Friday, November 18, 2016

Let’s Build That Wall A Great Wall of Isms and Schisms Towards Constructing the Defences of Peace


Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed

As the international discourse turns to walls and fences in an atmosphere of uncertainty, fear, and growing hyper-anxiety at intolerance and perceived threats to peace and harmony, the forms and frameworks of the constructs of peace come sharply into question.

As the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) celebrates the 71st birthday of its Constitution (November 16) where the phrase is enshrined and has given UNESCO its motto: Building Peace in the Minds of Men and Women. It might have been overlooked in the hype over the election of Donald Trump as the next US President - incidentally on the anniversary of the symbolic end to the Cold War in the fall of the Berlin Wall (November 9). Incidentally too, Trump was born just days before the signing of the Charter of the United Nations which makes their fates remarkably intertwined, and maybe too co-dependent. On my calendar, too, is another anniversary, that of the Commonwealth People’s Forum in Uganda, Africa on this day (November 18) and encounter with another world leader, Prince Charles who celebrates a birthday on November 14.   
UNESCO’s anniversary focus on its goals for a culture of peace and the current climate of unease at the fate of peace efforts, give cause to pause and reflect, not only in the contexts of Trump’s platform pronouncements on the need for walls and to review America’s relationship with these institutions, even as we remember that one of the authors of the UNESCO Constitution was an American - poet/playwright/essayist, Archibald MacLeish.
MacLeish is credited with authorship of the phrase in the UNESCO Constitution, Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed. Of Scottish immigrant parentage, his life’s work pronounces on and paints with haunting prophetic poignancy the pathologic state of panic of a country where individualism has metamorphosed into intense greed reflecting democracy gone awry, floundering freedoms and the rise of fascism and self-serving free enterprise:
And there, there overhead, there, there hung over
Those thousands of white faces, those dazed eyes,
There in the starless dark, the poise, the hover,
There with vast wings across the cancelled skies,
There in the sudden blackness the black pall
Of nothing, nothing, nothing -- nothing at all.

From The End of the World,
Archibald MacLeish – American Poet, Author, Essayist
MacLeish has among his legacies of poetry, plays, essays and musings on the minds of men, his achievements as a statesman and Librarian of Congress who set the LoC on the path of the international status it enjoys as a repository of intellectualism and culture. He headed the first US delegation to UNESCO when its Constitution was crafted 71 years ago, and composed the phrase from which is derived the motto of the UN organization charged with the processes – education, culture, science and information - that shape, if not govern, the minds of men. The motto remains embedded in the UNESCO psyche and modus operandi, although America’s relationship with the institution has been on rocky ground intermittently since the 1980s, more intensely so in recent times with renewed uncertainty from Trump’s proposed dollars and cents approach that could easily overlook the more esoteric and intangible values that peace building involves.

The Prince Eyes The Wall of Greatness
It brings to mind another time and another world leader, Prince Charles, who incidentally celebrates his birthday two days before UNESCO. Almost nine years to this day, on November 18, Prince Charles is the chief guest CPF’s Chief Guest at the Commonwealth People’s Forum (CPF) in Uganda, Africa in the lead up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
The Prince and I, with scores of onlookers, are standing before another wall – The Wall of Greatness.
The Prince’s eye is on one or the other of the messages on the wall. One reads, “A brick a day builds the future from today and a palace for tomorrow.” This wall is constructed from people’s desire for peace, prosperity, equality and equity. The Wall is an open platform for ideas, not unlike the platform and repository of diverse ideas and opinions that founding architects envisioned UNESCO to be.
In the face of looming challenges, seventy years on, how many bricks have been laid and to what extent has these peace building institutions been able to live up to the vision of its founding architects, then intent on constructing a culture of peace out for a world emerging out of the ravages of war, colonialism, Nazism and Hitlerism, racialism, bigotry and prejudice?

The Minds of Men and Women: The clock ticks to Paris Attack
One year ago, hours before the world would be rocked by a fatal series of explosions across Paris on that fateful day in November 2016, the exact thought played in my mind: who knows what lurks in the minds of men and women?

