Shoktidoi against hunger

Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus along with Grameen Group and the French yogurt company Danone are doing an extremely good work in order to promote a world free from hunger. Shoktidoi (Shakti, शक्त - means sacred force, power, or energy)is an immunity-enhancing and energy-boosting yogurt. It has been developed in an ultra-modern research center in the Paris suburb.

Danone faced a different kind of innovation challenge when it teamed up in 2005 with Grameen Group of Bangladesh to develop a yogurt for some of the poorest consumers in the world. The result was a product that would retail for less than 10¢ per serving yet provide 30% of the minimum daily requirement of iron and other key nutrients to poor children.

It is manufactured in a small, environmentally friendly factory, with a low-tech, labor-intensive supply and distribution network—the kind of small-scale "social business enterprise" conceptualized by Grameen's founder, Muhammad Yunus.

Danone’s managing director Emmanuel Marchant and Grameen Bank are developing something that aims to create a unique investment fund, Danone Communities, managed by a leading European bank and aimed to attract investors who want to promote new models for development while getting at least a minimum return. The fund will help finance new Grameen Danone plants in Bangladesh and new projects on other continents to reduce community poverty. It seeks to benefit the community in general by creating more than 1,000 livestock and distribution jobs including the “Grameen Ladies” who sell Shoktidoi yoghurt door to door, while still earning a profit.

State of the art plant design and financing were needed to build the plant in Bogra, 150 kilometers north of the capital, Dhaka. The plant is using compost-generated gas, uses biodegradable packaging, reduces automation to a minimum, and copes with a lack of refrigeration between milk collection points and the plant. The product recipe was adapted to use locally-produced date molasses rather than expensive imported sugar.

The world's most exciting, fastest-growing new market is where you least expect it: at the bottom of the pyramid “BoP”. Collectively, the world's billions of poor people have immense entrepreneurial capabilities and buying power. You can learn how to serve them and help millions of the world's poorest people escape hunger and poverty. in economics, the bottom of the pyramid is the largest, but poorest socio-economic group. In global terms, this is the four billion people who live on less than $2 per day, typically in developing countries.


Capitalism and Global Problems through time

Find now some of different initiatives through time that private sector has conceived to solve global problems:

1 - Social Actions - Is a concept developed by Max Weber (Gesammelte Aufsätze zur Soziologie und Sozialpolitik - Collected Essays on Sociology and Social Policy, original - 1924) that explores interaction between humans in society. The concept of social action is used to observe how certain behaviors are modified in certain environments. The impact of social action is clearly seen in the development of norms and customs and everyday interaction between people;

2 - Social responsibility - Is the obligation of organization management to make decision and take actions that will enhance the welfare and interests of society as well as the organization. The term was first used in 1987, through the report of the World Commission of Environment and Development (WCED);

3 – Sustainability - In a general sense, is the capacity to maintain a certain process or state indefinitely. The first book with the title Ecological Economics was published in Europe by Juan Martinez-Alier (Blackwell, Oxford, 1987). It traces the history of ecological critiques of economics since the 1880s to the 1950s;

4 – Bottom of the pyramid - C.K. Prahalad suggests in his book “Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, 2004” that four billion poor people can be the engine of the next round of global trade and prosperity;

5 - Creative Capitalism - is a term popularized by American entrepreneur and Microsoft chairman Bill Gates at the 2008 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The ideology calls for a new form of capitalism that works both to generate profits and solve the world’s inequities, using market forces to better address the needs of the poor;

6 - A Social Business - is one which aims to be financially self-sufficient, if not profitable, in its pursuit of a social, ethical or environmental goal. Dr. Muhammad Yunus is a key proponent of the social business model, seeing it as a mean to eradicate poverty and to influence the future of capitalism;

Passport

Nehemiah the man that rebuilt Jerusalem 150 years after it was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar over an astounding 52-day span, was also the also the first person in history to have a passport; he asked the king Artaxerxes permission to leave to travel to Judea, and the king granted him a letter "to the governors beyond the river" requesting safe passage for him as he traveled through their lands.

Safe Conducts were issued in 1414 (the earliest passports) in an Act of Parliament during the reign of King Henry V, in 1540 The Privy Council Register begins, leaving us a record of Privy Council business. According to the Register, this includes granting passports. But it was only in June 18th that King Charles I issued and signed a passport (this document still exists).
The word Passport derives from a document required to pass through the gate ("porte") of a city wall in medieval Europe. Until 1772, passports were written in Latin or English. From this date onwards they began to be written in French. (see more in http://www.ips.gov.uk/passport/about-history.asp ).

Up to World War I, passports were not required for international travel in Europe, and crossing a border was extremely easy. During World War I, European governments introduced border passport requirements for security reasons (to keep out spies) and to control emigration of citizens with useful skills, and retaining potential manpower. These controls remained in place after the war, and became standard procedure, though not without controversy. British tourists of the 1920s complained, especially about attached photographs and physical descriptions, which they considered led to a "nasty dehumanisation".
In 1920, the League of Nations held a conference on passports and through tickets. Passport guidelines resulted from the conference, which was followed up by conferences in 1926 and 1927.
The United Nations held a travel conference in 1963, but passport guidelines did not result from it. Passport standardisation came about in 1980, under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization, ICAO.

Machine-readable passport

A machine readable passport (MRP) is a passport where the data on the identity page is encoded in optical character recognition format. Most travel passports world-wide are MRPs. They are standardized by the ICAO Document 9303 (endorsed by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission as ISO/IEC 7501-1) and have a special Machine Readable Passport Zone, which is usually at the end of a passport. It spans two lines and each line is 44 characters long. The following information is provided in the zone: name, passport number, two check digits, nationality, date of birth, sex, passport expiration date and personal identity number.

In early 2006 Pakistan become the first country in the world to issue a passport using both machine readable passports and Automated Finger Identification and Facial Recognition system Biometrics technology.

The advantages of machine readable passports include:

- faster processing of arriving passengers by immigration officials;

- more secure, compared to the manually read passports that preceded them, since the data read by the machine would always be the same as the data in the Machine Readable Passport Zone;

Between 2003 and 2005 the United States progressively introduced regulations that make machine readable passports mandatory for those entering the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program.

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP)

The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) is a program of the United States of America which allows citizens of specific countries to travel to the US for tourism or business for up to 90 days without having to obtain a visa. All countries participating in the program have high HDI and most are regarded as developed countries.

As of 2006, 27 countries were designated as VWP participants:

Europe (22)
Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France (including French overseas territories), Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom.

Asia (3)
Brunei, Japan, Singapore

Oceania (2)
Australia, New Zealand

During his visit to Estonia in November 2006, President Bush announced his intention "to work with our Congress and our international partners to modify our visa waiver program". Recently (July 2007) the Congress and the senate passed the Secure Travel and Counterterrorism Partnership Act, directing the secretary of Homeland Security to establish a pilot program to expand the visa waiver program for up to five new countries that are cooperating with the US on security and counterterrorism matters. This new act changes the nonimmigrant visa refusal rate threshold - from 3% - to 10%, thus making (as of 2008) 30 countries[13] qualify for inclusion in the visa-waiver program: Argentina, Bahamas, Bahrain, Brazil, Chile, Cyprus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hong Kong (HKSAR passport and British National (Overseas) passport), Israel, Kuwait, Macao, Malaysia, Malta, Namibia, Nauru, Oman, Qatar, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Timor Leste, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, and Vatican City.

