In
the final report of the Decade for a Culture of Peace project presented to the UN General
Assembly, Good News Agency is included among the three NGOs that have been
playing a major role in the field of Information via the Internet.*
http://decade-culture-of-peace.org/2010_civil_society_report.pdf
Good News Agency – Year XII, n° 194
Weekly – Year XII, number 194
– 11th November 2011
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 10,000
media and editorial journalists in 54 countries and to 3,000 NGOs and 1,600
high schools, colleges and universities. It is an all-volunteer
service of Associazione Culturale dei Triangoli e della Buona Volontà
Mondiale, an educational charity 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 is a member of the World
Association of Non Governmental Organizations.
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 agencies join forces to combat human
trafficking and migrant smuggling
31 October - The United
Nations agencies that deal with helping refugees and with fighting crime signed
a joint agreement today to work together more closely to combat human
trafficking and migrant smuggling. The memorandum of understanding, signed by
the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Yury Fedotov
and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) António Guterres, aims to
combine the work of both entities in overlapping issues to more effectively
target criminals involved in human trafficking and to better protect their
victims. The agreement will focus on four defined regions based on the
agencies’ work: Latin America, the Gulf of Aden,
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40267&Cr=human+trafficking&Cr1=
UNESCO
grants full membership to
New York, October 31 - The
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today
voted to admit Palestine as a full member of the Paris-based agency. UNESCO’s General Conference, the agency’s
highest ruling body, took the decision by a vote of 107 in favour to 14
against, with 52 abstentions, according to a news release. The move brings the
total number of UNESCO member States to 195. For its membership to take effect,
Palestine must sign and ratify UNESCO’s constitution, which is open for
signature in the archives of the Government of the United Kingdom in London.
Admission to UNESCO for States
that are not members of the UN requires a recommendation by the agency’s
Executive Board and a two-thirds majority vote in favour by the General
Conference.
UNESCO’s mission is to contribute to the
building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and
intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication
and information.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40253&Cr=Palestin&Cr1=member
Senegal: UN launches task
force to help stem drug trafficking through airport
27 October – The head of the
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has launched a task force to boost
the capacity of the international airport in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, to
intercept narcotics smuggled through the facility, a major air traffic hub in
West Africa.
The task force, launched
yesterday by Yury Fedotov, the UNODC Executive Director, is expected to improve
the effectiveness of the Airport Communication Project (AIRCOP), which is
designed to strengthen airport intelligence and information-sharing.
AIRCOP aims to establish
secure, effective real-time communication and exchange of information among
source, transit and destination countries of cocaine trafficking. Under the
project, joint airport interdiction task forces made up of officers from
various law enforcement agencies will operate around the clock at 20
international airports.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40216&Cr=UNODC&Cr1=
UN panel approves over $1
billion for victims of Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait
27 October – Over $1 billion
was disbursed today to eight successful claimants by the United Nations
Compensation Commission (UNCC), which settles the damage claims of those who
suffered losses because of Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait. This latest round of
payments – a total of $1,038,375,281 – brings the overall amount of
compensation made available to date by the Commission to nearly $34.3 billion
for over 100 governments and international organizations for distribution to
1.5 million successful claimants.
Established in 1991 as a
subsidiary organ of the Security Council, the Commission has received nearly 3 million claims, including from close
to 100 governments for themselves, their nationals or their corporations.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40215&Cr=Iraq&Cr1=
EU should take lead in global
fight against illegal fishing - EP Committee
12 October - Illegal fishing
distorts trade, hurts efforts to rebuild depleted stocks and conserve species
and will have a long-term impact on the environment and food security, the
Fisheries Committee warned Tuesday. An estimated 11-26 million tonnes of fish a
year, representing 15% of global catches, comes from illegal fishing. The
committee calls on the EU to promote global action, including more inspections
at sea and closing markets to illegal fisheries products.
The own-initiative report by
Swedish Green Isabella Lövin says international cooperation is the only way to
tackle the problem because of the mobility of fish stocks and fishing fleets
and because around two thirds of the world's oceans are outside national
jurisdictions. It also says that as a major fishing power and the biggest
importer of fisheries products, the EU should play a key role. The committee
voted unanimously in favour of the report, which will be go to the November
plenary session in Strasbourg.
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/en/headlines/all-the-news
Universal
Children's Day - November 20
One of the outstanding
keynotes of our present time is the focus that is being put on children: the rights
of children; the needs of children; the importance of considering children in
every area of life. At a global level this is reflected in The Convention on
the Rights of the Child, an international human rights treaty that is
transforming the lives of children and their families around the world. Under
the Convention all but two of the world's countries (USA and Somalia) have
agreed to meet universal standards, guaranteeing children the rights to
survival, health, education, a caring family environment, play and culture ….
