Power over the people…. Power with the people…. POWER TO THE PEOPLE Global Citizenship Power over the people…. Power with the people…. POWER TO THE PEOPLE

Aim of todays session: Objectives: To explore the way that power can be used for good and bad purposes; how power and resources are unequally distributed, and how this inequality impacts on individuals, community and society. Objectives: Know what is meant by the terms Global Community and (Active) Global Citizenship. Know how power can have both negative and positive impacts on individuals, communities and society. Know about unequal power relationships, and how these can lead to exploitation. Know that power can be both good and bad, depending on how it is used. Understand who the main groups of people who interact with the food system are, the amount of power they have, and whether it is in their interests to make the food system fairer. Know examples of actions that different groups (such as governments, businesses, other people) can take to make the food system fairer.

What is Power? Power can be negative: E.g. Somebody having power over somebody else: This is an unequal power relationship It can lead to one person exploiting or bullying the other A dominant view of power is the notion of “power over”, where one person or group of people dominates or controls another. This is often viewed in negative terms, and with power as a limited resource.

Source: VeneKlasen and Miller (2002) What is Power? Is it bad? “Power is the ability to achieve a purpose. Whether or not it is good or bad depends upon the purpose” (Martin Luther King, Jr.) Power can be positive: “power to” – individual ability to act, linked to the idea of capability “power with” – collective action, the ability to act together Video: Egypt Uprising (1.5mins) “power within” – individual or collective self-worth and dignity Source: VeneKlasen and Miller (2002) Some see power as existing everywhere, and a necessary and positive force for change: Example (Power To): You might have the power (or capability) to read and write. Then if you received a letter warning you that something bad that was going to occur, you would have the power to read the letter and take action. You might then have the power to stop this bad thing happening. Many people in the world do not have the power or capability to read and write (they are illiterate), as they have not had the chance to be educated. They have not been empowered through education. Example (Power With): In Egypt, masses of people came together in solidarity with each other. Each person felt power with a large number of people, to fight for social justice. The sum of their power was enough to make President Mubarak of Egypt resign. Example (Power Within): If you always look to others in order to feel good about yourself, you may always feel the fear of not being good enough. Looking within, to feel self-worth means you can keep your power within, rather than giving power away to become a victim of others and what they want you to be. If you don’t love yourself and are not at peace within, all the money and property and adoration from others will still not make you truly happy. This is why you hear people say you should be true to yourself, and why you hear of famous people sometimes being very unhappy, even though they seem to have everything a person wants.

Who holds Power? Governments and their leaders hold power over their nation’s people Corporations and lobby groups hold power to influence the decisions and policies of governments The Media hold power to influence the public’s views and decisions Seed companies sometimes hold power over poor farmers because the farmers feel pressure to buy the company’s one-crop hybrid seed varieties rather than using traditional seed varieties Explain: Governments can sometimes use power in negative ways – such as President Mubarak in Egypt, according to the many Egyptians who protested against rule. Explain: Many corporations have become transnational – meaning that they operate in more than one country. For example, Nike, Nestle, Monsanto, McDonalds, etc. Transnational corporations are very powerful, and governments often have to concede power to them. If a transnational corporation does not like what a government is doing, they can threaten to leave the country, putting the country’s economy and jobs in danger. Lobby groups are groups of people (who might be the leaders of corporations) with special interests, these interests often linked to power. They might be in a powerful position and do not want to lose that power. They lobby governments, which means trying to influence the decisions made by governments, sometimes by giving the government money. Lobbying can also be positive and give more power to those who have little: NGOs for example, might lobby governments to make positive changes for poorer members of society.

Who is Powerless? Perhaps nobody is completely powerless. Power is everywhere – we all have at least some power; However, many people have little power to change their lives for the better; People in power often say that anybody can become successful and empowered if they are hardworking and try hard enough……. But the truth is, some people do not have the opportunities to become empowered Explain: In the 1950s, American people were told that anybody could be successful and become rich as long as they worked hard. This was called the American Dream. Anybody could follow the American Dream. However, as poverty and inequality continued to grow in the United States, and some people who worked extremely hard sometimes either lived in, or finished up in poverty, many people questioned the concept of the American Dream. There are many disempowered people living in poverty in the United States.

How are people affected by unequal power relationships? Unequal trade relationships between high income and low income countries can have a severe impact on people. People in low income countries might get lower prices for the goods they sell. Unequal power and unequal resources can keep people in a situation of poverty. The governments of low income countries have less power than richer governments to help their own people. People who are in poverty have less power to change global issues that affect them.

Power used for good purposes Governments and corporations might use their power to achieve things that are good for society: i.e. Governments might create new laws; use taxes to provide free healthcare and schools; or subsidise new industries to make them more sustainable or large corporations might use their power to promote sustainable development; to lobby governments to build better infrastructure; or to give money to charities

Legitimate and Illegitimate Power A president or prime minister, who has been elected democratically and uses her power to represent her people’s interests. A leader of a country, who has rigged the election to get in as president or prime minister, or perhaps has even had people killed who do not agree with his policies.

