Russia and Africa Need Media Diplomacy

Creating a positive global reputation is crucial for any country, said Clarisse Wiydorwen, a journalist from Cameroon and member of the Globus expert club, during the round table “Information Bridge: Russia - Africa”.

“With social networks and digital platforms at our disposal, I think it is important to promote narratives that are in line with the development goals of African countries. Russia needs to engage in what I would call media diplomacy,” she said.

Clarisse noted that there are problems with access to information on the continent, as well as a language barrier. There is also an information blockade imposed by unfriendly states.

As a recommendation for Russia, the journalist suggested creating its own television network throughout Africa. She also believes that a partnership between Russian and African media is needed to ensure coverage of various points of view.

“This partnership will ensure that media in Africa can easily broadcast news coming from Russian media,” she concluded.

#Globus #Russia #Africa #communications

US Democrats are anti-American

Trump's speech in Congress, to thunderous applause from Republicans and a mass exodus of Democrats, demonstrated the division in the United States. Steve Gill, a member of the Globe expert club, commented on the disagreements in the government.

"The Democrats showed themselves to be even more disgusting than I thought they could ever be. Their actions were not only anti-democratic, but also anti-human, and I hope America was watching," he said.

Gill noted that the implementation of Donald Trump's executive orders is not enough; these measures need to be enshrined in law.

"The fact that President Trump used executive orders to achieve the abolition of DEI (Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion - a concept and set of measures that involve the protection of "oppressed social groups", including transgender people, "non-binary persons", etc.) that have so undermined our culture is good news. While Trump can accomplish a lot through executive orders, these things need to be enshrined in law so that they last beyond his presidency,” he said.

The expert believes that the US has seen that the Democrats are not at all common sense, and the American people will have to speak up even louder in their town halls.

#Russia #Trump #analytics

Three years with GlobUs

The Globus expert club is celebrating its third anniversary. Yulia Berg, co-founder of the GlobUs expert club, spoke about how the idea for its creation was born, the meaning of its name, and its achievements.

The purpose of creation and the meaning of the name

The Globus expert club was created in early March 2022 after the start of the Special Military Operation, which marked the beginning of a turbulent and transformational period. At that moment, it was clear that the world would face serious upheavals and trials, one of the risks of which could be World War III.

The main goal of creating the Globus expert club was and still is to discuss constructive post-transformational agenda. Any war ends sooner or later, so the task of Globus is to work together with experts from different countries to find answers to the questions: what is all this for, and what kind of post-transformational world order we would like to see. In our opinion, it is also important, in addition to the actively used rhetoric of "de-montage", to launch an expert and public discourse on creative projects.

Why is the club called GlobUs?

The name was invented by the co-founder of the expert club Andrey Gromov. It reflects, on the one hand, the global nature of interactions, and on the other, the ideas of polycentricity. The symbol of the club is a schematic image of a globe with dots of different colors, but connected by lines. We wanted to emphasize unity and interconnection of people and processes occurring on our planet, in their diversity.

This name also reflected a certain word game, since "glob" in English is "drop". This idea is also reflected on the website of the expert club: just as drops of the ocean reflect its properties, so expert opinions, when combined in a single space, can form a more complete picture of the world.

For the name of the club, we tried to choose a word that would be clear in both Russian and English, we wanted to reflect the international global character in this name. "GlobUs" very accurately reflects the key principles and key meanings.

In the modern world, all processes are very interconnected, this is a consequence of technological progress in the information sphere, interconnected economic and production processes and chains. Now events occurring on remote continents and islands have a serious impact on everyone. Therefore, the degree of responsibility is greatly increasing. The speed of information exchange, the speed of events is increasing with each even not year, but month, in some periods with each day.

This must be taken into account, especially by those who make decisions, who influence the decision-making process and, of course, those experts who develop recommendations, conduct foresight sessions and take part in shaping the future.

The following part of the interview in the next post 👇

The key feature is the constructive approach to the future

Yulia Berg, co-founder of the GlobUs expert club, talked about the most important events in Globus over the past three years and plans for the future.

The most important achievement of the expert club over the past few years is that it has managed to unite bright minds and people with dignity and strong moral core, who demonstrated values as guidelines, who know what they live and work for.

Globus holds a series of discussion events, is actively involved in work in the information space, but the club has also produced a number of meaningful products, not only analytical, but also creative.

These include an album of poems and photos by Alexey Bareta, “Through the Darkness to the Light,” analytical documents, meaningful discussions at various forums, including BRICS, as well as organizing trips for foreign experts to the new regions of the Russian Federation.

