The UNESCO Courier - The Media

Courier
T H E U N E S CO
July-September 2017 • n°2
The Media: Operation

Decontamination
Our contributors
Bēni
Divina Frau-Meigs
Richard Allan France
Ivor Gaber
Cable Green Aidan White Espen Egil Hansen
United States United Kingdom Norway
Christina Cameron Ginna Lindberg
Canada Nathalie Rothschild
Catarina Carvalho Sweden
Portugal
Kari Huhta
Finland
Sanita Jemberga
Latvia
Andrius Tapinas
Lithuania
John Bewaji
Jamaica - Nigeria
Carlos Dada Tanella Boni

El Salvador Côte d’Ivoire Verashni Pillay
South Africa
Helen Abadzi
Greece
@ Alvaro Cabrera Jimenez / Shutterstock

Adama Marina Forti
Ricardo Gandour Samassékou Giuseppina Nicolini Maria Ressa
Brazil Mali Italy Philippines
2017 • n° 2 • Published since 1948 Language Editors:

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Courier
T H E U N E S CO
Editorial
Each time a new media appears, it triggers The plurality of enlightened opinions
a revolution – print, radio, television, is a prerequisite of the democratic
the internet, have all changed the face of development of our societies. The quality
societies, the ways we get information, of the information disseminated by the
how we live and organize ourselves. media – traditional or new – is decisive
when it comes to shaping public opinion.
Each time a new media appears, voices
This is why UNESCO puts special emphasis
rise to assert that it will kill off the one that
on education about media and information,
preceded it – that radio will kill off print
which it considers a fundamental skill for
Irina Bokova, media, that television will kill off radio, that
citizens in the twenty-first century.
Director-General of UNESCO. digital media will kill off all the others. Yet,
© Yulian Donov today’s media landscape also highlights Freedom of expression and the free
examples of complementarity, of emulation movement of ideas by words and images
and interaction between the various means are among the constitutive principles
of communication and information, where of UNESCO and at the core of the 2030
they amplify and respond to one another. Agenda for Sustainable Development.
UNESCO supports the work of dedicated
Never before have we communicated so
journalists and activists who defend
much, and never on such a large scale.
fundamental freedoms, like the journalist
The new technologies have opened up
Dawit Isaak, winner of the 2017 UNESCO/
new pathways, enabling citizens across the
Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize,
world to gain access to more diverse and
whose story appears in this issue
more numerous sources of information, and
of the UNESCO Courier.
to play a new role in the production of this
information − to become the producers of Over the last decade, more than 800
content themselves. These new media are journalists have been victims of crimes
also creating new barriers and raising new aimed at muzzling freedom of expression.
challenges in terms of regulation and ethics. Only one murder out of ten ended with a
conviction. This impunity is unacceptable
Where does information come from? How
and further fuels the spiral of violence in the
is it created? Who guarantees its quality?
future. This is why UNESCO is committed to
How do we distinguish between true
putting an end to these crimes against the
and false in this web, woven by billions
press, on all continents, as an indispensable
of pieces of information coming from
condition for peaceful societies that are all
all sides? In the incredible tangle of the
the more robust for being better informed.
media, the traditional roles of producer,
broadcaster and consumer have changed. In this “post-truth” era, the role of UNESCO
The production of fake news and the risk is more important than ever, and this issue
of confining audiences in “filter bubbles” of the Courier is a wonderful opportunity
generated by algorithms, raises new to renew our founding commitment to
questions about freedom of expression support information and communication
and cultural diversity. to build peace in the minds of men
and women.
Irina Bokova
Director-General of UNESCO
The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017 |3

Contents
WIDE ANGLE
Decontamination
7 Ethical journalism:
back in the news
Aidan White
10 Fake news : sound bites

on a burning topic
12 Developing a critical mind

against fake news
Divina Frau-Meigs
16 Aftenposten versus Facebook :

triggering a crucial debate
Marina Yaloyan
with Egil Hansen and Richard Allan
20 Crowdfunding
to save the media
Andrius Tapinas
22 A beacon, thanks to the internet
6-27
Carlos Dada
24 Investigative journalism:
against the odds
Sanita Jemberga
ZOOM
My face, my land
Katerina Markelova
and the IDENTiTESproject
28-35
4 | The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017
36-47
IDEAS
37
Humanitude, or how to quench
the thirst for humanity
Adama Samassékou
42
The importance of
homegrown stories
John Bewaji
46
The poet at the heart of society
Tanella Boni
52-67 48-51
OUR GUEST
Giuseppina Nicolini : “It’s natural for
an island to be welcoming!”
Interview by Marina Forti
CURRENT
AFFAIRS 68-71
53 Dawit Isaak, a symbol of
press freedom who must be freed
Nathalie Rothschild
56 Reconstruction : changing attitudes

Christina Cameron
NEWS
60 68
Giving youth a voice!
Early literacy: the key to fluency
Helen Abadzi
70 A new beginning
64 Sharing legally and freely for the UNESCO Courier
for better learning
Cable Green Exhibition 71

Wide angle
Decontamination
© Lukiyanova Natalia frenta / Shutterstock

Wide angle
Ethical
journalism: back in the news
by Aidan White
The core values of ethical

journalism are more important
than ever today, as we fight
for quality and democracy
in the media in the digital
age. While new laws might
lead to potential censorship,
a commitment to ethics is
© Jugoslav Vlahovic
essential to build public trust.
“Tech giants that dominate the public

information space, such as Google,
Facebook, Amazon and Twitter
circulate information in a value-free
Journalism is on the move like never environment,” says Aidan White. As a coalition of more than sixty
before. Today the news business is faster, groups of journalists, editors, press
more pressurized, and infinitely more owners and media support groups, EJN
complex. The media have learned the Today, most of us get our news through promotes training and practical actions
hard way how the information revolution mobile telephones and from online to strengthen ethics and governance.
− for all its liberating qualities − is a platforms that have grown rich by Its work − whether it is developing a test
double-edged sword. exploiting people’s personal data, while for journalists to expose hate speech,
at the same time, draining lucrative guidelines on reporting conflict or
While news media can deliver stories
advertising from traditional media. producing reports on covering migration
around the world in seconds and
− resonates with journalists around
communications have the potential to
build stronger, more informed and more Resonating with the world.
engaged communities, the business journalists worldwide Because the network has its roots within
models that paid for journalism in the media, EJN’s multi-country reports
past are broken, and in many cases, Thousands of news outlets, mainly and even those that lift the lid on the
beyond repair. newspapers, have closed. Tens of untold stories about the realities of
thousands of journalists have lost their how media work and the challenges of
With less money to pay for public-interest
jobs. People’s access to reliable and self-regulation, have credibility inside
journalism, newsrooms struggle to
trusted sources of news has narrowed as journalism.
maintain their ethical base. Problems that
traditional news sources – particularly
have always been on the radar − political The EJN’s soundings in this period
at the local and regional level – have
bias, undue corporate influence, of uncertainty are that despite the
contracted, even though the space for
stereotypes and conflicts of interest increasingly hostile economic and
free speech has expanded dramatically.
− are now magnified. political climate, journalists everywhere
The Ethical Journalism Network (EJN) − from Turkey, Syria and Egypt to
The past fifteen years have seen a
was created five years ago, to strengthen Pakistan, China and Indonesia − remain
dramatic decline in news journalism, as
journalism in the face of this crisis. committed to truth-telling and ethics.
technology has changed the way people
communicate and the way the media
business works.

Wide angle
Building public trust Cardinal principles No matter how sophisticated they are,
digital robots can’t be encoded with
This commitment is a golden asset at Today, it’s not just journalists who need to ethical and moral values. The best people
a time of social transformation, when watch their language and show respect to handle ethical questions are sentient
the global communications culture is in for the facts; everyone with something human beings – well-trained, informed
chaotic transition. To people inside media to say in the public information sphere and responsible journalists and editors.
and anyone striving for the key to safe needs to show some ethical restraint.
After recent scandals – like the outrage
and secure communications in future,
The EJN argues that ethical values over censorship of iconic photographs
the defence and promotion of ethical
of journalism – such as fact-based (see p. 16), the live-streaming of torture
journalism has become more important
communications, humanity and respect and murder, and major corporations
than ever.
for others, transparency and owning up complaining about their advertisements
Fake news, political and corporate to errors – are cardinal principles which being placed on websites preaching
propaganda, and shameless online abuse should guide everyone, including social terrorism, hate and child abuse – the
threaten democracy and open up new media users and citizen journalists. But technology companies have promised to
frontlines for free-speech defenders, this should be a voluntary process and act. But will it be enough?
policymakers, and media professionals not driven by law.
On 3 May 2017, Facebook boss Mark
alike. A toxic mix of digital technology,
Worried by online abuse and fake news, Zuckerberg promised to employ
unscrupulous politics and commercial
some governments, even in democratic 3,000 content reviewers (to add to the
exploitation of the new communications
countries, have threatened to fine company’s 4,500-strong “community
landscape is creating stress fractures
technology companies that don’t act operations team”), following outrage over
across the wider landscape of public
to remove malicious and dangerous the broadcasting of a spate of violent
information.
information when it pops up on their videos of murder, suicide, and gang rape.
With this in mind, EJN has promoted a platforms. This could limit legitimate
Facebook has a subscriber base of
new debate about the need to recognize dissent and free speech − this is
two billion, which means that there is
why journalism, which is constrained by increasingly more likely to happen, unless
one content reviewer per 250,000 or so,
its framework of ethics, is essential for these companies act to support ethical
users. It’s a fraction of what is needed
building public trust. communications.
to monitor and control the growth of
We find that there is no widespread The problem is that the tech giants that unethical, abusive content and the
yearning for a new code of ethics dominate the public information space, dangers posed by propaganda and
among the media or the public. The such as Google, Facebook, Amazon and fake news.
core values of accuracy, independence Twitter, circulate information in a value-
and responsible reporting – which have
evolved over the past 150 years – remain
free environment. They give no priority
to information as a public good, such
Exploiting
as relevant as ever, even in these digital as professional journalism. For them, people’s privacy
times. journalism competes on an equal footing
One simple answer would be for tech
in their marketing with other information,
What is needed, says EJN, is a new companies to accept their role as
even if it is malicious and abusive.
partnership with media audiences publishers in the digital age and to draw
and policymakers to persuade them upon the vast pool of informed and
that ethical journalism should be Using algorithms ethical journalists currently displaced
strengthened, and that it can be used as
an inspiration for new programmes to
to attract clicks by the information revolution. We know
they can afford it – in early 2017, it was
promote information literacy. Using sophisticated algorithms and reported that Facebook was worth
limitless databanks that provide access around $400 billion, and Google more
to millions of subscribers, this business than $600 billion. These are among the
model is driven by one simple objective world’s richest companies.
– to encourage “viral information” that
While policymakers and technology
delivers enough clicks to trigger digital
moguls wring their hands over these
advertising. It matters not whether
issues, the use of technology by
information is ethical, true or honest;
unscrupulous politicians to undermine
what counts is whether it is sensational,
democracy and to interfere in elections
provocative, and stimulating enough to
is growing. And fake news laced with
attract attention.
malicious lies is all part of the strategy.

Wide angle
“No matter how

@ nickgentryart (www.nickgentry.com)
sophisticated
they are, digital
robots can’t be
encoded with
ethical and moral
values,” explains
Aidan White.
“Profile
Number 13“,
by British artist
Nick Gentry.
The crisis was recently highlighted by And there are suggestions that some News reporting can be rough and
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the political adverts – in the US and around ready, but ethical journalism owns up
World Wide Web. The British scientist and the world – are being used in unethical to its errors. More importantly, because
academic warned that the online world ways to point voters to fake news sites, it is fact-based and has civic purpose,
is being overwhelmed by governments for instance, or to keep others away from it also provides a road map for policy
and digital corporations and that the the polls. … Is that democratic?” to build a safe and reliable public
exploitation of people’s privacy is information space.
squeezing the life out of the internet.
Exposing fake news
His criticism highlights the disruptive and
It’s a good question, and one that was Aidan White (UK) is Director of the
pernicious threat posed by the marketing
also asked in France on the eve of the Ethical Journalism Network, and
of false information in politics.
French presidential election in May 2017, the author of a book, To Tell You The
In an open letter (on 12 March 2017, the when online hackers dumped thousands Truth: the Ethical Journalism Initiative,
web’s 28th birthday), Berners-Lee wrote of confidential email files, many of them a global review of ethical issues in the
of the 2016 election in the United States: fake, concerning Emmanuel Macron, the news (2008). He is the former General
“... as many as 50,000 variations of adverts eventual winner. Secretary of the International Federation
were being served every single day on of Journalists, which he led for twenty-
Facebook, a near-impossible situation This information mountain couldn’t four years until March 2011. He is a
to monitor. be examined, verified or debunked by founder of the International News Safety
journalists, because French law forbids Institute and the International Freedom
public discussion of election information of Expression Exchange (IFEX).
in the last hours before people vote.
But it circulated freely on social media.

Wide angle
Fake news
Sound bites on a burning topic
Fake news, or disinformation, Aidan White Ivor Gaber

is not a new phenomenon. Director, Ethical Journalism Network Professor of Journalism,
But today, with the rise of University of Sussex, United Kingdom
With growing evidence of interference
digital media, it spreads easily in democratic processes around the There has always been fake news − ever
and quickly. It is the task of world, the debate over how to expose since people realized the power of
responsible journalists and and eliminate fake news is certain to the media to influence public opinion.
trusted news organizations intensify. But the discussion is already However, the difference today is that
confused by misunderstanding about social media and platforms like Google
to douse the flames of this the phenomenon, its origins, and why and Facebook enable fake news to spread
dangerous wildfire and call fake it poses a threat in the first place. widely and more quickly than ever
news out for what it really is – To try to illustrate the problem, the
before, and that is the problem.
lies. What do journalists think Ethical Journalism Network (EJN) has Fake news changes journalism in that it
about this? We asked a few of developed a definition for fake news: presents a real challenge to journalism,
“Information deliberately fabricated because it’s not always that easy to
them to find out.
and published with the intention to distinguish fake news from real news,
deceive and mislead others into believing but it also makes journalism much more
falsehoods or doubting verifiable facts.” important. Because if anybody is going
Using this definition, it is easier to to call out fake news, it’s the journalist −
separate propaganda, “alternative” facts, the responsible journalist, that is. I would
and malicious lies from journalism. say that in the short term, fake news is a
problem for journalists. But in the long
term, it validates them and gives them
Verashni Pillay an increased importance in society.
Editor-in-Chief,
Huffington Post, South Africa Ricardo Gandour
Fake news poisons the atmosphere that Journalism Director,
we all operate in. Because fake news CBN, Brazilian Radio Network, Brazil
exists, audiences are now doubtful
about all news. It has really damaged Fake news reinforces a traditional mission
the relationship between audience of journalism, which is trying to shine
members and the media. a light in the dark, for societies and
the general public. Our mission has to
be reinforced on this core value, trying
Kari Huhta to illuminate the debate, trying to show
the public where the real facts and
Diplomatic Editor,
the real debates are.
Helsingin Sanomat, Finland
We easily exaggerate the effect of fake

news on journalism. I don’t want to be
flippant about it − it is a serious challenge
to society and institutionality. The point
of fake news is not to tell another
narrative; the main aim of fake news is
to dismantle the credibility of institutions,
including journalism, but not only
journalism.

Wide angle
© Cristo Salgado
Ginna Lindberg
Head, Foreign News,

Swedish Broadcasting, Sweden
We found that one nest of twenty‑six
All this talk about fake news is affecting fake accounts is able to influence nearly
media audiences, because there is an three million Facebook pages. We
insecurity about what is true and what is also know that, as of November 2016,
not. As professional journalists, we need about 50,000 Facebook accounts can
to go back to what we do best – we do be used in targeted campaigns for or
fact-checking, demand answers, and are against politicians or individuals in the
transparent about our (news-gathering) Lies in social networks. Philippines. Another fake account was
methods. linked to over 990,000 members of
groups supporting one political leader,
and yet another was connected to an
Catarina Carvalho Maria Ressa estimated 3.8 million members of various
overseas Filipino organizations and
Editor-in-Chief, Co-founder & CEO, Rappler, buy‑and-sell groups.
Global Media Group, Portugal the Philippines
With about 54 million Facebook users in
Fake news is not journalism. Maybe Rappler, a social news network committed the Philippines, social media is a powerful
we should think about what we [the to investigative reporting, has documented weapon used to silence dissent and
mainstream media] did to journalism at least 300 websites spreading fake mould public opinion. Rappler has lived
that has allowed fake news to become so news in the Philippines. One of our through numerous waves of attacks via
easily accepted and so easily done. I think investigations monitored the growth of the internet, including from Facebook
we should do some soul-searching to suspicious Facebook accounts that seeded accounts created specifically to harass
know if we are doing the right thing, if we fake news into campaign pages during our reporters and contributors.
are behaving in the right way, if we are the country’s May 2016 elections.
This has only made us more determined
being ethical in journalism – that could
It took us about three months to to expose the lies and prevent their
prevent fake news from having the power
manually check the information the spread.
and influence it has, and stop the growth
Facebook accounts provided and
it has achieved.
to verify they were fake.
The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017 | 11

Wide angle
Developing a
against fake news

critical mind
by Divina Frau-Meigs
Having moved from light surfing, babbling and chatting to data

mining for the purpose of manipulation and destabilization,
the digital transformation of the media landscape underscores
the growing importance of media and information literacy. This form
of education must rethink the media and the political and ethical
foundations that legitimize it.
At the time, I was Director of the Centre

pour l’éducation aux médias et à
l’information (the centre for media and
information literacy (CLEMI)). We had
to prepare students for their return to
the classroom the day after the attack,
and meet the needs of teachers and
parents. We proceeded as we did after
all major catastrophes – we searched
our archives for educational fact
sheets on caricature and propaganda,
and posted media resources online
(reference websites, a press review, a
series of headlines). We also released an
unpublished interview of Charb, which
CLEMI had done in 2013, titled, “Can we
laugh at everything?” The cartoonist and
journalist, whose real name was Stéphane
Charbonnier, was murdered in the attack.
This crisis situation showed the strengths
© Oscar Seco
of MIL, but also its limitations. We were

well-prepared to respond in terms of
resources, but we did not anticipate the
“The Doubly Mysterious Island” from impact of social media.
the series “ Labyrinth and Utopia” by
Like pre-digital media, MIL must take a
the Spanish painter, Oscar Seco.
Media and Information Literacy (MIL) leap forward and include in its concerns
is often called to the rescue these days, what data does to the media – it pushes
as the media is threatened on all sides, information to the fore through the
in totalitarian and democratic regimes regulation of algorithms, linked to people’s
alike. The alert was sounded in France on search histories. It can enclose people in
7 January 2015, when the French satirical a “filter bubble” to reinforce the biases of
magazine, Charlie Hebdo, was attacked. confirmation that support preconceived
It was an attack on one of the oldest ideas, and reduce the diversity and
forms of media in the world – caricature. pluralism of ideas by monetizing content
(clicks by views). It is invasive of privacy
and threatens fundamental freedoms
by using digital footprints for purposes
beyond the user’s control.

