Meeting with the Other Side

A general philosophy that most of us have heard of all our lives is that there are two sides to every story. Dr. Don Gordon and I (Anna) had the opportunity to hear the other side of APEC yesterday evening. Our group went and met with a NGO that was leading the fight to make APEC and its member economies focus more on the community and the people’s agenda rather than just the political, economic, and business agenda. What we saw in action was really what the Riley Institute strongly advocates – understanding that there is more beyond just policy and decision processes, there are people who those processes affect, whether good or bad, that must be discussed.

Quite different than the 61st floor view from the Sydney skyscraper that we had just come from, the NGO was located in a small crowded office on the outskirts of the city. Since their funding only comes from donations, it is clear that their efforts are fully driven by their passion, which you can’t help but admire whether you believe in what they are doing or not. What they are fighting for so strongly is fairer trade in the Asia Pacific region. They want human issues such as poverty, labor and environmental standards to be a main focus of APEC. They believe that a true global economy cannot exist without the provision of education and other development in the region’s poorest nations. They want APEC to serve more of community interest rather than what they see being the interest of the business executives. They are disappointed with APEC because it had promised in 1989 upon its creation that trade liberalization would increase the standard of living across the Asia Pacific region.

In our group there are students from Vietnam and China who contributed very interesting perspectives into labor and environmental issues that they wish could be addressed at APEC. Their comments about wanting a higher standard of living in their countries gave perspective into what the NGO’s are fighting for and also into what APEC must address in order to increase the standard of living in its member economies. Unfortunately, history over the last eighteen years has proven that free trade alone will not engender such progress.

OzGreen Presentation; Cultural reflections

Today we were hosted by Mallesons Stephen Jacques law firm 61 floors above Sydney for a presentation from OzGreen. This Australian NGO promotes community projects aimed at improving sustainable development in a country where the average resident has an ecological footprint even more damaging than the typical American. Co-founder Sue Lennox argued that current rates of consumption and population growth are unsustainable. The tipping points for phenomena like temperature rises and glacial melting may be closer than we think. OzGreen seems to follow the bottom-up development model that I’ve found to be most effective in development efforts.

On the walk back from the event, I had the pleasure of conversing with a participant from central Australia. The young man is an aborigine educated in white schools who now straddles the two worlds. He told me about the need for improved education in his community and how the lack of it has allowed everyone from mining executives to art dealers to exploit his people. He told me how difficult it is to effect change as a young person in a culture in which the word of elders is to be obeyed without question. The tension between aboriginal and Western culture had a painful, beautiful expression in my interlocutor. He is a mediator on the front lines of a cultural conflict. And here I am, writing like a devotee of Dr. Huntington in spite of myself.

Business Begins

Continuing our cultural and environmental exploration, we ventured to Sydney Wildlife World in Darling Harbor, home to over 6,000 species of Australian fauna. As the picture indicates, Dr. Gordon had a soft spot for the butterflies, but the taipan, the world’s most venomous snake, was a close second. Alli and Anna forged close cultural contacts with a few koalas. The koalas, who were trying to doze in the mid-morning sun, were less enthusiastic.

Later that day, we met the founder of VTM, Noel Gould. He immediately recruited us to participate in an interview session high above the city in Sydney Tower. There we had the chance to meet some members of the Mexican, Indonesian, and Philippine delegations.

That same night we attended a reception at Sydney Town Hall hosted by the Deputy Lord Mayor, Councillor Chris Harris. MP Pat Farmer addressed the group, stressing the family ties among APEC member economies. Footage of the event can be found here.

We Have Arrived...

Hey mates,

We are here! After over 24 hours of travel, 20 hours of airtime, and running from terminal to terminal, we are finally in Sydney, Australia for APEC. First of all, we would like to thank the John I. Smith Foundation for funding our trip and making this great experience in Sydney possible. The Riley Institute's participation in APEC gives students each year, like ourselves, the opportunity to experience engaged learning at its best. Our group of four students and one professor arrived yesterday morning at 6 am, ready to see the sites before we get down to business. After unloading our bags and before even showering or changing clothes (gross, we know), we set out to discover the harbor city.

After a quick bite to eat, we ventured over to one of Sydney’s most famous attractions, Darling Harbor. We took a fascinating tour of the Maritime Museum, and then hitched a ride to Manly Wharf – home to some of Sydney’s most posh beaches. Unfortunately, we forget to take our cozies (the Australian word for swimsuits). When we returned from Manly, we settled into our hotel, showered, ate, and crashed from two long days.

Today we wanted to get out of the city and see the “wilder” side of the land down under. We scheduled a trip to the Blue Mountain which are located to Northwest of the city. They are named the “Blue Mountains” because of the blue haze emitted from the Eucalyptus trees. Overlooking the canyons below the mountains are truly a site to behold.

After looking over the canyons, we drove to Katoomba, an old coal mining town, where we took a train down into Australia’s temperate rainforest. The train, more like a roller coaster, is the steepest train in the world descending at a 52 degree angle. Once in the rainforest, we were amazed by the cooler temperatures and the lush, green flora surrounding us.

Following the rainforest, we grabbed a quick lunch, and walked down 209 steps to see Wentworth Falls. Though the falls were beautiful, they did not compare to our next encounter with one of Australia’s most famous creatures – the kangaroo. Seeing kangaroos hopping along in the wild was a great way to start off our Australian experience.

APEC officially begins tomorrow and we are now officially ready to hop right into the action.

Cheers,
Anna, Alli, Elizabeth, and Pete

Heading South

First, introductions are in order. We are all seniors at Furman University. Elizabeth Bradley is the lone economics major, the rest of us study political science. Elizabeth hails from Birmingham, Alabama. Alli Buckner is from Lincolnton, North Carolina. Pete DeMarco is from Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. Anna Ready is from Greenwood, South Carolina. We will be joined in our travels by professor of political science and scion of the Riley Institute, Dr. Don Gordon.

This Wednesday we will depart for Sydney, Australia to attend the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation Leadership Week. Formed in 1989, APEC is a group of 21 countries from around the Pacific Rim. Member economies account for almost two thirds of world GDP and nearly half of world trade. APEC aims primarily to facilitate regional trade liberalization, although its portfolio also includes a broad range of issues like human security and climate change. APEC is a forum for consensus building, so its agreements are all non-binding (a critic might say toothless). Leaders Week will be attended by heads of state, high-level ministers, and business leaders from across the globe. And of course our own hardy band will be carefully blogging on all of the meetings, activities, and Russell Crowe sightings we can.

Our trip is coordinated through Virtual Trade Mission’s Voices of the Future program. We’re fortunate to have the assistance of Furman grad and National VTM Fellow, Cindy Youseff.

Please feel free to comment on our posts. We are all tremendously excited and look forward to updating you on the experience.