HH The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani – Picture by Emiri Diwan.
Sunday, 4 November 2018, State of Qatar: As per Emiri decree No 74 of 2018 His Highness The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, established the National Tourism Council (NTC) replacing Qatar Tourism Authority.
The country’s National Tourism Council shall endeavour to accomplishing the “best conditions for the implementation of the national strategy for tourism and its subsidiary programmes, in order to promote comprehensive development plans for tourism sector and organise and promote them internally and externally”.
Likewise it will aim at ameliorating tourist experiences in the country, and thereby show the civilisational, cultural, artistic and tourist features of Qatar. The Council is meant to adopt the State’s general policy regarding to tourism and supervise all aspects of tourist activity.
The Emiri Cabinet on the same topic approved a draft law on Tourism Regulation which defined the “tourist area as any area in the territory of the country that has attractive, archaeological, historical or natural features”; the appropriate coordinates shall be determined by a decision of the Council of Ministers.
NTC shall enjoy a legal identity as well as a budget to be attached to the general budget of the State. It shall belong to the Cabinet and have its headquarters within the country, however, may have offices outside the State. The new law abrogates Qatar Tourism Authority and the government committee to co-ordinate conferences and events. All functions of these entities shall be allocated to the new council.
National Tourism Council’s board shall be The Prime Minister, with the Minister of Finance as vice-chairman. Other members include, the Minister of Culture and Sports, the Minister of Transport and Communications, the Minister of Economy and Commerce, CEO of Qatar Airways Group, Director of the Government Communications Office, the Chairman of Katara Hospitality and two representatives from the private tourism sector, selected by the chairman of the board of directors.
Austrian Ambassador Heidemaria Gürer, a craft artist from Uzbekistan and H.E. Mr. Dilyor Khakimov, Ambassador of Uzbekistan.By Roy Lie Atjam.
The Hague, Wednesday 31 October 2018 – The Ambassador of Uzbekistan accredited to the Netherlands H.E. Mr. Dilyor Khakimov, organized the Uzbekistan Food festival “Uzbek Flavours” together with Crowne Plaza Promenade and Diplomat Magazine.
An authentic Uzbek silk, carpet and artisanal market complemented the Food Festival.
For additional Marian van Noort’s pictures, please open the following link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/109407424@N02/albums/72157697385233180Mr. Levan Khorkheli, Counsellor of the Embassy of Georgia, Mr. Wilhen Nehomar Diaz Lara, Chargé d’affairs, Embassy of Venezuela, H.E. Mr Mikalai M. Barysevich, Ambassador of Belarus, H.E. Ms. Ngô Thi Hòa, Ambassador of Viet Nam, H.E. Mrs. Heiemaria Gürer, Ambassador of Austria, Uzbekistan Ambassador Khakimov, H.E. Mr. Magzhan Ilyassov, Ambassador of Kazakhstan, Mr. Boris Zhilko, Minister Counsellor, Embassy of Russia, H.E. Mr. Amgad Abdel Ghaffar, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Mrs. Zhilko spouse of the Russian Minister Counsellor, Mrs. Tatsiana Barysevich, spouse of the Belarus ambassador and Mrs. Akmaral Aydarbekova, spouse of the Ambassador of Kazakhstan.
The famous Uzbek Chef Shomurod Samaev prepared a mouth watering dinner consisting of Starter Mokhora – chickpea soup, three Uzbek Samsas: one with mutton, one with pumpkin and one with greens flour, meat, pumpkin, greens, onion, mutton fat.
Main course palov= rice with lamb, manti=steamed dumplings stuffed with lamb and pumpkin. Further Qozon kabob, Lamb brisket, potato, onion Dessert Behiyougogbleau = quince with crushed walnut.
Uzbek palov.
Ambassador Dilyor Khakimov and his colleagues from Egypt, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Cuba, Venezuela, Russia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Austria, Yemen along with diplomatic representatives, friends of Uzbekistan, Dutch MFA and business acquaintances, all enjoyed the fabulous dinner and art market.
Ones more, Uzbekistan shines in the Netherlands.
