Transparency for Development

2007-11-22T12:45:00.001+01:00

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Meeting people

2007-07-28T09:38:00.000+01:00

Times goes and very day we meet more and more people who have an opinion about development aid in Bangladesh. Opinions sometimes are opposite to those that we are used to hear back in Russia and Germany.

2 days ago we met a friend of Gaetano, Ricardo, another Italian living in Bangladesh for the past 15 years. Ricardo is a missionary here. From the time that dinner started till the night we were talking about Grameen bank, hierarchical structure of Bangladesh and its influence on the system, “group” mentality of Bangladeshi people and etc. It was good to hear thoughts of someone who knows Bangladesh and its people very well already and at the same time has a “western” approach of percepting the reality.

Yesterday we had another opportunity to meet people and talk about the project. We were kindly invited to take part at the one of 65 Rotaract clubs of Dhaka. It was a meeting of RC Udayan that took place at the Pioneer Dental College and hospital. Bjoern was able to get in touch with the club through contacting one of the members via Facebook.

During the meeting we had an opportunity to present in brief our project “Transparency for development” and explain its basic structure.

I must say that we received a very warm welcome. We got flowers, club brochures, cd, postcards and moreover an invitation to join club's project on 3rd of August. The project is called Dental camp. What it is we'll write later.

rain...

2007-07-25T12:05:00.000+01:00

…keeps us staying in gaetanos’ house. chatting, listening to music, writing and research - working is probably the wrong expression to describe what the three of us (bryan hopefully comes soon) are doing at the moment. however björn and sascha are organizing our social life for the upcoming days and nights…

our first day in bangladesh...

2007-07-25T11:34:00.000+01:00

...begins after a relatively short night with a trip to gaetanos' house, a friendly italian businessman who invited us to stay at his place for the next days and who supplies us with italian food.
my first impressions of dhaka are quite good but with about 26 degrees the climate still is quite comfortable. the pictures below are snapshots taken through a taxi window…

trip to the hotel

2007-07-25T10:15:00.000+01:00

32 degrees celsius and 98% humidity formed a wall which tried to hold us back from leaving Dhaka Int. airport. a cautious Alexandra, a nerved and tired Jochen and björn who has been inebriated by a lack of sleep finally reached the hotel…

Transit Doha: Day one

2007-07-23T22:30:00.001+01:00

After a busy flight working on my last work to be done before Bangldesh we arrived in the grey sauna of Doha. Luckily the last tickets to Dhaka where business class and we now stay in this wonderfull business class lounge of Quatar Air with showers, good food, drinks and wireless. We hit the time smoking habana cigarellos, drinking champaign and eating vanilla ice-cream with rawsberrys until the clock turned 12 and we moderately celebrated Aleksandra's birthday continuing to satisfy our human longings. In between we played Gran tourismo on the playstation the children's room and observed the people in quatar air red - ants scurrying.
Below a picture from the flight and from the airport.

Transparency for development: Students for Bangladesh

2007-07-20T15:31:00.000+01:00

I recently uploaded a new version of our brochure. The picture quality is not very good - however I will work on this later.

brochure version 4_3

Last Preparations

2007-07-20T15:01:00.000+01:00

Today I am still in Moscow - on Sunday we will fly to Germany and on Monday we will fly to Doha then to Dhaka.

I got immunizations for almost 500 Euros and bought medical supply for about 200 Euros including replicants, lariam, something against diarrhea and penicilin for emergencies. Supposivly 70% of all travellers have a light diarrhea and skin or breathing problems because of air pollution in Dhaka - I am just scanning through the travelguide and learn my first words of Bengali. Check for water without arsen - eat with you hands - never use the left hand - do not interfer local economics by spending too much money - etc.

(my doctor)

However I am really looking forward now.

