How many times have you sat in front of your TV, watching some Hollywood awards show and you said to yourself “who’s that”? Some film industry big shot receiving some type of achievement award and you haven’t the slightest clue who he or she is.
Well Marc Smuger is just one of those people. A man who works behind the scenes to bring you so many of the block buster films that you watch. No he’s not a famous movie star but without him and the likes of people like him, great high budget movies could not be made.
Marc Shmuger received his Bachelors degree in film studies and English back in 1980, and from there he went on produce the movie Dead of Winter, starring Roddy McDowal, and Mary Steenburgen. It was his first early taste of success.
After that producer Shmuger went on to work for Sony Pictures Entertainment, taking the position of Senior Vice President of Creative Advertising for Columbia Pictures. A subsidiary of Sony Pictures, and in that position he played a pivotal role in the success of films with names like Men in Black, and Bram Stokers Dracula.
In 1998 he moved on to take the position of President of Marketing for Universal Pictures, where just two years later he was promoted to Executive Vice President of Universal Pictures. It was with that company that he was instrumental in the production of movies with names like Bridget Jone’s Diary, and The Mummy.
His next move came eight years when he signed on with Universal Pictures as Co-Chairman. Sharing the position with David Linde. Together these two Hollywood visionaries have gone on to bring us some of the more memorable films to date. Award winning movies with names like Milk, Mamma Mia, and Knocked Up.
For avid video game players, Angry Birds Online has been just one more avenue for entertainment since it inception, with the original, and Seasons. However, now Rovio, it’s developer has come out with a new improved version called Rio, and it’s proving to be even more popular.
Now the basic functions of this compared to the earlier games is pretty much the same, but beyond that there has been several new changes including a new storyline. It all basically revolves around the birds being captured and shipped of to Rio, where it is your job to help them escape.
Now you really should check out Angry Birds News before you get started if you want a leg up on this game because there is a heck of a lot more to it than you might think. For instance, after you help the birds initially escape from their cages, then your off to the surrounding jungle where you encounter even more challenges like “evil monkeys”.
Right now if you read Angry Bird News you’ll find out that Angry Birds online currently features some 2 scenes that have some 60 levels. Now they have more scenes coming but according to Rovio they’re projects in the works and they just need a little more time to complete them. How much longer? The answer to that, is that the developer isn’t quite clear, so I guess they’ll just have them when they’re done.
The graphics are noticeably improved from the last two versions though which is a definite plus, and this comes along with some really nice new animation upgrades as well. So all in all, it looks like there for sure is a place for this game product in the future of gaming.
Now it’s not very often, if ever at all that most people meet a genuine celebrity, so I count the time I actually met and chatted with Katy Perry at the beach in Santa Monica California to be quite a unique event in my life. Now try to understand that at the time I had never even heard of her.
That’s right! There I was talking to this hot chick that had just walked up to me and introduced herself as “Katy Perry” and I had no idea at all that she was anything special, let alone one of the biggest celebrities in Hollywood. Now I did find out about a week later when I was watching MYV, and her video came on.
She looked great though on the beach that day in an absolutely amazing bikini. In fact I’ve only seen that particular style one time since then at the beach so I call it the Katy Perry bikini. I really can’t describe it, other than to say that it was definitely a unique look in beach wear.
Now one thing that did kinda freak me out a little though, was the song on MTV that I saw a week later, and recognized her from was “I Kissed a Girl”. You see, I’m a girl and I do recall that I was picking some “odd vibes” that day when I met her on the beach. She kept looking into my eyes real intently, and I to this day wonder now if she was thinking about kissing me, or something. Who knows?
It was just a matter of time until someone finally figured out that social networking sites can be milked for site traffic. The numbers just got too damn high because with user numbers now in the billions, all you need is just a “minescule crumb” of it to set your website on fire. So welcome to the world of social media optimization.
Even so, before you go and switch gears from the SEO strategy that you have been using and start in scouting for web development services that promote this new marketing wizardry, do keep one thing in mind. That is that so many of the so called standard SEO techniques taper fit right into this new way of generating hits.
For instance the “freebee or giveaway” is still a viable tool, as it always has been in the game of commerce. You see, for some reason there is a certain number of folks out there that are rel suckers for the word “free”. Offer something for free and they’ll come knocking, and it really doesn’t have to be anything of real value.
Now here is something to think about though. Photographs play a big part in social media optimization. Users both young and old stock their pages with them, and some can in fact have hundreds. Ironically though, as it pertains to standard SEO techniques, photos have always played a minor role because they can’t be digitized. Standard SEO relies heavily on printed text.