Wide angle
© Patric Sandri
Decoding online propaganda
is complex. New generations have
The latest crisis stemming from fake news
– a blend of rumour, propaganda and plot
The return of gossip to learn to be “explorers, analysts
and creators” all at the same time,
theory – has shaken up MIL. Fake news This is why MIL is obliged to rethink says Divina Frau‑Meigs.
is even stronger than disinformation, the media and the political and ethical
which is a toxic, but generally discernible foundations that legitimize it. The role of
mixture of truth and lies. Fake news is a social media needs to be revisited, as do
phenomenon that falls into the category the exchanges that take place on it. The In the information-communication
of disinformation, but its malicious intent growth of digital media, which transforms sciences, gossip falls within the category
is unprecedented, because information old audiences into new communities of of social bonding. It fulfills essential
technology makes it trans-border and sharing and interpretation, also needs cognitive functions: monitoring the
trans-media, and therefore viral. to be taken into account. The renewed environment, providing help in decision-
tendency to gossip manifested by social making by sharing news, aligning a given
Media Information Literacy must
media is not insignificant and should not situation with the values of the group,
imperatively take into account the
be treated with contempt. A conversation etc. These functions have traditionally
digital transformation, which has moved
in undertones that conveys a jumble legitimized the importance of the media.
from the “blue continent” to the “dark
of rumours, half-truths and hearsay, But the media is now perceived as
continent”. In other words, it has gone
gossip makes what is private, public. It deficient and biased – this is symptomized
from surfing, babbling and chatting on
places authenticity above a truth that is by the reliance on online gossip, relayed
platforms controlled by the GAFAM (an
perceived as fabricated by elites, far from by social media. The blame falls less
acronym for Google, Apple, Facebook,
daily and local concerns. on social media than on those who are
Amazon, Microsoft), to noxious data
responsible for public debate in real life.
mining for the purpose of massive Social media, then, conveys news where
manipulation and destabilization. truth is uncertain, and falsehoods have In destabilized political situations all
been used to arrive at the truth or by around the world, social media is restoring
It is in this respect that the decoding
showing that the truth is not all that meaning to the regulatory role of social
of online propaganda is complex,
clear-cut. Hence the temptation to narrative. It highlights the violations of
because it is a question of deciphering
categorize social media as “post‑truth”. social norms, especially when political
a form of disruptive ideology, which
But this stance reduces its scope and institutions boast of transparency,
is technologically innovative, but
refuses to see in it the quest for a because secrets are no longer safe. Set
paradoxically represents a conservative
different truth, when the supposedly against newspapers that toe party lines,
global revolution − designed to create
gold-standard systems of information social media is disrupting the norms of
chaos in existing political systems rather
go bankrupt. Social media centres once objectivity, which has become fossilized
than proposing a system of progressive
again on the eternal journalistic battle by requiring the presentation of one
political thought.
between objective facts and commentary opinion for and one against.
based on opinion, that is played out in
these models of influence.

Wide angle
© Ryoji Ikeda. Photo by Fernando Maquieira. Courtesy of Espacio Fundación Telefónica.
“Data.Path” (2013), by Japanese artist,

Ryoji Ikeda, whose installations aim The public shows distrust of the “veracity” The critical mind can be exercised and
to make the invisible digital network of this polarized discourse and is trained, and can also act as a form of
visible and palpable, as it permeates and seduced by the strategy of authenticity. resistance to propaganda and plot theory.
defines our world. It establishes a close relationship of Young people must be put in a position
trust with the community of members of responsibility while being protected
that now constitutes the audience, by the adults around them: they can be
and aims to involve them in debates, prompted to call into question their use
while basing itself on the principle of of social media and to take into account
transparency. Thus social media pits the the criticism against the consequences
ethics of authenticity against the ethics of of their practices. We must also trust their
objectivity. sense of ethics, once it is called upon.
In my Massive Open Online Course on
Explorer, analyst Media Education – the MOOC DIY MIL,
which received the 2016 UNESCO Global
and creator MIL Award – I offer students three critical
roles: explorer, analyst and creator.
Social media and fake news consequently
The explorer gets to know the media and
make up a textbook case for MIL, which
data; the analyst applies the concepts,
calls upon its fundamental competence
such as source verification, fact‑checking,
− critical thinking. But this critical
respect for privacy; the creator tries
thinking must have an understanding
his/her hand at producing his/her own
of the added value of the digital:
content, sees the consequences of
participation, contribution, transparency
his/her choices and makes decisions
and accountability, of course, but also
about distribution.
disinformation and the interplay of
influence. The MOOC has given birth to projects
such as “Citoyen journaliste sur Twitter”
(citizen journalist on Twitter) and
“HoaxBuster”, against plot theories.

Wide angle
It is clear that challenges still exist to In order to be deployed fully and to create
significantly scaling up MIL. Decision an educated citizenship, MIL’s critical
makers need convincing that trainers thinking must also be applied to the geo-
must be trained, teachers and journalists economy of social media. The GAFAM digital
alike. My research at the Université platforms, all under California law, have long
Nouvelle Sorbonne, within the framework refused to be classified as media companies,
of the TRANSLIT project of the Agence to avoid all social responsibility and to
Nationale de la Recherche and the evade any related public-service obligations.
UNESCO Chair in “Savoir-devenir in But algorithmic monitoring has revealed the
sustainable digital development”, ability of GAFAM to exercise editorial control
consists of comparing public policies in over content that is worth monetizing.
Europe. It shows that many resources In doing so, these organizations define
and training opportunities exist on the the truth, because it is real or ethical.
ground, provided by organizations or
The GAFAM mega-media have so far played
teachers on their own initiative, rather
the card of self-regulation: they make their
than sponsored by universities. It points,
own rules, they decide to remove sites or
however, to a lag at the public policy
accounts suspected of conveying fake news,
level, despite the inclusion of MIL in many
with no accountability for themselves. But
national educational programmes. There
they cannot resist the need for a responsible
are few interministerial mechanisms,
model for long – it will probably be a hybrid
little or no co-regulation, and little or
between a “common carrier” and “public
no multi-stakeholder coordination.
trustee”, if they want to preserve the trust of
The governance of MIL emerges as
their online communities. The communities
composite, with three models existing
could also organize themselves, and even
in different countries: development,
circumvent them, to co-regulate the news
delegation, or… disengagement
with journalists, as is the case with Décodex.
(D. Frau‑Meigs et al, 2017).
The option of co-designing an algorithm
that would have journalistic ethics and
An ethical leap fundamental freedoms built into its DNA
is undoubtedly one of the alternatives to
In all cases, the point is to ensure that The good news is that journalists are come, according to digital logic!
young people acquire the critical thinking becoming increasingly aware, revising their
reflexes of MIL, so that they can avoid ethics and realizing the value of MIL. Their
the traps of hate speech, non-voluntary ethical leap can help teachers to reposition Divina Frau-Meigs (France) is a professor
internet traces and fake news. Other MIL and provide valid resources to bolster of information and communication
initiatives exist, including some led by resistance in favour of the integrity of data sciences at the Université Sorbonne
UNESCO, which has founded the Global and media. Actions that are re-establishing Nouvelle, and holder of the UNESCO
Alliance of Partners on MIL (GAPMIL) − the value of in-depth investigation Chair “Savoir-devenir in sustainable
MIL CLICKS is a recent project to take are already taking shape − using data digital development”. The author of
ownership of MIL via social media. journalism, which reveals information that several books, she has just published
cannot be obtained otherwise. Public Policies in Media and Information
Scaling up MIL Scandals such as the colossal leak of Literacy in Europe: Cross-Country
confidential documents known as the Comparisons, which she has edited
It is also important that MIL exercises along with I. Velez and J. Flores Michel
Panama Papers have helped moralize
critical thinking against the media itself. It (London, Routledge, 2017).
political life and restore confidence in the
turns out that the top press organizations
press. Other actions are aimed specifically
are among the biggest influencers and
at fighting fake news using digital means.
the ones who tend to push rumours,
These include AFP Correspondent, the
on Twitter for example, before they are
Agence France Presse blog (which reveals
confirmed. The fake news that circulates
what happens backstage at a large news
on Facebook, the first of the social media
network); Décodex, featured in the French
to spread it, draws its grain of truth from
newspaper, Le Monde (which lists sites
the fact that news professionals are overly
according to their unreliability), Google's
responsive to the pressure of the scoop,
RevEye (which checks whether an image
transmitted before it is checked, in the
is genuine in three clicks), and Conspi
same manner as the amateurs. And the
Hunter on Spicee, the online TV reports
denials do not generate as much buzz
and documentaries platform (to debunk
as the rumours!
plot theories).

Wide angle
Aftenposten
Facebook :
versus
triggering a crucial debate
FREDAG 9. september 2016 Uke 36 • Nr. 253 • 157. årgang • Løssalg kr 40 (Levert hjem fra kr 12. Bestill på ap.no/abo)
Facebook krever at Aftenposten fjerner

dette historiske bildet fra vår Facebook-side.
Her er Aftenpostens svar:
by Marina Yaloyan
The increasing role that social media sites play in news distribution
raises several concerns. Espen Egil Hansen of Aftenposten (Norway)
and Richard Allan of Facebook come from different worlds, yet face
a similar challenge.
Foto: Nick Ut, AP/Ntb scANPix
© Photo Nick Ut. AP/NTB SCANPIX
7 0 3 9 7 8 1 20 16 5 1
Dear Mark
It is an icon of war photography: the With over two billion users worldwide
Zuckerberg black-and-white image reveals a naked and leading more traffic to news sites
Jeg skriver til deg for å fortelle hvorfor Aftenposten
ikke vil etterkomme Facebooks krav om å fjerne nine- year-old girl, fleeing from an than Google, Facebook has now emerged
eller redigere dette viktige dokumentarbildet.
explosion, screaming, her face distorted as a major player in news distribution,
Espen Egil Hansen, sjefredaktør
with pain. Taken by Vietnamese-American even though it still evades formal
Lik dette Kommenter Del
NyHEtEr • siDE 2-5, 24–25
photographer, Nick Ut, during the responsibility by positioning itself as

napalm strike on a Vietnamese village a “technical platform”. Nevertheless,
in 1972, the Pulitzer prize-winning photo, it has arguably become the largest
The front page of Aftenposten, “The Terror of War”, raised controversy in global media site, which has turned
headlining the open letter from its editor, 2016, when Facebook banned it because Mark Zuckerberg into “the most powerful
Espen Egil Hansen, to Facebook founder, of “inappropriate content”. editor-in-chief in the world,” according to
Mark Zuckerberg (8 September 2016). Hansen.” I reminded Zuckerberg that this
“I wrote to Mark Zuckerberg telling him
title comes with responsibility. He doesn’t
that I wouldn’t comply,” remembers
just own a tech company, he owns a
Espen Egil Hansen, the editor-in-chief of
media company.” This is precisely why
Aftenposten, Norway’s largest newspaper,
Hansen considers that censoring an
who shared the post on Facebook
iconic image of photojournalism because
and got threatened with a permanent
of nudity was a bad editorial decision.
ban. Hansen’s bold letter, splashed
“Disturbing images may not always be
across the front page of Aftenposten,
comfortable to look at, but they are
condemned Facebook for creating rules
the ones that help promote awareness
that first “cannot distinguish between
in a democratic society,” he says.
child pornography and famous war
photographs” and then “exclude every Millions of people post content on
possible debate.” The letter drew massive Facebook’s pages every day, which makes
support and became the starting the process of selecting information
point for a heated discussion around case-by-case an obvious challenge.
Facebook’s intricate censorship rules Richard Allan, Facebook’s Vice President,
and the control of content through Public Policy, EMEA (Europe, the Middle
newsfeed algorithms. East and Africa), defends the site’s
general guidelines, which demand
that photographs of children under
18 containing nudity are tracked and
taken down.

Wide angle
© Nick Ut / Sipa Press
Norwegian illustrator Inge Grodum’s

take on the iconic photograph,
“The Terror of War”, condemning
Yet, he does admit that with the Algorithm – the world’s Facebook’s censorship for “inappropriate
content”. The nine‑year‑old girl in
“The Terror of War” photo, this policy
fell short. “Just to be clear, we question
new editor-in-chief the photo, known as “the Napalm girl”,
ourselves all the time. When we face a is Kim Phuc Phan Thi, UNESCO Goodwill
There is little or no significant difference Ambassador since 1994.
new situation we haven’t anticipated
between Facebook and traditional
before, we ask ourselves, what should
news venues when it comes to editorial
we do now? Should we change our
choice. “In the same way in which an
rules?” he stated during the colloquium,
editor-in-chief of Fox News is responsible
Journalism under Fire, at UNESCO in
for the editorial content of Fox News,
March 2017. Two months later, Facebook
Mark Zuckerberg is responsible for
announced that it would add 3,000 more
the editorial content of Facebook,”
people to its 4,500-strong community
insists Hansen.
operations team. The newly-adopted,
more flexible, approach requires content The only real difference between the
reviewers to treat news as an exception. two is the largely misunderstood and
“There are occasional photos of naked controversial newsfeed algorithm that
children where the public interest of the traditional media editors do not use.
publication of that photo and, in this
“We want to keep our essence. You are
case, the consent of the person involved,
your own editor and you choose what
outweighs the regular policy,” Allan says.
you want to see,” states Richard Allan,
regarding Facebook’s policy.

Wide angle
Disturbing images may not

always be comfortable to
look at, but they are the ones
that help promote awareness
in a democratic society
Meanwhile, algorithms continue to shape “Algorithms may create the so-called “The thousand feeds are still there but
the reading habits of 1.28 billion daily filter bubbles, which reinforce a negative this obviously creates a selection process,
active Facebook users (March 2017), trend of our time – one that leads to more as we pick those that are going to appear
or one-fifth of the world’s population. polarized communities,” says Hansen. on the top.”
Facebook scans and analyzes all the “More and more people live in bubbles,
Favouring the information that readers
information posted by any given user in where they only get the information
prefer can be a slippery road. According
the previous week, taking into account they want, and communicate only
to Hansen, it is a “convenient strategy
every page that he or she has liked, all the with like-minded people.” From this
when watching Netflix [the United States-
groups he/she belongs to and everybody perspective, the criteria of selection used
based streaming service]” but remains a
he/she follows. Then, according to a by algorithms to classify information
“questionable principle for the free flow
closely-guarded and constantly evolving become crucially important.
of information in a society.”
formula, the algorithms rank the posts in
Allan, however, compares the newsfeed
the precise order they believe the user
will find worthwhile.
to a periodical subscription and denies
imposing any content on Facebook’s
Fake news – real
However, the very nature of algorithms readers. According to him, algorithms solutions?
can turn them into controversial, merely allow for the arranging of
On a positive note, social media sites
and even dangerous, tools. periodicals in a way that is most
do breach barriers and make it easier for
convenient for the reader. The challenge,
people to express themselves. “When
however, lies in the large quantity of
I wrote my letter to Mark Zuckerberg,
newsfeeds available. “What we find
I published it in a small paper in a small
is that people sign up for a thousand
country, but the story immediately went
Photographer Nick Ut, who took the different feeds when they only have
viral. Ironically, I think it was Facebook
famous photograph, “The Terror of War”, time to read twenty of them,” he says.
itself that made the story so popular,”
talking to journalists during the Vietnam recalls Hansen, whose own newspaper
War Summit in April 2016 at the LBJ has more than 340, 000 followers on
Presidential Library in Austin, Texas. Facebook. However, he quickly admits
that the opportunity given to everyone
to publish information is a double-edged
sword that may lead to disinformation.
“It is obviously easier today to mislead
very large parts of populations. I wonder
if, as a society, we are actually prepared
for the alarming trends that we are
witnessing,” he says.
© LBJ Library / David Hume Kennerly

Wide angle
An open letter that

prompts change
“…Listen, Mark, this is serious!
First you create rules that don’t
distinguish between child
© Ruben Oppenheimer
pornography and famous war

photographs. Then you practise
these rules without allowing space
for good judgement. Finally you
even censor criticism against and a
discussion about the decision – and
you punish the person who dares to
voice criticism…
The free and independent media
have an important task in bringing
In a series of scandals related to fake “We are not going to remove these,” information, even including
news that shook Facebook in 2016, stresses Richard Allan. “On one hand, pictures, which sometimes may be
the company has been accused of we don’t want to be the arbiters of truth unpleasant, and which the ruling
influencing the United States Presidential and edit content. On the other, we would elite and maybe even ordinary
election, by spreading fake news stories like to build an informed community, citizens cannot bear to see or hear,
and creating filter bubbles that isolated as we have a responsibility to society.” but which might be important
voters from other opinions. Overall, fake precisely for that reason…
news about US politics alone accounted Hansen views the acknowledgement
of this responsibility as key. He praises The media have a responsibility
for 10.6 million of the 21.5 million total to consider publication in every
shares, reactions, and comments these the positive improvements that
Facebook has adopted since his letter in single case. This may be a heavy
English-language stories generated responsibility. Each editor must
on Facebook this year, according to Aftenposten first came into the spotlight.
“Mark Zuckerberg gave an interview to weigh the pros and cons. This
one analysis. A hoax about former US right and duty, which all editors
President Barack Obama generated more the New York Times, where he said that
the controversy around this letter was in the world have, should not be
than 2.1 million comments, reactions and undermined by algorithms encoded
shares on Facebook in just two months. an eye-opener and made him realize
that he needed to change the way in your office in California.
No wonder that in order to curb criticism, Facebook functions.” Facebook’s Mission Statement states
Facebook has introduced a corrective that your objective is to “make the
fact-checking programme. Starting This realization and subsequent change world more open and connected”.
in May 2017, stories that have been become crucial, especially in the wake In reality you are doing this in a
signalled by users as unreliable are of social media’s broad impact on totally superficial sense. If you
verified by independent fact-checking traditional media and its ever-growing will not distinguish between child
experts and labelled as “disputed”. omnipresence in our daily lives. pornography and documentary
photographs from a war, this will
simply promote stupidity and fail
to bring human beings closer to
each other.
To pretend that it is possible to create
common, global rules for what may
and what may not be published, only
throws dust into people’s eyes…”
(Extracts from an open letter from
Espen Egil Hansen to Mark Zuckerberg
published on the front page of
Aftenpost on 8 September 2016.)

