Filed under: Canada, Climate Change, Climate Justice, United Nations | Tags: UNFCCC, Climate Change, Canada, Climate Justice, COP15, Jim Prentice, Environment Minister Jim Prentice, Adam MacIsaac, Parliment Hill, Question Period, Youth Disruption, Jeh Custerra, Eriel Deranger, Dave Vasey, Power & Politics, Canada's Climate Change Plan
Things have been very crazy since the last time I got to actually post on my own website. After returning from the UN Climate Change meetings in Bangkok to Canada and jumping right into the mix of things with the Climate Action Network Canada AGM. I even got to attend the vote where Canadian Members of Parliament extended the review of the Climate Change Accountability Act then had the pleasure of attending Power Shift Canada things were continuing to with full force in the climate movement in Canada.
But on the closing day of Power Shift Canada there was an unplanned disruption by concerned young Canadians during Question Period in the House of Common on Parliament Hill.
The disruption started when one young person stood up then another then another then another, they were standing up to express their disappointment by the lack of action from the Members of Parliament to pass the Climate Change Accountability Act (Bill C-311) and the failure of Canada signing onto the United Nations Declaration on Indigenous Rights.
I was in attendance of the disruption and had stood up to make sure that no one was injured by security as they were escorted out of the public gallery. Even though I had not raised my voice I was grabbed by security guards and was told that I had to leave the public gallery. For what reason? I guess the fact that I was young and this disruption was being created by young people was enough reason to remove me from the public gallery. While I was asking the Parlimantary security guard why I was being removed the amount of force he used kept increasing to the point that he was putting a large amount of force onto my left arm (the same side where I have a pace maker)
The way that I was handled by the security guard was over the top since I was complying even though there was nothing done to justify being removed from the public gallery. Even with the explanation to the guard that I have a pacemaker and the way he was handling me could seriously cause issues with my heart condition he did not listen and kept using excessive force until I was in the hallway outside of the public gallery.
Things started to escalate outside of the gallery when the chanting kept continuing which turned into four Parliamentary security guards using pain compliance in the stairwell on one of the young people who were chanting. This resulted in his face being smashed into the marble floor causing his nose to be injured and blood to pour out onto the halls of Parliament.
The guards had then removed the young person who had four guards onto of him and escorted five other young people downstairs to be detained. Being one of the five who were being escorted downstairs I was yet again aggressively handled by Parliament security to the extent of almost being thrown down the stairwell which also resulted in ripping the back of the dress shirt that I had worn that day since I had arranged a meeting with a Prince Edward Island senator. If this was how they handle those who are complying I would not like to see how they would treat people who were resisting.
After being detained for a few hours they had released us to a RCMP peace office but there were no charges laid and then Ottawa municipal officers had laid a $65 “Refusing to Exit When Asked” charge on us even thought it was impossible to exit while there was six Parliament security guards ontop of one young person blocking the exit in the stairwell.
Once we were released from the detainment we were escorted out to the back exit of Parliament and were told that we were not allow back on the grounds since it would be tresspassing. There was a CBC camera crew waiting at the back for when we were released but no other news channels, while walking out we were met with others who were also in the public gallery but wer not detained.
Here are the many CBC videos including being on the CBC Power & Politics show and following media storm including the terrible reporting which focuses on the blood and not the issue that Canada being an international blockage to addressing climate change.
Was the protest useful to creating more awareness of Canada’s role at the upcoming United Nations Summit? Maybe maybe not but there was more media coverage of the Climate Change Accountability Act in two days than there was in three years. Maybe this will start the process of Canadian’s asking why we are being represented this way at the UN Climate Change negotiations.
