Dr Deborah Swallow - Global Cultural Diversity » Central America

Universal Children’s Day – November 20th

guest — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 09:46:19 +0000

Today is Universal Children’s Day, a day to remind people across the globe of the rights and welfare of children.

Children's Day highlights the importance of welfare.

The day was first established in 1954 by the General Assembly of the UN as a response to child labour. The day highlights the inhumane aspects of child labour: the long hours, dangerous work conditions, and denial of education.

In most countries, the situation of child labourers has improved drastically since 1954, but there are still over 215 million child labourers around the world today. The UN is worried about the current trends because it seems that the number of child labourers is on the rise in poorer countries. The UN has therefore declared to eliminate child labour by 2020. This declaration fits into the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which all have a target date in 2015. Although the MDGs are for all human kind, they are primarily about children.

“We were all children once,” is the message from the secretary general on Universal Children’s Day. “We all share the desire for the well-being of our children, which has always been and will continue to be the most universally cherished aspiration of humankind.”

Happy Universal Children’s Day everyone!

World Day Against Child Labour – June 12th

Halloween – October 31st

Deborah Swallow — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 11:45:22 +0000

Halloween Day is celebrated as a festival around the world.

Especially celebrated by the younger generation, this festival of All Hallowes comes about as a practice followed among the Christian population and has its origins as a Pagan Celtic festival – Samhain. It’s celebrated the night before the Christian Festival of All Saints Day. Adults create laterns for their children made from large pumkins which have been made into ghoulish faces. Children play ‘trick or treat’.

However, in the Nordic countries this is the evening when friends and relatives who have died are remembered. People often go to the cemetary and place lit candles in the snow. The sight of hundreds of candles burning in the dark, illuminated by the white snow is quite a sight.

Find out more about Halloween
Find out more about All Saints Day

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty – October 17th

guest — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 13:45:01 +0000

“Wherever men and women are condemned to live in extreme poverty, human rights are violated. To come together to ensure that these rights be respected is our solemn duty.” Joseph Wresinski, the founder of ADT Fourth World

Today is the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Nearly half of the world’s population (that’s three billion people) live on less than $2.5 a day. 1.1 billion people have inadequate access to water and 2.6 billion people live without basic sanitation. Approximately 790 million people in the developing world are still chronically undernourished, almost two-thirds of them residing in Asia and the Pacific. 18 million deaths a year, one third of the world’s deaths, are caused by poverty.

All the more shockingly, an average cow in the European Union receives more than £1.40 a day in subsidies, which is more than the amount that half the world’s population survives on.

This year’s theme for International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is “Ending the Violence of Extreme Poverty: Promoting Empowerment and Building Peace.” Just like the quote above by Joseph Wresinski, this theme recognizes poverty as a human rights violation, rather than simply as a low income level.

Amnesty International writes, “Everyone, everywhere has the right to live with dignity. That means that no-one should be denied their rights to adequate housing, food, water and sanitation, and to education and health care. “

Widney Brown, Amnesty International’s Director of International Law and Policy, adds that, “All too often, living in poverty excludes people from making decisions about the things that affect them. Other people decide on their behalf, ignoring their needs, beliefs and opinions. Not only does this result in ill-informed decisions, but it also robs people of their right to participate, and to learn from the process, in order to be change makers and retain control over their own lives”

So, let us use this day to recognize the rights and dignity of people living in poverty. Like Michael Nyangi, a grassroots activist from Kibera, Nairobi, says: “Change cannot be realised if people cannot be given time to express themselves and talk of the problems they are facing.”

International Day of Rural Women – October 15th

guest — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 09:00:27 +0000

It is estimated that 60% of chronically hungry people are women and girls. Today is International Day of Rural Women, a day that recognizes the vital role of rural women, including indigenous women, in enhancing agricultural and rural development, improving food security and eradicating rural poverty.

60% of chronically hungry people are women.

The day is purposefully held a day before World Food Day in order to highlight the role rural women play in food production.

The International Day of Rural Women was first observed at a significant time in October 2008. 2006, 2007, and 2008 were the years of the global food crisis when prices of staple foods rose dramatically around the world. Although prices declined slightly right afterwards they spiked again in 2010 and have been high since. UN Women Watch writes that food prices are “likely to remain high and volatile over the next decade.”

