Monday, February 27, 2006

Rural development more than telecommunication services?

However enthusiastic we in the industrialized, information-society feel about the scope for improvement through advanced telecom-techniques, many other matters are of greater importance to the people we are debating. The campesinos of Bolivia, the people of the countryside, has anybody asked them what changes they would like to see take place in a near future? Maybe they would mention better housing, more available micro-loans for women at farmsteads, safe transport for children to the school, better sewage systems in the villages, free health care?
In an attempt to get down to basics I searched many websites yesterday in order to find something about what the Quechua or the Aymara think. I found Quechua-net and Aymaranet, both with some functions translated into english. These links are now on the side-bar of the Argonautica Photo-Blog.

As a side-dish there are also some beautiful Photo-galleries: The Edward S. Curtis Photo-gallery is a classical with almost all photos and essays of E.S Curtis, who in the end of the nineteenth century lived among the north american native people and photographed them and their daily life. All those sepia-toned handsome photo-portraits are there, among many other, telling about culture, handicraft, tools and building-techniques used by the noth american indians. In addition to this there is an Andean Images Gallery with many colourful modern images of the people in the Andes.

I will write more of rural development this week and also try to look up more details about the gas- and water-issues that often are mentioned in recent articles about Evo Morales. In Finland nationalization does maybe not ring as false as it seem to be doing for instance in the USA. The railroad-company is among those companies still run by the state. The philosophy or ideology behind this in Finland has been, as I gather, that certain services should be equal for all, and this is best guaranteed by a national, or state-run company.

The situation in Bolivia is now that gas and water-supplies so far have not been totally in the hands of the Bolivian people. Evo Moreales has promised a change here. These issues seem complex at the first glance. But I will do as before: use some seach-engines to find out more.

The headline-link is to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Sunday, February 26, 2006

Distance studies in Bolivia & wireless telecommunication in Finland


A little boy from Ivirgarzama, Chapare.
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The link in the headline is to La Universidad Andina Símon Bolívar, a Bolivian university with programmes that deal with infrastucture, distance learning and telecommunication. The page is not in english, but on the page is found contact-information to the university. Could be a good partner for abroad university contacts. Several universities in Finland have programmes in the same area. Good places to start looking for contacts in Finland in the field of telecommunication and education are Virtual Finland and e-Finland. At the west coast of Finland there are several universities and research departments concerned with telecommunication. This one is specialized in wireless techniques: University of Oulu. Here is a programme at Vaasa university. And one at the University of Turku, and a programme in Raahe. A full list of Bolivian universities can be found here. Unfortunately so far, no one of the mentioned tele-com units or universities of the West Coast have noticed Latin America as a continent for partnership.

Saturday, February 25, 2006

Telexpo 2006 in Brazil, bringing the web closer to Bolivia

And what do you know? Linked below this post is a website telling about the gathering of telecommunicationg companies for the Telexpo 2006 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Not at all that far from Bolivia. For people fluent in castilliano here is the glossy telecom-company page. It seems like two different worlds when I think of the potato-farmer and his daughters in the Andes. Outside their hut made of homemade mud-bricks she proudly eyed me up, when i came rambling across the field with my camera. Since I could not speak neither quechua nor aymara, not to mention castilliano I tried to make our guide tell her that her father was growing potatoes in much the same way as my grandfather did. The situation was somewhat odd, and I do not quite like to think about what I would have answered the photographer if it was a campesino (a person from the rural area) of Bolivia who suddenly would have appeared in OUR potato-field with a long-lensed goggle-eyed camera... The encounter however resulted in one of my most memorable photos from the trip to Bolivia and I have posted it on the Argonautica Photo-Blog.

Friday, February 24, 2006

Volunteering for Bolivia?

More internet-connections to the universities in Bolivia and a national education programme for children under the age of twelve to ensure that they learn to write and read. If I could make suggestions to the policies of Bolivia today, these would be my first suggestions. I read on on of the statistical website linked yesterday that only about 3,7% of the population in Bolivia use the internet. The people who do use are mainly people living in the cities. In rural areas, it is a fact that there are not many accessible internet-connected computers and in addition to that not very many who can read or write their first language, nor the national language castilliano. Bilingual or trilingual teachers seems to be of high demand in these areas. What if someone wanted to go there to really try and do something about it? As a learning game I have searched the web for resources on education programmes for teachers. Here is one good source:

The World Wide Classroom for teachers on the go. The websites linked are aimed at students/future teachers in need of spanish courses, and others with an interest in studying different programmes or courses in Bolivia, both native students and people from abroad. Here is a sample from the previous website of educational resources, feel free and be a little Don Quijote! If volunteering is your kind of melody here is a site for you!

