BLADE

Guyana offers a model for forest preservation for development

(Poul Engberg-Pedersen, Director, NORAD (left) greets President Jagdeo of Guyana (right))

Amila de Saram Larssen

President Bharrat Jagdeo of Guyana is currently in Norway promoting a national forest initiative to mitigate the ill effects of climate change.

President Jagdeo presented Guyana as a national-scale pilot and put forward a strong economic case for preserving the world’s forests. 

President Jagdeo sees the preservation of the world’s forests as an opportunity for low-carbon sustainable development for his country, and countries like his.  He intends to use money generated from a proposed carbon trading mechanism to finance hydro power initiatives, education, healthcare and income generating activities for the poor and in particular the indigenous, forest dwelling communities of Guyana.

Aid to fight corruption in developing countries not effective

In the mid-nineties, donors started to place more emphasis on anti-corruption efforts in aid. Norad’s Evaluation Department, in cooperation with five other evaluation offices, commissioned a literature review that looks at how effective this effort has been. 

 

The review indicates limited success in  aid funded anti-corruption efforts.  Major findings include:

• There are few evident successes, and the results of specific anti-corruption efforts have been limited.

• Fight against corruption requires political support, good laws and a functioning court system - all of which are often lacking in poor countries.

Simulated Sri Lanka peace talks better than no peace talks

 

Amila de Saram Larssen

It is ironic that the Peace Conference Simulation on Sri Lanka taking place at the University of Oslo this week comes at a moment when the conflict in Sri Lanka is at an all time high.  

After many months of high intensity fighting in the North and East of the country, the Sri Lankan army announced yesterday the capture of Mullaittivu, the last town to be held by the Tamil Tigers.  Many, including aid workers and diplomats, fear for the safety of thousands of civilians caught in the fighting.

I interviewed University students from Sri Lanka participating in the project asking them what they hoped to get out of the Peace Conference Simulation and if they thought that peace talks might commence any time soon in Sri Lanka.    Listen to what they had to say:

 

Global Report on children’s participation in armed conflict, post conflict and peace building launched by Save the Children Norway

Amila de Saram Larssen

The Global Report: Adults’ War and Young Generation’s Peace was launched today in Oslo by Save the Children Norway.

The report presents Save the Children Norway’s Thematic Evaluation of children’s participation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Guatemala, Nepal and Uganda from 2006-2008.

13 children and youth from the four study countries participated in the launch and workshop and shared with the audience some of the tools they used to explore their experiences of armed conflict, and their understanding of peace building.  Presentations included songs, a risk map, peace albums, and drawings.

Norway outlines Africa Policy

The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently released a document entitled, “The Platform for an Integrated Africa Policy”.  The document presents an overview of Norwegian cooperation with Africa, and provides a basis for implementing concrete measures.

The Platform underscores Norway’s desire to develop its foreign policy dialogue with African countries on issues such as climate change, conflict resolution, human rights and health.

Working with severely affected children in West Africa

(Photo credit: Amila de Saram Larssen)

Amila de Saram Larssen

I recently had the opportunity to interview Dr. Alice Behrendt, of the Plan West Africa Regional Office, in Oslo. Alice is a project manager for psychosocial support interventions for vulnerable children. 

The interview was fairly lengthy and covered a number of interesting topics, so will be split into several postings. Here is part 1.

In the following clip, Alice discusses her work with severely affected children in Togo, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Camaroon. 

One Laptop per Child initiative to receive a boost from media

(Photo credit: OLPC website)

Amila de Saram Larssen

Media companies, including the News Corporation, CBS and Time Warner are donating advertising space and time in the US in an attempt to boost the initiative’s efforts to place low-cost laptops in the hands of children in developing nations. 

In a recent article on the subject, Steve Lohr of The New York Times writes that the advertising is expected to start conversations and increase donations to the project. 

Adolescent Girls Initiative launched by World Bank

(Photo: Flickr © Gennadiy Ratushenko / World Bank) 

Amila de Saram Larssen

The World Bank and the Nike Foundation plan to execute the first pilot project to help smooth the transition of adolescent girls from school to quality work in Liberia in January 2009.  

Interventions planned include helping girls complete education, build skills that match market demand, find mentors and job placements, offer incentives to potential employers to retain, and train young women to overcome some of the cultural barriers to young women's employment.

A review of Social Science Research Capacity in Afghanistan

Amila de Saram Larssen

The Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) in Bergen recently published a report entitled, "Applied Social Science Research in Afghanistan. An Overview of the Institutional Landscape."

This report outlines Afghan institutional capacity in the field of applied social science research, as well as an assessment of the interest in, and potential for, further capacity building. 

Sunil Pant: From computer engineer to the first openly gay member of Nepal’s Constituent Assembly

Amila de Saram Larssen

Sunil Pant recently made headlines for being the first person from the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual trans-gender and inter-sex (LGBTI) community to be represented in Nepal’s constituent assembly.

Pant was recently in Oslo and I had the opportunity to interview him for this piece.

Pant is the founder and director of The Blue Diamond Society (BDS), a grassroots organization working on human rights, sexual health and HIV/AIDS issues in Nepal.  The BDS targets the needs of sexual and gender minorities.