Generally standardized terminology related to passports:

Ordinary passport, also called tourist passport
Issued to average citizens.
Official passport, also called service passport
Issued to government employees for work-related travel, and to accompanying dependents.
Diplomatic passport
Issued to diplomats and consuls for work-related travel, and to accompanying dependents. Having a diplomatic passport is not the equivalent of having diplomatic immunity. A grant of diplomatic status, a privilege of which is diplomatic immunity, has to come from the government of the country in relation to which diplomatic status is claimed. Also, having a diplomatic passport does not mean visa-free travel. A holder of a diplomatic passport usually has to obtain a diplomatic visa, even if a holder of an ordinary passport may enter a country visa-free or may obtain a visa on arrival.
In exceptional circumstances, a diplomatic passport is given to a foreign citizen with no passport of his own, such as an exiled VIP who lives, by invitation, in a foreign country.
Emergency passport, also called temporary passport
Issued to persons whose passports were lost or stolen, and who do not have time to obtain replacement passports.
Collective passport
Issued to defined groups for travel together to particular destinations, such as a group of school children on a school trip to a specified country.
Family passport
Issued to family members -- father, mother, son, daughter. There is one passport holder. He may travel alone, or with another family member, or with other family members. A family member who is not the passport holder must travel with the passport holder.
Laissez-passer
A document which is not a passport, but which serves the function of a passport. Laissez-passer are issued by international organisations to their officers and employees for official travel.
Alien's passport
A document which is not a passport, but is a travel document issued under certain circumstances, such as statelessness, to non-citizen residents.
In Latvia, an alien's passport is a passport for residents to whom the government denied citizenship and associated rights. It is used as an internal passport inside Latvia, and as a travel document outside Latvia.
Internal passport
A document which is not a passport, but is an identity document which controls movement within a country. Examples: the internal passport of the former Soviet Union and present Russia; the hukou residence-registration system in mainland China; or the REAL ID of the United States.

Kinds of Passport in Brazil:

Blue: Common passport;

Green: official assport;

Red: diplomatic;

Brown: “laissez-passer;

Yellow: refugees;

Light-blue: emergency passport.

United Nations Laissez-Passer

United Nations Laissez-Passer (UNLP or LP) is a travel document issued by the United Nations to its staff, under the provisions of Article VII of the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.

The UNLP is a valid travel document, which can be used like a national passport. Just like for national passports, some countries accept it for entry without the need for a visa (e.g. Germany, Kenya, United Kingdom), while most require a visa to be issued in it before it can be accepted for entry to the country. This is regardless of the nationality of the staff member.

Marco Polo in Bukhara

The Polo brothers decided to avoid Crimea, because of a civil war between Berke and his cousin Hulagu or perhaps because of the bad relationship between Berke Khan and the Byzantine Empire. Instead, they moved further east to Bukhara, in modern day Uzbekistan, where the family lived and traded for three years.

Crossing the Volga River and travelling around the northern end of the Caspian Sea, the Polo brothers, traversed the dry steppes of Kazakhstran and Usbekistan to the ancient city of Bukhara. The Mongols had captured and destroyed the city in 1220. When the Polos arrived, it was one of the chief cities of the Chaghatai Khanate.

The brothers stayed in Bukhara for three years, waiting for the unrest in the western khanates to end. It must have been an unrest of three years, but it may have given the Polos a chance to learn the Mongol language, Perhaps they also still had goods to sell in the city, whick was an important stop along the east-west overland trade routes.

Unfortunately for Marco, only Marco Polo's father, Niccolò (also Nicolò in Venetian) and his uncle, Maffeo (also Maffio), were in Bukhara. But as written by Rustichello da Pisa “Ma ancora v'à di quelle cose le quali elli nonvide, ma udille da persone degne di fede” And still have things which he had not seen, but he had heard it from faithful people.

In Sanskrit word "Bukhara" means "monastery". Here you can find more than 140 architectural monuments and architectural masterpieces. Bukhara is a "museum city" under the blue sky.

Bukhara (Uzbek: Buxoro, Tajik: Бухоро, Persian: بُخارا, Russian: Бухара), also spelled as Bukhoro and Bokhara, from the Soghdian βuxārak ("lucky place"), is the capital of the Bukhara Province (viloyat) of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 237,900 (1999 census estimate).

As the Polos you could also learn some Mongolian:

Phrase list
[Basics
Hello.
Sain bainuu . ( )
Hello.
Sain'uu(informal) : . ( )
How are you?
Sain bainuu? ( ?)
Fine, thank you.
Sain bainaa. ( )
What is your name?
Tany ner khen be? ( ?)
Who are you / Who is it?
Chi khen be? ( ?)
My name is ______ .
Mini ner ______ . ( _____ .)
Nice to meet you.
. ( )
Please.
Tik Tik . ( )
Thank you.
Bayarlalaa . ( )
You're welcome.
Zuuger . ( )
Yes.
Tiim . ( )
No.
Ugu . ( )
Sorry.
Uuchlaarai : . ( )
Goodbye
Bayartai . ( )
I can't speak Mongolian
Bi Mongoloor yairdaggui [ ]. ( [ ])
Do you speak English?
Chi angilar yairdaguu? ( ?)
Help!
! ( !)
Look out!
! ( !)
Good morning.
uglunii mend . ( )
Good afternoon.
udriin mend . ( )
Good night.
orai mend . ( )
Good night (to sleep)
saikhan untaarai . ( )
I don't understand.
bi oil-rakh gui . ( )
Where is the toilet?
khanas toalet? ( ?)

Some good ideas to reduce world poverty

In today's world, millions of people face the adversities of poverty on a daily basis, many of them without prospects for a better life. 

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However, society has the power to intervene and change this reality. The transformative force is in each individual's interest in getting involved and making a difference. We'll explore key strategies for reducing and eventually eliminating poverty globally.

Inclusive Economic Growth: Recognizing that sustainable economic growth is a fundamental pillar in the fight against poverty, it is crucial that governments and leaders adopt policies aimed at inclusive growth. Stimulating the creation of productive, well-paying jobs is essential to providing economic opportunities for all, especially the most vulnerable.

Investment in Human Capital: Equal access to quality education, adequate health services and social protection is critical to breaking the cycle of poverty. It is imperative that governments invest in comprehensive educational programs, vocational training and accessible health services. In this way, we will enable people to overcome the barriers of poverty and improve their living conditions.

Strengthening Rights and Governance: The fight against poverty requires the promotion of a just and egalitarian society, where the rights of all are respected. It is crucial to fight corruption, strengthen institutions and guarantee equal rights for all citizens. Access to justice and the active participation of civil society are key components in this endeavor.

Sustainable Rural Development: A significant proportion of the poor live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. To face this reality, it is necessary to invest in rural infrastructure, access to markets, agricultural technologies and support for small farmers. In this way, we will enable sustainable development in these regions and improve the living conditions of the rural population.

Promoting Gender Equality: Gender equality plays a crucial role in reducing poverty. It is essential to eliminate discrimination and ensure equal opportunities for women and girls. Economic empowerment, access to education, reproductive health and property rights are priority areas that must be addressed.

International Cooperation: The fight against poverty requires a global approach. Cooperation between developed and developing countries is key to meeting this challenge effectively. More developed countries can provide financial and technical assistance, helping to implement effective poverty reduction strategies. In addition, issues such as fair trade, debt forgiveness and reforms in international financial institutions must also be addressed.

