Of New Gold Standards | Diplomatic Courier | September 2018 Edition

D IPLOM ATICOURIER.com

A Global Affairs Media Network VO L UME 1 2 I ISSUE 6 I SEPTEM BER 2018

OF GOLD STANDARDS AND THE NEW LEARNING ECONOMY

INSIDE DEVELOPMENT

DIGITALIZATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD p14

GEOPOLITICS

DISPELLING THE WATER WAR MYTH p18

MIGRATION

WE NEED A POLITICAL APPROACH TO SDG16 p24

Education is the new gold standard In the winter of 2017, Bitcoin proved to us that crypto currency could support a $300 billion economy. Why? Common agreement.

Like gold, millions of people agree that Bitcoin has value— and so it does. What if education was the new gold standard?

Let’s agree to pay refugees to equip themselves with new languages in foreign lands, pay workers to retrain themselves through the tide of automation, and pay the next generation to prepare for the unsolved problems of tomorrow.

What if we could pay millions of people to learn?

Find where you can earn to learn at www.learningeconomy.io

Join The

for Education

D I P L O M AT I C O U R I E R .c o m

Contents VO L UME 12 I ISSUE 6 I SEPTEM BER 2018

06 I Editor’s Note

The Future of Education

24 I Feature To Address the Global

Migration Crisis, We Need a

Political Approach to SDG16

By: Ana C. Rold

08 I Cover Story

Of Gold Standards and the

New Learning Economy

26 I Feature Sustaining the World's

Food Supply

By: Chris Purifoy

14 I Feature Digitalization for a

Sustainable World

By: Carol O'Donnell

22 I Feature

Dispelling the Water War Myth

By: Achim Walter

28 I Feature

PPPs: Too Many Cooks in

the Kitchen

By: Conor Lennon

18 I Editorial

Science Education, Identity,

and Civic Engagement

By: Rima Kawas

By: Samantha Thorne

32 I Editorial How Might We Change the

World As We Know It?

By: Deirdre White

34 I Book Review The Perfect Weapon:

War, Sabotage, and Fear

in the Cyber Age

By: Joshua Huminski

36 I Feature

The Future of AI is

Intelligence Augmentation

By: Ana C. Rold

38 I Editorial

Partnerships Are the Future

By: Brandie Conforti

40 I Feature

Reaching the Remaining

Millions At Risk Or Suffering

from NCDs

By: Thomas Cueni

By: Thomas Bernauer

Masthead Publishing house Medauras Global

COVER Story Chris Purifoy

publisher & ceo Ana C. Rold

photographers Michelle Guillermin Sebastian Rich

Creative Director Christian Gilliham

un correspondent Akshan de Alwis

Editorial Advisors Fumbi Chima Sir Ian Forbes Lisa Gable Anders Hedberg Mary D. Kane Greg Lebedev Anita McBride

DC EDITORS Michael Kofman Paul Nash Winona Roylance

DC CORRESPONDENTS Jacqueline Christ Meg Evett Samantha Thorne

Cover Design Amy Purifoy

VIDEO Correspondent Silvana Smith

Chief Technology officer Chris Purifoy director of social media Samantha Thorne

CONTRIBUTORS C. Naseer Ahmad Thomas Bernauer Brandie Conforti Amb Charles Crawford Thomas Cueni Amb Marc Ginsberg Justin Goldman Caroline Holmund Joshua Huminski Coby Jones Sarah Jones Rima Kawas Conor Lennon Daniel Metz Arun S. Nair Carol O'Donnell Uju Okoye Achim Walter Deirdre White

PUBLISHING. Diplomatic Courier magazine is produced by Medauras Global LLC, an independent private publishing firm. The magazine is printed six times a year and publishes a blog and online commentary weekly at www.diplomaticourier.com.

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ISBN: 978-1-942772-01-9 (Print); 978-1-942772-02 (Online).

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SEPTEMBER 2018 04

THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION | WORK | ORGANIZATION

JANUARY 17-18, 2019 | ZURICH, SWITZERLAND WWW.GLOBALTALENTSUMMIT.ORG

D I P L O M AT I C O U R I E R .c o m

Welcome VO L UME 12 I ISSUE 6 I SEPTEM BER 2018

Ana C. Rold Publisher & CEO

The Future of Education As I write this note, it is the first day of school for my son, a kindergartener and my daughter, a third grader. For the past several years I have been thinking about what education will be like for them as technologies like artificial intelligence and virtual reality, as well global hyper-connectivity transform the way we access and use knowledge. In this age of disruption education is an industry ripe for massive transformation and my kids will be right in the middle of that change.

Today’s education model is truly archaic. The primary education system forces kids to memorize information in order to pass standardized tests. University programs continue to skyrocket in cost and offer little in closing the skills gap in employment. And traditional degrees do not guarantee you will be robot-proof in the coming "automation apocalypse." Education is a billion-dollar industry that deserves this coming massive disruption and reinvention.

How do we fix education? We make it fun. We make it personalized. And we make it free.

We already have the means to do all this. Education start-ups from all over the world are delivering personalized lessons for children and adults at a pace that is best suited for them.

Twenty years ago, I was considered privileged that I had access to English lessons as a student in Eastern Europe. Today, the app Duolingo helps people around the world to learn languages in their own terms. In less than a decade we have seen technologies democratize and dematerialize access to educational resources. It won’t be long before a child in a remote area of the world has the same access to information and educational resources that once were only available to students at ivy league colleges in rich Western capitals.

Education and gainful employment have been at the heart of poverty alleviation on the agenda of the Global Goals. And while we aspired to close the literacy gap during the Millennium Development Goals in the early 2000s, we’ve now entered a new era of solution-making without precedence. It is this transformation of the global learning economy we feature in this special edition for the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly meetings, with a cover story by our own Chris Purifoy.

The idea was conceived earlier this January at the Swiss mountains, right before our Global Talent Summit, where for six years we have labored over solutions on the future of work and education. The clear mountain air inspired a unique view to the global education conundrums not just for our children back in the United States but for all those who have suffered displacement as refugees and migrants. With the advent of blockchain and cryptocurrency, the learning economy aims to fix education not by making it free but making it profitable.

Blockchain will unleash a creative revolution in education unlike anything we’ve ever seen.

And in this new world we will be able to know anything we want, anytime we want. ●

SEPTEMBER 2018 06

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D I P L O M AT I C O U R I E R .c o m

COVER STORY E D U C AT I O N

Of Gold Standards and The New Learning Economy

By Chris Purifoy

“Gold has value because we collectively believe in its worth.

Why is gold valuable enough to guarantee a national economy?

Why not trees, or pearls, or cats? yes, gold is a rare precious metal, but what about rare animals? Or rare plants?"

SEPTEMBER 2018 08

CROEV FE RU G S TEOERSy E D U C AT I O N

C

Cryptocurrency is ripe for mass adoption, but the complex blockchain story—the technology under the hood that no one needs to know—has hidden this revolutionary movement from the masses. Most people don’t understand any of it, but that doesn’t stop the endless curiosity.

Language is at the root of all this. It always has been.

Language is the beginning of knowledge and wisdom. It was the first global currency and mass common agreement.

It gave us enough value to form nations and universities and relationships.

Then, around the turn of the millennia, language gave us code, followed by the many digital mysteries that keep all of us up at night (I assume since you’re reading this).

Cue the train of progress.

Then in 2008, when the mysterious and anonymous Nakamoto published their masterpiece white paper, it gave us a new language of decentralized mathematics and calculations. It represented what could be a polar shift in market economies, immersed in an ethos that values great ideas, privacy, and common good.

Enter the blockchain and cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin was the first; the pioneer. It shifted the paradigm of money by showing that common agreement is the central mechanism that creates value for a currency and the economy it supports. It proved that ordinary people could take back control of the market economy.

This was all that was needed to compel the world’s developers and academics into a global movement. But for the rest of the world who don’t speak in computer code and economic models, it is still a foreign language.

What was missing in those early days was simple language to synthesize this revolution for the rest of the world. When the masses understand all this, it will be a tectonic shift toward a global commonwealth. The key to this complex language challenge is to understand something curious about gold.

Gold has value because we collectively believe in its worth.

Even national currencies once backed by assets like gold still follow a similar function. Why is gold valuable enough to guarantee a national economy? Why not trees, or pearls, or cats? Yes, gold is a rare precious metal, but what about rare animals? Or rare plants? You could say it’s for its energy properties, but we didn’t know about those until thousands of years after kings lorded gold over their subjects and everyone drooled for it.

So, why does gold have value? It’s an emotional choice more so than anything. Gold is shiny and pretty, it blings.

Gold has value because we all agree it has value. ➣

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COVER STORY E D U C AT I O N

➣ The same is true with Bitcoin.

It took Bitcoin several years to earn enough support to create a semi-stable market, and while it can still be volatile at times and only backed by common agreement, the Bitcoin market has leveled out to support an economy of more than $100 billion.

But maybe Bitcoin was only Satoshi Nakamoto’s seed?

After a spike that began in late 2017 then eventually capped at more than $300 billion, with each Bitcoin priced at nearly $20k each, the market settled and plateaued around $6.5k per coin. This market spike gave the world a shiny new meme that communicated in living color across the global buzz waves what mass agreement is capable of producing.

Overnight, people made millions and billions off of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Even though it was short lived, this mass event showed us what a mature crypto-economy could become if everyone sustainably agreed to buy and trade one specific coin.

But why agree to buy one coin over the other?

We’ve now reached the value crescendo, the point in the story where Ethereum enters the mythology of blockchain lore.

Vitalik Buterin published Ethereum’s white paper a few years after Nakamoto's, and we learned about the codex-like language of smart contracts and decentralized apps that run on the blockchain. We learned that this privacy and people-centered movement was about more than just currency, that there was a second side to the cryptocoin—its utility.

We learned that great cryptomarkets need value.