Wide angle
Crowdfunding to save the media
by Andrius Tapinas
The digital revolution has brought The November 2016 election of Donald
monumental changes and Trump for the highest office in the United
States is the most dramatic example of the
challenges to the media industry.
all-pervasive nature of social media. The
Journalists are best-placed to mainstream media hated him passionately,
adapt to the new media landscape yet the former kingmakers could do
if they embrace new technologies, absolutely nothing as he forced them to
reinvent themselves, and adopt do his bidding in order not to commit
new business models. The story commercial suicide in full sight of their readers
and viewers. And so Donald Trump became
of Lithuania’s Liberty TV, an the first ever US President of Social Media.
independent television channel
broadcast on the internet
and financed by the public,
Anyone can be a star
is proof of this. At the dawn of the social media era, the
old guard dismissed it as a tool for young
people. Enter YouTube: the world’s biggest
The digital age is upon us, whether we like television repository and video-hosting
it not. And if you belong to the media old service which creates almost zero content
guard, it is quite likely you will not like it. itself, but is the haven for all the wannabes
Traditional print media and television have on earth. Anyone, anywhere in the world
been caught off guard – technologically, today, can be whatever they dream of
financially, and creatively – by the digital – singers, chefs, boxers, media stars.
revolution, and are experiencing the The sky is the limit and it’s all for free.
biggest challenges they have ever faced.
PewDiePie (born Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg The new technologies allow for
Are they up to it? Not really. But they have
in Sweden, October 1989), a web-based unprecedented freedom, especially in
no choice – they can either sink or swim.
comedian and video producer, became countries where the press is controlled
The advent of the internet, nearly thirty the uncrowned king of YouTube, with by the government. Now is the perfect
years ago, has hooked the world onto one almost 55 million subscribers! Two of the time to voice your opinion, and make it
of the most powerful drugs available to most successful YouTubers in Lithuania resonate across the globe. Interacting with
modern societies – free and lightning-fast – Whydotas (Vaidotas Grinceviĉius) and your audience is critical − instant audience
access to information. The3dvinas (Edvinas Navikas) − have more feedback is a potent tool.
subscribers than the four national TV
Before they knew what hit them, a second
wave – social media – hit the old guard. It
channels combined.
Crowdfunded
was bigger and stronger than the web, and
with more severe consequences. Social
Of course, new media is not all positive,
and sometimes comes at a heavy price.
by viewers
media companies gained the upper hand Fake news, virtual mob lynching, trolls and The changes in journalism can be viewed
as paid subscriptions to newspapers and baseless accusations abound – it’s a free- as a positive development. It has forced us
magazines dwindled, and TV channels for-all. There are no filters or editing, and no to be creative, and to invent new business
started to lag behind the thousands of need to exercise restraint or decency if you models in order to survive, as in our case.
news websites on the internet. choose not to.
Propelled by the shock of losing my TV
Suddenly everyone became the We are in the throes of a media programme on Lithuanian television,
media – cameraman, editor, storyteller, transformation, forced by the ascension I decided to fight back. Liberty TV was
journalist, promoter – all rolled in one. of the internet. As journalists, we must founded by me in September 2016. It is a
The gatekeepers of information saw their embrace the revolution, and shed any completely independent internet television
gates come crashing down, as they lost the of our inhibitions to go digital. With our channel, crowdfunded by viewers.
biggest privilege of all – the right to decide professional qualities, we still have the edge
what is important and what is not. over most of the novices out there today.

Wide angle
A proven
business model
Putting myself and my team into the hands
of the public was the biggest gamble
of my journalistic career. Would they be
willing to pay for something they could
get for free but would cease to exist if they
didn’t pay for it? Are we public-spirited
enough to support independent media
by contributing to it? Media experts in
Lithuania were sceptical. But we went
ahead nevertheless.
In March 2017, we suggested that our
viewers use their ability to direct two per
cent of their taxes to Liberty TV. We are
curious to see how much funding we are
able to raise with this initiative.
In four months, Liberty TV became the
biggest media entity on Lithuanian
YouTube, with some of its programmes
reaching six-figure viewership numbers
and competing with the most popular
shows on mainstream TV. In eight months,
media experts started to admit that they
had been wrong, and started reporting
about our plans to expand.
Our business model is new and falls
in line with the digital revolution, but
Last recording of the season of it is not unique. Similar crowdfunded
“Hang in there!” with Andrius Tapinas, journalistic projects have been launched
We broadcast fifteen programmes each which attracted a live audience of in Holland, Switzerland, India, and several
month, and add at least three more over 2000 (23 May 2017), in Klaipeda, other countries.
in the autumn of 2017. The content Lithuania’s largest port city. It is not easy; it is the hardest job I have ever
includes political satire in Lithuanian © Matas Baranauskas
done in my career of almost twenty years.
and Russian, talk shows, investigative But it is the only way I would like to go
journalism, political analysis and positive further as a journalist. And it is the digital
documentaries. revolution that gave me this chance.
Our staff (made up of full-time and We reached our financial goal of €15,000
freelance professionals) includes a in ten days, just in time for the launch.
full technical crew – from editors to Almost 5,000 people committed to funding Andrius Tapinas is a Lithuanian
cameramen, journalists and script-writers. us in the first month. Subscribers are free journalist and writer. He founded Liberty
A small administrative team also handles to pledge their support for whatever TV in 2016 and is the host of its flagship
communication for the channel. Our duration they choose, with no obligation to programme, “Hang in there”. Tapinas
flagship programmes are filmed in theatres continue. For a nation of less than 3 million is one of the most popular persons
with high-definition cameras, in front of live people, this was phenomenal. We are on Lithuanian social media, with over
audiences of 200 to 250 people. also funded by commercial sponsors who 130,000 Facebook followers.
are prepared to accept that there will be
We are a non-profit, so we have to make
no strings attached.
sure we balance our books. This calls for
austerity. Most of our equipment is rented,
or comes with the professionals we hire.
Most of our work is done online, and we
use a tiny office space for meetings and
editing. We plan to relocate to a larger
office in autumn 2017.

Wide angle
A beacon,
thanks to the internet
by Carlos Dada
Journalism is going through a global crisis. The all-pervasive

reach of the internet and social media have meant that rumours and
false information are rife. But these very spaces can be used to create
better journalism, as El Faro, the pioneering web-based Salvadorian
newspaper, has illustrated, in its twenty years of existence.
Some of us were forced into journalism We compensated for the absence of

− we had little choice. In 1998, El Salvador mentors and teachers by reading, and
was emerging from a long civil war and with healthy doses of self-criticism.
we were feeling our way forward, with Our paper matured as we learned from
no towering figure to guide us. But we our mistakes – we constantly reflected
were convinced that the post-war period on, debated and discussed what we
needed a revitalised press, with a fresh were doing.
perspective and independent voices.
The country deserved a new journalism,
and we provided it.
Traitors to the nation
El Faro [The Beacon] was started in May As the years went by, we eventually
1998, with absolutely no funding. That’s graduated to paid journalistic jobs and
why we launched it on the internet, at a proper office. Many of the journalism
a time when barely two per cent to five students who had worked with us
per cent of the Salvadorian population from the start are now co-owners and
shareholders of the newspaper. In our
© Fred Ramos
had access to it. Our existence depended

on new technologies, because we could nearly twenty years of existence, we
never have afforded the expense of have become one of the most respected
running a printed newspaper. Opting for publications in Latin America.
the internet turned out to be a very lucky Most of our efforts are concentrated on
El Faro and Salvadorian photographer decision for us, given that at the time, we investigative and narrative reporting,
Fred Ramos have launched the “The Last were a million miles away from imagining covering six main themes: violence and
Outfit of the Missing” campaign, which the influence the web would have on organized crime, corruption, war crimes,
involves publishing a series of photos to the future of humanity. culture, poverty and inequality, and
enable the families of missing persons politics. These are subjects which, in our
to recognize their clothing and identify In the beginning, we put El Faro together
in our spare time. We were gradually view, are the least reported. But they are
them. Ramos received support from the also central to any explanation of why,
Institute of Legal Medicine to exhume joined by young talents who wanted
to cut their teeth using this new media. more than twenty years after the end
bodies from unmarked graves. of the war, El Salvador remains one of
For several years we made zero profit,
but we also had virtually no expenses the most violent countries in the world,
− each of us worked for free, from our riddled with inequalities and poverty,
homes. This also helped us to forge and largely dependent on the two
our independent spirit. When the million Salvadorian expatriates – a third
industry started to take the internet of the population – who send money
seriously and readers started looking back home.
for news online, we were already firmly
established on the web.

Wide angle
The paradox in this profession is that the

better you are at it, the fewer friends you
A Central American The forum is the leading event in our
permanent programme of training
keep. We have been called traitors to forum and conferences, aimed at improving
the nation, protectors of gangs, enemies the quality of journalism in Central
More recently, we have sought to extend
of private property, and of revolution. America. This is the poorest region of the
our coverage to neighbouring countries −
In a country polarized between the two continent − putting our journalists in
Honduras and Guatemala − which suffer
extremes that waged the civil war, right- touch with their colleagues throughout
similar levels of violence, corruption
wing governments accuse us of being Latin America opens up new possibilities
and social decay. Though we haven’t yet
left wing, and those on the left say we for collaboration, to cover the issues that
achieved the systematic coverage we
lean to the right. We have received some increasingly extend beyond the borders
would like, we have made good progress
very unkind messages from drug dealers, of our countries.
in setting up a network with journalists in
war criminals, gang leaders, corrupt
the region, who can collaborate with us
politicians, business executives, the army
on investigative stories.
and the police. These threats have forced A Salvadorian journalist, Carlos Dada
us to take legal action several times. After two decades of growth, many founded El Faro in 1998. He has covered
journalists at El Faro have published events in Iraq, Venezuela, Mexico,
These messages of discontent also come
books. We also do radio broadcasts, make Guatemala and Honduras. His articles
from readers sometimes. A few years ago,
documentaries and hold exhibitions are published in Latin America, USA,
we published an article that denounced
and conferences. This is because we Bosnia and Spain. He was awarded the
the massacre of young delinquents,
feel the need to pass on our knowledge María Moors Cabot prize by Columbia
carried out in cold blood by the police.
to future generations. University, New York, in 2011.
Several readers complained that we
were hampering the work of the police, In May every year, we hold the Central
because gangs are the main source of American Journalism Forum − a week of
violence in El Salvador. We understand workshops, conferences and exhibitions
these reactions very well, but there is no with dozens of invited speakers from all
question of us changing our reporting to over Latin America, the United States
satisfy our readers’ aspirations, or alleviate and Europe. The best journalists from the
their anxieties − populist journalism region and abroad lead workshops on
would be irresponsible, harmful investigative journalism, radio journalism,
and immoral. photography and reporting. More than
a hundred journalists, mainly from
Central America, took part in 2017.
“It is impossible
to photograph
a subject with
objectivity, but it
is possible to show
a story with truth,”
says Salvadorian
photographer
Juan Carlos, who
took this photo of
a bench that bears
traces of a murder
in a public park
in Chalchuapa,
El Salvador.
© Juan Carlos (www.juancarlosphotos.com)

Wide angle
Investigative
journalism: against the odds
by Sanita Jemberga
Investigative journalism is one of the pillars of a well-functioning

democracy. But its future cannot be guaranteed without financial
autonomy. The case of Re: Baltica, a centre for investigative
journalism in Latvia, is a good case in point.
I am allergic to the idea of investigative

© Semih Poroy (Turquie) - Cartooning for Peace
journalism being termed a “mission” or

“calling”. It is an individual choice born
out of need, combined with a set of
skills and a particular character, which
is persistent, sometimes in the face
of abuse. My colleague, Inga Spriņģe,
once explained that she does it for
her grandmother, who was never
in a position to confront the Soviet
authorities with tough questions!
Spriņģe’s resolve, and mine, to keep
questioning the powers that be, was
tested when Diena – the newspaper
we worked for − was sold by its
publisher, Bonnier [the Swedish media
conglomerate], to local oligarchs
who had tried to silence it for years.
This happened in the midst of a deep
economic crisis, and declining sales and
readership for the paper, which took
the web seriously way too late.
A drawing from the collection of

Cartooning for Peace, an international
Taking the plunge
network of socially-engaged editorial A group of us who had worked for Diena
cartoonists, supported by UNESCO. – considered the best newspaper in the
Baltics − never gave up on the idea that
in a democracy, investigative journalism
is fundamentally necessary to hold those
in power accountable. This is equally
true in countries with authoritarian
regimes, where the personal costs for
the journalists involved is even higher.

Wide angle
© James Duncan Davidson (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Ghanaian investigative journalist,
Anas Aremeyaw Anas, known for
his reports on human rights violations
and corruption, preserves his anonymity
Without investigative writing, we would The first is the ability to put in a lot by concealing his face whenever
have to subsist on a diet of daily news, of hard work and take the plunge. he appears in public.
paid government content and celebrity We realized early on that if our incomes
gossip. Journalism would then work not depended solely on international donors
as a watchdog, but as a lapdog for those (which, for a small language and a
in power. relatively poor media market is almost While our work is available for free to
the only funding available), we would all media outlets who want to publish
To prepare ourselves for the change,
not last long. Sixty per cent of our budget it, we have a dedicated set of partners
Spriņģe spent a year in the United
comes from grants, and the rest from our in television, radio, print and online
States, studying non-profit models for
personal incomes, earned from teaching, with whom we co-operate closely.
investigative journalism. She returned to
consulting, researching and writing As these media outlets do not compete
Latvia to establish the Baltic Center for
scripts for documentaries. We also get directly, the message is multiplied:
Investigative Journalism, Re:Baltica, in
donations from our readers and private and so is the impact.
2011. Run by a co-operative of journalists,
donors. We are still never certain how
the centre provides the results of its Investigative journalism is not just about
we will survive beyond a year.
investigations to the mainstream media, exposing corruption. We did participate
free of charge. in the Panama Papers investigation –
The idea was relatively new in Europe,
Exposing more the giant leak of more than 11.5 million
but, by 2012, there were already more than corruption financial and legal documents, which
exposed the names of politicians,
than a hundred non-profit centres for
Finding the right partners is key. We are criminals and the rogue industry around
investigative journalism in over fifty
also frugal with costs – we choose not the globe, and where they hid their
countries. Everyone predicted Re:Baltica
to spend a lot on our website or office cash. Spearheaded by the International
would be dead in a year, but they have
space. Re:Baltica staff consist of two core Consortium of Investigative Journalists
been proved wrong. We celebrate
editorial people, a graphic designer and (ICIJ), the colossal global project made
our sixth anniversary in August 2017.
an accountant, and then we hire people headlines worldwide, won a Pulitzer Prize,
There are clear reasons why we have
according to the needs of a particular and was the basis for new laws being
survived and thrived.
story – up to twenty or thirty journalists passed in some countries.
and translators a year.

Wide angle
© Hassan (Iran) - Cartooning for Peace

But much of our work focuses on social
Cartooning for peace inequalities in Latvia, which is the A drawing from the collection of
Cartooning for Peace, an international
biggest threat to the country in the
To celebrate World Press Freedom long term. We cover a range of social network of socially-engaged editorial
Day on 3 May 2017, UNESCO and problems − from the shortcomings of our cartoonists, supported by UNESCO.
Cartooning for Peace are holding education system, to the poor salaries
an online exhibition of fifteen paid to staff by large supermarket chains.
editorial cartoons. The work is not always glamorous − our But many of these non-profit ventures
Founded in 2006 by Kofi Annan, colleagues went undercover to work in will die as institutional donors lose
Nobel Peace Prize laureate (2001) a fish factory to expose the conditions interest and philanthropy is scarce,
and former Secretary-General of of workers there. especially in countries which need
the United Nations, and French investigative reporting the most.
Our latest exposé was about a Latvian
cartoonist Plantu, the Cartooning Investigative journalism must be
financier who featured in the Panama
for Peace network includes recognized as a public good and assigned
Papers and was connected with the
162 cartoonists from fifty-eight funding, there is very limited hope for it.
French elections in 2017. We are
countries across the globe. also working on a series of articles International organizations, which
This international network of to expose fake news and its origins are keen to train journalists and fund
editorial cartoonists uses humour on the Baltic internet. conferences and campaigns, must devise
to fight for the respect of cultural mechanisms to publicly, openly and
diversity, human rights, and
other freedoms. No strings attached competitively fund the investigative
content as a public good, with no
The editorial cartoon is a powerful I am not very optimistic about the strings attached. That is the only way
tool, because of its ability to future of investigative journalism. But investigative journalism will survive.
transcend language and cultures. I am convinced that the rise to power of
It can be used to foster cross-cultural authoritarian regimes will make journalism
dialogue and fuel the debate about great again: by exposing a need to Sanita Jemberga is a Latvian
fundamental issues such as freedom separate the truth from “alternative facts” investigative journalist who has worked
of expression, peace and tolerance. (or in other words, lies), and clickbaits from in print and television since 1996.
real reporting. Non‑profit organizations She is executive director and editor
have proven to be a possible alternative at the non-profit Baltic Center for
to mainstream media at a time when Investigative Journalism, Re:Baltica, and
investigative journalism is disappearing teaches media literacy at the Stockholm
from newsrooms. School of Economics in Riga.