Copy: Cambodia versus Bangladesh

2007-06-24T12:13:00.000+01:00

an extract from Bangladesh Barta

...Bangladesh, on the other hand, looks like it has nowhere to go. Its only real resource is its cheap labour (4-5 times cheaper than Cambodia), and manufactures only tolerate the traffic congestion, lack of infrastructure and poor export facilities because labour costs are so low. But, with tarrifs on textiles about to come down in the US, and Africa being opened up to investment (where labour is even more cheap and new infrastructure can be purpose built), it seems that rather than lift off, Bangladesh is about to face decline. There is no tourist industry, there is visible, widespread poverty (there are more Dhakaians than Cambodians), the cities are shabby and dilapidated, and the urban middle and upper classes engage with the public realm only when they can extract something from it. Cambodia and Cambodians are being exploited by textile manufactures, tourist industries, oil companies, development agencies, human traffickers, logging companies and many others. But Bangladesh is not: in a globalised world it remains the case that the only thing worse than being exploited by a capitalist, is not being exploited by a capitalist. This seems to be Bangladesh’s fate....

read more here

COMMENT BY TFD: Empowerment for Development

2007-06-12T15:01:00.000+01:00

To empower people they have to know how. Power is nothing you can give to people - you can only show them how to use it - if they accept it. The idea and the understanding of how people can change their situation can only evolve from insights of processes they are dependent on. Only the second step towards “development” is the availability of capital and infrastructure. Important is that mostly capital with interest sets higher incentives for ideas that create a surplus. Moreover is capital a limited resource and only if money is payed back - somebody else can borrow this money.

The western mentality of social equality measured in money has a distinct conflict of goals with this rising ideology of micro credits. It assumes a certain status quo of rich and poor people equivalent with happy and unhappy people - a type of “god given” situation which can only be solved by giving money to the poor from the rich. The smile of a starving child in Bangladesh may not be political correct but shows the absurdity of defining happiness by welfare. The low social mobility in countries like Germany and France are the result of a heavy regulated welfare state for the “good of the poor”.

However the West is lucky. The developing countries are coming to help us. The people that learned to believe in the poor. The countries that live entrepreneurship to survive are coming to help to achieve what we failed to do - to empower the poor and give them dignity over their own destiny. The Grameen Bank is the first micro credit institute giving micro loans for micro entrepreneurs in the slums of LA, in the United States. Germany’s welfare system - supplying the poor with the “drug”: money and Germany’s judicial circumstances - however - is still considered to be too competitive for this type of micro credits.

Additional information: What the West can learn from Bangladesh

2007-06-09T07:27:00.001+01:00

The West can learn from this little interview Dr. Yunus is giving at theVision Summit 2007 in Berlin.

. He is basically saying that everybody can and should be an enterpreneur and that education must promote this idea. I am happy that Dr. Yunus as a role model from Bangladesh turns out to be a voice for Germans as well since enterpreneuship irocanally has a very negative image in Germany.

Quotes for more transparency for development

2007-06-05T10:17:00.000+01:00

Humanity has reached a crisis point with respect to the interlocking issues of overpopulation, unsustainable development and human suffering. Rotarian Action Group for Population & Development (RFPD)

Development aid is ... not necessary to rescue poor societies from a vicious circle of poverty. Indeed, it is far more likely to keep them in that state. Peter Bauer, developmental economist Friedman Prize Winner

Foreign aid has done far more harm to the countries we have given it to than it has done good. Milton Friedman, American economist, Nobel Prize Laureate

"For God's Sake, Please Stop the Aid!"
The countries that have collected the most development aid are also the ones that are in the worst shape ... Foreign Aid is always presented as helping the people of a nation, but it never does. Even the IMF has had to concede this. ... Well-intentioned people need to take more responsibility for consequences! James Shikwati, Kenyan economist, Director of the Inter Region Economic Network

Sending aid to governments in poor countries over the last 60 years has not alleviated poverty. Why has it failed? William Easterly, American Economist, Professor at the New York University

Why? Because in every case, foreign aid has strengthened governments that were already too power full. Milton Friedman, American economist, Nobel Prize Laureate

The single biggest obstacle to business and the renewal of the economies ... is corruption. Bono, Rock Star & Activist

The empowering of the citizens, not authorities, can give rise to the necessary checks and balance … against corruption … If we learn from European history … economic development is of the people, by the people, for the people … connectivity is productivity Iqbal Quadir, founder of GrameenPhone, Co-Director of the MIT Empowering