Filed under: Adopt A Negotiator, Canada, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Environment, Global Warming, UNFCCC, United Nations, tcktcktck | Tags: 2009, Alberta, Canada, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Environment, Environment Minister, Environment Minister Jim Prentice, Global Warming, International Youth Climate Movement, Jim Prentice, Power Shift Canada, UNFCCC, United Nations, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Youth
Since arriving back in Canada after the UNFCCC Bangkok meeting I found myself with grabbing two hours of sleep then catching an early morning train from Montreal to Ottawa to spend the week meeting with various MP’s to express my concern on Canada’s role through the UNFCCC process so far. With much excitement I had two meetings with Canada’s lead climate change negotiator Michael Martin in the short span of two days which also was followed up with meeting with the Canadian Environment Minister Jim Prentice. While the meetings with Michael Martin were more informal and had allowed for some updates from the Major Economies Forum which happened recently in London, the reported story of the G77 walk out in Bangkok and actually sharing some well wishes to Mr. Martin since the second meeting actually landed on his Birthday. Earlier on in the day the lead negotiator was present as a witness to the Bill C-311 committee who will decide if Canada will have ambitious emission reductions before the conference in Copenhagen or keep on their current path of week emission targets of 3% 1990 levels.
With having a fully packed week it would seem like the obvious thing to do would be to relax on the weekend to allow for some time to reflect on the busy week since returning to Canada, but that would not actually be possible with the largest Canadian youth gathering happening in Ottawa, Ontario. Power Shift Canada will begin today and run until Monday bringing over 1,000 youth from all of the provinces and territories in Canada providing workshops, flash mobs, entertainment and of course the 350.org International Day of Action on October 24th. There will be many opportunities for Canadian youth to learn more about the issue of climate change, how the UNFCCC process works, what Canada’s current position means for creating an ambitious, fair and legally binding outcome in Copenhagen and or course just a lot of general fun. Be sure to keep your eyes open online for all the content that will be created this this weekends event in Ottawa.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Adopt A Negotiator, Alberta, Canada, Climate Change, Environment, Greenpeace, Jiri Rezac, Oil Sands, Tar Sands, UNFCCC, United Nations
After having some time to reflect on the meeting last week with Yvo de Boer the current Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and having one quote echo in my head I could not pass on writing about the topic since it really holds weight to the current Candian context and the slow progress that has been made so far in Bangkok.
Oil sands, also known as tar sands, or extra heavy oil, is a type of bitumen deposit. The sands are naturally occurring mixtures of sand or clay, water and an extremely dense and viscous form of petroleum called bitumen. They are found in large amounts in many countries throughout the world, but are found in extremely large quantities in Canada and Venezuela.
“Stop Financing The Past & Start Financing The Future.”
Yvo de Boer
While there has been a large growing amount of domestic pressure as well as international pressure to stop the one of the worlds largest represent as much as two-thirds of the world’s total petroleum resource, with at least 1.7 trillion barrels (270×10^9 m3) in the Canadian Athabasca Oil Sands.
One might wonder how could there ever be a serious climate change policy from Canada while they are the largest supplier of crude oil and refined products to the United States, supplying about 20% of total U.S. imports, and exporting more oil and products to the U.S. than it consumes itself. In 2006, Canadian bitumen production averaged 1.25 million barrels per day (200,000 m³/d) through 81 oil sands projects, representing 47% of total Canadian petroleum production. This proportion is expected to increase in coming decades as bitumen production grows while conventional oil production declines.
© Jiri Rezac / GREENPEACE
© Jiri Rezac / GREENPEACE
© Jiri Rezac / GREENPEACE
© Jiri Rezac / GREENPEACE
© Jiri Rezac / GREENPEACE
© Jiri Rezac / GREENPEACE
While it will not be easy for Canada move past this temporary barrier of moving past the Kyoto targets and the environmental impacts of the projects in Alberta will be a slow process to recover from. The need to focus on mitigation and the use of clean energy to exceed the emission targets it is something that is required to prevent much of the climate impacts that are currently happening around the world from having great impacts to Canada’s natural environment and economy.
