Archive for September 2009
PRESIDENT OBAMA ANNOUNCES RECOVERY ACT FUNDING FOR GROUNDBREAKING MEDICAL RESEARCH
Bethesda, MD – In a visit to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus, President Barack Obama announced $5 billion in grant awards under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) to fund cutting-edge medical research in every state across America. The more than 12,000 grant awards are expected to create tens of thousands of jobs over the next two years and are part of an overall $100 billion Recovery Act investment in science and technology to lay the foundation for the innovation economy of the future.
“We know that this kind of investment will also lead to new jobs: tens of thousands of jobs conducting research, manufacturing and supplying medical equipment, and building and modernizing laboratories and research facilities,” said President Obama. “I’ve long said, the goal of the Recovery Act was not to create make-work jobs, but jobs making a difference for our future. There is no better example than the jobs we will produce or preserve through the grants we are announcing this morning.”
“This historic investment demonstrates this administration’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of science and turning those discoveries into benefits for the American people. NIH researchers and grantees are already conducting some of the world’s most groundbreaking biomedical research, said Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “These awards will accelerate our progress towards the new medicines, treatments, and cures that will help Americans live longer, healthier lives.
By creating brand-new programs, such as Challenge Grants, Grand Opportunity grants, and Signature Initiatives, NIH is funding innovative research throughout the nation. The grant awards will support the full spectrum of medical research—from basic research to clinical and translational studies. The Recovery Act funded NIH grants are in several areas including heart disease, autism, HIV-AIDS, H1N1 Flu and cancer.
More than $1 billion of the grant funding is dedicated to research applying the technology produced by the Human Genome Project between 1990 and 2003. This new funding will allow researchers to make quantum leaps forward in studying the genomic changes linked to cancer, heart, lung, and blood disease and autism– potentially leading to new treatments and cures. The investment includes $175 million for The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) to collect more than 20,000 tissue samples from more than 20 cancers, and determine in detail all of the genetic changes in thousands of these tumor samples. TCGA involves more than 150 scientists at dozens of institutions around the country. All data will be rapidly deposited in databases accessible to the worldwide research community.
“We are about to see a quantum leap in our understanding of cancer,” said NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. “Cancer is a disease of DNA—it occurs when glitches in the DNA cause a good cell to go bad. This ambitious effort promises to open new windows into the biology of all cancers, transform approaches to cancer research and raise the curtain on a more personalized era of cancer care. This is an excellent example of how the Recovery Act is fueling discoveries that will fundamentally change the way we fight disease and improve our lives.”
2010 World Cup: South Africa Gears Up
The 2010 FIFA world cup will hold in South Africa between the 11th of June and 11th of July 2010. Matches would be played in Capetown, Durban, Johannesburg, Mangaung, Nelson Mandela Bay, Nelspruit, Polokwane, Rustenburg and Pretoria.
Venues
The complete list of 10 stadiums in 9 host cities for the 2010 World Cup has been decided. The host cities are:
Bloemfontein – capital of Free State Province, located in central South Africa. The present modern rugby / soccer stadium, situated in a pleasant area close to the city center, is being further upgraded.
Cape Town – capital of Western Cape Province, and the legislative capital of South Africa. One of the world’s most beautiful cities set at the foot of Table Mountain on the ocean.
Durban – largest city in KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa’s major port. A surfing and holiday center on the north east coast.
Groundwork has started on the new stadium which is also expected to host a semi final and hold 68,000 spectators.
The stadium is close to a beach holiday area and within 5 kms of the CBD, so there will be a variety of accommodation options available.
Johannesburg – capital of Gauteng Province and South Africa’s largest city and major business and gold mining center.
Nelspruit – capital of Mpumalanga Province and a major agricultural center. Gateway to Kruger National Park. Construction work has commenced on the new stadium. Accommodation in the city or in any of the extensive “camps” in the park.
Polokwane – capital of Limpopo Province, 1300m above sea level. Small city 3 hours north of Pretoria and also close to wild life parks. New stadium to be built.
Port Elizabeth – located in Eastern Cape Province on the east coast, a major port. Work has already started on the new stadium, which is close to the city center and the ocean.
Proposed venue for the 2009 Confederations Cup.
Rustenburg – small, provincial city located North West Province in northern South Africa, close to the Rustenburg Nature Reserve.
New stadium, work expected to start shortly.
Pretoria – located in Gauteng Province, close to Johannesburg and the executive capital of South Africa. Utilising present modern 65,000 capacity rugby stadium – Loftus Versfield.
Second round matches will take place in: Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Pretoria, Rustenberg, Port Elizabeth, and Bloemfontein
Quarter final matches in: Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth
Semi final matches in: Cape Town, Durban
Third place play off: Port Elizabeth
Final (and opening game) – Soccer City, Johannesburg
Stadiums
The complete list of 10 stadiums in 9 host cities for the 2010 World Cup has been decided. The stadiums are:
Green Point Stadium aka African Renaissance Stadium (Cape Town), 70,000 capacity. A new stadium will be constructed with a retractable roof.
Coca-Cola Park Stadium aka Ellis Park (Johannesburg), 60,000 capacity. Upgrading of South Africa’s premier Rugby stadium located in the center of the city.
Free State Stadium (Bloemfontein), 40,000 capacity. Renovation of a 1950s stadium
Moses Madhiba Stadium (Durban), 70,000 capacity. A new stadium will be constructed replacing King’s Park Stadium.
Loftus Versfeld (Pretoria). 50,000 capacity. Renovation of an existing stadium.
Mbombela Stadium (Nelspruit), 40,000 capacity. A new stadium will be constructed.
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (Port Elizabeth). 50,000 capacity. A new stadium will be constructed.
Peter Mokaba Stadium (Polokwane), 40,000 capacity. New stadium.
Royal Bakokeng Stadium (Rustenburg), 40,000 capacity. Renovation of an existing stadium.
Soccer City (Johannesburg) 94,700 capacity. Renovation of an existing stadium, on the western edge of the city where the opening game and final will be played.
New stadium with construction underway. South Africa’s equivalent of “Wembley”.
FIFA partners include Coca Cola, MTN, Sony, Budweiser, Castrol, McDonalds, Emirates, VISA, Continental tires
Tickets
Tickets will go on sale in several phases. The first round of tickets for the 2010 World Cup Finals in South Africa went on sale in February 2009.
The 32 participating member football associations will be offered 12% of the purchasable tickets for the group matches and approximately 8% in the knockout phases.
All prices for World Cup tickets are in USD. Category 4 (15%) is reserved for South African residents and will be sold exclusively in the local currency – South African Rand (ZAR).