So what does this mean for you and any web development services that you’re considering for your social media optimization campaign? It means that photos and the use of them to manipulate how site users think and react in the online market place is a serious emerging “science” now.
Bottom line: You simply have to think out of the box and take nothing for granted when it comes to snagging traffic for your sites today. Also keep in mind as you approach social media optimization that users of these sites are an incredibly fickle crowd, so don’t expect miracles overnight if you’re learning as you go.
Daniel Debouck, Head of CIAT’s Genetic Resources Unit in Cali, Colombia, will be presented with the 2010 Meyer Medal at the upcoming meeting of the Crop Science Society of America, which will take place from October 31st to November 4th in Long Beach, California, USA. On November 1st, an award breakfast will be held in Dr. Debouck’s honor, at which he will make a brief acceptance address titled: Exploring the American Tropics is Still a Relevant Input to Bean Science. Daniel is a Diversity for Life Guardian of Diversity.
The Meyer Medal is the most prestigious award presented in the field of plant genetic resources. Its recipients are among the most outstanding scientists in this field, and include such illustrious personalities as Wilson Popenoe, Jack Hawkes, Jack Harlan, Howard Scott Gentry, Efraím Hernández Xolocotzi, Carlos Ochoa, Cal Qualset, Henry Shands, and many others whose eminent contributions to world agriculture through plant introduction have been honoured in this way.
In receiving the 2010 Meyer Medal, Dr. Debouck will join the ranks of four prior Meyer Medal recipients affiliated with the International Agricultural Research Centres of the CGIAR [i.e., T.T. Chang—IRRI (1990); Carlos Ochoa—CIP (1991); Bent Skovmand—CIMMYT (2003); and Geoff Hawtin–IPGRI (2005)], exemplifying the continuing contribution and leadership of CGIAR scientists in the conservation, exchange and use of plant genetic resources worldwide. On behalf of the entire SGRP community, we congratulate our colleague for his years of outstanding work in the field of plant genetic resources, and for this well-deserved recognition of his achievements by such a prestigious international scientific society. Well done, Daniel!
Montreal, 30 June 2010 – At their annual summit, held on 25-26 June in Muskoka, Canada, leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) have again emphasized the critical importance of biodiversity to human well-being, sustainable development and poverty eradication, and highlighted the serious threat posed by the current rate of biodiversity loss.
Regretting that the international community is not on track to meeting its 2010 target to significantly reduce the rate of loss of biodiversity, G8 leaders underlined the importance of adopting an ambitious and achievable post-2010 framework.
In the G8 Muskoka Declaration, Recovery and New Beginning, leaders noted that: “In 2010, the UN International Year of Biodiversity, we regret that the international community is not on track to meeting its 2010 target to significantly reduce the rate of loss of biodiversity globally. We recognize that the current rate of loss is a serious threat, since biologically diverse and resilient ecosystems are critical to human well being, sustainable development and poverty eradication. We underline our support for Japan as it prepares to host the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity this October and in particular we underline the importance of adopting an ambitious and achievable post-2010 framework. We recognize the need to strengthen the science-policy interface in this area, and in this regard we welcome the agreement to establish an Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).”
On 22 September 2010, leaders of the Member States of the United Nations will convene in New York in a special high-level meeting on biodiversity being held prior to the opening of the general debate of the sixty-fifth session of the UN General Assembly. The tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 10) will be held from 18 to 29 October 2010 in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The two meetings provide opportunity for the international community to renew and strengthen commitment to halt the loss of biodiversity.
The Conference of the Parties is expected to adopt a new Strategic Plan for the Convention for 2011-2020 that sets a suite of SMART targets – goals that are at once strategic, measureable, ambitious yet realistic and time-bound – that address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss in a way that will permit national implementation within a global framework.
“Beginning with the 2007 Heiligendamm Summit, and continuing with the G8 meetings in Toyako in 2008 and L’Aquila in 2009, biodiversity issues have been a part of the G8 agenda. It was therefore fitting that the G8 leaders met in the host country of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity to address this vital issue at their 2010 meeting, in a year that coincides with the celebration of the International Year of Biodiversity,” said Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The climax of last week’s Settimana della Biodiversità in Rome, organized by Bioversity International, was a Call for Action from the Rome-based food agencies and other partners. On Saturday May 22nd 2010, International Day of Biodiversity, they called on the world to invest in smallholder farmers, rural communities, women and young people,all of whom have responsibilities for the conservation and use of agricultural biodiversity to fight malnutrition, build a more sustainable agriculture and improve incomes.
