It already started with my arrival in the office as late as 10 am – being deeply in thoughts about which CMS may be adequate enough for this little project I am currently working on, I missed the right train and ended up taking another one which dropped me at the airport. Wrong direction!
Then, at 11 am, a meeting with smart ppl left me a bit frustrated, as these dudes & dudettes once again celebrated and elaborated on e.g. how to define an expression? like “capacity building” on their sector for the interested public.
Well – working in this dev aid environment sure is an interesting opportunity and I really love? what I am currently doing (because of the sustainability background & involvment of IT & environmental engineering), but a lot of these things – these things that involve the production of unimportant papers and justifications for various actions taken? – are just as obsolete as the thousands of other bureaucratic barriers the world doesn’t really need. Because there’s no positive impact. It doesn’t make a difference. Those targeted don’t need papers with explanations.
Anyways.
Bill of “Jewels in the Jungle” actually sumarized? it pretty nicely – on one hand the G8 meeting in Hooligendamn, and on the other the ongoing TEDGlobal2007 conference in Arusha. Two worlds?
Interestingly, the very same smart ppl as mentioned above from my meeting here this morning – those who are making plans for developing countries nations -? never even heard about? TEDGlobal.? Ignorance, as mentioned before?
I just told my one Israeli colleague “uka haha”, which is Gikuyu for “pls just come here”. After realizing that he didn’t understand a single word, I decided to blog? this frustrating day -? hoping it would have a therapeutic effect on me. *sigh*
But then,I still can’t lose the feeling that the Eurosphere has (at least) a? slight ignorance for the Afrosphere -? which? would be? a big mistake, I think.
Kiku” Welcome to the world of illusions, talk and more talk but no real action! Too many meetings talking about the basic ati in intellectual manner but yet the problems being talked about still linger? It is time for actions and I for one I’m tired of seeing all these brainies keep talking about same ol’ things as if it is rocket science, to define a problem in one meeting and then spring into action and stop wasting money trying to hold the “intellectual meetings” which years after years have been held and yet we still have the same goddam problems. Or it is a case of some people wanting to look important ??? Sorry I feel your frustrations!!!
How many times, many languages, venues etc do problems need t be defined in and yet the people that these decisions that impact are not even involved. Why can’t some of these meetings involve the casualties not just the so called decision makers. A town meeting where a villager can perhaps make the development strategists understand the emotions , the connections etc that their decision affect the people. I’m yet to see some of these meeting being held in a town hall somewhere in Kakamega or that is not a fancy ground ?
Pole, you know me and these kind of topic and yes I maybe naive in not knowing how things work but heck enough talk already!
funny i have the same issues with smart people and big words
Well I was just f****** pissed today at these ppl who dared to talk about situations in other countries and who actually never got a clue or thought about asking those who DO have a healthy understanding of what’s the situation alike in affected areas.
Organisations and their ppl, who have wonderfully perfected the art of creating “transparency” by bureaucratic measurements and thereby totally forget about the initial reason why they started their programmes in the first place. Orgs like the UN that have no output at all but actually burn lots of funds in the process anyways. That’s frustrating.
Also, this ignorance by Europeans is so annoying. They always talk about Africa as if it is “something down there in the South”. I am really pissed off about this attitude.
My dear I feel your pain, “I work for one of those that are out to save the world” in a clueless way.
Hello Kiku,
It’s good to see you back (have you been gone or have I been missing your stuff?). Thanks for the Hat Tip and many of us can of course understand your frustration. I think that Dr. G (George Ayittey) has described your situation as “the blind leading the clueless” in his recent talk down in Tanzania.
I didn’t realize that you were based up North but now that I see that you are on my turf we will have to meet personally. Send me an email message (you have it) and perhaps we can re-arrange our busy work schedules and share a Beck’s or two and der Weser. The weather is improving in Bremen today although it is still a bit overcast and humid. Hochsummer fur den Norden.
Best regards,
Bill
not completely about ignorance, but about indifference and LIES: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_Dn79WsMP8