Poor rural households feel the global crises the hardest. The poorer the household the more its members have to change the way they live to cope with the crises. Many families have to cut down the number of times they eat per day, they will have to eat smaller portions, and they will often eat cheaper, less nutritious food. Since rural women are traditionally the food providers and carers of the household they often give food to their children and husbands first, and therefore sometimes go hungry themselves. Many women will also have to work longer hours, or take on another job, in order to afford food.

UN WomenWatch quotes Salome Nche, a mother of eight from Cameroon: “Prices of food have really gone up and this has made my children and I not to eat as we used to. We used to eat four times a day but now we can only eat two times under hard struggle.”

Black History Month – October

guest — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 08:55:53 +0000

Black History Month (BHM) is held every October in Britain and every February in USA and Canada.

Nelson Mandela

Its aims are to:

Promote knowledge of Black History and Cultural Heritage
Disseminate information on positive Black contributions to British Society
Heighten the confidence and awareness of Black people to their cultural heritage.

The origins of BHM go as far back as the 1920s, when Carter G Woodson, editor of the Journal of Negro History established Afro-Caribbean celebrations in America. Black History Month is for all of the African Diaspora. In Britain now, BHM has over 6,000 events!

There are many events about Black history and culture, including theatre performances, concerts, art exhibits, and film screenings. Entertainment highlights for Black History Month this year are FELA!, a musical of Africa’s most legendary figures; Home Grown, an exhibition on the evolution of British hip hop culture; and Picture This, a photo exhibition of 30 inspirational portraits of black Britons by John Ferguson.

Black History Month is not only a celebration of history, however, but also a discussion on prominent current issues. One of the biggest issues Black History Month in the UK tries to tackle year after year is the fight against HIV and AIDS. The number of people living with HIV has risen from around 8 million in 1990 to nearly 40 million today, and is still growing.The majority of those affected (28 million) live in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Caribbean is the second most affected.

One of the reoccurring themes for Black History Month is ‘Positive Role Models,’ in which Nelson Mandela has always played a great role. When his statue was unveiled on Parliament Square in August 2007, he gave a speech in which he said, “It is important for you as leaders to harness your responsibilities and ensure that you also empower those around you who scale the mountains with you.”

Inspirational Black History Month to you all!

International Day of the Disappeared – August 30th

guest — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 09:00:42 +0000

Today is the International Day of the Disappeared, a day to remember those who have been imprisoned without their friends and families knowing where or why.

Colombia has a high number of disappeared people.

In 2008, approximately two people were announced as ‘disappeared ‘every day.

The day originates from the efforts of the Latin American Federation of Associations for Relatives of Detained-Disappeared, a Costa-Rican NGO founded in 1981 that officially started the fight against secret imprisonment and forced disappearances. Today, larger organizations such as Amnesty International and the International Committee of the Red Cross are also doing valuable work in this field. International Day of the Disappeared is not only a day to mourn those missing, but also to highlight the work of these NGOs, raise awareness, and to raise funds for future ventures and campaigns against secret imprisonment.

Currently, around the world, there are 41,257 unsolved, on-going cases of ‘disappeared’ people.

This moving clip demonstrates the International Day of the Disappeared in images.

Also in August:

Raksha Bandhan – 2nd

International Day for World’s Indigenous People – 9th

Krishna Janmashtami – 10th

International Youth Day – 12th

Laylat al Qadr – 14th

World Humanitarian Day – August 19th

Eid-Ul-Fitr: Ramadan Ends

International Day for the Remembrance of Slave Trade and Its Abolition – 23rd

The World Giving Index: Charitable Giving Differs Across Cultures

Deborah Swallow — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 13:45:44 +0000

Australia and New Zealand are the most generous charitable
givers in the world according to a new report from the Charities Aid Foundation: The World Giving Index 2010. The report demonstrates that charitable behaviour differs immensely across the globe. An act that is considered charitable in one country may be seen as a regular, everyday, activity in another. However, the research also found that the correlation between happiness and giving is stronger than the correlation between wealth and giving. This means that an individual is more likely to give to charity if they live in a ‘happy’ country, than if they live in a ‘wealthy’ country. Read below and see how your country compares…

Charitable behaviour differs immensely across the globe. For example, helping family members is viewed as charitable behaviour in a number of regions whereas in others charitable behaviour is more commonly thought of as support given to a formally regulated charity. In some countries charities fund and run services that in others are provided by government. The new report, just published, from the Charities Aid Foundation has created the World Giving Index and highlights the differences in attitudes and practices across cultures – in 153 countries representing 95% of the world’s population.

