Tsiry Nantenaina Randrianavelo, a 2016 YALI alumnus, has been granted the “A Common Word Among the Youth Award for Community Activism”. ACWAY is a global youth movement promoting peace and understanding through local action, which aims to develop an international network of young leaders who deliver grass-root activities on co-existence and interfaith relations.
The award will allow Tsiry Randrianavelo to carry out a bunch of activities throughout this month. Basically, the “Breaking the silence of GBV through peacebuilding” project will raise awareness about any form of violence towards women and girls. As he explains, there is evidence that violence has increased significantly during the pandemic in Madagascar.
What events to expect?
To kick off the series of activities, Tsiry Randrianavelo will host a one-hour virtual live event which features three GBV activists and specialists, and includes experience sharing and testimonies. A peace-making campaign will run for seven days right after that; a simple one which is more like a social media challenge of spreading love, peace, good mood and thoughts.
The remaining two parts of the project will involve in-person meetups. Around 50 volunteers will take a peace walk and release balloons in which short letters of peace have been placed to represent their voices. On the third week, Tsiry and his team will close the activities with community service, mural painting and tree planting at an orphanage located in the capital city.
Tsiry’s initiative is carried out on a voluntary basis, and young people who committed to participating in two or more activities will be granted the “Peace Ambassador” badges. Peace ambassadors will be given the opportunity to join Move up Madagascar, a community of volunteers that Tsiry founded himself.
A point to note is ACWAY encourages interfaith collaborations. All volunteers are welcome to take part in this peace movement and GBV awareness initiative, regardless of their faiths and religious convictions.
About Tsiry Randrianavelo
Tsiry Randrianavelo is backed by over eight year of experience in Project and NGO management. He has been involved in various fields such as community engagement, youth empowerment, social and gender equality, peacebuilding, and climate activism. He founded and is currently the Executive Director at Move up Madagascar NGO. Besides, Tsiry has recently started a new path as a social entrepreneur.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s annual State of American Business was held on Tuesday, January 12. The event usually gathers American business leaders in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s headquarters in Washington D.C.; but predictably went virtual for the first time ever this year. Despite the not-so-good assessment of the economic situation, the Chamber remains optimistic about 2021 as a year of recovery.
In his annual address, the Chamber’s CEO, Thomas J. Donohue, stressed how resilient American businesses have been during the pandemic. Thanks to the leadership and partnership of the government, local chambers and the Congress, American companies continued to serve communities and showed their determination to save jobs. Nela Richardson, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist from Automatic Data Processing (ADP), reported that 22 million American workers have lost their jobs since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, out of which ten million remained unemployed as of January 2021. While the pre-pandemic picture suggested a broadly healthy economy, a gap started to open up in 2020 between rich and poor people: the rich are getting richer and the decline of salaries exposed the poor to a higher risk of falling deeper into poverty.
2021 is a year of recovery.
Thomas Donohue describes 2021 as a challenging year where no failure is allowed. He explained that the United States must come out with an efficient plan to ignite the country’s economy, leadership, and competitiveness, starting with the recovery.
With the establishment of a new government and a new Congress, the US private sector calls for efficient trade and economic policies. Along with the US – Mexico – Canada trade agreement, it is in the country’s best interest to reengage to the world with a trade agenda by revitalizing trade agreements and tariffs, considering that 95 percent of customers live beyond the American borders. In the same vein, 2021 is not the right time for increasing taxes and setting up other discouraging regulations. Donohue also proposed to work the US’ trade allies to stand against China’s unfair trade practice.
The recovery of the US economy needs to go through the rebuilding of infrastructures and the creation of jobs. Donohue signals the need to implement a training program for unemployed, which is aligned with the requirements of the labour market. “There are a lot people without jobs, and a lot of jobs without people”, he added.
For her part, while she sees a bright long-term future, Nela Richardson recommended lawmakers to give extra attention to communities who have been most hardly hit by the crisis. These include small businesses, small workers, and minority populations.
The Congress’ response
The list of the speakers at the 2021 State of American Business included John M. Katko and Abigain Spanberger, U.S. Representatives for New York and Virginia. They reported that investment in rebuilding – such as infrastructure, internet broadband in rural areas – is one of the key points discussed within the Congress. Fair enough, it is crucial for the country to find the most effective way to prevent from such pandemic to enter the US territory in the future, and to accelerate the rollout of the vaccine.
The CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce expects the recovery of the US economy to be achieved in the third quarter of 2021, but under one condition: with the government’s partnership and the Congress’ support. On a federating tone, Donohue expressed his optimism about the future and the commitment of the US Chamber of Commerce to support employers and entrepreneurs every step of the way in this common battle. “Let’s unite around a mission of helping our nation forward. Let’s make common cause of growth and opportunity. Let’s rally for our recovery – and our future.”
The throne has been stolen from Jeff Bezos. Less than two months after overperforming Bill Gates and taking the second spot, Elon Musk becomes the richest man in the world. The Amazon founder who reigned since October 2017 stepped aside on January 8, 2021, after Tesla’s share price increased by 4.8 percent. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Elon Musk’s net worth was estimated at $188.5 billion at 10:15 a.m. in New York, exceeding $1.5 billion of that of Jeff Bezos. Despite a disastrous year for businesses, Tesla was named the most prosperous company in 2020 by Financial Times with an increase of 743 percent in market value over 12 months.
The 49-year-old entrepreneur, chief executive officer of Tesla and SpaceX, was born to a Canadian mother and South African father, in Pretoria, South Africa. With his brother Kimbal and a business partner, Greg Kouri, he started his first business, Zip2, a web software company in Palo Alto. From an interview of Musk conducted by BBC’s journalist Justin Rowlatt, here are six advices from the richest person on the planet:
Last year, Tesla delivered nearly 500,000 cars and has set itself the objective of becoming a pioneer of completely self-driving cars. How long will Elon Musk remain the richest man on Earth and how far will he still go?
Sources: Financial Times – New York Times – BBC
Regardless of the 2020 global recession, some companies played the game admirably well and appeared to be the top prospering companies during highly uncertain times. Financial Times published the 2020 final ranking of corporate winners, based on the percentage gain in market value for companies with a floor of USD 10 billion at the start of 2020, and using data from S&P Global. Here are the top 10.
All in all, 30 American companies appear in the complete top 100 which is widely dominated by the technology and ecommerce sectors.
Source: Financial Times (January 2021)
There is no better way of negotiation than meeting your potential customers face to face. Since 2015, every year, the AmCham selects and accompanies up to five Malagasy companies to attend the most famous international trade shows in the United States. Last February, just before the Covid-19 outbreak in the US, five Malagasy companies in the textile and handicraft sectors participated in the winter edition of the Sourcing at MAGIC in Las Vegas. Fairly predictably, this year, things will happen differently. Trade shows will go online at least for the first semester. Here is the 2021 preliminary event line-up presented by Informa Markets Fashion:
Two other in-person trade events are planned for the second half of 2021 if the spread of the virus is enough controlled.
As a reminder, the 2020 summer edition of MAGIC first-ever online event ran from September to December 2020. After a critical year, the fashion business community is looking forward to the recovery of the sector in 2021.
Source: Informa
The 1990s-theory of the “growth mindset” becomes a growing trend in the 2010s and the 2020s. Back to 2008, Dr Carol S. Dweck, an American psychologist from Stanford University published a book called “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success”, in which she explains her old theory of the growth mindset developed in the 1990s.
What is growth mindset all about?
The theory of the growth mindset is based on the idea of a continuously changing brain. It assumes that humans can develop or “grow” their capacities over time through learning and effort. The main point is to spot the difference between “growth” and “fixed” mindset.
People with a growth mindset acknowledge that their intelligence is not static but can be developed. They grasp challenges, persevere in times of defeat, keep making efforts until mastering something, learn from any criticism instead of ignoring it, learn and get inspired from others` achievements and successes. The good news is, if you feel you still live in a fixed mindset, you can take time to reflect and make the decision to change course. It is never too late.
Growth mindset can be developed from childhood
The theory of the growth mindset has become an education trend in American schools. Teaching children to have a growth mindset will help schools build “resilient” learners.
A kid with fixed mindset is more likely to say: “I am trash at maths”, tends to give up when things get tough, and does not believe he/she can improve. Therefore, the kid fails to reach his/her full potential.
