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Publications
Griffith University and the Department of the Environment, Sport & Territories, 1997
Michael Singh
Central Queensland University
Australia
This workshop provides an introduction to the work of citizens engaged in community action for sustainable development and global education. Informed and active citizens bring together knowledge and practice in collaborative action. As such, this workshop provides participants with an opportunity to consider what Australian teachers might teach about community action, sustainable development and global education.
The workshop shows participants some of the ways in which people have taken on the role of global citizens in full cognisance of the interdependence of the peoples and countries of the world, and provides an opportunity for them to consider what we can do about issues of sustainable development and global learning.
The workshop is suited for use as a component of an education studies course addressing issues of social justice, or as an introduction to education for active citizenship and development education in curriculum and teaching studies courses.
The activities in this workshop will enable participants to develop:
The workshop consists of six activities organised around:
1. Warm-up Activity and Workshop Overview
2. Introductory Mini-lecture on Education for Informed and Active Citizens
3. Mini-lecture and Group Activities on Responsible Travel
4. Case Studies of Global Citizen Actions
6. An Extension/Optional Activity may include a guest speaker/interview or further research
Overhead Transparency Masters
OHT 1: Workshop Overview
OHT 2: Ethical Guide to Responsible Travel
Resources
Resource 1: Tourism Can Damage the Physical Environment: As a Tourist What Can I Do?
Resource 2: Tourism Can Have a Major Impact on Indigenous People: As a Tourist What Can I Do?
Resource 3: Tourism Has a Drastic Effect on Women and Children: As a Tourist What Can I Do?
Resource 4: Community Action for Fair Trade
Resource 5: Ethical Investment
Resource 6: People Working for Change: People-to-People Projects: Tackling the Causes of Poverty
Resource 7: Amnesty International: Working for Human Rights: A Case Study
Readings
Reading 1: Education for Informed and Active Citizenship
Reading 2: Ethical Guide to Responsible Travel
Reading 3: Community Action for Responsible Travel
Activity 3: Cards, slips of paper, chart or poster paper.
This list provides the references for works cited in the readings and resources in this workshop.
Amnesty International, (1992) Amnesty International Handbook (7th.ed.), Amnesty International, London.
Anderson, L. (1979) Schooling and Citizenship in a Global Age: An Exploration of the Meaning and Significance of Global Education, Indiana Social Studies Development Centre, Bloomington.
Afshar, H. and Agarwal, B. (1989) Women, Poverty and Ideology in Asia: Contradictory Pressures, Uneasy Resolutions, Macmillan, London.
Aronstein, L. and Olsen, E. (1974) Action Learning: Participant Community Service Projects, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Washington.
Aulich, T. (Chair) (1989) Education for Active Citizenship in Australian Schools and Youth Organisations, Report by the Senate Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
Australian Council for Overseas Aid (1992) Aid for a Change: A Plan to Reshape Australia's Overseas Aid to Tackle Poverty and Promote Sustainable Human Development, Australian Council for Overseas Aid, Canberra.
Baldry, E. and Vinson, T. (eds.) (1991) Actions Speak: Strategies and Lessons from Australian Social and Community Action, Longman Cheshire, Melbourne.
Ball, C. and Ball, M. (1973) Education for a Change: Community Action and the School, Penguin, Harmondsworth.
Barbalet, J. (1988) Citizenship: Rights, Struggles and Class Inequality, Open University Press, Milton Keynes.
Baumol, W. and Blackman, S. (1991) Perfect Markets and Easy Virtue: Business Ethics and the Invisible Hand, Blackwell, Cambridge.
Beets, W. (1990) Raising and Sustaining Productivity of Smallholder Farming Systems in the Tropics: A Handbook of Sustainable Agricultural Development, AgBe Publishing, Alkmaar (Holland).
Browder, J. (ed.) (1989) Fragile Lands of Latin America: Strategies for Sustainable Development, Westview Press, Boulder.
Bruyn, S. (1991) The Field of Social Investment, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Burghardt, S. (1982) Organising for Community Action, Sage, Beverly Hills.
Claude, R. and Weston, B. (eds.) (1989) Human Rights in the World Community: Issues and Action, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.
Commission of the European Communities (1986) Community Action in the Field of Tourism (Communication of the Council transmitted on 31 January, 1986), Office for Official Publications of the European Community, Luxembourg.
Community Aid Abroad (1990) Travel Wise and Be Welcome: A Guide to Responsible Travel in the 90s, CAA, Fitzroy.
Dankelman, I. and Davidson, J. (1988) Women and Environment in the Third World: Alliance for the Future, Earthscan Publishing, London.
Dover, M. and Talbot, L. (1987) To Feed the Earth: Agro-ecology for Sustainable Development, World Resources Institute, Washington.
Fien, J. (1992) Critical Development Education, Education Links, 40, 4-9.
Fien, J. (1991) Ideology, Political Education and Teacher Education: Matching Paradigms and Models, Journal of Curriculum Studies, 23(3), 239-256.
Fien, J. (ed.) (1989), Living in a Global Environment: Classroom Activities in Development Education, Australian Geography Teachers Association, Brisbane.
Flood, M. and Lawrence, A. (eds.) (1987) The Community Action Book, 2nd ed., Council of Social Services of New South Wales, Sydney.
Ghai, D. and Vivian, J. (eds.) (1992) Grassroots Environmental Action: People's Participation in Sustainable Development., Routledge, London.
Gibson, T. (1979) People Power: Community and Work Groups in Action, Penguin, Harmondsworth.
Gohlert, E. (1991) Power and Culture: The Struggle Against Poverty in Thailand, Cheney White Lotus, Bangkok.
Goodlad, S. (eds.) (1975) Education and Social Action: Community Service and the Curriculum in Higher Education, Allen and Unwin, London.
Handfield, J. (1980) Friends and Brothers: A Life of Gerard Kennedy Tucker, Founder of the Brotherhood of St. Laurence and Community Aid Abroad, Hyland House, Melbourne.