We need to develop and use business models on-site because incentives matter … Chapter one is the financial help… the moral absolution … lets celebrate it, lets close it …we have to recognize that we need to go on to chapter two which is all about execution and the how to.
Jacqueline Novogratz, founder of the Acumen Fund

Most of the existing research projects are too narrowly defined; they reflect a specific interest and often a process of one-way thinking. What is needed is a systematic and more nearly inter-disciplinary approach tilted at seeking to understand the magnitude and intensity of key processes. Jack D. Ives and Bruno Messerli, authors of “the Himalayan Dilemma Reconciling Development and Conservation”

KEEP YOUR COINS WE WANT CHANGE

Global equal rights and chances are what is needed most

Transparency for development

Additional information: discussion on development aid

2007-06-04T16:49:00.000+01:00

World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2007 - Scaling Innovation in Foreign Aid

Additional information: An Analogy or excactly the same: Bangladesh and Africa

2007-06-03T14:07:00.000+01:00

aid kills (an extract from a spiegel interview)

Here's something that should surprise absolutely no one paying attention:
"For God's Sake, Please Stop the Aid!"

SPIEGEL: Mr. Shikwati, the G8 summit at Gleneagles is about to beef up the development aid for Africa...

Shikwati: ... for God's sake, please just stop.

SPIEGEL: Stop? The industrialized nations of the West want to eliminate hunger and poverty.

Shikwati: Such intentions have been damaging our continent for the past 40 years. If the industrial nations really want to help the Africans, they should finally terminate this awful aid. The countries that have collected the most development aid are also the ones that are in the worst shape. Despite the billions that have poured in to Africa, the continent remains poor.

SPIEGEL: Do you have an explanation for this paradox?

Shikwati: Huge bureaucracies are financed (with the aid money), corruption and complacency are promoted, Africans are taught to be beggars and not to be independent. In addition, development aid weakens the local markets everywhere and dampens the spirit of entrepreneurship that we so desperately need. As absurd as it may sound: Development aid is one of the reasons for Africa's problems. If the West were to cancel these payments, normal Africans wouldn't even notice. Only the functionaries would be hard hit. Which is why they maintain that the world would stop turning without this development aid.
Thanks to James Waddell on blog.mises for this pointer.

I'll say here what Shikwati won't say quite as bluntly:

Foreign Aid is always presented as helping the people of a nation, but it never does. Even the IMF has had to concede this.

The money goes (1) to the governments that rule over the people of a nation -- often brutally -- in return for redirecting the money (2) to Western political capitalists in the form of large capital purchases.

That's right: Foreign Aid is colonialism abroad and corporate welfare at home. It strengthens the worst political players in Africa and the worst political players back here.

Well-intentioned people need to take more responsibility for consequences!

I also find Live 8 to be repulsive and ironic from an ethical perspective. It is a very disturbing development. Twenty years ago, I was in a London hotel room watching Live Aid. Back then, Bob Geldof and company were asking for private donations (which may have been damaging, but at least they were voluntary), but Live 8 specifically says on their website that they don't want my money! What they want is my support in petitioning governments to tax and spend more. They don't want my voluntary support in any traditional sense. What they want is for me to help them get involuntary support. If that isn't the perverse-but-logical consequence of the democratic ethos, I don't know what is.

Finally, there is the economic absurdity at the foundation of this whole thing. Forget politics, forget ethics for a moment. What is the basic claim?

To quote Geldof, "This is without doubt a moment in history where ordinary people can grasp the chance to achieve something truly monumental and demand from the 8 world leaders at G8 an end to poverty."

Anyone who thinks more money can somehow end poverty doesn't know the first thing about either money or poverty. Perhaps if Geldof took some time off to study the nature of wealth-creation and value, he would do far less damage to people who are already suffering.