Children are assumed to naturally have a growth mindset, but their mindset is later shaped by the environment in which they live: their family, schools, society. Here are a few advices on how to develop children’s growth mindset:
In a TED talk entitled: “The power of yet”, Dr Dweck explains that the words “yet” and “not yet” give children more confidence and help them create greater persistence in the future. There is a big difference between “You are not smart enough to solve it” – a fixed saying – and “You just have not solved it yet.” Today, the approach proves to be significantly popular in US schools. It is not only about getting A’s or excellent academic results. Growth mindset helps children to improve their behaviour and control their emotions.
Sources: The School Run / Habits for Wellbeing
Dweck, C.S., 2008. Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House Digital, Inc..
Every 31st December, Times Square in New York City is one of the most crowded places in the world. While things are a quite different this year due to the pandemic, the traditional “Auld Lang Syne” will still be played, and Americans can watch the show on TV or online from home.
The origin of “Auld Lang Syne”
“Auld Lang Syne” is a centuries-old Scottish folk song that the world assumes is written by Scottish poet, Robert Burns in 1788. However, Burns was sometimes told to take his inspiration from a poem first published in 1711, by another Scottish poet, Sir Robert Ayton. The melody is even older than the lyrics, as it dates back to 1782 when William Shield performed if for the first time in his comic opera Rosina. For the first time in 1799, George Thomson, a Scottish editor and publisher, published the lyrics along with the melody in a Scottish song compilation. In the 19th century, in a circle setting, holding each other’s hands, the celebrants of the Scottish Hogmanay (New Year) started the tradition of singing Auld Lang Syne.
The tradition was brought to North America by Guy Lombardo, leader of the band, the Royal Canadians, who first played the song on radio in late 1920s. Today, the song is played and sung during New Year’s Eve, particularly in Times Square in New York City, while watching the famous crystal ball drop.
The title can be literally translated into standard English as “Old Long Since” and can be understood as “times gone by”. At the very beginning, the song tells the story of old friends who are having a drink and remember of the past adventures they lived together a long time ago. Today it has become a way of saying farewell to the passing year.
It is no secret that Scottish – especially old Scots language – is not as easy to understand. Only a few people know the actual lyrics of Auld Lang Syne. Here is the English version of the song – easier, but still...
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
And old lang syne?
(Chorus)
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
And surely you’ll buy your pint cup!
And surely I’ll buy mine!
And we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
We two have run about the slopes,
And picked the daisies fine;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
Since auld lang syne.
We two have paddled in the stream,
From morning sun till dine;
But seas between us broad have roared
Since auld lang syne.
And there’s a hand my trusty friend!
And give me a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
For auld lang syne.
This year is like no other. American people accustomed to Times Square annual traditions have to stay at home. Definitely no crowd, no kissing strangers. However, a livestream of the event is available online and on most broadcast networks.
Source: Britannica - CNN - New York Times
The awardees from the 10th edition of the U.S. Department of State`s Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) have been announced. Marie Christina Kolo and her team were listed among this year`s 80 winning teams from 67 countries. The 2020 edition of AEIF focused on “women, peace and security”, and the Malagasy team`s “Women Break the Silence” project stood out and has been accepted for a funding of USD 24,500.
“Women Break the Silence”: a support to gender-based violence victims … or `survivors`.
According to a study carried out by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Madagascar this year, the magnitude of domestic, sexual, psychological, and economic violence has dramatically increased during the lockdown period in Madagascar. Even if the numbers have not been officially declared, it can be estimated that around 26 percent of the survivors have suffered from sexual violence. Back to the latest data available from 2018 Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), 14 percent of Malagasy women aged 15-49 have been victims of sexual violence at least once.
The “Women Break the Silence” project provides support to victims of sexual violence and seeks to combat the stigma around sexual assault. The project also aims to raise awareness of laws against gender-based violence. This third point is more than relevant now that a law on gender-based violence has been promulgated and a penal chain for gender-based violence (CPA-VBG) has been established in Madagascar. The team`s project will be implemented in Antananarivo, Antsiranana, Toamasina, Ambovombe, Fianarantsoa, Nosy-Be, and Mahajanga, and is expected to be launched in January 2021.
