By Trevor Evans, Chairman, Harpenden UNA NEWS AND COMMENT
Last meeting
Tony Colman, our speaker on 24th June, has a remarkable CV: a Director of Burtons and founder of Topshop, Leader of the London Borough of Merton, Labour MP for Putney until 2005, Chair of the UN all party parliamentary group, President of the London and SE Region of UNA-UK, founder member of the World Future Council, Methodist lay preacher and Director of Africa Practice, a development consultancy. He gave us a very stimulating, sometimes controversial, realistic but optimistic overview of the ways that the UN can encourage African development.
Based on his many contacts with African leaders, Tony felt that the UN is often perceived in developing countries as an agent of the western industrial powers. African countries are therefore suspicious of its motives in monitoring and encouraging democratic processes and investing in African business. Many African countries are becoming more self confident in managing their own development and this is to be welcomed and encouraged. It would be wrong if industrial countries appear to be trying to slow down African development because of the fear of climate change. There are many opportunities for developing renewable energy sources in Africa and we need to help African countries to develop their own policies in this area.
Future meetings
Phillip Powell is Director of the Centre for International Justice and Reconciliation, which is part of YWAM, based at the Highfield Oval in Harpenden. He has recently attended the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York where he was speaking on behalf of a group of South American people. On 21st June he will be speaking to us under the title “Indigenous Voices at the UN”
On 26th July we are very fortunate in being able to hear first hand accounts of the UN Commission on the Status of Women from two local women
