When the money is equally spread amongst all actors the economy is dead. What ill happen when people cannot afford the houses anymore? All those heritage houses split over two or more inheritors.  As marketeers say: all’s gotta lifecyclevalue. If that value is constantly evaluated, measured at any transaction, we live through the tyranny of information.

MINUTES: WORLD TOILET DAY PLANNING COMMITTEE MEETING

Date: Friday November 6th 2009

Title: 2009 World Toilet Day Planning Committee Meeting(WTD-PCM)

Venue: Office of the Director of Environmental Health and Sanitation /Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), Room 39
Present:

Ole K. Jensen (EHSD, MLGRD)- Chairman

Samuel A. Allotey (EHSD, MLGRD)

Cosmas B. Kambozie (EHSD, MLGRD)

Kweku Quansah (EHSD, MLGRD)

Raphael K. Nutsukpui (School of Hygiene, Accra)

Emmanuel Addai (WSMP)

Michele Adjei-Fah (WASHCost Ghana)

Lamisi Dabire (Water Aid Ghana)

Ellen B. Mensah (SHEP-GES)

Theodora Adomako-Adjei (CWSA)

Lorretta Roberts(UNICEF)

Dr. Nicholas K . Iddi (MEST)

Eugene Larbi (Trend/TPP)

Apology:

Suzzy Abaidoo (Water Directorate)

Absent:

Lukman Salifu (Waste Care)

Patrick Apoya (Coniwas)

Agenda

1. Opening Prayer
2. Welcome and Introduction
3. Purpose of the Meeting
4. Discussion of proposed activities
5. Formation of sub-task Groups
6. Identification of Sponsors
7. Any Other Business (AOB)
8. Closing Remarks and Conclusion
9. Closing Prayer

Meeting Proceedings

* Welcome and Introduction

With a prayer from Mrs Ellen Mensah, the meeting then started at 10.00am. The Chairman welcome all members and asked them to introduce themselves.

* Purpose of the Meeting

The Chairman hinted that the main thrust of the meeting was to put together plans of activities for the marking of the World Toilet Day which is to be celebrated on November 19th, 2009. He said that due to time constraints and inadequate funds activities are to be prioritized by looking at inexpensive ones whilst emphasizing on their maximum impact on the public

* Discussion of Proposed Activities

Kweku led this session and briefed stakeholders on the proposals received from members. These included the following:

o Put together a LOC to plan the Day
o Pick ideas from how Singapore celebrates its World Toilet Day
o Eminent person in Public Toilet queue
o Pick more ideas from the forth coming Ghana Water Forum and Regional Sanitation Symposium
o Have a Mega launch
o Organize children’s session
o Have an activity with a football star
o Press release by the Minister of LGRD on 18th Nov
o Meet the press
o My Pledge to World Toilet Day Banner
o Exhibition of toilet facilities
o Procession of Accra, Tamale and Ho SOHs Students
o SOHs Students/EHAs Community sensitization programme

Discussions and Important Decisions

After discussions members agreed and confirmed the following:

o The theme for the WTD should be ‘’Stop Open Defaecation, Use Toilet’’. Messages and discussions should focus on the theme.
o The Water and Sanitation Journalists Forum should be encouraged to play an active role in marking this day-write features on sanitation, cover WTD activities, conduct interviews and organize panel discussions on WTD (Lamisi, Michele)
o Director General of GES should write to all basic schools to declare the WTD a school toilet clean-up day (Ellen).
o A school in Nima or Chorkor should be selected to participate in the ‘’Queue for Toilet’’activity (Ellen). Super Paper products Company Limited should be approached to support the WTD (Kweku).

