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GLOBAL DEGREE
A Study of Globalization
Volume 1, Issue 1
www.gdegree.com
Editor: Mel Ochoa
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In This Issue:
I. Featured Essay: "Glocal -- Global Branding"
By Marian Salzman,
Chief Strategic Officer, Euro RSCG Worldwide
II. Featured Essay: "Localizing Global E-Commerce Initiatives With
Geo-Intelligence Technology"
By Sanjay Parekh,
Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Digital Envoy
III. Global Agent: Amy Eldon
Host and Co-Producer of "GlobalTribe" on PBS
IV. Global Spotlight:
Association of South-East Asian Nations
V. Global Jobs, courtesy of Goodwyn/Powell
VI. Sidebar: Arundhati Roy
VII. Reader Feedback
VIII. Coda
+++ Submit an essay to Global Degree +++
[TABLE
OF CONTENTS]
=================
I. FEATURED ESSAY
=================
"Glocal -- Global Branding"
By Marian Salzman,
Chief Strategic Officer, Euro RSCG Worldwide
Davos. Seattle. May Day in London, Paris, and Genoa. Voices against
globalization continue to be strong, with objections ranging from the
mistreatment of Third World workers to the growing homogenization that
threatens local cultures. Make no mistake: This is not simply a case of
disenfranchised youth mindlessly spouting anti-American and anti-corporate
slogans. There is a real fear, held by a broad variety of individuals and
groups, that the world's power is becoming concentrated in the hands of
far too few and that every nation will soon be beholden to corporate
interests above all else. (And this explains why glocalization is more
relevant today than EVER before!)
In 1999, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman published The Lexus and
the Olive Tree--a hymn to globalization that became an instant bestseller.
Its thesis is based on one key fact: Wherever Big Macs are sold, there are
no wars.
Implications: The spread of American goods and culture links the world. If
Americans export the best of what we do--while respecting cultural
differences--we will raise the global standard of living. No one noticed,
but globalization died on 9/11. Even Tom Friedman doesn't write about it
any more.
What has replaced globalization? An inward turning. A decline in "global
heroes" and a new interest in "local heroes." In short, "Glocalization"--the
idea that huge brands must make specific appeals to targeted groups of
consumers, some of whom may be ambivalent (or outright hostile) to
American brands.
Mega-mass advertising--carpet-bombing the world with ads and commercials
in every major print journal or on every significant TV network--has
become an artifact of a now-bygone era for a number of reasons:
1. Traditional media is under attack: less network TV watching, magazine
and newspaper reading;
2. New technology helps consumers filter out commercial messages (TiVo,
Replay TV, spam killers) and decide when they want to consume programming;
3. "Prosumers" (empowered consumers) want inclusion in the
creative/marketing process;
4. Family ties are weakening; tribes of friends function as families and
can't be targeted in the old ways;
5. While celebrities still appeal, "glamour" and "elitism" don't; star
power is no longer a substitute for creativity; and
6. 650 million people using Internet mean that the marketing universe is
no longer going to be traditional New York-London-Tokyo-Hong Kong-Sydney,
which translated into mostly New York, New York, New York, with London
weighing in heavy. It's everywhere.
Therefore, marketers must meet the challenges of the "New Normal"--we must
work harder, smarter, more individual-centric if we're to succeed in this
difficult time. And it all comes down to glocalization! Effective
glocalization.
WHAT IS "GLOCAL"?
A popular political adage is "Think global, act local." This is precisely
the dictum that directs our work on global brands. Glocal means speaking
to local nuances in a global context. The concept expresses recognition
that global brands must retain their "brand essence" as a universal entity
while at the same time tweaking their offering to accommodate the unique
tastes of the local markets in which they operate. One oft-cited example
is the great success McDonald's has enjoyed outside the U.S. by adapting
its menu to local customs and tastes; if offers the McLox in Norway, for
instance, and the McFalafel in Egypt. The glocal challenge is to retain
global consistency and yet be recognized as having local appeal and
relevance.
A number of major global brands have adopted a glocal strategy that
balances centralized decision-making with varying degrees of local
autonomy and input. For instance, Coca-Cola permits its local operations
to decide whether to opt into or out of global marketing campaigns,
depending on how well they think their local campaigns are working. At the
same time, operations in each country adhere to a single global brand
strategy to ensure that they are all committed to the same brand values.
In marketing, a glocal approach is one that presents a unified global
theme and message, but adapts the delivery of that message to the local
environment. The fact is that, though we often speak of "global brands,"
in reality such a thing does not exist. A brand may be globally
recognized. A brand may even be globally distributed. But no matter how
tightly interwoven our world becomes, there must continue to be local and
regional differences in how brands are produced, marketed, and sold. At
Euro RSCG, we respect those differences. That's one of the reasons we rank
second among all advertising agency networks in terms of number of global
assignments (Ad Age Global). By managing our global brands with an eye to
local distinctions, Euro RSCG is able to marry the best of two worlds,
ensuring that we speak to the prosumer in a way that recognizes and values
local preferences and cultural, ethnic, religious, and other distinctions.
