LXVIII - December 5th, International Volunteer Day

         Next week is celebrated the volunteer day, so this is my tribute to these very important persons. This post is a summary of two articles published at http://www.un.org/. The first with the title of, "On international volunteer day, Ban highlights how digital-age offers more opportunities for volunteerism." On December,5th 2012. The second with the title of, "Volunteerism one of  'clearest expressions of solidarity in action,' and an effective, sustainable force for development, General Assembly told." On December,5th 2011.

         Marking International Volunteer Day, U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon saluted volunteers around the world, saying that the information age had provided them with new opportunities to offer their services. " The timeless act of volunteering in the services of others has taken on new dimensions in digital-age, anyone with an internet connection or a mobile phone can make a difference." He said. The U.N. general assembly designated 5 December as International Volunteer Day in 1985 and its aims to give volunteers everywhere a platform to promote their contribution to development at the local, national and international levels. " As we celebrate the impact of volunteers on our world, let us remember the many places they are needed : in war zones and classrooms, in hospitals and wherever struggling people seek a helping hand. Let us also remember that volunteering can embrace all people, from activists who works full-time, to the citizen who reaches out when he or she can," Mr. Ban said. In a separate message, the executive coordinator for U.N.V. (United Nations Volunteers), Flavia Pansieri, echoed Mr. Ban appreciation of volunteers and said, " volunteerism plays a significant role in achieving the millenium development goals. It plays a healing role by rebuilding trust in a post-conflict society. And its values, of solidarity and engagement, inspire us to live sustainably."

         Describing a day in the life of the average U.N. volunteer, Flavia Pansieri said, " that they were working in areas of their professional expertise and sometimes in the context of hardship and danger." Those men and women were doing so because they believed in solidarity and personal commitment. " There is much to celebrate this year in terms of achievements by the volunteer community. The priorities were clear: volunteer activities and their results needed to be documented and new ways to measure those impacts needed to be found. And we can see no better way to celebrate than to have volunteerism recognized as a real and effective force for development," she concluded. Similarly, Helen Clark, administrator of the U.N.D.P. ( an development programme ), noted that the strong links between volunteerism, peace and human development were still not widely acknowledge by governments. Clearly the pursuit of human development and overall well-being could be enhanced by the contribution of volunteerism. Another highlight of the meeting was the launch of the first-ever 'state of the world`s volunteerism report.' Robert Leigh, one of the authors of the survey, pointing to the ongoing impact of popular protests in North Africa and the Middle East, he said that never had the potential been greater for citizens to be primary actors, rather than passive bystanders, in their communities, as well as nationally and globally. " Increasingly, people are able to affect the course of events that shape their destiny. Volunteerism was one of the primary ways for people to get involved," He said. The report also offered a word of warning, he said, " It should not absolve governments and other actors of their responsibilities. They must to play their vital role in ensuring an environment that was conductive for volunteerism to flourish." Vice-president of the general assembly Nassir al-Nasser, said, " Volunteering is the people-centred approach to peace, humanitarian response and sustainable development. It strengthens trust, solidarity and reciprocity among citizens, and empowered change from the grassroots up." Nonetheless, the contribution of volunteers had not yet been sufficiently recognized. He said, " together, let us commit to promoting and supporting volunteerism as an important factor to the achievement of international peace and development," He stressed, offering his thanks to the unsung heroes that were volunteers around the world.

Reach out - move, attempt to comunicate.

Reciprocity - situation in which two parties provide the same help to each other.

Enhance - increase the quality, value, or extent of.

Grassroots - the origin or basis of something.

Bystander - person who is present at an event but not take part in it.

LXVII - Brazil Protests Mark Evolution of Digital-Age Democracy

            This post is a summary of two articles. The first with the title above, published on June, 21, 2013. At http://mediarelations.cornell.edu. The second, with the title of, " A new era of digital protest." Published on October, 15, 2013.   Athttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/latin-america. Written by the researchers at Igarapé Institute, Robert Muggah and Gustavo Diniz.

           Two Cornell University experts comment on the widespread, spontaneous protests that began in Brazil over an increase in bus fares. They are: Kenneth Roberts, professor of governance and Murillo Campello, Brazilian native, professor of management. The first to analyse is Campello, he said, " differents segments of society angry about a myriad of issues, marching together, and there are no specific, large cause bringing people together on the streets. There is no leadership to speak of. The manifestations are spontaneous, organized via web, and they are noisy, albeit peaceable. Brazilians may be showing that 'voting' can take place every day on the streets. The democratic process in the digital age may be much too dynamic to wait for years until the next elections." Roberts said, " the recent outbreak of social protests in Brazil has taken many people by surprise, since the country is recognized to be a rising power. In recent years the country has taken strides to stabilize democracy and address social needs, while maintaining economic growth. However, the protests clearly indicate that progress has been too slow for some people, and many are demanding a greater efficiency of public services."

