International
Globe and Mail
How Africa will change the world
This week we’ve been featuring a wealth of content courtesy of The Globe and Mail which was edited by ONE’s Bono and Bob Geldof on Monday.
In one especially cool feature we asked more than 16 leading figures from Africa and the West to tell us how they think Africa will impact the rest of the world this century. You can check out their answers here.
Stay tuned for more!
Q&A with Mo Ibrahim
Dr. Mo Ibrahim, founder of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation sat down with The Globe and Mail’s Gordon Pitts for an interview in yesterday’s edition– which as you probably know by now, was guest-edited by ONE co-founder Bono and ONE activist Bob Geldof. The interview focuses primarily on issues of aid, the economy, and good governance in Africa.
A couple short excerpts below– full piece here
Do you agree with those who say aid is the problem, not the solution?
In most part, it is a silly discussion. Whenever there is disaster or famine somewhere, we cannot stand by and watch. On HIV, malaria, Darfur, or Somalia, we need to help our brothers and sisters. So there is not much discussion about humanitarian aid.
And we must really focus on developmental aid. We need to deliver better aid and untied aid. Actually, we need to deliver aid to end aid. Nobody in Africa loves to be a beggar, or a recipient of aid. Everywhere I go in Africa, people say ‘when are we going to stand up on our feet?’
Africa as a continent is rich, but Africans as a people are poor. The answer is governance. We really need to get our act together to improve the quality of life of our people. Developmental aid will speed up this process.
What about just borrowing more capital from banks?
That is just a fantasy. Unfortunately, our malfunctioning banking system doesn’t deal with Africa. They think Africa is too risky. You cannot rely on Goldman Sachs or whoever to really help – those guys just love subprime mortgages and all the other crap.
We should also support projects that help economic integration. Africa is disconnected. Internal African trade is about 8 per cent of the trade total. In Africa, we have 53 little countries and we are intentionally determined not to communicate and trade and move goods between each other. It’s stupid.
How do you convince people Africa is a place to invest?
People are too shy about Africa. All you see is 10 seconds in any news bulletin. After they talk about Darfur and [Zimbabwe President Robert] Mugabe, time is up. People have the impression Africa is troublesome, all about dictatorships and bad rule, but what they see is the bad examples. Of 53 countries, there are at least 29 or 30 democracies, and we have a good work force.
Around Christmas, what you see on TV ads for Oxfam and Save the Children is famines, terrible conditions, and that creates an impression. They think we are all sick or weak, but actually we have very healthy people. Just watch the Olympics – we run faster, we jump higher, we are excellent footballers. We are good people and we can be a good place to invest. According to World Bank reports, the highest returns on investment in the last few years were always in Africa.
Bono and Bob Geldof guest-edited Globe and Mail out now
It’s been a whirlwind few days in Toronto with ONE’s Bono and Bob Geldof editing today’s Globe and Mail, Canada’s paper of record, and turning the paper’s focus to Africa just as Canada prepares to host world leaders at the upcoming G8 and G20 summits. Late last night Bob wrapped the last headlines and stories and we made some final adjustments to the cover before it was sent to print. We think the final product is fantastic and hope you do too. The issue examines the question — will the 21st century be the African century? There are op-eds and news stories by and about a wide range of Africans from Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to Somali rapper K’naan. President Barack Obama responds to questions from Bono about US strategy in Africa. If you’re in Canada get the hard copy too –the red graphic cover is a keeper.
Having Bono and Bob edit the Globe has been a great opportunity for ONE heading into the G8 and G20 meetings in June. The leadership and staff at the Globe, from editor-in-chief John Stackhouse and foreign editor Stephen Northfield to the other editors, reporters, photographers and graphic designers were incredible partners and we’re so grateful that they were willing to take the risk to do something they had never done before.
The Globe and Mail has asked celebrated Kenyan blogger Ory Okolloh to guest edit the globeandmail.com today and over the next month and she will be featuring a great deal of Africa content exclusively through the website including this video of a question submitted by reader Sarah Kibaalya of Toronto in which she asks Bono and Bob if Africans need others to speak on their behalf. Their answers might surprise you. Check it out:
Also check out this live webchat between Bob Geldof and Ory Okolloh which just wrapped up.
