Melanie Veness:  PCB CEO There is no doubt that we are living in interesting times, and that the world is changing at a rapid pace. Young people don't feel at all intimidated by all this change, they have grown up in the digital age and are totally confident in their ability to use new tools. Not everyone, however, feels so certain about being able to use new technology, particularly the older generations. I was trying to explain to some young people the other day, that they need to be tolerant of the fact that not all generations are likely to be as comfortable with technology as they are. In support of my argument I asked them whether they realized that I grew up in a time when technology was relatively non-existent. I was twelve years old when we first got a television set, we had Long Playing Records, Springbok Radio and party telephone lines. We had kettles, toasters and jaffle irons in the kitchen, no snackwich machines, microwave ovens or other fancy gadgets. In fact, my year was the first standard eight (Grade 10) class permitted to use calculators at school instead of logarithm tables. So, actually, it is quite “an ask” to get people of my generation to adapt, let alone the older ones. We began to discuss whether being exposed to technology at an early age makes one more able to use it effectively, or whether young people are just more confident that they can do things, and thus more willing to embrace the unknown. It made me think of the fact that when you ask a class of children whether anyone can sing, they say all immediately put their hands up and declare that they can. An article that I read recently seems to support this way of thinking. The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project ran a very interesting experiment in rural Ethiopia at the beginning of the year, with children who have never even seen a written word, let alone a computer. OLPC left sealed boxes of computer tablets (one for every child in the nearby villages) for the children to discover. The tablets were pre-loaded with a custom English-language operating system and SD cards and they were fitted with tracking software on them to record how the tablets were used. There were no instructions – just the boxes. Within four minutes, one child had not only opened the box, but he had found the on/off switch, having never seen an on/off switch before in his life. He powered it up. Within five days, the children were using 47 applications per child per day, and within two weeks, they were singing ABC songs [in English] in the village. More astoundingly, after five months, they managed to hack Android. Someone from OLPC had accidently disabled the camera on the tablets, but these children figured out that the device had a camera, and they hacked Android to get it to work. This experiment has huge implications for education, because it shows that uneducated children can use computers to teach themselves to read and write and they can even teach their parents to do so as well. Aside from the incredible benefits for education, the story is also inspiring for people who feel a little insecure about embracing new technology, because it proves that you don’t have to have grown up with technology or be particularly capable to be able to use it effectively. It shows that human beings are powerful beyond measure, when there are no self-imposed limitations. view more

Melanie Veness:  PCB CEO Having the opportunity to learn best practice from chambers across the globe at the recent World Chambers Congress in Doha, Qatar, was such a treat. I made some excellent contacts, and have come back feeling thoroughly inspired and bursting with new ideas. Obviously, in countries where chamber membership is mandatory, or where business is booming, chambers are far better resourced, and those chambers are able to do things on a much larger scale. The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, for instance, made the decision to be an example to the business community, by developing their head office into a certified international green building. They started making changes to the building in 1998, and have continued to do so in subsequent years. The building has now achieved LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Quite impressively, they have managed to reduce water and energy consumption by approximately 77% and 47% respectively, which has resulted in significant carbon emission reductions and accumulated savings of around AED 7.1 million. Other initiatives employed include the recycling of paper, plastic and electronic waste, VIP parking for staff and free valet parking for visitors using fuel efficient vehicles, and the collection and recycling of condensate water from air conditioners. It is the first building to achieve this international green building certification in the Arab world. The message is clear - Chambers should be setting the standard for best practice, even if it is on a smaller scale. The Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (incidentally the largest Chamber in Europe) presented on an exciting project called “Istanbul Fashion Atelier”. The Chamber developed the programme in partnership with textile industry players and two of the major clothing retailers in Turkey. The chamber realized that, while Turkish manufacturers produce a large number of garments for the fashion industry in Europe, they do not enjoy any of the benefits of “benefication”, because they do not have recognized or acclaimed Turkish Fashion Designers and consequently are not able to offer aspirational Turkish clothing lines. They set out to change this and aim to achieve fashion acclaim by developing new designers of consequence that can develop ranges that reflect their unique style, culture and heritage. For this specific programme, they selected 11 young promising designers from University and arranged for them to be mentored by some of the most knowledgeable people in the fashion industry. The designers worked with store buyers and used local fabrics to develop exciting ranges, which were promoted in the front window displays of the major retailers throughout Turkey, establishing a market at home. The Chamber was then able to arrange for the new ranges to be launched on the catwalk at “Pure London”, which is considered to be the UK's favourite fashion buying platform. British department stores have now placed orders for some of the lines and garments. It cost the Chamber 40 000 USD, but what amazing results they have achieved. I found this to be a really inspiring example of how to develop the youth in such a way as to enhance the value of an offering that you are already making, in order to derive greater benefit and stimulate economic growth. It really challenges one to look for the opportunities at home, and then to identify ways to guide young people into a future that has been designed for success. view more