A problem and the idea of transparency for development

2007-05-28T19:21:00.000+01:00

Developing countries have major problems and their situation hasn´t changed in the last decades, besides exception like South Korea.
Social romanticism and development aid is and has been on the agenda of the global community´s, but it has failed , BECAUSE:

1. Financial aid helps the governmental elite of developing countries to maintain their power.
2. Criticism on developing countries does not reach the population. The population remains unknowing, which leads to no economic growth.
3. Humanitarian help “soothes the pain”, inhibits change and leads to exhorbitant overpopulation, which “eats up” every little piece of economic growth and inhibits development.
4. all “free” transfer of money and goods to the developing countries destroys local economic development and makes people dependant on development aid.

Without “economic development” the people neither have money, anything in their stomachs, nor a brighter future to look forward to.

Our Project wants to show an alternative to conventional development aid:
Transparency, information transfer, and education – a combination which leads to enlightenment and understanding. Ideally, this is all a society needs for sound development.
Countries like South Korea have demonstrated this path of development.

General transparency issues are:

• technology
• infrastructure
• mentality
• education
• business models
• corruption
• information management

The goal is to optimize the existing and creating something new.
The doorway is communication – transfer of knowledge!

The unique feature of our project is a one-month-stay in rural Bangladesh, one of the poorest and most densely populated countries in the world – during the least pleasing time of year. This means 40°+ centigrade, constant rain, flooding, malaria, lack of food, contaminated water, etc.

New thinking through experiencing

Additional information: Corruption against transparency

2007-05-28T13:16:00.000+01:00

Corruption is the result of information protectionism and the „misuse” of power. Usually affected by strong hierarchies, the traditional etiquette and mentality of a country and exorbitant knowledge differences corruption appears as some type of black market. Corruption therefore is more a symptom than the problem’s root. In fact it sometimes even has positive effect. It creates a black market to balance deficits in supply and demand. However the missing competition in this typically monopolized black markets reveals a great potential for economic growth. Necessary is the shift of power from the top to the bottom. Only in a society where power is shared, separated and controlled and where informal power networks are transparent corruption can be reduced. Helping people to help themselves through „transparency for development“ is the only way to achieve a lasting change in the present morals. Unfortunately most of the needed discussion in Bangladesh is happening online - but free from censorship. (Change Bangladesh)

ABC published this quote by a representative of the caretaker government of Bangladesh:

"May be some of you are thinking that you are indulging in your intellectual efforts sitting in a different country (a safe place) and you are beyond reach. Very wrong. If military wants to get you, it will get you. In fact, you will struggle on your own to catch the next available flight to Dhaka." (from a comment in the guardian, a cross comment by "Live it lively")

- A comment on corruption by the "unheard voices" by Rahat
- A comment on the cost of coruption by live it lively
- A comment on Corruption, reforms and a new political party by bdoza
- A comment on the "Get of Corruption" Drive by Angelmorn
- Comments on Corruption by Tasneem Khalil and friends

Corruption is an extremely sensitive topic in Bangladesh as I experienced so far. In many Asian countries corruption is something people remain silent about. For governmental officials in Bangladesh it is actually forbidden to talk about corruption without a special permission. The common people in Bangladesh often react very irritated and seem to be hurt in their honour and pride if you address the topic corruption.

Iftekhar Zaman Excecutive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh underlines his sceptics with the Transparency International report on corruption that declared Bangladesh five times the most corrupt nation worldwide. He tries to draw the attention away from Bangladesh and the government and is pointing out that organizations and companies from the "wealthy nations" caused most bigger corruption scandals in the developing countries. He adds that the developed nations as the developing countries both have to fight with corruption and the one sided attention might lead into a wrong direction.
(survey on corruption by Iftekhar Zaman, statement of Iftekhar Zaman about corruption in Bangladesh)

Nevertheless a change might have already happened. Corruption is declared to be a public topic which will be now finally solved by the military. The Bengali people supposivly support the military caretaker government strongly that tries to fight corruption and clean up whatever has to be cleaned up. Finally the strong hand of the Bengali military brings Bangladesh back on the right track because they know what has to be done.

This elementary seek for a strong leader in insecure and chaotic times (Popper) is rather ironic as the result of this coup is an even stronger concentration of power and the Bengali people do not know more than before.

But we will wait and see how the caretaker government will „succeed“.

Here are two interessting comments on corruption concerning the present situation in Bangladesh by Al Jazeera – an America friendly TV station.

