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international mobility
may 2012.
_editorial
Nations as we know them today started forming in the Middle Ages and one of their main characteristics is to be sovereign over their territory. The advance of capitalism, on the other hand, forced those nations to build ties and stay on friendly terms. But when we get to modern age, with the scientific and industrial revolution, the economic system grows larger than the recipient we call nation, becoming what we today call advanced capitalism, or simply put: capital is free to move anywhere in the world, with no restrictions. All through history, on the other side, us citizens were controlled when moving outside our native land, and usually feared for having a different culture and speaking a different language. In today’s world we are almost free to move anywhere we wish to go, needing only a passport - and sometimes a traveling visa -, but many difficulties still prevail. Even with increased mobility and the advent of globalization, governments are struggling to keep control inside their borders; some places more, like in the United States, and some places less, the European Union. My biggest problem with this increased mobility is the rule that has been set for each of the above described: we, commoners, have to follow a strict protocol, even though we are allowed to move “freely” in this vast world, but what about capital? Capital moves freely anywhere it goes, and increases the more it “travels”. How is that possible? Who’s to blame for whatever harm international investments cause outside the borders of their main office? How can we deal with it? In the upcoming pages of Libertas you’ll be able to explore many problems and benefits brought on us by the increase of international mobility, but what I consider what I described above to be a situation that needs serious thinking to be brought into the 21st century. Daniel Nunes
_contents
04 Diary of an immigrant: a serbian student in america 07 mobility in south africa 09 travelling in europe: narratives of people of colour 11 pigs in maputo 12 travel destination: novorossiysk, black sea 16 ongoing conflicts: effects of the scramble and partition of africa by imperialists 18 poetry: end 19 travelling grants: be anything but a tourist 21 the mobility of a stagnant journalist 22 events
Libertas 32 “International Mobility� published may 2012
Diary of an Immigrant Serbian student in america Djordje Petrovic
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Diversity is an enriching factor in every individual’s life. A good chance to experience that is to study abroad. As a student, you are less burdened than later on in your life; and going on an exchange program is probably one of the smartest decisions you can make during your studies. There are many student mobility programs out there for which you can apply. Look them up. If you’re a brave and adventurous spirit, you’ve already made up your mind. You’re going! But if you’re still indecisive about leaving your home for a year, here’s a glimpse at some of the truly amazing experiences that await you, “over the pond”. The following text is an excerpt from my diary from the time I had just enrolled in college in the U.S.A., and first stepped on American land. I hope while reading this text, you’ll feel the excitement I felt these days.
Day 1 First, the US is so different! Believe me; things are happening to me so rapidly here. 24 hour day is not enough! I don’t want to sleep. I want to fully experience every moment here in Fargo. I thought of starting a blog to jot down all that’s going on and my first impressions. However, due to the fact that I’m too lazy to look up the best host website for that, this Facebook note will have to do. Given that the number of notifications on my profile and messages in my inbox has increased dramatically in the last 48 hours, here’s a good chance to share my feelings and what’s going around here with you, my dearest and most curious friends. So, here’s what the past 48 hours have looked like for me. We started off from Belgrade by Lufthansa, with some delay (German precision in action), but just in time to make it for the rainy weather that terrorized Frankfurt, where we had our first transfer. Going through this colossal airport was quite interesting. I met up with my fellow exchange students from Montenegro who were awarded the same scholarship, except they were assigned to ETSU. They were headed to Memphis while I was headed to Chicago, from where I was planning to continue to North Dakota. After an hour-or-so of wandering around through Europe’s biggest airport, we managed to board the United Airlines
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flight, taking us--the adventure-yearning students--to the “:Promised Land”. During the flight, there was some mild turbulence (actually, it wasn’t that mild; although the orange juice I had didn’t end up on my white shirt, so I’m fine with it) over Iceland. Upon crossing the Atlantic Ocean and seeing the land below, me and Miljana, another Serbian student on an exchange, gazed at Chicago and Michigan Lake from the window next to my seat. We fell in love with it right away! The flight was quickly coming to an end after which came a pretty aggressive landing--if you ask me. Overall, it was quite a nice flight. Finally, after 25 hours of traveling from Serbia, we’ve made it to the US soil. At the first point of entry in the US, I saw a stunning sight! There were hundreds and