1. AASGON advocates for Change at the UN
Business Name
June-August ‘11akada
News of Interest:
 Health & Education
 Economy & Finance
 Academic Exchange
 Heritage & Diversity
 Fashiom & Creative Arts
 Participatory Governance
 Civil Liberties
 Sports, Travel & Tours
 Career & Scholarship
 Social Networking
China Balance of Trade 2
MDGs and Action for the Disabled 5
UN—The Future We ALL Deserve 7
US-China Cold War 10
Better Start in Labour Market 11
Participatory Governance 13
Japan to Broadcast 4K Program 14
A F R I C A A S I A S C H O L A R S
G L O B A L N E T W O R K
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Autumn 2013
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Boosting efforts to tackle
global economic, social
and environmental chal-
lenges the UN General
Assembly has established
a new High-level Political
Forum, to replace the
United Nations Commis-
sion on Sustainable
Development (UNCSD).
Recognising the need for an improved
and more effective institutional
framework that will effectively guide
sustainable development towards 'the
future we want', the General Assem-
bly should be commended for
acknowledging its shortcomings, and
boldly making reforms ‘action for
change’ in meeting set agenda for
post MDGs through its replacement of
the UNCSD which was established in
December 1992 to ensure effective
follow up of the Earth Summit.
We are simply not doing enough to
meet the fundamental challenges of
our time: to end extreme poverty in
this generation and significantly
narrow the global gap between rich
and poor, without inflicting irrepara-
ble damage to the environmental
basis for our survival,” said General
Assembly President Vuk Jeremić in his
review of progress made over the last
13 years.
Describing the Forum,
a major step forward
in implementing 'The
Future We Want',”
the UN Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon
calls on all Countries
to do their utmost to
realize the Forum's potential.
In his remark on the newly established
UN High level Political Forum on SDGs,
Abdul ‘Dewale Mohammed the Foun-
der and Executive President of the
Africa Asia Scholars Global Network
(AASGON) reiterated that “The step
taken by the General Assembly will
invigorate action towards the process
of learning from some of the misrep-
resentations and inactions of the past
decade. The Forum he agrees ‘must
be more than just a meeting place – it
must be the place where government,
the corporate and civil society gener-
ate the momentum for change’.
He however cautioned that the
change of the Commission on Sustain-
able Development should not merely
be a replacement of a ‘old wine in a
new bottle’ but a forum that is ener-
gised in line with the challenges of the
21st
century thus igniting the spirit of
Rio+20 . Continued on page 4
ACCSEP ‘14
Mandela—the China Connection 19
Nigeria’s Space Mission 20
Fashion 2013 23
Aliko Donates N10 Billion 25
Youth Unemployment 28
Cameron’s £1 Million Prize 30
AASGON Promote University Polo 32
NEPAD May Fail 36
Aid for Trade Initiative
Aid for Trade flows result in lower trade costs and improved
trade performance. OECD-WTO analysis shows that $1 in Aid for
Trade funding increases exports from richer developing countries
by $8, and by as much as $20 from the poorest countries.
The impact of Aid for Trade funding is even higher for exports of parts
and components, underscoring the benefits value chains offer to
developing countries. To take full advantage of the development opportunities afforded
by trade, the report suggests that future aid for trade flows be directed at programmes
to improve trade-related infrastructure and improve the business environment. Donors
and developing countries should also put in place frameworks for results-based man-
agement of aid for trade programmes, based on a menu of trade-related targets, as
well as indicators to measure performance.
Mandela and the
China connection
It's the spirit of the times,
China has not been left
behind in the global
Mandela adoration. On
July 18, for instance, Chi-
nese author Li Yong, who
has written a book about
Mandela, spoke glowingly
at a charity event hosted
by the South African
embassy in Beijing.
In the words of Li Yong
"Mandela is the greatest
person alive on this
planet."
For more on Bob Wekesa’s
report go to page…19
In this Issue:

2. Social Investment
and Philanthropy
CHINA
Page 2
akada
China recorded a trade surplus of 178.18 USD
Hundred Million in July of 2013. Balance of
Trade in China is reported by the General
Administration of Customs. China Balance of
Trade averaged 54.54 USD Hundred Million
from 1983 until 2013, reaching an all time
high of 404 USD Hundred Million in Novem-
ber of 2008 and a record low of -319.81 USD
Hundred Million in February of 2012.
Since 1995 China has been recording consis-
tent trade surpluses. From 2004 to 2009
China’s annual trade surplus has increased
10 times. Yet, as the global demand is slow-
ing down and import of commodities for vast
infrastructure projects and consumer goods
is growing, there has been a significant de-
cline in trade surplus.
In the last few years, the biggest trade sur-
pluses were recorded with the United States,
Netherlands, United Kingdom, Vietnam and
Singapore. The biggest trade deficits were
recorded with Taiwan, South Korea, Australia,
Germany, South Africa, Japan and Brazil.
The new Chinese loan of $1.5 billion to
Nigeria brings to a total of nearly $15 billion
China’s investments and loans to the country.
The bi-lateral trade relation between the two
countries has advanced over the years.
With Nigeria’s imports from China accounting
for over a third of its total trade in West
Africa, the country is potentially earmarked
as the largest market for China’s trade in
Africa.
However there is a chronic and growing trade
imbalance between the two countries in
favour of China. Nigeria can reduce the vast
trade imbalance by increasing its non-oil
exports to China, whose exports to Nigeria
are currently estimated at $3 billion, while
Nigeria’s exports stand at $1 billion.
In order to change the world for the better, it
is not enough to simply give money and hope
that things change. Innovation, effective
collaboration, careful stewardship and
accountability are key to delivering effective
change through social investment.
Like strategic commercial investment, suc-
cessful philanthropy and social investment
also require skills, information, and strate-
gies. These can be learned. By encouraging a
planned, strategic and businesslike approach
to private and corporate giving, the field of
philanthropy and social investment offers
career opportunities and the fulfilment that
comes with making a difference.
According to Swinburne University of Tech-
nology, Australia, a national leader in educa-
tion and research in relation to philanthropy,
‘strong commitment to transformative educa-
tion that can unlock potentials and demon-
strate social change is vital’
In a statement by the Centre for Social Impact
(CSI) “In global philanthropy today we are
seeing the emergence of a generation of
philanthropists who value impact and effec-
tiveness over intentions.
These philanthropists
are beginning to
demand rigorous
evidence bases to
underpin their invest-
ment allocation deci-
sions. And in doing
so, they confront the
problem of the gap
between the theory
of social impact measurement and the enor-
mous practical difficulties in measuring social
value in the real world setting”.
President Obama has named 16 recipients of
the Presidential Medal of
Freedom. President Bill
Clinton and Oprah Winfrey
are among the brightest
stars.
This year marks the 50th
anniversary of the highest
civilian honour in the US.
Thinking
forward
Science, technology and innova-
tion are changing the world, and
in many ways Swinburne is
helping shape the future.
Visit http://www.thinkforward.com.au/
China‘s trade imbalance with Africa Soars
US Highest Honour…..
UN Global Compact
gear up for action......
Following series of related discussions with the
UN on Post MDGs, representatives of Global
Compact LEAD Multinational Corporations have
proposed Ten Sustainable Development Goals:
1. End poverty and increase prosperity via
inclusive economic growth
2. Quality Education For All
3. Achieve women’s and girls empower-
ment
4. Universal Health Coverage
5. Good Nutrition for All through Sustain-
able Food and Agricultural Systems
6. Water and Sanitation for All
7. Sustainable Energy for All
8. Build Peaceful an stable societies
9. Modernise infrastructure and technology

3. A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors
(such as individuals or organizations) and a complex set of the dyadic ties
between these actors. The social network perspective provides a clear
way of analyzing the structure of whole social entities. The study of
these structures uses social network analysis to identify local and global
patterns, locate influential entities, and examine network dynamics.
Social networks and the analysis of them is an inher-
ently interdisciplinary academic field which emerged from social psy-
chology, sociology, statistics, and graph theory. Georg Simmel authored
early structural theories in sociology emphasizing the dynamics of triads
and web of group affiliations. Jacob Moreno is credited with developing
the first sociograms in the 1930s to study interpersonal relationships.
These approaches were mathematically formalized in the 1950s and
theories and methods of social networks became pervasive in the social
and behavioural sciences by the 1980s. Social network analysis is now
one of the major paradigms in contemporary sociology, and is also em-
ployed in a number of other social and formal sciences.
Together with other complex networks, it forms part of the nascent field
of network science.
Overview
A social network is a theoretical construct useful in the social sciences to
study relationships between individuals, groups, organizations, or even
entire societies (social units, see differentiation). The term is used to
describe a social structure determined by such interactions. The ties
through which any given social unit connects represent the convergence
of the various social contacts of that unit. This theoretical approach is
necessarily relational.
An axiom of the social network approach to understanding social inter-
action is that social phenomena should be primarily conceived and inves-
tigated through the properties of relations between and within units,
instead of the properties of these units themselves. Thus, one common
criticism of social network theory is that individual agency is often
ignoredalthough this may not be the case in practice.
Precisely because many different types of relations, singular or in combi-
nation, form these network configurations, network analytics are useful
to a broad range of research enterprises. In social science, these fields of
study include, but are not limited to anthropology, biology, communica-
tion studies, economics, geography, information science, organizational
studies, social psychology, sociology, and sociolinguistics.
Courtesy wikipedia.org/wiki/Social net-Page 3
Social
Network
History
In the late 1800s, both Émile Durkheim and Ferdinand
Tönnies foreshadowed the idea of social networks in their
theories and research of social groups. Tönnies argued that social
groups can exist as personal and direct social ties that either link
individuals who share values and belief (Gemeinschaft, German,
commonly translated as "community") or impersonal, formal, and
instrumental social links (Gesellschaft, German, commonly trans-
lated as "society").
Durkheim gave a non-individualistic explanation of social facts,
arguing that social phenomena arise when interacting individuals
constitute a reality that can no longer be accounted for in terms
of the properties of individual actors. Georg Simmel, writing at the
turn of the twentieth century, pointed to the nature of networks
and the effect of network size on interaction and examined the
likelihood of interaction in loosely-knit networks rather than
groups.
Major developments in the field can be seen in the 1930s by
several groups in psychology, anthropology, and mathematics
working independently. In psychology, in the 1930s, Jacob L.
Moreno began systematic recording and analysis of social interac-
tion in small groups, especially classrooms and work groups.
Inanthropology, the foundation for social network theory is the
theoretical and ethnographic work of Bronislaw Malinowski,
Alfred Radcliffe-Brown, and Claude Lévi-Strauss.
A group of social anthropologists associated with Max Gluck-
man and the Manchester School, including John A. Barnes, J.
Clyde Mitchell and Elizabeth Bott Spillius, often are credited with
performing some of the first fieldwork from which network analy-
ses were performed, investigating community networks in south-
ern Africa, India and the United Kingdom. Concomitantly, British
anthropologist S.F. Nadel codified a theory of social structure that
was influential in later network analysis. In sociology, the early
(1930s) work of Talcott Parsons set the stage for taking a
relational approach to understanding social structure. Later,
drawing upon Parsons' theory, the work of sociologist Peter
Blau provides a strong impetus for analyzing the relational ties of
social units with his work on social exchange theory.
By the 1970s, a growing number of scholars worked to combine
the different tracks and traditions. One group consisted of soci-
ologist Harrison White and his students at the Harvard University
Department of Social Relations. Also independently active in the
Harvard Social Relations department at the time were Charles
Tilly, who focused on networks in political and community sociol-
ogy and social movements, and Stanley Milgram, who developed
the "six degrees of separation" thesis. Mark Granovetter
and Barry Wellman are among the former students of White who
elaborated and championed the analysis of social networks.
You can’t track what you don’t
measure, and what you don’t
measure rarely gets done.
Simply if you can’t measure it,
obviously you can’t manage it!
akada