First to speak at the Call for Action, which was introduced by Emile Frison, Director-General of Bioversity, was Kanayo Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
“I’ve been described at the world’s largest shouter for the poor. Tonight I am prepared to shout again,” said Nwanze.
The Call for Action asked for the opening of the political and financial avenues along which these custodians must be granted passage to conserve and advance biodiversity.
Emile Frison, the Director-General of Bioversity International, underscored the importance of diversity in agriculture. Efforts to increase production have so far been based on simplified systems that depend on a few varieties of even fewer crops, which require large amounts of energy-dependent inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides. These simplified systems are both vulnerable to shocks and are unsustainable.
“This leads me to the conclusion that we must change paradigm and invest in intensification without simplification,” said Frison. He called on governments and funding organizations to invest in research and development for agriculture, based on this new paradigm.
Amir Abdullah, Deputy Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of the World Food Programme (WFP), addressed WFP’s work with chronically hungry people. “One of the causes of malnutrition is the lack of biodiversity. We recognize every day the impact that lack of biodiversity has on the people we work with. For that bottom billion, it’s a matter of life and death.”
Parviz Koohafkan, Director of the Land and Water Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), reiterated the need for political will and government collaboration. “Policies need to be set in place to help the farmers, who are the custodians of biodiversity. They must be able to maintain, perpetuate and get income from [biodiversity].”
Shakeel Bhatti, Executive Secretary of the International Treat on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) spoke about projects being supported by the Treaty’s Benefit Sharing Fund, which started in 2009. He pointed out that Italy had recently announced $US1.2 million towards the Fund to support small farmers and agricultural biodiversity.
The Call for Action was welcomed by respondents from partner organizations, including Guy Kastler of Via Campesina. He stressed the importance of farmers’ rights: “Farmers rights need to be acknowledged, or there will be no biodiversity,” said Kastler.
An Italian national, Enrico Porceddu is Professor of Agricultural Genetics at the University of Tuscia and Scientific Coordinator of the International Programme on Agrobiodiversity. As first Director of the Germplasm Institute in Bari (1971-83), Porceddu was responsible for 75 collecting missions throughout the Mediterranean, which resulted in the collection of more than 11 000 samples. While serving as coordinator of a Mediterranean network for plant genetic resources, he helped establish genebank facilities at the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, the International Center for Research in Dry Areas, and the International Rice Research Institute and supported national genetic resources activities in Bolivia and Peru. Porceddu has been deeply involved in the development of the Italian National Biodiversity Plan and the International Doctoral Programme on Agrobiodiversity.
“The earth can provide for everyone’s needs, but it cannot provide for some people’s greed.” Mahatma Ghandi’s thought-provoking words were quoted in a film which introduced the new book, “Terra Madre: Come non farci mangiare dal cibo”(link in Italian) written by Carlo Petrini, founder of Slow Food.
Emile Frison, the Director General of Bioversity International opened the session by thanking the Comune di Roma and the many partners and sponsors of Bioversity for making the Settimana della Biodiversita’ possible. Attended by Gianni Alemanno, the mayor of Rome, and Carlo Petrini, with Franco Fancoli, also with Slow Food, as the moderator, this discussion began with the an introduction to the Terra Madre organization, which has grown out of the Slow Food organization to include all people who touch food in some way, from consumers to farmers to chefs. The Slow Food founder dove headfirst into the current state of food production, and the role of big business and consumerism in agricultural sustainability. Petrini spoke out against large multi-national corporations, which reel in tremendous profits by cross-breeding many produce varieties and patenting the finished product.
“Products of mother nature should not be patented,” Petrini stressed. But it’s not only profit-driven entities that are responsible for this agricultural industrialization, he says. Consumers must be considered “co-producers” in that they choose to support either the big corporation or the small farmer by what they eat and where they purchase it. Terra Madre is currently not strong enough politically to influence policy, and so it must rely on its network of producers and co-producers to fight the war on industrialization with their stoves and their stomachs.
According to Petrini, consumers must stand up to and oppose patents on produce and other actions which exploit local farmers. Gianni Alemanno agreed that a change in consumer lifestyle is needed.
“In Italy, we waste 4 million tons of food a day,” says Alemanno. Part of the solution, he offers, lies within production – we need to focus on quality over quantity, which will allow farmers to produce less and consumers to reduce their waste.