In ten of the thirteen global regions, the most common way to ‘give’ is to help a stranger. This is true in Northern and Sub-Saharan Africa, Western Asia/Middle East, Eastern, Central and Southern Asia as well as North and Central America and South America and the Caribbean. The giving of money is the most common way to ‘give’ in Australasia, Western and Southern Europe and South Eastern Asia.

Giving time or money voluntarily to help others is seen by sociologists as a marker of cohesiveness in a society. Almost all countries, cultures and faiths have their own traditions of giving which are complex and shaped by their history, customs and religion. The level of giving in a country indicates something about the strength of civil society – the extent to which individuals are willing and able to contribute towards addressing the needs of others both in their own localities and across borders.

The CAF World Giving Index is based upon the three charitable behaviours – giving money to an organisation, volunteering time to an organisation and helping a stranger: measured by the proportion of the public in each of the 153 countries who had, in the previous month, given money to charity, given time to those in need and helped a stranger.

Australasia

Australasia is the region with the highest incidence of giving money, highest for volunteering time, and the second highest for helping a stranger. Overall giving money outstripped helping behaviour by an average of 5%. Australia and New Zealand jointly topped the World Giving Index with a score of 57% and both countries appear in the top twenty for all three behaviours.

North America

North America shows the highest level of helping behaviour in the world with an average of 67% having helped a stranger. The region ranked second highest for the percentage of people giving money and third for volunteering time.

Central America

Central America comes fifth out of the thirteen regions for volunteering time and seventh for both giving money and helping a stranger.

South America and the Caribbean

South America and the Caribbean has one of the highest levels of helping behaviour in the developing world ranking it fifth out of the thirteen regions. Guyana comes fifth for helping a stranger worldwide. Three countries in this region stand out for having populations who are particularly likely to give money; Haiti (40%), Trinidad and Tobago (45%) and Chile (48%).

Western and Southern Europe

Western and Southern Europe has the third highest average level of giving money in the world, making it one of only three regions where, on average, over half the population gave money in the last month. The region also shows the greatest variation of all regions between countries in percentage of population giving money – from 8% (Greece) to 83% (Malta). At 24% the average level of volunteering in Western and Southern Europe is much lower than in Australasia, Central Asia or North America, although it still ranks as the fourth highest region globally.

Central and Eastern Europe

Most countries in Central and Eastern Europe fall into the lower half of the World Giving Index. In five of the twenty six countries in the region less than 10% of the population had given money to charity in the previous month, contributing to the region ranking eleventh out of thirteen globally in terms of the giving of money. Nonetheless in most countries in the region, more than one third of the population engaged in one of the three forms of ‘giving’. Armenia is noteworthy in that whilst only 6% of the population had given money to those in need in the previous month (one of the lowest scores), the country can claim the highest likelihood to help a stranger in the region, at 51%.

Northern Africa

Northern Africa ranks third out of the thirteen regions for helping a stranger but fares less well in terms of volunteering time with two of the five countries in the region (Egypt and Morocco) coming in the bottom ten countries in the world on this measure. In a country breakdown, Morocco appears in the top five countries in the world for giving money and Sudan is third in the world in terms of likelihood to help a stranger.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Similar to the Central and South America and the Caribbean regions, the people living in Sub-Saharan African are around twice as likely on average to offer help to a stranger than to give money to an organisation. In fact, at 49%, Sub-Saharan Africa has the fifth highest helping propensity of all regions. The region contains the top two countries in the world for helping a stranger – Liberia and Sierra Leone.

South Eastern Asia

South Eastern Asia scores highest of the Asian regions for giving money and is fourth in the world overall. The region ranked sixth globally for volunteering time and tenth for helping a stranger. Only Lao People’s Democratic Republic appears in the top twenty countries in the World Giving Index, however, Thailand comes joint third in the list of countries giving money to charity. The region contains the country with the lowest level of volunteering in the world – Cambodia, where only 2% of the population have volunteered time.

