Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Charlie Hebdo & Matador: when cartoons create controversy

Opinion article by: Cyriac Bouët (email: cebouet@eafit.edu.co)
Universidad EAFIT, Colombia


About Freedom of press

The freedom of press is one of the fundamentals principles for democratic systems, alongside freedom of opinion and freedom of speech. It is defined in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights from 1948 that “ Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference, and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers”. 

Even though both Charlie and Matador illustrations can be very critical and shocking, it is important to keep in mind that their purpose is primarily to distract the reader, as it is featured in a published journal, that led to many reunion with the redactors and editors, it has to be validated in order to be published, and when you buy a journal, you know a little bit about how oriented is its content. For example, it is well known that the two major sport related newspaper in Spain, As! And Marca both have a strong support, one for the Real Madrid, and the other for FC Barcelona, and that their content, while relating to the same news, will be written differently. 

The political satire was born at the same time as freedom of press in the early 18th century in England, and then later in France as the French Revolution occurred. It has often been a way to communicate effectively an idea or a thought in a more effective way than with words. Every year, the NGO Reporters without Borders establish a ranking of the countries who gives the more freedom of press. To get to this ranking, the NGO send surveys to local journalists, but also to lawyers, politicians and scientists who study this sector, about threats done to journalist, but also about the press itself, its owners, the ease of diffusion, etc. As of 2017, the European Nordic countries were dominating the ranking, with Norway on top of it. France was ranked 39th and Colombia 129th. At the end of the ranking can be found all state-controlled countries with North Korea closing the ranking at the 180th rank.

Background and context


We will start with Charlie Hebdo. It is a French satirical magazine, associated with the political left-wing ideas, which first got published in 1970. It features a lot of political cartoons, and satirical images, along some investigative articles about various subjects (politics, culture, religion, cults, right-wing politics, etc.). The team behind Charlie Hebdo in 1970 was the team of the magazine Hara-Kiri, which got banned due to political incorrectness. This is the spirit that can characterize the periodic. Its first great scandal though was in 2006, when the magazine chose to feature Mahomet’s caricatures from the Danish periodic Jyllands-Posten, which lead to violent reaction in Muslim countries and in France. In 2011, after another too satirical front page (the edition was renamed “Charia Hebdo”), the headquarters of the magazine was burned with Molotov cocktails by Muslim activists. Then in 2015, two armed radical islamists entered the new headquarters of Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 members of the staff, including 5 of the illustrators. After this tragic terrorist attack, the survivors decided that the journal should continue and released one week after the “survivor edition”, featuring a satirical cartoon about prophet Mahomet on the front page since then, the public opinion is divided about Charlie Hebdo. On one side those who thinks they deserved what happened to them, and on the other side those who thinks that they have the right to freedom of speech in every situation.

Now, a little background check on Matador: This Colombian cartoonist, born in 1969, and whose real name is Julio Cesar Gonzalez drew his first cartoons for the periodic El Fuerte, before getting to draw for La Tarde, El Espectador, Portafolio, Soho and finally El Tiempo, the best-selling journal in Colombia. He his nationally known for his criticism through his comics, especially towards former president and actual senator Alvaro Uribe Velez and his right- wing party, el Centro Democratico, represented by Ivan Duque Marquez in the current presidential election in Colombia. Due to a growing number of death threats, he decided to suspend his activity on social medias two weeks ago (but he will continue to get his work published inside El Tiempo).

Cartoons from Charlie Hebdo  





This is the translated front page of the magazine a week after the 2015 terrorist  attack, Prophet with an ironically shaped head.









This controversial cover from 2013 reads, “The Quran is shit – It does not stop bullets.” French Islamists actually sued the magazine for blasphemy after this edition.











This cover from August 2017 refers to the terrorist attack in Barcelona few days before. It says “Islam, religion of peace...for the eternity”










Cartoons from Matador (Colombia) 


This comic from Matador was censored and lead to a lawsuit due to the controversy depicted in the drawing.











This comic followed the previous one by hitting even harder the attackers of Matador.







Supporters and attackers of Charlie & Matador


Despite being a target for a long time, the Charlie Hebdo illustrators continue to provide the magazine sensitive drawings, even after having to endure a terrorist attack. Many staff members of the redaction do have a personal 24/7 police escort assigned to them (one of the 2015 attack victim was even a policeman assigned to the protection of the illustrator Charb). Despite having the public opinion being them due to this awful event, most believe that the journal often goes too far. Pope Francis even took position regarding Charlie Hebdo and said “Freedom of speech is a fundamental right, but should not insult other’s beliefs”. The front page of the “survivor edition” made a lot of debate internationally. This edition was censored in Egypt, Israel and Turkey, and led to violent manifestations toward French cultural site and French expatriated people in Pakistan, Niger, Senegal, Algeria, Tunisia, Mauritania, Mali, Sudan, Jordania, Iran, Afghanistan and Chechenia.