And so now we are getting somewhere; we are starting to learn the mechanism that can create lasting market stability. Value.

Ethereum’s coin and its platform support a market of blockchain apps, tools and developers, meaning its value is more than just supply and demand like Bitcoin. It pays for something meaningful and contributes to society. This innovative philosophy—that cryptomarkets should be backed by a utility value—was a major catalyst for the great cryptocurrency surge around the first of 2018.

Ethereum’s economy peaked at more than $100 billion then settled at around $40 billion.

It paved the way for a second wave of utility backed cryptocurrency economies like litecoin, NEO, Stratis, etc.

Much of this market success was due to trusted exchanges like Coinbase arriving SEPTEMBER 2018 10

and paving the road for scale, by distributing cryptocoins in a simple, user-friendly way the masses could embrace, regardless of their ability to understand the complex inner workings of the blockchain. Because of this accessibility, the world started buying and selling cryptocoins. They joined the movement.

What has followed is a new gold rush.

There is a slew of new crypto common agreements—CryptoKitties, Fomo3D, Augur— which are proving the technology works but have only minimal utility value compared to what is possible. This creates a tricky, yet exciting situation.

We are all sifting through digital pans for gold in the blockchain river of the new world.

Which brings us to today and our position.

Common agreement can create shared value, as demonstrated by our impressive ability to create communities of interest around digital cats, internet memes, and prediction markets.

But, mass agreement—the kind of force which changes the direction of history—emerges from deep, transcendental values we all share.

Values which dollar signs and gold can’t capture. It’s time for a revolution in how we represent, exchange, and understand value.

We can now see both sides of the cryptocoin.

The Learning Economy builds on this evolution of value by awarding LEARN coins to people imbibing in the vast ecosystem of learning, knowledge, and wisdom available on the internet and in classrooms. The LEARN coin will pay people who educate themselves.

Education is a foundational and globally agreed upon human value—now and forever.

A blockchain economy backed by this new gold standard could support a massive long lasting cryptomarket.

The Learning Economy began in Switzerland at the start of 2018, skiing at LAAX with a group of leaders and speakers before the World Web Forum, Global Talent Summit, and Davos. At the height of the bitcoin bubble, blockchain was on the tip of everyone’s tongue. We were asking ourselves: how can we create a robust, purpose-driven economy with blockchain to do something truly magnificent for the world? One indisputable fact simmered within our minds—if we could mobilize a new commonwealth around a universal human enterprise, we could spark a global movement toward a mature and sustainable market dedicated to upholding that value. Value, it seemed, was at the root of it.

CROEV FE RU G S TEOERSy E D U C AT I O N

Later at Diplomatic Courier’s Global Talent Summit in Zurich, we discussed how to use blockchain to create value for people denied access to work, education, and social life because of their gender or class. We all left Switzerland with these ideas spinning around in our heads as we thought about how refugees and populations like them could benefit from a new cryptocurrency designed to serve their needs.

Back in the United States, we began having regular meetings to bring our new commonwealth coin to fruition. We quickly realized there was a huge hole in our plan to build a cryptocurrency economy to empower underprivileged women and refugees. How can impoverished people use and earn money off our new coin if they don’t have any money to buy them in the first place? We had figured out who we wanted to give value to, but not how to actually capture and distribute that value.

Later in Los Angeles, when we attended this year’s Women of Courage celebration, the crypto conversation still buzzed between us.

One of the women from Africa gave a powerful speech about her journey, about how no one from her town was given an opportunity for education, and how her serendipitous education allowed her to rise into her own agency and then become a global reformer in politics. She revolutionized social reform in her country with a tiny bit of education. What stuck with us was this—no one in her town even had an opportunity to learn, and yet it was education that was needed to empower social and economic change. Something felt incredibly broken.

Over the next few days a lightbulb went off.

What if similar to how a market pays coins to blockchain miners, we could pay people to learn? What if we exchanged coins for completing courses?

And so, we modeled the Learning Economy’s logic to push us further along the evolution of value by creating a learning reserve in the coins market that pays LEARN coins in exchange for completing educational courses. It’s a simple idea with a powerful implication. An economy that supports education is investing in the future of its people. As we conversed and mapped out how to build the learning ecosystem, the process rose toward maturity, reminding us once again there is always a second side to every coin.

We coupled LEARN coins with smart contracts we call micro-diplomas, empowering people to certify and quantify their education for their employers on resumes and earn LEARN coins while they self-educate. Imagine if instead of moonlighting for Uber when you need some cash, you just took a course to earn a few extra bucks.

What if education could not only give you the skills needed to be successful, but also the money to take the time to learn and invest in yourself?

The LEARN coin empowers our generation with the opportunity to come into an unprecedented and invaluable agreement to be a part of an economy which pays the world to learn together. That pays the jobless to learn new skills and get certified. That pays our elderly without retirement to re-educate for the new world, or earn sustainable income to live the rest of their life as they learn new languages. That pays the talented and motivated to quantify their skills for future employers and train themselves. That pays the underprivileged to learn critical information that helps them rise back into their own agency even within refugee camps struggling for educational resources or patriarchal societies denying women access to vital curriculum and jobs. The LEARN coin pays and empowers those disadvantaged with a new, sustainable economy through education—which can enable its people, in their own contexts and at their own pace, to learn how to rebuild their broken cities.

A lifestyle of people who buy and trade LEARN coins invests in our world’s future by paying people to learn. There is no greater investment you can make than education. Not only can this quantify value to employers, it builds an ecosystem of teachers constantly innovating to deliver the most enriching, impactful, and effective curriculum for learners all around the world. What if we as a people could make the investment in each other and ourselves? And the kicker is, the more learning coins we buy and trade, the more people learn and the bigger the learning economy grows.

Gold is an agreement. The learning economy is our agreement to rebuild the most antiquated, broken, but important institution in human history.

Wisdom is the real gold.

If we all join in agreement that education is the new gold standard, together we can create a mature and long lasting global cryptomarket that awards people to learn and trade on a new learning economy. ●

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Chris Purifoy is the Chief Architect of the Learning Economy. A serial entrepreneur, he is also a writer, technology architect, and futurist. He speaks in global forums about the slippery slope of progress and the importance of art with purpose.

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D I P L O M AT I C O U R I E R .c o m D I G I TA L I Z AT I O N F O R S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

DIGITALIZATION “I FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD HOW TECH IS CONTRIBUTING TO LOWER EMISSIONS AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT By: Conor Lennon

f we don’t double down on [dealing with] emissions now, it’s our emissions that will double.”

For Marina Otto, Head of UN Environment’s Smart Cities Unit in Paris, we face a stark choice. The way we are currently running the world cannot continue: billions of people are expected to move to cities over the coming decades and, if we maintain a business-as-usual approach to growth, energy use could indeed double. We will see skyrocketing greenhouse gas emissions, worldwide food shortages and water scarcity.

But catastrophe is not a foregone conclusion: through the widespread adoption of existing products and solutions, Otto and many others believe that the challenge can be met, and that a key component of a successful strategy for creating sustainable economies is digital technology. In other words, we need to upgrade our thinking.

Guido Jouret, CDO of power and automation conglomerate ABB believes that we are running the world on an outdated industrial operating system that one might call “IOS1.0”. Jouret says it is killing its host. A sustainable “IOS2.0” SEPTEMBER 2018 14

mentality is needed, one that takes its inspiration from the internet: a robust, decentralized peer to peer approach that can be applied across different industry segments, all thanks to digitalization. Here are four examples.

First, energy. When fossil fuels dominate the energy system, price is volatile, but supply is relatively stable; the inexorable (and necessary) rise of renewable sources is turning that equation on its head.

Price is predicted to plummet (countries that are embracing renewables, such as Germany, are seeing prices go negative at certain times), but due to the intermittency of solar and wind, supply is volatile.

Digitalization solves this problem: sensors monitor the activity of every element along the renewable energy value chain, sending data to intelligent industrial software solutions that can match the constantly shifting supply to demand, maintaining a smooth, stable supply for the end user and hastening an era of clean energy.

According to the International Energy Agency, by improving the integration of renewable, decentralized energy sources, digitalization will cut 30 million tons of CO2 emissions by 2040.

F E AT U R E

Transport is currently a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions (around 25%, according to the World Bank). Slowly but surely, we are starting to see a shift to clean, electric transportation. For Mark Radka, Head of UN Environment’s Energy Program, this shift is inevitable, and high growth predictions are frequently being revised upwards. Transport is becoming “smart” and connected, leading to the concept of the “intelligent transportation system,” or ITS. ITS is about joining the dots to move people and freight around more efficiently, safely and at lower cost. In the Netherlands, an early adopter of the IOS2.0 transport mentality, a company called Fastned is building a nationwide fast-charging network.

All of their fast-chargers need to be digitally connected, so that Fastned technicians can remotely “look inside” them, in real time, from their control center, predicting when maintenance is needed and dealing with problems without having to send an engineer. Automated transportation is predicted to be the next step, with every vehicle connected to a network. Renewable energy will be directed to the places

“billions of people are expected to move to cities over the coming decades and, if we maintain a business-as-usual approach to growth, energy use could indeed double. We will see skyrocketing greenhouse gas emissions, worldwide food shortages and water scarcity." it is needed, enabling cars to act as “batteries on wheels, supplying excess energy back into the grid and helping to keep the system running smoothly." Radka believes that software is “the brain that allows a complex system to function with millions of actors...sophisticated software is the only way to make it work”.

The third example is food. As we head towards a global population of 9 billion, innovative, digitally enabled farming techniques could provide us with the food we need. At The Climate Corporation, CEO Mike

15

Stern says that he wants his company to be the “digital ecosystem for agriculture.”