Alemanno also talks about bridging the gap between the urban and rural communities of Rome by bringing in countryside produce to sell in city markets. We underestimate the role that agriculture can play in melding together citizens and communities.
Petrini also lets Alemanno in on his dream for Rome: to have a strong revival of the Roman countryside. It is time to learn from the local farmers and go back to the sustainable agriculture that we have learned through our agricultural heritage, he says.
From this lively discussion, the recipe for Rome is clear: by adding rural industry with city-wide sustainability, we will surely come up with good food.
More than 80 speakers from Italy and around the world, a film competition, an interactive exhibition and activities for children came together to celebrate La Settimana della Biodiversità. Leading figures from the worlds of science and culture shared their ideas about how to create a healthier planet and protect the health of its inhabitants, while respecting local cultures and traditions.
To mark the occasion of the United Nations International Year of Biodiversity, Bioversity International – in collaboration with the Comune di Roma – celebrated La Settimana della Biodiversità to highlight the need to enhance the role of biodiversity in agriculture, one of the most precious resources available to humankind. In fact, the diversity of crops and livestock plays a very important role not only in providing nutritional security but also in economic development, history, culture and the struggle against climate change for everyone on the planet.
We are very grateful to the following sponsors for their generous support of La Settimana della Biodiversità.
HELP US IDENTIFY AND CELEBRATE PEOPLE WHO ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE!
The Diversity for Life campaign wants to celebrate the unsung contributions of individual farmers, scientists and others to conserving the diversity of plants and animals in the Mediterranean.
Celebrating the Guardians of Diversity
Valeria Negri, a plant scientist at the University of Perugia has devoted her career to rescuing Italy’s endangered crop diversity. Jose Esquinas-Alcazar collected the seeds of nearly 400 varieties of melon while a young man in his native Spain. Panagiotis Sainatoudis rescues and distributes local crop varieties to growers in Greece. These are just a few of the Guardians of Diversity: individuals who have devoted their lives to furthering the conservation of plants and animals.
Do you know a Guardian of Diversity who can take their place alongside these individuals?
In media partnership with COPEAM (the Permanent Conference of Mediterranean Audiovisual Operators) and the City of Rome, the Diversity for Life campaign calls for nominations for the Second Annual Celebration of the Guardians of Diversity in the Mediterranean.
The objective of the initiative is to recognize the achievements of individuals that have made an important contribution to safeguarding agricultural biodiversity in the region and to inspire future generations of Guardians of Diversity.
A call for nominations
Nominations must be submitted in English and must include:
• Name, address, phone, and e-mail of nominee
• Name, address, phone, and e-mail of nominator
• A brief narrative statement (up to 500 words) describing the nominee’s qualifications to be a Guardian of Diversity in the Mediterranean
• Two confidential letters of support from people familiar with the nominee’s work. These should be requested by the nominator and e-mailed directly to info@diversityforlife.org
• Deadline for nominations is 1 April 2010
Please send all nominations for Guardians of Diversity in the Mediterranean to info@diversityforlife.org
Please restrict your nominations to individuals living or working in the countries bordering the Mediterranean. Organizations and institutions are not eligible for nomination.
The selected Guardians will be recognized in Rome at a ceremony at the Auditorium Parco della Musica during La Settimana della Biodiversità, a weeklong celebration of biodiversity in music, video, poetry, drama and art.
In subsequent years it is expected to expand the recognition of the Guardians of Diversity beyond the Mediterranean region.
Please feel free to share this call for nominations with others.
With the official launch of theInternational Year of Biodiversityscheduled for 11 January 2010 in Berlin, Germany, Emile Frison, the Director General of Bioversity International, warns that there is much more to biodiversity than whales and panda bears.
“Any discussion of biodiversity conservation needs to remember that the diversity of crops and livestock is absolutely fundamental to human survival and well-being,” Frison said. “Agricultural biodiversity is not only vital for nutrition, it is also indispensable in meeting the challenges of climate change and in lifting poor people out of poverty.”
For too long, conservationists have tended to view farmers and farming as the enemy. While in many cases that may be true, the International Year of Biodiversity offers a great opportunity to work towards more productive food systems based on biodiversity and a more ecological approach to agriculture.
“Increased productivity so far has been based on simplifying farming systems,” Frison noted. “We need to move beyond that to intensification without simplification, and that requires us to research, understand and make better use of agricultural biodiversity.”