Extra: Bangladesh is known as a very tolerant country with people of different origins and religions living together peacefully. Still there seem to be exceptions:

Additional information: business for development

2007-05-27T16:37:00.000+01:00

To build business means to design and sell a product that somebody else is willing to pay for. The resulting improvements of any working process helps to develop an economy. To obtain the needed insights and inspiration to create a new product or service transparency is needed. Only through a visible incentive motivation is induced.
Those are very basic thoughts - causally determined - which are the essential basis of many successful organizations and initiatives making a change in Bangladesh.

In the following I will introduce some examples:

BRAC is an integrated network organization providing legal education, credit, health insureance and business oportunities through there store chain named Aarong.

Cellbazaar founded by Kamal Quadir - brother of Iqbal Quadir – is a sophisticated sms based market plattform. I found the following video on a very nice blog by arvetica.

If you want to know more about business in bangladesh - here are some information plattforms

velki
business info bangladesh
bgyellowpages
Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry

I also recommend the commercial guide of the U.S. Embassy in Bangladesh. It contains basic information about the Bengali market from an outside view. At this point the United States are still the major source of direct investments in Bangladesh. However the missing transparency and the unknown etiquette of making presents gives Western Investors a difficult time. Nevertheless especially Asian investors reveal an increasing interest in Bangladesh. Singapore, India, Thailand, Hong Kong and South Korea are the biggest second tier investors. On Bengali business portals Chinese Companies are very present – this is maybe a sign for a possible trend in the future.

Extra: Jacqueline Novogratz is giving a diplomatic lesson in favor of giving aid through incentives - not through charity. She critizes the moral absolution defined by the sum of money transfered to developing countries and demands a shift to a market based market-based philanthropy. Most of all incentives need transparency - for development!

Open classroom for transparency for development

2007-05-27T16:30:00.000+01:00

Recently we added a new blog as plattform for comments on transparency for development. We invite everybody to contribute to a fruitfull information flow. Write an email to transparency.for.development@gmail.com to post a comment on this blog.

thank you

Project update on transparency for development

2007-05-24T11:44:00.000+01:00

Just to give all interest groups a short update of what we are doing at the moment:
This week we were very busy contacting potential sponsors and partners. Thanks to everyone for your support and feedback, it looks like we will be able to make the project become reality.

We will keep you informed

Additional information: A tribute to the 3rd world view

2007-05-22T11:01:00.000+01:00

The blog "3rd world view" is a great blog about issues from and around Bangladesh. I chose three very interesting Article for a a little more "transparency for development" :-)

cheers

Microlending -> a "fresh" future trend in the financial world

As in every society a look beyond one's own nose also for a journalist is a challenge. The self-imposed moral borders are critical in period of change.
As French and German journalists have a problems with the denial of social romanticism…As Russian journalist have problems with the belief into democracy…
Here an article about the self-censorship in Bangladesh

This is a comment on an article about climate change and poverty in Bangladesh.

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a candy for the interested: a clip from the excellent movie “surplus” illustrating the paralyzing struggle around social romantics, consumerism, economic understanding and ignorance of the western world

Additional information: technology for development

2007-05-22T10:31:00.000+01:00

You don't often see great ideas to reduce poverty. Here is a great video which just shows the background of GrameenPhone in Bangladesh, which boast to reduce poverty with connecting poor people who had no access to telecommunication (I am ignoring the criticisms against it, which is a broader issue).

"Connectivity increases productivity and reduces poverty"

- Iqbal Quadir, founder of Gonofone and GrameenPhone. He is currently the Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Program in Development Entrepreneurship, Senior Research Associate at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, and the founding co-editor of Innovations: Technology, Governance, Globalization, a journal published by MIT Press. (Wikipedia)

Via On:Philanthropy

Project update and additional information

2007-05-21T14:38:00.000+01:00

additional information: Views from and about Bangladesh - for a better understanding

about the elite perception of poverty in bangladesh - a nice pinch of Brecht's alienation

Private-public investment in infrastrucutre

A different view we are used to - an article about Dr. Yunus

a quick review Dr. Yunus' visit in Berlin

general information about Bangladesh

Finally a blog by a respected Bengali journalist who was recently picked up by the police

the newsletter will be out at the end of this week
therefore mail to transparency.for.development@gmail.com to be added

final information brochure no. 1

2007-05-20T22:22:00.000+01:00

On friday we finished our information brochure - transparency for development - supported by Marius, Tanya, Ulf, Nils, Christoph, Joy, Joerg and many more. A big thank you to everybody.

