economy since vast reserves of petroleum were discovered in Nigeria in the 1950s. For example, revenues from oil have increased from 219 million Naira in 1970 to 10.6 billion Naira in 1979. Currently, Nigeria earns over 95 percent of its foreign exchange from the sale of oil on the global market. Foreign oil companies have dominated oil exploration, drilling, and shipping in Nigeria. For example, Shell Oil controls approximately 60 percent of the domestic oil market in Nigeria. Shell operates many of its oil facilities in the oil-rich Delta region of Nigeria. The Ogonis, an ethnic group that predominate in the Delta region, have protested that Shell's oil production has not only devastated the local environment, but has destroyed the economic viability of the region for local farmers and producers. The Nigerian Federal Government, on the other hand, has been charged with failing to enact and enforce environmental protection against oil damage by Shell and other oil companies. Furthermore, many Ogonis have been harassed and even killed by the Federal government for organizing protests and threatening sabotage of oil facilities.

WANGARI MAATHAI's GENDER AND LIBERATION LEGACY

It was not her being the first woman head of a Nairobi University department that made her the unique African woman she was. Neither did her senior political position as Deputy Minister in the Kenyan government make her exceptional. Rather, her actions as an environment activisit sternly resisting state security forces and forest authorities from overexploiting Nairobi's Karura Forest that pushed her to the top of the ladder on African women and development.

As a woman, her physical resistence to the forces through the enviroonment ticket and subsequent frequent arrests that followed the 1999 stand out event won her wide recognition in Africa where such activities are mainly and wrongly associated with men only. Maathai's position was clearly captured by the media and immediately made her seem unique, otherwise, there are many African women putting up resistence and making life and death decisions at very local, village or community levels but who cannot be captured by the predominantly elitist African national media that has failed to potray the active and rightful roles African women play in development.

There is no doubt that having been made heroness by the media, she and closest associates as well as other politicians seriously attempted to take advantage of her celebrity status to ascend to power, a fact that may prove claims that many people in Africa are seriously after political power rather than pursuing sustainable development course from the grassroot.

Using her popularity, her husband tried in vain to cease power as member of parliament (MP) in the 1970s. She herself battled for an MP seat and Presidency in 1977 and failed, proving that she might have been popular as a development activist but people did not see her fit for political positions. Non-the-less, her activism and previllaged university academic position as vertinary medicine researcher and head of the department stirred action in many circles.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki may have elected her to the ministerial position in 2003 to avoid political pressure from Maathai's similar-mind environmental activistst, her increasing sympathizers but more so to win the votes and support of increasing  Kenyan women who followed her guidence as a women liberation strategy.

Her greatest legacy is embeded to the Green Belt Movement (GBM) that engages millions of women and men in environmental conservation in Africa and attracts support from an international front to support eqitable resource use as a strategy for mobilizing and empowering women across Africa and the world to replace growth imperatives and hierrachies with sustainable pathways.

Her legacy to liberate African women from the claws of neo-colonial institutions including the urban-centred media houses in most of Africa is clearly evident in her book titled "Unbowed" in which she gives graphic explanations of the potentials of rural women in protecting and developing basic household and family resources such as land, health and energy for the welfare of communities at large. In most of her writings, she emphasizes the strength of African traditional and cultural practices in resource conservation.

While the GBM shall have engaged and economically supported millions of women in Africa when it completes the "Size of Wales"  campaign in which some one trillion trees are planned to be planted this year (2012), her sudden cervical cancer-causssed death leaves behind another challenge to women health issues. Cervical cancer is leading in incidence in East Africa but it has not been given similar attention as other sectors such as the environment.

(To be continued)

GLOBAL MEDIA MOGUL SPEECH MAY MISLEAD AFRICA PRINT MEDIA

Rupert Murdoch is a typical Western media mogul whose ideas about changing role of newspaper industry in the age of internet perfectly meets the conditions in that part of the world but never in most African countries. It may be true that the print media in the Western world is facing stiff competition from the digital media in both news and advertisement, in Africa issues of accessibility, computer literacy and language still give the newspaper industry an upper hand.

His well written speech to the American Society of Newspaper Editors back in 2005 suggests that newspapers should create websites that will host different information portals that could be used by the emerging large market of youths who prefer to get news and other information through the internet. Yet, taking the case of Tanzania, the youth are not a large news market as compared to people in the 34 to 50 age bracket that also use the internet more than the younger age.Besides, this age bracket is the largest newspaper market.

Non--the-less, his caution for improvements to meet audience-centred information demand and format in which the information is delivered is applicable in Africa as well.If the people in Africa have to participate effectively in production and consumption of resources, including information resources, their views, needs and interests have to be valued by the print journalists and others.

While Murdoch's suggestion for print media industry to partner with video programming industry as a strategy to increase taste of news and visual entertainment is credible but the capital base for most of the newspapers in Africa is little and will require pre-determined efforts by financial institutions to support this effort. 