           The mass demonstrations convulsing Brazil since June 2013 are more than a raw display of people power. They confirm a new era of digitally enhanced protest. The recent clashes are just the latest iteration of a protest sweeping across the world. Its rapid spread is the ultimate expression of open empowerment, the emboldening of millions of wired young people worldwide to press for change. While protests occurring in Brazil, Bulgaria, Egypt are clearly distinct, there are nevertheless some common characteristics that unite them. Chief among these is the central role of educated youth in agitating for a new kind of politics. the early 21st century has given rise to a familiar agent of social change: middle-class youth with limited horizons, with decent education and rising expectations, but bleak employment prospects. In Brazil, as elsewhere, these young people have real grievances. They do not feel represented by their government or legislatures, yet they possess distinct advantages over their contemporaries from centuries past. They are tech savvy. In countries that are increasingly wired, some 40% of Brazilians are now online, forming the 2º largest block of facebook users in the world, they are a powerful constituency, They are highly networked and underwhelmed by conventional ideologies or top-down hierarchies. And while operating in highly decentralized networks, they have a sense of their capabilities. Not surprisingly, social nets are viewed with suspicion by the political establishment. Many government are finding difficult to control the public narrative in a world where information' is available in realtime, and on an unfathomable scale. Their responses vary from seeking to improve the efficiency of e-governance to police cyber-space. In most cases, including Brazil, they have resorted to new forms of social media surveillance and monitoring. But they do so at their peril. In brazil and elsewhere, the digital revolution needs to be complemented with a similar evolution in democratic governance and the creation of new channels of participation.

LXVI - Political Reform

              This post is a summary of four articles. The first with the title of, "Datasenado ouve sobre reforma política." Published at, "http://www.senado.gov.br/, " on September, 5th, 2013. The second with the title of, "Para maioria dos brasileiros,  país precisa de reforma política urgentemente." Published on November, 11th 2013. At,  http://www.redebrasilatual.com.br/. The third paragraph is about the results obtained in  http://edemocracia.camara.gov.br/web/reforma-politica/. The fourth, with the title of, "Metade da população se declara nada informada sobre a reforma política." Published on August, 26  2013,   at  http://www.ibope.com.br/

           The Datasenado held during some weeks a opinion poll on topics that concern the called political reform, the results reveal that, 84% believe that the political reform would be benefical to the country. 58% approve the district vote. 78% want to vote in the candidate, not in closed partisan list. 64% want the majoritarian system of elections for parlamentaries members and councilors. 49% said that the political campaign should receive only private money. The maintenance of partisan coalitions and the unification of elections has the support of half, 50% of the surveyed. 69% want the optional vote, they think that to vote should not be compulsory, but a right freely exercised.

            For 54% of the brazilians surveyed, the main reform to be held is the political reform, in second place with 15% is the legal reform. 87% said that the public health is the sector which need more improvements. In second place is the public education with 50% and in the third place is the public security with 34%. The opinion poll was made by CNT ( National Confederation of Trasportation ) and Institute MDA. And the survey taker wanted to know also about the level of concern of Brazilians, what most worries the people. in the first place, violence with 91%, in second place corruption with 83%, in third cost of living with 73%, in fourth personal debts with 63%, in fifth unemployment with 60%.

            In the web community called political reform were presented several ideas to be debated and voted, among those ideas, the three with most points, this mean most voted, were: in the first place with 71 points was the direct democracy, projects of law of popular initiative for referendums and plebiscites. In the second place with 69 points was the end of parlamentaries privilleges such as office material-aid, housing-aid, airplanes tickets, etc. In the third place with 68 points was the end of secret vote for parlamentaries.

         The political reform is an issue that has been in the news midia in Brazil. Opinion poll of Ibope show that 52% of Brazilians said to be nothing informed about this issue, knowing nothing about it and 34% said to be little informed about this issue. However 72% of them said that agree with its implementation, while 18% does not agree. When spontaneously asked about some measures in debates, 23% mentioned about the end of secret vote in the parlament and 22% mentioned about the end of obrigatory vote. The proposed district vote is preferred by 40%. While 23% said that they would like to keep the system like is today. Others 17% said that should be a mix of the two systems. The poll also show that 51% considers the open list the most appropiate way, this is, the same way like today.

