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text:
Q: python str.format with utf-8 characters that take more than 1 position I trying to print japanese characters in python, aligned in columns. It seems that japanese characters have a width equivalent to two spaces, so the alignment doesn't work.
Here is the code:
def print_kanji(s, k):
    print('{:<20}{:<10}{:<10}{:<10}'
        .format(s, k['reading'][0], k['reading'][1], k['kanji']))

# Being 's' some input string and 'k' a map which contains readings in the 3 different japanese alphabets.

The output I obtain is the following:
decir               いう        イウ        言う

pequeño             すくない      スクナイ      少ない

niño                こども       コドモ       子供

ya [ha hecho X]     もう        モウ

The column in the left is spanish but that's not important. The important thing is that the 3 columns on the right are not aligned. I have counted the number of positions and it is correct, that is, the first japanese column always is 10 'positions' long, the problem is that japanese characters are 2 positions wide while blanks are 1 only.
I have checked as well that a blank (using the japanese input) is two positions wide as well, therefore I should be able to fix the problem by replacing the 'latin' space (1 position width) by the japanese one.
How can I change the character that format will use to align strings?
EDIT
I have found that str.format has a parameter which is fill. I have tried to replace this by the japanese blank (two positions wide) and the result is worse.
EDIT 2
I have solved it by implementing this function
def get_formatted_kanji(h, k, kn):
    h2 = h + str(' ' * (10 - 2*len(h)))
    k2 = k + str(' ' * (10 - 2*len(h)))
    kn2 = kn + str(' ' * (10 - 2*len(h)))
    return h2 + k2 + kn2

# being h, k and kn the three 'japanese strings' to be formatted in columns

however, is there a better (built-in) way of achieving this?

A: In a terminal, it's common for certain characters to take up two columns and other characters to take up one column. You can find out which characters are which by using the unicodedata Python module, which has an east_asian_width().
Here is an example of how you can use it to pad your text:
import unicodedata
table = [
    ('decir', 'いう', 'イウ', '言う'),
    ('pequeño', 'すくない', 'スクナイ', '少ない'),
    ('niño', 'こども', 'コドモ', '子供'),
    ('ya [ha hecho X]', 'もう', 'モウ', ''),
]

WIDTHS = {
    'F': 2,
    'H': 1,
    'W': 2,
    'N': 1,
    'A': 1, # Not really correct...
    'Na': 1,
}

def pad(text, width):
    text_width = 0
    for ch in text:
        width_class = unicodedata.east_asian_width(ch)
        text_width += WIDTHS[width_class]
    if width <= text_width:
        return text
    return text + ' ' * (width - text_width)

for s, reading1, reading2, kanji in table:
    print('{}{}{}{}'.format(
        pad(s, 20),
        pad(reading1, 10),
        pad(reading2, 10),
        pad(kanji, 10),
    ))

Here is a screenshot of how this looks on my system (macOS):

Limitations
The above code does not handle Unicode combining characters. A more complete implementation would perform Unicode text segmentation, and then figure out the width of each grapheme cluster. There are libraries that do this for you, I'm sure.
Language Note
As a note, I don't think the words "少ない" and "pequeño" are likely equivalents. The Spanish word "pequeño" refers to the size of something, and "少ない" refers to the quantity.
I think it's more likely that

*

*poco: 少ない

*pequeño: 小さい

A: You should be able to change the language formatting with:
>>> import locale
>>> locale.setlocale(locale.LC_ALL, 'ja-JP') # or 'jpn'

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Speculation over COLDPLAY's forthcoming album has increased, with the emergence of a possible tracklisting.
Although the album 'X&Y' is due out on June 6 and singer Chris Martin has told NME.COM he's still tinkering with the record, The Sun have revealed a possible eleven song tracklist for the album.
As previously reported by NME.COM, the band made their live return on March 12 in Los Angeles, where songs 'Speed Of Sound', 'Square One', 'White Shadows', 'A Message' and 'What If' all received their live debuts.


Apple today updated its Apple TV Remote app, which doesn't receive new features very often. According to Apple's release notes, there's nothing major that's included in the update, but it does feature a new app icon.
The prior icon was an Apple logo next to the word "TV," the branding that Apple uses for its Apple TV set-top boxes. The new logo resembles the Apple TV Remote, making it clearer what its function is.
Today's revamped logo matches the updated logo for the Apple TV Remote option in the Control Center on iOS devices. Apple also changed that icon from the Apple TV branding to a remote control design in the iOS 12.2 update.
iOS 12.2 brought other changes to the Remote option on the iPhone and iPad as well, introducing a design that is darker, more streamlined, and takes up the majority of the iPhone's interface. With a full Apple TV Remote available in Control Center on modern devices, there's little reason to download the standalone Apple TV Remote app.
Apple is, however, still keeping it around, and according to today's release notes, version 2.2 brings "general performance and stability improvements" along with the new app icon.
Am I the only one who miss this?
Very fitting. Crap logo of a crap remote.
It couldn't be uglier. Honestly, it shocks me that someone with eyes said ok to this.
This is the problem with flat design. It is clearly limited to the point where you can end up getting crap like this. When you could imagine doing this yourself in under 2 minutes in Microsoft paint using the most basic shapes.. it doesn't exactly scream quality.
The Watch app's icon is still the worst one of them all.
That's THE BEST they could do?!?! Jesus!!


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Bank Holidays - normal hourly rates apply.
Motorcycles free in designated motorcycle bays only.
Disabled badge holders are not exempt from charges - designated bays are provided for the use of disabled badge holders only.
On arrival in Great Yarmouth follow signs for the Heritage Quarter proceeding along South Quay and taking a left turn onto Nottingham Way. Follow the road round and taking a left turn onto St. Peters Road and then a right turn onto Blackfriars Road, signposted for the Time & Tide museum.


The natural bell shape of the Campanula flower serves as the most ideal architecture in this Micro Flower House from a Campanula in Purple hues. The inverted flower has been fitted with an enchanting wooden door. With a heart shaped window and bright green door knob, it is flanked by a sturdy and rustic bench and windows on both sides. There is a canoe with paddles and many fine details that make this an enviably cozy and attractive home - albeit quite a tiny one!