Zoomlion Ghana Limited and Polytank Ghana Limited should also be contacted to provide mobile toilets on school compound among other support (Kweku). Handwashing facility with soap be attached to the mobile toilets (Theodora). My- Pledge- to- World Toilet- Day Canvas be hoisted to receive public endorsement (Kweku, Theodora).

o Honourable Minister of Local Government and Rural Development to issue out a press release on the 18th of November, 2009 and where possible interact with selected media houses in his office (Kweku, Lamisi, Michele). He is also expected to make a statement on the WTD on the floor of Parliament (Kweku).
o Eminent person preferably a footballer or an artiste should be contacted to join ’Queue for Toilet’ activity (Lorretta, Lamisi, Kweku). Interaction with the press to immediately follow this activity (Lamisi, Michele, Emmanuel)

* Formation of Sub-Task Groups

Two main task groups were formed to support the WTD activity planning as follows;

# Publicity and Communication: Lamisi (Team Leader), Michele and Emmanuel.

(To coordinate all media activities, Programming, Design and follow-up on production of T-shirts/Caps/Posters/Stickers)

# Finance and Coordination: Ole (Team Leader), Alfred, Raphael, Theodora, Cosmas and Kweku.

(To follow-up on prospective sponsors/donors, Support Planning, budgeting and to approve WTD expenditures. To also coordinate the over- all WTD activities)

* Identification of Sponsors

The meeting appealed to Unicef, WaterAid, RNE and MLGRD to support the WTD (Lorretta, Lamisi, Ole, Cosmas-Finance and Coord Group). The need to contact Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Super Paper Products Company, Polytank Ghana Limited for support in kind and or in cash was expressed (Finance and Coord Group)

* AOB

Early Planning Next Year

o Circular be sent to all MMDAs to organize similar activities in the districts (Cosmas)
o The need to start planning activities in good time to avoid pressure on planning and ensure well thought WTD next year was emphasized (WTD-PC Members).

o Next Planning Committee Meeting

The next meeting was fixed on Wednesday 11th November, 2009 from 9.30am to 11.30am at the same venue

* Closing Remarks and Conclusion

The Chairman thanked members for coming and their rich contributions and tasked them to follow-up on assigned responsibilities (WTD-PC Members). The meeting ended at 11.45am with a closing prayer from Miss Lamisi Dabire.

Annex 1:

Follow-up Actions

S/No Task Responsible Deadline

1. Organize Water and Sanitation Journalists Forum Members to write features on sanitation, cover WTD activities, conduct interviews, panel discussions on WTD/Planning of Media activities Lamisi, Michele and Publicity Sub-task Group 13th November, 2009

2. Ask the Director –General of GES to write to all basic schools to declare 19th November as School Toilets Clean-Up Day Ellen 13th November, 2009

3. Select a school in Nima or Chorkor to take part in the ‘’Queue for Toilet’’ activity Ellen 11th November, 2009

4. Contact Zoomlion, Polytank and Super Paper Product for sponsorship (mobile toilet, etc ) Naa, Kweku and Finance and Operation Sub-Task Group 11th November, 2009

5. Provide Handwashing facility Theodora 18th November, 2009

6. Provide ‘’My-Pledge-to-WTD’’ Canvas on the 19th November, 2009 Naa, Kweku 18th November, 2009

7. Brief and Liaise with Hon. Minister of Local Govt and Rural Devt to issue press release on 18th November, 2009 Naa, Kweku 11th November, 2009

8. Contact an eminent person to join ‘’Queue for toilet’’ activity Lorretta, Michael 11th November, 2009

9. Contribute in kind and or in cash towards the WTD Lorretta, Lamisi, Ole, Naa 11th November, 2009

10. Ensure Circular is sent to all Districts to commemorate the WTD Naa, Kweku 13th November, 2009

11. Minister of Local Govt and Rural Devt to make a statement on WTD on the floor of parliament Naa, Kweku 17th November, 2009

Annex 2: Notice for the Next Meeting

Date, Time and Venue for Next Meeting:

* Wednesday 11th November, 2009 at the Office of the Director of Environmental Health and Sanitation /Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), Room 39 from 9.30am to 11.00am

Agenda for Next Meeting:

* Update on progress/ action points/status of follow-ups, etc.
* Sub-Task Group Reports
* A.O.B

So discourse is basic to being human. We have an endless thirst for communication – and maybe all on this earth, plants, animals and stones, and all in this universe; our universe is swamping itself with information: on this, read Valentijn university Groningen.