Universal
Children's Day is observed on different days in different countries. It is a Day to
celebrate children and to empower the vision of an interdependent world of
families, communities and nations in which the rights and needs of children are
accorded the highest priority. 20 November marks the day in which the UN
General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the
Child, in 1959, and the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, in 1989.
www.un.org/en/events/childrenday/index.shtml
19
Days of activism for prevention of abuse and violence against children &
youth
November
1 - 19
An international coalition of
organizations and movements is launching this global campaign leading up to
World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse. By
focusing during 19 days on the prevention of diverse types of abuse and
violence against children and youth, the campaign aims to continue to bring to
light the alarming problem, its multifaceted aspects, and the need to generate
sufficient grass-roots interest and government and public support for better
prevention measures. www.woman.ch/index.php?page=19daysofactivism&hl=en_US
World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse - November 19
Held each year
the day before Universal Children's Day, this is a day to focus on the creation
of a culture of prevention of child abuse — particularly sexual abuse
of children. A coalition of organizations from around the world organizes a
range of activities on the Day to raise awareness of the problem and to promote
various prevention programmes.
www.woman.ch/index.php?page=children_19nov&hl=en_US
UN and
Brazil launch initiative to combat hunger among school children
7 November – The
United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the
Brazilian Government today launched a new initiative to help countries run
their own national school meal programmes to advance the nutrition and
education of children. The Centre of
Excellence Against Hunger, located in the capital, Brasilia, will assist
governments in Africa, Asia and Latin America by drawing on the expertise of
WFP and Brazil in the fight against hunger, while promoting sustainable school
feeding models and other food and nutrition safety nets.
The South
American nation has been recognized for its Fome Zero (Zero Hunger) strategy
for reducing poverty and food insecurity and its school meals programme, which
reaches about 45 million children per year. Funded
entirely through voluntary donations, WFP is the world's largest humanitarian
agency fighting hunger. Each day in 60 countries around the world, WFP provides
school meals to around 22 million children.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40324&Cr=hunger&Cr1=
Enablon
launches Wizness -- the world's first online network for sustainability
performance
Chicago, San Francisco and
Paris, November 4 - Enablon, one of the world's leading Sustainability
Management software providers, today announced the launch of Wizness, the 'Wise
Business' online platform that allows people and organizations to work together
to solve sustainability business challenges. In development for two years,
Wizness already comprises more
than 250 member companies, news and content from the world's best
sustainability sources, discussion groups on topics ranging from supply chain
management, energy, carbon and water usage to ethical business data, global
rankings and much more.
Enablon is the world's leading
software provider of Sustainability Management solutions. More than 300 global
companies and 200,000 users worldwide use Enablon solutions to improve the
reporting and management of their environmental and social performance, control
their risks and reduce costs. Through its partnership network, Enablon operates
in more than 130 countries.
Sudan:
more than one million animals vaccinated
Khartoum/Geneva (ICRC)3
November – Between January and October, in a campaign carried out jointly by
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Ministry of Animal
Resources and Fisheries (MARF), one million animals in Darfur and almost a
hundred thousand in South Kordofan were immunized against the five major
diseases affecting animals in Sudan.
Among the five major diseases
that could affect the animals is anthrax, a bacterial infection that is in most
forms mortal and can also spread to humans. The animals vaccinated are cows,
goats, sheep, camels, horses and donkeys.
The ICRC provided vaccines and
refresher training for members of remote pastoralist communities who monitor
animal health and provide basic treatment. Since 2005, more than 270 community
animal health workers have been trained thanks to the partnership between the
ICRC and MARF in Darfur. They have also been provided with drugs and other
items needed for the treatment of sick animals.
http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/news-release/2011/sudan-news-2011-11-03.htm
New
Project Won: Vietnam—sustainable cocoa for farmers
October 27 – ACDI/VOCA has won
a $1.6 million cooperative agreement from USAID to implement the Sustainable
Cocoa for Farmers project in Vietnam. This 30-month Farmer-to-Farmer associate
award, which will build on the achievements of ACDI/VOCA’s SUCCESS Alliance
project in Vietnam, will improve the economic well-being of Vietnamese
smallholder farmers by developing a socially, economically and environmentally
sustainable cocoa industry.
Vietnam has made significant
strides in reducing poverty from 37.4 percent in 1998 to 14.5 percent in 2008
(World Bank). However, more work remains to be done, especially in rural areas
and with marginalized groups. Cocoa in particular represents an opportunity for
farmers in rural areas to increase incomes.
Through the new project,
ACDI/VOCA and the Vietnam Department of Agriculture & Rural Development
(DARD) will work with local cocoa farmers, nursery owners and fermentary
operators in eight districts in Dak Lak and Lam Dong provinces. The project will
work with actors in all levels of the cocoa value chain. http://www.acdivoca.org/site/ID/news-Vietnam-Sustainable-Cocoa-Farmers-new-project
Improving
agriculture seeds
Norwegian
peoples Aid (NPA) is working in collaboration with the University of Upper Nile
state to improve the quality of local seeds. The project is part of the
government’s food crisis response.
By: Tamama Norbert Mansfield
27 October – “In 2009/2010 the
project bought improved seeds from companies in the Republic of Sudan. We now
want to improve the quality of available local seeds to create easy access to
seeds by farmers and reduce on importation costs,” said John Maruti,
coordinator for the Emergency Food Crisis Response Project. The Emergency Food
Crisis Response Project is funded by the World Bank and forms part of the
Government of South Sudan strategic food crisis response and effort to
strengthen livelihood and food security programming.
