Open Society Foundations » Kamila Shamsie http://blog.soros.org Building Vibrant and Tolerant Democracies Wed, 16 May 2012 20:14:45 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Advancing Education Reform with "Writers Bloc" http://blog.soros.org/2012/01/advancing-education-reform-with-writers-bloc/ http://blog.soros.org/2012/01/advancing-education-reform-with-writers-bloc/#comments Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:33:25 +0000 Kamila Shamsie http://blog.soros.org/?p=11296 The tasks facing education reform are far too urgent to be left to policy experts, politicians, or market forces. Starting this year, we at the Open Society Education Support Program are attempting to broaden the discussion of justice in education through culture. The first of these initiatives is a collection of essays from Writers Bloc, a collective of celebrated and up-and-coming writers. They include Chimamanda Adiche (writing on Nigeria) and Aleksander Hemon (on Bosnia)—both are recipients of MacArthur Foundation "genius grants"—as well as Tahmima Anam (on Bangladesh), Petina Guppah (on Zimbabwe), Nathalie Handal (on Haiti), Rachel Holmes (on Palestine), Nick Laird (on Nepal), Kamila Shamsie (on Pakistan), Hardeep Sing Kholi (on India), and Zukisa Wanner (on South Africa). Acclaimed novelist and critic Zadie Smith, who  is a trustee of Writers Bloc, wrote the introduction to the series.

In the first piece of the series, published today in the magazine Guernica, Nathalie Handal visits Haiti a year after its devastating earthquake. Every day for the next week, another of the essays will appear. Recently named by Esquire as one of the top five online literary magazines, Guernica has an impressive list of awards and nominations to its name—the magazine and its contributors have won or been nominated for PEN awards, Best American Essays, The Caine Prize, The Orwell Prize, and Best of the Net.  The political reach of Guernica is also considerable—in the past, its articles have been discussed in the Indian parliament and drawn the attention of members of the U.S. Congress.

A launch and panel discussion event takes place at the Free Word Centre in London on January 17.  It will be livestreamed, and viewers can send questions and comments via Twitter. The Free Word Centre is an international hub where organizations such as the Reading Agency, Index on Censorship, and EnglishPEN are based, and where literature, literacy, and free expression come together. You can read more about the Writers Bloc project in this interview with Kamila Shamsie.

In an introduction to the essay collection, Zadie Smith writes “it’s not likely a government will listen to a bunch of writers, but a bunch of writers can bend many interested civilian ears.” She points to a problem far more fundamental than what may be said and who may be listening; one to which we have become inured. The essays in the collection show education in conflict-affected countries to be a catastrophe for so many children—entirely absent or substandard, deteriorating and disconnected, stifling and conforming, violent and discriminating, unequal and unfair—with consequences that will be long and deep for all of society. The essays convey a reality that will “bend interested civilian ears”; they are a call to action for everyone.

Downtown San Diego sees development boom.(RIMS 2008 San Diego Conference Preview)(Brief article)

Business Insurance April 14, 2008 | Esola, Louise Byline: LOUISE ESOLA San Diego-It's been four years since the Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc. took over the Convention Center in San Diego and that's all it took for "America's Finest City'' to become...well, finer.

Once a sun-washed beachside town with no building taller than 12 stories, downtown San Diego over the past 30 years has inched its way to become more Manhattan than Jersey Shore. go to web site downtown san diego

The opening of Petco Park, the downtown home of the San Diego Padres, in 2004-the year of the last San Diego-hosted RIMS conference-served as a major milestone.

"What (Petco) has done is put a book end on the Gaslamp,'' said Sarah Levine, director of business development for the Downtown San Diego Partnership, a privately-funded nonprofit for economic development in downtown San Diego. "Where the Gaslamp once ended was a warehouse district and is now a more solid community, a really safe, fun neighborhood. Petco offered a great economic base and a lot of businesses have opened.'' That, and a growing condo market in East Village, the Marina District and Little Italy has made all the difference in downtown San Diego.

The area has increasingly become home to posh steak houses and trattorias, world-class eateries and seafood havens, high-end shopping and galleries, trendy nightclubs and wine bars, you name it. Ms. Levine estimates that half a dozen hotels have opened in the area, along with more than a dozen restaurants since the ballpark opened in 2004. here downtown san diego

"The businesses and developers made an effort to make (downtown) look nicer,'' she said. Even the convention center trolley stop, once an eye sore, has gotten a facelift, she added.

"The city as a whole has made downtown more tourist and resident friendly,'' she said. "You can walk around a lot easier whereas in the past you wouldn't want to walk around because it wasn't safe or there was nothing there.'' CAPTION(S):

Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres, opened in 2004 and started a downtown development trend.

Esola, Louise

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