Good News Agency – Year X, n° 4
Weekly - Year X, number 4 – 20th
March 2009
Managing Editor: Sergio Tripi,
Ph. D.
Good News Agency carries positive
and constructive news from all over the world relating to voluntary work, the
work of the United Nations, non governmental organizations, and institutions
engaged in improving the quality of life – news that doesn’t “burn out” in the
space of a day. It is
distributed free of charge through Internet to the editorial offices of 4,000 media in 49 countries and to 2,800 NGOs and 500 high
schools, colleges and universities. It is an all-volunteer service
of Associazione Culturale dei Triangoli e della Buona Volontà Mondiale,
NGO associated with the United Nations Department
of Public Information. The
Association has been recognized by UNESCO as “an actor of the global movement for a culture of peace” and it has
been included in the web site http://www3.unesco.org/iycp/uk/uk_sum_monde.htm
International legislation – Human rights – Economy and development – Solidarity
Peace and security – Health
– Energy and
Safety – Environment and
wildlife
Religion and spirituality – Culture and education
UN
and African Union agree to battle crime, drugs together
12 March - The United Nations anti-crime
agency and the African Union (AU) today launched a joint initiative to support
an African plan to fight burgeoning traffic in illicit drugs and related
criminal activity on the continent over the next five years. Support for the AU
Plan of Action on Drug Control and Crime Prevention (2007-12) was announced at
the current session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), as a segment
devoted to high officials ended in
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=30174&Cr=unodc&Cr1
by Lea Lewin
According
to the Federal Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator
The Hon. Kim Carr, signing on “offers a positive example for
The
Treaty is also intended to encourage national trade mark offices to take
advantage of modern communication technologies. Most significantly, for the
first time in any international instrument dealing with trade mark law, non-traditional
marks are explicitely recognised.
(...)
The Amsterdam Declaration on Transparency
and Reporting
11 March - The Board Members
of the Global Reporting Initiative have earlier this
week adopted the Amsterdam Declaration on
Transparency and Reporting. The Declaration argues for the adoption of the ‘global
reporting framework that enhances transparency and is informed by the
legitimate interest of all key sectors of society.’ In this way, the increased
transparency would contribute to better corporate performance in relation
to environmental, social and governance standards. It remains to be seen how
serious will this Declaration be taken by corporations in practice. (...)
Better
accident compensation for ship passengers under third maritime package
Transport
5 March - Compensation for
passengers in the event of shipping accidents and an EU blacklist of
substandard ships are among highlights of the third maritime package, a
long-awaited raft of legislation that will be submitted to Parliament for final
approval in
The seven pieces of legislation
in the package - also known as “Erika III” after the 1999 Erika oil spill -
will improve both the safety of ships and the action taken in the event of an
accident. The package covers not just compensation for passengers but also ship
inspections, port state control, shipping accident investigations and the
choice of the authority that decides where a ship in distress should go. All the legislation
is expected to be approved by Parliament following a deal reached with Council
in conciliation negotiations. (...) Under the previous two maritime safety packages
(known as Erika I and Erika II), the EU adopted important maritime safety and
security legislation which, among other things, provided for ship inspections
in port, banned the use of single-hull vessels to transport oil and set up the
European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA).