Hicks, D. (1983) Development Education, in J. Huckle (ed.) Geographical Education: Reflection and Action, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Huckle, J. (1988) What We Consume: The Teachers' Handbook (A Guide for Teachers Using the Third Module of WWF's Global Environment Education Programme), World Wildlife Fund of the United Kingdom, Godalming.
Husen, T. (1990) Education and the Global Concern, Pergamon, Oxford.
Inskeep, E. (1991) Tourism Planning: An Integrated and Sustainable Development Approach, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York.
Jacobs, M. (1991) The Green Economy: Environment, Sustainable Development and the Politics of the Future, Pluto Press, London.
Larsen, E. (1978) A Flame in Barbed Wire: The Story of Amnesty International, Frederick Muller, London.
Laumann, E. and Pappi, F. (1976) Networks of Collective Action: A Perspective on Community Influence Systems, Academic Press, New York.
Lees, R. and Smith, G. (eds.) (1975) Action Research in Community Development, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London.
Luthans, F. (1971) Social Issues in Business: Poverty, Civil Rights, Ecology and Consumerism, Macmillan, New York.
Pearce, D., Barbier, E. and Markandya, A. (1990) Sustainable Development: Economics and Environment in the Third World, Hants Elgar, Aldershot.
Pike, G. and Selby, D. (1988) Global Teacher, Global Learner, Hodder and Stoughton, London.
Power, J. (1981) Amnesty International: The Human Rights Story, Pergamon, Oxford.
Redclift, M. (1987) Sustainable Development: Exploring the Contradictions, Methuen, London.
Richter, L. (1989) The Politics of Tourism in Asia, University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu.
Samarasuriya, S. and Risseeuw, R. (1982) Who Needs Tourism? Employment for Women in the Holiday Industry of Sudugama, Sri Lanka, Colombo.
Simon, J., Powers, C. and Gunnerman, J. (1972) The Ethical Investor: Universities and Corporate Responsibility, Yale University Press, New Haven.
Singh. M.G. (1992) Studying Asia from the Standpoint of Active Women Citizens, Asian Studies Review, 15 (3), 95-106.
Taylor, J. (1990) Giving Women Voice: Feminism and Community Services, Brotherhood of St. Laurence, Melbourne.
Truong, T-D. (1990) Sex, Money and Morality: Prostitution and Tourism in Southeast Asia, Zed, London.
Waddell, L. (1988) Learning for a Fairer Future: Classroom Activities and Resources on Global Trade and Social Justice Issues, World Development Tea Co-operative, Sydney.
Wood, G. (1985) Education for Democratic Participation: Democratic Values and the Nuclear Freeze Campaign, Theory and Research in Social Education, 12(4), 39-56.
A. Warm-up Activity
B. Workshop Overview
Display OHT 1 and summarise major stages and tasks involved in the workshop.
Use the information in Facilitator's Reading 1 to present a mini-lecture on the importance of education for informed and active citizenship. Points to cover include:
This section of the workshop is based upon an introductory mini-lecture, a series of group activities and a culminating activity (whole group reporting and whole group discussion).
A. Mini-lecture or Discussion
Use the ideas in Facilitator Reading 2 as the basis for a mini-lecture/whole group discussion on the benefits and costs of tourism. Use OHT 2 as a guide.
B. Small Group Activities
Small Group A: Ethical Guide to Responsible Travel: Card Game
Group leader's instructions: Supply each participant with four slips of paper on each is written the following statement:
What we as informed and active citizens could do to be ensure responsible travel is to
Preparation required:
Small Group B: Ethical Guide to Responsible Travel: Diamond Ranking Activity
Group leader's instructions:
1
2 2
4 4 4
7 7
9
Small Group C: Ethical Guide to Responsible Travel: Brantub Activity
Group leader's instructions:
Small Group D: Working for Change: Flowchart Exercise
Group leader's instructions:
Mini-lecture: Community Action for Responsible Travel
This is the conclusion to the section on active citizenship as an ethical or responsible traveller.
Participants work in small groups to make case studies of three examples of global citizen action.
Specifically, they should consider the following questions, recording answers to them for subsequent reporting:
- What skills, competencies and knowledge are associated with the work of active citizens reported in the Reading?
- What are the moral, political, social and economic reasons underlying the forms of community action reported in the Reading?
- How is the community action project being undertaken by these active citizens contributing to sustainable development?
- What knowledge and competencies might be taught participants as part of a programme in global education?
If the facility exists, travellers might stay with local people for part, or all, of their holiday. This will reduce the need for expensive, resource-intensive hotels and other facilities, which can damage the environment.
Travellers should drink and eat local food where practical; ask a local person whether it is satisfactory from a health point of view. This will create less litter from packaging, will save money in importing costs and will encourage local self-sufficiency in food production, for the country concerned.
Tourists should consider staying in one place. This will save precious resources such as petrol and oil, and will reduce pollution. It will also be more relaxing and, after all, it is impossible to see everything.
Travellers should walk, cycle or use local buses if they want to look around.
Tourists should not take four-wheel drive tours unless they absolutely have to; remember that these vehicles do enormous damage to the top-soil.
Travellers should not hunt animals, or buy product souvenirs, but take photographs instead.
Trekkers should try to take only biodegradable items with them on their travels and carry out any rubbish. They should bury it only if they have to and make sure that this is well away from any water sources.
Trekkers should take their own fuel stove (gas, kerosene, etc.) rather than expect to use precious trees for cooking. (While this does necessitate the importing of oil-based products in some cases, the ecological impact is still less than using firewood.) This may also mean taking a jacket for warmth at night.
If there is not a public toilet in the vicinity, trekkers should bury faeces and/or urinate away from water sources and people's villages.
Before you leave for your holiday try to learn as much as you can about the customs and history (especially local versions) of the people whom you will be visiting.
Try to learn some of the language of the country in which you will be travelling.
When you arrive, be sensitive to local customs. Listen, observe, learn and treat people with respect.
