As the latest in a line of entrepreneurs, he spent his spare time through high school, university and law school helping out in various family enterprises.

Startups are in my blood, Clements says.

And after his brief foray into the world of gainful employment, it wasnt long before the genetic instincts kicked in: Immediately after completing his articling term in the spring of 2009, Clements left to start his own law firm. A sabbatical followed in 2012 so that he and his wife could run the distribution and marketing business they co-founded several years earlier.

So when Clements decided to return to the practice of law, there was only one focus he would consider.

I wanted to work with startups, he says. Entrepreneurs have a lot of energy. Theyre smart and innovative and constantly tinkering with things to improve them. I love that philosophy.

Clements now practises out of Kahane Law Office in Calgary, but he still manages to cram in a gig as an adjunct professor at the University of Calgary teaching a course in Entrepreneurial Law, and he says there is more demand than ever for startup legal advice.

My phone rings a lot. I dont know exactly whats driving it or whether its a generational thing, but a lot of people want to start their own businesses. Even when theyre employed, everyone seems to want a side hustle, whether its developing an app or some other form of passive income, Clements says. I believe the Internet has facilitated it. The cost of entry has come way down for a small business that uses the Internet and social media, because you can tap into large pools of people relatively easily. Back in the 60s, you needed a brick-and-mortar presence, so there were a lot more costs involved. What were seeing now is a flourishing of small businesses.

Law firms across the country seem to have picked up on the same pattern, with outfits of varying sizes, both regional and national, putting together practice groups and special packages aimed specifically at serving startup clients.

Technology lawyer Brock Smith was there for the last tech startup gold rush in the late 1990s, acting mainly for venture capitalists pumping money into new businesses. Now as a partner with entrepreneur-focused Whiteboard Law in Vancouver, hes on the other side of transactions, advising founders attempting to secure their first rounds of financing.

You cant get into the startup business these days as a get-rich-quick scheme, he says. Back at the height of the dot-com bubble maybe you could, when guys were getting funded for ideas on the back of a napkin. But now you have to be patient. Founders need to be babysat. Theyre going to call with a lot of questions, because many of them are doing these things for the very first time.

Marshall Pawar, the founding partner at Vancouvers MEP Business Counsel, says firms should think long and hard before jumping on the startup bandwagon.

If youre just getting into it because its the trendy thing to do, its maybe not something you should be involved in, he says. Theres a big difference between working with businesses in the early stage of their development compared with large established ones. You need to be interested in the area, because it involves a lot of compromise and can be quite challenging. You need to be more than just a lawyer. You need to be willing to hold peoples hands and stretch out a bit to be a business advisor to them.

In any case, founders can smell a faker a mile off, says Jayesh Parmar, the CEO and co-founder of Picatic, an online ticket-selling platform based in Vancouver. He remembers getting a presentation from a law firm promoting a $5,000 package of free legal services as part of an accelerator program for promising tech startups.

It was like oil mixing with water. They were trying to come into our world with this loss leader to get us onboard. But it came with all these hooks and caveats: You cant use this here; you can only use this in that situation, Parmar says.

Like any good Canadian, Parmar turns to hockey for an analogy that explains the key differences between the two types of lawyer startups will encounter: the coach and the general manager.

The coach is there on the bench, sitting with the players and speaking to them in a way they can understand. The GM comes in, dressed in a suit, and it creates a whole different vibe, he says. Some law firms just get it and some dont. As entrepreneurs, were very vulnerable. If you can show that youre in tune with us and that you speak our language, then it builds trust.

Parmar says he was seduced by his current counsel, LaBarge Weinstein LLP, when it delivered a care package that included a Pez dispenser to participants part-way through the same program.

It seems like such a trivial thing, but the timing of it was perfect. Accelerators are hard work, so feeling like you have someone there with you who gets what youre going through goes a long way, he says.

LaBarge Weinstein co-founder Deborah Weinstein says the 21-lawyer firm, which has offices in Ottawa, Vancouver and Toronto, has developed a specialty in unorthodox advertising opportunities at incubator and tech events where its target market gathers.

Were tactical with where we spend money. We wont go head to head with the big sponsors, but maybe we will provide the beer at the after-party. People remember that, she says.

Rebecca Kacaba is a partner in the startups group at Dentons Canada LLP in Toronto and runs a blog aimed at local entrepreneurs. Despite the high-tech focus of her clientele, she relies on a decidedly old-school source of new business: word of mouth.

People come to me mostly through introductions from others who know what Im doing or who were happy with my service, Kacaba says. Mentors in the startup community know that this is an area I have experience in.

While technology startups are one focus for Prairies heavyweight McKercher LLP, Christopher Masich, a lawyer with the firms entrepreneur law practice group in Saskatoon, says they have spread the net wider to account for the realities of the regional resource-based economy.

We have some biotechnology clients, but were also dealing with plumbers and skilled tradespeople as well as others who want to approach traditional industries a little differently, he says. Were applying a suite of services to entrepreneurs that looks more at the attributes of the people involved, rather than focusing on any particular industry.

Masich says that government support for entrepreneurism at the provincial and federal level has created numerous choke points in the system for new companies, regardless of their line of business, including government resource centres, industry liaison offices at universities aiming to commercialize academic research and early-stage financiers. Thats where McKercher tries to target the marketing budget for his practice group, he says.

These places tend to have far more exposure to entrepreneurs in the early stages. Lawyers are not the first place these people call typically, Masich says. We want to break down some of the barriers associated with the legal profession and make us more accessible to these individuals.

According to Smith, there is no substitute for direct contact when it comes to startup firms. He pays regular visits to Launch Academy, a Vancouver startup hub, doling out free advice in half-hour sessions to anyone who wanders by.

I love the idea of being in on the ground floor with entrepreneurs as they start to grow their ideas. Its a really cool feeling to talk with someone and see that passion in their eyes, he says. When we go and chat about their business over dinner or drinks, theyll invariably get some free advice, but thats fine. Its not all about sending a bill. I want them to succeed, and if they do, then they can send me some more complicated work.

The other benefit of immersion in the startup scene is that it gives lawyers a chance to size up potential clients. Before joining Osler Hoskin and Harcourt LLP and founding the firms emerging companies practice group, Chad Bayne had a previous career as a computer engineering grad and software designer for Ottawa telecommunications company Newbridge Networks. That background not only gives his credibility a boost with clients, it also allows him to make better judgments on their long-term viability.

If youve been around long enough, you just know when a founder is special. At an early stage, all youre really doing is betting on the person or the team of people they have behind them, Bayne says. The longer you do it, the better bets you make.

At Stewart McKelvey LLP, Adam Bata says lawyers in the field need to increase their tolerance for failing clients, comparing his work with startups at the firms Halifax office to that of a movie producer.

For every big hit, you might get another eight or nine that fall by the wayside, he says. The really creative founders will learn from the experience and come back again with a new idea.

Stewart McKelvey isnt the only Maritimes firm willing to kiss a few frogs in the hopes of finding a startup prince, says Sandra Goodwin, managing director of client development and service at McInnes Cooper LLP.

The firm is a major sponsor of Volta, a four-year-old hub for entrepreneurs in a variety of sectors, and every week sends one of its lawyers to run open office hours at Voltas Halifax office. Whatever is keeping them up at night, they can come in and talk it through, Goodwin says. Its a way of staying keyed in to the startup community.

McInnes Cooper runs a BIG potential program for companies that can demonstrate business innovation and growth. For startups that make the grade, the program is designed to guide them through the first two years of their existence with a combination of fixed fees and cut rates in the areas of intellectual property, tax advice, employment law and others, tailored to individual companies.

The firm is also in the process of developing Legal Ninja, a subscription tool for entrepreneurs who want to create and manage their own legal documents using templates and guidance from the lawyers. Modelled on tax software that takes customers through their annual return, Goodwin says the hope is clients will eventually be able to use fillable forms to create documents including employment contracts and non-disclosure agreements.

Then if you have a problem answering a question, its designed so that you can call or text a lawyer for help, she says.

Jack Newton, the co-founder of Clio, a cloud-based practice management tool for lawyers, says law firms who want to attract startup clients need to show a willingness to embrace new ways of doing business. Despite running a business aimed at the legal profession, he and his co-founder were initially outsiders to the legal world and struggled to find a lawyer that could match up to their standards.

Law firms need to think about how to shift from the old service delivery model to a new one that makes it as effortless as possible for the clients, he says.

Thats particularly true of millennials, the generation that has produced a large proportion of recent startup founders, according to Newton.