Filed under: Adopt A Negotiator, Canada, Climate Change, Climate Justice, UNFCCC, United Nations, tcktcktck | Tags: Bangkok, Bill C-311, Blaine Calkins, Climate Change Accountability Act, David McGuinty, Francis Scarpaleggia, James Bezan, Jeff Watson, Mark Warawa, Peter Braid, Ruby Dhalla, Stephen Woodworth, UNFCCC
Today here in Bangkok the morning started with the usual process the morning meeting for the Adopt A Negotiator team at the cafe in the United Nations Conference Centre which was then followed by a meeting with the Climate Action Network Canada members who are also in attendance throughout the two weeks of negotiations. With the opportunity of attending here in Bangkok there are many advantages but also some disadvantages of missing out on things that will be happening back home in Canada that will have a huge role in Canada’s climate policy. Currently there is the hope that the that the Climate Change Accountability Act (Bill C-311) which will help Canada join the international community towards the path of having a more positive role domestically as well as internationally in the process to address climate change.
Information on Bill C-311 from Wikipedia.org
The Climate Change Accountability Act was originally tabled in October 2006 in the Canadian House of Commons as Bill C-377 by Jack Layton, Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada. It passed 3rd reading in that House with the support of caucuses of the Liberal Party of Canada, the Bloc Quebecois and the NDP (the Conservative Party of Canada, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, voted against it). However, due the 2008 Canadian federal election ending the parliamentary session prematurely, the bill did not achieve royal assent despite reaching the Senate. On February 10, 2009 Bruce Hyer, NDP MP for Thunder Bay-Superior North, seconded by Layton, reintroduced it as a Private Member’s Bill, renamed as Bill C-311. The Bill requires the Canadian federal government to set regulations to attain a medium-term target to bring emissions 25% below 1990 levels by 2020, and a long-term target to bring emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. According to the summary, the purpose of this bill is:
“to ensure that Canada meets its global climate change obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by committing to a long-term target to reduce Canadian greenhouse gas emissions to a level that is 80% below the 1990 level by the year 2050, and by establishing interim targets for the period 2015 to 2045. It creates an obligation on the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development to review proposed measures to meet the targets and submit a report to Parliament. It also sets out the duties of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy.”[1]
The Climate Change Accountability Act is based on the Case for Deep Reductions report by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy and on guidelines set by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. These are the same emissions targets adopted by the European Union and announced as objectives of U.S. President Obama’s New Energy For America strategy. The Bill is noteworthy in that it was the first legislation in the world to pass a democratically-elected parliament which mandated hard emissions reductions for the post-Kyoto Protocol period (after 2012).
Since there is much importance of Bill C-311 to be passed to ensure that Canada will no longer be using baseline targets which create weak emission reductions and are not inline with any of the other United Nations member states in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. By taking a few minutes of your day you can show that democracy does infact work and help shape Canada’s role. So please take the time to call your local MP (search by postal code if you are not sure of who to contact) but you can also call 1 (866) 599-4999 and ask to speak with any of the following committee members to let them know the importance of the Climate Change Accountability Act to Canadian citizens and the international community.
James Bezan ( Selkirk—Interlake, Manitoba, Conservative MP)
Peter Braid (Kitchener—Waterloo, Ontario, Conservative MP)
Blaine Calkins (Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Conservative MP)
Ruby Dhalla (Brampton—Springdale, Ontario, Liberal MP)
David McGuinty (Ottawa South, Ontario, Liberal MP)
Francis Scarpaleggia ( Lac-Saint-Louis, Québec, Liberal MP)
Mark Warawa ( Langley, British Columbia, Conservative MP)
Jeffery Watson (Essex, Ontario, Conservative MP)
Stephen Woodworth (Kitchener Centre, Ontario, Conservative MP)
If you have never been in touch with your MP before you can watch the following video which showcases how easy of a process it is.
Filed under: Adopt A Negotiator, Canada, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Environment, UNFCCC, United Nations | Tags: Bangkok, Beatles, Climate Justice, NAC Gala, national arts centre, Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, tcktcktck, UNFCCC, United Nations, With A Little Help From My Friends, Yo Yo Ma
While traveling in another country it always is important to keep up with the latest news stories that are coming out back home. It always is good to understand what news coverage is being focused on and if there is any actually reference of even basic understanding that the UNFCCC process is happening here in Bangkok. Before even getting to check into the usual news sources and to my surprise upon on many social networking platforms from Facebook to Twitter there seemed to be a large amount of people talking about the Prime Minister of Canada Singing A Beatles cover of “With a Little Help from My Friends.
