Showing posts with label BBC Radio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BBC Radio. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 8, 2019


Dec. 28: She gave clear, unequivocal confirmation that she and Brad and the kids are together at home.

Nov. 30: She “is very pleased to be entering the next stage and relieved with progress for the health of their family.”

September, 2017:  “None of it’s easy. It’s very, very difficult, a very painful situation, and I just want my family healthy,” she said quietly.


AJ "When I went out and started to meet refugee families, I changed my view of so many things in the world.  I met these extraordinary survivors, people who've come through against the most impossible odds, and were protecting each other  The humanity that rises within these communities is like something you've never seen before.  You don't on a daily basis meet people who are so bare, so connected to just being able to find basic needs and survive, and how full of care and love they are.  It's really very moving.  One of the things that I would encourage people to do is to look at the movements of people as a barometer for understanding what is happening within our world.  Not the less than 1% that is trying to cross a border of a developed country.  That should not be the focus.  The focus should be what is happening to these people, why is this happening, how do we have that many people uprooted.  And what are the causes."

Justin Webb, BBC  Isn't there a risk here that in some places where there are large influxes of refugees there is an impact on communities.  Not an impact on the community that you are a part of.  Not on wealthier people.  An impact on poorer people.  And when you make the points that you make, how aware are you of that.

AJ "Very aware.  One of the things that the new compact on migration is addressing is to help find ways to support these border countries that have done so much and are continuing to carry the majority of the burden.  We have to support them or we risk them becoming unstable.  This should not be seen as a headache for people.  We need our leaders to be thinking about balancing our world.  We have to bring the numbers down.  Everybody should be wondering why we are not doing enough to stabilize countries and return people.  The absolute majority of refugees would rather be home."

BBC Let's turn to sexual violence.  That very phrase is an uncomfortable one, isn't it.

AJ "It's uncomfortable, but we're adults enough to know there is nothing sexual about this.  Just that, in itself is what PSVI wants to accomplish.   To take the stigma off the victims and help people to understand why it's being used in a very calculated fashion to destroy people and community.

BBC One of the ways to challenge it is to enable victims to be able to have the words and the place to say this happened to me.

AJ  "We want to empower victims to speak, but when these brave victims come forward, what happens in some communities is they encourage the rapist to marry the victim.  In many communities, they treat the young woman as if she's now dirty, nothing happens to the men that commit these crimes.  We live in this culture of impunity.  We do need to encourage people to speak up, but we do need to have the legal framework, and the will, and the changes necessary within these communities to back them up.

BBC Does it make you feel uncomfortable though, in some of these cases there are cultural norms that we, the West. may be coming up against and in some cases shouldn't be.

AJ  "There should never be a cultural norm that is ever accepted that abuses women -- 'that's who we are, that's what we do' -- that's not acceptable.  We're talking about basic human rights. We're not talking about our opinions of whether somebody has the right to marry a child and possibly impregnate her young and put her life in harms way against her will.  It's not something we can sit back and think of as somebody else's business.

BBC  It is something that the American troops, and Brits as well, in Afghanistan -- where there is quite widespread abuse of children by Afghan forces -- a sense among some foreign soldiers including Americans and Brits, that it's a local thing and they shouldn't be involved in efforts to stamp it out.

AJ  "I love Afghanistan.  I love Afghan people.  I have a school there and have many friends.  I do not want them to become like us.  It's not about being anything like us.  It's about helping those there who are feeling oppressed and harmed to know their rights, and helping to educate those who are abusing those rights.  Do the people that are abusing, do they think because there is no accountability that there is nothing wrong with what they're doing?  Maybe the fellow officers can be very clear.  That's why NATO taking such a strong stand on these issues is important."

BBC This initiative, the British Foreign Office have reduced the team that was involved -- lawyers and psychologists and people -- there are fewer of them now.

AJ "We've gone through different Foreign Secretaries, now there is another one.  Let me say to the British people and the British government: I am so grateful as an American that the British government has taken such a strong stand and I think the British people should be so proud because it is something that is a worthwhile cause.  It has made a difference in the field.  I have met victims who finally got reparations when they didn't have them before.  It is growing and growing -- the reason why NATO is getting involved in a stronger way, but with the leadership of the British government.  If anything, the question shouldn't be what the British government is doing.  It should be more what America isn't doing on this issue when an American is the co-founder."

BBC  So you are saying the Brits have stepped up to the plate but other nations haven't.

"Not in the way the British have.  But many are.  There are people -- Canada -- many, many countries, over 150 countries have signed on to do this.  Let me be clear about something.  Here's one specific example of something that's been changed.  In the past when countries would sit together and decide their peace agreements -- 'the war's over, we're going to have a peace agreement' -- they were able to take sexual violence against women off the table.  They were allowed to just remove it and not have to talk about it as part of their peace agreement.  Now, with PSVI, if you are a signatory, you are not allowed to do that, you must keep it on the table."

BBC And that means the possibility of prosecutions will still be there.

