Mwanawasa's death could stir political bickering in his ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy [MMD], and the man to gain would be opposition leader Michael Sata.

"There will be a lot of infighting for the presidency as the MMD has no party vice-president, who should have been an automatic replacement for president Mwanawasa. They may have to go to the [national] convention but time is not allowing them. I think we shall soon see the formation of a break-away party from MMD, before the elections," said a political analyst who declined to be identified.

Mwanawasa became Zambia's president in 2001, and won a hotly contested 2006 ballot for his second and final five-year term, which would have ended in 2011.

His period in office was characterised by an anti-corruption drive that saw his predecessor, Frederick Chiluba, together with a number of high-ranking officials in the former government, in and out of court on corruption charges.

The anti-corruption drive endeared Mwanawasa to Western donors, and led to the 2005 cancellation of the country's external debt of US$7.2 billion, putting Zambia back on a path to economic recovery.

"President Mwanawasa's death leaves a big hole in terms of the fight against corruption and seriousness in managing public affairs," Habasonda said. "He showed seriousness, and his legacy will be remembered as one of the 'Rule of Law'."

Zambia will have to prove that they are a democratic country and that law and order prevails during the trying moment.
Certainly, you will not expect an example of Zimbabwe to repeat in Zambia.
Zimbabwe is currently is what I call "Political Sour Milk".
Definitely, the legacy Mwanawasa left will be cherished by Africa and Zambia.

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa died in a Paris hospital after battling ill-health for years, including a second stroke in June, the country's vice-president Rupiah Banda said Tuesday, 19/08/2008

Banda told state television and radio that Mwanawasa died at 10:30 local time (0830 GMT) and that seven days of national mourning have been declared.

"Citizens should remain calm during this period," Banda said.

Mwanawasa had required urgent surgery Monday after a rapid deterioration in his health, Banda said at the time.

The 59-year-old suffered a stroke in Egypt on June 29, on the eve of an African Union summit. It was his second stroke in just over two years. He was airlifted to France after initially being treated in Cairo.

Health Minister Brian Chituwo told Zambia's parliament earlier this month that Mwanawasa would likely remain in the intensive care unit at the Percy Military Hospital near Paris for some time.

Bonjour à tous,

Juste un message d'encouragement à tous les délégués francophones participant au Congrès Mondial des Jeunes (CMJ) venant d'Europe, du Canada francophone ou d"Afrique à continuer poster leurs témoignages de leur expérience au CMJ. Vous êtes en train de vivre une expérience unique, n'oubliez pas de la partager avec d'autres qui n'ont pu avoir l'opportunité de participer à l'événement. Nous sommes à quelques jours de la clôture du Congrès, et les journées sont toujours aussi remplies et la fatigue pointe parfois !

Quelques minutes de votre temps pour dire ce qui s'est passé aujourd'hui, hier ou il y a quelques jours , que ce soit en 5 ou en 10 ligne! Tout le monde est encore dans le feu de l'action, profitez-en ne laissez pas votre mémoire vous jouer des tours, une fois de retour dans vos pays.

Personnellement, j'ai été ravie de rencontrer personnelement des membres actifs de TIG que je ne connaissais que virtuellement. Adama Diop du Sénégal, Eric Doumbou du Cameroun, Marion Viau du Québec Sarah Toumi qui a organisé toute la participation délégation française, Kaniné Doumbia du Mali, Marcellin Koba du Mali, pour ne citer que ceux là.

Il y a encore plein d'autres délégués qui ont de tant choses à dire... et à partager, passez le mot et encouragez le à rejoindre la communauté francophone de TIG !

Au plaisir de vous lire, encore et encore....

Je promenais ce matin dans la ville de Québec avec Justine, et parmi une dizaine de citations, gravées sur un escalier de pierre...j'ai découvert cette phrase...

