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From:	samwel kongere [ profile ]
Subject:	UN-HABITAT World Urban Youth Forum e-consultations
Sent:	Aug 4th, 2008 - 11:58:51

	www.taito.tk info (at) tairo.tk .................................................... Thanks for this, i can share this with Un-habitat from Suba district Kenya OUR MISSION: Is to roll out virtual and physical local understanding of our cultures, hospitality, shelter, reception, dishes (local cuisine), and fashion habits in the tourism industry which has been uniquely neglected hoping to offer top quality Eco-systems understandings, spread out; our will is to encourage exotic culture resorts; which form the African cohesive mode of living-which will be upgraded to the international standards. OUR OBJECTIVE: Our major objective is to provide Eco-system awareness, domestically and abroad in order to ensure our culture is promoted and maintained; (promoting cultures and traditions). NOTE: Historically Kenyan tourism industry was not constituted/established to accommodate the locals; the focus was on international cultures’ this is why parks, hotels are not visited by Kenyans: There must be Safari Walks for Kenyans “Kenya for Kenyans” domestically and locally, “charity begins at home” HOPED PROGRAMS: There will be programs for Kenyan (Youths, Children, and Women), they must be part of it. It is the locals who can make the hotels float social progress through eco-system involvement; we know that domestic tourism is pulling Kenyans to know their country. Naturally, the campaign is not stepped up locally to sustain the community involvement. Many Kenyans don’t visit national parks, although there is encouragement to visit the parks at minimal charges; this is when Domestic Tourism Council rolled out “Tembea Kenya”. The plan is to have in place Community based Tourism on a social enterprise model product that will commercially generate income for the locals whilst taking care of the environmental and social impacts of the community. OUR IMAGINAGITION: Our imagination is slightly different; we think socially- Social Tourism is the strong word we use here. We wish to differentiate mode of visitation to social amenities, not hired at times; regarding people, fishing beaches, local history, interaction with locals, bird watching, residential/village stays, where a visitor is introduced and included in locals way of life, eating habits, family expenditures and even academic trends other than copying Italian, Chinese, Japanese, European, or American set ups which are not seen to change our poverty regionally. The region especially the Lake Victoria Islands (Mfangano, Rusinga, Takawiri, Mbasa, Kibuogi etc) are becoming tourist attraction and many visitors we interview while here, says; They are “ dream lands” where they wish to return again and again but the bold word; who is benefitting? The answer to me and you is , the tour companies and their agents who do prior preparations, referrals for travelers, reservations, sight seeing, arrangement of air tickets, and such like, have denied the spills to benefit the locals. This is where our imagination of Local sustainable tourism brings us in combination with Agriculture which forms our communities’ long dependant for livelihood for ages. You will agree with me that, you cannot live in rural Kenya without doing some form of Agriculture either through, livestock rearing or small scale horticultural etc. Local surveys show that fishermen leave fishing at sometimes of the year between February to May every year to enable them prepare land for their usual edible crops e.g. Millet, Maize, Cow peas, beans, vegetables, etc to substitute their backbone for living and upbringing their families. More so, to support this, the Fishery department instils a ban on fishing from April and August; because this is when the fish is breeding (breeding times). This practice was even adhered to by our fore fathers and life and living standards was splendid. Knowing our eco-system is vitally paramount even to those who contribute to modern development. Look Nature Kenya, where wild beasts migrate for four months from Masaai Mara to Serengeti in Tanzania, even the animals have their own eco-calendar (animals natural calendar), where they migrate. (“miree” a small weaver bird like, migrates across Rusinga Island each year after the harvest and before planting), We don’t know when these birds come back, but there is a natural movement of animals from one habitat to another during the year-this is nature range (Zoos or animal orphanage- no?), where animals get confined to some specific places. “Is like denying Africans movement to the other continents, while ‘them’ are freely moving in and out of our countries, picking our merger resources, only to leave us poor, in the name foreign earner”!!!!. ECO-SYSTEMS AND ECO-SHELTERS In the present wordings and living, it is better to know your dwelling standards before going to promote counterfeited cultures; which to us contaminate the un-attained eco-system standards. Where you live and treasure. Kenyans say’ in Kiswahili, “Najivunia kuwa MKenya” while they don’t know the Kenya they call home. Many Kenyans have not seen the Lion, Elephant, Giraffes, Zebra, including us; only saw the antelopes & Giraffes in February 2007 when we visited the Ruma Park with American friends. Imagine after 38 years and so living in Suba District where Ruma Park is, What a pity! Charges to visit the parks have to come down and affordable to the locals. The locals can only know this through a social community intervention, to help them know the whole package of visiting the Kenyan own tourist sites; the mode of travel, eating, sleeping and safari excursions (game drives) etc. How do we keep the interest going? To us; by joining hands with those already in the field and do a bit tuning to suit the locals ‘socially’, through Education, trainings, connecting school children, teachers, youths, churches etc, to make them know their eco-system and country by the word “without boundaries” There must be devoted people to this focus, visionary leadership of a few individuals who are needy to drive the focus. Through our own motivated travels to some African countries (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Ghana), We could generate ready to apply social business ideas for using ICT to bring