“One of the key components of
the project is to support agriculture production through provision of improved
seeds and tools to vulnerable farmers and also focus on measures to address the
short term implication of the global food crisis in South Sudan,” John said.
(...)
http://www.npaid.org/en/news/?module=Articles&action=Article.publicShow&ID=18277
Promoting
dissemination of orange-fleshed sweetpotato
October 10 – During the 10th
African Crop Science Society Conference, Helen Keller International (HKI) and
the International Potato Center (CIP) launched a new project: Reaching Agents
of Change - Promoting Dissemination of Orange-Fleshed Sweetpotato.
The goal of the Reaching
Agents of Change project is to provide direct access to vitamin A-rich
orange-fleshed sweetpotatoes for 600,000 households, with an indirect benefit
to 1,200,000 households.
The project will build the
capacity of already committed Mozambican advocates to convince key
decision-makers and donors to invest in the wide-spread adoption and
utilization of OFSP. The project will also enable the public and private
sectors to design, implement, monitor and evaluate pro-grams that are either OFSP-focused
or that add OFSP into existing efforts.
Palestine
- Greening of Ein El Helweh
October 2011 - Walking through
the narrow winding alleyways of Ein El Helweh Palestinian refugee camp, the
first impression is of a concrete jungle. But, nowadays the bleak concrete landscape
is interrupted by small niches of green dangling from rooftops, window sills
and balconies. It’s an urban agriculture of vegetables and herbs, from
lavender, basil, thyme to peppers, eggplants and tomatoes, thanks to a pilot
urban agriculture project by ANERA and the American University of Beirut (AUB).
In partnership with Ein El
Helweh Women’s Program Center (WPC), the project aims at ameliorating living
conditions of the camp’s residents through a capacity building program on urban
agriculture. The initiative includes the use of rooftop rain-water collection
systems and drip irrigation. The project is transforming the WPC into a
greenhouse as a prototype of the “green vision.” Vertical plantings that will
cover cement facades should also help improve air quality and offer a visual
respite from the stuffy grayness of crowded camp living.
ANERA has implemented similar
food security projects in Gaza and the West Bank. http://www.anera.org/ourWork/commEcoDev/GreeningofEinElHelweh.php
$150-million
gift will help Stanford train entrepreneurs in poor countries
by Caroline Bermudez
November 4 – Stanford
University’s business school has received a $150-million gift to establish an
institute that will help entrepreneurs in developing countries build their
businesses. The money came from Robert King, a partner at the investment firm
Peninsula Capital, in Menlo Park, Calif., and his wife, Dorothy, who hope the
donation will help curb poverty in the world’s hardest-hit regions.
The gift will start the
Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies, which will conduct research
on entrepreneurship and then teach people how to apply the findings. As part of
the agreement, the university must raise $50-million more from other sources.
Mr. King is an alumnus of the
Stanford Graduate School of Business.
http://philanthropy.com/article/150-Million-Gift-Will-Help/129645/
Central
America battered by tropical depression, ADRA provides humanitarian aid
November 1, Silver Spring,
Md., USA - Tropical depression "12-E" that began in the Pacific Coast
has initiated heavy rains, and a series of floods and landslides throughout
Central America. The deadly storm inflicted widespread damage to cropland and
infrastructure including bridges, schools and homes. As a result, thousands of
families have been forced to evacuate to temporary shelters to escape rising
floodwaters. The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) initiated an
emergency response, assisting families displaced by floodwaters and landslides
in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.
In coordination with the
Permanent Commission of Contingencies (COPECO), ADRA Honduras is distributing
1500 hygiene kits to families selected from an ADRA-conducted needs assessment,
600 of those kits were donated to ADRA Honduras by the UN Population Fund. With
the help of local volunteers, the kits were issued throughout a range of
communities identified by COPECO as in greatest need. In addition to meeting victim's immediate
needs, the Agency is developing programs to help in the long-term efforts to
rebuild lives.
http://www.adra.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=11544&news_iv_ctrl=1141
Somalia:
ICRC resumes food distribution in Jilib after air strike
Geneva/Nairobi, 1 November –
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has resumed its
distribution of food to over 6,000 displaced people in a camp in Jilib
district. The distribution, which is being carried out in cooperation with the
Somali Red Crescent Society, was temporarily suspended following an air raid on
30 October that left a number of people in the camp killed or wounded. In the
aftermath of the raid, Somali Red Crescent volunteers administered first aid to
the wounded and helped transfer them to medical facilities outside the camp.
The ICRC provided the facilities with medicines and other supplies needed to
treat the wounded.
