#2 ALIBUSA, AZER KIETH 11-BULKHEAD (ACADEMIC OUTPUT)

CLONING AND GENETIC ENGINEERING

Arguably, technology has changed various aspects of human activities. As a matter
of fact, many beliefs that technologies have brought a lot of tremendous
developments that are more applicable and influential to human beings. Cloning and
genetic engineering are among the many developments issues brought by technology.
Many view that the development of genetic engineering and cloning holds the potential to
solve several humankind problems. On the other hand, the development of these aspects is
seen as the potential that is building and developing unchecked dangers. Hence, these
views present both the positive and negative impacts of genetic engineering as a method of
improving the circumstance of humans. Generally, cloning and genetic engineering opens
an entire realm of issues related to biology, allowing scientists to be in a position of helping
human beings, but these issues are not without negative impacts on humans.

Cloning and genetic engineering have improved and solved various human
circumstances n the world today. In fact, cloning finds many of its application in amplification
of DNA, genetic fingerprinting, as well as modification of genetic makeup in humans. As a
matter of fact, cloning through genetic makeup leads to introduction of positive traits in
humans, and the elimination of undesirable traits. Perhaps, cloning and genetic engineering
has improved and solved the life of humans through human organs development; hence,
the lifes of people has been made safer and longer. One of the arguments for cloning is
that it helps in organ replacement. Whereby, vital human organs in the human body are
cloned to serve as backup operating system in the body of human beings. The presence of
cloning is one of the lifesavers, for example, when some of the body organs such as heart
and kidney fails, it can be replaced through cloning of the body organ (Nicholl, 2008).

Genetic engineering has tremendous use in production of food. In the third world
countries many people are suffering from malnutrition and hunger; hence, genetic
engineering has come to solve these human problems. Undeniably, the world population is
tremendously expanding meaning food supply will automatically reduce due to high
demand. GMO (Genetically modified food) is a solution to this human problem. This is
because genetically modified food has the power to resist herbicides and pesticides,
thereby leading to a reduction of pollutant chemicals in the environment. In addition, GMO
manufacture has the power to make their pesticides that send off insects. The end results of
these characteristics are the increment of yield, which automatically reduces starvation in
the globe (Stanley, 2000).
 Through genetic engineering, gene therapy has been made possible making it a
convenient method to eliminate human problems. Gene therapy is used in treatment of
genetic diseases affecting humans; this is carried out through genetic modification.
Proponents assert that gene therapy has helped humans because it is cost effective and
reasonable method of treating various gene diseases. The process does not require to be
administered continuously meaning it is remarkably efficient. As a matter of fact, genetic
engineering methods eliminate human suffering due to fatal, painful and debilitating genetic
diseases. Germ-line gene therapy is also possible because of genetic engineering; this
refers to the replacement or removal of faulty genes. Perhaps, it eliminates costly and
destructive disease from the populace. Hence, proponents believe it is the best method to
curb and eliminate human suffering (Russell, 2012).

In addition, cloning and genetic engineering has led to rejuvenation in human life.
Advocates of cloning assert that this type of technology help in getting rid of all physical
body issues that come up with age. For example, it eliminates wriggles among the old
people leading to emotional and psychological. Moreover, humans who have burns and
injuries in their body are the greatest beneficiaries of cloning. They have a chance of
receiving skin tissues that eliminate the burns. In some cases, human beings are infertile
and cannot have children. Cloning is one of the solutions to most infertile couples (Nicholl,
2008). Couples undergo emotional and physical pain when undergoing infertility treatment;
cloning eliminates these problems, putting them in a situation to have children that are
genetically theirs. Cloning is also helpful in the genetic research, this is because the
technology behind cloning enables researchers to understand the effects of genes that
humans have, and composition of genes. In a wider perspective, cloning helps in
eliminating genetic diseases.

