We coffer the sports as the season gets underway in australia. Ill tell you how new engines cause big problems and a new generation of drivers top the podium in melbourne. Its a vote that could change the Political Landscape and russias relationship with the rest of the International Community. The people of crimea are deciding whether to join russia or stay with ukraine but with more autonomy. Voters have the choice of answering either yes or no to the following two questions, are you in favor of the reunification of crimea with russia as part of the Russian Federation or are you in favor of restoring the 1992 constitution and the status of crimea as part of ukraine. Supporting the second option would grant crimea more autonomy within ukraine. Aljazeeras jacki roland joins us live. We are seven hours into this polling. What has turnout been like . Well, about half of eligible voters have apparently cast their ballots now, according to the election, the Referendum Commission here in crimea. That is very much reflected by our experience, because we saw long lines of people waiting, its a polling station we spent several hours in the early part of the day. People were standing in line even before the doors of the polling station opened. The choice of course is whether to remain within ukraine, but with a lot more autonomy or join russia. The mood of the people that weve been talking to gives the impression that they already have joined russia. Lets see how the votings been going. Despite the cold, despite the rain, they were waiting in line even before the voting station opened. Theres been an enthusiastic turnout in this neighborhood where many believe they will be better off with russia. This is like a holiday for us. I was born in the soviet union as part of russia and we want to go back there. I would walk for ukraine but because of that selfproclaimed government and all the mess, i will volt for russia. The referendum was organized in a hurry and without an electoral register. Some people didnt get their voting cards. People have to choose between two alternatives, union with russia or greater autonomy from ukraine. Keeping things all the way they are is not an option. The Prime Minister of crimea cast his ballot early. Hes in favor of union with russia, but insists theres no pressure to vote in a certain way. There is no pressure on the people. You can see for yourself. People are free to vote. Personally, i dont feel or see any pressure. The Security Forces who are staunchly pro russian and never far away, a reminder of crow controls crimea right now. The first results will be announced shortly after the polls close. Among the people we spoke to, there was little doubt about the outcome. You say that this referendum was organized in a hurry. Is anyone there monitoring it independently . There are about a thousand local monitors, and on top of that 135 international monitors. The crimean authorities have been making a big deal about them and say theyve come from 30 Different Countries and indicate their presence provides a further guarantee that the vote is fair. We spoke to one of them earlier who said that there had been many hastily organized referendum before, as in bosnia and the International Community had been happy to accept the outcome of those votes. As we saw in the u. N. Security council saturday, russia blocking this particular resolution whereby most of the members of the Security Council wish to declare this particular referendum illegal. The international monitors claim that theres double standards on the part of many in the west. Yet from all the way they speak, it seems even the monitors that have come from other countries have already decided that the outcome is a yes vote to union with russia. Well have more on the crimea referendum later. For the moment, may be thanks indeed. The Search Mission for the missing malaysian jet has widened significantly. The nature of the search has changed with teams now shifting their focus to land as well as sea. The plane was deliberately steered off course eight days ago with 239 passengers onboard. The search was already a highly complex multinational effort. It has now become even more difficult. The search area has been significantly expanded, and the nature of the search has changed from focusing from sea to lands as well as deep and remote oceans. The number of the countries involved in the operation has increased from 14 to 25, which brings new challenges of coordination and diplomacy to the search effort. More from aljazeera in kuala lampur. It was reaffirmed what the Prime Minister said saturday, that this search and rescue operation as well as the investigation into this missing aircraft is entering a new, delicate phase when it comes to the investigation. The head Law Enforcement officer in malaysia said some nations hadnt provided background checks requested about the passengers on the manifest. It becomes difficult organizing. The vast area that were looking at now, a quarter up to the north and squatters down to the south covers a lot of territory and over a lot of Different Countries. Thats why its going to be a complex operation. We need many Different Countries to contribute to the search and rescue operation, but also asking them for sensitive satellite and radar data. Theres some very sensitive areas, afghanistan, pakistan, so some nations arent going to be as forthcoming with this kind of information, so its going to be a very difficult situation to organize when it comes to gathering information as to where this plane might have gone but also getting in this vast area, this vast, vast territory to actually do a physical search for the aircraft, so now that we have more information, new information that came out on saturday, its not necessarily meaning that this is going to be easier or quicker, its going to become much more difficult. The sister of a new dealt passenger has mixed feelings about