Ask permission before taking photographs of people (in some countries it is illegal anyway). Try using a local guide to help show you the best areas and pay if asked to do so. Respect should dictate your choice of shots.
Be particularly aware of the impact of taking photographs. Telephoto lenses are not a solution to capturing images of individuals - they too can offend.
If local people want to look through your camera, let them. They may want to take a picture of you. Should they want a copy of your photograph, do send it.
Do not take pictures of people through the window of a bus or car. Wouldn't you feel like you were in a human zoo if this were happening to you?
Eat local food and drink the local drinks to share the experience with your hosts.
Remember that other people have different concepts of time and ways of looking at the world.
Dress modestly, especially in and around temples, mosques, churches and shrines. Resist the temptation to bathe, or sunbathe naked or near-naked, if it is forbidden by local law, or if it makes local people uncomfortable.
Respect local religious customs, and don't make promises that you can't keep.
Avoid drugs, including alcohol, if you know that it will cause offence.
Don't expect any special privileges - you are one of many tourists who visit.
Be aware that any sexual relationships you form there are almost always between that of the powerful (the one with the money) and the powerless (the desperately poor).
Be careful 'bargaining' - your bargain is only possible because of the low wages paid to the maker.
Look around and analyse what you see. Try to investigate the social and economic forces which are shaping the destiny of the place that you are visiting.
Think about the impact of tourism on the community that you are visiting.
Try to imagine how the country that you are visiting might meet its basic needs and become self-reliant.
Talk to fellow travellers about their experience of the country - do not just swap hotel and restaurant tips.
Support legal action in your country and internationally to curtail sex tourism and the sexual abuse of children by tourists.
In your relationships, respect the rights of women, men and children.
Be careful in your contacts with children and remember that they can be vulnerable, despite your good intentions.
If it offends local customs, do not sunbathe topless or totally naked where there are children around.
Consider your own health. In some countries there are tens of thousands of HIV-positive carriers, and many of these are active in the prostitution scene.
Find out about their issues such as population, health care and the environment, by reading The New Internationalist and similar literature.
Talk to the local people, for example the room service helper, the store keeper, the bus driver, the guest house owner, farmers and fishers, about their country.
Community Aid Abroad (CAA) is an example of active citizens engaging in organised, collaborative community action for sustainable development and global education. CAA is an Australian-based secular organisation which is not party-political; there are many similar organisations throughout the world you may know of one in your country. CAA is, however, socially aware and its aim is to both improve the living conditions of people and also to support the poorest of the poor in their struggle to overcome poverty and associated injustices. Many CAA projects assist the poor in forming co-operatives and strengthening village communities. This will ensure they have access to resources that previously had been denied them. For instance, a village irrigation scheme may only benefit the wealthy landowners unless the poorest villagers have the power to determine where it goes and who gets the water. In addition to assisting victims of major disasters overseas, CAA attacks the causes of poverty on two main fronts:
Supporting Self-help Community Projects
CAA funds projects that are initiated and carried out by the people who directly benefit from them. CAA believes people are motivated towards change when they control that change. CAA supports a broad range of projects including health, training, production, education, employment, agricultural, literacy and motivational projects. Some are integrated community development projects encompassing many of these areas. Some focus specifically on the position of women. Care is taken to ensure that projects are in harmony with the local environment and culture.
Raising Socially Significant Issues
As well as encouraging discussion in the Australian media on aid issues, CAA conducts a variety of interesting education activities (Waddell, 1988). These include:
Organised Collaborative Citizen Action
Community Aid Abroad focuses its work on attacking the causes of poverty through projects at the village level. But this is only one side of the coin. Experience has taught CAA that many of the things that keep people poor are rooted in the attitudes and actions of 'First World' countries. If no action is taken to address structural issues, such as international monetary policies, the excellent work done at the village level will be undermined by the debt crisis at the national level. CAA is well-placed to play a significant role in the elimination of these causes. The following are examples of CAA's recent campaigns.
Infant Formula Campaign
The international campaign to stop the unethical marketing of baby milk achieved a major success in 1981 when the World Health Assembly adopted an appropriate marketing code. There is still room for improvement, and vigilance is essential. But the fact remains that the campaign has saved thousands of lives.
Debt Campaign
Every year, poor nations are crippled by debt repayments that far exceed the flow of aid and investment money from the rich world. Between 1982 and 1987, for example, the net result was the 'Third World' 'aided' the world's rich nations by US$220 billion. International campaigns have been an important factor in gaining some concessions from lenders. Some of the poorest African countries, for example, now have the option of writing off one-third of their debts, reducing interest rates or extending the term of their loans. This is a start, but much more needs to be done.
Dangerous Drugs Campaign
An international campaign by the Medical Lobby for Appropriate Marketing has led to the withdrawal or modification of 12 drugs from the market. Each year millions of poor people spend their money on dangerous or useless drugs. In the Philippines, a dangerous antibiotic combination of Chloramphenicol/ Streptomycin, used to combat diarrhoea, was the top-selling drug. Following a campaign, it has been withdrawn from sale. A light beer tonic 'for the relief of stress' which contained arsenic and strychnine has also been withdrawn.
Becoming an Informed and Active Citizen
CAA's project work is immensely important to hundreds of thousands of people. But the actions of governments and large companies can affect millions. So CAA invites globally oriented citizens to join Campaign Partners, an initiative designed to complement CAA's overseas project work. Campaign Partners is a network of active citizens who want to support the struggle against such major causes of poverty as environmental degradation, militarism, debt and unfair trade. Campaign Partners concentrates its efforts in this area. To help spearhead campaigns for change, Community Aid Abroad has set up a Public Policy Unit, including a lobbyist and a researcher. To pay for this, CAA cannot infringe on funds intended for its project partners. Furthermore, governments do not support this work, something which informed and active citizens lobby their governments to do. CAA is asking citizens to contribute directly to this vital work by joining Campaign Partners and giving a donation every three months.