Your millennial founder does not care about a law firms fancy downtown offices and certainly does not want to come there to see you. They probably want to talk over Google Hangouts or Facetime from the comfort of their own office, and they dont want to fret about whether youre on the meter every time you talk, he says.

At Kahane Law, Clements makes liberal use of flat rates for startup clients in an effort to ease the chronic cash shortages that almost all new businesses share in their early days. The firm offers a 12-month startup kit to clients priced at $2,599, which includes an hour-long initial meeting, plus a further 30 minutes in consultations per month, as well as incorporation, share issuance and other discounts.

Clients really appreciate it. Ive been on the other side, and I know what its like to make a dollar stretch. I also know how frustrating it is to think youre paying one fee and then get a bill for three times that amount, Clements says. Unfortunately, many people come into relationships with lawyers with a level of reticence or distrust, so I try to stick to the cost I set as much as possible. Were trying to let clients enjoy the process and show them that it doesnt have to be painful.

Pawar is more of a fixed-rate skeptic, preferring to put together a customized fee structure depending on the clients individual situation.

I understand the rationale, but its the one-size-fits all part that Im not comfortable with, he says.

Pawar says its still possible to achieve budget certainty with a cost estimate based on a thorough assessment of the startups needs. The firm will regularly defer fees or legal matters, depending on the urgency.

At an initial meeting, we want to do a lot of listening, and then have an open and frank conversation. Once you know more about where they are in the process, the experience of the entrepreneur at the helm and their long- and short-term goals, you can get on with setting a roadmap for them, he says. Letting them know what they might not need right at that moment can be as important as what they do need immediately. If a shareholder agreement is needed but not for another six months, then we can talk about pushing that down the road.

Weinstein says IP issues are often first on the agenda for her clients.

If they come to us after working in their basement, they dont necessarily have any money, but they have one very valuable asset: their intellectual property. And many times, they wont have any agreements to protect it, she says.

Pretty soon afterwards, company organization and share ownership questions tend to bubble up, according to Weinstein.

Ive had people who wanted to give the first developer five per cent of the business, and I have to remind them that there is only 100 per cent to go around. If every new hire gets five per cent, then youre limited to 20 people, she says. Most of our clients are very smart engineers, and some of them have good business skills, but a lot of them are doing it for the first time and dont have a good grasp of how things work.

Weinstein says the firm is prepared to defer fees for months and even years while companies find their feet, and when they do send a bill, they dont do much chasing.

Were fairly relaxed about getting paid in the early going, she says.

In fact, the firm runs on the assumption that some never will pay for services.

We do a lot of writeoffs, Weinstein says. Were trying to emulate our clients: If they have no money, then they dont have to pay us. If they raise some, they can pay us then. This is like our R&D. Were trying people out and seeing what sticks. About five per cent will turn into stellar clients, but even then, the bulk will pay our fees.

Parmar says founders value that kind of commitment, and he says hes still usually the one chasing up legal bills internally to make sure theyre paid.

I have tons of lawyer buddies, so I know thats not normal, he says. Once you have any kind of success, you have an elephants memory for that sort of thing. Its a fairly small startup community in Vancouver and we talk.

Smith says part of the reason he left a larger full-service firm was so that he wouldnt have to justify his client choices to the rest of his partners. At his previous firm, one client spent years on the finance departments blacklist for late or non-payment of bills.

He calls up out of the blue and says hes hit it big. Hes sitting on a term sheet from a U.S. multinational to buy the company. All of a sudden, Im a hero for having hung on to him, Smith says. Larger firms are starting to look at cost recovery and fee generation on a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately basis, but Ive got a lot more flexibility over fee arrangements and the risk Im prepared to take on a return in helping companies grow.

At Oslers, Bayne says his firm is unique among Bay Street giants for its willingness to play the long game on his clients. He worked closely with Toronto partner Geoff Taber to create the emerging companies practice group in the late 2000s with a view to getting ahead of the next startup wave following the global financial crisis.

Bayne likes to think of the groups clients as a single entity, with short-term losses kept to a minimum until the big success stories start to pay for the rest.

You could look at any one file and say it didnt return very well, but it can turn out to be a rounding error when you look at the whole portfolio, he says. Were using leverage, repeatable processes and technology to make ourselves more efficient and ensure that were driving down internal costs as much as we can. The rest of the firm is taking notice of how we do things.

The watershed moment came in 2013 when Vancouver-based client Hootsuite, a social media management platform, raised $165 million in a Series B financing round, according to Bayne, who says several more clients are now reaching escape velocity.

However, the firm suffered a tragic setback in December when Taber was killed along with his wife and two children in a fire at the familys brand new cottage near Peterborough, Ont. It took a lot of work to get here. You have to spend a lot of time training and mentoring associates and a lot of time educating clients, he says. Its going to be that much tougher without Geoff, because he contributed so much. He has left a big hole at the firm and in the community.

One area where larger firms hold an advantage over smaller rivals becomes clear when startups enter the next stage of their development and their legal needs begin to change. Silvia de Sousa, a partner at Thompson Dorfman Sweatman LLP in Winnipeg, says the firms full service offering and lawyer count, which stands at close to 100, makes for a seamless transition when her startup clients require advice that strays outside her expertise.

The person next door to me does tax law; or if they have labour and employment issues, I can talk to my partner down the hall, she says.

At London, Ont.-based Siskinds LLP, Curtis Cleaver spearheaded the development of a $3,500 legal package for startups. Though the margins are thin, he says the full-service firm is the ideal size for successful clients to grow into.

Im hoping they stay with me for 30 years, right through rounds of financing, to IPO, merger or just the operation of a profitable company. Whatever their exit strategy, the idea is to give them a break now so they can go on and be successful, Cleaver says.

But success brings a new problem: competition. Jamie Jurczak, a partner with Taylor McCaffrey LLP in Winnipeg, says thats an everyday part of the life of a lawyer, whatever kind of clients you have.

There has always been competition and there always will be, she says. All you can do is offer exemplary service and hope that they see the value of carrying on with counsel that has been there since the beginning, she says.

Pawar says hes not afraid to refer clients out for certain types of work, and he takes a philosophical approach when they move on altogether.

At the end of the day, if they feel like were not the right fit, thats fine. Its important not to stand in the way of a clients needs, and if that means moving to another shop, there are no hard feelings, he says.

Things are particularly dangerous for Kacaba in Toronto, where competition is fierce for fully developed businesses.

Unfortunately, Ive already seen some of that, and its frustrating if you put a lot of investment in for not a lot of return, she says. Sometimes, it can be a bit of a labour of love rather than the most profitable practice area.

Luckily for Kacaba, startups are endlessly fascinating, and after a setback, she gets straight back out there.

Sometimes, when you do work for a bigger company, you can feel a bit like a cog in the wheel. You never feel like that with founders, she says.

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The startup economy - Canadian Lawyer Magazine

March 06, 2017 at 9:25 pm | Daily Inter Lake

High-tech companies are an important component of Montanas economy, generating more than $1 billion in revenues in 2016 and growing at rates seven times faster than the statewide economy, according to a recent study conducted by the University of Montana Bureau of Business and Economic Research.

The study found that Montana High Tech Business Alliance members were responsible for $1.09 billion in revenues, an increase from $867 million in 2015, and responding nonmember firms generated an additional $487 million.

This third-annual survey, commissioned by the Montana High Tech Business Alliance, includes responses from members of the statewide organization which include 300 high-tech and manufacturing firms and affiliates as well as responses from 82 nonmember high-tech and manufacturing companies. It also includes new insights on Montanas business climate and beneficial business resources.

The study found the high-tech sector expects to add more than 960 new jobs in 2017 that pay average annual salaries of $60,000 more than twice the median annual earning per Montana worker.

Our third annual report shows once again the incredible opportunity for the high-tech industry to transform Montanas economy by bringing high revenues and high-paying jobs into the state, said Christina Henderson, executive director of the alliance. But this years survey also showed that Montanas positive business climate and extensive network of business resources from our universities and nonprofits to mentor companies, banks and government all play a crucial role in helping Montana entrepreneurs succeed.

This years survey examined perceptions of the climate in Montana for new businesses, as well as various resources within Montana that have been helpful to businesses as they start and grow. The data will be used for a case study on entrepreneurial ecosystems to be completed this spring. The project is a partnership between the Montana High Tech Business Alliance, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the UM Blackstone LaunchPad and MonTEC, UMs business incubator.