4. akada
Page 4
From cover page
As part of stimulating structure for
SDGs, the UN by decision of the General Assembly went on in January 2013
to inaugurate a 30-member Open Working Group (OWG). Mandated by the
Rio+20 Outcome document, OWG is to prepare a proposal on SDGs for
consideration by the Assembly at its 68th session (Sept. 2013 – Sept. 2014).
The first session of OWG on SDGs was convened in March with Ambassadors
Csaba Körösi of Hungary and Macharia Kamau of Kenya appointed as
Co-Chair. Recalling the Rio outcome, the President of the 67th session of the
General Assembly, Vuk Jeremić, in welcoming the Group highlighted the
agreed criteria for SDGs, and said that the OWG should aim to establish new
forms of engagement to ensure that a balanced and coherent proposal
could be submitted to the 68th session of the General Assembly.
In support of Vuk Jeremic’s appeal some members of the OWG acknowl-
edged that “current models for development are unsustainable and that the
SDGs must represent a new development agenda that respects the physical
constraints of the planet and can also lift the poorest people out of poverty”.
In Abdul ‘Dewale Mohammed’s judgement, to uncompromisingly avoid the
inactions of the past decades, the UN and its member states need to be
steadfast than ever before and urgently step up their acts and be exception-
ally proactive in addressing the 8th
of the MDGs (agenda) ’Develop a Global
Partnership for Development’. Governments across board, he emphasised
need to adopt ‘a partnership that enables, a transformative people-centred
and planet-sensitive development agenda realizable through the equal and
transparent partnership of all stakeholders is effected.’
In mobilizing the UN system to support global, regional and national strate-
gies to effectively address the building blocks of sustainable development,
certainly changes is imminent within the UN and model of governance, if we
the world is to concretely address the problem of poverty and inequality.
Therefore In line with UN’s determination, to ensure post MDGs are
sufficiently attained and to avoid past mistakes and carry along other key
stakeholders, the inadequacies of the defunct UNCDS which led to member
states resolve at the Rio+20, to establish the high level political forum as a
replacement for UNCDS followed with the installation of the 30-
member Open Working Group (OWG), should be widely shared among the
civil society, which obviously as key partners, need not only to know the
rationale and kept informed of other institutional changes to be effected
within the UN cadre, but brought along to complement the work of the UN.
ITU of Japan Celebrate
WTISD 2013
May 17 marks the anniversary of the signing of the first
International Telegraph Convention and the creation of the
International Telecommunication Union.
With over 260 participants in attendance the ITU Association
of Japan (ITU-AJ) recently celebrated the World Telecommu-
nication and Information Society Day (WTISD) in Tokyo,
Japan. Awards were presented to prominent figures in the
fields of standardization and international cooperation.
At each year’s celebration, the ITU-AJ holds an award cere-
mony to recognize those who have furthered the aims of
WTISD by helping to raise awareness of the possibilities that
the use of the information and communication technologies
(ICT) can bring to societies and economies, and by finding
ways to bridge the digital divide.
Yasuo Suzuki, President
of ITU—AJ remarked
that ‘ICT is an indispen-
sable means of coping
with matters that have
become global concerns
such as global warming ,
cyber security and
juvenile protection
The most honourable
“2013 Minister’s Award”
was presented to Mr. Seiichi Tsugawa, the current chairman
of ITU-T SG3, for his outstanding contributions to the ITU
and Japan’s ICT industry during his career of over 30 years in
this field.
This year, the ITU-AJ introduced a new award called the
“Special Achievement Award”, which was presented to Dr.
Toshio Watanabe, chancellor of Takushoku University, for
his distinguished achievements as a leading economist in the
field of development economics.
Founded with the aim of ‘facilitating peaceful relations,
international cooperation among peoples and economic and
social development by means of efficient telecommunica-
tion services, the International Telecommunication Union, a
specialised agency of the United Nations since 1932, stands
as the world’s oldest international organisation.
“We need to invest more in our
people, our scholars and students.
That is why AASGON’s work is so
strategic and vital in our endeavour to
overcome the massive difficulties that
confront our continents”
- Ambassador Yuri Thamrin
Director –General
Africa Asia Pacific Affairs Republic of Indonesia
UN to Make
Further Changes...

5. MDGs and Action for the Disabled
While the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) represent a concerted effort to address global poverty, there
is a striking gap in the current MDGs and their inclusion of persons with disabilities. The estimated 1 billion
people worldwide who live with disabilities are still excluded from equitable access to resources such as
education, employment, healthcare and social and legal support systems. As a result persons with disabilities
experience disproportionately high rates of poverty and inequality.
With the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006, some progress has
been made in improving the situation of persons with disabilities. However, in spite of such gains, disability
remains largely invisible in most mainstream development processes, including the MDGs. Greater efforts are
needed to ensure that development processes include persons with disabilities to help realize the overall
objective of the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in our diverse society.
In 2011, the General Assembly decided to convene a one-day high-level meeting of the General Assembly on
disability (HLMD) at the level of Heads of State and Government on 23 September 2013, the Monday before the
start of the general debate of the sixty-eighth session. Under the theme: “The way forward: a disability
inclusive development agenda towards 2015 and beyond”, the HLMD will comprise of a plenary meeting and
two consecutive informal interactive round tables. The outcome is expected to boost the inclusion of people
with disabilities in governance and policy implementation in the UN Sustainable Development Agenda.Page 5
akada
Sustainable Development
In 1987, the United Nations released the Brundtland
Report, which included what is now one of the most
widely recognised definitions: "Sustainable develop-
ment is development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs."
According to the same report, there are two key
concepts: the concept of 'needs', in particular the
essential needs of the world's poor, to which
overriding priority
should be given;
and the idea of
l i m i t a t i o n s
imposed by the
state of technol-
ogy and social
organization on
the environ-
ment's ability to
meet present
and future needs
However the field of sustainable development
can be conceptually divided into four general
dimensions: social, economic, environmental
and institutional. The first three dimensions
address key principles of sustainability, while
the final dimension addresses key institutional
policy and capacity issues.
Sustainable devel-
opment refers to a
mode of human
development in
which resource use
aims to meet
human needs while
e n s u r i n g t h e
sustainability of natural systems and the environment,
so that these needs can be met not only in the
present, but also for generations to come.
More recently, it has been
suggested that a more
consistent analytical breakdown
is to distinguish four domains of
economic, ecological, political
and cultural sustainability. This
is consistent with the UCLG
move to make 'culture' the fourth domain of sustainability.
Sustainable development ties together concern for the carrying capacity of natural
systems with the social challenges faced by humanity. As early as the 1970s,
"sustainability" was employed to describe an economy "in equilibrium with basic ecologi-
cal support systems. "]
Ecologists have pointed to ‘The Limits to Growth’ and presented
the alternative of a "steady state economy" in order to address environmental concerns.
Wangari Muta Maathai Memorial
(1 April 1940 – 25 Sept. 2011)
For her contribution to sustainable development,
democracy and peace Wangari Muta Maathai in
2004 became the first African woman to receive
the Nobel Peace Prize. A Kenyan environmental
and political activist, Maathai was educated in the
United States at Mount St. Scholastica and
the University of Pittsburgh, as well as the University
of Nairobi in Kenya.
In the 1970s, she founded the Green Belt Movement,
an environmental non-governmental organization
focused on the planting of trees, environmental
conservation, and women's rights. In 1986, she was
awarded the Right Livelihood Award.
Elected member of Parliament served as assistant minister or Environment and Natural
Resources in the government of President Mwai Kibaki between January 2003 and
November 2005. An Honorary Councillor of the World Future Council, in 2011, Maathai
died of complications from ovarian cancer.
"development that meets
the needs of the present
without compromising the
ability of future
generations to meet their
own needs."

