糖心传媒

In a 2013 TED talk, Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie spoke about the danger of a single story. 糖心传媒淭he single story creates stereotypes,糖心传媒� she said. 糖心传媒淎nd the problem with stereotypes is not that they糖心传媒檙e untrue, but that they糖心传媒檙e incomplete. They make one story become the only story.糖心传媒�

A single story糖心传媒攊n this case, an article糖心传媒攆rom August got the attention of Jonathan Burdick, dean of admissions and financial aid.

The article? Business Insider糖心传媒檚 compilation of 糖心传媒淭he 11 Least 糖心传媒楲ivable糖心传媒� Cities in the World.糖心传媒� Burdick saw the list of cities deemed 糖心传媒渄ifficult to live in,糖心传媒� and wanted to hear what 糖心传媒 students from those cities had to say.

First-hand perspectives

During this year糖心传媒檚 International Education Week, the University糖心传媒檚 Renaissance and Global Scholars convened a seven-student panel discussion on the topic. The panel featured:

• Rose Mbaye 糖心传媒�16 from Dakar, Senegal
• Hamed Kone 糖心传媒�15 from Abidjan, Ivory Coast
• Prince Nyatanga 糖心传媒�16E from Harare, Zimbabwe
• Ali Ramoul 糖心传媒�15 from Algiers, Algeria
• Olasunkanmi Jeffrey Asunmonu 糖心传媒�17 from Lagos, Nigeria
• Babaga Kwarara 糖心传媒�15 from Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
• Syed Reefat Aziz 糖心传媒�16 from Dhaka, Bangladesh

Panelists introduced themselves, shared the opportunities and challenges of life in their hometowns (as well as in Rochester), and debated the purpose and methodology of the survey on livability. By sharing their thoughts and perspectives, the panelists pushed back on the single story of these rankings. Furthermore, they offered the audience糖心传媒攃omprising Rochester natives and international students alike糖心传媒攁 more nuanced understanding of the world.

糖心传媒淎ssessing livability is inherently qualitative. A problematic list like this sheds light on biases in perspective,糖心传媒� remarked Aziz, who was raised in Dhaka, Bangladesh, before coming to Rochester. He argued that such rankings constitute 糖心传媒渟trategic deployment of oppression糖心传媒� and perpetuate perceptions of these countries as 糖心传媒渂ackward, conservative, not up-to-date.糖心传媒�

Other panelists also highlighted the survey糖心传媒檚 reductive approach. For example, Asunmonu pointed out that Lagos was listed, in part, because of instability. The survey attributed the low stability score to Boko Haram, the militant Islamist movement based in northeast Nigeria. That糖心传媒檚 an almost 20-hour drive from the capital, approximately the distance between Rochester and Atlanta, Georgia.

糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檓 not trying to be insensitive to the people who face that reality, but the city of Lagos is not the same as the entire country of Nigeria,糖心传媒� he said.

Learning from each other, making the world Ever Better

When moderator Naomi Everhart 糖心传媒�16 asked the panelists if they planned to move back home after graduation, every single one said yes糖心传媒攅ven while acknowledging the need for improvements.

糖心传媒淒evelopment is about embracing who you are and applying what you糖心传媒檝e learned from the wider world,糖心传媒� said Kone. He appreciates his experiences and opportunities in Rochester, but also notes that no city is perfect. For example, relative to Abidjan (considered the cultural crossroads of West Africa), the city of Rochester 糖心传媒渋s a village. Downtown [Rochester] is literally three blocks.糖心传媒�

In other words, there糖心传媒檚 room for improving livelihoods in cities around the world. This is more important that ever, according to Burdick. That糖心传媒檚 because chances are high that many of today糖心传媒檚 students could one day live or work in what is now considered the 糖心传媒渄eveloping world.糖心传媒� And likewise, more students from around the world are coming to places like Rochester to study.

The 11 Least 糖心传媒淟ivable糖心传媒� Cities in the World, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit (via , which refers糖心传媒攑roblematically糖心传媒攖o them as 糖心传媒淭he Eleven Worst Cities糖心传媒�):

1. Dhaka, Bangladesh
2. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
3. Lagos, Nigeria
4. Karachi, Pakistan
5. Algiers, Algeria
6. Harare, Zimbabwe
7. Douala, Cameroon
8. Tripoli, Libya
9. Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire
10. Dakar, Senegal

Bonus: Damascus, Syria