[BACKGROUND] THE INTERNATIONAL INSPIRATION PROJECT: OLYMPIC YOUTH PLAN

The implementation of the International Inspiration programme is part of the fulfilment of the London 2012 bid team’s promise to engage and inspire the youth of the world through sport.

This marks the first time that a host country has undertaken a legacy programme of this kind. The programme focuses particularly on developing countries and aims to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

“Our vision is to see millions more young people – in Britain and across the world – participating in sport and improving their lives as a result of that participation,” The Guardian quotes former PM Tony Blair’s message at the final presentation to the International Olympic Committee in Singapore in July 2007.

He adds: “London has the power to make that happen. It is a city with a voice that talks to young people.” 

In January 2008, Prime Minister Gordon Brown launched the International Inspiration programme in India. The first five countries in which it was implemented were Azerbaijan, Brazil, India, Palau and Zambia.

Positive changes to date

A media release identifies the significant positive changes the programme has achieved thus far in its first year:

• INDIA: helped to support a national drive for Physical Education and Sport in the run-up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games, including a new programme to reach millions of children in 250,000 rural schools and the training of thousands of new PE teachers.

• BRAZIL: over 81% of the districts in the North-East have now signed up to a “Sports & Citizenship Challenge” to increase awareness and improve access to sport and play for children and young people. Almost all districts have now completed sports events and around 7,200 sports leaders have been trained to work in schools and communities to provide sporting opportunities for their peers.

• ZAMBIA: supported the Zambia Volleyball Association in organising the largest national schools’ volleyball tournament and training camp. Over 170 girls took part and a further 20 girls were trained to teach the sport to others in rural areas.

• AZERBAIJAN: supported the Azerbaijan Government in the development of a new National Sport Development Strategy in Azerbaijan. This will see a new drive towards community sport-for-all which has the potential to reach all communities in the country.

A case study discussed by UK Sport describes a cultural exchange that has been organised between the Isle of Islay (just off the coast of Scotland with only 3,400 inhabitants) and Palau, an island in Micronesia and the smallest of the countries involved in the pilot phase with a population of just over 20,000.

International Inspiration programme ‘living up to the promise’

On 26th November 2008, it was announced that five more countries – Trinidad & Tobago, Bangladesh, Ghana, Jordan and Mozambique – will form the second stage of the “International Inspiration” programme.

“Our vision is to use the Games to inspire change – changing lives is the driving force behind our plans,” said London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe, quoted by the BBC.

“This project is one way London 2012 is living up to that promise and the IOC is delighted to be able to support them in this worthwhile endeavour,” the BBC quotes Denis Oswald, the chairman of the IOC’s coordination commission for London 2012.

The scheme hopes to reach 12 million children in 20 countries by 2012.

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE ORIGINAL POST ON “JUST A ‘YOUNG BWOY’?: OLYMPIC MEDALIST RICHARD THOMPSON”

 

 

JUST ANOTHER ‘YOUNG BWOY’?: OLYMPIC MEDALIST RICHARD THOMPSON

photo by Sacha Fortune

 

He was talking to a couple of friends during the interval at “The Best Little Whorehouse In Guapo” when I walked straight past him.

“Aye, ent that is…?” my sister beside me asked.

“Nah…”

“Yuh sure? Girl! Yes, yes!”

“Nah…”

But it was.

He shares a name with many others of reasonable repute – a British musician, an English footballer, and an Australian parliamentarian, to name a few.

But if you say the name ‘Richard Thompson‘ in Trinidad & Tobago, particularly in the height of the Olympics season, only one person comes to mind.

Funding to develop the nation’s next generation of athletes

Richard Thompson is an inspiration for young Trinbagonian athletes.

His success comes at fortuitous time for the developing country, which has just received a boost in expenditure on sports for the nation’s youth. 

Trinidad & Tobago, along with Bangladesh, Ghana, Jordan and Mozambique, will be part of the second stage of the International Inspiration campaign targeted to the world’s youth, the BBC reported.

Express(TnT) states that the additional £5.4m from the Department for International Development and a match-funding commitment of £10.2m from the British Council top up the £9m invested by those two backers and the Department of Media, Culture and Sport, the Premier League and Unicef.

