In Print and Online ; International Citizens ?

International Citizen Service is a scheme proposed by the UK government designed to give young people the chance to volunteer in some of the poorest communities in the world.

In many ways this could be a thoroughly laudable project, but it is also one fraught with potential pitfalls, especially when one considers the criticisms that have been aimed at organisations like Voluntary Service Overseas in the past.

Think tank Demos is also aware of the dangers.

A newspaper article late last year (Sarah Harris - Is the Gap Losing it`s Lure ? - Daily Mail 6 Sept 2011), indicated that Demos welcomed the intiative and the possible benefits for young people`s job prospects, but "pointed out that projects must be properly planned". Jonathan Birdwell, author of the group`s report `Service International` was quoted as saying "There is a risk of such programmes perpetuating negative stereotypes of Western `colonialism` and `charity`, a new way for the West to assert it`s power. And projects that do not appear to have benefits for communities abroad leave volunteers unmotivated and disaffected."

The group`s web site explain that the report draws on "the most recent research on the impact of overseas volunteering, best practise and experiences from similar schemes in other countries". Generally their comments seem supportive of the government`s initiative, but they stress that "it must ensure that the programmes both have a direct benefit to the communities abroad and recruit young people who wouldn`t otherwise consider such an experience, and who would most benefit."

The important point to remember here, I think, is that the days of "all aid is good aid" (if they ever existed) have long since gone.

The Demos report can be downloaded free of charge from www.demos.co.uk/publications .

The Daily Mail followed Sarah Harris` initial article with two more quoting from the report, both signed only by `Daily Mail Reporter` and both boasting rather more combative headlines than Ms Harris` piece ; A Waste of Time that Raises the Spectre of Colonialism ; Damning Verdct on Parts of Gap Year (1 Aug 2011) and Gap Years Are "A Waste of Time" and Risk "Perpetuating Colonialism" (2 Aug 2011).

The actual articles are, in fact, rather more balanced than the headlines indicate !

The choice of language used in the headlines and indeed some of the comments made in the articles may surprise many, given that the Mail is generally regarded as a `true blue` Conservative paper. It may well be a case where ideas and attitudes that were once effectively sidelined have now become far more pervasive.  For anyone wanting to read the articles, the Daily Mail website is at www.dailymail.co.uk .

The International Citizen Service is currently being put into practise on a small scale on a trial basis. It`s expected that it will be rolled out more completely at the end of it`s pilot year, which will be some time this month, I believe.

















  

Robeson Remembered

The US Embassy in Kingston, Jamaica has named it`s Information Resource Centre (I think that`s what the rest of us call a `library` !) for Paul Robeson after running an essay competition for the island`s school students during 2011.

Winning entrant Kathy Smith focussed on Paul Robeson in her essay The Soul of a Continent. Ms Smith has now left school and is a first year law student at the University of the West Indies.

For more details ;

http://kingston.usembassy.gov/pe_01302012.html

We will be looking at the life and times of Paul Robeson in future postings.

Humanism, Darwinism and the Question of Slavery

The phrase Darwinism, or sometimes Social Darwinism, is sometimes used to describe a rather ruthless `Survival of the Fittest`philosophy.

To my mind, evolution actually demonstrates `Survival of the Most Adaptable` , but let`s not get sidetracked. A quick trawl around shows us that Darwin` views have in fact been misrepresented.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Marilyn Mason`s article `Darwin, Slavery and Humanism - or What Would Darwin Do ?`, posted Wed 18 Jan 2012 at www.humanistlife.org.uk  . Ms Mason`s article, in addition to it`s merits on it`s own account, provides links to an old New Scientist article (Rowan Hooper - Hatred of Slavery Drove Darwin to Emancipate All Life - 29 January 2009 at www.newscientist.com ) and to the web site for the UK`s oldest charity, Anti Slavery , formerly known as  Anti Slavery International ( www.antislavery.org ).

Lily Brown of New York City

The name of writer/activist Lloyd L Brown (Lloyd Louis Brown, Lloyd Dight) may well be known to visitors to this blog.

His wife Lily is rather less well-known, though, based on the little I know about her,  she deserves to be remembered.

For more on Lily you might like to see my post `Meanwhile, Back in the States #3`, posted a few days ago at http://angpav.blogspot.com.

On a more general note, I freely admit that my knowledge of her is limited in the extreme. I wonder if others have more information ?

Historical Happenings ; Greensboro Sit Ins of 1960

Having mentioned Dr Tony Shaw`s blog recently (see my `A New Year, A New Approach` posted at this blog earlier today) , I`d like to give quick mention to his  `The Greensboro Sit-Ins, North Carolina, 1960`, which was posted at http://tonyshaw3.blogspot.com on 16 January 2012.

If time allows, I may return to the subject of the Greensboro sit-ins in the not too distant future.

Update ; Minority Rights and Wrongs

Following disturbances in the Sudan recently, Minority Rights Group International has issued a press release, `Urgent Measures Needed...` dated 5 January 2012, which can be found in the `News` section of their website.

This fascinating organisation always has something interesting to say, often on matters that are largely ignored by the media.

In their `Minorities in the News` section, it was sobering to see two linked reports from last month ;

`MRG condemns campaign of disinformation and threats... ` followed, unfortunately by   `MRG expresses condolences over the death of human rights activist` . I hope that anyone reading this will also take a couple of minutes to read these.

MRG has no membership and relies on sales, subscriptions and donations.   At present, it receives funding from a number of  charitable/philanthropic organisations and from some governments. While it`s true that funding from governments could be a bit of a contentious issue, particularly when an organisation has no membership and therefore by definition cannot be democratic, there`s no evidence that I know of to suggest this has actually been a problem to date.

A New Year, A New Approach

As I`ve noted before, I haven`t really been giving this blog the attention it deserves for quite a while.

Part of the problem was that my original plan (to run it as a tribute blog to the late W E B Du Bois) was a little over-ambitious, particularly given that my work and family commitments are considerable.

I`ve decided this year to turn it into something a bit more practical and achievable.

To do that, I`m returning to one of the better slogans of my mis-spent youth, `Think Globally and Act Locally` (as you might guess, I was young in the 1980s !). 

I already post some pieces on grassroots/locally based community groups etc at Angel Pavement ( http://angpav.blogspot.com ) and Bookshelves and Brown Ale ( http://bookshelvesandbrownale.blogspot.com ) so I plan to give this blog an international slant to complement those, whilst still using it now and again to comment on matters relating to Du Bois and his associates. Also, while my Angel Pavement and Bookshelves stuff tends to be newsy with little comment, this blog may well tend to be a little freer (is that a word ?) and more discussion-orientated.

I generally avoid party politics and rarely comment on the big topical issues of the day, as, quite frankly, there are more than enough self-appointed pundits cluttering up the web without me adding to their number !

Anyway, to make a positive start, I thought I`d share with you these rather fine images, which come from Dr Tony Shaw (  http://tonyshaw3.blogspot.com ) ,  and which he has kindly given me permission to use. If you have literary leanings yourself, you may well wish to give his blog a visit.