To do, you begin with … Fazer ABC - initiative UN Information Centre

UN Chronicle, Summer, 1998 by Carlos Dos Santos

The reading of the text of the 1996 United Nations System-wide Special Initiative on Africa which, at a certain point, says "Africa virtually lives today on the edge of survival and its prospects are frightening if current trends continue", has prompted an imaginative initiative by the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Lisbon. Its Director, Carlos dos Santos, contributes this report.

A continent with vast potential poised on the edge of survival. This reflection led the Centre to contact various African artists and instil this idea: the time has come for Africans living away from Africa to do something for their continent; something to foster awareness of its critical situation, mobilize badly needed resources and disseminate the African culture as a way to promote understanding among the peoples of the world. The time has come for them to stop just sitting and waiting for the international community, through the United Nations, its agencies and programmes, to help Africa.

The idea was fruitful and that was why the "Fazer" ("to do", in Portuguese) Initiative was born and formally presented to the public on 12 December 1996 at a ceremony aimed at celebrating the Human Rights Day.

The ever-increasing number of Fazer members wished to give their contribution, but did not know how to begin, and lacked all kind of resources except, of course, their talent and willingness to work. Taking on the responsibility for the challenge, UNIC tried to help Fazer in every way it could. The first step was to help them define the project: "ABC Africa" was the name given to a series of modules, aimed at collecting school materials for distribution among the Portuguese-speaking African countries, at a later stage. Such modules included an "African Gala", "ABC Africa and the Town Council", and "ABC Africa and Lisbon.

The second step was to help Fazer identify other supporters and sponsors* This task was made easier to the United Nations in Portugal by the solution found by African artists, as a means of ensuring the total transparency of the process and avoiding misunderstandings as regards its objectives: no money would be involved in the process; and the tickets would be "purchased" with school materials.

The response from institutions and the civil society was indeed enthusiastic and showed that the format proposed by Fazer deserved everybody's respect.

The Portuguese Government has agreed to free shipment of school supplies to Portuguese-speaking African countries; the Department of Culture of the Lisbon Town Council has paid for the production of a poster and a pamphlet, and authorized the loan of a municipal theatre, and the theater staff volunteered to work on their weekly day off to help materialize the project; the Secretary of State for Youth Affairs granted the equivalent to $2,500 to cover sound and equipment costs; the largest selling tabloid "Correio da Manha" launched a campaign and produced T-shirts on Fazer; the Club of Friends of Fazer, whose members are people from all walks of life, have also expressed their public support; the National Scout Association made their young members available to help distribute publications during the "African Gala"; and the Lisbon Social Centre has offered to store the school materials that were collected until they are sent to Africa.

UNIC produced a pamphlet on Fazer's "ABC Africa" project and, in an attempt to give expression to an increasing tendency to involve the United Nations system as a whole in its projects, obtained from the United Nations Development Programme a few publications in Portuguese on Africa, for distribution during the event.

On 11 April, the "African Gala" took place and, thanks to this show, school supplies have been collected: 66 rubbers, 1,077 exercise books, 76 pencils, 716 text books, 281 history books and short stories, 24 files. This big success can only be measured if one takes the number of seats of the room: 700.

On the other hand, the success of Fazer's first event has demonstrated the strength of the philosophy and measures contained in the UN Systemwide Special Initiative on Africa, and the willingness and capacity of institutions, civil society and, above all, the UN system itself to unite and build support for its spirit.