Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Farmers are rioting over a “gay” painting on display at a museum

Farmers started punching LGBTQ people and shouting anti-gay slurs and "Burn it! Burn it!"

By Daniel Villarreal Monday, December 16, 2019

https://www.facebook.com/chairez.art

In Mexico City’s Fine Arts Palace, one of the country’s most prominent cultural centers, a small painting by 32-year-old queer artist Fabián Cháirez has caused traditionalist protestors to attack LGBTQ counter-protestors and others to call for the painting to be burned, compelling the Mexican government and President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to intervene.

The fight is over Cháirez’s “La Revolución,” a 12 x 8-inch portrait from 2014 that depicts one of the country’s most celebrated revolutionary heroes, Emiliano Zapata, as a pouty, naked pin-up. In the image, Zapata wears a pink sombrero and high heels shaped like pistols. He’s wrapped in a flowing ribbon colored like the Mexican flag while riding a horse with a giant erection.

Zapata is revered as an early 20th-century Mexican revolutionary leader who helped overthrow the “hacienda system” that kept poor farmers indebted to a small landowning class. As such, he’s become a symbol of social and economic justice for Mexico’s poor and working classes, according to WESA. He’s often depicted as a hyper-masculine figure with a bushy mustache and a sombrero.

Mexico’s Ministry of Culture of Mexico selected “La Revolución” as part of an exhibition entitled “Emiliano: Zapata after Zapata,” featuring 141 depictions of the revolutionary as an activist icon. But after Cháirez’s artwork was featured in the exhibit’s promotional materials, Zapata’s descendants pledged to sue the artist and the government for defamation, suggesting that he might be gay.

(The real-life Zapata never married.)

BEFORE V FOR VENDETTA THERE WAS ZAPATA

On Wednesday morning, a fight occurred outside the palace between poorer Zapata-admiring farmers and LGBTQ activists. The farmers, who spouted anti-gay slurs and shouted “Burn it!” while blocking the Palace’s entrance, refused to move until the painting was taken down. After LGBTQ community members showed up to support the artwork, saying it challenges machismo stereotypes that endure to this day, the farmers began pushing and punching the counter-protesters.

Responding to growing unrest at the museum and in the media, Mexico’s President said at a press conference, “Artists have total freedom and we can’t have censorship. What is all this about entering the Fine Arts Palace and punching people? We totally reject this.”

The portrait is actually tame compared to Cháirez’s other NSFW pieces; most of it depicts naked Mexican wrestlers, vaqueros and clergy members seductively licking guns and crucifixes. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Culture says it has reached a deal with Zapata’s relatives, keeping the image in the exhibit but no longer featuring it in promotional materials.

In a recent interview, Cháirez said of the controversy, “A revolution is just that: moving ideas, moving established things to take them to another place, usually in favor of freedom and dignity. If Zapata were a contemporary person, he would surely be on our side.”

MACHISMO VS THE REST OF US

A painting showing Mexican Revolution hero Emiliano Zapata nude and in an effeminate pose has drawn the ire of some of Zapata's descendants.

SANLUISOBISPO.COM

In Mexico, effeminate Zapata painting draws fury

A painting showing Mexican Revolution hero Emiliano Zapata nude and in an effeminate pose has drawn the ire of some of Zapata's descendants.

CONFRONTING MEXICO'S MACHISMO
A nude portrait of revolutionary Emiliano Zapata riding a horse wearing high heels is causing an uproar in Mexico.
A SEXY POSE IN A PINK SOMBRERO
ON THAT HORSE FROM BUGS BUNNY WHAT'S OPERA DOC
THE REAL JOKE IS THE FACT THE HORSE HAS A FIFTH LEG ...

-1:41

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December 12 at 1:47 PM

A nude portrait of revolutionary Emiliano Zapata riding a horse wearing high heels is causing an uproar in Mexico.

https://www.facebook.com/deutschewellenews/videos/552375782279448/?t=0

Is the digital revolution benevolent or malevolent to humanity?

By International Morocco

-December 9, 2019

Dr Mohamed Chtatou

The third millennium saw the advent of the digital revolution in a very spectacular way: computers invaded every home and place of work, the Internet became as important as a morsel of bread, if not more. Satellite television revolutionized our taste, hype and culture and smart phones affected greatly our social habits. Thus, information and communications technology -ITC- became part and parcel of our daily life. Today, we all wonder, earnestly, how did we cope with life before this revolution?
Digital future for humanity

Back in the 60s of the last century, the visionary Canadian scientist Marshall McLuhan[i] prophesized the future omnipotence of ITC[ii] by arguing that the world will become a “planetary village” and so it became. The distances have shrunk dramatically allowing constant exchange between people and giving international trade an incredible boost, very beneficial to humanity at large.

This technology affected positively almost every area of our civilization: telemedicine has developed tremendously, electronic education spread all over the campuses and artificial intelligence has known quite a positive metamorphosis: driverless cars have made their apparition, drones are becoming normal accessories of life and sophisticated robots are rolling off assembly lines and apparently some of them can display humor and basic feelings.

For Henning Meyer, editor-in-Chief of Social Europe and a Research Associate of the Public Policy Group at the London School of Economics and Political Science, presents the digital revolution in the following words:[iii]

“The digital revolution, used here as shorthand for broader technological change, is one of today’s most hotly debated topics in politics, economics and business. It makes politicians wary about which preparatory policies to pursue, economists ponder productivity increases and trade unions think about the future of work. We are undoubtedly faced with large-scale disruptions in many areas that require adjustments.

Most people, however, are struggling to get a firm grip on the subject. They ask: what does this all mean for me and the organisations I am part of? What does technological change mean for my job? What kind of policies could be pursued in order to address these new challenges?

To analyse exposure to the digital revolution and potential policy solutions you need to start breaking it down into manageable dimensions. Three areas in particular warrant special attention: What are the forces shaping the application of new technologies? What does the digital revolution mean for the future of work? And what kind of policies could help to address these issues?”
Positive effects

ITC is definitely making our lives easy; we can communicate at will and on end, work from our homes and pay our standing bills online. We can consult our bank accounts day and night and make whatever transactions [iv]are necessary, including stock market operations. We can order food or a call a cab, buy an airline ticket and purchase any desired goods, any time we want and we can, also, choose our life partner as we want him or her to be.

The digital revolution is, of course, also, affecting greatly the economy: stock markets are all digitized to ease operations and to avoid potential crushes ahead of time. Of course, we all remember the horrific crush of the Wall Street on October 29, 1929 known as the Black Tuesday that ultimately led to the Great Depression that lasted until 1941 worldwide.

Social media has become an important aspect of our lives. We can talk to family and friends anytime, exchange photos and documents, play online, etc. Facebook has a membership of 3,5 billion around the globe; it is a social media for work, education, gossip and the pursuit for narcissistic inclinations. But, it is, also, a real forum of debate and discussion along with other social media and the home of cyber democracy in which people can express freely their ideas and criticism in total anonymity.

Thanks to the social media, the Arab Spring materialized and brought hope of change to this world suffocated for ages by harsh dictatorships and stifling tribal and patriarchal systems of governance. Prior to the advent the social media, demonstrators were easily detected by mukhabarat (political police) and arrested before they opened their mouth. With social media they were able to plan their protest, specify the venue and inform the world before the police knew and arrested them. They had, also, the possibility to stream their activities to the world to see and react to. In many ways one can say that social media was the powerhouse of the Arab uprisings.

In this regard, Heather Brown (journalist specialized in Arab media), Emily Guskin (journalist specialized in Hispanic media market) and Amy Mitchell (Director of Journalism Research) argue quite rightly:[v]

“Almost immediately after the Arab uprisings began, there was debate over the role and influence of social media in the ouster of Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and the imminent overthrow of Mubarak. In covering what some deemed the Facebook or Twitter revolutions, the media focused heavily on young protesters mobilizing in the streets in political opposition, smartphones in hand. And since then, the violent and sectarian unrest in Syria has brought increased attention to the role of citizen journalism.

Social media indeed played a part in the Arab uprisings. Networks formed online were crucial in organizing a core group of activists, specifically in Egypt. Civil society leaders in Arab countries emphasized the role of “the internet, mobile phones, and social media” in the protests. Additionally, digital media has been used by Arabs to exercise freedom of speech and as a space for civic engagement.”
Knowledge society

So, the applications of ITC are very beneficial because in many ways they are making life easy to everyone and what’s more computers are taking over many tasks and jobs done by humans and this however could have a negative effect on the long run if humans lose their bread winner occupations that could, ultimately, antagonize them and make them detest the use of machines.

The explosion of ITC all over the world is creating knowledge societies in which knowledge can be used by people equally to improve their lives and further their legitimate desire of better living conditions. Hence, UNESCO calls, with much strength, for building knowledge societies worldwide to create opportunities of wellbeing, wealth and happiness to all humans equally:[vi]

“Knowledge and information have significant impact on people’s lives. The sharing of knowledge and information, particularly through Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has the power to transform economies and societies. UNESCO works to create inclusive knowledge societies and empower local communities by increasing access to and preservation and sharing of information and knowledge in all of UNESCO’s domains. Knowledge societies must build on four pillars: freedom of expression; universal access to information and knowledge; respect for cultural and linguistic diversity; and quality education for all.”
Negative effects

The use of computers would push for general artificial intelligence, more sophisticated and more risky, a move that could rekindle machine phobia among humans as a result of the legitimate fear of seeing intelligent machines dominate humanity like in science fiction films. In this particular case, alas, the digital revolution could herald the end of humanity.

Another negative side effect of the digital revolution is that social media is somehow destroying the social fabric. Children spend most of their time on social media and neglect socializing with their parents and discussing their problems with them. Maybe in the future the concept of family will change dramatically to become anonymous of belonging and identity no more.

You can follow Professor Mohamed Chtatou on Twitter: @Ayurinu
End notes:

[i] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/0/marshall-mcluhan-did-predict-internet/

[ii] http://robynbacken.com/text/nw_research.pdf

[iii] https://www.socialeurope.eu/understanding-digital-revolution-means

[iv] https://www.thebalance.com/the-great-depression-of-1929-3306033

[v] http://www.journalism.org/2012/11/28/role-social-media-arab-uprisings/

[vi] https://en.unesco.org/themes/building-knowledge-societies
References :

Boas, T., Dunning, T. & Bussell, J. (2005). “Will the Digital Revolution Revolutionize Development? Drawing Together the Debate”. In Studies in Comparative International Development, Summer 2005, 40 (2), 95-110. New York: Springer.

This concluding article returns to the broad question that motivates this special issue of Studies in Comparative International Development: Will the Digital Revolution constitute a revolution in development? In addressing this issue, we explore a number of common themes emphasized by the different contributions: the future of the North-South divide, the role of the state in promoting digital development, the transferability and adaptability of specific information and communication technologies, the challenges and potential benefits of controlling digital information, and the developmental effects of digitally enabled communities. We argue that the Digital Revolution’s ultimate impact on development will depend on several key variables, including the extent to which these technologies foster within-country linkages among different sectors and socioeconomic classes; the degree to which new technological applications may be customized or transformed to advance local development; and the outcome of political contests between organized interests that are promoting different ways of organizing and governing the global digital economy. While it is difficult to fully assess a transformation while living in the midst of it, research on the social, political, and economic implications of the Digital Revolution will constitute an important agenda for development scholars in the years to come.

Unwin, Tim. “Towards a Framework for the Use of ICT in Teacher Training in Africa.” Open Learning 20 (2005): 113-129. Unwin stresses the need for teacher training to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Africa has set for 2015.

The author also argues ICTs should not be limited to just computers and Internet, but offer a variety of learning solutions. The paper covers current initiatives designed to bring ICTs into African schools, including their successes and failures. Unwin advocates focusing on using ICT for education instead of just educating people on how to use ICTs. The author also advocates locally produced content so the curriculum is relevant. The paper discusses other principles of good practice as well. Unwin concludes by proposing a framework to put his principles into use.

Wasserman, Herman. “Mobile Phones, Popular Media, and Everyday African Democracy: Transmissions and Transgressions.” Popular Communication 9 (2011):146-158. Wasserman examines the effect mobile phones and other ICTs have in creating social change and enabling users to engage politically in Africa.

The paper includes criticisms from Malcolm Gladwell and others claiming social networking is low-risk participation. The author also discusses how readily Africa has adapted to mobile phone technology. Wasserman argues these phones have begun to bridge the digital divide. While the paper still points out limitations, it argues the technology has still changed Africa’s social practices. The article then discusses areas where mobile phones have made an impact in participation in government on both a national and local level. Wasserman also describes the business impact of mobile phones. Finally, the author examines the continent’s preference to use the technology to connect with local friends and family instead of the global network.

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ABOUT US International Morocco is intended to be a special corner of exchange and learning, for free thinkers, creators, as well as for those beautiful hearts and minds, the intellectually and spiritually enlightened, from Morocco and beyond.

The digital economy’s environmental footprint is threatening the planet

December 8, 2019

Modern society has given significant attention to the promises of the digital economy over the past decade. But it has given little attention to its negative environmental footprint.

Our smartphones rely on rare earth metals, and cloud computing, data centres, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrencies consume large amounts of electricity, often sourced from coal-fired power plants.

These are crucial blind spots we must address if we hope to capture the full potential of the digital economy. Without urgent system-wide actions, the digital economy and green economy will be incompatible with each other and could lead to more greenhouse gas emissions, accelerate climate change and pose great threats to humanity.

Read more: How to make computers faster and climate friendly

The digital economy lacks a universal definition, but it entails the economic activities that result from billions of everyday online connections among people, businesses, devices, data and processes, from online banking to car sharing to social media.

It’s often referred to as the knowledge economy, information society or the internet economy. It relies on data as its fuel and it is already benefiting society in many ways, such as with medical diagnoses.
Coal is still king for the internet

Rare earth elements form the backbone of our modern digital technologies, from tablets and smartphones to televisions and electric cars.

China is the world’s largest producer of rare earth minerals, accounting for close to 70 per cent of global annual production. The large-scale production of rare earth elements in China has raised grave concerns about the release of heavy metals and radioactive materials into water bodies, soil and air near mine sites.

Research on the life-cycle assessments of rare earth minerals has found the production of these metals is far from environmentally sustainable, consuming large amounts of energy and generating radioactive emissions.

Preliminary data (p) on the global production of rare earth elements, 1988-2018. (Natural Resources Canada, 2019)

It’s sometimes said that the cloud (and the digital universe) begins with coal because digital traffic requires a vast and distributed physical infrastructure that consumes electricity.

Coal is one of the world’s largest sources of electricity and a key contributor to climate change. China and the United States are the top producers of coal.
Energy hogs

The world’s data centres — the storehouses for enormous quantities of information — consume about three per cent of the global electricity supply (more than the entire United Kingdom), and produce two per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions — roughly the same as global air travel.

A report by Greenpeace East Asia and the North China Electric Power University found that China’s data centres produced 99 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2018, the equivalent of about 21 million cars driven for one year.

Greenhouse gases aren’t the only type of pollution to be concerned about. Electronic waste (e-waste), which is a byproduct of data centre activities, accounts for two per cent of solid waste and 70 per cent of toxic waste in the United States.

Globally, the world produces as much as 50 million tonnes of electronic e-waste a year, worth over US$62.5 billion and more than the GDP of most countries. Only 20 per cent of this e-waste is recycled.

A Bitcoin mining farm. (Shutterstock)

When it comes to AI, recent research found that training a large AI model — feeding large amounts of data into the computer system and asking for predictions — can emit more than 284 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent — nearly five times the lifetime emissions of the average American car. The results of this work show that there is a growing problem with AI’s digital footprint.

Another area of concern is Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which rely on blockchain, a digital ledger with no central authority that continually records transactions among multiple computers. The amount of energy required to produce one dollar’s worth of Bitcoin is more than twice that required to mine the same value of copper, gold or platinum. A 2014 study found Bitcoin consumed as much energy as Ireland.

Blockchain technologies such as Bitcoin are energy inefficient and unless their potential applications are developed sustainably they will pose a serious threat to the environment.
Thinking differently

The digital economy is accelerating faster than the actions being taken in the green economy movement to counter negative environmental impacts. To move forward fast, we must first start thinking differently.

Satellite image of the Bayan Obo mine in China, taken on June 30, 2006. Vegetation appears in red, grassland is light brown, rocks are black and the water surfaces are green. (NASA Earth Observatory)

The world and its intractable challenges are not linear — everything connects to everything else. We must raise awareness about these major blind spots, embrace systems leadership (leading across boundaries), boost circular economy ideas (decoupling economic activity from the consumption of finite resources), leverage an eco-economics approach (an environmentally sustainable economy) and encourage policy-makers to explore the interrelationships between government-wide, system-wide and societal results.

We must also consider collective problem-solving by bringing together diverse perspectives from both the Global North and the Global South. We should take an inventory of the global and local damages caused by electronic devices, platforms and data systems, and frame issues about the digital economy and its environmental impact in broad societal terms.

Perhaps, the way to move the current discussion forward is to ask: What needs to be done to set the world on a sustainable human trajectory?

We must not only ask what the digital economy can do for us, but what we can collectively do for both the digital economy and the environment.

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Author

Raynold Wonder Alorse

PhD Candidate in International Relations (International Political Economy of Mining), Queen's University, Ontario
Disclosure statement

Raynold has received funding from Public Governance International (PGI) for this research, as well as the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada for his doctoral program. Raynold serves as a Board Director and Chair of the Advocacy Committee for Nepean, Rideau and Osgoode Community Resource Centre (NROCRC), a non-profit organization serving vulnerable populations in Ottawa, including youth, seniors, children and newcomers to Canada.
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Unprecedented: 350-million-year-old Shark Ancestor Found in Morocco

By Ezzoubeir Jabrane

A team of paleontologists has discovered the first complete skeletal remains of the phoebodus, a 350-million-year-old ancestor of the shark in the Small Atlas region in Morocco.

The discovery was made by Linda Frey, Michael Coates, Michał Ginter, Vachik Hairapetian, Martin Rücklin, Iwan Jerjen and Christian Klug, an international team of paleontologists who published their paper in British Journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society B on October 2nd.

The paper explains that the Phoebodus was known among the paleontological community but only through “isolated teeth and fin spines”. As its skeleton was made soft cartilage rather than hard bone, this is the first time a fossil of its entire body is founded.

The paper continues that the characteristics of the environment of the Small Atlas Mountains, which at the time was a shallow ocean basin, made this discovery possible. The restricted water movement mixed with the low oxygen levels in this area made it possible to preserve the entire structure of the Phoebodus for millions of years.

The scientists proceed to described the creature as having “an anguilliform body, specialized braincase, hyoid arch, elongate jaws and rostrum, complementing its characteristic dentition and ctenacanth fin spines preceding both dorsal fins.”

These characteristics suggest “a likely close relationship” with the Thrinacodus gracia, a shark ancestor that lived in the Carboniferous (a period that that span between 358.9 million years ago and 289.9 million years ago). Both these species are part of the elasmobranch, an ancient and successful lineage that consists of sharks, rays and skates, which has managed to survive four main extinction periods.

The paper adds that the newly found shark ancestor is “the most easily compared [species] with the modern frilled shark Chlamydoselachus” and considers the discovery a great addition to the efforts to understand earliest elasmobranchs.

Ezzoubeir Jabrane
Ezzoubeir Jabrane is a writer, teacher and entrepreneur. He holds a Master’s Degree in Linguistic and Literary Studies. He has written over 1000 articles in different fields. He works as a teacher of Academic English at Hassan II University in Casablanca and a teacher of English for Engineering in the National Higher School of Arts and Craft (ENSAM), in addition to a number of other institutions. Ezzoubeir is the founder of Exchange Lab and a founding member of International Morocco. His company Exchange Lab offers 3 services revolving around the use of English in the workplace: content and multimedia content creation, translation services, and language instruction.

Volkswagen to Move its Plant from Algeria to Morocco

FORDISM IS GLOBALIZATION AND PROLETARIANIZATION
IMPERIALISM THE HIGHEST STAGE OF FORDIST CAPITALISM

Volkswagen to Move its Plant from Algeria to Morocco

By Ezzoubeir Jabrane
-December 17, 2019

The German car manufacturing giant, Volkswagen, has decided to suspend its production in Algeria and move its plants to Morocco in the next few weeks.

The German car manufacturer, Volkswagen, has suspended its production in Algeria until further notice and cancelled its contract with its exclusive representative, Sovac Production.

In an statement to the German press agency, Deutschen Presse-Agentur, Volkswagen affirmed that “due to the political crisis in Algeria, Volkswagen has for the moment suspended production in this North African country. Deliveries to the country’s official partner, Sovac, have also been suspended.”

According to the Algerian French-language news source, Algerie Eco, a representative at Sovac Production denies that the German manufacturer has canceled the contract with his firm. He says that Volkswagen has decided to stop sending assembly kits to Algeria since last August because “more than 1500 assembly kits intended for the Relizane factory are still blocked at the port of Oran since last July and 2200 kits blocked at the European ports.”

The Sovac Production representative continued that these blockages are unexplained and “nearly 700 employees are technically unemployed” since “the plant has been shutdown since last September.”

In the same vein, the German newspaper Handelsblatt, which confirmed that the Volkswagen has put an end to its activity in Algeria, reported that the German automobile manufacturer is to set to move its plant to Morocco within the few upcoming weeks.

This plant is the largest in North Africa and the second largest in Africa after a plant situated in South Africa’s massive industrial complex of Uitenhage, 1000 kms south of Johannesburg.

This comes at a time when Volkswagen has recorded a 20 percent decrease in its sales in Morocco in November, after it sold only 8197 cars compared with Renault Group which sold 57276 cars in the same month. According to the ranking revealed by the Association of Vehicle Importers in Morocco (AIVAM), the German car manufacturer came in the 5th position below Hyundai, which sold 8885 cars.

Youth Association in Tafraout Area: For Better Life Quality in Rural Berber Areas

https://www.internationalmorocco.com/youth-association-in-tafraout-area-for-better-life-quality-in-rural-berber-areas/

December 16, 2019

By Ezzoubeir Jabrane

The villages of the Ameln Valley in the central part of the Anti-Atlas Mountains in Morocco have a long history and a deep-rooted tradition that is indisputably an indispensable part of the Moroccan cultural mosaic. These villages are fraught with natural sites that attract tourists from all over the world, and most importantly, have a human capital that is increasingly aware of the necessity of developing the area, in order to stop the local’s immigration to other areas and countries. For this matter, its numerous associations, such as Youth of Imin’tizeght Afella-Oassif Association, have been striving to promote its tourism, agriculture, handicraft, and local products like Argan oil among other things.

Founded two years ago, Youth of Imin’tizeght Afella-Oassif is an association that seeks primarily to give a new impetus to the promotion of human capital in a number of villages located in the valley of Ameln. The members share a deep understanding of their environment, its resources and limitations, and an awareness about the more global problems like global warming as well as a set of modern-day mind and skillset. They believe they have the most important resource, their youth, and they rely on it to realize their projects. Nonetheless, they eagerly seek the collaboration of older generations, which stems from the high regard older people have, specific to collectivistic societies such as Morocco.

In an interview with International Morocco, the president of Youth of Imin’tizeght Afella-Oassif, BelQassem Lemhamdi Alaoui, highlighted that the association’s objective is to develop the villages socially, economically, culturally, and educationally. Qassem, as he goes by, explained that his association chiefly works on strengthening “the spirit of initiative, solidarity and sharing” among the residents of surrounding villages. Another aim is to “spread the principles of social economy” and thereby create job opportunities for the locals in order to slowdown immigration toward big cities or other countries. Moreover, it organizes educational and cultural events to sensitize the residents about the issues they are facing at the local, national and global level.

Qassem pointed out that in order to guarantee the commitment of the residents and the continuation of their activities, it is “important to develop connections with governmental and non-governmental organizations in different fields, in Morocco and abroad”. This gives the association access to a broad pool of opportunities. “Equally important” adds Qassem, “is exposing our youth to as many trainings as possible in different disciplines.”

Despite the fact that Qassem has not yet graduated from university where he majors in Geography, he finds time to create and manage a number of other clubs and initiatives. In addition to the mentioned association, he is president of Tafraout Club for Bicycles and Mountain Tourism, and member of Ameln Service, a branch of Ameln Union of associations that specializes in the protecting the environment and waste-recycling in the Ameln valley.

The executive committee at the Youth of Imin’tizeght Afella-Oassif Association is made of 6 members. Qassem, who takes pride in the fact that these positions are divided equally between young male and female members, says that they have been successful in drawing all segments of their society to their projects. In addition, “the presence of female members has proven to be very efficient in our conservative society as they have more access to the female population than the male members do.”

In a span of two years, the association has accumulated laudable achievements. It convinced 250 people to contribute to the construction of a swimming pool for children and teens, and has organized trainings for the locals in video editing, sport tournaments, competitions, excursions for national and foreign tourists, environmental campaigns and celebrations such as International Women’s Day. With very limited resources, they have also mobilized the residents to preserve the villages and engaged them in diverse activities such as painting the sidewalks and drawing murals. Cognizant of the importance of preserving and reviving aspects their Amazigh culture, the association has also organized many festivities that were attended by many.

Asked about their future projects, Qassem unveiled that their organization gives priority to breaking the isolation that these villages suffer, through building roads inside villages. He adds that this will also make it easier for ambulances and civil protection trucks to get to every house if something happens. Qassem went on to say that they also aim to create sports infrastructure such as football stadia, and build a center to receive members of the national and international associations they are in contact with. In order to do all this, he explained, “it is essential to to encourage collaboration among people rather than unhealthy completion.”

For Qassem young people throughout the world should take the lead and start different initiatives, for they are more prone to collaborate than to fight. For this reason, he extends his hand to all sorts of national and international youth organizations operating in different fields:

“Contact on Facebook or via email. We can exchange ideas for a world without wars and racism.”

Facebook: (LINK)

Email: associationajia@gmail.com

MINDFULNESS (C)(R)(TM) A MANAGEMENT PARADIGM

We explore the concepts of mindfulness and meditation, learning about how they impact every aspect of our lives,

AMERICAN DIVERSITY

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment