Good News Agency – Year IV, n° 6
Weekly - Year IV, number 6 – 4
April 2003
Managing Editor: Sergio Tripi,
Ph. D.
Rome Law-court registration
no. 265 dated 20 June 2000.
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. Editorial research by Fabio Gatti. Good News Agency is
published in English on one Friday and in Italian the next. It is distributed free of charge through
Internet to the editorial offices of more than 2,400
media in 46 countries, as
well as to 1,000 NGO.
It is a service of Associazione Culturale dei Triangoli e della
Buona Volontà Mondiale, NGO associated with the United Nations Department of Public
Information.
Human rights – Economy and development – Solidarity – Peace and security
Health – Energy and Safety – Environment
and wildlife – Culture and education
Iraq: ICRC
starts visiting Iraqi prisoners of war
Geneva, 31
March – Delegates from
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) today began visiting Iraqi
prisoners of war captured by the coalition forces. The ICRC team consists of 15
delegates, including one doctor and six interpreters. (...)
Prisoners of war are protected by international
humanitarian law. They must be treated humanely at all times. The Third Geneva
Convention gives the ICRC access to all prisoners of war, wherever they are
being held, so that the organization can monitor their treatment and conditions
of detention. The ICRC will also be striving to re-establish contacts between
the prisoners and their relatives.
In line with its standard practice, the ICRC will not comment publicly on
treatment or conditions of detention, but will submit its findings to the
detaining authorities with a view to achieving improvement if and when
required.
The ICRC is actively pursuing its dialogue with the
Iraqi authorities, with a view to gaining access to coalition soldiers captured
by Iraq.
Republic of the
Congo: Detainees released by government and rebels
Geneva, 26
March – A number of
people detained in connection with the conflict were released yesterday in
Brazzaville in the presence of several ministers of the Congolese government,
representatives of Reverend Ntumi's National Resistance Council and the ICRC.
The Congolese authorities released 21 people, all of
whom had been arrested and detained for security reasons. The day before,
Reverend Ntumi's movement had released 18 people, including 14 members of the
Congolese armed forces who had been detained in the Pool region for several
months by the Ninjas.
ICRC delegates had previously held private interviews
with the people released by the government to ascertain their state of health
and check their identities.
The detainees were set free following the commitment
undertaken in the Congolese capital on 17 March by the government and a
representative of Reverend Ntumi to respect the 1999 agreement calling for a
ceasefire and an end to hostilities.
Democratic
Republic of the Congo: ICRC reunites 45 children with their parents
March 24 - ICRC staff
based in Goma have reunited 45 unaccompanied children with their families. The
children aged between 6 and 17 had been separated from their relatives for
several months or in some cases years owing to the conflict in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo.
An ICRC aircraft was used to fly the children between
the eastern and western parts of the country. On Thursday 20 March, 17 children
were flown from Goma to Kinshasa, where 28 other children boarded the same
aircraft the next day to return to their families in Goma and the eastern
provinces.
Family reunifications are organized on a strictly
voluntary basis and in cooperation with the National Society. They respond to
one of the greatest causes of humanitarian concern in any armed conflict: the
separation of family members. Since the beginning of the year, the ICRC has
already reunited more than 240 Congolese children with their parents.
IFAD to support Resource Management project in the
Arab Republic of Egypt
Rome, 20 March - A loan agreement was signed today at
the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) headquarters by H.E.
Ambassador Helmy Bedeir, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Italy, and
by Mr. Lennart Båge, President of IFAD. The loan, in an amount of USD 12.7
million, will help fund the ‘Second Matruh Resources Management
Project’, with a total cost of USD 44.8 million.
The project area is located in Matruh Governorate,
which is part of the North-West Coast region of Egypt; it is characterized by a
very fragile resource base with low and erratic rainfall and recurrent drought.
Traditionally, the Bedouin population managed the area’s natural resources that given the nomadic lifestyle
was an ecologically balanced pastoral system. Increased pressure from people
and livestock due to the sedentarization of the Bedouins has unbalanced the
ecosystem and created a cycle of resource degradation and rural poverty that
threatens bio-diversity and increases environmental hazards. 13 000 households
are expected to benefit directly from the project and 22 000 households will be
eligible to benefit from extension services, improved technology and other
community-oriented investments. Project activities will be targeted at both men
and women, a number of specific activities such as carpet making, home
gardening, oil making etc will focus exclusively on women. (...)
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2003/20.htm
Fishing communities mobilize in 25 West African
countries
A new development approach helps them organize and
change the system in their favour
Poor fishing communities in West Africa are
participating in their own development as never before. Guided by a
step-by-step method and helped by modest project funding, community members
tackle problems they have identified as holding back their social and economic
progress. This package profiles two such communities. In these stories from
Ghana and Guinea, the men who catch the fish and the women who process and sell
it recount how they have organized to diversify their livelihoods, enlisting
powerful partners from the private and public sectors, and how they play a new
role in patrolling their fishing grounds, keeping poachers at bay. (...)
http://www.fao.org/english/newsroom/focus/2003/sflp1.htm
Indonesia: Two
seminars on surgical treatment and care for the wounded
March 27 - The ICRC
delegation in Indonesia, the provincial Ministry of Health and the Indonesian
Red Cross recently hosted two seminars on surgical treatment and care for the
wounded in Banda Aceh, capital of Aceh province. The seminars, which were held from 13 to 15 March and
18 to 20 March, were attended by 150 doctors working throughout the province.
At the opening ceremony, the provincial Minister of
Health stressed how vital it was to ensure that medical practitioners could
respond quickly to injuries in a province that was vulnerable to natural
disasters and had experienced a long conflict.
The seminars were held in response to the particular
needs expressed by many medical practitioners in Aceh province who wished to
improve their ability to care for the wounded, both in places where injuries
occurred and in hospitals. A number of national and international surgical
specialists had been invited to share their experiences and discuss how they
applied to the situation in Aceh.
U.N. hails South Korean support for aid programmes in
North
Pyongyang, 27 March - Three United Nations agencies
today welcomed a substantial pledge of support by the Republic of Korea for
emergency feeding and healthcare programmes to assist millions of vulnerable
children, women and elderly people in the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea.
In its broadest commitment to date to the UN's
humanitarian relief efforts in the North, the Seoul government has indicated it
will channel almost US $20 million this year through the World Food Programme,
the World Health Organisation and the United Nations Children's Fund.
The aid - 100,000 tonnes of maize valued at $18
million through WFP, $700,000 for a WHO malaria prevention campaign and
$500,000 in supplies to UNICEF for child health and nutrition programmes - is
being provided in response to an urgent appeal last month by UN
Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Following a mid-January mission to the DPRK by his
personal envoy, Maurice Strong, Annan warned of a major humanitarian crisis
unless donors responded expeditiously to the pressing food and medical needs of
the most vulnerable there.
"This very significant pledge by the Republic of
Korea will help ensure that 3.5 million hungry people, many of whom had
previously been cut from our distribution plans, receive cereal rations for up
to three months", said WFP Executive Director James Morris. (...)
http://www.unicef.org/newsline/2003/03pr19dok.htm
Border hospital receives UNFPA supplies to better
assist pregnant refugee women
Amman, Jordan, 26 March - The Al-Ruwaished Hospital,
in eastern Jordan, yesterday received a fresh shipment of emergency medical
equipment, supplies and medications that would further prepare it to treat
people displaced as a result of the Iraqi conflict. The new supplies, delivered
by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, are particularly intended to
boost the hospital’s ability to assist pregnant women and to save the lives of mothers and
their babies.
The government-run hospital at Al-Ruwaished—the closest to the Jordan-Iraq border—has been designated as the referral facility for
persons in need of immediate medical attention. The new UNFPA supplies are
intended to help the hospital undertake this role, if needed. To date, there
has been no influx of Iraqi refugees into Jordan. (...)
http://www.unfpa.org/news/2003/pressroom/iraq02.htm
ADRA prepares response to Iraq crisis
Silver Spring, MD, USA, March 26 - In the face of the
looming humanitarian crisis in Iraq and neighboring countries, the Adventist
Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) will begin its response by providing
10,000 refugees with emergency hygiene kits. Each hygiene kit will provide
soap, detergent, towels, and other sanitary items.
“ADRA has always played a major role in conflict areas
and we will be involved in Iraq as the security situation improves,” said Byron Scheuneman, vice-President of ADRA International.
“Historically,
ADRA’s response has
included immediate shelter and housing reconstruction, water and sanitation,
health care and healthcare reconstruction, basic education and education
reconstruction, and food distribution. If such needs exist in Iraq, ADRA will
respond accordingly,” Scheuneman continued.