On the other hand, scholars and scientists assert that cloning comes with some
negative impacts to humans. In fact, to many, cloning interferes with the natural process of
creating children. The modification that takes place in humans may lead to the creation of
smarter humans, which become problematic to those who are not products of cloning.
Cloning does not give room to natural gene diversity to take place; cloning is only there to
produce identical genes, meaning it hinders the process of gene replication, thus impeding
diversity of genes. Hence, the beauty that lies on diversity and ability to adapt is eliminated.
Family structure is important to the life of humans but cloning totally destabilizes the
structure of family. Cloning is there to invite malpractices among medical practitioners and
in society (Stanley, 2000). Hence, based on human ethic cloning takes away the ethical
issues that are crucial to human, it devalues humans and the entirely undermines the
importance of human existence.
 Genetic engineering influences the life of humans negatively. The use of genetically
modified food is believed to react with the human body in negative ways. In fact, the side
effects are unknown, but it has been demonstrated has a factor that increases the risk to
human health by causing cancer and other human diseases. Furthermore, genetic
engineering corrupts the supply of food in the globe (Russell, 2012). Many companies have
utilized the production of food using technology, whereby they focus on profits at the
expense of human health. Genetic engineering will create organisms that human beings will
not have defense against, leading to evolution chaos.

Conclusively, technology in the globe is a double-edged-sword, which needs to be

taken care of responsibly. Cloning and genetic engineering are outcomes of technology;
hence, it has both positive and negative impacts on the issues of humans. Proponents in
support of cloning and genetic engineering assert that it is one method that holds the
potential to eradicate and solve humankind problems. On a positive note, genetic
engineering and cloning improve human circumstances by reducing food shortage, treating
diseases, reducing costs, solving infertility problems, curbs human suffering, increases
lifespan, as well as eliminating physical damages such as burns and wrinkles. These
changes cause by cloning and genetic engineering has changed human live positively.

Reference: http://www.writemypapers.org/examples-and-academicsamples/essay-on-
cloning-and-genetic-engineering.html

#2 ALIBUSA, AZER KIETH 11-BULKHEAD

(Professional Output)
8-9 OCTOBER 2009
LOCAL CONTENT WORKSHOP
CAPA BUILDING
ROYAL MUSEUM FOR CENTRAL AFRICA
TERVUREN, BELGIUM
1. THURSDAY 8 OCTOBER 2009

1.1 Challenges faced by knowledge sharing

Participants divided into five groups. Each group focused on challenges faced by knowledge sharing in
traditional communities.

Issues discussed in the different groups bear significant similarities, and can all be clustered as follows:

Transmission of knowledge over time

Oral nature of local content: content is undocumented and easily lost
Generational gaps: custodians of information are too old or dead
Loss of context: the context which makes local content valuable can be lost
Technological evolution: communities overly rely on technology to record knowledge which was once lived,
remembered and passed down to younger generations

Cultural barriers
Language barrier: different generations in the same community may not speak the same language; different
communities do not speak the same language
Reluctance to share: culture can constrain knowledge sharing, as knowledge is only made accessible to
initiated individuals

Specificity of local content

Local content is specific to a determined community and cannot be easily transferred over space and time
Local content and traditional knowledge should be approached holistically: studying and documenting
traditional medicine without references to local culture is wrong and can be counter-productive

Economic factors
Intellectual property: those who own knowledge are reluctant to share it in order to maintain their competitive
advantages (commercialisation of knowledge)
Poverty: increased scarcity of resources and poverty make local content irrelevant in the short term and
endanger its perpetuation and reproduction in the long term
Demand for local content: certain forms of content are only required in the community that has generated
them
Socio-psychological barriers
Mindset: custodians of traditional knowledge are often socially and culturally marginalised, and develop a
sense of inferiority
Self-confidence: traditional communities and individuals often do not value their own experiences
Perceptions of local content: traditional knowledge is now perceived as weird

Costs and difficulties of collection

Costs of collection: collecting local content is expensive; however, it needs to be done now rather than later,
as costs will be even higher if no action is taken
Methodology: how to collect local content is in itself an issue

External factors
Government action: government action ignores local content, or documented traditional knowledge is not
disseminated nor used widely
Contact with Western culture and the heritage of colonialism: loss of confidence in traditional knowledge
Contact with modernity: the human element typical of traditional knowledge was suffocated by science and
technology
Media: local content is misrepresented in the media
Lack of support by development work: development work does not favour knowledge sharing as a separate
activity

2. FRIDAY 9 OCTOBER 2009 MORNING

2.1 Reflections on first day

Participants were invited to reflect on the previous day and share the most valuable ideas discussed in both the
formal exercise described above and informal conversations. These included:

Local content can be used to solve problems towards development: it helps identify solutions to problems
within a specific community; the solution can also be applied in other geographical and cultural areas (John);

However, local content does not necessarily lead to development: e.g. the traditions that regulate what to do
when a king or a chief dies in a particular community is local content; still, it does not lead to development
(Edna);

Validation issues: documentation of local content requires accurate cross-checking of different sources in
order to avoid misrepresentations;

Demand issues: is there a demand for local content across communities? How can demand of qualitative
local content be promoted? (Franois)

Ethical issues: can elements from a communitys culture be sold? If not, what should be the business model
for the creation of incentives to share? (Binetou)
 Temporal dimensions of local content: while information is only valuable when new, knowledge is only
valuable when old;

Need for a clear definition of the different roles of access centres, information centres and knowledge centres:
a classification was proposed by which access centres only provide infrastructure to access information
(computers, internet access, etc.); information centres additionally provide packaged information to meet a
specific communitys needs; knowledge centres collect, structure, repackage and produce knowledge (Paul).

Emerging gap between local content 1.0 and local content 2.0: until recently, collection and repackaging of
local content reflected the developmental actors agenda and focused primarily on health and education;
currently, we observe a shift towards reflecting the preferences of local audiences, with increasing content
being produced on employment and revenue opportunities, entertainment (Franois);

Difficulties in reconciling local knowledge and research, especially in health and agriculture;

Role of young people as knowledge brokers (Kemly).

2.2 A little taxonomy: where do we position ourselves?

Participants were asked to positio

n their
activities on the chart below:
 John Mahegere is working for the Tanzanian Commission for Science and Technology. Johns activities
are diversified, and he found himself at home at different ends of the spectrum: as a manger of the
Tanzanian governments programme for telecentres he would position himself towards the local content
creation and consumption ends; however, as a liaison officer with international organisations, he is both a
creator of content for global use and a consumer of global content.

Jean Francise Asaba works for CABI, a bridging organisation which collects content, repackages it and
disseminates it at all levels; at the same time, CABI also works with local communities to disseminate
global knowledge; Jean Francise positioned herself at the intersection of the two axes;

James positioned himself at the local content creation end: the approach chose by his organisation,
ALIN, puts access centres and information centres at the heart of local communities: content is created
locally for local consumption;

Kemly Camacho Jimnew could not pin down her activities to a precise location on the chart: her
organisation, Sula Bats, is developing content locally, but use is not limited to the local level;

Michael David positioned the activities of his organisation, Telnet.org (online radio and digital
storytelling), at the local content development end: while the project is still at an experimental stage,
development of content happens locally for a local Sri Lankan audience;

Janet initially positioned herself at the local content creation end because her organisation creates
content at community level using meetings, radio programmes, sms-technology and information centres;
she later moved to the middle because she realised that, by making content available online and through
audio-visual technologies, they also reach a wider, global audience;
 Felician Ncheye identified the role of his organisation at the local content creation end, because their
activities at their knowledge centres are meant for the use of the local community: content is created at
local level for local consumption;

Deepthis organisation manages an online database which, by definition, is geared towards global use;
the database is however also made available on cds, which give wider access to it in many local
communities in developing countries; content, on the other hand is both global and local; this is why she
decided to position herself at the centre of the graph, facing global use;

Catherines organisation also manages a database, in this case collecting research; both creation and
consumption happen at the global level, because research featured in the database comes from all over
the world although in reality most still comes from northern sources; Catherine is striving to connect to
people who are closer to local content generation, so that the database can feature more local
perspectives; her positioning is central, stretching hands to reach actors operating in different regions of
the graph;

Pauls organisation is a local creator and consumer of content, and chose to position himself at the
local creation end of the graph;

Roselinie uses content locally, validates information from the creators and disseminates it to the
community. There after create the impact of the information thereby transforming information to knowledge
as these will now be experiences of the community

2.3 The unblogged

While most of the participants had already featured in the Local Content blog created by Pete Cranston, five
had not yet, and were interviewed during the workshop.