Sat. March 21 to Sun. March 22, 2009,
Globalization
is one of the most distinguishing features of our age. (…) This conference will
gather together scholars and others interested in the impact of globalization
on human rights. On December 10, 1948, the United Nations issued the now famous
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR), the first global expression of the rights which all human beings are
entitled. Containing 30 articles, the UDHR declared that all people, regardless
of nationality or background, have the right to freedom, equality, and overall
wellbeing. Six decades have now passed since the Declaration was first made. To
what extent has globalization hindered or made possible the realization of the
objectives stated in 1948? This is the main question this conference will
discuss in detail, focusing on and comparing the experiences of Africa, Asia
and
The Asia Association for Global Studies (AAGS) is a
non-profit, non-partisan organization that promotes the research and teaching
of global studies in
http://asia-globalstudies.org/
First
Iraqi family departs
The German decision to take in
refugees currently resident in
http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/49be54872.html
11 March - In a bid to
decrease school drop-out rates, the International Labour Organisation and the
Indonesian teachers’ union, the Persatuan Guru Republik Indonesia (PGRI), are organising a joint programme
aimed at combating child labour. Launched earlier this month, the programme is
called the “Mobilization and Capacity-Building of the Teachers’ Trade Union and
Wider Trade Unions in Combating Child Labour in
http://www.ei-ie.org/en/news/show.php?id=975&theme=childlabour&country=indonesia
A
special place for children in EU
19 February - The European
Parliament adopted a report by Glenys Kinnock (PES;
UK), welcoming the Commission’s Communication on “A Special Place for Children
in EU External Action” and the accompanying Council Conclusions as “important
steps forward towards an EU strategy on the Rights of the Child”, but
underlines that “much remains to be done to put the political commitments into
practice”. The report notes that despite the recent positive developments at EU
level, the EU institutions and staff resources devoted to children’s rights
remain inadequate. MEPs stress that “none of the
plans will be realised unless adequate funding is available”. More
funding needed MEPs believe that the participation of
children must be institutionalised and better funded
in partner countries and at EU level. They insist that the general
budget support of the EU should include funds for capacity- building for
relevant ministries (such as Ministries of Welfare, Health, Education and
Justice) to ensure that they have the appropriate policies and tools to budget
and implement services for children. Welcoming the Commission’s plan to address
education in its humanitarian aid operations, the report calls for sufficient
funding and staffing at EU level to implement the new policy commitment. (...)
$50 million US contribution will boost women’s rights, says UN
12 March - United States President Barack
Obama’s release of $50 million to the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) will help curb poverty and improve the health of women
and children in over 150 nations, the agency said today, lauding an action it
said will help it continue its “life-saving” work. Mr. Obama signed legislation yesterday to restore US funding
for UNFPA which has been suspended since 2002. “This is a great day for women,
girls and their families around the world,” said Thoraya Ahmed Obaid,
the agency’s Executive Director. “We warmly applaud this action by President Obama, which underlines his support to the protection of
the lives and human dignity of women and girls in the poorest countries.”
The
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=30164&Cr=population&Cr1
Kampala, 11 March (ICRC) - The
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is launching a new project to
help vulnerable people acquire seed and agricultural tools in selected areas of
Acholiland. Approximately 100,000 displaced persons
returning to their homes in northern
In eastern Kitgum
and eastern Pader, there are only small-scale seed
vendors. In these districts, the ICRC will support more than 6,600 families by
organizing seed exchange on local markets. The ICRC is working with the UN Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the ministry of agriculture to ensure
appropriate organization and seed quality. The seed fairs will take place from
11 to 30 March. At the beginning of March 2009, the ICRC also distributed seed
and tools directly to 7,700 families in Orom
sub-county, Kitgum district, where quality seed is
not available in sufficient quantities. (...)
http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/uganda-news-110309
Post-hurricane harvest boosts food security in
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2009/15.htm
Chilean President awarded Ceres
Medal
FAO Director-General awards top honor in fight against
hunger.
Inspired
by the Roman goddess of agriculture, the Ceres Medal is the top award
given by FAO to distinguished women who have made outstanding contributions to
agricultural development and food security. Previous recipients include Mother
Teresa of Calcutta, Queen Sofia of Spain, the former President of Panama, Mireya Moscoso, and the
anthropologist and former First Lady of Brazil, Ruth Cardoso.
(...)
http://www.fao.org/news/story/it/item/10457/icode/
ACDI/VOCA cosponsors Capitol
Hill Forum on the global food crisis
4 March - The Capitol Hill
Forum 2009, “Advancing Agricultural Development and Addressing the Global Food
Crisis - Present and Future,” was held March
The forum was the latest in a
swirl of recent
(...) The program featured an
overview of food security challenges, followed by a facilitated discussion by a
panel of experts. (...)
http://www.acdivoca.org/acdivoca/PortalHub.nsf/ID/News2009CapitolHillForum3.4.09
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
awards grants to address homelessness and improve lives of foster care youth
Conrad
N. Hilton Foundation awards $875,000 to address homelessness in
http://www.hiltonfoundation.org/press_release_details.asp?id=70
World fisheries must prepare for
climate change
FAO releases new “State of
According
to the latest edition of the UN agency’s The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture
(SOFIA), existing responsible fishing practices need
to be more widely implemented and current management plans should be expanded
to include strategies for coping with climate change.
