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Source text - French http://www.iofc.org/fr/abt/newsroom/2987.html
CAMEROUN: FORMATION AU LEADERSHIP INTÈGRE POUR 75 JEUNES
07 mars 2007
(Photo: umukusum umukusum)L'équipe camerounaise du Réarmement Moral - nom de l'association locale d'Initiatives et Changement -, a organisé du 7 au 11 novembre 2006 au centre Jean XXIII de Mvolyé à Yaoundé un forum sur le thème « Un nouveau leadership pour mon pays ».
L'Afrique a besoin de dirigeants intègres et fiables qui soient en mesure de faire face aux immenses défis auxquels le continent est confronté. L'un des objectifs de la « Campagne pour une Afrique intègre » lancée par Initiatives et Changement est justement de mettre en oeuvre un programme de formation des jeunes élites dans chaque pays d'Afrique avec le concours des équipes locales. Des rencontres panafricaines ont ainsi déjà été organisées au Kenya en 2003, en Afrique du Sud en 2004 et au Ghana en 2005.
Dans ce même cadre, l'équipe camerounaise du Réarmement Moral - nom de l'association locale d'Initiatives et Changement -, a organisé du 7 au 11 novembre 2006 au centre Jean XXIII de Mvolyé à Yaoundé un forum sur le thème « Un nouveau leadership pour mon pays ».
Parmi les soixante-quinze participants, on comptait principalement des étudiants des universités francophones de Yaoundé I et de Yaoundé II et de l'université anglophone de Buea, mais aussi de jeunes journalistes envoyés par des radios privées et des militants associatifs. Pour assurer la formation, des personnalités connues pour leurs qualités personnelles ont été sollicitées, telles que Ebenezer Njoh Mouelle, professeur de philosophie, actuel ministre de la Communication, Amadou Vamoulké, directeur général de la Radio et Télévision camerounaise (CRTV), Jean-Baptiste Baskouda, secrétaire général du Ministère du travail et de la sécurité sociale, Mowa Coco Bertin, aveugle, directeur général du Club des jeunes aveugles réhabilités du Cameroun ou encore l'abbé Jean Bernard Salla, professeur de théologie morale à l'université catholique d'Afrique centrale, représentant respectivement le recteur de l'Université catholique et le cardinal Christian Tumi, archevêque de Douala.
« Comment donc passer du leadership actuel qui corrompt et tue l'Afrique à un leadership de renaissance ? » a demandé le professeur Njoh Mouelle. Pour lui, la solution se trouve dans l'effort personnel. « Réussir dans la vie n'est pas réussir sa vie », a-t-il affirmé. Réussir dans la vie c'est réussir par rapport à son environnement, cela conduit aux trois « V » villa, voiture, virement, sans lesquels vous n'êtes pas pris au sérieux dans la société.
« Réussir sa vie signifie qu'on ne vit pas en fonction des autres mais en fonction de sa vision, de sa mission et de ses talents. C'est être capable d'avoir un projet et de s'y investir. Chaque être humain dispose d'un potentiel qu'il a la charge de réaliser. Aujourd'hui, l'échelle des valeurs a été renversée, il faut la redresser. La vraie réalisation de soi est d'abord intérieure.
Il a été souligné que, pour s'attaquer aux problèmes auxquels ils sont confrontés, les Africains doivent admettre que ces problèmes ont pris racine sur leur propre sol et que c'est en eux-mêmes qu'ils doivent trouver les solutions aux problèmes économiques, politiques et sociaux. Selon l'adage : « Tel je suis, tel est mon pays », c'est la question du changement personnel qui a été explorée. Quel rôle chacun peut-il jouer pour combattre la corruption ? Quelqu'un qui vit dans le mensonge et le conflit peut-il gérer les affaires publiques avec probité et efficacité?
