I wish i was born in Bolivia!!
(Arun Patre/ Agents of Change) How does one judge leadership to meet the objectives for a cause? Looking at historical precedents we have seen various types of motivation for leaders to live up to for their subjects. The father of industrial revolution – Henry Ford’s sole motivation was to mechanise prodution process at the same time provide employment to Americans. We all know what has followed as a success of the production line in America, which later expanded world over and was the symbol of capitalism. Hitler was a classic example of shrewd leadership in order to get to his objectives. On the other hand we have Mahatma Gandhi spread the message of his actions through his non-violent mechanisms is very relevant to our discussion.
At the COP15 process too, I believe some of the leaders personal experiences impact their motivations and their morales. We had a killer proposal from Bolivia yesterday where the the emission reduction targets are being kept at 300ppm of CO2 and the temperature rise being limited to 1 degree centigrade. A proposal of this order has never been conceived and may never see the light of the day considering the complex web of diplomacies and the lobbies involved. The Indian Youth delegation decided to provide a rapid response action for this bold leadership in the highly depressing environment of the negotiations.
We came up with the following song -
Every day their stalling and they’re saying the same old things again hm-hm-hm
But one bright country stands apart, they’re sayin’ things close to my heart. They’ve got a plan with hope in hand, They’re sayin’ c’mon let’s just start… Bolivia, I wish I was Bolivian
Just one degree temperature rise, 300 ppm in the skies, cent per-cent emissions down by two thousand forty Does anyone know the price of waiting fighting, hating, procrastinating, hm-hm-hm
My future stands in front of me, while people here make history, I hope and pray that it will be, what the world’s children wish to see… Bolivia…
We’ve got to take the boldest steps there’s work to do; clean up the mess. hm-hm-hm My future looks me in the eye, says to me the time is nigh It’s time to see the world agree, time for responsibility! Bolivia…
Taking a sneak peek into the personal life of the President of Bolivia – Evo Morales I understood the motivations for this bold policy proposal. Morales is known to spearhead the movement to defend the interests of coca growers and to develop a new hydrocarbon law which guarantees 50 percent of revenue to Bolivia. Bolivia is fostering a wonderful program under his leadership. Illiteracy was eradicated in less than three years: 824,101 Bolivian learned how to read and write; 24,699 did so also in Aymara and 13,599 in Quechua.Bolivia is the third country free of illiteracy, following Cuba and Venezuela.Bolivia, one of the three poorest nations in the hemisphere, has brought under state control the country’s most important energy and mineral resources while respecting and compensating every single affected interest.
The song has drawn attention from the Bolivian Ambassador as this was a display of solidarity for their bold moves. The Indian youth have now been invited to sing the solidarity song at the President’s address on Dec 16. It is going to be one chance to rekindle the inspiring movement to redefine leadership at the COP15.