Une phrase qui m'a profondément touchée par sa simplicité et surtout sa sonorité. :

DONNEZ MOI UN APPUI ET JE SOULEVERAI LE MONDE. Archimède

Je l'ai lu et relu à voix haute ...me disant qu'elle symbolisait à elle seule toute la philosophie du Congrès Mondial des Jeunes....

Archimède était un grand scientifique grec né au IIIème siècle avant J.C.

DONNEZ MOI UN APPUI ET JE SOULEVERAI LE MONDE....

Une belle métaphore pour la jeunesse d'aujourd'hui...qui n'a besoin que de soutien et d'un appui...pour soulever le monde.

Hi,

I think it's important that we not only give more foreign assistance, but that what we do give is spent in the most effectively as possible. To that end, I just sent a letter to the President of the World Bank and a couple of other important development figures asking them to publish information about what aid projects they are funding.

I hope that you'll join me in taking action by sending a letter: http://www.one.org/international/accra/?rc=accrataf

We've seen aid achieve some amazing things in recent years - like over 29 million more children in school for the first time, and over 2 million more Africans with access to AIDS medications. But some aid money could be spent more effectively, and this is our best chance to make it happen.

Thank you

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced a $17.6 million package of grants to help people most affected by the global food crisis and support small-scale farmers in developing countries. The largest grant-$10 million to the World Food Programme (WFP)-will continue the organization's efforts to feed young children and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers in Niger, Cote D'Ivoire, and Burkina Faso, where malnutrition rates are staggering. Catholic Relief Services, Mercy Corps, and Oxfam America will also receive funds from the foundation's emergency relief initiative to respond to the food crisis.

Rising food and fuel prices have put 950 million people worldwide at risk of hunger and malnutrition, according to the United Nations. Young children, whose early nutritional needs are critical to ensure long-term health, and women are at the greatest risk. Increases in farming costs, such as transportation and fertilizer, are adding to small farmers' burdens.


"The Gates donation will help us feed the hungry-especially young children, pregnant and lactating women-in this critical moment," said Thomas Yanga, WFP's regional director for West Africa.

Grants to Catholic Relief Services, Mercy Corps, and Oxfam America total $7.6 million. These grants will support efforts that include providing food for those most in need; helping families earn money for food through employment opportunities or cash-for-work programs; and helping farmers continue and improve their production in times of crisis.

While these grants address some of the most urgent consequences of the global food crisis, the foundation is also deeply committed to funding nutritional programs that promote lasting health and supporting long-term, sustainable efforts to help hundreds of millions of small farmers boost their productivity so they can feed their families and overcome poverty.

"The current global food crisis requires immediate action to feed people most at risk," said Sylvia Mathews Burwell, president of the foundation's Global Development Program. "In the longer term, since agriculture and the needs of small-scale farmers in the developing world have been increasingly neglected in recent decades, we need a significant reinvestment in agricultural development-from donors and developing countries-that focuses on helping small farmers boost their yields and increase their incomes."

Agricultural development is the largest initiative in the foundation's Global Development Program, which was launched in 2006. To date, the foundation has made more than $800 million in commitments in the sector with a focus on helping small-scale farmers in Africa and South Asia. The grants span the agricultural value chain-from seeds and soil to farm management and market access-so that millions of small farmers have the tools and opportunities to live healthy, productive lives.

According to the World Bank, three-quarters of the 1.1 billion people who live on less than $1 a day live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for a living, yet the percentage of development assistance that went to agriculture fell from more than 16 percent in 1980, to less than 4 percent in 2004. In addition, agriculture accounts for only 4 percent of public spending in agriculture-based developing countries. The foundation believes with strong partnerships and a renewed commitment to agricultural development from all sectors, hundreds of millions of small farmers will be able to increase their productivity and incomes and lead healthy, productive lives.

Today's announcement includes the following grants:

Catholic Relief Services: $2.9 million

- In Afghanistan, provide employment opportunities on community infrastructure and other projects; provide direct emergency assistance to households unable to participate in cash-for-work programs; and help small-scale farmers buy seeds, tools, and other farm necessities.