From the days earlier, I sat with scores of other men and women from across the globe,
in utilizing, framing, altering, adapting and crafting mechanisms to help in the construction, and in some cases, deconstruction and reconstruction of the defences of peace.
After an intense two-year-plus of international to local level consultations and discussions, followed by days of sittings to iron out directions, clauses, phrases, and firm up actions and maneuvering the multitude of variations of opinions driven by cultural, social, political and economic differences, we had reached unanimous consensus. Our recommendations for the future direction for global education includes its intersections with culture, information, communication, science, humanities and technologies and incorporates future-looking dimensions of inclusive lifelong learning in synergy with conventional learning forms, and forward thinking global citizenship issues. The Report of the Education Commission, which I chaired, was set before the UNESCO General Conference for approval.
The General Conference is the biennial gathering of member-states, one of the organs – the other is the Executive Board – that approves the suggestions from the meetings of the minds of men and women to construct the defences of peace. Location is the bedecked Salle One at Place de Fortenoy in UNESCO’s Headquarters in Paris.
As I waited for the General Conference to signal its acceptance of the Commission’s work, I thought of the security processes applied to get into the building. It included a system of accreditation along with meeting visa requirements and the airport and immigration requirements of the host country. Then there were the physical security scans from friendly gate keepers, and badges that function as the passport into the meetings. Through the portal of peace, in dark and not so dark suits and demure or colourful dresses, passed benign philosophers, poets, peace advocates and lobbyists. The same processes were used for those of the more radical ilk; technocrats of conservative or liberal order; politicians visionary or mundane. Among them were men and women who held lofty ideals and outlooks and were thrilled to be part of the process of upliftment and charting the course for development in the path of human history; but among them, too, were, also, novices, inexperienced politicians and power mongers and those with petty ambitions, institutional and personal insecurities, harbouring grudges, prejudices and hatreds.
A microcosm of the minds of the men and women in the world poured through the security posts, but the scanners would be hard-pressed to detect any dangers that may lurk in the minds of any of those, I thought, privy to some of, but not all, of the undercurrents – political, social, cultural, economic –and going over potential scenarios and their treatment and handling that will not expose the façade of diplomacy that pervaded the atmosphere.
So what mechanisms were there; what checks on the minds of the men and women entering the walls and halls, and the danger that may lurk therein? What defences did the organization or any of the occupants have if not peace, but war, vengeance, violence raged in some of the minds of the men and women who were entering its walls? What inspection and what security checks were there on these? And what warnings and signals of danger should we look out for?
To build the defences of peace, the institution and those participating were making themselves vulnerable to such unknowns in the minds of men and women.
From unfolding occurrences behind the scenes, it seemed that while the processes of physical security might have been well thought-out, the defences of the institutions and its peace processes remained significantly vulnerable to the unknown, metaphysical elements in the ‘minds of men and women’.
And indeed, this nebulous factor became the source of the most challenging moments of the meetings and encounters within the walls. 
It was answered with forethought and careful planning for potential scenarios and identifying markers that will raise flags of potential disruption about which we kept informed from observable ‘trends’. These may take the form of the ideology or pronouncements of an individual or country, the issues they hold on the front burner, the way they might have voted in the past on an issue, the resolutions they might have piloted or in which they would have taken a keen interest.
But was that sufficient? What of those with no known history, who had not articulated a position?
Insidious stirrings on the days involved in moving the Education Commission to consensus had brought closely home how precariously stood the goals of constructing and maintaining the defences of peace, and how easily the selfless contributions of the global community can be overturned by an underdeveloped mind and uninformed actions and posturings of the uninitiated, the uninformed, the ignorant, the insecure and immature egotist.

Emblazoned with Prometheus’ Fire


Often my eyes would focus on the fresco above the doorway of Salle II, the Hall of Commissions. Prometheus Bringing Fire To Mankind is structurally embedded in the scaffolding across from me at the head table in Salle II as it was painted on the scaffolding’s plaster while it was still wet, by Mexican artist Rufino Tamaya. Its dominant crimson is toned by other shades of red to accentuate the idea of blazing fire to fulfill Tamaya’s stated intention:

That the light that seems to irradiate out of the fire of my badly lit ‘Prometheus’ may illuminate the spirits of those who are in charge of the tremendous task of unifying the world through culture.
It crossed my mind that if it was that kind of embedding that was required in constructing this peace, one could not expect that it would be accomplished just by the few minutes within these walls.
The painting framed the deliberations as we put the finishing touches on what has become the global agenda for education that would impact future generations, and I had cause to draw strength and inspiration from it in the ensuing days. I drew attention to it, as did my associate, the Mexican Ambassador to UNESCO with whom I had co-chaired on the UNESCO Programmes and External Relations Commission as we prepared some of the draft decisions that were now before the Education Commission.
Prometheus is the fascinating Robin Hood-like figure of Greek Mythology who is reputed to have stolen fire from the Gods and gave it to mankind. The son of Jupiter, Prometheus personifies forethought, as the one who thinks of and plans for the future, as were many of those who had taken the time to stay in Salle II and conduct the business of future generations, rather than succumb to the effervescent and alluring charms of the host city, Paris.
Those who worked with and empathised with the plight of the underprivileged, the marginalized and disadvantaged, sat through the meetings offering their fire – the light of their knowledge – that will help identify solutions that may alleviate the plight of others, not unlike how Prometheus was moved by the plight of mankind, shivering with the cold, dying from hunger, and the prey of wild beasts, without fire. His father rejects his request to give fire to ease their plight.  Jupiter’s generation held the conservative view that if men had fire they might become strong and wise and turn against the Gods, so they demonstrated preference for a world in poverty and ignorance as the already endowed gods continued to amass wealth to maintain power and dominance, not unlike, it seems, some of the leaders in our own generation.
Fired by the potential opportunities envisioned from an education agenda that would reverse traditional notions of the knowledge as the purview of Gods to broaden access to the less privileged, we formulated solutions and resolutions that could ease the plight of those in a world where Pandora’s miseries were multiplying; crafting the tools that would help the marginalized and underprivileged have equal access to the tools and technologies that will help them keep warm and fed. Constructing a more equitable world was one of the defences of peace we could devise.
 At times the process was tedious. Like Prometheus, filling his reed with fire, it required patience to draw out one suggestion, that sparked another and another idea. Sometimes one extreme position would spark another extreme position. But others will pop in with idea after idea that will bring each extreme closer together until we reached the point of consensus, which invariably would be celebrated with applause.
People come to the table, whether representing individual, collective or national ideologies, present these, debate and negotiate with others the pros and cons of these, and around the table options are presented, analysed and decided on.
The Wall of Greatness becomes flesh. With all its vagaries, the 70-year old bureaucracy charged with building peace in the minds of men and women, has walls that are porous for negotiation, to collate and engage those who wish to participate in building and fortifying elements of peace in the minds of men.
Yet, it is most vulnerable to the minds of men and women who enter with sometimes fixed, inflexible and hidden agendas that are undetected and impermeable to the systems and mechanisms it have evolved, albeit still in the process to perfection, and which remain the glaring gaps in its defences. In effect, it is in its strength and openness to engage, is also its weaknesses through which those who are the enemies of freethought, ideas, equity, inclusion, can penetrate.
For there are always other antithetical Epimetheus-like disruptive forces at play. Epimetheus unleashed those forces by consorting with Pandora who was sent by the almighty, vengeful and power-engrossed Jupiter to revenge Prometheus and interrupt the prosperity he was bringing to humankind. As the myth goes, Pandora gave in to the temptations of opening the box prepared by Jupiter with its array of diseases, depression, and miseries for mankind. As the legend goes, the vengeful Jupiter also sent Vulcan to chain Prometheus to the mountain peak where he was left exposed to the shrieking storm winds, eagles clawing at his body for ten generations until Hercules rescues him.