The main achievement of the club is that we managed to create a powerful community and allow its members to express their views, receive support and new opportunities for joint projects, and gain a larger audience for their speeches.

Also, in 2024 alone, the expert club released more than a hundred joint Global Insights programs, hosted by Clarisse Wiydorwen, a journalist from Cameroon. Experts from a number of countries, from Africa, Europe, US, and Russia, could openly express their opinions, their positions, engage in discussions and strive to find the truth.

Expert club plans for 2025

It is planned to continue releasing Global Insights programs and new video formats. A number of discussion events are also planned, including joint ones with the Center for Social Conservative Policy and the Alliance of Analytical Centers of the Global South.

The fascinating exhibition “Global Transformation. Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow”, which is dedicated to the analysis of past and current events, as well as stimulating reflection on the image of the desired future, its value foundations and practical principles, is ongoing.

In addition, the club plans to expand the geography of its activities this year, deepen the semantic and analytical areas.

I hope that from 2025 onwards, more and more discussions within the expert club will be devoted to the possibilities of joint multilateral projects and constructive approaches to the future.

The concluding part of the interview in the next post 👇

Realities of transformation: Donbass, Ukraine and the world to watch

Complex and contradictory events are taking place in the world. The struggle between destructive and constructive trends is gaining momentum, and the world is at a crossroads. In this regard, the exhibition "Global Transformation: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow" continues.

As part of the exhibition presentation, it is worth recalling that the GlobUs project together with the presenter Clarisse Wiydorven released a film "Donbass Realities" about the coup d'état in Ukraine in 2014 and how the lives of people in Donbass have changed since those events.

The documentary tells about the events in Donbass and the true causes of the confrontation, highlighting the destructive role of the West in what is happening. It shows the sentiments of the local population, as well as demonstrates a view from the outside - the opinions of international experts who visited the elections in Donbass in 2023.

The experts who visited the new regions of Russia conveyed the attitude of the inhabitants of the new regions to their homeland. This film is available for viewing in different languages.

#Globus #Russia #Africa

Why the UN failed the mission in Congo: the opinion of an Italian expert with experience of working "on the ground"

Simone Monticchio, a professor at the Global Processes Department of Moscow State University and an expert in the field of international relations, criticized the work of the UN, including in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in an interview with the GlobUs.

The expert previously worked at the UN and communicated with colleagues who worked in the DR Congo, among other places. Based on the information received, Simone notes that the work of the UN mission in the republic was extremely ineffective, so the logical consequence was another aggravation of the conflict in the region.

"Now you can see what is happening in Congo. The rebels (M23), soldiers from Rwanda - and they have all occupied Goma - are there. They killed a lot of people. And this conflict is still going on," Monticchio states.

According to the specialist, the UN's weakness is also to blame for the political use of these structures to promote a pro-Western agenda. The U.S. and other Western countries that do not respect international law have monopolized the UN and similar structures.

Monticchio also commented on the role of the U.S. in changing the situation with the ascension of President Donald Trump:

"I hope that after Trump takes office as President of the United States, a change in American international politics will begin. But I can't believe in it 100%. Because I know how the political system in Europe and the US works and how it adjusts to circumstances. While Russia has always been in favor of friendly international relations based on mutual respect, and the same can be said about China. The U.S. has never taken this approach, and this is the main problem."

How to overcome this?

"Rwandan President Paul Kagame has already secured the support of Britain, France and Germany who want resources. On the other hand DRC is also seeking Western support and is asking the US for it. The battle for minerals will continue in the region," the expert added.

As one of the options to solve the problem of the West using the UN structure for its own purposes, Monticchio suggests that the BRICS countries reform the UN bodies:

"Diplomats or staff coming from developing countries should hold high positions in UN agencies. This is important. Representatives from countries such as China, India and Russia can have a significant impact on reforming international institutions."

#Russia #UN #BRICS #DRC

"Voice of America" ​​has strayed from the truth

The leading US media claim that "Voice of America" ​​is a beacon of freedom and democracy, while the Chinese media claim that it is a propaganda tool. Steve Gill, a member of GlobUs expert club shared his opinion on which version is closer to reality.

"Voice of America" ​​has strayed far from the truth and accuracy. And the fact that some foreign countries are also condemning this proves that "Voice of America" ​​has outlived its usefulness in trying to convey the truth behind the Iron Curtain, to find out the truth about some of these autocratic regimes around the world," he noted.