The Climate Corporation uses environmental, genetic and equipment data to give farmers a precise picture of the effect that their actions are having on crop growth, helping them to improve yields, simplify their operations and reduce risk. Stern is concerned about the implications of population growth, scarcity of available arable land and climate change on our ability to feed the planet. By digitizing farming and using advanced computational technology such as AI, farmers can better navigate their way through the challenge of sustainably intensifying agriculture.

Other companies in the digital agriculture space, such as Aerofarms, have a more disruptive approach.

Aerofarms is a U.S.-based vertical farming company that is, in the words of its CFO, Guy Blanchard, a “change the world company."

It is digital technology that enables Aerofarms to have that level of ambition. Blanchard speaks passionately about the company’s ability to transform agriculture by combining Internet of Things ➣

D I P L O M AT I C O U R I E R .c o m D I G I TA L I Z AT I O N F O R S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y

➣ and data technology to control every aspect of the growing process, from gases and humidity, to the injection of nutrients and the velocity of the air. He says that, in the controlled environment of the vertical farm, it is possible to adjust the growth cycle of plants and optimize production. And all without any pesticides or herbicides. Spinoff benefits include lower transport emissions (vertical farms can be built in urban areas, close to customers) and a transformed image for the food industry; at a time when farming in many countries is struggling to attract workers (the average of a Japanese farmer is 67) a highly automated vertical farm could go some way to reducing labor shortages, as well as providing new, interesting and highly skilled jobs (many of Blanchard’s hires are data scientists).

The fourth example is the water industry. Waste and bad practice in this area are endemic. Cape Town in South Africa is at risk of being the first major city in the modern era to run out of water. It is not alone: Beijing faces a severe water scarcity crisis, Moscow deals with major pollution problems and it is predicted that even London, in soggy England, will have “serious shortages” by 2040. Globally, according to the United Nations, 1.2 billion people live in areas of water scarcity, with another 500 million approaching this situation.

By 2030, it’s estimated that fresh-

“a key component of a successful strategy for creating sustainable economies is digital technology. In other words, we need to upgrade our thinking. " water demand will exceed supply by at least 40%. For Guido Jouret, these problems are symptomatic of the “IOS1.0” way of thinking. He believes that the current way that water is distributed, and the resulting waste, can be avoided by exploring decentralized, digitally enabled solutions such as rainfall and moisture capture (he calculates that around 50% of U.S. households could theoretically meet all of their water needs through rainfall capture alone). Jouret is also optimistic about the implications of the clean energy revolution on the “waterenergy nexus”: if energy is the largest single expense in desalination plants, then the provision of renewable energy at almost zero marginal cost will slash the costs of turning seawater into drinking water.

What is more, seawater contains lithium, which could be mined to create energy storage systems that can further bring down prices (a commercial process is still an idea for the future, but researchers at Japan’s Atomic Energy Agency claim to have developed a method

SEPTEMBER 2018 16

that “shows good efficiency and is scalable”). In comparison to other industries, water has been slow to digitalize, but now the industry is waking up to the efficiencies that digital technology can bring about, and smart water solutions will drive more than 35 billion U.S. dollars’ worth of municipal spending over the next decade.

But is all this enough to make enough of a difference? In its 2017 “Digitalization and Energy” report, the International Energy Agency warns that if adoption is not thought through, digitalization could end up increasing energy use and emissions (after all, digitally enabled efficiency gains could benefit the coal industry as much as the wind industry).

However, Marina Otto of UN Environment is optimist. She is convinced that smart solutions will become more widespread, as governments provide incentives and improve regulation. As the private sector races towards a digitalized, automated and connected world, governments urgently need to catch up, understand the challenges and opportunities, and put in place policy that ensures digital technology is part of the solution—rather than a barrier—to a sustainable world. ●

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Conor Lennon is Public Information Officer at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.

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EDITORIAL

SCIENCE S EDUCATION, IDENTITY, AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT EMPOWERING YOUTH THROUGH THE UN SDGs By: Carol O’Donnell

chools around the world are facing similar challenges of increased urban migration, digital divides, and unsatisfactory teacher training. Meanwhile, there is an explosion of scientific knowledge and exponential shifts in career paths, which demand that schools prepare students to be scientifically literate.

Globalization indicates that the problems of one country affect everyone; therefore, educating all children to be responsive to the issues of the day is critical. As Emmanuel Nnandozie, of the African Capacity Building Foundation (PAS, 2015) notes, “real transformation will not happen unless countries give real priorities to STEM” education.

A powerful and sustained implementation of inquiry-based science education (IBSE) teamed with civic learning and social emotional learning (SEL) can help students focus on the issues of critical importance, such as climate change, the health of the world’s oceans, and clean energy, while examining each issue from multiple perspectives. Educating youth about complex socio-scientific issues will help to inoculate young people and their teachers and parents against societal and health problems that can adversely affect their lives.

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THE SOLUTION: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGS) Inspired and motivated by the universal call to action within the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Smithsonian Institution, through the Smithsonian Science Education Center and with the technical support of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) and the private sector, has made a collaborative commitment to work towards ensuring inclusive and equitable education programs and lifelong learning opportunities for all. We are doing that by developing a set of free curriculum modules for students ages 8-17 called Smithsonian Science for Global Goals, which blends together previous practices in Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE), Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), Global Citizenship Education (GCE), and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Smithsonian Science for Global Goals will create new forums across the globe to proffer education solutions to complex socio-scientific problems of national and global import. The

EDITORIAL

goal is to not only teach students the science behind these socioscientific issues, but to drive students’ capabilities to take action to use this science to do social good in their communities and the world.

Today, the SDGs are driving education decisions in international settings, and the Smithsonian Science Education Center is responding by developing a culturally relevant SDG curriculum to better serve our global audience of young learners. One of the challenges with abstract global goals is how to apply them concretely in local settings. To address that challenge, our curriculum is designed to incorporate place-specific data and community perspectives in order to ensure local relevance. It is not enough to teach students that the SDGs exist. Instead we are seeking new ways for students to embody the SDGs in their classrooms every day.

Through the Smithsonian Science for Global Goals curriculum, the Smithsonian is engaging experts from multiple sectors from around the globe to empower the next generation of decision makers capable of making the right choices about the complex socio-scientific issues facing human society (e.g., climate change, healthy oceans,

“Educating youth about complex socioscientific issues will help to inoculate young people and their teachers and parents against societal and health problems that can adversely affect their lives." clean energy, biodiversity, nutrition, healthy ecosystems, freshwater access, pollution, etc). Development partners include researchers, partnering government agencies, private and public-sector funders, and scientists from across the globe who are part of the 130 national and regional academies of science and medicine that are members of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP).

PEDAGOGICAL APPROACH TO EDUCATING YOUTH ON THE SDGS Our pedagogical approach to educating youth on the SDG’s is what we call our “Global Goals Action Progression," which combines science education, identity and social and emotional learning,

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and civic engagement (IBSE, SEL, GCE, ESD). Taken together, these key elements build a progression that takes students from understanding their own identity and the identify of their community as it relates to the socio-scientific issue; to questioning and investigating the relevant scientific and social causes, engaging in critical reasoning and systemic thinking, and then taking their newfound scientific knowledge to engage in social action. The goal is for students to use their newfound scientific knowledge and community understanding to form the habit of taking action on global issues in a way that is locally relevant.

The center portion of the “Global Goals Action Progression” —critical reasoning and systemic understanding—is the tie that binds.

Armed with their new scientific understanding of the complex socio-scientific issue, students examine their own values and perspectives (ethical, social, economic, and environmental) on the issue and test how these values and perspectives influence their local and global thinking. Learning teams use their understandings to find common ground, build consensus, and plan and carry ➣

EDITORIAL

➣ out local actions to help attain the SDGs. Along the way, their perspectives and mindsets change as they learn more about the world around them, building a new foundation from which to tackle the next socio-scientific problem.

MOSQUITO-BORNE DISEASES Through Smithsonian Science for Global Goals we are not only working toward meeting the 2030 agenda of the UN, but we also hope to address the Smithsonian’s 2022 vision to “engage and inspire” more students and teachers, “where they are, with greater impact, while catalyzing critical conversations on issues affecting our nation and the world.”

With educational, social, health, and environmental challenges facing our most vulnerable populations, students around the world need to become scientifically literate citizens who can make informed decisions about their individual and collective futures.

The Smithsonian Science Education Center has developed the first of an anticipated 17 SDGfocused curriculum modules called “Mosquito! How Can We Ensure Health For All From Mosquito-borne Diseases?” funded in part by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and Johnson & Johnson. Mosquito! addresses SDG #3, 4, 16 and 17 and employs the latest research on how

“The goal is to not only teach students the science behind these socioscientific issues, but to drive students’ capabilities to take action to use this science to do social good in their communities and the world." children learn. We have also proposed a tentative framework for the titles for 16 additional Smithsonian Science for Global Goals curriculum modules. The modules develop socio-scientific understanding across goals and targets, rather than each module addressing one individual SDG. This helps to build connections between the goals. Each curriculum module will be translated into several languages and the emphasis on local knowledge means teachers can adapt it to the context of their classroom.

With the help of private and government sectors, our next step is to take this framework and example module and seek funds to develop the remaining curriculum modules and develop support for teachers so that we can freely disseminate and implement the curriculum across the globe.

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According to the United Nations, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, economies around the world are reorganizing their giving to align with the SDGs. Corporations are also recognizing the importance of supporting trusted organizations —like the Smithsonian and academies of science—that are catalyzing critical conversations that affect the nation and the world.

Corporate Social Responsibility dollars, and even dollars once reserved for marketing, are now shifting to support SDG-related activities. Consumers—and today’s youth—are making more of their choices about which companies they support based on how much “social good” those companies are doing and whether the companies are helping the planet and its citizens.

The SDGs are helping to prepare students to be scientifically literate and drive social change. ●

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Carol O'Donnell's 35 years in science education include working at the Smithsonian Institution, National Academy of Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, and George Washington University. Carol has expertise in education policy, professional development, cognition, curriculum development, and education research. She serves on the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) Science Education Programme Global Council.