Constructing Consensus, Building Peace

At its most balanced and inclusive, the processes of UNESCO, reputed as the UN’s incubator of ideas, facilitate and create an environment for open embrace of ideas and ideologies that allow for easy engagement of seemingly conflictful and contentious positions, bridging gaps and breaking down divisive walls to construct inclusive defenses through education, culture, science and information. UNESCO’s system of negotiating consensus, what I have elsewhere identified as the institution’s prime and most underrecognized asset, its intangible resource. Its successes and experiences of negotiating consensus from extreme positions to grounds acceptable to the majority, have been the moments when in its 70 years it can hold its head highest, and I was fortunate to be part of some of these, as MacLeish himself have been. The most fulfilling moments will be when delegates rose above the narrow localized and domestic tethers to acknowledge the greater good and reach consensus. It is an invaluable life skill. Those who take the time to sit through the meetings would appreciate how it is done and better yet have faith restored that it can be done.
But that’s at the best of times.
The worst of times are when the institution and its processes are waylaid and forced to deviate from its goals – particularly when it allows the intrusion of other forms and methods of persuasion and capitulation: the unbalanced pressures of political and economic powers, or dominant cultural prejudices– to overshadow and derail its core focus of building peace. We experienced many, many moments of these as well.
Yet, we were able to, with unanimous consensus, craft actions for education so next generations to be able to warm, cook, and feed themselves and develop lifelong tools for sustenance. So concluded our report and presented it before the UNESCO General Conference feeling, like Prometheus must have, that with fire would come that new Golden Age, brighter and better than the old.
That November day, the day Paris rocked, unknown to many in the room, was played out several signature moments when the constructs of peace would be challenged and the individual and organizational strengths were tested to hold its own against understated threats to its processes of building the foundations of peace. It was a test of the minds of men and women with knowledge, experience and understanding to triumph over inexperience, ignorance and prejudice.
Then the final moments. The Chairman of the Conference was just about to drop the anvil to announce adoption of the Commission Report, when somewhere among the delegation, a hand went up. The Hall paused, in silence. It was not unusual for a delegate to make an intervention at this stage, in fact the procedures allowed for and encouraged it. It was part of the consensus building mechanism, to ensure that no one leaves with doubts. It was not unusual, nor was it altogether unexpected as the Chairman and a few relevant others are kept apprised of potential scenarios and of any undercurrents that may precipitate disruption of the proceedings.
He graciously allowed the delegate requesting the floor. It turned out to be an assertion and reinforcement of the raison d’ etre of UNESCO, followed by another, from delegates with experience to understand how various stages of the processes may be used to construct the defences of peace in the minds of men, coming at a time when they felt such reinforcement of the processes, principles, and ideals were needed. The interjections deepened the acknowledgement of the processes that go into holding the fragile strands of peace building together, above the petty insecurities, egotism, cowardice and prejudices. Knowledge, experience and cooperation had come together as defences of peace, perhaps just as MacLeish and the other authors of the UNESCO Constitution might have intended.
‘Congrats Kris. Well done. It is adopted. It is over.’ Relief poured out with messages I received commending the successful and satisfactory completion of the agenda and the adoption of the report.
Foregoing the round of chatter and cocktails that would later follow, I left the building and its pseudo constructs of security against the minds of men and women to connect to the buzz of humanity that is Paris. It was Friday the 13th November 2016. The day Paris shook and the walls of several of its cultural institutions would come under attack.
(To Be Continued - Next: Paris Under Attack ...)