Concerning Matador, he is despised by the Uribists, also known as the followers of Alvaro Uribe and other followers of el Centro Democratico, as their leaders are often the targets of these cartoons, but on the other hand, most of the other political leaders support Matador, saying that he has the freedom of speech and should of course continue to work and publish what he wants to.

Thursday, April 5, 2018

IPBES-6 en Medellin

Artículo de opinión por: Valentina Gómez Zuluaga
Estudiante de pregrado, Universidad EAFIT, Colombia

El 16 de Marzo 2018, Medellín abrió sus puertas para darle entrada a la sexta plenaria de IPBES, la plataforma intergubernamental más importante en materia de biodiversidad y servicios ecosistémicos. Durante una semana, nuestra ciudad acogió 128 países para crear políticas que permitan explorar la oportunidad de aprovechar plenamente los beneficios de la extensa riqueza de diversidad biológica y analizar formas de aprovechamiento de manera sostenible, en pro del desarrollo económico y tecnológico.

La plataforma IPBES  fue instaurada en 2012 por sus estados miembros, para dar respuesta a la necesidad de un mundo más sostenible, con la conservación del medio ambiente como prioridad, esta institución busca sustentar sus políticas con información científica acertada que ayudará a la supervivencia de nuestra especie y las muchas otras que nos acompañan en este paso por la madre Tierra. 

Más que una plataforma, es una herramienta para lograr los conocidos “Objetivos Mundiales”, los cuales hacen un llamado al desarrollo sostenible, para lograr la protección de nuestro planeta y garantizar una vida más plena y armoniosa. Es por esto que resulta de gran relevancia este encuentro, porque es allí donde se dan respuesta a los desafíos ambientales.

Durante 9 días se reúnen cientos de expertos científicos, distintas razas y culturas, pero todos con un interés común: dejar un mejor legado a las generaciones futuras y a partir de esta premisa brota la unión y la esperanza de un cambio significativo. Allí contribuyen a la creación de capacidades de progreso medioambiental, se planean estrategias de desarrollo, que abarquen la utilización óptima de recursos naturales, trazando metas hacia mejores políticas. El conocimiento vital para propiciar el desarrollo económico con bajas emisiones de carbono, ecológicas y con la academia como base. La pérdida de biodiversidad ecológica genera inseguridad alimentaria, hídrica, energética, sanitaria y de los medios de subsistencia y si hacemos un análisis más profundo, también puede ocasionar degradación de la tierra, pérdida de especies y fertilidad de los suelos, productividad y oportunidades económicas. La conservación óptima y la utilización sostenible de la diversidad biológica y los servicios de los ecosistemas contribuirá a la lucha para enfrentar el cambio climático. El objetivo es garantizar un desarrollo inclusivo y un camino hacia economías verdes y conscientes.

La degradación del ecosistema como consecuencia de la conversión de las tierras y la intensificación de la agricultura; el drenaje y la transformación de humedales; la urbanización y otras nuevas infraestructuras y la extracción de recursos son las mayores amenazas directas a las contribuciones de la naturaleza para el ser humano y la diversidad biológica en el mundo, especialmente en América. Por todo lo anterior, resulta de suma importancia intervenir en estos temas y crear conciencia mundial en un tema que nos concierne a todos.

Nuestro país es considerado la cuarta nación en biodiversidad mundial contando con el 15% del total de la tierra, también ocupa el segundo lugar en biodiversidad de plantas, primero en anfibios y aves, tercero en reptiles y quinta en mamíferos. Su privilegiada ubicación contribuyen a la abundancia de recursos naturales. Una de cada diez especies de fauna y flora habita en Colombia. Este encuentro propicia el acceso a herramientas eficaces para impulsar la diversidad biológica y mejorar la gobernanza y las políticas, adicionalmente surge la necesidad de tener un cambio de comportamiento humano para garantizar la eficacia de la conservación y la sostenibilidad, conservando las riquezas que la naturaleza nos proporciona.

Finalmente todo se reduce a lo siguiente:

Una sociedad se define no sólo por lo que crea, sino por lo que se niega a destruir” John Sawhill de The Nature Conservancy.