6. akada
Page 6

7. UN High-level Political Forum
Embraces the ‘Future We All Deserve’
The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) constitutes an ambitious
agenda to significantly improve human lives and their environment.
The goals set clear targets for reducing poverty, hunger, disease,
illiteracy, environmental degradation, and discrimination against
women and children.
In light of weak and often faltering
macroeconomic performance, vulnerabil-
ity to negative climatic shocks, fertility
rates and population growth that
outpace those of other regions, and a
devastating combination of poverty,
continued civil conflict, and the effects of
HIV/AIDS, realizing the eight ‘Millennium
Development Goals’ - Eradicate extreme poverty
and hunger; Achieve universal primary education; Promote gender
equality and empower women; Reduce child mortality; Improve
maternal health; Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases;
Ensure environmental sustainability; Develop a global partnership for
development - has been a particularly challenging task in
Sub-Saharan Africa, in Asia and the Pacific.
Though not quite significant, over the years in association with the
international community, there has been progress in Asia, the Pacific
and some parts of Africa in implementing the continents
development plans.
However progress in implementing sustainable development has
been extremely disappointing since the 1992 Earth Summit, with
poverty deepening and environmental degradation worsening in the
developing countries. By any account the 2002 Johannesburg Summit
did not provide clear cut solutions to aid the fight against poverty.
Reaffirming its role in global governance, the shortfalls supposedly
led to the decision in last year’s outcome document of the UN
Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) of the UN General
Assembly to scrap the UN Commission on Sustainable Development
(UNCSD) established 21 years ago, and replace it with a High Level
Political Forum on Sustainable Development.
Providing political leadership, guidance and action-oriented
recommendations the Forum is expected to meet urgent global
economic, social and environmental challenges through reviews of
progress in the implementation of related commitments and enhance
integration of the three dimensions of sustainable development –
economic, social and environmental.
Emphasising the need for an improved and
more effective institutional framework the
General Assembly decided that the High-
Level Political Forum (HLPF) should
provide a dynamic platform for regular
dialogue and for stocktaking and agenda-
setting to advance that process.
In line with the Assembly resolution, the Forum is scheduled to
convene annually at the ministerial level
under the auspices of the UN Economic
and Social Council (ECOSOC) and it will,
every four years, bring together heads
of State to provide added momentum
for sustainable development. Its first
meeting comes up in September, during
the Assembly's forthcoming 68th ses-
sion.
Expectantly the concerns of many and that of Vuk Jeremić, the 67th
General Assembly President and that of the Sirleaf, Yudhoyono and
Cameron joint Bali Declaration, calling for more decisive action,
global partnership and people centred policies in meeting the
fundamental challenges of our time, will guide the spirit of the 68th
General Assembly and that of the UN High-level Political Forum
(HLPF) and the Open Working Group (OWG).
About to set another agenda as the MDGs timeline comes to an end
in 2015, the UN should in ensuring sustainable development beyond
MDG, put in place apposite apparatus that will effectively motivate
committed, transparent and far reaching partnerships.
Critical as it may possibly be the 8th
of the MDGs ‘Develop a Global
Partnership for Development’ is considered as the most essential tool
for sustainable development post MDGS and therefore requires a
more desired and renewed vigour by all proponents of development,
particularly members of
the HLPF and the OWG
who are to display exem-
plary leadership.
In a shift to infuse corpo-
rate models that link long
-term business interests
with social and environ-
mental well-being, Ban
Ki-moon’s decision to incorporate the capabilities of private sector’s
innovation and investment through coherent multi-sector collabora-
tion brings a great relieve and in the interest of the well-being of
present and future generations, ‘Sustainable Development
Goals’ (SDGs) should be accorded the full commitment it deserves.
Page 7
akada
"In the 20 years since the first Rio Earth Summit, the world has largely failed to address
some of the most serious environmental and social problems pressing in on us"
"We can't afford business as usual. We need to engage the academic and scientific com-
munity, and tap into worldwide technological know-how in the private sector and civil
society, in order to develop and implement practical solutions"
- Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs head of SDSN and Special Advisor to the
UN Secretary-General on global anti-poverty target and Director at
Columbia University’s Earth Institute.
With business leaders willing to
support global priorities in line
with the UN Post-2015 Agenda,
outcome of the General Assembly
plenary in late September should
set the foundation for the most
needed change that will bring
about ‘The World We ALL Deserve’

8. Advocates for International Development empowers
lawyers to use their skills to fight world poverty.
Through its pro bono broker and legal education
services it helps the legal sector to meet its global
corporate social responsibility to bring about world development.
A4ID is a global charity that believes the law can, and should, be used
more effectively to eradicate global poverty. Around the world,
development organisations work tirelessly to improve access to
basic services for the poorest people and empower
local communities to tackle poverty.
However very often lack of access to legal expertise
reduces the impact of these organisations and in
many instances the law itself can act as a barrier to
sustainable international developmentA4ID works
at ensuring that legal support is available for all
those involved in the fight against poverty and that lawyers and
development organisations have the skills and knowledge to use the
law as an effective development tool.
akada
Page 8
Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT) has
been at the forefront of assisting
members in developing telecommu-
nication and ICT services in the Asia
Pacific region.
This assistance has many fronts and
includes providing forums and
workshops dealing with policy and
technological issues pertaining to
telecommunication/ICT and capacity
building (HRD) including training
courses on various topics
Applicants willing to seek for Chinese government scholarship should apply
to the dispatching authorities, such as the Chinese Embassy or Consulate in
the applicant’s country, a Chinese higher education institution, a research
institute or an academic organization.
Eligible applicants should log on the online application system, ask for the
agency number, fill out and print the application form, which should then be
mailed in duplicate to the dispatching authority, the responsible agency for
students scholarship enrolment and admission. Students who do not meet the
language proficiency requirement for the major study shall take 1-2 years’
Chinese language classes before they start the major program.
Some higher education institutions offer courses instructed in English for
graduate students and general scholars. Those who take English taught
programs should not take Chinese language classes. Undergraduate students
are required to take classes in Chinese. Students with no prior knowledge of
Chinese language shall take 1 year foundation courses at the assigned
universities. The website for the online application system is http://
laihua.csc.edu.cn.
4th APT Workshop on Disaster Management held in Manila
High-Level Political
Forum (HLPF)
Aim: Facilitate
SDGs
Inaugural Meeting
Date: 24 Sept. ’13.
Place: UN HQ
New York Can Technology Fix Education?
Check Out Tweets from Twitter Town Hall on Education and Technology
Silicon Valley in California was buzzing with tweets for education as
the first ever Global Education and Technology Forum kicked-off
with a Twitter Town Hall featuring Gordon Brown, United Nations
Special Envoy for Global Education and Dick
Costolo, Twitter CEO.
T h e f o r u m w a s l i v e t w e e t e d
from @gbceducation with the support of over
100 tech and education executives in the room,
along with tech start-ups and on-the-ground
education providers joining in via Twitter.
The town hall exposed the international challenges we face in educa-
tion, and showed that creative and efficient tech businesses can do
their part to solve some of these problems.
The conversation was ongoing and went beyond the live town hall
with panels touching on topics such as data,teacher training, and
student learning experiences. Companies such as Dropbox, World
Reader, Palantir, Meraki, Coursera, Econet Wireless, Pearson and
Google were challenged in an open discussion to find technological
solutions to educate the 61 million primary-school-aged children
who are currently not in school. Peter Diamandis even announced
the launch of an X Prize for Global Literacy.
We challenge you to hold them accountable and continue
the #Tech4Ed conversation online. Help us advocate for the dire
needs of millions of children who cannot go to school and are
deprived of a quality education.
Quinoa is a grain-like crop
grown primarily for its edible
seeds. It is a pseudocereal
rather than a true cereal or
grain as it is not a a true grass
family. As a chenopod, quinoa is
closely related to species such as
beetroots, spinach and tumble
weeds. Referred to as
‘Superfood’ with high nutritional value, its protein
content per 100 calories is much higher than brown
rice, potatoes, barley and millet. Quinoa is a com-
plete source of protein and calcium.

9. The Business Council for Africa (West & Southern) introduced Mr
Arnold Ekpe as the Council's first Honorary President at their annual
Summer Lecture on 3rd July 2013. The event held at The Royal Over-
Seas League and sponsored by FBN Bank, attracted a number of
high-profile business leaders, investors, diplomats, members and
friends of the BCA.
.
Regarded as one of the most important and influential African
businessmen of his generation, the former CEO of Ecobank gave a
passionate speech about his experiences in Africa and the ways in
which Africa could move forward as a continent – shifting from talk
and ideas to action and growth, stating, “ In Africa, we need to talk
less and do more”
Recognising Africa’s vast economic potential, Ekpe was also careful to
highlight specific danger signs in order to ensure that Africa’s growth
story is a sustainable one, focusing on areas such as infrastructure,
integration and building strong regional economic hubs. During his
speech, Ekpe suggested the idea of an African Investment Bank
where African governments invest capi-
tal for regional projects.
“To attract investment,” he suggested, “ Africa
must show confidence. Africa is at a turning
point. We should be taking more steps to
integrate Africa, which means putting the right
infrastructure in place – building Pan-African
railways and enabling open skies”.
Ekpe also highlighted the importance of developing strong African
business success stories: “Africa needs to do more to empower and
support African champions. African champions would be companies
that have a regional mandate, for example Ecobank, MTN in telecom-
munications or Shoprite the retail group, taking a regional approach
to development.” As part of his new role as Honorary President of
the BCA, Arnold Ekpe will act as a figurehead and ambassador to pro-
mote the Council’s mission, values and objectives.
Page 9
akada
Do
you
have ...
medical concerns
questions or
experiences you
want an answer to
or like to share?
Write to Augusta
“I’ll be delighted to
respond”
For your comments
and queries”
Email me at:
akada@aasgon.net
Sickle Cell Anemia Treatment
The treatment of Sickle Cell disorder will obviously
depend very much on the condition of individuals. If
they can no longer cope, they are advised to go hospi-
tal immediately. At present, there is no known cure for
this disorder. Some Sickle Cell disorder patient, espe-
cially the ones with Thalassaemia are regularly on
blood transfusion every four weeks for the rest of their
lives, and daily penicillin, and folic acid to prevent life
threatening infections.
When they are Sickle Cell crisis
(I.e. severe pain on the joints or
particular bone in the body), they
are usually treated with heavy
painkillers to ease off the pain.
Some of the painkillers are co-
proxomol, morphine/diamorphine,
morphine sulphate, ibuprofen,
and diclofenac sodium, dihydro-
codeine, and codydramol etc. etc.
sickle cell patient is also treated
with Antibiotics. These drugs are
usually safe and effective in the
treatment of bacterial disorders
ranging from minor infections, like conjunctivitis, to
life-threatening diseases. Some of the antibiotics
have a broad spectrum of activity against wide vari-
ety of bacterial.
Others are used in the treatment of infection by only
a few specific organisms. Some of these antibiotics
are penicillins, augmentin-co-amoxilav, clarithromy-
cin, and ciprofloxacin. When these patients with
sickle cell disorder are hospitalised, they are mainly
given these drugs and importantly they are also
treated with celine drips. These drips help to
increase the fluid in the system, reducing sickle
cell crisis.
In the United State, it was recently introduced that
Sickle Cell disorder can be treated, where the
sufferer’s will no longer suffers from Sickle Cell disor-
der. This type of treatment will be through cloning
(Gene therapy.) Cloning is one aspect of genetic
engineering, the rapidly growing area of scientific re-
search that tries to change and control the design of
living things. In fact, there was a case 10 years go,
where an early gene inherited a defective gene from
both parents, giving her a condition that left body un-
able to fight infections. She was very ill and left normal
red blood cells live above 120 days in the body, sickle
cells only live about 5-30 days.
Other Symptoms: Individuals with Sickle Cell
diseases or Beta Thalassaemia gets tired easily, this is
because their red blood cells have a shortened life
span and as a result of that they have a low haemoglo-
bin and are anaemic they can get breathless even with
minimal physical activity and excretion. They are more
likely to feel the cold compared to most people. People
with Sickle cell disease don’t develop very good immu-
nity and therefore prone to picking up infections early.
Infections need to be treated promptly to prevent
sickling (pain) crisis or other complication.
Is there a Cure for sickle cell disease?
Yes. It is called Bone marrow Transplantation (BMT).
Bone marrow is obtained from a matched unaffected
brother or sister or unrelated donor and transplanted to
the person with sickle
cell disease. However,
this treatment is not
without side effects and
the physical, emotional
and psychological ef-
fects can sometimes
cause more distress
than the disease itself.
How can Families
help?
The most important part
a family can play is to learn as much as possible about
sickle cell disease so that they can help prevent ill
health, recognise symptoms of illness and care and
support in the home.
The psychological and emotional stress of living with
sickle cell disease can be
reduced if the individual gets
support, encouragement and
feels able to live as normal a life
as possible in there own commu-
nity.
There are specialist sickle cell
and thalassaemia centres/
services in the Uk. The NHS and
run by specialist nurses, doctors
and social workers fund them.
These centres offer information,
advice, and education of the
public as well as educate health,
allied and other professionals.
Arnold Ekpe shares his vision for ‘Africa – Moving from Talk to Action’.