Matches |
Category 1 |
Category 2 |
Category 3 |
Category 4 |
|
Opening Match |
$450 |
$300 |
$200 |
$70 |
|
Group matches |
$160 |
$120 |
$80 |
$20 |
|
Round of 16 |
$200 |
$150 |
$100 |
$50 |
|
Quarter finals |
$300 |
$200 |
$150 |
$75 |
|
Semi finals |
$600 |
$400 |
$250 |
$100 |
|
Third Place |
$300 |
$200 |
$150 |
$75 |
|
Final |
$900 |
$600 |
$400 |
$150 |
The 2009 Under 20 world cup holds in Egypt between 24th September and 16th October 2009.
The 2009 under 17 world cup holds in Nigeria between 24th of October and 15th of November 2009
The 2010 under 20 womens world cup holds in Germany between 13th of July and 1st of August 2010
GLOBACOM: Submarine cables berth in Lagos and Accra
ACCRA – The world’s first submarine optic fibre cable to be built by a single individual company, Globacom, has berthed in Accra, Ghana. This comes barely three weeks after Glo-1 landed in Lagos, Nigeria.
The 9,800km long cable which stretched from the UK with dedicated extension to the US, spreads across all the West African countries and will be anchored to its landing station at Osu Ice Company Beach, Accra, Ghana.
The landing of Glo-1 in Ghana will also boost the operations of Glo Mobile Ghana, which is getting set for a nationwide roll-out.
The 640 gigabyte cable with optimum capacity of 2.5 terabyte will also be made available to other telecom operators who are keen to tap from the immense benefits of the huge bandwidth of Glo-1.
On Saturday, September 5, 2009, the trans atlantic cable was pulled ashore at Alpha Beach, Lagos, Nigeria by officials of Globacom and Alcatel-Lucent, the world acclaimed leader in submarine cable technology.
The historic moment, witnessed by the cream of Nigerian media, has drawn wide praises for Globacom from within and outside the country.
The trend in the global telecommunication industry is for a consortium of companies or even nations to combine resources to build submarine cables as was the case with the SAT-3 cable which was built by a consortium of 36 countries.
Globacom Group Executive Director, Mr. Paddy Adenuga, said Glo-1 would deliver transmission capacity that would radically change Nigeria and Africa’s economic landscape by opening up the continent to the rest of the world.
Explaining the processes leading to the landing of the cable, the GED said that implementing submarine cable projects, particularly one spanning about 10,000 km from London to Lagos is an initiative that usually takes between two to two and a half years to complete.
photo – Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr
Ibori: Godfather’s Never Sleep
NIGERIA – With every twist and turn in the unending saga of Mr James Onanefe “Here’s-one-who-brings-wealth” Ibori, ex-governor of Delta State, it becomes clearer that the evil of “godfatherism” remains well and alive in our tattered polity. In short, we can now say that it never enjoyed greater favour in the eyes of a sitting head of state. Godfatherism, a pillar of the Obasanjo government, has slowly but surely emerged as the lodestone of Yar’Adua’s Aso Rock.
True, no right-thinking Nigerian thought that with the death of the fearsome Lamidi Adedibu political gangsters had finally run out of luck. Professor Rufai Ahmed Alkali, publicity secretary of the greatest and richest political party ever formed on earth, may have been moved by his distress to declare that the sudden death of Adedibu “created a very big vacuum in the politics of Oyo State and indeed Nigeria.” In so expressing the PDP’s heartbreak over Adedibu’s death, Rufai made an involuntary confession: that the party, whether under Yar’Adua’s or Obasanjo’s titular leadership, always saw Oyo State as a laboratory of dirty power. Whatever worked in Adedibu’s fiefdom was to become a model for “capturing” power in any state where passable opposition to the PDP’s totalitarian ambitions existed. It was in this sense that Anambra became another test-tube state. The PDP’s outpouring of grief against the general sigh of relief and jubilation said simply, “What will become of our party if godfatherism is buried with Adedibu?”
In order to fill the vacuum and prevent this calamity, the PDP has now announced, by deed, the consecration of Ibori as President Yar’Adua’s godfather. On Tuesday, 15 September 2009, Ibori “presided” over a meeting called to discuss the proposed N10 billion national secretariat of the PDP, a planned monument to profligacy. Ibori is known to be the PDP’s “main financier. All the reason why Yar’Adua, through the tireless efforts of his Attorney-General, Michael Aondoakaa, has shielded the embattled ex-governor from every charge of embezzlement and money laundering, both at home and abroad. At the meeting, according to the NEXT account the following day, were high-powered government officials, including Remi Babalola, Minister of State in Finance, and Shamsudeen Uthman, Minister for National Economic Planning. Since the meeting’s sole agenda was how to raise the needed billions for the PDP’s tower of greed, it is safe to assume that Ibori, believed to be the party’s deepest purse, was the actual presiding officer. The deliberations were at Yar’Adua’s behest and are to be reviewed by him.
Ibori couldn’t have demanded a better gesture to call the bluff of the British government over their most recent attempt to try him and his coterie of male and female partners in crime for money-laundering. Earlier in the year when the astonishingly wealthy ex-governor’s case with the London Metropolitan Police made torrid headlines and the Halliburton bribe scandal was blown open in the United States, I had begun a piece entitled “The Anti-Corruption Game,” published in The Guardian of 27 April 2009, as follows: “If President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has not already done so, then he must now consider telling the governments of the United Kingdom and the United States of America to please, henceforth, mind their own business. Clearly, the greatest embarrassments Yar’Adua has suffered regarding his willingness to combat the gloating evil of official corruption have come from these two countries. … That Yar’Adua has yet to openly declare a turf war must be due, I suspect, to the little matter of the appropriate diplomatese for doing so. In what decipherable language can a president confess to the world that it isn’t his country’s staggering corruption that gives him sleepless nights but, rather, how to keep the scandals secret?”
I had wrongly presumed that the president would squirm to appear insincere. But that came out of a momentary fog over reason, caused, I now know, by the ruse of his voluntary asset declaration a thousand moons ago. Now, of course, Yar’Adua has told the busybody British and American governments in unmistakable terms to mind their own business. After all, the era of slavery and colonialism is over and there is a surfeit of corrupt politicians in London and Washington, DC as well. And now Yar’Adua’s justice minister, the ultra-patriotic Aondoakaa, has declared that he will not, repeat, will not, hand over any citizen of our beloved country, not the least, James Ibori and his henchman in Aso Rock, David Edevbie, to a foreign authority for trial. No matter the number and magnitude of crimes for which said citizen may stand indicted in a court of law, even in our own court. Having instructed — or, at any rate, condoned — Aondoakaa’s unilateral verdict of Not Guilty, Yar’Adua next invited the innocent and much maligned main financier of his party to the seat of power for serious matters of state. Never mind that Ibori financed the president’s party, and, so, his purloined mandate, with stolen money. That is how godfathers are made, as Adedibu’s war with Governor Ladoja who would not hand over the Oyo State coffers to him showed us. But receiving stolen goods, as we know, is a crime that taints the receiver as much as the thief. And herein lies Yar’Adua’s moral debacle and credibility problem: how to disavow electoral theft financed with embezzled public funds at the same time that he is the beneficiary of the priciest presidency money ever bought. What to do? Turn against his chief benefactor, in this case Ibori, and bite the very finger that put the delicious power plum in his mouth? There was only one honourable course for him: denounce the electoral fraud of 2007 and insist on a free and fair election. Having failed his moral test, he is condemned now to be Ibori’s protector, and so his political godson, money trumping age as in all matters of power and lucre. And, so, reminded of the irrevocable bond that existed between Obasanjo and Adedibu by Yar’Adua’s cant, we can do worse than repeat the wisdom of that old saying to the president: “Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are.”