Society's power to fight poverty lies in each person's individual interest in getting involved and making a difference. Each individual can play an important role, whether through volunteering in organizations that work with underprivileged communities, or in the defense of public policies that promote equality and sustainable development.

Awareness is the first step. It is critical that people understand the gravity of poverty and its underlying causes. This involves educating yourself about the social and economic issues that contribute to the perpetuation of poverty, as well as the viable solutions to address them.

In addition, society needs to encourage a culture of solidarity and social responsibility. This can be done by supporting initiatives and social businesses aimed at job creation and sustainable development in underprivileged communities. By consuming products and services from these organizations, people directly contribute to the reduction of poverty.

Another form of intervention is through political engagement. Citizens can become involved in movements and pressure groups that seek to influence the formulation of public policies aimed at eradicating poverty. This includes participating in demonstrations, writing letters to elected officials, participating in public hearings and voting for candidates committed to reducing inequalities.

In addition, financial donation to anti-poverty organizations also plays a crucial role. These donations can help fund projects and programs that aim to improve the lives of the most vulnerable people.

In summary, ending poverty requires a multifaceted approach that involves both individual and collective action. When society as a whole unites towards this goal, it is possible to create a significant and transformative impact. Each individual has the power to make a difference and contribute to building a more just and egalitarian world, where poverty is just a memory of the past.

Did you know that you can replace poverty with hope, and with opportunity at low cost?

Here are some of the things you can do to help; Somalis have an opportunity to switch to sun power using solar cookers. A company named Sun Fire Cooking has developed a sturdy (50 kilos), long-lasting, butterfly-designed solar cooker that works as fast as a gas or electric stove because of the large size parabolic mirrors.

According to the company the solar cooker pays for itself in less than one year and should give twenty years of free solar cooking.

For $200 you can buy a solar cooker for a family or for a woman to start her own tea shop and support her family. Send an email at sunfirecooking@yahoo.com for details or telephone Fatima in Bosaso at +252 5 797844 to learn how can you help more.

If you want to put your efforts towards urban areas and reduce the disposal of waste materials on the streets, you could sponsor Brazilian Rag-pickers (catadores de Lixo). Rag-pickers are informal workers who collect recyclable materials on their pushcarts to earn a small wage sending it to recycling companies.

Rafael Antonio Bruno, Mechanical Engineering at Polytechnic School of USP Universidade de São Paulo (São Paulo State University) has created a low cost lite pushcart equipped with rearview mirror, reflective tape, brake system and with an appropriate load compartment.

Rafael still has some challenges such as weight and cost reduction, the pushcart costs R$ 1,100.00 (45% more than it should be) and weights 110kg (10% more that projected).

Another good initiative to solve this equation was taken by Banco do Brasil which have donated on may 13th 14 special trycicles to Centcoop - Central das Cooperativas de Catadores de Materiais Recicláveis (Central of Cooperatives for Recycled Materials Collectors) at a cost per unity of R$ 17,600.00 (about US$ 11,000.00).

Centcoop aggregates 17 different Rag-pickers cooperatives in Brazil and 3.5 thousand of Rag-pickers. The city of São Paulo produces 16,000 tons of waste daily and Rag-Pickers are responsible for about 1% of its recycling.

Society's strength in combating poverty goes beyond individual actions. It manifests itself in the capacity for collective mobilization and in the search for structural changes that promote equality and access to opportunities for all.

This means that society needs to push for effective and inclusive public policies that address social and economic inequalities comprehensively. It is necessary for governments to invest in social protection programs, quality education, access to health services and the creation of decent jobs. Society can use its collective strength to demand these measures and hold political leaders accountable for their actions.

In addition, it is fundamental to promote a cultural and mentality change, in order to challenge stereotypes and prejudices that perpetuate poverty. It is necessary to combat discrimination and promote equal opportunities for all, regardless of their social origin, gender, ethnicity or any other characteristic.

Education plays a key role in this process. It is necessary to invest in an inclusive and quality education that enables individuals to break the cycle of poverty. In addition, education must promote values such as empathy, solidarity and social responsibility, so that future generations are engaged in the fight against poverty.

Finally, it is important to highlight that poverty is not a problem that can be solved overnight. It's an ongoing battle that requires persistent and committed efforts. It is therefore critical that society maintains an individual interest in helping those most in need, while at the same time working together to create an enabling environment for poverty reduction.

If each individual, with their individual interest, unites towards this common goal, we can make significant advances in the reduction and eventual elimination of poverty. Together, we can build a future where all people have equal opportunities and live in dignity.

Here are some more ideas and approaches to strengthen the fight against poverty:

Public, Private and Civil Society Partnerships: Collaboration between governments, businesses and civil society organizations is critical to effectively addressing poverty. These partnerships can lead to joint initiatives, responsible investments and knowledge exchange, leveraging the resources and experiences of different sectors to create positive social impact.

Development of skills and capabilities: In addition to ensuring access to education, it is important to provide training and skills that are in line with the demands of the job market. This will help strengthen the skills and competencies of people experiencing poverty, increasing their chances of finding decent employment and improving their living conditions.

Financial inclusion: Promoting access to financial services such as bank accounts, loans and insurance can empower people to manage their finances, build assets and invest in business opportunities. This can boost entrepreneurship and job creation, allowing people to be protagonists in their own overcoming of poverty.

Environmental sustainability: Poverty is closely linked to environmental challenges such as environmental degradation and climate change. It is therefore important to promote environmental sustainability in all anti-poverty strategies. This may involve adopting sustainable agricultural practices, accessing clean technologies and promoting renewable energy sources.

Focus on marginalized communities: Often certain population groups, such as indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities and people with disabilities, are most affected by poverty. It is necessary to ensure that anti-poverty strategies take into account their specific needs and address the barriers they face in accessing opportunities and services.

Ongoing monitoring and evaluation: Regular monitoring and evaluation of anti-poverty initiatives is essential to ensure their effectiveness and efficiency. This will help identify what is working, what needs tweaking, and what lessons can be learned. In this way, it will be possible to better direct resources and maximize the impact of actions.

Remember that the fight against poverty is a complex challenge, and there is no single solution. A holistic approach adapted to local realities is needed, combining different strategies and coordinated actions. With a concerted and continued effort, we can work to reduce and eventually end poverty in our world.

Corporate Titles and Labor Classification

If you like anime or/and manga you probably know the meaning of the words Senpai (先輩, ) roughly equivalent to the western concept of "mentor", and kōhai (後輩, kōhai) the equivalent to "acolytes". According to a Japanese tradition a young person may be considered the senpai of an older person at times if the older person entered an organization, such as a company, at a later time than the younger person did.

In the occidental tradition, when middle Ages came to an end, the rank structure of medieval armies became more formalized. The top officers of hierarchy were known as commissioned officers whose authority came directly from a sovereign power, the word hierarchy derives from the Greek ἱεραρχία (hierarchia), from ἱεράρχης (hierarches), "president of sacred rites, high-priest" and that from ἱερός (hieros), "sacred" + ἄρχω (arkho), "to lead, to rule".

The basic unit of the medieval army was the company, a band of soldiers assigned (or raised) by a vassal lord on behalf of his lord. Today’s companies have inherited that sort of rank based structure in organizations all over the world. Corporate titles have been created to confer to individuals as a means of identifying their function in the organization. Titles vary by the type of organization, the sector that it is, whether it is for-profit or non-profit, public or private, partnership or sole proprietorship. Some sectors, such as educational institutions, have particular titles.