text:
Heritage Walks
Historical walks by Paston character
Wellbeing walks
Walks near me
Bacton heritage walk
Blofield heritage walk
Gresham heritage walk
Mautby heritage walk
North Walsham heritage walk
Norwich heritage walk
Oxnead heritage walk
Paston heritage walk
Paston Way long walk
Cycle Routes
Caister Castle cycle route
North Norfolk cycle route
The Pastons
Paston Women
The griffin
Paston 3D landmarks
Creative Adults
Writing for Wellbeing
Rebel-Women
Evaluation Toolkit
A cycle route that follows the path of the Paston family's influence on Great Yarmouth. Travelling from the Minster Church, north out of the town and into the ancient Isle of Flegg and the birthplace of Margaret Mautby Paston. Here, the fine soils and the majestic Caister Castle provided the power base for the family's ambitions.
Caister Castle cycle route details
LENGTH: 13 miles
TERRAIN: minor roads, parkland tracks, gentle slopes
PARKING: route can be accessed from Yarmouth or Acle Railway Stations
FACILITIES: toilets available at Yarmouth train station, Yarmouth market place and Mautby church
REFRESHMENTS: The Gate Pub in Caister, The Ferry Inn Stokesby, Acle Bridge Pub
Flegg cycle route GPX code
Download GPX here
Points of interest on the cycle route
Places to stop and learn more about the Paston landmarks
Yarmouth Minster Church
The Norman- era Minster Church of St Nicholas is one of the largest parish churches in the country. The Paston Coat of Arms is one of several featured in a display on the walls of the church of prominent local families. The church also contains a tomb of a member of the Fastolf family
Yarmouth North Gate
Judge William Paston (1378-1444), inherited land in Yarmouth from his mother's family, was the first of many members of the Paston family who would have passed through the North Gate of the Town.
Sir John Paston III was elected MP for Yarmouth and in 1488 was feasted by the elders of the Town. Sir Robert Paston, following his appointment High Steward and later as the Earl of Yarmouth, entered the town in a great procession in 1675.
Isle of Flegg
The Mid Sands Cross stood on where the old course of the River Bure reached the sea, north of Yarmouth, at Grubbs Haven. It also marked the boundary between Caister, on the Isle of Flegg (which in the 15th century was surrounded by water) and Yarmouth.
Arguments about fishing and salvage rights meant that the boundary was often a source of friction and in Tudor times one such dispute involved Sir William Paston and the elders of the Town of Yarmouth.
Caister Castle
Caister Castle was built by Sir John Fastolf. In 1459, John Paston, who had worked for Sir John, inherited the Castle. For the next 20 years, the ownership of the Castle was fiercely disputed. In 1469, during the Wars of the Roses, The Duke of Norfolk, despite the stubborn resistance of a small group of men led by John Paston III, successfully besieged the Castle. However, ownership of the Castle was finally secured by the Paston family in 1476.
Mautby church
Margaret Mautby (1423-1484) married John Paston in about 1440. Margaret was an heiress to both the Mautby and Berney families. Margaret's inheritance provided the Paston family with a foothold on the rich land of the Isle of Flegg. Margaret, widowed in 1466, spent her final years at Mautby Hall.The position of Margaret's tomb, in the now lost South Ailse of Mautby Church, is marked with a memorial stone.
The River Bure at Acle Bridge
Goods, to and from Paston estates, upstream at Oxnead near Aylsham, would have passed this way. The River Ant, a tributary of the Bure, led to Paston family estates in the North Walsham area.
The Paston family shared the ownership of much of the Isle of Flegg with their cousins, the Clere family. Several marriages occurred between the two families. In 1551, Sir William Paston married Frances Clere from Stokesby. In earlier times, Margaret Paston's chaplain, James Gloys, was Rector of Stokesby.
© Creative Commons 4.0: Paston Footprints, unless otherwise specified.
Paston Footprints is a collaboration between the School of Literature, Drama and Creative Writing, University of East Anglia, the Paston Heritage Society, Norfolk County Council, and Collisions Theatre. Kindly supported by the National Heritage Lottery fund and UEA Impact Fund.
The heritage walks and cycle routes have been created in partnership with Norfolk County Council's Environment Team and are maintained by the NCC. See our T&C's page for more details and for details on how we use and store your data.
This website has been created and is curated by Emily Parker and Karen Smyth.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
6/26/22 JOACHIM OF FIORE, PART 2
June 26, 2022 July 23, 2022 / kathybogle
Welcome! Last time we looked at Joachim himself, and some general thoughts on his work. Today we will move on to Zivadinovic's THE ORIGINS AND ANTECEDENTS OF JOACHIM OF FIORE, for some detail into Joachim's ideas:
"Three central issues are involved when studying the eschatology of Joachim of Fiore: the typological interpretation of Scripture, the mystery of the Trinity, and the meaning of history.
"Joachim's approach to typology revolved around his view of the concords of Scripture, paralleling the major persecutions and events of ancient Israel with the history of the Christian Church. Joachim believes that the visions in the book of Revelation represent the inner wheel that corresponds to the outer wheel described in Ezekiel's vision (Ezek. 1:4-21). The outer wheel is the history of the Hebrew people, from Abraham to the return from Babylon, recorded in the Scriptures from Genesis through the book of Esther. The Apocalypse, or inner wheel, contains the main periods and events of the Christian Church. In Joachim's system, the major periods of the Christian Church faithfully parallel the key stages in the history of Israel…Joachim develops this theology of history based on the idea of a gradual self-revelation of the triune Godhead. The revelation of the Father brings about the patriarchal order of Israel, as described in the OT. The revelation of the Son leads to the creation of the clerical church. Finally, the imminent third dispensation of the Holy Spirit brings about the final ecclesia spiritualis or spiritual church."
Without going into too much detail, here are some examples of how Joachim saw the concords of Scripture, still in THE ORIGINS AND ANTECEDENTS OF JOACHIM OF FIORE:
"According to Joachim, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — the patriarchs of the Hebrew people — serve as prophetic prototypes for Zacharias, John the Baptist, and Jesus Christ, founders of the Christian Church. Furthermore, the twelve tribes of Israel are prototypes of the twelve apostles, while the violent conquest of Canaan by Joshua has a parallel in the bloody persecution of Christians in the early Church. The secession of the ten tribes of northern Israel from Judah, recorded in Kings and Chronicles, prefigures the schism in the Christian Church between the Latin and Greek Churches. The destruction of the ten northern tribes by the Assyrians typifies the Muslim conquest of Byzantium, while the destruction of Judah by Babylon foreshadows the captivity of the Latin Church to worldly corruption…Joachim believed that the Old Testament Scripture contains multiple prophetic types which must find their antitypical fulfillment in the Christian Church history."
You get the idea. The Old Testament is a repository of prophetic types that find their fulfillment in Christian Church history. I agree with this idea, and find it valuable, but only to a point. I think Joachim goes overboard with it. And while, looking back, we can see God's hand in many things in the Old Testament, we have to also allow that the Old Testament is a history of God's people, the Jews, and as such we have to be careful not to look at it as just a place to find prophecy.
We are still in THE ORIGINS AND ANTECEDENTS OF JOACHIM OF FIORE:
"The most fundamental element of Joachim's eschatology is the theory of the three stages (status) of sacred history that the world must endure. Each member of the Trinity takes precedence during one age: (1) Status Patri — the Age of the Father, (2) Status Filii — the Age of the Son, and (3) Status Spiritum — the Age of the Spirit."
The following is a quote from Joachim:
"In this way, three conditions of the world (tres mundi status) bear witness …the first, when we were under the law (sub lege); the second, when we were in grace (sub ampliora gratia)…So the first condition belongs to the Father, the creator of all things, whose time begins with the beginning of history…and reaches out to the apostles…The second condition must belong to the Son, who deigned to dress the clay we are made of, to fast and suffer in it to reform the condition of the first men, who killed to eat. Third condition belongs to the Holy Spirit, of whom the apostle says 'where there is the Spirit of the Lord there is freedom' (2 Cor. 3:17)."