Wide angle
Lexicon for the digital age

As social media has invaded
our daily lives, new terms and
concepts have infiltrated into
our vocabulary. Here is a quick
overview of some of these terms
for our readers.
Algorithm: The term is a combination of

the Latin word algorismus, named after
Al Khwarizmi − a ninth-century Persian
mathematician who introduced the
decimal system to the Western world −
and the Greek word, arithmos, meaning
number. In today’s digital world, an
© Polygraphus / Shutterstock
algorithm is a sequence of instructions,
automatically executed by a computer.
Algorithms are now synonymous with
machine intelligence as opposed to
human intelligence, and are being
used in all fields − from search-engine
queries to financial markets and user-
recommended information selection.
Confirmation bias: The tendency to
favour information which reinforces our
beliefs, while ignoring or underestimating Fake news: Information which is Post-truth: Declared Word of the
the beliefs that contradict them. false and rigged with the intent to Year 2016 by the Oxford Dictionaries,
harm. According to Les Décodeurs, the the adjective is defined as “relating to
Filter bubble: The concept was
fact-checking section of the French or denoting circumstances in which
defined by American internet activist
newspaper Le Monde, fake news “uses the objective facts are less influential in
Eli Pariser, chief executive of Upworthy,
codes and forms of the traditional press shaping public opinion than appeals
a website for “meaningful” viral content,
to masquerade as a journalistic exercise”. to emotion and personal belief”.
and co-founder of Avaaz.org, the
The term was first used in the 1990s,
internet activism site. According to Hoax: A deceptive message broadcast
and popularized by the 2016 Brexit
him, the algorithms of social networks via email and the internet. These could
and American presidential election
filter information − by analyzing be in the form of rumours, alarmist news
campaigns. Post-truth describes
users’ ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ − and provide or false premises to solicit donations.
a political rhetoric which is no longer
personalized content corresponding The motivations behind a hoax can be
concerned with facts and demonstrates
to these preferences. This eventually political or financial (remuneration is
the public’s loss of confidence in
confines users to a “bubble” of social usually based on the number of clicks
traditional media and institutions.
and political opinions. generated). The term is less used these
days and has been largely supplanted Virality: The rapid circulation of
Alternative fact: A term to denote
by ‘fake news’. information – true or false – via
a gross untruth, or falsehood. The
the internet and social networks.
expression was first used in January
The virality of information relies on
2017 by Kellyanne Conway, counselor
user-based recommendations. This is
to United States President Donald
the online version of “word of mouth”,
Trump, when addressing the controversy
on an infinitely broader scale.
about the exact number of people
who attended his inauguration.

Zoom

Zoom
My face, my land
Text: Katerina Markelova
Photos : Marion Laumonier, Paul Laumonier, Bēni
This photo essay is published to coincide

with the International Day of the World’s
Indigenous People, celebrated on 9 August
every year.
The photos of the IDENTiTESproject
are published under the licence Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-
ShareAlike 4.0.
Xákmok Kásek children take part

in the collective creation workshop
alongside their elders. Five continents, five years of encounters, This is how Marion describes Gran Chaco,
tens of thousands of kilometres travelled, the vast arid plain that the country shares
and in the end, there is one single with Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia. And
conclusion: we are ONE humankind. This for good reason: “We had to drive for
is how French photographer and visual fourteen hours before we arrived at our
artist Bēni sums up the IDENTiTESproject destination,” she emphasizes.
odyssey, which he launched in 2013. It is
Their destination: the settlement of
a multifaceted photographic adventure
the Xákmok Kásek. According to the
that is taking him to the four corners
International Work Group for Indigenous
of the planet. From Hanoi to La Paz, via
Affairs (IWGIA), the Xákmok Kásek
Accra, Bēni’s lens captures the faces of
(or ‘many little parrots’) are one of the
the world and brings them together in
531 indigenous communities of the
an impressive series of portraits. “We set
Paraguayan Chaco area. They have been
off for somewhere else, for something
progressively ejected from their ancestral
different, for the other, only to end up
lands since the end of the nineteenth
finding ourselves,” he explains.
century. In 2010, the community
Let’s join him in Paraguay, on the Ruta consisted of 268 individuals belonging
Transchaco, National Route 9, the unique to sixty-six families. On 24 August
800- kilometre highway that links the 2010, after thirty years of legal battles,
capital, Asunción, with the Bolivian border. the Xákmok Kásek won a court case
It is 2015. IDENTiTESproject#3 is in full in the Inter-American Court of Human
swing. The third stage of Bēni’s project Rights(IACHR), ordering the Paraguayan
is in South America, and it is the first authorities to return 10,700 hectares
time he is not travelling by himself. He is of land to the community. Spurred on
accompanied by the Laumonier siblings, by this judgement and in spite of the
Marion and Paul, who are assisting him reticence of the state to follow through,
and documenting the journey. After the community moved back onto its
four months of crossing through Chile, territory in early 2015.
Argentina and Uruguay, we find them in a
vehicle heading towards “one of the most
isolated regions anywhere on earth today”.

Zoom
Bēni was in Paraguay at the time, to

organize the project’s flagship − a
co•creation workshop. It is no accident
that he decides to place the land at the
centre of the artistic sequence. The end
result is a unique moment of sharing,
The IDENTiTESproject cameras were
filled with emotion, and deeply spiritual.
there at exactly the right time to capture
“The village chief told us that this
the event. “They’d been on the site for
project has been especially important
less than ten days,” says Marion. It was
for the members of his community. Even
a moment of great exhilaration − the
though they were still very bound to the
atmosphere was electrifying. But the return
struggle to regain their land, working
to their ancestral lands has been far from
with us has given them the opportunity
triumphant. “They’ve been living in terrible
to think about something else, to have
conditions, sleeping in tents, catching
some different time together, just for
fish for food and drinking from ponds of
themselves,” explains Marion.
stagnant water”, she adds. Intensive cattle-
farming and soya cultivation have caused Today, the community has regained
often irreversible harm to the soil and the possession of 7,901 hectares, or about
forest. The very identity of the indigenous seventy-three per cent of the lands
people is being severely tested – their that are rightfully theirs, according to
beliefs, modes of subsistence and cultural Oscar Ayala from the NGO, Tierraviva,
practices are all intimately connected to which represented the Xákmok Kásek
their ancestral lands. at the IACHR in 2010.

Zoom
Stills from the Chaco video, tracing the

stages of the co∙creation workshop − from
collecting plants and soil to their use in a
drawing, to the night-time projection of
portraits, enabling the outlines of the faces
to be traced onto a jute canvas.
LINKS Project
According to the Council on
Hemispheric Affairs, Paraguay
has one of the fastest rates of
deforestation in the world. Launched
in 2002, UNESCO’s Local and
Indigenous Knowledge Systems
(LINKS) programme has brought
to international attention the role
of indigenous communities in
conserving biodiversity and adapting
to the effects of climate change.
The return of the Xákmok Kásek
is therefore cause for hope. Their
ancestral knowledge, together with
the government programme for the
reforestation of Chaco, announced
in February 2017, should make it
possible to rehabilitate the land.

Zoom
1 2
Serafin (1), Nency (2), Gustavo (3) and a baby girl (4) look into Bēni’s lens. Everyone leaves this exercise carrying an image of the other inside themselves.
3 4

Zoom
So-called “fusion” portraits, embodying the idea of co∙creation.

Zoom
The Xákmok Kásek saved all

the original portraits produced
during the workshop,
to be used later, as needed.

Zoom
To use as visuals for communications,

the IDENTiTESproject selects one portrait from
each leg of the journey, onto which a world
map is applied to symbolize the existence of just
ONE humanity, in all its diversity.
At the time this issue of the UNESCO
Courier is published, Bēni is travelling
across Europe, on the final stage of
his project. His round-the-world tour
ends in Paris in August 2017, with a
special initiative – the project team
attempts to create a massive European
face in collaboration with several
French artists. Each time he returns to
France, Bēni also organizes the BACKTO
exhibitions, representing the different
stages of the project – photographic
portraits, co•creation and street- gallery
workshops. These ephemeral galleries are
mounted in the public space. The profits
from these exhibitions and other public
awareness-raising initiatives are donated
to the local communities featured, to help
support their development.
Bēni says he wants to take a break once
the European tour is over, “to take a
bit of time, maybe a year, off.” But he is
already thinking about a book, which,
according to him, “will bring the five
continents together and enable us – and
especially me − to understand what has
been going on since 2013.” He also plans
to make a documentary and organize
a major exhibition, tracing the entire
journey. He already has a title for this,
which is the very DNA of the project:
“ONE WORLD • ONE PEOPLE”.
Back in Paris, Bēni and his

team prepare an exhibition
on IDENTiTEproject#3.
The BACKTOamerica exhibition
traces the third stage of the project,
aiming to raise public awareness
about the Xákmok Kásek community.

Ideas
“Flight” by the Senegalese artist,

Ndary Lo.
© Ndary Lo / Sitor Senghor

Ideas
Humanitude
or how to quench
the thirst for humanity
by Adama Samassékou
Faced with the failure of the

western model of development,
which puts the culture of having
before the culture of being, it
is becoming urgent to develop
a different project for society
– one that is founded upon
humanitude, a concept that
explores openness to the Other,
the only possible way out for
a disenchanted world.
It has become commonplace to say

that our world, which is in the grips
of a multidimensional and seemingly
never-ending crisis, is in very, very bad
© Berette Macaulay
shape. This crisis, in fact, reveals a loss of
meaning, reinforced by a trend towards
the homogenization of the world’s
cultures, brought on by an accelerated
globalization of markets. This is leading
to a veritable dehumanization of relations Left panel of the “memory of nothing”
between individuals, peoples, and states. diptych by Berette Macaulay
The recent environmental, energy, (Sierra Leone and Jamaica). The work
demographic, and digital challenges It is with these considerations in mind is on show at the National Gallery
− added to the existing inequalities and that, several years ago, I suggested that of Jamaica as part of the 2017 Biennale.
poverty − accentuate the widespread we should explore a new concept −
feeling of existential angst and a lack of “humanitude” − in reference to Negritude,
confidence in the future. a concept I inherited from my mentor,
the Martiniquan poet, Aimé Césaire.
The most prevalent “development model”
today is founded upon what I call a I use this concept of humanitude to
culture of “having”, of profit. It has already translate what, in Africa, we call maaya
shown its limitations, and the current (in Bamanankan, the Bambara language),
crisis confirms that it is now bankrupt. neddaaku (in Fulfulde, the Fula language),
This “western model” is responsible for boroterey (in Songhay, the Songhay
the Eurocentrism and Western-centrism language), nite (in Wolof), ubuntu (in
seen in international relations, both the Bantu languages), and many more.
in terms of goods and intellectual There are so many terms that literally
production. As a result, a paradigm shift mean “the quality of being human”.
towards the promotion of values that are
more aligned with a culture of “being”,
has become imperative.

Ideas
Why it is time to
overhaul the CIPSH
The International Council for
Philosophy and Human Sciences
(CIPSH) is a non-governmental
organization founded in Brussels,
Belgium in 1949 under the
auspices of UNESCO, with a view
to reaffirming the meaning and
challenges of the human sciences
in the post-war period.
This learned society, affiliated to
UNESCO, has had its moments of
glory, but has become considerably
diminished with the passage of time. Connecting human
The World Humanities Conference to human
(WHC) provides an opportunity
for the member organizations of African societies have always put “being”,
CIPSH to encourage representatives rather than “having”, at the centre of
of their respective disciplines to their development. In more global
help re-establish the place of the terms, certain non-European societies
human sciences in the world, and have a cosmovision that puts “being”
to undertake a veritable overhaul at the centre of all relationships with
of the CIPSH. This will make it the world. This vision is characterized by
possible to replace the western- a permanent search for non-conflictual,
centric viewpoint with a more peaceful relations, oriented towards
fertile, polycentric approach, a consensus with others and harmony
drawing on the world’s cultural with the environment, in the widest
and linguistic diversity. sense. For a long time, this conception
of the world was also shared with
The process of internal and external the West, before it became dominated
reorganization of the CIPSH is, by a form of modernity based upon
fortunately, already underway.
© Dima Vazinovich
market and material fundamentalism

In December 2015, the CIPSH and individualistic accumulation.
Extraordinary General Meeting
in Beijing voted for a change in Humanitude is our permanent openness
its statutes, allowing a range of towards the Other, our relationships
organizations – including foundations as human being to human being. It
and networks – to become members. demands a permanent relationship
The geographic base of the CIPSH of solidarity, free from calculation – a
has also been broadened, with spontaneous impulse of welcoming the In his lecture, “Ubuntu or ‘man as remedy
the possibility of creating regional Other. This humanitude makes it possible for man’”, which was later published in
chapters. As a result, an Asia-Pacific to “connect human to human” – to use the book, Repères pour l’Afrique, Panafrika
CIPSH chapter was established in Césaire’s beautiful phrase − and is the (Silex/Nouvelles du Sud, Dakar, 2007),
China in 2016. Lastly, the number of basis for a culture of “being”, as opposed Ki-Zerbo continues his analysis by
member organizations in the CIPSH to a totalitarian culture of “having”, which specifying that “…Ubuntu can be the
has increased significantly, passing leads to permanently conflictual relations most powerful tool for this paramount
from twelve in 2014 to seventeen in of acquisition, if not domination. task. But, above all, it should become
2016, with two new memberships its goal and the meaning of peace. This
In a remarkable presentation at the
in the pipeline. does not mean moving towards a form
Ubuntu symposium, held in Geneva,
of anthropological culturalism, but
The CIPSH is also creating new Switzerland, in April 2003, my mentor
when confronted with the steam-roller
UNESCO Chairs in the humanities, and friend from Burkina Faso, Joseph
of one‑track thinking, it is has become
who are attending the WHC. Ki-Zerbo [historian, politician and writer
urgent to disarm conflicts where the
(1922-2006)], emphasized that “The main
burden of responsibility is borne by the
thing, then … is to bring to the top of the
structural violence of the status quo …”
agenda and the planet’s social struggles,
the concept, the question, the cause, the I am now convinced that, given the
paradigm, of Ubuntu as an axiomatic and failure of current models of development,
specific antidote to the mercantilism of we have to think about how to design a
humans and humankind by the partisan new project for society, founded precisely
neo-liberalism of the market economy.” on the concept of humanitude.

Ideas
Thirdly, I observed the lack of

involvement, if not the total absence,
or shunning, of scholars of the human
sciences from outside Europe and the
“West” in global intellectual production
and co-operation. The situation was made
worse by the risks of the disappearance
of traditional knowledge and of half
the world’s languages − which are
now spoken of as epistemicides and
linguicides.
This is why, in 2009, it appeared to me
not only obvious, but also imperative,
to propose that UNESCO organize a
World Humanities Conference (WHC).
The first attempt of its kind, its aim would
be to start the process of rehabilitating
the human sciences in the world.
An unbearable anxiety
The central issue for the WHC is to discuss
the role of the human sciences in a
We have to promote a relationship twenty-first century characterized by
with the world based on a search for cultural diversity, the failure of various
non‑conflictual relations and harmony forms of one-track thinking, and a need
The major international meeting of
with the environment, in order for humans to reintroduce medium- and long-term
the human sciences, the first World
to reconnect with one another again. considerations into everyday reasoning.
Humanities Conference (WHC), held in
This is a century stricken by global
Liège, Belgium, from 6 to 12 August 2017,
changes, growing migration, social and
offers the opportunity to go deeper into
economic stresses – the resolution of
this concept.
It was a result of three observations. which largely depends on intercultural
Following recurrent episodes of instability skills, on understanding the unity of
An unprecedented linked to financial globalization, the humankind in all its diversity. It also
event crisis of 2008-2009 became more than
just financial or economic, turning into
depends on the need to reinforce
the relationships of the sciences across
The city of Liège, called the “Ardent a “total” crisis. It was a crisis of society, disciplines and with the arts and
City”, both in spirit and industry, is a which, in a way, confirmed the bankruptcy technologies.
multicultural city at the heart of Europe, of the dominant neo‑liberal and western-
and is hosting an unprecedented event, centric model of development, leading to
under the high patronage of the King a real loss of meaning.
of Belgium.
My second observation was the
So why a World Humanities Conference? progressive marginalization of the
The idea came to me in 2009, during my human sciences in the world. How
first term as president of the International can one accept that, faced with such a
Council for Philosophy and Human strongly compelling situation, those with
Sciences (CIPSH), a non-governmental the responsibility to explain to us the
organization created under the auspices complexity of the social transformations,
of UNESCO in 1949. should be paralyzed, unable to move?

Ideas
This is a century which has started with

the development of global terrorism
that spares no region in the world, no
country, striking as blindly as inhumanely,
innocent citizens, who are victims of a
gratuitous, barbaric and unutterable
violence. An unbearable anxiety traverses
the planet, all the more so because such
acts of violence – known during the
colonial conquests and wars of liberation
− have remained relatively unknown
to the cloistered West since the Second
World War, with a few exceptions.
The main aim of the WHC is, therefore, to
study ways in which the humanities are
helping or can help, nationally, regionally
and internationally, to measure and
understand the cultural transformations
linked to the gradual globalization of
exchanges, in order to manage them
better − in all their economic, social
and environmental dimensions.
Faced with the social and human
crisis that we are experiencing, and
a broken world where the process of
dehumanization is growing and gaining
strength, the ambition of the WHC is to
build a fertile dialogue between today’s
minds about the challenges, the stakes
and new knowledge, through which the
humanities can render our world more
legible, less opaque, less antagonistic,
less murderous and at the same time
– it’s our shared hope – more human.
The humanities are a celebration of the
© Courtesy of Liu Jianhua Studio
genius of the languages of mankind

and the knowledge arising from the
proliferation of our social, political,
economic and artistic practices.
Rehabilitating
and rebuilding
“Our world is in the grips of a seemingly the human sciences
never-ending, multidimensional The title of the WHC, “Challenges and
crisis,” says Adama Samassékou. Responsibilities for a Planet in Transition”,
“The Virtual Scene – Shanghai Map”, clearly situates the issues underlying this
2005-2008, relief map of Shanghai conference. According to UNESCO, the
made from casino chips by Chinese major challenges of our planet in transition
artist Liu Jianhua, on show at the are: population growth; the recomposition
Galerie Continua, San Gimignano, Italy. of territories; migration flows; energy
and environmental constraints;
the homogenization of cultures in the
context of globalization − and inversely,
the construction of new identities; and
the arrival of the digital age, which
often creates a divided society.