2.3.1 Felician Ncheye: the Sengerema telecenter

Felician Ncheye is responsible for the Sengerema telecentre, in the Mwanza Region of Tanzania. The
telecentres mission consists in giving the local community a voice: content is collected or produced locally,
repackaged, validated and shared.

We have discovered that there are lots of resources within the community itself that can help development,
Felician said. That is why he and his colleagues keep a particular lookout for all unrecorded knowledge and
talent.

One of the thematic strengths at the centre is documentation on agriculture and agrarian techniques: adapting
traditional knowledge from the centre, a cotton farmer from Sengerema has achieved 5 times the usual yield.
The telecentre is also supporting farmers developing fish ponds.

Information is recorded and shared on cds and cassettes; best farmers are also invited to share their tips on a
radio programme.
The most important factor for a successful telecentre is widespread support in the community, Felician
explained; good management and relations with stakeholders are also key ingredients.

2.3.2 Binetou Diagne: the Africa Adapt network and climate change adaptation

Binetou is a young professional working on the Africa Adapt network. Africa Adapt is a bilingual
(English/French) network of organisations fostering knowledge sharing on climate change adaptation. The
founding partners are: Enda Tiers Monde, FARA (Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa), ICPAC (IGAD
Climate Prediction and Applications Centre) and IDS (Institute of Development Studies).

Local communities have already started adapting to global warming, Binetou said. Traditional knowledge and
local content have always provided elementary tools to face climate change. These tools might however loose
their effectiveness should the planets temperature keep rising at the rates measured over the last two
decades.

As traditional climate adaptation techniques might soon become obsolete, it is important to bridge local
knowledge and scientific knowledge in order to develop new strategies, Binetou explained.

Africa Adapt is doing exactly this: bringing together policymakers, local communities, research institutions,
NGOs and the media to share knowledge and develop together new approaches to climate change adaptation.

At this stage Africa Adapt offers online services through a website; a radio programme in local languages is
however soon to be launched in partnership with radio networks.

A fund for innovative projects to tackle climate change is also managed by Africa Adapt. In the course of 2009
the consortium issued two calls for proposals which met with extraordinary success: ca. 500 organisations have
already submitted proposals. Funded projects must comply with high standards, including cultural and social
parameters (e.g. use of local languages; inclusion of women and minorities).

2.3.3 Michael David: Telradio.org

Michael David is one of the founders of Telradio.org, an online radio project which kicked off one year ago and,
even if not yet fully launched, has already met with considerable success.

The primary objective is to create an online space for knowledge sharing, open to local communities (the site is
available in English, Sinhala and Tamil): Knowleedge is the ability to be free, explains Michael in the words of
Rabindranath Tagore. The portal, however, does not have a single target group or thematic focus, but aims at
being completely demand-driven: the team working on it will allow the website to develop on its own as much
as possible.

The philosophy behind the project is particularly fascinating: We dont look at expectations; we look for the
unexpected. We dont look at success; we look for challenges, concludes Michael.
2.3.4 John Mahegere and the Tanzanian Commission for Science and Technology

John Mahegere works for the Tanzanian governments Commission for Science and Technology, and is
responsible for a governmental project aiming at creating a telecentre in each one of the countrys 114.
districts.

The project is facilitating development of infrastructure as well as managerial skills and capabilities in the
population.

2.3.5 Kemly Camacho Jimnez: Sula Bats

Kemly Camacho Jimnez works for Sula Bats, a Costa Rican cooperative founded in 2005 by a group of
professionals in knowledge exchange and ICT who firmly believe in the positive impact that ICT instruments
can have on social work.

Sul Bats seeks to contribute to social change through creative work and creation of open spaces for
knowledge exchange. Their activities aim to support and strengthen the work of other non-governmental
organisations in Central and South America.

One of the organisations main activities consists in the documentation of local histories. Sula Batsu trains
young people and women from the interested communities to use audio-visual techniques and the internet;
these skills are used to collect and document the communitys own history. Around fifteen people are trained in
each community every year.

The projects goals include development of skills as well as enhancement of a sense of identity and self-esteem
for the local communities.