Air Pollution in Colombia’s Most Innovative City

Opinion article by: Mera Sue Conger
Business Management student, Universidad EAFIT 
Email: keydotsue@gmail.com 

Problem

Medellin as Colombia’s second largest and most populated city is experiencing severe problems with air pollution, problems exacerbated by the increasing popularity of cars. The city’s location within a valley causes exhaust fumes to accumulate rather than be blown away like in a coastal city. In 2016 air pollution reached record levels, with Medellin authorities announcing a red alert over the air quality, declaring it a health hazard for the over 3 million residents in the area (Alsema, 2016). According to a study published by the University of Antioquia, air pollution is responsible for 1 death in Medellin every three hours, with the main culprit identified as excess traffic caused by a significant increase in privately owned cars within the city (Gill, 2017). Clearly air pollution is a key issue to tackle in the city’s bid to uphold its reputation as the most innovative city in the world, awarded to it in 2013 by the non-for-profit Urban Land Institute (BBC News, 2013).

HOW HAS MEDELLIN TACKLED AIR POLLUTION?

Medellin’s former mayor Sergio Fajardo is well-known for his push to improve the public transportation system in Medellin, his greatest triumph being the successful installation of the country’s first metro system. Federico Gutiérrez, the current mayor of Medellin, has announced plans to introduce measures removing the small privately-owned buses that use heavier fuel-burning turbo chargers (Gill, 2016). The city itself has petitioned the national government to force the state-run oil company Ecopetrol to deliver cleaner fuel, and in June installed the first PurpleAir pollution sensor in Latin America in order to deliver real-time air quality data to citizens (Gill, 2016). However as air quality continues to worsen, and continued urbanization increases both the number of potential citizens at risk and the number of cars on Medellin’s roads, it is clear that Medellin needs to take more urgent measures to combat air pollution.

WHAT CAN MEDELLIN AUTHORITIES DO TO TACKLE THIS PROBLEM?

According to a research report published by Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs in partnership with the NGO La Ciudad Verde, there are 7 primary measures that Medellin can take based on sustainability and effectiveness (Bush, et.al., 2017) The report also indicates which organisations are best suited to implement these measures based on political authority and ability. The measures are as follows:
  1. Institutionalize emergency measures (for example in 2016 in addition to declaring red alert the mayor banned use of heavy transport during certain hours)
  2. Regulate motorcycles and second-hand vehicles which are currently more lightly regulated and contribute a significant portion of air pollution
  3.  Improve fuel quality, i.e. by increasing pressure on Ecopetrol
  4. Promote driver behaviour change, e.g. carpooling and using public transport
  5. Promote bicycle ridership, e.g. extend the ‘metro’ network of rentable bikes to more neighbourhood
  6. Place permanent limits on heavy-duty vehicles
  7. Implement vehicle retrofit financing programmes, i.e. safely retiring or modifying existing vehicles to be more environmentally friendly

WHAT LESSONS CAN MEDELLIN LEARN FROM OTHER URBAN CENTERS?

Medellin is only one of hundreds of large cities around the world struggling with air pollution and can examine the pollution policies of these cities in order to attempt to find best-practice. Beijing is one of China’s most polluted cities, in order to combat this the government has intensified regulations and inspections on major polluters surrounding the city, increased pollution fines exponentially, established a quota on new cars with priority given to fuel-efficient models and solicited investment in green energy technologies (The Conversation, 2017). These measures appear to be working, with PM2.5 levels (common metric for air pollution) decreased by 27% between 2013 and 2016. In particular I recommend that Medellin invest in green energy technologies as this has the most potential for a long-term solution. In both Paris and Delhi the government has experimented with odd-even car bans and total car bans in certain areas (Vidal, 2016). In the Brazilian city Curitiba the local government has expanded the bus system until it is one of the biggest and lowest cost in the world, resulting in nearly 70% of inhabitants using public transport to go to work and record low levels of air pollution compared to the rest of the country’s cities (Vidal, 2016). Medellin already has a comprehensive and very cheap bus system, I recommend the government consider retrofitting its buses to be more fuel efficient.

References


  • Alsema, A. (2016). Medellin declares red alert over record air pollution levels. Colombia Reports. Retrieved from https://colombiareports.com/medellin-red-alert-excessive-air-pollution/
  • BBC News. (2013). Colombia's Medellin named 'most innovative city'. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-21638308
  • Bush, S., Jordan, W., Kim, J., Le, Y., Podar, D., & Torreon, C. (2017). Policy Path to Improve Urban Air Quality in Medellín, Colombia (pp. 6-7). Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. Retrieved from http://file:///C:/Users/keydo_000/Downloads/SIPACapstone_LaCiudadVerde_FinalReport_Spring2017.pdf
  • Gill, S. (2017). Pollution kills one person in Medellin every 3 hours: study. Colombia Reports. Retrieved from https://colombiareports.com/one-person-dies-every-3-hours-medellin-pollution-study/
  • The Conversation. (2017). Delhi should follow Beijing’s example in tackling air pollution. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/delhi-should-follow-beijings-example-in-tackling-air-pollution-89378
  • Vidal, J. (2016). How are cities around the world tackling air pollution?. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/17/how-are-cities-around-the-world-tackling-air-pollution