- In Burkina Faso, provide food vouchers for urban families and help poor farm families increase production and sale of rice.

- In Haiti, help small-scale farmers buy seeds, tools, and other farm necessities.

Mercy Corps: $2.7 million

- In the Central African Republic, provide employment opportunities on community infrastructure and other projects; help small-scale farmers buy seeds, tools, and other farm necessities; train farmers to improve their production techniques and marketing of agricultural products; and provide access to microfinance loans to fund food-production related enterprises.

- In Nepal, provide employment opportunities on community infrastructure and other projects; provide access to microfinance loans to fund food-production related enterprises; and strengthen agriculture market chains for food and non-food crops.

- In Niger, provide vouchers and training for farmers to improve production techniques and marketing of agricultural products; and support the health and supply of small livestock and poultry.

- In Somalia, distribute seeds and farm tools; provide employment opportunities on community infrastructure and other projects; provide access to microfinance loans to fund food-production related enterprises; and support the health and supply of small livestock and poultry.

- In Sri Lanka, help small-scale farmers buy seeds, tools, and other farm necessities; train farmers to improve their production techniques and marketing of agricultural products; and facilitate access to microfinance loans to fund food-production related enterprises.

Oxfam America: $2 million

- In Ethiopia, provide local jobs on community infrastructure projects including building irrigation systems; support programs that provide food to schoolchildren; take steps to improve agricultural production, including distributing seeds and supporting irrigation projects; develop a grain bank system; implement a drought early warning system that helps prepare farmers for potential drought or other disaster; and provide livestock to women and help all farmers care for their livestock.

World Food Programme: $10 million

- Help continue the maternal-child health program in Niger, Cote D'Ivoire and Burkina Faso.

About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people-especially those with the fewest resources-have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Patty Stonesifer and Co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. For more information, visit www.gatesfoundation.org.

Govt Must Lift Aid Agency Restrictions to Avoid Humanitarian Crisis - Ban
Source: UN News Service
New York, Aug 14


Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged Zimbabwe to immediately lift the restrictions it has imposed on aid agencies since June, warning that not doing so could worsen the already dire humanitarian situation in the southern African nation.
"I call on the Government of Zimbabwe to fully respect humanitarian principles and the impartiality and neutrality of voluntary and non-governmental organizations, allowing them to operate freely and with unrestricted access to those in need," Mr. Ban said in a statement issued today.

The Secretary-General said he remains deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe where, despite requests made by the UN Country Team and other humanitarian partners, operations of voluntary and non-governmental organizations remain restricted.

He stressed that these groups have a vital role in the delivery of humanitarian aid, including much needed food assistance.
Due to the inability of these agencies to operate, only 280,000 people of the 1.5 million in need of food assistance are being reached with distributions.

"This ban must be lifted immediately so that aid organizations can carry out their relief work and avert a catastrophic humanitarian crisis," Mr. Ban stated.

Prior to the imposition of the ban, many Zimbabweans were already suffering from food shortages and rampant inflation, a situation made worse by the violence that plagued the country ahead of the June presidential run-off election.
UN Announces Program To Help Hunger Hot Spots
Source: World Bank Press Reviews
Washington, D.C., Aug 14



"A UN agency rolled out a $214 million program Tuesday to help 16 needy places hit hard by high prices for food and oil, amid a crisis already making it hard for aid groups to provide enough food for the world's hungry.

The World Food Program said almost 1 billion poor people around the world are struggling to survive amid the higher prices. The agency is trying to reach those in critical need of assistance in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. ... The plan will provide assistance to groups such as pregnant women, undernourished children and people living in urban areas affected most by the food crisis. The Rome-based agency also hopes to cut transportation costs and help support farmers in countries where emergency food can be bought locally. ..." [The Wall Street Journal/Factiva]

AP adds however that "... 'the agency already faces 'obstacles' in procuring food, particularly when trying to buy supplies locally, spokeswoman Brenda Barton said. 'At the markets where we have been buying food, it has become just too expensive,' Barton told The Associated Press by telephone. And, she added, 'a lot of markets just don't have any food to buy.'