The Ambassador of Viet Nam H.E. Ngô Thi Hòa, Mrs. Tatsiana Barysevich. from Belarus and the Ambassador of Cuba, H.E. Ms. Soraya Alvarez.H.E. Mr. Magzhan Ilyassov, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Dr. Mayelinne De Lara, Diplomat Magazine Publisher.
The United Nations Day was celebrated in Curaçao on 24 October 2018, for the occasion Mr. Karel Frielink, Dean of the Consular Corps of Curaçao addressed the very special guests among them the Governor of Curaçao, Mrs. Lucille George-Wout, the vicePrime Minister of Curaçao and Minister of Health, Environment and Nature, Mrs. Suzy Camelia-Römer, thePresident of Parliament, Mr. William Millerson, the Minister of Social Development, Mr. Hensley Koeiman, the Commander of the Armed Forces on Curaçao, Brigadier General De Vin, the representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Curaçao, Mr. Raynel Martis, the Secretary General of the National Commission to UNESCO, Mrs. Marva Browne, the Chairwoman of the Uniting for Children Foundation, Mrs. Anne-Marie Pietersz-Powell and the Chairman of the Child First Foundation, Mr. Chris Peterson.
During his speech, he noted: In the past months we welcomed new colleagues who became members of the Consular Corps of Curaçao: Mrs. Julie Tidey (Honorary Consul of the United Kingdom), Mrs. Ruthsella Jansen(Honorary Consul of Canada), Mrs. Bettina Kibbelaar (Honorary Consul of Switzerland) and Mrs. Waleska Schumacher (Honorary Consul of Brazil).
We also welcomed Dr. Erwin Arkenbout, the recently appointed Representative of the Netherlands in Curaçao, who could not attend today’s event. Luckily, the Dutch Representative Office is represented by the deputy Representative Mrs. Hildegard Nefs.
Unfortunately, on the 18th of July 2018, Dr. José Carlos De Sousa Correia, the Honorary Consul of Portugal for the island of Curaçao, passed away. He was a valuable colleague in the corps since 2005 and a dear friend to many.
On the 18th of August 2018, Mr. Kofi Annan, the former UN Secretary-General & Nobel Laureate passed away at the age of 80.During his life, he offered a bit of advice to all of us. I will give you a couple of quotes from him over the years.
“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.”
“Gender equality is more than a goal in itself. It is a precondition for meeting the challenge of reducing poverty, promoting sustainable development and building good governance.”
“When economic conditions are difficult, people tend to be less generous and protect themselves; the question of solidarity doesn’t mean much to them at that time.”
And one final quote: “More than ever before in human history, we share a common destiny. We can master it only if we face it together. And that, my friends, is why we have the United Nations.”
Let us remember Mr. Kofi Annan by being excellent to each other and to the world, and to honor him with our own deeds of service to others.
May his words inspire you to take action and to bring some light in the dark life of our fellow human beings.
Karel Frielink, Dion Gumbs.
Ladies and Gentlemen! I am delighted to announce this is our fourth consecutive edition of our Speech Contest. We ask students from many of the schools in Curaçao to submit speeches based on one of two topics; this year’s topics:
How should Curaçao address the effects of climate change with regards to its economy?
How would you improve the quality of education on Curaçao in order to ensure the most adapted workforce of tomorrow?
We received 42 speeches from various schools: Kolegio Alejandro Paula (KAP), Radulphus College, Maria Immaculata Lyceum (MIL), Albert Schweitzer, Vespucci and the International School of Curaçao. The speeches were then carefully read by the Board of the Consular Corps.
After much deliberation, we named the three finalists who will soon read their speeches out loud: Aron Kibbelaar (Vespucci), Rianthe Angela (MIL) and Gudr Al Ayouby (ISC). The President of Parliament, Mr. William Millerson, has agreed to chair today’s jury. The jury will judge the three presentations, based on content, writing skill, and presentation, and will announce the winner, who will receive our grand prize: a check for the amount ofNAf1,000.The prize is generously sponsored by the Child First Foundation, represented here today by its Chairman Mr. Chris Peterson. Thank you for such a great gift.
