NewzIntel.com

Category: Education

  • MIL-OSI Russia: NSU hosted the 3rd School of Young Scientists on Synchrotron Research Methods in Materials Science

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –

    On October 28-30, 2024, the 3rd School of Young Scientists on Synchrotron Research Methods in Materials Science was held at NSU. This year, the school was organized as an independent event for the first time. In previous years, it was a satellite conference “Using synchrotron radiation for studying catalysts and functional materials”, which is taking place in Tomsk this year. The School of Young Scientists is being held Faculty of Physics And Faculty of Natural Sciences, NSU.

    The school was attended by over 85 young scientists from Novosibirsk, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Krasnoyarsk, Kemerovo, Tomsk, Kirov and Biysk. They represented such leading Russian universities as Lomonosov Moscow State University, St. Petersburg State University, Institute of Problems of Chemical and Energy Technologies SB RAS (Biysk, Altai Krai), Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Moscow), FRC Krasnoyarsk Scientific Center SB RAS, Vyatka State University (Kirov), Institute of High-Current Electronics SB RAS (Tomsk), L.V. Kirensky Institute of Physics SB RAS (Krasnoyarsk), A.F. Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute RAS (St. Petersburg), Kuzbass State Technical University named after T.F. Gorbacheva (Kemerovo), MISiS University of Science and Technology (Moscow), Siberian Federal University (Krasnoyarsk), Federal Research Center of Coal and Coal Chemistry of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Kemerovo).

    This year, lectures and presentations with oral and poster presentations were held in NSU buildings. The school program included six plenary lectures, oral and poster presentations of participants — 43 in total, as well as four master classes. Master classes first appeared in the school program last year, and they are very popular. This time, master classes were held on small-angle X-ray scattering, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and diffraction methods.

    — We try to change the topics of plenary lectures every year. The lectures of the employees of the SKIF Collective Use Center Ya. V. Zubavichus and D. V. Dorokhova on synchrotron radiation sources and the basics of their use were of great interest. Also this year, for the first time, a round table on the use of artificial intelligence in scientific research activities was held within the framework of the school. This topic is relevant, artificial intelligence is beginning to be used in various areas of human activity, including science, and this year the Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry were awarded to works that used artificial intelligence, — commented Christina Shefer, senior lecturer of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of NSU, a representative of the organizing committee of the school.

    Four plenary lectures were devoted to research methods: two to diffraction methods, indispensable in the study of the structure of materials, one lecture to the application of synchrotron methods for in situ/operando studies of functional materials, and another lecture to the application of electron microscopy in combination with synchrotron methods.

    In addition to lectures, reports and master classes, excursions to scientific organizations of the Novosibirsk Akademgorodok were organized for the participants.

    — Summing up the results of the past school, we are already thinking about what will happen next year. When forming the program, we, of course, take into account the feedback from the participants. We know for sure that there will be presentations, both oral and poster presentations. Participation with reports is useful for presenting and discussing the results of your work, forming new scientific connections and developing cooperation in the field of synchrotron research. We will definitely hold master classes. Moreover, it is especially useful when the master class is preceded by a lecture on a similar topic. There is a desire to continue discussing the topic of artificial intelligence in a round table format, — said Christina Schaefer.

    The school turned out to be rich in its program, there were many interesting reports and many questions for the speakers. Based on the results of the school, the report evaluation committee selected the best of the poster and oral presentations.

    Poster presentations:

    1st place: Konstantin Sergeevich Nechaev, MISIS University of Science and Technology, Moscow. Authors: K.S. Nechaev, N.M. Vazhinsky, M.V. Gorshenkov, A.S. Fortuna. Topic: Study of thermodynamic stability and magnetic properties of the ferromagnetic phase of the Mn-Al-Ga ternary alloy depending on the grinding time.

    2nd place: Ksenia Sergeevna Kuzmina, Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk. Authors: Kuzmina K.S., Kasatova A.I., Kasatov D.A., Nazimov V.P., Moskalensky A.E., Korobeynikov M.V., Petrichenkov M.V., Uvarov M.N., Taskaev S.Yu. Topic: Creation of a Fricke dosimeter for boron neutron capture therapy

    Oral presentations:

    1st place: Nikita Dmitrievich Luchinin, Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow. Authors: Luchinin N.D., Fedotov S.S. Topic: Application of synchrotron radiation to study phase transformations of Na/K-ion battery materials.

    2nd place: Dmitry Anatolyevich Ulybin, Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk. Author: Ulybin D.A. Topic: Software library for calculating the strategy of X-ray diffraction single-crystal experiment.

    3rd place:

    Anastasia Sergeevna Mikaeva, Rzhanov Institute of Semiconductor Physics SB RAS, Novosibirsk. Authors: Mikaeva A.S., Golyashov V.A. Subject: Study of the electronic structure of the (111) surface of PbSnTe:In films using angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy.

    Artem Vyacheslavovich Tarasov, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg. Authors: Tarasov A.V., Rybkin A.G., Shikin A.M. Topic: Electron spin structure of quasi-two-dimensional systems with a combination of spin-orbit and exchange interactions.

    The project is part of the events Priority-2030 programs, implemented with the aim of training personnel in areas related to X-ray, synchrotron, and neutron methods of diagnosing materials and devices, including personnel for the specialized center for synchrotron research, the Siberian Ring Photon Source (SKIF), which is being created in the Novosibirsk Region.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: SEE exchanges views on ecological conservation and various environmental issues with young people (with photos)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

    SEE exchanges views on ecological conservation and various environmental issues with young people (with photos)
    SEE exchanges views on ecological conservation and various environmental issues with young people (with photos)
    ******************************************************************************************

         The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Mr Tse Chin-wan, today (November 2) attended the Dialogue with the Secretary for Environment and Ecology session on the public day of the 19th Eco Expo Asia to exchange views on the beauty of Hong Kong’s ecology and various environmental matters with some 400 young people from various schools and uniformed groups.      The event began with the screening of an extract of the documentary series “Enchanting China”, produced by the Environment and Ecology Bureau (EEB) and the Environmental Protection Department (EPD), in collaboration with the Center for Environmental Education and Communications of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, as well as “Picturesque Bays of Hong Kong”, which is the first episode of the documentary series “Beautiful Hong Kong” produced by the EEB. The documentaries showcase the contributions and achievements made by the country and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government in environmental protection and nature conservation.      Through the “Picturesque Bays of Hong Kong” documentary, Mr Tse highlighted that Hong Kong is not only a highly developed city, but is also committed to conserving the natural environment. He said that Hong Kong has a total of 25 country parks, the latest of which is Robin’s Nest Country Park established this year. These country parks cover over 40 per cent of Hong Kong’s land area together with 22 special areas. Hong Kong also possesses a designated internationally important wetland under the Ramsar Convention and the Hong Kong UNESCO World Geopark, etc. This proportion surpasses many cities with economic developments similar to Hong Kong, making it an important asset.      In terms of sea area, Hong Kong has a coastline of about 1 200 kilometres and a total sea area of more than 1 600 square kilometres. Although it only accounts for less than 1 per cent of the total sea area of the country, it has numerous beautiful bays and a quarter of the country’s marine species. Hong Kong is home to over 80 species of marine stony corals, more than the total sum in the entire Caribbean Sea. The bird species here exceed 580, accounting for about one-third of the country’s total.      Mr Tse said, “I hope that through the ‘Picturesque Bays of Hong Kong’ documentary, we can learn about the beauty of the place where we live, explore and, more importantly, cherish the beauty of Hong Kong’s ecosystems and work together to help conserve nature.”      Young people attending the event were very interested in various environmental topics, and many of them noted the increasing frequency of extreme weather and Hong Kong’s endeavours to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 to combat climate change. Mr Tse said that carbon emissions in Hong Kong already peaked in 2014, and the current carbon emissions have been reduced by about a quarter from the peak. The per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Hong Kong are one-fourth of those in the United States and six-tenths of those in the European Union, showing that Hong Kong compares well with other regions in carbon reduction. Nevertheless, achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 is still a great challenge. The Government is leading Hong Kong towards carbon neutrality through a range of measures, such as accelerating green and low-carbon transformation, promoting green transport and cultivating the local practice of waste reduction and recycling, as well as developing new energy sources and green scientific research industries.      Mr Tse said he hopes that through Eco Expo Asia, students can learn more about different environmental issues and integrate environmental concepts into their daily lives to practise low-carbon living, and lead Hong Kong towards a low-carbon future together.      Apart from the Dialogue with the Secretary for Environment and Ecology session, speakers from the Hong Kong Observatory, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, the Civil Engineering and Development Department, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, the EPD, etc shared their environmental information and knowledge during the green seminars to raise public awareness of environmental protection.      The last day of Eco Expo Asia is a public day, which is open to all free of charge. This year’s public day programme also includes guided tours, green workshops, a green market, green seminars and a free ride experience on a hydrogen fuel cell double-decker.

     
    Ends/Saturday, November 2, 2024Issued at HKT 19:27

    NNNN

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: BRICS representatives discussed the development of statistics in the countries of the association

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: State University Higher School of Economics – State University Higher School of Economics –

    The importance of statistics in the digital age is reaching a new level. Most decisions at the state level and in business are made based on data analysis. However, the attitude towards official statistics is ambiguous, and this negatively affects the level of trust in government policy. How to change this was discussed by the heads of statistical agencies of the BRICS countries in Kazan. A representative of the Higher School of Economics also took part in the forum.

    The 16th meeting of heads of national statistical services of the BRICS countries was held in Kazan on October 28–29 as part of the BRICS Summit. Representatives of various government agencies and experts from Russia, South Africa, the UAE, Brazil, China, Ethiopia, Iran, Egypt, India, the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Azerbaijan participated in it.

    The special session “Development of the statistical community in Russia and the BRICS countries” was organized at the initiative of the Russian delegation. The experts discussed issues of cooperation between statistical professional and expert communities, modernization of statistical production, interaction of state statistical services with the public and increasing statistical literacy of the population.

    Professor of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, Chairman of the Board of the Russian Association of Statisticians Alexey Ponomarenko said that in Russia, starting in 2023, the subject “Probability Theory and Statistics” has become a mandatory part of the school curriculum. In grades 7–11, there is at least one lesson on statistics per week. Thus, about 6 million schoolchildren receive knowledge and skills in statistical thinking. They will be able to understand and competently apply information containing statistical data.

    Meanwhile, today school teachers need the help of professional statisticians. Moreover, targeted efforts are needed to develop literacy and education in this area. One of the centers of such work could be the National Research University Higher School of Economics, where a team of statisticians with extensive experience in practical work and scientific research has been formed.

    “We are ready to cooperate with both Russian teachers and colleagues from the BRICS countries, especially since the statistical community of many BRICS countries is well developed and there is much to learn from our colleagues,” emphasized Alexey Ponomarenko.

    Teachers and researchers of the Department of Statistics and Data Analysis of the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the National Research University Higher School of Economics fully support the idea of cooperation with statisticians of the BRICS countries, confirmed the Director of Statistical Research at the HSE, Head of the Department of Statistics and Data Analysis of the National Research University Higher School of Economics Department of Statistics and Data Analysis FEN Alexander Surinov. “We have many common problems with such huge BRICS countries as China, India or Brazil. For example, subnational studies of indicators of socio-economic development of regions taking into account local specifics. I think that if such projects are implemented, HSE statisticians will take an active part in them,” he concluded.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Polytechnic University presented the project “Russian-African Network University” (RAFU) in Tanzania

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University – Peter the Great St Petersburg Polytechnic University –

    The first meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Russian-Tanzania Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation was held in Tanzania. The parties agreed to begin work on a whole range of issues, including science and higher education, and also emphasized the importance of developing a regulatory framework for cooperation.

    The Russian Center for Science and Culture (Russian House) in Tanzania hosted a Russian-Tanzanian inter-university meeting, organized by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. The Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia Stepan Sokolov gave a welcoming speech, thanking the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Tanzania and the Russian House for their assistance in organizing our meeting.

    Today we have an excellent opportunity to discuss current issues of developing cooperation between Russian and Tanzanian universities. The Russian Ministry of Education and Science attaches great importance to strengthening educational cooperation with Tanzania. It is worth noting that, as part of the training of national personnel for Tanzania for the 2024-2025 academic year, within the quota of the Government of the Russian Federation, 90 places for study in Russian higher education institutions have been allocated for Tanzanian citizens, as well as for the 2023-2024 academic year, – said Stepan Sokolov.

    Cooperation between Russia and Tanzania will be able to significantly expand the scope of interests and practical results in science, educational and methodological work, will improve the quality and versatility of professional training of personnel, and will also contribute to the familiarization of the peoples of Russia and Tanzania with the peculiarities of national cultures.

    From the Tanzanian side, the meeting was attended by representatives of the University of Dodoma, the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), Dar es Salaam Tumaini University (DarTU), and the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA).

    The Russian side included representatives from Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Sevastopol State University, Samara State Technical University, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Patrice Lumumba Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, Russian State Humanitarian University, and A. A. Kadyrov Chechen State University.

    SPbPU was represented by Maxim Zalyvskiy, head of the project office of the Russian-African Network University (RAFU), which is coordinated by the Polytechnic University on behalf of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science.

    Russian participants spoke about the activities of their universities, areas of professional training, and academic exchange programs.

    Representatives of Tanzanian universities received information about the Consortium “Russian-African Network University” (RAFU), which is the flagship project of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science to create a single Russian-African educational space.

    At the moment, more than 80 Russian universities and more than 30 African organizations from 12 countries have joined the consortium. Such African countries as Malawi, Gambia, Lesotho, Sudan, and the Central African Republic are currently considering their participation in RAFU. Through RAFU, we are already inviting African countries to actively participate in our events, especially in such events as the Summer Multidisciplinary University, which is being held for the third time this year, noted Maxim Zalyvsky.

    This year, from July to September, 19 Russian universities conducted 19 educational programs for African students in various fields: geology and meteorology, ecology and sustainable development, computer science and artificial intelligence, medical and biotechnology, agriculture and water management, as well as Russian language, culture and traditions. During the Summer University in 2024, about 290 African citizens studied.

    On October 29, agreements between Russian and Tanzanian universities were signed in the Pushkin Hall of the Russian House in Dar es Salaam. The Russian-African Network University Consortium signed memorandums of accession to RAFU with Tumaini University (Dar es Salaam) and the Association of Graduates of Russian and Soviet Universities in Tanzania.

    In addition, representatives of Russian universities took part in the opening ceremony of an exhibition at the Russian Center of Science and Culture dedicated to the contribution of the USSR to the liberation of African peoples from colonial oppression.

    Together with employees of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, Maxim Zalyvskiy spoke at a business forum on strengthening business ties between Russia and Tanzania. The Russian delegation was headed by the head of the Ministry of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov.

    The importance of cooperation with Tanzania is difficult to overestimate. The country occupies an advantageous position on the African continent, it could become for Russia, as well as in the global logistics chain, a continuation of the development of the North-South transport corridor. Now the parties are actively discussing the prospects for cooperation between Russia and Tanzania in the field of agriculture, digitalization of the economy, and tourism. There is great potential in the energy sector, the development of peaceful nuclear energy, and the extraction of minerals. I am confident that the busy program of the first meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Russian-Tanzania Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation and the agreements signed in Tanzania, including between educational organizations, will give an additional impetus to the development and strengthening of Russian-Tanzanian economic, tourist, and educational ties, Maxim Zalyvsky emphasized.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dmitry Grigorenko: regions are ready to further develop a risk-oriented approach to inspections

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Dmitry Grigorenko took part in the plenary session of the All-Russian Forum of Control Bodies in Kaliningrad

    November 2, 2024

    Previous news Next news

    Dmitry Grigorenko took part in the plenary session of the All-Russian Forum of Control Bodies in Kaliningrad

    Deputy Prime Minister – Chief of Staff of the Government of Russia Dmitry Grigorenko took part in the plenary session of the All-Russian Forum of Control Authorities in Kaliningrad. During his speech, the Deputy Prime Minister presented key areas for improving the control and supervisory sphere.

    In 2019, by decree of the President, a reform of control and supervisory activities was launched in the country. The risk-oriented approach formed the basis for building a modern system of state control. As Dmitry Grigorenko, who oversees the reform, noted, during this time, inspectors across the country have done a lot of work to make the inspection system effective. Today, the accuracy rate of inspections based on risk indicators is 87%. At the same time, the annual number of inspections over 5 years has decreased almost 5 times from 1.5 million inspections in 2019 to 353 thousand inspections in 2023. At the same time, against the background of a multiple reduction in the number of inspections, the overall level of safety is maintained.