The price crisis is affecting many humanitarian groups. 'At a local level, food prices are increasing, and that, of course, impacts on our programs, making them more expensive,' said Chris Leather of the relief group Oxfam."

Many of the world's leading figures in international trade have gathered in New Delhi, India, for a conference which the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) quipped is perfect timing and a "pre-engineered plot" on the part of the organisers.

Referring to the failed Doha talks in Geneva last month, in which member countries of the WTO failed to reach an agreement on future trade negotiations, Pascal Lamy acknowledged that during these "turbulent times", at a moment when multilateralism and international co-operation are being challenged, more partnerships are needed as global problems, such as the current food crisis, require global responses.


It is this theme - Global Partnership for Development - which is the central focus of the conference being held on 12 and 13 August 2008 and organised by CUTS, a leading civil society organisation, in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the India Office of the World Bank, and the Department of Commerce, Government of India.

At a "difficult juncture in international trade talks", Pradeep Mehta, who heads CUTS, described the meeting as a "historic opportunity" for those present to engage in whole-hearted and frank debate.

"We owe it to the poor around the world," he said at the inaugural session, which included trade and finance ministers, trade negotiators, academics and representatives from businesses and civil society organisations. "The question is, can we do it?"

The eighth Millennium Development Goal - Developing a Global Partnership for Development - the theme for the conference was described by Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Ransford Smith, as "the forgotten MDG" during his opening address.

He emphasised its importance in seeking to hold both rich and poor countries accountable for advancing the MDGs.

The two important targets under this MDG are to 'develop further an open, rule based predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system' and to 'address the special needs of the least developed countries, landlocked countries and small island states'.

"In terms of these two targets it seems that very little progress has been made during the last seven years or so. The promise that the Doha Round held out in these two areas has not been realised," Mr Smith said.

The global partnership indicated in this MDG, he added, is intended to promote poverty reduction and social and economic development.

"This cannot be achieved if trade shocks or other adjustment measures affect vulnerable groups disproportionately and exacerbate poverty."

Another Millennium Development Goal target noted by Mr Smith is that of halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.

"It is imperative that the global development community responds effectively to the current food and fuel crises. A large number of other poor and small countries are seriously affected," said Mr Smith, adding that "it is clear that the architecture currently does not exist to provide effective support to these countries at the time when they need it most."

Du coté anglophone du congrès, la coversation écrite a soulevée plusieurs questions et commentaires.

La majorité de ceux qui se sont joint étaient du Canada. Les échanges se sont déroulées dans une très grande civilité et respect mutuel.

Certain ont exprimé de la frustration envers les politiciens et la distance entre voteurs et élus.

Il sera intéressant de voir s'il y aura des suivis.

Merci à TIG pour cette expérience enrichissante.

Hier 13 aout 2008 , j'ai suivi le Dialogue avec la Michaelle Jean, Gouverneure Générale du Canada en video sur Internet, depuis le 3 ème étage du Pavillon Desjardins de l'Université Laval ( dans le bureau de TIG), dans le bureau de TIG, et ce en compagnie d'Incia et de Kirsten. A part quelques légers dysfonctionnements techniques au début, la transmission était bonne.

Aussi Justine et moi avons modéré le Live chat francophone qui avait lieu à cet occasion à partir de 19 heures à 21 heures . Les jeunes ont eu l'occasion de poser leurs questions à la Gouverneure Générale sur la question de la démocratie.