By joining Campaign Partners, citizens are recognising the need for direct community action in 'First World' nations to address global concerns. Citizens can make an individual donation and/or join one of CAA's community Groups. Teachers are encouraged to join groups such as these, or to form a group in their area, workplace or school.
The CAA community action groups develop their own interests and priorities and decide which projects they will support. Some are principally involved in fund-raising by organising dinners, street stalls, film nights, or wine bottling. Others are interested in raising their own awareness of environmental and development issues, and so conduct discussion nights and public meetings as well as becoming involved in education and community action campaigns. For example, some community action groups supported the campaign to prevent the promotion of dangerous drugs in developing countries. Under the Community Partners initiative citizens and the CAA have complementary roles.
Citizen's Role:
Community Aid Abroad's Role:
Questions for Discussion
a) What skills and competencies are associated with the work of active citizens reported in Resource 4?
b) What are the moral, political, social and economic reasons underlying the forms of community action reported in Resource 4?
c) How are the community action projects being undertaken by these active citizens contributing to sustainable development?
d) What knowledge and competencies might be taught participants as part of a programme in global education?
Citizens can invest in companies which profit from:
Alternatively, informed and active citizens can make ethically and socially responsible investments (Baumol and Blackman, 1991; Bruyn, 1991; Luthans, 1971; Pearce, Barbier and Markandya, 1990; Simon, Powers and Gunnerman, 1982). The Ethical Deposit Funds operated by aid agencies provide one such means for ethical investments for concerned citizens.
Aid agencies concentrate their support on community-based, self-help development projects, and are active in Africa, Asia, the Pacific and Latin America. There is public recognition of the work of aid agencies and their views command attention from government, the media and the public. Funds for aid agency operations are derived mainly from public donations, government grants and the profits earned by subsidiary companies which import and sell through their shops and by mail order, handcrafts made by artisans in the 'Third World'. The Ethical Deposit Fund has been developed for the purpose of providing an additional contribution to the income of aid agencies.
Ethical Investments
By making a conscious decision about how investments are to be used, informed and active citizens can, in a small but nonetheless significant way, help change the world.
Citizens Can Invest with Confidence
With an Ethical Investment Fund, citizens can be sure that their money will NOT be used by exploitative or socially irresponsible companies or institutions. Citizens can be sure that their money will NOT be invested in arms, alcohol, tobacco, uranium, gambling, or environmentally damaging industries. Why? Because aid agencies take advice on their investments from specialists in socially responsible fund management. A typical Trading Ethical Investment Fund allows:
Investments
The Fund is a positive ethical investment in that the surplus is directed towards the work of aid agencies. It is also a non-directed ethical investment because no investments are made in companies whose activities are believed to cause social and/or environmental damage. To ensure this, aid agencies track and carefully monitor all investments.
Security
The funds deposited are held in a separate trust account until they are invested. The Ethical Deposit Fund is limited to investing in government, semi-government and securities guaranteed by a government, bank securities and debentures, promissory notes and other securities having a sound credit rating with a recognised credit rating service, to deposits with authorised dealers in the short-term money market, or to other ethically sound investments approved by the aid agency. Funds are readily available for repayment on maturity, or for earlier redemption if required by the depositor. Interest received on the investments (after payment of interest due to depositors) is used to augment the agency's income.
Investors Can Choose Their Interest Rate
Investors choose whatever interest rate they feel they need, it has been up to a maximum of 7.5% p.a. Alternatively, investors can forgo interest altogether, thus considerably increasing the benefits that their money can bring to the aid agency and its project partners.
Terms and Interest Rates
Deposits, which are unsecured, are available for periods (at the option of the depositor) of 6 months (from date of receipt), or for periods of 1, 2, 3, 5 or 7 years, at interest rates (at the option of the depositor) of 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5% p.a. Interest is fixed for the term of the loan, except that the aid agency normally reserves the right to vary the rate of interest for deposits bearing an interest rate of 7.5% and above in the event of a marked change in general interest rates. In such an event, four weeks' written notice of variation is given to all such depositors who have the right to either convert their deposit to a new rate or to redeem it (or a combination of the two). Funds deposited for 1 year or more mature on the last day of the month in which the deposit was received, after the appropriate period. Funds may be withdrawn prior to maturity provided that six weeks' written notice of withdrawal is given. No adjustment of interest rate is made in the case of early redemption of funds. Interest on funds deposited for 6 months is payable on maturity. Interest due on funds deposited for 1 year or more is payable annually on the last day of the month in which the funds were received. Interest may (at the option of the lender) be paid either by cheque or compounded and paid on maturity. A deposit certificate is issued to each depositor acknowledging the funds deposited and setting out details of terms and interest rates. Funds are only accepted on the appropriate Application Form.
Citizens Can Invest in a Better World
Any profits from the Fund are directed to the aid agency's development projects. The profits provide seed capital, collateral and revolving loan funds. So for years to come, investor's money can continue to empower the aid agency's project partners to work for change and social justice.
Citizens' Investments Can Benefit These People and Their Future
In India, aid agencies help to fund The Institute of Self-Management. The institute's wide-ranging activities include the establishment of 20 village credit unions and an associated district federation, training for barefoot lawyers, the provision of legal aid, and training in leadership, awareness, communication skills and credit union management.
In Bangladesh, a revolving loan fund for 4 villages in the Gopalganj district has been extended. The fund provides loans for both men and women for small business, raising goats, paper-bag making, and the purchase of rickshaw vans. Leadership training is provided, as well as functional literacy courses for 500 adults.
In the Mt. Hagen area of Papua New Guinea, investors' deposits help to fund a pilot credit scheme designed to provide loans to rural women wishing to develop self-employment initiatives. Such schemes are a highly effective means of improving the standard of living in rural societies without creating welfare dependency. Women have proved to be reliable credit risks and to have a high success rate in their businesses, but usually they are excluded from traditional credit schemes.