hundreds--in fact, thousands--of people wanting to get in the “Promised Land”. However, the immigration office staff is there to tell you to pack your bags and go back, or to wish you a happy stay (and in some cases marriage, later on) in America. After so many hours in a plane, I was in a queue that was spanning dozens of meters long. Even though I had already spent over 20 hours in a plane, being now stuck in a queue that was barely moving, I was glad to see the gentlemen that sat in the first class from Frankfurt in the same line with us. This was the first sign to me that in the U.S., the rules are same for everyone regardless of their half-empty or half-full pockets--something I really appreciated. Three hours later, I got my visa stamped, and off I went! Now, I was free to move anywhere! I missed my flight to Fargo, and just as I hoped I would get to stay in some nice hotel provided by the airline because of their flight being late. I had no such luck, I discovered. There was one last flight for that evening so I had to board that one. I told Chicago, “We’ll meet again soon.” At the security terminal on my way to the boarding gate, I saw my countryman. He wished me all the best in the U.S. and asked me nostalgically how things are going in Serbia. What a small world, huh? On this flight, I met a few Americans. They were all very polite people. I arrived in Fargo, only to see a welcoming committee of other international students there to greet us. They organized our transport from the airport and were very nice to us. Given that dorm rooms were not yet assigned to us, I and my friend from Serbia slept in a hotel that evening. Of course, I was late this morning for the orientation meeting at the Office of International Programs on campus because my alarm clock that was set to 7AM wasn’t set for the correct time zone. I really thought it would set itself properly; but, I guess my European phone decided to boycott American time zones. While my eyes were still struggling to stay open, we were told about vaccinations and other health stuff that I forgot right away. There
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was some interesting and useful stuff too, such as events on campus, cellphone providers, banking, etc. The grand room we were all inside of featured over 1,300 international students attending North Dakota State University (NDSU)-- my new university. It was quite impressive. Never before had I seen such a melting pot of races and cultures. It was such a mix, and it felt to me like the whole world was packed inside this giant room.
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After the boring part was over, I went on to explore my surroundings, and to mingle with people. Today, I met so many different people from six continents. It was very difficult to catch all of their names, but at the same time very funny to try to pronounce them! Especially the names of Asian people! However, they’re all so extremely friendly, you wouldn’t believe this! I used the afternoon to roam around the campus. It was so big; it felt like a city of its own. A city within a city! I’m impressed at how everything is so well integrated here. You really don’t have to move an inch away from campus. I had yet to see the wellness center and swimming pool tomorrow that we can use for free. I hear it is very modern and well equipped, and they even have mountain climbing in there. How did they fit that in a building? It’s going to be a blast for sure! Later on, there was a yellow school bus waiting for us (yes, just like the one from the Forest Gump movie) to take us to the nearest Walmart to buy necessary stuff. I moved in my dorm room, and I’m amazed at how spacious it is. Plus, the kitchen is very nice. I wondered who my roommates will be. I’ve been told they’re all Americans. It’s bound to be a life-changing experience! My American adventure is starting off well. I have a good feeling about this! Stay tuned…
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Mobility in South Africa:
behind the borders, beyond the borders Dumisa Sofika
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The most common type of travel in South Africa is by car. A majority of the population uses public transport, called taxis, especially the Black population. The taxi industry commutes about 15 million people daily countrywide. Sea travel and air travel are considered luxuries because they are very expensive. They can only be afforded by those who are wealthy or those who work in occupations that require them to fly or sail. For domestic flights, one needs a passport but for international travel a visa and a passport are required. Visas are very expensive to get. International air travel is very expensive and many cannot afford it. Air travel in South Africa has always been the privilege of a few because of the policies that existed in South Africa during Apartheid. With imposed sanctions on South Africa during Apartheid, many borders were closed to South Africa. For example before 1993, fewer than 12 airlines flew into the country. Today there are 70 airlines that fly into the country. Borders have been open to South Africa since the end of Apartheid with the removal of imposed sanctions. However there is still very little cross border travel for ordinary citizens. Most cross border travel that happens is a result of trade. Cross border travel is somewhat strange. Although South Africa has neighbouring countries such as Namibia, Mozambique and Swaziland, people hardly travel to other countries. There are often