« L'exercice du leadership s'est depuis longtemps appuyé sur le principe de la concurrence, a expliqué Baba Claude, berger de la communauté missionnaire de Cana et directeur d'une radio de la jeunesse d'obédience catholique. C'est le principe du « gagnant/perdant », c'est-à-dire que le succès des uns ne peut s'obtenir que sur la défaite des autres, la richesse des uns se faire au prix de l'appauvrissement des autres, la vie des uns se nourrir de la destruction des autres. Ce type de leadership basé sur le rapport de force n'a pas le souci du bien commun. Il doit être remplacé par le principe du « gagnant/gagnant » qui recherche le bien de tous et avec tous. » « Pour réussir sa vie il faut être discipliné, a affirmé pour sa part l'abbé Salla. Un homme discipliné est celui qui a réussi à mettre de l'ordre dans ses passions et dans ses émotions, qui a réussi à assujettir son esprit à des règles, à des habitudes intellectuelles ou morales. La discipline est donc violence contre soi-même et non contre les autres. »
Ces qualités confèrent au leader l'autorité morale dont il a besoin pour exercer ses fonctions. Néanmoins, il a été rappelé que compter sur sa seule intelligence ou sur la méthode cartésienne : « analyser, critiquer, agir », ne suffit pas. La prise de conscience de notre faiblesse humaine face aux enjeux de l'existence nous conduit à dépendre aussi de l'intuition qui gît au fond de notre conscience ou, pour les croyants, de l'inspiration que Dieu peut nous donner dans le silence du recueillement.
« Ce forum a été un événement formidable dans notre vie, a commenté un participant. Formidable par le cadre, par la qualité des échanges, par la qualité des enseignements. Il a été tout à la fois une école de la vie et une école pour la vie. »
« Contrairement à ce que l'on pense, les jeunes ont des préoccupations éthiques et c'est encourageant pour l'avenir, a souligné l'une des personnalités venues encadrer le forum. Ils semblent mesurés dans leur vision des choses, tiennent des propos responsables et sont disposés à écouter ce qu'on leur dit. » « Nous qui sommes dans la vie active, nous n'avons pas le temps de nous remettre en question, a confié un autre intervenant. Ce séminaire m'en a donné l'occasion. Est-ce que, là où je suis, je donne le bon exemple ? Est-ce que je donne le témoignage des valeurs humaines ? Je me suis senti interpelé et je vous remercie pour tout cela. » Nul doute que ces journées ont représenté pour les participants un formidable éveil à la responsabilité. Les sceptiques diront que l'action d'une minorité reste dérisoire. Eux en sont ressortis avec la foi que, de la même manière que des ondes se propagent à la surface de la mare quand on y lance un caillou, ils peuvent lancer dans le pays une onde de choc pour que chacun s'interroge sur son propre comportement. Le défi est maintenant de communiquer leur message largement dans le pays.
Vous pouvez télécharger le dernier no de
Changer international http://net.iofc.org/storage/public/websitedocs/france/173-changer323finala4.pdf
Translation - English http://www.iofc.org/en/abt/newsroom/3117.html
Training Ethical Leaders in Cameroon
by Frédéric Chavanne
27 March 2007
Students attending leadership seminar in Yaoundé Cameroon (Photo: umukusum umukusum)Africa needs honest and trustworthy leaders who are capable of confronting the huge challenges that face the continent. Frederic Chavanne describes a project in Cameroon designed to nurture such leadership.
One of the goals of the Campaign for an Honest Africa launched by Initiatives of Change is to implement, with the help of local groups, a training programme for young leaders in each of the African countries. Pan-African meetings on this theme have already taken place in Kenya (2003), South Africa (2004) and Ghana (2005).
Within this context, the IofC team in Cameroon organized a forum on the topic of A new leadership for my country 7–11 November 2006 at the Mvolvé Jean XXIII centre at Yaoundé.
The 75 participants were mostly students from the Francophone Universities of Yaoundé I and Yaoundé II and from the Anglophone University of Buea, but also included civil society activists and young journalists sent by private radio stations. Renowned national figures were approached to give the educational content, including Ebenezer Njoh Mouelle, professor of philosophy and current Minister for Communications; Amadou Vamoulké, Director General of Cameroonian Radio and Television (CRTV); and Jean-Baptiste Baskouda, Secretary General of the Ministry for Employment and Social Security. Mowa Coco Bertin, Director General of the Club for Young Blind Rehabilitated Cameroonians (who is blind himself) and Father Jean Bernard Salla, Professor of Moral Theology at the Catholic University of Central Africa also took part, representing the Rector of the Catholic University and Cardinal Christian Tumi, Archbishop of Douala, respectively.