ADRA has established the “Iraq Regional Crisis Fund,” donations are invited.
The World Food Program estimates that about 13 million
people in Iraq, or 60 percent of the population, are completely dependent on
handouts. Eventually, the entire population of Iraq, or 27 million people, may
need food for approximately six-months, according to the World Food Program.
http://www.adra.org/ADRANews/032603.html
ICRC and
Egyptian Red Crescent assist Palestinians
March 25 - Early last
year, as part of their ongoing cooperation, the ICRC delegation in Cairo and
the Egyptian Red Crescent Society equipped a first-aid centre affiliated with
the National Society in Rafah, on the Egyptian-Israeli border, with furniture
and basic medical supplies.
The centre, staffed by a doctor and a nurse from the
Egyptian Red Crescent, is currently providing medical care, shelter, food and
water for Palestinians awaiting permission to enter the Palestinian
territories, a process that can take many days.
Bernard Pfefferlé, head of the ICRC delegation in
Cairo, said that the ICRC had financed the purchase by the National Society of
tents, blankets, mattresses, hygiene articles, dry food and kitchen utensils to
boost the centre's ability to meet any humanitarian needs that might arise. He
added that this had enabled the ICRC and the National Society to assist pilgrims
returning from Mecca last month at the rate of 500 persons a day for 15 days.
The Rafah municipal council supports the centre by bringing in drinking water.
Knightsbridge International
addresses the humanitarian crisis in Iraq
West Hills, California, USA,
20 March - (...) Knightsbridge International, Inc. (KBI) must respond to this
crisis immediately. We are currently making arrangements for a small team to
personally escort urgently needed medical supplies and food into northern Iraq.
We have secured a commitment from suppliers in the Netherlands for nearly $10
million dollars worth of World Health Organization recommended medicines. This
represents enough medicine to treat an estimated 100,000 people for up to one
year. This mission can be safely completed for less than $700,000.00 total,
which would include all direct logistical and mission related costs.
The KBI team expects to be in Iraq for between
30 and 45 days on this first phase of what will no doubt be an ongoing project.
Because of their years of liaising with US Military Civil Affairs teams around
the world during prior missions, they expect to be able to proceed with a
minimum of interference and an unusual level of access, support and cooperation.
(...)
On the streets of São Paulo,
Brazil, thousands of homeless orphans live a life of prostitution, drug addiction,
and violent crime. But an innovative residential and vocational program,
developed by Hope Unlimited Inc. and supported by The Rotary Foundation, the
Rotary Club of Campinas-Alvorada, Brazil, and Rotary clubs in the United
States, has given some of these children hope for the future.
Two local schools now provide academic and vocational training, medical care, and counseling services free of charge. Students that fulfill program requirements are guaranteed a job and a home for the first six months after graduation. Because of the program's success rate, many graduates decide to volunteer with the program to help other kids get off the street.
For more information, contact
Hope Unlimited at www.hopeunlimited.org
Annan meets with Arab countries for talks on situation
in Iraq
1st April 2003, Nejib Friji, UN Spokesman
Secretary-General Kofi Annan
yesterday met with Arab countries to brief them and to hear their views about
the situation in Iraq before starting a series of meetings this week with the
regional groupings of UN Member States.
Speaking to reporters after
the meeting, the Secretary-General said the Arab Group - which is not one of
the five regional groups - were concerned about the situation on the ground, as
well as the Iraqi population and the civilian casualties. "They are also
anxious that assistance should get to the cities and to the people as soon as
possible," he added. "But of course they are worried as to how all
this is going to turn out, which nobody really knows."
As for the UN's Oil-for-Food
Programme, which the Security Council voted last Friday to restart, giving the Secretary-General
more authority to administer the operation, Mr. Annan said he thought the UN
was taking steps to be able to get food to those in need. Some 60 per cent of
the Iraqi population depends solely on the programme for their daily rations.
"We would expect the
belligerents, we would expect the Government of Iraq and the coalition forces
to give us humanitarian access and help us create humanitarian space for us to
do our work and get assistance to the needy," he said.
Mr. Annan is expected to begin his broad consultations with the five
regional groups tomorrow.
(Source: UNIC Rome)
Statement on consequences of the Iraq conflict and
response by the ILO
28 March - Geneva (ILO News) - The Director-General of
the International Labour Office (ILO), Juan Somavia, and the Officers of the
286th session of the ILO Governing Body, issued the following statement regarding the
consequences of the Iraq conflict:
War has broken out in Iraq despite the dedicated
efforts to reach decisions to solve the problem through peaceful means. History
has taught us that wars have far-reaching ramifications that affect people's
lives, going beyond those directly involved in the conflict. The loss of lives
on all sides will represent a tragedy for families everywhere and disruption of
economic activities in the region will jeopardize the sources of income for
millions of workers. (...)
In response, the ILO is taking a number of emergency
measures as part of a UN-wide initiative on Iraq designed to address immediate
needs, through an action plan to protect displaced workers, assess the needs of
the job market after the conflict, and launch a number of reconstruction
projects designed to create jobs and ensure adequate social protection for
vulnerable groups.
The ILO is ready to participate with the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Office of the High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) in the proposed programme for rebuilding Iraq. (...)
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/2003/14.htm
Conductor Valery Gergiev named UNESCO Artist for Peace
March 27 - Paris – World renowned conductor Valery Gergiev,
Director of St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theatre, is to be named UNESCO Artist for
Peace through Dialogue Between Cultures and Civilizations by Director-General
Koïchiro Matsuura. The nomination ceremony will be held at UNESCO Headquarters
on the occasion of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania Days which will be
celebrated at UNESCO on March 31 and April 1 in the presence of Alexander
Dzasokhov, President of the Caucasian republic, which is part of the Russian
Federation.
Mr Gergiev, who was born in 1953 in Moscow
to Ossetian parents, will be honoured for his support of UNESCO’s ideals, his commitment to safeguarding
peace and cultural identities and for his exceptional contribution to the
preservation of opera and classical dance. He will receive his diploma on March
31, after the opening of a photo exhibition “North Ossetia-Alania Today” which will take place at 5.30 p.m. (...)
http://portal.unesco.org/ev.php?URL_ID=10844&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201&reload=1049130674
From farm to table: a global approach to food safety
Linking the food chain
Rome, 31 March -- Food safety is a
global issue which demands an integrated, global response. But the answer to
tackling the issue of food-borne hazards which know no geographical boundaries
lies very close to home - in the farms, fields, orchards and rivers, large or
small - where our food has its source.
FAO is advocating a new approach to
ensuring that the food we eat is free from food-borne hazards - everything from
pesticides and industrial chemicals, through to unwanted bacteria and
contaminants - the "Food Chain Approach".
The system, to be discussed during a
week-long high-level Committee on Agriculture meeting (31 March - 4 April
2003), urges prevention as well as cure.
The key is to strengthen each and every
link in the complex process of food reaching the consumer - from the way it is
grown or raised, to how it is collected, processed, packaged, sold and
consumed. (...)
http://www.fao.org/english/newsroom/news/2003/15903-en.html
Japanese government supports opium eradication, alternative
development in Myanmar
Vienna, 31 March -- The Government of Japan has
decided to provide $1.2 million in assistance to the Drug Control and
Development Project in the Wa Region of the Shan State in Myanmar. The goal of
the project -- to be implemented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC) -- is to support the opium poppy eradication effort in that
opium-producing region. Planned activities include training in construction of
an irrigation system, building communities' capacity to manage and monitor the
system, developing flat paddy fields, and introducing double cropping of rice.
The project is expected to contribute to increasing
the food security of opium farmers, improving their living standard, and
eventually eradicating opium poppy cultivation.
UNODC alternative development projects have already
contributed to a substantial reduction of areas under opium poppy cultivation
in Myanmar. According to the UNODC 2002 Annual Opium Poppy Survey, with an
estimated production of 828 tons in 2002 -- although 25% less than the previous
year -- Myanmar is the second largest producer of opium in the world. The first
is Afghanistan with an estimated 3,400 tons in 2002 and the distant third is
the Lao PDR. (...)
http://www.undcp.org/odccp/press_release_2003-03-31_1.html
WHO reports 10 million TB patients successfully
treated under “DOTS” 10 years after declaring TB a Gobal Emergency
But urgent effort and funding still needed to stem the
double burden of TB and HIV in sub-Saharan Africa
Geneva, 24 March -- On the occasion of World TB Day, 24 March 2003, the
World Health Organization (WHO) has announced the achievement of a significant
milestone in global efforts to fight the resurgent epidemic of tuberculosis.
Over 10 million tuberculosis (TB) patients have now been successfully treated
under DOTS, the internationally recommended TB control strategy. Of these, more
than 90% live in developing countries where the disease causes the most
suffering, economic loss and death. (...)
According to the WHO Global Tuberculosis Control
Report for 2003, released today, growth in the global incidence rate of TB has
slowed to 0.4% per year. The number of countries that have adopted the DOTS
strategy has grown to 155 (of 192 WHO Member States), and more than 60% of the
world's population now has access to DOTS services. China and India, which
together account for nearly 40% of all TB cases, have made remarkable progress
in quickly expanding population coverage while maintaining high cure rates.
However, the WHO report found the TB epidemic is still
growing unabated in sub-Saharan Africa where it is closely linked to HIV/AIDS
and poverty and in many of the Newly Independent States arising after the
break-up of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, where it is exacerbated by
poverty and social disruption. (...) Reversing the growing burden of major
communicable diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB are among the
Millennium Development Goals adopted unanimously in 2000 by all members of the
United Nations.
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/releases/2003/pr25/en/
Young japanese contribute to counter-narcotics efforts
Vienna, 20 March -- Young Civic Ambassadors, a group
of six Japanese teenagers representing the Tokyo-based Drug Abuse Prevention
Centre (DAPC), visited the headquarters of the United Nations Office on Drugs
and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna today. They presented clear evidence of their
support for global counter-narcotics efforts through their latest contribution
of US$170,000 towards the international fight against illicit drugs. Since 1994
DAPC is running a nationwide fund-raising campaign in Japanese cities,
collecting money in the streets, as well as from the private sector and civil
society at large, and each year from six to eight of the most effective
participants come to Vienna as designated ambassadors to present their
contribution to UNODC. Their activities contribute to increasing awareness
among Japanese youth of the dangers of drug abuse.
"Over the past decade, the DAPC has raised more
than US$ 3.5 million in support of our work, which makes them equal to some
major donor countries in terms of contribution," Antonio Maria Costa, the
Executive Director of UNODC, said in a meeting with the young ambassadors
today.
Their contribution to UNODC is used for grants,
ranging from $5,000 to $20,000, supporting non-governmental organizations in
developing countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and
Eastern Europe in their grass-root activities in drugs abuse prevention. So
far, more than 300 grants have been given to such organizations in over 90
countries.
DAPC plans to continue this fund-rising campaign until
2008, in support of the goals set by the 1998 UN General Assembly Special
Session on the world drug problem. (...)
http://www.undcp.org/odccp/press_release_2003-03-20_1.html
(top)
Community meetings in South Lebanon to discuss
internet access
ESCWA Assistance for South Lebanon is carrying out a
study to assess the state of Internet access in south Lebanon and propose solutions.
As part of the study, two meetings were arranged in
Marjeyoun and Kfar Kila on 18 and 21 March 2003 with the local community. The
meetings were attended by ESCWA’s study group and Mr. Dewachi, the Regional Adviser on Telecom and
Computer Networking.
Participants in the two meetings shared views on how
the Internet could best bridge the digital divide in disadvantaged communities
through its introduction in schools, education, employment, business,
electronic mail and networking with the rest of the world. A survey, that was
conducted by the study group for the present state of Internet access in south
Lebanon, was also discussed.
Participants voiced their concern about the present
affordability of the basic components necessary to provide Internet access,
such as the PC and the connection cost. Such cost is considered prohibitive to
the average family in south Lebanon. Cost-effective options for connectivity
and the various technical solutions for short, medium and long term Internet
access were considered, and many suggestions for overcoming obstacles were
presented. Some of the recommendations will be taken into account and will be
incorporated in the study that will be finalized during April 2003.
http://www.escwa.org.lb/about/pptc/south/main/new/27march03.html
WRI Welcomes Six Portuguese NGOs into The Access
Initiative
Fundação
Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento (FLAD) Lisbon, Portugal - April 2
Six Portuguese NGOs will join WRI’s The Access Initiative (TAI) and begin to assess
environmental decision-making in Portugal. They will be welcomed at a meeting of TAI members co-sponsored by the World
Resources Institute and Fundação Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento in
Lisbon, Portugal. The six Portuguese NGOs (GEOTA, INDE, IMVF, LPN,
OIKOS, and Quercus) will be welcomed into The Access Initiative (TAI), an
international network of civil society groups committed to ensuring citizens
have a voice in the decisions that affect their environment and lives. These
NGOs join 24 other like-minded groups representing Chile, Hungary, India,
Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, Uganda, and the United States.
Using TAI guidelines, they will undertake a
comprehensive national assessment of environmental decision-making in Portugal.
The assessment will provide a roadmap for improvement and support strategies by
NGOs, government agencies, and businesses to implement practical solutions that
improve public access to information, participation and justice in policy
decisions that affect the environment in Portugal.
The World Resources Institute (http://www.wri.org/) is an environmental think tank that goes beyond research to create
practical ways to protect the Earth and improve people's lives.
http://newsroom.wri.org/advisory_text.cfm?MediaAdvisoryID=61
10 Nations Gather in Lisbon for Inaugural Meeting of
the Partnership for Principle 10
Fundação
Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento (FLAD) Lisbon, Portugal - April 3-5, 2003
The World Resources Institute (WRI) and Fundação
Luso-Americana para o Desenvolvimento co-sponsor the first working meeting of
the Partnership for Principle 10 in Lisbon.
This inaugural meeting will bring together
representatives from governments and national NGOs representing 10 nations as
well as five international bodies to discuss implementation of international
agreements to transparent, inclusive, and accountable decision-making at the
national level.
The Partnership for Principle 10 (PP10)
is a cooperation of governments, international bodies, and NGOs founded at the
United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) and committed to
implementing practical solutions that improve public access to information,
participation, and justice in policy decisions that affect the environment.
More than a decade ago, Principle 10 of the Rio
Declaration articulated public access to information, participation in
decision-making, and access to justice as key principles of environmental
governance.
In Lisbon, PP10 will layout a road map for
implementation of Principle 10 including systems for holding governments
accountable to commitments made during the recent WSSD and ways NGOs can work
with governments to ensure best practices are used in doing so.
http://newsroom.wri.org/advisory_text.cfm?MediaAdvisoryID=62
UN-HABITAT
Governing Council meeting: Nairobi, Kenya, May 5 - 9
The 19th session of the Governing Council of the
United Nations Human Settlements Programme, (UN-HABITAT) will be held from 5 to
9 May 2003. The meeting will take place at UN-HABITAT headquarters in Nairobi,
Kenya. Among the key issues to be
discussed are:
UN-HABITAT's work
programme for the biennium 2004-2005 and the proposed budget for the United
Nations Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation for the same biennium
Follow-up to the 25th
special session of the General Assembly to get an overall review and appraisal
of the implementation of the Habitat Agenda (Istanbul +5), including the Rules
of Procedure UN-HABITAT's Governing Council
Two special themes, on:
- Urban development strategies and shelter strategies
favouring the poor;
- The rural dimension of sustainable urban
development;
Report of the Executive
Director on the dialogues on effective decentralization and strengthening of
local authorities;
Cooperation between
UN-HABITAT and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), as well as
cooperation with other agencies and organizations within the United Nations
system, with intergovernmental organizations outside the United Nations system,
and with non-governmental organizations. (...)
http://www.unhabitat.org/governingbodies/default.asp
The Earth Charter: “A Quiet
Revolution” on the National Geographic satellite
“A Quiet Revolution” video, featuring Wangari Maathai, Earth Charter
Commissioner, and narrated by Meryl Streep, was broadcasted on the National
Geographic satellite channel in many countries on March 16. Another showing in
Europe in April will be scheduled. National Geographic will be translating the
script and dubbing it in the following languages: English, French, Spanish,
Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Polish, Hungarian, Danish, Swedish, Turkish,
Polish, Dutch, Norwegian, Hebrew, Greek, Romanian, Czech, Japanese, Korean,
Thai, Malay, Hindi, Tamil and Mandarin. More information on the complete list
of countries at the NEWS section of www.earthcharter.org
The new urban leaders: Joyce Ladner headlines
Citylinks, part of Curran Installation
Dayton, Ohio, 27 March -- People with a deep
commitment to social justice can work outside the system and transform the
lives of others. That's the message Joyce Ladner, author of The New Urban
Leaders, will bring to Dayton when she keynotes the University of Dayton's
annual CityLinks Neighborhood Conference in Kennedy Union on Friday, April 11.
About 200 neighborhood leaders are expected to attend the conference, which is
part of three days of events celebrating the installation of Daniel J. Curran
as UD's 18th president. (...)