The food distribution in Jilib
is part of a large emergency operation currently being carried out by the ICRC
with the aim of assisting some 1.1 million drought- and war-affected people
across the hardest-hit areas of southern and central Somalia.
http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/news-release/2011/somalia-news-2011-11-01.htm
World
Science Day for Peace and Development -
November 10
This Annual
UNESCO Day seeks to renew the national as well as the international commitment to
science for peace and development and to stress the responsible use of science
for the benefit of society. The Day is part of an International Week of Science
and Peace.
www.un.org/en/events/scienceday/index.shtml www.un.org/en/events/scienceday/week.shtml
Ban welcomes agreement on
outstanding issues of Nepal’s peace process
2 November – Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the agreement reached among Nepal’s political
parties on resolving the outstanding issues related to the integration and
rehabilitation of Maoist combatants and the drafting of a new constitution.
The leaders of the country’s
four main parties reportedly agreed late Tuesday to integrate one-third of
around 19,000 former Maoist rebels into the army and the remainder will receive
monetary compensation. The South Asian nation has been trying to work out the
remaining aspects of the peace process that in 2007 ended the decade-long civil
war between Government forces and Maoists that claimed 13,000 lives.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40288&Cr=nepal&Cr1=
Deal between Greek Cypriot and
Turkish Cypriot leaders is attainable – Ban
1 November – Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon said today he is confident that a comprehensive settlement to the
Cyprus issue can be reached, following progress made during two days of talks
with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders in New York. The leaders met
with Mr. Ban outside New York City on 30 and 31 October, the fourth such
meeting with the UN chief as part of the ongoing talks aimed at reunifying the
Mediterranean island. At their previous meeting with the Secretary-General in
July, it was agreed that the two sides would intensify the talks to reach
convergences on outstanding core issues in the negotiations, which include
governance and power-sharing, economy, European Union matters, property,
territory and security.
The UN-backed talks began in
2008 with the aim of setting up a federal government with a single
international personality in a bi-zonal, bi-communal country, with Turkish
Cypriot and Greek Cypriot constituent states of equal status.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40271&Cr=cyprus&Cr1=
Security Council welcomes
planned regional anti-piracy strategy in Gulf of Guinea
31 October – The Security
Council today condemned all acts of maritime piracy and armed robbery at sea in
West Africa’s Gulf of Guinea and welcomed the intention by States in the region
to convene a summit to consider a comprehensive response to the menace. In a
resolution adopted unanimously, the Council encouraged the Economic Community
of West African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community of Central African
States (ECCAS) and the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) to develop a strategy
against maritime piracy.
The strategy will entail the
drafting of domestic laws and regulations – where they do not exist – which
will criminalize piracy and armed robbery at sea and develop a regional
framework to counter piracy and armed robbery, including information-sharing
and operational coordination mechanisms in the region. The regional anti-piracy
effort will also include the development and strengthening of domestic laws and
regulations to implement relevant international agreements on the safety and
security of navigation, in accordance with international law.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40261&Cr=piracy&Cr1=
East
Africa Cup won sports "peace price"
East
Africa Cup won the prestigeous “Best sports event for peace of the year” award
in Monaco
by Torunn Aaslund
28 October – "It is fantastic to
receive this acknowledgement. In East Africa Cup we connect people through
sports and creates a foundation for communication", says Vegard Holm in
Christian Sports Contact (KRIK).
"(...) To work with young people you have to meet them at their own arenas, and that is what East Africa Cup is doing. The Cup is not only about sports. No teams can participate in the cup unless they can show other activities such as work on awareness and mobilization in addition to sports. It is one week in Moshi and a whole year in the local community", says Liv Tørres, secretary general of Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA).
The East Africa Cup is funded by
Norwegian People’s Aid, KRIK, Norway, Mathare Youth Sports Association and
CHRISC. This summer nearly 2000 youths from eight countries participated in the
cup. They also participate in AIDS awareness, conflict management, sports
technic competence, coach development and first aid. – We are also cooperating
with BBC to develop media skills in East Africa by using modern web based
tools, continues Liv Tørres.
According to Tørres and Holm, this is
the most prestigious award when it comes to sports and development, supported
by UN, IOC and UNESCO.
A documentary about East Africa made
by BBC had its premiere in connection to the award show. Watch the short
version here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXqgGZhtvlQ
http://www.npaid.org/en/news/?module=Articles&action=Article.publicShow&ID=18280
A prescription for better
health in Guatemala
by
Dan Nixon
4
November, Rotary International News - A global grant project that provided
neonatal medical equipment to a Guatemalan hospital is helping to safeguard the
lives of newborns and educating community residents about preventive
health. The US$54,322 project --
sponsored by the Rotary clubs of Guatemala Norte and Sunnyvale, California, USA
-- provided Hospitalito Atitlán in Santiago Atitlán an oxygen generator, infant
incubator, and diagnostic devices, along with training to hospital staff in how
to use and maintain the equipment.
As
part of the effort, the Guatemala Norte club arranged for production of an
educational DVD in Tz’utujil, the language spoken by the local Mayan community.
Shown in the hospital’s waiting room, the DVD covers nutrition, common
illnesses, maternal and child health, hygiene, and issues such as alcoholism
and domestic violence. That component of the project was inspired by the
success of a previous Matching Grant effort involving the two clubs, which had
distributed an educational DVD on health-related topics to a different Mayan
community.