Just a note here…the statement "The second condition must belong to the Son, who deigned to dress the clay we are made of, to fast and suffer in it to reform the condition of the first men, who killed to eat" has an odd bit in it. "Who killed to eat" sounds like something a vegetarian would say. Yet, I know of no vegetarians in the 13th century. Also, people of that time, and even today, still kill to eat. And lastly, I can't recall Jesus trying to stop people from "killing to eat." It's a confusing statement.
Back to THE ORIGINS AND ANTECEDENTS OF JOACHIM OF FIORE:
"According to Joachim, the first of the three stages of history, the status Patri, or the Age of the Father, begins the moment God chooses Abraham as the father of faith. The first stage is the forty-two generations from Abraham to Christ, which are enumerated in the first chapter of Matthew. This stage is also called the Age of Law.
"The second stage, the status Fillii, or Age of the Son, is depicted by forty-two prophetic months from Christ to the arrival of the Antichrist. These forty-two months are taken from Rev 11:2 and 13:4, and represent the tribulation of the Church for 1260 years after Christ's ascension."
It's too bad for Joachim that the Antichrist didn't come in 1260. It would have worked out so perfectly. But alas, he didn't come, nor did the millennium start then. The 42 months from Revelation appear to be 1260 days, not years: we'll see more about that in the verse by verse. Despite things not working out, the point about the Age of the Son is still well taken. There was a Holy Spirit movement in the 19th century, and since then the Holy Spirit has been commanding more attention. It could very well be that we are moving into that stage, ahead of the tribulation and millennium.
"The final stage of history is the status Spiritum, or the Age of the Spirit, which commences at the end of the 1260 years and after the fall of the Antichrist. This stage ushers a spiritual renewal into the Christian Church and a period of apocalyptic conversion of the Jews and gentiles to Christianity. Joachim also calls this period the millennium.
"Although superficially simple, these stages of history become increasingly complex as, according to Joachim, each status has a starting point and a flourishing point. For example, the Age of the Father already has a starting point with Adam, but it really flourishes starting with Abraham. The Age of the Son has its roots in the reforms of the prophet Elisha (whom Joachim sees as a prototype of Jesus). However, it does not flourish until the appearance of John the Baptist, the precursor of Jesus. The Age of the Spirit has its starting point in the monastic reforms of Benedict but, as Joachim predicts, it does not truly flourish until the arrival of the millennium."
From Joachim:
"The First Age of the world began with Adam, flowered from Abraham, and was consummated in Christ. The Second began with Uzziah, flowered from Zachary, the father of John the Baptist, and will receive its consummation in these times. The Third Age, taking its beginning from St. Benedict, began to bring forth fruit in the twenty-second generation, and is itself to be consummated in the consummation of the world. The First Age, in which the married state was illustrious, is ascribed to the Father in the personal aspect of the [Trinitarian] mystery. The Second, in which the clerical state in the tribe of Juda [sic}] was illustrious, is ascribed to the Son; the Third, in which the monastic state is illustrious, is ascribed to the Holy Spirit."
Another quick note: I find this last interpretation of Joachim's to be rather disingenuous. To say that the three states are illustrated by marriage, clergy, and monks, respectively, is obviously from a monk's point of view. The implication appears to be that the fullest experience of each status would be found in the respective three illustrations. The first illustration would include much of mankind during the Old Testament era, so a case could be made for that being a decent illustration. The other two, however, would only include a very limited number of (exclusively male, during Joachim's time) members, leading to the implication is that Christ is best experienced as a member of the clergy, and that the Holy Spirit is best experienced as a member of a monastery. I take exception to that argument.
And back to THE ORIGINS AND ANTECEDENTS OF JOACHIM OF FIORE:
"…In Joachim's thought, the apostles Peter, Paul, and John also represent the three stages of history. Peter is identified with the Age of the Father and the dispensation of the Jews. Paul represents the dispensation of gentile Christians — the Church. Apostle John outlived the two older Apostles, and saw visions of the new world on the isle of Patmos. He foreshadows the future Age of Spirit…He saw [the gospel of John] as a blueprint for the new spiritual life, which must emerge in the Church, reforming it from the inside out."
So we can see that Joachim preferred to understand things by analogy; he understood by saying to himself: the Age of the Spirit is like John because his gospel explains so much about the Holy Spirit, he was the last apostle, etc. I appreciate some of that to aid in understanding, but Joachim took it to the extreme, which can lead to confusion.
Let's look at another paper, this one written by Brett Whalen of University of North Carolina, entitled JOACHIM OF FIORE, APOCALYPTIC CONVERSION, AND THE 'PERSECUTING SOCIETY.' To me, what Mr. Whalen has to say about Joachim's time ties it in fairly well with our current times:
"Through his inspired – one might say revolutionary – interpretation of the Bible, Joachim believed that he had discovered a template for understanding the totality of God's plan for history…The fame of the Calabrian abbot…already emerging in his own lifetime, posthumously grew to extraordinary proportions due to the radical tendencies of his less restrained devotees, so-called Joachites, who argued that the era of the Holy Spirit would mean an effective end to the institutional Roman Church…As argued by R. I. Moore in his 1987 work THE FORMATION OF A PERSECUTING SOCIETY, it was during the eleventh and twelfth centuries that 'deliberately and socially sanctioned violence began to be directed, through established governmental, judicial and social institutions, against groups of people defined by general characteristics, such as race, religion, or way of life; and that membership of such groups in itself came to be regarded as justifying these attacks. Persecution, in Moore's words, became 'habitual' and closely tied to the emergence of Christian Europe's new ruling elite, both ecclesiastical and secular…
"Joachim's vision of the future emphasized the harmonious conversion, rather than grudging assimilation or destruction of the Jews, leading a number of scholars to posit that his writings provide evidence of a countervailing sentiment that ran contrary to the persecuting mentality of the High Middle Ages….The topic of apocalyptic conversion in the abbot's schemes, moreover, has not been limited exclusively to the Jews, since Joachim also raised the possibility that Muslims and other non-Christians would convert before the end of time…
"Taking the Bible as his starting point, the abbot interpreted God's plan for history through the successive relationship of the Old and New Testaments, building upon the idea that the 'letter' of the Old Testament revealed hidden 'spiritual' meanings about the New Testament of Christ. In principle, of course, such Christian exegesis of the bible was nothing new. In a highly innovative move, however, Joachim argued that the historical events recorded in the 'time of the Old Testament' provided a detailed set of coordinates for the course of events in the 'time of the New Testament'."
This last paper was written in 2010 when things were pretty quiet and settled still. Reading the line about 'deliberately and socially sanctioned violence' gave me chills. The Mid and High Middle Ages included some of the most dangerous times in Western culture. Think of Robin Hood. In England, at least, people could not travel outside their village alone without being attacked, and having others with you didn't ensure you wouldn't be attacked and robbed, or worse. Next, think of the Inquisition, which pursued Jews and Muslims, and anyone else who disagreed with the Church on doctrine. Mr. Whalen (and probably Mr. Moore too) thought he was writing this from a higher place than the Middle Ages. We are rapidly losing that vantage point as 'socially sanctioned violence' increases.
We'll end here for today. Next time we will look at Joachim's specific thoughts on Revelation. Until then, I'll be praying for your safety in these troubled times.
ALL BLOGS, MIDDLE AGES
Joachim of Fiore, MIDDLE AGES, Revelation
← 6/18/22 JOACHIM OF FIORE, PART 1
6/30/22 JOACHIM OF FIORE, PART 3 →