Global Action Platform & KPMG International

Their Story

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By combining distribution data from Unilever and analysis by Mastercard, Jaza Duka is used to provide a micro-credit eligibility recommendation to Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB).

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The impact of such a platform on small shopkeepers, their families, and their wider communities can be transformative.

Because inclusive growth over the long term is Mastercard’s goal, we are placing equal emphasis on also providing these business owners with training on how to manage their finances & inventory, as well as giving them the marketing skills & techniques to attract customers and drive sales.

For advancing shared value enterprise strategies around the world.

More info at globalactionplatform.org

D I P L O M AT I C O U R I E R .c o m T H E WAT E R WA R M Y T H

“Water conflicts that are fought out violently are extremely rare, while verbal disputes are relatively frequent.

No international or domestic water wars were observed in the available data dating back to the 1940s."

DISPELLING H THE WATER WAR MYTH

umans need water. If it is in short supply, conflicts can arise. Contrary to popular belief however, these types of conflicts almost never lead to war, but rather to cooperation.

Fresh water is one of the most precious of natural resources.

Water is available in huge quantities throughout the world, but scarcities can arise on a local level, since rainfall, natural water reservoirs and demand create an uneven distribution across the globe.

A shortage of water can cause conflicting needs to emerge within and between countries.

By: Thomas Bernauer

DO WATER SHORTAGES CAUSE VIOLENT CONFLICT? As early as 200 years ago, in the face of a growing population, the English political economist and demographer Thomas Malthus warned against resource scarcity and the potential for resulting social upheaval. Especially from the 1970s onwards, this gave rise to the argument that the ever-increasing overexploitation of natural resources, above all water, would ultimately lead to massive conflicts and even wars. This is why the term “water SEPTEMBER 2018 22

wars” has come into widespread use in books, popular science texts, and statements by policy makers. In recent years, there has been a boom in assertions like these as part of the discourse around climate change.

COOPERATION RATHER THAN VIOLENT CONFLICT Research on this subject has contributed significantly to bringing such assertions back to reality.

Statistical analyses of international and civil wars show that water scarcity is not a relevant variable for predicting this extreme form of conflict.

Several research groups, including my own, have also examined the scale of conflict and cooperation over water resources on an international and national level. Studies such as these analyze a vast number of worldwide media reports. The single most important conclusion is that social and political interactions around water resources adhere to a kind of normal distribution. Water conflicts that are fought out violently are extremely rare. No international or domestic water wars were observed in the available data dating back to the 1940s.

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On the other hand, water conflicts in the form of verbal disputes are relatively common. More common, however, are interactions of a cooperative nature. In other words, water scarcity more often leads to cooperation than to conflict.

Reservoir dams can lead to disputes between neighboring countries.

Research shows; however, that these conflicts are almost always peacefully resolved. Satellite image of the Aswan High Dam, Egypt. (Credit: NASA.)

WHAT DO THESE FINDINGS MEAN FOR THE FUTURE? The factors determining the risk of water-related conflicts have not yet been conclusively identified, though we know that the most important predictors are likely to include political conflicts over problems that have nothing to do with water; large development gaps within and between countries; and missing or underdeveloped institutions in the water sector within and between countries.

Even if water conflicts have almost never resulted in armed conflicts so far, could acute water shortages resulting from massive climatic changes not lead to violent disputes about water in the future? This is of course conceivable in principle, but it is rather unlikely. In the vast majority of cases, the cost of armed conflict is considerably higher than the cost of solutions reached

at the negotiating table. Instead of falling for the water war myth, it would make more sense for affected populations and their policy makers to consider research findings such as the ones referred to above to work out what is politically feasible in the short to medium term and to act accordingly. On the one hand, this means creating institutional conditions that are able to handle conflicts of interest and resolve domestic and international disputes over increasingly scarce water in an orderly and non-violent manner.

Another feasible strategy is to use water resources more efficiently.

This is particularly important since a number of studies show that local overexploitation is in most cases a far more significant cause of water

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scarcity than climate change.

UNESCO’s World Water Development Reports, for example, identify many possibilities for using water more efficiently, while access to technological innovation in poorer countries continues to play an important role. ●

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Thomas Bernauer is a Professor of Political Science at ETH Zurich and Director of ETH’s Institute of Science, Technology and Policy (ISTP). Bernauer focuses on environmental, economic, and security problems that extend beyond national borders. He is the author or co-author of ten books, more than 100 scientific journal articles and book chapters, and many other types of publications.

D I P L O M AT I C O U R I E R .c o m T H E G L O B A L M I G R AT I O N C R I S I S

TO ADDRESS G THE GLOBAL MIGRATION CRISIS, WE NEED A POLITICAL APPROACH TO SDG16 By: Rima Kawas

lobal forced migration has reached unprecedented levels, with 68.5 million people uprooted by conflict, persecution or human rights violations at the end of 2017.

While the geographical origin of forced migration flows ranges from South America to the Middle East, each crisis shares a common origin—the absence or collapse of democratic governance.

This poses a daunting challenge for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16, which pledges to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.”

Why are democratic institutions so pivotal to creating the conditions for peace and stability, and how do weak institutions create situations like forced migration? Core institutions like the rule of law, free press and representative government enable citizens to communicate their needs to governments charged with serving the people—not the other way around. Well-functioning, transparent and accountable institutions create the conditions SEPTEMBER 2018 24

“deficiencies in service delivery, poor or nonexistent democratic representation, endemic corruption, conflict and violent crime, oppression and socioeconomic hardship proliferate in countries with weak institutions, driving people to flee in search of better lives." for better economic opportunity by introducing stable dynamics in which to engage in commerce, and enable the peaceful settlement of conflict within societies—all of which reduce the incentives for citizens to leave their countries of origin.

In contrast, deficiencies in service delivery, poor or nonexistent democratic representation, endemic corruption, conflict and violent crime, oppression and socioeconomic hardship proliferate in countries with weak institutions, driving people to flee in search of better lives. Such problems are usually rooted in governance shortcomings, dysfunctional accountability mechanisms and

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weak security institutions.

If we are to have any hope of addressing this issue, political leaders must be prepared to address the challenge not just as a humanitarian or security issue, but also as a governance problem. In order to do this, it is crucial to approach the issue not just through a technical lens, but also as a political problem requiring political solutions—particularly at the grassroots level, where governments interact most directly with citizens and are most directly engaged on issues such as service delivery and security.

The international development community has rightly placed more of a priority on thinking and working politically in order to address the root causes of development challenges in a more holistic manner. For example, many countries have laws on the books designed to inculcate democratic institutions—for instance, through legislation requiring governments to adhere to freedom of information rules—but falter in implementing such legislation. It is in the implementation where politics comes into play.

Civil society organizations, businesses, media and ordinary

“The migrant crisis is one of the clearest examples of the damage that can be wrought by weak or nonexistent governance." citizens need to hold their governments accountable for the implementation of SDG 16. They can do this first and foremost by working with key political players to translate SDG 16 into concrete and achievable action, and by maintaining pressure on their governments to fulfil these measures.

Politically sensitive technical assistance from development organizations with expertise in local governance and politics is also

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crucial to this endeavor. In my own work with the International Republican Institute (IRI), I have seen how supporting citizen-centered government by understanding the political dynamics and customizing interventions around the key local issues can help improve conditions in countries experiencing high migration flows.

The migrant crisis is one of the clearest examples of the damage that can be wrought by weak or nonexistent governance. While there are many interventions that must be undertaken to address this crisis, a political approach is among the most crucial, as it is in the political realm that institutions are ultimately built or demolished. ●

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rima Kawas is the Director of Governance and Collaborative Learning at the International Republican Institute (IRI) overseeing the global governance portfolio focused on working with governments to implement transparent and accountable governing practices while promoting citizen-centered government decision-making.

D I P L O M AT I C O U R I E R .c o m S U S TA I N I N G T H E W O R L D ' S F O O D S U P P LY

SUSTAINING I THE WORLD’S FOOD SUPPLY By: Achim Walter

n the midst of today’s organic food boom and romantic glorification of nature, plant breeding is in a difficult position: one often forgets that we as humans owe our very survival to the supply of food. Almost nothing that we eat today would have existed 10,000 years ago in the natural world.

Humans can do without many things, but not food. Ultimately, plants produce every calorie we consume to provide ourselves with biochemical energy. Every little daisy in the world can perform photosynthesis, but we cannot. Yet, even the most advanced plant breeding methods cannot transform a daisy into a source of calories. Nor should these methods, because a long time ago our ancestors discovered ways to exploit other plant species that are “naturally” better suited.

HUMAN CULTURE AT ITS ROOTS As early as 10,000 years ago, humans selected the best individual specimens from the precursors of today’s maize, wheat, rice and apples, and tried to make them more resistant by “forcing” them to breed with the same or different varieties.

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For thousands of years, “human selection” was the law of the land.

Its success led to greater yields and better tasting food.

About 2,000 years ago, the apple tree had already become a cultivated chimera, when our forbearers grafted the fruit-bearing stem on to the root system of a different variety—a highly advanced biotechnological process for the time. What happened?

Gradually, humans cultivated modern crops from their wild progenitors. The wheat and spelt we eat today are hybrids created from crossing the genomes of three wild species. Maize with its oversized cobs is a descendent of the shrubby teosinte. Clones of apples, vines and other fruit trees also experienced a loss of innocence—no longer fruits of the forest and meadow flora, once grafted onto rootstock capable of keeping soil-borne pathogens in check.

WHEAT, RICE AND CORN UNDER THREAT These kinds of optimized plants, considered a blessing at the time, steadily increased yields to enable our ancestors to advance both

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economically and culturally. The world’s population grew and the “big three”—wheat, rice and corn— continue to provide more than half of our food supply today. We cannot replace these calorie kings, but our dependence on these staples has become a curse.