“Best
practices that are already on the books but not always implemented offer clear,
established tools towards making fisheries more resilient to climate change,”
said Kevern Cochrane, one of
http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/10413/icode/
US$14.4 million loan from IFAD to boost rural
development in the Northern Highlands in
Nearly nine out of ten poor rural people in
IFAD is an international financial institution
and a specialized United Nations agency. It is a global partnership of OECD,
OPEC and other developing countries. Today, IFAD supports close to 250 programmes and projects in 87 developing countries and one
territory.
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2009/14.htm
WFP
launches first food voucher operation in
Americans
unite in 450 theatres, support women in fight against global poverty
Madeleine
Albright, Christy Turlington Burns, Sheila Johnson,
Dr. Helene Gayle join other humanitarians during
one-night event to honor International Women’s Day
From
More
people helped the poor
2 March - The result of DanChurchAid’s Parish Collection 2009 was 16 million Danish
kroner (2.715 million USD/2.147 million EUR), which
is one million more than last years result. 20.000 people took to the streets
with great enthusiasm, collection box in hand, 4.000 of which were young people
and children. “Financial crisis or not, todays
collection shows that if the financial crisis has any influence at all it might
be, that it gives the Danes a feeling of solidarity with the people who are
suffering the most,” says the General Secretary of DanChurchAid
Henrik Stubkjær. The money
from this year’s Parish Collection will be used in the fight against hunger,
which more than one billion people in the world’s poorest countries suffer
from.
Sea route opened for WFP relief food deliveries to
Colombo, 27 February - A sea route to deliver United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) relief food to thousands of people in Sri
Lanka was recently opened - a major boost to efforts underway to reach hungry
people displaced by the recent escalation of hostilities in the region.
Yesterday, 40 metric tons of WFP food - enough to feed some 80,000 people
for a day - was delivered by sea to the government-designated safe zone in the Vanni. Another ship is planned tomorrow. ”Now the
challenge is to sustain this activity and ship sufficient quantities of food to
meet the needs of tens of thousands caught in the conflict,” said Adnan Khan, WFP Representative and Country Director in Sri
Lanka, adding that WFP’s goal is to deliver up to 300
metric tons of food commodities per week by boat. (...) As most displaced
persons are now concentrated in a new safe zone along the eastern coastline of Mullaitivu district, the sea route is an important
alternative route to reach those in need. (...)
http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/sea-route-opened-wfp-relief-food-deliveries-sri-lanka
Broad-based
coalition of top humanitarian aid agencies unveils roadmap to end global hunger
Washington, D.C., 24 February
- Just prior to President Barack Obama’s
first address to a joint session of Congress, Save the Children today stood
with members of Congress and other humanitarian organizations on Capitol Hill
to call for a comprehensive U.S. plan to alleviate global hunger and to support
bipartisan legislation that addresses the underlying causes and solutions of
hunger around the world. The broad-based coalition - which numbers more than 30
organizations, among them Bread for the World, CARE, Catholic Relief Services,
Friends of the World Food Program, Mercy Corps and World Vision - has announced
“The Roadmap End Global Hunger,” a strategic plan to address global hunger in
the short, intermediate and long term. (…)
Coalition members and
supporters of new
http://www.savethechildren.org/newsroom/2009/global-hunger-coalition.html?print=t
The firm provides pro bono
representation ranging from acting for disadvantaged individuals before courts
and tribunals to providing corporate and commercial advice to community
organisations. Currently, we act for the Karma Currency Foundation, a technology
based charity set up to provide a new fundraising revenue stream to other
registered charities. At the Karma Currency Foundation website, people and
corporations are able to purchase Charity Gift Vouchers which they can then
gift to their family and friends, customers and colleagues. The recipient of
the voucher is then directed back to the website to give the funds to the
charity of their choice.
Nicholas Weston advised on
this novel ‘business’ model, drafted the Foundation Trust Deed and various
licences, agreements and policies with issues across the firm’s commercial,
technology and intellectual property core competencies. The firm has also
supplied Nick Weston to serve on the Board of Directors where he continues to
assist with set-up, operational and governance issues. Presently, the Cancer
Council, Lifeline, Care
http://www.nicholasweston.com/probono.htm
World
Water Day 2009: Focus on
“Shared Water - Shared Opportunities”
“Sustainable
Management of cross-boundary Water crucial for security and peace, ” says Green Cross International
Geneva, 18 March -- The spotlight this year on transboundary water management to celebrate the World Water
Day (22 March) sums up the need for countries to speed up the mechanisms to
manage shared water resources. For Green Cross International, which was
launched in the same year as when the first World Water Day was celebrated in
1993, an immediate priority is for countries to ratify the United Nations
Watercourses Convention. (...)
