Airport lounge KKB

Made it to the airport with all the equipment and even got it checked in without incuring a baggage excess fee.  You got  to love this place.  Then we get the bad news...our flight to Miri is delayed for 2 hours.  Fortunately, Eric got us into the Golden Lounge and we are enjoying the comforts of a nice lunch and free WiFi while everyone else is getting free McDonalds.

Sundaland shoot day 1

I have arrived in Kota Kinabalu and met up with Eric of Treasure Images.  After a brief excursion of the local market and some breakfast, we spent most of the day organising the equipment and packing it up for the shoot in Miri and out on the water.  On the way back to Eric's we stop at a friend of his, Gary, who is a bit of a fix-it guy, for a ratcheted arm for one of the Go-Pro's.  The afternoon was spent charging batteries and checking out the equipment.  We also had sometime to strategize and plan some of the shots we will need to get for this sizzle reel and trailer.  I don't problems with the shots will we are in the marina but once we are out on the boat and sailing to the location is another story.  Shooting on the boat can at times be problematic and getting clean audio is difficult but we have both been through this before and I am sure we will work it out.  I am looking forward to finally meeting the Berekoven's and the start of this new adventure. 

Searching for the lost civilisation of Sundaland

As a result of the climate change we are experiencing, the sea levels are rising putting some coastal areas and a number of island communities under threat.  The last time there was a significant rise in sea levels was at the end of the last ice age, some 12,000 years ago.  During the ice age, the lower levels of the South China and Java Seas exposed large areas of the Sunda Self incorporating the islands of Borneo, Sumatra and Java into the Southeast Asian peninsula.   Since this is a time before recorded history, there is much speculation as to how advance mankind was at this stage of development.  The possibility of some lost civilization having developed in this region is what motivated Australian couple, Hans and Roze Berekoven to sell their successful merino wool business to purchase a 19 meter ketch, Southern Sun, to explore the region for evidence of this ice-aged civilization http://www.southernsun.info/index.htm.  However, this is not the source of their recent fame, operating out of Sarawak, Malaysia surveying the Laconia Shoals, they have spent much of their time searching for sunken World War II wreaks when they came upon the prize discovery of the region.  Operating on information found in James Brooke's journal, they were able to uncover the location of a 170 year old vessel, the Viscount Melbourne.  It was the story of the Viscount Melbourne that first peaked my interest and led to my contact with Eric Madeja at Treasure Images, http://www.treasure-images.com/index.html.  We soon realized that the real story was actually the Berekoven's and their quest.  As luck would have it, they were very interested in telling their story.  In the coming weeks we will be filming them to put together a sizzle reel and trailer to generate interest in four-part series about the  quest for lost civilisations and where the Berekoven's fit in with the other theories that abound on this subject.  For me I find myself returning to the search for the Ancient Nagas that I started over 15 years ago.  More to come.

Asylum seekers risk all for Australian dreamland | Asia News – Politics, Media, Education | Asian Correspondent

Asylum seekers risk all for Australian dreamland | Asia News – Politics, Media, Education | Asian Correspondent

What Isn't Working Did You Ever Wonder?

Important Questions for Right Now

This video poses a compelling set of questions: Do we educate to strengthen our democracy or to strengthen our economy? Does competition or cooperation produce better results? What will students need to know? Are they being educated with current reality in mind? Should the people support the economy or should the economy support the people?

Maybe we need to change the way we look at success, progress, wealth, competition, the future?

It is a collage of points made on the subject of sustainability, and a change of
direction that needs to be addressed within the educational system to reflect our current reality. 

Compelling images, graphics and quotes like this one tell the story:

"We have reached a point where the value we add to our economy is being outweighed by the value we are removing." Paul Hawken, author and environmentalist.

Indeed, GDP is not an indicator of a society's well being or stability. It goes up with every instance of destructive spending too: illness, war, nuclear power plants, GMO food production, incarceration.

We need to come together around a new indicator of "wealth", and prepare students for the reality of Now.

--Bibi Farber

This video was produced by Education For Well Being

 

Australia's Carbon Tax: a green incentive for change

http://www.greenerideal.com/politics/0703-australia-carbon-tax/

The other more rational side of the carbon tax that is not being presented in the media.

World Refugee Day 2012

World Refugee Day 2012:

“This report tells a human story of loss and tragedy. Despite its distance from these places of terrible suffering, Australia shares the responsibility to protect refugees. It can do this under the Refugee Convention by helping asylum-seekers who come to its shores and, also, through the generosity of its annual resettlement programme. In this way, Australia shows solidarity to those countries that bear the greater burden and responsibility of hosting millions of the world’s refugees.”

- UNHCR Regional Representative Richard Towle on the 2009 Global Trends Report

Another World Refugee Day has come and gone, so are things really changing here in Australia? The 2012 Theme for World Refugee Day was Refugees have no choice. You do. To coincide with this theme, the UNHCR has rolled out its striking new campaign Dilemmas, which aims to draw public attention to the tough choices facing refugees, and to help the public to empathise with and understand these choices and dilemmas.

There are a lot of myths and misconceptions out there, especially in the way the Australian media and government depict refugees and asylum seekers and the way language is used to convey the issue.  All human beings have a right to seek and enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution, which makes refugee protection a universal and global responsibility. As a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention and as a member of the international community, Australia shares in this responsibility. Click here for Amnesty International’s take on Refugees’ Human Rights and here to gain a deeper understanding of refugee populations across the globe.

The world’s refugee protection system was established in 1950 with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and then with the adoption of the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol. UNHCR is mandated to lead and coordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide. See the UNHCR website for definitions and statistics on refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced people.

Armed conflicts and political violence have led to civilians being caught in conflict zones, leaving refugees, asylum-seekers, and internally displaced people in protracted situations. The number of people displaced by natural disasters has multiplied in recent years, exceeding the number displaced by conflict. Climate change could increase this number by many millions in decades ahead. This was a key issue discussed at the Rio+20 Summit to ensure sustainable economic growth, poverty reduction, and environmental protection.

The latest UNHCR report shows that one out of four refugees in the world is from Afghanistan, with 2.9 million – 96 per cent of whom are hosted in Pakistan and Iran. The other largest source countries for refugees included Iraq (1.8 million), Somalia (678,000), Democratic Republic of the Congo (456,000), and Myanmar (407,000). As in previous years, around four fifths of refugees are hosted in developing countries. Almost half (5.5 million) of the refugees under UNHCR’s care are in protracted situations, with the majority living as refugees for five years or more.

With World Refugee Day 2012 behind us, let’s hope that things are really changing here in Australia. We do have a choice. And we do have a say. For more information on the UNHCR’s role in protecting refugees rights, see the comprehensive Protecting Refugees and the UNHCR report. To find a Refugee Week event near you, see the Refugee Week website.

Written by Melissa Gillies, MPH Online Contributor.

Image sourced from the World Refugee Day website.