While starting a business in any state can be challenging, 77 percent of alliance members and 63 percent of nonmembers would encourage someone to start a business in Montana, according to the survey.

Overall, this is a strong endorsement of Montanas business climate, said John Baldridge, bureau director of survey research.

Among alliance members, the Montana High Tech Business Alliance was the most often cited beneficial business resource. Montana University System-based resources were cited by substantial proportions of both alliance members and nonmembers. These MUS resources included UM, Montana State University, the UM and MSU Blackstone LaunchPads, MonTEC and the Montana Manufacturing Extension Center.

Government resources and other Montana companies also were important to survey respondents for business, financial and legal mentorship, and advice.

Respondents found the following financial resources most beneficial to their firms: bootstrapping (creating and sustaining a business based on sales and little external funding), private investors and banks. Alliance members were most likely to mention bootstrapping, and nonmembers were most likely to mention banks.

For the third year in a row, the survey found that Montanas quality of life its lifestyle, work/life balance, recreational opportunities and natural beauty provided significant advantages to doing business in the state. Survey respondents also mentioned Montanas high-quality workforce as a major advantage.

Missoula is particularly poised for growth due to the underemployment that is prevalent in our area, said Tom Stergios, senior vice president of strategy and corporate development and general manager of Advanced Technology Groups Missoula office. ATG is pleased to have hired nine people already this year and plans to add 25 to 30 more jobs in 2017.

Stergios said Montana university programs, particularly management information systems, have morphed and are producing instantly impactful employees, which is a significant foundational component to a growing tech economy.

The 2017 survey shows the positive trend in tech and the definitive proof of the ability to significantly impact the Missoula community, he said.

As in previous years, respondents mentioned several barriers to faster growth, including attracting talent, hiring skilled technology workers, access to capital and finding new customers. For the first time, challenging market conditions were mentioned as a barrier to growth.

The third annual survey was sent to 242 Montana High Tech Business Alliance member companies and 304 nonmember companies.

Originally posted here:

State's high-tech hits $1 billion economic milestone - Daily Inter Lake

Poverty, crime, and homelessness are still rampant problems in countries around the world. 100-year-old futurist Jacque Fresco and architectural illustrator Roxanne Meadows founded The Venus Project to not only address these problems, but also to redesign cities to make them more sustainable. These circular cities draw on technology and science to produce a better society with a less harmful environmental impact.

The Venus Project thinks our monetary system is dehumanizing and leads to dysfunctional behavior. According to Meadows, who spoke in an interview with Futurism, the founders advocate what they call a Resource Based Economy, which calls for resources to be distributed equitably without money or credit. Services and goods would be available for all people for free, much like checking out books at a library.

Related: The galaxy-shaped Indian utopia built on principles of no money or government

Although The Venus Project offers a vision for redesigned cities, architecture isnt the projects sole focus. Meadows told Inhabitat, The Venus Project is more than just architecture; it is about a new social design. The architecture is built with that in mind and designed to conserve resources and maintain a high standard of living so the entire global population can have access to adequate housing, nutritious food, clean water, and all the amenities an advanced technical civilization can achieve. The Venus Projects architecture is not isolated from its social direction; no branch of science should be.

A main idea of The Venus Project is to move past politics. Meadows said politicians are rarely experts on preventing climate change or developing clean energy sources, for example. Instead, they often work to maintain the status quo and serve the interests of the wealthy and powerful.

Meadows told Futurism: It is not ethical people in government that we need but equal access to the necessities of life and those working toward the elimination of scarcity. We would use scientific scales of performance for measurement and allocation of resources so that human biases are left out of the equation. Within The Venus Projects safe, energy-efficient cities, there would be interdisciplinary teams of knowledgeable people in different fields accompanied by cybernated systems that use sensors to monitor all aspects of society in order to provide real-time information supporting decision-making for the well-being of all people and the protection of the environment.

The team completed a 21-acre research center in Florida as the first phase of the project, and are working to get the ideas out to the public through documentaries and a film in the second phase. They also aim to construct an experimental research city.

+ The Venus Project

Via Futurism

Images designed by Jacque Fresco courtesy of The Venus Project

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The Venus Project envisions a sustainable redesign of our cities and civilization - Inhabitat

Australians can breathe a sight of relief. Their record streak of consecutive quarters without a recession is still alive. After a 0.5% contraction in the third quarter of 2016, the countrys economy grew by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. It has been more than 25 years since Australias last recession, the longest streak for any Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) country since 1970.

Other media outlets contend the Netherlands still owns the crown for their recession-less growth from 1982 to 2008, but we beg to differ. Using data from the OECD and the generally accepted definition of a recessiontwo consecutive quarters of negative growththe Netherlands went through a very mild recession in 2003.

Australia was one of the few wealthy countries to continue to grow through the 2008 financial crisis, largely because of natural resource demand from China.

The recent slowdown that threatened Australias run is also attributable to China, this time in reduced demand for Australias iron ore and coal. China is now Australias largest trading partner, and the Australian economy ebbs and flows with Chinese desire for their exports. Australian treasury secretary John Fraser recently spoke of the need to move the country towards broader-based growth after an investment boom concentrated in natural-resource extraction.

If the Australian economy were to slip in the next several years, Poland is the favorite to take over the longest active growth streak without recession. Since 1995, the first year the OECD began collecting Polish GDP growth data, the economy has not had a recession. Polands economy swelled at the robust rate of 1.7% in the fourth quarter of 2016, and the World Bank expects it to continue humming along in 2017. Still, it remains four years short of Australias current streaka lifetime in economic-cycle years.

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Australia's economy has been growing for 25 years straight Quartz - Quartz

Toronto Sun

Bank of Canada channels Al Gore Toronto Sun Lane did acknowledge that, adapting to a lower-carbon economy will likely mean more profound structural changes for Canada than for many other countries because of our resource-based economy and that it will be costly for households and businesses ... and more »

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Bank of Canada channels Al Gore - Toronto Sun

Regina Leader-Post

Mandryk: Next Saskatchewan boom needs to be from our heritage fund Regina Leader-Post But if they were truly good managers, they would acknowledge that booms and busts occur in a resource-based economy like Saskatchewan's and tuck away a few dollars for a rainy day. Interestingly, governing politicians who can't ever quite utter the ...

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Mandryk: Next Saskatchewan boom needs to be from our heritage fund - Regina Leader-Post

A marketing and communications company, Verdant Zeal, has reiterated the importance of Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as key players in not only Nigerias economic growth, but Africas.

The firm said governments and other development partners needed to harness the power of technology to make a quantum leap in order to have a fair chance of development on continental scale. The company said it was casting a long range vision for the future by focusing on growing technology among African youths.

Its Group Director, Synergy, Mr. Dipo Adesida, while briefing reporters in Lagos earlier in the week, disclosed that his firm planned to train youths on how e-commerce and mobile money would help grow the economy as part of the innovation series the firm was promoting.

Adesida said the initiative was part of the desire to give back to the society as the company celebrates its 10thAnniversary. We, as Verdant Zeal, will not only galvanise the youth and inspire them to think differently, but will ensure a robust engagement so that some of them would have opportunities to live out their dreams, he assured.

As part of the innovation series instituted to examine the question of Africas development and hone opportunities for growth, he stated that the firm would also leverage on inherent strengths.

To achieve this, a lecture/symposium is being organised by the firm, with the Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank, Mr. Segun Agbaje and Etisalats Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr. Matthew Willsher as discussants to encourage the youths.

He said: Africa is gradually moving from a resource based economy to knowledge-based, innovation-driven economy. This has helped in impacting our youths as more youths now are exposed to the internet and get to share ideas with both local and foreign friends.

The Group Director Marketing & Business Development and Chairperson, 10th Anniversary Planning Committee, Nkiruka Oguadinma, said there would be an art exhibition showcasing their operations in Africa. She said the exhibition would cover artefacts from nine African countries.

On their expansion drive in Africa, Oguadinma said they were studying the business bend in other African countries.

According to her, any income from the exhibition will be donated to the Society for the Blind and Sickle Cell society.

Excerpt from:

Firm canvasses technology strategy - The Nation Newspaper

An outdated economic model is responsible for St Ann being one of the poorest parishes in Jamaica, says Earl Jarrett, chief executive officer of The Jamaica National Group (JN Group).

"The parish has a resource-based economy which has moved little beyond the basic exploitation of its agricultural land, its bauxite and its beauty," Jarrett stated. Therefore, the business sector needs to work with political representatives and the people of St Ann, to create a more prosperous future for its population.