Over the last 60 years there
have been more than 200 international water agreements, showing the potential
of water as a natural resource to bring people together rather than being a
source of discord. However, there have been 37 cases of reported violence
between states over water and tensions over sharing of water are growing as
demand rises while supply decreases. Fuelling the crises are increasing water
pollution and huge losses through inefficient distribution. (...)
At the Istanbul World Water
Forum, Green Cross International and WWF plan to recognise and “reward” States that
have already ratified the Convention, urging those remaining to do so. (...) In
2006, Green Cross International's global work on water attracted the prestigious UN award of “Champion
of the Earth” for its founding President Mikhail Gorbachev.
www.greencrossinternational.net/water www.greencrossinternational.net/convention
Author(s): Site Admin
12 March - President Obama signed a law on 11 March 2009 that permanently bans
nearly all cluster bomb exports from the
The
The United States Campaign to
Ban Landmines (USCBL) has launched an action alert to urge all senators to
co-sponsor the Cluster Munitions Civilian Protection Act (S.416.), which would
stop the military from using virtually all cluster bombs in its vast arsenal by
applying the same one percent standard to U.S. use. Growing Senate support for
S.416 will show President Obama that the
http://www.icbl.org/layout/set/print/news/us_cmexportban
Identification of voters in
12 March - Calling it
“significant progress” toward the much-delayed elections in
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=30169&Cr=voire&Cr1=unoci
12 March - The top United
Nations envoy to
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=30163&Cr=Sudan&Cr1
10 March - The effort to rid
the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=30141&Cr=mine+action&Cr1
CPI starts year of the buffalo
with pig-breeding project for landmine accident survivors in
Posted by: Tran Hong Chi
Twenty of Gio
Hai commune’s 44 poorest households affected by bomb
accidents were selected for the pig-breeding project by a Clear Path outreach
worker through home assessment visits and interviews probing their capacity to
succeed in the program. CPI works closely with the local People’s Committee.
(…)
http://clearpathinternational.org/cpiblog/archives/000987.php
10
years in force of the Mine Ban Treaty: ICBL campaigners celebrate in 65
Countries!
4 March - In February and
March, campaigners from 65 countries and areas around the world are taking action
to commemorate 10 years of the Mine Ban Treaty’s entry into force and to push
for its further universalization and implementation. At the same time striving to bring the new Convention on Cluster
Munitions into force. Under the slogan “A Mine-Free World: Mission
Possible”, campaigners from Afghanistan to Zambia are organizing roundtables,
press briefings, street actions, photo exhibitions and art installations, film
screenings, marches, rallies, workshops, petitions, TV and radio shows, and
other events to draw the world’s attention to the scourge of landmines and call
for a mine-free world. (...)
http://www.icbl.org/news/1march09events
Crossing
UNA-USA will successfully conclude its Adopt-A-Minefield®
Campaign at the end of 2009!
As planned and in alignment
with 10th anniversary and second review conference of the Mine Ban Treaty,
UNA-USA will successfully cross the finish line and conclude its
Adopt-A-Minefield (AAM) Campaign on December 31, 2009. UNA-USA is very proud of
AAM’s work over the past ten years. To date, we have raised over $25 million for mine action, cleared over 1,000
minefields, and assisted thousands of survivors. There are lots of reasons to
celebrate! Globally, now there are only 6,000 new casualties each year - as
opposed to the 25,000 annual rate recorded in the late
1990’s. There are 156 signatories to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) - that’s 80% of
the world’s nations! Only two countries used landmines last year - rather than
the previously widespread use in over 80 countries. The second MBT review
conference will be held in
MAG
signs two new contracts with the German Government
Since the end of 2007, MAG’s efforts to clear the Remnants of Conflict in
The German Government
currently funds two Battle Area Clearance (BAC) teams in the south of the
country. Ongoing support from the German Government enables MAG to continue to
address the threat of cluster munition contamination
in
http://www.maginternational.org/news/mag-signs-two-new-contracts-with-the-german-government-/
by Samar
Al-Gamal in
11 March - Special programmes
have been established to counsel and comfort victims and relief workers alike.