services to the poor as well as to take products and services from the poor to the broader market Using ICT as my main sailing boat to success. So that, social investors can be attracted to these ideas into concrete social businesses. “Members could develop prototypes for IT infrastructure and information systems for anti-poverty program services anywhere in the world. The community members could study the interface between informational needs of the poor (especially those related to their productivity at work) and existing capabilities, and the proactively create applications or systems needed to better serve the poor. (Muhammad Yunus-Creating a world Without Poverty pp198) IT Solutions to End Poverty-could create informational network based on geographic areas ( national or regional) causes and correlates of poverty (Agriculture, product marketing, health, education, legal, women, children, destitute, indigenous peoples and so on) and type of participants (individuals, NGOs, governments, businesses and so on). Muhammad Yunus-creating a World without Poverty pp198). Lastly; from the same and our imagination of sustainable local tourism and Agriculture, “IT Solution to End Poverty (ISEP) could provide electronic capabilities to assist the promotion and preservation of the art culture indigenous and poor peoples around the world” (Muhammad Yunus-Creating a World without Poverty pp199) The above is a combining factor to our long dream of routing and switching advanced technology of setting up a 5 access points (information Centres, training centre, and Telecenter for my people of Rusinga Island-Mbita of Lake Victoria-Kenya. We can use it for work/computing, health information, fishing information, agriculture, and marketing directions. This is the short term found on the map in the site; www.friendsofrusingaisland.org by putting the required equipment in place. In the long term; we are to link the 5 access points, i.e. (Mbita Point, Nyamuga Primary School, Tom Mboya Health Centre, a fishing beach on the far west of Rusinga Island, Rusinga island Child and Family programme and Suba Youth Resource Centre on the mainland of Suba District-Kenya) joining together with along distance community Wi-Fi network hot spot to the internet. Each access point will have two or more computers to also serve as wireless information hot spots. Currently; until we get the Wi-Fi network set up we need away for people to receive emails and files between the different places and link to the outside world via internet-Rusinga Island is 10 KM radius (ring-road) and this supports the innovative in range of distance. Remember; “there is land to try the Eco-system and Eco-Shelter Imagination” but desire and passion must come from you, because people will be lead across the road through your ideal idea!!!!!! CHALLENGES Surely the most identified challenge is always finances, access to capital and marketing to our innovative. Take it for granted even, to the community you are advocating for’ thinks you are using their names to enrich yourself; its very hard to change peoples’ mind set, that, of being unable do it alone but; so long as you have passion and desire’, people will come knocking your door to help you maximize your innovative. Information and physical communication is another greater hindrance to success. Road network, exposure and exchange diversity is lacking. Our communities are not evolving within their own traditions but copying and imitating borrowed cultures and traditions which are not changing their situation of poverty. Whether they have the right direction or misguided conceptions they go to such without improving and succeeding. This is a wrong direction which must be addressed. Depending on rumour and gossips is the misconception; some believe think that, without being employed and earning you can’t succeed in life and maintain living standards. Written by Samwel Kongere, Information Coordinator, SUBA YOUTH RESOURCE CENTRE-MBITA KENYA. For more info: website www.freindsofrusingaisland.org --- On Fri, 1/8/08, Christabell Opudo wrote: From: Christabell Opudo Subject: [volunteers] UN-HABITAT World Urban Youth Forum e-consultations To: "Samwel Okech Koongere" Date: Friday, 1 August, 2008, 3:00 PM Replies to this message will be sent to the group by default. The sender of this message can be contacted at: copudo (at) gmail.com Dear All, Kindly join me at http://groups.takingitglobal.org/WUYF4 where UN-HABITAT Partners and Youth section will undertake an e-consultation on the theme of the Fourth World Urban Forum (WUF) which will take place in Nanging, China from 3rd - 7th November 2008. The World Urban Youth Forum (WUYF) will take place, before the WUF, from the 1st to the 2nd of November 2008. The aim of the e-consultation is to gather information for the Development of a Background Paper for the WUYF.. Participants to the consultations are requested to consult with their peers who do not have access to internet so that their opinions can be included in the paper as well. The theme of both Forums is Harmonious Urbanization: The Challenge of Balanced Territorial Development. UN-HABITAT would like to solicit thoughts experiences and suggestions from you, the youth, on this theme through this e-consultation. This process will present an opportunity for you to articulate and give meaning to what you consider harmonious or inharmonious in your lives, towns and cities. It is also an opportunity for you to suggest ways to increase harmony in your neighbourhoods. For more information about the World Urban Forum please go to http://groups.takingitglobal.org/WUYF4 Regards, Christabell - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Global Volunteers P. O. Box 60540, Nairobi, 00200, Kenya. Tel: +254-20-3571971 Email: volunteers_global (at) yahoo.com ------------------------------------------- * Powered By TIG Groups http://groups.takingitglobal.org/ * Group Archives: http://groups.takingitglobal.org/volunteers/messages/ * To unsubscribe, email volunteers-unsubscribe (at) groups.takingitglobal.org * My subscription settings, volunteers-settings (at) groups.takingitglobal.org __________________________________________________________ Not happy with your email address?. Get the one you really want - millions of new email addresses available now at Yahoo! http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/ymail/new.html