The headline-link to this post today is to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, the committée for evaluating Finland's relations with developing countries worldwide. Also a good place to start.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Telecommunication in Bolivia, a possible scope for change?

Living in a country where Nokia is almost used as a synonymous word to post-war success and development, I can not help but pose the question: What are the possibilities to introduce e-Learning in Bolivia? How far out is it if I suggest that illiteracy could be fought through virtual learning-modules, much similar to what us future librarians do in or distance-course right now? It is maybe not a coincidence that some of the literature for the course is by Canadian authors and preofessors at the Knowledge Media Design Institute in Toronto, (linked below).

Finland, Canada and Bolivia have one thing in common: Long distances, large forestrial or mountainous areas in between communities, they are all relatively scarsely populated. It is not surprising that the interest in cellular phones and transmission of voice or data without any sort of cables is a large area of interest in the technology research departments in Finland. According to this site there was 2003 7,080 internet hosts in Bolivia and the number of internet users reached in 2002 270,000 persons. The road to a full scale technology park is still 311 miles according to this site
Some numbers about the population in Bolivia today can be found here. More statistics on internet-users in Bolivia from here.
Resourses exist, the callenge for Evo Morales is maybe now just the minor matter of getting past the fashion press and get in touch with the people who has information in store instead.

The link below is to Knowledge Media Design Institute in Toronto, Canada. Thus described on their website:

"KMDI's mission is research and graduate education in all aspects of building the knowledge society. Our research in knowledge media design will help shape the products, processes and practices of the 21st century.

KMDI is unique in adopting a human-centred approach to design, an approach that means people are at the heart of what we do. Furthermore, KMDI is developing a distinctively Canadian approach to design - one that respects the individual and attends to the public good.



Bolivian travellers of the globe: Post your own pitures of Bolivia here!

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Native American Filmfestival


The North American newspaper Indian Country Today has a story about native american film-makers, among them Gail Maurice on the photo above. A wonderful way to create a more accurate vision about indigena cultures today. I wish she could meet the Consejo Yuqui children sometimes...at least at the Argonautica Photos-Blog.
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Native American Film Festival

Education in Bolivia

What is actually "development"? We talk about developing countries, but what kind of development is it that we here in "the west" or in "the north" figure ought to happen, and what is development according to the people of that country? Are many cellular phones a sign of development or do we count the number of internet-connected computers? Social equality is considered development by some of us. That is equal rights and possibilities to education and health care, not the notion that we all are similar, with similar needs. Bolivia is a very diversed and plural country with many indigenous languages beside the castilliano/spanish-speaking population. Quechua and Aymara are the two largest indigenous languages, but there are several others. One problem for the education sector is that there so far have been few bilingual programmes for children with an indigenous-language as their first language. Also there is a barrier to the flow of information about Bolivia and the education-system, due to the fact that most official information of the country is in castilliano, not in english. More photos from Bolivia here at the Argonautica Photos-blog.

"Orejas" told me and the others in my group that he wanted to study at university. I have searched the web for links to universities in Bolivia to see what possibilities he might have. Today he is in his twenties, and with a little bit of luck he succeeded.

The link below is to a SIDA-report about education in Bolivia.

Tuesday, February 21, 2006


"What is in the box?"
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La Paz, july 1992. The boy shining shoes outside the hotel-entrance said he is called "Orejas" and that he with the shoe-shining helps his parents with the school-fees. To study at the university is his dream, he reweals also. Photo: Myra M

Will Evo Morales bring the right change to Bolivia?

So Evo Morales was elected president in Bolivia and went for a tour to visit leaders of many countries. Some conservatives now fear that his choise of sweaters will cause a stir up of some kind, but others try to cover more issues in their analysis.

Indian Country Today, an native north american paper cites Blanca Chancosa, a quechua activist from Equador: ''Day and night, sun and rain, we have dreamed, we have resisted; and now, finally, the rights that were taken from us are returning,''

This BBC-article with photo shows that Evo Morales' sweater is not only red, but also blue and white.

This may hold implications for the future and it will be interesting to see which ones. Education and health care for the young generation of quechua or aymara-speaking part of the population would certainly be an important issue to adress, but so far nationalization of gas-plants have mostly been the topic of the agenda.

So what is the best way to raise money for shools and education in Bolivia? Could a social-democratic model such as in the in the nordic countries be implemented in Bolivia or are there other ways to adress this problem?

The link below is to the Democray center, inclusive their Bolivia-Blog.

