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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Our View: Cajoling City Hall ... Jeffrey Gillespie: The demise of Cecil the lion ... Ashland Calendar, Friday, Aug. 7 ... Our View: Cajoling City Hall ... Jeffrey Gillespie: The demise of Cecil the lion ... Ashland Calendar, Friday, Aug. 7 ... 'BUEN VIVIR' Ecuadorian government minister checks out the good life in Ashland His cabinet-level post is charged with raising the quality of life for Ecuador's people Comment By Alec Dickinson For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Alec Dickinson For the Tidings Posted Jun. 9, 2015 at 2:00 AM By Alec Dickinson For the Tidings Posted Jun. 9, 2015 at 2:00 AM » Social News Freddy Ehlers is ordering the Southern fried chicken. He smiles easily beneath his trademark straw hat, his passion for life evident even as he selects his meal. He pronounces the dish in the comfortable English of someone who has spent his adult life in the sphere of international politics, but who will never lose the accent of his native Ecuador, no matter how far to how many countries he visits in search of fulfilling his ministerial portfolio, and that has brought him to Ashland: helping his country achieve "the good life." Ehlers is eating lunch at Larks with Ashland author and philosopher Dr. Jean Houston. The two discuss the world philosophically, effortlessly applying Eastern, Western, and American influences to the conversation at hand. They move between languages as well, despite Dr. Houston’s assertion that she does not speak Spanish. But Spanish is spoken, as is English, and a little Quichua, the most commonly spoken indigenous language in South America. And it is a Quichuan concept that brought Freddy Ehlers to Ashland. Ehlers is the minister of a newly-formed governmental agency in Ecuador known as "Buen Vivir." Buen Vivir translates roughly in English to “the good life” — but buen vivir itself is a translation of a Quechua phrase, "sumak kawsay." It is one of those phrases captured eloquently in one word or two words in one language, but that takes sentences to translate. It can perhaps be best explained by a proverb of the Aymara people indigenous to the Andean Plateau: “Let us all walk together, let nobody fall behind, let there be enough for everyone, and let nobody lack anything.” This might seem an odd foundation for a governmental institution, particularly in a society that is highly economically stratified. But it is sumak kawsay that spawned Executive Order 30, the law that ordered the formation of the Ministry of Buen Vivir, a ministry entirely dedicated to the idea that happiness for the people of a nation should be a governmental goal. And Ehlers says that goal requires new thought and new policy. As he looks around the pleasant restaurant, he muses. “This here. These nice little cafes. That is not a sustainable goal for everyone on earth. For seven billion people. To spend $100 on lunch. To have a middle class like in the United States on a global level, this is not sustainable. That was the American dream, but it is not for everyone.” Ehlers says the Ministry of Buen Vivir is tasked with reimagining what happiness might look like on a sustainable level. He says that goal requires reexamining some of our ideas about life. For example, he says, speaking with some of the indigenous people in Ecuador, they are perplexed by the idea of building a “better life.” They questioned: Better that what? Than who? Better than what you had? When did you have it? He says the idea of a better life runs directly into conflict with the guiding philosophy of many people in his country. “Because we want so much to live better, we have forgotten how to live a good life. Because we don’t enjoy life, we always want better. We are always in the future. Never in the present. Always wondering how much they are going to pay us. How much more they are going to pay us.” Recognizing a disconnect between reality and a happy, sustainable existence is one thing; addressing the problem is quite another. Ehlers says this has been the task of the ministry, and, he says, they are making headway. The Ministry of Buen Vivir was established in 2013 and Ehlers was selected by Ecuadorian President Rafael Corea to lead the ministry. Though a journalist by trade, as well as a popular documentarian in his native country, he has served in the Ecuadorian Senate, as Minister of Tourism, and was twice a presidential candidate in Ecuador. He also served five years as the Secretary General of the Andean Community of Nations, a regional coordinating body that examines policy and issues of interest to countries that share the Andes mountain range. Ehlers says turning his focus toward the well-being of the average person has been in some ways different than working in politics. He says the first thing the ministry did was examine core causes of unhappiness in the country. Though only two years in, some of those findings have made a significant impact. Obesity is a significant problem in Ecuador, largely due to consumption of processed foods. The country has, over the objections of multinational corporations, begun mandating clear labeling of products to indicate if they are healthy. This is not the small print you might find on a can of soup in the United States, but a diagram that resembles a stoplight occupying prime real estate on the front of the package. The system is simple: Sugar, salt, and fats are given a red light for high levels, a yellow light for medium levels, or a green light if levels are considered healthy. The immediate, visual reminder has been effective. So effective, according to Ehlers, that sales of Coca-Cola in Ecuador have dropped by nearly 50 percent. Ehlers says the philosophy of consumption is another problem in a country where most people live well below the poverty line. He says the ministry is working on educational programs throughout the country to bring other philosophies to young people to counteract messages received through media bombardment. A core set of values, including honesty, forgiveness, and patience, among others, are being codified in a series of children’s books for distribution in the country. The idea is that in the national school system each month of the year will focus on a value and what it means to practice that value. There are guiding questions to aid discussion of the ideas and allow students to apply them to their own lives. It is this kind of philosophy-made-practical that Ehlers says the ministry hopes to foster, and his visit to Ashland is testament to this idea. Following his lunch with Dr. Houston, he walks to the Elizabethan Theatre to speak with Oregon Shakespeare Festival staff regarding the development of a repertory theater in the city of Loja in the south of Ecuador. He says he hopes to forge a relationship with OSF to guide the development of the new theater with the ambitious timeline of staging its first productions in 2016. Ehlers is no stranger to tight timelines, however. On the heels of a two-week trip to Europe to promote the ministry and learn what other countries are doing in a similar vein, he returned to Ecuador for less than two weeks before beginning his Western United States tour. From Ashland, Ehlers heads to San Francisco to meet with professors from Berkeley and other California universities. From there he will head to Portland before returning to Ecuador to unpack that portfolio of what more he has learned in pursuit of a buen vivir — for all of his country's people. Alec Dickinson is an Ashland freelance writer.     By Alec Dickinson For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Alec Dickinson For the Tidings Posted Jun. 9, 2015 at 2:00 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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