10. Page 10
akada
To prevent another Cold War China’s Presi-
dent Xi Jinping is looking for a “new model of
major country relationship” with the United
States.
“China and the United States must find
a new path—one that is different from the
inevitable confrontation and conflict between
the major countries of the past,” Xi told
reporters after his first meeting with
President Obama in June.
Welcoming the Chinese leader’s gesture
Obama responded “We shared our respective
visions for our countries’ futures and agreed
that we’re more likely to achieve our
objectives of prosperity and security of our
people if we are working together coopera-
tively, rather than engaged in conflict”.
Raising the issue of cyber-security, which has
emerged as one of the most controversial
issues between the two nations, the focus on
the Cold War by Xi is assumed to suggest a
sense of urgency from the Chinese leader.
“It’s as if in parenthesis he’s saying, ‘If we
don’t get this relationship right now, neither
of us is going to like what we’re going to have
to do next,’” said Chris Johnson, a former
China analyst for the CIA and the Freeman
Chair in China Studies at the Centre for
Strategic & International Studies.
They agreed that North Korea must be
denuclearized, and agreed on a path forward
to apply pressure on the government in
Pyongyang, which U.S. officials view as one of
China’s first forays stepping in to promote
regional calm.
According to the US National Security Advisor
Tom Donilon, Obama said “that the parties
should seek to de-escalate, not escalate; and
the parties should seek to have conversations
about this through diplomatic channels and
not through actions out of the East China
Sea,” and further encouraged Xi to deesca-
late tensions with Japan over the disputed
Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which
are believed to sit upon oil and gas reserves
claimed by both countries.
With hopes for future cooperation on climate
change, both leaders signed off an agreement
to limit the release of Hydro fluorocarbons
(HFCs), potent greenhouse gas used as
refrigerants. To promote stability between
the two powers, discussions also centred on
the importance of strengthening military-to-
military ties, which lag diplomatic and
economic relations by more than a decade.
In its report culled from The Diplomat, Zach-
ary Keck stressed that it is often argued that
weaker Asian nations like those of ASEAN
would be the most negatively impacted by a
U.S.-China Cold War, as Washington and
Beijing would force them to take sides. As
evidence of this, proponents point to the U.S.
-Soviet Cold War when the superpowers
supposedly divided the world up into
opposing spheres of influence.
But this is a misinterpretation of the Cold
War, and its further misapplication to the
contemporary Asia-Pacific. In fact, smaller
Asian countries would be the primary
benefactors of a more acute U.S.-China
strategic rivalry.
With the exception of the countries that were
occupied at the end of WWII, the superpow-
ers did not force other nations to choose
sides. If anything, the opposite was often
true.
NATO is a case in point. Although it’s difficult
to recall these days, at the end of WWII the
U.S. still had a strong isolationist current
among the American people and some elite
circles. Consequently, building domestic sup-
port for the economic-driven Marshall Plan
was difficult, even though the U.S. had always
maintained robust trading relations with
Western Europe. Ratifying the NATO treaty
was even more contentious.
Faced with the threat of the Soviet leviathan,
which had just conquered Eastern Europe,
the Europeans had no such qualms.
As Lawrence Kaplan, an expert on the trans-
national alliance, points out, the driving
forces behind NATO as it came to exist were
Britain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands,
and Luxembourg.
In 1948, these five countries signed the Brus-
sels Pact pledging self-defence before
attempting to rope the U.S. into the treaty’s
principle that each nation would automati-
cally respond militarily if one of the others
was attacked.
Xi takes First Step to Avert US-China Cold War
For The World
We All Deserve
Join the Chain
to Make the Change!
For Details Contact:
AASGON
info@aasgon.net
”We definitely are excited to work with AASGON
not only in cooperation with Sias University but
also with the Association of Universities of Asia
and the Pacific (AUAP) and the International
Association of University Presidents (IAUP)”
- Dr. Shawn Chen
Founder and Executive Chairman,
Sias International University, Henan, China
1st Vice Chairman AUAP and Executive Director IAUP.

11. UN SECRETARY GENERAL’S ENVOY ON YOUTH,
MR. AHMAD ALHENDAWI WITH THE YOUTH
MECHANISM OF THE UNITED NATIONS DEVEL-
OPMENT ASSISTANCE FRAMEWORK AND THE
UN COMMUNICATIONS GROUP .
On Thursday, July 4, 2013, the UN
Secretary General’s Envoy on Youth,
Mr. Ahmad Alhendawi, who arrived in
Colombo earlier that week, met with the
UN Country Team, the UN Communica-
tions Group and the Youth Mechanism
Group of the United Nations Develop-
ment Assistance Framework.
Mr. Alhendawi discussed the develop-
ment of youth policy in Sri Lanka and
the meaningful involvement of youth in
the United Nations and issues that are
of concern to young people.
akada
Page 11
The global financial crisis
has reinforced the message
that more must be done to
provide youth with the appro-
priate skills and help to get a
better start in the labour
market.
Sharp increases in youth
unemployment and under-
employment have built
upon long-standing struc-
tural obstacles that are
preventing many youth in
both OECD and Key Part-
ner countries from devel-
oping the skills they need
and being able to use those
skills effectively through a
successful transition from
school to the labour market.
Action is all the more urgent
in the context of a hesitant
economic recovery and weak
job creation in many coun-
tries and at a time when gov-
ernments face tight budget-
ary and financial constraints.
Tackling weak aggregate
demand and promoting job
creation are essential for
bringing down high youth
unemployment and under-
employment. But while a
brighter economic outlook will
help, it will not solve all of the
difficulties youth face in gain-
ing access to productive and
rewarding jobs; cost-effective
measures addressing struc-
tural issues are also needed.
Giving youth a better start in
the labour market is not only
vital for improving their well-
being and fostering greater
social cohesion but also for
boosting potential growth and
limiting future social expendi-
tures, especially in the
context of rapid population
ageing in most countries.
Thus, action is needed both
to bring immediate results in
alleviating the current situa-
tion of high youth unemploy-
ment and under-employment
and to produce better
outcomes for youth in the
longer run by equipping them
with relevant skills for the
future and removing barriers
to their employment.
Particular attention should be
focussed on the most disad-
vantaged groups of youth,
such as the low-skilled or
those from migrant back-
grounds, who face the great-
est risk of becoming perma-
nently marginalised from the
labour market along with a
range of social problems.
Action should be applied
across a broad front to
improve the provision of
basic education and voca-
tional training, and social
services, and to tackle labour
market barriers more gener-
ally that are preventing many
youth from gaining a firm
foothold in the labour market.
In line with the OECD Skills
Strategy, effective action
requires an effort across all
relevant ministerial portfolios
to ensure that youth acquire
the right skills, bring those
skills to the labour market
and are able to utilise them
effectively.
However, there are large
country differences in the
labour market situation for
youth and thus policy respon-
ses must be tailored to each
country’s circumstances. This
also opens up the scope for
mutual learning from
successful measures and
programmes that countries
have taken to improve youth
employment outcomes.
Much has already been tried:
some initiatives have deliv-
ered good results while
others have been disappoint-
ingly ineffective. Yet even
where successful measures
have been taken, every
OECD and Key Partner
country could still do more to
improve youth outcomes.
Therefore, at the latest
OECD’s Meeting of the
Council at Ministerial Level in
May, countries committed to
the key elements of an
OECD Action Plan for Youth
and to taking or strengthen-
ing effective measures to
improve youth outcomes.
This includes actions to
tackle the current youth
unemployment crisis and
strengthen the long-term
employment prospects of
youth.
The OECD Action Plan for
Youth draws together and
builds upon extensive OECD
analysis of education, skills
and 2 youth-related employ-
ment policies as well as a
number of international
initiatives, including the ILO
Resolution on -“The youth
employment crisis: a call for
action”, the G20 commit-
ments on youth employment
and the EU Council's
agreement on the Youth
Guarantee.
Following its endorsement,
the OECD is working with
countries to implement the
OECD Youth Action Plan in
their national context and
provide peer-learning oppor-
tunities for countries to share
their implementation plans.
The OECD also provides a
setting to discuss what works
and what does not in an
international perspective
based on country experience
and will report on progress to
the MCM 20.
OECD Action Plan for Youth —Why Action is Needed
GIVING YOUTH A BETTER START IN THE LABOUR MARKET
Multinational companies have
avoided taxation in their home
countries by pushing profits
abroad to low- or no-tax jurisdic-
tions.
The G20 asked the OECD to
create an action plan to address
tax base erosion and profit
shifting (BEPS).
The plan has now been
launched. It identifies 15 actions
and sets timelines for the
implementation.
The OECD has now presented to
G20 finance ministers plans for
a two-pronged attack on tax
avoidance and evasion from
both companies and individuals.
Action Plan Against
Tax Avoidance
Advertise in
akada
Millions read
Contact
akada@aasgon.net