In order to standardized occupational titles globally the International Labor Organization (ILO) have established the labor classification structure. The current version, known as ISCO-88, is the third iteration, following ISCO-58 and ISCO-66. There is an updated version of the structure being prepared for release by 2008.

The ILO describes the purpose of the ISCO-88 as:

A tool for organizing jobs into a clearly defined set of groups according to the tasks and duties undertaken in the job. It is intended both for statistical users and for client oriented users. The main client oriented applications are in the recruitment of workers through employment offices, in the management of short or long term migration of workers between countries as well as in the development of vocational training programmes and guidance.

The ISCO-88 divides jobs into 10 major groups, with each group further organized into sub-major, minor and unit (not shown) groups.

MAJOR GROUP 1
LEGISLATORS, SENIOR OFFICIALS AND MANAGERS

11 LEGISLATORS AND SENIOR OFFICIALS
111 LEGISLATORS
112 SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
113 TRADITIONAL CHIEFS AND HEADS OF VILLAGES
114 SENIOR OFFICIALS OF SPECIAL-INTEREST ORGANISATIONS
12 CORPORATE MANAGERS
121 DIRECTORS AND CHIEF EXECUTIVES
122 PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT MANAGERS
123 OTHER DEPARTMENT MANAGERS
13 GENERAL MANAGERS
131 GENERAL MANAGERS

MAJOR GROUP 2
PROFESSIONALS

21 PHYSICAL, MATHEMATICAL AND ENGINEERING SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS
211 PHYSICISTS, CHEMISTS AND RELATED PROFESSIONALS
212 MATHEMATICIANS, STATISTICIANS AND RELATED PROFESSIONALS
213 COMPUTING PROFESSIONALS
214 ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS AND RELATED PROFESSIONALS
22 LIFE SCIENCE AND HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
221 LIFE SCIENCE PROFESSIONALS
222 HEALTH PROFESSIONALS (except nursing)
223 NURSING AND MIDWIFERY PROFESSIONALS
23 TEACHING PROFESSIONALS
231 COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY AND HIGHER EDUCATION TEACHING PROFESSIONALS
232 SECONDARY EDUCATION TEACHING PROFESSIONALS
233 PRIMARY AND PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION TEACHING PROFESSIONALS
234 SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHING PROFESSIONALS
235 OTHER TEACHING PROFESSIONALS
24 OTHER PROFESSIONALS
241 BUSINESS PROFESSIONALS
242 LEGAL PROFESSIONALS
243 ARCHIVISTS, LIBRARIANS AND RELATED INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS
244 SOCIAL SCIENCE AND RELATED PROFESSIONALS
245 WRITERS AND CREATIVE OR PERFORMING ARTISTS
246 RELIGIOUS PROFESSIONALS

MAJOR GROUP 3
TECHNICIANS AND ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS

31 PHYSICAL AND ENGINEERING SCIENCE ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS
311 PHYSICAL AND ENGINEERING SCIENCE TECHNICIANS
312 COMPUTER ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS
313 OPTICAL AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT OPERATORS
314 SHIP AND AIRCRAFT CONTROLLERS AND TECHNICIANS
315 SAFETY AND QUALITY INSPECTORS
32 LIFE SCIENCE AND HEALTH ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS
321 LIFE SCIENCE TECHNICIANS AND RELATED ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS
322 MODERN HEALTH ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS (except nursing)
323 NURSING AND MIDWIFERY ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS
324 TRADITIONAL MEDICINE PRACTITIONERS AND FAITH HEALERS
33 TEACHING ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS
331 PRIMARY EDUCATION TEACHING ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS
332 PRE-PRIMARY EDUCATION TEACHING ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS
333 SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHING ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS
334 OTHER TEACHING ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS
34 OTHER ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS
341 FINANCE AND SALES ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS
342 BUSINESS SERVICES AGENTS AND TRADE BROKERS
343 ADMINISTRATIVE ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS
344 CUSTOMS, TAX AND RELATED GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS
345 POLICE INSPECTORS AND DETECTIVES
346 SOCIAL WORK ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS
347 ARTISTIC, ENTERTAINMENT AND SPORTS ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS
348 RELIGIOUS ASSOCIATE PROFESSIONALS

MAJOR GROUP 4
CLERKS

41 OFFICE CLERKS
411 SECRETARIES AND KEYBOARD-OPERATING CLERKS
412 NUMERICAL CLERKS
413 MATERIAL-RECORDING AND TRANSPORT CLERKS
414 LIBRARY, MAIL AND RELATED CLERKS
419 OTHER OFFICE CLERKS
42 CUSTOMER SERVICES CLERKS
421 CASHIERS, TELLERS AND RELATED CLERKS
422 CLIENT INFORMATION CLERKS

MAJOR GROUP 5
SERVICE WORKERS AND SHOP AND MARKET SALES WORKERS

51 PERSONAL AND PROTECTIVE SERVICES WORKERS
511 TRAVEL ATTENDANTS AND RELATED WORKERS
512 HOUSEKEEPING AND RESTAURANT SERVICES WORKERS
513 PERSONAL CARE AND RELATED WORKERS
514 OTHER PERSONAL SERVICES WORKERS
515 ASTROLOGERS, FORTUNE-TELLERS AND RELATED WORKERS
516 PROTECTIVE SERVICES WORKERS
52 MODELS, SALESPERSONS AND DEMONSTRATORS
521 FASHION AND OTHER MODELS
522 SHOP SALESPERSONS AND DEMONSTRATORS
523 STALL AND MARKET SALESPERSONS

MAJOR GROUP 6
SKILLED AGRICULTURAL AND FISHERY WORKERS

61 MARKET-ORIENTED SKILLED AGRICULTURAL AND FISHERY WORKERS
611 MARKET GARDENERS AND CROP GROWERS
612 MARKET-ORIENTED ANIMAL PRODUCERS AND RELATED WORKERS
613 MARKET-ORIENTED CROP AND ANIMAL PRODUCERS
614 FORESTRY AND RELATED WORKERS
615 FISHERY WORKERS, HUNTERS AND TRAPPERS
62 SUBSISTENCE AGRICULTURAL AND FISHERY WORKERS
621 SUBSISTENCE AGRICULTURAL AND FISHERY WORKERS

MAJOR GROUP 7
CRAFT AND RELATED TRADES WORKERS

71 EXTRACTION AND BUILDING TRADES WORKERS
711 MINERS, SHOTFIRERS, STONE CUTTERS AND CARVERS
712 BUILDING FRAME AND RELATED TRADES WORKERS
713 BUILDING FINISHERS AND RELATED TRADES WORKERS
714 PAINTERS, BUILDING STRUCTURE CLEANERS AND RELATED TRADES WORKERS
72 METAL, MACHINERY AND RELATED TRADES WORKERS
721 METAL MOULDERS, WELDERS, SHEET-METAL WORKERS, STRUCTURAL- METAL PREPARERS, AND RELATED TRADES WORKERS
722 BLACKSMITHS, TOOL-MAKERS AND RELATED TRADES WORKERS
723 MACHINERY MECHANICS AND FITTERS
724 ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT MECHANICS AND FITTERS
73 PRECISION, HANDICRAFT, PRINTING AND RELATED TRADES WORKERS
731 PRECISION WORKERS IN METAL AND RELATED MATERIALS
732 POTTERS, GLASS-MAKERS AND RELATED TRADES WORKERS
733 HANDICRAFT WORKERS IN WOOD,TEXTILE, LEATHER AND RELATED MATERIALS
734 PRINTING AND RELATED TRADES WORKERS
74 OTHER CRAFT AND RELATED TRADES WORKERS
741 FOOD PROCESSING AND RELATED TRADES WORKERS
742 WOOD TREATERS, CABINET-MAKERS AND RELATED TRADES WORKERS
743 TEXTILE, GARMENT AND RELATED TRADES WORKERS
744 PELT, LEATHER AND SHOEMAKING TRADES WORKERS