the news that the plane was deliberately diverted. It does raise your hopes, because you think the potential is there that my brother is still alive, but then i also find it very scary, as well, because if someone has deliberately taken this plane, then theyve taken it for a reason and i think we know that oftentimes thats not good. Syrian state television reports that Government Forces backed by hezbollah fighter have recaptured the eastern city, a significant gain for president bashar al assad. It is one of the last rebel strong holds in the west of the country used as a supply route to get weapons from neighboring lebanon. Activists have told aljazeera that rebels have pulled out of the area, but a spokesman for the rebel group says that assads forces have not can that turd the city and fighting continues on the outskirts. In the past, hezbollah has blamed car bombs striking lebanon. This shows rebel fighters pushing out of the city. Hundreds have escaped the onslaught. We cant independently verify these pictures. It is a disaster fighting against the syrian government. It was a major strategic prize. It links damascus to the city of homs. The syrian army had already captured several other towns in their push for the city. You may remember another major strategic loss for the rebels, this was the last rebel strong hold in the mountains, right across the border from lebanon, most of the weapons the rebels have used to fight the government have passed through this border area. The syrian army is said to be targeting fighters who escaped across the border inside lebanon. War planes have struck several areas on the outskirts on sunday. Aljazeera is monitoring the situation from neighboring turkey. We are joined live from istanbul. Whats the latest youre hearing from there . The syrian army issued a statement saying that its soldiers and forces restored stability and security after killing a number of terrorists. The statements also add theyve secured the border with lebanon. That border was used by the fighters to send in fighters, as well as weapons in yabroud and the wider region. According to them, theyve captured yabroud. For the syrian forces, it will give them security to a vital road linking damascus to homs. It also will tighten the government siege on rebels in the damascus countryside. What does this tell us about the state of the opposition right now . It appears that the government has the upper hand, that assads forces are winning the war. Is that a Fair Assessment . I think it is a Fair Assessment, because its all coming based on news coming from the ground. The rebels seem to be losing their strongholds one after the other. Now, we have been speaking with activists and they are saying the fighters in yabroud are scattered across the region, some have flown back sorry, escaped back to lebanon. There seems to be confusion and disarray. However, id like to remind you that during the last year of fighting, when Government Forces captured another strong hold for the rebels, then the rebels said well, weve lost a battle, but we didnt lose a war. Based on the statement from the s. N. C. s head yesterday on the third Year Anniversary, he said that the momentum is still behind the rebels and they will continue until they achieve victory. Im not sure if the news of yabroud will affect what he has said. For the moment, many thanks indeed. Plenty more still to come on the news hour, including a crackdown in the caribbean. A controversial new scheme in havjamaica tries to bring gangsf the street. We meet a man who claims to be a direct desend dent of genghis can. The best drivers in the world may not be going to australia for very much longer. Well have the details in sport. At least seven people were killed in nigerias capitol on saturday during a stampede at the national stadium. Tens of thousands of job seekers were at a complex to sign up for an employment recruitment drive. They were going to take a test to join the immigration service. The stampede shows the desperation for jobs in africas second biggest economy. Northern nigeria has some of the highest unemployment and School Dropout rates in the world. Many of those jobless young people are exploited as foot soldiers for criminal gangs. As aljazeera reports now, several programs have started to try to nip trouble in the bud. Standing guard outside a busy government building, he has been working for six months. The 21yearold is now able to support his five brothers and at times even save a little. I was surrounded but unemployed friends do drugs and robbery. This gives me a chance to change my life for the better. He is one of 1,000 graduates from a program to take youth off the streets. More than half of the young people in Northern Nigeria are unemployed and the poverty rate at 72 . Double the estimate in other parts of the down theory. Children sent by their parents to is lackic schools live on crumbs, conditions that have made them ideal recruits for exploitation, dragged into fights waged by politicians, gangs and self described fighters. Here, 1535yearolds are state of indiana in unarmed combat and taught the Device Security plan to cult vault a network to thwart attacks. Graduates are then hired by the state. The Security Training program is not the only set up by the local government to take in unemployment youth and School Dropouts. There are 20 other institutes. Its all Environment Friendly and cost efficient. At the end, was, they are given one animal each to kickstart their own projects. Anyone who knows the women and youth, certainly that government is bound to fail. That is why we decided to concentrate on training them and of course, that has gone along with reducing the security challenges. Outside the governors compound, top graduates keep a watchful eye. Its been the calmest period here in several months. Some of the Training Institutes have been threatened. Its not something they want to see