Ideas
The three stages of the World Humanities

Conference
The first World Humanities Conference (WHC), is held in Liège (Belgium) from
6 to 12 August, 2017. It is jointly organized by UNESCO, the International
There is a feeling that the prevalent Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences (CIPSH) and the World Humanities
development models have failed, Conference Foundation (comprising the province, city and University of Liège).
especially the neo-liberal model that The WHC brings together around 1,800 global participants, from the fields
seems to be imposing itself on the of science, politics, non-governmental organizations, the arts and the media.
peoples of the world. In this context, Major networks, including the Latin American Council of Social Sciences
it becomes imperative to reconsider the (CLACSO), the African Union African Academy of Languages (ACALAN) and
role of the human sciences within our the Arab Council for the Social Sciences (ACSS) will also be present.
contemporary societies. It needs to take
into account both the specificities and The overall structure of the WHC provides for linkages between upstream,
the resources inherent in each culture, ongoing, and downstream processes. This makes it possible to highlight and
valuing them wisely, and the possibilities share the humanities from different regions of the world – in all their diversity
for exchange, for dialogue and mutual and points of convergence.
enrichment between them.
■ Upstream of the WHC, a series of preparatory conferences were organized,
The WHC is therefore an opportunity allowing respective regions to make quality contributions to the world
to step back to rehabilitate and rebuild event – voicing their particular concerns and specificities. These included
the human sciences, to produce a the South American Conference: “Territorialities and Humanities” in Brazil
paradigm shift, enabling the reinvention (4-7 October 2016); the Arab Regional Consultation, “Recentring Humanities:
of a world founded upon respect for Theories, Approaches, Knowledge Production in the Arab region” in Lebanon
its rich cultural and linguistic diversity. (18‑20 May 2017); and the African Regional Conference on Humanities,
This new paradigm will enable us to “Languages, Cultures, History and Territories” in Mali (28 June to 1 July 2017).
substitute the conflictual relationships
The WHC also benefited from a number of contributing events: the
of competition with a genuine, universal
International Conference on Science and Civilization on the Silk Road, in Beijing,
solidarity, which is the only way to
(10‑11 December 2015); the Taihu World Cultural Forum, “Civilization on the Silk
help meet the challenges of our planet
Road” in Macao, China (7-9 June 2016); the 4th World Humanities Forum, devoted
in transition!
to “Humanities of Hope” in Suwon, Republic of Korea (27-29 October 2016); and,
In short, we have to quench this planet’s in June 2017, meetings in Paris (for Europe) and Kingston (for the Caribbean).
thirst for humanity by living and
consecrating our humanitude! ■ During the WHC (from 6 to 12 August 2017), plenary sessions are structured
around six main themes, addressing the main challenges facing our planet in
transition. These include: humans and the environment; cultural identities,
Adama Samassékou (Mali) is president cultural diversity, and intercultural relations; boundaries and migrations;
of the World Humanities Conference cultural heritage – both tangible and intangible; history, memory and politics;
(WCH). A former minister of national and the humanities in a world in transition.
education in Mali, he chaired the Four to six distinguished speakers from every continent are giving presentations
preparatory committee of the World on each of these themes.
Summit on the Information Society
(Geneva 2002-2003). Samassékou was A long series of sub-themes of the WHC are discussed in seventy symposia,
also the first executive secretary of grouped into eleven parallel sessions.
the African Union African Academy of Two plenary strategic sessions provide an opportunity to present reports
Languages (ACALAN), based in Bamako. from the regional conferences and discuss the future of the humanities and
After two terms as president of the the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences (CIPSH).
International Council for Philosophy and
Human Sciences (CIPSH), from November Seven plenary conferences and a panel of ministers and political decision‑makers
2008 to October 2014, he is currently are also included in the WHC programme, which brings together over
its honorary president. 400 speakers.
The discussions include two large projects that will involve the CIPSH in the
future, namely the Global History of Humanity and the World Humanities Report.
■ Downstream of the WHC, regional and national conferences are organized on

all continents, under the auspices of various regional political bodies of the world.
This makes it possible to implement the conclusions and recommendations of
the WHC. The emphasis is on public-sector research policies − especially the need
for infrastructure and funding for research in the social sciences and humanities.
This three-stage process makes this global event a high-level, inclusive and
participatory platform for dialogue. This helps foster greater synergy between
those who think, seek and find solutions to lift the world out of crises, and those
who are responsible for policy decisions.

Ideas
The importance of
homegrown
stories
All civilizations take seriously the
narratives embodying their cultures,
knowledge systems and the modes of
being they create.
Three events have had a significant
© Francesco Giusti / Prospekt (www.francescogiusti.com)
effect on the place the humanities have

come to occupy in Western academy
− the scientific revolution, the industrial
revolution, and logicism [the modern
school of mathematical thought,
founded by German philosopher
and mathematician Friedrich Ludwig
Gottlob Frege (1884-1925)].
The scientific and industrial revolutions
have combined to breed logical
positivism and the conviction that
all pursuit of knowledge must use
scientific methodology or lose its validity
and relevance.
A mural in homage to Africa The consequences of this have been
in a school in the Tower Hill ghetto, damning for the intellectual heritages of
by John Ayotunde Isola Bewaji Kingston, Jamaica. non-European societies – they have often
been described as primitive, uncivilized,
pagan and backward. This has allowed
The emphasis on bread-and- Since humans have been able, they for the economic appropriation of all
butter subjects like science, have sought to understand life in all the resources of these societies through
its dimensions, and the world they live colonialism and the enslavement of
math and technology at in. They have used not just language, the peoples of Africa.
the expense of the study of literature, philosophy, education, religion,
the humanities, is threatening arts, history, anthropology, archaeology Supplanting narratives
the ability of the people of and sociology, but also economics,
psychology, media, development, The worst scholarship has been the
Jamaica and the Caribbean approximation of the narratives of Europe
sports, gender, finance, marketing,
to appreciate and tell political science, environmental studies, (and Arabia) to universal truths, and the
their own stories. communication studies, cultural studies consequent supplanting and substitution
and law, to interpret and record the world of the narratives of indigenous societies
around them. Some of these disciplines globally by those narratives. This accounts
are classified as social sciences because for the fact that Africans know little about
of the need for scientific validity, but their own ancestors. They use the names,
I believe they play a part in the study languages, the religions, science and
technologies of others, forgetting − even
of the humanities as well.
at times, hating − their own indigenous
Using language, human beings have knowledge systems, traditions of being,
produced and privileged their own values and ethos, and getting lost in
narratives over the narratives derived the world of others.
from other regions.

Ideas
At the University of the West Indies

(UWI), this emphasis on the sciences
has resulted in the Humanities and
Education Faculty consistently attracting
less than twenty-five per cent of the
entire student population, because
their contributions to national and
regional development are undervalued.
The Jamaican newspaper, The Gleaner,
has written editorials advocating
the defunding of disciplines including
history, the languages, philosophy and
the arts by the government. Instead,
it has suggested concentrating on those
disciplines that would enable Jamaica
and the region to catch up with the first
© Cosmo Whyte (www.cosmowhyte.com)
world technologically. The newspaper

erroneously argues that you do not need
to know yourself, your realities, your
society or your ancestry, and that once
you attain technological parity with
the West, everything will be fine.
The third issue relates to the declining
financial fortunes at the national,
regional and individual levels. Education,
especially related to the humanities,
easily gets short-changed when societies
Jamaican transdisciplinary
go through structural adjustments.
artist, Cosmo White, explores
Families and individuals prefer to invest
the notion of identity. Secondly, the advocacy for a Science, in disciplines which are “marketable,
Technology, Engineering and productive and profile-enhancing”.
Mathematics (STEM) education creates The same applies to countries that
A number of issues arise here. Firstly, a distorted imperative that other believe that emphasis should be placed
industrialization has led to globalization disciplines, which apparently do not on science, engineering, medical
of all forms of realities. Globalization is provide direct practical benefits to and technology education, as these
inevitable, but it does not prevent the society, are of little use. In Jamaica and disciplines are thought to lead to a higher
peoples of the Caribbean from using their in the West Indies, the emphasis has been productive capacity.
African heritage to make meaning of, and on science, technology and the social
find paths to civilized existence. It is not sciences at the primary, secondary and
necessary to fight globalization, but it can tertiary education levels. Subjects such
be enriched, using the historical cultures as fine arts, music, ethics, history, culture
of one’s ancestry. and heritage are minimized or removed
from all levels of education, because
they are not valued as contributors to
human development.

Ideas
Identities and heritage

The study of the humanities is critical to
the identity appreciation, configuration
and projection of a society. When a society
neglects the understanding, appreciation
and propagation of the humanities,
it is open to various forms of abuse,
the degradation of its heritage and the
appropriation of its essence. The infliction
of epistemicide [the killing of knowledge
systems or the destruction of existing
knowledge] on the African people in the
form of “empty baggage syndrome” has
led to the dispossession of Africans in the
new world, of their identities and heritage,
leading to a confused, disoriented and
dislocated people.
The rampant violence and incivility in
Jamaican society is partly a manifestation
of this. Even while Jamaica has always
© Francesco Giusti / Prospekt (www.francescogiusti.com)
punched above its weight category in all

walks of life, there persists a preference
for things Euro-western.
The thinking at the UWI has been a victim
of the historical circumstances chronicled
by Jamaican author and educator Errol
Miller, who writes about the dependency
of the regional economies after the
abolition of slavery and emancipation.
This is why it has not been able to pursue
wholesome educational paradigms,
designed to teach the humanities, without
having to worry about the immediately
discernible benefits of such teaching.
UNESCO has continued to lead in
the development of a more humane This probably explains why Jamaica Training teachers is key
world, where reason, reflection and has one of the highest homicide rates
diversity are valued. However, with the in the world, in spite of being the What can be done to improve humanities
resistance to reparation payments to birthplace of Marcus Mosiah Garvey education in Jamaica and the Caribbean?
the people who have suffered the worst [Jamaican political leader, journalist UNESCO’s teacher-training and education
form of inhumanity in human history, publisher, and a proponent of the projects should be enhanced and
through the horrors of Atlantic slavery, pan‑Africanism movement(1887-1940)], promoted in Jamaica and the Caribbean,
it is understandable that countries of reggae [a style of popular music with UWI leading the way by undertaking
the Caribbean region are mendicant − of Jamaican origin] and Usain Bolt an introspective engagement of its role
incapable of taking decisions which will [Olympic champion sprinter]. in humanities education.
uplift their citizens from penury.

Ideas
It is important that the humanities are

taught at the primary, secondary and
post-secondary educational institutions
in Jamaica and the region, because
the building blocks of peace take place
in the minds of people. Cultural and
musical genres of Jamaican origin have
transcended the shores of Jamaica and
influenced the entire world, but little
has been done to teach and develop
these traditions among Jamaican youth.
This knowledge could be used to impact
the creativity of Jamaicans and empower
them economically.
Finally, it is important to understand
that the humanities are the foundation
of everything in knowledge generation
− its curation, storage, retrieval,
dissemination and utilization. Rich and
powerful countries do not leave
the education of its citizens to others.
Similarly, weak and poor societies must
appreciate the need to ensure that their
own stories are homegrown and delivered
to society in a wholesome manner that
is conducive to our collective humanity
− even in our beautiful diversity.
John Ayotunde Isola Bewaji

(Jamaican born in Nigeria) is the author
of several books, including The Rule
of Law and Governance in Indigenous
Yoruba Society: A Study in African
Young men in front of a mural Philosophy of Law. He has been an
in Tower Hill, Kingston, Jamaica. editor of publications including the
The university needs a full-fledged Caribbean Journal of Philosophy (CJP).
department or school of philosophical
studies, which would aid critical thinking
in the study of many other subjects,
including business, tourism, conflict
resolution and the environment.

Ideas
The poet
at the heart of society
by Tanella Boni
Poetry, like any other form of artistic creation, is one of the pillars of
the humanities. By following the paths of emotion, sensitivity and
the imagination, the poem transmits knowledge and human values.
Better still, it shapes the human being, body and soul.
Art does not reason. It belongs to the Elsewhere in the world, in African cultures
realm of emotions, of sensibilities and for example, there is an equivalent to
imagination. The artistic experience this learning of “the” classics. This is the
cannot be subjected to argument, moment of initiation, when young girls
verification or proof, as it is not a form and boys receive the transmission of
of scientific knowledge. And yet, in its the heritage of ancient times, enabling
own way, away from the well-trodden them to live in present times. These are
tracks of the sciences, art plays a the times of the humanities.
primordial role in shaping the individual.
Every age, every culture has its classics,
It transmits the human values and
its essential texts. And, among these,
worldly knowledge that are essential for
poetry has always occupied pride of
opening ourselves to the Other. Artistic
place. Always, that is, until now. In our
creation, therefore, forges very strong
disenchanted world, we have a tendency
links between humans − transcending
to forget that poetry exists. I would like to
beyond languages, beliefs and cultures.
elaborate on this, precisely to challenge
This is why art can be considered one of
this oversight and show that poetry is They knew to what extent learning
the pillars of the humanities.
an integral part of the humanities. Homer and other poets was important
for shaping the minds of young free
The times of What poetry can do Greeks (those who were neither slaves nor
the humanities metics). This is why Plato, in The Republic,
was worried that Homer painted a bad
No society exists without poets. Even
The humanities are still very present in if the act of creating is performed in image of the gods in his poems and ended
the English-speaking world − covering solitude, poets do not live in a bubble. up banishing poets from his city‑state!
the disciplines of literature, linguistics, They are not hermits, shut away in ivory Plato’s reproach of Homer was no doubt
philosophy, history and art − in which towers, but creators of a universe which as much a matter of what poetry is,
openness of the mind and human life they offer us to share. Whether their as what it cannot be.
are emphasized within society. poetry is written down or sung, poets
play a very important educational role. But, then or now, who can say what
In several French-speaking countries, poetry is? For the Argentinian writer
though, the term has fallen into disuse, The philosophers of ancient Greece Jorge Luis Borges, a definition of poetry
or almost, except in some academic did not fail to notice this. In their eyes, as “the expression of the beautiful
circles. Yet there was a time in the French poetry was the embodiment of an through the medium of words artfully
educational system, when one “did the experience of learning, a general culture woven together” might be good enough
humanities”. That meant learning “its” that preceded all specialized scientific for a dictionary, but remains rather
classics, studying ancient languages, or political learning. “feeble”. “These realities are so deep
reading Homer, Virgil and other classical within us,” he adds, “that they can only
authors − acquiring as broad a vision as be expressed through the symbols that
possible by studying the ways of being, all men share.”
of living, and of speaking of human
beings from other civilizations.

Ideas
© Ernest Pignon-Ernest, courtesy of Galerie Lelong & Co

This portrait of Mahmoud Darwich
(1941-2008) by French visual artist
Ernest Pignon-Ernest, adorned
Shared in As the French poet and philosopher, the walls of Ramallah in 2009, where
a sensitive way Paul Valéry (1871-1945) says in his book,
Ego Scriptor: “The goal of the poet is not
the Palestinian poet was living.
His “alarm‑bell words will never
to communicate a thought, but to give cease to resonate, inspire, mobilise
Poetry is made to be shared in a sensitive
birth to an emotional state in the other and keep us on the alert,” insists
way. That is how it shapes the human
which is similar (but not identical) to his French writer André Velter.
being, body and soul. By following the
own. The idea only plays a partial role (in
paths of emotion, of sensitivity and
himself and the other).”
of the imagination, it is a vehicle for
transmitting human knowledge and Confronted with the realities of an
values − a sense of good and evil, history, incomprehensible world in which he
the great deeds of men and women, finds himself “embedded”, the poet never Poet, novelist, philosopher and author
ancient traditions, and links with nature. ceases to “create dangerously”, in the of children’s books, Tanella Boni
words of the French writer, Albert Camus (Côte d’Ivoire) is a lecturer at the
If this knowledge is an awakening
(1913-1960), in his essay, “The Artist Félix Houphouët-Boigny University
of the senses by creating beauty in
and his Time” (Uppsala, Sweden, in Abidjan and vice-president of the
language and words, it is also the
14 December 1957). It is by creating International Federation of Philosophical
cultivation of imagination and memory.
dangerously, to protect life against Societies (FISP). She is also a member
It is a performance of the body and all of
threats from all sides, or to express the of the Académie des sciences, des arts,
its faculties. Because the form – of what
joy of being in the world, that the poet des cultures d’Afrique et des diasporas
is spoken or written – counts as much as
regains his place − at the heart of society. africaines (ASCAD).
the meaning or the “message”.