Monday, February 20, 2006


From the ADB-website linked below.
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Gender, health & education in Pakistan

Studying a country by internet can create confusing images. Pakistan is according to the webbsites found on Asia Observer a geographically beautiful and varied country with many natural resources. There is glitter and entertainment but also suppression of core democratic values. On many occasions maybe just a stiff traditional set of values that prevent reforms to take place. Schools and health-care for women are areas where things change slowly, there is little spectacular drama for the world media to feast upon. The link associated with the headtine to this post show that there is no clash of civilisations existing in this funding programme. There are both asian, european and american members involved.

Why is this not more the talk of the day?

In the early nineties, I studied political science in Finland and in Britan as an exchange-student. By chance I also got the opportunity to stay five weeks in Bolivia and there I could closely watch a developing country with all the glamour, and all the misery there can be in a single street. It totally changed my perception about what a developing country is about. It also created a feeling of a need to use the education I have been given by my parents, by my country as a free gift.
I want to use it to create better understanding for what usually is referred to as "The third world". I do not want to accept simple models such as: "It is a war or a clash between civilisations", "That they are underdeveloped is due to their (flawed) culture", not to speak of the common "the west against the rest".

This week I will write some more about developing countries, not only Pakistan but also Bolivia. I will also in my drawer look up some Bolivian photos, I'd very much would like to share with you.

The link goes to: Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Sunday, February 19, 2006


Faces of Pakistan, part 1
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Lollywood and Dannebrogen

Sunday. Time to summarize one week of intensive newspaper-reading in order to try and understand what the Cartoon row is about. Basically I think the danish flag has now gone through a process that has turned it into a signal and an icon that can be used by just about any muslim country in order to make their voice heard abroad. Behind the discontent among the population triggering the massive numbers of protesters, can be almost any set of circumstances. The only thing in common is that they all wave the danish flag over the flames. The rather unoffensive 12 danish cartoons are just 12 little pictures among thousands alike and worse, published during the years 2000 and in the previous century.

I think identity must be the word here. Or rather a feeling of lack of identity among the population in many of the countries involved in the demonstrations. No European union to keep them together. No strong economic image to rally in the industrialized world. Developing countries, yes, but are they developing fast enough to keep up with "the western world"? In this lack I think islam becomes that missing connection, and as such it is in need of an enemy to reinforce itself.

Since I had to make some sort of case-study in order not to succumb to information over-load, I used Asia Observer to find out more about Pakistan, a country reported by BBC as one where there has been particularly violent protests. I found conflicting reports about this country which seem to hold everything from Lollywood stars, islamic universities and Pakistani fashion designers on the go. At the same time it is a country where it is possible to use all the mosque fundings as a bounty on the head of a dabbing danish cartoonist. That in a country which reportedly still have some 40 % illiterate. How can it all be possible? Imagine all those money spent on health care and schoolbooks instead! I hope some reasonable muslim men and women will now react and finally step up and say "enough of this!".

The link below is to the search-portal Asia Observer. Also a norvegian behind this portal.

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Snowy saturday


snow
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Today it was time for us future librarians to team up for the course. No time for forest-hikes today, but maybe tomorrow. The local discussion-forum is still busy with excercising their freedom of speach. We talked about cencorship in the nineteenth century, under the king in Sweden and under the tsar in Finland, and how it was changed into the rule we have today: That if somebody writes an offensive article or publishes offensive pictures, it is not possible under the current law to prevent it, by cencoring it. Action, if necessary, has to be taken afterwards. The offended person can require an public excuse which then has to be published in the same paper or media. The person who wrote the offending article is responsible for it, and thus is the one who should apologize.

If the offense is large and can be said to be insulting and aim to stir up hatred against a whole group of people, it is a matter for the police. But somebody has to react and ask for an investigation, of course.

The law is pretty clear here and I as far as I can see it is ok to protest against the cartoons. But not with violence, as is now going on.

Problem is that, both protests and apologies have been issued and the protest could stop here. That it does not makes me wonder what other issues are behind now.

Ever ongoing protests as a way of getting international attention is in the long run not a useful way, but I think it goes on because people in the muslim world might think that negative publicity is better than no publicity at all. So now there is kind of an evil circle here that ought to be broken. Question is what is now the magic word?

Friday, February 17, 2006

Tons of Toons

Today, maybe because it is friday I started with an exhausted feeling after seeing so many images of agry people with danish flags. I walked the indiantrail in the forest instead, noticing that it was a lovely sunny winterweather with crisp white snow. I pondered to write about zen-buddhism in this post instead.

Yesterday I caught sight of all the 12 Jylland-Posten cartoons on the Muhammed Image Archive. To go along with those on the same webbsite was also found historical Muhammed-pictures. Mohammed looks somewhat different seen from the east and seen from the west, as much I gathered from the site. Also I realised that the danish cartoons are not so unique as we have come to think these last weeks. Muhammed-imagery has been around a long time and more is coming every day.
Some pinpoint the satirical level with skill, others are just vulgar and blunt.

