Sep 9, 2006 10:25:00 AM cite

Tania Bruguera: I think that this ia a quiete complicated question because here only the history of an occidental thinking like Darwin´s theory play a part but it plays also a part in the history of a complete continent which is quite strong. Africa is a very complex continent of which I think that maybe one of the things of the present moment and well I don´t know it exactly but one of the things of the present moment maybe have developed so much in the occidental areas and well I think that we will be talking about development as an occidental point of view. But maybe for them it´s very developed, it´s another level, the territorial level, the level...; I don´t know how they evaluate it. I don´t have sufficient knowledge of this point if we are talking of development in an occidental meaning. Maybe this hasn´t been done because of the problem of these things, first of the big division which exists on the continent like all the nations which have had like this ancient history that they can´t exceed but more than this I don´t know [inaudible] point [inaudible] entered in a space in which they have understood the change and the system of change with the money [inaudible] the idea of their tradition with money, [inaudible] they have valued it [inaudible]. And partly because maybe some things of human beings´ origin like Darwin´s theory and another thing is the system of globalization as soon as the world has to enter with the same line, with the same door, but by now it would be that they are developed. Maybe they; maybe it could be interesting to see if they could propose something to the whole global talk which now [inaudible] territorial [inaudible] some kind of structure of their societies.

by Tania Bruguera

Sep 9, 2006 10:25:00 AM cite

Tavis Smiley: Why are African states less developed than Western states? The first answer obviously is colonialism. So many of these African states have started behind in this race called life. And so colonialism is the primary reason historically why so many of these African states are underdeveloped, underdeveloped and undeveloped even as we speak. But colonialism only explains part of the problem. It’s the historical answer. In a contemporary sense we have to address the concerns that these African states have about even today not being respected as partners, as friends, as contributing members of the global society. And so the remnants of colonialism are still alive and well today. At the end of the day, though, the reason why these African states are still so less developed than Western states is because the only thing we value out of these African states is what they can do for us. And that’s unfortunate and tragic.

by Tavis Smiley

Sep 9, 2006 10:25:00 AM cite

Tegla Loroupe: Answertext will be available soon.

by Tegla Loroupe

Sep 9, 2006 10:25:00 AM cite

Thenmozhi Soundararajan: When I read this question, I thought what a way to blame the victim. I think it’s not a question of where life started first, but it’s actually who colonized first. When you look at countries of the Third World, but particularly in Africa, I think that what we’re seeing is the result of a continent in crisis from colonialism. Much of the West owes its development to the fact that they’ve raped and pillaged countries of the Third World. And I think that when you look at the place of where we are at right now in terms of a neocolonialist era, a lot of what I understand to be happening under corporate globalization is that we continue to penalize countries that have been colonized with no longer military and political control, but with economic control; and the primary means of economic control is the debt. And many of these countries entered the conversation around debt with the idea that development meant that they would enter the modern realm. But in actuality, all of that money from the First World came with control and it came with structural adjustment where people, now, they had to privatize all of their resources. Then, for the cost of privatizing their resources, they then actually had to instead of spending money to actually help and develop their communities with education, with proper healthcare procedures, the money is now actually going into paying back these enormous, enormous, exorbitant debts that are basically - I think that we’re paying back our colonial masters for colonizing us, and then after that for them helping us to give us meager crumbs to develop at some level of trajectory that they decided is appropriate for our communities. I think one of the biggest things about the Jubilee or the debt relief movement is to say no to debt and say no that we will not pay back those funds. And when you look actually - and what’s possible when countries in Africa, but also other countries, are able to not pay huge amounts of money towards debt relief, incredible things have happened. For example, in countries receiving debt relief, poverty reduction initiatives doubled between 1999 and 2004. Tanzania used the money that they got from savings for debt relief to eliminate school fees, hire more teachers and build more schools. [Bertino Fauco] drastically reduced the cost of lifesaving drugs in terms of the HIV epidemic and malaria, but also increased access to clean water. These are just some of things that debt relief can offer. But I think, once again, we should really look to Africa’s future to being the future of all of our countries.