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high levels of xenophobia and antipathy towards foreigners in South Africa, most evident at grass root level. Cross border travel is guarded by the South African Police Services and in the past it was guarded by the South African Defence Force. Border control is divided into borderline control and ports of entry control (places where people enter and exit the country, ie harbours, airports and border posts). Because of the poverty in neighbouring countries, there is often a lot of illegal cross border activities, and this contributes to the antipathy towards people of other countries (foreigners or amakwere kwere-a derogatory term) in our country. it is estimated that nearly 4000 Zimbabweans cross cross the South African border illegally every night. They are often accused of taking already scarce jobs available in the country, of crime and sexual licentiousness. They are accused of witchcraft in some regions and people have told horror stories about South Africans who visited other countries and were murdered and their bodies used for muthi by foreigners. Cross border activities are always suspected to be illegal, ie drug smuggling, human trafficking, rhino horn poaching and illegal tobacco products. Cross border relations are therefore not as good as they should or could be, often surrounded by an air of suspicion and scepticism. In November 2011 it was suggested that a
Illegal cross border jumping at the Zimbabwean/South African border. Part of the problem that contributes to the stereotypes about foreigners in South Africa. Photo courtesy of www.gregmarinovich. photoshelter.com
8 Border Management Agency should be formed (under the guidance of the National Intelligence Coordinating Committee) which will increase border security in South African borders. We don’t know what effect this will have on people’s willingness to travel to other countries, or whether it will just mean more formalities for travellers. It has also been suggested that border lines be pushed outwards so that SADC borders become South African border. This will loosen the inner borders and strengthen outer border. At the moment very few ordinary South Africans can travel internationally. In fact, last year a South African woman was executed in China for drug smuggling so that may affect people’s
perceptions of cross border travel, arousing their worst fears (South African woman executed in China, December, 2011, www.iol.co.za). Only those who are involved in student exchange programs or competing in international sports competitions, or those going to work overseas can do so. Within the country mobility is beset with problems of immigration, illegal cross border movements, drug smuggling and other criminal activities so ordinary people are very sceptical about travel.
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São Paulo International Art Fair The São Paulo International Art Fair is the biggest gathering of fine art in Latin America, bringing galleries, artists and art enthusiasts together at the Ciccillo Matarazzo Pavilion. Expect a complementary cultural programme of discussions, debates and talks.
where when website
São Paulo, Brazil 10th to 13th http://www.sp-arte.com/
Jack Shaka
Travelling in Europe:
Narratives of the
People of Colour 9 People of colour travelling around Europe face more hurdles now more than ever before. I shall not even delve into the visa constraints faced by this population. Racial profiling has grown immensely and this can be witnessed at the airports, trains, and buses and on the streets by actions of either the police, immigration and customs officials. As a person of colour who has travelled extensively in Europe, I have gone through racial profiling quite often. Many often propagate the illusion of a borderless Schengen region when they talk about the gains made. There are borders and barriers (barbed wire fence) for the people of colour. Racial Profiling is a form of discrimination targeting people for suspicion of crime based on the person’s religion, ethnicity, race, or national origin. If you are from the Middle East, Africa, Some countries in Latin America and South Asia, you are more than likely to go through racial profiling in your travels around Europe. Racial Profiling in the Schengen States. The first time I went through racial profiling was in 2007 as I arrived in Tegel airport, Berlin from Kenya via Doha, Qatar. I was the only black person on that flight. I was taken aside, roughly frisked and my luggage ransacked. I had some curios as gifts for my friends in Berlin; they tested each curio to see if they had come in contact with drugs or not. They also did a swab test on my face. It took almost an hour for them to be done with me. They got nothing. If I was not a person of colour, what are the chances that this would have happened to me? No one else from my flight was taken aside and put through such
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agony. That was the welcome I got in Berlin. PEN/Hemmingway award winner Teju Cole, a Nigerian American writer in an article for the Atlantic magazine of March 21st, 2012 titled ‘The White Saviour Industrial Complex’ writes; ‘There is an expectation that we can talk about sins but no one must be identified as a sinner: newspapers love to describe words or deeds as “racially charged” even in those cases when it would be more honest to say “racist”; we agree that there is rampant misogyny, but misogynists are nowhere to be found; homophobia is a problem but no one is homophobic. One cumulative effect of this policed language is that when someone dares to point out something