For against any protestation to the contrary, Yar’Adua has now given Ibori an iron-cast guarantee of non-prosecution during the tenure of his government, thereby making him almost as untouchable as the king of them all, Ibrahim Babangida. Surely, those who call for Aondoakaa’s sack miss the point, though the AG, the best friend that thieving politicians have ever had in that office, ought not to stay a single day longer. Yet, by inviting Ibori to Aso Rock, Yar’Adua not only boasted his godfather to the whole world but also carried out a far worse act of money laundering than what the British police and the EFCC have alleged. Mercifully, the president has finally ended all pretensions of a war against corruption. It was about time!
• OGAGA IFOWODO teaches poetry and literature at Texas State University, San Marcos, in the United States, and may be reached at omoliho@gmail.com. This piece is originally titled; “James Ibori, President Yar’Adua’s Godfather”.
Nigerians Spend N796bn to Fuel Generators Yearly
NIGERIA – In an era when the rest of the world is investing in “GREEN TECHNOLOGY”, Nigerians spend about N796.4 billion on fuel to generate electric power every year, the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has said.
This figure is strikingly similar to the federal budget of N796.7 billion for capital expenditure for the current fiscal year. A breakdown shows that N540.9 billion is spent on diesel and N255.5 billion goes into the purchase of petrol annually for power generating sets.
These facts were contained in a document authored by Assistant General Manager, Project Monitoring Office, Ify Ikeonu. Although all the details were not available at press time, THISDAY investigations show that of the amount, industries operating under the aegis of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) spend over N350 billion to fuel their generating sets.
Early in the year, the Federal Government came under heavy criticism for budgeting N2 billion to buy, maintain and fuel generators this year.
According to the details of the budget passed by the Senate in December 2008, the Presidency will spend N27 million to fuel its generators and N14.3 million to maintain them.
Other details were: the National Assembly, fuel, N233 million; National Assembly Office -fuel- N63 million; maintenance, N57.2 million; the National Assembly White House, which houses Chambers of the Senate and the House of Representatives – N58 million for fuelling and N55 million for maintenance; the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC), fuel and maintenance – N25.8 million; and Police formations nationwide – fuel and maintenance, N110 million.
THISDAY did not gain access to the number of generating sets currently in use in the country as contained in the survey report. There was also some controversy over the actual estimate of what Nigerians spend to fuel their generators because of a recent report that the entire amount was N50 billion. It has since emerged that the recently reported figure was for Aba, Abia State, alone.
THISDAY gathered that the amount concerning the monetary value of fuel used in Aba was contained in the report of a survey commissioned in 2007 by Geometric Power, Aba. The survey was conducted by National Rural Electricity Cooperative Association (NRECA) in Washington, U.S.A.
Making the clarification about the amount spent by consumers in Aba in the course of THISDAY investigation, Senior Manager, Public Affairs, Geometric Power Limited, Oseloka Zikora, said: “According to statistics, Nigerians spend about N540.9 billion on diesel and N255.5 billion on fuel (petrol) to generate power and not N50 billion as ascribed to Prof Nnaji in newspaper reports.”
According to him, “the (about) N50 billion quoted is only the share of Aba industries, commercial and residential consumers’ expenditure on fuel and diesel to generate power.”
His reference was to a newspaper report which he said quoted the Chairman of Geometric Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, as saying Nigerians spend about N50 billion for fuel to power their electric generating sets every year. He said the former Minister had to clarify that aspect because it was understood in some quarters to mean that the figure represented what was spent around the country.
Nnaji had explained at a meeting with the Director-General of Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Dr. Christopher Anyanwu, that the expenditure pattern in fuelling generators was that residents/small commercial entities spend N14.4 billion on generator fuel while the large industries part with N43.2 billion for the same purpose.
However, in the publication, the fact that the figures were limited to the expenditure in Aba was not expressly stated.
Unreliable power supply in the country has seen most households resort to the use of power generating sets as their primary means of electricity, while the state utility company, Power Holding Company of Nigeria, (PHCN), which is essentially a monopoly, hardly meets up to 20 per cent of the nation’s demand. It generates between 2,000mw and 2,500mw. This has led to a situation where power supply from PHCN is viewed as a standby source, to be used when available, while generators are seen as the principal mode of catering for power needs.
To make PHCN more efficient, it was unbundled into 18 successor companies comprising 11 power generating companies, GenCos, six power distribution companies, DisCos, and one transmission company, Transmission Company of Nigeria. The country is moving towards a situation where other means of generating power that will involve less expensive fuel, such as solar, are being explored.
Although the initial financial outlay in setting up a solar-powered plant is astronomical, it can last for 25 years without fuel other than solar energy which is captured by the solar panel.
The government also recently signed a contract with a French outfit to establish a wind-fuelled plant in Katsina as a mark of its seriousness to diversify public power supply sources from the traditional hydro and thermal to wind, solar and coal, among others.
To improve power supply however, it has been realised that the private sector must play a critical role, which has led to NERC licensing about 29 independent power producers, IPPs, which are in various stages of completion.
A gas master plan has however been put in place to make gas more readily available to fuel the over 70 per cent of power plants that depend on thermal source of energy.
Source – Thisday@2009
Slain Nigerian Journalist, Bayo Ohu Interred
NIGERIA – Even in death, the Guardian Assistant News Editor Politics, Bayo Ohu stood tall as his remains were interred in his undeveloped personal house site in his Ado-Awaye, Iseyin Local Govern-ment area of Oyo State.
His family rationalised that the choice of the site for his house in the community was agreed upon to remind them of his existence though he was dead and to jolt them to ensure that his wish for a personal house was actualised.
His killers if they were around could not but blame themselves for undertaking the murderous assignment. He was his community’s hero as the high and the low thronged Ebenezer Baptist Church venue of his funeral service to pay their last respect to him. Elderly women openly wept and rendered his lineage dirges to bid him farewell.
The convoy bearing his casket snailed into the sleepy community at exactly 12.50pm with a stop over at his family’s Asa-Oye Ogunleke Compound where traditional rites were held closed door.
He was thereafter taken to the church for the funeral service where the presiding cleric, Rev. Emmanuel Gbadegesin, in his sermon, titled: ‘Be prepared for the special day’, urged grieving Ohu’s relations, family members and colleagues not to cry for deceased again because his works on earth had qualified him for the heavenly home.