Farmer’s wife and children Descending power Monsanto Mozambique’s government Buyers of farmers’ produce Farmer Farmer’s wife and children Explain: This diagram shows how power can exist in different places, and can descend from the powerful to powerless. Monsanto (a company that patents and controls seeds) may have the power to pressure or lobby the Mozambique government to ban traditional seed varieties that regenerate new seeds for the next crop. The Mozambique government then have the power to carry out this ban. This means that farmers would have to buy Monsanto’s modern hybrid seed varieties, or their genetically modified seed varieties. These modern varieties may need more water, more pesticides and more fertilisers, and may exhaust the soil. The farmers might have to pay too much for the seeds and pesticides, etc. The buyers of the farmers’ produce might be exporting the produce and know what price they can get for it on the world market. Their knowledge is powerful, as the farmer might not have this knowledge. The buyer might exploit the farmer and give him a low price for the produce, but then sell the produce at a much higher price. Imagine the farmer is a male with a wife and 3 children. He may hold power over his wife as he controls the money he earns from the sale of his produce. His wife is actually a farmer herself, but grows food mainly for her family’s own consumption. Her husband also makes her do all the weeding on his crops, while at the same time she is working hard to look after the children and grow food in her own vegetable garden. If she complains he tells her he will stop giving her money, which she desperately needs to pay for the children’s education. The farmer and his wife both hold power over their children, who happen to be two girls and one boy. The boy gets favoured at meal times as the parents think he should grow big and strong. One of the girls has a large appetite and often feels hungry but the parents do not allow her to eat as she would like. However, this girl does have some power to get other food, as she has learned how to be a good salesperson. She takes a little of the food her mother grows and sells it for a good price, while using the money she earns to eat at her favourite food stall. In other words, POWER exists everywhere but in different amounts, and is used for good and bad purposes.

Case Study: Monsanto Video: Monanto's side of the story (3mins) Video: The Whole Truth About Monsanto? (7 mins) According to this video, Monsanto has far too much power, and through controlling seed Monsanto is actually controlling life and death for many. Many GM (genetically modified) cotton farmers in India have committed suicide. Many experts have argued that they have become too indebted through GM cotton needing more pesticides, more water and new seeds every year. Many have committed suicide by actually drinking the very pesticides that are causing the damage to their lives! Video: Farmer Suicides and Monsanto (5 mins) These farmers feel powerless. The only power they have is the power to commit suicide. But there is always hope……..

Movements campaigning for social change: La Via Campesina Video: La Via Campesina (7.5 mins) La Via Campesina (translated as “The Peasants’ Way”) is an international movement that brings together millions of small and medium-scale farmers, landless people, women farmers, migrants, indigenous people, agricultural workers and peasants from around the globe http://www.viacampesina.org/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=27&Itemid=44 The movement “defends small-scale sustainable agriculture as a way to promote social justice and dignity. It strongly opposes corporate driven agriculture and transnational companies that are destroying people and nature” http://www.viacampesina.org/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=27&Itemid=44

Movements campaigning for social change: Navdanya Vandana Shiva – founder of the Navdanya Movement: Video: Seeding Deep Democracy - Vandana Shiva (6 mins) Navdanya (meaning either “nine Seeds” or “new gift”) is a network of seed keepers and organic producers spread across 16 states in India. Navdanya has helped set up 65 community seed banks across the country, trained over 5,00,000 farmers in sustainable agriculture over the past two decades. The movement has also helped setup the largest direct marketing, fair trade organic network in the country. Source: http://www.navdanya.org/ Explain: In the video, Vandana Shiva’s concept of Earth Democracy relates to global citizenship, in the way she says that humans should be citizens of the Earth, rather than just citizens of a nation. Earth Democracy includes all living things on Earth, rather than just humans, as all plants and animals are interdependent. We are all part of the same ecological earth system.

Power with 200 million people La Via Campesina is a good example of creating power with. The more people are with you, then the more power you have to change things. This could also be called solidarity power, as citizens in La Via Campesina are in solidarity with each other across the globe. “La Via Campesina comprises about 150 local and national organizations in 70 countries from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. Altogether, it represents about 200 million farmers. It is an autonomous, pluralist and multicultural movement, independent from any political, economic or other type of affiliation”. http://www.viacampesina.org/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=27&Itemid=44

Network Power You can instantly connect with thousands of other young people through a global network of media. “Social media, like Facebook and Twitter, has given young people the potential to be global journalists, film-makers and campaigners” (UNEP and UNESCO 2011). Many organizations are using the power of social networks to mobilize young people around the world for common causes (UNEP and UNESCO 2011).

Network Power “The Denmark-based ido30 campaign for washing clothes at a lower temperature used social media to influence people with more than 12,495 fans on Facebook in 25 countries, and a popular feed on Twitter” (UNEP and UNESCO 2011). When people connect through networks, they can build the power with each other to collectively act, and create change.

Empowerment Knowledge is Power: Education and literacy can empower people to know their rights and make better decisions about their future.

References (UNESCO and UNEP 2011) Youth Xchange: Climate change and lifestyles guidebook. United Nations. VeneKlasen, L. and Miller, V. (2002) A new weave of power, people and politics: the action guide for advocacy and citizen participation. On-line at: http://www.justassociates.org/ActionGuide.htm, date accessed: 17/4/2011. Photos: http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/exhibits/protests/strike.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/the-price-of-power-paying-homage-to-the-brother-leader-1780905.html