by Thenmozhi Soundararajan

Sep 9, 2006 10:25:00 AM cite

Tu Weiming: Actually, this story is more complex. I think it’s only part of the story and the evolutionary process is a long and complex process. On the surface, given the structure of the power of the world today, which has a history of about 200 years or so, Africa because of colonialism and imperialism has been very much marginalized and if you look at the overall situation of Africa, it’s depressing, disease, social disintegration, intercommunal conflict, poverty, and all kinds of other issues. However, if you look into the future, in the 21st century - 50 years from now - the various kinds of resources of Africa such as geo-diversity, power diversity, rich resources and also the ability of the African society to preserve linguistic diversity, cultural diversity and also the importance of the African society to go through what they call a renaissance or re-discovering the powerful so called tribalization of the African countries. And the possibility of some kind of a political change that would lead to economic empowerment and that in turn would give a sense of social cohesiveness and cultural renaissance and that may help the African continent to become not only a source for inspiration for the rest of humanity but also to develop a kind of political system and economic structure that will serve as an important reference for the rest of the world. The strong sense of rootedness of the African culture and that particular issue is of course liked to our global economic situation. And when the various kinds of powers in the world consider Africa as an area of exploitation the possibility of Africa to forge ahead is limited.

by Tu Weiming

Sep 9, 2006 10:25:00 AM cite

Udi Aloni: I think there is always conception. What's Darwinism mean and what’s evolution mean? And but this in conceptually also think that there is a true progress and a linear progress. I think Darwinism and when we started to act and really to put those two together, it's too weird for me to concept. So the real question is the state of Africa and when Africa in this situation we should learn more about the different agenda of the West compared to Africa. And not in relate to evolution concepts.

by Udi Aloni

Sep 9, 2006 10:25:00 AM cite

Valentina Melnikova: Genesis of humankind is a biological fact whether it has began in Africa or Asia or on the extinct continent Gondwana. If Darwin was right and the human had been born in Africa, it is still just some information. The humanity could populate the whole Earth. And now when our biological cradle is in such a difficult situation of underdevelopment, starvation, disease, and so maybe now the debt debts of humanity is to support its brothers in Africa and to give them the possibility of development. If children, or grandchildren, great-grandchildren don’t live in their parental home, this home descends. Maybe somehow or other humanity should return some of its grandchildren to Africa in order to regenerate, rebuilt and modernize the biological cradle. The African states themselves make great contribution to this. And our debt, our duty as well as possibility we all have is to support them in their development.

by Valentina Melnikova

Sep 9, 2006 10:25:00 AM cite

Vesna Pesic: Answertext will be available soon.

by Vesna Pesic

Sep 9, 2006 10:25:00 AM cite

Viviana Figueroa: I think that “they have not developed” is a way of saying that does not actually always fit with the vision that we all have of the term development. There has been a situation of a different vision by the peoples from the industrialised countries as well as by those from the African states or Latin America, which actually does not mean that we had not been developed in the past. Each one of the regions has a big cultural wealth in view of its biodiversity, its knowledge, its culture. So, they are developed countries, only that in the sense of accumulation and economic power they are considered to not have been developed. In my opinion, these countries have been developed, the African states as well as those states in Latin America, but in a very different way, and therefore I think that what today in this moment does not exist is a vision towards the future to achieve that leadership that is needed, where all the citizens of these countries, both of Africa and of Latin America, could really acquire a better general well-being, being no more in the situation they are at present, in which they are affected by a lot of problems, as for example famine. For this reason, I do not believe that a development does not exist, but there exists a potential development, and it is not that there exists no development in the African countries, but it is potential.

by Viviana Figueroa

Sep 9, 2006 10:25:00 AM cite

Wim Wenders: Then why are African states less developed than Western states? Elliot has six – is 16 years old and the question reaches us from Namibia. I must say I don’t quite see the connection with Darwin, Elliot. If human life began in Africa which seems undisputed, evolution did not have to produce highly developed economics, I would say. But to take Darwin seriously, he also examined at length the survival of the strongest and the meanest. And that certainly applies to the relation between Africa and Europe, for instance, you take the slave trade, take colonialism, for instance; that alone in a certain historical context has robbed Africa of its best resources. It has stripped the continent of its efficiency and ability to govern itself. It has probably slaughtered its sense of pride and identity. I wish – I mean you are 16, Elliot, you will know the answer to that question in 50 years. I will be dead by then. But I am very confident that in 50 years the answer might actually be the opposite of the one today. I think in the future the relations between rich and poor, between the highly developed states and the undeveloped or lowly developed states will completely change. It might actually be the opposite. And in 100 years I hope that question has become irrelevant. You will live to see it, I hope.

by Wim Wenders

Sep 9, 2006 10:25:00 AM cite

Yungchen Lhamo: The thing is that we try to -- we believing this is [skin] and we say why aren’t. And I think there is many reasons that, you know, still in the poverty. And now we have technologies in the Western country. There is much more developed country, you have the facility, you have the opportunities and that reason I think is be different than the Western country. I think life is not always permanent and there is a change, can be changed, and I think the changing is never late and if we all come together and then we can change difficulties and now we have the [audio ends]

by Yungchen Lhamo