grow, other states try to emulate these programs. Police fired tear gas at hundreds of antigovernment protestors in sudan in the northern part of the capitol kartoum. Last tuesday, a student died after police fired tear gas at protestors demonstrating against violence in darfur. Since the religious and political conflict in the value African Republic began a year ago, more than 30,000 muslims left the country, many living alongside christians in the democratic republic of congo. We talk about the contrast in life between the life in camp and the life they left behind. Life in this camp is a struggle. All these people ran away from violence. Here, they do whatever they can to make things feel normal. The Weekly Church service is important. Most people here lost loved ones. Josephines brother was killed. May not have been targeted for their religion back home. The conflicts are often described as sectarian. In the camp, religious hatred seems world away. Here there is no problem between christians and muslims. We are all the same. We all fe fled the conflict. We live together peacefully. We have no problem. There are 10,000 People Living here. They fled violence blamed on muslim, then later christian militia. Most of the traders here are christian, but muslims and christians alike shop here. Over here, theres a small restaurant. The owner is a muslim. Theres some goat meat on the grill roasting here. The people who eat here are a mixture of muslims and christians. Its normal for both religions to live together peacefully here and for many say it was normal back home, as well. The camp has a committee of elders representing both religions. They say theyve known peaceful co habitation all their lives but tell us leaders competing for control over oil and diamonds have changed that. The conflict was created by politicians. They are the ones who manipulate the population. Before, we were living together, and there were no problems. Everyone prayed as they wanted to pray and there was no problem. Its the politicians who created problems. Its time for prayers. Theres no mosque here. They make due under the shade of a mango tree. Nobody here minds. The United Nations has said it will investigate reports of genocide against the Muslim Minority back in c. A. R. Here in the camp, people wonder how things went so horribly wrong. Theres good news for part of Southeast Asia weather wise at least. Here with the details is meteorologist richard. A break in the drought across singapore in particular. Keep a close eye on the satellite loop. You can see the cloud moving across singapore there, giving 45 millimeters of rain in 24 hours. For that part of the world, that is a lot of rain. Here they average about two millimeters of rain for each month. Singapore has been in the grips of a really severe drought. Just taking this year, as an example, normally through the middle part of march we expect more than 500millimeters of rain. Instead, we just had 86 to date, so that 45 is included in that, so you see how important it was. It has impacted the region, not just singapore but up towards southern part of thailand. The production of palm oil, rubber have all been hit by the lack of rainfall. Through monday into tuesday, we will see further rain moving in across this region. As far as bangkok, wed like to see at least some activity, maybe not breaking the drought, the deficit is quite large, but at least we are heading the right direction. There is more rain heading up from the southeast from australia. Parts of australia are in the grip of the most severe drought ever recorded. Some farmers there are having to shoot their cattle because they can no longer afford to feed them. The pressure is causing a rise in Mental Health problems amongst the farming community. We report from broken hill in eastern australia. This is what Charity Looks Like in rural australia, a truck delivering hay harvested an 11 hour drive away. It shouldnt be needed here, but a drought has dried the ground and killed the grass. For food for their animals, farmers drive far and wide. Today really does make a psychological difference. These guys know other people care and this is just a small token of what we can do to try to keep them up. In good times, this farmland would be more green than orange, cows and sheep feeding on the grass. Now its hard to find any animals however far you look. In fact, all you see around here are bones. Sally and tony bright are receiving sevenbales of hey. They havent had to shoot cattle, because their taking preventative measures that will be financially painful for years. We are selling some potential breeding stock. We dont have that choice. Were going to be left with less breeding numbers. Its upsetting, manifests physically, you walk around with a bit of a knot in your gut and just look at the sky a lot and hope its going to rain. The flying doctors, associated with farming accidents than farmer depression, but this year, the service describes treating Mental Health as a key priority. The referrals weve had recently my team see as stroke related, has to do with additional stress. I havent seen any suicides, but its definitely been something people are starting to talk about. Theyve definitely been feeling thoughts. Demand for flyin, flyout mental clinics has never been higher. The government declared the drought a Natural Disaster and promised money to help, but this is whats really needed. Broken hill last week got its first substantial rain in two years, but most farmland hasnt been touched. For the farmers, the skies remain stubbornly blue. Turkeys Prime Minister accused teenager who died from a head injury sustained during antigovernment protests of having links to terrorism, saying he had been taken in by a terrorist organization but has not identified the alleged group. The 15yearold died tuesday after spending nine months in a coma. He was hit in the head by a tear gas canister last