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text:
Christophe PREMAT, Deputy for French residents overseas, for the Third constituency of Northern Europe
Gérard WORMSER, philosopher and editor of the journal Sens Public
Axelle LEMAIRE, Deputy Minister for Digital Affairs
Angélique DELORME and Adrienne BROTONS, reporters for Jacques Attali on Digital Francophonie
Angélique DELORME, Supreme Court Judge, at the French Council of State
Raphaël TAÏEB, director of 'livrescolaire.fr'
Olivier NUSSE, President of the French Music Export Office (BUREX) and Director of Mercury
Clara DANON, Head of the Digital Mission Wing of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research
Annick GIRARDIN, Secretary of State for the Francophonie
Hélène FARNAUD-DEFROMONT, Director of the Agency for French Education Abroad
Pierre OUEDRAOGO, Director of Digital Mission for the Francophonie at the International Organization of la Francophonie
Citer / Partager / Exporter
Sens Public, . Digital Praxis for Disseminating the French Language and Culture Globally. 2016. Sens public. http://sens-public.org/dossiers/1182/
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Dossiers — 2016/03/06
Digital Praxis for Disseminating the French Language and Culture Globally
Mots-clés (5)
Mot-clés — FR Éditeur 40 articles 1 dossier,
Éducation et enseignement
40 articles 1 dossier,
Mot-clés — FR Éditeur 182 articles 4 dossiers,
182 articles 4 dossiers,
Mot-clés — FR Éditeur 47 articles 4 dossiers,
47 articles 4 dossiers,
Mot-clés — FR Éditeur 138 articles 11 dossiers,
138 articles 11 dossiers,
Honourable Ministers,
Advisors of the Assembly of French Citizens Overseas,
Distinguished Ambassadors,
Dear representatives of the Government and economic stakeholders,
I thank you for coming here to discuss the issues involved in promoting the Francophonie through digital praxis. The French Citizens abroad are meeting for the first time after the reform. I am delighted that they are having a new forum to voice their views. With the increasing mobility of our fellow citizens, I firmly believe that digital praxis can bring solutions.
Likewise, the Attali report on August 26 to the French President highlights digital praxis as a platform for promoting French language and French people beyond our borders.
The round table will address issues based around three themes:
Digital praxis facilitates access to lifelong learning. The training courses must be professional and qualifying to facilitate international mobility. The Attali report rightly suggests to develop digital educational content, MOOCs (Massive Online Open Courses) known in French as FLOTs (Formations en Ligne Ouvertes à Tous).
Digital Praxis fosters the development of a media and content-based French economy.
Digital Praxis promotes access to French-language education. The French-speaking countries are establishing a foothold in the digital market.
Our discussions will certainly be very fruitful. I call Gérard Wormser who does us the honour of moderating this round table.
There is a need to develop e-learning courses and to enable students to access qualifying courses.
Those who are taking online courses must have degrees recognized by the University.
Proposal no. 44 provides students with a digital platform for monitoring.
The French High school abroad is a wonderful tool. Students are not monitored at this stage but are a great strength for our country.
I would encourage you to download the Ferry report 3.0 on digital education.
The honourable Member, dear Christophe, Distinguished Ambassadors,
I would like to thank you for the invitation. We are both elected representatives from Northern Europe. Christophe is a French language specialist and I am a digital technology expert.
This is the first time I am speaking on this twofold theme. Interestingly enough, La Francophonie is at the heart of my own personal story. I am a French-speaking citizen in Quebec that Gille Vigneault called "the vast land without borders, a French-speaking nation from within, the invisible, spiritual, mental, moral land that is in each of you.'
The digital field falling under my responsibility involves another value community, form of friendship, cooperation, sharing through innovative tools, but essentially similar in their ways of being and doing.
The Francophone diffusion curve systematically follows the projected deployment of Internet use in Africa. Between 1998 and today, the number of Internet users has increased from three hundred thousand to three billion.
With the digital and Francophone future in Africa, we need to rethink our analytic models based on a pre-eminence of European speakers for decades.
We must enhance the worldwide use of French vis-à-vis English. My colleague Annick Girardin will expand on educational issues related to learning French. We need to widen access to French language through digital praxis. As a result, I launched the French version of the online interactive platform called CODECADEMY that offers free coding classes with real professional opportunities and provides young people, wherever they are, with an avenue for creative expression in the digital world.
Developing educational content from the digital content Frameworks, scientific-cultural terminology and value will increasingly be created by using digital educational tools. I commend the pilot action undertaken by the AEFE, which in association with the CNED is capable of testing innovative solutions in this highly innovative field.
The figures show the parallelism between digital praxis and Francophonie, which is now finding it hard to exist in the digital world.
First, since digital praxis was born in Silicon Valley and its historical roots are so deep that American soft power now dominates the digital world to a point where all the vocabulary borrowed from this universe is in English. I am often accused of using the words "start up', "scale up', "digital', "corporate venture', "business angels', "coding', "and clusters' but translating them in French is virtually impossible! It is here that the Francophonie has a role to play. Communities must stimulate open content production. Launched in June 2012, through an agreement between Wikimedia France and the French University Institute of the Francophonie, the AFRIPEDIA project aims at promoting access to Wikipedia in French-speaking Africa. Technology enables the dissemination of co-developed and freely shared knowledge. Overall, the programme contributes to creating a Wikipedia community where the people of French-speaking Africa can express themselves and share their culture.
An economic issue in the Attali report has caught my attention. The prospect of French becoming a worldwide spoken language presents a major market opportunity. Digital praxis has the advantage of lifting barriers to entry, which will be rewarding for the most challenging and fastest growing markets. French groups hold all the aces to be able to benefit from the development of the Francophonie, but foreign groups, which are currently much better prepared to target international markets, could rapidly overtake them.
For example, Africa is the second largest market for telephony in the world with phones selling four times as much as the computers. If less than 5% of Africa's population is now having access to smartphones, this is expected to rise to nearly 20% in 2017.
At issue is not the question of using Africa's resources but pursuing innovation and economic development policies drawing on the potential of the various partners within a framework of co-construction and co-development. I chose to attend the ICT 4 All (Digital Praxis for All) Forum, in Tunis, a strategic crossroads for the growing African digital market between Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. The Forum marked the first anniversary of the Franco-Tunisian Digital Alliance (AFTN). Tunisian and French firms agreed to work towards aligning their outputs to foster interactions, synergies, staff exchanges and to expand internationally. The summit in Dubai will see the launching of the Franco-Tunisian trade fair. This alliance pairs people sharing a common language. US investors often came to London crossing the Atlantic Ocean due to a common language that explains the Anglo-Saxon law and similar cultural, social perceptions. They would have to go through the same exercise in Europe. The online presence of various languages is increasing despite the difficulty in measuring the exact proportion of content in each language. French falls in between the 4th and the 8th place. The Francophone and Francophile community offers a forum for cooperation and experience sharing. A common vocabulary is needed to promote understanding, trading, civil society working, greater trust and transparency. This vocabulary must include common frames of reference (in mapping), comparable formats (in accounting).
The translation of software documentation, including free software must be encouraged. It is worth mentioning the exemplary work of the French speaking Libre Software Users' Association (AFUL), a key education player under the framework agreement with the French Ministry of National Education (since 1988) and the University Agency for French-speaking Communities (AUF) (since 1999). Finally, the greatest challenge is around Internet governance. The French-speaking countries must help developing Internet governance that makes up different languages and cultural backgrounds. This multi-actor governance must be inclusive, transparent and independent.
The Francophonie can tackle this serious threat to Internet governance. A few days after my appointment, I attended the World Summit in São Paulo. We had Russia, China and Iran in favour of content monitoring and others opposed to a free Internet for big platforms called OTT (over-the-top). Since this is, the virtual sphere that relies on market rules without protection of citizens' personal data and cultural diversity. A third option is to build a more open and fair governance for the French-speaking countries to venture into large emerging economies like Brazil and India. This is a geopolitical game. Two weeks ago, at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the President of the French Republic spoke about the Open Government Partnership (OGP). The OGP is an international association, which unites governments seeking best practices on Open Government and the open use of public data for reuse by the citizens to enhance growth, legitimacy and democratic credibility of their action. I hope the Francophonie will intervene in the same way as it did with international official bodies. However, the OGP is important in view of the issues at stake.
I would like to conclude quoting Boutros Boutros-Ghali, 20 years before the Internet, in Kotonou: "the Francophonie has necessarily to be subversive and imaginative'. This statement could have been converted into a digital format because the people involved consider themselves as hackers who can subvert an established order. We can always support this manifesto.
Angélique DELORME, Supreme Court Judge, at the French Council of State,
Madam Secretary of State, the honourable Member, Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are representing Mr. Attali, who could not be here this evening.
The presentation will be divided into three parts: (1) The connection between disseminating language and economic development, (2) digital praxis contributing to language development and (3) the different proposals in the report.
We used the macroeconomic theory of "gravity' to demonstrate that sharing a common language leads to 65% additional exchange with the respective community, both at the micro- and the macro-economic levels. French products sell well within the Francophone countries that share a common language and philosophy. Trust within the business community is essential for developing trade relations. Sharing a common language also promotes co-development. The business location hinges on the capacity of the industries to recruit employees speaking the language of the firm's country of origin. Like Renault began operations in Brazil in 1996, importing a car assembly plant, delivering French language training to Brazilian workers who are required to understand a number of French terms. Sharing a common language creates a North-South industry partnership in the French-speaking countries, a dynamic business environment through employment and training resulting from the dissemination of technical knowledge and improvement of staff skills.
Francophone identity was seen as a strong economic asset. Globally, the consumer trend is for differentiated products needed to break away from the Anglo-Saxon mould.
Francophone identity attracts any consumer and not just French-speaking consumers. We have analysed the worldwide trend of increased interest in the French language, culture and products among non-French-speaking people. French products also include Francophone products.
The consumption of Francophone music is significant in Asian countries far beyond the French-speaking African countries. This attractive Francophone identity goes on to explain the international appeal of businesses like agri-food, music, cinema, medicine, law and tourism in France.
Therefore, the Francophonie will foster development or the economic decline of the French-speaking countries.
I thank the honourable member for his invitation.
The report contains several proposals demonstrating why digital praxis is a tremendous asset intended for spreading the French language throughout the world. Let me make three points.
language technology
updating the traditional sectors through digital praxis
Internet use is booming with 3 billion Internet users worldwide. Mobile Internet usage via "smartphones' is greatly on the rise. These "intelligent devices' allow writing content, in real time. The ongoing explosion of new content on the Internet creates real competition among languages. Most information on Wikipedia is in English, pointing to its predominance on the Internet, but that does not mean the overwhelming success of the language.