Some of the very best aspects of "glocalization" are being demonstrated in
the world of online content management. One such example is Yahoo!, a
company that has shown absolute adherence to glocalization as it jockeys
to establish itself as the default browser to the world. From a Fast
Company profile of Yahoo! "globalization evangelist" Heather Killen:
"Finding the sweet spot between the power of a global presence and the
flexibility of local empowerment may be Yahoo!'s toughest challenge.
Dictate too strict a recipe for building new international sites, and you
prevent people on the ground from adding the local flavor that's needed to
win over users. Give people too much latitude to do what they please,
though, and you not only risk diluting the brand, but you risk losing the
advantages that come with standard technology platforms and marketing
strategies. 'We're always trying to balance the Lexus and the olive tree,'
says Killen, referring to [Thomas L.] Friedman's book, which uses the two
symbols to represent the dichotomy between all things global and local.
'And we have to do that in everything, from how we build the organization
to how we build our Web sites.'
"...The power of that policy becomes evident once you go [deeply] into
Yahoo!'s international sites. Although the 14 top-line categories for the
Web directories are the same across all of its sites, subcategories begin
to diverge both in name and in content as cultural differences and
interests become more localized. For example, log on for a political chat
at Yahoo!'s UK & Ireland site, and you can choose to discuss such topics
as the Falkland Islands War or the Irish peace process. Do the same on
Yahoo! Argentina, and you can discuss the same war, but it goes by an
entirely different name. (Despite losing the war against England nearly
two decades ago, Argentines still defiantly call the South Atlantic
islands 'Islas Malvinas.')
"Getting such cultural cues correct doesn't just save embarrassment, it
prevents alienating the very customers you're trying to woo."
A GLOBAL FUTURE?
In the future, will glocalization become less important as the world
becomes increasingly global? We think not. In fact, we see a number of
signs that the glocal imperative will grow even stronger. First, as Europe
continues its movement toward a single economic and political entity, we
can expect to see continued efforts to preserve and celebrate those
differences that make each national and local culture unique.
Centralization will not equal homogenization, in the same way that
globalization was never synonymous with Americanization.
Going forward, nations will engage in greater levels of cultural exchange,
but there will be no single source or dominating overseer. The July 2001
issue of MIT's Technology Review did a fine job of expressing the degree
to which local cultures--far from being steamrolled by globalization--are
gaining traction as a result of new modes of communication and access. The
examples cited say as much about prosumerism as they do about
glocalization, for they underscore the increased power and influence each
of us can wield as individuals.
"[The United States is] no longer the world's only powerful
media-producing nation. African consumers are more apt to be fans of Hindi
musicals than MTV. And even American childhood has increasingly been
shaped by Asian cultural imports. Most [U.S.] parents now know about the
Power Rangers, Tamagotchi and Pokémon, Sega and Nintendo. For the moment,
English remains cyberspace's dominant language, and having Web access
often means that Third-World youth have greater exposure to American
popular culture. Yet these same technologies enable Balkan students
studying in the United States to hear webcast news and music from Serbia
or Bosnia. Thanks to broadband communication, foreign media producers will
distribute films and television programs directly to American consumers
without having to pass by U.S. gatekeepers.
"Some fear that globalization will destroy cultural diversity, resulting
in a world ruled by American exports. Yet the world-music scene suggests
an alternative, where global popular culture enters our marketplace with
help from American youth, audiences demand new forms of diversity and
performers fuse traditions to create novel forms that express a widespread
experience of dislocation. Call it global fusion, the Third World's answer
to Walt Disney and Coca-Cola."
America saw firsthand the importance of locality (physical and emotional)
in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on 11 September. The nation's
citizens were enormously grateful for the outpouring of international
support, from the U.S. national anthem played at Buckingham Palace to the
South Korean schoolchildren praying outside the U.S. embassy in Seoul.
Most poignant, though, was the united show of support from firefighters in
such countries as Hungary and Colombia. The hyperlocal sense of
brotherhood that exists between firefighters will always be more personal
and more powerful than that which exists between governments. Similarly,
the cathartic and, ultimately, comforting impact of the New York-based
talk show "Late Show with David Letterman" was infinitely more important
to the nation's healing than the Los Angeles-based "The Tonight Show"
could have hoped to be. Two late-night talk shows, both in the same
country, both led by men committed to doing the difficult-to-define (and
divine) "right thing" after the tragedy. But only the show based at
"ground zero"--New York City--had the moral authority to speak for and to
the country. No matter how closely tied the world becomes, such
distinctions of geography and emotion will always exist.
