To be fore-warned is to be fore-armed
The United Nations seriously upholds the issue of policy on equality and fairness. I suppose their aim is to promote an “ethos of equality and fairness” within and among societies by continuously identifying and eradicating barriers which may prevent people from achieving their potential. For people to actively participate they need to be informed through reputable sources. Undoubtedly people are the most important of all resources. So an empowered-people contribute more and willingly to sustainable development programs. The onus is upon governments and policy makers to ensure that people, irrespective of their backgrounds, are made aware of events that would impact on their socio-economic and political environments.
In order to make the planet earth a better place now and in the future, there is need to involve people from top to grass root level. To achieve these ambitions, governments must put in place effective communication systems which would supply people with information. By reflecting upon the Brundtland Commission Report of 1987 on ‘Our Common Future; Link: http://www.ace.mmu.ac.uk/eae/Sustainability/Older/Brundtland_Report.html it may be noted that there were some resistance. Some critics did not agree with the recommendations. May be there was an element of ‘We do not care attitude’ by some leaders who, of course, will be dead before the planet will suffer full consequences of environmental degradation. Does anyone agree with Winston Churchill’s conception that “The further backward you look the further forward you can see?” How many of the world leaders seriously think people need information systems for sustainable development?
The majority of people, because they are ill-informed, are not aware of what the planet was before and what it is likely to be in future. In essence the enhanced transparency of information is either inefficient or lacking in societies. The International Journal of Public Opinion Research is an organization that explores the means by which news media may help promote public awareness.
Link: http://ijpor.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/21/2/187. Radio and TV networks, books, newspapers and magazines are all mass media communication tools. Network-empowered citizens can use personal electronic communication like e-mails, blogs, face books and mobile phones to receive or share information. It is a pathetic situation that in Africa, Oceania/Australia, and Middle East, statistics reveal that less than 4% of their respective population has access to the Internet. Link: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm.
To what extent do activists’ demonstrations contribute to informing the public? Mass media or public speeches can be useful means of disseminating vital information. Consider Pope Benedict’s recent surprise attack on climate-change prophets of doom http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-501316/The-Pope-condemns-climate-change.... With a billion Roman Catholic followers, the impact of his message may have influenced peoples’ perceptions about climate change. Al Gore, by means of his films, lectures and books, has informed the world about pending dangers on climate change.
For that reason the world should not just wait upon scientists, economists and politicians to contribute information deemed essential. Nonetheless, scientific predictions about today and tomorrow would rather be proven by scientific methods. In this way information collected from various sources may be analyzed, evaluated and authenticated prior to distribution by those trained or qualified to do so.
Very interesting comments. Access to information in Africa is considerably more limited than access in, say the UK, but is the average person here more informed about serious issues? I am not sure..this is something we could test. I think society needs to recruit experts because the great majority of people have not got the time and motivation to inform themselves. This may seem negative but I suspect it is very true.
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