It's fitting that Ladner, senior fellow of
governmental studies with the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., be
part of Curran's installation. She's currently working on ways to increase
civic engagement among young people.
A sociologist by training, Curran will talk about
civic engagement and social justice in his 3 p.m. installation address at the
Frericks Convocation Center. "A Catholic university must be a social force
for change," he said when he was appointed president in February 2002.
"As a community of educators, we must analyze the causes of social
injustice and educate professionals with a conscience." (...)
http://www.udayton.edu/news/nr/032703.html
UNESCO will present IPDC prize to two South American
community radios
March 25- Paris – Representatives of two South American
community radios – the Radio Huanacache network set up by the Maestro
Pablo Pizzuno School in Argentina and the Peruvian radio station Quispillaccta – will receive the IPDC-UNESCO Prize for
Rural Communication from Torben Krogh, Chairperson of the Intergovernmental
Council of the International Programme for the Development of Communication
(IPDC), on March 26 at UNESCO Headquarters (5 p.m.).
The award ceremony will be part of the
23rd session of the IPDC and will be attended by representatives of the Council’s 39 Member States. (...)
The $20,000 prize is awarded every two
years to a person, group of people or one or more institutions or organizations
for “their particularly meritorious and innovative actions
aimed at improving communication and facilitating the participation of rural
populations, especially in developing countries, in the economic, cultural and
social life of their countries.”
The Huanacache radio network was chosen
because it brings together a dozen schools and communities in the northeastern
Lavalle Desert of Argentina’s Mendoza province. (...)
The second project to receive a Prize is
that of Radio Quispillaccta which broadcasts in the Quechua language from the
town of Ayacucho (Peru) and aims to revive Andean farming and cultural
traditions. (...)
Since it was set up in 1980, the IPDC has
provided nearly $90 million to support about a thousand communication projects.
http://portal.unesco.org/ev.php?URL_ID=10733&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201&reload=1049130674
4th Global Action Week: 6 - 13 April 2003
The Global Action Week is one of several
events organised by the Global Campaign for Education with the intention of
mobilising public opinion to exert pressure on governments and
intergovernmental agencies to provide free, quality education for all.
On April 9, educators and community leaders in 180
countries will join forces for the world’s largest teach-in about girls’ education. The lesson will highlight the promises for
girls that are within international agreements and the role of governments
worldwide in making these promises a reality. EI and the Global Campaign for Education have organised the teach-in on girls’ education to raise international awareness among
every-day people and international leaders.
Global Campaign for Education is an alliance that
represents organisations active in 180 countries, including Education International,
Oxfam International, Action Aid, the Global March Against Child Labour, and
dozens of regional and national NGO coalitions in developing countries.
Education International is a world-wide trade union
organisation of education personnel, whose 26 million members represent all
sectors of education from pre-school to university 310 national
trade unions and associations in 159 countries and territories.
http://www.campaignforeducation.org
http://www.ei-ie.org/main/english/index.html
IAEWP 13th
World Congress - 16-17-18 May, Lago
Maggiore, Italy
The International
Association of Educators for World Peace (IAEWP) is a non-for-profit,
non-political, non-racial, and a non-governmental organization geared towards
the attainment of world peace through education. IAEWP has more than 100
chapters established throughout the world.
The themes that
will be discussed at the IAEWP World Congress include: Education: Hope for
Future Generations - Education: Towards
a Culture of Peace - Culture and Spirituality - Peace Education Through Art -
From Spiritual Education to Environmental Education and Care - Bio-Ethics and
Mental Health: a bridge to the future - Solutions to Drug Abuse. Also, a
parallel presentation of the activities of different national charters of IAEWP
(Switzerland, Great Britain, Nepal, Germany, France, Japan, Egypt, Cuba,
Philippines, Brazil, Panama, Mozambique, Australia, Korea, Russia, Italy,
Canada, etc.)
The Reading & Signing of the Manifesto "Peace Education: the Best Investment for Future Generations" will conclude the congress.
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Culturale dei Triangoli e della Buona Volontà Mondiale, a registered
non-profit educational organization chartered in Italy in 1979. The Association
operates for the development of consciousness and supports the activities of
the Lucis Trust, the Club of Budapest, the Earth Charter, Radio For Peace
International and other organizations promoting a culture of peace in the
‘global village’ perspective based on unity within diversity and on sharing. Via Antagora 10, 00124 Rome, Italy. E-mail: s.tripi@tiscalinet.it
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