    “At the plenary session, colleagues shared proposals on how to further improve the system of risk assessment and management in inspections. The government will carefully consider the possibility of their legislative consolidation. Such initiatives are a good sign and today it was important to record that the regions are ready to continue to take the most active part in the reform of control activities and improve the risk-oriented approach,” said Dmitry Grigorenko.

    The Deputy Prime Minister noted that the work on improving the control and supervisory sphere is moving to a new stage. It is no longer about reformist changes, but about high-quality systemic fine-tuning of the decisions taken. For this, it is extremely important that control bodies throughout the country take an active part in developing proposals for improving and simplifying the control system.

    Among the innovations from the forum participants was a proposal to legislatively enshrine the possibility of using the Inspector mobile application to conduct remote inspections.

    During the forum, Dmitry Grigorenko also held a meeting with business representatives from the Kaliningrad Region. The entrepreneurs gave the Deputy Prime Minister feedback on the progress of the reform and proposed to legislatively enshrine the possibility of lowering the risk category through the service of pre-trial appeal of decisions of regulatory authorities. This service is currently implemented on the State Services portal. The risk category is revised on the condition of conscientious fulfillment of mandatory requirements and compliance with a number of conditions of regulatory authorities. Lowering the risk category allows for a reduction in the scheduled visit of the inspection facility by the inspector or even eliminating it.

    Dmitry Grigorenko emphasized that it is necessary to explain to businesses what grounds the control bodies use to appoint inspections. This will allow entrepreneurs to adjust their activities without the direct participation of inspectors and eliminate the risks of violations of norms and rules.

    The Forum of Control Authorities is being held for the fifth time and has brought together about 700 participants. The anniversary venue was chosen to be the Baltic Federal University named after I. M. Kant in Kaliningrad. Over the course of three days, controllers from all over the country, experts, businessmen and public figures discussed current issues of development of control and supervisory activities at the present stage: digitalization of control, practices of introducing a risk-oriented approach, development of a pre-trial appeal system, prevention and others. The mission of the forum is to expand the horizons of professional skills of specialists. The forum was organized by the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia jointly with the Government of the Kaliningrad Region with the support of the Center for Strategic Research.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: GUU took part in the exhibition “Metal-Expo 2024”

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: State University of Management – Official website of the State –

    From October 29 to November 1, the 30th International Industrial Exhibition Metal-Expo 2024 was held at the Expocentre in Moscow.

    The anniversary forum of metallurgists attracted about 1 thousand participants, which is 30% more than last year.

    The State University of Management is represented by the Department of Industrial Management of the Institute of Industry Management, represented by Andrey Belyaev, a member of the Forum Organizing Committee.

    At a separate stand of the State University of Management, students of the educational program “International Manufacturing Business” talk about the university.

    On October 31, the forum hosted the 23rd International Conference “New Trends in the Rational Use of Secondary Resources and Environmental Problems,” at which 2nd-year student of the State University of Management Yulia Levchenko presented a scientific report.

    In addition, on November 1, as part of the forum, a Gathering of students and postgraduates from specialized universities “The Future is Being Laid Today” was held, where the results of the scientific paper competition “Young Scientists” were summed up. The competition, established by the Organizing Committee of the Metal Expo exhibition, is aimed at supporting talented young people and promoting their scientific achievements to the market.

    First-year master’s student of the State University of Management Anastasia Ivanova became a laureate with her work “Comparative economic policy of Russia and China in the rare earth metals industry”. The scientific supervisor of both works presented at “Metal Expo 2024” is a teacher of the State University of Management Fanis Sharipov.

    Also among the competition laureates this year were representatives of the Moscow State Technical University, the Moscow University of Steel and Alloys and, for the first time, MIREA University.

    The State University of Management was also awarded a separate diploma by the Organizing Committee of the exhibition “For highly professional organization of promotion of products and services.”

    Subscribe to the TG channel “Our GUU” Date of publication: 2.11.2024

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Dmitry Chernyshenko: The “Noise” forum brought together young people from 87 regions of Russia and 86 foreign countries

    Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

    Source: Government of the Russian Federation – An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

    Dmitry Chernyshenko: The “SHUM” forum brought together young people from 87 regions of the Russian Federation and 86 foreign countries

    November 2, 2024

    Dmitry Chernyshenko: The “SHUM” forum brought together young people from 87 regions of the Russian Federation and 86 foreign countries

    November 2, 2024

    Dmitry Chernyshenko: The “SHUM” forum brought together young people from 87 regions of the Russian Federation and 86 foreign countries

    November 2, 2024

    Dmitry Chernyshenko: The “SHUM” forum brought together young people from 87 regions of the Russian Federation and 86 foreign countries

    November 2, 2024

    Previous news Next news

    Dmitry Chernyshenko: The “SHUM” forum brought together young people from 87 regions of the Russian Federation and 86 foreign countries

    The results of the All-Russian Youth Educational Forum “Noise” of the platform “Rosmolodezh.Sobytiya” have been summed up. The forum was held in Svetlogorsk from October 4 and consisted of four educational programs.

    The final event was the closing ceremony, where the results of the educational program “Noise. Industry Journalism 5.0” were also summed up.

    “This year, 12 new educational centers were opened by decree of President Vladimir Putin. On the basis of one of them – “Shum” in the Kaliningrad region – the youth forum brought together more than a thousand participants from 87 regions of Russia and 86 foreign countries. Such forums give children the opportunity to create international projects, which teaches them to build partnerships and mutually beneficial relations with representatives of other countries,” emphasized Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.

    The head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs Grigory Gurov commented on the importance of supporting and developing the younger generation: “Rosmolodezh works in constant dialogue with the participants of our projects. Young people from Russia and other countries are full-fledged co-authors of the meanings and ideas that we implement in our activities. It is fundamentally important for us to support the initiatives of young people, listen to their opinions and go hand in hand, developing a single space of opportunities for self-realization.”

    Special thanks were expressed to the forum partners and customers – state and public organizations, commercial companies and corporations. A total of 54 cases were generated from 47 customers. During 4 educational rounds, the teams of participants created marketing strategies, websites, photo, video and other content, and offered various solutions to the tasks set before them. As a result of the forum, 64 solutions were successful and were taken into work by customers, and were also included in the post-support program.

    The following addressed the forum participants and guests of the ceremony with welcoming remarks: Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs Pavel Abramov, Deputy Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District Roman Balashov, Head of the Federal Directorate of Forums of Rosmolodezh Ekaterina Antonova, Governor of the Kaliningrad Region Aleksey Besprozvannykh, Minister of Youth Policy of the Kaliningrad Region Anna Musevich, Acting Director of the Communications Department of the State Corporation Rosatom Andrey Timonov, Advisor to the Head of Rosmolodezh on International Cooperation, General Director of the Directorate of the World Youth Festival Daniil Bisslinger.

    “It is gratifying that it is the Kaliningrad Region that is contributing to this necessary and responsible mission. Over the month of the forum, we were able to see once again that our region is a place where strong partnerships are born, a place where ideas are supported and new projects are implemented. I am sure that the knowledge, experience and connections that you have received here will help you implement the boldest ideas. The colleagues you have met at the forum will become your loyal comrades. Together, you will be able to create projects that people need and that change the world. Let our forum become a starting point for new achievements and victories. Special words of gratitude go to our partners and customers for their trust and support. I am sure that the ideas presented at the forum will find a response in your organizations, and joint projects will bring tangible results,” Kaliningrad Region Governor Alexey Besprozvannykh summed up the forum.

    This year, the forum was held in the format of four educational programs, each of which had its own unique target audience and specialized direction. The final program was held with the participation of the World Youth Festival Directorate.

    “The All-Russian Youth Educational Forum “Noise” has become a platform for international dialogue of 300 media representatives from 86 countries. An open conversation about the profession and the challenges facing media professionals, an exchange of experience – all this has become another step towards creating a multipolar world. This international program has shown that young journalists, bloggers and communicators from different countries want to be co-authors of a polycentric information field, where commitment to journalistic principles such as honesty, impartiality, and working with reliable facts are at the forefront. And in conditions when they are trying to turn the media field into a space for various manipulations, it is extremely important to create such platforms to unite representatives of the media industry who are not indifferent to their profession and to our common future,” said Daniil Bisslinger, Advisor to the Head of Rosmolodezh for International Cooperation, General Director of the World Youth Festival Directorate.

    After the forum, the work of teams whose results were liked by customers and require further development before a full release of the product for use will continue in the format of post-support. Participants will be offered internships, conclude special agreements to continue working on cases. The results of the post-support program will be summarized at the end of December this year. The best participants also received an offer to participate in production programs from the year-round youth educational center of Rosmolodezh “Shum”.

    The organizers of the All-Russian Youth Educational Forum “Shum” are the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh) and the government of the Kaliningrad Region. The general partners of the forum are the state corporation “Rosatom” and the company VK.

    Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Undoing the ‘deep state’ means Trump would undo over a century of progress in building a federal government for the people and not just for rich white men

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Joseph Patrick Kelly, Professor of Literature and Director of Irish and Irish American Studies, College of Charleston

    If elected, Donald Trump has vowed to demolish what he calls the “deep state” – a conspiratorial term for the American federal bureaucracy. A second Trump administration, running mate JD Vance has said, should fire thousands of civil servants and replace them with MAGA loyalists.

    Trump has said he would tap the billionare Elon Musk as the hatchet man to lead his proposed government commission on “efficiency” in government.

    Compared with the other fireworks of the campaign – like Trump’s promise to criminally prosecute his political rivals and suppress news organizations – threats to gut the United States’ vast federal bureaucracy don’t get much attention. But doing so is a big a threat to democracy.

    For years, conservatives have claimed that taking power from government agencies gives it back to the people. Yet while it might seem counterintuitive, Americans actually exercise their sovereignty through the administrative state.

    The American administrative state was established almost 100 years ago by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As a historian of American democracy, I think it’s valuable to remember what the old deal looked like while Trump rails against the New Deal.

    The Gilded Age

    Around 1900, America was not really democratic. The federal government did not rule by the consent of the governed. As historian Heather Cox Richardson recently argued, the American government was an oligarchy.

    Millions of working-class Slavs, Jews, Italians, Asians and Scotch-Irish Appalachians toiled mercilessly in death-trap sweatshops, suffocating mines and fiery steel mills. Cotton farmers in the Black Belt lived like peons.

    These people were America’s “other half,” as the social reformer Jacob Riis called them in 1890. And they were effectively excluded from the social contract.

    Meanwhile, for rich white men like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller it was, as Mark Twain quipped, a “Gilded Age.” Robber barons ran their industrial empires with impunity.

    When their employees tried to organize or protest, industrialists got sheriffs and police to suppress them. Or they hired private armies of “detectives,” like the Pinkertons, as Carnegie did when steelworkers struck in Homestead, Pennsylvania.

    Governors called in the National Guard, as Ephraim Morgan did in 1921 to suppress a labor dispute in West Virginia. Sometimes, it was the regular Army, as in 1919, when soldiers from Camp Pike propped up the peonage system of tenant farming by indiscriminately machine-gunning Black farmers hiding in the woods outside Elaine, Arkansas.

    ‘We stand at Armageddon’

    Forced by popular clamor, Congress decided to act.

    It created the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1887 and told its commissioners to compel railroads, which were gouging some customers and favoring others, to charge fair rates to everyone.

    This was the start of federal regulation.

    In 1895, the New York Legislature passed the Bakeshop Act, making it illegal to force an employee to work more than 10 hours a day or 60 hours a week.

    The Supreme Court, however, was still friendly to business. In its 1905 decision in Lochner v. New York, the court ruled against the Bakeshop Act. No one could regulate the workday or work week. The decision stripped Congress and state legislatures of their nascent regulatory powers. That enraged President Teddy Roosevelt.

    “(T)he right of the people to rule,” Roosevelt later thundered, had been usurped by the corporations. With apocalyptic fury he predicted, “We stand at Armageddon!”

    That was in 1912. The Lochner era, as historians call this period when workers and the public had few protections from exploitative businesses, lasted another 20 years.

    Then, in 1929, the U.S. economy collapsed.

    One-quarter of Americans had no work. Starving and desperate migrants wandered across the country. An army of veterans marched on Washington.

    The apocalyptic misery of the Great Depression finally made American oligarchy untenable.

    Liberal democracy

    In 1932, the people rewrote the social contract: They elected Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his New Deal in a landslide.

    It was, in essence, a revolution. After nearly 60 years of corporate domination, the 1932 election would “return America to its own people,” to use Roosevelt’s words.

    Of course, it was not really a “return.” In the precorporation world, most Americans – notably women and Black people – couldn’t participate in their own government. But 1932 was a giant step toward democracy. And the great innovation that would usher in this modern, liberal democracy was the administrative state: a meritocracy of career civil servants dedicated to carrying out the law.

    Have you ever wondered why a green light means “go” in every state? In 1935, the Bureau of Public Roads – now the Federal Highway Administration – wrote and enforced its first Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways.

    That’s the administrative state in action. It’s how 122 million people cooperated to make complex, modern society work – without surrendering their sovereignty to some dictator like Benito Mussolini or Josef Stalin.

    But the Supreme Court kept striking down New Deal laws and regulations.

    After a massive electoral victory in 1936, FDR threatened to “pack” the court by raising the number of justices from nine to 15. Finally, the court relented. In a 5-4 decision, it allowed the state of Washington’s Industrial Welfare Committee to establish a minimum wage – $14.50 for a 48-hour work week.

    Most history textbooks don’t mention this milestone, but that’s when liberal democracy was secured.

    To be sure, it would take almost 30 more years before the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960s brought democracy to the Jim Crow South. But even that victory depended on the Justice Department’s power to regulate elections in historically white supremacist states.

    The administrative state has been protecting the rights of ordinary Americans and executing the sovereignty of the people for the past 87 years.

    Who grounded Boeing airplanes when a door blew off a 737 in midflight? It was civil servants in the Federal Aviation Administration, a government agency founded by Congress in 1958 “to regulate civil aviation.”

    Why does the U.S. have cleaner air and water today than it did in the 1960s? Because in 1970, Congress passed the Clean Air Act, and a new Environmental Protection Agency was empowered to write and perpetually rewrite regulations that execute Congress’ antipollution laws.

    The alternative

    This system produces the occasional injustice or overreach.

    A farmer’s puddling acre, for example, might be overregulated as a “wetland.” A fishing company might be ordered to maintain a government-appointed herring counter at a cost of $710 a day.

    But gutting regulatory agencies and replacing a meritocratic bureaucracy with MAGA loyalists won’t help small farmers or family-owned fishing boats. It will empower big corporations to pollute, exploit their workers, price-gouge customers, cut corners on safety – and to corrupt the political system.

    It’s also illegal. Congress has deliberately protected those bureaucrats from the volatility of presidential politics.

    Unlike presidential appointees, who serve at the pleasure of the president, civil servants work for the people. They are empowered by Congress, and the president cannot fire them. At least for now.

    Joseph Patrick Kelly has previously volunteered as an officer at the county and precinct level in the Democratic Party.

    – ref. Undoing the ‘deep state’ means Trump would undo over a century of progress in building a federal government for the people and not just for rich white men – https://theconversation.com/undoing-the-deep-state-means-trump-would-undo-over-a-century-of-progress-in-building-a-federal-government-for-the-people-and-not-just-for-rich-white-men-234421

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Congressman Dan Goldman Requests Information on Bank of America Decision to Reverse Ban on Financing Assault-Weapons Manufacturers

    Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10)

    Following Legislation Passed in Texas and Florida, Bank of America Backtracked Implementation of Landmark Financing Ban

    Read the Letter Here

    Washington, DC – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) joined Congressman Sean Casten (IL-06) and 50 of his Democratic colleagues in sending a letter to Bank of America CEO and Chair of the Board Brian Moynihan requesting information regarding Bank of America’s decision to reverse their ban on financing assault-style gun manufacturers, who design weapons frequently used by perpetrators of mass shootings.

    “We write with disappointment regarding the recent news that Bank of America has reversed its ban on financing assault-style gun manufacturers in response to pressure from Republican-led states, such as Florida and Texas. When the second-largest bank in the country backtracks on gun violence prevention, it sends a message to the entire industry: it’s permissible for other financial institutions to put short-term politics over the protection of American lives,” the Members wrote.

    In 2018, following the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting, Bank of America announced it would no longer finance military-style firearms for civilian use. Bank of America described the financing of these gunmakers as “contrary to our values, operating principles and Code of Conduct.”

    However, in 2021, Texas passed a law restricting companies that discriminate against firearms entities from doing business with the state. In January 2024, Florida passed an anti-ESG law which required banks that accept state or local funds to verify they don’t “politically discriminate.”

