 |
Forming community action groups as part of Future Generations Local Governance and Community Development program in central Afghanistan: See photo essay below. Photos by: Duaine Goodno |
|||
| C O N T E N T S | Future Generations around the globe…
most recently updated April 2008 We're happy to share the following news and announcements about Future Generations' projects, colleagues, and collaborators: 1. Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Green Long March 2. An Advocate for Child Survival: Dean Pierre-Marie Metangmo 3. Afghanistan Site Director, Abdullah Barat, gives closing comments on a two-hour CBC documentary on Afghanistan 4. A Photo Essay of the winter activities of Future Generations in Afghanistan We plan to add more news every month to share an up-to-date snapshot of Future Generations' activities around the world with our many friends and colleagues. Do visit often. |
|||
 |
||||
| 2008 Opening Ceremonies of the Green Long March Beijing On April 5, 2008, the 2008 Green Long March got underway with the cheering applause of 10,000 students and teachers from 58 universities from across China. Continuing on the momentum of the 2007 March that raised environmental awareness across 22 provinces, the 2008 March includes an expanded set of activities to help foster long-term practical solutions for China's environment. This year, as they march along ten routes, students will conduct a survey on the green enterprises and businesses in China. In addition, Future Generations will be partnering with Beijing Forestry University to help develop 50 communities as model eco-communities to serve as regional demonstration and training centers for environmental practice. And, the organization has launched a Green Long March scholars program that will give four-year university scholarships and extensive supplemental training to 60 students from China's rural provinces. At the Opening Ceremonies, Beijing Forestry Professor and Party Secretary Roderick Woo delivered the opening address, emphasizing that proactive participation across all sectors of society is required to achieve China’s new goal of building an ecological society, citing lifestyle adjustments as a necessary step. Professor Wu Bin of Beijing Forestry University stressed environmental education and praised national youth participation in the Green Long March as an important vehicle for “spreading green culture and building Green civilizations...and a harmonious society” across China. Local celebrities were also out in force as Green Ambassadors to lend their support for the Green Long March, among them internationally recognized actor Wang Baoqiang, opera singer Dai Yuqiang, Olympic diving champion Wang Kelan, and pop star Chen Sisi. Singer Zhang Mai, once a PLA officer, emphasized the national importance of green responsibility by identifying herself, despite her celebrity status, as no different from anyone else in urgent need to take responsibility for protecting China’s environment. But the ceremony truly began at Zhoukoudian on the outskirts of Beijing where 150 students from Beijing Forestry University had gathered early in the morning for a large-scale tree-planting expedition. The group was led by a number of Forestry Science students, several of whom had participated on the Green Long March last year. These leaders expertly guided the students through the process of digging soil, positioning roots, shaping water channels, and planting trees until the once brown slopes overlooking Zhoukoudian were dotted with the green of newly-planted saplings. Students were soon comparing figures on the number of trees they had each planted, with a record 15 trees planted by one Forestry Science student in the space of half an hour. This student was in fact a participant on the Grand Canal route of the Green Long March last year. When asked about his experience on the Grand Canal route, he said: “I feel that although it was a very small group of us marching on that Grand Canal route, the fact that we were on foot and managed to reach so many villages and speak to so many people really made a difference. I’m confident that at the very least, the people we interacted with, and discussed the environment with will speak to more people and through this grassroots, word-of-mouth means, we can truly influence attitudes to protecting the environment.” Foreign press coverage of the event included: PRI’s The World, the Olympic Review, and Swiss Television. |
||||
 |
||||
| An Advocate for Child Survival: Dean Pierre-Marie Metangmo
On March 13, 2008, Dean of the Future Generations Graduate School, Pierre-Marie Metangmo testified before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health as an advocate of the U.S. Goverment's support of the global Child Survival and Health Grants program. Dr. Metangmo joined a panel of speakers including the Honorable William Frist, David Oot of Save the Children, and Anne Peterson of World Vision. Dr. Metangmo's full testimony is available by clicking <here>. |
||||
| Afghanistan, a CBC premier features Bayman Site Director, Abdullah Barat
On March 23, 2008, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation featured Afghanistan: Between Hope and Fear, a documentary that explores whether the lives of ordinary Afghan people are improving. The documentary concludes with a statement by Abdullah Barat, who left Canada in 2002 to return to his home of Bayman. Abdullah Barat has been working as the Bayman Site Director of Future Generations Afghanistan to encourage partnership among the people and build capacity for local governance. Together, the people of the Shaidan Valley of Bamyan have made significant progress in re-creating their village councils (shuras), replanting trees, reaching out to the government for services like schools, and enforcing a local ban on poppy production. In 2007, our affiliate organization, Future Generations Canada became the primary sponsor of this work. To learn more, the documentary is available for viewing online by clicking <here> . |
||||
| Photo Essay Local Governance and Community Development activities in Central Afghansitan. Photos by: Duaine Goodno The winters have been long in central Afghanistan, but have not prevented community leaders from working together to form community action groups to work toward local solutions for priority needs. As part of the Local Governance and Community Development project, Future Generations Afghanistan is working in five districts of Ghazni Province to build local capacity for governance. Community action groups are organized to begin addressing local priorities. |
 |
|||
 |
When asked about the types of projects they want to implement, many communities request literacy training for women and girls. Over the course of the winter, more than 76 home health and literacy courses, most held in mosques, have been established. | |||
| It is the role of the community mobilizer, trained by Future Generations Afghanistan, to reach out and provide training in these remote districts. These women and men gather at the organization's learning center in Jaghori District for a winter's training meeting for community mobilizers. |  |
|||
All contents of this site © Future Generations, unless otherwise credited . |
Contact Information
Future Generations |
|||
 |
|
|
|
|