Jacques Attali illustrates his point with a metaphor: "Everyone would have become a Christian with the invention of printing', but that was not the case with the Bible being the first printed text. Likewise, the Internet is not necessarily a great win for the English language, which has become a sort of Esperanto, a common language without identity. Internet users want content in their own language and authors continue writing in their own language.
Language technology is a booming sector that is set to transform the mobile Internet experience. It involves machine translation, where a text message sent in French will be received in German. It is closely connected to general linguistics (creating a word cloud). The French language needs to ensure integrating into the software because this high-value added sector is limited to only five or six languages automatically translated and embedded in the software.
Unfortunately, major pioneering groups in the US have acquired French SMEs like SISTRAN specializing in machine translation with our excellent digital engineers. We have our part to play in capturing this core digital business with 66,000 French people living and working within the San Francisco Bay Area.
Let me finish with various sectors influenced by digital praxis.
Culture: TV and mass culture: DTT generated a worldwide explosion in the number of channels with the advantage of mobile applications collecting Francophone music. Digital praxis has revolutionized the music business. Today, we can listen to French-speaking singers like STROMAE in India, whereas earlier only a CD was available in music stores. The use of mobile platforms for downloading music could boost this sector. NETFLIX provides a quick and effective distribution of films within and beyond the French-speaking countries through digital praxis.
Education: will be the subject of broad discussion with regard to MOOCs (FLOTs) and language learning applications for mobile devices like smartphones.
e-Health: covers other gestation areas with opportunities through videoconferencing for consulting an online doctor. The language is critical to the quality of French medicine in Vietnam, where many doctors have received training in France.
Finance: in Africa, microcredit serves as a numeric tool for mobile banking by letting a traveller do his banking online rather than by ATM.
The lack of a proactive digital policy may involve a threat to the French language owing to the rise of many local-language channels through the growth of DTT in Africa. The failure to advance bilingualism may imply the disappearance of the use of French and this would spell disaster to the Francophone community.
This has led to a content war on the Internet. France is now lagging behind, occupying the eighth position in terms of content while French is the fifth language spoken worldwide.
A brief overview of Mr. Attali's proposals for digital praxis:
Proposal number 5: Tailoring the CNED course to sociological and technological changes in line with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Proposal number 6: Developing qualifying French MOOCS (FLOTs)
Proposal number 10: Distributing textbooks and software at French schools in developing countries
Proposal number 16: Starting a French-language business for Netflix
Proposal number 18: Seeking support from the French CNC for subtitling films in five langages
Proposal number 26: Implementing a French industrial policy for digital technology
Proposal number 44: Creating a digital platform for identifying students who have received part of their education in a French High school abroad or in a university in France or a French-speaking university
The honourable member, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to thank you for inviting me to broach a topical issue. I should like to start by presenting livrescolaire.fr building on statements from Minister Axelle Lemaire.
At livrescolaire.fr, we believe in "Co-developing open resources', "Developing digital resources based on tablets' and "Thinking internationally'. We are techno-publishers. As a technology start-up and publishing company, we compile textbooks in both paper and digital format.
We rely on a community of 1,000 teachers within France and in French schools abroad for content creation. We co-develop free and Open Source web resources under a Creative Commons licence.
With this successful model, 35,000 professors are using student textbooks in France and abroad. We are now focusing on the college and high school. Among 35,000 college professors, one in three professors engages with 250,000 students.
In 2009, we began using Open Source. The early 2010 saw the launch of iPad with the advent of an educational and digital revolution through our first collaborative free Open Source online textbook. At that time, we forged ahead of the US and California when the Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had invited contributions to that end. We had entered the US market by creating a website similar to the one created in France that gathered an American community of fifty teachers teaching French as a foreign language to produce a textbook. We have demonstrated that France could be at the leading edge of digital and education issues.
Focusing on our growth, we had proposed an innovative business model to the local authorities in France. Almost 250 million euros are spent annually on purchasing textbooks. With fixed funding for designing a manual including content creation, purchase of icons and maps, and data collection by communities through open tenders). We would have placed free content on the web using open source software. We had met with twenty local communities but there was no response. America has now overtaken France, offering an extensive range of free Open Source online textbooks.
I recommend implementing a strong policy in light of the proposal number 10 to: "distribute free textbooks and software among French schools in developing countries'. Offering textbooks at a lower price reduces the increasing cost of schooling for children and spreads French culture. We are working on finding the local champions in the countries involved for co-developing content and producing Open Source educational resources.
Proposal number 26 for implementing a French industrial policy on digital technologies supports French e-learning companies with access to capital funds. It is proving very hard for digital and education start-ups to raise institutional funds despite guaranteeing an innovative educational project in France. Innovation in the field of digital education is pursued through public-private investment fund. Digital teaching can provide personalized education to students by supporting adaptive learning through the adaptation of content. We have developed an application in the field of grammar for identifying student difficulties with a scope for reviewing the basics.
The honourable member, I thank you for the invitation. I am a producer of Universal Music Group. The widely anticipated Attali report articulates the importance of exporting French music and recommends, "building on the successful French-speaking music artists everywhere to encourage learning French'. Digital praxis has revolutionized the French music industry, relying on export-led growth. The French-language production sector is also doing well with Daft Punk and David Guetta being French. In 2013, 17 of the top 20 best-selling albums were in French in France. Today's French artists like Fauve for rock, Christine and the Queens for songs or Zaz for variety, including Stromae for urban electronic music are the wonderful ambassadors of our language. A whole generation of artists are motivated by them to sing in French.
France is fortunate in having the French Music Export Office that was created using public-private capital about twenty years ago by independent and big producers of the phonographic industry. The main funding comes from the Ministries of Culture and Foreign Affairs. The BUREX is mainly responsible for developing export strategies, providing market intelligence and assistance for promoting artists' projects. It can also grant financial aid to support development projects on recording or the performing arts. The BUREX has five offices abroad, in Berlin, London, Tokyo, New York and São Paulo.
With the borders, becoming porous, digital music is now available everywhere on all platforms. However, the field presence remains essential in helping artists to set up their project. The BUREX primarily supports Francophone projects that represent over one-third of French projects. It is equally important to scale up such projects in non-French-speaking countries like Germany, the 3rd global music market.
Since 1992, the BUREX has published and distributed teaching materials entitled 'Génération française' to French teachers around the world via the diplomatic network. The office in Berlin offers a song compilation with French lyrics used for French-language teaching through associated teaching materials. Hence, 200,000 students throughout Germany are having access to French-language training.
Recently, the BUREX has merged with Francophonie diffusion that sets out to promote Francophone music production with foreign media. Traditionally, music is promoted through sending discs to foreign media, and since 2000, through a distribution platform. We need to rethink how to use this platform at the BUREX 2.0.
The Attali report reiterates that the music industry has an export turnover of 239 million euros in France, and a total of 574 million euros, which is two times more than the turnover of the film industry. Yet, music receives eight times less public funding than films. Music is perhaps the fastest way to spread the Francophonie among young people. French music is especially popular in the non-French-speaking countries. At least one French song makes the top 100 on the streaming music platform Deezer in one hundred and twenty-five countries.
Stromae became known by disseminating content on the Internet in Belgium and continues to achieve success singing in French. Returning from a tour in the United States, where he sang in French to an American audience, Stromae is an incredibly positive ambassador for French music. The French touch Pop music is also in great demand. It is, therefore, a most opportune moment to develop tools for promoting French music.
We must extend the BUREX network by opening offices in other countries, notably in Africa where there are 100 million French-speaking people. The major recording companies are starting to settle there, where more than 80% of the population is connected to a mobile network. With opportunities via social networks and streaming platforms, there is emerging a model from mobiles that will be promoted in the near future. It is estimated that Africa has 30% to 40% of fans of francophone artists on the Internet.
We must mobilise the cultural network of the Quai d'Orsay, mainly the cultural attachés dedicated to cinema. We are fortunate enough to have the second largest global diplomatic network, which must support French music. The BUREX must modernize this digital platform by developing dedicated French music interfaces. This tool aims to maximize functionality for our partners in the field. We will also develop mobile phone applications as well as and informative and entertaining content for music. We have a severely limited budget for development of French music. The BUREX has only 3.1 million euros, whereas the British, Swedes and Koreans are setting out to invest in export. We can drive the French music business forward, with an expected growth of at least 5% in the coming years by investing in marketing tools.
I would like to explain the national policy established for online and digital training. Nobody uses the term CLOs, the official name of FLOTs or CLOMs, because it means the opposite of openness. Other speakers have used the English equivalent but we are striving for French language terms.
Distance learning or online training has been ongoing for a long time. The FLOTs are different from modern technologies that let several tens or even hundreds of thousands of people to connect at the same time. Furthermore, there is a significant global demand for lifelong learning. It is estimated that the number of students will increase from 100 to 198 million by 2025. This would require creating universities to accommodate 30,000 students a week. We move towards new learning approaches combining distance and presence.
The FLOTs are open because they are free with no prerequisites. However, new business models are springing up because the free portion is combined with paid services. It simply involves certifying the FLOTs and peer collaboration because it is not possible to monitor 30,000 people. Learners are thus supposed to help each other.
In the United States, large prestigious institutions have embarked on online programmes. Why not let the French institutions that are supposed to be autonomous do the same? The France Digital University initiative has been launched to drive synergy of skills and improve the visibility of the online training program, offered by French universities. This technical platform is based on a quality charter to enhance the trust in content and a joint animation for openness within the business ecosystem by mobilizing start-ups and major groups.