    In response, Bank of America weakened its policy, stating that financing military-style firearms would be subject to an “enhanced due-diligence process,” directly contradicting their 2018 proposal. The members contend that this policy change unnecessarily puts lives at risk.

    “The strong positions by Bank of America in 2018 likely saved lives. Your retreat in recent years strikes us as situational ethics. Perhaps you fear the political risk of alienating certain politicians. We would suggest that pales in comparison to the fear felt by a classroom full of kids looking down the barrel of an assault rifle. The least you could do is show a fraction of the courage that too many children are asked to show in a country awash in these weapons of war,” the Members continued.

    The members concluded asking the following questions regarding Bank of America’s policy change:

    1. “Since 2018, what steps has Bank of America taken to reverse its prior policies and decisions that were intended to reduce gun violence?

    2. Please explain why Bank of America now deems it appropriate to finance assault-style gun manufacturers.

    3. Please detail how Bank of America implemented the enhanced due diligence standard and review process for clients and transactions involving the manufacture of military-style firearms for civilian use, including:

      1. What “specialized industry knowledge” did the internal subject matter experts (SMEs) possess that contributed to the development of this policy?

        1. What are their professional backgrounds?

      2. Please provide specifics about the “clear process” for review with senior executive checkpoints, escalation routines, and risk management considerations, including how Bank of America will assess the reputational and litigation risk associated with specific, potential clients.

      3. What factors would cause Bank of America to decide to provide financing or underwriting to a manufacturer of military-style firearms for civilian use?

    4. Since this enhanced due diligence process was put in place, what, if any, financing or underwriting has Bank of America provided to firearm manufacturers, including those specified below?

      1. Sturm Ruger & Company (RGR)

      2. Smith and Wesson (SWBI)

      3. Axon (AXON:US)

      4. Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings (SPWH)

      5. Big Five Sporting Goods Corporation (BGFV)”

    Read the letter here or below:

    Dear Mr. Moynihan,

    We write with disappointment regarding the recent news that Bank of America has reversed its ban on financing assault-style gun manufacturers in response to pressure from Republican-led states, such as Florida and Texas. When the second-largest bank in the country backtracks on gun violence prevention, it sends a message to the entire industry: it’s permissible for other financial institutions to put short-term politics over the protection of American lives.

    In 2018, following the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting, Bank of America announced that it would no longer finance military-style firearms for civilian use. In an interview that April, Vice Chair Anne Finucane stated that Bank of America wants to contribute in “any way we can” to reduce mass shootings. Specifically, Ms. Finucane said: “It’s our intention not to finance these military-style firearms forcivilian use” on a “go forward basis.” At Bank of America’s annual shareholder meeting that same month, one conservative activist said the bank was “willfully giving up money.” You responded to shareholders that the policy change was prompted in part because more than 150 Bank of America employees “directly lost a relative in the shootings in the last couple [of] years.”

    Remington, Vista Outdoor, and Sturm, Ruger & Co. were three of your clients affected by this policy change in 2018. Remington made the Bushmaster assault weapon that was used in the 2012 mass shooting that killed 26 children and educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Remington had been a client of Bank of America since at least 2012 until the bank cut ties—but only after contributing $43 million to a lending package that helped Remington exit bankruptcy in 2018. Vista Outdoor sold rifles and shotguns, including AR-15-style weapons, until 2019, when Bank of America helped finance Vista’s acquisition of another sporting goods company in 2016. Lastly, Sturm Ruger makes the AR-556 pistol, which resembles an AR-15-style rifle but has been designed to circumvent existing gun laws. This weapon was used in the 2021 mass shooting that killed ten people at a King Soopers supermarket store in Boulder, Colorado. In 2013, Bank of America extended a $25 million line of credit to Sturm Ruger. Between 2012 and 2018, Bank of America issued $273.6 million in bonds and loans to these firearm companies. To be clear, none of these guns are designed for hunting or for self-defense. They are designed to kill large numbers of people as quickly as possible.

    In 2019, Bank of America described the financing of these gunmakers as “contrary to our values, operating principles and Code of Conduct” in its Environmental and Social Risk Policy Framework. In 2022, Bank of America reiterated that it “will not currently finance the manufacture of military-style firearms for non-law enforcement, non-military use.” Then in November 2023, Bank of America assured members of Congress that its “lines of business continue to follow this policy.”

    However, in December 2023, Bank of America weakened its firearms lending policy in its updated policy framework, stating that financing military-style firearms would be subject to an “enhanced due diligence process” and review by the Senior-level Risk Committee. This directly contradicts Vice Chair Finucane’s 2018 statement that “going forward we will not finance the manufacture of these firearms.”

    Recent reports suggest that this policy change was prompted by anti-ESG laws in states like Florida and Texas. In 2021, Texas passed a law restricting companies that “discriminate” against firearms entities from doing business with the state. Specifically, it requires that government contracts include a written verification that the company does not and will not “have a practice, policy, guidance, or directive that discriminates against a firearm entity or firearm trade association.”18 In October 2023, shortly before Bank of America changed its policy, the Texas Attorney General issued an advisory urging government entities to closely review these written verifications and consider other “red flags,” citing Bank of America’s approach towards certain firearm entities. More recently, in January 2024, Florida announced that it will begin enforcing violations of an anti- ESG law passed last year, which requires banks that accept state or local funds to verify that they don’t “politically discriminate.” In particular, these requirements prohibit banks from denying services on the basis of enumerated factors, including a company’s “engagement in the lawful manufacture, distribution, sale, purchase, or use of firearms or ammunition.” In May 2024, Florida enacted a law, effective July 1, 2024, that provides for a customer complaint process for alleged violations of these requirements and expands the scope to include non-Florida chartered banks.

    The strong positions by Bank of America in 2018 likely saved lives. Your retreat in recent years strikes us as situational ethics. Perhaps you fear the political risk of alienating certain politicians. We would suggest that pales in comparison to the fear felt by a classroom full of kids looking down the barrel of an assault rifle. The least you could do is show a fraction of the courage that too many children are asked to show in a country awash in these weapons of war.

    To that end, we seek clarification on this policy change and ask that you answer the following questions by August 8, 2024:

    1. Since 2018, what steps has Bank of America taken to reverse its prior policies and decisions that were intended to reduce gun violence?

    2. Please explain why Bank of America now deems it appropriate to finance assault-style gun manufacturers.

    3. Please detail how Bank of America implemented the enhanced due diligence standard and review process for clients and transactions involving the manufacture of military-style firearms for civilian use, including:

      1. What “specialized industry knowledge” did the internal subject matter experts (SMEs) possess that contributed to the development of this policy?

        1. What are their professional backgrounds?

      2. Please provide specifics about the “clear process” for review with senior executive checkpoints, escalation routines, and risk management considerations, including how Bank of America will assess the reputational and litigation risk associated with specific, potential clients.

      3. What factors would cause Bank of America to decide to provide financing or underwriting to a manufacturer of military-style firearms for civilian use?

    4. Since this enhanced due diligence process was put in place, what, if any, financing or underwriting has Bank of America provided to firearm manufacturers, including those specified below?

      1. Sturm Ruger & Company (RGR)

      2. Smith and Wesson (SWBI)

      3. Axon (AXON:US)

      4. Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings (SPWH)

      5. Big Five Sporting Goods Corporation (BGFV)”

    We look forward to your prompt response either in writing or via a briefing and the opportunity to continue to work together to stem the tragedies caused by gun violence and make our communities safer. Thank you foryour attention to this matter.

    ###

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: SPC Tornado Watch 698 Status Reports

    Source: US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

    Search by city or zip code. Press enter or select the go button to submit request
    Local forecast by”City, St” or “ZIP” 

    SPC on Facebook

    @NWSSPC

    NCEP Quarterly Newsletter

    Home (Classic)SPC Products   All SPC Forecasts   Current Watches   Meso. Discussions   Conv. Outlooks   Tstm. Outlooks   Fire Wx Outlooks     RSS Feeds   E-Mail AlertsWeather Information   Storm Reports   Storm Reports Dev.   NWS Hazards Map   National RADAR   Product Archive   NOAA Weather RadioResearch   Non-op. Products   Forecast Tools   Svr. Tstm. Events   SPC Publications   SPC-NSSL HWTEducation & Outreach   About the SPC   SPC FAQ   About Tornadoes   About Derechos   Video Lecture Series   WCM Page   Enh. Fujita Page   Our History   Public ToursMisc.   StaffContact Us   SPC Feedback

    Watch 698 Status Reports

    Watch 698 Status Message has not been issued yet.

    Top/Watch Issuance Text for Watch 698/All Current Watches/Forecast Products/Home

    Weather Topics:Watches, Mesoscale Discussions, Outlooks, Fire Weather, All Products, Contact Us

    NOAA / National Weather ServiceNational Centers for Environmental PredictionStorm Prediction Center120 David L. Boren Blvd.Norman, OK 73072 U.S.A.spc.feedback@noaa.govPage last modified: November 02, 2024
    DisclaimerInformation QualityHelpGlossary
    Privacy PolicyFreedom of Information Act (FOIA)About UsCareer Opportunities

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Albanese Labor Government to cut a further 20 per cent off all student loans debt

    Source: Australian Ministers for Education

    The Albanese Labor Government will cut a further 20 per cent off all student loan debts, wiping around $16 billion in student debt for around three million Australians.

    By 1 June next year, the Government will cut 20 per cent off all student loans to reduce the debt burden for Australians with a student loan. 

    This will cut around $16 billion in debt, including all HELP, VET Student Loan, Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan and other income-contingent student support loan accounts that exist on 1 June next year.

    For someone with the average HELP debt of $27,600 they will see around $5,520 wiped from their outstanding HELP loans next year.

    This will provide significant relief to Australian students and workers with a student loan debt and builds on our reforms to fix the indexation formula, which is cutting around $3 billion in student debt.

    This means, all up, the Albanese Labor Government will cut close to $20 billion in student loan debt for more than three million Australians.

    This builds on the Government’s announcement that from 1 July next year it will reduce the amount Australians with a student debt have to repay per year and raise the threshold when people need to start repaying.

    Together these reforms also build on the Government’s substantial tertiary education reforms, including: 

    • Delivering 500,000 Fee-Free TAFE places
    • Doubling the number of University Study Hubs
    • Introducing legislation to establish the Commonwealth Prac Payment and expand Fee-Free Uni Ready Courses; and
    • A commitment to introduce a new managed growth and needs-based funding model for universities, and establish an Australian Tertiary Education Commission.

    Quotes attributable to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese:

    “I will always fight for every young Australian to have access to a good education. My Government will make sure our education system is fairer and affordable for every Australian and we won’t delay unwinding the damage caused by the former Coalition Government.

    “We’re already fixing indexation and today, we are going further by taking 20 per cent off student debt – for everyone with a student debt.

    “This will help everyone with a student debt right now, whilst we work hard to deliver a better deal for every student in the years ahead.

    “No matter where you live or how much your parents earn, my Government will work to ensure the doors of opportunity are open for you.”

    Quotes attributable to Minister for Education Jason Clare: 

    “This is a game-changer for the more than three million Australians with a student loan.

    “By 1 June next year, we will wipe around a further $16 billion from all Australians with a student dent, including Australians who went to uni and vocational education.

    “This builds on our changes to make indexation fairer and all up this means we are wiping close to $20 billion in student debt.

    “This is another significant reform that will help us build a better and fairer education system.”

    Quotes attributable to Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth:

    “This is great news for Australians with student debt – whether from studying at university or vocational education – the Albanese Government will reduce their debt alongside our changes to make indexation fairer.

    “We want all Australians to have the opportunity for higher education, and our changes are making the system fairer and more affordable.”

    Quotes attributable to Minister for Skills and Training Andrew Giles: 

    “This will deliver very welcome cost-of-living relief to the more than three million Australians who have student loans and is an example of the great Labor tradition of making education more accessible. 

    “This support applies to all government student loans including vocational training, so whether you’re an apprentice or a tradie, a carer or a nurse, if you’re paying off a student loan you’ll receive this cost of living relief.”

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI China: One year into free-trade zone, Xinjiang embraces further opening up

    Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

    URUMQI, Nov. 2 — Edil Mohammed, who commutes daily for about an hour by bus from Yarkent, Kazakhstan, to Horgos, China, has adapted to the lifestyle of cross-border work.

    As the head of a branch of Kazakhstan’s Bank CenterCredit, which is located in the China-Kazakhstan International Border Cooperation Center in Horgos, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, he is part of a pioneering group of foreign banks that entered Xinjiang following the establishment of the China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in November 2023.

    The Xinjiang pilot FTZ, which encompasses three iconic areas — Urumqi, Kashgar and Horgos — stands as the first FTZ in China’s northwestern border regions and the 22nd nationwide. As it embraces its first anniversary, the zone has shown promising results.

    As the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) continues to forge ahead, Xinjiang has committed to building itself into an important corridor linking Asia and Europe and to serving as a gateway for China’s opening-up efforts in the west.

    “Global investors are seizing opportunities in the pilot FTZ, and many jobseekers have found satisfying positions, such as in cross-border e-commerce, international live-streaming, translation and diverse agents,” said Mohammed, adding that the growth of new business models and expanding trade will attract even more international financial institutions and enterprises.

    SUPPORTIVE POLICIES

    Qin Xiaoyu, a customs declarer at a foreign-trade enterprise specializing in the import and export of daily consumer goods to five Central Asian countries, has benefited from enhanced services following the establishment of a dedicated market procurement window at the FTZ’s Urumqi area.

    “The consultation and whole process only take a few minutes,” said Qin. “The dedicated service window can save both time and costs. Enterprises benefit from policies such as value-added tax exemptions, simplified declaration processes and flexible foreign exchange collection, all of which improve export efficiency.”

    The service window is part of a broader set of measures rolled out by the Xinjiang pilot FTZ to boost foreign trade, providing a low-cost, high-efficiency export channel for small and micro enterprises, as well as individual businesses, according to Ju Ning, an official at the Urumqi Economic & Technological Development Zone.

    “The ‘green channel’ for the rapid customs clearance of agricultural products at the border ports between China-Kazakhstan, China-Tajikistan and China-Kyrgyzstan has been fully implemented, cutting the customs declaration time for agricultural exports from five days to just one day,” said He Yadong, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce.

    Statistics show that from January to August, Xinjiang’s import and export volume increased by 30.9 percent to 285.32 billion yuan (about 40.11 billion U.S. dollars).

    “The pilot FTZ prioritizes institutional innovation, actively exploring reforms in government functions, management models, and the facilitation of trade and investment. It effectively plays a leading role in deepening reform and expanding opening up,” said Buvejer Abula, a researcher of economic and social development with the Xinjiang Agricultural University.

    RISING INDUSTRIAL CLUSTERS

    In the FTZ’s Horgos area, refrigerated trucks loaded with fruit and vegetables pass through a fast-track customs clearance “green channel” destined for Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia and beyond.

    Yu Chengzhong’s trade company exports over 500 tonnes of fruit and more than 300 tonnes of vegetables daily. This fresh produce can reach markets in Almaty in Kazakhstan within just a few hours.

    “The establishment of the FTZ has given our company a unique opportunity for growth,” said Yu, adding that the company has established sales networks in the five Central Asian countries, and this year, the company built a 66-hectare warehouse in Kazakhstan to further penetrate local markets.

    In the production workshop of a lithium battery enterprise called Shengyuehengchang, two automated production lines, each capable of producing 200,000 Ah lithium batteries per day, are running smoothly, fulfilling orders for its clients in Kyrgyzstan.

    The company normally manufactures small-capacity batteries but is now transitioning towards high-rate energy storage and power battery production. These batteries are primarily sold to the Central Asian market and are widely used in products such as electric motorcycles, drones, power tools and solar-energy products.

    “Leveraging the FTZ’s geographical advantages and favorable opening up policies, local companies are increasingly eyeing overseas markets for diverse development paths,” said Bo Yinjiang, an official with the Kashgar Economic Development Zone.

    The zone has already attracted 28 enterprises related to lithium batteries, covering the areas of lithium battery materials, manufacturing and supply chains. The annual output value of the enterprises is expected to exceed 10 billion yuan upon full operation, forming a burgeoning lithium battery industry cluster.

    “Since the pilot FTZ’s inception, a number of business associations and companies have visited Xinjiang to seek market opportunities and collaboration. There is also a rise in foreign-invested enterprises,” said Li Xuan, from the regional commerce department.