"The stories I have read about St Ann over the past decade remain the same," Jarrett told the meeting of the St Ann Chamber of Commerce (St Ann Chamber). "It remains stories about poor market conditions, tourist harassment and roads that need to be improved. It is a single story."

"This is despite the fact that St Ann has a history of outstanding private-sector leadership, particularly those who pioneered the development of the tourism sector, on top of traditional agriculture," he said. "And, the bauxite/alumina sector developed subsequently, giving the economy its three broad divisions, currently."

The economic development has been limited in scope, resulting in negative consequences for the parish and its people, he stated.

"Our parish has continued to plough ahead in agriculture, mining and tourism, even to this day," said Jarrett, who pointed out that his own ancestors had originated from the Watt Town agricultural community in the parish.

"The challenges that we came and saw are part of the old economy," he told the February 18 meeting at the Hibiscus Lodge/Almond Tree Restaurant in Ocho Rios. "Those economic drivers are the same ones our parents and grandparents came and saw. Therefore, this parish needs to look beyond those old industries.

"The data say that over 30 per cent of the people in this parish live in poverty, largely as a result of declines in agriculture," he pointed out. This is confirmed by the fact that 73.2 per cent of the population of 180,000 live in rural parts of the parish, where agriculture remains a major source of employment.

"If we cannot accommodate more of this rural population in urban St Ann, then they will move on to Kingston and to Brooklyn, NY, because they will try to find a way to improve their lives," Jarrett stated. "You need a new business model to make this parish perform better.

"You should convene a meeting with the parliamentary representatives of your parish in one room," Jarrett suggested to the St Ann Chamber. "And, you need a parish agenda that the four members of parliament can find common cause to support."

He offered the 45 members attending the joint parish chambers of commerce meeting his participation in the first session if they wanted him to. Along with members from the parish chamber, executive members from the Portland, St Mary, Trelawny, Montego Bay, Hanover and the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce attended the meeting.

The St Ann Chamber members welcomed the suggestions from Jarrett with applause, pointing out that there were substantial resources within the parish that could be harnessed more efficiently, and that more effort needs to be focused on marketing goods and services to the domestic market.

Opportunities in e-commerce and distribution were also discussed, with St Ann Chamber President Pixley Irons establishing a working committee to complete the parish agenda for presentation to the political representatives.

Norma Walters, custos of St Ann, added that "this is not about Ocho Rios, it is about St Ann. We need to see the parish in the global context and operate as a united group".

Jeanne Dixon, a former director of the chamber, pointed out that "for many years, the chamber has had plans. All we need is to upgrade those plans".

Supporting Jarrett's call for an agreed parish agenda, Dixon stated that many large businesses in St Ann are not controlled at the local or even the national level. For the locally controlled businesses, she declared, "We now need a voice."

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St Ann can do better Earl Jarrett - Jamaica Gleaner

Lessons from Canada's scientific resistance Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists But its resource-based economy has always been wary of environmental science. In many respects, Harper played to the nation's roots as a freewheeling mining republic that has always been fearfully allergic to scientific evidence that might limit the ...

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Lessons from Canada's scientific resistance - Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

To celebrate its 10th anniversary of providing digital marketing, public relations, creative media planning and buying, and development communication in Nigeria, Verdant Zeal is set to hold a lineup of activities in March. The events kick off with a thanksgiving service on March 1, 2017 at its premises in GRA, Ikeja; a photo exhibition titled Journeys and Discoveries, will follow from Friday, March 17 through Sunday, March 19 at Renaissance Hotel, GRA Ikeja.

The annual Verdant zeal 6th innovation series will hold on March 23 at Civic Centre, Victoria Island and has as theme How Technology is Driving Africas New Narrative. There will be a Quantum awards night on the same day to wrap up the activities.

While speaking with The Guardian, Chairperson of the committee and Group Director, Marketing and Business Development, Nkiruka Oguadinma, said, The events will be an opportunity to showcase what we have done and so we decided to start with the thanksgiving, which will host some of our key clients and partners and those who have supported us in the past 10 years.

Oguadinma also noted that the Quamtum awards would be awarding our first staff, first client and other passionate people who have worked with them since inception.

On the annual invention series, Oguadinma said its focus on technology was due to recent evolvement, adding, Statistics updated in June 2015 shows that Africa has 28.6 per cent Internet penetration with Nigeria having 11.3 per cent of the total penetration in Africa. This shows that Nigeria is a big player in the African market and is expected to be among the top 10 internet-using countries in the world by 2018.

According to her, Africa is gradually moving from a resource-based economy to knowledge-based, innovation-driven economy. This has helped in impacting our youths as more of them are exposed to the internet, share ideas with local and foreign friends. Great minds are stirred up and our leaders are gradually investing in technology in ensuring that Africa is not left behind.

Managing Director, Guarantee Trust Bank Plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje, is expected to be keynote speaker at the invention series, while Chairman, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Hakeem Belo-Osagie, will chair the occasion, among other invited speakers.

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Verdant Zeal set to celebrate decade of providing media solutions - Guardian

What do Dubai, Houston and Edmonton all have in common?

These cities in the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Canada all once faced the same problem Perth has right now - shifting their economiesaway from relying so heavily on resources.

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WA Premier Colin Barnett takes an evening stroll with WAtoday Political Journalist Brendan Foster and discusses the issues heading into the State Election.

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A WA Liberal candidate is caught out using an alias to call into talkback radio to criticise WA Labor leader Mark McGowan. Audio: ABC South West.

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Colin Barnett has hit out at the media calling the election coverage "weak" and "trite" and telling journalists to raise their game. Vision: Nine News Perth.

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A man who was bashed trying to stop gate-crashers from storming a school ball after-party remains critically injured in hospital this morning. Vision: Today Perth News.

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Superstar Adele has hit Perth and we're being warned to expect a commuter nightmare as fans make their way to Domain Stadium on Tuesday night. Vision: Today Perth News.

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Ben Cousins has been refused bail after facing court on a range of charges. Audio:6PR

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The derby in Geraldton has sold out! It will be the first time people can see Sam Mitchell play in the blue and gold. Vision: Today Perth News.

WA Premier Colin Barnett takes an evening stroll with WAtoday Political Journalist Brendan Foster and discusses the issues heading into the State Election.

In their case it was oil and gas: Dubai invested in airlines, tourism and luxury retail, Houston focussed on medicine, education and aeronauticswhile Edmonton homed in on technology, becoming one of the largest producers of video games on the planet.

Resources arevital to these cities' economies. But through diversifying their plays in otherindustries these placesare now better insulated from the boom and bust cycle that continues to define WA's economy.

Crime, roads, health, transport, infrastructure;there's a huge list ofworthy issues both side of politics are focusing on as they scramble to winvotes ahead of the looming state election.

But the economy is the fundamentalissue for WA - and whoeverwins the day on March 11will inherit acomplex economic riddle and be tasked - even foreverdefined - with how theyaddress it.

Can WA move beyondbeing a mining state?Photo: Brendon Thorne

This week WAtoday will explore fivesectors of the WA economy that could grow and be our future if they are given the right backing- tourism, the arts, technology, education and agriculture.

These are already important economic sectors, but they are not WA's focus. Mining is.

So to find out how WA canpivot from boom and bust to something a bit steadier, we'll be speaking with leaders of WA's otherindustries to find out what they want and what they needto prosper whether the Liberals or Labor are at the helm.

But first, let's take a look at where WA's economy is at right now...

The state of play for WA in 2017

"It was like being on a fantastic fairground ride, centrifugal forces throwing us wider and wider. Now imagine the machine breaks. For a while, it's even better, because you're really flying; but then, you're f----d, because nobody beats gravity."

These lines from the movie 24 Hour Party People describe the rise and fall of the 1990s 'Madchester'music scene - but theymay as well be describing WA's economy right now.

We all know that WA has been supercharged by the resources boom, and we all know that the good times are coming to an end. The signs are all around us, from the industrial zones of Wangarato the glass towers of St George's Terrace.

The mining sector has shed thousands ofjobs and justentered its second consecutive period of contraction. Perth'sCBD has gone from hosting the head offices of 45iron ore mining companies in 2012 to just 18 in 2017, andvacancy rates are at25.2 per cent- a 25-year peak.

WA's unemployment rate is the worst in the nation at 6.5 per cent, and the resource royalties hitting the state's coffers totalled $4.6 billion in 201516, a decline of 21 per cent on 201415 brought about by falling commodity prices.