Watch The Video Of Canada's Prime Minister Engaged In Song
Instead Of The UNFCCC Negotiations in Bangkok.
The selected cover song could not have been a better selection to showcase the lack of action from Canada as well as some of the countries “Friends” throughout the first week of the very important process to address the impacts that climate change is having globally. While I understand that supporting the arts is very important I do think that with some of the past actions on cutting funding to many of the major arts programs in Canada the actions of the Prime Minister are making a total mockery of the United Nations process since there has been such a hands off approach on working along with the other 191 member states to address one of the largest barriers in the world to ensuring the safety of all living things. No matter which way you sing it Canada ratified the Kyoto Protocol and has to stand behind the key principals and the process of the UNFCCC no matter how important the current Prime Minister thinks our domestic oil sands industry is to our countries relationship with our “Friends.”
“Recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity, the Kyoto Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities.”
Filed under: Adopt A Negotiator, Climate Change, Climate Justice, UNFCCC, United Nations | Tags: AdoptANegotiator.org, Bangkok, Jim Prentice, Philippines, Prime Minister Harper, Samoa, Tonga, UNFCCC
Originally Posted At Adopt A Negotiator.org
During the second day at the UNFCCC meetings here in Bangkok I really had a hard time trying to grasp on what the Canadian Delegation’s position was and what they would be wanting to push for throughout the two weeks of negotiations. I had just kept going back to my second grade teacher who always taught us about The Golden Rule which is “Do To Others What You Would Like To Be Done To You” this was one of the many things that I think is usually a typical trait of a Canadian. So with that in mind I had hoped that the second day would allow for Canada as a country to treat the rest of the UN member states negotiating in Bangkok exactly how they would want to be treated.
Shortly after arriving at the United Nations Conference Centre someone commented on the small Canadian flag pin that I was wearing and then had to inquire what the other pin was beside it. The second pin I explained was from my province Prince Edward Island and I had explained clearly that I am an Islander first before being a Canadian as I always do which created a smile from the fellow delegate. I had also explained that even though I am not proud of how Canada’s position here in Bangkok is not advancing the UNFCC process and that they are hiding behind other countries I wanted it to be to know that there are manyCanadian’s who want more action in throughout the meetings.
With the recent Tsunami hitting the Pacific region with major impacts on the Island of Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga to the flooding in the Philippines which highlights the urgency to address the issue of climate change I found myself more and more searching for climate leadership from the country that I was so proud of as a child. While I have always personally been concerned of the fate of my small northern Island home I became more worried about that impacts of the southern Islands where I have made many friends and the question of would the current actions of the Canadian delegation want the same to happen to the small Island where the Confederation of Canada was born.
While walking from sessions and looking for some of my fellow tracers I had noticed Canada’s Chief Negotiator and Ambassador for Climate Change Michael Martin, this would be the first opportunity to reintroduce myself. While it was a slightly crowded area I was surprised to noticed that it was slightly as if I was avoided from being acknowledged let alone approached. While I would normally brush this off as blending in with the crowd that could not be the case since I was wearing the famed “Negotiator Tracker” t-shirt while everyone around me is in business suits and that Mr. Martin did mention in an email remember meeting me with the Canadian Youth Delegation at COP 14 in Poznan Poland. Maybe it was my shorter hair which caused the confusion or maybe it was a busy day of meetings for Canada’s lead negotiator but one thing was clear it did make me feel like I had a little bit less of a voice in the whole process here in Bangkok.
Feeling slightly overwhelmed with the less than stellar advancements that had happened in the first two days here in Bangkok I decided to email the Environment Minister back in Canada to express some of the concerns that I had with the position Canada has had so far. Here is the message that I had sent to Minister Jim Prentice explaining my concern about nothing being mentioned about the Bangkok meetings nor the UN Climate Summit on his website while their was information on Prime Minister Harpers Tim Horton’s announcement. I urge and Canadian readers to also contact your MP to also express your concern over the UNFCCC Bangkok meeting and what the role Canada take will have on COP 15 in Copenhagen, the political will is not there so we need the pressure from citizens back home to ensure that the little time left to negotiate is not wasted.