    “The pilot FTZ offers a significant historical opportunity for pursuing high-level opening up and high-quality development in Xinjiang. It must actively align with high-standard international trade and economic rules, integrate into the dual circulation of domestic and international markets, and support the development of the core region of the BRI,” Li added.

    The Ministry of Commerce will promote the industrial exchange and cooperation between the Xinjiang pilot FTZ and the central and eastern regions of the country, and support the FTZ in prioritizing key industries and fostering integrated innovation throughout the entire value chain, according to He, the ministry spokesperson.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Transcript – Sky Sunday Agenda

    Source: Australian Ministers for Education

    ANDREW CLENNELL: Well, joining me live now from Adelaide, where Anthony Albanese is giving that speech, is the Education Minister, Jason Clare. Jason Clare, thanks for joining me. Let’s start with today’s announcement. Why have you decided to cut the debt that these students would have expected to pay by 20%?

    JASON CLARE, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION: G’day, mate. This is massive help for 3 million Australians right across the country with a student debt. People have got a university degree, or a TAFE qualification and it’ll cut their debt by 20 per cent. 

    The average debt at the moment is about $27,000, so that will cut their debt by more than $5,000. 

    For somebody that’s got a student debt of about $50,000, and there’s plenty of people like that out there, then this will cut their debt by $10,000. 

    When you and I were at university, back last century, university was a lot cheaper than it is today. Even in the early 2000s, it was cheaper. Back then, students contributed, on average, about 30 per cent to the cost of the degree, and taxpayers, the Government, contributed the other 70 per cent. 

    Now it’s more like a bit over 40 per cent that on average students contribute and the taxpayer, or the Government, contributes about 60 per cent. This fixes that. It fixes that for this generation of Australians, 3 million Australians who’ve got uni and TAFE qualifications over the last decade or so.

    CLENNELL: Someone has to pay for this, and I assume it’s taxpayers.

    CLARE: This is the thing, whether it’s TAFE or whether it’s university, the individual benefits and the country benefits as well. That’s why it’s always been the case that we both chip in. It’s why we’ve rolled out about half a million fee free TAFE places. Free TAFE places for Australians. But it’s also why Australian taxpayers and the Government contributes to investing in our universities as well. 

    The bottom line here is a lot of young Australians are doing it tough at the moment. They’re just starting out, they’ve just finished their uni degree or just finished their TAFE qualifications, just leaving home, starting to pay rent, paying the bills, they’ve got to pay this bill, too. This will cut the cost of that bill and what we announced yesterday will make it easier to pay that off as well.

    CLENNELL: Indeed. But if this is such a great initiative, why not? I mean, Parliament sits this week. Why not introduce the legislation now? Jason Clare, why say it’s contingent on an election win? I mean, it effectively looks like an electoral bribe to younger people.

    CLARE: We’ve got legislation in the Parliament right now that cuts student debt by $3 billion for 3 million Australians. That fixes the indexation formula. Everyone watching will remember that when inflation spiked last year, so did student debt. We’re fixing that and wiping out what happened last year, making sure that it doesn’t happen again. So, that legislation is in the Parliament right now. We want to see that done and finished and fixed by the end of the year. 

    That bill also includes other big reforms like paid prac. So, for the first time ever, we’re going to provide financial support for teaching students and nursing students and social work students while they do their practical training. That bill also includes something else that’s important. Massively expanding the free courses that are effectively bridging courses for students between school and starting a university degree…

    CLENNELL: Okay, but why save this for the election? Why tie this to an election?

    CLARE: Just important to make the point that we’re making changes to student debt in the Parliament right now. What Anthony will say today is that if we are re-elected, this will be the first piece of legislation that we introduce to the Parliament after the election. And it’ll make a massive difference for a lot of young Australians right across the country. Not just young Australians, though. Everybody that has a student debt cut by 20 per cent.

    CLENNELL: All right, a lot of young Australians would just like to see HECS fees cut, full stop. So, this obviously affects those who’ve accumulated the debt, who’ve graduated or are graduating. You spoke about when we went to university, my HECS debt was $9,500. Now, an arts degree can cost you 50 grand. Medicine or law degree can cost you 80 grand. Why not just cut those fees?

    CLARE: There’s more to do here as well, mate, that’s the truth. As I said, there’s legislation in the Parliament to help students at university right now with that paid prac that financial support while they do their training and those free courses. 

    But what we’ve also said we would do is create an Australian Tertiary Education Commission to help us set those fees, fix the funding model for universities, and also provide universities with extra funding for students who are more likely to drop out to help them complete their degrees. And I hope to be in a position later this year to provide more detail on all of that.

    CLENNELL: And lifting the threshold for paying it back from $54,000 a year to $67,000. What difference will that make? Because ultimately it means it takes longer to pay your debt back, doesn’t it?

    CLARE: Not necessarily. It always depends on the individual. And remember, this is the minimum that you have to pay if you want to pay more off you can. The bottom line with this reform, and this is a reform recommended by the Universities Accord Panel, recommended in fact by Bruce Chapman, who’s the architect of HECS back in the 80s, is that it’s designed to make sure that you start to pay off your university degree when university starts to pay off for you.

    For a lot of young people, they’re straight out of uni, they’re on a low income, they’re paying the rent, paying the bills, trying to save for a mortgage, trying to start a family, and they already have to start paying off their HECS bill. This gets them a little bit of relief, takes the pressure off, means that they don’t have to start paying back that debt until they’re earning $67,000 a year, which is about three quarters of the average graduate salary. And it means for somebody that might be on say $80,000 a year, that they’re paying about $850 less a year than they have to at the moment. So, that’s more money in their pocket rather than being in the Government’s pocket to help them pay the rent and pay the bills.

    CLENNELL: Well, just on that, is this policy a sign of how expensive housing and rents are that you’ve had to do this? And are you trying to take votes back or off the Greens here by appealing to younger people?

    CLARE: I think it’s just a simple fact that a lot of young people are doing it tough, doing it tougher than many other Australians. If they’re straight out of uni and they’re into the workforce and they’ve moved out and they’ve got to pay the rent and they’ve got this bill as well, then cutting that debt by 20 per cent and making it easier to pay off is going to help them. But it’s also part of a bigger plan that we’ve got to build Australia’s future. 

    Back when Hawke and Keating were running the country, we saw a jump in the number of young people finishing high school from 40 per cent to almost 80 per cent. And that was nation changing stuff. It’s made us smarter and stronger and wealthier as a country. And this Universities Accord report tells us that by the middle of this century, it’s not going to be just 80 per cent of people that finish school. We’re going to need a workforce where 80 per cent of people have finished school and then gone to TAFE or gone to university. And if we’re going to build that workforce, then we’ve got to reform our education system, make it better and make it fairer. That’s what the reforms in the Parliament are about. And this will help as well.

    CLENNELL: Whose idea is 20 per cent? A 20 per cent cut? Is it yours? Is it the Prime Minister’s? Did you look at 30 per cent? Did you look at 40 per cent? Did you look at 10 per cent?

    CLARE: We looked at a range of different options, but they’re decisions that are made by Cabinet, made by the ERC, and I’m not going to go into that detail.

    CLENNELL: Did you want a greater cut? Did you want a bigger cut as Education Minister?

    CLARE: No. Very, very simple here. I’m the education minister. I put this recommendation to my colleagues, and they’ve backed it, and I’m glad they have.

    CLENNELL: All right, We’ve revealed Labor’s slogan to be announced today is ‘Building Australia’s future’. In 2022 it was ‘A better future’. Has Australia seen a better future between 2022 and 2024, particularly in light of 12 interest rate increases?

    CLARE: We’ve made real progress on a number of important fronts. We’ve created a million new jobs in just over two years. That’s more than any government ever has. We’ve cut inflation in half. When we came to office, inflation was high and going up. Now it’s low and coming down back into the band that we’ve delivered two surpluses in a row, something the Liberal Party could only have ever dreamed of. And now we’re starting to see real wages grow again. So, that’s real progress, but it’s just the start. 

    What we’ll be talking about today is what we want to do if we’re privileged enough to win a second term, and that’s building Australia’s future. A big part of that is building the workforce, building the skills that we’re going to need to build the next generation of Australians, to build Australia for the years ahead.

    CLENNELL: Let me ask you about this issue of flight upgrades. I looked through your register. You declared a $15 bottle of wine and a phone charger at one stage. Jason Clare. But you did also declare – And do you really have to declare…

    CLARE: …a pineapple I think.

    CLENNELL: Okay. All right. But you did also declare an upgrade with Qantas in 2019 on a flight from Sydney to Singapore. Was that personal travel and how did that happen?

    CLARE:  Yeah, good pickup, mate. That was a personal trip. And that was a situation where I had just got out of hospital, I had surgery on my leg and I asked for upgrade and I was assisted by Qantas.

    CLENNELL: So, who do you ask in that scenario? 

    CLARE: I remember picking up the phone and asking for a bit of assistance there, but I can’t remember all of the details.

    CLENNELL: Was it a government relations person or…?

    CLARE: Probably. I don’t want to mislead you, but I definitely asked for that, just to help me after the surgery.

    CLENNELL: What do you make of this? Just on this. I don’t want to labour too much time on this. Was your family on that trip with you? Did they also get an upgrade?

    CLARE: No.

    CLENNELL: Okay. It was a personal trip. Okay. By yourself? Or were they on another section of the flight? Were they with you?

    CLARE: No, I had to go into hospital. You might remember that. I had a melanoma on my leg. I had to get it cut out. My family were overseas, I caught up with them as soon as I was allowed to. 

    CLENNELL: Sure, ok. What do you make of this Joe Aston claim that Anthony Albanese got the upgrades from Alan Joyce? Obviously, a claim that the Prime Minister disputes.

    CLARE: He said that that’s not right. The bottom line here is declare it. And you’ve just gone through my declarations. If you get an upgrade or you’re given anything else, you declare it, you fill out a form, you whack it on the internet and it’s there for everybody to see.

    CLENNELL: Why do you think it took the PM so long to shut this issue down? He could have easily come out that first press conference to say, no. I never contacted Alan Joyce about this. I mean, has it been a bad distraction for the government?

    CLARE: He’s gone out of his way to check and make sure that all of the questions that he answers are correct here, over more than a decade, to do the due diligence that you’re supposed to do to make sure that you answer the questions correctly. You just asked me a question I didn’t know the answer to. You’ve got the choice there that you make it up or you check. And that’s what Anthony has done. It’s a bit of a difference to what Peter Dutton did this week, when he was asked whether he’d asked Gina Rinehart to use the private plane, he said no, and then a couple of days later had to say that in fact, he had.

    CLENNELL: And finally, Jason Clare what do you expect to happen in the US election this week? What would a Donald Trump win mean to Australia? Because on things like climate change, the US would be running in a whole separate direction, perhaps on Ukraine as well.

    CLARE: This is a decision for the American people. If the polls are right, it’s likely to be a very close result. Whatever happens would be good if it’s a clear result for the United States. Whoever wins, though, it doesn’t change the relationship between Australia and the United States. The United States is our closest ally, and that is a matter of bipartisan support. I’m sure Simon will tell you the exact same thing in a couple of minutes time. Whether it’s a Labor government or a Liberal government in Australia or a Republican government or a Democratic government in the United States, we are the best of friends and closest of allies and that will continue.

    CLENNELL: Education Minister Jason Clare, thanks so much for your time.

    CLARE: Thanks, mate.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Albanese Labor Government to cut a further 20 per cent off all student loan debts

    Source: Ministers for Social Services

    Joint with:

    The Hon Anthony Albanese MP
    Prime Minister of Australia

    The Hon Jason Clare MP
    Minister for Education

    The Hon Amanda Rishworth MP
    Minister for Social Services

    The Hon Andrew Giles MP
    Minister for Skills and Training

    The Albanese Labor Government will cut a further 20 per cent off all student loan debts, wiping around $16 billion in student debt for around three million Australians.

    By 1 June next year, the Government will cut 20 per cent off all student loans to reduce the debt burden for Australians with a student loan.

    This will cut around $16 billion in debt, including all HELP, VET Student Loan, Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan and other income-contingent student support loan accounts that exist on 1 June next year.

    For someone with the average HELP debt of $27,600 they will see around $5,520 wiped from their outstanding HELP loans next year.

    Range of outstanding HELP debt Number of Australians with a HELP debt Range in debt reduction
    $0-$10,000 791,000 $0-$2,000
    $10,000-$20,000 585,000 $2,000-$4,000
    $20,000-$30,000 501,000 $4,000-$6,000
    $30,000-$40,000 380,000 $6,000-$8,000
    $40,000-$50,000 250,000 $8,000-$10,000
    $50,000-$60,000 147,500 $10,000-$12,000
    $60,000+ 276,000 $12,000+

    This will provide significant relief to Australian students and workers with a student loan debt and builds on our reforms to fix the indexation formula, which is cutting around $3 billion in student debt.

    This means, all up, the Albanese Labor Government will cut close to $20 billion in student loan debt for more than three million Australians.

    This builds on the Government’s announcement that from 1 July next year it will reduce the amount Australians with a student debt have to repay per year and raise the threshold when people need to start repaying.

    Together these reforms also build on the Government’s substantial tertiary education reforms, including:

    • Delivering 500,000 Fee-Free TAFE places
    • Doubling the number of University Study Hubs
    • Introducing legislation to establish the Commonwealth Prac Payment and expand Fee-Free Uni Ready Courses; and
    • A commitment to introduce a new managed growth and needs-based funding model for universities, and establish an Australian Tertiary Education Commission.

    Quotes attributable to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese:

    “I will always fight for every young Australian to have access to a good education. My Government will make sure our education system is fairer and affordable for every Australian and we won’t delay unwinding the damage caused by the former Coalition Government.

    “We’re already fixing indexation and today, we are going further by taking 20 per cent off student debt – for everyone with a student debt.

    “This will help everyone with a student debt right now, whilst we work hard to deliver a better deal for every student in the years ahead.

    “No matter where you live or how much your parents earn, my Government will work to ensure the doors of opportunity are open for you.”

    Quotes attributable to Minister for Education Jason Clare:

    “This is a game-changer for the more than three million Australians with a student loan.

    “By 1 June next year, we will wipe around a further $16 billion from all Australians with a student dent, including Australians who went to uni and vocational education.

    “This builds on our changes to make indexation fairer and all up this means we are wiping close to $20 billion in student debt.

    “This is another significant reform that will help us build a better and fairer education system.”

    Quotes attributable to Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth:

    “This is great news for Australians with student debt – whether from studying at university or vocational education – the Albanese Government will reduce their debt alongside our changes to make indexation fairer.

    “We want all Australians to have the opportunity for higher education, and our changes are making the system fairer and more affordable.”

    Quotes attributable to Minister for Skills and Training Andrew Giles:

    “This will deliver very welcome cost-of-living relief to the more than three million Australians who have student loans and is an example of the great Labor tradition of making education more accessible. 

    “This support applies to all government student loans including vocational training, so whether you’re an apprentice or a tradie, a carer or a nurse, if you’re paying off a student loan you’ll receive this cost of living relief.”

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Ethiopia hosts 1st annual seminar to boost Chinese language education

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    Bultosa Hirko, deputy head of the Oromia Regional State Education Bureau, speaks at the first annual seminar on Chinese language education in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, on Nov. 1, 2024. Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

    The first annual seminar on Chinese language education was held Friday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, emphasizing the need to promote Chinese language education across the East African country.

    The event, which brought together Chinese and Ethiopian language instructors and experts, focused on establishing an effective Chinese language education system in Ethiopia and addressing challenges in the process.

    Speaking at the seminar, Zhang Yawei, cultural counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia, said the conference aimed to share experiences, build on successes, address issues and jointly advance Chinese language education in Ethiopia.

    “With globalization accelerating and cultural exchanges between China and Ethiopia increasing, expanding Chinese language education in Ethiopia is essential. It helps Ethiopian students understand Chinese culture and history and opens more opportunities for them in the future,” Zhang said.

    Noting that Chinese language education in Ethiopia faces challenges such as a shortage of teaching staff and resources, Zhang said that a significant number of Ethiopian students are now studying Chinese at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels in both Ethiopian and Chinese universities.

    Bultosa Hirko, deputy head of the Oromia Regional State Education Bureau, said Chinese language education is gaining popularity in Ethiopia, unlocking economic opportunities, promoting cultural exchange and fostering mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.

    “Ethiopia and China have developed a robust partnership over the years, marked by collaboration across various sectors, including education, infrastructure, trade, investment and development assistance,” Hirko said. He added that China’s rising global influence has underscored the importance of learning and understanding the Chinese language worldwide.