There is a continuous growth of the FLOT's on this platform. Today, we have sixty-four completed over a few weeks because the FLOT training is shorter than the traditional training. We expect ninety-two FLOTs in 2015 with forty higher education institutions involving all disciplines like law, environment or mathematics. Such content can be highly specific or open to the public. However, half of the users hold at least a master's degree. Consequently, this is a lifelong learning tool for autonomous individuals. We pay close attention to the security and confidentiality of data stored on the portal. The data collected should not be exploited commercially. It must be used for research because we are moving towards personalised learning practices. Under certain conditions, the platform is open to both French and foreign institutions including Francophone institutions. Certain institutions in the French-speaking parts of Belgium and in North Africa or in Africa wish to co-develop using this platform. A critical mass of institutions is arising. The training sessions are delivered in French including other languages because some courses are multilingual. 18 % of the people taking the FLOTs available on this platform are foreigners and 13 % are from French-speaking countries.
Using this platform built on open resources for more people to gain access to knowledge must produce revenues. We also need to increase the visibility of the platform. We must ensure co-developing content with the French-speaking countries, in particular African countries to produce contextualised content meeting specific needs. The partnership with the association of Francophone universities (AUF) is valuable with regard to African countries seeking training on malaria. Finally, there is need for online certification.
Digital praxis may also encourage mobility because online training incorporates physical presence in the host country. This allows distance learning of subject matter as well as the French language and culture. The FLOTS are a great asset to the Francophonie.
I would have liked to split my time with my colleague Mrs. Axelle Lemaire to highlight the fact that digital praxis and the Francophonie are inseparable. However, let me say it differently.
Digital praxis provides the opportunity to successfully spread and teach the French language. It is not the only solution but is a key element for promoting our language. A prophecy of 800 million French speakers in the middle of the century that comes to our attention will only be achieved through new techniques for spreading the French language.
The French Institute's experience in offering distance education shows that this mode of instruction brings about three changes. The learner who is at the center for reverse education begins to learn before developing interaction with teachers. The teachers are no longer acting as trainers but as facilitators, or coaches. Courses are evaluated and validated within a new framework. The changing teaching methods beckon us to anticipate future trends and to adjust to new realities.
Digital praxis opens up new opportunities for supporting French education. The "100,000 professors for Africa' program launched this year focuses on distance education for teachers and on networking through devices developed by the French Institute. The program relies on a digital vocational French education base and on the social network of French teachers. These two tools will be presented next month at the Francophonie Summit to be held in Dakar. The devices complement those developed by the International Organization of la Francophonie and, which regrettably cannot receive more support from us. The revolution in digital education involves the use of DVD to complement the teachers' work. Moreover, RFI and TV5 Monde develop French language training programs on their stations and their websites. The two networks are exceptional tools.
The provision of French language training and French education must be part of the comprehensive offering. If we fail to do so, our language will become less interesting and less useful. I am convinced that the French language will live on, thriving into the world, as an opportunity by those who practice it. The Francophonie must also convey a positive and dynamic message. It must be culturally and economically appealing in terms of training, entry into the labour market and business potential. The availability of networks to spread content to the most remote regions will bring about this change. Electricity is necessary. France is now encouraging public and private actors to get more involved in the immense Access Network Project in Africa.
When it comes to content, our program aims at making a widespread online course offering for every form of learning. The success of this program depends on the increased provision of vocational and university training in French. The late French offer catches up. Moreover, we must continue to innovate, using the digital tablets to replace traditional textbooks. The French Development Agency is trying it out at colleges in Madagascar, Niger and Senegal. This type of innovation falls out of scope. Last week, I received the Minister of Education and Culture of Uruguay, an observer member of la Francophonie who mentioned about the distribution of a low-cost laptop to each student. Following an experiment conducted in 2007, the practice became widespread leading to the distribution of more than 500,000 laptops. Today the country benefits from the development of the online content offering. They wished to develop distance education in English and, I was asked to develop a French online course. We are yet to know which of the public or private actor in France will be at the forefront to meet this solvent demand. The Attali report invites us to work collectively to respond in a timely fashion.
We must not address the Francophonie as a separate issue. Instead, it has to fit in with our solidarity and development policy. Therefore, we are in favour of creating the Franco-African Foundation for growth, to develop an exchange of young talent, university learning partnerships, as well as a digital platform. We will ensure that the Francophonie participates fully because we must use all channels to promote the French language. I hope that the innovation for development involves the Francophonie. We have a development policy for the sixteen top priority countries, all of which are French-speaking countries, except one country. Often, our responses are formulated in English with the support of our European neighbours. In the French-speaking African countries, the activities aimed at preventing climate risks or strengthening health systems are most effective when conducted in French. The Minister of Guinea told me that the UN had appointed an English coordinator, as head of the mission to fight against Ebola. He does not speak French while many French-speaking countries are in the West African region. We need to be vigilant on this issue. Other languages must not compete with the Francophonie. We must strive to ensure that our language is at the forefront of concrete and innovative projects involving public and private entities.
The Agency for French Teaching Abroad (AEFE) includes the French schools abroad approved by the French Ministry of National Education and, which offer French programs. This school year, 500 schools in over 133 countries cater for 327,000 students. France is the only country in the world to have such a network resulting from a proactive policy. The network has a threefold mission:
Integration of French students residing abroad ;
Integration of foreign students who choose the French education system ;
Educational cooperation in a number of countries where institutions close inward on themselves; Our institutions are increasingly open to the language and culture of their host countries.
Hence, the Francophonie is a transversal concept. For example, of the 327,000 students enrolled this year, more than 200,000 are not French. The majority of them are not native French speakers. French is therefore the language of the school according to parental choice. This is a major challenge in terms of teaching methods employed in our institutions. We are trying to be a step ahead because we teach trilingual children. We teach excellent French speakers and we are working to make sure that they progress in their native language and they learn English. These trilingual children approach higher education with ease. The Francophonie coexists harmoniously with other languages.
Innovation is the implementation of the institutional rebuilding plan and this makes digital praxis a priority for the French education system. We have documented a number of innovations implemented spontaneously by our teaching staff. We share these innovations with the Ministry of National Education. One such innovation is the paperless certification system in the Baccalaureate. Our goal is to have all documents automated within two years. Currently two thirds of the 15,000 students have their documents automated. To accomplish this, we use a French technology in line with the Ministry of National Education.
Digital praxis is required for creating an international network and best practices in work and communication between teachers and institutions. Like others, we are prone to international crises, be it political or health. The Ebola virus attacking West Africa mainly affects us, as we have institutions in Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria. The authorities have postponed the new school year by three weeks in all the educational institutions throughout the country. All our students and teachers were present on 2 September in the facility. For these three weeks to be covered, we have put in place an educational platform, which allows everyone to stay home. At the time of the French intervention in Mali, teachers had created an educational platform for students of the Liberty school.
In spring next year, we will introduce the first mathematics MOOC in French tailored for public schools. This MOOC will be co-developed by the French network abroad. The creation of a specific educational platform for teaching philosophy is one reason for families wanting to enrol their children in French schools. We are facing a shortage of philosophy teachers
The Digital Agenda was adopted in 2012. From a technical perspective, an American company is addressing the issue of the domain name ".fr'. The sharp companies draw profit from this environment where everything is allowed. The "wine' or the "champagne' must be reserved. It is better to capture the soft power.
If we lose the diacritics, we lose part of the soul of our language. We must become the owners of technology.
The Charter of la Francophonie sets out a number of humanist values. We believe that Francophones should work together. All Francophones should benefit from the public paying for a tool.
Regarding the Internet ecosystem, those who win are countries that create ecosystems for sharing. There are countries where people do not talk to each other and pay a very high price for an outside expertise while it is already available at home.
We seem to be timid with Francophones who cannot stand up. Innovation is the answer, according to the forum organized in Namur. We need to invest in new technologies to enable young people and women to dare and create.
Experiences show that starting to learn in the national language improves learning French (IFAM). The issue of tutoring underlies the FLOTS and the CLOMS.
When we bring Francophone Africans and Anglophones together, we find that Francophones are less daring. We need a francophone society that is economically strong because if we are the poorest and the last ones, our language will die.
1. We need to be smarter with digital praxis for meeting the needs of Francophones and Francophiles. The Americans have invested more than 500 million dollars in the MOOCs. Are we not missing a new action? If we do not gain market shares, then we must not be surprised that others take them for us.
2. I am the President of the learning industry association. There is not much public money available with the Francophonie and Europe having a huge market. The Americans are astonished by our underfunded status because we have 7 million euros when they have 70 million euros. The Americans are planning to invest 1.6 billion euros. It is foreseen as the Blue Ocean because there will be huge profits.
3. Digital praxis is a cross-cutting issue. We have not looked at food safety for further discussion.
4. The future of the Francophonie is not just a question of economics. It is important that the Francophonie exists in time and if the trend continues, predictions will be made. Thus, the people must speak French tomorrow or the day after. We must share the responsibility to achieve this. The French, Canadians, Walloons, Swiss people and the Africans must themselves get involved. Africa must import anything it consumes because it has no domestic market. The African market can facilitate the dissemination of the Francophonie. This is very important because there is a plurality of cultures even with a common language.
5. I am quite shocked at gaining market shares from teaching because we have very low returns on the MOOCs. I think we should not invest huge amounts of money simply because the Americans are doing it.
Only 10 % of the learners are getting certified and many do not want to go all the way. Institutions can use these courses as products that attract the persons to enrol in degree programs.
People have been prompted to think about distance learning. The MOOCs are not the alpha and omega. Success also involves online human tutoring. Companies are demanding that employees should not stay on longer in training.
We have identified three key areas this evening.
From the prophetic age of the Francophonie:
We code in a newspeak that disseminates standards. We need to think about having more Francophone networks ;
Digital education: there may be a market opening. We must promote multilingualism with the Francophonie.
We must reinstate a strong political project for restoring the Francophonie. Since the Kinshasa summit in 2012, the OIF has begun laying the foundation of an economic organization. It had to be done almost 40 years after the Treaty of Niamey. We now need to have a debate on the structuring of emerging markets.
North Francophonie: it is necessary to explore gaps. Alongside the OIF, it would be interesting to find other partners for promoting multilingualism.


