... And everything went well. Haters, pessimistic people, afro-skepticals and journalists looking for sensationalist stories can be disappointed. The first football world cup in Africa was a tremendous success!
Society & Politics
Sunday 18 July 2010
The Football World Cup is over...
By Cédric Pierre-Louis on Sunday 18 July 2010, 17:35
Friday 21 May 2010
Expo 2010 Shanghai : already successful
By Cédric Pierre-Louis on Friday 21 May 2010, 13:14
After having led one of the most impressive and well-organized Olympic Games
ever, China is aiming to blow away the world with the Shanghai 2010 Expo. This
75th universal exposition is being held in Shanghai, the economic capital of
China, from May 1 to October 31, 2010. The theme of the exposition, "Better
City – Better Life", means a lot of for a metropolis like Shanghai which is one
of the most polluted city of the planet. This world fair also "signifies
Shanghai's new status in the 21st century as the "next great world city".
According to my friend, Wikipedia, the Shanghai World Expo is the most expensive Expo in the history of the world's fairs. In terms of area, - the Shanghai Expo is located in the widest World's Fair site ever (5.28 square km) and in terms of participants - more than 190 countries and more than 50 international organizations have registered to participate in the exhibition, the Shanghai World Expo is the largest ever. China expects to receive almost 100 foreign leaders and more than 70–100 million of people from across the world to come and visit the World Expo. Having said that, this event has also a special meaning for me.
Friday 15 January 2010
The Treaty of Lisbon from a Lobby point of view
By Cédric Pierre-Louis on Friday 15 January 2010, 12:51
After many setbacks (simplification of the Treaty, holding of a 2nd referendum
in Ireland, Czech President and Euro-pessimists opposition) the
Treaty of Lisbon entered into force on 1 December 2009. It is supposed to
"provide the EU with modern institutions and optimised working methods to
tackle both efficiently and effectively today's challenges in today's world",
such as globalisation, climatic and demographic changes, security and energy
(according to the European Commission website).
However, from a lobbyist point of view, the Treaty of Lisbon Introduces some changes and novelties which should change the rules of the "game". So for Eurodom, my ex-consultancy (where I worked 8 months as a fresh graduated trainee), it seemed necessary to make people realize how this new treaty will change the way we work and interact with European decisions makers. Consequently, I was in charge of achieving a 20-slides presentation for the General Assembly of the cabinet. At the beginning it was no big deal for such a powerpoint/keynote expert as I am. Nevertheless I worked hard on it with my boss, Mr Bally, and after some sleepless nights, and a working sunday afternoon, we managed to achieve the presentation he wanted.
Thursday 10 September 2009
Inside the lobbying world of Brussels
By Cédric Pierre-Louis on Thursday 10 September 2009, 23:07
Since the beginning of may 2009, I have been a lucky intern in a consultancy
cabinet - EURODOM - located in Brussels and focused on european affairs. Our
main activity is to defend the economic interests of the European outermost
regions, mainly the French ones (Martinique, Guadeloupe, Guyane, Réunion,
etc.). Working in this area is very exciting but also very compelling. Most of
the time, you work on macroeconomic issues and deal with politicians or high
level experts. In the European affairs microcosm, there are few vacancies but
many applicants... Indeed, I met a lot of overqualified and high skilled people
who are looking for a job - since months - in the european affairs field.
That's the reason why I feel very lucky to do my trainee period in this
area.
Moreover, lobbying is a controversial activity which triggers many fantasies. Some are over-exaggerated and other are quite true. However, it is something more natural and transparent than people think. In Brussels, which is the second most important city in terms of lobbying (behind Washington), most European affairs cabinet are registred in a special register for transparency purpose.
Sunday 9 November 2008
Congratulations US citizens for electing Obama
By Cédric Pierre-Louis on Sunday 9 November 2008, 20:50
Flickr, cc license, Barack Obama
Three days ago a friend of mine, an American citizen, ask me a original request; she wanted to know what I and other French people think about Obama's election. Actually she is teacher in a school for young children, and she would like to share with her pupils various points of view from around the world about the presidential election. Why? Because she would like to demonstrate to them how important is to know what foreign people think about the United State of America and its new president. She told me, she was very surprised to notice how different was the way French were considering the USA during the last presidential elections, in 2004. This revelation change the way she considered her country, her government and mainly her president.
I appreciate her open mindedness, so I wrote the following long text (click on the link below) to answer her request. Sorry, for the moment the text is in French, but I will translate it soon. Stay tuned ;-)
Hello Jill, Ça fait un bail!!! J'espère que tout va bien de ton côté. En tout cas moi ici à Lille je suis overbooked! Lol! Mais j'adore ça, donc j'assume.
Pour en revenir à ta requête, je tiens d'abord à te dire que l'analyse de ta copine Héloïse fait un peu "café du commerce", sans vouloir être désobligeant à son égard, je trouve ce genre de propos très irritants... Obama n'a pas remporté les élections grâce au soutien de George Clooney ou de Will.I.am. Ni parce ce que "ça fait cool de voter pour un noir". Les temps sont durs (deux guerres qui s'enlisent, une grave crise financière et économique, des expropriations en cascade, une hausse record du chômage et de l'endettement des ménages, des défis environnementaux sans précédent, un système de santé inefficace et injuste, un leadership en berne, etc.) et c'est une insulte à la personne d'Obama et aux électeurs qui lui ont accordé leur vote, que d'affirmer qu'il a été élu non pas sur son programme ou sa personnalité, mais juste parce que c'est le candidat des stars. D'ailleurs les républicains ont utilisé ce genre d'arguments contre lui ("The One"), avec les résultats que l'on connaît... Ce genre de discours est souvent formulé par des personne qui n'ont jamais pris le temps d'écouter le moindre discours d'Obama et qui n'ont pas vraiment suivi la campagne...
Saturday 4 October 2008
Obama for President
By Cédric Pierre-Louis on Saturday 4 October 2008, 01:50
I really like the symbolic meaning and the impact of this photo... Don't you? Obama is really creating an incredible hope movement and not only in the USA. Like many people I believe in him, I believe in his honesty and his willingness to seriously take the bull by the horns. If the current polls say the truth, Obama is more and more close to the white house, but the current situation is so explosive that he will have to implement quickly radical and maybe unpopular measures. I do think that the next presidency will be the most difficult one after the two Roosevelt administrations (1933-1945). But like billions of people around the world I believe in you, and your promises, Mr Obama. So please do not disappoint us...
Credits : Joe Crimmings, Flickr, CCL
Saturday 5 April 2008
"Hate cannot drive out hate ; only love can do that."
By Cédric Pierre-Louis on Saturday 5 April 2008, 20:55
You already know the man, and you already know about his struggles, I just
want to say that it’s a pity he died so soon and mainly in such a violent way,
because he was a real symbol of hope for several million people who used to be
treated inhumanly for centuries. MLK was inspiring, not only for black people
but also for those who really wanted to live in a fairer society, more
peaceful, more respectful of human rights and more positive. When this hope
bringer disappeared, the only lit fire which was sufficiently convincing and
charismatic to make them believe in a better future, it was a disaster that
nothing or no one could fix or recover. A drama which still has tragic
consequences today. Since MLK, none US leader has managed to give America so
much hope and confidence in a better future. No one, until today…