MAJOR GROUP 8
PLANT AND MACHINE OPERATORS AND ASSEMBLERS

81 STATIONARY-PLANT AND RELATED OPERATORS
811 MINING- AND MINERAL-PROCESSING-PLANT OPERATORS
812 METAL-PROCESSING-PLANT OPERATORS
813 GLASS, CERAMICS AND RELATED PLANT OPERATORS
814 WOOD-PROCESSING- AND PAPERMAKING-PLANT OPERATORS
815 CHEMICAL-PROCESSING-PLANT OPERATORS
816 POWER-PRODUCTION AND RELATED PLANT OPERATORS
817 AUTOMATED-ASSEMBLY-LINE AND INDUSTRIAL-ROBOT OPERATORS
82 MACHINE OPERATORS AND ASSEMBLERS
821 METAL- AND MINERAL-PRODUCTS MACHINE OPERATORS
822 CHEMICAL-PRODUCTS MACHINE OPERATORS
823 RUBBER- AND PLASTIC-PRODUCTS MACHINE OPERATORS
824 WOOD-PRODUCTS MACHINE OPERATORS
825 PRINTING-, BINDING- AND PAPER-PRODUCTS MACHINE OPERATORS
826 TEXTILE-, FUR- AND LEATHER-PRODUCTS MACHINE OPERATORS
827 FOOD AND RELATED PRODUCTS MACHINE OPERATORS
828 ASSEMBLERS
829 OTHER MACHINE OPERATORS AND ASSEMBLERS
83 DRIVERS AND MOBILE-PLANT OPERATORS
831 LOCOMOTIVE-ENGINE DRIVERS AND RELATED WORKERS
832 MOTOR-VEHICLE DRIVERS
833 AGRICULTURAL AND OTHER MOBILE-PLANT OPERATORS
834 SHIPS' DECK CREWS AND RELATED WORKERS

MAJOR GROUP 9
ELEMENTARY OCCUPATIONS

91 SALES AND SERVICES ELEMENTARY OCCUPATIONS
911 STREET VENDORS AND RELATED WORKERS
912 SHOE CLEANING AND OTHER STREET SERVICES ELEMENTARY OCCUPATIONS
913 DOMESTIC AND RELATED HELPERS, CLEANERS AND LAUNDERERS
914 BUILDING CARETAKERS, WINDOW AND RELATED CLEANERS
915 MESSENGERS, PORTERS, DOORKEEPERS AND RELATED WORKERS
916 GARBAGE COLLECTORS AND RELATED LABOURERS
92 AGRICULTURAL, FISHERY AND RELATED LABOURERS
921 AGRICULTURAL, FISHERY AND RELATED LABOURERS
93 LABOURERS IN MINING, CONSTRUCTION, MANUFACTURING AND TRANSPORT
931 MINING AND CONSTRUCTION LABOURERS
932 MANUFACTURING LABOURERS
933 TRANSPORT LABOURERS AND FREIGHT HANDLERS

MAJOR GROUP 0
ARMED FORCES

Find here the "C-level"( titles begin with the term "chief.") Table:
chief accounting officer - CAO
chief acquisition officer - CAO
chief audit executive - CAE
chief automation officer – CAO
chief analytics officer - CAO
chief benefits officer - CBO
chief business officer/business development officer – CBO/BDO
chief channel officer - CCO
chief compliance officer - CCO
chief credit officer -CCO
chief data officer - CDO
chief design officer - CDO
chief diversity officer - CDO
chief engineering officer - CEO
chief experience officer - CXO
chief governance officer - CGO
chief information security officer - CISO
chief innovation officer - CIO
chief intellectual property officer - CIPO
chief investment officer - CIO
chief knowledge officer -CKO
chief learning officer - CLO
chief legal officer - CLO
chief marketing officer - CMO
chief networking officer - CNO
chief people officer - CPO
chief privacy officer - CPO
chief process officer - CPO
chief product officer - CPO
chief quality officer - CQO
chief research officer - CRO
chief revenue officer - CRO
chief risk officer - CRO
chief sales officer - CRO
chief science officer - CSO
chief security officer - CSO
chief strategy officer - CSO
chief sustainability officer - CSO
chief visionary officer - CVO

Marco Polo’s Bestiary

“Partendosi dalla Giava e dal regno di Lambri, poi che s'ha navigato da circa centocinquanta miglia verso tramontana, si truovano due isole, una delle quali si chiama Nocueran e l'altra Angaman. E in questa di Nocueran non è re, e quelle genti sono come bestie, e tutti, cosí maschi come femine, vanno nudi e non cuoprono parte alcuna della loro persona.”...” Angaman è un'isola grandissima, che non ha re, le cui genti adoran gl'idoli, e sono come bestie salvatiche, conciosiacosachè mi fosse detto ch'hanno il capo simile a quello de' cani, e gli occhi e denti. Sono genti crudeli, e tutti quegli uomini che possono prendere gli ammazzano e mangiano.”

“Upon living Java (minor) and the kingdom of Lambri, and sailing about one hundred and fifty miles, you fall in with two islands, one of which is named Nocueran, and the other Angaman. Nocueran is not under the government of a king, and the people are little removed from the conditions of beasts; all of them, both males and females, going naked, withot a covering to any part of the body.”…”Angaman is a very large island, not governed by king. The inhabitants are idolaters, and are most brutish and savage race, having heads, eyes, and teeth resembling those of the canine species. Their dispositions are cruel, and every person, not being of their own nation, whom they can lay their hands upon, they will kill and eat.”

Rustichello da Pisa was an Italian romance writer best known for co-writing Marco Polo's autobiography while they were in prison together in Genoa around 1298 after a clash between Genoa and Venice.

Marco dictated his tales of travel to Rustichello, and together they turned it into the book known as Il Milione or, in English, The Travels of Marco Polo - Description of the World.

Needless to say that I’m really impressed with the book, but what I like most about Description of the World is the fantastic description of what could be considered surreal stories.

It was very difficult at that time to separate scientific reports from bestiaries or Bestiarum vocabulum, a compendium of beasts. Bestiaries were made popular in the middle Ages in illustrated volumes that described various animals, birds, etc. Their fantastic and magnificent writings and illustrations were quite highly prized amongst general public and were regarded as great appreciation of fine literature and poetry, and gain acceptance as a wonderful source of fantasy in reader’s minds.

In the late 18th century the English sailor Andrew Battell held prisoner by the Portuguese in Angola, had described two anthropoid "monsters" named Pongo and Engeco. His description was considered to be another bestiary tail but it is pretty obvious that he was referring to orangutans.

Hanno the Navigator, a Carthaginian explorer c. 450 BC had described "a savage people, the greater part of whom were women, whose body were hairy, and whom our interpreters called Gorillae". It sounds very much like a Rustichello’s report.