Questions for Discussion
a) What skills, competencies and knowledge are associated with the work of active citizens reported in Resource 5?
b) What are the moral, political, social and economic reasons underlying the forms of community action reported in Resource 5?
c) How is the community action projects being undertaken by these active citizens contributing to sustainable development?
d) What knowledge and competencies might be taught participants as part of a programme in global education?
The Integrated Agro-Forestry Project - Con Cuong District, Vietnam, is a joint action project of Community Aid Abroad (CAA) and Freedom From Hunger against poverty and associated socio-economic injustices.
Location
Con Cuong District, Nghe An Province, Vietnam.
Implementing Body
Con Cuong District People's Committee.
Background
There are approximately 10 kilometres between Vinh City, the capital of Nghe An Province, and Khe Thoi and Chau Son villages, the two communities involved in a ten year agro-forestry project in Con Cuong District. The road twists and turns northwest, then due west, as you travel inland to the higher elevations of this predominantly mountainous region of Vietnam.
Nghe An is one of the largest and most populated provinces in Vietnam, located in the north-central 'typhoon belt' of the country. There are approximately 2 million people here. As is typical throughout the country, the further inland one travels and the more mountainous the area, the greater the chance of encountering ethnic minority communities - Hmong, Lao, Tai Van Kieu and Don Lai, to name a few. Con Cuong District is located in the centre of the province near the Lao border, and is 90% ethnic minority peoples. The district officials are Tai. People in these areas often suffer from long periods of food deficit, because of lack of access to land and also because of poor soil. Another factor is the cycle where individuals are weakened by the lack of food and proper nutrition (undernutrition and malnutrition respectively). Without a proper diet, men, women and children are much more susceptible to disease (malaria epidemics are a regular occurrence in these areas) so they do not have the energy to carry out their daily activities. So the cycle continues.
The Project
The Con Cuong District People's Committee, together with the Agricultural Bureau and villagers, devised a 10-year plan to improve the nutritional standards of the people. The poorest families within two villages were identified by the villagers themselves to participate in the project.
Each family receives a 50-year lease for a plot of land on the hillsides. They then clear away the scrubby secondary growth on these hills and cultivate and harvest crops according to a cropping schedule mapped out by the village committee. Crops that require a longer growing season, some between 7 and 10 years - such as cinnamon trees - are grown alongside medium and short term crops (tea and vegetables respectively). Crops are grown according to the appropriate growing season. Some require hotter weather, some cooler, while others need a lot of water and some prefer drier conditions. As well as this, crops are planted according to their compatibility (companion planting). For example, farmers have found that leguminous vegetables such as beans and peas add nitrogen to the soil and therefore increase corn yields when grown alongside one another. Farmers have also found that a diverse farming system that includes tree crops interspersed with low crops protects the hillsides from erosion.
In this way the programme incorporates the farmers' knowledge and understanding of local growing conditions with a more intensive growing schedule and access to more land. This results in an increased harvest of both food and cash crops, some of which actually improves the fertility of the soil. The CAA's Programme Coordinator for SE Asia, who visited the area recently commented:
It was clear what the villagers thought of their project. We walked for miles through the mud and rain to be proudly shown plots of tea, pineapple, corn and other crops.
People say that the agro-forestry project had given them a home for the future and that they felt their young people would stay in the village, as there was something to which they could look forward. The key to the success of this project seems to be secure land tenure for a good length of time, and the enthusiastic involvement of the villagers themselves.
Citizen Contribution
To assist farmers in the initial stages of labour-intensive land clearing activities, CAA and Freedom From Hunger supported a 'food for work' programme. The contributions of people from 'First World' nations enabled CAA/Freedom to expand this work and establish the necessary tree and shrub nurseries. Some areas have already been planted, but many are still to be planted. There is also a need to purchase vegetable seeds and small portable pumps to service the nurseries. Citizen contributions are helping to build on the renewed hope of the people and spread the benefits further along these two poor communities (Afshar and Agarwal, 1989; Beets, 1990; Dover and Talbot, 1987).
Questions for Discussion
a) What skills, competencies and knowledge are associated with the work of active citizens reported in Resource 6?
b) What are the moral, political, social and economic reasons underlying the forms of community action reported in Resource 6?
c) How is the community action projects being undertaken by these active citizens contributing to sustainable development?
d) What knowledge and competencies might be taught participants as part of a programme in global education?
Active citizens participating in Amnesty International campaign for :
Amnesty is Impartial
Amnesty International believes that human rights violations are worth fighting against wherever they occur. In any single year, this means taking action on some 140 countries. To safeguard impartiality, members do not work for prisoners in their own country.
Amnesty is Independent
Amnesty International is independent of all governments, political factions, ideologies, economic interests and religious creeds.
Amnesty is Accurate
Amnesty International's activities depend on meticulous research into allegations of human rights violations. The credibility and accuracy of Amnesty's research is internationally recognised.
Amnesty is Active
Victims of human rights violations and their families need practical help. Through its network of members and supporters, Amnesty International takes up individual cases, mobilises public opinion, maintains pressure on governments for the release of prisoners of conscience, fair and prompt trials for political prisoners, an end to torture and executions, and improved international standards for the treatment of prisoners.
Amnesty is Supporter-funded
Amnesty International accepts no monies from any government. It is entirely funded by its supporters - informed and active citizens.
Amnesty is on the Spot
Amnesty International representatives observe trials where accepted international standards are at issue, meet prisoners and interview government officials. Amnesty International also works to protect human rights with other international organisations such as the United Nations, the International Labor Organisation and UNESCO.
Amnesty is Effective
Amnesty International works. It does more than expose human rights abuse. Since 1961 Amnesty International has seen thousands of prisoners released, torture condemned and the death penalty abolished in more countries every year.
Amnesty is Community-based
Amnesty International has an active worldwide membership. There are more than 700,000 members in over 150 countries. Members, as informed and active citizens, come from all walks of life and are encouraged to participate as fully as possible in Amnesty International's many activities.
How Real is Need?
