Country Information
Curacao has declared 2009 Year of Culture.
Curacao has declared 2009 Year of Culture. This initiative of the island government aims to both its own people as tourists aware of the broad cultural background of the island.
Various cultural activities throughout the year will be organized, including in the field of music, literature, natural and historical heritage. The official opening of this' Anja di cultura 2009 'will on January 1 axis in the presence of many dignitaries on the island. The year started with the month of the Tumba in January. Behind the promotion and activation of the activities is the foundation Kas di Kultura.
The theme is "Curaçao is us and we are Curaçao '(" Kòrsou ta ta nos nos Kòrsou "). The objectives of the Culture Year are twofold: firstly, that the Curaçao population can and can be proud of its culture. This is consistent: its own identity. At the same time the Curaçao culture into the limelight in the international market, especially Dutch visitors and responds to changes in the field of political reforms which Curaçao a much greater degree of autonomy given.
Tuvalu: country information
Tuvalu lies west of the International dateline and 1000km north of Fiji in the central Pacific just below the equator and is 12 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time in the same zone as Fiji.
History:
The ancestors of Tuvaluan people are believed to have arrived on the islands about 2000 years ago. Under the leadership of chiefs, known as 'Aliki', traditional Tuvaluan society continued for hundreds of years before it underwent significant changes with the arrival of European traders in the 1820's.
Even greater changes took places when the Samoan Pastor of the London Missionaries Society arrived in the 1860's. Tuvaluans soon embraced the new faith and virtually all of the people are now Christians, mostly Protestants. Religion plays an important part in everyday life, although much of the previous culture and traditions are retained.
Tuvalu (then known as the Ellice Islands) first came under British jurisdiction in 1877. In 1892 Tuvalu became as a colony. In 1975, following over-whelming support for separation in accordance to referendum held the previous year, the country became an independent constitutional monarchy and the 38th member of the commonwealth on October 1, 1978.
Belgium : Country Information
Nestling between the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg and France, Belgium occupies 30,518 square kilometres and is home to 10.2 million people. Belgium is Europe in a nutshell, multicultural and multilingual. Flanders in the north, a flatland criss-crossed by canals, is proud of its great art cities, Antwerp, Bruges and Ghent. To the south in Wallonia, you will find the rolling hills of the Ardennes, numerous castles, and the cities of Liege, Namur, and Tournai.
Belgium is a small country (11,730 square Miles, the size of Maryland) with a population of slightly less than 10 million. It has been a constitutional monarchy since 1830. There are three languages (Dutch, French and German). However, English is widely spoken. Many people think that "Flemish" is a separate and independant language. It's not. Flemish is just another name for the Dutch language, spoken with a "Belgian" accent. The three regions (Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels) have self-government in many spheres. Belgium has retained its old-world charm in the preservation of its ancient buildings and historical traditions.
Venezuela : Country Information
Venezuela was one of the three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Colombia and Ecuador). For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by generally benevolent military strongmen, who promoted the oil industry and allowed for some social reforms. Democratically elected governments have held sway since 1959. Current concerns include: drug-related conflicts along the Colombian border, increasing internal drug consumption, overdependence on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations, and irresponsible mining operations which are endangering the rain forest and indigenous peoples. When the first explorers arrived, they saw houses over the Sinamaica lagoon (Zulia State), close to Maracaibo; those houses reminded them of the city of Venice. They called the region "Little Venice", which in Spanish would be Venezuela.
Uruguay : Country Information
The República Oriental del Uruguay is situated on South America's Southern Cone, its eastern shore lies next to the Atlantic Ocean between the 30th and 35th southern latitude parallels and between the 53rd and 58th western longitude meridians. It is the warmest zone within the southern region. Uruguay borders Brazil on the north and northeast; Argentina on the west and south, the River Plate to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The climate is mild and mostly uniform in the whole country with distinct seasons. The absence of mountains exposes the region to a wide spectrum of cold and humid southeasterly winds. As its name indicates the wind comes from the southeast, and the southerner or "pamperos" which blows from the Patagonia Andes.