Gbadegesin admonished the family and friends of Ohu to trust in God as their comforter, as “there is time for everything”
It was tears all round as even older men and women in appreciation of the contribution of the slain journalist to the education and general welfare of their children cried bitterly raining curses on the perpetrators of his gruesome death .
The Guardian’s Assistant News Editor and political reporter, Bayo Ohu, was shot dead in his apartment yesterday in Egbeda, a Lagos suburb. Ohu was just getting set to attend Church service after seeing off his wife, Ochuko, and sister-in-law, to the early morning service when the gunmen came knocking on his door at about 6.52 a.m.
According to eye-witnesses, the five or six men came in a white Toyota Camry saloon car, wearing white flowing gowns with matching skull caps. They made no attempt to enter any other apartment in the four-flat house. Ohu heard a knock on his door and as he opened the front door to ask who was knocking, the gunmen hit him with a volley of bullets. His blood made a huge splash all over the door. He staggered back into the house screaming for help, but his assailants followed him inside and rained more bullets into him.
SOURCE – THE GUARDIAN
The Pittsburgh G 20 Summit Goes Green
PITTSBURGH – Pittsburgh is a city that has transformed itself, from the city of steel to one which also is a center of high-tech innovation, including green technology, education and training, and research and development. It is a fitting setting for a summit of the world economies, where leaders will take stock of progress on the path to recovery, assess what areas require additional attention and discuss what can be done to lay the foundation for balanced and sustainable growth going forward.
As the largest global economies, it will be critical for all of the G-20 countries to demonstrate their commitment to doing what’s necessary to address the climate change and so in planning the Pittsburgh Summit, the White House sought to embrace green technology and use responsible materials produced in a manner that minimize the carbon footprint of the Summit. In the end, 65% of the materials used for the Summit were environmentally friendly. The Summit will utilize light weight, innately green materials, rather than traditional construction techniques. Many of these materials, such as cotton fabric, are renewable resources and less expensive to transport.
The Leaders’ Plenary Table is an excellent example of the research that went into ensuring the Summit minimized its carbon foot print. The custom-designed and fabricated table is almost 54 feet in diameter and includes an impressive fabrication of 28 sections that are then assembled together on site. The table top is made of a product that uses forest waste and includes no toxins while organic dyes provide color. The other components of the table are made of recycled fiber board and FSC-certified wood veneers. The table is laminated using LEED-certified lamination techniques. The chairs around the table are hand polished, not chrome, and made with organic, sustainable materials. Throughout the Summit space, these same techniques have been used for all décor and other fabricated elements.
§ The carpeting throughout the event is made from partially recycled materials; it will be reused and ultimately recycled. The lightweight drapery used for the Summit is continually reused and recycled.
§ The plenary table, Sherpa desk and leaders’ dining table will be repurposed for future events.
§ Other tables and desks are laminated using LEED-certified lamination techniques and constructed from fiber board manufactured from 100% recycled wood waste.
§ Delegation and press offices are built from reused aluminum extrusion and from recycled and recyclable PVC product.
§ Trees and other plants purchased for event will be donated to Phipps Conservatory.
Because conventional audiovisual equipment tends to draw large amounts of power, LED lighting instruments will be used. These consume far less power and have an extremely low thermal output, which translates to a reduction in external cooling needs. The Summit also utilizes cutting edge Class I amplifier technology, which reduces electricity consumption by up to 46% and much like LED Lighting, produces 1/10th of the heat of conventional audio equipment. As video projectors can also consume large amounts of power, the summit will utilize projectors that utilize a standby mode that reduces energy consumption by 35%.
Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens:
There is perhaps no more appropriate place to kick off this green summit than at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. The President and First Lady will welcome leaders, their spouses and officials to Pittsburgh at the city’s Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. Known as “Green Heart of Pittsburgh,” Phipps’ earth-sheltered Welcome Center was the first LEED-certified building in a public garden. Its newest addition, the Tropical Forest Conservatory, is the world’s most energy efficient conservatory and the world’s first public garden powered by a solid oxide fuel cell. The 5 kW solid oxide fuel cell generates 26,000 kWh of electricity per year from natural gas with remarkable efficiency and minimal emissions.
A fuel cell is an electrochemical device similar to a battery, although it does not rundown or require charging. Fuel cells are highly efficient because they directly convert chemical energy into electrical energy without combustion. A fuel cell is twice as efficient as a traditional combustion engine and produces significantly less CO2. Fuel cells are incredibly clean power sources, creating byproducts of only heat, water, and less carbon dioxide than combustion. Phipps uses the waste heat to heat the Conservatory’s tepid water system which is used for irrigation. Phipps offsets the CO2 emissions from the fuel cell with the purchase of carbon credits. Phipps offsets all of the other electricity used on the entire campus with renewable energy credits from wind power.
After welcoming leaders and their spouses, President Obama and the other G20 leaders will sit down for a working dinner at tables made from salvaged wood from previously cut down trees.
David L. Lawrence Convention Center:
On Friday, the leaders will head to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center (DLCC). Demonstrating the possibilities presented by employing new and innovative technology to further economic recovery and development, the Pittsburgh Summit will be held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh. The facility was the first “green” convention center in the world to be awarded the LEED® Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council for leadership in energy and environmental design. Built on an urban brownfield location, which included the location of the original Convention Center to reduce the cost of infrastructure improvements and provide existing public transit accessibility by light-rail, water and buses, the center’s focus on being green started with its location and continued through its design and operation.
Energy and Atmosphere: The Center’s most dramatic feature is the halls’ curved ceiling located on the second floor- Halls ABC. Halls are flooded by natural light which shines through its immense windows and skylights. The natural daylight reduces the need for artificial light — 75% of the Center is naturally lit. The DLCC also purchases a portion of their power from Pennsylvania wind farms.
Natural Ventilation: The halls’ sweeping roof allows fresh air from over the Allegheny River to enter the halls. The natural ventilation coupled with on-going monitoring of temperatures and carbon dioxide levels, provides outstanding air quality. The roof design and riverside louvers provide natural cooling from outside air.
Water Efficiency: The reduction of water use is influenced by its grey water reclamation system and its aquifer, a “fourth river” located 50′ beneath the DLCC. By using these systems municipal water purchase is reduced by 65%, a 5.3 million gallon savings in 2008. The on-site water reclamation system receives wastewater from sinks, fountains, and faucets and is cleaned through an in-house filtering and grey water treatment system for use in the restroom commodes. Aquifer water is used for cooling tower blow-down and pressure washing which provided over 3.23 million gallons of water in 2008.
Sustainable Site and Materials: The new DLCC was built on the same site as the previous Center where over 95 percent of the original center was recycled by crushing it into useful fill material (53,228T). All materials used were evaluated to its impact on the environment and 50% of the new building materials were manufactured within 500 miles of site.