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as obvious as white privilege, it is seen as unduly provocative. ‘ When people of colour find avenues to fight back, they are deemed as ‘racially charged’ or ‘unduly provocative ‘ as Teju Cole points out or in other instances one is deemed ‘outspoken’ for calling a spade, a spade not a big spoon. While on a train from Austria to Berlin in 2009,again, the people of colour were asked for their identification. We were only two. They entered the wagon looked around, spotted us and headed towards us. Calls were made to check if my visa was valid, many questions asked and answered. They moved on to the seat on my left where an Indian American whom I had been chatting with sat. They took his passport, looked at it and said ‘sorry’ and moved on. I guess being an American is considered ‘superior’ in the context of travel even if you are a person of colour. The most recent case of racial profiling was in February 2012 while travelling from Hamburg to Denmark where two Nigerians in the same wagon as me went through another harrowing experience. The Customs and Immigration officials frisked them then searched their luggage after asking them if they were carrying drugs. More calls were made to confirm the validity of their Spanish resident cards then they were informed that they had to undergo swab tests for drugs. They protested loudly as we watched helplessly. On being asked if I had smoked marijuana in the last two days, I said no but over 70% of the passengers in the wagon told the Customs officials that they had done so. But the immigration and customs were only interested in the Nigerian who also said he had smoked marijuana. I don’t have to break it down to you. At this point, you get the picture so I don’t need to bore you with more narratives from the Netherlands, France etc. I always reflect on how human rights are abused by these law enforcement officials. I don’t see the big human rights organisations (often based in the same countries) making a campaign against
racial profiling. After all, the same governments fund them, so they are complacent. We are not naïve to the fact that there are both illegal and legal immigrants who are giving other immigrants a bad name by committing acts of terror or trafficking drugs. We are privy to these facts. Since the 9/11 attacks in the US and other subsequent bombings in the UK and Spain, it’s harder and harder for the people of colour to travel to Europe or North America. Future Travels According to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) latest World Economic League data released in December 2011 Asian countries are moving up and European countries falling back. The CEBR data shows that Brazil is now the 6th largest economy in the world. That slot was previously occupied by the UK.According to the projections, Germany, UK, France and Italy will hold position 7, 8, 9 and 10 respectively in 2020 compared to 4, 5, 7 and 8 in 2011. Mark my words; there will be new entrants to the top 20 list in 2020. The dynamics are changing as the economies of the developing countries are growing faster than anticipated and offering more job opportunities and new markets than in the developed countries. In the not so distant future, the majority of the population of the developed countries will be travelling to the developing world for job opportunities. This is already happening. It is time to re-evaluate the travel arrangements as the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and other countries from the developing world continue to rise faster than forecasted.
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Pigs in Maputo Pig cartoons of life in Mozambique
by Iris Yan
Because I’m working on my book
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Young population
for more, every day: pigsinmaputo. blogspot.com/
pigs in maputo.
My favorite place:
Novorossiysk,
Black Sea
text and photos
Evgenia Kostyanaya
12 Beautiful sea that changes its color depending on the weather.... Picturesque mountains that are visible from any point of the city.... Nice climate that makes you feel great all year around....Friendly people that don’t look at you suspiciously as they tend to in big cities...You think I am making up a perfect city? No. For me this place is Novorossiysk, a city and a port at the Black Sea, Russia. I must admit however that I am perhaps a little bit biased. Both my grandfathers were born there and my mother is from there. Even though I was born in a small town in the Moscow region I was always driven by the atmosphere of Novorossiysk, and namely, by its sea, mountains and kind of free and fresh air that you always feel there, - the one I could never find in Moscow where I live. Novorossiysk is Russia’s main port on the Black Sea and an important port for transporting grain. It is also very famous for its wine production and vineyards situated in the environs of the city. During the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945 the city was captured by the German Wehrmacht in 1942; but one part of the city known as Malaya Zemlya was defended by a small number of sailors (274 people) from 4th February 1943 for 225 days until the town was liberated by the Red Army on the16th September 1943. Novorossiysk received the title Hero City in 1973.
travel desstination.
