Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Future Leaders Bridging The Gap

GermanyMeetsTurkey

There are people who want German and Turkish relations to get better - and are actually doing something about it! A program called 'Germany Meets Turkey' has been designed for those in their late 20's and earlier 30's. They work with future leaders from both Germany and Turkey with hopes to, "establish a solid and lasting basis for dialogue between the two countries in order to promote mutual understanding on a societal level." Right now in fact is the one -week symposium, held in Berlin. The website and goals are definitely work checking out, since what they are attempting to do is pretty incredible and will hopefully set a trend for other companies out there.
This working together also ties into our theme of globalization this year, since two countries are attempting to connect through corporations. If the future leaders are able to bridge the gap between the two cultures that have so many differences, it could provide an example for everyone else out there.

Euro Games Masking True Feelings?

Last month, Turkey and Germany played each other in the Euro 2008 Football Championship. Before the games began, however, there were some who worried about fans reactions and behaviors. An article from Berlin desribed the tensions that were leading up to the game. The author, Charles Hawley, goes on to explain the pride of the Turkish immigrants living in Germany. Most would not be upset if Germany won, since it is now their home, however the same can not necessarily be said for German fans. Examples include cars with Turkish flags in them getting their tires slashed by local germans. Is it possible that the two cultures aren't getting any closer? Germany has still been against Turkey joining the EU, so maybe there is something more than a friendly game of soccer would suggest. (The final score was Germany 3- 2 Turkey).

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,561969,00.html

Monday, January 19, 2009

How Do These Three Pieces Exlempify Globalization?

In Packers' "How Susie Bayer's T-Shirt Ended Up on Yusuf Mama's Back', globalization comes in the form of trade between different cultures. Through his travels, Packer meets a Pakistani named Hussein Ali Merchant. Merchant defies the American dream by openly talking about the difficulties of our culture. Merchant says that he does not understand why he would want to go to America since he is making enough money in Africa, saying that "I'm a king here in Africa." His profits are all thanks to those who are giving away their old clothes that no longer fit, however. Packers driver, Robert Ssebunya, also talks about the influence the clothes have on the African culture. He says that it has an extremely negative impact since the Ugandan culture will soon be dead with the Western style.
Ssebunya shares a similar fear to that of the older Chinese generation in "McDonalds in Hong Kong". No one expected McDonalds to take off the way it did in Hong Kong, mainly for the fact that it had nothing to do with the Chinese culture. This quickly changed however, and has since become a part of daily life for teenagers and children. These two articles show how American culture has infultrated other countries, yet has not necessarily had a negative impact. In both cases, there are people who depend on our exports, whether it be clothes or an entire restraunt chain. In Hong Kong, millions of people are able to get jobs thanks to McDonalds, and the younger population has come to accept it as a typical sight, not a way into American culture. This also leads to globalization in the way that the people of Hong Kong are not giving up any part of their own culture or traditions by accepting McDonalds.
America is not the only country to export a taste of our culture, however. In "How Sushi Went Global", Japan provides the perfect example of another food type that was not expected to do well abroad. It has since become a favorite part of the American cuisine, from sushi bars to sushi to-go sections in airports. Once again, however, America has not been asked to give up any part of our own culture in order to let sushi in.
All of these articles share a common theme of acceptance of other cultures without totally giving up your own traditions. Through the trade of clothing and cuisine, we are slowly working towards globalization.

Reluctance to let Turkey into the EU

http://countrystudies.us/turkey/89.htm

Turkey has been waiting for a decision about being accepted into the EU since 1987. The decision, however, has been contiunuously deferred for a vast amount of reasons that make it seem as if the EU is stalling. When the decision was first deferred, it was set to be decided in the early 1990s. At this time unfortunately, there was a new wave of contempt for Muslim immigrant workers from North Africa and Turkey. The newest reason, however, is animosity that has been unresolved between Turkey and Greece over the island of Cyprus. Recently, Turkish Prime Minister visited Brussels in order to discuss his country joining the EU. In order to join the EU, the EU gave Turkey a list of reforms that Mr. Erdogan has since been working on. The newest news comes from BBC news:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7837145.stm

Immigrants in Germany NPR

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99189265

This NPR broadcast comes from Germany, where minorities are still fighting for their rights to this day. The first two interviewees make the point that Germans do not consider themselves to be racist in any way, yet their media says differently. Advertising is still pointed towards the white germans, and minorities are usually depicted as comical figures in the media. The most inspiring part, however, is when teenagers from an inner-city school created and performed a musical all about life in Germany through their eyes, the eyes of teens from immigrant decent. The students got a chance to travel all around the country, and while it may not seem like a big deal for some, most of the kids had never been out of their own region. Each student, immigrant, and those of immigrant decent are waiting for when they can be considered 'a German citizen'.

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