The well known saying about New York City which goes “If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere” has evolved. New York can be substituted with previously less likely suspects like Lagos, Moscow, Mumbai, Shanghai, Sao Paulo and uncountable others. More than half of global society (and growing) now live in cities. The trend of increasing urbanisation globally is a result of interplay between the pull and push migratory factors which cause people to abandon rural agrarian lifestyles for the allure of ‘relative prosperity’ in cities and towns. Another contributing factor to the trend that finds more of us living in cities would be accelerated population growth due to the higher population density found in urban areas. In some cases the city just lands on you as its residents spill outward from congested city centres and it grows.

Also notable is the fact that urbanisation is growing much faster in the world’s poorer countries where in some cases there are insufficient resources and infrastructure (like pliable roads, running water and electricity). Many reading this will be familiar with water cuts and power load-shedding as a result.  Surely there is not enough room for every person that wants to live in a city, or is there?

Another thing to think about with regards to the consequences of growing global urbanisation is  sustainability and the not so small matter of preserving ‘undeveloped’ land in its natural beauty. There is a wealth of information this issue that you can read up on. There is good place to start courtesy of Aid et Action which you can find here: Global Urban Population in Developed and Developing Countries. In the meantime enjoy this music break by Keziah Jones called Lagos vs New York.

After the jump there is a really enlightening excerpt from the 3-part BBC series Welcome to Lagos that deals with many of the aforementioned issues.

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Ctrl.Alt.Shift is a UK youth initiative set up to engage the next generation in the fight against social and global injustice. Naturally there are many affiliations and synergies between such an organisation and Aspecks and after a meeting with the editor of the Ctrl.Alt.Shift magazine it became clear that through the exchange of knowledge and skills we could achieve a lot more by working together. As a movement they tackle issues such as global poverty, climate change, tax and corruption and HIV stigma though running events and campaigns nationwide, a UK-wide street team of reporters and a bi-annual magazine which can all be read about on their website: www.ctrlaltshift.co.uk. They have even been kind enough to plug the Aspecks Global Citizen Campaign Competition on their blog! Ctrl.Alt.Shift run a wide variety of events and promotions across the UK; from art exhibitions to raves and five a side football games. They even had time to choreograph a protest against the misguided philosophy of the BNP.  Check out the video below too see what we are talking about and do not forget to check their website for more info, or contact editor@ctrlaltshift.co.uk to get involved!

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Well here at Aspecks we certainly like to think so; at the very least the internet can be a unifying tool that is used to improve citizen participation in policy formulation and decision making. And we are not the only ones! GlobalVote is an innovative, internet-based democratic tool that enhances democracy through shadow voting and polling systems. GlobalVote takes advantage of the global link provided by the internet, establishing a fair and proper voting system for assessing global public opinion. However they are realistic, cynical optimists some might say, as in their own words,”Global citizenship is now such a viable idea that it warrants global responsibility. The voice of the world community has yet to be articulated in an effective way. The potential is there, but has been left unrealized for far too long.”

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Accepting that there are some elements of our identities which are pre-detetermined such as our appearances, the prevailing culture where we are born and the things we experience from our surroundings - What makes an individual’s identity unique? We are social animals, meaning that if we are ‘normal’, we live in contact with others – friends, family, significant others and acquaintances. As a result we are constantly comparing ourselves to each other and tend define ourselves in reaction to other people and their perspective stereotypes. More specifically, we are influenced by others.  There is no such thing as  identity without a socio-cultural/politcal context to relate it to in the first place. We either act to be identified with or apart from certain stereotypes and pre-conceived notions which we think other people have awareness of and can relate to.

It seems that in making choices about how one wants to be perceived in our information-age societies of pre-packaged social norms, there is only the choice between conforming or being the outcast. An example of such behaviour  is putting on one’s best outfit for a job interview with the understanding that people who wear well tailored suits appear more capable and successful. The flip-side to that would be someone who constantly wears casual attire  to make a statement that they are carefree as opposed to being ‘preppy’ for fear of being perceived as a ’stiff-nosed tosser’. However I’m sure that most of us a familiar with the phrases ‘mutton dressed up as lamb‘ and ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing‘…

Take Michael Jackson as an example of a paradox in identity politics (see hyperlinked article). He was inspired by read more…

This is what we are talking about! Playing for Change is a multimedia movement to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music. Check their cover of Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” by a group of diverse Global Citizens! Cheers for putting us on to this one Albert!!

Big thanks to Aspecks’ newest affiliate Kaizen Star for the photographs and text for this article. Oh and Kaizen Star is also responsible for the fresh beat you can hear playing in the video – is there no end to Kaizen’s talents?!!!

Secret Wars, by definition is an artistic battle, where creative wits on either side of a wall do battle with black markers on white boards. Teams of three seasoned graffiti warriors, collide to a soundscape of house and funk, while spectators and revellers watch in awe and anticipation. Secret Wars takes place in secret locations and  luckily enough the Aspecks team were both hip and nosy enough to scrall down the details and get down to Shoreditch for the 2010 Euro League when it arrived in London.  As we arrived at the “hush hush” venue, which was jam-packed with other nosy people, London’s graffiti’s warriors were just assembling battle plans on one side of the room, whilst three Welshmen, and a sheep some 151 miles away from home were representing Cardiff on the other side.  Shifting between the two rooms, at first one could see no real difference between the two designs, but after a while as the fog began to clear, it seemed that although London was holding the fort at home, Cardiff were keeping their poker face on. Perhaps, it seemed they might have an ace or two under their sleeves. London’s team took a wild stab at Tom Jones “It’s not unusual to be loved by No One”, and Cardiff seemed to be taking a dig at the Royal Family. However as time went on and a few more black markers were disposed of, it was clear that Cardiff really did have an ace, and their depiction of “Maggie’s Farm” was undeniably inventive.

More text and pictures and an exclusive video of UK Beatbox Champion Reeps One after the break…

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R.I.P. Guru of Gangstarr.

Check the social commentary in the rhymes. A true poet. He will be missed.