LXV - Taking the Pulse of Brazil`s ICT Sector

               This post is a summary of three articles. The first with the title above, published at  http://www.zdnet.com/taking-the-pulse-of-brazils-ict-sector. The second, with the title of, "Malaysia turns to technology in bid to reach high-income status by 2020." Published at http://www.theguardian.com/uk on June,27, 2013. And the third with the title of, "Global Information Technology Report 2013." Published at  http://www.weforum.org/reports/global-information-technology-report-2013.

              A huge driver behind the country`s global economy growth is ICT (information and communications technologies). Brazil`s ICT sector is the fifth largest of the world, enough to make it 8.5% of the Brazil GDP. The industry folks of the country sees IT as an engine of economic growth and a competitive advantage on the global stage. Sergio Pessoa, marketing director at Brasscom, industry association of ICT companies in Brazil said, " Brazil is the fifth largest market in ICT, but if you look at IT, without communications, we are the seventh largest, behind also France and Germany. We have lots of cases of success of utilization of tech. We are one of the largest manufacturers of airplanes. We have the third largest market for PCs and the fifth for mobile phones. Because markets are growing rapidly, we have a lot of pressure in human capital. You have to develop that, so we are working with universities and tech colleges to better align curricula with what the market demands. Language is also a challenge. It is an issue we are working on to continue to promote English education. From a domestic market perspective, there is a huge potential still untapped. Two examples: education and health, so there are significant opportunities to grow in those areas. There are two pillars you have to have: human capital and infrastructure. The risks for us are is ensure that we are delivering quality human capital, technical and language skills to be globally competitive. Education is a key component of that. It has been a big barrier for success here. But also growing quickly has put a lot of stress on existing infrastructure. It can become a barrier also. We have to compete with China, India, Korea, and those countries are putting a great emphasis on education. We have to keep pace with that."         

            Malaysia is pinning its hopes on high-end engineering research and development in a bid to cement its economic transformation. Having established itself as an Asian tiger, Malaysia is now banking on technology to achieve its ambitious goal of attaining high-income status by 2020. The struggle lies in overcoming the "middle-income trap," as countries move up the economic ladder, they lose their comparative advantage of cheap labor, labor-intensive manufacture. At the same time, they lack the skill levels and infrastructure to compete with higher-level countries. "High tech is a priority in Malaysia`s economic transformation," explain Datuk Ghazali , chief of the government`s multimedia development corporation. Set up in 1996, the corporation oversees Malaysia`s ICT development initiative. He said, " we can not compete with China and we do not want to compete with India on call centers. We are more interested in high-end engineering research and development." (R&D). Information and communication technology ( ICT ) constitutes 10.5% of GDP in Malaysia, and the goal is to boost it to 17% by 2020. The focus on technology starts on schools. Primary and secondary schools are being equipped with wireless connection and netbooks devices, the government wants one devices for every five students by next year. In higher education, the government is strengthening ties with international universities.

            The WEF Global IT Report shows that digitization has a measurable effect on economic growth and job creation. In emerging markets, a digital boost could help lift over half a billion people out of poverty over the next decade. New tech have already transformed sectors from healthcare to farming, studies in the report show.  The assessment is based on a broad range of indicators from internet access and adult literacy to mobile phone subscriptions and the availability of venture capital, In addition, indicators such as patent applications and e-government services gauge the social and economic impact of digitization. The BRICS economies, led by Russia (55th) continue to lag behind in the rankings. The report suggests that their rapid economic growth may be in jeopardy unless the right investments are made in ICT, skills and innovation. China ranks in 58th, followed by Brazil in 60th, India in 68th and South Africa 70th. Broadband could revitalize economic growth. Government play a crucial role in supporting this digital development, from funding broadband to addressing issues such as privacy and security. ICT could improve healthcare, reduce medical errors, cut administrative costs and keep patients better informed. ICT could also improve coordination of care for patients with chronic diseases and increase the uptake of preventive services. Colombia, Uruguay and Panama(46th) have become champions of e-government and connectivity. In Colombia(66th), internet connections have tripled in the last two and half years. In Uruguay(52th), small and medium-sized enterprises helped lift tech exports to US$ 225 million in 2010. But several challenges remain, funds to build infrastructure are limited and many people can not afford internet access.