INTERNET USAGE STATISTICS

Tuesday 31st January 2012 was another training day for editors and journalism lecturers on internet usage. having gone through a number of websites that have made history and analysed information websites, it was time to have a look on statistic. It came out clear that in absolute numbers China, India  and Brazil had highest numbers of internet user in that order. The number of users in Europe were considered saturated. Africa has the lowest numbers with leading countries including Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa in that order followed by a number of other Arab North African countries. Factors defining the different paterns in usage were also discussed..... The details of the training course on the day follow below.

REPORT OF VIKES /MISA INTERNET TRAINING FOR EDITORS AND JOURNALISM LECTURERS.

TRAINERS: 1) VIKES 2 )MISA Tanzania.

PARTICIPANTS:

            NAME                                                             INSTITUTIONS

1)      Hikloch Ogola                                                          TUMAINI UNIVERSITY

2)      Sylvia Mwehozi                                                        SJMC

3)      Eleuter Mbilinyi                                                         THE AFRICAN NEWSPAPER

4)      Njonjo Mfaume                                                        SJMC

5)      Rose Haji Mwalimu                                      IPS, UN Women

6)      Furaha Maugo                                                         MWANANCHI

7)      John Daniel                                                   RAIA MWEMA

8)      Masembe Tambwe                                     DAILY NEWS

9)      Rose Mrutu                                                    RADIO FREE AFRICA.

10)  Joyce Shebe                                                            CLOUDS FM

VIKES AIMS:

Vikes stands for The Finnish Foundation for media communication. VIKES aims at promoting the freedom of expression and pluralism of the media as a basis for democracy and social development. The Finland-based  organization secures funds from the Finnish Ministry of Foreign  Affairs and Development Co-ooperation. VIKES has conducted 5 training sessions in both Swahili and English languages and across the regions including Mwanza, Mtwara, Zanzibar, Arusha, etc.

PARTICIPANTS EXPECTATIONS:

1)      Cleaning the internet jungle of information. 2) develop most appropriate ways of finding appropriate information. 3) Assist with learning materials. 4) Lear more. 5) Get information and facts. 6) Promote interaction with audiences and especially in the production of radio material and resources as well as interaction with listeners. 7) Learn more techniques. 8) Acquire more sources. 9) Cross checking. 10) From P. O. Box to dot .com. 11) Learn more and share more knowledge with others. 12) Use the internet more professionally. Help use in better ways.

THE AIM OF THE TRAINING:

The aim of the training is to introduce to the participants how to effectively make use of internet in modern journalism for fact finding, news monitoring, communication and puiblication with the purpose of creating balanced and critical high quality journalis.

AIMS AND CONTENT

The training will explain how internet and other

TRAINING PROGRAMME:

Monday Jan 30.

How internet has changed societies and communication globally. Journalism in the age of internet.

Tuesday 31.

Journalism in the age of internet. The use of internet in everyday journalism. African and international web resources.

Wednesday

Plagiarism and copy rights. Journalistic research assignments through the internet.

Thursday:

Introduction to online journalism. Journalistic research assignments.

Friday:

Blogs and Citizen journalism. Journalistic research assignments

Emphasis of the training is participatory and practical part of each issue. The philosophy is learning by doing

HOW INTERNET HAS CHANGED SOCIETIES

·         The internet is having profound impact on work, leasure, knowledge and worldviews – not only in the developed countries but globally.

·         Internet has enabled a sudden and extreme decentralization of information and data.

·         Many basic services are today used via internet – with significant consequences for the media as well.

USING THE INTERNET:

·         Global lkbrary. Global newsroom. Encyclopedia, bank. Timetable. Booking Office. Weather report. Maps. Phone directory. Global shop. Scoial media, chat room. Discussion groups. Meeting people. TV. Radio. Music. Film channel. All kinds of games and entertainments.

·         Ourchase a ticket from Helsinki to Turku http://www.vr.fi/

·         Search a book from Helsinki library.

·         The gutenberg project.

·         http://www.ebay.com/  Global buying, selling and bargaining window. People do not necessarily have to go to shops.

·         Buy Precision air ticket.

·         http://www.wikipedia.org/  Online encyclopedia which is open to everyone to read and also to edit. With the wiki template it is very easy to make a correction or create an entire new page. Search Mwananchi wiki.

·         http://www.napster.com/: Napster was created in 199 by a university student in Boston, USA as a means of sharing music files with his fellows students. 70 million registered users in one year until the student had to pay millions in copyright fraud.

·         http://www.youtube.com/. Launched in 2005 by two American youngsters working in a garage . 200 million clips watched everday. Now owned by Google.

·         http://www.drudgereport.com.com/  One of few medias sites chosen among website that have changed the world. American self-made journalist Matt Drudge monitors TV and the internet for rumours and stories which he posts as headlines on his site. In 1998, he was the first to break the news of Monica Lowinski.

·         http://www.amazon.com/ Started in 1995 with the idea that an online bookstore can offer many times more titles than an ordinary bookshop. Time Magazine chose the founder Jeff Bezos as its 1999 person of the year..

·         http://www.slashdot.org/

·         www.google.com. 1.5 billion search requests per day.

·         http://www.easyjet.com/

·         http://www.twitter.com/ A social network