While I am not sure of when or if there will be a response from the Environment Minister I do know that what is needed to help change Canada’s role here in Bangkok is a good reminder to the elected officials of who votes them into their positons and that if there is there is no action on climate change they might want to start looking for a new employment opportunity.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: UNFCCC, Climate Change, Canada, UN, Barack Obama, Stephen Harper, Bangkok, Prime Minister, British Prime Minister, CDM, Chinese President, Coffee, Doughnut, French President, Gordon Brown, Hu Jintao, Jim Prentice, Nicolas Sarkozy, Tim Hortons, U.S. President
Last week’s activities of the Canadian Prime Minister have created some confusion on how serious Canada is on helping to create a post-Kyoto Protocol but one thing is for sure: The importance of a donut has never put the international community in such a position.
On September 23, Prime Minister Harper showed that he chose donuts and tax policies over a meeting of global leaders at the largest ever United Nations Climate Summit, called by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York.
The purpose of the Summit was to build the driving force needed to ensure that the final 75 days left until the United Nations Conference in Copenhagen would put the planet on the correct path to address climate change. The international leaders who attended included U.S. President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chinese President Hu Jintao; but Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper was not in attendance and sent Environment Minister Jim Prentice instead.
It may be understandable that being in the position of being Prime Minister does cause for some conflicting scheduling but upon visiting the Canadian Environment Ministers website the apparent conflict of schedule does showcase the need to address our domestic donut issue and allow the rest of the world to worry about the international ones.
Tim Hortons Inc. is a Canadian fast food restaurant founded in 1964 in Hamilton, Ontario by Canadian hockey player Tim Horton and Jim Charade. The first stores only offered two products – coffee and donuts which combined with the popularity of a hockey player turned businessman launched it into its Canadian icon status. In March 2006, Tim Hortons completed an public offering, becoming a separate company as of September 29, 2006. Tim Hortons began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as well as the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) which caused a drastic loss creating a timbit sized recession in Canada’s economy and removing Canada’s monopoly on the first Coffee Donut Mechanism (CDM).
While there could be much detailed information provided around the less than stellar ethics of Tim Horton’s since it does not sell organic coffee, nor do they sell Fair trade coffee the only previous direct linkage to attributing to climate change would be the emissions from the many drive-throughs across Canada. While the issue of Canada’s loss in the CDM market was an issue on many Canadians’ minds, there also has been many citizens urging for international leadership from Canada in the UNFCCC process.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Adopt A Negotiator, AdoptANegotiator.org, Canada, Canadian Youth Delegation to Copenhagen, Chief Negotiator and Ambassador for Climate Change, Climate Change, COP15, Copenhagen, Michael Martin, Ninth session of the AWG-KP and seventh session of the AWG-LCA, Power Shift Canda, UN, UNDP, UNFCCC, United Nations Climate Change Conference
I have been very busy recently combined with preparing with the Canadian Youth Delegation to Copenhagen, recruiting and helping out as much as I can with Power Shift Canada as if that is not enough to keep a person busy I will also be attending the Ninth session of the AWG-KP and seventh session of the AWG-LCA working with the Adopt A Negotiator.org project.
I will be tracking Michael Martin, Chief Negotiator and Ambassador for Climate Change.who I had the chance to meet a few times at past two prior COP’s.
I look forward to working on the campaign with the upcoming meeting in Bangkok, Thailand and hopefully building a stronger link between the official Canadian negotiation team and Canadian youth. There will be many youth from Asia attending and I also look forward to hearing what they are involved in and how they see their role in shaping their countries climate policy towards the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.
Read Some Addition Information From The Environment Canada Website Canada at Conference of the Parties (COP 15), Copenhagen, Denmark, December 7-18, 2009
Filed under: Canada, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Sierra Youth Coalition, United Nations, Youth | Tags: 350.org, Canada, Canadian Youth Delegation, Canadian Youth Delegation to Copenhagen, Climate Change, COP15, CYCC, Environment, Environment Minister, Environmental Justice, Pedal for the Planet, Power Shift Canada 2009, Sierra Youth Coalition, Social Justice, SYC, UNFCCC, United Nations
While there are many who still do not agree that we the human population are at a time of great crisis and have a very short time to adjust how we are currently treating the environment which supports us with everything that we need to survive. I am reminded of the Supertramp album art which really does a good job on depicting that as long as we ourselves are comfortable that the environment around us does not matter.