Perth's CBD is changing fast. Photo: Philip Gostelow

Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre's 2016 report called this 'the new normal,' where under-employment is rising and growth is stagnating.

But Damian Stone from the independentfirm Y Research sees opportunity in this decline.He quite literally has his finger on the pulse of Perth - his firm goes door to door to find out which businesses aredoing what where, and produces detailed reports on business trends in WA.

From what he's seeing first hand, Mr Stone reckons the crunch is coming sooner than we'd like to think.

"2017 marks the end of the construction boom, including Gorgon, the largest resources project ever in Australia," he said.

"This process will accelerate in 2017 as WA moves on from the "resources boom" and starts to transition to a more diverse, resilient economy based around the evolution of the resources sector and WA's emerging economic drivers.

"Inaction will lead to economic stagnation as we await the next round of investment in resources projects. If we wait until the next investment boom commences it will be too late to adjust. 2017 is the time to move forward."

Looking to the future of WA's economy

There's widespread consensus that diversifying the economy throughsectors like tourism and agriculture is the way ahead, but the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre'sresearch showsthese sectors barely make a dent right now.

Agriculture contributed less than two per cent to the state's output in 2015; tourism-related industries 4.9 per cent.

Mining, by comparison, made up 37 per cent and remainedthe sixth-biggest employer.

So it's a conundrum - mining is still the cornerstone of WA's economy, but it's shedding jobs, slowing down and offers no guarantee of long term stability.

Y Research's Damian Stone reckons WA needs to take a deep breath and ask this question -what do we want to be?

"Mining will always be there. But beyond that, are we a tourismhub? The new food bowl of Asia? The boarding school of the region? The new Silicon Valley of technology start ups?

"Once we determine our place in the world, the government and private sector need to work together. What can we learn from international resources cities, is that government assistance and leadership is required from the federal to the local level with a co-ordination of effort.

"Support can range from innovation funds, payroll tax exemptions, cutting red tape, international marketing, investment tours etc. As countries around the world look to close their borders, we need to be open to the world."

WA has much more to offer than just iron ore and gold.

The resources boom may be fading, but according to Mr Stone, it's left us things can be capitalised on if we move quickly.

"The resources boom has left a significant legacy for our state beyond Elizabeth Quay, Fiona Stanley Hospital, the new, redeveloped Perth Airport and the Burswood Football Stadium.

"The real legacy of this current boom is a larger population with significantly higher incomes compared to 2004. Combined with record growth in property development in metropolitan and regional areas, Perth will be better prepared for the next boom than it was for the last."

Time and tide wait for no one

President Barack Obama's first White House chief of staff Rahm Emanual famously said, "You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before."

Just as the mining boom was an unprecedented economic opportunity for WA to grow, so too is the slow down.

So let's start the conversation.

On Tuesday WAtoday willlook at WA's tourism sectorand see how sharing our state's wonders could pay the bills, now and far into the future.

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The future of WA's economy: Life beyond mining - WAtoday

Attracting a more educated and younger labor force to Montana is necessary to shore up the states economy, but to do so is more complicated than it may seem. And, is Montana sure that thats what it wants? quizzed Bryce Ward, an economist with the Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) during the BBERs 42 Annual Montana Economic Outlook for 2017. Jobs of the future will tend to be more knowledge based, and while Montana has a proportional share of those kinds of jobs, its low population and open spaces is not the kind of place that sustains strong development of the kinds of businesses that develop high- wage and high- skill knowledge jobs. Areas that attract the college educated and the young tend to be faster growing in population, housing prices and wage growth. They have higher wages and a high level of quality of life. Entrepreneurs are more successful and the economies of those regions are more resilient to economic downturns. Montanas status is not well posed for the future. Most of the kinds of jobs available are jobs in categories that are projected to shrink over the next decade, except for low-wage service jobs. We need a vibrant culture of entrepreneurship, said Ward, who then asked, How do we encourage that? But then he cautioned, Be careful what you wish for, because if you succeed it could change other things that cause other problems. Better job opportunities would make Montana more attractive. As a result, population would increase and/or the cost of living would increase. A higher cost of living would make Montana less attractive, especially to people whose incomes do not rise proportionally. More people would increase congestion and may affect Montanas quality of life. There are three things that people look for when they chose where they want to live. People want to live in a place because it offers great jobs, has an affordable cost of living, and an amazing quality of life, explained Ward, adding, No place can offer all three. Historically, economic prosperity has been tied to natural resource development, but that link has weakened in the more recent era. A regions success is increasingly tied to human creativity, said Ward or a knowledge -based economy. Its not that natural resources are not important, but technology has allowed those industries to produce more with less employment. Montana is hampered in being able to address the problems of needing high-paying and more knowledge-based job opportunities, by the fact that Montanans live in relatively small places that are isolated from large metro areas, said Ward, which creates two problems that reinforce each other a small pool of skilled workers makes it difficult to build successful firms, which means fewer high paying jobs for skilled workers, which means more of those workers leave the state, maintaining that small pool of skilled workers. Looking at net migration numbers, it appears that people do want to live in Montana. Montana ranks 14th among states as a good place to live. As to quality of life, it ranked sixth, exceeded only by Hawaii, California, Vermont, Colorado and Oregon. The states population is growing by about 5 people per 1000 over the last 15 years and in Yellowstone County it has grown 38 percent. The average annual rate of growth for Yellowstone has been 1.38 percent over the past 20 years. While Yellowstone County has the highest population, Gallatin County has grown at a faster rate of 1.98 percent, and Flathead at 1.61, Missoula at 1.44 percent and Lewis and County at 1.40. Montana has the fewest people in the country who would like to move elsewhere. When asked if they could move would they, only 13 percent said they would the lowest response in the country. The cost of living is below the national average at about 97.7 percent of the national average - -2.3 percent below. Missoula is 95.8 percent the national average, and Great Falls 93.8 percent. Much of the costs of living is driven by the cost of housing. The median Montana household pays $750 less in housing costs than the national average. Yellowstone Countys cost of housing, at $9600 annually, is slightly above the statewide average and below the national average of $10,000. It is $2500 less than Bozeman and Gallatin County. But housing prices in Billings and Montana may not be as cheap as they used to be. Housing prices over the past 25 years appreciated at a rate that is the third fastest in the nation, and they have increased faster than the increase in income. That creates challenges for new people. Income levels in Montana are a problem, even though wages have been growing at a rate faster than the national average. Income is low in Montana. Personal income per capita and median household income is about 87 percent the U.S. level. Median earnings for workers over age 24 are essentially tied for last among the states. There is, however, wide variation in income levels across the state. Income levels in Yellowstone County are about equal to the national average. The disparity between the cost of housing and income levels in Montana, plummets the state to 41st in affordability. The ratio between the two measurements has changed from 2.46 in 1990 to 4.10 in 2015. Since most Montanans live in counties with very high price-income ratios, 58 percent say that living in Montana is unaffordable. Ward noted, however, that people continue to come to the state more so than leave which he attributed to the quality of life. But not everyone is equally impressed. It turns out that quality of life and community amenities are not enough to keep young people and the college educated here. They leave mostly because of a lack of opportunity and income. Most families have adult children who have left the state in search of something better. Montana experiences a net outmigration of people with college degrees. While in total Montana has more people moving in than out; among people with high education, Montana loses 35 people per 1000 population, annually that amounts to two-thirds of native Montanans with a degree. If people with college degrees did not leave the state there would be 17,000 more people here, said Ward. The income gap between Montana and the rest of the country is much larger for college educated workers. Median earnings in Yellowstone County as a percent of US level by education is 82 percent. For the state as a whole it is 77 percent. It is 90 percent in Silver Bow County, 84 percent in Lewis and Clark County, and 85 percent in Cascade County. Gallatin County is 79 percent and Missoula, 76 percent.

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Montana Jobs Not Well Positioned - Big Sky Business Journal - Big Sky Business Journal

The Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, said that the Federal Government would redirect its energy to harness natural resources to bridge technology gaps in the country.

The Chief Secretary to the Minister, Mr Taye Akinyemi, in a statement quoted on Friday in Abuja, quoted Onu as saying making the remark when he received the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Jigawa State,Hajiya Rabi Eshaq.

According to him, the ministry will utilise natural resources to enable diversification of the economy to yield better results.

The minister called for synergy between the Federal Government and the state governors to convert natural resources of the country to diversify the economy, create jobs and wealth for all.

Onu said that the ministry would intensify efforts to move Nigeria from a resource-based to a knowledge and innovation-driven economy.

