From: Brian D Williams (talon57@well.com)
Date: Fri Aug 30 2002 - 08:07:14 MDT
Some members of the list (Greg Burch) have expressed interest
in this in the past.
Friends of Greenstar:
Here is a special edition of The Edge, Greenstars
newsletter about people, culture, energy, and
independence. Now more than 15,000 subscribers
strong, in 65 countries worldwide.
The following press release comes from the Greenstar
team in Johannesburg, South Africa, mid-way through the
historic Earth Summit:
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Outside the Velvet Rope
at the World Summit in Johannesburg
The unofficial "brainstorm summit"
has better ideas
Contact:
Susan Older, Press Office
Greenstar, New York City:
+1-646-486-0454; email older@mindspring.com
AUGUST 30, 2002; JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA: Whats
missing at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg?
George W. Bush, for one thing, but that doesnt really
matter. The United States is well-represented by
Secretary of State Colin Powell. The summit isnt
supposed to be about personalities. Its about
eradicating poverty through "sustainable" solutions and
promoting development thats people-friendly and
environmentally-sound.
Also missing is any real agreement between the haves and
the have-nots. As predicted, developing countries are
asking for more aid, and developed countries are
concerned that contributions may not make it past
government officials to reach the poor.
Whats missing most of all? A word. The official name of
the conference is The World Summit on Sustainable
Development. "Sustainable" means surviving, or lasting.
It does not convey the dynamic growth and change needed
to bring self-reliance to the 2.3 billion impoverished
people in our world.
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Greenstar, one group attending the summit, takes
particular issue with the word. "The term 'sustainable
development' is self-defeating," says Michael North,
president of Greenstar. "It fosters passive policies that
seek only to feed themselves, not to grow independently.
It's a good-faith attempt, but it aims too low, so it
will fail. We can do better than 'sustainable.'"
Greenstar proposes an alternative, a word from the
ancient language of Hawaii: "ohana", which means "family
and community, gathering together."
As governments wrangle over how much money theyll fling
at huge, intractable problems, hundreds of private
enterprise and volunteer groups, represented by 10,000
people from around the world, are meeting outside the
sleek velvet ropes of the official summit chambers to
talk about small, realistic answers. They may not wear
the coveted security photo badges around their necks, but
they often have what the official delegates lack: real
experience, a personal connection with people in
developed countries, and the vision thing.
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At places like the Ubuntu Exhibition (held under the
world's largest tensile tent), these people are
brainstorming with each other to provide realistic
strategies that take simple, tough solutions straight to
the people who need help the most. And theres no lack of
such tools; they just dont get mentioned much inside the
hushed, secure hallways of the conference center where
the heads of state are meeting.
Greenstar has brought together a number of these "Tools
for Independence" at Ubuntu. Since 1998, Greenstar has
been deploying a set of tools to rural villages so far
to India, Jamaica, Ghana and the West Bank with great
success. As a result, the companys delegation is highly
visible at the unofficial brainstorming summit.
The Tools for Independence are 12 proven programs that
can make a real and tangible difference in the daily
lives of people in a poor village. They include health,
education, energy, environment and communications, and
come from many different organizations in countries
ranging from Nigeria to Kenya, India, the UK and the USA.
Greenstar serves as a platform for these tightly focused,
self-generating strategies that go direct to the people
fostering an attitude of independence in small villages
through education, technology and revenue-producing plans
that build on indigenous culture and traditions.
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"We asked ourselves: what kind of program would be more
than sustainable -- able to earn its own way? And it
wasn't programs that rely on continual donations from
thousands of miles away," says Greenstars North. "It was
small businesses that stimulate people's instinct for
self-reliance, that are fueled by natural assets and
talents they already possess. That's how we developed the
Greenstar 'digital culture' program, which markets
original music, artwork, poetry, dance and legends from a
traditional village to the world."
"People's language and vision, their relationship to the
earth as expressed in their arts, are a huge untapped
asset, and a potential source of income to supply their
basic needs," added Charles Gay, a Greenstar executive
who is on hand in Johannesburg. "We help with media
production, business and marketing; the people in the
village are the ones with the real talent, and they
decide how to invest the income in solar power, clean
water, vaccination programs, computers for their schools,
local micro-enterprise, or many other options. They
examine our Tools for Independence, and select what they
need."
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The Greenstar model has received recognition in
international awards programs as diverse as the World
Bank, the Stockholm Challenge, the Davos Conference and
the Tech Awards. Two of the giants of the solar power
industry, Astropower and Xantrex, are co-sponsoring the
Ubuntu exhibit.
And some of the big players are listening. The U. S.
Department of the Interior has provided substantial
funding for Greenstars exhibit in Johannesburg. Interior
wants to spur economic development among the Indian
tribes of the US, balanced with environmental
responsibility -- in this sense, the original people of
America are part of the developing world, and they have
'digital culture' assets in their powerful drumming,
chanting, ritual dance, fabric design and ancient
legends. Greenstar has launched a pilot program in
conjunction with Sandia National Labs in Albuquerque to
help develop those assets, and to finance a micro-
enterprise based on digital culture in the small Navajo
community of To'Hajiilee, New Mexico. That program
officially gets under way this weekend, August 31, in a
special day that will connect New Mexico to a traditional
South African group in Johannesburg, through the
Internet, for a series of musical and performance
interactions. A senior Interior official, Assistant
Secretary Lynn Scarlett, will attend to observe and learn
more.
Similar ideas are being hatched in Johannesburg --
outside the velvet rope. Says Greenstars Charles Gay: "I
wouldnt want to be anywhere else. This is where the real
summit is taking place. The best ideas are out here, and
that's where we belong."
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About Greenstar
Greenstar builds solar-powered community centers in
remote, rural off-the-grid villages. Health, education,
employment, telecommunications and e-commerce services
are set up in a co-ordinated system all running on
solar power and satellite technology.
The Greenstar program was pioneered in Al-Kaabneh, on the
West Bank near the Dead Sea, with subsequent projects in
Swift River, Jamaica, Parvatapur, India and Patriensah,
Ghana. New programs in Tibet, Brazil and New Mexico are
now being developed. The company is establishing a
network of 300 such centers in remote rural villages
around the world. Greenstars "digital culture" programs
help people help themselves by emphasizing the intrinsic
value of their vital cultural traditions.
-30-
Contact:
Susan Older, Press Office
Greenstar, New York City:
+1-646-486-0454; email older@mindspring.com
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Links:
Tools for Independence: the South Africa exhibit
http://www.greenstar.org/worldsummit/
Streaming Video of the Tools:
http://www.greenstar.org/worldsummit/video.htm
The Greenstar model, projects, track record:
http://www.greenstar.org/introduction.htm
The Navajo Voice: introduction to the project in New
Mexico:
http://www.e-greenstar.com/Navajo/
This email newsletter is also available in HTML format,
with photos from South Africa, at
http://www.greenstar.org/Aug02/
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