FRANCE

• On September 16th, Thales celebrates the International Identity Day (ID Day) , a symbolic day to highlight the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 16.9 to provide a legal identity for all.
• Thales supports global efforts to guarantee every individual has access to a secure and trusted identity.
• Thanks to global mobilization, the overall situation has improved since 2020 when 1 billion individuals were missing a legal ID.
• ID Day highlights the significance of having a legal identity and the positive impact it has on individuals and communities worldwide.

• In real life, however, they often come from clown schools, theatre institutes or universities.
• So, how are they trained and what are some of the main institutions?

We’ve always had clowns

• Clowns are often afforded special privilege to say or do what would be unthinkable for most of us.
• Clowns also appear in the literature on ancient Greece and ancient Rome, again enjoying positions of relative privilege at the time.
• Today’s clowns may be entertainers, political activists, boundary-pushers, or even medical clowns performing to relieve people’s physical and emotional pain in hospitals or aged care settings.

How are clowns trained?

• The methods, techniques and schools of clowning are as diverse as the cultural history of clowns itself.
• Not surprisingly, many circuses train clowns.
• In fact, there are clown and physical theatre hubs all around the world that train clowns.
• All of these approaches help future clowns develop their artistic and expressive pathways by combining technical skills with personal artistic sensibilities.

How purpose shapes training

• If you want to become a circus clown, your training may include classical acting techniques, interdisciplinary circus arts and dance, physical comedy, acrobatics, yoga, stage combat, juggling and storytelling.
• One medical clowning organisation, Dream Doctors, says that after inital training, their graduates undertake about 200 hours of ongoing professional development seminars, courses and workshops every year.

Clowns master the body as a storyteller

• Trained clowns create engaging experiences for audiences, generate memorable moments and harness the power of creativity for wellbeing and social change.
• Trained clowns master the body as a storyteller, fostering new artistic creation and stimulating creative intelligence.

• A major part of the deal involved the US and UK helping Australia acquire nuclear-propulsion submarines.
• This decision by the Morrison government controversially entailed backing out of a A$90 billion deal with a French company to purchase 12 submarines.

1. AUKUS increases the likelihood of war

• Others argue AUKUS encourages a military industrial complex that ostensibly makes Australia more of a dependent – rather than independent – ally to the US.
• It also overlooks the prospect that war might not happen – that China will squeeze, rather than seize Taiwan.
• Whether or not we’d support the US in a war, Dean says, is the wrong question in the wrong argument.
• This belief that AUKUS increases the likelihood of war also misreads the nuanced nature of deterrence for which credible force is needed.

2. Australia doesn’t need nuclear-propulsion submarines

• Australia is interested in nuclear-propulsion submarines because its ageing fleet of diesel-electric propulsion submarines has become vulnerable to aerial detection and strikes.
• Given that stealth had been their only advantage over surface warships, diesel-electric submarines are no longer so useful where long transits are involved.
• Australia’s diesel-electric submarines cannot transit from any major domestic or foreign port to their base in Western Australia without multiple snorts.
• A fleet should also be able to be deployed three times longer than Australia’s current submarines, remaining undetected without needing to recharge batteries.

3. The neighbours don’t like it

Official reservations about AUKUS in public declarations are entirely understandable, given Indonesia’s “free and active” foreign policy. Yet, the new enhanced defence pact signed by Australia and Indonesia on August 29 suggests that Indonesia, like the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam, are quite comfortable with Australia engaging in AUKUS and with its neighbours concurrently.

4. The focus on the Anglosphere detracts from regional engagement

• But these days, Australia is successfully managing the tension between its Anglosphere roots and its physical place in the world.
• Arguably, it’s a key factor making it attractive for foreign students and migrants, luring them away from UK and US alternatives.
• Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s diplomatic successes also belie the line that AUKUS detracts from engagement with our neighbours.

5. The cost is unconscionable

• A cost of up to A$368 billion over 30 years sounds like a lot.
• Defence budget increases are occurring only incrementally, with substantial increases slated for several years into the future.
• To be sure, the government must grapple with competing demands for missiles, aircraft, drones and other fighting systems.

Balancing interests

• ANAHEIM, Calif., Sept. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- At RE+ 2024, Sunwoda made a significant impact under the theme "Sunwoda Inside," underscoring its leadership in providing end-to-end energy storage solutions.
• With 27 years of experience in battery technology, Sunwoda has developed a comprehensive ecosystem spanning battery cells, battery packs, Battery Management Systems (BMS), Energy Management Systems (EMS), and fully integrated energy storage solutions.
• Sunwoda's longstanding expertise enables it to deliver integrated energy storage solutions that set industry benchmarks.
• The new 600Ah+ cells, designed for 20-foot containerized energy storage systems exceeding 6.5MWh, represent a technological leap in energy storage.