He pledged to support science and technology initiatives in the in the country for national development.

He said that the ministry would assist education institutions by distributing science equipment to secondary and tertiary institutions to encourage students to embrace science and technology early in life.

Onu said that the ministry would continue to strive to ensure that the country produced most of its technology needs locally.

The commissioner had told the minister that the aim of her was to establish a better relationship between the ministry and her state in the area of science and technology.

This is with a view to expanding the scope of science and technology in Jigawa state,Eshaqsaid.

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Science and Technology: Minister says FG will harness natural ... - Pulse Nigeria

Fresh off a visit to Europe to discuss global hot spots with G-20 partners, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is now attending to another important relationship simmering much closer to home.

His meetings this week with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and his cabinet, alongside U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, spanned a broad agenda from border security to law enforcement to trade. The latter has certainly galvanized public sentiments on both sides of the border. Feisty rhetoric of walls, tariffs and win-lose trade deals risk driving a wedge in the bilateral relationship.

Tillerson was tapped to be Americas top diplomat in large part for his acumen working with foreign governments to advance strategic interests and establish long-term commercial ties experience honed while heading one of the worlds largest energy companies. Those same skills will be needed as the U.S. reevaluates its trade relations with Mexico.

Change of some sort is likely and implementing it is bound to be complex. While discussions will necessarily drill down to the brass tacks, it is important to keep in mind a top line message that the U.S. and Mexico have and will continue to gain from their interconnected economies.

Fittingly, Tillersons former industry epitomizes the type of deep economic integration between the U.S. and Mexico that businesses in both countries are keen to preserve. If youre searching for common ground to defend economic openness in a future trade agreement, look no further than the mutual gains from the U.S. and Mexicos interconnected energy trade.

Energy is indelibly an industry based on trade. The free movement of labor, equipment, and commodities allow for resources in one country to be put to productive use in another.

This interaction is firmly embedded between the U.S. and Mexico. Every day, Mexico exports roughly 688,000 barrels of crude oil to the U.S. The U.S., meanwhile, sends a similar volume of refined petroleum products to Mexico each day. Approximately half of Mexicos gasoline imports come from the U.S.

The linkages are further entrenched when it comes to natural gas. The U.S. exports about 3 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of natural gas to Mexico. These flows are mainly one-way from the U.S. to Mexico, but absent a southern outlet, the glut of supply would put downward pressure on U.S. natural gas prices and hurt domestic producers.

The industry that goes into Mexican bi-lateral energy trade is also a major source of jobs in the U.S. In Texas, the nations top hydrocarbon-producing state, the oil and gas industry is responsible for nearly two million jobs, according to data from the American Petroleum Institute. In Pennsylvania, the second largest natural gas-producing state, the industry accounts for almost 340,000 jobs.

But its future planning that reveals just how tightly interdependent the U.S. and Mexico are on the energy front.

Mexico is banking on the sustained boom in U.S. shale gas production for its energy infrastructure expansions. Over the past five years, natural gas pipeline capacity between the U.S. and Mexico has nearly doubled from approximately 3.7 bcf/d in 2011 to 7.2 bcf/d in 2016, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency. That capacity is expected to again double by 2018 to more than 14 bcf/d.

In turn, Mexico is expanding its domestic pipeline network to accommodate greater U.S. natural gas based on its energy ministrys current five-year plan. Some 3,300 miles of new gas pipelines are planned or under construction in Mexico, mainly to support its power sector.

Likewise, U.S. companies have placed long-term bets on developing natural resources in Mexico. U.S. oil majors ExxonMobil and Chevron were among the international investors who paid large sums in December to lease acreage in Mexicos deepwater portion of the Gulf of Mexico. Those investments came despite the sustained slump in oil prices that has tightened budgets across the entire global energy industry.

Their long-term commitments are capitalizing on Mexicos historic reforms to liberalize its energy industry and other key sectors of its economy. Mexicos national hydrocarbons agency is currently finalizing rules to auction off unconventional gas blocks, a process that could garner interest from similar mid-sized operators that unleashed the shale revolution in the U.S. Whether deepwater or onshore, the ability to develop energy resources cost-efficiently depends partially on the competitive pricing of goods and services that are traded across the border.

The energy industry is uniquely dependent on trade. Investments must be made where the resources are located. Goods and services must then flow to develop them. In this regard, the energy supplies and demands of the U.S. and Mexico have benefitted each other enormously. But the same principles of open economies for efficient resource management can be also applied to any number of industries.

Revisions to U.S.-Mexico trade relations will necessarily veer towards the technical if and when they arise. Potential negotiations would be well-served if they are underpinned from the start by visions of integration and opportunities rather than deficits and losses. The energy industry is an obvious pillar for future economic cooperation.

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Energy as a Model for US-Mexico Economic Partnership - RealClearEnergy

A Crescent Point production operation.

The Conference Board of Canada is predicting Saskatchewans economy will be back in the black in 2017.

Thats good news for Minister of Energy and Resources Dustin Duncan.

These are positive signs, said Duncan. But we still are trying to find a way to fill basically $1.2 billion in resource revenue evaporated in a couple of years, so its not going to be overnight that those numbers return to where they were.

The report from the Ottawa-based not-for-profit think tank forecasts Saskatchewans gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2017 at 0.9 per cent, as the oil industry turns around.

The oil rebound will most help Alberta, which is projected to have the strongest growth among the provinces at 2.8 per cent 0.4 per cent due to continued rebuilding in Fort McMurray.

Albertas economy has been more heavily impacted by the oil decline, though: Its GDP dropped four per cent in 2015; Saskatchewans dropped 1.4 per cent.

Although GDP numbers for 2016 are not yet available, last years CBOC winter report projected Saskatchewans GDP would grow 0.7 per cent, while Albertas would shrink 1.1 per cent.

Oil will not be a godsend for years to come, according to Marie-Christine Bernard, associate director of the CBOC Provincial Forecast.

We expect more subdued economic growth next year as oil prices are not expected to increase very much, Bernard said in a statement.

But Duncan foresees good things to come, as he said several companies have already made major investment announcements, including Crescent Point Energy, which will spend 80 per cent of its $1.1-billion capital investment in this province.

But he remains concerned about a federally imposed carbon tax.

We are largely a resource-based economy, and a carbon-intense economy, so were still concerned about that, he said.

CBOC predicts Saskatchewan will still be challenged by global prices of potash and uranium.

Duncan said the government will continue to work to try to expand markets and increase sales of both potash and uranium.

CBOC reports a net 1,804 jobs will be created this year, but it will not be enough to prop up disposable income. Further, the struggling retail sector will not find relief as a result, since household spending will be modest.

Duncan said Saskatchewans retail and manufacturing jobs have led the country.

Saskatchewans projected growth outranks only Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. The latter economy is the only one expected to shrink, with unemployment projected to rise to 15.5 per cent.

Manitoba can expect 1.9-per-cent growth, with strong manufacturing, transportation and insurance sectors.

amartin@postmedia.com

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Economic growth projected for Saskatchewan in 2017 | Regina ... - Regina Leader-Post

Through two world wars, the Great Depression and relentless redrawing of national boundaries since 1900, one group of countries gave investors the best stock returns.

Commodity-rich nations such as South Africa, Australia, the U.S. and Canadaenjoyed buffers against global turbulence because of their natural resources, but have developed their economies to rely on newer industries such as financials, technology and services, according to a joint study by Credit Suisse Group AG and the London Business School that scanned data going back 117 years.

The study shows that no single industry can provide a lasting competitive advantage. In 1900, more than 80 per cent of the U.S. stock-markets value was in businesses such as railroads, which are today small or extinct. Nearly half of U.K. companies by value are in sectors that didnt exist a century ago. Gold, once key to South Africas wealth, has waned in importance and the biggest Australian companies are now banks.

South African stocks have returned an average 7.2 per cent, more than 2 percentage points above the global average and the most among 23 nations tracked by Credit Suisse and LBS. The nation is Africas biggest coal and iron-ore producer, and the worlds largest of platinum, manganese and ferrochrome.

South Africa performed well partly because it is a resource rich country that has successfully developed into a broader diversified economy, and because it has made a peaceful transition from apartheid and remained stable,according to researchers including Professor Paul Marsh of LBS.

Because it has performed well in the past, however, this does not mean it will continue to be a world beating performer over the next century.