DVD's
impact - Funded under the Future Vision pilot, the effort supports Rotary’s
disease prevention and treatment area of focus. Its impact, sponsors say, will
reduce the number of people requiring medical care for routine, preventable
conditions and enable the hospital’s doctors to focus on treating patients with
more serious health problems. (...)
With
the power of water, ADRA transforms communities in Zimbabwe
November 1, Silver Spring,
Md., USA - In Zimbabwe, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is transforming
communities through improving levels of hygiene and health through water,
sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) initiatives. Through interactive training and
increasing availability of water sources, ADRA is improving the condition of
life for scores of Zimbabweans.
The local ADRA Zimbabwe office
has a two-fold approach to their WASH projects; one focusing on hygienic
behavior change, and the other focusing on bringing safe, drinkable water into
communities. ADRA Zimbabwe has worked with local schools to incorporate a
six-month curriculum on hygiene education. Once taught, students are then given
the opportunity to share what they learned with their pupils, and families,
through fun and interactive methods.
http://www.adra.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=11545&news_iv_ctrl=1141
Rotary
celebrates, takes action on World Polio Day
by Dan Nixon
Rotary International News, 2
November - (...) Throughout the week, Rotarians took up the call to end polio
in variety of ways. In Australia, Rotarians and the Global Poverty Project
carried out a petition drive to persuade world leaders to fully fund the
critical work of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Almost 25,000
supporters signed the petition, resulting in a $20,000 contribution to Rotary's
challenge by the Rotary Club of Crawley, Western Australia, which had offered
to donate A$1 (about US$1) for each signature.
In Perth, the Global Poverty
Project's End of Polio Concert on 28 October raised additional funds. The
concert coincided with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth;
Rotarians had teamed up with the group to encourage government leaders to put
polio eradication on the agenda. Following the meeting, the governments of
Australia, Canada, and Nigeria, along with the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, announced a combined pledge of more than US$100 million to support
polio eradication efforts. “I also want to acknowledge the efforts of Rotary in
what has been a long-standing global initiative for change, and I'd like to
remind everyone that change is possible,” said Australian Prime Minister Julia
Gillard. (...)
The week that began with World
Polio Day ended on another high note as well: more than 80 million children in
Africa and Asia were immunized against polio, according to the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
Horn
of Africa: ADRA launches phase II for clinic in drought-stricken Kenya
Tuesday, November 1, 2011 –
Silver Spring, Md. - Having experienced successive seasons of low rainfall,
Kenya remains in a heightened state of drought, leaving an estimated 4 million
people in need of food aid, and hundreds of thousands of children and pregnant
mothers in need of therapeutic feeding. In response to this great need, the
Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is rolling out a second phase of
their emergency project in El Wak, Kenya. Through this expanded intervention,
the Agency is increasing access to health services offered, in addition to
providing nutritional and water needs to some of the most vulnerable
communities.
http://www.adra.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=11543&news_iv_ctrl=1141
UN and
South Sudan in joint effort to reduce maternal mortality
31 October
– A joint initiative of the United Nations and South Sudan is aiming to
reduce maternal mortality by deploying midwives throughout the country,
providing locals with the necessary skills to safely deliver babies, and
improving the health facilities available to the wider population. One out of seven pregnant women dies due to
pregnancy-related causes in South Sudan. With less than 100 midwives for the
entire country, there is an urgent need for an increase in health workers to
attend to the population’s needs. To tackle this issue, the UN Population Fund
(UNFPA) and
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40256&Cr=south+sudan&Cr1=
Guatemala
and Honduras: MSF distributing relief items and deploying mobile clinic after
floods
28 October - Following the
tropical depression which caused flooding and damage in several departments of
Guatemala’s Pacific coast in mid-October, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is
distributing relief items to affected populations in 13 communities of the
Nueva Concepción municipality. This area, located in the southern department of
Escuintla, is the most affected, where some 5,000 people have not yet been
assisted.
In Honduras, where torrential
rains have affected thousands of people, MSF has deployed a mobile clinic and
offered more than 140 medical consultations to the Marcovia communities in the
southern department of Choluteca. An assessment of the health and medical needs
has shown that the health system has quickly responded and that patients have
free access to primary health care.
MSF is thus focusing on the
epidemiological surveillance of infectious diseases, such as dengue, malaria and
leptospirosis, and on the disinfection of 20 contaminated wells identified in
the area.
MSF will also conduct a mass
distribution of doxycycline to support health centres in the prevention of
leptospirosis, which is endemic in the region.
China's
all-out fight against polio
Immunizing
over 9 million
October 28, Beijing - China
vaccinated more than 9 million children and young adults last September in
Xinjiang in a fight against polio after the disease paralyzed 18 people and
killed one of them. Over 4 million children received a second dose of polio
vaccine in early October. Polio had broken out in China in late August, 2011
for the first time since 1999. Genetic sequencing of the isolated viruses
indicates that they are related to wild polioviruses circulating in Pakistan.