But back to discourse. We have to translate to the Cartesian to escape space/ time limits of ourselves. Translate, reshape, abstract, present, formulate, enrich, illustrate and market. Telepresence never made it.

NRC October 24: P.F. Thomese on communication – nobody listens, we just send sound bits & bites, tweets and blibs. Next Ger Groot on the advantage of multilingual Europa and the need to let go of expected patterns when traveling – it is even wise to let go to survive / grow.

Then Nexus – the Tilburg based institute on humanoria in Europa. A text on the concept ‘West’ developing since medieval days.

My conclusion is China should cherish the dialects. A language is shaped by its use in Cartesian spaces and the speaker forgets about its origin only remembering – being confronted – when leaving the ‘language territory’.

Then digital. How about that Cartesian space? We split up the 3D communication space in individual segments leaving out 99.99% of the communication: smell, gestures, kindness and flirt.

A text is ‘reading with someones elses mind’. A tweet is just a poke, a hint from a shout box. A movie is ‘looking with someone elses eyes’. A blib is just a poke, a  hint from a shout box. A dance is muted conversation exploring and exploiting non-verbals. A (moving) avatar is just a poke, a hint from a shot box. Music is meta conversation, above, re-inventing and circumventing speech, making speechless, talk any language like love.

Is it age revolting here to juvenile chaos? Am I lost in space (and time)? Again? I feel the urge to read Habermas (again). Back to feel-good, comfy pattern. And then I think Pandora was never boxed. We have been deluded for some ages, some centuries, with hereafters and progress and men with mitra, democracy and development. The human race suffocates itself demonstrating its unique capability for suicide; to quit communication.

All people are confronted with it-self, its existence, its consciousness, its communications, its 3D presence, even if it is on the verge of death. I like Madonna: express yourself! Or in other words: communicate.

I read the paper in which I read a comment on a banks bankruptcy. It starts with a quote on hypocrisy by Abraham Lincoln. That had to draw my attention: hypocrisy. I receive that label stick onto in respect my behavior, remarks an actions. So one reads.

The quote must have been Googled. Nothing wrong with that, but sign of the times. Journalists are Google-savvy for facts / stories / background to open their articles. Wikipedia will help too.

Last night I tutored my son on a verbal essay he had to create and present as exam. The topic was pro or contra nuclear power use; we Googled references, pictures and evidence / check. That is the today generation not knowing about BC (before computer). It is about the attention-span of browsing a Google searh result page. If it is not there kids do not look for it further.

Medusa head

What worries me is that he has to earn my pension in a couple of years (not really off course; I made some precautions). I was happily surprised he used Google docs. His Dutch (sic!) teacher showed him around and demands kids in his class to use Google docs. Great! Apart from the danger to get superficial – as would be to base your opinion on FOX or ….

….. next to the above referred to article it said ‘multi-tasking, multi-stressing’. A recipe for de-stressing from the PC at work and E-mail in particular Oh yee, my son e-mailed me too… I am lost!

——

Back to hypocrisy. I Googled and found:

The one by Abraham:

Hypocrite: The man who murdered his parents, and then pleaded for mercy on the grounds that he was an orphan. – Abraham Lincoln

Racefiets op de voorgrond.

Break them. Deliberately change them. Shake that comfort zone; derail; defrost; fluid; flow.

No daily drinks, no weekly hockey bacchanal, no weekly city walks; midnight pillow hit.

Now 5 minutes power rowing, cycling evenings, water (with bubbles), occasional sailing.

It feels good thus far.