Our crops have a serious problem and therefore, we have a problem.

Crops must constantly fight off disease. While we could say the same for all living things, it is particularly acute for our agricultural all-star athletes. This is because the more we grow them, the more aggressive pests and pathogens become—and the risk of disease increases.

Plant breeding is one of our most important weapons in this race. It is nothing more than a highly selective dating service that creates new disease-resistant varieties through many years of selection and with great effort. For years, scientists have been trying to make crops permanently resistant, unfortunately, to no avail. Avoiding resistance improvement is not an option.

Stagnation leads to regression—a future without breeding would be like a world without medicine.

This is also the reason why

SUSTAINABLE CULTIVATION

The effect of continuous selection: From the slight teosinte to massive corncob.

(Image: Wikimedia/John Doebley) researchers hold out high hopes for modern breeding techniques such as CRISPR/Cas9. This genome editing system allows individual genes to be specifically modified or deactivated, without the incorporation of foreign genetic material. Enabling, in turn, the development of highly resistant plants genetically indistinguishable from conventionally bred varieties.

Even organic farmers may be interested in this development.

Currently, organic farmers must treat potatoes with large amounts of copper in order to keep late blight in check. A resistant variety would be a benefit to humankind, even if it came about through genome editing.

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So, let us not fool ourselves. Almost nothing we eat today, whether organic or conventional, was found in nature 10,000 years ago. Today’s major crop varieties must be adapted to survive in a changing environment.

Not from year to year, but in increasingly rapid succession.

We will also need to diversify our fields. To feed the world more sustainably, we need both more plant species and more resistant varieties of these species. Further, the varieties must be of top quality and yield, conserve soil and water and require as little fertilizer and pesticides as possible. This ideal path towards sustainable agriculture requires both new plant breeding methods and ecological cultivation of our crops. This bilateral approach is not mutually exclusive, but rather complementary. ●

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Achim Walter is a Professor of Crop Science in the Institute of Agricultural Sciences at ETH Zurich. Professor Walter focuses on non-invasive, dynamic characterization of plant growth, applying results to increase the efficiency of crops and agro systems.

D I P L O M AT I C O U R I E R .c o m P U B L I C P R I VAT E PA RT N E R S H I P S

PUBLIC A PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS TOO MANY COOKS IN THE KITCHEN? By: Samantha Thorne

s the world has globalized, so have problem-solving strategies. Isolated and one-sided solutions no longer suffice when combating issues that afflict much of the developing world.

To address these challenges, the United Nations and its development program (UNDP) conceived the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—”a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.” The seventeenth and final SDG to use partnerships to collaboratively overcome development challenges differs from the other goals by being a means to an end—in order to accomplish the other 16 SDGs, the seventeenth goal must be applied. But as public-private partnerships (PPPs) coalesce various governments, private enterprises and civil societies to improve countries’ access to clean water, sanitation, and affordable and clean energy, many wonder if the amount of partner coordination required in PPPs detracts from overall development success by creating a “too many cooks in the kitchen” crisis.

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CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION— CHIMOIO, MOZAMBIQUE The Water and Development Alliance (WADA), formed by Coca-Cola and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), combined its partners’ competitive advantages to attract diverse sources of investment and solve water issues plaguing Chimoio, Mozambique. With the support of the Global Environment and Technology Foundation (GETF), the public-private partnership strove to address the UN’s sixth SDG to “ensure access to water and sanitation for all.” Additional partners included the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vitens (the largest Dutch water company) and the Mozambican Government with its urban water investment program, FIPAG. Their concerted efforts addressed Chimoio’s past of chronic water shortages and inadequate sanitation.

The WADA partnership had two objectives: to rehabilitate TextAfrica (a neglected Mozambican textile water treatment plant) and extend a secondary water distribution network to Bairro 4—one of Chimoio’s most underserved neighborhoods. The combinative funds and efforts of partners and stakeholders within the

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TextAfrica restoration project provided “19,600 people, 12 schools, a hospital and secondary health facility” access to a consistent and clean water source, according to an IHC case study report.

The project’s second component gave 7,200 people in Bairro 4 access to secure and piped water for the first time. FIPAG (the Government of Mozambique Urban Water Investment Program) and Vitens trained the local water company’s staff to ensure the program’s continuity and sustainability.

The project totaled to $2,151,000; WADA contributed 84 percent of the funds while FIPAG and Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided the rest.

Deciding whether or not the Mozambican clean water project was successful is somewhat subjective.

Project information relating to specific contractual duties, timelines and budget allocations in Chimoio is not readily available since the Water and Development Alliance's scope exceeds beyond Mozambique as it targets 30 different countries. Thus, project specifics pertain to the program’s entirety rather than just the Mozambique case study. Additionally, a universal criteria judging individual project success does not exist and it is unclear whether “improvement”

equates to “success.” Importantly, however, the UN developed criteria within its SDGs to help overcome project subjectivity when discussing its specific 2030 targets and Goal 17 SDG targets.

The public-private partnership did improve clean water and sanitation in Chimoio since more Mozambicans gained access to it in a streamline, innovative and timely manner. Sufficient funds were available, the treatment facility was restored and more individuals living in Bairro 4 have access to piped water. WADA partners did not reinvent the wheel, but rather greased the wheels. By rehabilitating and extending existing projects, efforts were more cost effective and less invasive. The project focused on accessibility and sustainability by targeting a specific region and population and strengthening the city’s water infrastructure by using TextAfrica as a drinking water supply treatment facility. The project’s provision of technical assistance to SARL, the municipal water company, and its staff improved company communications and administrative, technical and financial management practices needed to maintain clean water into the future.

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Though many argue that PPPs’ extensive network of partners creates a problem of too many cooks in the kitchen, this particular partnership made sure each cook had a family to feed—each partner had a stake in the overall success of the project. Take Coca-Cola’s stake in the project: contributing to the project enabled the local Coca-Cola’s bottler, Coca-Cola Sabco, to improve its own operations by having clean water for its products.

Project involvement also improved Coca-Cola’s company image.

Prioritizing stakes and stakeholders ultimately allowed the Water and Development Alliance to attract reliable investment sources from experienced partners; experienced both in terms of spearheading clean water initiatives in the past in other countries and also being well-established companies and organizations.

AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY— MEXICO CITY, MEXICO Mexico City’s Sustainable Buildings Certification Program (SBCP) endeavors to meet the seventh SDG to provide clean and affordable energy.

In its 2017 report, UN Environment distinguished the SBCP as a successful public-private partnership in ➣

D I P L O M AT I C O U R I E R .c o m P U B L I C P R I VAT E PA RT N E R S H I P S

“Though many argue that PPPs’ extensive network of partners creates a problem of too many cooks in the kitchen, this particular partnership made sure each cook had a family to feed—each partner had a stake in the overall success of the project."

➣ implementing clean and affordable energy practices to achieve tangible economical and ecological results.

The goal of the program and partnership is to both assess and improve the sustainability of commercial, industrial and residential buildings since their energy use previously accounted for approximately 30 percent of the city’s carbon emissions. Mexico City’s SBCP aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) Initiative and Mexico City’s goal to reduce 2000 levels of greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2050—combining the efforts of Mexico City’s Ministry of the Environment, third party auditors and local companies in building and construction industries to do so.

Launched in 2009 and lasting until 2030, the SBCP uses reduced property and payroll taxes, in addition to lower energy and water bills, to incentivize building owners, tenants and the city government to improve their ecological footprints. This voluntary initiative awards participating individuals and organizations with certificates that reflect sustainability performance levels in areas such as energy efficiency, water usage and solid waste. Upon receiving the certificate, recipients receive the aforementioned tax breaks. By doing so, the SBCP uses incentivizing carrots rather than punishing sticks to inspire

environmental change amongst Mexican citizens.

As of 2017, 65 buildings covering 8,220 square meters participated in the program, creating 68 new jobs and saving “116,789 tons of CO2, 133 million kWh of electricity and 1,735,356 cubic meters of potable water.” This success is attributed to prioritizing the local population to understand that clean energy can be both environmentally and economically beneficial.

The project’s interactive approach of recruiting individuals’ involvement is making Mexico City’s energy more clean and affordable. Its tiered certification program enables various tenants, contractors and businesses to have multiple points of participation entry, ensuring that individuals and small businesses with limited capital access are not obstructed to program involvement and certificates. Although the overarching SE4All Initiative combines the efforts of more international groups like the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC) and the World Bank, the SBCP is more localized by forming public-private partnerships at grassroots levels.

The SBCP’s past accomplishments and anticipated future successes are owed to targeting the local population. While the project relies heavily on multiple individuals and their personal choices to adopt ecological living practices, the SBCP prioritizes sustainability and SEPTEMBER 2018 30

community involvement: if local citizens do not care to maintain a project, how will partnerships' hard work continue into the future? Tax breaks and lower water bills answer this questions by incentivizing individuals to continually comply. So while there are even more cooks in the Mexico City kitchen, each cook is given an incentivizing carrot to create a recipe for success.

The work of partnerships in Chimoio and Mexico City reveal that publicprivate partnerships work. Though many fear that too many partners and stakeholders can complicate projects and cause final results to suffer, considering the role and wants of partners can overcome such dilemmas.

Specifically in Chimoio, partners were not only experienced and affluent, but each partner had a stake in ensuring that Mozambique attained cleaner water.

