Cool news. Next Monday, May 10th, 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 www.globeandmail.com/africaone by May 6th. Select questions will 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.
Last week we flagged a piece that ONE co-founder Bono wrote about Bill Clinton for TIME Magazine’s “TIME 100″ edition. Also be sure to check out this piece by Bob Geldof about Tidjane Thiam:
High-flying business types are meant to be impressive, but Tidjane Thiam, 47, is exceptional. When in 2008 he took the top job at Prudential, the British insurer that is buying AIG’s Asian unit, people talked about his rise in surprised tones. But it is no surprise that Tidjane has got to where he is — he is a brilliant, elegant, media-adept family man. I have had the honor and pleasure of working closely with him on the Commission for Africa in 2004 and ’05 and currently on the Africa Progress Panel. His insight and analysis are always impressive, his opinions invaluable.
Earlier this month ONE co-founder Bob Geldof spoke at the UK Department For International Development (DFID) conference on the Millennium Development Goals.
Check out these great videos of Bob Geldof discussing the vast effects of climate change in Ethiopia. Bob recently returned to Ethiopia to 25 years after events like Live Aid that helped inspire millions of people around the world to take action in the fight extreme poverty.
Remember to keep checking the ONE Blog where we’ll be posting frequent updates from the climate summit in Copenhagen.
Yesterday Bob Geldof, advisor to ONE, appeared on the Canadian Television News segment “Power Play” to discuss Canada’s progress in meeting the 2005 Gleneagles Summit commitments and its role in hosting the upcoming G8 Summit. He had some very kind words for the Canadian peoples’ strong commitments (and strong follow-through) in ending extreme poverty.
Sunday’s special edition of La Stampa which Bob Geldof edited, also presented an opportunity for Geldof to interview Italy’s Prime Minister Berlusconi. In the interview, Geldof asks some very pointed questions about Italy’s failure to deliver on their promises to Africa, and the fact that Italy has only met 3% of what it had promised.
Full account of the interview, courtesy of Eloise Todd, below:
Silvio Berlusconi and Bob Geldof met each other in the courtyard of Palazzo Chigi. The Prime Minister was suffering from a stiff neck, but kept the promise to respond to the criticisms of the rock star famous for his public efforts for Africa. Geldof, straight in from London, wanted to go over the questions and data on Italian aid to Africa.
They found each other again a moment later outside the study of the Prime Minister. They sat in the centre, next to one another, their teams were on two sofas facing each other, the advisers of ONE, the NGO for Africa, on one side, and the men of the Foreign Ministry and Palazzo Chigi on the other, including Gianni Letta and Paolo Bonaiuti.
What followed was not a conventional interview, but an exchange which almost resembled a boxing match. I thought at times that first Berlusconi, then Geldof, would get up and abandon the meeting, but in the end they managed to get to the end of the interview and the encounter stayed gentlemanly.
Geldof: “Signor Presidente, let’s get straight to the point. You are the senior statesman of the G8. In 2001 in Genoa, you created the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, which made ARVs available for free for 3 million people in Africa. Then you participated in the Gleneagles Summit, where you committed to invest 0.51% of GNI in ODA by 2010 and 0.7% GNI by 2015: right now Italy has met only 3% of that promise. From the hope of Genoa to the delusion of Gleneagles: do you feel the weight of this responsibility?”
Berlusconi begins reading from a statement: “You are right. It’s a delay in payments. We, however, were out of government for two and a half years. When we returned, we found a deficit of 110% GDP. Now, because of the economic crisis, this deficit is up to 120% and the European Union will not allow us to stay at this level. When considering the budget law, the Parliament has decided to cut spending. Unfortunately they also cut aid to Africa, and we have started a debate on this. The Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti is committed to getting us back on track with our commitments in 3 years.”
Geldof becomes agitated: “The G8 is in 3 days, not 3 years, as President of this Summit, what are you going to do?”
Berlusconi: “Look, what has happened is absolutely the opposite of what I have been doing personally: this year I financed an orphanage in Thailand and a hospital for children in Brazil. I understand your worry and I very much appreciate the work that you have done for the poorest, but we have had external obstacles standing in our way.”
Berlusconi gives the floor to the diplomatic adviser of Tremonti “we have begun to repay the World Bank our outstanding payments, as well as other international financial organisations. In 2010 we will reach 0.33% of GDP to ODA, and we’ll get to 0.51% by 2015…”
Geldof interrupts: “Excuse me, I am aware of all this. Thanks for the explanation,” and he turns towards the Prime Minister: “I don’t believe you. In order to reach those levels you will have to do an incredible job. And we don’t need any more plans, right now we need action. I’m sick of plans, we just need to act. We must have more ODA. When we cut aid, we take food from the mouths of the starving. We literally take the needles from the arms of patients. Why must we behave like this? Africa is the second biggest emerging market after China. It’s got more democratic countries than Asia. We’re talking about tiny amounts of money: why is it so difficult to find this money for aid? The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel Prime Minister Brown, even President Sarkozy have increased aid, but Italy has cut by €400m. All these countries’ economies are a disaster, but all have kept their promise they made to the poor. Except Italy. How can you lead the G8? Where is your credibility? This is a human question, not a tactical question. We are tired of seeing people that die of hunger!
Berlusconi starts to nod, he has been struck by the image of starving children.
Bob Geldof will be guest editing the Italian newspaper “La Stampa” this weekend as part of ONE’s campaign to encourage Italy to improve its record on Africa when it hosts the G8 summit next week.
La Stampa is a respected Italian newspaper based in Turin in northern Italy. Its editor has turned over Sunday’s paper to a dedicated Africa/G8 edition. It will feature stories on a wide range of African themes, and contributions from prominent African, Italian and global figures including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Bono, Kofi Annan and Sophia Loren.
So far Italy has delivered just three per cent of the development aid to Africa it promised at the 2005 Gleneagles Summit. ONE is calling on Prime Minister Berlusconi to seize the opportunity of next week’s summit to turn around this abysmal record or forfeit all credibility as G8 host.
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