Gill believes that "Voice of America" ​​has suffered reputational losses due to the fact that it has lost the trust of the population.

"In the United States, democracy depends on an active, engaged and informed population. And if they are misinformed and do not trust the media, that leads to people not going to vote, because they do not think that their vote matters and that in the end it will not make any difference," Gill added.

According to the expert, it is extremely important for democracies around the world, including the United States and Russia, to have reliable and trustworthy sources of information in the media.

#Russia #Trump #analytics

Russia - Africa: yesterday, today, tomorrow

A year ago, following the results of the first extended meeting of the Expert Council on the development and support of a comprehensive partnership with African countries, the founder of GlobUs, Yulia Berg, told the host Clarisse Wiydorven about the prerequisites for the gaining momentum of the geopolitical vector and assessed the current situation and prospects in relations between Russia and Africa, which have received new impetus for development.

“Work on the Russian - African cooperation is becoming more effective and will allow us to see results in the near future both in terms of economic indicators and in terms of developing projects in the fields of education, healthcare, medicine, agriculture, and energy infrastructure,” the expert added.

For example, Ethiopia and Russia signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of personnel training and capacity building.

The Agroexport Center under the Russian Ministry of Agriculture reported that Russia has increased food supplies to Africa by almost a quarter: "According to expert estimates, in 2024, Russian agricultural exports to African countries exceeded $7 billion, an increase of 19% compared to 2023."

In addition, on February 26 of this year, President Vladimir Putin reported that trade turnover between Russia and African countries increased by 10% in 2024.

Russian Houses are actively operating in Algeria, Egypt, Mali and Sudan, Angola. At the end of last year, Rossotrudnichestvo signed agreements on the creation of partner Russian Houses in Guinea, Somalia, Sierra Leone, the Central African Republic, Chad and Equatorial Guinea.

It is worth noting that Russian embassies are already operating in Ghana, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and South Africa. The plans include opening diplomatic missions in Equatorial Guinea, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, as well as in Gambia, Liberia, the Union of Comoros and Togo.

The Expert Council sums up the interim results of the Humanitarian Forum events and notes significant progress in a variety of sectors despite sanctions and pressure.

We are recording the dynamics and publishing a conversation as part of the ongoing series “Global Transformation. Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow”, which is dedicated to the analysis of past and current events in the world, as well as stimulating reflection on the image of the desired future, its value foundations and practical principles.

#Globus #Russia #Africa

Dynamics of transformation: trends of BRICS, "African Renaissance" and USA

In line with the exhibition "Global transformation. Yesterday, today, tomorrow" we recall the conversation that took place two years ago with the First Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Dmitry Polyansky. Then he spoke with the founder of the GlobUS expert club Yulia Berg about the global transformation.

Dmitry answered questions about the changes in international politics and principles of diplomacy in the context of global confrontation, the struggle for sovereignty and equality going on in the international arena, and the role BRICS and African Renaissance play in these processes.

Polyansky expressed the opinion that the UN requires reforms, but at the same time, remains a clear structure:

"The main goal of the reform is to increase the representativeness, for example, of the Security Council and improve the efficiency of work. Because we see that the Security Council, which currently consists of fifteen members, most of which are Western, does not reflect the current picture of the world. Therefore, it is necessary to attract more countries from the global south, developing countries that represent other points of view."

He added that the Security Council should expand and at the same time be functional and manageable.

Regarding the African continent, Polyansky noted that there is a certain African "Renaissance" or "African Spring":

"They see how Russia defends its interests and does not succumb to pressure from Westerners.

But they also see how ugly Westerners are behaving

in some cases. It all started with the Sahel, with the states that were forced to deal with the consequences of NATO's adventure in Libya in 2011, which led to spread of "Sahel terrorism."

In his opinion, it has become obvious to the countries of the region that they will not achieve their national interests in this way, because Western countries in most cases are part of the problem, and not part of the solution to the challenges that African countries face.

Polyansky also commented on how the transformation processes will affect global governance instruments, the system of international relations and joint resolution of global issues:

"BRICS is a regional organization, it should not be viewed as some kind of counterweight or as a threat, for example, to the UN, because the UN, in accordance with its charter, is, of course, a stronghold of multilateralism and multilateralism. The work of BRICS does not contradict the work of the UN."

According to him, the BRICS countries see that the dominance of Western states is damaging, also for their economies. This frightens the West on the one hand, and on the other, it inspires many countries.