12. Page 12
akada
From back page
While NEPAD theoretically promises to
set Africa on a development course, it
also imparts contradictions and ambigui-
ties, which together raise fundamental
questions about its ability to meet its
stated objectives. These questions have
also become the basis for criticism and
pessimism.
Let us briefly look at these weaknesses.
Although presented as a programme of
partnership, the relationship between the
West and Africa is criticised for lacking
reciprocity, complementarity or symbiosis
that characterise genuine partnerships.
On the contrary, it is a fundamentally
skewed partnership remi-
niscent of the relationship
“between a rider and a
horse” (Ngwane, 2003: 3),
or a benevolent and a
beggar (Orakwue, 2002).
Accordingly, the NEPAD
acronym is either often
derided as meaning a
“new partnership for
Africa’s domination or
d e s t r u c t i o n ” , o r
pronounced humorously
as “KNEE-PAD” to depict
Africa’s preparedness to
stay longer on its knees
while pleading for aid
(Orakwue 2002).
In fact, Asante (2003: 14), describes the
partnership more succinctly as a
“partnership of unequal partners”. These
aberrations underscore the lack of true
partnership between Africa and the G8.
Admittedly, much of these negative
comparisons and analogies about
NEPAD derive from the unending
suspicions about the programme’s
origins.
In contrast to its portrayal as a home-
grown project, NEPAD is frequently seen
as a construction of the West (Adesina,
2003, Bond, 2003:12).
This critical view argues that a genuinely
formulated African programme will
eschew the neo-liberal prescriptions
embodied in NEPAD, which more or less
are the very policies constraining the
region’s development (Govender, 2003).
Beset with poverty and adversity, more
over, a truly formulated African develop-
ment programme would evolve people-
centred and poverty-targeted policies,
which are visibly missing in NEPAD.
NEPAD presents a
neo-liberal frame-
work, patterned
along textbook eco-
nomics and ex-
pected to work from
a classical point of
view. But worldwide
experience shows
that textbook eco-
nomics are not writ-
ten for economies in
decline such as
those in Africa,
which defy basic
neoclassical logic.
A neo-liberal pro-
gramme centred on the market, informed
by the logic of trickle-down economics
and with a plethora of conditionalities
such as NEPAD, can at best exacerbate
rather than ameliorate poverty.
If the origins and nature of NEPAD,
along with the partnership it evokes with
the West are dubious, the commitment of
Africa’s partners to meet aid obligation is
an even bigger source of pessimism. Af-
rica’s unmitigated past disappointments
with western aid deals substantiate this.
In 1986, for example, the UN developed a
four year recovery programme, the United
Nations Programme of Action for African
Economic Recovery and Development
(UN-PARRED) 1986-1990.
This programme embodied pledges by
the international creditor community to
provide assistance to Africa. However,
the tepid response from the international
community condemned UN-PARRED to a
premature demise. Again, in 1991, the
United Nations New Agenda for the
Development of Africa in the 1990s
(UN-NADAF) was adopted under which
the international creditor community was
to commit 0.7 percent of its GNP as ODA
to Africa. On their part, African countries
committed themselves to economic and
democratic reforms.
However, in return for Africa’s wholesale
adoption of SAPs and submission to
multiparty elections by the close of the
decade, only the Netherlands, and the
Scandinavian countries of Denmark,
Norway and Sweden provided 0.7% or
higher of their GNP as ODA to Africa. In
fact, aggregate ODA to Africa actually
plummeted from $28.6 billion in 1990 to
$16.4 billion in 2000 (Bentsi-Enchill 1997;
Asante, 2003:16). Here, too, donor
pledges went unfulfilled.
As noted earlier, NEPAD’s acclaimed
potential to promote good governance,
through the innovative APRM, is another
source of optimism. However, this
optimism is misplaced. Submission to the
APRM is voluntary. Countries which
initially signed up can opt out if the
process proves intrusive. Moreover, the
AU lacks the muscle to compel countries
to either sign up to the review process or
comply with standards of good
governance.
This is a major limitation that has left the
AU and APRM as a lame leviathan. Four
countries – Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius and
Rwanda – were reviewed in 2004. How-
ever, consistent with the APRM’s lack of
compulsion, the review process focused
not on whether the stated standards of
governance were adhered to, but whether
the countries “[were] moving towards
these goals” (Africa Research Bulletin,
2004: 15629-30).
The incapacity of NEPAD and the AU to
generate good governance is also evident
in continuous allegations of corruption
and nepotism involving top government
officials in Africa; grotesque human right
restrictions and abuses in Zimbabwe and
Swaziland nearly four years after the
adoption of NEPAD and the APRM.
Nor, have NEPAD and the AU been able
to completely stem conflicts and wars in
Africa. On the contrary, in spite of
successes in ending conflicts in Angola
and Mozambique, others have continued
to rage. Darfur, Somalia and the Democ-
ratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
continue to present challenges to the AU,
while peace in the Ivory Coast, Liberia
and Sudan remain fragile at best. Other
disturbing internal tensions, such as in
Zimbabwe, continue to test the ability of
the AU to restore sound governance
practices in the region.
.
Continued page 26
Why NEPAD may Fail
The overwhelming neo-liberal
orientation of NEPAD is a source
of concern. But this posture is
informed not only by the global
dominance of neo-liberalism as
an ideology, but importantly by
the assumption tracing Africa’s
crisis to mainly internal factors.

13. GMU student pharmacists to practice in Africa
The increasing relevance and
importance of South-South Cooperation
(SSC) has been stressed in major
international events including the UN
General Assembly sessions and
resolutions.
Guided by the provisions of the Havana
Programme of Action adopted by the First
South Summit held in Havana, Cuba, 10 –
14 April 2000, the year when the MDGs
came to be, this year December 2013
marks a decade when participants at the
High-level Conference on South-South
Cooperation met in Marrakech, Morocco,
to review progress made in South-South
Cooperation after 35 years of its formation
in Buenos Aires, Argentina .
Representing a tremendous force of
solidarity, over the years there has been
great optimism that South-South coopera-
tion, will principally aid developing
countries of the South in overcoming their
‘biggest challenges’.
According to Rose Wajiru a member of
Reality of Aid – Africa “It is expected
that after the many years, there would
be clear evidence of the achievements
made through the South-South Coop-
eration; and even more critical, it is
expected that there would be clear
conceptual and policy clarification and
clear rules of engagement.
A study done by UNDP reveals
otherwise”.
..continued on page 19
delegation from the Pharma-
cists Council of Nigeria to
explore the accreditation of
Pharm D program offered by
the University.
Expanding its pharmacy chain
in line with GMC Hospitals’
strategic retail plans, Thumbay
Group is set to establish 10
more pharmacies in the UAE.
The Group which owns GMU
recently inaugurated a new
p h a r m a c y – G M C
To pave way for the registra-
tion of the Gulf Medical Univer-
sity (GMU) Pharm D students
as Pharmacists in Nigeria, GMU
played host to a high profile
South-South to perfect Participatory Governance
Prof. Capon Heads UNU-IIGH
senior leadership and manage-
ment experience in public
health research, education and
policy, took office from August
1, 2013.
As part of efforts at collaborat-
ing with key partners to
develop a Post 2015 African
Asian Pacific Joint Health Policy
Framework, the Founder and
Executive President of Africa
Asia Scholars Global Network
(AASGON), Abdul ‘Dewale
Mohammed last December
paid a visit to the UNU-IIGH
head office in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia.
T h e A A S G O N P r e s i d e n t
(photographed below) was well
received by the UNU-IIGH team led
by its former Director Tan Sri Dato'
Prof. Dr. Salleh Mohamed Yasin.
Prof. Anthony
Capon has re-
sumed office as
Director of the United Nations
University International Institute
for Global Health.
Prof. Capon, the founding con-
venor of the Climate Change
Adaptation Research Network
for Human Health in Australia, a
public health physician and an
authority on environmental
health and health promotion
with more than two decades of
Page 13
akada
Noted as one of the top 100 compa-
nies making an impact in the Arab
World, the Thumbay Group was in
May featured in the Forbes
Magazine.
Similarly to his contribution to the
advancement of quality health care
and education in the Middle East,
the Group’s Founder and President,
Mr. Thumbay Moideen featured in
June edition of Forbes’ list of Top
100 Indians in the UAE.
AASGON
commits itself to
seeking lasting
solutions to the
complexity of
Africa Asia
Pacific
Under-
Development
and the
UN Sustainable
Development
Goals (SDGs).
AAPUMAC
Under Review
The 1st Africa Asia
Pacific University
and Ministry of
Agriculture
Conference
has been
Postponed Till
Further Notice!

14. Japan tests 4K TV over the internet
A Japanese telecoms company is reported to have carried out tests to try
to prove 4K-resolution video can be streamed over the internet to
television set-top boxes.
NTT West hosted the trial - which is believed to be the first of its kind.
A new video compression standard is being used to reduce the amount
of data that needs to be transmitted.
4K broadcasts offer four times the amount of detail as 1080p high-
definition content. Compressing technologies allow broadcasters to
transmit material using much less data than would otherwise be
required while minimising the loss of picture quality.
With regard to video, instead of sending data describing each pixel of
each frame as if it were a standalone entity,
a variety of algorithms are used to analyse
how colour is distributed across each image
and what changes occur between each
frame.
This is then used to allow redundant infor-
mation to be discarded, providing instead
only the information needed to reconstruct
a sequence based on an understanding of
how each pixel and frame are related to
each other.
At present the H.264/MPEG-4 codec is commonly used to broad-
cast digital TV - including the UK's Freeview HD and Sky HD satel-
lite services - as well as the vast majority of video clips on the web.
In January the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a UN
agency, approved a new format to succeed it called the H.265 High
Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard.
It allows 4K and 1080p videos to be streamed using roughly half
the bit rate, meaning half as much data needs to be transmitted,
thanks to the use of more advanced algorithms.
The ITU said it should meet the needs of broadcasters for "the
next decade". Although 4K ultra-high-definition televisions are
already on the market, content is scarce and most owners have
relied on the sets' ability to upscale existing HD signals. Japan
plans to become the first country to broadcast 4K programming
Page 14
akada
Japan plans to
become the first
country to
broadcast 4K
programming over
satellite from 2014,
in time for the
football World Cup.
For over a century the Union of International
Associations (UIA) has been working to
promote and facilitate the work of international organisations.
Creating opportunities for learning through networking and
good practice, the UIA Round Table will for the first time in
history be held in Asia.
About 200 participants will converge in Singapore on October
23rd and 24th 2013 to gain practical skills, share knowledge and
experience.
The UIA Round Table–Europe will be held in Brussels in Novem-
ber 2013. For more information on how to participate in either
or both crucial roundtables log on http://uia.org/roundtable.
1st Roundtable in Asia