Suriname : Country Information
Suriname (formerly Dutch Guyana) is a small Republic on the Northeast coast of South America. It borders French Guiana in the east, Brasil in the south, Guyana in the west and the Atlantic Ocean in the north, and has an area of 163,265 square kilometres (63,064 square miles). The country contains many rivers and some mountains (highest point 1280 metres). The larger part of the country consists of uncultivated rain forest.The people are a multi-cultural blend and the land has many beautiful natural resources that make it unique. It is not unusual to see monkeys traversing the trees and boa constrictors crossing the various roads that are traveled daily. The Amazonian interior is unspoiled and sparsely inhabited. The official language of Suriname is Dutch. A reasonable number of people also speak English. Surinamese children are taught English in primary school starting in the seventh grade. The lingua franca in Suriname is Sranan Tongo. This is a creole language spoken by almost everyone. Suriname's national anthem is written in Sranan Tongo.
Nearly all 386,372 inhabitants of Suriname (1990 count) live within a 30 km wide coastal region. The capital Paramaribo lies about 20km south of the coast at the west bank of the Suriname river. It has 150,000 inhabitants.
Peru : Country Information
Peru, the largest in area in the Andean countries, was the cradle of the most advanced indigenous civilizations and most powerful empire in pre-Columbian South America - that of the Incas. Peru was also the focus of Spanish colonial domination for its first two hundred years of rule. What remained of pre-Columbian America with regard to people, culture, and settlements is perhaps better represented in Peru than in any other country. The Andes are the site of the most fascinating pre-Columbian cities of South America-like the great city of the clouds, Machu Picchu.The country has a 2,400 kilometer (1,500 miles) long coast on the Pacific Ocean and borders Colombia and Ecuador in the north, Brazil and Bolivia on the east, and Chile on the south. It is the only country that borders all the other Andean states.
The Andes are by no means the only region to visit in Peru. Also of great interest is Peru's narrow, lowland coastal region, a northern extension of the Atacama Desert. Although the Atacama is generally known as the most arid region on the planet, the climate along Peru's shores is made cooler and less dry by La Garuùa, a dense fog created by the collision of the frigid waters of the Humboldt Current with the heated sands of the Atacama. Lima, Trujillo, and Chiclayo, three of Peru's major population centres, are located along this coastal desert.
Chile : Country Information
Chile is a long and narrow stretch of land at the southwestern end of América, between Los andes mountain range and the Pacific Ocean. The country is divided into 12 regions plus Greater Santiago, 51 provinces and 335 municipalities. The capital Santiago (of the New Extremadura) was founded on 12 February 1541 by the Spanish Conqueror Pedro de Valdivia. The official language of Chile is Spanish spoken without regional variations. Other languages spoken in very restricted areas are: "Mapudungu" (mapuche language), "Rapa Nui" (spoken in Easter Island) and "Aymara" (spoken in some areas of the mountains in the North).
Paraguay : Country Information
In the disastrous War of the Triple Alliance (1865-70), Paraguay lost two-thirds of all adult males and much of its territory. It stagnated economically for the next half century. In the Chaco War of 1932-35, large, economically important areas were won from Bolivia. The 35-year military dictatorship of Alfredo STROESSNER was overthrown in 1989, and relatively free and regular presidential elections have been held since then.
The Republic of Paraguay is a country of some 5,000,000 inhabitants and occupies an area of 406.752 square kilometers.The capital is the city of Asuncion.
Ecuador : Country Information
The "Republic of the Equator" was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Colombia and Venezuela). Between 1904 and 1942, Ecuador lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. A border war with Peru that flared in 1995 was resolved in1999. Ecuador lies nestled in the Andes Mountains with Colombia to the north and Peru to the south. It is on the Equator from which it derives its name. The jungles of the Amazon basin lie inland to the east whilst the western coastline is on the Pacific Ocean. The Galapagos Islands also belong to Ecuador. The country is split into three main geographical regions - the eastern jungle, the central Andean mountains and the western coastal zone