In the weeks following 11 September, we have also been reminded of the
(sometimes latent) power of brand patriotism. Consider the potential
impact if the fervor with which Americans are snapping up U.S. flags and
other symbols of patriotism were to be matched by a true resolve to "buy
American" in the months and years ahead. Such consumer loyalty to local
products has been largely dormant in the U.S. in recent years, but in many
countries it should be a serious consideration when planning glocal
marketing initiatives. A much-publicized poll found, for instance, that
French consumers are leery of foods from Britain and the U.S., while they
consider their own foods the safest in Europe. About two years ago, Herron
Pharmaceuticals raised the hackles of an overseas competitor when it began
to run advertisements in Australia claiming that the only difference
between its brand of paracetamol tablets and GlaxoSmithKline's Panadol
product is that the former is made by an Australian company. According to
a report in The Guardian, some critics have been decrying this sort of
patriotic branding as "corporate racism."
Corporate racism or not, companies are vying to appear local through the
use of indigenous names and symbols. Three leading cigarette brands in
Russia, for instance, are Prima, Pyotr I, and Yava Zolotaya--all
Russian-sounding names and all produced by U.S. or British manufacturers.
In a report in the Moscow Times, Masha Vakatova, PR director at market
research firm COMCON, explained, "One of the trends [that emerged from the
financial crisis of 1998] was the switch to local brands or brands with
Russian names. The companies that picked up on this trend of awakening
national pride and exploited it succeeded in occupying whole segments of
the market."
As brands seek to enter new markets and increase their presence in others,
there is enormous value to be found in tapping into those local sentiments
and cultural distinctions that continue to set markets apart. Glocalized
branding will remain the answer in a world in which hyperlocal attachments
provide consumers with their sense of identity--and security.
THE ROLE OF INFLUENCE
One could easily draw the inference from today's glocal imperative and
trend toward prosumerism that access to information has become so
egalitarian and democratic that the world of influence has essentially
gone flat. In our view, that would be overstating the case. Yes, we are
seeing more and more evidence of the waning power of advertising as a
single tool for "inventing desire." Audiences have fragmented, they are
overloaded with information, and they have become both more skeptical of
and more immune to advertising's persuasive influence. This means that
advertising can no longer be viewed as a total solution; nevertheless, it
continues to play an important role in the overall marketing mix.
Advertising remains a powerful tool with which to generate broad-scale
awareness, and it often creates the broad imagery that adds value to the
brand--both for its users and for those who observe its users (how else
would we know how cool someone who drives a BMW is?).
That said, in this more interconnected global village in which we live, we
have become convinced that trends, and their adoption as broader habits
and practices in marketplaces, are increasingly influenced by complex
networks of human interaction. (Interaction that clearly is facilitated
and accelerated by the new connectivity.) A new style of trendsetter has
emerged, and in this era trendsetters have far greater influence over what
comes to market, not just over what is already there.
What is especially fascinating to us is the degree to which these
trendsetters are connected with one another. This has been an important
premise of such recent books as Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point, and
it a notion that was popularized in John Guare's much celebrated play,
"Six Degrees of Separation." Experts and analysts in many fields agree
that small-world social networks have important implications in today's
global marketplace. In the words of Cornell mathematician Steven H.
Strogatz, "If you need to spread information through a network quickly and
reliably, this may be a good architecture."
It is our conviction that influencing the influencers is more important
today than ever before. For information is no longer distributed from the
few to the many, but along a vast and ever-changing network of
communications pipelines. Information flows in both directions, but it is
society's influencers who regulate the flow and determine whether any
particular drop of information is quickly shunted to the exit or
multiplied and pushed along the entire extent of the network.
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[TABLE OF CONTENTS]
==================
II. FEATURED ESSAY
==================
"Localizing Global E-Commerce Initiatives With Geo-Intelligence
Technology"
By Sanjay Parekh,
Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Digital Envoy
The Internet has been this decade's most significant communications tool,
enabling businesses to reach out to today's global audience in a more
cost-effective manner. In 2001 alone, approximately 350 million Internet
users existed worldwide with projections for 2005 expected to more than
double.
Because the online world has become such an integral part of day-to-day
business, appealing to a mass online universe is no longer adequate:
businesses are constantly searching for new and innovative ways to reach
these faceless individuals and to move e-commerce transactions and
processes to the next level. Furthermore, in the once boundary-less
Internet universe, new restrictions and regulations now require that
companies specializing in e-commerce think about their online business
channels in a new way.
In today's world, the term e-commerce no longer refers to the simple
practice of just buying and selling goods and services online. Over the
years, e-commerce has evolved to become an all encompassing term that
takes into account a variety of factors beyond transactional activities
and has now grown to include customer relationship management (CRM) and
business collaboration. As global e-businesses take a more holistic view
of their e-commerce initiatives, they are turning to cutting-edge online
technologies that help them move closer to replicating real-time
interaction in the offline world - most importantly, helping to remove the
impediments of geographical distance.