In this project, Marie Christina Kolo and her team will collect testimonies and data on sexual harassment and sexual assault mainly in high schools and universities. Those data will be used to create art, board games, and other innovative tools to raise awareness about sexual violence and help victims move through their trauma. Kolo explains that victims of sexual violence should not consider themselves as victims but rather as “survivors”.
Useful link: Discover a testimony from a rape survivor here.
A winning team made up of YALI alumni
The “Women Break the Silence” project will be led by Marie Christina Kolo, a 2017 Mandela Washington Fellow, and at the same time an alumnus from the YALI Regional Leadership Center Southern Africa (YALI RLC SA) in 2016. Kolo is a social entrepreneur; she founded Green`N`Kool, a social business that works with vulnerable women and former sex workers in Madagascar. She is also known as an ecofeminist and climate activist, co-founder Ecofeminism Madagascar, a national platform that promotes gender inclusion in climate change discussions.
Kolo is supported by a team of YALI committed leaders including three Mandela Washington Fellows – Riambelo Onjaniaina Rasamimanana (2019), Daniela Loberline Ratiarisoa (2019), and Rado Harintsoa Rakotosamimanana (2017) – and one alumnus from the YALI RLC SA program, Tsimihipa Andriamazavarivo (2018).
As a reminder, AEIF provides funding to projects led by alumni of U.S. sponsored and facilitated exchange programs. Applying teams can be made up of two or more alumni from different programs including YALI, IVLP (International Visitor Leadership Program), Fulbright, or Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Program. Collaboration between alumni is greatly recommended in the AEIF competition. Riambelo Onjaniaina Rasamimanana, a team member and country director for the Women Lead Movement in Madagascar explains how natural it is for them to support each other, and that they share the same goal and value collaboration over competition.
Kolo`s team is the 5th Malagasy AEIF awardee after Ketakandriana Rafitoson (IVLP) in 2012, Mirana Razafindramboa (Fulbright) in 2015, Adrienne Andriantsialonina (YALI) in 2016, and Manoa Rakotoarison (YALI) in 2018.
Since its inception in 2011, AEIF has funded nearly 500 alumni-led projects around the world. AEIF supports alumni initiatives that promote shared values and innovative solutions to global challenges. As ECA Assistant Secretary of State Marie Royce said in a video, “AEIF takes the value of exchange programs further,” giving alumni the tools they need to support their local communities and a chance to apply the skills they developed on their exchange programs.
Source: U.S. Embassy in Madagascar Press Release – UNFPA Madagascar
Mioty Voajanahary is a company owned by John William James, a current member of AmCham's Board of Directors. Located in Fitroafana Talatamaty, they produce and export medicinal plants from Madagascar, mainly dried Aloe macroclada or "Vahona" in Malagasy, the main ingredient in natural stem cell enhancement products. Mioty Voajanahary works with 8 associations around the highlands from Antsirabe to Moramanga, to the west on NR4, and north-west and north-east of Antananarivo, cultivating and harvesting for their leaf supplies. Tons of leaves are transported every week to their production facility where they are washed and the gel extracted. The gel is then dried and packaged for export. Mioty's customers produce retail products of bottles of capsules containing dried vahona.
Mioty Voajanahary is dedicated to being economically, socially and environmentally responsible
Mioty's vision is "to find and develop and effective natural medicines from Madagascar for the benefit of all Malagasy and people around the world." Providing unique and proven quality products at good prices allows Mioty Voajanahary to give back to Madagascar in a variety of ways.
The company offers its 47 employees good work in a good environment for good wages and benefits. Each association, composed of up to 20 members, is paid a generous price for harvesting leaves while requiring that 10% of the income goes toward community education efforts in the form of books, teacher salaries and school buildings. Mioty is proud to have sponsored their first University of Antananarivo graduate school student, who studied funguses in the soil which work together with vahona. Mioty also plants trees and fights against burning practices. The company often helps the Fitroafana community with projects.
John James states, " Mioty Voajanahary finds entrepreneurial Association members and teaches them what they need to operate, including management skills, organization and leadership skills, proper harvesting, legal needs for operations, and bank accounts. We have watched each Association improve the standard of living in their villages with pride. All are doing well."