3. FRIDAY 9 OCTOBER 2009 AFTERNOON

3.1 The Royal Museum of Central Africa: reactions

During lunch-break, participants were given access to the Belgian Royal Museum of Central Africa. These
reactions were collected after the visit:

Belgians have been extremely good at collecting content globally;

Edna found that masks in the museum are similar to masks at home; but in the museum the setting makes
them more attractive;
The single pieces (masks) might not be as interesting as the whole exhibition (the exhibition is more than the
sum of the exhibits);
The museum has much to tell us about the way Africa is consumed and perceived by average Belgians: the
museum reinforces an image of Africa as primitive, remote, something you cannot and do not want to identify
with; moreover, exhibits are out of context and lifeless; on the positive side, attempts have been made over
the last decade to put exhibits into a wider context, following the example of the Tropical Museum in
Amsterdam (Franois).
3.2 What next? Continuing work on local content

Participants divided into two groups to discuss:

Echoes and ripples: efficiency of local content across space and time; demonstrating the value of local
content;

Suggestions for the recently launched African Knowledge Network (AKN).

3.2.1 Echoes and ripples: how to throw stones into the pool and create
positive ripples?

The first group discussed how actors working on local knowledge can create positive ripples across space and
time, making other actors aware of the possibilities offered by local content. Three forms of ripples were
identified:

a. Formal collection and presentation of knowledge at different levels

This is arguably the most traditional way of creating echoes or ripples: collecting and document information,
packaging and presenting it to a different audience.

The process is however not free of risks, as transfer can change the nature of knowledge and application of
knowledge in a context different to its original can be ineffective or even counter-productive.

Moreover, there are numerous instances of deliberate distortion, of experience used as evidence even if not
pertinent, of misunderstandings, misinterpretations or misquoting.

There are significant disincentives to sharing knowledge with others and using other communities knowledge:
this is why it is necessary to encourage co-construction of knowledge instead of mere extraction.

Central to the issue of reliability of information is its traceability: recognition of all actors involved in the
transmission of local content as well as in the production of new knowledge must be explicit. Acknowledging
the source shows appreciation for it and makes it accountable.

The promotion of local content should also focus on the added value local content can bring: in Africa there is
untapped knowledge which can produce business (for profit, non-profit).

b. Echoes over space and time

Knowledge unused for years can resurface in different regions. The process is completely unpredictable, but
frequent and therefore a significant factor in the propagation of local content.
Some examples were discussed in the group:

The art of building traditional fridges with clay and charcoal had almost completely disappeared; it has
recently spread across borders in Eastern Africa, helping farmers making the most of their dairy production and
giving them easier access to urban markets;
Research on improving vanilla production published twenty years ago has been re-discovered and used by
farmers only recently, as producing vanilla has become exceptionally profitable;
A traditional method to remove caterpillars from orange sweet potatoes has recently been re-discovered, and
is being made popular through telephone assistance.

c. Events and Knowledge Fairs

Knowledge fairs are events where particular knowledge used so far to face local challenges is made available
to other communities. Sharing and exchange are at the heart of the event.

The first international knowledge fair took place in Rome earlier this year (April). However, such events have
existed for at least half a decade in Africa, where they are organised by local authorities.

Participants must be given strong incentives to share; this can be done for instance by means of a competition
among participants to determine who is to host the next event (which, in turn, brings in revenue).

There are instances of farmers who met at a fair and started exchanging information and cooperating while
based 200 miles apart.

Documentation of fairs must be accurate and comprehensive; media coverage ensures higher impact.

Moreover, value-added initiatives such as knowledge fairs are especially appreciated by donors and can help
attracting extra funding.

3.2.2 Recommendations for AKN

The African Knowledge Network (AKN) is an initiative led by UNECA to transform access points into knowledge
centres. The initiative will involve actors at local, national, regional and global level.

The initiative is based on a three-pillar structure, focusing on:

1. Content creation;
2. Building capability to generate content;
3. Ensure knowledge centres have required infrastructure to share knowledge.
Participants drafted a list of recommendations for the AKN board:

AKN should define early in the project the exact scope of content to be covered;
As telecentres cannot addres all content needs prioritisation is crucial;
Partnerships should be built for content generation with the public sector, the private sector and civil society;
Strategic resources should be clustered together in one centre, instead of multiple centres in the same
locality;
Consortia of content producers should be created at national level;
Priority themes should be identified: regional portals should be organised thematically.