Brussels, Belgium- A youth summit bringing together more than 60 young social entrepreneurs— aged between 18 and 25 years—from Africa and Europe came to an end on June 27, 2012 with the participants gaining hands on skills in project management. The Euro-Africa Youth Summit organized by the Global Changemakers (GCM) Organization in collaboration with British Council sought to introduce young people working as volunteers or owners of non governmental organizations to the environment that they work in and equip them with skills to effectively manage and run their projects.

Involving discussions and presentations from already established social entrepreneurs, the summit also explored the existing relations between Africa and Europe. Enlightening the participants on the Africa- Europe financial environments, Sean Cleary, Founder of the Future World Foundation said it is not about politicians but rather about individuals and how they behave that will shape the future. He urged the participants to take charge and affect the change they want to see in their communities.

Speaking on the kind of partnerships that Euro-Africa is engaged in, Ambassador Ajay Kumar Bramdeo noted that long gone are the days when partnerships were subjected to weighing scales and it was time to welcome participatory democracy. He lamented about the double standards currently applied by the European Union when they react to various issues happening in Europe and Africa.

“When Israel kicks out African immigrants no one says anything, yet when Africa speaks out about sexual orientation there is someone to say something,” Bramdeo quipped. The EU should not be selective when preaching about human rights.

In conclusion, he noted that it is cumbersome for Africa to carry out its regional mandate as a union as it only has had about ten years of evolving against the European Union’s 60 years of evolution.

“Give us time to find our way of evolution. Listen to us and treat us as equals,” Bramdeo implored.

To strengthen their understanding about legislation and the European Union’s policy on the youth, the 60 participants had a rare moment when they visited the European Economic and Social Committee parliament where they were further enlightened on how the EU carries out the legislation. They were also introduced to the world of campaigning for social causes by speakers drawn from various organizations including Oxfam, Climate Action Network, European Youth Press, Friends of the Earth among many other independent social entrepreneurs.

Did the participants have a new look at things?

They sure had learned a lot. And in his speech during the closing ceremony, Oliver Rieche, a Law student from Germany said:

“I’ve been to a few conferences, but for the first time I have met so many Africans at once, which has been one of the most genuine and sincere encounters thus far. I think it is not Africa that needs to learn a lot from Europe, as we Westerners often arrogantly believe, but it is us, Europeans, who need to rethink the way we run our societies and get rid of that elbow society which I experience back home in Germany.”  Thanking the British Council he further said, “You have given us the tools to become the leaders we want to be in the future, now it is time for us to grab those tools and make it happen.”

Global Changemakers is a British Council funded by the global youth network of social entrepreneurs and community activists from 126 countries worldwide. Its mission is to empower youth to catalyze positive social change, something which it achieves through learning and teaching, global and regional summits, community and personal capacity building, supported by free online curriculum.

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Washington, U.S.A. - Members of the U.S.-based NGO alliance InterAction released the following statements on the outcomes of the G20 Summit:

Neil Watkins, Director of Policy and Campaigns, ActionAid USA stated, “with food prices swinging wildly and the planet burning, this was the moment for bold proposals from the G20. Instead, on food security and climate change, the G20 turned in last year’s homework, content to reaffirm old plans and commission more studies.”

John Ruthrauff, Director of International Advocacy of InterAction said, “InterAction is pleased that the G20 declaration expresses support for a number of important development issues. These include the supporting Scaling Up Nutrition, launching the AgResults initiative, extending the Anti-Corruption Working Group’s mandate for two years, and phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. Unfortunately, these words of support are not accompanied by concrete steps, action plans, or benchmarks for completion.”

Michael Elliott, CEO of ONE claimed, “Political courage seems to be in short supply in Los Cabos. The G20 has consistently promised a lot, but delivered very little. The Seoul and Cannes summits gave us hope that a new drive on development had begun, but too much of the work that was started has not been advanced by leaders in Los Cabos. Leaders must match their rhetoric by ensuring that their stated desire to address global poverty is backed-up by concrete action in the months ahead.”

Carlos Zarco, the Executive Director of Oxfam Mexico also made a statement saying, “this is a hugely disappointing outcome for developing countries. Europe’s crisis must be fixed because it’s becoming a serious drain on developing countries. But it is not good enough for the G20 to have fought over growth versus austerity in Europe. Leaders failed to keep the world’s poorest in their sights, despite the fact that more than half these people live in G20 countries.”

World Vision also released a statement claiming, “we are pleased to see a greater emphasis on nutrition included in food security solutions; however this year’s G20 Summit represents a missed opportunity to lead nutrition-specific solutions. The Summit focused more on recycling previous commitments and sharing best practices and not enough on making measurable political commitments in the fight against poverty and hunger.”

Image Courtesy of  Oxfam International

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Washington, U.S.A - International agency Oxfam warned that the announcement of the “New Alliance to Increase Food and Nutrition Security” focuses too heavily on the role of the private sector to tackle the complex challenges of food insecurity in the developing world. The organization called instead for G8 leaders to keep the promises they have already made to help developing countries invest in sustainable solutions to hunger and poverty.