Our guest
Our guest
Giuseppina Nicolini,
former mayor of Lampedusa.
© Rocco Rorandelli (terraproject.net)

Our guest
It’s natural for an island to be
welcoming!
Giuseppina Nicolini
Interview by Marina Forti, Italian journalist
As Mayor of Lampedusa (from 2012 to June 2017), Giuseppina Nicolini

bravely tackled one of the most dramatic crises to have affected
the Mediterranean Basin in recent years – the arrival of thousands
of migrants fleeing conflict and poverty. She explains how the
6,500 inhabitants of this little Italian island south of Sicily have reacted
to this humanitarian disaster with a show of solidarity and respect for
human dignity. A meeting with the woman the Italians call “The Lioness”.
When UNESCO awarded you the Yet, faced with this influx of migrants, This is not the first time that Lampedusa
Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize many are talking of an “invasion”… has lived through difficult times …
in April 2017, you accepted it as a
It is natural for an island to be welcoming, No, we experienced very hard times in
“homage to the memory of the countless
as I’ve said before. This is essentially what 2011, when the events in Tunisia caused
victims of the traffic in human beings
the island of Lesbos has done in Greece. many people to flee. The Minister of
in the Mediterranean”. What did you
Perhaps it’s because of our geographical Foreign Affairs at the time, Roberto
mean by that?
position – the migration route passes Maroni, decided to leave all the migrants
I think it is both honest and right to through Lampedusa. Although, to be on Lampedusa – they couldn’t go to
dedicate this prize to the migrants more accurate, it might be the other way Italy, he told us. So we had to repatriate
who have lost their lives crossing the round – it’s because our island lies half- them directly from here. But repatriation
Mediterranean, because the human way that the route is possible. procedures take time and, in two months,
tragedy we are witnessing in the region 25,000 people arrived here, which is four
I don’t know what other people would
is really a silent war. Theirs is a forced times the number of inhabitants!
do if they found themselves here, at
journey − forced by war and poverty,
this historic moment where so many How did the island’s residents react?
forced by our politics, and by the
people are fleeing. Anyone who suggests
organized criminals who are profiting Our reception facilities were
“pushing them back” is simply living too
from their predicament. Faced with overwhelmed. The migrants were living
far away, and doesn’t understand the
closed doors, the traffickers are offering in inhumane conditions, on the streets,
law of the sea – pushing them back is
these desperate people the only possible in the cold. It was a false emergency,
impossible. Witnessing the situation first
way out. because 25,000 is nothing compared
hand, helps us understand and awakens
to what we’re seeing today. If they had
Even now, new walls are being built and our sense of responsibility. Here, we see
all been distributed across the Italian
new agreements signed with a number of them arriving – human beings who are
mainland, their numbers would have
North African countries, with the sole aim exhausted, cold, barefoot, terrorized.
remained manageable. But leaving
of protecting European borders and not We see children, and pregnant women.
them on Lampedusa created a crisis.
the lives of those who are trying to reach And one can see straightaway that they
our shores. In contrast, this prize shows us have made this journey because they had That year, the island suffered heavy
that there is solidarity in Europe; that the no other choice. In any case, it’s the only losses. Lampedusa’s economy depends
values of humanity and hospitality have thing we can do, given the position that on tourism, which collapsed completely.
not been lost. geography and history have assigned us. But even then, in those conditions,
We have to welcome them. there was a show of solidarity. The
Lampedusani tried to help, by handing
In Lampedusa, we have experienced
out blankets and food. The people took
some very painful moments. Faced with
over from the state. If there were any
a tragedy like the shipwreck of 3 October
protests, they were directed against the
2013, when 386 people lost their lives, who
Italian government, not the Tunisians.
can we blame? The dead? At moments like
these, you can see clearly who the victims
are, and which the unjust deaths are.

Our guest
© Federica Mameli / SOS Méditerranée

Rescue operation by SOS Méditerranée,
the NGO which shared the 2017
Félix Houphouët-Boigny
During a serious economic crisis, it is The former Italian Prime Minister, Enrico Peace Prize, awarded by UNESCO,
all too easy to mark out migrants as the Letta, went down on his knees before the with Giuseppina Nicolini.
common enemy. It’s also a diversion white coffins of children. And the Italian
to mask the political responsibilities of government launched Mare Nostrum, the
those who support an inequitable model first official humanitarian operation to
of development − creating inequalities honour our country. This operation lasted Besides being very involved with civil
in a context made more complex by a year. It was very costly and Italy asked society, you are also a committed
globalization. History has taught us its European partners for help. ecologist, opposed among other things,
that pointing a finger at an outside to property speculation. What led you to
But there was general opposition. Mare
enemy also strengthens internal political stand for mayor at such a difficult time?
Nostrum was accused of exactly the same
authority, while surely not promoting the
wrongs as the NGOs today – of being an These struggles triggered a democratic
development of a civic conscience, or a
element of attraction, even complicity, movement made up of forces within civil
sense of belonging to a community.
in the trafficking of human beings. Other society, which asked me to stand as a
Today, NGOs are being accused of playing humanitarian operations were to follow, candidate with a manifesto against the
a role in attracting migrants... such as Frontex and Triton, but their goals social and environmental degradation
were more concerned with security and from which our island was suffering.
Indeed, and this also the case for the
to detect and combat crime. Lampedusa found itself pushed aside,
French NGO, SOS Méditerranée, with
both geographically and socially, with
which I have the honour of sharing the Then, in the second half of 2016,
deteriorating schools and youth who
Félix Houphouët-Boigny Prize. But those all the programmes came to a halt,
had no choice but to leave.
who accuse these organizations are including interventions by some
forgetting that they have arrived here European countries who were part of We have worked hard and there is
to fill a vacuum. Frontex. Italy found itself alone once still a lot to do, but the islands in the
again, with its navy and coast-guard archipelago have learned how to live
After the tragedy of 3 October 2013,
vessels. We were back to where we were again. We have invested in public
we have witnessed other disasters,
before Mare Nostrum. As the death toll transport, recycling, solar energy and
some of them even worse. In April 2015,
continued to rise, the NGOs filled this schools. Earlier, we only had a college for
between 500 and 700 people lost their
institutional vacuum. the sciences; now we also have a hotel
lives when a single ship sank. In 2013,
and tourism institute.
some European politicians came here
and were visibly moved.

Our guest
I am convinced that the future of an Admired for her courage and humanity,
Nineteen thousand island like Lampedusa is linked to the Giuseppina Nicolini was born in
people rescued geopolitical destiny of the Mediterranean.
We want this sea to be transformed into
Lampedusa, Italy. A militant ecologist,
she was responsible for getting Rabbit
in fifteen months a centre for exchanges, both political and Beach, an island next to Lampedusa,
cultural. But before we get there, we have declared a nature reserve in 1997. She
“We’re very happy to be given this
to stop using territories as prisons for was mayor of Lampedusa from May
award together with Giusi Nicolini,”
migrants, which is what Lampedusa 2012 to June 2017, and fought hard to
said Sophie Beau, co-founder and
almost became. get the Italian and European authorities
vice-president of SOS Méditerranée,
to act in response to the migrant crisis.
as she received the Félix Houphouët- We must cultivate the tradition of
In 2016, she received the Simone de
Boigny Prize. “We visited her in welcome in its purest form, with islands
Beauvoir Prize for Women’s Freedom
Lampedusa when we founded our serving as landing stages and first‑aid
in recognition of her efforts.
association in 2015, to explain our points for migrants, who are then
project to start rescue activities transferred to a second reception centre,
with a ship chartered by European free from any logic of emergency. Then,
citizens. She declared to Klaus Vogel, as we have noted, migration and tourism
our co-founder: ‘You are crazy, but can co-exist and the island can prosper.
I’m with you.’”
I sincerely hope that the prize
“We can’t just look on and do that UNESCO has awarded to SOS
nothing as thousands of people Méditerranée and to me, will encourage
drown in the sea right in front of other initiatives. Our example
us, at the gates to Europe,” Beau demonstrates the great strength
exclaims. This was the conclusion of small territories.
that led Vogel, a German merchant
captain, and Beau, a humanitarian Askavusa, a collective started in
programme specialist, to set up Lampedusa in March 2009, has created
SOS Méditerranée, a European a permanent exhibition space, PortoM,
non‑governmental organization to display everyday objects found
(NGO) for high-sea rescue. on the boats of migrants.
The NGO’s field of action is the
Mediterranean, which thousands of
migrants and refugees fleeing war and
famine try crossing to reach the shores
of Europe, risking their lives in the
attempt. At least 46,000 people have
died at sea in the past fifteen years.
The NGO is founded on the
traditional values of mutual aid
between seafarers, and works in
close collaboration with the Italian
authorities – the Maritime Rescue
Coordination Centre of Rome.
The nerve centre of the initiative
is Aquarius, a 77-metre ship,
operated by a crew of eleven, with
a medical team from Médecins sans
Frontières and a rescue team from
SOS Méditerranée. In total, thirty
people are always ready to cope
© Camille Millerand / Divergence (www.camillemillerand.com)
with a capacity of 500 passengers,

sometimes more.
In fifteen months of operations off
the coast of Libya (from February
2016 to May 2017), the association
has rescued over 19,000 people.
Most of the survivors come from
sub‑Saharan Africa, especially West
Africa and the Horn of Africa, but
also from Bangladesh, Syria, Libya,
Pakistan and Palestine.

Current affairs
Drawing by Italian artist Marilena Nardi, part of Cartooning

for Peace, an international network of politically-engaged
editorial cartoonists, supported by UNESCO.

Current affairs
Dawit Isaak,
a symbol of press freedom who
must be freed
by Nathalie Rothschild
Dawit Isaak has become an

international symbol in the
© Kalle Ahlsen
fight for press freedom. He was
awarded the 2017 UNESCO/
Guillermo Cano World Press
Freedom Prize, which his family Photo of Dawit Isaak taken in 1987-
says has served to rekindle the 1988, soon after his arrival in Sweden.
hope that he will be freed soon.
It is nearly sixteen years since the Born on 27 October 1964, in the early
journalist, playwright and author, years of the thirty-year Eritrean War
Dawit Isaak, was imprisoned without of Independence [September 1961 to
trial in his native Eritrea. Isaak, who was May 1991], Isaak grew up in Asmara.
awarded the 2017 UNESCO/Guillermo His parents ran a small Italian deli, and
Cano World Press Freedom Prize, has he was one of five siblings.
become a household name in Sweden
When Isaak was in his twenties, the
(of which he is a citizen and where his
fighting between the Eritrean People’s
three children and other family members
Liberation Front and the Ethiopian
currently reside). A portrait of Isaak
army intensified, and the Soviet Union
from the late 1980s has become an
withdrew its support of the Ethiopian
international symbol in the fight for press
government. Isaak fled the country for
freedom and the freedom of expression.
Sweden in 1987, where he first made
Isaak has been named a prisoner of
a living as a cleaner.
conscience by Amnesty International,
which has called for his immediate and
unconditional release. Committed to democracy
Over the years, diplomatic initiatives Isaak stayed committed to fighting for
by five administrations of his adopted a free and democratic Eritrea, according
country, international lobbying to his younger brother, Esayas Isaak.
campaigns, civil-society efforts and “I have few early childhood memories
celebrity-studded drives, have helped of Dawit since he is 10 years older than
keep Isaak’s case in the spotlight. But the me, but when I was a teenager, he was
Eritrean regime has neither heeded calls my Tigrinya language teacher here in
to grant his release nor offered him a fair Sweden. He used to tell me over and over:
trial or any contact with the outside world, ‘Don’t forget your language, your country,
apart from a brief release from jail in 2005. your roots.’

Current affairs
© Presidential Palace Press Bureau

Betlehem Isaak, Dawit’s daughter, at the
celebration of World Press Freedom Day
in Jakarta, Indonesia, May 2017.
“Culture and identity were important Free-flowing information
to him. At the same time, he respected
Swedish society and did adjust to life “We wanted our newspaper to flow “I also have a sense of renewed hope,
here,” Esayas said. like a river without interruption,” Aaron now that my brother has been awarded
Berhane, who co-founded Setit with Isaak, UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Prize,
In 1993, a year after obtaining Swedish
explained. which brings attention to his case at
citizenship, Isaak returned to a newly
the United Nations level,” he added.
independent Eritrea, where he married Isaak became part-owner of Setit and
and had three children – twin brother was a prolific columnist, covering culture “I believe this award sends an important
and sister, Yorun and Betlehem, and their and local affairs. But it did not take long and significant signal against the
sister Danait, who is 4 years younger. before fresh clashes broke out between treatment that Dawit Isaak has been
Ethiopia and Eritrea, and Isaak was subjected to,” said Cilla Benkö, Director-
“One of my earliest memories of my
forced to leave for Sweden – his wife General and CEO of Swedish Radio and
father is him teaching me and my brother
and children soon joined him. Though president of the 2017 UNESCO World
to read, and from the age of 4, he taught
the political situation remained unstable Press Freedom Prize jury. “He has been
us math,” says Betlehem Isaak, who is
in Eritrea in 2001, Isaak decided to imprisoned without any contact with
now 23 years old. “He was keen for us to
return home. He stepped straight into a his near and dear ones and with no trial.
learn about our history and the world
dangerous controversy, as Setit published It is a completely unacceptable state of
around us, though he wasn’t always very
an open letter to the Eritrean president. affairs,” Benkö stressed.
pedagogic! But he tried his best. He was
A few months later, all independent
a very committed parent.”
By the late 1990s, efforts to liberalize
newspapers were banned – eleven of the
letter’s signatories (which included top
Renewed hope
Eritrean society seemed to have paid politicians) and ten journalists, including Days before the UNESCO World Press
off. The country issued a new law that Isaak, were jailed. Freedom Prize awards ceremony in
permitted the private ownership of Jakarta, Indonesia, which coincided with
The arrests took place just weeks after
print media – a freedom Isaak took World Press Freedom Day on 3 May 2017,
the terrorist attacks of 9/11 in the United
advantage of by co-founding Eritrea’s first the African Commission on Human and
States. “The world has totally changed
independent newspaper, Setit, named Peoples’ Rights announced that it would
since then. He [Dawit] has missed out
after the only river in Eritrea that flows take up Isaak’s case.
on so much,” Esayas said. “There are
all year round.
times when I feel like he is about to be
forgotten, that there is a sense of fatigue
around the efforts to free him. But then,
other times, I feel like something just
must happen.

Current affairs
The move comes after Isaak’s lawyers
© Henry Gylander
submitted a petition to the Commission,
based on the principle of habeas
corpus – a court order that commands
an individual or a government who
has restrained another to produce
the prisoner and justify the prisoner’s
detention. While the Eritrean authorities
Quiet diplomacy Hope was rekindled a few years later,
when a former prison guard who had
have accepted this principle, they have
“It took a while for Swedish officials, fled Eritrea told Swedish media that Isaak
refused the right to a trial to Isaak and
media and civil society to start paying was alive, but unwell and being held in
the other journalists detained since
attention to my brother’s case”, Esayas inhumane conditions. Isaak is thought to
September 2001.
said. But eventually, the government at have spent much of the last sixteen years
The Commission has said it will question the time engaged in “quiet diplomacy” in solitary confinement, alone in a dark
Eritrea about the country’s failure to with Eritrea for his release. A brief prison cell.
comply with international human rights ray of hope when Isaak was released
Isaak’s story demonstrates that “we need
conventions; a vow that stirred renewed in November 2005, was quickly
journalists who hold those in power to
hope for Isaak’s family. But Betlehem extinguished as he was detained again
account but that, unfortunately, doing so
dares only to be cautiously optimistic. two days later, on his way to a hospital.
is also increasingly associated with great
“It means something, but whether or not
danger,” Benkö said.
it will have any impact is still up to Eritrea.
They have the power to decide over “We should be grateful that there are
my father’s fate,” she said. The “Sit with Dawit” event was launched people out there who are willing to
by the “Free Dawit” campaign in 2016, take risks in order to offer the rest of us
Esayas has called the move a “positive
to create engagement in the Isaak case. descriptions of reality that we otherwise
development”. “It does send a signal
A mock-up of Dawit’s cell was installed on would not have access to. Dawit is an
to the international community and to
a number of sites and individuals asked to example of such a person and there are
the Eritrean state, which has committed
spend fifteen minutes sitting alone in the journalists around the world who offer
severe assaults on my brother for
dark cell – to reflect upon Dawit’s nearly important guarantees that freedom of
nearly sixteen years now. I only hope
sixteen years of solitary confinement must expression is upheld…. I am proud that
those in power are listening and will
feel like, and show solidarity with him. the jury I preside over was unanimous
do something.
This photograph was taken on the in its decision to award Dawit Isaak
5,000th day of Dawit’s detention, on one the UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize.
of Stockholm’s main squares. This prize will contribute to putting
pressure on those who are keeping Isaak
imprisoned,” Benkö added.
Nathalie Rothschild (Sweden) is a

producer and reporter at Sveriges
Radio, Sweden’s national public radio,
and a freelance journalist. Her articles
have appeared in international
publications, including The Wall Street
Journal, The Atlantic, the Guardian,
and Foreign Policy.
© Brit Stakston

Current affairs
Reconstruction:
changing attitudes
by Christina Cameron
Natural disasters and an

increase in terrorist attacks
have meant that the world’s
cultural heritage has suffered
heavier losses in recent
years. This has led to a more
favourable attitude by the
World Heritage Committee
and UNESCO towards
the reconstruction of damaged
© OUR PLACE World Heritage Collection (www.ourplaceworldheritage.com)
or destroyed sites, in the face

of traditional opposition.
With this article, the UNESCO Courier

marks the occasion of the 41st session
of the World Heritage Committee,
held in Krakow, Poland in July 2017.
Global destruction of cultural heritage, UNESCO calls these attacks on World

now occurring at an unprecedented scale, Heritage Sites a form of cultural cleansing,
brings into focus the question of whether which require new national and
or not to reconstruct significant places as international policies and the involvement
a means of recovering their meaning. of the United Nations, Interpol and
the International Criminal Court.
The 2001 demolition of the ancient
Buddha statues in Bamiyan Valley in In addition, natural disasters are
Afghanistan foreshadowed a wave of destroying swathes of buildings, as we
deliberate desecration of the world’s have seen during the 2015 earthquake
iconic cultural sites, including Palmyra in the Kathmandu valley, Nepal, where
and Aleppo in Syria. hundreds of structures within the World
Heritage Site have been affected.