China is undertaking an
aggressive outbreak response: Within 15 days of confirmation that wild
poliovirus had been detected, a 'level two' public health emergency had been
declared, both the Minister and Vice-Minister of Health had travelled to the
affected region, almost 150 health professionals from around China had been
deployed, five million doses of oral polio vaccine had been airlifted to the
province and more than 200,000 hospital records had been reviewed for potential
polio cases.
http://www.polioeradication.org/tabid/167/iid/173/Default.aspx
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Indonesia
works to secure lead in "ring of fire" geothermal market
by Ivan Castano, Contributor
Jakarta, November 2 -
Indonesia is aggressively moving to build up its geothermal industry with plans
add as much as 9,000 MW of installed capacity by 2025. However, industry
observers say the Southeast Asian country's government must do more to attract
foreign investment if it wants to achieve that target. (...)
Industry observers say
Indonesia, with the world's highest number of active volcanoes, has the
greatest geothermal potential in the so-called Ring of Fire volcanic region
straddling the country as well as New Zealand, Philippines, Japan and the
Eastern part of Russia. Of all those countries, Indonesia, Philippines and
Japan have the strongest development potential, observers say.
However, Indonesia has more
volcanic "hot spots" (some 265) and a more aggressive development
scheme than the other countries. Developers are using these hot spots to drill
holes that can produce steam from volcanic energy. So far, Chevron is the
leading foreign developer in the sector but others including Indian industrial
conglomerate Tata, Shell, Canada's Raser Technologies and Australia's Origin
Energy are also looking to set up geothermal plants. (…)
USA -
Solar jobs report shows 6.8% growth over 2010
by Jennifer Runyon, Managing
Editor
26 October, Dallas – The 2010 prediction was for 26% growth in
solar jobs to occur from August 2010 to August 2011 but the number came back at
only 6.8%. That's ten times more jobs than the overall economy. The Solar Foundation released its National
Jobs Census last week at Solar Power International (SPI) in Dallas, Texas. The
good news is that the solar power industry added almost ten times more jobs
over the past year than the overall U.S. economy, which added jobs at a rate of
a mere 0.7%. The bad news is that the percentage of job growth since last year
is a much-smaller-than-predicted 6.8%.
Andrea Luecke, executive
director of The Solar Foundation, the organization that authored the report,
shed some light on the data on Tuesday during a sit-down video interview at the
Event Broadcast booth. Overall, Luecke said she is happy with the results,
despite the fact that they are so much lower than expected. (...)
Employers were asked in the
survey about what hindered them from adding the number of jobs that they had
predicted and more than 30% of solar employers cited general economic
conditions. (...) According to the report, industry execs also put the lack of
state incentives, the lack of consumer awareness and the lack of consumer
access to loans or credit as other obstacles that impacted their ability to add
jobs within their companies. (…)
Carbon
for Water is solving problems in Kenya
by Steve McLean, www.samaritanmag.com
October 16 – Carbon for Water
is the name of both a life-changing program in Kenya and a 21-minute film about
the project that was shown at Toronto’s Planet in Focus Environmental Film
Festival on Sunday afternoon.
Kenya’s Western Province has
been undergoing a human and environmental crisis due to deadly but preventable
diseases originating from water in local rivers that’s used for a variety of
purposes and has become unsafe to drink. (...) American filmmakers Evan and
Carmen Abramson made their first documentary, When The Water Ends, last year.
(...) The film looks at a five-week campaign launched in April that
involved 4,000 health workers and 4,000 drivers distributing 900,000 filters to
enable 4.5 million people to drink clean water without having to boil it.
Carmen (also credited as Carmen Elsa Lopez, her maiden name) says they noticed
a reduction in typhoid in just a few days after people started using the
filters.
The filters, which cost about
$20 each to produce, are paid for by trading carbon credits in the
international market. Each filter delivers at least 18,000 litres of quality
drinking water, which is enough to supply a family of five for at least three
years. (...) Several thousand Kenyans have been employed during start-up, and
several hundred will continue to work on annual monitoring, education and
maintenance activities.
Carbon for Water is the
largest water treatment program in the developing world paid for by carbon
credits and is projected to cut CO2 emissions by two million tons per year for
a decade. (…) http://samaritanmag.com/863/carbon-water-solving-problems-kenya
Exxon
Mobil creates green U.S. recycling jobs
Decides
not to dump its old tanker on Asian beaches
Seattle, Washington, November
8 - Instead of sending their defunct tanker to the infamous ship-scrapping
beaches of South Asia, Exxon Mobil and wholly owned subsidiary SeaRiver
Maritime, recently completed the sale of the S/R Wilmington, a 1984 built
tanker, to a U.S. ship recycling facility, where it will be dismantled by a
skilled workforce, using advanced technologies to manage the vessel’s hazardous
waste stream. Exxon’s move to recycle the Wilmington in the U.S. is seen by the
toxic trade watchdog organization, Basel Action Network (BAN), as a move to
lead by example, opting for the safe and environmentally preferable ship
recycling methods of U.S. ship recyclers, while creating green U.S. jobs in a
tough economy.
