Charles, Felipe and Haakon Address Google Zeitgeist Forum

Crown Prince Haakon of Norway spoke about dignity at the Zeitgeist Europe 2009 conference in Hertfordshire this week. He reminded the audience of the importance to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and to view things from a global perspective by respecting cultural differences whilst helping the underprivileged in health, economic and educational issues.

Below is the eurozeitgeist's Channel You Tube video featuring Prince Haakon’s speech at the Zeitgeist Europe 2009 forum.

The Prince of Wales focussed on climate change in his speech beginning with a view of his Rainforests Project YouTube video clip. He then elicited laughter from the audience when he said after his introduction, “the great thing about Google…as I get older and forget who I am...perhaps I am a frog...and where I live I just can press a button and remind myself instantaneously and from a bird’s eye perspective. So we are very grateful to Google.” Besides the occasional lighthearted quip, the prince addressed the challenges facing the 21st century and said, “it seems appropriate to talk only about how we can move forwards learning from the wisdom of the past towards a truly sustainable future.”

Below is the eurozeitgeist's Channel You Tube video featuring the Prince of Wales' speech at the Zeitgeist Europe 2009 forum.

Before launching into his speech, the Prince of Asturias expressed his appreciation for the guitar music introduction playing over the speakers as he stepped up to the podium. He pitched the idea of tapping into the potential of Ibero-America by saying, “I would like to talk to you a little bit about a part of the world that is closely linked to Spain for many reasons and very dear to our hearts: what we call Ibero-America. I intend to present you a few ideas to explain why we consider this region and its peoples of great interest to us, and why we believe today the world, particularly Europe and North America-the West should pay more attention to it, to its great potential to the good opportunity to effectively expand global progress by reinforcing together this great Atlantic area of democracy, stability and development that we form all together.”

Below is the eurozeitgeist's Channel You Tube video featuring the Prince of Asturias' speech at the Zeitgeist Europe 2009 forum.

Queen Elizabeth II Gets Googled

Since the launch of The Royal Channel on YouTube last December, the queen has proven yet again that she is well aware of the popular mediums available for the technology savvy user. Her second son, Prince Andrew and the Duke of Edinburgh keep her abreast of the latest technologies. With these two avid computers users in her household, it was not an unusual venture for the eighty-two year old monarch to visit Google’s British headquarters this week.

Below is a YouTube video clip of Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to Google.


For more information on The Royal Channel, visit the official website.

Queen Rania Addresses Google Zeitgeist Europe '08 Partner Forum

Queen Rania of Jordan was in Hertfordshire on Monday to speak at the exclusive Google Zeitgeist Partner Forum Europe '08. In her speech, she reiterated the importance of dialogue and mentioned the recent launching of her YouTube channel “to try to dismantle the negative stereotypes about {the Middle East} region that undermine so much trust between the Arab world and the West.” The queen has received over a million hits to her video blog which was introduced in March. Rania expressed her optimism with the project and said, “for all the tensions, most people on both sides agree that the relationship between the Muslim and Western worlds is something important to them.

“Not only {have} that, but when people actually get to know one another personally, their preconceptions melt away and their attitudes towards one another improve.”

“And here’s the best part: A journey of a thousand miles can begin with a single click. With new technologies, we don’t have to leave home to make a friend half a world away.”

As she closed her remarks, the queen expressed her desire to empower the next generation with skills and opportunities that insured global success in the workplace with the following statement: “In a world where stereotypes are assumed to be the norm, would two twenty-something kids working out of their parents’ basement ever have had the chance to turn a research project into a worldwide synonym for fun, innovation and success?”

“We must make sure that the same chances are there for the Pages and Brins of the Arab world…that they have the same opportunities of walking out of garage doors into global boardrooms…and that executives don’t shut those doors because they think they know what to expect from the Middle East.”

“You can help empower the Google generation– not only in the online world, but in the one world we call home.”

The entire speech by Queen Rania at the Google Zeitgeist Partner Forum Europe’08 can be read here.

Photo: Petra

Queen Rania Embraces Our Stories Program

A partnership between UNICEF, Google and One Laptop per Child has formed to launch the initiative, Our Stories. The objective of the program is “to preserve and share the histories and identities of cultures around the world.” Through an audio broadcast, Queen Rania of Jordan, UNICEF’s first Eminent Advocate for Children, encourages children to share their stories with the world.

The initiative, Our Stories, is utilizing the ingenuity of Dave Isay, who founded a non-profit organization called StoryCorps in 2003. Isay’s initial program only contained stories from the United States. Our Stories is expanding the concept by embracing the global network.

Queen Rania summed up her belief in the program, and said: “The message of this project is that every human being has a story that deserves to be heard.”