MEETING AN IMPORTANT NEED
Since the end of the Cold War, the global economy, and not surprisingly
the United States' participation in that economy, has been growing at an
average of roughly 7 percent annually as reported by both the World Trade
Organization and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Over the last 14 years,
the level of this activity has roughly tripled, pushing the sum of U.S.
imports and exports alone to exceed $2 trillion annually. Similarly, the
number of U.S. companies engaged in international trade has also tripled.
However, e-commerce is still a small portion of total world trade. But, it
is significant because of its major potential to spur growth in
international business.
Although the Internet now makes it possible for consumers globally to shop
online, many companies are beginning to understand that merely
constructing a Web site does not mean an instantaneous spike in
international sales. E-businesses have come to realize the importance of
engaging the global customer in a way that has previously been difficult
in cyberspace. By implementing geo-intelligence technology, online
enterprises can now stock their virtual shelves with goods and services
that meet users' needs based on geographic location as well as interact
with customers on a local level - much like the offline world.
TECHNOLOGY WHOSE TIME HAS COME
Over the last few years, the Internet has experienced a tremendous growth
surge. Internet access is now available from locations that were
completely unimaginable 10 or 15 years ago - at outposts as remote as the
Antarctic. In the United States, the acceptance and integration of the
Internet as a vital part of everyday life has occurred at a phenomenal
pace. Now, anyone can have access to the global online marketplace. In
fact, the Internet is evolving into a utility that is available to the
vast majority of the world's population as a key medium for commerce.
However, according to Jupiter Media Matrix, the biggest obstacle that U.S.
companies must overcome when beginning a global, e-commerce project is the
tendency to miscalculate the complexity of establishing localized Web
sites for foreign markets and audiences.
Even though 70 percent of Internet users in 2002 were based in the United
States, forecasters predict those demographics to change significantly
this year, with the percent of users in the European Union expected to
exceed the percent of users in the United States. More notable to
e-businesses, in the next five years, Europe's online consumers will
evolve from surfers to shoppers, with sales of retail good and services
expected to grow 140 percent annually.
Only the technology-savvy companies that use the most accurate and
reliable geo-intelligence to localize their global e-commerce initiatives
will be able to tap this burgeoning marketplace with success.
With the online business world clamoring for new and better ways to
enhance their end users' Web experience, geo-intelligence technology
promises to deliver an in-depth view of the Internet that will allow for
more tailored messaging and content by illustrating the inter-relationship
of geography and e-commerce.
DEFINING GEO-INTELLIGENCE
This new type of technology is a recent innovation that maps the Internet
using non-invasive methods and indexes by IP (Internet Protocol)
addresses. IP-based intelligence technology provides real-time information
about online users - without invading their privacy - such as geographic
location down to a city level worldwide, as well as other data such as
connection speed and Internet Service Provider (ISP) - all based on the
end user's IP address. The method for analyzing and applying this
information is called "geographical intelligence" or "geo-intelligence."
Geographical targeting of Internet users holds new promise in helping
e-businesses to better understand and adapt to the nature of their online
consumer.
Until now, there has been no way to reliably extract such information
about an online user unless he or she provided the information, assuming
that the user would provide a reliable answer. Using third-party databases
and other such methods to gain customer insight have proven less than
accurate. Some widely used techniques such as cookies, which plant a small
file on the user's computer to trace online activity, are considered
extremely invasive by a growing number of Web surfers who are turning them
off to avoid being watched by "the powers that be."
By employing geo-intelligence, online enterprises have a new way to reach
out to an untapped and previously hard-to-reach online audience - the
unregistered user - and begin to build a solid relationship by offering
products, services, or useful information that appeal to the user where it
matters most - close to home. For example, if a Web surfer visits a global
e-tailer for the first time, chances are it is a hit-or-miss experience as
to whether or not products shown online match the tastes and culture of
the Web site visitor. But now, with geo-intelligence, enterprises can
automatically target the user in a way that is relevant, such as showing
localized promotions, offering language-specific content, and providing
pricing in correct currencies.
E-COMMERCE APPLICATIONS
Whether used as a standalone technology or as part of an enterprise
platform, geo-intelligence has uses in multiple e-commerce applications.
Language
With the demographics of the Web shifting away from the United States, and
hence English, a language gap has developed for companies offering global
e-commerce Web sites. As of today, various estimates place the percentage
of Web pages worldwide that are in English at 75 percent. On the other
hand, the percentage of English-speaking Web users is projected to be only
45 percent.
One such company working to close this language gap is translations.com, a
leading global, multilingual solution provider. It successfully uses
geo-intelligence in its Web site translations services as a means to
expand e-commerce across cultures and markets by offering a solution that
recognizes an end user's location and automatically delivers content that
is specific to their location in their preferred language.