    “The Chinese government has been instrumental in supporting the implementation of the Chinese language curriculum in Ethiopia, recruiting and training teachers, and providing essential curriculum materials,” Hirko added.

    The seminar also featured presentations of research papers on Chinese language learning in Ethiopia, the recognition of Chinese as a global language, and the strengthening strategic partnership between China and Ethiopia.

    With Ethiopia’s strong economic ties to China and the growing presence of Chinese companies, especially in road, railway and industrial zone development, the demand for Chinese language education has surged in Ethiopian universities and colleges. 

    Zhang Yawei, cultural counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia, speaks at the first annual seminar on Chinese language education in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, on Nov. 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

    The first annual seminar on Chinese language education is held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, on Nov. 1, 2024.(Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Clean & Green Singapore Day 2024: A Celebration Of Public Hygiene And Environmental Stewardship

    Source: Asia Pacific Region 2 – Singapore

    Outstanding individuals recognised with prestigious environmental services awards.

    JOINT NEWS RELEASE BETWEEN NEA, SW CDC, NPARKS AND NUS

    Singapore, 3 November 2024 – The national aspiration for a clean and green Singapore was celebrated and reaffirmed today at Clean & Green Singapore (CGS) Day 2024[1], organised by the National Environment Agency, South West Community Development Council (SW CDC), National Parks Board (NParks), and the National University of Singapore (NUS). Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Heng Swee Keat was the Guest-of-Honour.

    2             In support of the ongoing Year of Public Hygiene, CGS Day this year commenced with the opening of a new Public Hygiene Council (PHC) CleanPod at West Coast Park. CleanPods are sheds located across parks, beaches, and housing estates, where the public can access litter-picking tools such as tongs and pails, to organise their own community clean-ups. The new CleanPod brings the total number of CleanPods across Singapore to 21. Together with DPM Heng, residents, local grassroots partners, People’s Association (PA) Youth Movement and NUS student volunteers put the new CleanPod to immediate use, with a community clean-up of the park. The clean-up comes on top of nearly 130 activities organised to date in support of the Year of Public Hygiene, planned by grassroots and corporate partners, NGOs and schools. Progammes ranged from clean-ups to outreach projects, promoting an overall culture of cleanliness. Many of these ground-up efforts have become regular activities, and will be continue into next year and beyond.

     3             DPM Heng then proceeded to NUS University Town, where he joined 160 students and staff in a traditional CGS tree-planting ceremony. The ceremony goes back to 1963, when founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew launched the first nationwide tree-planting campaign in support of Singapore’s greening movement, a legacy that continues to this day. The tree-planting was followed by the presentation of the Environmental Services (ES) Star Awards, as well as the Community in Bloom (CIB) Ambassador Awards by DPM Heng.

     27 Environmental Services Stars Recognised for Outstanding Contributions

     4          The annual ES Star Award recognises the contributions of workers in the Environmental Services industry, whose work at the forefront of upholding good public health and hygiene in Singapore is often taken for granted. The 2024 ES Star Award was presented to 27 frontline, supervisory, and operations support staff[2]. These individuals were nominated for demonstrating service excellence, initiative to continuously upskill, and for their significant contributions to innovation, productivity, and environmental sustainability.

     5          One of the awardees this year is Mr Chua Peng Soo, a Pest Control Technician with more than 30 years of experience. An advocate for environmental sustainability, Mr Chua ensures his clients’ premises are pest-free using eco-friendly pest management solutions. Beyond his professional duties, he also actively encourages his colleagues, friends and family to adopt green practices that protect our natural resources. Another awardee is Mr Noor Azmi Bin Ranai, a Senior Operations Manager. A firm believer in continuous learning, Mr Azmi has inspired his colleagues to upskill, encouraging them to attend courses and further their knowledge. His contributions to process improvement and staff development have made a lasting impact on the company.

     Appointment of Community in Bloom Ambassadors

     6          Seven new Community in Bloom (CIB) Ambassadors[3] were also appointed at this year’s CGS event. The CIB Ambassador Award recognises individuals who have made significant contributions to promote gardening and actively engage with the community to facilitate gardening-based community projects.

     7          One of the recipients, Ms Toh Mei Xuan, wears two hats as a Garden Leader and main programme curator at Geylang East Grove Community Garden which demonstrates her passion for gardening and nature. Ms Toh leads gardening sessions for preschoolers weekly and conducts workshops, garden tours and outreach activities at community events on the benefits of nature. In her own time, she also actively documents and shares about the wide range of biodiversity that can be found in the garden through online videos and educational materials.    

     Tree Planting at NUS University Town

     8          NUS has been organising tree planting activities on campus every year since November 2015 as part of its commitment towards building a Campus in a Tropical Rainforest, one of the focus areas under NUS’ Campus Sustainability Roadmap 2030.

     9          This year’s tree planting holds a special significance, with the planting of the 50,000th tree at NUS UTown today by DPM Heng, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Ms Grace Fu, Minister of National Development Mr Desmond Lee, Senior Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth & Trade and Industry, and Mayor of South West District, Ms Low Yen Ling, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Dr Amy Khor and Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment Mr Baey Yam Keng. The event also saw the planting of a total of 50 trees by more than 100 NUS staff and students in support of NParks’ OneMillionTrees movement. This marks the halfway point towards the University’s goal of planting 100,000 trees by 2030, having increased its tree canopy area from 36 percent to 60 percent, that is, over half the campus grounds are covered with trees. The OneMillionTrees movement[4] started in 2020 with the aim to plant one million more trees across Singapore by 2030. To date, more than 700,000 trees have been planted across Singapore.

     10        During a construction project in 2012 at UTown, a national heritage tree – the Margaritaria indica (Airy Shaw) – was discovered on site. To commemorate NUS’ tree-planting milestone, DPM Heng planted a Margaritaria indica sapling, along with other accompanying dignitaries. Other tree species planted at CGS Day 2024 include Rubroshorea pauciflora, Scorodocarpus borneensis, Garcinia celebica and Anthoshorea gratissima, which are native to Singapore.

     Therapeutic Horticulture Programmes available for public to sign up for the first time

     11          Members of the public will be able to sign up for therapeutic horticulture programmes at six therapeutic gardens[5], including the newly opened therapeutic garden at West Coast Park, from December till May 2025 for free. Therapeutic horticulture programmes aim to improve participants’ well-being holistically by promoting low-intensity exercise and improving motor skills, stimulating memory, encouraging positive social interactions and connection with nature and promoting mindfulness. These programmes comprise facilitated nature-related activities such as designing seed mandalas, making of scent bags and creating leaf collages as well as other gardening activities. Interested members of public can find out more through the NParks official website. This is the first time that NParks is offering over 20 therapeutic horticulture sessions at different therapeutic gardens for public to sign up.

     Green efforts by South West Community Development Council  

     12          Aligned with Singapore’s sustainability goals, the South West CDC continues to nurture a community that is environmentally conscious through the Sustainable South West Masterplan[6]. The Masterplan outlines five key goals:

    1. Our Active, Gracious People, aimed at empowering residents with platforms to volunteer and do their part for the environment;
    2. Our Clean, Green Living Spaces, to foster community ties and environmental stewardship through our community gardens;
    3. Our Smart Homes, which promotes green living to reduce carbon footprint and innovating for a sustainable tomorrow;
    4. Our Green Rides, to encourage car-lite communities to transform common spaces into car-free zones and;
    5. Our Zero Waste Journey, where best practices on sustainability are shared with the community to encourage waste minimisation habits.

     13          Focusing on building sustainable habits in the community, the CDC’s programmes involve the collaborative effort of partners, schools, volunteers and residents to realise these goals. The CDC’s flagship recycling programme, Clean Up @ South West encourages residents to take responsibility for their living environment through the exchange of recyclables for groceries. Since its inception in 2006, close to 1,100 tonnes of recyclables have been collected, equivalent to saving over 18,300 trees. In 2023, the CDC launched the Green Innovation Centre, in partnership with the Swedish Chamber of Commerce and Bukit Batok Grassroots Organisations to transform the existing Cosy Garden in Bukit Batok into a hub to inspire the local community to learn and discover more on sustainable living. The programme, which has brought together close to 30 partners from the local community, Swedish MNCs, and local SMEs, has reached more than 600 residents to date, educating them about intelligent solutions such as AI facial recognition for enhancing security in community gardens.


    [1] For details of more activities under CGS, please refer to Annex A.

    [2] Please refer to Annex B for profiles of more ES Star awardees who are available for interviews.

    [3] Please refer to Annex C for more details on the CIB Ambassador Awards and the Ambassadors who have been appointed this year.

    [4] Please refer to Annex D for more information on the tree species that were planted today and about the OneMillionTrees movement.

    [5] Please refer to Annex E for more details on therapeutic horticulture programmes and therapeutic gardens.

    [6] Please refer to this link for more information on the Sustainable South West Masterplan.

    ~~ End ~~

    For more information, please submit your enquiries electronically via the Online Feedback Form or myENV mobile application. 

    ANNEXES

    Annex A – Factsheet on CGS Experiences and Activities
    Annex B – Factsheet with Profiles of Environmental Services Award Winners
    Annex C – Factsheet on CIB Ambassadors 2024
    Annex D – Factsheet on Tree Species Planted and OneMillionTrees Movement
    Annex E – Factsheet on Therapeutic Horticulture Programmes

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Ethiopia hosts seminar on Chinese language education

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    Bultosa Hirko, deputy head of the Oromia Regional State Education Bureau, speaks at the first annual seminar on Chinese language education in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, on Nov. 1, 2024. Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

    The first annual seminar on Chinese language education was held Friday in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, emphasizing the need to promote Chinese language education across the East African country.

    The event, which brought together Chinese and Ethiopian language instructors and experts, focused on establishing an effective Chinese language education system in Ethiopia and addressing challenges in the process.

    Speaking at the seminar, Zhang Yawei, cultural counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia, said the conference aimed to share experiences, build on successes, address issues and jointly advance Chinese language education in Ethiopia.

    “With globalization accelerating and cultural exchanges between China and Ethiopia increasing, expanding Chinese language education in Ethiopia is essential. It helps Ethiopian students understand Chinese culture and history and opens more opportunities for them in the future,” Zhang said.

    Noting that Chinese language education in Ethiopia faces challenges such as a shortage of teaching staff and resources, Zhang said that a significant number of Ethiopian students are now studying Chinese at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels in both Ethiopian and Chinese universities.

    Bultosa Hirko, deputy head of the Oromia Regional State Education Bureau, said Chinese language education is gaining popularity in Ethiopia, unlocking economic opportunities, promoting cultural exchange and fostering mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.

    “Ethiopia and China have developed a robust partnership over the years, marked by collaboration across various sectors, including education, infrastructure, trade, investment and development assistance,” Hirko said. He added that China’s rising global influence has underscored the importance of learning and understanding the Chinese language worldwide.

    “The Chinese government has been instrumental in supporting the implementation of the Chinese language curriculum in Ethiopia, recruiting and training teachers, and providing essential curriculum materials,” Hirko added.

    The seminar also featured presentations of research papers on Chinese language learning in Ethiopia, the recognition of Chinese as a global language, and the strengthening strategic partnership between China and Ethiopia.

    With Ethiopia’s strong economic ties to China and the growing presence of Chinese companies, especially in road, railway and industrial zone development, the demand for Chinese language education has surged in Ethiopian universities and colleges. 

    Zhang Yawei, cultural counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia, speaks at the first annual seminar on Chinese language education in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, on Nov. 1, 2024. (Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

    The first annual seminar on Chinese language education is held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, on Nov. 1, 2024.(Xinhua/Michael Tewelde)

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Only 3% of South Africans can name all five national animals and plants. Why these symbols matter

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Charlie Shackleton, Professor & Research Chair in Interdisciplinary Science in Land and Natural Resource Use for Sustainable Livelihoods, Rhodes University

    Alongside a national flag, anthem and coat of arms, most countries have one or more plant and animal species that they designate as national symbols. The national animal of China, for example, is the giant panda, a nation-wide source of pride and diplomacy. Americans salute the bald eagle as a symbol of strength and freedom.

    But how do South Africans relate to their official national symbols? Do they even know what they are? It’s a country with an enviable variety of ethnicities, cultures, languages, histories, landscapes and biodiversity. It’s also a country fractured by colonialism and apartheid.

    South Africa is still in the process of building a unified and national identity as it moves beyond apartheid, an oppressive system of legislated racial division that formally ended with the advent of democracy in 1994.

    The process of nation building includes developing a shared history, identity, pride and values of what it means to be South African. One dynamic in this process is the shaping of a collective identity around particular national icons, symbols, activities and personalities. The national anthem, flag, sports stars, artists and the like. Things that make citizens proud of their country and its people, despite a divided past.

    King protea. Carol Phillips/iStock/Getty Images

    Reflecting its mega-biodiversity status, South Africa boasts five national animal and plant symbols. These are the national animal (springbok), fish (galjoen), bird (blue crane), flower (king protea) and tree (real yellowwood). Yet, their usefulness in helping build a national identity depends on South Africans actually knowing what they are. Sadly, this seems not to be the case.

    As environmental scientists we’re intrigued by the relationships between humans and nature. Environmental scholars Ondwela Tshikombeni, Monde Ntshudu and I recently conducted a study to find out how much South Africans know about the five biodiversity symbols. We found that only a tiny fraction could name all of them. The level of knowledge about them was generally low.

    This indicates that these symbols can’t be effectively used to help build a common South African identity. Nor will they add value to biodiversity conservation campaigns in a time when the need to protect nature increases due to the impacts of human development and climate change.

    National animals and plants

    The process of choosing a species as a national symbol is different depending on the country and may even be contested. In Turkey, for example, the national animal is the grey wolf. It can be a symbol of pride or be rejected because it’s the controversial name of a rightwing political group.

    Many national symbols are rooted in history and could stem from the emblems of the political, colonial or economic elites of the past. Or they may be more recent and based on lobbying by certain groups or even via public vote. Britain, for example, asked the public to choose a national bird. The robin won.

    Galjoen. Biodiversity Heritage Library/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

    The first national animal to be used as a symbol in South Africa was the springbuck (or springbok), proposed in 1906 as a name for the country’s rugby team ahead of a tour of Europe. The most recent addition was the galjoen in 1992.

    Our study

    We surveyed 382 urban dwellers in four towns spanning three provinces: Mossel Bay, Kariega (formerly Uitenhage), Gcuwa (formerly Butterworth) and Kokstad. In each town we set out to interview 25 adults across low-, medium- and high-income areas and the central business district.

    Blue crane. Knowsley Hall/Wikimedia Commons

    As part of the survey, we asked people to name each of the five national biodiversity symbols. After that, we presented them with photos of four different species (one of which was the national one) and asked them to correctly identify the national species.

    What we found

    Only 11 of the respondents (3%) could name all five symbols, while almost half (48%) could not correctly name a single one. The most widely known were the springbok (40%) and the king protea (40%), perhaps because they correspond to the names of national sporting teams. The blue crane was mentioned by only 16% of the respondents and the galjoen (8%) and yellowwood (6%) fared even worse.

    The numbers were slightly better when respondents were asked to identify each species from a photo of four choices – 58% identified the protea, 51% the blue crane, 45% the springbok, 26% the galjoen and 16% the real yellowwood.

    Real yellowwood. Abu Shawka/ Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    To benchmark these knowledge levels, we also asked a few questions about the national flag and coat of arms. Only eight people knew the meaning of the phrase at the base of the coat of arms (ǃke e꞉ǀxarraǁke, meaning “diverse people unite” in the |Xam language of the country’s original inhabitants). Only 29% correctly knew that the Y-shape in the middle of the national flag was green. This indicates that the low knowledge of national symbols is not limited to just biodiversity symbols.

    What can be done about it

    It’s clear that a great deal more effort is needed to popularise the national biodiversity symbols if they’re to be used to help shape a national identity in South Africa. They could be promoted in schools where other national symbols, like the flag and anthem, are common.

    Read more: Should Graaff-Reinet be renamed Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe? Residents of the South African town say no – study

    The South African National Biodiversity Institute and the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture could promote them during September’s heritage month celebrations. They could engage the public by popularising their names in the different official languages of the country and their roles in folklore and indigenous knowledge. They could also be featured in national and international tourism promotions.