We’ll be spotlighting more content throughout the day, so be sure to check back on the ONE Blog for more updates!
Bob Geldof’s message to Canadian ONE members
While guest editing The Globe and Mail this weekend, ONE co-founder Bob Geldof took a moment to record this message for ONE members in Canada:
Bob talks about why he and Bono guest edited the paper, the importance of the forthcoming G8/G20 summits, and why we need your help to put pressure on the politicians to agree action on maternal and child health, an essential issue in the fight against poverty.
Which of these will be the cover of tomorrow’s Globe and Mail?
When The Globe and Mail is published tomorrow, it will have a unique cover spotlighting the challenges and opportunities in Africa as part of “The Africa Century”. The question is, exactly which cover will The Globe and Mail go with?
Right now readers have a chance to weigh in by ranking several options, each very different but all focusing on Africa. Take a minute to check them out here and see which one you like best. Then we’ll find out which cover makes it to publication tomorrow.
Behind-The-Scenes Video at The Globe and Mail
Tomorrow’s edition of the Canadian newspaper the Globe and Mail will be guest-edited by ONE co-founder Bono and ONE activist Bob Geldof — and the paper is already hitting the ground running with this awesome behind-the-scene video.
As the video points out, tomorrow will mark the first time the Globe and Mail has ever been guest-edited, and also the first time Bono and Bob Geldof have ever guest-edited a North American newspaper. Check back soon for more great extras.
Bono and Bob Geldof to guest-edit The Globe and Mail
Cool news. Next Monday, 10 May, ONE co-founder Bono and our great supporter Bob Geldof will edit the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail as part of the run-up to Canada’s hosting the G8 and G20 global summits in June, where Africa will be on the agenda. It’s an amazing opportunity for ONE and a great chance to get the word out about the progress being made on the continent today, and about the strategic importance of Africa, not just to the 1 billion people living there, but to the rest of the world as well.
ONE is working closely with Bob and Bono on this project, as we have in the past when they edited other leading publications around the world, including Asahi Shimbun in Japan, The Independent in the UK, Bild in Germany, and La Stampa in Italy.
The special edition will feature content and commentary from African political leaders, business owners and grassroots activists; it will also include contributions from other well-known international political leaders and advocates.
“I’m a huge fan of great journalism – I can’t wait to show up for work at The Globe. Our aim in this special edition is to crack down on a few stereotypes and showcase the opportunities surrounding the African continent, not just the problems,” said Bono in The Globe and Mail press release issued last night announcing the project.
“The world will be coming to and looking at Canada this June. The older and the emerging economies will be once again be struggling to learn the new 21st century dance of cooperation and possibly even compromise, and this time under Canada’s leadership. The Globe and Mail, one of the world’s great papers of record, has, in a mad rush of blood to the head, agreed to let two Irish pop-singers edit their august journal for one special day, one special edition. It will be dedicated to that huge, emerging resource continent of Africa and the global necessity of coming to terms with its opportunities and obstacles. I’ve gone from being an old editor of the Vancouver Georgia Straight to the new editor of The Globe and Mail and it’s only taken 36 years! Now that’s a career trajectory,” said Geldof in the same release.
The Globe and Mail is inviting readers to send in their video questions for Bono and Geldof. Video questions should be sent via their website by 6 May. Select questions will then be chosen, and answered by the guest-editors online during the month of May.
So send your questions in!!
We’ll have more on this exciting development when the special edition is published on Monday.
- Previous Posts
- Next Posts
 |
 |
 |
About the Blog
The International ONE Blog is a daily log of the anti-poverty movement. The site is operated by ONE staff, with guest contributions from ONE volunteers, members and allies.
The content of each post and each comment represents the views of that author and does not necessarily reflect the views of ONE. ONE does not support or oppose any candidate for elected office, and any post expressing support or opposition for a candidate is not endorsed by ONE.
TAGS: Globe and Mail