Si vous aviez été présents à l'événement, quels sont les questions que vous auriez aimé poser à la Gouverneure Générale

En ce qui me concerne, j'ai vraiment été impressionnée par la grande disponibilité et l' engagement de la Gouverneure Générale auprès des jeunes et du Congrès Mondial. En tant que marraine et présidente d'honneur de l'événement, elle a pris son rôle au sérieux en étant présente 3 jours consécutifs et en n'hésitant pas lors des soirées de concert à aller esquisser quelques pas de danse sur la piste, entourée de ses gardes du corps.

On sent très nettement que c'est une de ses personnalités qui agissent avec le coeur, une femme battante et plein de générosité.


Merci à Michaelle Jean d'avoir assumé avec brio et même au-delà de toutes attentes son rôle de Présidente d'Honneur du Congràs Mondial des Jeunes.

Bonjour à tous !

Ceci est un appel à participation tous les délégués, clans leaders, observateurs, bénévoles francophones !

Toute l'équipe francophone de TakingITGlobal vous invite à participer au Congrès virtuel francophone Nous vous avons besoin de vos témoignages.

N'oubliez pas que beaucoup de vos collègues, amis n'ont pas pu assiter au Congrès pour différentes raisons... Pensez à eux et prenez le temps de poster vos blogs sur les événements, ateliers et conférences auxquels vous avez assisté !

Vous pouvez rejoindre les membres du Congrès virtuel francophone:

http://projects.takingitglobal.org/congresvirtuelfranco/

En participant au Congrès Virtuel francophone, vous courrez la chance de gagner des lots ; un Ipod Touch ( attention la concurrence est rude avec les anglophones ) et de nombreux tee-shirts TIG.

“Labas ki dayrin? twahachtkoum bazaf” that would be the Moroccan way to say “how are you? I miss you so much”, and that’s the sentence I would like to say to my friends in the Egypt whenever I meet them, but I know they will not understand me. My friends in the Middles East assume that Morocco is an Arab and Arabic speaking country, what they don’t know is that we’ve been doing so many efforts to understand their dialects for the sake of Arab Nationalism and Unity, and that now that the notion of Umma Al Arabia is old fashion, it’s their turn to do some effort to understand my language: Darija.

Morocco is a special mixture of cultures, languages, and races. We are probably one of the most African Arab countries, not only because of our geography, but also because it was Morocco that introduced Islam to West Africa thanks to its traders, monarchs, and Sufi brotherhoods. Morocco is probably the most Western Arab country as well, since, when other countries were colonized by one European power, my country endured the colonization of France and Spain together with city of Tanger as an international colony where all super powers had representatives there, whereas contrary to all the MENA countries, we’ve never been colonized by the Ottoman Empire. Arab Andalusia was a Moroccan project, and after the fall of Andalucía most if Spanish Arabs, liberal thinkers and Jews came to settle in Morocco. In addition, the Moroccan Kingdom was one of the first countries to recognize the US in the 18th century and to send diplomatic missions all around the western world. Morocco is also Arab, Berber, Roman, Jewish, Mediterranean, Sahraouian etc. My country’s history rich of interaction and openness ended in giving birth to a typical language called Darija.

In reality a variety of different languages are spoken in my country. In the northern Rif people speak Tarifit which is a Berber Saxon dialect formed from the interaction between Saxon Viking settlers and other Berber tribes. In the Atlas people speak Tamazigt, which is the typical dialect of the original inhabitants of the Maghreb, which are supposed to be Gaulois according to the French anthropologists. People in the Souss Valley, southern Morocco speak Tachelhit. Whereas, the Sahraoui people speak Hassaniya, Andalucians in Fes, Rabat or Tetouan speak Andalucían Arabic, and educated people would rather speak French and English. In the midway between all these varieties of dialects and languages, Darija is the language that unites all this diversity in one tongue. It’s the language of interaction between people, of trade, and the one you will hear in the street.