Melanie Veness:  PCB CEO I have just returned from the International Chambers Congress in Doha, Qatar, and I am feeling thoroughly inspired. The topics covered were fascinating, and just having the opportunity to learn from Chamber best practices, from around the world, was invaluable. The Congress started off with the ICC World Trade Agenda Summit, where discussions were held on what power shifts in the global economy mean for world trade and what business needs from trade and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The presentations began with an overview of the 2012/2013 global figures, which we all know  are quite sobering, and according to the experts presenting, the outlook is not much better, with economists predicting an average growth rate of around 3%, half the global trend in previous years. There was a strong call from the room for agreement to be reached in the Doha Round, the latest round of trade negotiations among the WTO membership, and for the development of a Trade Facilitation Agreement. The aim of the Doha Round is to achieve major reform of the international trading system through the introduction of lower trade barriers and revised trade rules and a fundamental objective is to improve the trading prospects of developing countries. Virtually every item of the negotiation is part of a whole and indivisible package and cannot be agreed to separately, and this is known as the “single undertaking”. In other words, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. The Round was officially launched at the WTO’s Fourth Ministerial Conference in Doha in November 2001, and there is an ongoing battle to reach agreement. The frustration in the room about the WTO member’s failure to reach agreement was palpable, and there was a call to not let the country representatives attending the next round of negotiations come home until agreement is reached. One of the speakers, Jagdish Bhagwati, Professor of Economics and Law at Columbia University and Senior Fellow at the Council of Foreign Relations in the United States, had us all giggling when he said that he was afraid that at the end of the day the coffee would land up “decaf” and” light”. He was cautioning against taking too much of the substance out of the agreement in order to just reach agreement. “You may” he said, “just land up with water”. He was quite right in saying that we should be wary of declaring victory, if there isn’t actually one. He also said if the trade agenda is about trade, then they should make it about trade and not about a number of other superfluous issues. “Nobody,” he said, “will ask me if I can sing well, when I go to play golf”. Another interesting discussion was around the need for properly facilitated logistics, so that goods can be moved cheaply and easily. It was acknowledged that very few trade protection measures had been put in place in recent years, and that average tariffs came in at around 5 percent, while average trade costs were around 10 percent. There is great opportunity to reduce these costs and the World Economic Forum Report suggests five times as much could be gained by doing this rather than lowering tariffs. This could be achieved through the development of an International Services Agreement, which all present were in favour of. Several of the speakers indicated that research had shown that the potential cost reductions would translate into export gains of 1 million US Dollars, 21 million jobs worldwide and GDP gains of upward of 960 billion US Dollars. There are some other serious trade issues that require addressing, like eliminating export subsidies, limits on food export controls and unfair competition in the trade space from State Owned Enterprises. Some of these policies that have been adopted by our BRIC’s partners are having a detrimental effect on local industry in South Africa, and listening to what the speakers had to say brought home the need for business to engage with government and to strongly advocate for particular outcomes at the next  Doha Round of negotiations. view more

Melanie Veness:  PCB CEO Having organized Art in the Park for 10 years, I am quite passionate about the arts and I firmly believe that the relationship between business and the arts should be far closer. It was for this reason that I took the time to attend a Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) breakfast in Durban last week. Something Michelle Constant, the BASA CEO, said, really struck a chord with me. She said that when children are at school, teachers take their art very seriously. If a child draws dark and disturbing images, then the school is quick to contact the parents and express concern about the child’s emotional wellbeing. Why then, she asked, do we not use current art as an indication of the psychological health of our society? A good question indeed, and it occurred to me that it may be because everyone is too frightened to take a good look at just how healthy our society is? Not too rosy at all if one considers what happened at Marikana, the Mozambican taxi driver who was killed after allegedly being dragged behind a police vehicle or the beating to death of Brett Williams after a Shark’s game. I’m sure that I am not alone in being deeply concerned about the level of violence in our society. I am also horrified at people’s apparent inability to feel empathy for other people. What’s happening to our sense of humanity? How do we inculcate a sense of decency and compassion in to our society? Perhaps we should start with how we treat each other, and the examples that are being set, especially by those in positions of power. This past week I also had the displeasure of going to the Department of Home Affairs in Pietermaritzburg. It’s in a terrible dingy building in the centre of town, and the thought of the place and all the queues is quite off-putting. Nonetheless, my son needed to apply for his Identity Book, so we braced ourselves and set off first thing in the morning.  