In the Early 20th century Carl Akeley of the American Museum of Natural History traveled to Africa accompanied by his friends Mary Bradley, a famous mystery writer, and her husband. When they come back Mary Bradley wrote “On the Gorilla Trail” this one was no longer a bestiary, it was a magnificent scientific report.

A research study has been deemed scientific when it pursues the application of scientific criteria in both its formulation and implementation.

Marco Polo described on his journeys through the Gobi desert the sound to evil desert spirits. The noise can be very loud, audible for over a kilometer. It was a bestiary report but today we know that in a Chinese desert, guides point to what Polo apparently saw–the Mingsha Dune–and explain that when the wind blows, the dune whistles because solid granite is just below the shifting sand.

Tough much of what of Rustichello de Pise wrote is impossible to be held as a true fact, I really wish that all relates would not be a lie. In that sense I’ve created some possible images of what Marco and Rusticello described as if a fictional explorer from late 19’s encountered such creatures and photographed them.

So rejoice yourself with this scientific beautiful report!!!
Those Blemyas (The Blemmyes - Latin Blemmyae) were really gentile when our tem photographed them. They are a race of creatures that live in Africa, in Nubia, Kush, and Ethiopia, generally on the south of Egypt. They are acephalous (headless) people who had eyes and mouths in their bellies and could die if not smell a special local fruit in daily basis.
The Sciapodes (σκιαποδες - 'shadow foots' in Greek) or monocoli (μονοκωλοι - 'one legged' in Greek) live in India and have only one leg, but are able to leap with surprising agility.
In this photo you could see one Sciapode protecting himself from the sun by the shade of his own feet.
A Roc or Rukh (from the Arabic and Persian رخ rokh, asserted by Louis Charles Casartelli to be an abbreviated form of Persian simurgh) is an enormous bird of prey, often white, reputed to have been able to carry off and eat elephants.

Marco Polo as quoted inAttenborough (1961: 32) stated "It was for all the world like an eagle, but one indeed of enormous size; so big in fact that its quills were twelve paces long and thick in proportion. And it is so strong that it will seize an elephant in its talons and carry him high into the air and drop him so that he is smashed to pieces; having so killed him, the bird swoops down on him and eats him at leisure".

The Panotti (panacios, panotti, panotos, panotios - from the Greek words for "all ears") were a race of creatures, described as possessing large ears that covered their entire bodies.

They are mentioned by classical writers such as Pliny the Elder, who writes that they live in the "All-Ears Islands" off Scythia (Greek Σκυθία Skythia, Engl. /'sɪθɪə/ or /'sɪðɪə/) was the area in Eurasia inhabited by people of Iranian language. Pomponius Mela, however, writes that they lived near the Orkneys.

Postal Address formats II

Do you want to make sure that your correspondence will arrive at its destination without unnecessary delays, here is some postal address formats, business culture and etiquette for some countries. This will help you direct your international correspondence properly and ensure that your partner will receive the package/letter.

Angola

Exmo.[1] Senhor[2]
Luis[3] Pagano[4]
Internacional Blemya S.A.[5]
Av. [6] 4 de Fevereiro [7] n. 39[8] - 4.°[9] B[10]
Caixa Postal n.º-802[11]
Luanda[12]
República de Angola[13]

[1] Exmo. - treatment pronoun – Excelentíssimo ("Your Excellency", or, less formally, simply "Excellency".)
Vossa Excelência ( V. Ex.ª ).normally used for:
President
Vice President
State Minister
Senator
Judges
Ambassadors
[2]Senhor means "Mr."; not usually abbreviated.
[3]First given name.
[4]Family names; probably addressed as Mr. Pagano. (In domestic usage these two lines are more likely to be written as a single "attention" line under the following line.)
[5]S.A. = Sociedade Anônima, meaning an stock corporation,
Ltda. – Limitada meaning a Limited Company
[6] Av. – Avenida – Avenue
R. Rua is the most common word for "street."
[7]Street name.
[8]Building number.
[9]Fourth floor.
[10]Office B.
[11]Caixa Postal means Four-digit postcode P.O. Box.
[12] City name.Luanda – Capital
18 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia);
Bengo,
Benguela,
Bie,
Cabinda,
Cuando Cubango,
Cuanza Norte,
Cuanza Sul,
Cunene,
Huambo,
Huila,
Luanda,
Lunda Norte,
Lunda Sul,
Malanje,
Moxico,
Namibe,
Uige,
Zaire
[14] Country name.

Armenia

Mr.[1] Pavel Safarian
Blemya Capital LLC[2]
9[3] Tpagrichneri [4]St.[5]
Yerevan[6] 375010[7]

[2 ]Limited liability company - similar to a corporation and a limited liability partnership.
Limited - Equivalent to PLC Public Limited Company in the UK
OJSC Open Joint–Stock Company
CJLC Closed Joint–Stock Company
Inc. "Corporation", "Incorporated" and the abbreviations "Corp." and "Inc."
[3] Building number.
[4] Street name
[5] St. – Street
[6] City name – Yerevan – Capital
11 provinces (marzer, singular - marz);
Aragatsotn,
Ararat,
Armavir,
Geghark'unik',
Kotayk',
Lorri,
Shirak,
Syunik',
Tavush,
Vayots' Dzor,
Yerevan
[7] Six-digit postcode.

Austria

Herrn[1]
Dipl.-Ing.[2] Andreas[3] Stuck[4]
Blemya International Stern[5] GmbH[6]
Glockengasse[7] 159[8]
1010[9] WIEN[10]

[1]Herr means "Mr.," Herrn means "to Mr."; usually on a line by itself.
[2]Dipl.-Ing. is an engineering degree.
[3]Given name.
[4]Family name.
[5]Company name.
[6]GmbH. - Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung Translated "company with limited liability". Similar to Limited Liability Company (LLC). In Germany, min. capital in Austria €35,000
[7]Street name; many names in older areas end in -gasse, meaning "street." Or “Alley” – Strasse, street – Platz, square.
[8]Building number.
[9]four digit Postcode.
[10]City or delivery-post-office name, not usually capitalized in domestic usage. Wien is Vienna.
9 states (Bundeslaender, singular - Bundesland);
Burgenland,
Kaernten (Carinthia),
Niederoesterreich (Lower Austria),
Oberoesterreich (Upper Austria),
Salzburg,
Steiermark (Styria),
Tirol (Tyrol),
Vorarlberg,
Wien (Vienna)

Azerbaijan

Attn:[1] Grigory[2] Polova [3]
7 [4] Behbudov [5]St.[6]
Baku,[7] Az-1014[8],
Azerbaijan[9]

