Green Liberty: Fifth Six Months of M4D

Journalist joint study trip to Uganda

Two journalists, Sandra Kropa from Latvia Radio and TV and Anna Ūdre from DELFI represented Green Liberty in the joint study trip to Uganda on March 3-16, 2017. 

This study trip was organized by project’s Estonian partner organization MONDO.

Reflections on situations and experience have been published in several proceeding articles and broadcasts, and are available online.
 Broadcasts and articles by Sandra Kropa, and discussions with opinion leaders from different fields:

• About refugees Nabadzīga valsts, kas uzņem tūkstošiem bēgļu and Bēgļu dzīve Ugandā un multikulturālas sabiedrības pastāvēšana,
• About protection of endangered species, especially elephants Ugandas veiksmes stāsts: ziloņu skaits šajā valstī pēdējos gados pieaug and Dzīvnieku malu medniecības tendences pasaulē,
• About energy resources Naftas atradnes Ugandas Alberta ezerā: strīdi par ieguvi un naudas trūkums infrastruktūrai and Uganda: Centieni iegūt enerģiju, gan fosilo kurināmo, gan atjaunojamos resursus,
• About security and its connection to education Sems Okello Ugandā vairāk nekā 3000 cilvēkiem palīdzējis dzīvē rast jaunu sākumu and Āfrikas valsts Ugandas un visa reģiona drošība.

 

Articles by Anna Ūdre:  

• Latvietis Āfrikas sirdī Ugandā: 'Te dzīve visu laiku ir interesanta',
• Latviete Ugandā: vieta,kur sākas Nīla, plosās HIV un korupcija, bet cilvēki ir sirsnīgi,
• 'Delfi' Ugandā: Bada un militāro konfliktu novājināto patvērums 1.daļa,
• 'Delfi' Ugandā: Bēgļu nometne pilsētas lielumā 2.daļa,
• 'Delfi' Ugandā: Pašdarinātas somas, virtuves dvielīši, priekšauti ceļo uz Baltiju. 

Fairtrade coffee with journalists: Stories about Uganda trip 

On April 21 Sandra Kropa, Latvia Radio and TV journalist and Anna Ūdre, DELFI journalist were invited to a Fairtrade coffee with Green Liberty’s staff and friends to share the story of their trip to Uganda. The trip was organized by project’s Estonian partner organization MONDO and took place on March 3-16, 2017.
 Stories about Uganda trip covered several exciting issues: connections between Uganda and Latvia, similar problems and solutions, learnings from Uganda, connection of Uganda trip experiences with UN sustainable development goals.
 Read the reflections about the event here: Fairtrade coffee with journalists http://www.zalabriviba.lv/par-godigu-tirdzniecibu/godigas-tirdzniecibas-kafija-ar-zurnalistiem-ugandas-brauciena-pieredzes-stasti/

Politicians’ trip to Philippines

Rihards Kols, a member of 12th Saeima, a deputy chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, a member of the European Affairs Committee, and a representative of the Saeima to the OECD was supported by Green Liberty in the study trip for politicians to Philippines. It was an informal study trip for official parliamentary representatives from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to Philippines from 29^th of May to 3^th of June, 2017, and was organized by Czech relief and humanitarian organization People in Need (PIN). The participants of the trip had an opportunity to visit the development projects’ sites, talk to the beneficiaries, meet with the national and international development implementers and officials in the capital city Manila and in the province of Eastern Samar. 

Development Journalism Trip to Afghanistan

A journalist from media house DELFI – Ansis Īvāns represented Green Liberty the joint development journalism trip to Afghanistan on the July 18-26, 2017. 

This study trip was organized by project’s British partner organization BAAG. 

During the trip Ansis Īvāns together with his colleagues from other M4D partner organizations – Estonia, Lithuania, Czech Republic and Slovakia visited Kabul (Kabul province) and Nili (Daikundi province). 

Journalist participation in international trainings

How to find the real stories and sources? How to separate propaganda from reality? How to get behind the headlines? How do we see the world through today’s media? Is the world really getting better or worse?

Journalists from M4D partner organizations together with Finnish journalists were involved in three-day intensive course “From Stereotypes to Covering Global Interdependencies – Training by Journalists for Journalists” on May 22-24, 2017. The training was organized by the Finnish Foundation for Media and Development (VIKES) and Kansanvalistusseura (KVS) and aimed to answer these questions and increase knowledge about development affairs among media. Green Liberty was represented by a journalist Guntars Veidemanis from DELFI. 

Documentaries ready for screening  

A fruitful cooperation with Woodpecker Pictures has been finalized, and three exciting documentaries are ready for screening. 

Clay children (Māla bērni)

Spirits of mountains (Kalnu gari)

Tender giants (Maigie milži)

Watch, enjoy and plan screening in your community! 

More info: zane@woodpeckerpictures.lv

Public discussion about global development myths in festival LAMPA 

Development is not just economic growth. Development is a balanced interaction of national, public and private sector. Development can be characterized by values that make the core of public consumerism, that describe human well-being, and characterize civic participation in decision making. Development is not charity and assistance. Development is not a rescue of people in critical situations. Why it is important to inform and educate society about development in the world and the local community?

We invited participants of the discussion festival LAMPA to come to LAPAS tent on June 30 at 16:00 to share their opinion and to shell these hard nut questions.

HAZELNUTS: food security

Myth: Secure food is the one that is not rotten and does not have expired period of validity.  

Hard nut questions: Is it safe to eat everything that you can get in supermarket? What is secure food? Can vegetarianism save the world?

COCONUTS: participation in local and global community

Myth: My involvement in local and global community can change anything.  

Hard nut questions: Can my participation in community life give a global impact? Is riot and aggressive campaigning a way of effective participation? How effective is virtual participation?  

ALMONDS: solidarity economy

Myth: The only value in business is to give personal income.

Hard nut questions: What causes our well-being? Is financial prosperity the main reason of well-being? Is the existing economical model compatible with nature protection and social well-being? Is personal business prior to solidarity with local community?  

PEANUTS: sustainable development

Myth: Development best of all can be measures in money.  

Hard nut questions: Should and can the world constantly develop? How fare we can develop? Where are the limits to growth and development? Is material prosperity the only need for good life?  

WALNUTS: nature capital

Myth: All nature resources should be extracted and financial benefit should be obtained from them.

Hard nut questions: Who is paying for industrial development? What is its true price? Can we all benefit from extraction of nature resources?

This interactive discussion was led by M4D hunter of global stories – Sandra Kropa, a TV and Radio journalist. Shelling the hard nut questions helped participants to change form voiceless representatives of society to active citizens who are responsible driving forces of change in local and global community.

Also, we were selling wonderful baskets made by women in Ghana that served as a practical example of global partnership, solidarity economy, and social entrepreneurship.

Journalist networking in in festival LAMPA

We live in a time where everywhere in the world, including EU, civil society is increasingly under threat. Freedom of expression is more and more controlled and restricted, yet at the same time, the word still has the largest power and influence. Information is still one of the strongest weapons we have to understand the world around us and to take action to change it for the better. Therefore, we organized a networking event where to discuss, share stories, play music, and enjoy art to surface the question - what does the power of word mean to us?

In cooperation with LAPAS we invited journalists and other stakeholders you to expand borders of the festival LAMPA and to join us on July 1 at 14:00 in Raunas street 9 (outside the building some metres away on the opposite side of Cēsis Concert Hall) in networking event. We met at the wall painting by Rudens Stencil (Dainis Rudens) – fresh and opened to co-creating and in the atmosphere of music played by Raimonds Mežals together with journalists from Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Poland and enthusiasts of sustainable development who believe in the power of word and are opened to new cooperation and meaningful actions.

In this networking event participants were adding their light-bulbs to the wider community of light holders and participated in an opening of a wall painting that is telling about power of word #VārdaSpēks. 

E-bulletin “Development Cooperation News”

To enrich awareness of society and policymakers in Latvia about global interconnection, challenges and initiatives to solve them both globally and locally we publish electronic information bulletin Development Cooperation News (DCN).

The 5^th issue Security and development is looking for answers on the following questions: What is a priority – security or development? What is a secure society and securitability? How secure is a space of a civic society? How security is related to the field of energetics, internal affairs and nature? What are security and change stories? How to look for a connection between security and development?

Stories that provide different answers on these questions are published in five sections – POSITIONS, EVENTS, EXPERIENCE, OPINIONS, and RESOURCES that shape the structure of DCN.

DCN is published electronically twice a year and features current development cooperation topics from the perspective of practitioners, opinion leaders and policy-makers.

Read and download the bulletin Development Cooperation News here.