PostScript: The US Elections and the UN
A Great Wall of Isms Schisms
One year ago, as now, a collision and collusion of coincidences create cause to contemplate the construction of the defences of peace of the UNESCO motto.
Who are the cast for the task, where are the energies and imagination to be harnessed from the architects of peace?
What are the steps to construct, reconstruct, repair, raise and/or reinforce its walls?
How would they ward off the rising decibels of the cries of havoc that signal the impending release of the dogs of war?
When may the walls be relaxed, relax to release the bridges to consensus building that will be its ultimate test of endurance?

While there has been much spotlight on the election of Donald Trump who will take office in January 2017, there has been much less attention on the new leader of the United Nations, Portuguese António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres who also begins his term in January 2017. UNESCO would also be choosing a new leader in 2017.
Where the UN has been engaged in their deconstruction, Trump has vociferously championed the construction of walls. The optimist anticipates that, campaign rhetoric behind him, the responsibilities of the office will afford the pragmatic businessman, himself a child of the post-war world (born on the same week the UN Charter was drafted) to well appreciates the importance of stability and peace for a prosperous business environment and the value of embracing the best talents of all individuals and institutions across borders and boundaries to achieve those ends.
For a character who has shown that he knows what to say to win an election, it may not be farfetched to believe that he would also do what needs to be done to right the imbalances and inequities, once he understands what they are.
Trump’s platform rhetoric that presents the UN and its agencies as ‘not a friend of the USA”, promises or threatens – depending on from whose perspective it is viewed in the current polarized climate - to cancel the US involvement in hard-won long-negotiated global agreements on climate change, nuclear weapons, trade deals and other international treaties and what he perceives to be the UN’s ‘weaknesses and incompetence’. His views draw on criticism of the UN and its agencies and many of its institutions over the decades, some not unfounded, though largely evident when it imitates or bows unfairly to the pressures of existing super systems.
The UN’s own involvement in soul searching over the last few years have not been impervious to its need to effect greater efficiencies and provide member states with greater value for money, but, much of the value of its work remains unassessed, under assessed and eludes the application of monetary accounting tools, like the intrinsic values of social stability, peace, and social inclusion.
These can easily fall off the radar in any assessment as Trump’s dollars and cents approach, or stated concerns in relation to its occupation of headquarter space on US soil that resonate with similar force as his pronounced intolerance of illegal immigrants and advocacy of a wall between the USA and Mexico. While playing on some general concerns about the shortcomings of the organization, it overlooks the non-monetary and intangible values of the peace processes, social stability and appreciation of diversity and inclusion. 

Consensual Consensus – the post truth of elections

The English definition of consensual is ‘existing or made by mutual consent.’ The definition of consensus is, ‘a general agreement about something, an idea or opinion, that is shared by all the people in a group.’ The subtle difference, discernible to a native speaker of English, is generally lost in translation in the multilingual environment of global policy making.
At the sessions of the Commissions of the UNESCO Executive Board, as at the Education Commission of the General Conference, the consensual (with emphasis on each syllable) approach, climaxing in consensus was often loudly applauded, with good reason. It is the keystone for the construction of peace. An idea crafted into a resolution might have a few consensual supporters and many dissenters, but building it block by block to consensus involves long tedious hours, sometimes days or even months and years of thoughtful drafting, crafting, lobbying negotiating ideas and finalizing their transference into acceptable texts towards agreement.
The post truth of election will be the leader and his/her followers’ consensual embrace of negotiating consensus so as to meet the aspirations of the many. In the tableau as vast as America claims is its reach, Trump may yet learn of not just consensual engagement and interaction, but also its discourse, texts and context in negotiation and achieving consensus.
That is almost diametrically different to the markers by which he has judged his success as an entrepreneur, and now as a politician, where winning is the name of the game. It is not only the swamp of lobbyists in Washington that has made murky the waters of negotiations and created imbalances in the mutuality of consensualism. The darkest moments of organisations like UN and UNESCO, as with governments across the world have been when the swamp creeped in to drown, choke off and misdirect the paths too its vision and goals. Some recent developments, including in the negotiating the Sustainable Development Goals come to mind.  
The challenge is for the incoming leaders of the US, UN along with other nations and institution to work towards identifying common ground, adopting consensualism, and by meshing pragmatism with creative incorporation of the mechanisms for peace, equity, inclusions and sustainability work towards countering the explosion of intolerance, extremism, racism, nepotism, bigotry across not only the US, but in societies where similar murkiness is testing their tolerance and appreciation of diversity. For a character who has shown that he knows what to say to win an election, it may not be farfetched to believe that Trump would also do what needs to be done to right the imbalances he has frowned on, once he understands what they are. It’s the starting point towards consensus building to what now seems the two forces of peace and its opponents. Trumpism could yet assume an entirely novel character than the current hysteria envisages with a challenge the consensus-builders towards a convergence of ‘isms’ and ‘schisms’ and construction of new directions for peace, equity and prosperity drawn from the best experiences of capitalism, communism, socialism and the other isms that have evolved into schisms.
It the test of the mettle of the leaders, thinkers and technocrats administering the process to utilise the best skills, talents, experience, imagination, creativity of architects of peace with the best of the knowledge, skills, talents, imagination and experiences of those who have been calling for its greater efficiency and relevance?
It is commonly held that the United Nations system was born off the ravages of the extremism demonstrated by Hitler and the resultant devastation of the second world war as a vow that such travesties never be repeated. But it may more accurately be said to have been been sustained by every generation’s universal desire for harmony, peace, and prosperity. Its achievement requires consensual cementing of the schisms between the isms – and the time may yet be ripe for that.