We also finished the sponsoring modalities, media papers, budget paper, cvs, etc. AND we incorporated a GbR (Gesellschaft buergerlichen Rechts) which will provide and ensure the needed financial reliability for our sponsors.

Here is a link for our brochure:

-> please send us your comments and suggestions for improvements to

transparency.for.development@gmail.com

we are continously updating the brochure

-------------------------------------

history II - the first Weekend

2007-05-20T21:05:00.000+01:00

On the 21st and 22nd of April we first met to create an outline for the project. Bryan visited Jochen and me in Mannheim and Aleksandra joined us on skype. In two very effective days we gave our project a basis.

We were very much inspired by Joy Kiiru from Kenia and Somansh Bansal from india who both made a great presentation about micro loans in Muenster earlier in April. One obvious problem appeared to be the evolvement of present human potential. The availability of capital seems to be one important criterion but without the right infrastructure, education and transparency & chances – however – the available capital leads to nothing.

Therefore, it was our aim from the beginning to create an integrated scientific research combining all these issues and find possible synergies in alternative scenarios for a future development of Bangladesh. Together with Professors from our universities (Mannheim, Cologne and Moscow) we discussed a proper way to design the research papers.

So far everybody made an abstract and summarized methods, references and goals of his/her paper. However the heart of our work will be the one-month stay in Bangladesh in August, which will give us the insights!!
- more imaginary: turn our pink glasses transparent. We believe that the right view on the data is essential to be successful with our mission: to create more transparency. Admittedly we do not obtain the needed perceptions for this project in our universities.

Nevertheless we are all familiar with certain issues shaping the situation in Bangladesh through our personal travel experiences including the religion, the overpopulation and the natural circumstances.

22nd of April:

6 am Sunday

2 am Monday

Bangladesh Festival 2007, Moscow

2007-05-20T19:44:00.000+01:00

Dear all!

I am happy to tell that yesterday I visited Bangladesh Festival at the Embassy of Bangladesh in Russian Federation.

The first thing that attracted my attention was beautiful colourful national costumes that Bengali woman were wearing. Then it was a strong spicy smell from the food kiosks that were installed in the yard of the Embassy. Everything for 30 rubles!

Most of the action that was on the stage except for the songs and dances was difficult to understand. Should get a rapid basic course of Bengali in order not to get lost in the country;)

This is about good emotions.

During the festival I had a great chance to meet with Embassy officials and tell them about "Transparency for development". The contacts were exchanged. It's time now to give them more information.

history I - how everything started

2007-05-19T22:52:00.000+01:00

In March of 2007 the three of us, Bryan Simis, Bjoern Herrmann and Jochen Wolf met Bibi Russell in Cologne at the “11th World Business Dialogue” congress. Bibi Russell talked about her development aid program she conducts in Bangladesh with her own project called “Fashion For Development”. A very successful program that can stand as an example of how successful developmental aid can be when it has the right appendages.

Bibi Russell, who believes devoutly in the handcraft of her fellow landsmen, helps the poor by giving them occupation in the textile business and by that, a chance to overcome poverty by themselves, in dignity.
In our conversations we discovered mutual cogitations and ideas and finally found ourselves inspired to start a project of our own.

Bibi

Jochen and Bryan

Bryan with Bibi's scarf

Bjoern

introduction

2007-04-26T16:44:00.000+01:00

hello my dear teammates!
I´m happy to present the initial blog, tell me what you think about it...
You will see, it is very easy to work here, so just experiment a little bit.
This will serve as a platform for several interest groups (friends, sponsors, supporters...), so the faster we set it up, the faster we can refer to it.

Stay in touch, keep your heads up! :)