Black
rhinos moved to new home
November 3 – A group of 19
critically endangered black rhinos have been moved from South Africa's Eastern
Cape to a new range in the Limpopo province to encourage increased breeding and
population growth. The location is the seventh
new habitat established by the WWF's Black Rhino Range Expansion Project.
“This was possible because of
the far-sightedness of the Eastern Cape Provincial government who were prepared
to become partners in the project for the sake of black rhino conservation in
South Africa,” said WWF’s project leader Dr Jacques Flamand.
A relatively new capture
technique was used to airlift some of the rhinos out of difficult or
inaccessible areas by helicopter. This entails suspending the sleeping rhino by
the ankles for a short trip through the air to awaiting vehicles. “Previously
rhinos were either transported by lorry over very difficult tracks, or
airlifted in a net. This new procedure is gentler on the darted rhino because
it shortens the time it has to be kept asleep with drugs, the respiration is not
as compromised as it can be in a net and it avoids the need for travel in a
crate over terrible tracks,” explains Dr Flamand.
http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?202250
United
Nations World Youth Report 2010: Youth and Climate Change
The World Youth Report focus
on youth and climate change, and is intended to highlight the important role
young people play in addressing climate change, and to offer suggestions on how
young people might be more effectively integrated as individuals and collective
agents of change within the realm of climate change adaptation and mitigation.
The Report is designated to assist youth and youth organizations in educating
themselves and to become more actively involved in combating the threat of
climate change. It is also meant to affirm the status of young people as key
stakeholders in the fight against climate change. The publication comes at a
time when efforts to address climate change are receiving unparalleled
attention on the international arena, offering youth a unique opportunity for
their voice to be heard in the debate.
http://social.un.org/index/WorldYouthReport.aspx
World
Day of Prayer and Action for Children - November 20
2011
Theme: Stop
Violence Against Children
Observed annually since 2008 on
Universal Children's Day, the World Day for Prayer and Action for Children was
initiated by the Arigatou Foundation, a Japanese based interfaith organisation.
The Day brings people of all faiths together to pray and take action for the
well-being of children. In 2010, more than 33,000 people in 47 countries
participated in 69 events on the Day.
Peace
Revolution Fellowship for Young People
Global
Peace on the Move VII & VIII - February/June 2012 - Thailand
Pathumthani,Thailand, 9
November - Peace Revolution is creating a new “paradigm shift” intent on
refocusing all of our personal priorities from an outward search to an inward
quest designed to cultivate a lasting peace and self-sustaining happiness. From there, peace can emanate to others, our
family, friends, colleagues, teachers and community at large. Peace Revolution is
now accepting applications for the Fellowships in Thailand. The Fellowships are
open to all young peace activists who believe that inner peace + outer peace = sustainable world peace.
Our limited Peace Revolution
fellowship for youth and young adults age 18-30 gives an opportunity to learn
more about how to deepen your own Inner Peace and integrate it into your
professional life and to meet with young Peace Rebels around the world.learn
advanced inner peace techniques through meditation from experienced Buddhist
monks learn practical applications of inner peace in daily life and share
dialogue and interact with peace rebels from across the globe who share same
interests in inner peace and peace-building.
Peace Rebels who have
completed the online self-development program and are interested in cultivating
deeper inner peace and committed to peace-building in their family, community
and country are invited to join the fellowship to attend one of the meditation
retreats, training camps and peace conferences in Thailand. Learn more and
apply here:
http://www.peacerevolution.net/docs/en/peace-revolution-fellowship
Catholics,
Jews urged to work together to promote religious freedom
By Beth Griffin – Catholic News
Service
New York, November 3 -
Catholics and Jews can most effectively capitalize on five decades of progress
in their relations by joining forces to promote religious freedom, defend
immigrants, face a common threat from fanatics and advocate for civility in
politics and society, said New York Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan. He addressed
more than 250 Jewish leaders assembled in New York Nov. 3 for the annual
meeting of the Anti-Defamation League, an organization that fights
anti-Semitism.
Reflecting on the current
state and future of Catholic-Jewish relations, Archbishop Dolan said both
groups must "continue to rejoice in how far we've come," but not take
the progress for granted. He dated the beginning of positive change to
"Nostra Aetate," the Second Vatican Council's declaration on
relations with non-Christian religions.
He said "Nostra
Aetate" was "one of the most enlightened documents" of the
council and it "set the bar high." It also opened the door to
unprecedented visits to synagogues and Israel by Popes John Paul II and
Benedict XVI. "To have the man we call the vicar of Christ go to a
synagogue is of earthquake proportions," Archbishop Dolan said.
Archbishop Dolan said Pope
Benedict's Oct. 27 meeting in Assisi, Italy, with leaders of other faiths could
not have happened 50 years ago.
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1104357.htm
ICYE
General Assembly 2011
The XXVII General Assembly of
the ICYE Federation will be held from 7 thru 12 November 2011 in Puntarenas,
Costa Rica. 70 participants, representing 38 different member and partner
countries, will discuss and deliberate on policies and programme development
strategies relating to quality and impact assessment, training, documentation
and research,bi-country and Over 30s programmes, as well as theme focused
activities.