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I will
not exaggerate saying that Novorossiysk is prefect; it is not. The education there could be better though guys would always choose a seaman’s way in life entering the Maritime State Academy (to work later on ships transporting commercial goods as engineers or captains, for instance) which is paid extremely well compared to salaries one can get on the land; one just needs to keep in mind that this is a shift job, and one would spend 4 months at sea and then 4 months at home or 6 months at sea and then 6 months at home, which means you will be away for quite a while from your family, your partner, your children, your friends. It may happen that you are not there when your kid is born, you may miss his or her first word, first step, first day at school, birthdays‌ At the same time well-educated girls have to try very hard to find a good well-paid job, which is not easy at all there - unless they have good connections. The medicine level is far from excellent. The average salary in the city is about 400 euros. They show here different movies in cinemas - normally, those that would for sure attract large audience. You will probably not find here those special movies for fine connoisseurs. However that all doesn’t really matter for me. This city always
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meant freedom for me. Here you depend on traffic only to a very small extent. You can walk. Walk home from work. Not be blocked in traffic for 3 hours being stuck in your own car. I never understood - and most probably will never be able to - those people in Moscow who with some surprising stubbornness go by car to the office instead of getting there by underground which is much faster and cheaper too. Novorossiysk is a place where you can do a lot of things on one single day - because everything is much closer. It is a place where you don’t have to make an appointment with a friend 2 weeks beforehand. No, you don’t have to - you might just drop by after a phone call. You are connected to each
travel desstination.
other. People do see each other, not chat in a social network.... What I am lacking in Moscow is that there is nothing special to see: there are no mountains, no sea that have witnessed so many stories and human lives - the mountains that witnessed me growing up; the Black sea that will still be there even when I will no longer exist. That is why in a way Novorossiysk is like a big home for me. However being objective I need to say that of course going there for vacations and staying for maximum a couple of months is quite different from actually living there – dealing with all the day-to-day routine, job search, low level of
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salaries etc would impact the attitude to some extent for sure. Though prices are lower here too, but not for everything; but one definitely spends less on transport. Some locals tend to say that it is boring there, that there is nothing to do, and some of them even never go swimming, not a single time, during the whole summer. Those people would always say that they would want to relocate to Moscow because of more opportunities, richer cultural and social life, etc. They tend to think that if there are lots of theaters in Moscow we go there every week. Well, not really. Maybe some really do. I don’t. Nonetheless I always feel happy there. This place has the tastiest bread and other bakery products and wonderful cheese which is made in the region along with other very good milk products. However words say too little to share the feeling of joy when eating a tasty soft bublik (soft ring-shaped bread roll) after a long swim‌
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image: http:// www.13thstreetstudio. typepad.com/13th_ steet_studio/ page/3/
Ongoing Conflicts: Effects of the Scramble and Partition of Africa by Imperialists
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Jack Shaka
The Scramble and Partition During the scramble and partition of Africa, many European nations had various justifications for their actions. They had economic, social, political, prestigious and humanitarian/ missionary reasons. In this context, the scramble and partitioning of Africa refers to the greed by the European nations to curve, divide and share Africa amongst themselves. In November 1884, Otto von Bismarck, the Chancellor of Germany convened a conference of 14 states in Berlin. The main agenda of the conference was to partition Africa amongst the European nations. The United States of America (USA) was also invited to this conference-after all; she had become a coloniser too after suffrage under the British rule. It is vital to note that USA didn’t have any colony in Africa. Germany at that time was a powerful nation and wanted to extend her dominion in Africa. Articles 34 and 35 of the Berlin Act (a result of the Berlin conference of 884) dealt with the spheres of influence by the European nations and the sphere of occupation. Article 34 made it clear that any European nation that took
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possession of an African coast had to inform the parties of the Berlin Act of their action so that their claim is recognised. Article 35 focused on effective occupation where a nation had to prove that they have major parts of the territory around a coastal possession in order for them to occupy it. Africa was controlled by four nations namely: Great Britain, France, Germany and Portugal. These nations were competing for influence in Africa and it was vital for them to iron out most of the issues that in the conference in Germany. Africa’s politico-geographical map was born after the conference. The nations in that conference never envisaged how many people would die as a result of border wars or disputes caused by the decisions made during the conference. After losing in the WWI Germany surrendered her possessions-one of them being Tanganyika (now Tanzania) which Britain took over to form British East Africa. From 1885 to 1914 Britain had close to 30% of Africa’s population and territory under its grasp followed by France at 15%. This made Britain the biggest imperialist in
Africa. Princess Elizabeth ascended to the throne of the United Kingdom (Britain) while visiting one of their colonies (Kenya) when her father King George VI died in 1952.Between 1954-1960 while she was Queen, over 130,000 Kenyans were killed in concentration camps in her Kenyan colony. Ethnic cleansing of the Kikuyu tribe also took place during her watch. On the East African coast, Oman annexed the coastal cities of Mogadishu, Malindi , Mombasa, Zanzibar, Northern Mozambique and Moroni , Comoros in the Indian Ocean by the year 1700. They were referred to us the Sultanates of Oman. These were the first to annex the East African coast before the Portuguese then the British years later. The Oman’s started visiting the region in the 1st Century AD. They opened the gates for the rest of the greedy imperialists: Italians, Germans, British, Portuguese and French.