Western Asia/Middle East

This region contains a number of the world’s most oil-rich economies, however, giving money is less prevalent on average than helping a stranger – by around 20% of the population. This region also has one of the lowest average proportions for volunteering time at 13% of the population. Qatar comes twelfth in the world for giving money with nearly two-thirds (64%) of the population having given to charity. Interestingly, Iraq displayed some of the lowest levels of giving money and volunteering time in the world, however the country came in the top twenty for helping a stranger.

Eastern Asia

Regionally, Eastern Asia ranks sixth out of thirteen for giving money, tenth for volunteering time and eleventh for helping a stranger. Hong Kong has the highest level of giving money in the region – nearly double that of the closest country, Taiwan. It is also the only country where at least half the public have helped a stranger in the past month. China came in the bottom three of the World Giving Index with a score of just 14%.

Central Asia

The Central Asian region collectively exhibits the lowest average percentage of giving money in the world (15%). However the region shows the second highest level of volunteering time in the world (38%) and Turkmenistan has the highest level of volunteering of all countries surveyed, 61% of the population having done so. The region also has relatively high levels of helping behaviour (43%) underlining that charitable behaviour is about more than money.

Southern Asia

On average, a third (33%) of the population of Southern Asia helped a stranger in the last month – the lowest regional level found. The region came higher up in terms of giving money (tenth) and volunteering time (ninth). There are some positives for the region, Sri Lanka ranks second in the world for volunteering time with just over half of the population, 52%, having done so and appears at number eight on the World Giving Index.

Source: The Charities Aid Foundation. The World Giving Index 2010 with in put from Gallup’s WorldView data.

International Women’s Day

Deborah Swallow — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 01:13:12 +0000

International Women’s Day is a global day to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. The first IWD was launched by a woman named Clara Zetkin (German) in 1911. In some places like China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria, IWD is a national holiday. However, the plight of women and the hardship they still face in many countries is highlighted by many organisations – see below.

Global issues facing women include:

Females in developing countries on average carry 20 litres of water per day over 6 km

Globally, women account for the majority of people aged over 60 and over 80

Pregnant women in Africa are 180 times more likely to die than in Western Europe

530,000 women die in pregnancy or childbirth each year

Of 1.2 billion people living in poverty worldwide, 70% are women

80% of the world’s 27 million refugees are women

Women own around only 1% of the world’s land

AIDS sees women’s average life expectancy reduced to 43 in Uganda and Zambia

Women are 2/3 of the 1 billion+ illiterate adults who have no access to basic education

Read Fakhria Ibrahimi’s account of the plight of women in Afghanisaton

Official International Women’s Day site – see how you can help bring about change in the world.

Photograph by web/graphic designer Melanie Cook, used with permission. Thank you!

Columbus Day Date: October 12, 2009

Deborah Swallow — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 23:23:45 +0000

Columbus Day is celebrated all over North and South America on Second Monday of October.

Christopher Columbus, an Italian under the sponsorship of the Spanish Catholic Monarchs, set sail with his three ships on an expedition to find a new sea route to India. Eventually, on October 12, 1942, a sailor aboard the Pinta spied land. Children from English speaking countries rembember the day by chanting:

“In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” The ships were named: Niña, Pinta, and Santa María

At the time, Europeans were in search of trade routes to India and set forth on journeys in all different directions. Most of their journeys ended in vain either being shipwrecked by the violent seas, killed by pirates or killed by the natives of the lands they came across. Columbus was among the distinguished few who did live to tell their tales of discovery and brought unimaginable, fabulous wealth to the Spanish Monarchy and the unknown world into the maps of European travelers.

Find out more about Columbus Day

Central America: Top Ten Tips for doing business

Deborah Swallow — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 21:24:43 +0000

In Central America ‘Machismo’ and the public ‘face’ of a man
are of overriding importance in this part of the world. Honour and pride, trust and relationships, are the driving factors in business. Status is the motivator. Time is fluid. Women are not regarded as equals and men feel it is their right to make decisions for them.

So far in this section you’ll find the Top Ten Tips for doing business, along with opening times, holiday dates and festivities for the following countries: Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.