What do you and I, and all other people in the Caribbean region have in common? That we all probably, just like all other people on earth, are descended from a people that lived in Africa in a far past. Thus considered, we are all brothers and sisters. One big family, one big community, but not as closely and not as strongly connected as many of us would like it to be.
In the course of history, differences have increased. Differences, for example, in appearance, in color, in language, in religion, in culture, in education, in prosperity etc. And with these differences, contradictions arose: between rich and poor, religious and non-religious, developed and underdeveloped, and, at an especially sad moment in history, also between slave and master, and between black and white. It is especially these contradictions that have left deep scars throughout history. The consequences are still visible today.
At various moments in history attempts have been made to protect people against the arbitrariness of others. And time and again there have been people and movements that tried to uphold the intrinsic value and dignity of each individual as a basic principle. After the horrors of World War II, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Unanimously.
Unfortunately, even today earth is for too many a bad place to live. I’m not sure how to best address all the issues, but we have to start somewhere. If we start here, in Curaçao, I believe we need a shared vision and shared goals.
There are thousands in Curacao who are poorly housed, who have hardly any income or none at all. They have no money to give their children food to eat at school. They might be addicted to drugs. We are reading in the paper about burglaries, robberies, organized crime and corruption reaching deep into society. And don’t forget the youth unemployment of about 35%.
We encourage the development of plans and ideas to tackle these and other problems. Where do we want Curacao to be in 10, 25, and 50 years? What is our future vision? We all need to be thinking about this and coming up with proposals.
The interests of the population should be at the forefront. We have to start thinking ‘large’. All forces must be pooled. And we need an integral approach: the economy, social circumstances, the environment, culture and so on, are more associated with each other than is sometimes imagined.
We ought to start doing something soon. After all, we have enormous prosperity in Curacao as well as grinding poverty. There are dangers in the latter: increasing instability, a dysfunctional society and increasing political and social contrasts, but there are great opportunities in the former. Each day could be a defining moment in history. But we have to act, act together, and act soon!
I conclude with a quote from chapter 24 of the book by Lao Tzu, The Tao Te Ching.[1] The quote is about 2400 years old:
“Those who are on tiptoes cannot stand
Those who straddle cannot walk
Those who flaunt themselves are not clear
Those who presume themselves are not distinguished
Those who praise themselves have no merit
Those who boast about themselves do not last”
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[1]http://www.taoism.net, Tao Te Ching: Annotated & Explained, published by SkyLight Paths in 2006.
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Photography by the Parlamento di Kòrsou
Ambassador of Czech Republic H.E. Mrs Jana Reinišová and Ambassador of Slovakia H.E. Mr. Roman Buzek. Concert 100 Anniversary of Czechoslovakia.
Concert to mark the 100th Anniversary of the Establishment of Czechoslovakia
By Tereza Neuwirthova.
On October 30th, 2018, the Embassy of the Czech Republic and the Embassy of the Slovak Republic in The Hague organised a classical music concert in order to mark the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Czechoslovakia.
The concert took place in the church De Kloosterkerk in The Hague, and started at 7pm.
The ceremony initiated with the national anthems of both the Czech and the Slovak Republic, after which the ambassador of the Czech Republic H.E. Ms. Jana Reinisová and the ambassador of the Slovak Republic H.E. Mr. Roman Buzek gave an opening speech, in which they greeted the guests, as well as recounted the joint history of the two countries.
For additional Roy Strik’s pictures, please open the link below: https://www.flickr.com/photos/109407424@N02/albums/72157703222342285Concert 100 anniversary Czechoslovakia at De Kloosterkerk in The Hague.
Czechoslovakia, which was established on October 28th 1918 was one of the many countries that formerly formed the Austro-Hungarian empire and that became sovereign after the First World War. The leading figures in the process of establishment, whose names were also mentioned in the ambassadors’ speech, were Milan Rastislav Štefánik and Tomáš GarrigueMasaryk, who subsequently became the first president of the country.
Czechoslovakia went through several stages and regimes in the course of its history, starting its journey as a democratic country, later it was forced to split, and after the Second World War Czechoslovakia became a part of the Eastern Bloc with the communist regime. The Velvet Revolution, which took place in 1989, was a non-violent transition of Czechoslovakia into a parliamentary republic, and it restored democracy in the country after 41 years. On January 1st, 1993, Czechoslovakia was peacefully dissolved into the Slovak and the Czech Republic, and the countries keep close relations ever since.
The Ambassador of Viet Nam H.E. Ngô Thi Hòa, Mr. Wilhen Nehomar Díaz Lara, Chargé d’affaires, Embassy of Venezuela, H.E. Mr. Fernando Bucheli Vargas, Chargé d’affaires, Embassy of Ecuador and spouse Narumi Bucheli, together with Mr. Boris Zhilko, Minister Counsellor, Embassy of Russia.
Both ambassadors have pointed to the shared values and history of these two countries, and for the future wished for many more years of cooperation and close partnership.
Miroslav Ambroš, violin and Zuzana Ambrošová, piano.
The concert was performed by the duet Miroslav Ambroš and Zuzana Ambrošová, who played violin and piano, respectively. Both are appraised and desired players with combined Slovak and Czech backgrounds that have been invited to many international festivals and competitions. During the concert, Mr. Ambroš was using a very rare instrument that was made by an Italian violinmaker in 1734.
The duet played together 13 pieces from various Slovak and Czech composers, whereby they opened the concert with Antonín Dvořák’s Romantic Pieces. The concert continued with compositions by the well-known classical Czech composer Bedřich Smetana and the equally famous Slovak composer Eugen Suchoň, as well as contemporary pieces by the Slovak Peter Breiner, and the Czech Sylvie Bodorová. The concert was a great success among the audience, and the duet received a long-lasting standing ovation, which was followed by a short additional piece played by Mr. Ambroš on his violin.
After the concert, the representatives of the Masaryk’s institute of The Netherlands presented the book Samen op de ‘laan van Europa’ written by Pieter J. Goedhart and Jan C. Henneman, which depicts the 100 years of the Slovak-Czech-Dutch relations. The book also portrays the traces of Slovaks and Czechs in various Dutch cities such as Rotterdam or Naarden.
H.E. Mr Vidmantas Purlys, Ambassador of Lithuania and his spouse, Ms. Dita Purlys.
Hundreds attended the concert; among the audience ambassadors from every continent, heads of international organizations, judges, politicians, academics, Slovaks and Czechs and Dutch friends of both countries.
Afterwards, the refreshments, which consisted of traditional delicacies of both the Slovak and Czech cuisines accompanied by local wines, were served to the guests.
This concert was a special celebration to mark a very important anniversary for both of the two countries, and the ongoing partnership and close relations of Slovakia and the Czech Republic could be seen in many constituents of this pleasurable evening. The future collaboration of the countries that was introduced as a wish by the Slovak and Czech ambassadors will unambiguously take place.
On 23 October, the national authorities of Bulgaria and Spain, supported from a coordination centre at Eurojust, arrested 13 people (four in Bulgaria and nine in Spain) and searched 17 properties.
More than 30 600 pieces of cultural heritage artefacts, mostly comprising real and counterfeit coins, were seized from an organised crime group (OCG) involved in the looting and illegal trafficking of cultural goods from Bulgarian archaeological sites as well as the online sale of counterfeit goods in Spain. Approximately EUR 180 000 in cash was also seized. The action day was supported by Eurojust and Europol.
The Specialised Prosecution Office of Bulgaria, together with the Investigative Court 1 of Torrent (Valencia), supported by the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office in Valencia, coordinated the work of the Spanish Guardia Civil Operational Central Unit and the Bulgarian Investigative Department at the Specialised Prosecution Office, the General Directorate for Combating Organised Crime of Bulgaria, and the General Directorate National Police of Bulgaria, in an action day on 23 October.
As discovered during the investigation, the leaders of the OCG in Spain were living in Valencia; they had links with others in the provinces of Alicante, Murcia, Segovia and Zaragoza, as well as Bulgaria.
Eurojust and Europol were asked to assist in both the Bulgarian and the Spanish proceedings, coordinating judicial and police actions requested from Spain. This cross-border cooperation also led to the arrest of the OCG members residing in Bulgaria. Eurojust held one coordination meeting to share information, discuss jurisdictional issues and plan the action day to take place within just three weeks.
All of those arrested are accused of membership in a criminal organisation, crimes against protected historical heritage, illegal trafficking of cultural goods, swindling, money laundering, forgery of official documents and alteration in prices in public tenders and auctions.
Seized during the searches were more than 20 000 authentic and forged coins, several vehicles, laptops and other IT equipment, as well as 36 machine dies to produce counterfeit coins, as well as Greek and Roman ceramics and sculptures, helmets, funeral urns, brooches, chandeliers, rings, amulets, arrowheads and spears. In addition, metal detectors were seized, along with other devices used to manufacture coins and other objects and manipulate them to look antique so that they could to be sold online. Due to the volume of seized items, other objects still need to be evaluated.
During the action day, European Arrest Warrants, European Investigation Orders and freezing orders were exchanged and executed.
Diplomat Magazine spoke to Botswana’s Minister Bogolo Kenewendo
In the framework of the Global Expo Botswana 2018, Diplomat Magazine had the pleasure to talking to the country’s Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, The Honourable Bogolo Kenewendo.Do you foresee any effects that Brexit may have on Botswana, and its relations to the EU? Particularly because Botswana’s only BITC has only a seat in London. Have you pondered about moving it to an EU country, or opening one in Paris, Berlin or Frankfurt?Botswana like any other country, is following with keen interest on debates and the envisaged outcomes of the Brexit, especially the type of impact it will confer on our trade and investment aspirations. You will note that the UK has traditionally been Botswana biggest export market in terms of both beef and diamonds, while imports of machinery equipment, destined for the mining industry have been very high. Botswana and other SACU members have taken a collective keen interest given the existing market access preferences accorded through the SADC – EU EPA, which provisionally entered into force on 10th October 2016, and would like to preserve an existing status quo with the EU in terms of the current market access commitments that are in existence through the SADC EU EPA. Bogolo Kenewendo addressing the Global Expo Botswana 2018 – Picture by Global Expo Botswana.Some of the practical challenges envisaged are more on the Non-tariff barriers side, especially for exporters that have been enjoying single-entry market access under the EU, as this will likely to raise costs of production associated with differing market standards, meeting the Rules of Origin requirements, and customs paperwork amongst others.To this end SACU member states and Mozambique are negotiating an Economic Partnership Agreement with the UK which aims at ensuring that there is no interruption to trade as a result of the UK exiting the EU and thus not being a party to the SADC EU EPA.It is true that at present there is only 1 BITC office for investment and trade promotion. The Government of Botswana has taken a collective to empower Botswana Embassies both in the UK and Europe (In Europe Botswana has four Embassies; Berlin, Germany, Brussels, Belgium, Geneva, Switzerland; and Stockholm, Sweden) to work closely with BITC on investment and trade promotion. On the same note, BITC continue to review its strategy from time to time, to meet the changing needs of the global investors, hence one cannot overrule the possibility of increasing international presence in the EU market.What are you doing to connect the country more readily to Europe, the USA and China?At present Botswana is reachable from all major markets including Europe via Johannesburg, with connecting flights to Gaborone the capital, (which is 45 minutes away) either through Air Botswana or South African Airways. The capital city can also be accessed through Ethiopian airlines from London, making a stop-over in Addis to Gaborone. Minister Bogolo Kenewendo. Botswana. Photographyby BOPA- Phenyo MoalosiWhat is Botswana Doing to Connect Botswana to the rest of the World?First, Botswana has upgraded and modernised its 4 major airports (Gaborone, Maun, Francistown and Kasane) to turn Botswana into a competitive tourism regional hub. For example, improvements at Kasane International airport include extension of the runway and associated movement areas, refurbishment of the old terminal building and other buildings, provision of airfield ground lighting, provision of the structural electrified fence and airport WiFi connection provided by Botswana Investment and Trade Centre in collaboration with local providers Botswana Fibre Networks and MetroTech.Second, Botswana has identified cargo and logistics as one of the key investment opportunities to consider. Driven by increasing tourists’ arrivals, Botswana will remain a key regional player when it comes pristine safari tourism attractions, and developments around making Gaborone to be the diamond city as a result of relocation of the Diamond Trading Company from London to Botswana for aggregation. The Government strategy is to identify potential airlines that could be strategic partners to Air Botswana to consider direct flights as this would minimise the travel costs in terms of both finances and time. We are aware that China and USA are amongst the major trading partners, but have you thought about intensifying exchanges and relations with countries of similar Success stories? E.g. Slovenia in Europe, Alberta, Canada etc, what countries do we have in mind?Our strategy for Investment promotion has segmented the markets into tiers, and our approach to attraction is based primarily on lead generation, targeting those markets with High investor buyer appetite, coupled with High offer attractiveness for the following sectors; financial and business services; commercial agriculture and agro processing, manufacturing, with emphasis on automotive components and parts, and pharmaceutical industry; mineral beneficiation (diamond – cutting and polishing, jewellery manufacturing, brokers, financing etc; coal – clean coal energy and coal to liquid; soda ash – chemical industry); ICT (last mileage connectivity; tv white space, mobile money banking etc).Some of the small countries that BITC have targeted include the Viségrad group (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) given their dominance on OEMs and automotive cluster development. BITC has established some very good contacts in this market and will continue to undertake promotion and image building to attract more business with the V4 countries.—————Photography by BOPA- Phenyo Moalosi
By Armela Imeraj.
Just last week, the biggest Azeri investment in the World, Trans Adriatic Pipeline started its final phase of construction in Albania, the one when the pipeline will be laid below the Adriatic Sea.
In a great paradox of our times, while our sea has become a new horizon for collaboration and new opportunities, the “fake news” sea has become a threatening problem that endangers many of the achievements of democratic countries, particularly when it comes to new and delicate democracies like those in the Eastern Europe or the Balkan Peninsula.
The globalization and commercialization of fake news are serious issues. The things that are supposed to be helping people connect and enable understanding are becoming tools for creating chaos and influencing unjustifiably behaviors.
With the help of the internet and translation, foreign governments, state actors or a group of skilled individuals are able to influence the affairs of another state. Through the collection of social media data and translation, there are companies that are able to offer fake news as a global product that can be instrumental in political campaigns and many other issues. And there’s no doubt that the propagators of fake news are clever and crafty. They know how to muster rights and freedoms as their defense.
We have an expression in Albania that goes “a lie has short legs”, in the sense that it’s short lived, but thanks to social media and ghost portals, this is no longer true. Fake news can circulate and recalculate for entire months in the network and the state’s ability to stop this phenomenon is limited.
NASA confirms that the Earth will have 15 days of darkness, Trump will remove the Statue of Liberty because it encourages emigrants, the EU will sentence to 3 years in jail those who cheat on their partners or the news that circulated in Albania that George Washington had an Albanian origin are just some of the most infamous examples of fake news in the world.
However, while such jokes only aim to monetize, other fake news have a much more malicious purposes.
The recent news about the death of the famous Greek director Kostas Gavras, which was reported even by well-known agencies like Associated Press or New York Times goes to show nowadays, nobody, is immune to fake news. When such things happen even in the most developed countries, our countries are definitely much more exposed to such a phenomenon.
Armela Krasniqi, General Director of the Albanian Telegraphic Agency, international panelists on “Disinformation Policy – a threat to Stability in the Modern World” at the 6th Humanitarian Forum of Baku.
For a number of reasons, starting from the level of education to the fact that many of our citizens are not very accustomed to technology on the same level as in the West, the Balkan countries, according to evidences of “Annual Index of Media Literacy” are the most threatened countries in Europe by the distribution of fake news.
That is why I think the Public News Agencies should take upon themselves a much more active role in fighting false information. Collaboration between news agencies should be replicated as much as possible all over the globe. Besides international fake news, another concerning source of false information is domestic or local fake news. My conviction is that News Agencies should create independent structures, able to unmask in real time fake news. Every time fake news attempt to spread havoc in our societies we can do what most of the news portals don’t, facts check the information from the respective sources.
The ultimate goal of this change is that by establishing a gold standard, gradually, in each of our countries a network of trustworthy media can be established, which despite their editorial policies and personal interpretation of the news, can be able to report the truth always and in a credible manner.
It is imperative for our countries to understand that “fake news” is neither a local nor an isolated phenomenon.
This is a global battle, a battle for our freedom and as such it’s a precondition that our countries should prepare a global response.
I say battle for our freedom because I see this as a threatening tool to our basic right, which is freedom of information.
That’s why everyone needs to get involved, governments, NGOs, academics and above all common citizens.
For now, it’s difficult to determine what is the best solution to fake news but what’s certain is that everybody needs to get involved and that we should stop making the same mistakes of the past.
For example, in 1675, Charles II of England issued a new “proclamation for the suppression of coffee houses” because “divers’ false, malicious and scandalous reports are devised and spread abroad”. The king declared that “coffee houses be… put down and suppressed”. The attempts to control today’s fake news through contemporary equivalents of the suppression of the coffee house are I think misguided and dangerous.
We need new platforms and new channels where everybody can play a role in obliterating fake news.
Me alone cannot tell you which solution to win this battle. However, I am convinced that this is a battle we can win. Fake news distributors started this race with a clear advantage, as our countries and societies were not prepared to cope with this phenomenon.
However, our disadvantage is getting smaller and smaller every day.
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About the author: Armela Krasniqi is the General Director of the Albanian Telegraphic Agency. Armela Krasniqi, was one of the international panelists on the conference “Disinformation Policy – a threat to Stability in the Modern World” at the 6th Humanitarian Forum of Baku, an event that through the years has managed to shape an answer for many of the issues that concern the global society nowadays.
Special thanks to the head of AZERTAC, Azerbaijan State News Agency Mr. Aslan Aslanov.
Rabbi Dr. Alon Goshen-Gottstein, director of the Elijah Interfaith Institute and Archbishop H.E. Aldo Cavalli, Apostolic Nuncio of the Netherlands.
Under the leadership of the Peace Palace, the Carnegie Foundation and the Elijah Interfaith Institute several religious leaders and representatives attended a meeting announcing an upcoming Declaration of Friendship Across Religions, to be signed by religious leaders of the word at the Peace Palace in 2020.
The Declaration of friendship across religions, intend to foster peace and understanding creating friendship among all religions.
The launch of the project at the Peace Palace on September 26 is a preamble to the 2020 Summit were religious leaders of the word will be invited to sign a common declaration. The project is meant to include discussions of issues of friendship, common values between religions, freedom of religion as well as approaches and mandates for further dialogue, mutual study and festivities as blueprints and yardsticks for future collaboration between faiths.
Mr. Erik de Baedts, Peace Palace Director.
With the strong support of the Peace Palace, the event counted with the presence of its director he said that the summit in the Netherlands will be a huge undertaking that will require the necessary cooperation, but the process of consultations worldwide and crafting the Declaration is an even more complicated and delicate matter that follows a careful interactive process supported by experts from the Elijah Interfaith Institute, the VU university, The Carnegie Foundation, and others.
Rabbi Dr. Alon Goshen-Gottstein, director of the Elijah Interfaith Institute, declared: “This is time of Universal understanding; this is a new message of friendship teaching with simplicity. Get to know about each other, reaching a common vision, take care of each other; making friends is a way of living.” “Engaging the leaders of the word to give this message of friendship” he explained “some time against their own message is a great task. We started the process two years ago now we came up with 60 declarations of friendship; it is a process where education to the young has an important impact.”Advertising professional Mr. Mark Woerde, creator of the idea, Rabbi Dr. Alon Goshen-Gottstein and Mr. Erik de Baedts.
Among the audience H.E. Archbishop Aldo Cavalli, Apostolic Nuncio to the Netherlands commented: “Peoples are very similar in some points, and very different in others; religions are very similar in some point, and very different in others.”“ Respect to each other is fundamental,” stayed Archbishop Cavalli “ we have to learn, with our own identity the duty to respect the others and the right to be respected by the others, the duty to esteem the others and the right to be esteemed by the others. This is the true dialogue, the true friendship.”
Also among the audience Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp, the ambassador of Egypt, H.E. Mr. Amgad Ghaffar and religious leaders from different faiths.
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Photography by Naldo Peverelli
By Barend Ter Haar.
How often have the Minsk Agreements been violated this year? The parties involved in the fighting in Eastern Ukraine agreed in Minsk to cease firing, to withdraw heavy weapons, to remove landmines and to allow the Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) of the OSCE to monitor implementation of the agreement. The agreements were adopted or confirmed at the highest level.
So how often do you think they were violated this year? The answer is: more than 200.000 times. In the first nine months of 2018 the SMM noticed more than two hundred thousand violations of the agreement. The real number of violations is probably even higher, because the freedom of movement of the SMM was very often restricted, in particular in the area outside the control of the Government of Ukraine. These violations resulted this year in at least 204 civilian casualties (39 deaths and 165 injuries), including 29 children.
How can this discrepancy between agreement at the highest level and massive violations on the ground be explained? If we assume that both the president of Ukraine and the president of the Russian Federation really believe that it is in the interest of their countries to bring the conflict to an end, do we then have to conclude that they are not able or willing to confront the people who have apolitical or economic interest in prolonging the conflict?
Whatever the reasons for the violations of the ceasefire, it is clear that an end to the conflict is in almost everybody ‘s interest. First of all for the people living in the conflict area, but also for Ukraine. Russia and Europa as a whole.
Although the prospects for a solution are currently not encouraging, it remains important to be prepared for the moment that both sides decide to implement the Minsk agreement. As a contribution to these preparations UPEACE Centre The Hague (UPH) published: BLUE HELMETS IN DONBAS? A Phased and Sequenced Scenario to Unlock the Minsk Agreements and Restore Peace in Ukraine. (Full disclosure: I am on the Board of UPH.)
The report describes how a peacekeeping operation led or mandated by the United Nations might complement the SMM to support implementation of the Minsk agreements.
The report puts much emphasis on the need to elaborate the largely unstructured Minsk agreements into a properly phased operation. In a hypothetical scenario four phases are described. In Phase Zero, that is before a UN force is deployed, a minimum permissive environment has to be created. The main objective of the following phase (Phase One) is to prevent resumption of hostilities. In Phase Two an interim civilian administration would be set up and only in Phase Three the Minsk Agreements would be fully implemented, inter alia through free elections and reassertion of Ukraine’s control over its border with Russia. The whole process would take at least two years, but possibly several years longer.
The report can be found at: http://www.upeace.nl/cp/uploads/downloadsnieuws/UPH-report-Blue-Helmets-in-Donbas-(2018).pdf
“Keep on climbing!” With these words Mark Verheul started his farewell letter to the diplomatic community in May.
Over the years he had been inspired many times by these simple words of a dear friend of his. Earlier on this year they inspired him again after a certain flow of events at city hall, which resulted in deciding to take a next step in his career. After more than 8 beautiful and interesting years as head of protocol, he took the initiative to leave the municipality of The Hague. It was time for a change.
A new professional perspective. In the period that followed he focused on finding that opportunity; whether that might be at home or abroad; within the government, an international organisation, the non-profit sector or corporate world. But in the end he started to realise that there is such a demand for trainings, advice and consultancy related to the topics of the publication of An Experts’ Guide to International Protocol, which he co-authored with Gilbert Monod de Froideville in 2016, that he decided to continue with his own training and consultancy firm “International Protocol & Strategic Networking” on a fulltime basis.
Group picture from an International Protocol & Strategic Networking training in Bhutan.
Together with Gilbert, former Master of Ceremonies of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and director of the consulting company “Protocol International”, he has already provided trainings in New York City, Geneva, Kathmandu, Thimphu (Bhutan) and other projects took place in a.o. Chicago, Doha, Dublin, Brussels, Amsterdam and of course in The Hague.
Participants range from diplomats and other government officials, to representatives of the corporate, cultural and academic worlds as well as students. Gilbert: “Although the roots of protocol are traditional, it is an evolving practice and we strive to adapt and grow with the clients we serve. I am convinced that anyone seeking professional advice or training in protocol can find their solutions within our services and publication.” Both of them are proud to mention as well that at the moment their book is being translated into Spanish and Mandarin by publishing houses of renowned universities in Madrid and Beijing. So more opportunities to come! “Keep on climbing!”.
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Main picture by Kim Vermaat.