The Egyptian Red Crescent Society (ERC) has organized a psychological support
workshop for around a hundred volunteers mobilized in El-Arish
and Rafah on the border with the Gaza Strip. “It is
these volunteers who receive injured Palestinians and ensure the delivery of
relief supplies, including food and other relief items, to
http://www.ifrc.org/Docs/News/09/09031101/index.asp
MSF
aids population in northern ‘triangle of violence’ in
6 March - Since the end of
February, regions in northern Central African Republic (CAR) have witnessed
renewed fighting between a rebel group and the national army, and between other
armed groups present in the area. (...) Thousands of people have been forced to
move temporarily as a result of the outbreak of violence. So far 15 people have
been injured. MSF teams have treated seven people suffering from gunshot wounds
at hospitals in Batangafo and Kabo.
The majority of victims are civilians. A third MSF surgical team - comprising
an anaesthetist and a surgeon - has joined two teams already working in the
hospitals. MSF also supports seven healthcare posts in the region, but it has
had to scale down its work as a result of the violence. (…) MSF has 345 staff
working in the Kabo and Batangafo
region, including 305 who are recruited locally. MSF manages medical programmes
in two other regions of the country: in the northwest at Paoua,
Boguila and Markounda, and
in the northeast around Gordil and Birao. MSF has worked in the CAR since 1997.
Counting
every child (because every child counts)
6 March - In the teeming streets
of Uttar Pradesh (UP), ensuring each of the estimated 38 million children in
http://www.polioeradication.org/content/general/LatestNews200903.asp#UTTAR%20PRADESH
Pre-empting parasitic diseases
in
Silver Spring, Md., 23 February - In Paraguay, where the national
government is pushing to drastically reduce the cases of parasitic infections,
the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is working to provide nearly
1 million doses of Mebendazole, a commonly used deworming drug. The medication, which helps block the
development of whipworms, pinworms, tapeworms, roundworms, and hookworms, is
being distributed to children aged six to
ADRA is a non-governmental
organization present in 125 countries providing sustainable community
development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious
association, age, gender, race, or ethnicity.
http://www.adra.org/site/News2/2073319753?page=NewsArticle&id=9741&security=1&news_iv_ctrl=1141
Cereal
experts embark on improving the health and survival of children and women in
francophone
http://www.hkworld.org/about/press_releases/UEMOA_Farine_09.html
Foundation news: We are proud to announce that
The Grameen Green Children Eye Hospital has served
over 20,000 people since it’s opening in May 2008.
It has performed over 1,000 cataracts surgeries,
enabling the blind to regain their sight and transform their lives. We’d like
to praise the hard working staff in
http://www.thegreenchildren.org/tgcf/news/20k.php
http://www.thegreenchildren.org/tgcf/our_projects/
(top)
UNESCO
presents 3rd World Water Development Report at
“Water
must be given higher priority on the development agenda…”
“Chronic underinvestment and
poor governance in many parts of the world has left hundreds of millions of
people deprived of their right to safe water and basic sanitation, vulnerable
to disease and extreme hunger, and exposed to the risks of water-related
disasters, environmental degradation and conflict,” said UNESCO
Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura, who presented the
report on behalf of the 26 United Nations bodies that participated in its
preparation. “After decades of inaction, the problems we face are enormous. If
left unattended, they may become insurmountable.”
Mr Matsuura added: “Water
must be given higher priority on the development agenda. Developing countries
themselves need to increase investment in water, and systematically integrate
water in poverty reduction strategies. The international community must also
dramatically scale up its support. […] I urge leaders in all sectors to use
this report as a guide and impetus for bold and sustained action to meet the
world’s water needs.”
The World Water Development
Report is published every three years. It provides a comprehensive assessment
of the world’s fresh water resources (see UNESCO Press Release No. 2009-21*).
The new edition focuses notably on the role of water in development and
economic growth.
Energy savings: EU Member States support
rules to reduce the energy use of industrial motors
Brussels, 11 March
- EU Member States showed their support for new rules to reduce the electricity
consumption of industrial motors - which will save the equivalent of Sweden’s
electricity consumption each year - during today’s Ecodesign
Regulatory Committee meeting. The Regulation is expected to create 40,000 new
jobs and make electricity savings of €9 billion by 2020. “The measure is a concrete contribution to reach the EU’s energy efficiency and climate protection targets and
will result very quickly in significant energy savings and benefits for the
society and industry, as foreseen in the European Economic Recovery Plan,” said
Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs.