“Farm to Fork” Dining: More than five percent of the produce used in the food served at the DLCC will come from the rooftop garden that is tended by chefs with the in-house caterers, Levy Restaurants, throughout the growing season. Additional produce on menus will be sourced from farms in the surrounding counties near Pittsburgh. In keeping with the facility’s green practices, Levy utilizes compostable dishes, cups and packaging and composts food waste from the kitchens. The DLCC also donates leftover food.
source – the white house
FIFA under 17 opening game to cost $20 in Lagos
NIGERIA – FOOTBALL fans, who want to watch the opening match of the Nigeria 2009 FIFA Under-17 World Cup featuring the Golden Eaglets and Germany, will have to pay N3, 000 to enter the National Stadium, Abuja, venue of the game.
Organisers of the championship yesterday announced the availability of tickets for all the games of the Nigeria 2009 cadet competition, with the prices ranging from N300 (about $2) to N10, 500 ($70).
For the opening match between hosts Nigeria and Germany, a fan is expected to pay N3, 000 (about $20). That is also the price for a ticket for knockout stages of the competition, leading all the way to the grand finale on November 15 at the Abuja National Stadium.
The most expensive corporate tickets will go for N10, 500 at the venues of Lagos, where Brazil will play, Calabar and Kaduna.
Lagos will also stage the two semi-finals of the championship.
Besides being the host of the biannual tournament, Nigeria is also the defending champion, having won the competition two years ago in South Korea courtesy of a penalty shootout win over Spain in the final.
The tournament will be played in Abuja, Bauchi, Calabar, Enugu, Ijebu-Ode, Kaduna, Kano and Lagos from 24 October to 15 November 2009.
.
source – the guardian
UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Remarks by President Obama
NEW YORK – Good morning. Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, fellow delegates, ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to address you for the first time as the 44th President of the United States. (Applause.) I come before you humbled by the responsibility that the American people have placed upon me, mindful of the enormous challenges of our moment in history, and determined to act boldly and collectively on behalf of justice and prosperity at home and abroad.
I have been in office for just nine months — though some days it seems a lot longer. I am well aware of the expectations that accompany my presidency around the world. These expectations are not about me. Rather, they are rooted, I believe, in a discontent with a status quo that has allowed us to be increasingly defined by our differences, and outpaced by our problems. But they are also rooted in hope — the hope that real change is possible, and the hope that America will be a leader in bringing about such change.
I took office at a time when many around the world had come to view America with skepticism and distrust. Part of this was due to misperceptions and misinformation about my country. Part of this was due to opposition to specific policies, and a belief that on certain critical issues, America has acted unilaterally, without regard for the interests of others. And this has fed an almost reflexive anti-Americanism, which too often has served as an excuse for collective inaction.
Now, like all of you, my responsibility is to act in the interest of my nation and my people, and I will never apologize for defending those interests. But it is my deeply held belief that in the year 2009 — more than at any point in human history — the interests of nations and peoples are shared. The religious convictions that we hold in our hearts can forge new bonds among people, or they can tear us apart. The technology we harness can light the path to peace, or forever darken it. The energy we use can sustain our planet, or destroy it. What happens to the hope of a single child — anywhere — can enrich our world, or impoverish it.
In this hall, we come from many places, but we share a common future. No longer do we have the luxury of indulging our differences to the exclusion of the work that we must do together. I have carried this message from London to Ankara; from Port of Spain to Moscow; from Accra to Cairo; and it is what I will speak about today — because the time has come for the world to move in a new direction. We must embrace a new era of engagement based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and our work must begin now.
We know the future will be forged by deeds and not simply words. Speeches alone will not solve our problems — it will take persistent action. For those who question the character and cause of my nation, I ask you to look at the concrete actions we have taken in just nine months.
On my first day in office, I prohibited — without exception or equivocation — the use of torture by the United States of America. (Applause.) I ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed, and we are doing the hard work of forging a framework to combat extremism within the rule of law. Every nation must know: America will live its values, and we will lead by example.
We have set a clear and focused goal: to work with all members of this body to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda and its extremist allies — a network that has killed thousands of people of many faiths and nations, and that plotted to blow up this very building. In Afghanistan and Pakistan, we and many nations here are helping these governments develop the capacity to take the lead in this effort, while working to advance opportunity and security for their people.
In Iraq, we are responsibly ending a war. We have removed American combat brigades from Iraqi cities, and set a deadline of next August to remove all our combat brigades from Iraqi territory. And I have made clear that we will help Iraqis transition to full responsibility for their future, and keep our commitment to remove all American troops by the end of 2011.
I have outlined a comprehensive agenda to seek the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. In Moscow, the United States and Russia announced that we would pursue substantial reductions in our strategic warheads and launchers. At the Conference on Disarmament, we agreed on a work plan to negotiate an end to the production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons. And this week, my Secretary of State will become the first senior American representative to the annual Members Conference of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
Upon taking office, I appointed a Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, and America has worked steadily and aggressively to advance the cause of two states — Israel and Palestine — in which peace and security take root, and the rights of both Israelis and Palestinians are respected.
To confront climate change, we have invested $80 billion in clean energy. We have substantially increased our fuel-efficiency standards. We have provided new incentives for conservation, launched an energy partnership across the Americas, and moved from a bystander to a leader in international climate negotiations.
To overcome an economic crisis that touches every corner of the world, we worked with the G20 nations to forge a coordinated international response of over $2 trillion in stimulus to bring the global economy back from the brink. We mobilized resources that helped prevent the crisis from spreading further to developing countries. And we joined with others to launch a $20 billion global food security initiative that will lend a hand to those who need it most, and help them build their own capacity.
We’ve also re-engaged the United Nations. We have paid our bills. We have joined the Human Rights Council. (Applause.) We have signed the Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We have fully embraced the Millennium Development Goals. And we address our priorities here, in this institution — for instance, through the Security Council meeting that I will chair tomorrow on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, and through the issues that I will discuss today.
This is what we have already done. But this is just a beginning. Some of our actions have yielded progress. Some have laid the groundwork for progress in the future. But make no mistake: This cannot solely be America’s endeavor. Those who used to chastise America for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for America to solve the world’s problems alone. We have sought — in word and deed — a new era of engagement with the world. And now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.
Now, if we are honest with ourselves, we need to admit that we are not living up to that responsibility. Consider the course that we’re on if we fail to confront the status quo: Extremists sowing terror in pockets of the world; protracted conflicts that grind on and on; genocide; mass atrocities; more nations with nuclear weapons; melting ice caps and ravaged populations; persistent poverty and pandemic disease. I say this not to sow fear, but to state a fact: The magnitude of our challenges has yet to be met by the measure of our actions.
This body was founded on the belief that the nations of the world could solve their problems together. Franklin Roosevelt, who died before he could see his vision for this institution become a reality, put it this way — and I quote: “The structure of world peace cannot be the work of one man, or one party, or one nation…. It cannot be a peace of large nations — or of small nations. It must be a peace which rests on the cooperative effort of the whole world.”
