Sunday 24. October was TV action, Monday 1. November starts Rødnesedagene. If aid collections are characterized by the last century's worldview, social media such as Facebook may be the solution to increased global solidarity in that 21. century?
(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
Assistance Tull. The autumn is the season when the Norwegian people are going to spew off their abundance. This has been the case since the 1970 century.
First out was the TV action on Sunday 25. October, when the Norwegian Refugee Council set a new "personal record" in funds raised. Secretary-General Elisabeth Rasmusson was "almost in shock" over the profit of over 200 million in funds raised. Children of all ages raised money with gays from two million households.
This was done in close collaboration with NRK. Everything was sewn together from Marinlyst where artists and celebrities supported the action. The question is what relationship do we make to the poor part of the world this Sunday in October, and whether these will in the long run lead to the change that is foreseen?
Possibly not the efficiency considered: According to a review by the magazine Kapital, and 26. in October, only 32 percent of the funds raised for the Norwegian Refugee Council in 2009 came to poor people. The majority of the funds went to administration, salaries to Norwegian employees and other expenses. The Norwegian Refugee Council ended up at the bottom of the list, but most of the Norwegian aid organizations meet the Norwegian Collection Register's demand that 65 percent of the funds raised be used for this purpose.
However, the Norwegian donor pleasure did not end on Sunday. November 1st starts "Rødnesedagen" Or rather, the "Red Days," since the fundraising campaign will last a full month. And while NRK's TV action plays on "our morals", the TV3 action should play on "our humor". With clown noses:
"Throughout November, you can put on your red nose and do fun, dumb and silly things for the Save the Children. At P4, you can also hear celebrities doing something that makes money. One day in November, Rødnesedagen starts with a heidundrande TV show, then you can watch and laugh at comedians and celebrities on TV3. ”
With humor, "everyone can help young mothers in Uganda and homeless children in Bosnia," the action's website states. 57 per cent of Save the Children's funds collected last year were used for this purpose, according to the Assistance Act.
Dominant aid relationship
Aid researchers have long been critical of such actions. Both because they create a passive image of "the others", but also because they create the illusion that we in the rich part of the world can be passive actors in other people's lives. People we do not know can be helped with a text message. Fellow at NUPI, Øyvind Eggen, believes that this relationship that is made visible during such actions is completely unique.
- There is only a focus on other people's problem and our analysis and solution of these problems. This is a rare and very one-sided relationship that we otherwise only experience with the doctor. Where the doctors analyze and prescribe the solution to the problem, the aid actors also have both the analysis and the solution.
Eggen believes that what is special about Norway and the Nordic countries is that the development assistance relationship is so overriding and dominant in relation to other relations.
- It is not aid as such that is the problem. It is the omission of alternative relationships. This has consequences. For example, that Norwegian companies refrain from investing in Africa.
Eggen believes that Africa is being overlooked by all Norwegian actors outside the development assistance industry. This is a shame, also for Norwegian business and industry that miss out on investing in a continent with strong growth.
- Apart from 15 very poor countries with major problems, the rest of Africa is experiencing strong growth. This is especially with the support of Chinese investments.
New global discomfort
While aid can possibly be described as the solution of the last century, can Facebook and other social media be the solution for this century? It may sound strange, but first let's try to think the whole thing through. New Age Gabrielle Solaké Sannah Graatrud herself explains in this week's issue (see comment page 22-23) how she recently returned from Gambia experiencing her new Facebook friendships.
Read more in this week's edition of Ny Tid, 29.10. Or subscribe to Norway's global weekly magazine here .