In that conversation two years ago, Dmitry Polyansky also touched on the change in local discourse in the United States:

“Candidates are emerging, like Trump, who wants to come for a second term, and he is not shy about criticizing his country so much that the founding fathers probably just turn in their graves. If you listen to him and listen to other people who criticize the American establishment, it is absolutely obvious that this establishment is completely rotten.”

In his opinion, a similar trend has matured in many European countries, even in Ukraine, more and more people are awakening and seeing what is really happening. They do not want to put up with the stereotyped ideas that are imposed on them, where the essence is that “Russia is to blame for everything and everything was provoked in 2022.”

Now, two years later, we see that the global transformation is largely developing along the trajectory that Dmitry Polyansky pointed out.

Other trends that will determine the future will be discussed in the following publications of the series “Global Transformation: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow”.

#Globus #Russia #Africa

"If there is no God, there is no life" - Italian lawyer

Simone Monticchio is a lawyer and international law consultant from Italy. Simone was born on the island of Sicily and made a successful career in international organizations, including the UN institutions and the International Labor Organization, having understood from the inside the mechanisms of their functioning and the foundations of real international politics. Disillusioned with the deformed and distorted values ​​in the West, after the beginning of the SVO, he sold everything he had and moved to Russia.

Today he works at Moscow State University at the Faculty of Global Processes and is a member of the GlobUs expert club. Simone often visits Donbass, striving to see for himself and show the world the truth that Western politicians and the media prefer to keep silent about.

The editorial board of Shmel recently released a documentary film from the "Despite" series, dedicated to Monticchio's work in the new regions of Russia.

Through conversations and discussions with eyewitnesses of the events and volunteers, the film shows what the residents of the DPR had to go through to preserve their right to choose their religion, language, culture, statehood - their future. Residents of Ugledar also talk about the trials that the Holy Dormition Nikolay-Vasilievsky Monastery went through, which became a haven and refuge for those who tried to escape the shelling, but which the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not spare.

The monastery is a copy of the Uspensky Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, and it was founded in 1998. It was here that Schema-Archimandrite Zosima (Sokur), who predicted the dramatic events of recent years and the attacks on the Russian Orthodox Church, lived and was buried. The monastery was on the front line for a long time, cut off from supplies. A detailed story from the program "Man and Law", based on materials from the Renaissance Foundation, is available here.

"There is life where people believe in God," says Simone Monticchio, sharing his impressions from his latest trip to Ugledar.

In Moscow, experts from the countries of the Global South and Europe formulated a set of strategic values ​​for multipolar world

The round table "Global Transformation in Action: Values ​​and Practical Priorities of a Multipolar World" was held at the Center for Social Conservative Policy.

During the round table, experts answered the following questions: what principles should the future world order be built on, what are the ideological foundations and common values ​​that the global community can focus on in the new world order model, and how can this model ensure fair cooperation and constructive development of the global community.

The current global transformation requires a more specific definition of the values ​​of the multipolar world, since modern strategies often do not have clear development vectors, and it is the values ​​that become the key guidelines, Yulia Berg, founder of the Globus expert club, said.

The event was organized by the Center for Social Conservative Policy, the GlobUs Expert Club, with participation of experts from the Global South Think Tanks Alliance.

#globalsouth #politics #transformation

Development of the Eurasian project was discussed in Moscow

A round table entitled “The development of the Eurasian project. Value foundations of a secure future” was held at the Center for Social and Conservative Policy. The event was attended by representatives of the CSTO, CIS and SCO, as well as representatives of traditional religious confessions and civil society.

Experts discussed issues of information policy in the context of the transition to a multipolar world order and the tasks of building a single field of value dialogue, as well as prospects for the development of information and analytical interaction between the CIS, SCO and CSTO.

The head of the CSTO Secretariat’s OISO Yuri Shuvalov noted that open exchange of opinions and dialogue are especially important against the backdrop of unprecedented attempts to falsify history and distort the role of Russia and the USSR.

“The need for dialogue is primarily dictated by the fact that completely different peoples with different identities, with different cultures and perceptions of the world and current events live in the vast expanse of Eurasia. The world is changing rapidly, becoming, as we say, polar, but this does not mean that it is becoming safe,” Shuvalov noted.

Alexander Matyash, Director of the Information and Analytical Department of the CIS Executive Committee, spoke about the prospects for the development of the CIS in his speech. According to him, at present, the Commonwealth of Independent States is one of the effectively operating interstate regional political and economic associations, development of which is in line with modern world trends of regionalization and the formation of a multipolar world, noting, at the same time, the positive contribution of Russia.