Current affairs
Reconstruction is not new. Its roots This opposition began in the nineteenth
can be found in nineteenth-century century and gathered momentum
Western cultures, when the concept following the oft-repeated guidance from
of historical monuments was created French art historian and archaeologist
and consciousness of a historical Adolphe Napoléon Didron that “for
past was developed, due to the rapid ancient monuments, it is better to
industrialization of society and its consolidate than repair, better to repair
subsequent rupture with the past. than to restore, better to restore than
Architects sought to replace missing to reconstruct”.
parts of historic monuments as a means
In 1883, in the Prima Carta del Restauro,
of restoring them to their previous
Italian architect Camillo Boito spelled out
splendour. French Gothic Revival
eight principles for heritage conservation
architect and theorist Eugène Emmanuel
that insist on honesty and transparency
Viollet-le-Duc’s reconstruction of the
when adding missing parts to buildings.
walls of the historic fortified city of
These ideas eventually found expression
Carcassonne, France, is a case in point.
in the key twentieth-century doctrinal
In the twentieth century, this trend was
text that is the foundation of the
particularly strong in North America,
International Council on Monuments and
where historical replicas served as living
Sites (ICOMOS). The 1964 International
history museums, popular with visitors
Charter on the Conservation and
and effective as forms of presentation
Restoration of Monuments and Sites,
and interpretation of the past.
known as the Venice Charter, rules out
The most famous example of this can be reconstruction and insists that restoration
found in colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, must stop where conjecture begins.
where 350 buildings were reconstructed Subsequent standards and guidelines
in the 1930s, and others from later have consistently expressed caution
periods were destroyed in an attempt about reconstructing historic sites.
to create an interpretative park to There are exceptions – the Australia
eighteenth-century colonial America. ICOMOS Charter for the Conservation of
Places of Cultural Significance, known
One can even argue that the 1972 World
as the Burra Charter, adopted in 1979,
Heritage Convention originated in a
accepts reconstruction if it reflects a
UNESCO project: the dismantling and
pattern of use or cultural practice that
reconstruction of Nubian monuments
sustains cultural value. But even here, a
from Abu Simbel to Philae in Egypt. This
“cautious approach to changing a place”
outstanding archaeological area, which
is advocated.
was to be flooded by the Aswan Dam,
was the site 3,000-year-old monuments
and temples. These treasures were saved Shifting attitude
due to an unprecedented twenty-year
The Genbaku Dome of the Hiroshima international campaign launched by In the early years, UNESCO’s World
Peace Memorial, Japan, preserved UNESCO, from 1960 to 1980. Heritage Committee (WHC) followed
in exactly the same state it was found, the ICOMOS doctrine and generally
after being hit by the first atomic bomb opposed reconstructions. An exception
on 6 August 1945. Honesty and was made in 1980 for the historic city
transparency of Warsaw, whose massive rebuilding
was seen as a symbol of the patriotic
The question remains: to construct feeling of the Polish people. Until
or not to reconstruct. Heritage recently, the Committee has remained
conservation professionals have largely unsympathetic to reconstructed
traditionally been opposed to sites, although there have been
reconstruction because this approach other exceptions.
can falsify history and create fictional
places that never existed in that form.

Current affairs
For example, the listing of the Old Bridge

Area of the Old City of Mostar in Bosnia
and Herzegovina, in 2005, was justified
on the basis of the restoration of cultural
value, an intangible dimension of the
property. In the case of the Tombs of
Buganda Kings at Kasubi, Uganda, which
were destroyed by fire in 2010, the
Committee gave provisional approval
for reconstruction, on condition that
the new structure was based on sound
documentation, traditional forms and
techniques and continuing use. Indeed,
the current version of the World Heritage
Committee’s Operational Guidelines for
the Implementation of the World Heritage
Convention still echoes the Venice Charter
when it states: “In relation to authenticity,
the reconstruction of archaeological
remains or historic buildings or districts
is justifiable only in exceptional
© Ammar Abd Rabbo / Abaca Press
circumstances. Reconstruction is
acceptable only on the basis of complete
and detailed documentation and to
no extent on conjecture.”
Yet, in light of recent attacks by
extremists on heritage places, decisions
of the World Heritage Committee and
UNESCO reflect a shifting attitude toward
reconstruction. The justification for this
shift is based in part on the ideas in the
Nara Document on Authenticity (which
was “conceived in the spirit of the Charter
of Venice” in 1994, and adopted by
Since that time, UNESCO has Tool for regeneration
spearheaded a reconstruction process,
ICOMOS) in which the broadened use of
which was completed in record time in Arguments in favour of reconstruction
intangible attributes makes a stronger
2015. This is a good example when trying reside largely in the local community:
case for reconstruction.
to answer the question of “reconstruction: traditional building techniques are
The beginning of this shift can be marked for or against?”. It is worth noting that transmitted from elders to a new
by the wilful destruction in 2012 of the the values listed in the Statement of generation of builders; the project brings
Sufi mausoleums at the Timbuktu World Outstanding Universal Value focus on together the whole community, and the
Heritage Site in Mali. Defying appeals the tombs as witness to Timbuktu’s sites continue to serve as religious spaces
from the Director-General of UNESCO and past, with no mention of community for ceremonies and contemplation.
the WHC to spare these revered tombs, values or architectural techniques. It was Indeed, the involvement of the local
extremists attacked them with renewed only after the destruction of the tombs community in the reconstruction of the
vengeance until fourteen mausoleums that community and intangible values tombs is seen in part as a reconciliation
were destroyed. were evoked. process and a tool for regeneration.

Current affairs
New guidance needed

On the question of reconstruction,
the ad hoc decision-making by the
WHC appears to be leading to new
approaches. The shift represents a
challenge for keepers of the conservation
doctrine like ICOMOS, because decisions
from such a prestigious international
body give credence to a different
conservation standard. In light of
changing circumstances, new guidance
is needed. Conservation charters need
to make room for new ideas and World
Heritage tools need to be updated.
Since the rise of the conservation
doctrine in the nineteenth century, each
generation has added new principles
and guidelines. A materials-based
conservation doctrine, as manifested
in the World Heritage Operational
Guidelines, is still part of our legacy.
The Burra Charter makes an important
shift towards values-based conservation,
focused on heritage and cultural values.
The Nara Declaration, with its emphasis on
cultural diversity and the relative nature of
values, encourages heritage practitioners
to interpret the Venice Charter through
this new lens. This additive approach
Patchworks of sheets hung over is a good starting point for addressing
a street to stop bullets from snipers the reconstruction question.
in war‑ravaged Aleppo, Syria.
Arguments against reconstruction In addition, there is the idea of taking Christina Cameron (Canada) is
beyond the rules in the Operational time to reflect after a trauma such as the professor and chairholder of the Canada
Guidelines document of the WHC include one in Timbuktu, in the interest of leaving Research Chair on Built Heritage at
a lack of transparency in the UNESCO space for further consideration over time the School of Architecture, University
decision-making process and concerns and generations. The reconstruction of all of Montreal. She has held leadership
that decisions are made outside the the tombs may erase memory over time positions in the heritage field at Parks
local community by professional and and may deprive people of the space to Canada for more than thirty-five years.
governmental organizations. In such reflect on the past. The half-destroyed Cameron has been actively involved in
cases, it is important to document the Genbaku Dome at the Hiroshima Peace UNESCO’s World Heritage as Head of
decision-making process so that future Memorial in Japan serves precisely the Canadian delegation (1990 to 2008)
generations may understand how this purpose as a reminder of the and as Chairperson (in 1990 and 2008).
choices were made, what options were most destructive force ever created
considered, what values remain and by humankind.
what new ones were created.

Current affairs
Early literacy
the key to fluency
by Helen Abadzi
At a time when large-scale refugee displacements have created huge

disruptions in the literacy of tens of thousands of children, education
specialist Helen Abadzi – whose work has helped raise early-grade
reading fluency to a high-level international priority − strongly
advocates that countries and institutions “vaccinate” young children
with literacy at an early age, and definitely before the age of eighteen.
Every September 8, on International Ethnic conflict and displacement

Literacy Day, my memory goes to the robbed my father’s sister of opportunity.
illiterate women of my youth. Poverty The family fled from Turkey to Greece in
and ethnic conflict in my native Greece 1922, her parents died, and she never
were severe several decades ago, but went to school. She learned the reading
they presented the same educational basics in her 40s, from her daughter who
problems as today. was a teacher. She spent fifty years in a
big city, surrounded by print. But when
In the 1930s, when rural girls rarely
I tested her at age 97, I found out that
went to school, two aunts in Athens
she could only read capital letters and
hired a young woman. They were
very hesitantly. At best, she puzzled out
teachers and diligently taught her to
bus labels.
read in the relatively consistent Greek
orthography. Maria learned letters but Very different was the performance of
never progressed beyond single words. Sofia, who took care of me. Uprooted
Eventually she gave up. She watched from Turkey in 1922, she attended first
over children who studied before her, grade before becoming a homeless
but still died illiterate in her 90s. orphan. When I was learning to read, she
was the one who helped me. She read
our textbooks haltingly, and we used
to laugh. But she could process entire
sentences, so she kept practising, and
improved. In the last years of her life,
she would put on her reading glasses,
open the newspaper, and read the news
to my mother.
This three-dimensional painting reproduces

a drawing by 11-year-old Walaa, evoking
the memory of the time when her school
was bombed in her home town in Syria.
It was staged by her young friends at a
refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon.
The children are attending a school run by
Save The Children, where they participate
in educational activities, including reading.

Current affairs
Adult dyslexia It is not just unschooled adults who University students who must learn
read laboriously. Educated foreigners different scripts past the age of 18
Decades later, as an education specialist learning languages that have unknown typically read slowly, and for decades
at the World Bank, I appraised and scripts experience the same difficulties. have difficulty scanning text. Several
evaluated adult literacy projects. “Western” academics and aid workers cognitive and neuroscientific studies
Governments and NGOs tried hard to who spend decades in Ethiopia or show long-lasting reading difficulties
teach adults in the 1980s and 1990s, but Bangladesh may speak the languages of for adults. Adult dyslexia may partly
the cases reminded me of my childhood those countries fluently, but perpetually account for the very poor adult literacy
images. In Bangladesh, learners decoded read like mid-first graders. They report programme outcomes worldwide. But it
letters laboriously, even after a year of seeing a jumble of letters that must be has gone unnoticed. Educators typically
practice. In Burkina Faso, adults who decoded one by one. Reading is thus attribute these failures to social issues,
had completed courses read haltingly, too tedious, and many avoid it. learner motivation, or organizational
and even had trouble reading their own problems. These are certainly important,
These events point to a striking
handwriting. By contrast, little-educated but the results among those who persist
phenomenon that could be called ‘adult
people who had learned in childhood, are disappointing. And since this strange
neo-literate dyslexia’. It seems to become
read fluently, like Sofia. The difference dyslexia has remained invisible, little
significant by age 19 and probably
was striking. direct research has gone into it.
affects all of us.
But what is effortless reading and why
does it matter? This competency seems
like a commonplace rite of passage
in childhood, but it requires specific
changes in the brain.
Children may be
‘vaccinated’ with
literacy
Reading originates as a perceptual
learning function; in the first few
milliseconds, it is disconnected from
meaning. With practice, the letter
shapes are grouped and processed
in the brain simultaneously. The brain
does this most efficiently if the symbols
are taught one by one, with pattern
analogies. Practice combines small
units into larger ones. Some scripts and
spelling systems take longer than others
to learn. But in all cultures, from France
to China, people use the same brain
structures to read.
© Patrick Willocq / Save the Children

Current affairs
Initially, learners decode single letters Strangely, we do not need to know a This was the case of Sofia, my childhood
and exert conscious effort. After dozens language in order to read it fluently, nor care-taker. But if they drop out before
of practice hours, processing moves to do we need to be able to write the letters! attaining fluency, letter-by-letter decoding
a part of the brain that recognizes words Millions of children worldwide learn to read, is too tedious. Like Maria and my father’s
as if they were faces. Then multiple for religious purposes, texts in unknown sister, they may pass by store signs and street
letters are decoded at one glance, like languages that differ from a country’s official names, but are not able to read them.
facial features. Simultaneously, reading scripts. It greatly helps to learn a consistent
Unfortunately, the ability of children to
becomes effortless, automatic. We cannot spelling system, like Spanish or Hindi rather
automatize a large set of symbols has a
stop ourselves from reading, just as we than an inconsistent one, like English or
deadline. Certain neural circuits involved
cannot stop the recognition of people Khmer. But to understand a text, we must be
in perception have sensitive periods and
we know. This may happen at forty-five fluent. The limitations of short-term memory
gradually slow down during adolescence.
to sixty words per minute. demand speed. Educated adults may read
If the process to automatize reading is
250 to 350 words per minute.
Thanks to perceptual learning, humans interrupted for years, precious time may be
can learn to recognize footprints, musical Children who drop out of school after lost that cannot be regained.
notation, numbers, mathematical equations, attaining automaticity, may read printed
astronomical constellations, or weather signs in the environment and thus get
prediction signs. And once this visual sufficient practice to maintain the skill
function is learned and practised repeatedly, and improve it.
it is rarely forgotten. Thus children may be
‘vaccinated’ with literacy.
80 year-old Parachiva reads
by candlelight at her home in a remote
village in Bucovina, Romania.
© Radu Dumitrescu

Current affairs
© Merijn Hos (merijnhos.com)

Fluency by age 18
The large-scale refugee displacements
of the twenty-first century have created
the perfect illiteracy storm. The schooling
of many children has been interrupted
at critical moments. Moving from Syria
to Greece and to Germany, they may
never automatize the perceptually
challenging Arabic script. For some,
the disruption may be permanent. And
displacement is not the only threat to
childhood literacy. Low-income countries
have expanded schooling with little
knowledge of how to teach the poor, and
the results have created a generation of
schooled illiterates. The problems are
compounded by the use of English and
French that have complex spelling. Thus,
large numbers of African students can at An imaginary visualization of cerebral
best decipher only a few letters or words specialization for different cognitive
in those languages. Some are known to abilities, by Dutch visual artist Merijn Hos.
attend adult literacy classes as adults,
but it may be too late for automaticity,
according to the World Bank.
These neurological realities have Thick or abundant books are The World Literacy Day serves to remind
implications for the Sustainable indispensable for the ‘face’-recognition us that we must ensure automaticity in
Development Goals (SDGs) as well. competency to develop. They should childhood. This function has a deadline:
According to SDG 4.6, governments use letters that are large and spaced to All children must become fluent in one
should ensure that all youth and a accommodate the brain’s visual demands. or more scripts by age 18 at the latest.
substantial proportion of adults, both Writing supports reading, and vocabulary In the future, biomedical research may
men and women, achieve literacy and must be learned in order to make sense mitigate this neurological phenomenon,
numeracy by 2030. To facilitate the of texts. Because the reading process is but for 2030, the goal is clear. Wars and
learning process and the teachers’ universal, forty-five to sixty words could population displacements seem to be
workload, the neurocognitive research be a rough benchmark of automaticity a feature of human evolution, but the
should be put to use. in almost all languages and scripts. education community should be ready.
To activate the perceptual learning To learn from texts and enjoy reading, Governments and donors should put
function, complex teaching activities this speed should be attained by the end the existing research to use in order
are unnecessary. Teachers should teach of second grade. to achieve a transition to automaticity
letter-by-letter phonics and pattern in first grade. In case of an emergency
Donors and governments receive a
analogies, and give lots of practice disruption, the adults should perform
lot of confusing advice about reading.
in class, with feedback. Practice links more like Sofia than like Maria.
Traditional letter-by-letter methods
small units into larger ones, words that better conformed to brain
and sentences. processes have been replaced by Helen Abadzi is a Greek psychologist
whole language activities that reflect and researcher at the University of
middle-class perceptions. The effects Texas at Arlington, Texas. She has spent
on the poor can be severe. Students twenty-seven years as a senior education
of consistently spelled languages may specialist at the World Bank and has
learn sufficient reading in first grade drawn on cognitive psychology and
to survive subsequent interruptions. neuroscience to improve the outcomes
Old syllabaries used to accomplish this. of educational investments. Abadzi, who
But more ‘modern’ methods slow down was appointed to the five-member Jury
the process, leaving students vulnerable for the UNESCO International Literacy
to unexpected life shocks that may Prizes in 2015, chaired the Jury for the
leave them functionally illiterate. 2016 prize, a post she held till June 2017.

Current affairs
Sharing
legally freely and
for better learning
by Cable Green
The lack of universal access

to effective educational
resources remains a global
problem. But, says Cable Green,
the good news is that open
education is increasing access,
lowering costs and improving
student learning.
by David Kindler (CC BY 2.0)
Cable Green, Director of Open Education

at Creative Commons.
We live in an age of information But how can educators share digital
abundance where everyone, for the learning content without violating
With this article, the UNESCO Courier first time in history, can access all the copyright law – how can they share
marks the 2nd World Open Educational knowledge they wish. The key to this legally?
Resources Congress in Ljubljana, sea-change in education opportunity is
The key distinguishing characteristic of
Slovenia, in September 2017. Open Educational Resources (OER), freely
an OER is its open copyright licence and
available materials that can be legally
the legal permissions the licence grants
downloaded, edited and shared to better
the public to use, modify and share it.
serve all students.
If an educational resource is not clearly
For the last twenty years, the educational marked as being in the public domain or
resources – textbooks, videos, courses, having an open licence, it is not an OER.
degree programmes, etc. – we use to
The most common way to openly
teach people how to read and write, learn
license copyrighted education resources
physics and think critically have been
– making them OER – is to add a Creative
"born-digital". Even though we still use
Commons (CC) licence to the resource.
printed copies and employ non-internet
These licences are standardized, free-
delivery of learning materials, there
to-use, open copyright licences that
exists a digital file. Thanks to the internet,
have already been applied to more than
inexpensive disc space and cloud
1.2 billion copyrighted works across nine
computing, we can now store, distribute,
million websites, according to the State
and make copies of digital educational
of the Commons Report, 2015. When
resources for the marginal cost of zero.
authors add a CC licence to their work,
they keep their copyright and share their
work with the public, for free, under
the terms and conditions they choose.

Current affairs
Leveraging
the full power of OER
It is worth noting that “open” is not the
same as “free”. All OER can be freely
accessed, but not all free content is OER.
Many Massive Open Online Courses
(MOOCs), for example, are free but
not open. While access to the MOOC
content might be free, the MOOC is
only considered OER if its contents are
openly licensed or in the public domain.
This becomes critically important if
you want to translate an MOOC into
different languages and/or modify it
for a local context to meet the needs of
your students.
OER can be freely retained (keep a
copy), reused (use as is), revised (adapt,
adjust, modify), remixed (mash up
different content to create something
new), and redistributed (share copies
with others) without breaking copyright
law. Of course, if we want to leverage
the full power of OER, educators and
students also need access to Information
and Communication Technology (ICT)
infrastructure – computers, mobile
devices and internet connectivity, in all
spaces for all people.
In summary, OER are possible because:
1) educational resources are digital (most
OER are “born-digital,” though OER can be
made available to students in both digital
and printed formats) and digital resources
can be stored, copied and distributed
for near-zero cost; 2) the internet makes
it simple for anyone to share digital
content; and 3) Creative Commons open
licences make it simple and legal to
keep one’s copyright and legally share
educational resources with the world.
© Patric Sandri
Open resources make access

to education easier.