(...) The legislation will lead to annual use-phase electricity consumption
savings (EU-27) of about 135 TWh by 2020,
corresponding to an annual reduction of 63 Mt of CO2 emissions.
(...)
Solar cookers: saving lives in
16 February - In one Darfur
refugee camp in
http://www.wfp.org/content/how-are-solar-cookers-saving-lives-chad-and-darfur
World Water
Forum: the world’s largest water event
The 5th World
Water Forum will be held in
The World Water Forum is the main water-related event in the world,
aimed at putting water firmly on the international agenda. A stepping stone
towards global collaboration on water problems, the Forum offers the water
community and policy-and-decision-makers from all over the world the
unique opportunity to come together to create links, debate and attempts to
find solutions to achieve water security. It is organised
every three year by the World Water Council, in collaboration with the host
country. http://www.worldwaterforum5.org/
http://www.worldwaterforum5.org/index.php?id=1897
Forests and the global economy: 10
million new jobs
Sustainable forest management could become a means of
creating millions of new green jobs.
How
sustainable forest management can help build a green future and meet society’s
changing demand for forest-derived goods and services will be the main thrust
of World Forest Week, to be held in conjunction with FAO’s
Committee on Forestry, 16 to 20 March in Rome. (...)
http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/10442/icode/
1st international conference on Religion, Conflict,
and Peace
Walking the talk through
fear of the unknown to understanding and harmony.
Oakland
University Rochester, Michigan13-15 March - (...) The
spiritual experience is both uniquely individual and universal,
tapping into our deepest, most inner self, while connecting us to the oneness
with all. How each of us chooses our own sometimes quite different path on this
common journey can highlight an appreciation for the rich diversity of human
sacred practice, while at the same time setting the stage for the potential
hazards of elitism, competition, polarity, and even animosity that
paradoxically negate the core message of unity, and hamper us on that journey.
(...) Understanding how these elements and conditions arise, and how they
compromise, contradict, and even threaten original spiritual intent, as well as
relationships between and within religious communities, are essential to
learning and putting into practice methods for appreciating diversity and
achieving harmony and peace in today’s rapidly shrinking and increasingly
inter-dependant world community.
The
RCP Conference seeks to create an engaged, inclusive dialogue to consciously
explore together both broader historical dynamics,
implications, and possible remedies, and the current specific example of Islam
and Muslims in American society.
http://www.parliamentofreligions.org/_templates/templateprepar.cfm?ppid=30
Faith and values organizations
form coalition to advance United Nations Decade for Inter-religious Cooperation
for Peace
11 March - Some forty-five religious, interfaith, and
value-based organizations from five continents agreed to form a coalition to
advance a “United Nations Decade for Inter-religious and Intercultural
Dialogue, Understanding, and Cooperation for Peace.” Coalition members
expressed the hope that the UN Sixty-Fourth General Assembly, which will begin
its deliberations in September 2009, will approve a resolution establishing
such a decade from 2011-2020. The meeting took place at
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1722/faith-and-values-organiza.html
Living Letters team to visit
Peace-building initiatives and housing and education
issues will be highlighted when a team of ecumenical representatives from
around the world visits churches, ecumenical organizations and civil society
movements in
5
March - Organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) as part of the Living
Letters initiative, the visit reflects the WCC’s focus on the troubled region, where it sees the
ongoing presence and witness of churches as crucial in the struggle for a just
peace. Although they are a minority in
Living Letters are small ecumenical teams visiting
a country to listen, learn, share approaches and help to confront challenges in
order to overcome violence, promote and pray for peace. (...)
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1722/living-letters-team-to-vi.html
Interfaith Youth Core: Movement in Action
by Hafsa,
Leadership Associate
March
2009 - (...) IFYC’s Leadership Program hosts the
Fellows Alliance, a group of 19 undergraduates from colleges across the
country. These fellows come from diverse religious and philosophical traditions
and are responsible for building religious pluralism on their
campuses. (...) One of our 2008-2009 fellows, Moustafa
Moustafa, is a junior at the
Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) builds mutual respect and pluralism
among young people from different religious traditions by empowering them to
work together to serve others.
http://ifyc.org/node/301
The Director-General
launches the International Women’s Day celebration
On 9 March 2009, Mr Koïchiro
Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, opened a round table on “Gender Equality
as a Global Priority: Next Steps Forward”, launching a month-long series of
events that UNESCO is organizing to celebrate International Women’s Day. (…) Mr Matsuura underscored that UNESCO has been a pioneer in
mainstreaming gender considerations across its entire programme.