Partners in Mexico City’s Sustainable Buildings Certification Program received more business, tax breaks and lower utility costs through their project involvement, while making Mexico City more environmentally friendly. Thus, when endeavoring to accomplish United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, partnerships do not create a crisis of a crowded kitchen full of cooks, or rather a crowded development project full of partners. Partnerships should continue to be used when looking to solve SDGs in the future, but careful thought must be applied when deciding which partners to assemble. ●

October 10-11, 2018 WASHINGTON DC METRO AREA

Reducing Post-Harvest Loss

Ending Energy Poverty

Eliminating Marine Debris

Closing the Skills Gap in STEM

J U M P S TA R T C O L L A B O R AT I O N T H I S F A L L Cer tain global challenges can be distinguished as solvable because we’ve seen them successfully resolved on smaller scales — the tools, practices, and resources exist but need to be deployed in new ways. We need leadership, vision, collaboration, resources, and a clear commitment to move forward.

solutions and commit to action on “solvable problems” within the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The Global Engagement Forum: Live is an invite-only gathering of thought leaders and experts from the public, private, and social sectors, who collaborate to co-create

Through a facilitated, collaborative approach, the event aims to inspire action and partnership to create solutions within our lifetime.

Throughout the two-day event, participants actively engage with one another, sharing their unique perspectives, expertise, and approaches through interactive sessions aligned to one of four specific solvable problems.

Learn more and request an invitation bit.ly/ GEFlive2018

A D V E RT O R I A L

HOW MIGHT WE CHANGE THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT? By: Deirdre White

S

ystemic global challenges present serious threats to our world—from a rising tide of isolationism sewing cultural discord and division to global climate change dismantling communities at each rung of the socio-economic ladder to a widening income inequality that is exacerbating poverty, while limiting opportunity among many generations.

Historically, large scale development initiatives have attempted to address issues such as these through projects that are robustly funded and attempt to reach as many underserved individuals as possible with often pre-determined solutions. It’s become evident that, while well-meaning, this approach can have unintentional negative consequences and squander an increasingly scant fountain of public sector resources.

Looking back at the soaring levels of foreign aid administered to African governments in the 1980s and 1990s, one can easily see in the chart below from economist William Easterly that these economies were doing worse than ever. Trying to help poorer countries, the foreign aid community may have actually contributed to the problems facing many African nations by slowing economic growth and contributing to government corruption.

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SOLVING PROBLEMS IN A FRAUGHT WORLD: WHAT CAN WE DO? It certainly is a frustrating position to witness a massive, seemingly intractable social challenge and not be able to take immediate action. PYXERA Global offers the conceptualization of “solvable problems,” framed within the context of the United Nations’ Global Goals. The broad reach of the Goals often leaves individuals, organizations, and governments wondering, “Where do we begin?” So often today, efforts to address the world’s challenges result in a hundred drops in a million buckets.

Those hundred drops may be individually meaningful, but they do not amount to systems change. They cannot tangibly solve problems. Campaigns focused on eradicating extreme poverty, improving education, and eliminating hunger present visions of a thriving world, but they lack problem definition.

We believe that starting with specific, solvable problems, within the context of these Goals, offers a path forward to create enduring, systemic change.

Solvable problems are social challenges for which there are known and tested solutions. Certain global challenges can be distinguished as solvable because we’ve seen them successfully resolved on smaller scales.

A D V E RT O R I A L

Pursuing a more limited set of solvable problems ensures efficient resource allocation and leads to sustainable systems change. It is possible to embrace these visions of prosperity, while still being utterly practical in defining core problems and seeking specific solutions.

LOOK BENEATH THE SURFACE, UNLOCK THE HIDDEN ISSUE A present-day example arises in the challenge of global food security. Global Goal 2 promises, by 2030, to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture,” surely all worthy objectives. The related targets narrow down the issue, yet are still extraordinarily expansive: end all forms of malnutrition, ensure sustainable food production systems, increase investment in rural infrastructure, and five other equally broad aims. Setting the stage this way provides too much room for interpretation and virtually ensures that resources are spread too thinly.

Consider instead a specific problem that contributes to global hunger: post-harvest loss. This pervasive issue is largely invisible, and yet it consumes extraordinary resources—in land, water, fertilizer, labor, and capital—to grow food that is never eaten.

One-third of all food produced on this planet is never consumed, while at the same time 1.2 billion people go to bed hungry or undernourished.

Perfectly consumable food that either spoils or gets thrown away is enough to feed every hungry person in the world, with nearly 50 percent to spare.

Waste—one-third of that unconsumed food—occurs at the back end of the food chain. Made up of the cucumbers that rot in our refrigerators, the spaghetti left on our plates, and the thousands of tons of untouched expired food thrown out by retail establishments around the world, waste is largely a problem of prosperity.

In sub-Saharan Africa, 50 percent of all fruits and vegetables, 20 percent of all cereals, and 40 percent of roots and tubers are lost in substandard storage or transit, or simply left on the farm. Post-harvest loss is the tomatoes that spoiled on the vine, or on the truck that broke down in transport to market.

It is the fruit that was grown by a smallholder farmer, but did not meet a company’s standards. It is the

vegetables that ferment, only to become inconsumable because they did not make it to market due to a lack of roads and poor transportation.

Yet, even with so much documented waste and loss, over the past 30 years, roughly 95 percent of all spending on food security has focused on improving farmers’ capacity to grow and harvest more. If these high rates of postharvest loss persist, increased production will only continue to be negated by the underlying problem.

SYSTEMS NOT SYMPTOMS In his book, "Systems Thinking for Social Change," David Peter Stroh points out that taking a systems approach is “the ability to understand an interconnected set in a such as way to achieve a desired purpose.” Medical essayist, Lewis Thomas observed, “If you want to fix something, you are first obliged to understand… the whole system.”

Solvable problems exist within a system. To effectively address a solvable problem, examine the full system—the trends, patterns, and structure. What is the relationship between seemingly disparate problems? How might we coordinate changes over time to produce a larger systems change? Who are the stakeholders and entities that influence the system most closely?

How might we engage them?

In the case of post-harvest loss, there are some proven models, including those being tested under Rockefeller Foundation’s YieldWise program, with whom PYXERA Global works in Nigeria as an implementing partner. These models are commercially viable and rely on mutually beneficial partnerships between the public, private, and social sectors. The public sector contributes to reduction of post-harvest loss through a variety of support measures, from infrastructure improvements to incentivizing financing mechanisms that bolster growth. The private sector actors include companies committed to sourcing from local famers, as well as secondary markets and ancillary support businesses. Social sector partners are valuable in their ability to build trust with farmers and communities, raise awareness of business opportunities, and facilitate capacity building and farmer aggregation activities.

Under the YieldWise Nigeria program, PYXERA Global has adopted

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this type of systemic approach and has seen a dramatic reduction in food loss.

Approaching the full system tackles not just one problem, but many, including economic prosperity and poverty. To date, nearly 110,000 metric tons of tomatoes that would have otherwise likely been lost have been purchased by traders, markets, and processors across Nigeria from the project’s nearly 26,000 farmers. This totals approximately $13,000,000 in sales.

Of those 26,000 farmers, nearly 18,000 have been trained on postharvest loss reducing practices and technologies. And finally, recognizing the real cost of lost produce, 22 value chain actors have begun incorporating post-harvest loss metrics into their regular business operations.

PYXERA Global has seen progress in its overarching goal to catalyze an enabling environment for post-harvest loss reduction in which all value chain actors, especially the Government of Nigeria, feel empowered to tackle this solvable problem from within.

INSIDE THE MOST DIFFICULT PROBLEMS ARE OPPORTUNITIES In every problem lies an opportunity.

The tools, practices, and resources exist. What is needed now is leadership, vision, collaboration, and resources from the public, private, and social sectors, and a clear commitment to move forward. It requires the focus and collective internal fortitude to stick with one, sometimes tedious, problem until it is solved. It will be complex. It will be expensive. It will be difficult. It will sometimes be politically messy.

On October 10–11, PYXERA Global will convene an invite-only event, the Global Engagement Forum: Live, to address four big solvable problems: reducing post-harvest loss, reducing marine debris and ocean plastics, ending energy poverty, and closing the skills gap in STEM. Leaders and experts from across the private, public, and social sectors, will come together for two days of intensive collaboration.

The Forum contributors will bring resources to these problems—whether it is knowledge and expertise, networks and influence, technical prowess, or financial and human capital. Each has a vested interest in solving one or more of these pressing challenges. Join me and others as we tackle these solvable problems together, and possibly change the world as we know it. ●

D I P L O M AT I C O U R I E R .c o m B

T

he world of cyber operations remains largely opaque for many readers. Not a day goes by when there is some breach or incident reported by the media.

Indeed, and arguably, the public is now numb to these incidents. A bank is breached or their account is compromised, and the financial institution issues a new card. Yet, that personal touch of cybercrime is only the tip of a much deeper and more frightening iceberg.

David Sanger in his latest work “The Perfect Weapon” dives under the surface to present the high stakes game of cyber and information operations at the nation-state level.

He reconstructs Russia’s 2016 cyber information operations alongside Iran’s hack of Saudi Aramco, the North Korean attack on Sony, and Operation Olympic Games—the joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Tehran’s centrifuges.

The book’s greatest strength is in how Sanger captures the complexities of cyber weapons and cyber operations to illustrate the internal dynamics of the Obama administration as it grappled with these emerging capabilities.

Are cyber weapons akin to nuclear weapons? How and when should they be used? How do you balance intelligence collection with covert operations? How do you respond to a cyber-attack? When is an incident espionage and when is it an attack?

What is the role of the government in defending private networks? There are, quite simply, no easy answers to these questions and there may not be for some time.

Throughout all of this, national security officials fear a cyber Pearl Harbor—when the lights go dark, the networks shut down, and our modern way of life comes to a screeching halt. It hasn’t happened yet, but adversaries like Russia and China are inside power, financial, and other information networks, lurking, watching, and indeed making themselves known as if to say “we are here and we want you know it”.

Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s power grid are a great illustration of the national security community’s greatest fears. After an extensive pre-attack reconnaissance campaign, the Russians took control of Kiev’s

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THE PERFECT WEAPON WAR, SABOTAGE, AND FEAR IN THE CYBER AGE Author David E. Sanger

Book review by Joshua Huminski

power grid, locking out its operators, shutting down the power, deleting hard drives, and forcing workers to go back to physical switches. If the same were to happen in the U.S., the damage could be catastrophic and many of these plants no longer have physical switches or the people who know how these systems used to work.