The ambitious campaign, launched to deliver the London 2012 Olympic bid’s promise to take sport to the world’s youth, will benefit Trinidad’s upcoming athletes who look up to Richard Thompson as a role model. 

Olympic silver medalist & ‘million-dollar man’

The Olympic silver medalist, the “million-dollar man” himself, triumphed at the Beijing Olympics with at least 1.3 million people shrieking at his glory.

Our hearts burst.

Second place? Who cared?

No one could beat Usain “Lightning” Bolt – and he was a fellow Caribbean person so we were ‘backing’ him too.

We screamed and partied harder for “Torpedo” Thompson’s second place louder than we did the day we lost the World Cup football match in Germany.

Just another ‘young bwoy’

And here he was in front of me — humble, quiet, smaller than expected — dressed in a white t-shirt and jeans, just another “young bwoy” out “liming” with his friends at a local play, “The Best Little Whorehouse In Guapo“ at Queen’s Hall.

All my journalist skills failed me.

My father, pumping his hand and congratulating him, had to introduce me, tossing in that I was a journalism student “studying in England” — as if that would impress the world-travelled athlete who ran for Louisiana State University Tigers track and field team in the US.

Before that, he went to school with many of my friends at Queen’s Royal College, and his primary school Newton Boys RC was also my dad’s — some dinosaur years ago, my father informed him.

And “million-dollar man” or not, he hasn’t forgotten his roots.

‘Balance sport with school’

“You have to always pay tribute to those who got you to where you are right now and Newtown Boys was very instrumental in helping me build the character I have,” he told Express journalist BC Pires.

He advised the nation’s youth at the Olympic celebrations at the Naparima Bowl: ”Balance sport with school and always believe in the Father. 

“You have to understand that at any moment something can go wrong. If an athlete gets into a car accident or injures himself, his or her career is jeopardised.

All your teachers are trying to do is to prepare you for the future.”

 

CLICK HERE FOR BACKGROUND ARTICLE ON “THE ‘INTERNATIONAL INSPIRATION’ PROJECT: OLYMPIC YOUTH PLAN”

 

 

Korean freelancers win Rory Peck Award

The winners of the 2008 Rory Peck Awards were announced in BFI Southbank on 13th Nov.

Two South Korean journalists Jung In Taek and Han Yong Ho jointly won the Impact Award for their work on the film: Out of the North.

The film followed the stories of refugees who crossed the Tumen River, a route via China hoping to escape the repressive regime in North Korea.

2008 Rory Peck Award Picture by Lei Yang

The heart wrenching images showed half-naked people crossing the freezing river at night and a dead woman falling flat on her face on the frozen river.

Jung In Taek and Han Yong Ho risked imprisonment to spend ten months filming this documentary on the Chinese and North Korea Border, according to the release from the Trust.

High Praise from Judge Panel

The work of Jung In Taek and Han Yong Ho was recognized by the judge panel.

Tina Carr, director of the Rory Peck Trust said:

” Without the physical and political courage that Jung In Taek and Han Yong Ho displayed in undertaking this project, this compelling story of human endeavour- of people in search of freedom to pursue a better life-would never have been seen by the wider public.”

In the interviewed with BBC World’s documentary Firing Line, Han Yong Ho Said:

”We have to know the sad reality of our people. So when we are reunited one day we will understand their sorrow. That’s why this work is so important. ”

Other finalists for the Impact Award included “D” and Ginny Stein for Mugbe’s Calling Card and Jezza Neumann for Undercover in Tibet.

The award ceremony was held by the Rory Peck Trust which was founded in 1995 to support freelance news gatherers and their families worldwide.

Please click here for background story

The dangers of being a journalist

By Karunya Keshav

Everyone knows that the world is becoming a dangerous place. And that’s because there’s a journalist at the scene telling you so.

Every now and then, reports in the media remind us just how risky the journalistic profession has become.

The ongoing inquest into the death of BBC producer Kate Peyton, of Beyton, Suffolk, was in the news last week.

Ms. Peyton was shot outside her hotel room in Mogadishu three years ago.  She was on an assignment in the war-torn region of Somalia.