By offering Web content to end users in their native languages,
e-businesses are able to drive the e-commerce process. In fact, research
demonstrates that shoppers are three times more likely to buy products
from Web sites in their native languages, while two-thirds of online
shoppers will immediately click away from a site in another language. If
an online business doesn't make language accommodations, it will more than
likely shut out a large percentage of its global purchasing population.
Taxes and Tariffs
Tariffs and taxes vary from country to country, and the challenge of
compliance has been an ongoing problem for the e-commerce industry. For
example, the new European Union (EU) value added tax (VAT) rules will go
into effect on July 1, 2003, requiring non-EU vendors selling
electronically supplied goods and services to EU consumers to determine
and charge VAT based on a customer's country of residence. Global
e-commerce vendors can now turn to geo-intelligence technology to
automatically pinpoint the geographic location of online customers based
on the information provided by their IP-address once they log on to a Web
site.
The benefit is twofold here. Online shoppers are more informed about the
impact of such tariffs that many times significantly drive up the cost of
products and services. And, with accuracy rates of well over 99 percent at
a country level and more than 93 percent at a city level worldwide,
e-businesses can be confident that they are complying with such regulatory
issues.
Currency
Just as important as providing language-specific content, so too is the
need for any global e-tailer to offer currency-specific pricing to enhance
the success of its international sales revenues. The true challenge comes
as international online businesses try and quote prices to customers in
multiple currencies that remain in a constant state of fluxuation in
today's volatile, global economy.
However, this is no longer an issue. Firms such as E4X, a multi-currency
provider, have harnessed geo-intelligence, enabling online businesses to
automatically sell their products and services in local currencies without
risk. For example, E4X's Currency DetectorTM, provides a foreign exchange
solution that not only enables American online merchants to automatically
display guaranteed, final prices in local currencies, but also allows them
to receive exact and expected payments in U.S. dollars - without foreign
exchange risks and associated costs.
Fraud
Fraud is an enormous concern for e-businesses in a global marketplace; the
percentage of fraudulent transactions worldwide has tripled in the last
four years. Online credit card fraud cost businesses an estimated $9
billion in 2001 and is estimated to be as much as $60 billion by 2005,
according to Meridian Research. Unlike the traditional offline world where
banks often absorb the cost of fraudulent credit card transactions, online
merchants are typically responsible for these charges.
Geo-intelligence enhances the value of existing Internet risk management
solutions by establishing a real-time authentication check-point that
allows e-tailers to either be alerted to specific countries with a high
rate of fraud in order to completely investigate potentially illegal
transactions prior to completion or to automatically reject orders from
questionable overseas IP origination points. Recently one online financial
company reported identifying $500,000, in one day, worth of transaction
fraud detected solely by using geo-intelligence technology.
Digital Rights Management
Online merchants are confronted by a variety of national laws, especially
those that relate to exclusive Internet distribution rights for digital
media assets. With traditional media, specific distribution companies
divide distribution rights based on geography, but until now, it's been a
challenge for e-businesses to erect geographic distribution borders on the
borderless Internet.
Without the ability to establish territorial rights, companies such as
CinemaNow, the leading video-on-demand distributor of feature films over
the Internet, would be limited in its ability to distribute products
because there would be no way to enforce access rights. Yet, with
geo-intelligence technology, CinemaNow now administers its online business
successfully by addressing content issues such as copyrights and
syndication by permitting or restricting access to their products based on
the location of Web site visitors.
NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT
As the Internet continues to expand, so too will e-commerce, further
solidifying the need for location-based information. With
geo-intelligence, it is now possible for users to immediately access
content that is relevant to them without having to disclose any personal
information. In addition, with all of the fraudulent transactions that
occur through the Internet, the ability to verify information about a
user's location will pay dividends in helping e-businesses to ensure that
their revenues are protected and their audience is secure when shopping
online.
Geo-intelligence is becoming a pervasive technology, fundamentally
reshaping e-commerce applications and associated transactions.
So, in deploying a global e-commerce initiative, it's important to
remember that your customers can be from anywhere in the world via the
Internet and that languages and customs are different everywhere. By
automatically building geo-intelligence into an e-commerce platform,
companies can gain the advantage as they begin to build solid, global
relationships based on connecting with consumers within the parameters of
when, where and how they want to be reached as well as providing relevant,
personalized information that resonates with their culture and lifestyle.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanjay Parekh is co-founder and chief strategy officer at Digital Envoy,
the leading provider of IP-based intelligence technologies, developed to
improve the delivery of Internet content. He can be reached at
sanjay(at)digitalenvoy.net
[TABLE OF CONTENTS]
=================
III. GLOBAL AGENT
=================
Global Agent profiles a "globalist" making an impact on a global level
with an overview of some of the responsibilities, experiences and issues
involved with their job. This profile includes a short bio and a Q&A
format piece.