text:
Q: How can I correctly load ImageMagick within CakePHP 3, or change settings? I am trying to use ImageMagick inside a controller for CakePHP 3, in order to resize and convert images. However on attempting, the system has been generating an error
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I know this looks like it is caused by Imagick not being present, however this is occurring inside the load test for Imagick - it appears to be entirely on CakePHP 3's settings.
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What do I need to change with CakePHP in order to get this to work? Alternatively, could this be related to php.ini settings?

A: With reference to ndm's comment,

\Imagick... php.net/manual/en/language.namespaces.fallback.php

Cakephp work with namespaces so you need to use \Imagick... to reference all Imagick functions as a fallback to global function/constant.
Check out https://www.php.net/manual/en/language.namespaces.fallback.php for more info.


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How FERC can protect customers and respect state energy policy authority in its PJM capacity market proceeding
FERC's PJM capacity market order must be implemented in a way to preserve the authority of its 13 states and D.C. to pursue clean energy and protect customers from billions in higher utility bills.
Flickr; BranderGuard
By Ann McCabe and Miles Farmer
The following is a viewpoint from Ann McCabe, an energy and environmental consultant and former commissioner at the Illinois Commerce Commission, and Miles Farmer, a staff attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
A recent order by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) tees up two starkly different potential outcomes: one that protects consumers and state authority over energy policy, and one that could unnecessarily add billions of dollars to customers' utility bills and frustrate the ability of 13 mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia to control the power supply mix serving customers within their borders.
We disagree with the premise of the commission's order, but agree that a workable outcome can be achieved if FERC and the states work together to implement the order in a reasonable manner.
FERC's June order incorrectly found that state climate policies artificially distort the capacity market for the PJM region serving 65 million customers. To address this perceived distortion, FERC's order called for PJM to impose a Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR) that could block energy resources supported by those policies from selling capacity (which is a future promise to provide power when needed) in PJM's market.
But along with its decision to impose a MOPR on state-supported capacity resources, mainly renewable and nuclear, FERC also suggested that it may establish an alternate means to ensure that the capacity value of those resources is not ignored.
FERC must follow through on this plan because if it fails to do so, customers could be forced to spend billions on redundant capacity from other resources that aren't needed to support the reliability of the electric system. Stakeholders need to make their voices heard — loudly and before October 2 — the deadline for comments on FERC's implementation of its order.
FERC's order "preliminarily found" that PJM must enable an alternative path for state-supported resources to receive credit for their capacity contributions to the system, even if they are not permitted to sell capacity in PJM's organized capacity market. FERC terms this alternative path the "resource specific FRR Alternative option," which we abbreviate as "FRR-RS" for Fixed Resource Requirement - Resource Specific.
Many questions about FRR-RS remain, as FERC's order gives only a basic outline for how it might operate and only tentatively commits to following through with a solution. States, consumer advocates, utilities and other energy customers must strongly urge FERC to follow through on its FRR-RS plan in a way that allows states and customers to take full advantage of the capacity offered by state-supported resources.
Background on PJM's capacity market
PJM is the nation's largest grid operator and accounts for about one-fifth of the nation's total electricity consumption. FERC- and PJM-related charges generally account for a very significant portion of an end-use customer's bill.
In addition to operating a market for electric energy, PJM runs a capacity market, which compensates suppliers for being available to provide energy when called upon by the grid operator during times, like hot summer days or winter cold snaps, when the electric grid is under maximum stress.
PJM holds capacity auctions every year, which seek to procure the lowest-cost set of capacity resources to meet a given level of demand forecasted for three years in the future based on sales offers submitted by potential suppliers.
PJM selects the cheapest sources of capacity needed to meet this demand, and the winning suppliers are compensated at a rate equal to the offer submitted by the most expensive supplier needed to meet demand, as shown in the simplified example below:
Resources that clear the auction receive a capacity payment in exchange for being available during the commitment period. (If it is not available, there's a penalty.) Such capacity payments can be the difference between a resource continuing to operate or shutting down.
State energy policy authority must be preserved
Without FRR-RS, FERC's order threatens to force PJM customers to buy more capacity than necessary and frustrate state energy policy authority
For decades, states in the PJM region have sought to shape the power supply mix serving their customers through policies such as renewable portfolio standards (RPS), which mandate that a certain percentage of the state's load be serviced by renewable resources.
States advance a cleaner resource mix by promoting renewables, energy efficiency and clean demand response (supplying capacity by reducing usage during critical times) in their role as environmental regulators to protect their residents from harmful pollution that causes serious health problems and climate change.
In recent years, some states have expanded their RPS programs. A few states have begun to offer payments to nuclear generators for the emissions-free value of their electricity (sometimes called zero-emission credits) and/or designed policies to foster nascent markets for offshore wind and energy storage technologies.
These policies are an attempt to correct a basic wholesale market deficiency: energy and capacity prices paid to generators in PJM's markets fail to reflect the significant environmental benefits these resources create by displacing more polluting forms of generation. That's because those markets sell exclusively the commodity value of the power supply, without regard to any environmental or other beneficial attributes.
Prior to FERC's order, when a PJM capacity supplier also earned revenue under a state energy policy that compensates it for avoided emissions, that enabled it to offer its capacity more cheaply into the PJM market — often displacing dirtier resources.
State climate policies enhance rather than detract from market efficiency, as explained by scholars at the Institute for Policy Integrity in this capacity markets report.
To the extent that state policies yield a lower capacity price, such a price is appropriate because less capacity is necessary from non-state supported resources to meet regional demand. Prior to FERC's order, PJM's capacity market design naturally ensured that state policies could be pursued without compromising the system's ability to maintain adequate resources to prevent blackouts.
FERC's order disagreed, finding that certain state programs (the exact scope of which is left unspecified) cause "unreasonable price distortions" that threaten the "integrity of the capacity market."
FERC told PJM to apply a Minimum Offer Price Rule, which would require affected suppliers to offer into the capacity market at prices at least as high as FERC's estimate of the cost of supply from those resources without factoring in revenue earned pursuant to state policies.
In the likely event that this minimum offer price is higher than the offers of other suppliers, the affected resources will not be selected by PJM. And if these resources continue to operate pursuant to state policies, customers could be forced to buy more capacity than needed to support system reliability.
Applying the MOPR without further adjustments would effectively provide a large subsidy to capacity suppliers not supported by state policies. The costs would be enormous, but because FERC's order leaves the MOPR scope unclear, the precise costs are difficult to estimate.
If the MOPR blocks PJM capacity market access for state-supported renewable and nuclear resources without offering an alternative path to account for their contribution to system reliability, Michael Goggin from Grid Strategies LLC estimates the cost to consumers could total nearly $25 billion.
FRR-RS could protect customers from being overcharged for capacity
Fortunately, FERC's order offered FRR-RS as a potential path to fix this problem.
Recognizing that applying the MOPR could force customers to "pay for capacity both through the state programs . . . and through the [PJM capacity] market," the commission suggested FRR-RS to provide an alternate route for crediting the capacity contributions of state-supported resources. Under FRR-RS, state-supported resources would not sell capacity in PJM's organized market, but rather would enter into separate arrangements to allocate their capacity to customers.
Critically, capacity purchase obligations in the organized PJM capacity market would be reduced according to the amount of capacity supply obtained through FRR-RS. Thus, in the simplified example, if capacity supplier E participated in the FRR-RS program, customers would only need to pay for capacity from capacity suppliers A-C through the PJM market, avoiding the need to purchase from capacity supplier D.
However, FRR-RS is not a foregone conclusion.
Even if FERC pursues it, states and customers won't be able to utilize FRR-RS unless it is designed well. Flaws in program implementation details like the process for a supplier to opt into FRR-RS or the manner in which FRR-RS resources are credited for their capacity could prevent the program from realizing its full potential, yielding costly outcomes for customers.
For example, in a presentation previewing its proposed approach to FRR-RS, PJM suggested that it might advocate for giving FRR-RS resources less than full credit for their capacity. Other stakeholders have suggested a cap on the amount of capacity that may elect to participate in FRR-RS. Such proposals would frustrate the ability of FRR-RS to protect customers.
Further, FERC faces a difficult timeline in implementing FRR-RS. Filling in all of the details as to how FRR-RS will work such that it can be fully utilized before PJM's next capacity auction in August 2019 will be difficult if not impossible, so FERC should delay implementing the MOPR to provide a smooth transition to FRR-RS.
In our view, the best approach would be for FERC to reverse its decision to expand the MOPR to state-supported resources.
At minimum, it should refrain from applying the MOPR to state programs like renewable portfolio standards that select winners through a competitive process. Such programs enhance competition in the PJM market and improve market efficiency.
A large number of stakeholders, including the Organization of PJM States (voting unanimously with one abstention), have asked FERC to reconsider its decision to set aside PJM's current rules and replace them with this uncertain construct. Other parties urging FERC to reconsider its decision include clean energy advocates, consumer advocates, commercial and industrial customers, public power, clean energy industry groups and various power companies.
Absent such a reversal, stakeholders, and especially states, must weigh in to ensure that FERC:
Follows through with implementing FRR-RS in a way that allows utilities and other capacity customers to buy capacity from all state-supported resources.
Designs the FRR-RS to provide maximum flexibility for matching capacity customers with state-supported renewable and nuclear resources; and
Allows for a smooth transition by postponing implementation of the MOPR until the May 2020 PJM capacity auction. This delay will give states and utilities time to understand the new rules and clarify state law as needed to take full advantage of the resource-specific FRR-RS. FERC must not change the MOPR until the regulatory framework for the FRR-RS is in place. Otherwise, capacity market prices will skyrocket and customers and the environment will suffer.
Comments to FERC on the scope of the MOPR and FRR-RS design are due October 2, with an opportunity to reply in November.
A wide variety of groups already plan to weigh in. NRDC, Sierra Club, Citizens Utility Board of Illinois, the District of Columbia Office of the People's Counsel, Exelon Corporation, the American Council on Renewable Energy, and a growing list of stakeholders have agreed to a more detailed set of shared principles for implementing FRR-RS in a manner that is workable for states and customers.
States should support these principles to protect their authority to adopt energy policies and to protect their customers from unnecessary capacity charges.
City of Rowlett Director of Public Works Rowlett, TX


Bea Has Her Liberty Back!
Home Liberty Trike Bea Has Her Liberty Back!
Liberty Trike Bea, you tell us! How is your ride?
Bea Rice: It's a killer just like scenery!!
I am 4 years into my 8th decade! I cannot walk without sticks. When I do walk, I can barely walk a street block and it takes me a long time. Today the trike was put together and charged up. I spent about 45 minutes going up and down the street learning to control the trike and learning the controls. My buddy on her ebike and I set off on my maiden journey!
We intended just to go around a couple of blocks! Well a couple of blocks led to 2.4 miles of freedom!! I love my trike! I love my new found freedom and look forward to many more fun trips.
For what it's worth, I was never able to walk into or around the Palace, today I finally did it and it was great!!
Thank you Jason and all the team!
This is so wonderful that I can get to a local coffee shop and sit outside enjoying my coffee, knowing that now, I can go and do this any time I want! Another freedom, the Liberty Trike has given me back!