If you also agree that we as individuals need to stop worring about just our own personal comfort and security please become involved in some of the many events and activites happeing towards the build up of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.
Here are some of the events and organizations you can become involved with;
Canadian Youth Climate Coalition
Sierra Youth Coalition
Sierra Club of Canada
David Suzuki Foundation
350.org
Power Shift Canada 2009
Pedal for the Planet
Filed under: Human Rights, United Nations, United Nations Development Programme, Youth | Tags: Afghanistan, Asia Pacific, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Cook Islands, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Human Development, Human Development Report, India, Indonesia, Iran, Islamic Republic of, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Legal and Economic Inequality, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Media Fellowship, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Niue, Overcoming Political, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Korea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, The Millennium Development Goals, The Philippines, Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, UNDP, United Nations Development Programme, Vanuatu, Viet Nam
UNDP – Asia Pacific Human Development Media Fellowship
Context and Objective
The human development approach puts people at the centre of development. It recognizes the importance of economic concerns but goes beyond them to raise issues of enlarging human capabilities and expanding people’s choices. The objective of the Media Fellowship is to contribute to building capacity in the Asia Pacific and support policy through advocacy and dissemination of research that bring people to the centre of development debates. The Fellowship encourages media professionals from Asia Pacific developing countries to undertake media advocacy on issues of concern in the region from a human development perspective on a new theme each year.
Theme – Gender: Overcoming Political, Legal and Economic Inequality
Gender is a social construct and is experienced differently in different cultures, societies and contexts. The power imbalance that defines gender relations influences access to and control over resources, their visibility and participation in social and political affairs, and their ability to realize their fundamental rights. Therefore, the struggle for greater gender equality involves addressing unequal power and unequal voice so all people can exercise choices that lead them to a fulfilled life.
Key triggers: Three key triggers than can contribute to transformation are political, legal and economic equity, as they are fundamental in catalysing transformation in gender relations in the personal and public spheres while also having a clear potential for policy. Gender identities are in fact shaped by, and in turn can shape, political, economic, social, religious and cultural factors, and through unequal power relations, can translate into marginalization, oppression, poverty and even violence. Gender identities further define and differentiate the roles, rights, responsibilities and obligations of women and men; they draw attention to a range of biases – based on biology and social norms that define expected behaviours for women and men. Although the specific nature of social norms and values vary across space and time, they tend to favour males over females, heterosexuals over sexual minorities, in terms of access to capabilities, resources, opportunities, choices and rights that are important for the enjoyment of social, cultural, economic and political freedoms. Issues of gender based violence, culture and identities (masculinity and femininity) cut across all sub-themes.
Role of men and boys: Although gender work is largely focused on women, the role of men and the deconstruction of different forms of masculinity, fatherhood and sexuality are fundamental to an understanding of gender inequality, gender rights and asymmetric power among gender groups. The negative aspects of partially informed views about gender is now being seen in terms of ‘male backlash’ against women-dominated development projects, pointing to the need to address masculinity and the role of men and boys.
Changing mindsets – media, technology, education (universal and content):Governments and all relevant actors, including NGOs, academia, parliamentarians, local authorities, the business community, civil society, international organisations and the private sector can be instrumental in changing national and local priorities to focus on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Political will paves the way for a change process. The commitment in respect to gender issues is expressed, for example, in legislation as well as in the programmes, policies, and plans of governments. These can target mindsets for example through gender review of textbooks and utilization of ICT tools which level the playing field among genders. Cooperation between civil society organizations and the government can contribute to the gradual change of the stereotypical perceptions on gender in culture and practices prevailing in society which limits individual and group choices and freedoms in life.