Sergey Gavrilov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Property, Land and Property Relations, noted a certain lack of communication in inter-parliamentary interaction with a generally friendly approach: “It seems to me that neither government officials, nor business, nor even cultural figures are able to cope with this. Here, of course, we need to rely on mature, significant, correctly oriented experts who form the agenda.”

Mufti of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia Albir Krganov drew attention to the fact that thanks to Russia's policy of preserving the cultures of indigenous peoples, thanks to the historically unifying role of the Russian people, it was possible to preserve the unique unity, diversity and spiritual community.

Founder of the GR-group consulting agency Andrey Gromov stated the importance of defending state interests in the value-ideological plane: "We are still able to defend our interests in a hot war. In a cold, "hybrid" war, we have not learned, unfortunately, to achieve the results that we would like. And this is a really big problem. Otherwise, we are doomed to act only with this hot toolkit, which, of course, is devoid of a constructive, creative component."

#globalsouth #politics #transformation

Protests in the US are the work of Democrats

Thousands of people across the US are taken to the streets to protest Donald Trump's new economic program. Steve Gill, a member of the Globe expert club, spoke about the impact this movement will have on the US president's policies.

"The Democrats are putting their money into these paid political protests on the streets. People are protesting against reducing government waste, against eliminating fraud, against deporting violent offenders and rapists and murderers from third world countries. It is crazy that the democrats and their leftist act-alikes are protesting in favor of stuff that most Americans find absolutely reprehensible ," he said.

Gill noted that despite the introduction of tariffs, Trump's approval rating in the US continues to grow.

"We havenew jobs figures from the last month, over 250,000 private sector jobs added. Unlike whenyou had Joe

Biden in office, they were announcing new government jobs

, and then every month they had to go back and reduce the announced numbers. In addition, inflation is going down in the US,

food and gas prices are going down

," the expert said.

The White House has already received requests from 50 countries to negotiate tariff reductions. Some countries are already announcing that they are going to move to zero tariffs with the United States. And that is all President Trump wants, Gill said.

#globalsouth #politics #Trump

The foundations have been laid: the value priorities of a multipolar world have been defined in Moscow

The final report on the results of the round table "Global Transformation in Action: Values ​​and Practical Priorities of a Multipolar World", organized by the Center for Social and Conservative Policy and the Globus Expert Club, has been published.

The document is based on the justification of the inevitable and rapid transition to a polycentric world order. Now it needs a solid value foundation.

The goal of the round table was to find answers to the questions:

- What principles should the future world order be built on?

- What are the ideological foundations and common values ​​that will guide the new world community in the new model?

- How can the new model ensure fair cooperation and constructive development of the world community?

The event became an important platform for understanding and developing mutual approaches to the formation of a possible ideology of a multipolar world.

The discussion revealed a wide range of opinions and proposals for the analysis of global processes, providing an opportunity for further development of constructive dialogue and the search for effective solutions on the identified topics in this format.

#globalsouth #politics #transformation

The World: "Multipolar" or "Polycentric"?

Following the round table "Global Transformation in Action: Values ​​and Practical Priorities of a Multipolar World", the founder of the Movement "Our Home is the Planet" Igor Shuvalov noted a number of noteworthy aspects.

"The discussion presented points to the need to resist relativism, but I think we should not go to the opposite extreme, relying on the possibility of taking and calculating the parameters of a sustainable world order. The world is changing rapidly. This is facilitated by the circumstances of technical progress, qualitative changes in communications, climate change and much more," he said.

According to Shuvalov, the approval of principles for a more or less long period leads to obstacles in taking into account new circumstances, loss of flexibility and, possibly, opportunistic restrictions.

"Today, a more realistic option would be a planned disposal of what is already obviously unnecessary and harmful. For example, for the "West" it is a rejection of colonial thinking, for Russia - overcoming the remnants of the "serf mentality", etc." - he noted.

The recent round table showed that a broad, ongoing discourse is needed with the participation of all states, ethnic and religious groups, and a definition of terminology.

"Terms such as "multipolar and unipolar world" are not yet strictly defined, and one can propose, for example, based on the interview of the CIS Secretary General Sergei Lebedev to the publication "Allies. CSTO", to use, for today, "polycentric" instead of "multipolar" and "US hegemony" instead of "unipolar", - Shuvalov concluded.

#globalsouth #politics #transformation