The Global Lives Project

This past week, Berkeley alumnus, David Harris came to speak to The Berkeley Group about a non-profit he started called Global Lives.

The goal is to record 24 hours in the lives of ten people that roughly represent the diversity of the world’s population. These ten lives will come together in an innovative video installation and form the basis of a collaborative online video encyclopedia of human experiences.

The purpose of the Global Lives exhibit is to promote global awareness and understanding by allowing you, "A chance to step out of our own reality and into one you never would have known."

Thus far, Global Lives has shot the lives of four unique participants:

• The first shoot took place in San Francisco, California in 2004 and recorded a day in the life of James Bullock, 57 year-old cable car driver.
• The second shoot took place in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 2004. The shoot featured Isreal Feliciano, a hip-hop and rap singer from the city’s periphery.
  

The third and four shoots took place in 2007 in Japan and Malawi:

• In Malawi Global Lives taped the life of Edith Kapuka, a thirteen year-old girl from a village that sits at the foot of the Zomba Plateau.
• In Japan, Global Lives shot Rumi Nagashima, a 22 year-old girl from a suburb in the outskirts of Tokyo, who uses a wheelchair to travel around the city.

To read more about the completed shoots click here.

David anticipates that the final installation will be completed in January of 2009 and has had requests from multiple universities and partners, including the UN University, to hold exhibits in the near future. In the mean time, check out the footage on their website.

If you are interested in getting involved in the Global lives Project, visit their website at globallives.org

African Banking & Economic Growth

The Economist published an article on the 15th entitled “On the Frontier of Finance” which discusses the increased banking opportunities allowed by the continued boost in African economic growth. A main focus of the article was on the fact that most Africans do not have access to what we would consider basic and essential financial services. To better illustrate this point, The Economist lists some staggering yet somewhat unsurprising statistics…

• Only 20% of families in Africa have bank accounts.
• Private credit accounts for 18% of GDP in Africa
• Opening a bank account in Cameroon requires a minimum of $700 (more than many Cameroonians earn in a year)
• In Swaziland, a woman needs consent of her father, husband or brother to open an account or take out a loan.
• 75% of adults do not have a verifiable address
• Even in South Africa, where the financial sector is far more sophisticated, almost half of adults do not have bank accounts

The sustained increase in economic growth can be attributed in part to better economic management and also to an increase in overall political stability. This increase in stability in some African countries has also lead to more stable policies. The Economist reasons that these new policies are forcing banks to reach out to more customers while promoting access to financial services. In the mean time, technology has already helped to improve access. Recently, financial services have been offered over mobile phones in Kenya, Congo, and South Africa. “Subscribers can open accounts, check their balances, pay their bills or transfer money by typing a few commands on their mobile phones”. For more on mobile banking, check out the article, "A bank in every pocket".

Despite new technology and the new opportunities for Africa that come with sustained economic growth, African banking still has a long way to go. Africans lack confidence in local banks explaining why most private African finance is short-term or money is kept abroad. In addition, “Many African countries still have to develop and enforce policies and laws allowing banks to compete and operate more easily, while making sure they are financially solid—and customers are protected. In time, regional integration may help ease the problem of scale”.

Although it will be awhile before millions of Africans will stop 'storing their money under their mattresses,’ the economic growth in Africa has attracted a lot of foreign interest. “The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, in the largest ever single investment in Africa, has offered $5.6 billion for a 20% stake in Standard Bank, of South Africa, which has operations in 18 African countries.” For more information on the Chinese involvement in Africa, try another article by the Economist: “Still Scrambling”.