progressio

Catholics urged to help stop illegal timber entering UK and EU

Catholics have a unique chance to influence an historic vote in the European Parliament next week which could have a profound impact on some of the world’s poorest communities, international development agency Progressio says today.

Progressio, the Development Planning Unit of University College London (UCL) and Somaliland Focus (UK) congratulate the people of Somaliland and the National Electoral Commission on a peaceful expression of the popular will at the conclusion of their mission to observe Somaliland’s presidential election on 26 June 2010.

Election observers for presidential poll dispatch teams into far-flung regions of the country ahead of Saturday’s crucial vote

The international mission to observe Somaliland’s long-delayed presidential election on 26 June 2010, led by UK based development agency Progressio, the Development Planning Unit at University College London and Somaliland Focus (UK) notes that good progress is being made towards holding the scheduled vote this Saturday. The first teams of observers left the mission’s base in Hargeisa for Somaliland’s regions on 24 and 25 June.

I wonder how our General Election and resultant hung Parliament has been seen by our partners overseas? Scenes of voters turned away from polling stations in Sheffield, London and Manchester may undermine our legitimacy the next time Progressio joins a delegation of election observers in Somaliland. The UK proclaims good governance to all, but to what extent are our own institutions rising to the challenge asks Christine Allen.

When do good intentions to ‘help’ end up undermining people’s sense of control and sovereignty?

Visiting Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste (East Timor), just over a decade ago, you would have been struck by the military presence: Indonesian forces in military vehicles trundling down the small city’s streets, bored soldiers standing at checkpoints.

Visiting now, ten years since the people of this troubled island nation voted for independence from Indonesia, one is struck by a different – but still highly visible –foreign presence.

As the climate change negotiations in Copenhagen begin to hot up, Jo Barrett, Progressio Press Officer extraordinaire and myself are beginning our long train journey to Copenhagen to join our colleagues already there.

I am looking forward to working with a wonderful woman called Fabiola Quishpe , a community leader and grassroots activist from Ecuador, for whom I will be translating as Progressio seeks to bring ‘southern voices’ to the Copenhagen debates. She is among millions of people in poor communities being hit hard by climate change.

If there was a hospital set up to deal with the world’s problems, I’d make an appointment to see a doctor and tell them that earth was suffering from behavioral problems that weren’t typical but unexpected, out of season, unprecedented and catastrophic. “I think” he’ll say, with an eyebrow arched, arms folded and nodding contemplatively “that you are describing the classic symptoms of climate change”. “You should try to do something about it and let be know that your future is worth saving.’

Today I arrived at work to see John Vidal’s excellent expose on the complex punctuation, backroom power games, bureaucracy and language of the UN’s climate change negotiations in the Guardian Weekend left open on my desk.  Back in London, the craziness of Barcelona faded away all too quickly as I tried to get in a bit of Christmas shopping, attack my overflowing inbox and actually do a bit of laundry but John’s words brought that strange world of negotiations rushing back: the endl