“The New Alliance is neither new nor a true alliance,” said Oxfam’s Lamine Ndiaye. “The rhetoric invokes small-scale producers, particularly women, but the plan must do more to bring them to the table.” Smallholder farmers, many of whom are women, make up the majority of hungry people in poor countries and are key agents of change in their communities.

Three years ago, at the G8 Summit in L’Aquila, Italy, and President Obama rallied the leaders of the world’s richest countries to pledge $22 billion to poor countries that had good plans to tackle hunger. Seven months away from the end of the L’Aquila initiative, dozens of poor countries have lived up to their end of the bargain, but the G8 is falling down on the job.

“President Obama deserves credit for focusing the G8′s attention on the fact that one billion people go to bed hungry every night,” said Oxfam’s Gregory Adams. “We applaud the clear focus on the target of helping 50 million people escape hunger and poverty through agriculture.”

“G8 leaders should join President Obama to commit resources to help developing countries reach this ambitious goal. The pledge to find $1.2 billion for the trust fund to support country agriculture plans is a good start. But the G8 should recommit to the partnership they began at L’Aquila and maintain that level of investments. Otherwise, they’ll be offering a shrinking solution to a growing problem.”

The alliance includes 45 companies from around the world, representing what G8 leaders hope will be the missing link to achieve transformational development in poor countries. While there is a positive role for the private sector in the fight against global hunger, the plan’s top down approach does not reflect what many people in poor countries say they want or need. The average private sector role in existing country food security plans, the basis for the L’Aquila agreement, is about 5%, and most have no role at all.

“This new alliance – is a nice complement at best, a deflection at worst. The role of the private sector is important, but they will not be able to make up for the G8′s broken promises,” said Ndiaye. “Smallholder farmers need the freedom to pursue their own growing strategies, not take overly-prescriptive tips on farming from G8 leaders, or one size fits all technologies from far away CEOs.”

A number of African civil society leaders and groups publicly raised concerns about the path the G8 is taking on food security in an open a letter to the G8 and a declaration signed at a Committee on World Food Security Consultation for African civil society groups in April of 2012.

“Having been developed without African civil society, it’s unclear what role they will play in its execution,” said Ndiaye.

The plan mentions but must do more to address the growing threats of climate change and natural resource constraints. And while the G8′s initiative endorses the United Nations Voluntary Guidelines on Land Tenure, an important step forward in preventing land grabs, they make a misstep in also legitimizing a weaker World Bank standard.

“Unless the G8 reaffirms and continues its L’Aquila pledges, they are passing the buck on global hunger,” said Adams. “The private sector, especially local small and medium enterprises, can play an important role in tackling food security, but G8 leaders have to first deliver on their end of the deal.”

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It is possibly not yet a household name, but it is probable that the voice and the face are. Natalie Imbruglia appears on television, in cinemas, in advertising and on the radio and in concert. Last year, she was a judge on the Australian ‘X-Factor’; this year might be busier. Ms. Imbruglia will be the spokesmodel for  the jewelry company, Kailis, with both supporting The Salvation Army. She is also working on her fifth album, to be released next year.

Ms. Imbruglia writes much of her own pop music. Her first album, ‘Left of the Middle’ (1997), crammed her display-cabinet with over a dozen awards, particularly for its first single, ‘Torn.’ The album sold over 2 million copies, achieving ‘Platinum’ status. Her next two albums, ‘White Lilies Island,’ and ‘Counting Down the Days,’ each brought nominations and awards as well.

Her first starring role, in 2009’s ‘Closed for Winter,’ earned her a best-actress nomination at the Asian Festival of First Films. It was not such a long time acting from her early days in TV. By seventeen, she had landed a role in the Australian television-institution, ‘Neighbours.’ This is the same series that launched a few Australians, including Kylie Minogue, another model singing-actress (or acting model-singer?).

Ms. Imbruglia left the show and pursued a recording career, but she has returned to TV several times over the years. Some shows have featured Ms. Imbruglia’s acting, but even more have presented her music. Her songs have been performed in a number of films as well.

It was her supporting role in the comedy ‘Johnny English’ (2003), starring Rowan Atkinson, that has been her greatest film exposure in North America so far. The film received mixed reviews, although it performed well. Ms. Imbruglia’s performance and charisma were among the positive reviews. Not just another pretty face.

But Ms. Imbruglia certainly has a pretty face. She was a spokesmodel for L’Oréal for five years, and has appeared on TV and in print for such companies as The Gap. That pretty face also promotes charitable causes such as cancer-research campaigns, Oxfam, PETA and Make Poverty History. She will be working with Kailis over the next two years; one of the jewelry lines was designed with Ms. Imbruglia. Part of the proceeds will benefit The Salvation Army’s Oasis Youth Support Network.

It is very likely Natalie Imbruglia will continue to increase her following in both her music and her screen careers. After problems with her record labels, her album’s release next year will be hotly anticipated, as will her next acting role. She might need to expand her display-cabinet.

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