The cooperative effort of the whole world. Those words ring even more true today, when it is not simply peace, but our very health and prosperity that we hold in common. Yet we also know that this body is made up of sovereign states. And sadly, but not surprisingly, this body has often become a forum for sowing discord instead of forging common ground; a venue for playing politics and exploiting grievances rather than solving problems. After all, it is easy to walk up to this podium and point figures — point fingers and stoke divisions. Nothing is easier than blaming others for our troubles, and absolving ourselves of responsibility for our choices and our actions. Anybody can do that. Responsibility and leadership in the 21st century demand more.
In an era when our destiny is shared, power is no longer a zero-sum game. No one nation can or should try to dominate another nation. No world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will succeed. No balance of power among nations will hold. The traditional divisions between nations of the South and the North make no sense in an interconnected world; nor do alignments of nations rooted in the cleavages of a long-gone Cold War.
The time has come to realize that the old habits, the old arguments, are irrelevant to the challenges faced by our people. They lead nations to act in opposition to the very goals that they claim to pursue — and to vote, often in this body, against the interests of their own people. They build up walls between us and the future that our people seek, and the time has come for those walls to come down. Together, we must build new coalitions that bridge old divides — coalitions of different faiths and creeds; of north and south, east, west, black, white, and brown.
The choice is ours. We can be remembered as a generation that chose to drag the arguments of the 20th century into the 21st; that put off hard choices, refused to look ahead, failed to keep pace because we defined ourselves by what we were against instead of what we were for. Or we can be a generation that chooses to see the shoreline beyond the rough waters ahead; that comes together to serve the common interests of human beings, and finally gives meaning to the promise embedded in the name given to this institution: the United Nations.
That is the future America wants — a future of peace and prosperity that we can only reach if we recognize that all nations have rights, but all nations have responsibilities as well. That is the bargain that makes this work. That must be the guiding principle of international cooperation.
Today, let me put forward four pillars that I believe are fundamental to the future that we want for our children: non-proliferation and disarmament; the promotion of peace and security; the preservation of our planet; and a global economy that advances opportunity for all people.
First, we must stop the spread of nuclear weapons, and seek the goal of a world without them.
This institution was founded at the dawn of the atomic age, in part because man’s capacity to kill had to be contained. For decades, we averted disaster, even under the shadow of a superpower stand-off. But today, the threat of proliferation is growing in scope and complexity. If we fail to act, we will invite nuclear arms races in every region, and the prospect of wars and acts of terror on a scale that we can hardly imagine.
A fragile consensus stands in the way of this frightening outcome, and that is the basic bargain that shapes the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It says that all nations have the right to peaceful nuclear energy; that nations with nuclear weapons have a responsibility to move toward disarmament; and those without them have the responsibility to forsake them. The next 12 months could be pivotal in determining whether this compact will be strengthened or will slowly dissolve.
America intends to keep our end of the bargain. We will pursue a new agreement with Russia to substantially reduce our strategic warheads and launchers. We will move forward with ratification of the Test Ban Treaty, and work with others to bring the treaty into force so that nuclear testing is permanently prohibited. We will complete a Nuclear Posture Review that opens the door to deeper cuts and reduces the role of nuclear weapons. And we will call upon countries to begin negotiations in January on a treaty to end the production of fissile material for weapons.
I will also host a summit next April that reaffirms each nation’s responsibility to secure nuclear material on its territory, and to help those who can’t — because we must never allow a single nuclear device to fall into the hands of a violent extremist. And we will work to strengthen the institutions and initiatives that combat nuclear smuggling and theft.
All of this must support efforts to strengthen the NPT. Those nations that refuse to live up to their obligations must face consequences. Let me be clear, this is not about singling out individual nations — it is about standing up for the rights of all nations that do live up to their responsibilities. Because a world in which IAEA inspections are avoided and the United Nation’s demands are ignored will leave all people less safe, and all nations less secure.
In their actions to date, the governments of North Korea and Iran threaten to take us down this dangerous slope. We respect their rights as members of the community of nations. I’ve said before and I will repeat, I am committed to diplomacy that opens a path to greater prosperity and more secure peace for both nations if they live up to their obligations.
But if the governments of Iran and North Korea choose to ignore international standards; if they put the pursuit of nuclear weapons ahead of regional stability and the security and opportunity of their own people; if they are oblivious to the dangers of escalating nuclear arms races in both East Asia and the Middle East — then they must be held accountable. The world must stand together to demonstrate that international law is not an empty promise, and that treaties will be enforced. We must insist that the future does not belong to fear.
That brings me to the second pillar for our future: the pursuit of peace.
The United Nations was born of the belief that the people of the world can live their lives, raise their families, and resolve their differences peacefully. And yet we know that in too many parts of the world, this ideal remains an abstraction — a distant dream. We can either accept that outcome as inevitable, and tolerate constant and crippling conflict, or we can recognize that the yearning for peace is universal, and reassert our resolve to end conflicts around the world.
That effort must begin with an unshakeable determination that the murder of innocent men, women and children will never be tolerated. On this, no one can be — there can be no dispute. The violent extremists who promote conflict by distorting faith have discredited and isolated themselves. They offer nothing but hatred and destruction. In confronting them, America will forge lasting partnerships to target terrorists, share intelligence, and coordinate law enforcement and protect our people. We will permit no safe haven for al Qaeda to launch attacks from Afghanistan or any other nation. We will stand by our friends on the front lines, as we and many nations will do in pledging support for the Pakistani people tomorrow. And we will pursue positive engagement that builds bridges among faiths, and new partnerships for opportunity.
Our efforts to promote peace, however, cannot be limited to defeating violent extremists. For the most powerful weapon in our arsenal is the hope of human beings — the belief that the future belongs to those who would build and not destroy; the confidence that conflicts can end and a new day can begin.
And that is why we will support — we will strengthen our support for effective peacekeeping, while energizing our efforts to prevent conflicts before they take hold. We will pursue a lasting peace in Sudan through support for the people of Darfur and the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, so that we secure the peace that the Sudanese people deserve. (Applause.) And in countries ravaged by violence — from Haiti to Congo to East Timor — we will work with the U.N. and other partners to support an enduring peace.
I will also continue to seek a just and lasting peace between Israel, Palestine, and the Arab world. (Applause.) We will continue to work on that issue. Yesterday, I had a constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas. We have made some progress. Palestinians have strengthened their efforts on security. Israelis have facilitated greater freedom of movement for the Palestinians. As a result of these efforts on both sides, the economy in the West Bank has begun to grow. But more progress is needed. We continue to call on Palestinians to end incitement against Israel, and we continue to emphasize that America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. (Applause.)
The time has come — the time has come to re-launch negotiations without preconditions that address the permanent status issues: security for Israelis and Palestinians, borders, refugees, and Jerusalem. And the goal is clear: Two states living side by side in peace and security — a Jewish state of Israel, with true security for all Israelis; and a viable, independent Palestinian state with contiguous territory that ends the occupation that began in 1967, and realizes the potential of the Palestinian people. (Applause.)