I remember in Journalism School, in Arabic classes that I never wanted to speak classical Arabic. My teacher would get angry and remind me that it’s our language, and I would always answer in Darija “Arabic it’s not my language, I would like to write in the newspaper in Darija and present the news on TV in Darija. Saying our language is Arabic is killing identity with hypocrisy”. Nothing changed since then, Arabic is still the language of the Kingdom according to its constitution, TV, newspapers, Education Manuals, political speeches are still in classical Arabic. If it’s a matter of religion, I really don’t think we’ll be less Muslim if we admit that our language is Darija. Iran, Pakistan, and Indonesia are strong Muslim countries though they don’t speak Arabic! If it’s about our ties with the Middle East, a Moroccan would still look ridiculous trying to speak classical Arabic with a band of Middle Easterns confident about their dialects.

Two Months ago, I was with one of my Egyptian friends in Cairo, and I was answering him in English whenever he was asking a question, until he said “Why you Moroccans want to destroy the Arabic Unity Nasser built. We are one nation and Arabic is the thing that unites us”. I fixed him right in the eyes and said in proper Darija “Sir goul l Nasser dialek désolé 3lawed ana tanhdar bi Darija”, translation “Go tell your Nasser sorry, because I speak Darija”.

Voici un texte dont je ne connais pas l'auteur, mais que j'apprécie beaucoup. Son message est simple, clair, sans équivoque... et surtout profond. Je vous invite à le lire en cette journée de l'entrepreneuriat.

« Lorsque j’étais jeune et libre que mon imagination n’avait pas de limites, je rêvais de changer le monde. Au fur et à mesure que j’ai grandi et que je suis devenu plus sage , j’ai découvert que le monde ne voulait pas changer. Alors, j’ai diminué mes ambitions. J’ai décidé de changer seulement mon pays. Mais j’ai senti qu’il était pris dans l’immobilisme. Comme ma petite famille prenait forme, je me suis dit que cela suffirait si je me contentais de changer ma famille. J’ai réalisé que rien de tout cela n’est arrivé. Puis maintenant que je suis sur mon lit de mort, je réalise que si je m’étais seulement changé moi-même, j’aurais eu une influence sur ma famille. Aussi par leur inspiration et leurs encouragement, j’aurais pu avoir une meilleure influence sur mon pays et, qui sait j’aurais peut-être pu changer le monde ».


Et vous, que vous évoque t-il ?

Biofuel production is certainly one of the culprits in the current global food crisis. But while the diversion of corn from food to biofuel feedstock has been a factor in food prices shooting up, the more primordial problem has been the conversion of economies that are largely food-self-sufficient into chronic food importers. Here the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) figure as much more important villains.

Whether in Latin America, Asia, or Africa, the story has been the same: the destabilization of peasant producers by a one-two punch of IMF-World Bank structural adjustment programs that gutted government investment in the countryside followed by the massive influx of subsidized U.S. and European Union agricultural imports after the WTO's Agreement on Agriculture pried open markets.

At the time of decolonization in the 1960s, Africa was not just self-sufficient in food but was actually a net food exporter, its exports averaging 1.3 million tons a year between 1966-70. Today, the continent imports 25% of its food, with almost every country being a net food importer. Hunger and famine have become recurrent phenomena, with the last three years alone seeing food emergencies break out in the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, Southern Africa, and Central Africa.

Agriculture is in deep crisis, and the causes are many, including civil wars and the spread of HIV-AIDS. However, a very important part of the explanation was the phasing out of government controls and support mechanisms under the structural adjustment programs to which most African countries were subjected as the price for getting IMF and World Bank assistance to service their external debt.

Nous sommes aujourd'hui le 12 août 2008, c'est la journée Internationale de la jeunesse.

Partagez avec nous un des moments forts de votre journée. Que s'est-il passé de particulier, d'intéressant, de surprenant, de fascinant ?

Allez-vous assistez à la Marche de la Jeunesse ? Dites - nous pourquoi et ce qui vous motive à vivre cette expérience ?