Sanger also covers the complexities brought about by the tech giants themselves. From Apple’s dispute with the FBI over the San Bernardino terrorist’s phone, to Facebook’s ignorance of “fake news”, and Google’s efforts to thwart the NSA, Sanger highlights the role these companies play in national security —wittingly or unwittingly.

Where he falls a bit short is on the other side of the equation, where those principles fell somewhat short. Apple SEPTEMBER 2018 34

for all of its stances on privacy and protecting consumer information bent over backwards to accommodate the Chinese government. While Apple was opposing the FBI, it removed apps from the App store that offered Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) that would allow Chinese users to circumvent the “Great Firewall of China”.

This was purely a business decision.

Apple could stand up and wave the privacy flag in the United States, but if it wanted access to the Chinese market, it needed to be a bit more flexible.

Sanger also discusses the impact of Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning’s treason, which when added with the Shadow Broker’s releases offered adversaries staggering insight into the U.S.’ capabilities and programs, and some of these capabilities directly.

The proliferation of advanced tools and techniques is one of the greatest cyber threats today. Nation-states do not have the monopoly on cyber weapons. Compared to a nuclear program, cyber weapons are peanuts.

An individual sitting in a café in Vienna or Bangkok can wield potentially the same capabilities as an intelligence agency. And as Stuxnet—the Operation Olympic Games weapon— illustrated, once it is in the wild, it is available for all to see.

That it is well written should not come as a surprise. Sanger is one of the top national security reporters working today. It is well reported, well sourced, and his access provides insights into what many of the key players were thinking at the time and in the years since their tenure ended.

Of less interest, at least to this reviewer, were the few discussions of the reporting process itself. Here Operation Olympic Games stands out.

Sanger goes into extensive detail about what he knew and when, when he approached the administration for their comment and security vetting. It doesn’t add too much to the story, which is itself staggering.

Sanger, of the New York Times, masterfully follows up his previous two works—"The Inheritance” and “Confront and Conceal”, both on the Obama administration’s national security activities. For lay readers, the Perfect Weapon is a great one-volume precis on recent cyber war. ●

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D I P L O M AT I C O U R I E R .c o m R I S E O F A RT I F I C I A L I N T E L L I G E N C E

THE FUTURE OF AI IS INTELLIGENCE AUGMENTATION By: Ana C. Rold

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rtificial Intelligence is no longer a sci-fi vision of the future.

We are living in a world where AI is disrupting industry and society at large in truly transformative ways.

From chat bots reinventing customer service performance to machines such as IBM’s Watson beating some of the most intelligent human beings to ever live, artificial intelligence is altering everything from the biggest technological innovations to the simplest of tasks we perform on a daily basis.

And both scenarios are true; AI has both the ability to push the world towards a state of permanent utopia, or it may very well trigger the downfall of humanity. The question, is no longer whether or not AI is possibly driving us to one of these two futures, but whether or not we can adapt at this early stage in a way that benefits humanity.

One of the first issues we’ve come to face is the question of what artificial intelligence, and intelligence in general, really is. While inventors such as Elon Musk have already begun designing brain-computer interfaces that could theoretically be used to treat a variety of medical issues, access thoughts and memories and perhaps one day even upload one’s consciousness to the internet, our current lack of understanding of how exactly the brain SEPTEMBER 2018 36

works—let alone our understanding of abstract concepts such as thoughts and human consciousness—makes it extremely difficult for scientists to create AI-powered devices that can precisely interact with the brain and the body in a way that isn’t detrimental.

However, as we continue to deepen our understanding of the brain and human consciousness, we can further begin using technology simultaneously to deepen our understanding of human intelligence.

It is time to envision a more realistic future, one in which AI and machine learning are used to supplement and support human intelligence, rather than subvert it. The concept of intelligence augmentation demonstrates how artificial intelligence and humans will be able to live together in a mutually beneficial fashion.

While artificial intelligence may surpass humans in structured environments where inputs and outputs are clearly defined—such as a game of chess or the organization of large sets of data—this same machine learning often fails to work in less defined environments that involve nuanced decision-making and problem-solving.

In structured settings, artificial intelligence can organize massive amounts of documents, emails and

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“it is time to envision a more realistic future, one in which AI and machine learning are used to supplement and support human intelligence, rather than subvert it. The concept of intelligence augmentation demonstrates how artificial intelligence and humans will be able to live together in a mutually beneficial fashion."

customer information in a business in mere seconds. But this same AI lacks the ability to evaluate what should be done with these data sets—which is the sort of nuanced decision making that humans excel at. If humans and artificial intelligence worked together, then, artificial intelligence algorithms could organize these data loads into a user-friendly interface with which human workers could more quickly and effectively make decisions.

Our population generates close to 10 billion megabytes of new information every second, which is an impossible amount of data to keep up with. With artificial intelligence’s ability to sort through data and note trends at lightning speed, however, we may soon be able to make headway of all the useful information that already exists in order to reach new insights in science, technology, and even society.

Already, artificial intelligence is being used not only to collect data in the medical field, but is also being used to create device prototypes that can augment humans physically—and perhaps one day intellectually.

Even organs as delicate as our eyes can be augmented using artificial intelligence devices to aid in preventing blindness and degenerative diseases.

E.J. Chichilnisky, a professor of

neurosurgery and ophthalmology at Stanford University, is designing a device that may be able to reverse the effects of retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration— both of which cause cells in the retina, which is responsible for converting light into electrical signals the brain can read, to die off—by inserting retinal implants that mimic the way the cells in the retina behave. This project that, if done successfully, could lead to radical insights in neural prosthetics.

Similarly, a research team from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology and Sungkyunkwan University are developing a contact lens capable of measuring and monitoring glucose levels through tears, with an LED pixel in the lens that can be used to warn wearers visually when their glucose levels are off. While these innovations may seem like something out of a science fiction movie, they are well on their way to becoming a reality in a matter of years, if not months.

One of the most promising avenues for intelligence augmentation in recent years, however, is thought-controlled prosthetic limbs. Engineers at John Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab have created a 26-joint prosthetic arm that is controlled by a person’s thoughts through the remapping of remaining

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nerves from the missing arm to the new prosthetic arm. This device may even be able to one day allow users to feel sensations in the prosthetic as the remapped nerves grow deeper.

As we begin to better understand how artificial intelligence and machine learning can be used to create devices that interact with our neural framework, we may one day be able to insert chips into the brain itself that could be used to modulate mood and alertness, help us recognize and mediate unhealthy behaviors, and even augment our memories. While there are undoubtedly risks involved in humans and artificial intelligence’s deepening relationship, if governed correctly, these sort of brain-computer interfaces could very well elevate humanity to new heights.

In the end, humans have always adapted to new technology and will undoubtedly continue to adapt to the disruptions that artificial intelligence and machine learning are bringing.

Indeed, while the risks involved with artificial intelligence are many, there are also enormous benefits that could change the world for the better.

Ultimately, it will be this partnership between artificial intelligence and human intelligence that will transform humanity and bring us one step closer to Singularity. ●

EDITORIAL

PARTNERSHIPS ARE THE FUTURE By: Brandie Conforti

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artnerships are difficult.

Whether corporations are partnering with NGOs, government agencies with corporations, or NGOs with other NGOs, building successful partnerships requires an investment of time, people, and patience. But partnerships are also the only option for achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

I spent four years at Partners In Health (PIH), an organization dedicated to bringing healthcare to the poorest places in the world.

Although many NGOs in the developing world choose to work without the support of national governments, at PIH we worked in partnership with the government, even when that made it harder than going it alone. There was no starker example of this than in Haiti.

Haiti, often referred to as the “Republic of NGOs,” estimates that 20,000 nonprofits are operating in the country. Given Haiti’s underresourced government, NGOs often end up inadvertently exacerbating the country’s problems by allowing much needed funding to circumvent the government system. Often, and especially after the devastating 2010 earthquake, we saw NGOs set up SEPTEMBER 2018 38

“With rare exceptions, all of your most important achievements on this planet will come from working with others— or, in a word, partnership.”

-Paul Farmer parallel systems for the delivery of basic services (access to housing, clean water, health care, and so on).

In contrast, PIH leveraged its long-standing, successful partnership with the Ministère de la Santé Publique et de la Population (MSPP or Ministry of Health). When Hospital of the State University of Haiti, the largest public—and only teaching— hospital in Haiti, was destroyed in the earthquake, PIH worked with the MSPP to build a new teaching hospital in Mirebalais. During a time of incredible loss and devastation, through literally hundreds of partnerships—corporate, foundation, government and non profit—PIH was able to secure the funding, equipment, labor and expertise required to build a state-of-the-art public healthcare facility in rural Haiti.

Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais

EDITORIAL

stands as a shining example of the power of partnerships and what we can achieve together.

Similarly, at JA (Junior Achievement) Worldwide, partnerships are in our DNA. As a federated organization with a structure that consists of legally separate, independently governed entities in over 100 countries, JA’s local, national, regional, and global levels are officially united only by a mission and operating agreements.

But instead of going it alone, we focus on building strong partnerships across our network literally every day.

In addition to our close collaboration within our network, a key objective of our global strategy is a focus on increasing partnerships with entities outside of JA. For example, at JA we recognize the vital importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills for the future of jobs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in computer occupations alone are expected to increase by 12.5% from 20142024, leading to nearly half a million new jobs. Yet we also recognize that the delivery of STEM education is

"If, as a society, we are truly committed to reaching the SDGs, partnerships will be the only path to success." outside our core competencies, which center on helping young people learn the soft skills that allow them to adapt to whatever the future of work brings—skills such as communication, critical thinking, resilience, and adaptability that ManpowerGroup’s 2018 Talent Shortage Survey says are most needed.” So, we partnered with experts in STEM. Johnson & Johnson, FHI360, and the Smithsonian Science Education Center work with our team as part of a collaborative effort to expose girls and young women around the world to the possibility of STEM-focused careers through the WiSTEM2D initiative. They benefit from JA’s unparalleled access to classrooms around the world; JA benefits from their STEMeducation expertise.