[1]Attn - ATTN is an acronym for the attention of
[2] Given name.
[3]Family name.
[4]Building number
[5]Name of the street
[6] street - st.
Поспект – avenue
Улица –street
[7] Baku – city name – Capital
59 rayons (rayonlar; rayon - singular), 11 cities (saharlar; sahar - singular), 1 autonomous republic (muxtar respublika)
rayons: Abseron Rayonu,
Agcabadi Rayonu,
Agdam Rayonu,
Agdas Rayonu,
Agstafa Rayonu,
Agsu Rayonu,
Astara Rayonu,
Balakan Rayonu,
Barda Rayonu,
Beylaqan Rayonu,
Bilasuvar Rayonu,
Cabrayil Rayonu,
Calilabad Rayonu,
Daskasan Rayonu,
Davaci Rayonu,
Fuzuli Rayonu,
Gadabay Rayonu,
Goranboy Rayonu,
Goycay Rayonu,
Haciqabul Rayonu,
Imisli Rayonu,
Ismayilli Rayonu,
Kalbacar Rayonu,
Kurdamir Rayonu,
Lacin Rayonu,
Lankaran Rayonu,
Lerik Rayonu,
Masalli Rayonu,
Neftcala Rayonu,
Oguz Rayonu,
Qabala Rayonu,
Qax Rayonu,
Qazax Rayonu,
Qobustan Rayonu,
Quba Rayonu,
Qubadli Rayonu,
Qusar Rayonu,
Saatli Rayonu,
Sabirabad Rayonu,
Saki Rayonu,
Salyan Rayonu,
Samaxi Rayonu,
Samkir Rayonu,
Samux Rayonu,
Siyazan Rayonu,
Susa Rayonu,
Tartar Rayonu,
Tovuz Rayonu,
Ucar Rayonu,
Xacmaz Rayonu,
Xanlar Rayonu,
Xizi Rayonu,
Xocali Rayonu,
Xocavand Rayonu,
Yardimli Rayonu,
Yevlax Rayonu,
Zangilan Rayonu,
Zaqatala Rayonu,
Zardab Rayonu

cities:
Ali Bayramli
Sahari,
Baki Sahari,
Ganca Sahari,
Lankaran Sahari,
Mingacevir Sahari,
Naftalan Sahari,
Saki Sahari,
Sumqayit Sahari,
Susa Sahari,
Xankandi Sahari,
Yevlax Sahari

The Indian caste system

The Indian caste system is related to social stratification and social restrictions in India, in which social classes are defined by hereditary groups often termed as jātis or castes. Within a jāti there exist exogamous groups known as gotras, the lineage or clan of a person, although in a handful of sub-castes like Shakadvipi endogamy within a gotra is permitted and alternative mechanisms of restricting endogamy are used.

Although generally identified with Hinduism, the caste system was also observed among followers of other religions in the Indian subcontinent, including some groups of Muslims and Christians. The Indian Constitution has outlawed caste-based discrimination, in keeping with the socialist, secular, democratic principles that founded the nation. Caste barriers have mostly broken down in large cities, though persist in rural areas of the country. The caste system, in various forms, does continue to play a major role in the Indian society and politics.

According to the ancient Hindu scriptures, there are five "varnas”:
The Brahmins (teachers, scholars and priests);
The Kshatriyas (kings and warriors);
The Vaishyas (traders);
The Sudras (agriculturists, service providers, and some artisan groups). Offspring of different varnas belong to different Jātis;The Dalits, another group excluded from the main society was called Parjanya or Antyaja. This group of former "untouchables" (now called Dalits) was considered either the lower section of Shudras or outside the caste system altogether.

World´s cultural diversity

In 1908 Israel Zangwill first staged his play which depicts the life of a Russian-Jewish immigrant family, the Quixanos. David Quixano has survived a pogrom (form of riot directed against a particular group), which killed his mother and sister, and he wishes to forget this horrible event. He composes an "American Symphony" and wants to look forward to a society free of ethnic divisions and hatred, rather than backward at his traumatic past. The name of the play is Melting Pot. It did great when opened, and was even praised by President Theodore Roosevelt.

The idea of "melting" as a metaphor for ethnic assimilation had been used before but Zangwill was the first to use the term "melting pot" as a symbol for this occurrence in American society.

The melting pot refers to the way in which homogeneous societies interacts, in which the ingredients in the pot (people of different cultures, races and religions) are combined so as to develop a multi-ethnic society.

The diversity of human culture is infinite; Ethnologue, a web encyclopedia that plans to catalogue all worlds’ living languages has already data of 6,912 different languages. Cultures and races fall into a comparable number.

Cultural diversity undoubtedly is what makes our society successful! It is what brought Europe into the Renaissance. It brings new ideas and ways of blending thoughts and ideas into something greater than the original. Great art, literature and science all came when cultures melted in the Pot.

Since humans emerged in Africa about two million years ago we have spread throughout the world, adapting to widely differing conditions and to periodic cataclysmic changes in local and global climate. The many separate societies that emerged around the globe differed markedly from each other, and many of these differences persist to this day.

In that sense UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, adopted by 185 Member States in 2001, represents the first international standard-setting instrument aimed at preserving and promoting cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue.

The Declaration puts in the first article that “Cultural diversity is as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature” and goes on to assure policies for the inclusion and participation of all citizens and guarantees social cohesion, in order to increase the vitality of world society and world peace.We are not only members of the human species. We also belong to states, nations or ethnic groups. Ethnic identity and the feeling of belonging to a particular group of people should be maintained and valued in a peaceful and harmonious fashion.

Marco Polo & Blemyas

“Signori imperadori, re e duci e tutte altre genti che volete sa-pere le diverse generazioni delle genti e le diversità delle regionidel mondo, leggete questo libro dove le troverrete tutte le gran-dissime maraviglie e gran diversitadi delle genti d'Erminia, diPersia e di Tarteria, d'India e di molte altre province। E questovi conterà il libro ordinatamente siccome messere Marco Polo,savio e nobile cittadino di Vinegia, le conta in questo libro e eglimedesimo le vide. Ma ancora v'à di quelle cose le quali elli nonvide, ma udille da persone degne di fede, e però le cose vedutedirà di veduta e l'altre per udita, acciò che 'l nostro libro sia ve-ritieri e sanza niuna menzogna.”

“Emperors and kings, dukes and marquises, counts, knights, and townsfolk, and all people who wish to know the various races of men and the peculiarities of the various regions of the world, take this book and have it read to you. Here you will find all the great wonders and curiosities of Greater Armenia and Persia, of the Tartars and of India, and of many other territories. Our book will relate them to you plainly in due order, as they were related by Messer Marco Polo, a wise and noble citizen of Venice, who has seen them with his own eyes. There is also much here that he has not seen but has heard from men of credit and veracity. We will set down things seen as seen, things heard as heard, so that our book may be an accurate record, free from any sort of fabrication.”

Marco Polo, Description of the World - Descrizione del mondo.

Marco Polo was born in Venetian Republic in September 15, 1254 died in his home on January 9, 1324, was a Venetian trader and explorer who gained fame for his worldwide travels, recorded in the book Il Milione ("The Million" or The Travels of Marco Polo).

Polo, together with his father Niccolo and his uncle Maffeo, was one of the first Westerners to travel the Silk Road to China and visit the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, Kublai Khan. At Khan’s service Marco went to Tartaria, China and Indochina. On their return to Venice, Marco spent the few months commanding a ship in a war against Genoa, ending up as prisoner. During the imprisonment he dictated to a fellow prisoner, Rustichello da Pisa, a detailed account of his travels in the then-unknown parts of China, further translated to Latin by Franciscan friar Francesco Pipino. Printed in 1485 in many other idioms.

His travel histories have inhabited the reader's mind all over the world and the richness of details and emotion of the wonderful and even fantastic narrative have always caused commotion.

Marco Polo's travels may have been the starting point of the integration consumer market among different cultures of the world.

But what really fascinate me in his narratives are the different legendary creatures founded, such as from Tanguibar Islands, where giant people use to live side by side with cynocephalus. The enormous serpent from Caragian region, the Sciapodes - Men with a single, large foot extending from one thick leg centered in the middle of their body and Salamander “Salamander is neither beastes nor Serpent, and from thence they doe gather that whiche is called Salamandra, which is a threede they doe make cloth of” and finally – Blemyas.