I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived to see that the main hall looked far more organized than on previous visits to the department. I smiled to myself, secretly smug about the fact that a woman (who I admire greatly) had come in and shaken up the department. My glee was short-lived however, because when we were served by the desk clerk issuing the numbers, I received possibly the most horrifying service I have ever had the misfortune to receive. The lady at the information desk couldn’t have been more unfriendly. With no greeting, she barked questions at us, which we answered politely, despite her unpleasantness, and then she instructed my son to take a number and sit on a bench and wait for his number to be called. “Your mother”, she said, “must wait outside”. When I enquired why this was the case, she informed me that only the person applying was allowed into the hall, and that everyone else had to wait outside. I said that if a large group of people came along and the hall was full, then I could understand that, but that the hall was empty, and since I am the boy’s mother and not just any hanger-on, I should be permitted to accompany him. She was adamant that I couldn’t and that she didn’t make the rules, she just enforced them.  I then asked who did make the rules. She pointed to a picture on the wall and advised that the gentleman pictured was responsible for the rule. There was a number under his name so I tried calling him. As was to be expected, he was in a meeting and unable to take my call. I advised the lady that answered the phone that I was upset about the situation downstairs and she said that she would get him to call me as soon as possible. He never called. Not wanting to make too much of a scene, but obviously upset, I went to stand in the foyer outside the hall to wait for my son. A lovely lady, called Patricia, who offers a service that helps people obtain documentation like ID books and passports, saw how I had been treated and that I was unhappy, and she came over to try and help. She was really lovely. I stood cold and uncomfortable in the foyer for a while and then, to add insult to injury, the security guard wandered over and told me that I couldn’t wait in the foyer, I needed to wait in the freezing cold passage outside. Patricia saw my alarm, and said for me not to worry, that she would look after my son. I was absolutely horrified, but I complied. There was one bench in the passage with some poor old gogo’s sitting on it. I waited out in the drizzle. I asked myself why it is that we accept being treated in this disrespectful and humiliating way by people whose salaries are paid for by the people. Perhaps, because of our history, some of us expect to be treated abominably, because we know no other way and the rest of us choose to accept it, as if we have no rights. Well, you know what? It’s not okay. It all starts with consideration and respect. From now on I will insist on my constitutional right to be treated fairly and respectfully. If I don’t insist on it, I give people permission to treat me, as well as others, badly. And people who are paid to be our representatives need to be held accountable, because their behavior is a reflection of what our society finds acceptable. view more

Melanie Veness:  PCB CEO Some time ago, I employed a young man as an office assistant. Let’s call him Max.  I liked Max’s energy and his confidence, and at the time that I employed him, I thought that what he lacked in experience he would make up for in enthusiasm. Little did I know what that lack of experience would actually mean. Dear Max came to the organisation with practically no workplace preparation and very few social graces. We were often left quite bewildered by his behavior. He dressed in jeans and soccer shirts, and would plug in his earphones and bop around the office. He didn’t consider slouching at his desk and sitting on Facebook inappropriate, and he would quite happily watch our female staff carry tables and chairs up the stairs. It was quite difficult to continuously correct his behavior without upsetting him, or making him feel that he was being picked on. I tried to explain what was appropriate in the workplace, and that if he had earphones in his ears, it didn’t only look unprofessional, but that on a practical level he wouldn’t be able to hear the telephone ringing or his colleagues talking to him. The real dusi, however, was when he wandered into my office one day while I was in the middle of a meeting, and unceremoniously plonked himself down in one of the available chairs. The gentleman that I was talking to and I both looked at him quite astounded. I asked him whether I could help him. He responded by saying that he needed to use the Chamber car to go and get “some stuff from the shop”. I nearly fell right off my chair! I then asked him whether he was aware that I was currently in a meeting, and he responded by saying that he was aware, but that he would just sit and wait for me to finish. I searched his face to see whether he was aware that his behavior was completely inappropriate, and I am quite convinced that he had absolutely no idea. This experience made me realize that we have to do something about preparing young people for the workplace. Having had some very interesting conversations with some lovely youngsters just recently, regarding their expectations of how the world works what they hope to achieve, I also realize the desperate need to have more open conversation with them. We need to go further than just workplace preparation, we need to prepare them for their future role in society and equip them with the tools to turn vision into reality. We need to start preparing them to be dynamic and accountable business leaders. We must teach them, not only what is appropriate, but to think analytically, without emotion, to question and to challenge what they accept as truth. This week is a very exciting one for our Chamber, as we begin engaging with youth organizations across the District with a view to establishing our Youth Chamber. I am convinced that we must create the space and the platform that allows them to come together. We need to give them a voice, offer them guidance, and most of all, challenge them to be critical thinkers and to make positive life choices. The future of our region depends on it.  view more