Current affairs
What difference
does OER make?
When colleges and universities shift
to OER, they enable a series of positive
education changes. The first thing that
happens is that equitable access to
educational resources goes up. Every
single student can have access to all of
the educational resources that have been
designed for them to be successful in
the class on day one. This might sound
obvious, but even in the United States,
two-thirds of college and university
students don’t buy the textbooks
© Leonardo Ulian (www.leonardoulian.com)

prescribed for their classes because
they cannot afford them.
The second positive impact is all students
get access to relevant, contextualized
education content that has been
designed for them. A professor in
Mumbai can download an openly
licensed textbook that has been shared
by the University of Barcelona, translate
it into Hindi, and update the book with
examples that will appeal to his or
her students.
“Microchip synapses 29 – Between
Third, learning outcomes go up or stay the now and the infinite”, by Italian artist
the same, while price falls to near zero. Fourth, it has been observed that Leonardo Ulian.
When all students in a class have access course completion rates go up. In
to all of the resources on day one, they a controlled application of OER at
succeed. A journal-published analysis Tidewater Community College in
of more than 16,000 students at public Virginia, US, students utilizing OER
institutions showed that students using resources in a variety of course formats
open materials perform as well, if not fared up to 11% better in both course
better, than their peers using traditional completion and achievement. (Lane
Fifth, once we have OER in our learning
course materials (Lane Fischer, John Fischer, John Hilton, David Wiley and
spaces, students and teachers can shift to
Hilton, T. Jared Robinson, and David Linda William: Maintaining momentum
open education practices – “collaborative
Wiley: A multi-institutional study of the toward graduation: OER and the course
practices which include the creation,
impact of open textbook adoption on throughput rate, The International Review
use and reuse of OER and pedagogical
the learning outcomes of post-secondary of Research in Open and Distributed
practices employing participatory
students, Journal of Computing in Higher Learning, 2016).
technologies, peer learning, knowledge
Education, 2015).
Students remain and succeed in courses creation and sharing, and empowerment
that provide them access to all the of learners” (Catherine Cronin : Openness
educational resources they need to and praxis: exploring the use of
prosper. Because more students are open educational practices in higher
completing their courses, time-to- education, The International Review of
degree also drops. With OER, education Research in Open and Distributed Learning,
institutions help students move through 2017). According to Cronin, students
their educational opportunities with become co-producers, generators and
greater speed and success – a more creators of knowledge; they can create,
effective public investment. update and improve OER as they learn.

Current affairs
Policy support needed Governments, foundations, and

education institutions can and should
In conclusion, if we want OER to go
mainstream, if we want curated sets of
One way governments can support open implement open education licensing OER for all grade levels, in all subjects, in
education is to adopt a simple policy policies by requiring open licences on all languages, customized to meet local
– require publicly-funded educational the educational resources produced with needs; if we want significant funding
resources are openly licensed. their funding. Strong open licensing available for the creation, adoption and
policies make open licensing mandatory continuous updating of OER – then
Open education licensing policies
and apply a clear definition for open we need (1) universal awareness of
insert open licensing requirements
licence, ideally using the Creative and systematic support for OER, and
into existing funding systems (e.g.,
Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence (2) a broad adoption of open education
grants, contracts or other agreements)
that grants full reuse rights, provided licensing policies. When all educators
that create educational resources,
the original author is attributed. are passionate about free and open
thereby making the content OER, and
access to their educational resources,
shifting the default on publicly-funded The good news is, open education
when we change the rules on the money,
educational resources from “closed” policies are happening. In June 2012,
when the default on all publicly-funded
to “open”. This is a particularly strong UNESCO convened a World Open
educational resources is “open” and not
education policy argument – if the public Education Resources Congress at its
“closed”, we will live in a world where
pays for education resources, the public Headquarters, and released the 2012
everyone can attain all the education
should have the right to access and use Paris OER Declaration, which included a
they desire.
those resources at no additional cost call for governments to “encourage the
and with the full spectrum of legal rights open licensing of educational materials
necessary to modify the OER to meet produced with public funds”. I am pleased
Cable Green (USA) is Director of Open
their local needs. to say that many governments have
Education at Creative Commons, which
followed this recommendation.
This sounds obvious, but it is not the rule. includes over 500 researchers, activists,
Unfortunately, it is almost always the legal, education, science, museum and
case that publicly- funded educational policy advocates, and volunteers who
resources are commercialized in such a make up the CC global network in over
way that access is restricted to those who eighty-five countries.
are willing to pay for them a second time.
Why should a nation’s citizens be required
to pay a second time for an education
resource they’ve already paid for?

News
Giving youth a voice!
For the International
Youth Day on August 12,
the Courier dedicates
these pages to UNESCO
projects aimed at young
generations who wish to
be involved in voluntary
action and dialogue.
“If I were...”
“These tombs that keep us alive” is a
strange caption for an equally strange
photograph, taken by 27-year-old Vesal
Sulaiman, who lives in Germany. “It fills
me both with sadness and joy,” he says.
The image immortalizes that moment
during his trip to Kabul when he saw
children forced to clean tombs for money.
In the dead of winter and with hands
frozen by the cold, the children climbed
to the top of the hill behind the mosque
to collect water! When Sulaiman asked
© UNESCO / Vesal Sulaiman

them if they liked their job, they replied:
“Yes, it allows us to go to school.”
“I tried to imagine what it was like being
them,” explains Vesal, one of ten finalists
of the “If I were…” contest, launched by
UNESCO on social media in Arabic, English,
French and Spanish from 24 February to
12 March 2017. In the space of two weeks,
UNESCO received 837 submissions from They are invited to propose collaborative For its tenth anniversary, the campaign
117 countries around the world. projects with an aim to promote proposes the implementation of fifty‑one
Through the lens of a camera or video solidarity, empathy, critical thinking, social youth action projects in thirty-two
recorder, the participants, aged 21 to commitment and civic involvement. countries between May and November
30, imagined themselves in the shoes of 2017. This year, the Vajrayogini temple
Four themes were chosen for the workshops
someone else. complex in Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley, the
and plenary sessions: refugees and
sixteenth-century monasteries on the slopes
The ten finalists, each of whom win migration; intercultural education; the role
of Popocatepetl in Mexico, the parks and
an iPad mini, are invited to present of media and social media in constructing
garden of Weimar in Germany, the towering
their photos or videos at the “Second positive dialogue; and youth engagement
mountain summits of the Rwenzori
International Conference on Youth with cultural heritage and the arts.
Mountains National Park in Uganda and
Volunteering and Dialogue: preventing Contact : [email protected] many other exceptional places in the world,
violent extremism and strengthening welcome young people concerned with
social inclusion”, held at UNESCO the protection of the common heritage
Headquarters in Paris, from 25 to Volunteers of mankind.
27 September 2017.
for world heritage The campaign is part of the UNESCO World
During the three-day event, over a Heritage Education Programme launched
hundred young participants from across Launched in 2008, the World Heritage in 1994. It seeks to encourage and train
the globe have the opportunity to share Volunteers Initiative gives young people the tomorrow’s decision-makers to participate
the experiences and knowledge they opportunity to dedicate themselves to the in heritage conservation and respond to
gained as volunteers in different fields protection of world heritage – by acquiring the continuing threats facing it.
associated with UNESCO’s mandate. skills and competencies, and immersing
themselves in the lives of local communities. Contact : Ines Yousfi ([email protected])

News
The Forum is also aligned to UNESCO’s To translate these ideals into reality, the
A youth forum Operational Strategy on Youth UNESCO Office in Almaty, Kazakhstan,
in a biosphere reserve (2014‑2021), built on the premise that hosts the First Youth Conference on
youth are key partners and actors for Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue
Young people, especially those who development and peace. on 21 September, 2017. Bringing together
live or work in biosphere reserves, are young researchers and activists from
Youth stakeholders participated in
the future of these areas comprising Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and
a large-scale, online consultation to
terrestrial, marine and coastal Uzbekistan, the conference aims to find
generate ideas about the issues to be
ecosystems. UNESCO believes youth solutions to help resolve intercultural and
discussed during the Forum. Three
should be given a voice in shaping their interreligious conflicts in the region.
main thematic areas emerged − the
territory and defining their engagement contribution of young people to the There is a full programme of activities,
in its Man and the Biosphere (MAB) life of biosphere reserves; research and including a workshop on intercultural
Programme. study into the sustainable development dialogue, an introduction to different
This prompted the MAB Secretariat and of biosphere reserves; and a sustainable cultures in the region, and opportunities to
the UNESCO Regional Bureau in Venice future for youth, giving voice to their share experiences. Participants also learn
to organize the 2017 MAB Youth Forum, concerns, and encouraging an exchange to understand the attitudes and reactions
in the Po Delta Biosphere Reserve, of best practices and business ideas, of other cultures, and to reflect on ways to
Italy, from 18-23 September. When the to be submitted to potential donors. overcome intercultural problems.
initiative was first announced during the Contact : Philippe Pypaert ([email protected]) This initiative is designed to promote
4th World Congress of Biosphere Reserves dialogue between religions, spiritual and
in Lima, Peru, in March 2016, it received humanist traditions, and to enable the
a standing ovation! Fostering dialogue understanding of their interactions and
Addressing youth between 18 and 35, among youth influences in order to combat prejudice
and build mutual respect.
the Forum aims to ensure they become
agents of change and promoters of a Through its presence in 195 Member Contact : Arina Plokhikh ([email protected])
more equitable and sustainable society. States across the globe, UNESCO aims to
The exchange of best practices and the foster an environment that helps young
promotion of biosphere reserves as tools people to blossom as individuals and
for the achievement of the Sustainable become responsible citizens. It does this
Development Goals (SDGs) − from the by encouraging innovation, creativity and
good management of natural resources reflection, especially on burning topics such
to the green economy, from sustainable as intercultural and interreligious conflicts.
tourism to education – is an important
focus of the Forum.
Children learning
about nature and
the environment
while canoeing, at
the Aya Biosphere
Reserve, Japan.
© Aya Biosphere Reserve

News
A new beginning
for the UNESCO Courier
“Just the name of this

emblematic publication
evokes the essence of our
Organization, its history,
its values. From the first issue,
published in February 1948,
to the one I have in my hands,
the Courier has remained
© UNESCO
faithful to its mission
– to promote humanist
ideals, to build bridges of Young people shouting “Long live
dialogue between cultures, the Courier!” at the magazine’s relaunch
to provide a safe space for It was with these words that Irina Bokova, ceremony in Paris, on 27 April.
international debate.” Director-General of UNESCO, launched
the UNESCO Courier at the Diaoyutai State
Guesthouse in Beijing, China, on 13 May Appearing quarterly in a limited-edition
2017. After an interlude (for budgetary print run, the Courier is once again
reasons) of five years, the magazine available online (en.unesco.org/courier)
began its new life in April 2017, thanks in seven languages: Arabic, Chinese,
to the generous support of the People’s English, French, Portuguese, Russian and
Republic of China. Spanish. Access to the online edition is
free of charge and just a few clicks are all
that are needed to consult the archives.
A strategy for extending the online
presence of the magazine is currently
being developed and partners for new
language versions are being sought.
“In the 1980s, the magazine was
published in over 35 languages, thanks
to the co-operation of the various
National Commissions,” recalled Irina
Bokova, as the Courier was relaunched at
UNESCO Headquarters on 27 April 2017.
She added that she was convinced the
partnership with China would encourage
“many players in the public and private
sectors to become our partners to help
develop the Courier on a global scale.”
The UNESCO Courier relaunch ceremony in

Beijing took place on 13 May in the presence
of Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO,
Huang Kun Ming, Executive Vice-Minister
of Publicity Department of the Communist
Party of China, Tian Xue Jun, Vice-Minister
of Education of China and Chairman of the
Chinese National Commission for UNESCO,
Tan Yue, President of China Publishing Group,
Du Yue, Secretary-General of the Chinese
© CTPH
National Commission for UNESCO.

News
Exhibition
Countering
“everyday” racism
What do genetics say about the
diversity of the human species? Where
does xenophobia come from? How
can we understand racist ideas and
behaviour? Which model is best for
living together, respecting equal rights?
These are some of the questions raised
by the “Us and Them – From Prejudice
to Racism” exhibition at the Musée de
l’Homme in Paris, from 31 March 2017
to 8 January 2018, under the patronage
of UNESCO.
Based on studies in anthropology,
biology, sociology and history, the
exhibition follows the same logic for
deconstructing racism as that which
guides UNESCO in one of its primary
missions − to use science and public
information to combat prejudices and
stereotypes about human categories,
rigid identities and otherness as a
symbolic barrier between “us” and “them”.
EXPOSITION
31 MARS
To do so, the exhibition offers visitors an
Illustration : Noma Bar

interactive journey which allows them to
reflect on the individual and collective
mechanisms that lead to the rejection
08 JANV
of the other. It also highlights the role of 2017-2018
the International Coalition of Inclusive Milton Daniel
and Sustainable Cities (ICCAR), a UNESCO

initiative to promote the peaceful
coexistence of people within societies.
SONT VENUS ENSEMBLE DONNER
LEUR COULEUR À CETTE AFFICHE Créez votre affiche, sur votre mobile, avec vos couleurs sur nousetlesautres.fr
The cylinder
of categories
invites visitors
to understand
how the process
of classifying
“others” can lead
to stereotypes
and prejudice
and, ultimately,
to “everyday”
racism.
© Atelier Confino

UNESCO Publishing
United Nations
Educational, Scientiﬁc and
Cultural Organization
www.unesco.org/publishing
[email protected]
Global Ocean UNESCO – A universe World Heritage N° 83

Science Report of Art Museums and visitor centres
The Current Status of Ocean ISBN 978-92-3-000027-1 ISSN 1020-4202 - EAN 3059630101837
Science around the World 432 pp., 26 x 33.5 cm, hardback, 54 € 88 pp., 22 x 28 cm, paperback, 7,50 €
ISBN 978-92-3-100226-7 This book brings together some of With tourism growing worldwide every
378 pp., 21.5 x 28 cm, paperback, 45 € the most beautiful works in UNESCO’s year, museums and visitor centres are
Collection. Spanning over 6,000 years increasingly important to help visitors
The ocean is the largest ecosystem
of history, the collection is a mirror understand the cultural and historical
on our planet, regulating change
of the world’s creative diversity. One significance of World Heritage sites.
and variability in the climate system
finds anonymous artists alongside This also includes zoos and aquariums,
and supporting the global economy,
some of the most renowned art figures which increasingly play an important
nutrition, health and wellbeing,
worldwide: Joan Miró, Jean Arp, Karel role in species conservation.
water supply and energy.
Appel, Afro Basaldella, Roberto Matta, This issue of World Heritage will present
The Global Ocean Science Report
Alexander Calder, Eduardo Chillida, the role of many of these centres
(GOSR) assesses for the first time the
Henry Moore, Rufino Tamayo, Antoni and their contribution to visitors’
status and trends in ocean science
Tàpies, Isamu Noguchi, Jesús Rafael experiences, whether it’s revitalizing
capacity around the world. The report
Soto, Le Corbusier, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Erró, World Heritage site museums in
offers a global record of who, how, and
Tadao Ando, and many others. Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam; the
where ocean science is conducted:
Growing over the years thanks to National Palace Museum of Mexico and
generating knowledge, helping to
the generosity of its Member States, its importance in the cultural history of
protect ocean health, and empowering
UNESCO’s collection today includes UNESCO; the conservation, education
society to support sustainable ocean
over 800 works. It remains the and research roles of the Vienna Zoo;
management in the framework of
most important artistic heritage of or Belgium’s Plantin-Moretus House-
the United Nations 2030 Agenda.
the United Nations. Workshops-Museum Complex, a printing
plant and publishing house dating from
the Renaissance and Baroque periods.
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Courier

July-September 2017 • n°2

The Media: Operation

Carlos Dada Tanella Boni

@ Alvaro Cabrera Jimenez / Shutterstock

2017 • n° 2 • Published since 1948 Language Editors:

The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017 |3

10 Fake news : sound bites

12 Developing a critical mind

16 Aftenposten versus Facebook :

22 A beacon, thanks to the internet

56 Reconstruction : changing attitudes

The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017 |5

© Lukiyanova Natalia frenta / Shutterstock

6 | The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017

The core values of ethical

“Tech giants that dominate the public

The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017 |7

8 | The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017

“No matter how

The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017 |9

Fake news, or disinformation, Aidan White Ivor Gaber

We easily exaggerate the effect of fake

10 | The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017

Head, Foreign News,

The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017 | 11

against fake news

Having moved from light surfing, babbling and chatting to data

At the time, I was Director of the Centre

of MIL, but also its limitations. We were

12 | The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017

The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017 | 13

© Ryoji Ikeda. Photo by Fernando Maquieira. Courtesy of Espacio Fundación Telefónica.

“Data.Path” (2013), by Japanese artist,

14 | The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017

The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017 | 15

Facebook krever at Aftenposten fjerner

NyHEtEr • siDE 2-5, 24–25

photographer, Nick Ut, during the responsibility by positioning itself as

16 | The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017

© Nick Ut / Sipa Press

Norwegian illustrator Inge Grodum’s

The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017 | 17

Disturbing images may not

18 | The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017

An open letter that

pornography and famous war

The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017 | 19

Crowdfunding to save the media

20 | The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017

The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017 | 21

Journalism is going through a global crisis. The all-pervasive

Some of us were forced into journalism We compensated for the absence of

had access to it. Our existence depended

22 | The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017

The paradox in this profession is that the

The UNESCO Courier • July-September 2017 | 23

Investigative journalism is one of the pillars of a well-functioning

I am allergic to the idea of investigative