Dried vahona: a new product to a worldwide market
Sales of dried vahona are just beginning and increasing steadily. Stem cell therapies and benefits are becoming well-known. The safe pure natural product from Madagascar will be in demand as it works better than any other natural product for stem cell enhancement.
Mioty will be growing over for the foreseeable future. "We continue to increase vahona cultivation efforts and add production capacity. This means more jobs and income both at our production facility and for each Association cultivating vahona around the highlands," added John James.
"Madagascar has many unique plants with potential medicinal properties. Mioty Voajanahary intends to find additional products, demonstrate their efficacy, and produce them for worldwide markets. We are working on acquiring investment to allow expansion to meet future demand. The world will have access to new effective natural medicines from Madagascar and many Malagasy will benefit."
Are you traveling on the 7th National Road towards Fianarantsoa? Take the crossroads to Alakamisy Ambohimaha (NR 45) and you will end up in a heavenly spot in the Matsiatra Ambony and Vatovavy-Fitovinany regions, none other than the Ranomafana National Park which covers 41.601 hectares. The Tanala and Betsileo communities present in these regions will welcome you.
A huge reserve of endemic animal species
The names of the animal and plant species found in the site will fill a very long list. But briefly, you can discover 6 species of fish, including Bedotiasp or "Jono", discovered in 1994. The region is also home to 90 species of butterflies of which 4 are rare species (Graphiumendochus, Charaxescowani, Euxanthemadagascariensis and Acreaeaboya). 8 families of spider are still new in the wildlife list recorded in Madagascar. 58 species of reptiles are crawling in the Park.
In the aquatic environment, there are 6 endemic species of crustaceans and one subspecies of crayfish from the Astacoides group, the unique one in the world. Diversified amphibian species Mantidactylus and Mycrohylidae also makes the site special.
This time of the year (October and November) is the perfect moment for bird watching, even if it falls in the rainy period. Note that 118 bird species, among the 257 recorded in Madagascar are visible in the region. Moreover, the majority is endemic, and about thirty species exist exclusively in the primary forest of the Park, to mention only Mesitornisunicolor, Brachypteraciassquamiger, Neodrepanishypoxantha, and Xenopirostrispolleni, which are globally recognized species.
Do you want to discover our lemurs? You will be fascinated. 13 species are visible in the park, including diurnal species like Hapalemur aureus and nocturnal species like the famous Aye-Aye or Daubentonia madagascariensis. Among the primates most appreciated by tourists are Varibolomena, Varibolomavo, Simpona, Varijatsy, and Varikamena. Also get acquainted with the rare foot-sucker bat or Myzopodaaurita, which you will not find anywhere else outside the country. Other mammals such as "Voalavondrano" and "Fosa" can be added tothe list attractions for tourists.
Diversified vegetation
The rain forest covers Ranomafana Park. However, only the part included in the hard core is considered primary forest. The forest is home to rare tropical hardwoods of which several species have considerable economic value both locally and nationally, such as pallisander or Dalbergia. A profusion of rare species also makes up the park's biological richness: ferns, bamboos and hundreds of orchids that are there to amaze your eyes.
What to do in Ranomafana?
After buying your ticket at the Ambodiamontana welcome office, 56 multilingual guides are ready to accompany you in one of the three tourist circuits offered by the Park so that you can contemplate the beauty of the Malagasy nature.
The Park also offers other attractions such as tree climbing, kayaking and organized mini-marathon. The most interesting activity that visitors should do is camping in one of three places: Ambodiamontana, Vatoharanana and Sahamalaotra. Wear rain gear and cleated shoes, take a tent and relax.
Taste the Malagasy dishes offered by the local cuisine, bring handmade souvenirs home – basketry, sculpture, banana peel or bamboo. Dance to the rhythm of the Tanala traditional dance, the "Dombolo" and discover the "Horija", traditional music of the region.
Note that about 500 villagers from the local community provide control, surveillance and maintenance of the Protected Area.
Source & Photo Credit: Ranomafana National Park
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This website was funded by a grant from the United States Department of State. The opinions, findings and conclusions stated herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of State.
