Hold your cell phone.
Each one can pick up his cell phone in hand.
Keep your cell phone, please.
Feel free to get your cell phone.
Have you ever stopped to think about how your device was made?
Among the materials that were used in the manufacture of your cell phone,
has a mineral of great importance
in the manufacture of any portable electronic device.
Videogames, notebooks, photographic devices …
even an electric car needs coltan to run.
Coltan is a composition of two other minerals:
colombite and tantalite.
Tantalum is extracted from tantalum
which is a metal of extremely high thermal and magnetic resistance.
And colombite is used in the manufacture of semiconductors and resistors.
In a very simple language, for you to understand,
for your cell phone does not heat up,
for good electrical and electronic operation,
You need coltan.
That is why coltan is much used and much sought after.
Today it is known as the mineral that makes
our 21st century lifestyle.
The consumption of electronic devices has multiplied in recent decades,
with technological advances,
and today we are experiencing this very great impact of technology.
According to research, in a few years the world will have more than 9 billion people
who will need the same comfort,
the same technologies we are using today.
And that means that the use and consumption of coltan will increase.
Some 80% of the world’s coltan reserves are in my country,
Democratic Republic of Congo.
Africa’s second largest country in territorial extension,
with more than 70 million inhabitants.
I was born in Kivu,
in a small town called Beni.
Today it is known as a city that has …
it is as if it were a gateway to all the atrocities
and problems that happen there in Congo.
I was born into a very simple family.
My parents worked as hard as they could.
for me to get to school
so I can study
And there are thousands of children who can not
the least possible education,
for various reasons.
One of the reasons:
20 years ago my country is at war.
A war that left more than 8 million dead.
The bloodiest war after World War II.
Some call it the holocaust of silence because there is little talk about the Congo.
And this has to do with the same component that is on your device,
on your notebook at home, on your cell phone, on your TV;
the fight in search of coltan is bringing these wars.
And you’re hearing about coltan today.
For 15 years I’ve heard of coltan,
when I lost 3 friends who disappeared,
who went to work in the mines looking for this stone.
Today it is a rare stone known as blue gold.
According to Unicef data,
more than 40,000 children work underneath [the land], in tunnels,
in a situation where no one here could stand ten minutes.
It has no cooling system,
there is no light…
but they work 12 hours per [day]
to make less than $ 1 a day.
The NGO Amnesty International
decreed a law to punish all companies
exploring children
and a zero-tolerance law on child labor,
but in practice this is not what happens.
Recently some companies were questioned
the origin of their raw materials.
Living in this globalized world, sometimes our consumption
affects many invisible people whom we do not know.
I left my country because of these wars, problems.
I got here and did another college.
I graduated in mechatronics technology.
I started working in a company
which makes repair and maintenance of electronic devices.
It was the day I realized that if we, as a society,
we make ourselves available to enjoy
the maximum life of our products,
devices and electronic devices,
the future of the Congo, and of many African countries, will change.
Inside your device has a board,
on this board has many electronic components.
If only one component fails, the entire board goes into the trash.
It was the day I realized that the trash can be recycled
and to restore dignified childhood to future generations there in Congo.
Some people will leave here speaking:
“Wow, the speaker banned the use of cell phones and technology.”
Because opinion is not tolerated today.
We’re living … if you say one thing,
it will be interpreted in a totally opposite way from what has been said.
Now you know something.
That old device that is no longer used,
who is at home, under the bed,
now you know that there are companies here that invest in recycling.
Remembering one thing: the cell phone, besides being a necessity, has become a fashion,
a lifestyle, that I need to update myself, every year I need something new,
the latest generation.
Now, one thing I will ask:
Look at this photo, take a look at this photo.
This child is reaching out, she needs your help.
Buy products that have certificates that prove that this company
does not finance armed groups,
that is, they [do not] encourage the abuse of human rights.
That’s how we’re going to help.
Lets help?
Plateia: Yes.
Alphonse Nyembo: Thank you very much.
(Applause)
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