International Cultural Youth
Exchange - ICYE is: •a leader in
international youth exchange programmes with more than 60 years of experience
promoting young people’s active and global citizenship; •an international
voluntary service programme with significant presence across all continents;
•an experience based programme to enhance young people’s intercultural
understanding and commitment to peace and justice; •an international network of
local organisations providing volunteers with the necessary orientation,
training and support; •long and short-term exchange programmes for 4.000
participants annually.
http://www.icye.org/images/stories/newsletterpdf/icye%20newsletter%2026th%20issue.pdf
UN
and L’Oreal announce winners of Women in Science Award
New York, November 8 - The
United Nations and the cosmetics giant L’Oreal announced today the five women
scientists who will receive their joint award for their advances in scientific
research.
The award, which is given out
each year by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
and L’Oreal, honours five women from different regions of the world who are
selected by an independent jury made up of eminent members of the global
scientific community.
This year’s winners are: Jill
Farrant from South Africa, Ingrid Scheffer from Australia, Frances Ashcroft
from the United Kingdom, Susana López from Mexico, and Bonnie Bassler from the
United States. The awards ceremony will take place on 22 March at the UNESCO Headquarters
in Paris, where each laureate will receive $100,000 in recognition for their
contribution to the advancement of science. According to a news release issued
by UNESCO, an international network of nearly 1,000 scientists nominates the
candidates for each year’s awards, and the winners are chosen based on their
work’s potential to have a major impact on society.
Since 1998, the L’Oreal-UNESCO
Women in Science Award in Life Sciences has recognized exceptional women who
have helped to “move science forward” with the aim of encouraging women
throughout their careers.
For more details go to UN News
Centre at http://www.un.org/news
Art
knows no limits - "My Space My Inspiration" exhibition in Palestine
October - The children could
not believe their eyes when they first stepped into Al-Hoash gallery and saw
the amount of art displayed neatly at the "My Space My Inspiration"
exhibition. “I was very surprised when I walked in,” exclaimed 11-year-old
Jibreel Yousef. “It’s bigger than I expected and packed with kids! I’m very
proud of this exhibition.”
Visitors young and old were
overwhelmed by the beautiful, colorful paintings and art work by kids of
various ages from Jerusalem and nearby suburbs. The exhibit was the product of
five workshops conducted at eight different places over the past two years by
Al-Hoash gallery, in collaboration with various artists and in partnership with
local cultural and youth organizations.
ANERA funded three of the
workshops, serving 71 kids, mostly disadvantaged children from impoverished
areas and communities isolated by the wall.
Al Hoash workshops are
organized as part of an annual educational program, which aims at developing
and enhancing art production and its appreciation in the local community,
especially among children and youth. The
program emphasizes the role of art and culture in maintaining Palestinian
cultural identity and using art as tool for free expression and a non-violent
means for releasing anger and frustration.
http://www.anera.org/ourWork/education/ArtKnowsNoLimits.php
Arts
project for values education based on the Earth Charter
A new project from Spain
called Educarte para Valorarte (Educating you to Value yourself) provides
values education towards personal development through art, using the Earth
Charter as the basis. The program starts
with a visit to an art exhibition with works from well-known artists, committed
to the care of the planet and sustainable development. After this visit, the children's workshop
begins with a reflection period and leads to them creating their own artwork.
The idea is to turn the museum into a setting that shows the Earth and life as
a work of art.
This project has been carried
out by Innovar en Valores (Innovate in Values), a nonprofit association
affiliated to the Earth Charter Initiative, which comprises a diverse group of
people committed to values from a personal development perspective. Its aim is
to promote the education, research, and study of values as a means to influence
personal development.
* * * * * * *
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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, Arianna Cavallo, Azzurra Cianchetta. Webmaster: Fabio
Gatti. Media and NGOs coverage: Maurizio Palazzoni.
Good News Agency is distributed free of charge through Internet to 10,000 media and editorial journalists of the daily newspapers and periodical magazines and of the radio and television stations in 54 countries: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bermuda, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Caribbean Islands, 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, Oceania, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, USA. It is also distributed free of charge to 3,000 NGOs, 1,600 high schools, colleges and universities, as well as 22,000 Rotarians in the world.
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 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
The Association is a member of the World Association of Non Governmental Organizations.
*In the final report of the Decade for a Culture of Peace project (2001-2010) presented to the
UN General Assembly (http://decade-culture-of-peace.org/2010_civil_society_report.pdf),
Good News Agency is included among the
three NGOs that have been playing a major role in the field of
Information. In section A -
International Organizations, the Report says:
"Participatory
Communication and Free Flow of Information and Knowledge has been advanced
largely through use of the Internet by civil society corresponding to para 6 in
the 1999 Programme of Action calling for the promotion of a culture of peace
through sharing of information among actors in the global movement for a
culture of peace (p.7). Diffusion and exchange of culture of peace information
via the Internet has become the major instrument for several international
organizations, notably the Culture of Peace News Network, the Good News Agency
and the Education for Peace Globalnet (p.12).