Bioversity research has shown how neglected and under-utilized species can deliver better nutrition and health, at the same time protecting the environment and increasing incomes. It is also pinpointing the impact of predicted changes in climate on crops and suggesting new sources of material that will help farmers adapt to new weather patterns.
This research – and much else – will be showcased in a weeklong celebration of biodiversity in Rome. Taking place at the famed Auditorium from 19-23 May 2010, the Settimana della Biodiversità(Biodiversity Week) will bring together an array of experts and celebrities from around the world for a series of public lectures, round table discussions, exhibits, demonstrations and celebrations. Workshops for children will be part of this effort to acquaint the wider public with the importance of biodiversity – including agricultural biodiversity – in their daily lives.
The Settimana della Biodiversità is just one element in Diversity for Life, a global campaign by Bioversity and its partners to familiarise the public and policy-makers alike with the importance of agricultural biodiversity for humanity and for environmental protection.
With more than 35 years of experience researching the use and conservation of agricultural biodiversity, Bioversity International is looking forward to other opportunities to showcase agriculture in the context of the International Year of Biodiversity.
“Of course ensuring the survival of whales and pandas is important,” said Emile Frison, “and so is the protection of rainforests and coral reefs. But in this International Year of Biodiversity we really must realize that only agricultural biodiversity directly enables us to survive so that we can protect and appreciate all the other biodiversity nature has to offer. Agricultural biodiversity is the basis of true food security.”
In the remote Norwegian town of Longyearbyen, just 1000 kilometres from the North Pole, politicians from around the world came to celebrate the opening of the world’s first global seed bank. After years of difficult negotiations and searching for the right spot, this was deemed to be the safest place on earth. Eventually, 4,5 million seed samples will be stored in this ‘Doomsday Vault’ and ensure the continued existence of biodiversity.
But is the dream of global food security achievable? By 2050 temperatures worldwide are expected to rise by at least 2 degrees. This will result in a 30 per cent drop in production of food crops. By this time global food demand will have doubled. How will we feed the world?
In SEED WARRIORS we hear from the scientists behind this ambitious project and examine the reality of the fight against hunger.
In Kenya, where drought is a recurring problem, we meet Zachary Muthamia, the director of the National Seed Bank, who is using the limited resources available to him to preserve his country’s existing biodiversity and send copies of Kenya’s unique plant heritage to Norway before his energy eating generators die for good. And we meet Marianne Bänziger, one of the world’s leading experts on maize. She’s using the same biodiversity to develop non-genetically modified seeds that yield 20 to 30 percent more than existing seeds and thrive in conditions of drought.
The Rockefeller Foundation’s prestigious Bellagio Center on Lake Como was the setting for a three day planning workshop for the Diversity for Life campaign. During the meeting, which took place from 15-17 July, participants heard case studies from successful global and national awareness campaigns, including the Climate Project and the Slow Food Movement; and Soul City and considered the lessons to be applied to the campaign’s objectives to raise awareness of the value of agricultural biodiversity.
The meeting considered the CBD Secretariat’s plans for the International Year of Biodiversity in 2010 and Countdown 2010’s efforts to assemble a network of partners committed to actions to halt or reduce biodiversity loss. The Diversity for Life campaign was presented against this backdrop, including current and planned activities to reach out to schoolchildren, policymakers and the media. The campaign is intended as a multi-year initiative, open to partners at all levels, and with the intention of making the best possible use of the opportunities presented by the International Year of Biodiversity in 2010.
Participants agreed to assist Bioversity in the further evolution of the campaign, including the clear definition of concrete objectives and targets.
Selected participants will be formally invited to form a Campaign Steering Committee whose role would be to jointly set the campaign’s scope and direction, periodically review campaign initiatives, and serve as a focal point for attracting campaign partners and fundraising contacts.
Bellagio meeting participants. From the left: Pascal Marbois (Bioversity International), Mario Alverà (The Climate Project), Kate Lloyd Morgan (Mediae), Miren Gutierrez (Inter Press Service), Ganesan Balachander (Ford Foundation), Ruth Raymond (Bioversity International), Nora Capozio (Bioversity International), Paolo Di Croce (Slow Food), Peter Bos (Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, The Netherlands), Viktor Kommerel (facilitator), Ahmed Djoghlaf (Convention on Biological Diversity), Emile Frison (Bioversity International), Ellen Wilson (Burness Comunications), Fred Pearce (author and journalist), Oumy Ndiaye (Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Development), Sebastian Winkler (Countdown 2010), Garth Japhet (Soul City Institute for Health and Development Communication)