Dr Kris Rampersad is an independent sustainable development educator, multimedia practitioner & advocate for equity & change who likes to think.  
LinkedIn: krisrampersad; FB: krisrampersad1 T: @krisramp; Blog: Demokrissy



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Apr 30, 2010 'How we vote is not how we party.' At 'all inclusive' fetes and other forums, we nod in inebriated wisdom to calypsonian David Rudder's elucidation of the paradoxical political vs. social realities of Trinidad and Tobago. http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: DEADLOCK: Sign of things to come
Oct 29, 2013 An indication that unless we devise innovative ways to address representation of our diversity, we will find ourselves in various forms of deadlock at the polls that throw us into a spiral of political tug of war albeit with not just ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: The human face of constitutional reform
Oct 16, 2013 Sheilah was clearly and sharply articulating the deficiencies in governmesaw her: a tinymite elderly woman, gracefully wrinkled, deeply over with concerns about political and institutional stagnation but brimming over with ... http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Trini politics is d best
Oct 21, 2013 Ain't Trini politics d BEST! Nobody fighting because they lose. All parties claiming victory, all voting citizens won! That's what make we Carnival d best street party in the world. Everyone are winners because we all like ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
New Media, New Civil Society, and Politics in a New Age - Demokrissy
Jan 09, 2012 New Media, New Civil Society, and Politics in a New Age | The Communication Initiative Network. New Media, New Civil Society, and Politics in a New Age | The Communication Initiative Network. Posted by Kris Rampersad ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: T&T politics: A new direction? - Caribbean360 Oct 01, 2010 http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Oct 20, 2013 Choosing the Emperor's New Troops. The dilemma of choice. Voting is supposed to be an exercise in thoughtful, studied choice. Local government is the foundation for good governance so even if one wants to reform the ... http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Old Casked Rum: The Emperor's New Tools#1 - Demokrissy - Blogger
Apr 07, 2013 Old Casked Rum: The Emperor's New Tools#1 - Towards Constitutional Reform in T&T. So we've had the rounds of consultations on Constitutional Reform? Are we any wiser? Do we have a sense of direction that will drive ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Valuing Carnival The Emperor's New Tools#2
Apr 30, 2013 Valuing Carnival The Emperor's New Tools#2....http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
See Also:
Demokrissy: Winds of Political Change - Dawn of T&T's Arab Spring
Jul 30, 2013 Wherever these breezes have passed, they have left in their wake wide ranging social and political changes: one the one hand toppling long time leaders with rising decibels from previously suppressed peoples demanding a ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Reform, Conform, Perform or None of the Above cross ...
Oct 25, 2013 Some 50 percent did not vote. The local government elections results lends further proof of the discussion began in Clash of Political Cultures: Cultural Diversity and Minority Politics in Trinidad and Tobago in Through The ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Sounds of a party - a political party
Oct 14, 2013 They are announcing some political meeting or the other; and begging for my vote, and meh road still aint fix though I hear all parts getting box drains and thing, so I vex. So peeps, you know I am a sceptic so help me decide. http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: T&T Constitution the culprit | The Trinidad Guardian
Jun 15, 2010 T&T Constitution the culprit | The Trinidad Guardian · T&T Constitution the culprit | The Trinidad Guardian. Posted by Kris Rampersad at 8:20 AM · Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Related:
Demokrissy: To vote, just how we party … Towards culturally ...
Apr 30, 2010 'How we vote is not how we party.' At 'all inclusive' fetes and other forums, we nod in inebriated wisdom to calypsonian David Rudder's elucidation of the paradoxical political vs. social realities of Trinidad and Tobago. http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: DEADLOCK: Sign of things to come
Oct 29, 2013 An indication that unless we devise innovative ways to address representation of our diversity, we will find ourselves in various forms of deadlock at the polls that throw us into a spiral of political tug of war albeit with not just ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: The human face of constitutional reform
Oct 16, 2013 Sheilah was clearly and sharply articulating the deficiencies in governmesaw her: a tinymite elderly woman, gracefully wrinkled, deeply over with concerns about political and institutional stagnation but brimming over with ... http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Trini politics is d best
Oct 21, 2013 Ain't Trini politics d BEST! Nobody fighting because they lose. All parties claiming victory, all voting citizens won! That's what make we Carnival d best street party in the world. Everyone are winners because we all like ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
New Media, New Civil Society, and Politics in a New Age - Demokrissy
Jan 09, 2012 New Media, New Civil Society, and Politics in a New Age | The Communication Initiative Network. New Media, New Civil Society, and Politics in a New Age | The Communication Initiative Network. Posted by Kris Rampersad ...http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: T&T politics: A new direction? - Caribbean360 Oct 01, 2010 http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Others: Demokrissy: Old Casked Rum: The Emperor's New Tools#1 ...
Apr 07, 2013
Old Casked Rum: The Emperor's New Tools#1 - Towards Constitutional Reform in T&T. So we've had the rounds of consultations on Constitutional Reform? Are we any wiser? Do we have a sense of direction that will drive ...
http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Valuing Carnival The Emperor's New Tools#2
Apr 30, 2013
Valuing Carnival The Emperor's New Tools#2. 
http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Wave a flag for a party rag...Choosing the Emperor's New ...
Oct 20, 2013
Choosing the Emperor's New Troops. The dilemma of choice. Voting is supposed to be an ... Old Casked Rum: The Emperor's New Tools#1 - Towards Constitutional Reform in T&T. Posted by Kris Rampersad at 10:36 AM ...
http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Carnivalising the Constitution People Power ...
Feb 26, 2014
This Demokrissy series, The Emperor's New Tools, continues and builds on the analysis of evolution in our governance, begun in the introduction to my book, Through the Political Glass Ceiling (2010): The Clash of Political ...
http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Envisioning outside-the-island-box ... - Demokrissy - Blogger
Feb 10, 2014
This Demokrissy series, The Emperor's New Tools, continues and builds on the analysis of evolution in our governance, begun in the introduction to my book, Through the Political Glass Ceiling (2010): The Clash of Political ...
http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Futuring the Post-2015 UNESCO Agenda
Apr 22, 2014
It is placing increasing pressure for erasure of barriers of geography, age, ethnicity, gender, cultures and other sectoral interests, and in utilising the tools placed at our disposal to access our accumulate knowledge and technologies towards eroding these superficial barriers. In this context, we believe that the work of UNESCO remains significant and relevant and that UNESCO is indeed the institution best positioned to consolidate the ..... The Emperor's New Tools ...
http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/
Demokrissy: Cutting edge journalism
Jun 15, 2010
The Emperor's New Tools. Loading... AddThis. Bookmark and Share. Loading... Follow by Email. About Me. My Photo · Kris Rampersad. Media, Cultural and Literary Consultant, Facilitator, Educator and Practitioner. View my ...
http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/