AJ "Absolutely.  When there are prosecutions and when there is more accountability we will see more real change.  This is going to take evidence collecting and this is why we have to deploy people to learn how to collect evidence properly and work with institutions collecting evidence.

BBC Is it legitimate to say to the MeToo movement: Look, this is something you might turn to next.

AJ "I think it says a lot that it is a Conservative male that helped to lead the charge to get this done, and Gen. Scaparotti and the other men and women at NATO.  But I think none of these issues regarding women's health, women's rights should be women's issues.  I think we need men to also take a stand against those who are perpetrators and to defend and protect and partner with us to protect half of the population on the planet." 

BBC Can we turn to nationalism, it's very much in the background of international politics at the moment.  Where do you see nationalism at the moment in the world?

AJ "I asked colleagues to explain to me the difference between nationalism and patriotism.  They explained to me that to be a patriot is to be very proud of your country, even your country first, in your heart.  But you do not think that your country is better than or has more value than other people."

"A narrow nationalism, which is the only thing we're really worried about, is when people are encouraged to believe that their problems are the only ones they should be worried about and that other people's rights are not their concern in the same way."

"That's how I interpret it and I could be completely wrong and I'm not one to say what the definition is.  But I think that's the concern. 

"I'm a patriot, I'm an American, and I'm proud to be an American, but I'm an internationalist and I love and value equally other countries and other peoples."

BBC On that internationalist theme, your own children are an international group.  Given us an insight into the conversations you have about the way the world is.

AJ "My children have learned the most about these issues simply from each other, from experiencing each other.  They are from different backgrounds.  They don't deny the difference, they celebrate the difference."

BBC What have you learned from them?

AJ "Everything.  Every parent says that, but we really do.  They're all so much smarter than us."

BBC But you've got that added thing that they are coming from backgrounds, of which they haven't read in a book.

AJ "I've had to learn from them and we go to their countries, spend time in their countries.  But also they're American, American-Ethiopian, American-Cambodian.  So they have their countries and that's a piece of who they are.  I also find it interesting Shiloh for example, is the one who's learning Madd's country's language.  And Vivienne wants to live in Zahara's country.  So just because they're from a place doesn't mean that that's everything that defines them.

"When my daughters were little, Zee and Shi, we got them each a baby doll.  I got ZZ a little black doll and I got Shi a little white doll.  And they switched dolls.  And I had that immediate reaction of one of them not liking the way they are, wanting the other color.   And then I realized that's just who they see every day.  They see the other.  So to them family wasn't the one that looked like them, it was the other.

"I know it sounds like I have this...I don't see it as this softness of just equality and balance.  I find strength in diversity."

BBC How do they learn about the outside world?  And I ask that in the context of how we are all understanding the outside world.  And about social media and tech companies, and about what we can trust, etc.  What do you do at home?

AJ "I think like most parents, we try our best to insert good stuff.  We can't control everything they're exposed to." (via People: "So we try to ask that they will talk to us about anything they saw that bothers them or that they’re concerned about.”)

BBC You don't limit access, you just say go where you will...

AJ "I try, you try.  There are certain realities to teenagers.  And also our generation doesn't understand half of what they're doing with their tech, so they can get around us pretty easy."

BBC Everyone will understand that.

AJ "So I try, but this is a concern of mine.  This is why I am very happy to be working with the BBC on a children's news program.  As a mother, I just am so happy I have something I can sit with my children and watch and know that they are getting a real international sense of the world as well."

BBC Are you one of those around the world who is concerned about Facebook in particular, because there's a growing movement around the world that it is a wonderful tool but it is also eating away into something important.  Is that where you are?

AJ "I am probably not the best to discuss this.  I am not on Facebook and none of my children are on Facebook."

BBC Deliberately?

AJ "Nobody's even asked to be.  We're the last family that hasn't gone on Facebook."

BBC If they did ask though, you'd warn them about it.

AJ "Yes, we talk about social media.  The truth is that my children have seen things about themselves even from what's considered serious news people that are inaccurate.  So my children have a very odd sense of who's telling the truth and what the truth really is and what they actually believe or trust."

BBC What drives you?   You were pretty wild when you were young.  You've become serious.  What formed that transition in you.

AJ "What's funny, I don't see it.  I was a bit of a young punk.  And I loved the idea of fighting for something you believe in, however hard.  Being brave in your life, in your choices, and doing something your own way.  I don't feel I've changed much at all, in fact.

"My children have certainly...Children can do two things: they can make you grow up, and you do, and they also add a sense of wild themselves.  They are, all have a good rebellious streak that is wonderful and curious.  I don't want them to be perfectly behaved little people that just say what is absolutely appropriate because I say so, or because they think that it's...they have to find themselves.

"Maybe today, there's a lot of focus on people focusing on their selves, their needs, their opinions, their sculpted news.  Maybe the new rebellion is to hold to your values and to understand policies and politics and fight for your fellow man.  Maybe that actually is the rebellion."