But should they be banned and cencored? Is it even possible to attempt to do so? Anybody with a pen can find a wall to draw on and there is no need to sign the artwork, the main idea will come through anyway. Just imagine the amount of new staff the police would have to employ in order to chase suspicious-looking people with inkpens...

The link below is to Lexic-Orient, a webbsite made by a norvegian about the Orient.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Foggy shores: Dhimmitude prevails?

I have been browsing some other blogs for the last hour or so. I found the missing cartoons as well as many images of angry people with flags. I also read many angry or ironic comments from people who fear that islamists will gain ever increasing control over legislation in Europe and the USA, forcing newspapers to act as their own cencors, impairing free speach and finally take control over the whole religious scene. It is all much the same we have been writing on our local discussion forum.

In Finland we have the freedom of speech law as one of the corner-stones of the democracy, but then there is also stated that it is possible to speak whatever or print whatever unless it does not brake an other law or regulation. In addition to that there is a new regulation issued in the early nineties that says: A person who publicly speak or print something that is degrading to God or insulting to anything held sacred within a church or other religious community can be imprisoned for up to 6 months or will have to pay penalty fees. Grim news to the creative cartoonists or what?

In an article abouth "dhimmitude" I read on the one of the blogs, the writer discussed why the western community now back down to muslim demands about respect for sacred things or imagery.

Fact is that what the muslims now demand we have had a long time already, alongside regulations for what happens to rapists or child abusers. Freedom is like a rubber band somehow. It can be stretched, but evetually it will break and snap into something ugly if not exercised with thought, good judgement and heart. So where exactly does the "Dhimmitude" start?

Island freshwater currents

Today in the regular discussion forum we have written about the riots in Pakistan.
A BBC article show a bleeding student, burning cars and fast food restaurants. We discussed what may be the cause of the demonstrations, because they now seem to be including many other issues than the cartoons. We also discussed the finnish legislation, that it is stated that we have freedom of religion but also that it is not allowed to disturb the peace at religious meetings or otherwise abuse the religion of other people.

Earlier on, I had been reading a website about an other side of Pakistan. The one I have linked to the title of this post.

It is amazing to think that when 2000 years BC, when the west coast islands of Finland was inhabited by a few sealhunting villagers with their bronze-tools the Indus Valley, which is now part of Pakistan was a cultural and urban area with cities as Harappa and Mohenjo-daro. Since I am intrested in the arts and attended an art-school for some years, I particularly fell for the ceramic figurines on this site. There is something very human about them and it would be a fun project for the future to arrange a ceramic-course in early Indus valley figurine-making.

In the library I also found a CD with gypsy music, with some of the indian tonal scale very audible in some of the tracks. I figure to use it somehow in the next edition om the folk-music magazine. Gypsy-influenced music transformed into finnsih tango is very popular around here. Gypsies came as far as I know from the area around the Indus river.

That punjabi which is spoken in parts of Pakistan is an indo-european language was also news to me, this I found on an other webbsite. I will get back to that later.

I hope now that when Finland during a period of this year takes over the presidency of the EU, we will be able to work for more understanding between Europe and the nordic countries in particular and countries such as Pakistan.

I hope never again I will have to see one of the nordic flags burned.

The link below is to a site about archaeological findings at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro in the Indus Valley.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

The danish cartoon row

What has recently been happening up here north is that infamous danish cartoon row which set me off to the usual discussion forum to talk about what it is really about. We have been talking of foundations for democracy and freedom of religion and freedom of speech in the nordic countries in relation to respect for different religions.

I study part-time to become a librarian and what they tell us to do, is to use Infomine in order to find more quality sites, so I tried that and I found several that I got really hooked on for hours. I have seen some friends have published their blogs, but so far I have been too busy with the discussion forums, the folk-music magazine which is my regular work, the choir and discovering skiing-slopes in the forest around here, to really get going with a blog of my own.

Through the discussion about the cartoons I came about many well-written articles, both from english-speaking muslims and from culture-journalists here in Finland, in Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

I started to wish I had more international friends to talk to and that was the reason for setting up this blog. This is also the reason why I chose english as the main language of the blog, although my first language is swedish. I hope this will develop into a multilingual blog over time, I hope it is possible to make it possible for anybody who like to do so to write comments in either of these languages or in som of the following: french, finnish, german, danish or norwegian. My idea is that with a little editing it will still make out a readable blog. I found a site about how to write arabic signs, but I am sorry to say this is out of my reach at the moment, so I hope among those I listed you will find one to use.

Feel free to write about also other matters than cartoons, music is as you can see one of my favorite topics.

The link is to a search-engine for academic resources, Infomine.