 @BJP4India #BJP @Priyankachopra #PriyankaChopra#merkel @EmmanuelMacron #EmmanuelMcrona #JohnTrudeau @travelchannel @usatoday @BBCWorld @BBCWorldHaveYourSay @TEDtalks @TEDNews +britishcouncil@engageats.co.uk @britishmuseum, @britishcouncil, @britishlibrary, @Royal_Gov_UK, @justintrudeau, @helenclarkeUNDP, +Google for Nonprofits  @googleartsandculture, @econculture, @commonculture, @writersdigest, @nytimes, +PBS NewsHour +Breaking News +BBC News +news@news.ideastap.com +info@takingitglobal.org +Open Society Foundations @richardbranson, @billgates, @melaniegates, @gatesfoundation, +G Singh, @clintonfdn, @WJClibrary, @clintonglobal, @librarycongress @google, @googleresearch @yahoo, @yahoonews, @yahoomovies, @ABC, @CNN, @REUTERS, @ABC, +Kamla Persad-Bissessar , +Prakash Ramadhar+John van Tiggelen
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Sunday, November 13, 2016

American Winter follows Autumn in Paris spawned from an Arab Spring: Remembering Peace Building and the Paris Attacks 2015

US President-elect Donald Trump might get his Emmy yet with seemingly all the world tuned in for the next episode of Trump Trumps Trump. Of this unfolding pantomime – comic-tragedy, tragi-comedy, the ascension of the anti-hero despite the mockery, scorn and buffoonery, he commandeers the super functions as the producer, the financier, the director, the script writer, the actor of all the other key parts – the villain and the anti-hero. All other characters fade into insignificance as background sound or mere ambiance - a reminder of the context in which he is, well, Trump.
Reality TV has come into its own, promising episode after episode of surprise twists and turns, the world waits breathlessly yet for the customary surprise Hollywood ending that would see the villain’s epiphany and transformation, or its alternative, his poetic cathartic demise when the world rights itself and falls back comfortably into its accustomed axis of orbit.
Powered by the political machinations and machinery of the day, the Commander-in-Chief to-be is surrounded only by the bruised and battered mechanics of democracy: his political opponent, the media, the spin doctors, the freedom fighters, and proponents of social justice are crumpled up and grasping in disbelief for failing to practice the basic principle of enjoyment of a good drama – the suspension of disbelief that underlines poetic faith, if not poetic justice.
Self-made, Made-in-America, the epitome of capitalism, the sprawling centerfold of glossy this-is-how-you-do-it trendsetting magazines and individualistic do-it-yourself self-empowerment social media snippets; the buffoon, the clown and the circus, the ghoul, the fiend...; the most succinct example of the fulfillment of the American Dream, and its antithesis; the world’s worst nightmare. No superlative seems to capture the poignancy of processes, systems, beliefs, posturings all turned on their heads; the Joker's feat at commandeering Gotham City and acquiring unto himself all the saving powers of Batman - a success that affords him a trump tower of total power with a White House thrown in for good real estate value. The depth and the breath of his appeal is the source of the collective universal shudder at a dream-turned-nightmare that not even Hollywood could have contrived.
Not only his opponents at home, but world leaders, struggle to pen the words that would sound the right tone of welcome and wariness, while he too, holds on to his fingers in a pinch of self-assurance that it is indeed real, and to keep from glazing over at the kingdom of high flying assets he has inherited. His bewilderment, with that of his glued-in and clueless audience, lend atmosphere as the lead-in promo to the next episode.
What would it be: Fist shaking at the peace making mechanisms? Sounding the death knell at the green lobby? Kicking out the last termite infested pillars of the floundering institutions of democracy? A bugle call of the ultimate Capitalist’s embrace of Communism? Hollywood and the headliners are all back to the story board, re-imagining the tale as old as time, which lyrics, incidentally can ironically be applied to falling in love, or falling out of love - did you ever notice? (See sidebar on this page:).
Trump rode the wave to Total Power from Trump Towers with the rhetoric of the champions of equity and justice, many since silenced and sidelined and ridiculed by the existing deficient democratic systems for sounding exactly such a warning, for pointing to the possibilities of exactly such an outcome; for foreseeing the pitfalls of a democratic deficit that has been mutating and expanding and engulf all with the sneers of annihilation.
All eyes may be turned to America, but is that also not misdirected? Shouldn’t we be turning inward and now try to address, reconcile and bridge the deficit of those factors which contributed to the rise of Trump, not with rhetoric, but with real? For which society has not seen the same forces and factors that now underline the turmoil in America, at play at home? A reminder of a phrase as old as old can be but attributed to a US House Speaker, all politics is local. The same might be said of much else all global disasters begin in a locale; all megalomaniacs have their beginnings in some obtuse district; all media, mass or otherwise for all news is local, first.
What might have been spawned in an Arab Spring, an opening up of knowledge, of understanding, evolved into a last autumn’s occurrences in Paris and is now exposed in America’s winter and portends an explosive season of intolerance and discontent.

PS: I spent the last year since the experiences of the peace building processes at the time of the attacks in Paris, combing the conscience of those around me, the consciousness of peace proponents and philosophers, conversing with local and global thought leaders, examining the conclusions of people from cultures at home and across the globe about peace, peace keeping, peace-making, and the antithesis: war, violence, extremism and terror, and the place of people and politics – are they one and the same thing? Here in this space, Demokrissy, begins now and for the next few weeks, articulation of those experiences and ideas on this the first anniversary of the attacks in Paris in autumn 2015, spawned from an Arab Spring, germinating in an American winter, looking to a New Season of ….
LinkedIn: krisrampersad;; FB: krisrampersad1
@krisramp @lolleaves @KrisRampersadTT @realDonaldTrump @POTUS @FLOTUS @HillaryClinton @@JohnKerry @BernieSanders @SenSanders @narendramodi @justintrudeau 








Thursday, October 20, 2016

Reconstructing 10 millennia of heritage in Latin American and the Caribbean

Oldest civilisations: Reconstructing the Heritage and History of Latin America and the Caribbean in its global contexts....world natural and cultural tangible and intangible cultural heritage through ten millennia follows considerations for supporting policy development in the field of intangible cultural heritage in Latin America and the Caribbean including measures to build confidence of knowledge holders, educate students and net generations, strengthen institutions like museums and archives, develop policy and programmes synergising approaches to culture, economics, sociocultural sustainable development
Examination of: What is policy development for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage? What are the needs of Latin America and the Caribbean in this field? How does the topic fit in UNESCO’s global capacity-building programme for the implementation of the 2003 Convention? 
The aim is to equip them with the knowledge and tools required to provide policy support and to take stock of the implementation of the capacity-building programme in the region since 2013. 


Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Another Caribbean country moves forward towards safeguarding cultural heritage

Congratulations to St Kitts and Nevis on ratifying two UNESCO Culture Conventions which will help to strengthen the culture sector.