Amy Eldon,
Host and Co-Producer of "GlobalTribe" on PBS
"Be the Change." This dictum is the driving force behind Amy Eldon's new
series on PBS, GlobalTribe, and her accompanying Web site,
www.pbs.org/globaltribe
-- funded by the Packard Foundation and AOL respectively. A
self-proclaimed "peace correspondent," Ms. Eldon seeks out individuals
throughout the world who put real solutions to global problems;
visionaries who are reinventing the world via their own communities. Her
past television credits include associate producer and presenter for the
Emmy-nominated film, "Dying to tell the Story," co-producer and co-host
for CNN International's "Global Trek: In Search of New Lebanon," and
co-producer for "Soldiers of Peace: A Children's Crusade." She has
co-authored three books, including "Soul Catcher: A Journal to Help you
Become Who you Really Are," and is the author of "Angel Catcher for Kids."
As the co-founder of the Creative Visions Foundation, she helps fund young
writers, journalists and photographers who wish to produce commercial
projects with a social, humanitarian or environmental focus. Ms. Eldon was
born in England, grew up in Kenya, has visited over 40 countries and
currently resides in Los Angeles.
I sat down with Ms. Eldon to discuss her series and her thoughts on
globalization.
GD: What inspired you to create GlobalTribe?
AE: In "Soldiers of Peace" for CNN, I documented a group of kids in
Colombia nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. For them it was more risky
to work for peace than it was to work for war. It was amazing to see a
group of 15, 16 and 17 year olds faced with insurmountable obstacles, yet
they were not paralyzed by the situation and remained full of hope. As
young people they believed they could change things. I met them at a time
when I was discouraged, feeling sad about the world and angry over the
1993 killing in Somalia of my brother, Dan Eldon, a war correspondent.
They gave me the sense that if they could change things - really change
things on a political level in Colombia - then I, too, could make a
difference. I'm not in a position to influence policy since I don't run a
corporation, so I'm going at it from a more grassroots approach and
working to create a global dialogue where we can all share ideas on
poverty and conservation. What I found in doing GlobalTribe is that we are
truly interconnected. I've realized after 9/11 that what happens in
countries around the world affects us all so it is imperative to create
this multicultural understanding.
GD: What are you hoping to accomplish through the show?
AE: Basically it is that whole "Think Globally, Act Locally" saying.
Hopefully GlobalTribe will strike a chord and empower people to create
positive change in their own communities. As Teddy Roosevelt said, "Do
what you can, with what you have, where you are." We have the Voices of
Change section on the Web site to provide examples of people who have gone
out and done this, whether it's Arun Gandhi or Kerry Kennedy Cuomo, or just
everyday people like Craig Kielburger who, at age 20, has been nominated
for a Noble Peace Prize. Our ultimate objective is not for someone to
watch our show and be sad, but to instead be inspired to turn off the
television and go do something that makes a difference.
GD: Is that what you mean by "Take a Stand, Be the Change" on your Web
site?
AE: Exactly. When I interviewed Gandhi's grandson, Arun Gandhi, he said
that his grandfather had once been approached by a group of cynics who
said they couldn't change unless the world changed. To this Mahatma Gandhi
responded, "No, no, no. The world won't change unless we change." This is
the show's premise as well: you must be the change you wish to see. And
that starts, as the Colombian kids taught me, within our own hearts. It
then spreads to our families, to our communities and then, because we are
so interconnected, it ultimately affects everybody.
GD: What is globalization?
AE: I think of globalization in terms of little experiences I have along
the way. Globalization allows me to email my friends from Internet cafes
anywhere from Manila to Michoacan, or email my father who lives in Kenya to
recount my experience from that day's shoot at a garbage dump in the
Philippines. Globalization means eating a hamburger in a Manila McDonald's
and then walking outside to eat Balute, a fertilized duck embryo.
Globalization has allowed the media to create a cross-border
understanding. For me in particular, GlobalTribe provides young people
with the ability to form friendships and not see each other from different
worlds and cultures.
GD: What are the most pressing issues on the global stage and what are
possible solutions?
AE: Half the world's population lives on less than two dollars a day. In
order to bridge this tremendous divide between rich and poor we need to
educate people about what is going on. I really do believe that if
Americans knew more about the rest of the world they would want to do
something. But we're not educating Americans or giving them the
opportunity to care. We need more informative programming to highlight
some of these issues. The first two shows of GlobalTribe focused on issues
of conservation and population, and I'd like to expand the series to
include more humanitarian issues such as AIDS.