As we pursue this goal, we will also pursue peace between Israel and Lebanon, Israel and Syria, and a broader peace between Israel and its many neighbors. In pursuit of that goal, we will develop regional initiatives with multilateral participation, alongside bilateral negotiations.
Now, I am not naïve. I know this will be difficult. But all of us — not just the Israelis and the Palestinians, but all of us — must decide whether we are serious about peace, or whether we will only lend it lip service. To break the old patterns, to break the cycle of insecurity and despair, all of us must say publicly what we would acknowledge in private. The United States does Israel no favors when we fail to couple an unwavering commitment to its security with an insistence that Israel respect the legitimate claims and rights of the Palestinians. (Applause.) And — and nations within this body do the Palestinians no favors when they choose vitriolic attacks against Israel over constructive willingness to recognize Israel’s legitimacy and its right to exist in peace and security. (Applause.)
We must remember that the greatest price of this conflict is not paid by us. It’s not paid by politicians. It’s paid by the Israeli girl in Sderot who closes her eyes in fear that a rocket will take her life in the middle of the night. It’s paid for by the Palestinian boy in Gaza who has no clean water and no country to call his own. These are all God’s children. And after all the politics and all the posturing, this is about the right of every human being to live with dignity and security. That is a lesson embedded in the three great faiths that call one small slice of Earth the Holy Land. And that is why, even though there will be setbacks and false starts and tough days, I will not waver in my pursuit of peace. (Applause.)
Third, we must recognize that in the 21st century, there will be no peace unless we take responsibility for the preservation of our planet. And I thank the Secretary General for hosting the subject of climate change yesterday.
The danger posed by climate change cannot be denied. Our responsibility to meet it must not be deferred. If we continue down our current course, every member of this Assembly will see irreversible changes within their borders. Our efforts to end conflicts will be eclipsed by wars over refugees and resources. Development will be devastated by drought and famine. Land that human beings have lived on for millennia will disappear. Future generations will look back and wonder why we refused to act; why we failed to pass on — why we failed to pass on an environment that was worthy of our inheritance.
And that is why the days when America dragged its feet on this issue are over. We will move forward with investments to transform our energy economy, while providing incentives to make clean energy the profitable kind of energy. We will press ahead with deep cuts in emissions to reach the goals that we set for 2020, and eventually 2050. We will continue to promote renewable energy and efficiency, and share new technologies with countries around the world. And we will seize every opportunity for progress to address this threat in a cooperative effort with the entire world.
And those wealthy nations that did so much damage to the environment in the 20th century must accept our obligation to lead. But responsibility does not end there. While we must acknowledge the need for differentiated responses, any effort to curb carbon emissions must include the fast-growing carbon emitters who can do more to reduce their air pollution without inhibiting growth. And any effort that fails to help the poorest nations both adapt to the problems that climate change have already wrought and help them travel a path of clean development simply will not work.
It’s hard to change something as fundamental as how we use energy. I know that. It’s even harder to do so in the midst of a global recession. Certainly, it will be tempting to sit back and wait for others to move first. But we cannot make this journey unless we all move forward together. As we head into Copenhagen, let us resolve to focus on what each of us can do for the sake of our common future.
And this leads me to the final pillar that must fortify our future: a global economy that advances opportunity for all people.
The world is still recovering from the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. In America, we see the engine of growth beginning to churn, and yet many still struggle to find a job or pay their bills. Across the globe, we find promising signs, but little certainty about what lies ahead. And far too many people in far too many places live through the daily crises that challenge our humanity — the despair of an empty stomach; the thirst brought on by dwindling water supplies; the injustice of a child dying from a treatable disease; or a mother losing her life as she gives birth.
In Pittsburgh, we will work with the world’s largest economies to chart a course for growth that is balanced and sustained. That means vigilance to ensure that we do not let up until our people are back to work. That means taking steps to rekindle demand so that global recovery can be sustained. And that means setting new rules of the road and strengthening regulation for all financial centers, so that we put an end to the greed and the excess and the abuse that led us into this disaster, and prevent a crisis like this from ever happening again.
At a time of such interdependence, we have a moral and pragmatic interest, however, in broader questions of development — the questions of development that existed even before this crisis happened. And so America will continue our historic effort to help people feed themselves. We have set aside $63 billion to carry forward the fight against HIV/AIDS, to end deaths from tuberculosis and malaria, to eradicate polio, and to strengthen public health systems. We are joining with other countries to contribute H1N1 vaccines to the World Health Organization. We will integrate more economies into a system of global trade. We will support the Millennium Development Goals, and approach next year’s summit with a global plan to make them a reality. And we will set our sights on the eradication of extreme poverty in our time.
Now is the time for all of us to do our part. Growth will not be sustained or shared unless all nations embrace their responsibilities. And that means that wealthy nations must open their markets to more goods and extend a hand to those with less, while reforming international institutions to give more nations a greater voice. And developing nations must root out the corruption that is an obstacle to progress — for opportunity cannot thrive where individuals are oppressed and business have to pay bribes. That is why we support honest police and independent judges; civil society and a vibrant private sector. Our goal is simple: a global economy in which growth is sustained, and opportunity is available to all.
Now, the changes that I’ve spoken about today will not be easy to make. And they will not be realized simply by leaders like us coming together in forums like this, as useful as that may be. For as in any assembly of members, real change can only come through the people we represent. That is why we must do the hard work to lay the groundwork for progress in our own capitals. That’s where we will build the consensus to end conflicts and to harness technology for peaceful purposes, to change the way we use energy, and to promote growth that can be sustained and shared.
I believe that the people of the world want this future for their children. And that is why we must champion those principles which ensure that governments reflect the will of the people. These principles cannot be afterthoughts — democracy and human rights are essential to achieving each of the goals that I’ve discussed today, because governments of the people and by the people are more likely to act in the broader interests of their own people, rather than narrow interests of those in power.
The test of our leadership will not be the degree to which we feed the fears and old hatreds of our people. True leadership will not be measured by the ability to muzzle dissent, or to intimidate and harass political opponents at home. The people of the world want change. They will not long tolerate those who are on the wrong side of history.
This Assembly’s Charter commits each of us — and I quote — “to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women.” Among those rights is the freedom to speak your mind and worship as you please; the promise of equality of the races, and the opportunity for women and girls to pursue their own potential; the ability of citizens to have a say in how you are governed, and to have confidence in the administration of justice. For just as no nation should be forced to accept the tyranny of another nation, no individual should be forced to accept the tyranny of their own people. (Applause.)
As an African American, I will never forget that I would not be here today without the steady pursuit of a more perfect union in my country. And that guides my belief that no matter how dark the day may seem, transformative change can be forged by those who choose to side with justice. And I pledge that America will always stand with those who stand up for their dignity and their rights — for the student who seeks to learn; the voter who demands to be heard; the innocent who longs to be free; the oppressed who yearns to be equal.