 Through a four year process of double ended ground up and top down sensitisation, prodding, lobbying and encouragement, St Kitts/Nevis ratified the  2003 UNESCO Convention for Safeguarding the Intangible Cultural Heritage, and the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression. Congratulations to the local authorities, led by the local commission on achieving this milestone.

The pace and processes to policy develop change, reform and development is slow, and additionally challenging for Small Island Developing States in minute and complex socio-economic, cultural and political milieu. Intimate understanding of the challenges facing the local and regional environment to bridge understanding about uses and relevance to local and national development and the relationship between and among what seems to be a bewildering mass of conventions and other international instruments and processes, ongoing support, prodding and guidance of local authorities through this has brought St Kitts Nevis now to a position to move towards implementation.  That it began in the spirit of inclusion, engaging both islands meaningfully sets the stage for ongoing action... 
St Kitts and Nevis joins successes in Belize, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados among others  ... more Best Practices from the Caribbean in national and global contexts ... ... 






Consultation on UNESCO’S cultural convention gets impressive support

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Press Release (EMU)
Recommend    48

     A wide cross section of stakeholders turned out to learn more regarding two cultural conventions which the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis hope to ratify in the near future.

    The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage as well as the Convention for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions were discussed at a National consultation.
    Dr. Kris Rampersad, Media, Cultural and Literary Consultant for UNESCO, facilitated open discussions on both Conventions sharing the benefits of signing on to such and expressing the view that there are really no negative consequences of becoming party to such conventions.
    She said apart from the obvious availability of funding for countries that adopted the conditions of these conventions, there are also the benefits of strength garnered from participation in the deliberation of international issues.
    Responding to the concern of some participants that International Organizations do not adequately express the views or address the concerns of small countries in their conventions, Dr. Rampersad explained that that UNESCO did not operate along those lines but rather it was more the failure of developing countries to make full use of the opportunities afforded them to participate in the policy and decision making processes.

    This view was supported by Secretary General of the National Commission for UNESCO Mr. Antonio Maynard who said his organization would continue to provide opportunities for nationals to participate in those processes and would heighten its already very thorough requirements as far as follow-up action when persons benefit from such training and awareness-oriented meetings overseas.
    Mr. Maynard said, “Individuals at the consultation were not expected to become experts on the conventions but to become familiar with its contents especially in areas directly affecting them.” He suggested that they focus on the benefits.
    Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and Gender Affairs, Ms. Sharon Rattan commented on her Ministry’s commitment to ensuring opportunities for public discourse on intended and signed conventions.
    The permanent secretary highlighted the inclusion of individuals from all walks of life to participate in the consultation on cultural conventions. She added specifically that every effort had been made to give youths the opportunity to participate and commended those who had so willingly attended and given their input.
    Cultural Director Mr. Creighton Pencheon said he was heartened by the show of support from the community, adding that based on the turn-out he had high hopes for the “future cultural landscape and the preservation and ownership of our unique culture.”
    Present at the event which took place at the Foundation For National Development (FND) Conference Room on May 31, were tour operators, producers, teachers, musicians, singers, artists, writers, poets, craftsmen, heritage experts,  media representatives as well as Mr. Winston Zack Nisbett among other cultural enthusiasts.
    A similar session is being held in Nevis
From:

SKNVibes | Consultation on UNESCO’S cultural convention gets impressive support



Related Links:

http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/en/events?meeting_id=00295



http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/en/joint-body-meeting-00566



http://kris-rampersad.blogspot.com/2016/07/caribbean-wins-one-more-from-unesco_20.html





http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/en/search-00795?q=kris+rampersad






Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Barack Obama admits Hilary more qualified to be President

#Through the Political Glass Ceiling Rrvisited #BarrackObama on #HilaryClinton....'No man or woman not me not Bill (Clinton) more qualified to be President of the USA.... Sorry Bill...Democracy doesn't work if we constantly demonize each other....We the people...hold these truths... ...Democracy is about 'Yes we can' ...not yes he can or yes she can....
#GenderBender #Demokrissy #LeavesOfLife #USPresident #USElection #Equity #Worldwewantpeople #Glocalknowledgepot @krisramp @lolleaves @glocalpot @POTUS @FlOTUS @JohnKerry
See More on Through the Political Glass Ceiling ...  











Barack Obama admits Hilary more qualified to be President

#BarrackObama on #HilaryClinton....'No man or woman not me not Bill (Clinton) more qualified to be President of the USA.... Sorry Bill...Democracy doesn't work if we constantly demonize each other....We the people...hold these truths... ...Democracy is about 'Yes we can' ...not yes he can or yes she can....
#GenderBender #Demokrissy #LeavesOfLife #USPresident #USElection #Equity #Worldwewantpeople #Glocalknowledgepot @krisramp @lolleaves @glocalpot @POTUS @FlOTUS @JohnKerry
nKerry 

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No medal for development of women at national awards

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