It now emerges that she might have taken up the assignment as she felt pressured to prove her commitment to her job.

The BBC for its part, has some tough questions to answer.

Not least of all, regarding its risk assessment procedures that sent a team into “an extremely dangerous” but “manageable” place.

In the line of fire

Meanwhile, far away in Mumbai, India, armed gunmen launched a series of audacious attacks that has killed 178 so far and injured over 300, according to NDTV.

Armed with automatic weapons and grenades, news agencies report that they took hostages in two luxury hotels, a Jewish centre and a hospital, but not before shooting indiscriminately at people in and around these hotels, a train station and a popular café.

As this chaos unravelled around them, reporters and camera crews stood – quite literally – in the line of fire as they attempted to be the first to get the images.

An AFP reporter as well as local camerapersons were injured in the shootouts. Others escaped by mere inches.

One Italian journalist and a ‘citizen reporter’ felt the need to sneak past police barricades to capture the best images of the high-risk commando operations in the hotels.

Correspondents stood within the range of fire, ready to duck with every blast of gunfire that broke out. Live reports were punctuated by explosions in the background.

The CNN journalist in the video above not only had to deal with stray bullets and explosions in the background, but also angry crowds.

Rising numbers

But Mogadishu or Mumbai, the issue remains the same.

According to the International News Safety Institute, as of 26 November, 83 journalists and media staff have lost their lives while on their jobs. Many more cases are under investigation.

In truth, journalists today are more ready than ever to take great risks for the sake of their profession. Indeed, no less is expected from them.

“Many journalists are so passionate about what they do that the prospect of risking their lives to cover a major story seems as much a privilege and opportunity as a danger,” says a New York journalist who declined to be named.

The best of the 10 o’clock news comes with threat to life and limb and journalists themselves are reconciled to this fact.

But a more grave danger comes when the journalist becomes a part of the risk assessment.

And a seemingly expendable part at that.

Protecting Human Rights

It is a journalist’s responsibility to fearlessly provide unrestricted access to information to the public. Indeed, it may be their desire to do so. That’s why they became journalists in the first place.

But do journalists feel industry pressure to compromise individual safety and rights for the sake of broader rights of freedom of expression?

Journalists pride themselves on being in the profession often considered to be the protector of human rights.

In the process, are they neglecting to protect their own?

Click here for background information about journalist deaths in 2008

Racist is no longer in the air

 Those who thought that on Youtube, anything could be broadcast, were wrong. Videos of 99 Fosse (99 tombs) an Italian neo- nazi inspiration band have been darkened, Il Corriere della Sera has reported.  

According to La Repubblica their songs were judged as an exaltation of the Jews’ extermination which is the main theme of the band. 

 

Another inopportune detail revailed by the Italian journal has been the  author’s nick name that has loaded the videos: “Karl Gebhardt.”.

 

Historically Gebhardt was the physician of Heinrich Himmler, minister of the interior during the third Reich known for having conducted experiments in the female concentration camp of Ravensbrück, using as guinea-pigs Polish and Russian prisoners. 

 

Explicit lyrics

 

The incriminated songs are contained in the album covertly published and entitled Zyclon B, or rather the poison used in the gas rooms.

On Rossoschocking are written all 99 Fosse’s lyrics. The titles and the music are those of very famous Italian songs but their texts has been readjusted to emphasise the themes of anti-Semitic issues. 

  

As said by Political Live , particularly clicked was the song entitled “Anna is no longer here” that uses the melody and strongly twists the text of a romantic Italian song (Laura is no longer here) in Nazi key.

 

The reference is obviously to Anna Frank, the girl who wrote a diary about her dramatic story. She was forced to run away from the Nazi retaliations and then died in a concentration camp.

Some of these songs contain explicit lyrics inciting people to attack Jews and immigrants.

The Italian political have firmly condemned youtube to have given access to racist contents that incite violence Il Corriere has learnt.

An international view

Nazi songs surely are not a fact that concerns only Italy.

A few day ago the Germany’s Supreme administrative court, quoted by DW WORD.DE ruled that a neo-Nazi rock group that spread racial hatred was a criminal organization.

According to Freemuse two men were arrested in Denmark on 27th August 2008 for allegedly recordings that have been deemed illegal because of their extremist content. 

  

In the United Kingdom there is an association called TWAFA (Tyne and Wear Anti Fascist Association) which signals musical texts inspired to the ideology promoted by Hitler. The Anti Nazi League continues to run a campaign against racism in music with this slogan: Love Music Hate Racism

 To Read the background to this story by click here  

Westminster staff wounded in Mumbai terror attacks

The Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai

A University of Westminster professor was wounded in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai this wednesday, the institution has revealed today.

Simon Healeas, Director of the Business Experience and International Unit in the Westminster Business School was wounded in the attack.

He was shot in the right arm while staying at the Taj Mahal hotel in the centre of Mumbai on the day of the attacks.

He is now receiving medical attention at Bombay Hospital and his condition is stable.

The University has stated that the other 12 members of the delegation, in India for a conference, are safe and away from the disturbances.

Their Indian colleagues, including businessmen, academics and city officers, are also safe and have been advised to stay indoors.

University Staff Return

Arrangements are being made for the possibility of an early return for the staff.

Speaking to Bury the Lead, the University Press Officer Rob Watson said that most staff “will be able to travel back on or before Sunday evening.”

The thirteen members of the University were attending events with the British Council and working on projects with the University of Mumbai.

Within the group of Indian colleagues were also the Mumbai sheriff, Indu Shahani, and Vikram Mathur, who is alumni president for the University of Mumbai as well as deputy head for Rolls Royce in India.

One professor, Ashif Tejani of the Computer Science Department, has already boarded a flight back to the U.K.

Background to the Terror attacks in Mumbai

UPDATE: 1/12/2008

The University of Westminster staff have returned to the UK at the time of this update.

Simon Healeas and his wife will be returning sometime later this week, or next week, together with professor Director of Scholarships Colin Matheson, who is extending his stay in order to continue to coordinate actions on the ground.

[BACKGROUND] TOO MUCH ‘FREENESS’?: T&T MEDIA, THE BACK STORY

The recent incident of Prime Minister Patrick Manning visiting the 94.1FM newsroom has brought “freedom of the press” back to the forefront of the agenda.

Media freedom is, after all, one of Trinidad’s greatest accolades: since 2003, it has consistently ranked among the top 20 countries in the World Press Freedom Index.

It is the highest in the Caribbean, Central and South America, and even higher than the UK, France, Spain and the USA.

Its 2007 ranking of 19th place was ahead of the UK at 24th, and Jamaica at 27th.

PM attacks the media

The PM’s visit to the radio station was not his first stance against the media.

In January 2003, Manning criticised the media at the 48th anniversary of the ruling People’s National Movement.

While visiting Howard University in Washington DC, USA, it was reported that he had referred to the nation’s kidnappings as “bogus”, a term than he later denied using.

It was alleged that he sought to deliberately mislead nationals of the country living abroad, which showed disregard for kidnap victims and their families in Trinidad.

Former PM attacks on the media

Manning is not the first PM to criticize the media.

In response to Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday’s condemnation of PM Manning’s visit to the radio station, Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira argued that Mr. Panday had committed worse sins in his term as Prime Minister.

The Opposition party United National Congress attacked the media early in their tenure as former government, when the Guardian headline “Chutney Rising – Panday” offended then-PM Panday because of its subtext that he was narrowly an ‘Indian’ Prime Minister.

As the Newsday(TnT) reports, Mrs. Nunez-Tesheira reminded Parliamentarians that this incident resulted in the dismissal of several leading journalists because the UNC disapproved of their work.

‘Bacchanal’ news culture

It is no secret that Trinidadian media, in all its “freeness”, has thrived on a culture of sensationalisation and “bacchanal”.

A prime example of this is the 2007 Akon scandal, when the American rapper was reported as having performed a “lewd”, “dirty” and “sexually explicit” dance with fifteen-year-old Danah Alleyne.

In reality, this type of dance is common all year round — particularly during Carnival season, and Akon did not know she was underage since the Zen nightclub was reserved for over-18s.

The only thing illegal about the incident was that the nightclub did not ask for her ID.