Professor Njoh Mouelle asked participants the following question: 'How can a transition be made from the current leadership that corrupts and kills Africa to a new and revived leadership?' For Mouelle the answer is found through making an effort as an individual. 'To succeed in life is not the same as being considered successful' he declared. Being 'successful' leads to the three 'Vs': villa, voiture (car) and virement (money transfers), without which you are not taken seriously in today’s society.
'To make a true success of one’s life means that we do not live according to how others live but in accordance with our own vision, our own mission and our own talents. It is being capable of having a plan and dedicating ourselves to fulfilling it. As human beings we all have potential that it is down to each one of us to realize.
Today the scale of values has been turned upside down and it has to be put right again. The true realization of oneself takes place, first of all, from within.'
The forum underlined the need for participants to fully own the problems that have taken root in African soil in order to tackle them. As the saying goes: 'as I am, so is my nation'. Through examining issues of personal change, solutions can be found for economic, political and social problems.
'The exercise of leadership has for a long time relied upon the principle of competition,' explained Baba Claude, spiritual leader of the Cana missionary community and director of a Catholic youth radio station.
This, he said, was a 'win/lose' way of thinking which believes that the success of some can only be brought about by the defeat of others; that the wealth of some means making others poor; that the life of some is nourished by the destruction of others. This type of leadership, based on power, didn’t concern itself with the common good.
For his part, Father Salla declared that 'to make a success of your life you have to be disciplined … A disciplined man is able to organise his passions and emotions and subject his mind to rules and intellectual or moral habits. Discipline means fighting your battles internally rather than fighting against others.'
These qualities, he said, gave a leader the moral authority to carry out his duties. Nevertheless, it was not enough to rely solely on intellect and critical thinking. Acknowledging our human weakness leads us to depend on intuition as well. By intuition, he meant listening to the very depths of our conscience: the place where, for people of faith, inspiration from God can be found through silent meditation.
'This forum has been a wonderful event in our lives,' commented one of the participants, 'wonderful, as regards the setting, the quality of the exchanges and the quality of the teaching.'
'Contrary to popular belief, the youth are concerned about ethics – and that is encouraging for the future,' highlighted one of the eminent speakers. 'They seem moderate in their outlook; have responsible intentions and are ready to listen. Those of us who are engaged in the workplace don't have time to re-examine ourselves. This seminar has given me the opportunity to do that. In the place where I am right now in my life, do I give a good example to others? Am I someone who puts human values into practise? I feel I have been able to ask these questions of myself and I am grateful for that.'
There is no doubt that these days have signalled a tremendous awakening to responsibility in the participants. Sceptics will argue that the actions of a minority are insignificant. But just as a pebble thrown into a pond sends ripples far and wide, so these young Africans can initiate a shockwave, prompting everyone to call their own behaviour into question. The challenge now is to communicate their message widely throughout the country.
Translated from the French by Beatrice Blackett Espinosa
French to English: IOFC Translation: R.D. CONGO
Source text - French http://www.iofc.org/fr/abt/newsroom/2991.html
R.D. CONGO: PRÉPARER LES REBELLES AU RETOUR
08 mars 2007
(Photo: umukusum umukusum)L'équipe d'Initiatives et Changement participe à des tables rondes au Congo, afin de contribuer au rétablissement de la paix.
Après s'être investie intensément au Burundi depuis 2003, l'équipe d'Initiatives et Changement reprend l'initiative en République Démocratique du Congo. Avec la fin de la transition qui a conduit aux élections, les tensions ont brusquement refait surface, laissant craindre une reprise de la guerre civile. Le président Kabila a finalement été réélu et son principal challenger a accepté sa défaite, mais les tensions dans l'est du pays subsistent sur fond d'exclusion ethnique et font craindre à nouveau le pire.
Translation - English http://www.iofc.org/en/abt/newsroom/3287.html
Peace Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo
by Frédéric Chavanne
17 April 2007
Michel Kipoke(Photo: Frédéric Chavanne)Frederic Chavanne reports on initiatives to bring people together from across the political divides and to help former rebels return to civilian life.