“Our Medium-Term Strategy for 2008-2013 put us at the forefront of UN agencies
in elevating gender equality to a top strategic priority”, he said. With regard
to the current biennium, during which UNESCO has worked to integrate a gender
perspective into all areas of its work, the Director-General referred to the UNESCO
Priority Gender Equality Action Plan, which translates UNESCO’s Medium-Term
strategic commitment to promote gender equality into a practical, results-based
plan to guide UNESCO’s action through to 2013. (…)
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=44800&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
International Women’s Day, March 8
- Women in
6 March
- UNESCO celebrations for International Women’s Day focus on gender equality
including equal access to quality education. Gender disparity is still deeply
entrenched in education. (..) Despite progress, more than half the countries in
sub-Saharan Africa, South and West Asia and the
http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=58778&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
Dolly
Parton and Rotary partner to promote reading
By Ryan Hyland
Rotary International News, 9
March - On 6 March, country music legend Dolly Parton
and Rotary International announced a collaborative relationship to begin a new
chapter in promoting early childhood reading. Under the agreement, Rotary clubs
in
Parton’s impoverished
childhood and her father’s illiteracy inspired the country singer to create a
literacy program in 1996 for preschool children in her native
According to the Dollywood Foundation, research shows that preschoolers
exposed to reading are more likely to look forward to starting school, do well
in class, read at or above grade level, finish high school, and go on to
college. (...)
The Imagination Library is
especially valuable for children in underprivileged families, who may find
books to be an unaffordable luxury in today’s economic slowdown. For an annual
cost of $28 per child, the Dollywood Foundation sends
children registered for the program one book a month, beginning with The Little
Engine That Could . The books are age appropriate and
range from life lessons to bedtime stories.
About 115 Rotary clubs already
participate, and that number will triple with the addition of all 203 clubs in
http://www.rotary.org/en/MediaAndNews/News/Pages/090309_news_partonrotarypartner.aspx
Running for clean water on
World Water Day
We encourage you to join us
for an informative and moving evening regarding the Water Crisis in Africa as
seen through the challenge of Running the
http://www.africare.org/news/news2009/WorldWaterDay09.php
How do I engage religious diversity in the
classroom?
Come to “Religious Pluralism in Your School: A Two-Day
Workshop for Educators.”
Workshop
activities will focus on how to be a leader in your community for religious
pluralism, how to assess religious pluralism at your school, how to think
critically about new ways to teach your curriculum, how to engage diversity
among students, and will include a workshop by Dr. Eboo Patel, Founder and Executive Director of Interfaith Youth Core. (...) Register now.
http://www.ifyc.org/events/teachers_workshop
Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC) builds
mutual respect and pluralism among young people from different religious
traditions by empowering them to work together to serve others. (...)
http://ifyc.org/about_core
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Good News Agency is published in
English on one Friday and in Italian the next. Past issues are available at www.goodnewsagency.org .
Managing Editor: Sergio Tripi,
Ph.D. Editorial research by Fabio Gatti, Maria Grazia Da Damos, Arianna
Cavallo, Azzurra Cianchetta. Editorial Secretary: Maria Grazia
Da Damos.
Good News Agency is distributed free of charge through Internet to 4,000 editorial offices of the daily newspapers and periodical magazines and of the radio and television stations with an e-mail address in 49 countries: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Holland, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, USA. It is also distributed free of charge to 2,800 NGOs and 600 high schools, colleges and universities.
It is an all-volunteer service of Associazione Culturale dei Triangoli e della Buona Volontà
Mondiale, a registered educational charity
chartered in Italy in 1979 and associated with the Department of Public
Information of the United Nations. The Association has been recognized by UNESCO as “an actor of the global movement for a culture of peace”. The
Association operates for the development of consciousness and promotes a
culture of peace in the ‘global village’ perspective based on unity in
diversity and on sharing. It is based in Via Antagora
10, 00124
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