Similarly, in India, JA is working with the Global Education and Leadership Foundation (tGELF) to help expand its reach and introduce JA youth to programs that

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develop them into ethical leaders and agents of change. Although ethics are woven throughout JA’s programs, tGELF’s curriculum is focused, specialized content that will provide youth exposure to this topic at a greater depth than JA can provide alone.

Partnerships have never been more important than they are today. When the UN outlined the SDGs in 2015, it was noted that the 2030 Agenda was “deliberately ambitious and transformational.” If, as a society, we are truly committed to reaching the SDGs, partnerships will be the only path to success. We need all the talent, all the resources and capital, and all the vision and big thinking globally to move in unison to achieve the SDGs. The world has never been faced with a more urgent challenge or a clearer moral imperative. I believe we can rise to meet it, but only if we do it together. ● ABOUT THE AUTHOR Brandie Conforti is a senior nonprofit leader with nearly two decades experience.

Since 2008, she has focused her work in the international-development sector at organizations working to achieve the SDGs, including Partners In Health, Accion, and now as the Global Chief Development Officer at JA Worldwide.

D I P L O M AT I C O U R I E R .c o m P U B L I C P R I VAT E PA RT N E R S H I P S

REACHING T THE REMAINING MILLIONS AT RISK OR SUFFERING FROM NCDs By: Thomas Cueni

he alarm has rightly been sounded on a silent killer. Faced with the staggering figure that 40 million people lose their lives each year to non-communicable diseases (NCDs), it is time to leave our comfort zones and consider how to best pool expertise to make sure that the right treatments are reaching the right patients, at the right time.

Singling out the cost of treatment as the main barrier to access, as was the case again during the UN NCD hearing in July, does little to address the multiple barriers to access. Yes, we cannot fudge the affordability question and the price of insulin or cancer drugs does matter, but if we want to make progress we need a holistic approach.

Why is it that in spite of companies’ tiered pricing policies and partnership efforts, access to these treatments still remains a challenge, in particularly in low-income settings?

The fact is that there are multiple factors that come into the equation, and most relate to weak health systems. For instance, in many countries, diabetes is still not seen as a priority for action. Funding is thus not properly allocated to train or equip healthcare workers to detect the symptoms or advise on the course of treatment. This opens SEPTEMBER 2018 40

the door to costlier, yet avoidable interventions down the road.

People who are unaware that they have the disease are at risk of suffering from heart attack, blindness, amputation, and kidney failure.

Additionally, secure and efficient distribution of medicines to treat NCDs, including insulin that requires cold chain specifications, is far from guaranteed in developing countries. Non-functioning supply chains can influence the availability of medicines as hefty mark-ups along the way are common, and the circulation of falsified medicines is substantial. As more tools and technologies emerge, it will be essential to put in place supply chains that are less fragmented, with fewer intermediaries, that will enable lower retail prices, better forecasting, higher availability, better monitoring of quality, and better adherence to standard treatment guidelines.

According to the IMS Institute for Health Informatics, USD 269 billion per year could be saved if health systems worldwide tackled patient adherence to treatment. A proper monitoring and follow up with patients will lead to improved adherence to prescribed medicines, overall medication uses

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and prevention of adverse events, and achieve major therapeutic gains.

In the absence of a robust primary care system, NCDs go unnoticed until complications arise, adequate treatment is not initiated, and treatment effect is not consistently monitored. While we mustn’t gloss over the affordability question, we just cannot afford not to address these health systems failures.

One of the learnings of the multiple factors influencing access is that it does not suffice for our industry to be a mere transactional player in the health care system, i.e. a supplier of medicines. Discovering and developing new medicines and vaccines is our bread and butter, but we actually do much more than that: we foster innovation across the continuum of medical education, prevention, treatment and care. We share expertise and experience in strengthening supply chains, but also in training of health care workers, human resources management, treatment adherence, and health literacy. Additionally, by participating in multi-sectoral partnerships, we contribute to creating innovative finance models and building the bodies of evidence that will be crucial to meet the NCD targets.

A case in point is our work with Access Accelerated, a first-of-its-kind collaboration led by more than 20 pharmaceutical companies who are all pooling their efforts together with IFPMA, the World Bank and the Union of International Cancer Control to focus on improving access to treatment and care for NCDs in low- and middle-income countries.

Concretely, this translates to on-theground support to integrate NCD services into primary healthcare, like in Kenya. In March, a pilot programme was launched to help the Kenyan Ministry of Health meet their ambitious goal to achieve universal healthcare coverage by 2022 and to contribute to the global target to reduce NCD deaths by two-thirds by 2030 as set in the Sustainable Development Goals.

Critical to Access Accelerated is our ability to track progress and continuously adapt our approach. We have put independent measurement at our core by working with Boston University’s School of Public Health to develop a framework that rigorously measures and evaluates our programs. Our industry, whether it is about R&D or complying with regulatory requirements, strongly supports evidence-based approaches,

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and strives to apply the same approach to investments in health partnerships. This will show us what is working, what is not and how we can adapt and scale-up our work to develop other pilot programs. We owe it to the beneficiary populations and to our partners on the ground.

As NCDs are sweeping the entire globe, addressing health system failures is becoming ever more apparent, and it will be essential to tap into the private sector experience. Our industry brings extensive knowledge, expertise, and resources to develop innovative solutions. We can accelerate progress by pooling resources, leveraging tried and tested solutions, trying new, innovative pilot programs, and working with expert partners to support health systems with the management of life-long conditions.

We’re committed for the long-haul to help ensure our life-changing therapies we work so hard to develop reach the remaining millions of people suffering from NCDs. ● ABOUT THE AUTHOR Thomas Cueni is Director General of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA).

A D V E RT O R I A L

IN THE BATTLE FOR TAIWAN, CHINA IS WINNING TAIWAN CIVIL GOVERNMENT’S PRO-AMERICA STANCE PUTS LEADERS IN PERIL; UN MUST TAKE ACTION By: Neil Hare

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t’s becoming increasingly clear that the wars of the 21st Century are being fought and won with soft power and not military might.

Cyber-attacks, social media, fake news, stealing intellectual property and human capital, investment, and political meddling are being employed with far greater frequency and success than bombing raids and special forces attacks. There’s no better example than the battle over Taiwan.

Since 1979 when the US opened relations with China and instituted the “One China” policy and the policy of “strategic ambiguity,” the Taiwanese have lingered in political purgatory while two of the world’s superpowers have been at stalemate.

China believes that Taiwan is part of its territory, while the United States has not claimed Taiwan as its own, but has propped it up militarily and economically, and pledged to defend it against attacks with the passage of the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979.

The United Nations has sided with China, first expelling the Republic of China in exile under Chiang Kai-shek from its membership, and then excluding it from observer status and from participating in sub groups like the World Health Organization.

SEPTEMBER 2018 42

Recently, China has raised the stakes in the battle for Taiwan.

First, China lashed out at the GAP and forced it to change a tee shirt it released with a map of China on it that did not include Taiwan. Even more egregious, China just forced the world’s major airlines to delete any reference to Taiwan in their travel schedules, but rather, refer to its capital as Taipei, China.

So far over 40 carriers have capitulated. China has also coerced the few countries who have recognized Taiwan to cease doing so, recently Panama and the Dominican Republic. China allegedly offered the DR $3.1 billion in loans and investments to switch allegiance from Taiwan to China.

China continues to drain Taiwan of its young talent, offering high paying jobs, while interjecting propaganda into social media channels. China also invests heavily in Taiwan, literally buying up the country, which boasts the 11th largest economy in the world.

The US government has retaliated, opening a new $250 million American Institute of Taiwan (AIT) facility in June, which acts as the US’s quasi embassy. There is also talk of stationing Marines at the facility,

A D V E RT O R I A L

putting US military personnel on the ground in Taiwan for the first time in decades. Congress also passed the Taiwan Travel Act this spring, facilitating travel between senior leaders of the two countries, and has authorized $1.4 billion in arms sales to Taiwan.

One strongly pro-American group in Taiwan has been feeling the political pain of its convictions.

The Taiwan Civil Government (TCG) believes that after the defeat of the Japanese in World War II and under the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1952, the US has legal claim to Taiwan and continues to be the “principal occupying power.” They would like to see the US regain control of Taiwan as a bridge to the Taiwanese people determining their own future.

This pro-US stance has landed the leader of the TCG, Dr. Roger Lin and his wife Julian Lin, in prison. Despite more than a decade of very public and peaceful protest, two lawsuits in the United States, and a robust global public relations effort, the Taiwan Authority has accused the Lin’s of fraud. The Lin’s have been held incommunicado and without bail for four months now awaiting a trial by a judge.

"The wars of the 21st Century are being fought and won with soft power and not military might."

Just as the Taiwanese people have been denied their human rights under the UN’s own declarations, the Lin’s are being denied their right to free speech and the legal rights we would deem fair in the US. In the wake of China’s efforts to suppress corporate references towards Taiwan and influence diplomatic rejection of Taiwan, it is no surprise that the Lin’s pro-US position is now being cloistered as well.

The UN must reconsider their approach to Taiwan, formally recognizing it. In addition, it should

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stay true to its charter and stand up for individuals like the Lin’s who are languishing in jail for expressing a legitimate political belief and desire for self-determination. The future and foundation of the United Nations and Taiwan depends on it. ●

About the author and Disclosure: Neil Hare is President and CEO of Global Vision Communications, a Washington DC-based PR and marketing agency. This material is distributed by Global Vision Communications on behalf of the Taiwan Civil Government.

Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.

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