AIDS is especially significant to me since I grew up in Kenya and I'm
seeing my community being affected at every level. One in five adults will
die of AIDS, yet very little is being done about this pandemic. I was so
thrilled to see Bono use his celebrity status as a platform to shout out
what's happening. I think we need more education in America on what is
happening. When Bono was on the circuit people were horrified by the
facts. However, I think people have donor fatigue when it comes to Africa,
especially after the feminine in Ethiopia and some of the more recent
tragedies. I was amazed and thrilled to see Bush allocate money to the
AIDS crisis. The solution lies in education and more money from the
government, as well as an education campaign in the countries themselves.
So as to not scare away tourists, governments are choosing death by denial
in not to talking about AIDS. We need a real push to educate people.
Kenya, for example, is pretty prudish in that citizens don't talk about
sex. They need an increased number of sexual health clinics, widespread
condom distribution and education from a very early age.
GD: You mentioned you don't influence change through the policy side, but
rather through your grassroots efforts. What do you see as the difference
and is one better than the other?
AE: Through the show I am presenting the positive aspects of
globalization. I'm not so much criticizing corporations but instead saying
that globalization is here to stay and we cannot go back. The series looks
at what we are going to do about globalization and shows how we can make
it work for us. Living in this borderless world amplifies the need to
celebrate and learn from each other's differences and share each other's
ideas. It is vital to create a solidarity at this level and not the more
corporate level. Hopefully that will affect the corporations and affect
the educated policy makers we reach out to at PBS.
GD: What does an ideal world look like in 20 years?
AE: I think it involves people taking responsibility and, as we say on the
Web site, be the change you wish to see. My brother always said that evil
is due to ignorance, not intent. So for me personally, in my world, I want
to make sure that people are being educated. I also want to break down
some of these cultural and religious boundaries that separate us and to
focus on the positive aspects of globalization - the sense of
interconnection and learning from each other.
GD: What is your favorite movie and travel destination?
AE: "Nowhere In Africa" is my favorite movie and is deserving of its
recent Academy Award. As for a favorite travel spot, I would have to say a
little island off the coast of Kenya called Lamu. It is an idyllic,
beautiful setting. Donkeys in dusty streets replace cars and you can hear
the call to prayer in the distance. It is a magical place where everyone
falls in love.
Comments can be sent to Ms. Eldon at contact(at)gdegree.com. Please include
"Amy Eldon" in the subject line.
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====================
IV. GLOBAL SPOTLIGHT
====================
Global Spotlight is an area that highlights a company, NGO or other
organization that is facing globalization in some way. This may include
the small mom and pop company selling to a large global audience or a
large multinational corporation introducing a product to new markets and
the issues involved with such a campaign. It also may include regional
associations like ASEAN (see below) and others.
[from http://www.aseansec.org]
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN was established on 8
August 1967 in Bangkok by the five original Member Countries, namely,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei
Darussalam joined on 8 January 1984, Vietnam on 28 July 1995, Laos and
Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999.
The ASEAN region has a population of about 500 million, a total area of
4.5 million square kilometers, a combined gross domestic product of US$737
billion, and a total trade of US$ 720 billion.
OBJECTIVES
The ASEAN Declaration states that the aims and purposes of the Association
are: (i) to accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural
development in the region through joint endeavors in the spirit of
equality and partnership in order to strengthen the foundation for a
prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian nations, and (ii) to
promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice
and the rule of law in the relationship among countries in the region and
adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter.
The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in Southeast Asia, signed at the
First ASEAN Summit on 24 February 1976, declared that in their relations
with one another, the High Contracting Parties should be guided by the
following fundamental principles:
*
Mutual respect for the independence, sovereignty, equality, territorial
integrity, and national identity of all nations;
*
The right of every State to lead its national existence free from external
interference, subversion or coercion;
*
Non-interference in the internal affairs of one another;
*
Settlement of differences or disputes by peaceful manner;
*
Renunciation of the threat or use of force; and
*
Effective cooperation among themselves.
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==============
V. GLOBAL JOBS
==============
Global Jobs is a round-up of global leadership positions currently seeking
applications, courtesy of Goodwyn/Powell.
1. Group Operations Manager for a $500 million division of a $3 billion
medical products company. The position is based in London, UK. Requires
pan European and multilingual candidate in distribution and complex
operations environment.
2. Corporate Controller for a $500 million manufacturing business. This is
a $100 million division based in Luxembourg.
3. FP&E Manager for a $500 million pharmaceutical company. This position
is based in Stuttgart, Germany.
4. Finance Director for a $2 billion optical manufacturing company. This
position is based in Stuttgart, Germany.
Resumes can be sent to dan(at)goodwynpowell.com
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==========================
VI. SIDEBAR: Arundhati Roy
==========================
Sidebar is a section devoted to an interesting -- or devastating --
outcome of globalization, a unique tidbit relevant to the global economy
or a thought-provoking quote from an individual within the audiences
served by Global Degree.