june. His injury and subsequent deaths sparked antigovernment demonstrations across turkey. Air pollution in paris has hit health threatening levels. Public france port is offered free so people use fewer cars. The European Environment Agency said its the worst air pollution in france for seven years. The caribbean island of jamaica has one of the highest murder rates in the world blamed largely on the hundreds of gangs that fight for territory. The government is proposing tougher new laws to crack down on them, but its proving to be controversial. They grew up together and now these young men fight rival neighborhood gangs together. Known as crews, there are hundreds throughout jamaica. He knows he might die defending his turf. Hes seen 15 of his friends killed. Its violence, people are dead. This naked is known as the gaza strip for its reputation of violence. You can see bullet holes in this door. Residents tell us for the last two months, things have been so bad that theyve heard shootouts nearly every night. The power of the criminals was plain to see when the government had to send in the army to capture gang leader and drug kingpin Christopher Coke in 2010. The murder rate initially dropped but now its rising. These scenes are increasingly common, a man murdered in front of a school after dropping off his son. The government is said to introduce laws to try to break the gangs and stop recruitment. We are about reshaping the norms of a society. We have developed a sub culture of violence over many decades which we to have address. Anything deemed to promote gangs, even song lyrics will carry stiff punishment. Human rights campaigners warned inner city youth will be criminalized if police have power to arrest anyone they suspect of being a gang member. After three months in prison, sandy finally decided to get out of her crew. Pregnant and with no prospects, she found a way to learn a new skill, but opportunities are scarce. We need more opportunity. In her neighborhood, like many where gunfire is a daily sound track, she said the young are trapped, afraid and believe only prison or death offer a way out. Which is why she says for things to really change, they need for opportunities and not more punishment. Still to come here on the news hour, the slippery thrown success. We visit pakistan where the only commercial ski resort is becoming popular once again. In portland oregon, the city hope projects like this will unleash the potential of thousands. Djokovic makes it to the finals aiming for a third title in the californian desert. Does that mean that ukraine will draw further into europes sphere of influence or start looking once again back toward moscow . Right now, theres no questions about whether or not ukraine should join the European Union, because the russian speaking at its own path weve seen also that theres the package that would put together of the European Union that finally are more ambitious that was the case before it was even started, it also eased incentive for europe. As it is, with one half of the country looking more to the west, the other half looking more to the east. Will this vote spark further demands from the part that looks toward moscow for more autonomy and breaking away from the government in kiev . The situation in ukraine is much different than crimea. For example, the pro russian. People in serbia are voting for a new parliament today, widely he can specked to win the election. The party says its priority will be to overhaul the ailing economy and drive out corruption. Serbs in kosovo also cast their ballots in the serbian elections. The vote was reluctantly allowed to take place there. Many Ethnic Albanians objected to the poll. Last year, ties were normalized with its former southern province. People in the gaza strip have been struggling through blackouts and Power Outages for more than a day. The only power plant in the area put some down because of a lack of fuel from israel. The situation in gaza is bleak. More than a Million People are boxed in and cut off from the rest of the world by israel and egypt. Saturday, the main power stations stopped producing electricity because it ran out of fuel. We will only have electricity for six hours out of 24. Even if we want to use generators, theres no fuel and if there is, it costs 2 a liter. There was a rush to by petrol thursday. Israel closed its Border Crossing with gaza since the worst regional violence since 2012. Rockets were fired from Southern Gaza and the Israeli Military hit back. Im afraid the situation will be deteriorating, no one can predict what might happen, so ill keep fuel for emergencies. Some fuel stations already run out of fuel. Egypt closed the borders, israel as well and generally the situation doesnt look good. For the last few months, people have been surviving off fuel from israel bought by qatar by the palestinian authority. Qatar agreed to fund more fuel but that cant be delivered while the border is closed. They are suffering economically. 51,000 Government Employees have not been getting full salaries for months. The government has last two thirds of its revenue since imports from egypt stopped last july. Its the worst time for gaza, hamas, for maam has movement in the past 20 years, the israel closures continue, the new egyptian closure of the main source of income for hamas government and for the colony in gaza. The pressure on hamas is rising with borders closed on both sides. Support for the group has dropped to a new low, down to 29 and 59 since late 2012. Aljazeera. Three aljazeera english journalists have now been held in an egyptian prison for 78 days. They are accused of having links to a terrorist organization and of spreading false news. Aljazeera rejects all charges against its staff and continues to demand their immediate release. The next Court Appearance is on march 24. Meanwhile another reporter is also in custody. This weeks cairos