    Ondwela Tshikombeni and Monde Ntshudu contributed to this article

    – Only 3% of South Africans can name all five national animals and plants. Why these symbols matter
    – https://theconversation.com/only-3-of-south-africans-can-name-all-five-national-animals-and-plants-why-these-symbols-matter-241284

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Only 3% of South Africans can name all five national animals and plants. Why these symbols matter

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Charlie Shackleton, Professor & Research Chair in Interdisciplinary Science in Land and Natural Resource Use for Sustainable Livelihoods, Rhodes University

    The springbok is best known, thanks to it being a name for sports teams. A Oosthuizen/iStock/Getty Images

    Alongside a national flag, anthem and coat of arms, most countries have one or more plant and animal species that they designate as national symbols. The national animal of China, for example, is the giant panda, a nation-wide source of pride and diplomacy. Americans salute the bald eagle as a symbol of strength and freedom.

    But how do South Africans relate to their official national symbols? Do they even know what they are? It’s a country with an enviable variety of ethnicities, cultures, languages, histories, landscapes and biodiversity. It’s also a country fractured by colonialism and apartheid.

    South Africa is still in the process of building a unified and national identity as it moves beyond apartheid, an oppressive system of legislated racial division that formally ended with the advent of democracy in 1994.

    The process of nation building includes developing a shared history, identity, pride and values of what it means to be South African. One dynamic in this process is the shaping of a collective identity around particular national icons, symbols, activities and personalities. The national anthem, flag, sports stars, artists and the like. Things that make citizens proud of their country and its people, despite a divided past.

    King protea.
    Carol Phillips/iStock/Getty Images

    Reflecting its mega-biodiversity status, South Africa boasts five national animal and plant symbols. These are the national animal (springbok), fish (galjoen), bird (blue crane), flower (king protea) and tree (real yellowwood). Yet, their usefulness in helping build a national identity depends on South Africans actually knowing what they are. Sadly, this seems not to be the case.

    As environmental scientists we’re intrigued by the relationships between humans and nature. Environmental scholars Ondwela Tshikombeni, Monde Ntshudu and I recently conducted a study to find out how much South Africans know about the five biodiversity symbols. We found that only a tiny fraction could name all of them. The level of knowledge about them was generally low.

    This indicates that these symbols can’t be effectively used to help build a common South African identity. Nor will they add value to biodiversity conservation campaigns in a time when the need to protect nature increases due to the impacts of human development and climate change.

    National animals and plants

    The process of choosing a species as a national symbol is different depending on the country and may even be contested. In Turkey, for example, the national animal is the grey wolf. It can be a symbol of pride or be rejected because it’s the controversial name of a rightwing political group.

    Many national symbols are rooted in history and could stem from the emblems of the political, colonial or economic elites of the past. Or they may be more recent and based on lobbying by certain groups or even via public vote. Britain, for example, asked the public to choose a national bird. The robin won.

    Galjoen.
    Biodiversity Heritage Library/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

    The first national animal to be used as a symbol in South Africa was the springbuck (or springbok), proposed in 1906 as a name for the country’s rugby team ahead of a tour of Europe. The most recent addition was the galjoen in 1992.

    Our study

    We surveyed 382 urban dwellers in four towns spanning three provinces: Mossel Bay, Kariega (formerly Uitenhage), Gcuwa (formerly Butterworth) and Kokstad. In each town we set out to interview 25 adults across low-, medium- and high-income areas and the central business district.

    Blue crane.
    Knowsley Hall/Wikimedia Commons

    As part of the survey, we asked people to name each of the five national biodiversity symbols. After that, we presented them with photos of four different species (one of which was the national one) and asked them to correctly identify the national species.

    What we found

    Only 11 of the respondents (3%) could name all five symbols, while almost half (48%) could not correctly name a single one. The most widely known were the springbok (40%) and the king protea (40%), perhaps because they correspond to the names of national sporting teams. The blue crane was mentioned by only 16% of the respondents and the galjoen (8%) and yellowwood (6%) fared even worse.

    The numbers were slightly better when respondents were asked to identify each species from a photo of four choices – 58% identified the protea, 51% the blue crane, 45% the springbok, 26% the galjoen and 16% the real yellowwood.

    Real yellowwood.
    Abu Shawka/ Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    To benchmark these knowledge levels, we also asked a few questions about the national flag and coat of arms. Only eight people knew the meaning of the phrase at the base of the coat of arms (ǃke e꞉ǀxarraǁke, meaning “diverse people unite” in the |Xam language of the country’s original inhabitants). Only 29% correctly knew that the Y-shape in the middle of the national flag was green. This indicates that the low knowledge of national symbols is not limited to just biodiversity symbols.

    What can be done about it

    It’s clear that a great deal more effort is needed to popularise the national biodiversity symbols if they’re to be used to help shape a national identity in South Africa. They could be promoted in schools where other national symbols, like the flag and anthem, are common.



    Read more:
    Should Graaff-Reinet be renamed Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe? Residents of the South African town say no – study

    The South African National Biodiversity Institute and the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture could promote them during September’s heritage month celebrations. They could engage the public by popularising their names in the different official languages of the country and their roles in folklore and indigenous knowledge. They could also be featured in national and international tourism promotions.

    Ondwela Tshikombeni and Monde Ntshudu contributed to this article

    Charlie Shackleton received funding from the National Research Foundation under the SARChI Chairs programme for this work.

    – ref. Only 3% of South Africans can name all five national animals and plants. Why these symbols matter – https://theconversation.com/only-3-of-south-africans-can-name-all-five-national-animals-and-plants-why-these-symbols-matter-241284

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Big companies profit from poverty but aren’t obliged to uphold human rights. International law must change – scholar

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Bonita Meyersfeld, Associate Professor, University of the Witwatersrand

    There is some disagreement among legal practitioners and scholars about whether corporations have duties under international law.

    Many argue that only states are bound by international law, and it is those states which are obliged to regulate how businesses operate within their borders. Corporations have only a voluntary responsibility to avoid committing human rights violations through their operations.

    I have been doing research in the area of corporate accountability for human rights violations since 2006. My most recent paper looks at the role of multinational corporations (multinationals) in benefiting from and perpetuating structural poverty in the global south.

    I argue that international law can no longer exempt corporations from liability for human rights violations, including those arising from poverty. Under certain circumstances, corporations should have duties under international law to ensure human rights are fulfilled. I argue that this is particularly true when it comes to socio-economic rights such as the rights to housing, education, food, water and healthcare.

    International human rights law must be developed to impose duties directly on multinational corporations to alleviate poverty in the developing countries where they operate.

    This is not an absolute duty – it would only arise in certain circumstances and for specific periods of time, as I show in my paper.

    Poverty and corporations

    Some estimate that as many as 1.3 billion people live in poverty – more than 10% of the world’s population, the vast majority in the global south.

    Poverty is also deadly. It is estimated that at least 21,300 people die every day as a result of poverty and inequality. Poverty is a human rights violation, affecting the rights to dignity, life, food and water.

    Businesses have a long history of profiting from human rights abuses. Finance and transport companies have acknowledged ties to the slave trade. European banks reportedly assisted South Africa’s apartheid government to procure arms.



    Read more:
    UK-Rwanda migrant deal challenges international protection law

    Even when they are not directly responsible for human rights violations, multinational corporations may be complicit. Multinationals based in the global north tend to exploit developing countries for their cheap labour, natural resources and weak regulatory frameworks. In other words, corporations benefit from poverty.

    International law

    In 2005, Professor John Ruggie was appointed as the United Nations secretary-general’s special representative on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises. He developed the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. This framework adopts the position that only states are subjects and have duties under international human rights law.

    The UN guiding principles are organised around three pillars, known as Protect, Respect and Remedy. The first pillar relates to states’ obligations to uphold human rights. It includes the duty to regulate businesses to ensure they do not violate rights through their operations. The second pillar refers to corporations’ responsibility to respect human rights. This is voluntary and not a legal obligation. The third pillar ensures that victims of human rights violations have access to effective remedies.

    This framework relies on three factors: states which have the interests of their citizens at heart, corporations complying with human rights standards, and effective remedial systems. If all three work together, then the UN guiding principles can address corporate accountability for rights violations.

    In practice, however, this is not the case. Many states, particularly those in the developing world with high levels of poverty, rely on foreign investment. This creates a power imbalance when negotiating with large multinational corporations. Multinationals are able to demand favourable investment conditions, including relaxing laws that might protect human rights.



    Read more:
    Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is illegal under international law: suggesting it’s not is dangerous

    Under the UN guiding principles, if states do not impose obligations on corporations to comply with human rights, they do not have such obligations.

    Next steps

    Not all corporations should have the same duties as states. I propose a set of factors that would determine when a corporation might have a duty under international human rights law to fulfil socio-economic rights. These factors are:

    • the extent of the violation

    • the position or vulnerability of the victim

    • the urgency of the situation

    • whether the corporation is the only actor that can fulfil the right.

    For example, let us imagine a scenario in which a company operates a mine in the Central African Republic. It has built a hospital for its workers and management. Surrounding the mining operations are indigent communities who resided in the area before the operations began.

    One day, a child from one of the settlements is knocked over by a car. Her injuries are not life-threatening, but they are severe and the child is in terrible pain. The closest hospital is the mine-owned private hospital. There is a public hospital, but it is far away and travelling there would take time and be costly. The child’s family rushes her to the mine’s hospital for emergency treatment. Does the hospital have a legal duty to admit the child and pay for her treatment?

    Applying a combination of the factors, the answer is yes. The child is vulnerable by virtue of her age and poverty, the situation is urgent, and the mine hospital is the only entity that can fulfil the right under the circumstances.



    Read more:
    The CAR provides hard lessons on what it means to deliver real justice

    Using this framework, I argue that international human rights law should be developed to mitigate the harm of poverty in the global south, by imposing duties on corporations that benefit from poverty. Some corporations have a perverse incentive to keep communities poor. International law has a role to play in overturning this state of affairs.

    Ultimately, my proposal seeks to review what we think of as a fair and just economy. Nothing will change if only states have obligations under international law. The global economic market is neither free nor fair. It has created the most severe human rights violations of our age. International human rights law must address this.

    Bonita Meyersfeld has received funding from the National Research Foundation as part of her NRF rating.

    – ref. Big companies profit from poverty but aren’t obliged to uphold human rights. International law must change – scholar – https://theconversation.com/big-companies-profit-from-poverty-but-arent-obliged-to-uphold-human-rights-international-law-must-change-scholar-241398

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Big companies profit from poverty but aren’t obliged to uphold human rights. International law must change – scholar

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Bonita Meyersfeld, Associate Professor, University of the Witwatersrand

    There is some disagreement among legal practitioners and scholars about whether corporations have duties under international law.

    Many argue that only states are bound by international law, and it is those states which are obliged to regulate how businesses operate within their borders. Corporations have only a voluntary responsibility to avoid committing human rights violations through their operations.

    I have been doing research in the area of corporate accountability for human rights violations since 2006. My most recent paper looks at the role of multinational corporations (multinationals) in benefiting from and perpetuating structural poverty in the global south.

    I argue that international law can no longer exempt corporations from liability for human rights violations, including those arising from poverty. Under certain circumstances, corporations should have duties under international law to ensure human rights are fulfilled. I argue that this is particularly true when it comes to socio-economic rights such as the rights to housing, education, food, water and healthcare.

    International human rights law must be developed to impose duties directly on multinational corporations to alleviate poverty in the developing countries where they operate.

    This is not an absolute duty – it would only arise in certain circumstances and for specific periods of time, as I show in my paper.

    Poverty and corporations

    Some estimate that as many as 1.3 billion people live in poverty – more than 10% of the world’s population, the vast majority in the global south.

    Poverty is also deadly. It is estimated that at least 21,300 people die every day as a result of poverty and inequality. Poverty is a human rights violation, affecting the rights to dignity, life, food and water.

    Businesses have a long history of profiting from human rights abuses. Finance and transport companies have acknowledged ties to the slave trade. European banks reportedly assisted South Africa’s apartheid government to procure arms.

    Read more: UK-Rwanda migrant deal challenges international protection law

    Even when they are not directly responsible for human rights violations, multinational corporations may be complicit. Multinationals based in the global north tend to exploit developing countries for their cheap labour, natural resources and weak regulatory frameworks. In other words, corporations benefit from poverty.

    International law

    In 2005, Professor John Ruggie was appointed as the United Nations secretary-general’s special representative on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises. He developed the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. This framework adopts the position that only states are subjects and have duties under international human rights law.

    The UN guiding principles are organised around three pillars, known as Protect, Respect and Remedy. The first pillar relates to states’ obligations to uphold human rights. It includes the duty to regulate businesses to ensure they do not violate rights through their operations. The second pillar refers to corporations’ responsibility to respect human rights. This is voluntary and not a legal obligation. The third pillar ensures that victims of human rights violations have access to effective remedies.

    This framework relies on three factors: states which have the interests of their citizens at heart, corporations complying with human rights standards, and effective remedial systems. If all three work together, then the UN guiding principles can address corporate accountability for rights violations.

    In practice, however, this is not the case. Many states, particularly those in the developing world with high levels of poverty, rely on foreign investment. This creates a power imbalance when negotiating with large multinational corporations. Multinationals are able to demand favourable investment conditions, including relaxing laws that might protect human rights.

    Read more: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is illegal under international law: suggesting it’s not is dangerous

    Under the UN guiding principles, if states do not impose obligations on corporations to comply with human rights, they do not have such obligations.

    Next steps

    Not all corporations should have the same duties as states. I propose a set of factors that would determine when a corporation might have a duty under international human rights law to fulfil socio-economic rights. These factors are:

    • the extent of the violation

    • the position or vulnerability of the victim

    • the urgency of the situation

    • whether the corporation is the only actor that can fulfil the right.

    For example, let us imagine a scenario in which a company operates a mine in the Central African Republic. It has built a hospital for its workers and management. Surrounding the mining operations are indigent communities who resided in the area before the operations began.

    One day, a child from one of the settlements is knocked over by a car. Her injuries are not life-threatening, but they are severe and the child is in terrible pain. The closest hospital is the mine-owned private hospital. There is a public hospital, but it is far away and travelling there would take time and be costly. The child’s family rushes her to the mine’s hospital for emergency treatment. Does the hospital have a legal duty to admit the child and pay for her treatment?

    Applying a combination of the factors, the answer is yes. The child is vulnerable by virtue of her age and poverty, the situation is urgent, and the mine hospital is the only entity that can fulfil the right under the circumstances.

    Read more: The CAR provides hard lessons on what it means to deliver real justice

    Using this framework, I argue that international human rights law should be developed to mitigate the harm of poverty in the global south, by imposing duties on corporations that benefit from poverty. Some corporations have a perverse incentive to keep communities poor. International law has a role to play in overturning this state of affairs.

    Ultimately, my proposal seeks to review what we think of as a fair and just economy. Nothing will change if only states have obligations under international law. The global economic market is neither free nor fair. It has created the most severe human rights violations of our age. International human rights law must address this.