Foreign reporters, garnering research from Trinidadian media, demonized the rapper and accused him of “simulated rape”, which resulted in the loss of his Verizon advertising contract.

The future of T&T media

Earlier this year, a meeting was called by Media Association of Trinidad & Tobago on World Press Freedom Day for “members of the association to come and share their concerns about threats to press freedoms in Trinidad and Tobago”.

Presently, as reported by the Express(TnT), the government is still pursuing Kenneth Gordon, former Chairman of Caribbean Communication Network, to head up a proposed committee on media standards.

But though Gordon admits that commentators have been “behaving badly”, he does not want to be in charge of something that conflicts with the freedom of the press.

In a move to improve the standard of journalism in the country, the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad & Tobago published a draft Broadcasting Code containing rules for regulating media content.

It remains to be seen whether this will be put into place and enforced.

But it is safe to say that recent developments indicate that Trinidad’s position near the top of the World Press Freedom Index may soon be in jeopardy.

CLICK HERE FOR ORIGINAL POST “MEDIA FREEDOM ON THE ROCKS IN TNT”

MEDIA FREEDOM ON THE ROCKS IN T&T

 

Prime Ministers are busy people with political issues, international conferences and dozens of staff members to plan their daily agendas. After all, running a country is time-consuming work — even Trinidad & Tobago, barely a blip on the world’s political radar. 

So it was a bit of a surprise when PM Patrick Manning, with full security detail in tow, charged into the 94.1FM newsroom, taking offence to criticism about his involvement with the increase in gas prices.

The ensuing spectacle resulted in newscasters Kevin Baker and David Murray being suspended for two weeks, though the PM denies any responsibility.

“I have no such authority,” he said in a news conference, as reported by the Guardian(TnT). “If individuals were suspended… it was purely internal and a management issue that has absolutely nothing to do with the Prime Minister.”

He added: “If it is proper for a citizen of T&T to visit a radio station, then it cannot be improper for the PM… unless of course, there are rights available to every citizen except the PM.”

But as citizens, politicians, and media officials alike pointed out, his actions had consequences.

With great power comes great responsibility

“Mr. Manning can say what he wants, the fact is that… storming a radio station with security detail to challenge the statements of broadcasters will have the effect of intimidating the management and staff, including journalists,” Express(TnT) quotes Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday.

Newsday(TnT) quotes him: “Such behaviour by a Prime Minister is undemocratic, arrogant and dictatorial at best… it tramples on the freedom of the media to perform its functions relating to scrutinising Government’s conduct and policies without fear.” 

The Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago issued a statement: “While Mr. Patrick Manning has the same rights as any other citizen, a prime minister has greater power, which should be exercised in the public interest, with due care and responsibility.”

Trinidad & Tobago Publishers & Broadcasters Association pointed out that there are mechanisms in place to have incorrect information corrected, such as the Media Complaints Council and the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago. 

Free press ‘behaving badly’ 

Kenneth Gordon, former chairman of Caribbean Communications Network, criticised the PM’s actions but acknowledged that commentators have long been “behaving badly”.

On Caribbean News Channel 3’s current affairs programme The Big Story, he said: “Anybody who purports to be a broadcaster should be expected to conform to certain standards. If they do not… they should be made to understand that there will be consequences.”

Energy Minister Conrad Enill’s controversial statement that “Nowhere in the world is news reporting as bad as here in T&T” may have been exaggerated, but the PM’s unprecedented reaction — however ill-advised — was not entirely unfounded.

The disregard to professionalism, sensationalisation and general “bacchanal” splattered all over the news is not a problem of two broadcasters poking fun at the PM, but a vignette of the greater problem on a grand scale of poor journalistic training in the twin isle.

And in a democratic country that ranks 19th in the 2007 Annual World Press Freedom Index and proudly celebrates World Press Freedom Day every year, the PM’s actions have ignited a media frenzy that will remain ablaze for some time to come, particularly as PM Manning has no intention of backing down.

“If the spirit moves me,” he is quoted as saying, “I will not hesitate to visit media houses to complain if I disapprove of the content they produce.”

 

 

CLICK HERE FOR BACKGROUND ARTICLE: “TOO MUCH FREENESS?: T&T MEDIA, THE BACK STORY”