Last September this website posted a report of the breakthrough peace agreement between all parties in Burundi, signed in Tanzania. Throughout the negotiations, the various factions and Burundi government representatives were assisted by three Africans acting on behalf of Initiatives of Change International and financially supported by the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This has built on a series of 'Round Tables' for people from the conflict-ridden Great Lakes region of Africa which have taken place in the IofC centre in Caux, Switzerland. Frederic Chavanne reports on the latest interventions of this group in the fragile situation of the DRC
After having been intensively involved in Burundi since 2003 in behind-the-scenes peace initiatives, an Initiatives of Change team has also been working in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. With the end of the transition period leading up to the 2006 elections in DRC, tensions have suddenly resurfaced sparking fears of a return to civil war. President Joseph Kabila has been re-elected and the opposition has accepted defeat. Nevertheless, tensions in the east of the country live on against a backdrop of ethnic exclusion leading people, once again, to fear the worst.
This was the context in which the Initiatives of Change team drafted a memo setting out a brief analysis of the situation with a proposal to bring together the most important people on the Congolese political scene, drawing on their previous experience bringing their Burundian counterparts together in March 2003.
This document was addressed to those involved in politics, women in leadership and other key people in civil society and the press.
From 7 to 21 October 2006, Michel Kipoke, one of those leading the IofC peace project in the Great African Lakes region, spent two weeks in the DRC meeting with a wide range of political leaders in Kinshasa and Goma. His aim was to hear their assessments of the reasons for the fresh upsurges of political and community violence; to gain their perspectives on the reconciliation process in the DRC; and to gather suggestions on the possible means of resolving these issues.
In Kinshasa Mr. Kipote, with the local IofC team, met with the staff of the two main Presidential candidates, members of government, the transitional parliament, the electoral commission, the representative of the European Union, soldiers from the European Union (EUFOR), the representative from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and leaders from the opposition, the civil service and the press.
In North Kivu, the IofC delegation spoke with Bishop Faustin Ngabu (Catholic Bishop of Goma), the Governor of Nord Kivu and with General Laurent Nkunda whose demands could, potentially, restart the civil war. The Catholic Prelate has, notably, called for a 'consciousness raising' of priests who, in the face of community confrontations, often react in accordance with their own ethnic origins.
The most important lesson from this mission is that elections alone will not be enough to restore peace. In fact, the election campaign focused on ethnic exclusion and the idea of 'Cogolité', (Congolese nationality). It further exacerbated ethnic hatred and division, with peoples and leaders alike seeking to obtain through the ballot box what they had previously sought to obtain through violence. Efforts to reconstruct the state come up against the frustrations of individual communities.
The failure of reconciliation is accepted by everyone. The essential tasks to be achieved now are to re-establish respect for political opponents, to free peoples’ minds from fear and to heal hearts wounded by ethnic and electoral clashes. These are the issues that consistently resurfaced in the numerous conversations engaged in by the local IOC group, led by Michael Kipoke.
The request for a meeting between the various political actors, under the aegis of Initiatives of Change, came from all sides. All of those involved maintain that the absence of an arena for peaceful dialogue runs the risk of preventing the new institutions in the DRC from working well.
This mission was funded by the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Translated from the French by Béatrice Blackett Espinosa
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Other - P/G Diploma in Translation and Conference Interpreting, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
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Years of experience: 18. Registered at ProZ.com: Feb 2007. Became a member: Feb 2007.
Spanish to English () English to Spanish (Heriot Watt University) Spanish to English (Heriot Watt University) French to English (Heriot Watt University)
In 2006-2007 I finished a Postgraduate Diploma in Translation and Conference Interpreting and I now work as a freelance Interpreter and Translator in and around the London area, although, I also travel to Europe, and further afield, for Conference Interpreting jobs. I take on freelance Translation and Interpreting work, of all kinds; Simultaneous and Consecutive interpreting, (for conferences and business meetings), PSI work, Court and Legal work). I have previously worked as a part-time visiting lecturer in Spanish > English Consecutive Interpreting at The University of Westminster in London (2009-2010) and I have also taught, Spanish and English, privately.
I am bilingual in Spanish and English, (I am half-Colombian). I have studied both Spanish and French to degree level before my postgraduate diploma in Conference Interpreting and I have also spent time in South America, France and the French West Indies. I am currently learning Brazilian Portuguese and working on my passive Italian.
I have been a full member (MCIL) of the Institute of Linguists (Iol) since June 2008 and an associate of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) since 2007 and I am also on the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI), for French and Spanish, (Registration No: 13773).
Keywords: Liaison, Simulataneous and Conference Interpreting; French and Spanish.
Member since Feb '07
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