BBC Russian

What do countries as varied as Sudan, Indonesia, China and Pakistan have in common? Each of these countries’ flags will be flown this year in the ICC Galleria. Every year, 15 flags are hung in the ICC Galleria, helping to showcase the international nature of Georgetown, and specifically the School of Foreign Service, which is housed in the ICC building. The flags are rotated to ensure that many countries are represented over the years.

The responsibility of picking which flags are displayed has historically fallen to the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. This year Greg Miller, Office Manager in the SFS Dean’s Office, advocated for a thematic flag choice inspired by the UN General Assembly’s declaration of 2014-2024 as the “Decade of Sustainable Energy for All.” The flags that are hanging for the 2014-2015 academic year represent the countries with the largest average populations living in energy poverty. Energy poverty is the lack of access to modern energy services such as household electrification and clean cooking facilities. The 15 countries represented have the largest number of individuals who live in energy poverty due to their lack of electricity or reliance on traditional biomass, such as dung and wood, for their cooking and heating needs.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), over one-third of the global population suffers from energy poverty, with nearly 1.3 billion people, or 1 in 5, globally lacking access to household electricity, and twice that number, 2.6 billion people, relying on traditional biomass such as dung and wood to heat their homes and cook their meals. Not only does this lack of electrification stunt educational opportunities and economic growth, but the WHO also reports that indoor air pollution from burning traditional biomass in the home kills more people per year than HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria combined.

Miller hopes to pick a new theme every year in choosing which flags are represented. Drawing attention to these international issues is just one way in which the SFS seeks to achieve its vision of contributing to global peace, prosperity and human well being by educating future generations of world leaders and expanding the knowledge, understanding and values that will inform their leadership. “We are proud to have the flags of many countries as the signature of the building in which the School of Foreign Service is lodged. Thanks to Greg Miller, we are using this symbol to remind all of us how the energy that lights this building is distributed around the world,” said SFS Acting Dean James Reardon-Anderson.