This issue highlights a piece written by Arundhati Roy in her book, "Power
Politics" (South End Press, 2001). Ms. Roy was trained as an architect.
She is the author of the novel "The God of Small Things," for which she
received the Booker Prize, and "The Cost of Living." Roy lives in New
Delhi, India. I feel this quote best reflects some of the questions we
will work to answer in every issue of Global Degree.
"Is the corporatization and globalization of agriculture, water supply,
electricity, and essential commodities going to pull India out of the
stagnant morass of poverty, illiteracy, and religious bigotry? Is the
dismantling and auctioning off of elaborate public sector infrastructure,
developed with public money over the last fifty years, really the way
forward? Is globalization going to close the gap between the privileged
and the underprivileged, between the upper casts and the lower castes,
between the educated and the illiterate? Or is it going to give those who
already have a centuries-old head start a friendly helping hand?
"Is globalization about 'eradication of world poverty,' or is it a mutant
variety of colonialism, remote controlled and digitally operated? These
are huge, contentious questions. The answers vary depending on whether
they come from the villages and fields of rural India, from the slums and
shantytowns of urban India, from the living-rooms of the burgeoning middle
class, or from the boardrooms of the big business houses."
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[TABLE OF CONTENTS]
====================
VII. Reader Feedback
====================
Thoughts? Send them to : contact(at)gdegree.com
==========
VIII. CODA
==========
Coda is an editorial on a global subject written by the Global Degree
staff.
Globalization is drastically changing the world. It is changing the way
business leaders conduct business, the way corporations operate, the way
politicians set policy, the way developing markets emerge onto the
international stage and the way customers impact all of the above.
Globalization also is making a negative impact on many fronts. Some might
argue that the environment and cultural identities, to name a few of these
fronts, are suffering. As the buzzword for the new century, globalization
is too often thrown around without a full comprehension of its meaning or
its range of implications. Still, many remain on a path of globalization
-- or in its path.
The intent of Global Degree is to draw attention to the issues surrounding
this term. This discussion, forum -- debate, if you will -- has been
absent on the global stage ... until now. True, the globalizing economy
has been covered by other publications. Yet most of what I have read comes
from a purely academic or economic standpoint. It is important, however,
for globalization to be seen as much more than just a matter of economics.
I will expand the discussion to include the many audiences either affected
by or leading the effort of globalization: high-tech leaders, business
executives, activists, marketers, writers, politicians, not-for-profits,
villagers in developing countries and numerous other voices.
The purpose of this journal is not to convince readers that we live in a
shrinking world. This is, for the most part, already evident. Global
Degree will highlight this, but also discuss the impact of such an
increased level of interconnection. Globalization's effect on political,
environmental, cultural and economic spheres -- both positive and negative
-- remains ambiguous and worthy of an in-depth study. Namely, is the
quality of life better or worse due to globalization? This is a question
that will reverberate throughout every issue of Global Degree.
Our mission is as follows:
"Global Degree is the leading journal studying the impact of globalization
and the relationship between business, geography, demography and global
economics. Each issue of Global Degree offers a timely, open and
multidisciplinary discussion of globalization from different perspectives
including, but not limited to, business, politics, academics, technology,
economics, activism and foreign policy. Essays and interviews will touch
upon ideas, opinions and concepts related to trade, investment,
technology, labor, governance, law, political and/or social unrest, the
environment, and culture."
As globalization takes hold over the next decade, it is my opinion that
there will exist one degree of separation between the most remote village
and the tallest skyscraper of industry -- a Global Degree. This journal
will allow us to discuss whether this degree of separation is positive or
negative, helpful or harmful.
--Mel Ochoa
[TABLE OF CONTENTS]
===================
About Global Degree
===================
+++ Submit an essay to Global Degree +++
Global Degree is the leading journal studying the impact of globalization
and the relationship between business, geography, demography and global
economics. Each issue of Global Degree offers a timely, open and
multidisciplinary discussion of globalization from different perspectives
including, but not limited to, business, politics, academics, technology,
economics, activism and foreign policy. Essays and interviews will touch
upon ideas, opinions and concepts related to trade, investment,
technology, labor, governance, law, political and/or social unrest, the
environment, and culture.
EDITOR: Mel Ochoa, contact(at)gdegree.com
Global Degree welcomes essay submissions, feedback/comments, and
suggestions for Sidebar, Global Jobs, Global Agent, and/or Global
Spotlight. Email the editor directly or visit
http://www.gdegree.com for
essay submission guidelines.
No part of this publication, advertising or editorial, may be reproduced
without written permission of the editor and individual essayists. The
Global Degree subscription list will not be sold for third-party marketing
or advertising purposes. The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily
those of the Global Degree staff. Copyright 2003.
Subscription services:
www.gdegree.com/subscribe.htm
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