Kenya Uganda Railway The British embarked on the railway project in 1896 in Mombasa (Kenya) and finished it in 1901 in Kisumu, on the shores of Lake Victoria. By 1931, the railway line had reached Kampala, Uganda. The imperial project was used to transport goods in and out of their hegemony and back to Britain. The construction of the railway line cost over 2400 lives and led to a massacre in a place called Kedong in Kenya. Two Maasai girls were raped and the community decided to attack the railway workers killing 500 of them. The railway line also faced resistance from the Nandi people in Kenya led by their leader Koitalel Arap Samoei. Britain brought in thousands of Indians from her colony in India to help build the Kenya Uganda railway.
Effects of the Partition of Africa Somalia with support from the Soviets laid
claim to parts of Kenya and Ethiopia. When the Italians left Eritrea in 1952, Ethiopia took control of it ten years later. The reign lasted 30 years. Ethiopia still claims Eritrea is part of its territory. On the 15th of March 2012 Ethiopia raided Eritrea claiming that it was attacking military bases that were training rebels. Eritrea has since refused to retaliate. The two countries have had border wars for many years but the climax was in the years 1998 to 2000. Other border conflicts include: the SomaliaEthiopia-Kenya borders, the Sudan (before the split to create South Sudan)-Kenya border (concerning the Ilemi triangle), and the KenyaUganda border. The Nigeria-Cameroun Bakassi Peninsula border conflicts went on for so many years until the matter was referred to the International Court of Justice.
Writer
Wafula Okumu puts the situation in context in his paper Colonial Errors-Border Disputes in EA Region; ‘The Kenya-Tanzania-Uganda-Rwanda borders, for instance, reflect the British obsession to control the source of the Nile and the colonial intrigues to gain access to the mineral wealth of the present eastern DRC.’ Swaziland claims parts of Swazi homelands in South Africa that were taken during the colonial times. The disputes continue to linger till today. Zambia and Zimbabwe are locked in dispute over Zindabezi Island. Kasikili/Sedudu Island in the Chobe River on the border between Namibia and Botswana was disputed by the two nations until the International Court of Justice ruled in favour of Botswana in 1999.Kasikili and Sedudu refer to its names in Namibian and Tswana respectively. These are just some of the disputes/conflicts/wars that have taken place or are still taking place as a result of the partition of Africa by greedy imperialists. Since then, hundreds of thousands have died if not millions as a result of the imperialists’ actions. ] ! [
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image: http://www.fotocommunity.com/ pc/pc/display/26476527
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Katerina Kostadinova
As the sound of the heart that slowly collapse and falls down broken in peaces, As the rose shall be ripped off her roots with human hands without any pain, As the light shall become dark, when the cloudy night shall rule the day, As the air shall become dust hard to breathe hard to see hard to speak And as the feeling shall be gone, as the end of the of the day. Thus the life of the souls shall beguine dying softly and quietly till disappearing from the world leaving us empty leaving the end to knock to our doors.
poetry.