Every year, many thousands of people are imprisoned, tortured or killed by governments for what they believe in - or simply for where they were born. A recent Amnesty International report details human rights violations in some 138 countries. In 1989 alone, Amnesty International launched 577 Urgent Action appeals to assist people under immediate threat of torture or execution. In Sri Lanka, for instance, extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests and torture escalated dramatically throughout the 1980s. In June 1989 the world watched in horror as government troops fired on pro-democracy protesters and bystanders in Beijing. Within hours, Amnesty International had begun mobilising members to protest against the killings and arrests and try to prevent further human rights abuses. Within 5 days, 250,000 letters and telegrams had been sent to the Chinese authorities - by September, the total had risen to well over 3 million.
But What Can individual Citizens Do?
Amnesty International's lifeblood is voluntary support of informed and active citizens. Amnesty can use whatever time, skills or money citizens can offer. Collectively, the help of individual citizens makes a difference to the world-wide struggle for human rights. A citizen who becomes a member of Amnesty International can:
Local groups carry out some of the most satisfying and effective civic work on behalf of victims of human rights abuse. There are over 4,000 groups worldwide. These groups work for a particular prisoner of conscience, participate in country or theme campaigns, promote Amnesty International's concerns and activities in the local community, and raise funds to support Amnesty's work.
Citizens can work for human rights from their own home. Community action networks operate by getting as many people as possible to send letters or telegrams on behalf of particular cases of human rights abuses. Amnesty's networks include: Prisoners of the Month, Urgent Action cases, Religious, Women's, Trade Union, Medical and Lawyers' Networks.
Amnesty International urgently needs funds to help the victims of human rights abuse. The life-saving appeals, essential research, campaigning and vital publicity work all cost a great deal of money. Any amount citizens can give is gratefully acknowledged. As a Friend of Amnesty International, citizens are kept in touch with the organisation's activities and members can support Amnesty's work as and when they can (Also see Claude, 1989; Larsen, 1978; Power, 1981; Weston, 1989).
Questions for Discussion
a) What skills, competencies and knowledge are associated with the work of active citizens reported in Resource 7?
b) What are the moral, political, social and economic reasons underlying the forms of community action reported in Resource 7?
c) How is this community action project being undertaken by these active citizens contributing to sustainable development?
d) What knowledge and competencies might be taught participants as part of a programme in global education?
Recent developments have seen efforts to reconstruct the study of citizenship. One of the goals of global education emphasises the development of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values that will enable participants to participate in the deepening and extension of democracy throughout the world. Schools have a particular responsibility to prepare participants for informed and effective participation as citizens in the protection and further development of democracy globally.
The aim of education for active citizenship goes beyond providing participants with an understanding of the workings of government, to develop in them an appreciation of the role of community groups and non-government organisations as instruments of active citizens, as well as motivating participants to become active citizens themselves. 'Active citizenship' refers to knowledge about politics, the workings of national and international political systems, an understanding of how these political systems work, the motivation and the capacity to put that knowledge to good use, and an active commitment to democracy. An active citizen is someone who not only believes in the concept of a democratic society, but who is willing and able to translate that belief into action. Active citizenship is a compound of knowledge, skills and attitudes: knowledge about how society works; the skills needed to participate effectively; and a conviction that active participation is the right of all citizens (Aulich, 1989, p.7).
All citizens have certain social roles, rights and responsibilities in relation to the state. To enable participants to fulfil these roles and to exercise their rights and responsibilities, both now and in the future, certain learning is essential. This learning includes the relevant knowledge, particular skills, processes and attitudes necessary for participants to develop and maintain a thoughtful and practical commitment to democratic principles and values.
In addition to these learnings, participants should also develop the ability to respond efficaciously to the functional demands of institutions of society. No doubt this would include customary knowledge of voter registration, electoral processes, meeting procedures, the division of powers within the state, and the importance of social criticism and dissent. In particular, there is need for a socially critical perspective on the relationship between the ideal and practice of democracy. This involves exploring the contradictions between expression of core values and practices. For instance, schools can provide an environment where participants can test the relationship between democratic ideals and socio-economic realities. It should also involve participant participation in school governance and decision-making. Schools should establish learning experiences characterised by the application and testing of core democratic virtues (e.g. socio-economic justice; freedom; equality; and concern for the welfare of others).
This view of citizenship challenges the notion that political ignorance, cynicism and apathy are necessary for the deepening and extension of democracy, especially given that 'authoritarianism and corruption thrive when a citizenry is confused or apathetic' (Aulich, 1989, p.7). In the light of political misconduct and illegal activities disclosed throughout various countries in recent years it would be a mistake to assume that the rising generation of citizens have been receiving an adequate education during the past few decades (Etzioni-Halvey, 1990; Preston, 1990). On the contrary, there has been public criticism of schools for their trivialisation of citizenship learnings and their role in educating participants for passive citizenship. It has been said of at least one education authority that:
In this context it is important to consider further the role of education programmes in responding to these problems and possibilities. However, citizenship as an issue for study has not been widely incorporated into education programmes (Aulich, 1991). Among the few such courses, there are those which are oriented towards overcoming participants' indifference and boredom with parliamentary and electoral matters by endeavouring to provide participants with knowledge of the voting systems of various levels of government and the use of probability theory in assessing the results of opinion polls. Ironically, time for teaching participants about democracy, the responsibilities of citizens, the election of parliamentarians and the workings of government, is seen as competing with their learning from the struggles by active citizens associated with such socially significant issues as the rights of consumers, the colonised, and the aged. By and large the concern of this approach is to emphasise the importance of the rising generation of citizens learning about the nature and functions of the state; it is much less concerned with collaborative advocacy or community action by active citizens.
Given these recent developments, it is clear that active citizenship is no longer perceived as merely a kind of irrational behaviour. The question which now arises is: 'How to study active citizenship?' There is a need for a range of possible ways for reworking education for active citizenship. For instance, Fien (1990) has argued for a socially critical orientation to educating for active citizenship which promotes a critical analysis of the patterning of power relations in existing socio-economic arrangements, discloses contradictions between their rhetoric and practice, and challenges them to bridge the gap.