What are the factors beyond the persistence of gender inequalities in Asia Pacific? What steps can reduce gender-based inequalities in the region? What challenges should be tackled in order to create and sustain an enabling environment? What examples exist of changes in government policies which, together with alliances developed with the civil society, have translated in promoting gender equality in practice? Has political will not only introduced the gender equality dimension, acknowledging its centrality, but also taken further commitments by mainstreaming gender in various dimensions of planning? These are some of the questions that could be addressed.
The Fellowship
The award will be based on a proposal, including a draft budget. Proposals can cover different media outputs, e.g. radio programmes, short films, public service announcements, print media articles, cartoons, photo essays, etc. The Fellows should be willing to present their work at workshops, seminars and other events as may be arranged by UNDP from time to time (travel-related costs will be covered separately). The final media product will be shared with UNDP and acknowledge UNDP’s support as follows: “This work was supported by the United Nations Development Programme under an UNDP Asia Pacific Human Development Media Fellowship. The content, information, analysis and policy recommendations of this work represent the independent efforts, perspective and views of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations Development Programme, its Executive Board or its Member States’.
Eligibility
* Be a citizen of a developing country in the Asia Pacific region (1. Afghanistan,2. Bangladesh,3. Bhutan,4. Cambodia,5. China,6. Cook Islands,7. Democratic People’s,Republic of Korea,8. Federated States of Micronesia,9. Fiji,10. India,11. Indonesia,12. Iran, Islamic Republic of 13. Kiribati,14. Lao People’s Democratic Republic,15. Malaysia,16. Maldives,17. Marshall Islands,18. Mongolia,19. Myanmar,20. Nauru,21. Nepal,22. Niue,23. Pakistan,24. Palau,25. Papua New Guinea,26. The Philippines,27. Republic of Korea,28. Samoa,29. Solomon Islands,30. Sri Lanka,31. Thailand,32. Timor-Leste,33. Tokelau,34. Tonga,35. Tuvalu,36. Vanuatu,37. Viet Nam)
* A mid-career accredited media professional
* Around five years of relevant professional experience
* Completed application with enclosures (proposal, budget, time frame, CV, supporting material, if any, in English); supporting material in a language other than English must be accompanied by an English translation
* UN staff members are not eligible to apply
Application Process
All candidates must complete a formal application in English or with an English translation, including:
* Summary statement of the objectives of the proposal
* Project proposal, including a draft budget, not exceeding 2,000 words.
* The project timeframe should not exceed 12 months
* Statement of professional objectives (please indicate how selection as a UNDP Media Fellow will contribute to your short and long term career objectives)
* Curriculum vitae
* Letter of reference from two professionals in your media who can comment on the applicant’s past work and the potential of the proposed work to contribute meaningfully to its chosen field
Incomplete applications or those received after the due date, will not be processed.
Selection Criteria
* Demonstrate exceptional creativity and innovation
* Contribute to value-addition or innovation in communicating research
* Provide evidence for placement of final product in established media; preference will be given to strategic or wide reach
* Complete work by third quarter of 2010 or earlier
Selection Procedure
Shortlisted candidates will be required to participate in an interview, conducted by an independent panel, which will comprehensively asses the proposal. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and subsequently informed about the results of the interview.
Deadline
Applications should be submitted by 1st September.
Contact Information
Applications or any queries should be sent to hdfellowships.rcc@undp.org
Alternatively, you could send them to:
UNDP Asia Pacific Human Development Media Fellowship
Human Development Report Unit
UNDP Regional Centre for Asia Pacific,
Colombo Office 23 Independence Avenue
Colombo 7
Sri Lanka
Annex I
A selected list of reading on human development/gender is the following:
* Human Development Reports (Especially chapter 1 of HDR 1990)
* Background papers for global HDRs
* The Millennium Development Goals
* Risk, vulnerability and human development
* Human development report 1995 – Gender and human development
* Millennium Development Goals – National reports a look through a gender lens
* Measuring gender inequality and its impact on human development: The debate about the GDI and GEM
* For more on Human Development, please visit the website of the UNDP Regional Centre in Colombo at http://www.undprcc.lk/ under “Publications” Moreinfo: http://www2.undprcc.lk/about_us/fellowship.php