    – Big companies profit from poverty but aren’t obliged to uphold human rights. International law must change – scholar
    – https://theconversation.com/big-companies-profit-from-poverty-but-arent-obliged-to-uphold-human-rights-international-law-must-change-scholar-241398

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI China: WSTDF 2024: Harnessing science for sustainable future

    Source: China State Council Information Office 2

    Attendees take part in the “Science and Technology for Risk-Informed Sustainable Development” thematic session at the 2024 World Science and Technology Development Forum (WSTDF), in Beijing, Oct. 24, 2024. [Photo courtesy of WSTDF]
    The 2024 World Science and Technology Development Forum (WSTDF) held a thematic session in Beijing on Oct. 24 focused on “Science and Technology for Risk-Informed Sustainable Development.” Leading representatives of policymakers, scholars and private sector took part in the event, discussing how to mobilize science and technology to navigate emerging global risks and build a safer, more inclusive and sustainable future.
    The session was hosted by the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR), the International Society for Digital Earth (ISDE) and the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS), and supported by the International Science Council (ISC) and the U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). Salvatore Arico, CEO of the ISC, and Marco Toscano-Rivalta, head of UNDRR’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, co-chaired the event, and it was co-moderated by IRDR Executive Director Yang Saini and Senior Science Officer Han Qunli.
    Collaboration and shared solutions for global risks
    As climate change accelerates and disaster risks become more complex, the importance of international scientific cooperation grows ever more crucial. Wu Guoxiong, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and a researcher at the CAS Institute of Atmospheric Physics, highlighted the significance of international cooperation in early warnings for disasters. He pointed to the Sub-seasonal to Seasonal (S2S) Prediction Project as a successful model of global collaboration. Countries including China, the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan participate in the project, which allows real-time comparisons of their climate prediction models, improving collective capacity to address climate-related disasters.
    Rajib Shaw, chair of the UNDRR Asia-Pacific Scientific and Technical Advisory Group, emphasized the need for increased global cooperation to bridge technological divides. He noted that technologies such as artificial intelligence and drones are vital for disaster risk reduction, yet many Global South countries lack access to these advanced tools, making the collaboration essential.
    Manon Burger, biochemistry publishing director for Elsevier, underlined the importance of open access to scientific research in fostering global knowledge sharing. “We publish more than 3,000 journals, many of which are available open access, ensuring that researchers worldwide can stay updated on the latest scientific advancements,” Burger said. She also introduced Elsevier Foundation, which has partnered with over 100 institutions in 70 countries since it was established in 2005, offering approximately $16 million in funding for initiatives supporting climate action and inclusive health care. 
    Josephine Ngaira, professor of geography (climatology) in the School of Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology in Kenya, stressed the need to address the specific challenges of grassroots communities and vulnerable populations in disaster risk management. She advocated for inclusive models that ensure technological benefits reach all levels of society, advancing sustainable development worldwide.
    DRR education and empowerment of young professionals  
    Young people are a driving force behind technological innovation and sustainable development. Shabhaz Khan, director of the UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia, stated that the youth is highly recognized by the United Nations, and can be mobilized and engaged in pilot disaster research activities.
    Salvatore Arico, CEO of the ISC, underscored the importance of interdisciplinary training for young researchers. He pointed out that current education systems often remain siloed within single disciplines, whereas solving complex global issues requires interdisciplinary research and training. He advocated for education reforms to provide young scientists with more diverse learning opportunities and to encourage cross-sector exploration.
    Khamarrul Azahari Razak, director of Malaysia’s Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Center, emphasized the importance of investing in human resources and listening to the voices of young people. Meanwhile, professor Christopher Garimoi Orach from the School of Public Health at Makerere University in Uganda, highlighted the need to strengthen disaster risk management education in developing countries, particularly at the higher education level. He noted that training specialists in disaster risk reduction is crucial for future global risk preparedness.
    Building social resilience through government policies
    In tackling global risks, national policies and government support are the keys. Robert Walker, fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Academy of Social Sciences Academy of UK and professor at the University of Oxford, stated that social policy should focus on enhancing social resilience by providing people with a sense of security, thus reducing their anxieties and enabling them to contribute to disaster risk reduction. Walker praised China’s efforts in promoting social security and resilience through advancing common prosperity, poverty reduction and energy transition.
    Salvatore Arico further emphasized that collaboration between governments, communities and scientists is essential for addressing global challenges such as climate change, land degradation and declining water quality. He noted that considering the practical applicability of scientific methods from the beginning of policy design would help enhance implementation effectiveness and ensure technology-driven progress.
    Rajib Shaw called for greater adaptability in governance mechanisms. Given the existing gap between sci-tech advancements and governance structures, he suggested policy adjustments from governments to facilitate adaptive governance, thus ensuing effective application of scientific tools in disaster risk reduction and management.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Nobel laureate Gérard Mourou to work on extreme light in China

    Source: China State Council Information Office 2

    “I’m going to work on extreme light for medical and energy fields,” Nobel laureate Gérard Mourou said on Friday, speaking on plans for his work in China.
    The French physicist, who joined Peking University’s School of Physics as chair professor last month, made the remarks on the sidelines of this year’s Beijing Forum, a global academic forum on innovation and human progress.
    At the opening ceremony of the annual forum, he outlined the applications of ultra-high intensity lasers in such areas as medicine and nuclear energy.
    In 2018, Mourou shared the Nobel Prize in Physics with Arthur Ashkin and Donna Strickland “for groundbreaking inventions in the field of laser physics.”
    He is expected to assist in the establishment of a new institute for scientific research and international cooperation in the fields of laser physics, particle physics, nuclear physics, medical physics and astrophysics, according to a statement from Peking University.
    As China invests heavily in developing science and education, talent is arriving from around the world at an increasing pace. Fields Medal winner Caucher Birkar has been teaching mathematics full-time at Tsinghua University since 2021. Structural biologist Yan Nieng returned to China from Princeton University in the United States in 2022 to found a medical academy in Shenzhen. Yan also delivered a keynote speech at this year’s Beijing Forum.
    And about one week after Mourou joined Peking University, a symposium celebrating the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the J particle brought several notable individuals to China: Nobel laureates Samuel Chao Chung Ting, Sheldon Glashow and David Gross, as well as Luciano Maiani, former director-general of the European Organization for Nuclear Research.
    “Achievements of the Chinese efforts are truly remarkable,” Gross told the media, explaining why the event was taking place in China despite the fact that the J particle was not discovered in the country.
    Though the initial discovery was made elsewhere, all 30 newly identified members of the J particle family were found at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of High Energy Physics, Ting said.
    Mourou praised China for its scientific and technological advancements over the past decades. “I knew some of the scientists,” he said. “And they are interested about what I’m doing.”
    He joked that those scientists had been “smart enough” to convince him to join the university and start a new institute for ultra-high intensity lasers.
    Mourou said that he has been impressed by Chinese students, noting that they excel in innovation — not just in their coursework, as is often the stereotype.
    More than 500 scholars and experts from over 30 countries and regions are taking part in the 2024 Beijing Forum. Topics include sustainable development, the environment and health, and digitalization and artificial intelligence.
    “The best is yet to come,” Mourou said on the future applications of his research.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Modernity encounters ancient civilization

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    Replicas of Sanxingdui relics are on display at the Memor Museum in New York.[Photo provided by Mingmei Li/China Daily]

    Spanning millennia, the history and mystery of Sanxingdui’s ancient civilization is reaching international audiences through modern digital platforms.

    The exhibition Sanxingdui Encounter: A Global Tour of 12K Micro-viewing of National Treasures opened on Oct 11 at the Memor Museum in New York, offering visitors an opportunity to have an immersive virtual experience of the relics and also see the physical replicas of these treasures.

    The display will last until Jan 19.

    Sanxingdui, an archaeological site located in modern-day Guanghan, Southwest China’s Sichuan province, illustrates the civilization of the ancient Shu kingdom, which flourished over 3,000 years ago. Sanxingdui was not discovered until the 1920s, and ongoing archaeological efforts continue to reveal discoveries.

    By the end of 2022, fieldwork on six newly uncovered sacrificial pits was nearly complete, yielding a wealth of precious artifacts. Over 4,000 items, including jade, stone and pottery, were unearthed during this phase of excavation. Archaeologists are piecing together the history of the ancient Shu civilization and presenting these findings to the public.

    The Shu kingdom, which arose in the Sichuan basin during the Bronze Age, was a key hub for early-stage Chinese civilization. Its people produced finely crafted bronze, jade, gold and ceramic artifacts, depicting mythical creatures, rulers, gods and shamans with exaggerated features such as bulging eyes and enlarged ears.

    “Sanxingdui’s rich heritage deserves international attention, with its vast cultural significance needing to be shared with a broader audience,” says Willa Ao, director of the Memor Museum.

    “We want to present the relics through a blend of digital and physical experiences.”

    One example Ao gives is a bronze figure, which strikingly resembles the stance of an American fitness coach performing a dead lift. Additionally, a bronze tree is adorned with numerous small hanging artifacts, reminiscent of ornaments used to decorate Christmas trees.

    Sanxingdui’s unearthed bronzes were previously showcased at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2002 as part of a broader exhibition on bronze artifacts, but Ao says this time, she wanted to provide New Yorkers a new and interactive way to feel the relics.

    This is done through 1:1 replicas from the Sanxingdui Museum’s collection, using ultra-high-definition 12k technology, artificial intelligence interaction and virtual reality immersion, which required three years of preparation.

    Visitors will have the opportunity to view the famous Bronze Mask with Crown and Protruding Eyes, a rare artifact that provides insight into the ceremonial and spiritual practices of the ancient Shu people.

    Also on display is the striking Bronze Head Wearing a Gold Mask, first unearthed in 1986, which illustrates a unique blend of social status and ritual significance.

    “Although they are replicas, they remain highly valuable,” Ao says. She explains that these reproductions of the Sanxingdui Museum’s collection were crafted using identical materials to faithfully replicate the original artifacts.

    Visitors will be able to explore the relics using VR technology, which brings large artifacts like the Large Standing Man and the Bronze Sacred Tree into the gallery through virtual exploration.

    The exhibition also employs 12K video capture to document smaller artifacts, delicate bronze bells and bird sculptures, magnifying them for a closer look.

    Sanxingdui is an important archaeological discovery, not just within Chinese archaeology, but within the world of archaeology, says Kristen Martucci, the exhibition’s translator.

    Martucci, 26, has been studying Chinese since high school and pursued East Asian studies, particularly ancient Chinese history, at Harvard University.

    She primarily helps translate materials into English in a way that is approachable for American and international audiences.

    She says her work is also a learning process in both Chinese and history while uncovering the “mystery”.

    “I learned about Sanxingdui in my graduate school courses, but even for me, seeing these replicas and using this exhibition and VR to experience it — that’s new to me, so it’s really exciting,” she says.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Albanese flags radical changes to student debt – with a 20% overall cut and drop in payment rates

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National University

    Taoty/Shutterstock

    Over the weekend, the Albanese government announced radical changes to student loans, which would kick in after the next federal election.

    Three million Australians with student debt could see their balances cut by 20%. The remaining debt would be repaid under a new system, with no compulsory repayments for people earning less than A$67,000 a year. Both changes require parliamentary approval.

    The changes will apply to everyone with a student debt, including all HELP (formerly HECS), vocational education and Australian apprenticeship support loans, as well as other student support loans.

    People with student debt would undoubtedly benefit from the proposed changes. But they come with a hefty price tag and some disadvantages.

    What are the proposed cuts to student debt?

    As of June 30 this year, Australia’s higher education student debt totalled about $75.1 billion – although this is soon set to drop by about $3 billion. Legislation to partially reverse recent indexation to debts will go to the Senate later this month.

    However, staying with the $75 billion, a 20% cut would be about $15 billion.

    Using the government’s figures, someone with the average HELP debt of $27,600 would see around $5,520 cut from their HELP loans next year.

    Vocational education students owed $8.4 billion as of June 30 2024. Their balances would reduce by about $1.7 billion under the changes.

    Based on previous student support loan data, this debt is more than $3 billion. The changes would see it drop by about $600 million.

    These reductions total $17.3 billion compared to the government’s estimate of $16 billion. But the upcoming indexation changes may explain this difference.

    Repayments set to change

    These changes have two important elements: the income at which repayments start and how repayments are calculated.

    These changes come amid a cost-of-living crisis and rising fees for students.

    There was a noted outcry earlier this year when the cost of an arts degree hit $50,000 for 2025.

    No compulsory repayments if you earn under $67,000

    With parliament’s approval, for 2025-26 compulsory repayments on student loans would not start until the debtor was earning $67,000. This is up from about $56,000.

    This would help a significant number of Australians. In 2023-24 more than 400,000 debtors had incomes between $50,000 and $70,000.

    Changes to how repayments are calculated

    Another significant change is to how repayments are calculated. Currently, when a debtor’s income reaches one of 18 income levels they repay a higher percentage, based on all their income.

    This can produce strange results. Take a graduate earning $62,850 a year. They are in the 1% of income repayment rate, so they owe the Australian Taxation Office $628.50 in HELP repayments. But if their income goes up by $1 to $62,851 they enter the 2% repayment bracket, and owe the tax office $1,257. So a $1 pay increase would reduce the graduate’s take home pay by more than $600.

    Under the government’s proposal, repayments would be calculated on income above a threshold, ignoring all income below the first threshold.

    The new system would start with a 15% repayment rate at incomes between $67,000 and $124,999. Income at $125,000 or above would have a 17% repayment rate.

    So, take a graduate on $70,000 a year. Under the current system, they will repay 2.5% of all their income, which is $1,750. Under the proposed system their repayments will be calculated only on the $3,000 difference between $67,000 and $70,000. This means they pay 15% of $3,000 or $450.

    The government says on average, repayments will drop by $680 per individual debtor.

    But those earning $180,000 plus will repay more student debt each year due to the new system. This is not a large group.
    Of the 1.16 million people who made a HELP repayment in 2021-22, all but 16,000 earned less than $180,000.

    The cost of an arts degree is set to reach $50,000 in 2025, amid growing concerns over study costs.
    rongyiquan/Shutterstock

    There are some disadvantages

    The downside of reduced annual repayments is longer repayment periods and more indexation of HELP balances.

    People who want to repay more quickly can make voluntary repayments, which have increased significantly in recent years. But most people take the default option of compulsory repayments only.

    While people who currently hold debt will see their repayment times reduced after the 20% cut to their balance, future borrowers won’t have this benefit.

    Given the pattern of recent announcements, it would not be surprising if the government also announced reduced student contributions for future borrowers.

    But it is also surprising the government has been stalling for two years on the high cost of arts degrees, set to hit almost $17,000 a year next year. These high fees should have been reduced long ago.

    The cost to government

    The 20% reduction in student debt balances will also come at a very significant cost to government and taxpayers.

    This will not be the full $16 billion they have announced, since that includes debt that is not expected to be repaid anyway.

    For higher education debt, the government actuary estimates 24% of the debt outstanding as of June 30 this year will not be repaid. Even so, a 20% cut to the $57.1 billion “good” debt would still cost $11.4 billion.

    Cutting vocational education debt by 20% would add around another $1 billion to the cost, after deducting debt that won’t be repaid. Debts for student income support tend to have high bad debt rates, but the 20% cut for them would also add to the government’s expenditure.

    The government will also incur further costs from slowing down future repayments.

    Is this the best way?

    The last few years have highlighted how stressful and damaging high levels of student debt can be for younger Australians.

    And as Labor looks ahead to the next federal poll, reducing individuals’ debts and repayments could be a useful election selling point.

    However, the Albanese govenrment’s plan comes with a high price tag and the priorities may not be entirely right. Managing future debt, such as by reversing fee hikes under the Job-ready Graduates program, is as important as reducing old debt.

    Andrew Norton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Albanese flags radical changes to student debt – with a 20% overall cut and drop in payment rates – https://theconversation.com/albanese-flags-radical-changes-to-student-debt-with-a-20-overall-cut-and-drop-in-payment-rates-242740

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: View from The Hill: it’s time to put some new rules around upgrades for parliamentarians

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

    The Qantas upgrades affair has turned from a missile targeted at Anthony Albanese to a cluster bomb hitting MPs on all sides.

    On Sunday, Education Minister Jason Clare took the opportunity provided by an interview on Sky about the government’s proposal to slash 20% off student debt to relate, in detail, why he requested a Qantas upgrade in 2019 for a private trip to Singapore.

    He’d had an operation on his leg. He was catching up with his family already overseas. He contacted someone – he’s forgotten who – in Qantas.

    On the other side of politics, the Nationals’ Bridget McKenzie, who’s been in hot pursuit of Albanese over his upgrades, is yet to produce full details of her own situation.  She’s asked the airlines for the information.

    Then there’s the Liberals’ Paul Fletcher, who apparently likes to book economy on flights of under two hours. He’s had 69 upgrades over almost 15 years.

    It’s important to remember what the rules are. Parliamentarians in their work are entitled to fly business class on domestic trips.  In some cases, they choose to fly economy on short hauls and business on longer ones.

    In the wake of the ongoing revelations, surely it is time to fix the rules. One obvious change should be a ban on upgrades for all personal travel, domestic or overseas, by parliamentarians. If MPs do not want the discomfort of economy class on holidays or other excursions, they should pay to avoid it.

    Another change should be that the minister for transport, and the shadow minister, should decline upgrades for their official travel. That avoids any suggestion of being influenced by such perks.

    This parliamentary week is devoted, in the Senate, to estimates hearings, so there will be some grilling on the first day about upgrades, and also about the fabled Qantas chairman’s lounge, a networking facility which those with power are invited to join.

    “The Chairman’s Lounge” is the title of the book by journalist Joe Aston that kicked off the furore a week ago.

    The estimates hearings are also likely to see opposition senators probe the entrails of whether Lidia Thorpe, who demonstrated  noisily at the parliamentary reception for the King, has or has not been properly sworn in as a senator.

    Thorpe substituted the word “hairs” for “heirs” when she read the oath. But she signed the paper, and constitutional expert Anne Twomey thinks she’s met the requirements.

    McKenzie has been among those targeting Thorpe. But  if, when the full Senate sits later in the month, the opposition tries to have action taken against Thorpe, it will just serve her cause.

    Thorpe wants publicity and that would give her plenty more. To be attempting to censure or even have disqualified an Indigenous senator would send a bad signal, at home (where some Indigenous people back her) and abroad.