It is possible to study active citizenship via the community action of social movements (see for example Singh, 1992; Wood, 1985). Social movements arise out of the community action of citizens and are directed to express the aspirations, interests, values and norms of such social collectivities. Active citizens include environmental protectors, women working for equality, civil rights workers, anti-war and disarmament campaigners, and community self-help groups. The idea of active citizens sees people not only as reacting to situations but also actually producing them. A social movement consists of active citizens opposed to the existing relations of domination and conflict in society, who share similar cultural, economic and social orientations and are in contention for the management of these resources and activities. The women's movement, for example, consists of active citizens who have developed a social critique of the existing socio-economic order and its relations of patriarchal domination, who share the same cultural orientation towards social justice, and who are using their social competencies to gain control over the management of socially, culturally and economically significant activities. At stake in the work of active citizens is a set of resources and models that they seek to manage and control.
Introducing Barbalet's (1988) concepts of social movement and community action to a discussion of global education raises a number of interesting issues. As a means of socio-economic and cultural change the community actions of social movements redefine what is meant by citizen participation. Community action initiatives are composed of legally and socially constituted citizens working collectively rather than individually. They are linked in community action through a shared self-consciousness of purpose. Thus, although citizenship is vested in individuals, it is used to create groups, associations and social movements of many kinds.
To paraphrase Barbalet (1988), there is a two-way relationship between citizens and social movements, in so far as the community actions of social movements facilitate the development of citizenship, while the rights of citizenship, once secured, nurture the development of social movements. The conditions for citizen participation in community actions requires that they draw upon a range of material and social resources, including norms and rights. In the absence of the rights of citizenship the conditions for producing community action are likely to be constrained. However, the suppression or repression of community action by citizens does not necessarily mean that change is impossible. Paradoxically, community action both contributes to and is facilitated by citizenship. Where such civil rights are absent, community action can be a source of power and knowledge in providing for successful change. What is not available as a right may be achieved through community action.
The participation of informed and active citizens in community action is not only a consequence of socio-economic situations but also a creator of them as well. Through community action, citizens work as agents of socio-economic change, rather than being merely its product. Of course, the outcome of a mobilised pressure for inclusion of new citizens or new citizen rights cannot be guaranteed or predicted. Further, it is necessary to avoid the conclusion that once civil rights are achieved other types of citizenship rights simply take time to emerge. As Barbalet (1988) argues, community action is most crucial for the expansion of citizenship and the deepening of democracy; this is especially so when opposition to such initiatives is highest. One characteristic feature of citizen participation in community action is its capacity to mobilise resources. Consider for a moment the community action sponsored by the Civil Rights movement. It mobilised resources for social change, secured the location of indigenous people in some sections of national institutional power structures, redefined notions of ethnicity, and is producing a reappraisal of national institutions.
Barbalet's (1988) approach to citizen participation in community action rejects the view that such forms of collective behaviour are primarily oriented to the resource mobilisation. A quite different understanding of the relationship between citizenship and community action needs to be explored. It needs to be understood that citizenship participation in community action is an important basis of cultural transformation in society. Such community action is oriented towards questioning the taken-for-granted definitions, roles, and functioning of the socio-political arena. From this perspective community action is the source for changing existing cultural, economic and social patterns. It is in this sense the community action undertaken by organisations such as Amnesty International provides an excellent illustration of informed and active citizenship, which is not only challenging 'First World' relations with the 'Third World' but is seeking to establish an entirely new conception of what this relationship should be.
If you are travelling to the 'Third World', you will benefit from understanding the forces that enable, or prevent, people from achieving a reasonable quality of life. The cost of mass tourism can be reduced markedly by responsible travel by informed and active citizens. How can we understand more about the opportunities and constraints that 'Third World' people face? In this lecture we consider some of the many practical and personal travel suggestions to assist tourists to increase the positive impact of their travel activities.
What are the Benefits and Costs of Tourism?
From its humble origins tourism has grown into the world's largest industry, turning over an astonishing US $2 trillion in 1987 and employing one out of every sixteen workers, worldwide. Tourism brings in foreign exchange, creates jobs, and improves airports, roads and communication facilities. Tourism can help preserve the world's ancient heritage and natural environment such as the pyramids of Egypt, Europe's historic buildings, and Australia's Great Barrier Reef. It is expected that some controls over the number of people visiting these sights will have to be implemented in the near future. On a personal level there are many potential benefits for tourists, for example:
Tourism, however, while bringing much of benefit, also has its downside. The costs of developing tourist resorts and infrastructure are considerable, and frequently the drain of money out of a host country can leave as little as 20% of tourist expenditure remaining. There are also other associated costs.
Tourism Can Damage the Physical Environment
Tourism can damage the natural and built environment (Innskeep, 1991). Some of the world's beaches have been severely affected by high-rise apartments and hotels, necessitating the carting of sand to replenish that lost to the tides. Parks and river systems have been polluted and almost ruined by the sheer volume of visitors. Caves and sacred sites have been so damaged that screens have had to be installed to protect what is left. Beautiful natural beaches, coral reefs and mountains are being destroyed. Mine owners gouge the hills to sell soil for hotel construction. Hotels dump sewage into the sea. In some places drinking water now has to be brought in by truck for all, or part of the year. Significant damage is being done as a consequence of trekking and climbing. The non-biodegradable items which tourists bring often end up thrown into rivers, or can be found strewn around the edges of villages. We need to think and talk about the things that we can do about this.