criminal court extended his detention for another 45 days. Hes been held for more than six months and been on Hunger Strike since january 23. Libyas deposed Prime Minister has said has his parliament dismissal is invalid. On tuesday, the parliament passed a no confidence vote against him. He says hell contest the decision in libyas stream constitutional court. North korea testified 10 short range missiles into the sea of japan according to south korean news agency, saying the missiles were fired from the countrys east coast. Protestors fought with police in venezuelas capitol hours after the president issued an ultimatum. Masked protestors through petrol bombs at police who shot tear gas at them. He told antigovernment demonstrators if they dont clear a caracas square they could face eviction. Aljazeera is in the venezuelan capitol. On the last day of a week long series of events commemorating a one Year Anniversary of the death of hugo chavez, this march is meant to send a message to opponents of the government. This is an not too subtle way of reminding opponents that the president has on his side the National Guard and also the civilian militia, formed trained and armed to defend the revolution. They are not soldiers, but after a month of nonstop pro tests and clashes between antigovernment groups and Security Forces, the president wants to show that he has the means with which to confront the biggest challenge to the chavez revolution sings the death of its founder in march of last year. That gathering was also called to show support for the National Guard at a time when it is under fire by human rights advocates both at home and abroad. Some guardsman have been accused of using Excessive Force and even torturing protestors after theyve been detained. The government says it will investigates charges and that it wont tolerate abuses, but on this occasion, at least there were no words of reapproach, only of encouragement for those who are supposed to defend the government. This at a time when some in the opposition are speculating and hoping that if the unrest spreads, the armed forces will force the president to step down. For some, ganghis khan killed 10 of the worlds population. Some mongolians say he is simply misunderstood. We went to meet one such group. These followers of genghis khan pray for the blessings of the universe and peace is it is goal and right. A former border guard is their leader. I am 29th generation descendent. I keep his philosophies and obligated to pass them on to the world. The prince says like all of gods other prophets, his ancestor genghis khan was misunderstood. People werent ready for teachings. The followers believe the world is ready now, that it symbolizes a direct link to heaven and everything on earth. As a peaceful man is not necessarily a popular concept. He is commemorated as a conqueror. Children must worship their parents. Parents worship the heavens and the home is temple. The Family Center is a tradition. Before the followers of genghis khan, this belief previous beyond their borders because home accord i go to their teachings is the area universe and family is everyone in it. Just ahead, the new season underway in melbourne, but new engines and rules caused big problems. Just cant stop scoring, all the latest, next. It will be handed over to civilians next year. While the Commanding Officer accepts the taliban is still a threat, he says it will never return. It has the capacity and intention to go back into their safe havens in afghanistan. We will never let this threat materialize inside the valley. This is a message that i want to get across. So what youre seeing here is just a glimpse of what it could be like in the valley. Pakistans military is trying to convince people the situation with security is now good enough for investment in tourism and other industries. For now, the numbers coming here may not in still the sort of confidence big time investors would need, but the mood is good. People should come here and realize that now it has been taken over by the army and its really safe now. Theres no such problem here. There is not many places around the world like this, you know. The Security Forces maintain they can keep law and order in the valley with or without a taliban peace deal. Its a view that isnt shared by everyone and without the soldiers here, many wouldnt feel as carefree as this. Aljazeera in pakistan. Time now for sport. Heres joe. Formula ones new season is underway. New engines and rules caused big problems with some of the more experienced teams. The first race of the season in melbourne always has an air of unpredictability about it. Big engine changes in the offseason led to questions of reliability. Those worries turned into real problems for pole sitter hamilton. On the second lap, his mercedes went from six to five cylinders, forcing an early retirement. Adifferent car, but another engine problem, the World Champion had to pull his red bull into the pit. The glitches continued with only 1422 cars finishing the race. The most dramatic exit of the afternoon was this. All of this played into the hand of the winner who stormed home handing the first victory of the season to mercedes. Its been an amazing day. Im just over the moon, really. Its incredible. Everybodys worked hard over the winter and now to have such an amazing feel to drive, you know, its just unreal. This thing was unbelievably quick today. In a further twist, there was a huge blow for home fans hood earlier celebrated australian driver ricardos second place finish. He was stripped of his first ever podium place for breaching new fuel rules. It moved the podium standings. Yet again, the future of the australian grand prix is in doubt. The contract with formula one has one more year remaining and a new deal yet to be struck. We report. That. Melbourne prides itself on being the sports capitol of australia, one of the reasons is the formula