Blemyas are the perfect synthesis of the bizarre, something that causes extreme fear and at the same time curiosity, strangeness, fascination and wander of traveling.
On the process for deciding the name of this blog and choosing the name of the main character, I wanted to show that business travel won’t have to be mechanical, cold and non-interesting, that we should not regard our attitude towards globalized world as a strange afternoon watching CNN reports on terrorist attacks and death.
It is more like Body Shop’s Anita Roddick ecological militancy, or Richard Branson’s radical leadership and passion for his company or even a Brazilian dressmaker that exports using easy mail export “Exporta Fácil” .

As well as an interconnected meteorological system, where butterfly's wings air movements in Japan might create tiny changes in the atmosphere that ultimately cause a storm in Europe, the attitude of leaving home to a nearby newsstand in order to buy a newspaper might create big changes in Times Warner shares.

Be part of it; try to narrate your travel experiences and even the Blemyas that may cross your ways.

New Year Celebrations Around the World - 2008

AFRIKAANS gelukkige nuwejaar 2008
ALBANIAN Gëzuar vitin e ri 2008
ALSATIAN e glëckliches nëies / güets nëies johr 2008
ARABIC عام سعيد (aam saiid) / sana saiida 2008
ARMENIAN shnorhavor nor tari 2008
AZERI yeni iliniz mubarek 2008
BAMBARA bonne année 2008
BASQUE urte berri on 2008
BELARUSIAN З новым годам (Z novym hodam) 2008
BENGALI subho nababarsho 2008
BERBER asgwas amegas 2008
BETI mbembe mbu 2008
BOBO bonne année 2008
BOSNIAN sretna nova godina 2008
BRETON bloavezh mat / bloavez mad 2008
BULGARIAN честита нова година (chestita nova godina) 2008
BURMESE hnit thit ku mingalar pa 2008
CANTONESE sun lin fi lok / kung hé fat tsoi 2008
CATALAN bon any nou 2008
CHINESE xin nian kuai le / xin nian hao 2008
CORSICAN pace e salute 2008
CROATIAN sretna nova godina2008
CZECH šťastný nový rok 2008
DANISH godt nytår 2008
DARI sale naw tabrik 2008
DUTCH gelukkig Nieuwjaar 2008
ESPERANTO felicxan novan jaron 2008
feliæan novan jaron (Times SudEuro font) 2008
ESTONIAN head uut aastat 2008
FAROESE gott nýggjár 2008
FINNISH onnellista uutta vuotta 2008
FLEMISH gelukkig Nieuwjaar 2008
FRENCH bonne année 2008
FRISIAN lokkich neijier 2008
FRIULAN bon an 2008
GALICIAN feliz aninovo 2008
GEORGIAN გილოცავთ ახალ წელს (gilocavt akhal tsels) 2008
GERMAN ein gutes neues Jahr / prost Neujahr 2008
GREEK kali chronia / kali xronia 2008
eutichismenos o kainourgios chronos (we wish you a happy new year) 2008
GUJARATI sal mubarak / nootan varshabhinandan 2008
GUARANÍ rogüerohory año nuévo-re 2008
HAITIAN CREOLE bònn ané 2008
HAWAIIAN hauoli makahiki hou 2008
HEBREW shana tova 2008
HINDI nav varsh ki subhkamna 2008
HMONG nyob zoo xyoo tshiab 2008
HUNGARIAN boldog új évet 2008
ICELANDIC farsælt komandi ár 2008
INDONESIAN selamat tahun baru 2008
IRISH GAELIC ath bhliain faoi mhaise 2008
ITALIAN felice anno nuovo, buon anno 2008
JAVANESE sugeng warsa enggal 2008
JAPANESE akemashite omedetô 2008
KABYLIAN asseguèsse-ameguèsse 2008
KANNADA hosa varshada shubhaashayagalu 2008
KAZAKH zhana zhiliniz kutti bolsin 2008
KHMER sur sdei chhnam thmei 2008
KIRUNDI umwaka mwiza 2008
KOREAN seh heh bok mani bat uh seyo 2008
KURDE sala we ya nû pîroz be 2008
LAO sabai di pi mai 2008
LATIN felix sit annus novus 2008
LATVIAN laimīgu Jauno gadu 2008
LIGURIAN feliçe annu nœvu / feliçe anno nêuvo 2008
LINGALA bonana / mbula ya sika elamu na tonbeli yo 2008
LITHUANIAN laimingų Naujųjų Metų 2008
LOW SAXON gelükkig nyjaar 2008
LUXEMBOURGEOIS e gudd neit Joër 2008
MACEDONIAN Среќна Нова Година (srekna nova godina) 2008
MALAGASY arahaba tratry ny taona2008
MALAY selamat tahun baru 2008
MALTESE is-sena t-tajba 2008
MAORI kia hari te tau hou 2008
MARATHI navin varshaachya hardik shubbheccha 2008
MONGOLIAN shine jiliin bayariin mend hurgeye (Шинэ жилийн баярын мэнд хvргэе) 2008
MORÉ wênd na kô-d yuum-songo 2008
NDEBELE umyaka omucha omuhle 2008
NORWEGIAN godt nyttår 2008
OCCITAN bon annada 2008
PASHTO nawe kaalmo mobarak sha 2008
PERSIAN sâle no mobârak 2008
POLISH szczęśliwego nowego roku 2008
PORTUGUESE feliz ano novo 2008
ROMANCHE bun di bun onn 2008
ROMANI baxtalo nevo bersh 2008
ROMANIAN un an nou fericit / la mulţi ani 2008
RUSSIAN С Новым Годом (S novim godom) 2008
SAMOAN ia manuia le tausaga fou 2008
SANGO nzoni fini ngou 2008
SARDINIAN bonu annu nou 2008
SCOTTISH GAELIC bliadhna mhath ur 2008
SERBIAN srećna nova godina 2008
SHIMAORE mwaha mwema 2008
SHONA goredzwa rakanaka 2008
SINDHI nain saal joon wadhayoon 2008
SINHALA suba aluth avuruddak vewa 2008
SLOVAK stastlivy novy rok 2008
SLOVENIAN srečno novo leto 2008
SOBOTA dobir leto 2008
SPANISH feliz año nuevo 2008
SRANAN wan bun nyun yari 2008
SWAHILI mwaka mzuri / heri ya mwaka mpya 2008
SWEDISH gott nytt år 2008
SWISS-GERMAN es guets Nöis 2008
TAGALOG manigong bagong taon 2008
TAHITIAN ia orana i te matahiti api 2008
TAMIL iniya puthandu nalVazhthukkal 2008
TATAR yaña yıl belän 2008
TELUGU nuthana samvathsara subhakankshalu 2008
THAI สวัสดีปีใหม่ (sawatdii pimaï) 2008
TIBETAN tashi délek 2008
TURKISH yeni yiliniz kutlu olsun 2008
UDMURT Vyľ Aren 2008
UKRAINIAN Z novym rokom 2008
URDU naya saal mubarik 2008
UZBEK yangi yilingiz qutlug' bo'lsin 2008
VIETNAMESE Chúc Mừng Nǎm Mới / Cung Chúc Tân Niên / Cung Chúc Tân Xuân 2008
WALOON ("betchfessîs" spelling) bone annéye / bone annéye èt bone santéye 2008
WELSH blwyddyn newydd dda 2008
WEST INDIAN CREOLE bon lanné 2008
WOLOF dewenati 2008
YIDDISH a gut yohr2008