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Home Categories Exclusives
Skybinder "My Severance" Single Exclusive
Posted By Mike on October 3, 2018. Under Exclusives, Featured, Metalcore, Upcoming Music
Are you looking for a good kick to the chest? You've come to the right place! Skybinder are an up and coming band making themselves known from over in Athens, Greece. Their style comes down to producing modern Metalcore music worthy of opening a mosh pit or three. Despite the modern edge, they also have a foot planted in the sub-genre's more classic style. You may be able to pinpoint influences from several favorites while listening!
Currently, the band is planning the release of an all new full-length album which has yet to be titled. However, as a taste of things to come, they've launched an all new single called "My Severance". In support of this, we've teamed up with the band to stream the single over on YouTube! You can give a listen by hitting that play button provided below.
If you'd like to follow along more closely and see what happens next, the band can be found over on Facebook and YouTube. If you want more, another single by the name of "The Pretender" was also put out some months back and can be located through the YouTube link we just posted. Enjoy!
Links: Facebook // YouTube
See More: Exclusive, Metalcore, Skybinder
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Please feel free to discuss the Sabian Symbol in this thread, and to ask questions or, explore any aspect of the many interpretions the Symbol holds. Please add your own observations and interpretations too!! The Symbol used in this heading is by Lynda Hill.
Symbol: A SQUARE BRIGHTLY LIGHTED ON ONE SIDE.
There is also a great exercise to try which is written in the Oracle meaning, and that is to draw a three sided square - leaving one side open. Label each side of the box with an aspect of the issue or problem that makes you feel trapped. On the fourth open side you can write the possibilities for free movement in this situation.
After receiving this Symbol once for a reading regarding 'being overcommited in many areas' it was easy to see where the problems were and what needed to be trimmed back to release me from the 'box' or 'cage' I had built up around myself. I also added a top and bottom to the square - making it a cube - I then had 6 sides to work with.
3. Emotions: Feelings and anxieties.
4. Brightly Lighted side: Possibilities and solutions ~I left this side free of words until all the other sides of the box had been written down and listed. When I thought of something which might help the situation, I listed it on this side.
Top: Dreams: Looking ahead and Goals.
Bottom: Commitments: Areas to stay Grounded and Focused.
This greatly helped sort out where i was at the time and enabled me to reorganize myself.
I love what you're doing with the study of the Symbols - great stuff!
The Square and the Triangle - both with a way out of them ... it's very interesting.
I was pondering on what you said about the Triangle with Golden Wings and the Square - they are alike but not the same, similar yet different.
One aspect of the triangle definately seems like its on a Spiritual level - the square to me seems very physical and earthbound. Then to see that the following symbol is 'A Man Successfully Expressing himself in Two Worlds' makes perfect sense.
This cluster of Symbols Aries 5, 6 & 7 ~ Karmic, Main & Quest ~ are a nice set!
I have a great visionary impression of the three Symbols intertwined - almost like a hologram of sorts.
Although this Sabian Symbol is under the 6 degree - the square represents a 4 - solidity, stability, foundation, material world. I relate this to what Dr Edmunds keyword of 'set' - also the Emperor in the Tarot - or the 4 of Swords: repose, rest, a time of thinking and reassesment, a change will come.
Aries 5 - A white triangle is seen; it has golden wings.
Aries 7 - A man successfully expressing himself in two worlds at once.
Libra 6 - A man watches his ideals taking a concrete form before his inner vision.
Cancer 6 - In spring game birds are feathering their nests.
Capricorn 6 -Ten logs lie under an archway leading to darker woods.
Gemini 18 - Two chineese men talking chinese in a western crowd.
Leo 30 - An unsealed letter has vital and confidential information.
Scorpio 12 - A brilliant assembly of dignitaries at an official embassy ball.
Capricorn 24 - A woman entering a convent.
Discussion: Galena is a soft metallic looking mineral. Is found as shining cubes, looking like little silver squares shining on one side. The mineral is a primary source of lead. It promotes harmony and balance, and is very rounding. Remember to wash your hands after handling Galena.
I really really really see this as this symbol, it LOOKS like the symbol, its energy and spirit is compatible and the natural sheen confirmed it for me.


"Let it go," sings Queen Elsa in Disney's movie Frozen. Winner of both the Academy Award for Best Original Song and a Grammy, the song's popularity shows how powerful it can be to let go!
How many times have I wrestled with unresolved thoughts and feelings about a situation, usually involving a relationship with another person. Things eat away at me until I can come to understanding. When another person is involved, I feel compelled to talk it over but sometimes they don't.
Ruminating makes it worse. Rehearsing conversations in your mind seems to make the uneasiness increase. Sometimes writing about it helps, but often I want to write to the other person and if they don't respond, then I feel even more unsettled.
I have discovered some ways to approach these tangled up, unresolved thoughts and feelings. Sometimes holding on until I find resolve works much better than trying to let go of something sticky.
1. Walk away for a little while.
Sometimes it helps to breathe, to allow some time to pass. This doesn't mean permanently avoiding or running from the situation, but allowing some time for the intensity of the distress to lessen. It is impossible to reason when emotions are stirred up, so deep breathing exercises and walking in fresh air can allow some calm to enter.
2. Turn the other cheek.
Once I gave a sermon on this passage from the Bible: "But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also." (Matthew 5:39). As I was preparing, I saw something I had never seen before. If you focus on your opinion or position, you are looking in one direction. When you turn the other cheek, it requires turning your head. So now you are seeing in a new direction.
The insight came to me that "turning the other cheek" doesn't mean passively letting someone mistreat or hurt you. It means looking at things from a different perspective, seeing the situation from their point of view.
For example, I was trying to help a friend with chronic shoulder pain. He kept asking me for advice. I favor energetic types of healing like chiropractic, acupuncture, yoga, or EFT (tapping.) He has found relief through more mechanical means like surgery or medication.
I offered to give him a type of intuitive reading for a gift. He was skeptical but sounded interested. I had previously suggested a chiropractor/acupuncturist who had helped me. When he did not find immediate relief from that practitioner, he called him a quack.
In that moment I realized how selfish it was of me to offer a gift (the reading) with a condition that he use it for a particular purpose. A gift should be given freely without strings. He did not know what to expect and was open to receiving something, but for me to dictate how helpful it would be meant I was trying to control him.
We have different experiences and different perceptions of what causes healing. My lesson in this is to accept him and his way of healing rather than trying to force my perspective on him.
How illuminating! When we view a situation from another person's perspective, we can understand that person. This resonates with the St. Francis prayer, "Seek to understand, not to be understood." While this may seem challenging, it goes a long way in changing our perspective and diffusing any kind of anger, self-righteousness or desire for revenge.
When we blame another person or external circumstances, we fail to recognize that we always have some part in causing situations to be as they are. Sometimes this can be hard to admit. We like to be right, to win, to be the smart or wise one.
Admitting how we have had some part in causing a situation requires being humble. It also brings freedom, enabling us to learn and to let go of old patterns of thinking that keep us stuck. In the situation with my friend, I was attached to relieving his pain. That is my cause, something I need to heal in myself. I was trying to make it his problem by forcing him to believe in something he didn't know anything about.
So I needed to let go of my attachment to being a savior, being able to relieve his pain. If I really want to help, I can give something (in this case, the reading) and release it, letting him choose how to use the gift. This enables me to let go of the compulsion to control everything and everyone, respecting their choices even when they may be different from mine.
If you are the kind of person who thinks all the time (like me!), unresolved thoughts are like food that stays in the stomach and never digests. Thus the saying, "it's eating away at me." To begin the assimilation process, it helps to spend some time clearing the mind.
Writing about the issue in a stream of consciousness is a great way to begin the process. Get a journal or sheets of paper and a pen (do this long hand for the best results rather than using a computer.) Set a timer for 20 minutes. Then, write the subject at the top of the page, like "Conflict with XYZ." Start writing, whatever comes to mind. Don't stop to think too much, to punctuate or even to write what seems true. Just write.
If you feel stuck or paralyzed, write, "I don't know what to write" and keep writing. If you think that your writing is stupid or doesn't make sense, write that. Just keep writing until the 20 minutes is up.
Then go back and look at what you've written. There will be some junk, but among the seeming nonsense you will also find some nuggets of truth. Highlight these. It will give you a place to begin understanding.
Once you have done this brain clearing, find a quiet place. Sit or lie down and focus on your breath. Just watch it. Don't try to force it or make it do anything. Just watch the breath as it comes in and goes out. Then, notice the exhale. Watch the breath as it goes out, and allow yourself to let go of any thoughts or concerns along with the outgoing breath.
You can say this mantra to yourself (from Henry Reed's Intuitive Heart training): "I am aware of my breath and letting it be. I am learning to let go and let spirit breathe me." Keep silently chanting that and watch your outgoing breath.
Allow yourself to stay in this relaxed state as long as you wish. You will emerge feeling much more centered and perhaps ready now to really let go of what has troubled you.
If you try these methods, please leave a comment below to share what you discover. If you know other ways to let go that seem effective, share those too!