    The House of Representatives this week will have a heap of legislation before it, including the bill on misinformation and disinformation. There will be another to keep the NBN in public hands, as well as the aged care reforms.

    But we’re still awaiting an announcement on restricting gambling advertising, and a bill to put an age limit on young people signing up to social media accounts.

    We won’t be seeing before the election legislation for the prime minister’s  announcement on  cutting student debt by 20%, and other changes relating to its repayment, that he unveiled at the weekend.

    Unlike the government’s earlier change to the indexation of this debt, now before the Senate, these new measures are promises – conditional on Labor winning next year’s election.

    If that happens, Albanese says this will be “the first piece of legislation we bring into the next parliament”. The  20% cut would be from loan accounts that exist on June 1 next year.

    The government says this is worth $16 billion, although experts point out the real figure – that is, the cost to taxpayers – is several billion dollars less because a portion of these loans would never be repaid anyway.

    We do not have a precise timeline for the cost, which the government says would be borne over the life of the debt. No doubt the estimates hearings will see some delving into this promise, that is squarely directed at millennial voters and those younger and focused on the cost of living.  

    Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. View from The Hill: it’s time to put some new rules around upgrades for parliamentarians – https://theconversation.com/view-from-the-hill-its-time-to-put-some-new-rules-around-upgrades-for-parliamentarians-242744

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: Financial skills like managing debt are key to success, but Ghana’s small businesses don’t have them

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Samuel Adomako, Associate Professor of Strategy and Innovation, University of Birmingham

    Financial literacy is vital for individuals and households. Simply put, it’s the ability to understand and effectively use various financial skills: budgeting, managing debt, making sound investments, and understanding financial statements.

    These skills are crucial for businesses, too – especially small and medium enterprises. Small and medium enterprises are widely recognised as the backbone of many low-income countries’ economies. The World Bank estimates that these businesses account for between 60% and 70% of jobs in sub-Saharan Africa and approximately 40% of low-income countries’ GDPs globally.

    Ghana is one of the countries whose economy relies heavily on small and medium enterprises. Much emphasis has been placed on how important it is for these businesses to access finance. But far less has been discussed about the value of financial literacy. In Ghana, as is the case in many other countries, the reality is that many small and medium enterprises still fail to grow as expected, even when they have access to capital. This surprising outcome suggests that access to finance, while crucial, is not the sole factor determining business success. The missing piece of the puzzle? Financial literacy.

    We conducted a study to find out whether managers at small and medium enterprises in Ghana believed that financial literacy would help them to improve their growth after accessing finance. CEOs and senior financial managers who self-identified as being financially literate told us that their businesses had grown as a result, explicitly linking growth and financial literacy.

    It is clear from this study that financial literacy empowers the managers of small and medium enterprises to make informed decisions, make the best use of their resources, and avoid common pitfalls that can derail business growth. It enables them not only to access finance but also to use it effectively for sustainable growth and long-term success.

    Our findings have wider implications. Small and medium enterprises are vital for economic growth. But their potential is being undermined by a lack of financial literacy. This isn’t just a problem for businesses themselves: it’s a problem for the entire economy they are part of. When small and medium enterprises fail to grow, job creation stalls, innovation slows down, and the economy as a whole suffers.

    The study

    There is no single public register for small and medium enterprises in Ghana. So we drew our participants from a range of resources, including the national company register, the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, the Association of Ghana Industries and the Ghana Business Directory.

    We defined small and medium enterprises in the same way as Ghana’s Statistical Service does: companies that have 250 or fewer employees.

    Ultimately, 201 firms across the manufacturing and services sectors took part in the study. The vast majority of responses were from CEOs and senior finance managers, which is important since people in these positions ought to have comprehensive knowledge about a firm’s growth and performance.

    The respondents saw a clear link between financial literacy and access to finance for growing their businesses. One CEO said:

    Understanding financial principles is the foundation of our business decisions. Without financial literacy, we wouldn’t have been able to secure the necessary funding to expand our operations. It’s not just about getting access to finance but knowing how to manage it effectively that drives growth.

    A senior financial manager told us:

    Before improving our financial literacy, we struggled to convince lenders of our potential. Learning how to present our financials clearly and manage our cash flow gave us the credibility we needed to secure financing and invest in our growth.

    Some interviewees discussed how not being financially literate had hampered their ability to properly use funding. A finance manager said that, after securing an initial round of funding. “we quickly realised we couldn’t manage cash flow effectively”, adding:

    It felt like we were putting out fires every day. I didn’t understand terms like ‘liquidity ratios’ or ‘debt management’ until I started learning about financial literacy. It was eye-opening.

    These lessons happened in various ways, some more formal than others. One CEO, realising their own financial management skills needed work, hired a financial officer with strong abilities in this area and learned a great deal from them.

    Some CEOs signed themselves up for financial management workshops; others organised short courses for their entire teams. One told us: “We took a financial literacy course designed for entrepreneurs, and it gave us new insights into how to manage loans and investments. It wasn’t just about survival but also about how to leverage what we had to grow. Now, we budget better, monitor our cash flow closely, and even started saving for unexpected expenses.”

    Read more: Battling to make ends meet? Financial planning expert offers 5 tips on how to build your budget

    Addressing the issues

    There are several ways to improve financial literacy among small and medium enterprises.

    First, policymakers should incorporate mandatory financial literacy training into existing support programmes for these businesses. It should cover essential financial management skills such as budgeting, cash flow management and investment planning.

    Read more: Corruption hurts businesses but digital tools offer the hope of fighting it, say manufacturers in Ghana and Nigeria

    Policymakers could also facilitate partnerships between banks, microfinance institutions and educational organisations to offer targeted financial literacy workshops for managers at small and medium enterprises. This would equip businesses to manage the financial support they receive.

    Finally, policymakers should introduce incentives, such as reduced interest rates or preferential loan terms, for small and medium enterprises that complete certified financial literacy courses. This would motivate managers to enhance their financial management skills, leading to more sustainable business growth and improved economic outcomes.

    – Financial skills like managing debt are key to success, but Ghana’s small businesses don’t have them
    – https://theconversation.com/financial-skills-like-managing-debt-are-key-to-success-but-ghanas-small-businesses-dont-have-them-241955

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Financial skills like managing debt are key to success, but Ghana’s small businesses don’t have them

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Samuel Adomako, Associate Professor of Strategy and Innovation, University of Birmingham

    Mongta Studio/Shutterstock

    Financial literacy is vital for individuals and households. Simply put, it’s the ability to understand and effectively use various financial skills: budgeting, managing debt, making sound investments, and understanding financial statements.

    These skills are crucial for businesses, too – especially small and medium enterprises. Small and medium enterprises are widely recognised as the backbone of many low-income countries’ economies. The World Bank estimates that these businesses account for between 60% and 70% of jobs in sub-Saharan Africa and approximately 40% of low-income countries’ GDPs globally.

    Ghana is one of the countries whose economy relies heavily on small and medium enterprises. Much emphasis has been placed on how important it is for these businesses to access finance. But far less has been discussed about the value of financial literacy. In Ghana, as is the case in many other countries, the reality is that many small and medium enterprises still fail to grow as expected, even when they have access to capital. This surprising outcome suggests that access to finance, while crucial, is not the sole factor determining business success. The missing piece of the puzzle? Financial literacy.

    We conducted a study to find out whether managers at small and medium enterprises in Ghana believed that financial literacy would help them to improve their growth after accessing finance. CEOs and senior financial managers who self-identified as being financially literate told us that their businesses had grown as a result, explicitly linking growth and financial literacy.

    It is clear from this study that financial literacy empowers the managers of small and medium enterprises to make informed decisions, make the best use of their resources, and avoid common pitfalls that can derail business growth. It enables them not only to access finance but also to use it effectively for sustainable growth and long-term success.

    Our findings have wider implications. Small and medium enterprises are vital for economic growth. But their potential is being undermined by a lack of financial literacy. This isn’t just a problem for businesses themselves: it’s a problem for the entire economy they are part of. When small and medium enterprises fail to grow, job creation stalls, innovation slows down, and the economy as a whole suffers.

    The study

    There is no single public register for small and medium enterprises in Ghana. So we drew our participants from a range of resources, including the national company register, the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, the Association of Ghana Industries and the Ghana Business Directory.

    We defined small and medium enterprises in the same way as Ghana’s Statistical Service does: companies that have 250 or fewer employees.

    Ultimately, 201 firms across the manufacturing and services sectors took part in the study. The vast majority of responses were from CEOs and senior finance managers, which is important since people in these positions ought to have comprehensive knowledge about a firm’s growth and performance.

    The respondents saw a clear link between financial literacy and access to finance for growing their businesses. One CEO said:

    Understanding financial principles is the foundation of our business decisions. Without financial literacy, we wouldn’t have been able to secure the necessary funding to expand our operations. It’s not just about getting access to finance but knowing how to manage it effectively that drives growth.

    A senior financial manager told us:

    Before improving our financial literacy, we struggled to convince lenders of our potential. Learning how to present our financials clearly and manage our cash flow gave us the credibility we needed to secure financing and invest in our growth.

    Some interviewees discussed how not being financially literate had hampered their ability to properly use funding. A finance manager said that, after securing an initial round of funding. “we quickly realised we couldn’t manage cash flow effectively”, adding:

    It felt like we were putting out fires every day. I didn’t understand terms like ‘liquidity ratios’ or ‘debt management’ until I started learning about financial literacy. It was eye-opening.

    These lessons happened in various ways, some more formal than others. One CEO, realising their own financial management skills needed work, hired a financial officer with strong abilities in this area and learned a great deal from them.

    Some CEOs signed themselves up for financial management workshops; others organised short courses for their entire teams. One told us: “We took a financial literacy course designed for entrepreneurs, and it gave us new insights into how to manage loans and investments. It wasn’t just about survival but also about how to leverage what we had to grow. Now, we budget better, monitor our cash flow closely, and even started saving for unexpected expenses.”



    Read more:
    Battling to make ends meet? Financial planning expert offers 5 tips on how to build your budget

    Addressing the issues

    There are several ways to improve financial literacy among small and medium enterprises.

    First, policymakers should incorporate mandatory financial literacy training into existing support programmes for these businesses. It should cover essential financial management skills such as budgeting, cash flow management and investment planning.



    Read more:
    Corruption hurts businesses but digital tools offer the hope of fighting it, say manufacturers in Ghana and Nigeria

    Policymakers could also facilitate partnerships between banks, microfinance institutions and educational organisations to offer targeted financial literacy workshops for managers at small and medium enterprises. This would equip businesses to manage the financial support they receive.

    Finally, policymakers should introduce incentives, such as reduced interest rates or preferential loan terms, for small and medium enterprises that complete certified financial literacy courses. This would motivate managers to enhance their financial management skills, leading to more sustainable business growth and improved economic outcomes.

    Samuel Adomako does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Financial skills like managing debt are key to success, but Ghana’s small businesses don’t have them – https://theconversation.com/financial-skills-like-managing-debt-are-key-to-success-but-ghanas-small-businesses-dont-have-them-241955

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: WP.6 Education on standardization initiative (START-Ed) meeting

    Source: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

    1. Approval of agenda – 2 minutes
    2. Reminder or WP.6 procedures – 5 minutes
    3. Invited guest speakers: 
    • Professor Vladislav Fomin (Vilnius University, EDU4Standards)  – 30 minutes (15 minutes presentation followed by discussion / QA)
    • Professor Philippe le Coustumer (Université de Bordeaux, expert AFNOR/ISO) – 30 minutes (15 minutes presentation followed by discussion / QA) and
    • Professor Sandra Feliciano (Porto Polytechnic) – 30 minutes (15 minutes presentation followed by discussion / QA)

          4. Future activities of Start-ED – 15 minutes

          5. Any other business – 5 minutes

          6. Next meeting

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Is Donald Trump preying on his supporters’ death fears? What terror management theory offers us

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Sarah Elizabeth Wolfe, Professor, School of Environment and Sustainability, Royal Roads University

    Death and destruction from climate crises — flooding, fires, hurricanes and heat.

    Then there’s the multimedia firehose of tragic accidents, gruesome images from devastating wars, seemingly random local street violence, warnings of a Third World War and grim distress signals about the dangers of rising authoritarianism on the eve of the United States presidential election and the possible return to power of climate-change skeptic Donald Trump.



    Read more:
    ‘Each bears his own ghosts’: How the classics speak to these days of fear, anger and presidential candidates stalking the land

    Combine these stressors with our own personal mortality reminders: that new grey hair, an unexpected medical diagnosis, the COVID-19 related deaths of our friends or colleagues, and we’re left grappling with surprising and unwelcome fear.

    But trying to get through our days as mostly functional, civilized adults while paralyzed with fear about our unavoidable death isn’t optimal or sustainable. Thankfully, our brains have a hardwired, helpful strategy that’s explained by “terror management theory.”

    Defence mechanisms

    Terror management researchers have shown that we all have predictable defences aimed at repressing our death awareness. Unfortunately, those defences can also contribute to destructive social forces.

    Recognizing and understanding how these defences work is essential to making them less dangerous. These defences depend a lot on our pre-existing identities and whether death awareness operates within our conscious or subconscious mind.

    When death fears are conscious, our defences include denial, rationalization, distraction and self-esteem-building , often via consumption or consumerism. We build ourselves up by gathering or protecting our resources — think negotiating higher incomes or trying to avoid paying taxes — and shopping for necessities to keep our families safe.



    Read more:
    Joe Biden’s refusal to step aside illustrates the political dangers of ‘death denial’

    Death fears also trigger conspicuous consumption to signal our social status and bolster our self-esteem. In terror management theory, money is valued because money buys safety, and safety means the avoidance of death, at least for a little while longer.

    When death fears are unconscious or just “background noise,” the situation gets more complex and problematic. Some of us will harden our identities and ideas about what we believe is right or just, what we are entitled to and with whom we’ll share resources, opportunities and power.

    Sometimes we’ll show greater antagonism towards groups who are unlike us in looks or practice: immigrants, religious minorities or even international students. As these defences emerge and coalesce, we’ll blame “others” for both the big and small troubles we experience or perceive.

    The result is increased social fragmentation and polarization rather than capitalizing on people’s diverse ideas, perspectives and experiences.

    Authoritarian playbook

    When mortality awareness is infused throughout a society — say, during a deadly pandemic or climate disasters — manipulating people’s death fears becomes a seductive route to power for authoritarians or would-be authoritarians like Trump.

    Some people will become receptive to a charismatic figure’s promises of safety, rules, and a return to a better time.

    German psychology professor Immo Fritsche and colleagues have identified clear evidence that climate change has increased authoritarian attitudes and support for authoritarian leadership styles.



    Read more:
    Time to freak out? How the existential terror of hurricanes can fuel climate change denial

    Other researchers found that individuals who did not have prior authoritarian tendencies — after controlling for their political affiliation and ideology — expressed greater support for authoritarian leadership when they experienced mortality awareness.

    In a subsequent study, Fritsche’s results were more dire: death awareness defences created “prejudice, stereotyping, aggression, and racism, which, in turn, can lead to the escalation of violent intergroup conflict and, thus, the escalation of war.”

    While this trajectory isn’t guaranteed, ignoring the influence of mortality defences on social dynamics seems both short-sighted and foolish.

    Be a hero

    So, what can we do to avoid the worst outcomes of polarization, antagonism against marginalized and racialized communities, authoritarianism and potential violence?

    Some good news: first, positive world views and identities can be strengthened even when we feel threatened by death. People who see the world as a collective, are willing to welcome others and work to maintain civil society may intensify their efforts when their mortality is salient. These people need to be supported and celebrated.

    Second, a final defence against mortality fears is to build up our self-esteem through positive “hero projects.” Through these activities — philanthropy, raising children, works of art or literature, teaching, protest or activism for social change — we commit to an action that may not be in our immediate self-interest but we persist despite difficulties, discomfort and often daunting odds.



    Read more:
    How the altruistic response to far right riots reveals the innate goodness in human beings

    In our hero projects, we may take less but give more, and direct our energy to outcomes that will, hopefully, benefit our communities long after we’re gone.

    The authoritarians among us are already adept at manipulating our mortality fears for their own benefit. We can accept their preferred power trajectory, or we can recognize the influence of mortality fears and create alternatives in the days, weeks, months and years to come.

    Sarah Elizabeth Wolfe gratefully acknowledges two decades of funding from Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. The author does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond her academic appointment.

    – ref. Is Donald Trump preying on his supporters’ death fears? What terror management theory offers us – https://theconversation.com/is-donald-trump-preying-on-his-supporters-death-fears-what-terror-management-theory-offers-us-242568

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –