Monday, August 2, 2010

It's the People that matter, Fight Ignorance

There is nothing wrong with having discussions about the materially worse of countries at such gatherings as the G-8/ G-20, World Economic Forum at Davos, UNDP organized conferences, even having talks at such institutions such as the Council on Foreign Relations, this gives attention to media about the problems of the world, but the real issues is that it is people that matter.

It is fantastic at heartening to hear the agenda in say Davos include Africa, and an African head of state or head of states say something at these gatherings of the world's "elite", but the reality it is for the African people to know what they want. Pamphlets should be distributed in short form summarizing the rights of people, books should be distributed to the people summarizing their rights and how if they had these rights they would actually benefit by being allowed to participate in the economy. It is ignorance of rights that is hampering continents like Africa and Latin America and the bulk of Asia. Governments do not want them to know their rights, they must read their rights for themselves.

Most people do not have access to media, it is too expensive but if the UN could do something, the best thing it could ever do, far above digging a borehole here and there, far above defending people in human rights courts, far above a human rights court is to simply give everybody in the world a copy of the universal declaration of human rights. Every country has signed to these rights therefore these rights belong to the people. Once people are aware of their rights they will know they are being cheated by their governments, right now they do not know that they are being cheated. Next time people go to New York or Davos, they should discuss getting rid of peoples ignorance about their rights.

People should know they have the right to use their knowledge, otherwise all the grand announcements mean for very little. If not telling people their rights is not part of the agenda, there is something sinister going on, just looking good.

Bhekuzulu Khumalo

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Bhekuzulu Khumalo

I write about knowledge economics, information, liberty, and freedom