Denmark tops the list for bond returns with an average 3.3 per cent. Equities were the best-performing asset in every country, showing over the long run there has been a reward for higher risk. Investors lost all their money in Russia in 1917 and China in 1949 because of revolutions. Japanese stocks, the worlds second-best equity performers from 1900 to 1939, lost 96 per cent of their real value in World War II.

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Best returns since 1900? Resource based countries, including ... - Financial Post

Since1975, Roxanne Meadows has worked with renowned futurist Jacque Fresco to develop and promote The Venus Project. The function of this project is to find alternative solutions to the many problems that confront the world today. She participated in the exterior and interior design and construction of the buildings of The Venus Projects 21-acre research and planning center.

Daniel Araya: Roxanne, could you tell me about your background and your vision for The Venus Project? How was the idea originally conceived?

Roxanne Meadows: My background is in architectural and technical illustration, model making, and design. However, for the last 41 years, my most significant work has been with Jacque Fresco in developing models, books, blueprints, drawings, documentaries and lecturing worldwide. We are the co-founders of The Venus Project, based out of Venus, Florida where we have built a 21-acre experimental center. The Venus Project is the culmination of Jacque Frescos lifes work to present a sustainable redesign of our culture.

In our view, The Venus Project is unlike any political, economic or social system thats gone before it. It lays out a sustainable world civilization where technology and the methods of science are applied to redesigning our social system with the prime concern being to maximize quality of life rather than profit. All aspects of society are scrutinized from our values, education, and urban design to how we relate to nature and to one another.

The Venus Project concludes that our social and environmental problems will remain the same as long as the monetary system prevails and a few powerful nations and financial interests maintain control over and consume most of the worlds resources. In Jacque Frescos book The Best That Money Cant Buy, he explains If we really wish to put an end to our ongoing international and social problems, we must ultimately declare Earth and all of its resources as the common heritage of all of the worlds people. Anything less will result in the same catalogue of problems we have today.

DA: One of the more interesting aspects of The Venus Project vision is its futuristic design. Have you been approached by companies or governments interested in using The Venus Project as a model? Do you foresee experiments in smart urban design that mirror Jacque Frescos thinking?

RM: No company or government, as yet, has approached The Venus Project to initiate a model of our city design, but we feel the greatest need is in using our designs to usher in a holistic socio-economic alternative, not just our architectural approach itself. As Jacque very often mentions, Technology is just so much junk, unless its used to elevate all people.

We would like to build the firstcircular city devoted to developing up-to-date global resource management, and a holistic method for social operation toward global unification. The city would showcase this optimistic vision, allowing people to see firsthand what kind of future could be built if we were to mobilize science and technology for social betterment.

I have not seen what is called smart urban design mirror Jacque Frescos thinking. I see smart cities as mainly applying technology to existing and new but chaotically designed, energy- and resource-intensive cities without offering a comprehensive social direction or identifying the root causes of our current problems. Our technology is racing forward but our social designs are hundreds of years old. We cant continue to design and maintain these resource- and energy-draining cities and ever consider being able to provide for the needs of all people to ensure that they have high-quality housing, food, medical care and education. Smart cities within a terribly dysfunctional social structure seem contradictory to me.

DA: My understanding is that technological automation forms the basis for The Venus Project. Given ongoing breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and robotics, do you imagine that we are moving closer to this vision?

RM: Our technological capacity to initiate The Venus Project is available now, but how we use artificial intelligence today is very often for destructive purposes through weaponry, surveillance, and the competitive edge for industry, often resulting in technological unemployment. In the society we are proposing, nothing is to be gained from these behaviors because there is no vested interest. In our project, we advocate concentrating on solving problems that threaten all of us climate change, pollution, disease, hunger, war, territorial disputes, and the like. What The Venus Project offers is a method of updating the design of our society so that everyone can benefit from all the amenities that a highly advanced technologically-developed society can provide.

DA: I know The Venus Project is envisioned as a post-capitalist and post-scarcity economy. Could you explain what you mean by resource-based economics?

RM: Money is an interference factor between what we want and what we are able to acquire. It limits our dreams and capabilities and our individual and societal possibilities. Today we dont have enough money to house everyone on the planet, but we do still have enough resources to accomplish that and much more if we use our resources intelligently to conserve energy and reduce waste. This is why we advocate a Resource Based Economy. This socio-economic system provides an equitable distribution of resources in an efficient manner without the use of money, barter, credit or servitude of any kind. Goods and services are accessible to all, without charge. You could liken this to the public library where one might check out many books and then return them when they are finished. This can be done with anything that is not used on a daily basis. In a society where goods and services are made available to the entire population free of charge, ownership becomes a burden that is ultimately surpassed by a system of common property.

When we use our technology to produce abundance, goods become too cheap to monetize. There is only a price on things that are scarce. For instance, air is a necessity but we dont monitor or charge for the amount of breaths we can take. Air is abundant. If apple trees grew everywhere and were abundant you couldnt sell apples. If all the money disappeared, as long as we have the technical personnel, automated processes, topsoil, resources, factories and distribution we could still build and develop anything we need.

DA: I know that the scientific method forms the basis for decision making and resource management within your project. Could you explain how this approach is applied to social behavior? For example, what is the role of politics in The Venus Project?

RM: Today, for the most part, politicians serve the interest of those in positions of wealth and power; they are not there to change things, but instead to keep things as they are. With regard to the management of human affairs, what do they really know? Our problems are mostly technical. When you examine the vocations of politicians and ask what backgrounds they have to solve the pressing problems of today, they fall far short. For instance, are they trained in finding solutions to eliminating war, preventing climate change, developing clean sources of energy, maintaining higher yields of nutritious, non-contaminating food per acre or anything pertaining to the wellbeing of people and the protection of the environment? This is not their area of expertise. Then what are they doing in those positions?

The role for politics within the scientific and technologically organized society that The Venus Project proposes would be surpassed by engineered systems. It is not ethical people in government that we need but equal access to the necessities of life and those working toward the elimination of scarcity. We would use scientific scales of performance for measurement and allocation of resources so that human biases are left out of the equation. Within The Venus Projects safe, energy-efficient cities, there would be interdisciplinary teams of knowledgeable people in different fields accompanied by cybernated systems that use sensors to monitor all aspects of society in order to provide real-time information supporting decision-making for the wellbeing of all people and the protection of the environment.

DA: In your view, is abundance simply a function of technological innovation? I mean, assuming we get the technology right, do you believe that we could eventually eliminate poverty and crime altogether?

RM: Yes, if we apply our scientists and technical personnel to work towards those ends. We have never mobilized many scientific disciplines giving them the problem of creating a society to end war, produce safe, clean transportation, eliminate booms and busts, poverty, homelessness, hunger, crime and aberrant behavior. For instance, one does not need to make laws to try and eliminate stealing, when all goods and services are available without a price tag. But scientists have not been asked to design a total systems approach to city design, let alone to planetary planning. Scientist have not been given the problem to develop and apply a total holistic effort using the methods of science, technology and resource management to serve all people equitably in the development of a safe and sustainable global society. Unfortunately, only in times of war, do we see resources allocated and scientists mobilized in this way.

DA: I assume schooling and education are important to Jacques vision. How might schools and universities differ from the way they are designed today?

RM: The education and values we are given seem to always support the established system we are raised in. We are not born with bigotry, envy, or hatred we do pick them up from our schools and culture. In fact, even our facial expressions, the words we use, notions of good and bad, right and wrong, are all culture bound. A healthy brain can, in fact, simply become a Nazi faster in a Nazi society. It has no way of knowing what is significant or not, that is all learned by experience and background. The manipulation is so subtle that we feel our values come from within. Most often we dont know whom our values are really serving.

Yes, education will differ considerably from that of today. As Fresco explains in his book The Best That Money Cant Buy The subjects studied will be related to the direction and needs of this new evolving culture. Students will be made aware of the symbiotic relationship between people, technology, and the environment.

DA: I can only assume that critics routinely dismiss The Venus Project as a kind of hopeful utopia. How do you respond to that criticism?

RM: Critics very often reject or dismiss new ideas. What is utopian thinking is to believe that the system we are living under today will enable us to achieve sustainability, equality or a high standard of living for all when it is our system which generates these very problems in the first place. If we continue as we are, it seems to me that we are destined for calamity. The Venus Project is not offering a fixed notion as to how society should be. There are no final frontiers. It does offer a way out of our dilemmas to help initiate a next step in our social evolution.

Many are working at going to other planets to escape the problems on this one, but we would be taking our detrimental value systems with us. We are saying that we have to tackle the problems we face here on the most habitable planet we know of. We will have to apply methodologies to enable us to live together in accordance with the carrying capacity of Earths resources, eliminate artificial boundaries, share resources and learn to relate to one another and the environment.