Travel grants Be anything but a tourist Charlotte Großkopf
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Are you young, open-minded, and have itchy
feet and an idea for a trip in mind that is out of the ordinary? Do you want to start up a special youth project, organize an international student exchange or a meeting? There is a chance you can get help to put your plans into action. There are several offices and associations to provide support you when you’re planning something international and inspiring. Let me tell you about one now and you can contemplate the others later. I’m from Germany and I was supported by the French-German Youth Office when I went on a 15-day trip to France last summer. I planned a research project about girls’ football in France and together with a friend, we toured from Paris to Lyon an Saint-Étienne to make interviews with teenage players, trainers, fans, bloggers, officials, professionals and passers-by. We went to see old friends and met a lot of new people. We joined football training sessions, we were shown around on small training grounds and huge stadiums, and we had a lot of fun with our hosts who were mostly found through couchsurfing.org. We had the chance to spend a memorable time searching for differences in girls’ football culture between our home country
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and France while in the year of the Women’s World Championship in Germany. The French-German Youth Office (OFAJ/DFJW) helped us to fund our project by providing us a travel grant (150 € per person). Since it was founded in 1969, the OFAJ/DFJW has supported about eight million Germans and Frenchmen on different programmes. Their aim is to deepen the relationships between young people of each nation and to care for cultural exchange. Consequently, they support student exchanges, youth meetings, travel projects, cultural and sport projects. But these projects do not exist just between Germany and France. There are a many associations and organisations in Europe supporting special travel and exchange projects. Obviously, such grants are usually dedicated to a specified audience. You’ll have to do a lot of research, indeed; but maybe you’ll find the right partner for your project. Also, if you fit the concept of a certain organisation, you can get the great opportunities to carry out your venture.
Examples of other projects:
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STEP Beyond Travel grants support European up-and-comer artists and cultural workers, especially individuals up to 35 years and in the first 10 years of their career. STEP (‘Supporting Travel for European Partnerships’) funds support individuals travelling between EU and countries bordering the EU. For about nine years, STEP funded hundreds of people by providing between €250 and €700 for their art travel projects. Learn more at http://www.eurocult. org/grants/step-beyond-travel-grants/ Youth in Action is the EU Programme for young people which will be continued until 2013. Its aim is to inspire a sense of active citizenship, solidarity, and tolerance among young Europeans. Consequently, it promotes mobility within and beyond the EU borders. Young People, aged 15 to 28, can participate in programmes such as youth exchanges, or initiatives. Find out more at http://ec.europa.eu/youth/youth-inaction-programme/overview_en.htm
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust supports young British people (at least 18 years of age) with overseas travel projects. Usually, the duration is 4 to 8 weeks. The WCMT accepts applications in 10 different categories, such as “Science, Engineering & Technology” or “Health and Medicine”. Successful candidates are funded and get the chance to gain experiences, and develop in their chosen field. Learn more at http://www.wcmt.org.uk/ The Polish-German Youth Office supports young Polish and German people planning student exchanges, youth initiatives, or internships in their neighbour country, under certain conditions. Founded in 1991, the PGYO is some kind of a smaller brother to the French-German Youth Office. It was also established to encourage mutual understanding and to conciliate the young people of both nations. Learn more at http://www.dpjw.org/ ] ! [
Cats parade
Every three years, the Flanders town of Ypres goes pussy crazy as all things cat are celebrated in a day of parties during the Cats Parade. It’s a bad day to be a mouse with a nervous disposition.
