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Layard's a find, I say!

Here's another find, which also relates to your diary on "Quality of life":

A stone's throw from Jerome's office is the Grand  Arche de la Fraternity. Beautiful building, which has in the top several floors a tableau, a discussion on great issues of concern to Europe. It is changed, renewed every few years-
The first one I saw was on exclusion.

Exclusion from clean water
Exclusion from health care.
from education
from culture
from political freedom
--and on, and on.
It was an incredible display, with the finest maps in my experience outside government--maps of power distribution, water systems, rail transport, rainfall, evenness of income distribution,-- An information junky like me was simply in heaven.

In truth, it was about quality of life.

Approached not from an idealized list of desirable elements, but from a mapmaker's perspective of the best things already invented by the human race, and just who got their share of them -and who didn't.

Maps of mental illness, economic poverty, crime, capital punishment- all in the same graphical scale.
The astounding thing was that if you sort of mentally superimposed the maps properly, they told the same story that Layard tells, in his lectures. And more.

There have been many other tableaus there- dialogs, really- such as "The Talents and Consciences of Europe"-- A collection of Europe's great human assets.
They did a book by the same name with the best black and white portraiture I've yet seen in it.
Their choice of people was interesting.  

"There is mysterious music in democracy, when people decide to believe in themselves." ---Bill Greider, The Nation.

by geezer in Paris (risico at wanadoo(flypoop)fr) on Tue Apr 1st, 2008 at 07:50:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Here's a link to the photographs by Jayde Putterman:

The Talents and Consciences of Europe

Coleman, Wales- the man's a master of lighting.

"There is mysterious music in democracy, when people decide to believe in themselves." ---Bill Greider, The Nation.

by geezer in Paris (risico at wanadoo(flypoop)fr) on Tue Apr 1st, 2008 at 08:08:44 AM EST
[ Parent ]
A master of dignity too judging by his portraits and biographical commentaries...

You can't be me, I'm taken
by Sven Triloqvist on Tue Apr 1st, 2008 at 08:20:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I'm catching up, thanks for that link. The photos are great and interesting commentary with them too.  What a great project.

Ad astra per aspera
by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Fri Apr 4th, 2008 at 09:31:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I'm happy you brought up this quality of life subject again, and I hope we will keep worrying it. My earlier diary brought out many good comments, but unfortunately got sidetracked into other issues - although still related to happiness ;-)

The other aspect of happiness that we've also been round the ET houses with earlier is 'Dignity'. Hard to define beyond "the state of being worthy of honor or respect", but a state that it essential IMO for happiness. It is a state that has nothing to do with celebrity, and nothing to do with money or ownership, though having these does not preclude conicident individual dignity.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Tue Apr 1st, 2008 at 08:14:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Yes- the idea applies strongly to the disabled-- need to think on this.

I also hoped your diary on "quality of life" would go further-- seems a fundamental issue for anyone who would dare to prescribe or proscribe.
Ah, well.
 

"There is mysterious music in democracy, when people decide to believe in themselves." ---Bill Greider, The Nation.

by geezer in Paris (risico at wanadoo(flypoop)fr) on Tue Apr 1st, 2008 at 10:01:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]

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