What we have to ask is, what kind of world do we want to live in?

DA: My last question is about the challenges ahead. Rather than taking the necessary steps to reverse climate change, we seem to be accelerating our pollution of the Earth. Socially, we are witnessing a renewed focus on nativism and fear. How might the values of The Venus Project manage against these negative tendencies in human beings?

RM: The notion of negative tendencies in human beings or that we possess a certain human nature is a scapegoat to keep things as they are. Its implying that we are born with a fixed set of views regarding our action patterns. Human behavior is always changing, but there is no human nature, per se. Determining the conditions that generate certain behaviors is what needs to be understood.

As Jacque elaborates, We are just as lawful as anything else in nature. What appears to be overlooked is the influence of culture upon our values, behavior, and our outlook. It is like studying plants apart from the fact that they consume radiant energy, nutrients, require water, carbon dioxide, gravity, nitrogen, etc. Plants do not grow of their own accord, neither do humans values and behavior.

All social improvement, from the airplane to clean sources of energy undergoes change, but our social systems remain mostly static. The history of civilization is experimentation and modification. The Free Enterprise System was an important experiment and tremendous step along the way that generated innovation throughout our society. What we now advocate is to continue the process of social experimentation, as this system has long outlived its usefulness and simply cannot address the monumental problems it is facing today. We desperately need to update our social designs to correspond with our technological ability to create abundance for all. This could be the most exciting and fulfilling experiment we as a species could ever take on; working together cooperatively to deal with our most pressing problems which confront us all and finding solutions to them unencumbered with the artificial limitations we impose upon ourselves.

Daniel Araya is a researcher and advisor to government with a special interest in education, technological innovation and public policy. His newest books include:Augmented Intelligence(2016),Smart Cities as Democratic Ecologies(2015), and Rethinking US Education Policy (2014). He has a doctorate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is an alumnus of Singularity Universitys graduate program in Silicon Valley. He can be found here:www.danielaraya.com and here: @danielarayaXY.

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The Venus Project Plans to Bring Humanity to the Next Stage of Social Evolution. Here's How. - Futurism

Shirley Vickers, President & CEO, BC Innovation Council.

image credit: Submitted

The BC Innovation Council (BCIC) was in Castlegar last week as part of their Regional Innovation Opportunities tour encouraging local companies and individuals to delve into the innovation and technology sector.

According to BCIC the initiative is intended to bring business and local tech companies together and spark further innovation and job growth in our regional economies.

The instructional and networking event promoted the idea that communities and businesses in the Interior can join in the new job economy through technology and innovation. Representatives from several companies from Kamloops were on hand to share how their companies had grown through introducing innovation and technology aspects to their businesses.

You can do the same type of thing in small towns like Castlegar, Nelson and Trail, said Castlegar Councillor Arry Dhillon, who attended the event.

The group was given examples of some challenges that large corporations are trying to overcome and encouraged that solutions could come from anywhere.

The point of the event was to spark discussion around innovation and how that can be brought into regions like ours, explained Dhillon. He thinks the ideas presented are a step in the right direction as we see resource-based economies faltering and tech-based sectors driving the future.

The tour is visiting seven cities with stops in Terrace, Kelowna and Nanaimo still to come in the next few weeks. BCIC is a Crown Agency of the Province of British Columbia. Locally BCIC is one of the funding partners for the Kootenay Association of Science and Technology.

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Event promotes innovation and technology expansion - News - Castlegar News

Mining

HR International has announced a plan to hold a conference in Lagos, on the economic challenges and potential in Africa, particularly Nigeria.

The confab, Human Capital Summit Africa, would hold from March 9 to 10, at the Landmark Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The summit is a broad-based human resource platform that attracts a wide spectrum of practitioners and other professionals in the private and public sectors of the economy from across the world.

With the topic Managing New Economy Efficiencies and Old Economy Relationships), the summit is designed to capture the existing mood, while also shedding light on ideas and efforts that are already defining a way forward.

According to the organisers, the overall objective of the conference is to bring to the fore, ideas with transformative potential to engender sustained productivity.

They stressed that participants would benefit from the defining features of the summit, which are empowerment, access to high-value network, expanding the information pool and laying out strategic plans for professional and social impact.

The summit is expected to feature eminent keynote speakers from around the world in 60 sessions that would accommodate multiple areas of interest.

Expected at the conference are over 100 notable session speakers from around the world, 3000 delegates from across Africa, 500 participating organisations and over 100 top executives of organisations.

As part of the confab, international certifications by Coventry University and London South Bank University would be accorded the participants.

Also to feature is an international exhibition by over 50 companies, followed by a high-profile awards event to celebrate human resource strategy, management and performance in Africa.

An international job fair would hold to provide on-the-spot access to training, skills acquisition, business orientation, funding and job opportunities.

1 hour ago Nigeria

1 hour ago News

2 hours ago Nigeria

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HR International to hold confab on African economy - Guardian

Looking out on Seneca Lake, when the sky is cloudless sapphire blue, the sun shining brilliantly from its distant perch, it seems as if the star at the center of our solar system gets caught in the fire of shimmering diamonds atop small waves.

I am talking about those white crystals gleaming by the thousands off the lake, so bright that naked eyes are forced to squint. Looking at those white blossoms of light shining off the waves, I imagine they are waiting to be picked like so much cotton in a field of blue.

There are real jewels of light in the field of dreams inside the human heart and mind. It is not even my imagination; they are real. If harnessed, these bits and pieces of light within the crowded cosmos inside us would utterly transform life as we live it.

Love, for example, is one such element. Think about the nature of it. Love creates love, whether the romantic, familial, or friendship kind. There is no scarcity in love, only abundance. There is an edgier, subversive element to love as well. The willful choice to love someone someone we could more easily hate than love actually heals our woundedness over time. Now think about love in economic terms.

Abundance is intrinsic in love.

Love generates a greater capacity to love, and the more we do it, the more we have of it. It is enough to make a capitalist miserable. If it were a commodity of trade, love as a self-generating resource, with an ever-increasing capacity for production, would be dangerously subversive to any economy based upon scarcity and self-interest as our economy is. In

bottom-line, quantitative economics, love is astonishing and subversive.

Forgiveness is another small shimmering diamond found within the deep space of the human heart and mind.

Forgiveness is like a cell attracting other cells in the process of forming new life. Forgiving someone actually generates within us an even greater capacity to forgive ourselves deepening our capacity to accept who we are, just as we are, even without further improvement.

Forgiveness is synergistic like that: The willful choice, for example, to forgive someone we could more easily resent, conditions and builds emotional and spiritual muscle that we also need in order to more deeply accept ourselves. So, like love, the nature of forgiveness is abundance rather than scarcity.

But in our economy, the consumeristic one, the presence of forgiveness would sound a death-knell to whole industries. The consumerism upon which our economy is built, depends upon and trades in the power of diminishment and injury, raising self-doubt and self-hatred so that consumers buy more of what promises to make them beautiful or acceptable. Forgiveness would corrode those efforts from the inside out.

Consider another gem, one almost never heard spoken these days: mercy. Mercy spawns mercy.

Even though rarely mentioned in polite society any more, mercy is a crucial element of any universe we would ever want to live in. What mercy does is melt away our drive to be right, and to win at all costs, and to demand punishment and retribution. Mercy bears the sweet, nearly indescribably fruit we call kindness.

Imagine a social order that valued mercy even more than justice? If we were thinking about our own self-interest, isnt that the kind of society we would want if we found ourselves on the margin?

So, whereas our economy creates and trades in currencies based on scarcity, the elements of our better natures are self-generating and therefore exhaustively abundant. Love, forgiveness, and mercy just to name three reproduce exponentially when exposed to fresh air and are allowed to circulate and be nurtured.

So often we credit competitiveness and dog-eat-dog fierceness with being elements upon which a better economy is built. We even imagine those are the driving forces that have promoted us as winners on the evolutionary scale. But I wonder, as I think about these sparkling beauties in the field of human qualities, if our assumption is indeed true.

Cameron Miller is the author of the spiritual fiction The Steam Room Diaries and numerous published poems, and is publisher of http://www.subversivepreacher.org. He lives and writes in Geneva and serves as the priest of Trinity Episcopal Church. He can be reached at dspiritflt@ gmail.com.

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DENIM SPIRIT: An economy based on abundance - Finger Lakes Times