15. Page 15
The President of St. Paul Univer
-sity Philippines and Chancellor,
St. Paul University System, Sr.
Remy Angela Junio, has
endorsed ACCSEP, the Africa
Asia Scholars Global Network’s
‘Academic, Career, Cultural &
Summer Exchange Program’.
In a statement by Prof. Jeremy
Godofredo C. Morales, the
Director Innovation, Distance
Education, Public Affairs and
International Relations, the
Chancellor ‘endorses your
association and your projects
especially that you directly link
up persons and institutions’.
With its dynamic multi-
disciplinary approach to learn-
ing, the University, in order to
maximize the benefits brought
forth by national and international
partnerships, forges ties with
diverse institutions of learning.
“We wish to invite as many
nationalities to our fold so that
our new forms of evangelization
can touch and transform more
lives and make our University an
earthly Kingdom of God where
truth, peace and love reign” reaf-
firm Sister Remy Angela Junio.
Expressing his organisation’s plans
to develop a lasting and mutually
rewarding partnership with St.
Paul University the Second Vice
President of AASGON, Dr. Albert
Barnes said ‘It is indeed a great
pleasure to associate with St. Paul
University Philippines which has been
acknowledged as providing the 'Most
Outstanding Student Services Program'
in the Philippines.
More so that the institution has
been proudly declared by the Catholic
Bishops Conference of the Philippines
as Pontifical Catholic Cultural Centre,
which is a viable platform for ‘new
evangelization where faith and culture
meet’.
The St. Paul University Philippines has
extended a invitation to the Founder
and Executive President of the Africa
Asia Scholars Global Network, Abdul
’Dewale Mohammed to visit the
renowned university which has had
over a hundred years of presence in the
popular Cagayan Valley region now
nate by 2015 deaths from top
killers: malaria; polio; new
paediatric HIV infections; ma-
ternal and neonatal tetanus;
and measles.
Fully implement the global
strategy on women and
children's health to save tens of
millions of lives, including
through the provision of repro-
ductive health services to meet
unmet global needs.
The UN takes responsibility to
accelerate progress on the
Millennium Development Goals:
Keep the world solidly on track
to meet poverty reduction
targets focusing on inequalities,
making particular efforts in
countries with special needs and
in those which have not achieved
sufficient progress.
Complete the final drive to elimi-
Unlock the potential of current
and future generations by
putting an end to the hidden
tragedy of stunting of almost 200
million children by mobilizing
financial, human and political
resources commensurate with
the challenge.
Stimulate generational progress
by catalysing a global movement
to achieve quality, relevant and
St. Paul University endorse ACCSEP
UN SET TARGETS — SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Courtesy call on AASGON
developmental programmes.
Governance explained the AASGON
Founder “needs to be more trans-
parent and responsive to the needs
of the ordinary citizen who are the
most populated of the workforce
and bedrock of economic growth”.
“Its disheartening and regrettable
that “Drugs, Weapons and Human
trafficking have become tragedies of
our time”.
Empowerment of the Civil Society,
lamented Abdul Mohammed “and its
direct or indirect ownership or
command of socio-economic devel-
opment of communities is key to
ameliorate and concretely address
the world’s present concerns.
As part of the UN efforts at bringing about ‘Sustainable De-
velopment Goals AASGON he stressed, is proposing a num-
ber of far reaching stakeholders joint partnership schemes
which are being examined for imple-
mentation.
Referring to the uncontrolled
increase in youth unemployment
with graduates becoming unemploy-
able in the labour market, the AAS-
GON chief affirmed that “In today’s
world student engagement has
become increasingly prevalent and
significant and its only through a
review of current teaching meth-
odology that meets the challenges of
the 21st century shall we be able to
create the most desired life changes
to the development of human capi-
tal, wealth creation and sustainable growth”
The august visitors thanked AASGON for its commitment to
bridging the widening gap between people of developing
countries in ensuring world peace and prosperity .
and forthcoming
in tackling the
challenges of the
21st
century
paricularly that
of global youth
unemployment
and the shortcomings of the
Millennium Development Goals.
However he hopes that the UN’s new
generation of sustainable development
goals built on the MDGs accomplish-
ments and deficiencies will take
account of the civil society empower-
ment and more direct role in public
decision-making as well as more deeply
engagement in the implementation of
akada
Sr. Remy Angela Junio,SPC
President and Chancellor
St. Paul University Philippines.
The coming
together of Africa
and Asia is not
just for the
benefit or interest
of either of the
region but for the
entire world
at large
The St. Paul
University
Philippines is open
to students from
across the globe.
From back page
universal education for the twenty-
first century.

16. Fume Fighter
Report Veronique Greenwood
Within his first 30 minutes on the job at an
aluminum factory in 1999, metalworker
Michael Buckman inhaled so many
noxious fumes he was sick with bronchitis
for three days. As he recovered, Buckman
wondered whether a commercial welding
helmet could have filtered his breathing
air. “I didn’t see anything out there like
what I was thinking about,” he says. So he
set out to build the WindMaker: a helmet
that can prevent lung damage.
WindMaker draws fresh air from behind
the helmet, pushes it through a HEPA-
rated filter, and then blows it toward the
front, cooling skin while preventing fog on
the glass faceplate. A fan near the chin
helps expel air, blowing away toxic
smoke in the work zone. LED lights on
each side of the faceplate illuminate the
welding job, while a thick shroud de-
flects sparks.
Several companies have expressed
interest in licensing the helmet. Before
anyone can sell WindMaker, however,
the National Institute of Occupational
Safety and Health needs to extensively
test its air-filtering abilities—a costly
process that requires consumer-ready
units. If the device lives up to its claims,
the convenient combination of eye, heat,
spark, and respiratory safeguards could
motivate more welders to protect them-
selves, says Shawn Gibbs, an occupa-
tional health expert at the University of
Nebraska Medical Center. “And that in-
creased use is something welding needs,”
he says.
Buckman already has ideas for high-tech
add-ons, including wireless communica-
tion devices, solar panels, video cameras,
and heads-up displays. Whatever futuristic
features make it into the final helmet,
Buckman is confident it will deliver on
safety. “I got hurt on the job,” he says. “I
had to go through that experience to
design this.”
Page 16
akada
2013 Invention Awards:
Reports Charles Q. Choi Cardboard Bike
One day in 2009, Israeli engineer Izhar Gafni sat in a quiet library designing a
machine to extract seeds from pomegranates when his mind drifted to cycling,
his favorite pastime. Gafni admired bikes made from sustainable bamboo, but
their high cost seemed
prohibitive. He wondered, why not make them from cardboard
instead?
Over the next two years, Gafni learned to fold cardboard sheets
into the strongest possible shapes; his experimentation led to
robust structures resembling honeycombs and bird nests. He
then spent another year crafting the material into bicycle compo-
nents. “I almost felt like the Wright Brothers going into unknown
territory,” he says.
The product of his labor is a single-speed bicycle with spokes, rims, and a frame made from card-
board. Varnish protects the glued paper core from moisture, while old car tires serve as puncture-
proof wheels. Gafni used a car’s timing belt as a chain and formed plastic bottles into pedal cranks.
The 28-pound prototype, called Alfa, can safely support a rider nearly 20 times its weight.
Gafni intends to mass produce four models: two 18-pound bikes for adults, assisted by optional
rechargeable electric motors, and two smaller versions for children. He hopes to build each bike for
less than $12 in materials and sell them for no more than $30. Through advertising plastered on
each bike—or enough grant money—people in developing countries could ride them for free. Gafni
can already envision fashioning his cardboard into baby strollers, wheelchairs, and even cars. “You
can do almost anything with it,” he says.
By Elbert Chu
John McGinnis thinks ordinary families
would rather skip the airport and fly them-
selves. So he is trying to reinvent the per-
sonal airplane with the help of his father,
son, and a rotating crew of about two dozen
volunteers. Unlike small aircraft today which
can cost more than a house, McGinnis says
Synergy could be cheaper, quieter, and, at
more than 40 mpg, three times as fuel-
efficient.
McGinnis, a 47-year-old composite manufac-
turer, flew his first airplane in second grade.
Perplexed by the inefficiencies of personal
aircraft, he taught himself aeronautical engi-
neering and fluid dynamics over two
decades. One day, while perusing scientific
studies at a desk in his daughters’ bedroom,
he read a NASA researcher’s paper chal-
lenging a classic aerodynamic drag equa-
tion. McGinnis could see the possibilities. “I
came out of the girls’ bedroom ranting
like a madman to my wife,” he says.
Family Flier

17. Page 17
akada
AASGON

18. Power of Persistence
Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Will Smith, Rich-
ards Branson and countless others who had
succeeded either as entrepreneurs or in other
endeavours had done so by being persistent;
they never gave up when the road they started
out on turned out to be leading to no where
with all odds stacked up against them.
Despite obstacles and uncertainty, they held on
firmly and remained on course until they found
success. These are ordinary folks with extraor-
dinary faith in their dream and the capabilities
to manifest their dreams failure or the threat of
failure.
A lot has been said and written about
persistence; that innate human attribute which
provide the energy and desire to "hold firmly
and steadfastly to a purpose, state, or under-
taking despite obstacles, warnings, or
setbacks".
There are two stories in the Bible that comes to
mind which attest to the fact that being persis-
tent can break barriers and open doors to
getting what is desired and acted upon. Abra-
ham's persistent pleading with God helped
save a city from destruction for the sake of a
few "just people" out of the whole population.
Abraham started by asking God to forgive and
not destroy the city for the sake of "fifty just
people" but was able to persuade God to save
the city if only" ten just people" are found
among the sinners by being persistent .
On another occasion Jesus told a story about a
man who had an urgent need for a few loaves
of bread. The man knocked on his friend's door
in the middle of the night but the friend asked
him to go away and that it is late. Jesus
went on to say that "If the man does not get
up and give [the loaves] to him for friend-
ship's sake, persistence will be enough to
make him get up and give his friend all he
wants"
Being persistent has won many a battle and
the lack of it has made many to get up from
being knocked down and run off in the
opposite direction. We all are aware of the
power of this attribute but a lot of us still fail
to succeed in getting the things we desire
because we lack tenacity.
Why do some people hold on to a purpose
or dream even after failing several times?
Austin Mac-Anabraba
akada
Page 18
According to Steve
Jobs "you have to
have a lot of
passion for what
you are doing
because if you
don't any rational
person will give up
because it is hard.. the ones that succeed
love doing what they do and can persevere
when it gets really tough".
Those who are persistent eventually find suc-
cess because they love what they do and
strongly believe in their dream or purpose.
The love for their work helps them to focus
goals and motivate them to continue to pursue
their dream.
These individuals never change their focus but
are very flexible in their strategy and tactics in
pursuing their dreams. All of these people will
tell you that they have experienced failures
and how they have been spurred on by
failures, setbacks and obstacles.
According to Steve Chandler, "making the
problem your own cuts it by 50%". People who
succeed through persistence have the habit of
embracing failure and learning from it and
these lessons help them to change strategy
and tactics but never the dream or purpose.
They get up from being knocked down and
continue rather than run in the opposite
direction.
akada