Tourism Can Have a Major Impact on Indigenous People
There are two main and opposing schools of thought, regarding the impact of tourism on indigenous people (Richter, 1989). One suggests that the culture of such people will be strengthened through the reproduction of 'genuine', rather than 'commercial' culture for the tourist industry. The other argues that contact with tourists will weaken, if not destroy, indigenous cultures, unless precautions are taken. Here, it must be emphasised that the aim is not to preserve people's 'cultures' as museum pieces. It is well-recognised that all cultures constantly undergo a process of change. Indigenous people want tourists to have contact with their culture on their terms, including control over sources of information, respect for privacy and the development of activities catering to the interests of tourists. They have, for example, responded to the negative aspects of tourism, and especially the issue of invasive photography, by closing off their community to outsiders. The taking of photographs is regarded as one of the worst social aspects of tourism. Tourism is having a mixed impact and it is encouraging to see that efforts are being made to control some of the problems. In some instances, for example, difficulties with damage to, and a lack of respect for, sacred sites and the environment have been corrected.
The impact of tourism in some places has been on the ethnic minority people who have been displaced from their land to the hills where they now eke out a meagre life farming and selling woven baskets. The cost for them has been very high. Their young no longer have a decent environment in which to grow up. Tourists have brought naked bathing, drunkenness, drug taking and a hunger to satisfy their sexual urges to the area. Pimps, prostitutes, drug dealers and gamblers have followed them. Maintaining one's culture in the face of the avalanche of tourism is extremely difficult, and even the strongest culture becomes considerably diluted over the years. Traditional dances which were once only performed at important ceremonies, are now performed regularly at tourist gatherings, for cash. This has led to a decline in the meaning, spiritual relevance and dignity of these dances. Handcrafts have also declined in quality due to mass tourist demands for small, cheap souvenirs. Women, influenced by tourist fashions, no longer wear local dress which is far more appropriate for the tropics. Sometimes the results cause local people to become angry and resentful - a very different response to the initial hospitality and friendship they may have given visitors. We need to think and talk about the things that we can do about this.
Sex Tourism Has a Major Impact on Women and Children
Sex tourism has a major impact on women and children (Troung, 1990). The link between tourism and prostitution is apparent in the commercialisation and commodification of human relationships. Women and children are the main victims of this growth industry. The relationship between tourists and prostitutes is almost always unequal. The tourists' wealth brings power and advantage, which usually results in a relationship that is highly exploitative of the other person, who is usually extremely poor and powerless. An estimated 60% of the 2 million tourists who visited Thailand in 1982 were participating in sex tourism. There are an increasing number of children, of both sexes, becoming prostitutes in the 'Third World'. They are lured by pimps into brothels and often become addicted to drugs. Some are homeless street kids, some come from poor rural families, and some drift into it from their 'exciting' contact with tourists, from overdeveloped countries. These children usually have no education or trade, and can readily become beggars. Imagine a child prostitute, deteriorating physically and mentally due to drug addiction and the effects of being a prostitute. We need to think and talk about the things that we can do about this.
Tourism is now the world's largest industry. Bringing great benefits to many countries - investment, foreign exchange, new jobs and wealth are all products of tourism. But tourism has a dark side too. It can bring labour exploitation, destruction of the environment and cultural insensitivity causing great hardship, especially in poorer countries. Tourism often causes cultural and environmental destruction.
What can be done to tackle these issues, and to promote responsible travel? After all there is no point in funding overseas aid projects if tourism undermines these projects and contributes to world poverty. Individual citizens can help in at least two ways.
1. Personal Travel
Simply by travelling with companies that have been established to promote responsible travel individual citizens can show that they are someone who cares. These companies usually have a range of specialist tours which focus on meeting people from other cultures and worlds. This is a most exciting way to travel. It offers a way of bringing our strife-torn and poverty-ridden world together by knowing and understanding each other. These highly successful study tours go beyond the ordinary tourist track - right into the heart of 'developing' countries. Travellers may meet the Lambadas from India, or the indigenous people of the Philippines, or the Hill People of Northern Thailand. They share bush tucker with the Aborigines in the Northern Territory, or 'killer' beef in the remote Kimberley. Such tours provide a moving human experience with people from other cultures.
Responsible travel has been developed to tackle th e problems caused by tourism by promoting ethical travel. Usually these non-profit travel agencies offer all the services that travellers expect: experienced professional advice, extremely competitive prices and package deals to suit individual and group needs. Most importantly, however, all the money earned by such companies goes towards development work in the 'Third World'. Such travel offers a range of tours that go off the beaten track, and focuses on meeting people from other cultures in an atmosphere of respect and understanding. Travel opportunities include:
2. Community Action
The foreign debt problem that most 'Third World' countries face is one of the main causes of children being forced into prostitution and slavery. The tourism industry is a part of national policy in these countries as a result of loan conditions imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. This policy would be satisfactory if tourism promoters did not emphasise sex tourism. The Task Force to End Child Sexploitation in Thailand recently held a rally outside the officers of one British airline company in Bangkok to protest advertising material showing a semi-naked young girl, and describing the experiences of a male traveller with a prostitute in Thailand. Likewise, in the Philippines, Gabriela, the national coalition of women's organisations, has been working to promote the rights and welfare of children subject to sexual abuse. Global citizens must also consider ways of stopping 'First World' men from sexually exploiting women and children in 'Third World' countries.
Individual citizens can help by becoming informed and active participants in community action projects and conferences highlighting the nature of sex tourism. In particular, there is a need for citizens to look at their society and establish what it is that makes their men want to visit 'Third World' countries to subject women and children to sexual exploitation. The age, race and gender of men visiting 'Third World' countries have enormous power in relation to the children they sexually abuse. It has been proposed that people who travel overseas to have sex with children could and should be prosecuted under their own nation's laws. There are no legal obstacles or constitutional prohibitions on doing so. Governments have the authority to make criminal laws to prosecute crimes committed by its citizens outside their country. Moreover, such an initiative would signal to 'Third World' countries that 'First World' countries are committed to combating sex tourism.
Conclusion
Tourism is a major growth industry which is here to stay. It affects all of us, at home and abroad. However, tourism brings both benefits and costs to the host community. As we have seen, the benefits include:
However, there are many costs, especially to the peoples of the 'Third World'. These include:
Tourists have a lot of power and there are many things that they can do to reduce the undesirable aspects of tourism. Some of the main points to remember are:
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