Honduras

Establish long-term relationships based on mutual trust and reliability.
Extensive negotiations, and many trips, may be necessary to complete your deal. The same person must be involved each time.
Ask open questions which require detailed answers, as “Yes/No” answers will be ambiguous. They want to please you and will tell you what they think you want to hear.
Make an emotional appeal, emphasising trust, mutual compatibility, the benefits to a person’s pride, etc. This will be more effective emphasising profit or gain. Logic and reason have no relevance here.
Very status driven, so make sure you have people of equal status conducting business. It’s an insult to send a ‘junior’ even though they may be the best person for the job.
Compromise is seen as a weakness and possible loss of Face.
Hondurans place importance on their emotional reactions to projects and the people involved in them.
The decision-making process is strongly affected by the need to maintain group harmony. The collective group and a person’s role within the social system is very important – not initiative or expertise.
Don’t expect speedy progress.
Don’t reply with a direct “No”. The communication is indirect, always polite, and ensuring no loss of Face. Say, “May be” or “We’ll see”.

Public Holidays:

January 1 New Year’s Day

March/April Holy Thursday date changes every year

March/April Good Friday /Easter Sunday

April 14 Panamerican Day

May 1 Labour Day

September 15 Independence Day

October 3 Morazon Day

October 12 Columbus Day

October 21 Army Day

December 25 Christmas Day

Weekend Saturday, Sunday

Business Hours 7.30-4.30

Guatemala

Quiet and respectful behaviour is expected; ask questions quietly, be patient and never raise your voice, or insult anyone. Remember Face and harmony are valued here.
Translate your brochures and promotional literature into Spanish.
Take time to establish a personal relationship with your business counterpart; this is a must.
Mutual contacts can help business flow, especially during initial introductions. They add credibility to your dealings.
The ‘talking stone’ is a part of Guatemalan culture. You need to pick this up before you can say something in a meeting.
The corruption index is quiet high so be prepared to ‘oil the wheels’ and pay for favours.
Although a ‘macho’ society, business women will be treated with respect as long as you demonstrate decorous behaviour. Men usually represent women in all matters here.
Don’t be confrontational or show anger or displeasure, however frustrated you may become
Don’t discuss business around family events, leave it for the office or over a meal.
Don’t make comparisons between Guatemala and other parts of Central America. Get to know it for itself; this demonstrates respect and sensitivity

Public Holidays:

January 1 New Year’s Day

March/April Easter Sunday date changes every year

May 1 Labour Day

June 30 Army Day

August 15 Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (in Guatemala City only)

September 15 Independence Day

October 20 Revolution Day

November 1 All Saints’ Day

December 24 Christmas Eve (afternoon only)

December 25 Christmas Day

December 31 New Year’s Eve (afternoon only)

Weekend Saturday, Sunday

Business Hours 8.00-noon and then 2.00-6.00

Celebrations

Easter Week is the fiesta of Guatemala City.

All Saints’ Day is a fiesta in Todos Santos.

Nicaragua

Everything happens at a much slower pace than ‘western’ societies
Your ‘enchufados’ (contacts) are your lifeblood in everything you do
Spend a lot of time making your contacts, investing in personal relationships and networking; who you know is more important than what you know
Rules and regulations depend on circumstances
Nicaraguans are very suspicious of outsiders’ information, logic and perspectives
Decision-making is done from a subjective and personal perspective
Don’t rely on facts and logic; they don’t have a lot of relevance
Don’t expect reason to make sense; make emotional appeals, call on trust, build mutual compatibility, inflame pride
Don’t be offended by a lack of respect for women; this is a very macho society and business women are rare. Act professionally and respect will soon be yours.
Don’t try to appeal to an individual’s well-being; the common good is the name of the game

Public Holidays:

January 1 New Year’s Day

March/April Holy Thursday / Good Friday / Sunday date changes every year

May 1 Labour Day

May 30 Mothers’ Day

July 19 National Liberation Day

August 1 Fiesta Day

September 14 San Jacinto Fight Day

September 15 Independence Day

November 1 All Souls’ Day

December 8 Immaculate Conception

December 25 Christmas Day

Weekend – Saturday afternoon, Sunday

Business Hours 8.00-6.00, (Saturdays 8.00-noon)