19. Page 19
Mandela and the China connection
From front page
Less appreciated is Mandela's link with China. In his best-selling
autobiography ‘Long Walk to Freedom’, Mandela reflects: "Like the
people of the East, Africans have a highly developed sense of
dignity, or what the Chinese call 'face'." This refers to the concept of
mianzi, a tenet of Confucianism in which losing reputation is
anathema in a harmonious society.
In the mid-1940s, Mandela's African National Congress initiated
series of campaigns of defiance against dominant white rule.
Although he was one of the ANC leaders, he saw no contradiction in
forging alliances with other parties fighting against a common and
formidable foe.
One such ally was the South Africa Communist Party, whose
ideological bent was toward a classless society. Against opposition
from some of his "comrades", the ANC entered an on-off
partnership with SACP.
Mandela admits he was "handicapped by ignorance of Marxist
philosophy" at the time.
To rectify that, he immersed himself in
the works of Marxist leaders, including
Mao Zedong, in his autobiography,
Mandela writes: "In Edgar Snow's
brilliant Red Star Over China I saw that
it was Mao's determination and non-
traditional thinking that led him to
victory."
He also read works by China's chairman from 1959 to 1969, Liu
Shaoqi, and eventually wrote a paper entitled ‘How to be a Good
Communist’ as an interpretation of communism in the South
African context. That paper would be used against him during the
infamous Rivonia trials in the early 1960s.
Mandela's pragmatism is such that while he came away from Marx-
ist readings not exactly sold on concepts such as dialectical materi-
alism, he saw the value of appropriating some Communist principles
into the struggle. He was more in favour of nationalism blending
African cultural principles and some elements of Communism.
- continues next akada edition
The Mandela World
Freedom, Justice and Democracy
…... Participatory governance
From Page 13
while a substantial increase in the
amount China and India, emerging world
economies, invest in Africa and Asia
could be foreseen as a new era for south-
south co-operation, the impact of the
Cooperation in supporting member states
in achieving the Millennium Development
Goals is hardly recognised, be it in
partnership development, regional inte-
gration, sharing of good practices, youth
employment, information and communica-
tion technology, food, agriculture, water,
energy, health, education, trade and
investment.
The inadequacies of many developing
countries from meeting the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) have been
clearly that of lack of effective participa-
tory governance where the civil society is
fully incorporated in policy formulation and
implementation.
In theory policies clearly state public
ownership and people-centred
programmes, in reality people running the
state of affairs have no clear mandate or
better understanding of the effect and
workings of participatory governance.
There is no set benchmark or appraisal
on government’s ability to transfer respon-
sibilities as to meeting such vital develop-
ment policy.
Many civil organisations have become
disenchanted and disinterested in govern-
ance because promises are hardly kept.
It is widely believed that South-South
Co-operation must be grounded in the
questions of why and how policymakers
can come together and share their
successes and failures with each other,
and, most importantly, set guidelines that
allow for investments to directly feed into
development assistance so that those
living on less than $1.25 day don't get left
behind.
Providing more options for development
Ms. Rebeca Grynspan, UNDP Associate
Administrator, stressed at a recent
dialogue with Member States on SSC that
in the next Strategic Plan 2014-2017,
UNDP is committing to mainstreaming
South-South cooperation more effectively
as an integral tool for successful develop-
ment. “Moving forward we must commit
ourselves to leveraging new South-South
dynamics into development results”
Widely recognized as a key mechanism
for the development agenda of countries
of the South, to meet expectations of the
21st century, SSC would have to
strengthen its ‘Global Partnership and
People-Centred policies.
Participatory governance
focuses on deepening
democratic engagement
through the participation
of citizens in the
processes of governance
with the state.
akada

20. Page 20
akada
To read or download past editions of your favourite akada
News Magazine and Abdul ‘Dewale Mohammed’s recent
paper presentations log on:
http://www.slideshare.net/KSENCIC/aasgon-presentation
For your events
Request a Speaker
from AASGON
Email:
info@aasgon.net
“Wealth is increasingly
shifting to emerging
economies, especially in
Asia. By 2020, the region
could account for half the
world’s
middle
class, and
their con-
sumption
patterns
will be felt throughout the
global economy”
- Homi Kharas.
Development expert.

21. akada
Page 21
The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA)
has confirmed that Nigerian astronauts should be trained and ready
for space travel within two
years.
In July this year, NASRDA’s
director general, Professor
Seidu Onailo Mohammed,
declared: ‘By our road map
we are supposed to have
astronauts prepared by
2015.
Before the end of the year,
the recruitment of astro-
nauts will begin so that we
have them handy and as
soon as we get the nod we
can pick from that number.’
Nigeria’s space programme started in 2003 but its first satellite lost
power and disappeared from orbit. It now has three in space, Nig-
ComSat-1R, NigeriaSat-2 and Nigeria-Sat X, the first to be constructed
solely by Nigerian engineers.
Although it has bought its own satellites, launched on Russian rock-
ets, Nigeria has built laboratories which it hopes will produce its own
space craft by 2028.
However with plans to launch its own rockets by 2028, doubts are
mounting, that Nigeria though with the second highest national
income of all African countries may not have the capacity to fully
utilize the potential of a space craft and its immense economic bene-
fits to better the lots of its citizenry.
Commending the Nigerian Engineers who constructed the Nigeria
Sat, Abdul ‘Dewale Mohammed, the
Founder and Executive President of
the Africa Asia Scholars Global
Network (AASGON) believes that
with the will to succeed Nigeria can
borrow a leaf from the United
States where the need to retain the
unique technical expertise of tens
of thousands of workers is highly
valued as the future of the space
program is considered vital to the economic future of the country.
No other government program according to experts, can match the
economic impact of space program spin-offs that include applications
in medicine, computer technology, communications, public safety,
food, power generation and transportation.
In the US, MRI testing, flat screen TVs, cordless power tools and solar
power are examples of the long-term economic benefits of space
technology spin-offs.
A robust manned space program, with well-defined missions, destina-
tions and deadlines, is considered as essential for NASA and U.S.
advancement in science, technology, engineering and medicine. Such
advancements inspire continued academic achievement and employ-
ment opportunities in these areas for America's youth.
Abdul clarifies that “where Nigeria
economy goes in the future could
depends largely on its projections in
space, and backed with high
proficiency, clarity and accountability,
set projections can be met.
With dedication and commitment,
Nigeria or any other countries in
Africa or Asia can achieve same for
their people as the United States”.
With queries as to why the UK
government is giving aids to Nigeria
which opts for space missions while
majority of its people are in abject
poverty, a spokesperson for the Department for International Devel-
opment (DFID) was quoted as saying “Our investment goes into
health, education and poverty reduction programmes.
Nigeria is home to a quarter of the poorest
people in Africa. Supporting their Develop-
ment will benefit our trade and security”. This
official statement literally explains there I
s a place for business in philanthropy.
With plans for satellites and rocket launches,
Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and South Africa also
have their own space agencies.
U.S. manned space flight is known to have
been on for nearly 50 years. Meanwhile China
has announced the launching of its first un-
manned lunar lander by the end of this year.
Nigeria can prosper through its own space craft

22. akada
Page 22
Until now considered a model in
terms of reducing poverty and inequal-
ity, Brazil has recently faced the
wrath of hundreds of thousands of
protesters from across all sections of
society, riling up against inflation
while calling for better access to
health care, education and other pub-
lic services. OECD analyst Horacio
Levy explains
Recent trends in poverty and inequal-
ity reduction in Brazil have been
impressive. However, the starting
point was so high that despite all the
promising results there is still a long
way to go. The protests highlight this.
Despite all progress, there is no room
for complacency. Brazil is still a very
unequal country in which the vast
majority of the population does not
have access to public services of a
reasonable quality, particularly
health, education and transport.
The unease with the government
spending on the 2014 Football World Cup and the rise on bus fares shows that there is a strong demand for public resources to
be better used and targeted to people’s needs.
Better access to better quality public services are the biggest challenges facing the emerging middle class. Despite their
increased purchasing power, the emerging middle class finds it difficult (if not impossible) to enter the elite schools, universities
and hospitals (public and private) that the upper middle class and the rich use. Having emerged to a middle class status, this part
of the population now feels empowered to demand access to quality services.
The Brazilian government has recently been targeting more resources to areas mentioned in the protests. Education and health
expenditure as a proportion of GDP have increased in the last decade, respectively from 3.9% to 5.6% and from 3% to 4%,
according to World Bank estimates. However, the quality of services is still very deficient. Further resources and much better
management to reduce inefficiency, waste and corruption, are now required more than ever imagined.
Emerging Youth Unrest

23. Page 23
Topped with the flamboyant mixing of Western and
African culture through fashion at the same time
promoting Africa’s rich ethnic culture and interpret-
ing it into contemporary designs, Africa Fashion
Week London (AFWL) celebrates London’s unique
and diverse cultural heritage.
With about 20,000 guests from all over the world,
100 designers and models this year’s highly
successful AFWL was held at the Old Truman
Brewery, Brick Lane, London.
AFWL 2013
Created by Ronke Ademiluyi, Africa
Fashion Week London (AFWL) has emerged
the biggest African event of its kind in
Europe
A collaborative fashion exhibition, highlight-
ing the industry’s established and emerged
African designers, AFWL is at the forefront
of capturing the surge of the African
inspired trends in the fashion industry.
AFWL celebrates the work of African and
African inspired designers in the UK and
worldwide.
akada