one grand prix. The right to host around the championship expires after next years race, and that extension hasnt been signed yet. No problem say the race organizers. It makes no difference and not something that i feel hangs over our head whatsoever. The grand prix in melbourne and formula one goes back nine years. Races are in big demand in other cities around the world. As organizers continue to advance the series, having it in australia is traveling a long way. Officials have agreed to a new deal. While the previous contract was for five years, a new one may be for only two. A contract cant be signed without the support of the victorian state government, which last year paid almost 51 million to stage the race. As a principle, wed love to ever the rides, but its about money in terms of dollars and we have to be very balanced about it, clinical bit and thats what we will do. Those involved in the sport say you to have balance the cost with the income the event generates. You know, ive come here and i must have spent 100,000 in this country since i was first coming down here. Would i come all the way to australia if it wasnt for the grand prix . There are other destinations across europe. Its unlikely. The best drivers in the word will return for their australian experience next year. Beyond that, there are no guarantees. Aljazeera, melbourne. Roger federer will play djokovic in the finals sunday. Federer, a four thyme champion in the california desert is seeded seven order for the tournament but had a dominant performance in the semifinal. 63 and 61 was the win. His opponents reach to the final was tougher. Twice served to the match in second to win the tie breaker. Djokovic got an early break to win the third 61. Australian player will miss play from a toe infection. Bangladesh won the opening match of the competition. They gave their fans a day to remember, beating afghanistan. The afghans scored a dismal 72 runs in their innings. They had no problem chasing that down, scoring 44 in 33 balls as the hosts crossed to a nine wickett win. They play they pap tuesday. In spain, third place barcelona looks to keep up the pressure in real madrid and athletico madrid. That following reals win saturday. With just 11 games now remaining in the Spanish League season, any slip up could prove damaging. A comfortable victory, putting them ahead in the 23rd minute. The 25th goal of the season for the leagues leading scorer, but this season, hes reached that tally. He could have easily had more. Setting up this chance. It was a match that sometimes turned ill tempered in the second half. Real held firm to the 10 win. Athletico and madrid needed to stay in touch in second and had plenty of early chances against espanol. It was their leading scorer costa who opened the scoring after 55 minutes. His 22nd strike of the season enough for the 10 victory, keeping athletico at the top of the table. Aljazeera. Sundays early game ended 00. That big match for barcelona is only a couple of hours away. In english premier league, liverpool can move ahead of Manchester City if they beat Manchester United right now. Its currently 00. The big game in london is arsenal where they can move above city if they beat their local arrives. In italy, eventers can move seven points clear of roma later. A. C. Milan will look to bounce back. Theyre hosting the fifth place fiorentina. Champions ever extended their record unbeaten streak to 50 games. The League Leaders latest win came 21 to open a 23point gap at the top. They need two more victories to claim a second Straight League title. Eastern conference leaders in the nba pacers beat detroit but had to mount kite a comeback with the pistons ahead by 25 in the second quarter. George scored 30 on the night, helping the pacers get the game to overtime. From there, it was one way traffic, hitting the layup as indiana ran up 112104 win. That is all the sport for now. Portland has become the first u. S. City to name a creative lawyer i cant tell, a kind of cultural ambassador charged with promoting Arts Projects within the community. Aljazeeras alan fisher went to oregon to meet the photographer. Hes been appointed to the pioneering role. Its about cooperation, concentration and creativity. This class of seven and 8yearolds have been handed very expensive cameras and taught to have fun. All are being held by julie, who holds the grand title of creative lawyer i cant tell. Many times in cities across america have poet poets laureat. It is watched closely across the country. Shes a two year mission to promote, develop and stand up for the creative community. For that she receivers just 5,000 a year. She insists its not just about the arts, creativity can spring from anywhere and benefit the entire community. I hope the role of creative laureate is to talk about why art matters. Portland is a thriving creative center, the city passed a new 35 tax to help fund and promote art in schools. At a time of budget cuts, thats normally one of the first things to go. The idea for a creative laureate came from sam adams, coming to the end of a term in office, he wanted to leave a legacy, something that would outlast him. I hope every city, states, i hope the United States steals the idea and appoints and names their own creative laureate. I think that all boats rise when every community has an advocate for the creative pursuits, for artistic pursuit. The children may not be sure of the economic arguments, economic benefits or the funding if this is creating art on the cheap. They are enjoying themselves and parking interest for the future. I took picture of doggies, because thats my favorite. Its really fun. What i like about it is that you get to see some things that are interesting to you. They can see the results, they can develop their skills, thats something theyll never lose, the creative laureate creating a legacy. Aljazeera, portland, oregon. Ill see you in just a moment