BBC I talked years ago on the program to Donal Trump, when he was a businessman, and I asked if he was going to stand for president, and he said, "Yes, I am."  Nobody took it very seriously.  I am not necessarily getting you to run for president on the program.  Are you moving in the direction of politics?  Is that where you naturally go?

AJ "That would be, I don't...honestly if you asked me 20 years ago I would have laughed.  I really don't know.  I always say I'll go where I'm needed.  I don't know if I'm fit for politics, but then I've also joked that I don't know if I have a skeleton left in my closet, so I'm pretty open and out there.  I can take a lot on the chin, so that's good.  I honestly will do whatever I think can really make change, and right now I am able to work with a UN agency that is the most in the field of all the UN agencies, to do a lot of work directly with the people in need.  I'm also able to work with governments.  And I'm also able to work with militaries.  So I sit in a very interesting place of being able to get a lot done, without a title and without it being about myself or my policies.  So for now, I'll stay quiet. "

BBC For now?  That's fascinating.  There's going to be 30 or 40 Democrats running for the nomination next time, I think I'll put you somewhere on the list.

AJ "Thank you."

BBC You've not said no. 


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people

Angelina Jolie Doesn't Want Her Kids to Be 'Perfectly Behaved': 'They Have to Find Themselves'

Dave Quinn and Phil Boucher December 28, 2018 12:55 PM

"Children can do two things,” she explained to host Justin Webb, when asked what drove her move from her “wild” past to her more serious, humanitarian work. “They can make you grow up, and you do, and they also add a sense of wild themselves.”

“[My kids] all have a good rebellious streak that is wonderful and curious,” Jolie said. “I don’t want them to be perfectly behaved little people that just say what’s absolutely appropriate because I say so … they have to find themselves.”

...
“I think, like most parents, we try our best to insert good stuff and we can’t control everything that they’re exposed to, so we try to ask that they will talk to us about anything they saw that bothers them or that they’re concerned about,” Jolie said on BBC’s Today.*
...



The BBC, joined by Angelina Jolie as executive producer, will pilot a global English-language current affairs programme for children in 2019, Our World. It will include ten episodes of a weekly programme.
Angelina Jolie says: “There has never been a time when it was more important to introduce the next generation to objective, impartial news and factual explanation of the events and issues shaping our world. Children today are exposed to a lot of opinion, but not necessarily to information that is fact-based and reliable.
"As a mother, I am very pleased that the BBC World Service is taking this step. It is also important to me that the project is global, and will help young people in different countries to be connected to each other and to have greater awareness and understanding of the news on an international basis.”
One of the main objectives for Our World is to promote global media literacy.
BBC World Service Director Jamie Angus comments: “The internet is a democratizing force. It gives voice to the voiceless. But the downside is that it enables some of the worst conspiracy theories to spread. According to a US survey from last year, over a six-month period, 59 percent of 10-18 year-olds had shared a story that they either subsequently found to be inaccurate or were now uncertain as to its veracity.
"No parent can completely isolate their child from fake news. But what we can do is give kids the tools to distinguish the genuine from the false and encourage them to develop critical thinking - to ask themselves: who produced the video and why? Are they a reputable organization? Are they just telling one side of the story? Is there another view?”
The programme will be aimed at children aged seven to 12. BBC-commissioned UK research shows seven is the age that children become aware of the news and 12.6 (2016 Common Sense Media) is the average age a US child signs up for a social media account. So the time between seven and 12 years of age represents a window to instill in children the value of asking questions and a chance to develop critical thinking.
Our World will provide much needed impartial access to information of the highest editorial standard, helping young people to understand the world around them and encouraging critical thinking. It will bring reportage in a safe and child-friendly way, without speaking down to younger audiences.
Globally, children are a chronically and acutely underserved demographic. A 2017 US survey by Common Sense Media found that 69 percent of 10-18 year-olds agreed that news media has no idea what the lives of tweens and teens are really like. Seventy four percent think that the media should show more people their age, rather than adults talking about them. The same survey revealed that the news left 45 percent of tweens feeling afraid.
This project aims to be truly global in scope, engaging children from Argentina to Zimbabwe. It will start with an English version but the BBC will seek production partners to expand programming into multiple languages.
Our World will be a multimedia project with digital and broadcast elements, including a weekly half-hour TV show. In 2019, the BBC will be launching a 10-week trial of the project. The BBC is in talks with a number of international public-spirited digital and broadcast media organizations interested in co-production and distribution. The pilot TV programmes will be distributed via the World Service’s existing TV partnerships and via other suitable broadcasters internationally.
The BBC is the world leader in producing news for children. The BBC has produced its flagship Newsround show in the UK for 40 years. In autumn 2018 the World Service launched two Africa-focussed TV children's shows: What’s New? in English and Actu Jeunes in French. The new global English language programme, Our World, will build on this experience and expertise.
Our World will be a non-commercial venture. The BBC and Angelina Jolie see this project as an investment in the young.


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