24. akada
Page 24
The Global Business Coalition for Education (GBC-Ed) brings
together corporate leaders committed to delivering on the promise
of quality education for all of the world’s children.
Education is the birthright of every child, the key to expanded
opportunity, and a source of prosperity, employment and social
cohesion. GBC-Ed members believe that their core business assets,
social responsibility and philanthropy, when used in collaboration
with government and other stakeholders, can be a powerful tool to
achieve these shared goals.
Drawing on the activities, resources and innovations of its members,
GBC-Ed supports and galvanizes international action to achieve the
Education for All and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on
education, while preparing the ground
for an ambitious post-2015 agenda.
Members of GBC-Ed share a concern
that failure to accelerate progress in
education will undermine economic
growth, slow the pace of poverty reduc-
tion, prevent innovation and jobs crea-
tion, and hinder efforts to achieve wider
development goals.
The Global Business Coalition for Educa-
tion is an action-oriented organisation
focused on three core functions:
Cooperation in corporate support for education. While many compa-
nies give generously and effectively to educational projects, much of
this activity is at present uncoordinated and suffers from unnecessary
duplication, as well as a failure to take advantage of economies of
scale or to promote and publicise best practice. GBC-Ed will provide a
forum for improving coordination and cooperation.
Advocacy for education. When the business community speaks with
one voice, politicians listen, and so the Global Business Coalition for
Education will pressure governments in the developed and develop-
ing world alike to do
more to deliver
education for all.
GBC-Ed delegations
will visit key target
countries, like Ethio-
pia, India and Nige-
ria, to meet Presi-
dents, Prime Minis-
ters and other sen-
ior figures, encour-
age them to prioritise education, and explore how the skills and re-
sources of businesses can be of assistance.
Research on corporate engagement in education.
GBC-Ed will support research initiatives
aimed at identifying good practice and
strengthening the impact of corporate ef-
forts to improve access to education and
strengthen learning outcomes.
Nearly 50% of the world’s 61 million out of
school children come from just seven coun-
tries.
The business coalition’s main programme
areas focus on these countries.
Nigeria: 10.5 million children out of school
Ethiopia: 2.4 million children out of school
Pakistan: 5.1 million children out of school
China: 4.3 million children out of school
Bangladesh: 2 million children out of school
India: 2.3 million children out of school
Afghanistan: 2.1 million children out of school
Other countries and regions will be addressed by GBC-Ed activities;
program areas focus on girls, technology and quality learning.
Education For ALL... GBC-Ed to the rescue
Value of
education
rises in crisis
but investment
in it falls
akada
‘I Have a Dream’
Most acclaimed Speech in History
MLK

25. akada
Page 25
The number of Nigerians living in poverty is
increasing significantly, revealing a perplex-
ing contrast between the nation’s economic
statistics on
rapid economic
growth and
minimal welfare
improvements
for much of the
population, the
World Bank has
said.
“Poverty rates
remain high in
Nigeria, particularly in rural areas. These
rates declined between 2003-2004 and 2009-
2010, although not nearly as fast as would
be expected from the pace of economic
growth in the country,” the World Bank said
in its ‘Nigeria Economic Report’ May, 2013.
Meanwhile Africa’s richest man, Aliko
Dangote has pledge the disbursement of
N10 billion grants to women and youths
across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.
According to Aliko Dangote the President of
Dangote Foundation, through which the
cash transfer intervention is being disbursed
to women who bear the greatest brunt of
poverty “Our Programme provides a one-off
grant that enables recipients to grow or start
an enterprise, invest in product assets,
improve the health of their families, and or
take on new activities that will reduce their
vulnerability and enhance their economic
standing.
For Africa’s sustainable growth and develop-
ment its essential that other wealthy people
emulate this great humanitarian gesture
aimed at ameliorating widespread poverty
through the development of skills, enter-
prise and wealth creation.
Collectively a better and sustained livelihood
can be created for present and future
generations.
Aliko’s commitment to alleviating poverty is
a big challenge and incentive to government
and the rich, influential and highly placed in
the continent.
More than 900 China Scholarship Council (CSC) grantees from 119
counties attended the first CSC Student
Conference held at Tsinghua University,
Beijing and Southeast University, Nanjing
on June 8th
and 22nd
, 2013 respectively.
Ms. Liu Jinghui, Secretary-General of
CSC, Mr. Yuan Si, Deputy President of
Tsinghua University, Mr. Pu Yuepu,
Deputy President of Southeast University
and Ms. Tian Lulu, Director of Interna-
tional Student Office of Department of
International Cooperation and Exchanges,
Ministry of Education of PRC presented
the conference in the two cities.
All the students present at the scholarship
conference are now studying at
Shandong University, Tianjin University, Northeast Normal University,
Beijing Language and Culture University, Tongji University, Nanjing
Normal University and Central China Normal University with CSC schol-
arship.
Ms. Liu Jinghui addressed the meeting and emphasized in her speech
that Chinese government has been attaching great importance to the
cooperation and exchanges in education and culture, especially in
student and scholar exchanges.
In the year 2012, CSC sponsored more than 60
thousand students and scholars to study abroad
or in China. By the year 2020, Chinese govern-
ment will admit 500,000 international students to
study in China in total and will offer more schol-
arship. CSC will also provide even better service
to the CSC scholarship students.
International student representatives from the
seven universities above and the two host
universities shared their study and living
experience in China and expressed their sincere
gratitude to Chinese government for the
precious opportunities of studying in China.
Students also had a great time visiting laboratories and science bases
in the two host universities as well as local places of historic interest,
enjoying the cultural shows like Peking Opera and Chinese Kung fu.
CSC indicated that more conferences will be organized in the future to
provide a platform for the scholarship grantees to communicate and
have a better understanding of China and its traditional culture.
The well attended conference was sponsored and organized by China
Scholarship Council (CSC).
China Scholarship Council Organizes the First CSC Conference
WORLD BANK INDICTS GOVERNMENT ON POVERTY — ALIKO DONATES N10 BILLION
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26. Page 26
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27. akada
Page 27
From back page...
With a promise of creating
thousands of jobs and speed-
ier growth on both sides of the
Atlantic, the European Union
and United States are negoti-
ating the world's ‘most ambitious free-trade accord’
Such a plan was first considered three decades ago but knocked
down by France in the 1990s. Europe has now managed to get Paris
onside, opening the way to a deal that could boost the EU and US
economies by more than 100 billion dol-
lars a year each. between the two rich
regions, good exchanged last year alone
was worth more than $645 billion.
The EU negotiates currently with four
countries of the
A S E A N
region. The nego-
tiations for a Free
Trade Agreement
with Singapore,
was finally
concluded in
December last
year but the talks
on investment protection that started
only after the Lisbon Treaty
entered into force giving the EU new competencies in this area are
still on-going.
The negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement continue also
with Malaysia and Vietnam. Thailand started bilateral negotiations
with the EU only in March this year and the second round of talks is
now planned in Bangkok for September 2013.
The EU remains open to start negotiations with other ASEAN part-
ners and hopes one day to integrate these deals into a global region-
to-region trade agreement. As a whole, ASEAN represents the EU's
5th largest trading partner with €212.8 billion of trade in goods and
services. The EU is by far the largest investor in ASEAN countries
accounting for an average of 17.1% foreign direct investment share
during the period 2009-2011.
ASEAN as a whole represents the EU's 3rd largest trading partner
outside Europe (after the US and China) with more than €206 billion
of trade in goods and services in 2011.
The EU is ASEAN 2nd largest trading partner after
China, accounting for around 11% of ASEAN trade.
The EU is by far the largest investor in ASEAN coun-
tries. EU companies have invested around €9.1 billion
annually on average (2000-2009).
The EU's main exports to ASEAN are chemical
products, machinery and transport equipment. The
main imports from ASEAN to the EU are machinery and transport
equipment, agricultural products as well as textiles and clothing.
In today’s world student
engagement has become
increasingly prevalent and
significant and its only
through a review of current
teaching methodology that
meets the challenges of
the 21st century shall we
be able to create the most
desired life changes to the
development of human
capital, job and wealth
creation for sustainable
growth..
US –EU Ambitious Free Trade Accord

28. Page 28
akada
Youth Unemployment Could ‘Scar’ Entire Generation: ILO
In developing regions where 90 per cent of
the global youth population live, stable,
quality employment is especially lacking.
Developing regions face major challenges
regarding the quality of available work for
young people.
In developing economies where labour mark
et institutions, including social protection
are weak, large numbers of young people
continue to face a future of irregular
employment and informality.
Young workers often receive below average
wages and are engaged in work for which
they are either overqualified or under-
qualified. As much as two-
thirds of the young population is under-
utilized in some developing economies,
meaning they are unemployed in irregular
employment, most likely in the informal sect
-or or neither in the labour force
nor in education or training.
The weakening of the global recovery in
2012 and 2013 has further aggravated
the youth jobs crisis and the queues
for available jobs have become longer and
longer for some unfortunate
young jobseekers. So long, in fact, that
many youth are giving up on the job search.
The prolonged jobs crisis also forces
the current generation of youth to be less
selective about the type of
job they are prepared to accept, a tendency
that was already evident before the
crisis. Increasing numbers of youth are now
turning to available part-time jobs or find
themselves stuck in temporary employ-
ment.
Secure jobs which were once the norm for
previous generations – at least in the
advanced economies– have become less
easily accessible for today’s youth.
The global youth unemployment rate,
estimated at 12.6 per cent in 2013, is close
to its crisis peak.
73 million young people are estimated to be
unemployed in 2013.
At the same time, informal employ-
ment among young people remains perva-
sive and transitions to decent work are slow
and difficult.
The economic and social costs of unemploy-
ment, discouragement and widespread low-
quality jobs for young people continue to
r i s e a n d u n d e r m i n e e c o n o -
mies’ growth potential.
Why NEPAD may Fail
From page 12
This belief constitutes the core beliefs of
the International Financial Institution (IFI)
on Africa and explains the persistence of
the former in prescribing irresistibly
neo-liberal and market-based solutions
Yet, the generally pauperising effects of
SAPs, but also the preponderance of
economic crisis deflates optimism about
NEPAD. In West Africa, for example,
where economic decline and impoverish-
ment have been massive, NEPAD is
either unknown, considered an exclu-
sively South African agenda or a per-
sonal Mbeki project.
Similarly, Osei-Hwedie (2003) has noted
that having just emerged from war,
Angola has become more preoccupied
with internal reconstruction and develop-
ment than with NEPAD.
The trajectory of debt and economic
decline has rendered countries
introverted and largely concerned with
finding solutions to internal economic
problems. Countries are extroverted only
towards potential sources of assistance
such as the west.
Agyeman-Duah and Daddieh’s (1994)
contention that Africa’s foreign policies,
particularly towards western countries,
are aimed principally at soliciting external
assistance, is valid today under NEPAD
as it was over a decade ago under
structural adjustment.
Thus failing to generate tangible relief in
a region facing massive socio-economic
adversities, NEPAD is hardly a credible
programme for long-term development.
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