where when website
Yppes, Belgium various dates in May http://www.ieper.be/
The Mobility of the Stagnant Journalist How The Digital Age Created A Borderless News Feed Claire
The art
of news curation has bloomed over the past year, no doubt thanks to the increasing ease and speed of information transmission online. No series of news events have solidified this fact like the “Arab Spring,” as up-to-the-minute news of anti-government protests, mass arrests and violent acts of oppression poured onto the Internet. Mainstream media reporters, semi-professional bloggers and citizen journalists could all count themselves as part of the news cycle, cultivating and sharing what they deemed to be reliable information on global current events. Yet there is one glaring disclaimer on the relatively recent explosion of information sharing that we may fail to notice: many of these journalists share and tell these news items without ever setting foot at the scene of the story. Andy Carvin, senior strategist at NPR whose tens of thousands of Twitter followers rely on him for instant news curation, likely knows this fact better than most. As the “Arab Spring” continues, Carvin seems to endlessly stay on top of the latest information on the ongoing protests across the Middle East and north Africa by tweeting and retweeting updates from fellow journalists and from ordinary citizens on the ground in one of the many countries in the midst of anti-government demonstrations. Carvin successfully tapped into the instant gratification realm of social media, while maintaining the fragile balance between breaking news and journalistic accountability. One Twitter follower, @evacide, recently joked about Carvin’s form of journalistic mobility: “It’s better as a verb: ‘to carvin.’ “Did you have to fly all the way to Sri Lanka for that story?” ‘No, I carvinned it.’” All teasing aside, this is a reality for many journalists today. Whether it be timeliness, tight budgets, or budding popularity, news outlets
have recognized the value in the talking about events without being on the scene. But does this stretch for mobility in news coverage actually perpetuate immobility? Does tweeting breaking news from the office constitute a worthy alternative to racing through battered streets of Syria? Mutual exclusion is not an option here. This evolving age of news with no borders relies on both forms of storytelling to satisfy the global appetite for news consumption. First, some countries are notoriously dangerous for journalists. One leaked document from Syria exposed the Syrian government’s wish to eliminate Western journalists. The government of Bahrain denied a multitude of journalists from entering the country to report on the underreported anti-government protests in the nation. We’ve heard of multiple high-profile journalists losing their lives covering the anti-government protests in Libya. Consider this debatable notion: Helping tell the story from a distant location does not stifle the event or diminish its newsworthiness. Rather, it adds value to the story by enhancing attention surrounding the event. Although not many Western journalists were present in Bahrain in December 2011, blogger Robert Mackey, author of the The Lede Blog, interviewed prominent Bahraini activist Zainab Alkhawaja via video conference for the New York Times, giving the anti-government movement a voice without the need to travel halfway across the world. Yet we cannot, however unintentional, pull credit from the Marie Colvins of the journalism world, who embed themselves in the stories abroad. If we could only chose one method of transmitting the story - be in the thick of it or tweet about those in the thick of it - we should lean towards the on-theground reporting. But that is not our reality… nor should it be. ] ! [
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Kong Conductor’s Festival of Hong Talented guest conductors are invited to lead the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra at special concerts during the Conductors’ Festival of Hong Kong. The performances take place at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on Kowloon and Hong Kong City Hall.
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Hong Kong, China from April to July http://www.hkco.org/
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Mexico Festival Top Mexican and international musicians and artists perform in the squares, palaces, cloisters and temples of the capital’s historic centre at the Mexico Festival. Tailor your own programme of music, theatre, dance, fine art, literature, children’s activities and more.
events!
where when website
Mexico City, Mexico 2nd to 20th http://www.festival.org.mx/
credits Libertas Team: Daniel Nunes Vladimíra Brávková Dragan Atanasov Kristijan Nikodinovski Scott Pinkster Christine Moore Ivana Galapceva Carolina Santana Evgenia Kostyanaya Marija Gavrilov Marina Danic Rjasnoj
Contributors for this issue: Alexandre Fonseca aneta dimoska Claire Charlotte Großkopf Djordje Petrovic dumisa sofika Evgenia Kostyanaya jack shacka katerina kostadinova Iris Yan
All texts published in Libertas represent solely the opinions of their authors, not of the magazine or of its publishers. Libertas and creACTive are not responsible in any way for the contents of the articles, or for the photos published with them. Have you signed up? Send an empty message to hello@magazinelibertas.com and receive your personal copy of Libertas by e-mail every 5th in the month! Have something to say? Contact us at hello@magazinelibertas.com and read your article in the next edition! about us: Youth Magazine Libertas was founded in September 2009 as a project of Youth Association creACTive. Youth Magazine Libertas aims to be a place where young people from all over the world can share their thoughts and views on topics that matter for them, in this way starting discussions and working as a means of change for the future. Every month, Libertas is published on the 5th, featuring articles about a different main topic and other kinds of articles such as movie, book and music reviews, travel destination, interview and brainstorm.
designed by Carolina Santana
COver, editorial and back cover photos by alexandre fonseca.
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