Democracy cannot be imposed on any nation from the outside. Each society must search for its own path, and no path is perfect. Each country will pursue a path rooted in the culture of its people and in its past traditions. And I admit that America has too often been selective in its promotion of democracy. But that does not weaken our commitment; it only reinforces it. There are basic principles that are universal; there are certain truths which are self-evident — and the United States of America will never waver in our efforts to stand up for the right of people everywhere to determine their own destiny. (Applause.)
Sixty-five years ago, a weary Franklin Roosevelt spoke to the American people in his fourth and final inaugural address. After years of war, he sought to sum up the lessons that could be drawn from the terrible suffering, the enormous sacrifice that had taken place. “We have learned,” he said, “to be citizens of the world, members of the human community.”
The United Nations was built by men and women like Roosevelt from every corner of the world — from Africa and Asia, from Europe to the Americas. These architects of international cooperation had an idealism that was anything but naïve — it was rooted in the hard-earned lessons of war; rooted in the wisdom that nations could advance their interests by acting together instead of splitting apart.
Now it falls to us — for this institution will be what we make of it. The United Nations does extraordinary good around the world — feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, mending places that have been broken. But it also struggles to enforce its will, and to live up to the ideals of its founding.
I believe that those imperfections are not a reason to walk away from this institution — they are a calling to redouble our efforts. The United Nations can either be a place where we bicker about outdated grievances, or forge common ground; a place where we focus on what drives us apart, or what brings us together; a place where we indulge tyranny, or a source of moral authority. In short, the United Nations can be an institution that is disconnected from what matters in the lives of our citizens, or it can be an indispensable factor in advancing the interests of the people we serve.
We have reached a pivotal moment. The United States stands ready to begin a new chapter of international cooperation — one that recognizes the rights and responsibilities of all nations. And so, with confidence in our cause, and with a commitment to our values, we call on all nations to join us in building the future that our people so richly deserve.
Thank you very much, everybody.
Experts On Sub Saharan Human Trafficking Meet In Maryland, USA
NATIONAL HARBOR MD – In a bid to implement the target objectives in response to the Ouagadougou 2002 and Rabat 2006 meets, sub Saharan African experts on Human trafficking and responsible travel and tourism are hosting a world summit at the magnificent Gaylord Resort and convention centre at the National Harbor in Maryland.
The summit which was organized by the African Tourism Organization – ATO, an advocacy group based in Washington DC and the secretariat in Gambia, was largely supported by the Prince Georges County in Maryland, USA.
In a coincidental and related development, the White house in Washington DC recently released a presidential determination with respect to foreign Governments efforts regarding trafficking in persons consistent with section 110 of the trafficking victims protection Act 2000.
Some of the key objectives of the summit include to establish partnerships to address existing environmental issues to combat human trafficking including sex tourism through the use of 21st century visual technology, increase understanding and responsiveness by African Governments and initiate training forums to implement programs consistent with signed affirmation adopted by participating Heads of States through the round table summit.
County Executive of Prince George’s county in Maryland Jack Johnson who arrived on schedule expressed his optimism at the achievement of the objectives of the summit. He added that his County was committed to curbing or eliminating the menace of human trafficking and enjoined other local agencies to be part of the efforts. Prince George’s County has the most diverse number of residents who speak about 100 different languages.
The moderator, Ndioro Ndiaye, President; Alliance for Migration, Leadership and Development, Geneva, chair; counter trafficking France and deputy DG; Africa International Organization for Migration called for a better collaboration and understanding amongst other counter trafficking agencies in destination countries.
The Unit head of the UK human trafficking center, Nick Kensella during his presentation called for the input of North African Countries to the Summit as they serve as routes for most trafficking to Europe. He added that the UK was willing to incorporate a modular style of training for anti trafficking personnel from source and passage nations.
Laar Loof of the Children’s unit, Council of the Baltic States also stated that his group will continue to identify, support and implement cooperation on children at risk between countries and organizations in the Baltic region especially adopting the ethics of responsible travel and tourism.
In his own remarks, HE Lansana Kouyate, ATO Honorary Chair, UN Ambassador, ECOWAS SEC GEN; Former Prime Minister of Guinea encouraged participating officials to establish an agreeable working understanding thus leading to a dynamic flow of information amongst member countries. H.E Kouyate who arrived from Asia to be at the Summit recalled a lesson he learn’t on a visit to his Child’s school. Written on the board was a definition of Responsibility: “the ability to Respond”.
H.E Kouyate enjoined all participants of the summit to respond to the call of responsible Tourism while propagating the ill’s of human trafficking. Kouyate enjoined victim countries not to recall the shame of trafficking but instead “Combat it”.
The Director General of ATO Ibiduni (DUNI) Jones in her closing remarks expressed her optimism over the actualization of the objectives of the Summit and commended all the speakers who contributed immensely through the wealth of information shared at the event. She also acknowledged the assistance rendered to the organization through the years by H.E Kouyate whom she met for the first time in person at the summit.
Officials Present at the Summit;
- Hon. Jack B. Johnson, Executive, Prince Georges County, MD, USA
- H.E Lansana Kouyate, Ecowas Sec Gen, Former Prime Minister of Guinea
- Simon Egede, Executive Secretary, NAPTIP, Nigeria
- Mia Nyegaard, Hope-Now, Denmark
- Eric Chinje, Manager, World Bank, Washington DC, USA
- Laar Loof, Head, Children’s Unit, Council of the Baltic Sea States
- Nick Kinsella, Unit Head, United Kingdom Human Trafficking Center, Shefield, England
- Prof. Sulayman Nyang, African studies, Howard University, USA
- Prof.Ndiaye Ndioro, Chair, Alliance for Migration Leadership and Development, Geneva
- Mmabatho Ramagoshi, VP, ATO Advocacy Group, the Gambia
- Ibiduni (DUNI) Jones, Director General, ATO, USA-the Gambia
- Rev.Bandy Kennedy, Walker Mill Community Development Cooperation
- Hon. Anna Kachikho, Minister of Tourism, Malawi
- Hon. Henry Shawulu, Member Federal House of Reps, Nigeria
- John Afele , Volunteer, COO, The United States –West Africa Group
- Moriyina Cole, MBA ,Health and The Environment, Albany, New York ,USA
- Anne Radd, Volunteers for Abuse and Neglected Children (Court Appointed Advocate),DC
- Cecil Byrd, International Graduate University ,Washington D.C
- James N. Garnett, Jr – JGR Associates International, Inc. USA
http://www.african-tourism.org/
Photos and report by Tosan Aduayi for Trendy Africa. Trendy Africa is a Multi Media Production Company based in Texas and are Publishers of Trendy Africa Magazine, Trendy Africa Fashion Xtra and www.trendyafrica.com
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