Good News Agency – Year VI, n° 15
Weekly - Year VI, number 15 – 9
December 2005
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 3,700 media in 48 countries, as
well as to 2,800 NGO and service associations.
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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
An Outstanding
Story: UNESCO Chair at
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
The
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe adopts its reform
Geneva, 2 December - On 2
December 2005, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
adopted formally a bold reform that innovates its governance structure,
redefines priorities and improves cost-effectiveness and transparency. The
UNECE reform process was initiated along the line drawn by Secretary-General
Kofi Annan namely that “if the United Nations is to be a useful instrument
for its Member States and for the world’s people … it must be fully adapted to
the needs and circumstances of the twenty-first century.” The reform has been
pursued by UNECE member countries in the spirit of the broader UN-wide reform
effort that is now under way. (…) After six months of intense consultations and
negotiations under the leadership of Ambassador Roux and Michele Coduri
(Switzerland), Chairman of the Group of Experts, Member States agreed on a
renewed mission statement, governance structure and set of priorities for the
UNECE as well as a change in the structure of its secretariat aimed at more
efficiency and accountability. (…) A new programme is being launched to address
the specific development problems of countries with economies in transition and
emerging market economies. This programme will focus on such issues as
promoting effective public investment and regulatory policies; strengthening
the competitiveness of the economy through innovative development; the
development of public-private partnerships, financial services and the
promotion of the rule of law and effective public policies. (…)
Sweden
first State to ratify Convention Against Doping in Sport
25 November - Sweden has become
the first country to ratify the International Convention Against Doping in
Sport. This Convention, adopted unanimously by UNESCO’s General Conference last
October, is the only legally binding universal instrument aimed at eradicating
doping in sport. UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura welcomed Sweden’s
rapid response to the new Convention, which will come into force one month
after 30 countries have ratified it. Mr Matsuura called on other States to
follow suit. (…)
The Convention provides governments
with a legal framework to harmonize international efforts in the fight against
a scourge that flouts the ethical and social values of sport and threatens the
health of athletes. However, the new instrument goes beyond testing and
sanctions. It calls upon States Parties to “undertake, within their means, to
support, devise or implement education and training programs on anti-doping” in
order to raise public awareness of the negative effects of doping on health and
on the ethical values of sport, as well as provide information on the rights
and responsibilities of athletes and on testing procedures. Signatories will
also promote “active participation by athletes and athlete support personnel in
all facets of anti-doping”. (…)
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=30980&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
More
than 20,000 people reached by successful advocacy campaign on a
gender-sensitive electoral law in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Campaign
urges equal access of women and men to electoral mandates and electoral offices
Kinshasa, 25 November — A
two-week advocacy campaign to promote equal access of women and men to
electoral mandates and electoral offices concluded last week in Kinshasa, the
capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The campaign was organized two
months before an upcoming parliamentary debate on a draft electoral law that
will guide the holding of elections and a national referendum on the
Constitution. It targeted government officials, leaders of political parties,
private and public institutions and civil society networks to call for an
electoral law and constitution that would be gender-sensitive and that would
provide equal opportunities for men and women to claim their civic rights and
participate in their country's development.
Activities during the campaign
focused on raising awareness and stimulating debate on the need for an
electoral law and constitution that take into account the rights of both men
and women. The campaign employed a mix of media, through which more than 20,000
people were reached, using 20 radio and television channels, 25 newspapers, and
a petition entitled "2,500 reasons to vote for a proportional electoral
system with closed and alternate electoral lists."
The campaign was organized by
different women's networks and organizations, all working together under a
"Coalition for Gender Equality" and supported by the United Nations
Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), in partnership with the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP), MONUC, the Independent Electoral Commission, and
the Ministry of Women and Family Affairs.
http://www.unifem.org/news_events/story_detail.php?StoryID=370
2 December - A conference was
held in Addis Ababa last week to discuss how women combatants can help promote
humanitarian and human rights norms. At the invitation of the organization
Geneva Call and the Program for the Study of International Organizations at
Geneva's Graduate Institute of International Studies, 40 women currently or
recently involved in armed opposition groups from a dozen sub-Saharan African
countries exchanged views on their experiences.
The first such conference was
held in August 2004 in Geneva, bringing together women involved in armed
opposition groups from 18 war-torn countries around the globe. This regional
follow-up was then organized as a means of further engaging with armed
opposition groups on issues central to respect for humanitarian rules and human
rights.
Two members of the ICRC took
part as facilitators in last week's conference. For some years now the ICRC has
been endeavouring to gain a better insight into the many ways in which women
experience war as either victims or participants. The organization attaches
great importance to discussing this issue as a means of promoting compliance
with humanitarian law. (…)
Tsunami
anniversary marks a year of emergencies for children
New York, December – Issuing a
one-year update on its recovery efforts in countries affected by the Indian
Ocean tsunami, UNICEF says 2005 has been an unprecedented year of emergencies
for children, with an extraordinary series of natural disasters, food crises,
and conflicts tearing at the fabric of life for tens of millions of people.
From the dozen countries struck by the tsunami to the conflict zone of Darfur;
from nutrition emergencies in Niger and Malawi to crop failures in Ethiopia and
Eritrea; and from the devastating Atlantic hurricane season to the epic
Pakistan earthquake, UNICEF says it had not responded to such an array of
humanitarian emergencies in a single year in recent memory. In Building Back Better, a one-year update
on its continuing effort to help rebuild children’s lives in the tsunami zone,
UNICEF says that while millions of people have been kept healthy and children
are largely back in school, the real process of rebuilding is just beginning.
(…) Despite progress, however, UNICEF says a long road remained ahead for the
victims of the tsunami. UNICEF says it will continue its work in the
tsunami zone and all the other humanitarian emergency locales as long as it has
funding.
http://www.unicef.org/emerg/disasterinasia/24615_30161.html
http://www.unifem.org/news_events/story_detail.php?StoryID=374
CERN
and UNHCR webcast to focus on Einstein the refugee, as well as on E=mc2
Geneva, November 30 (UNHCR) –
There is a famous photograph of Albert Einstein writing an equation on a
blackboard. But a rather less well-known fact about the world's most famous
scientist and Nobel prize-winner was that he saw a different sort of writing on
the wall in the early 1930s, which caused him to leave Germany and become a
refugee in the United States.
On 1 December, the European
Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) is organizing a special webcast on
Einstein and his Theory of Relativity as part of the World Year of Physics,
involving partners from all over the world, including museums, schools,
scientific laboratories, UNHCR and the general public. The webcast, which is
scheduled to last for a mammoth 12 hours – which may be a world record for a
webcast – will contain a 40-minute slot devoted to Einstein as a refugee. This
session, entitled "Refugees have a lot to give. Einstein was a
refugee," will include a video address by UN High Commissioner for
Refugees António Guterres focusing on the positive contributions refugees can
make to societies which give them a new home.(...) Testimonials from
former DAFI beneficiaries will include a physics professor from Ghana and a
Liberian refugee who gained a physics degree with the help of a DAFI
scholarship. There will also be a short Question and Answer session, in which
the general public can participate. UNHCR staff will also be manning a stand at
the Globe of Science and Innovation, providing information to the many students
and other visitors present during the 12-hour marathon event.
http://www.unhcr.ch/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/news/opendoc.htm?tbl=NEWS&id=438d6e1d4
UNICEF
and Al-Azhar University present new manual designed to underscore importance of
children in Islam
The
Grand Sheik of Al-Azhar and UNICEF Deputy Executive Director say the new global
context demands resource devoted to the central value of children in Islam
Cairo, 29 November – UNICEF
and Al-Azhar University released today a new manual designed to underscore how
the care, protection and development of children is central to Islam. The
manual, Children in Islam, Their Care, Protection and Development, includes
research papers and extracts of Koranic verses, Hadiths and Sunnas that provide
useful guidance on children’s rights to such things as health, education and
protection. UNICEF and Al-Azhar University said they hope the manual will be
used widely to advance the well-being of children in Islamic countries and
communities. (…)
Despite some noteworthy
progress, a disproportionate number of the more than 600 million children
across the Islamic world face enormous challenges, from poverty and disease to
lack of education and protection. Meeting the needs and guaranteeing the
rights of these children – who account for more than a quarter of the world’s
2.3 billion children – are key to the success of overall efforts to combat
poverty, accelerate human development and build a more peaceful future.(…) The
new manual reflects the broader vision for children that has emerged since
Child Care in Islam was published over two decades ago. The Convention on the
Rights of the Child has now been ratified by every Islamic country except
Somalia and the world has come to recognize the broad spectrum of social,
economic, cultural and civil rights to which all children are entitled.
(…) http://www.unicef.org/media/media_30158.html
On 28 November, 22 traditional
leaders from the Gulu district of northern Uganda's conflict-ridden Acholi
region took part in a one-day seminar organized by the ICRC on its humanitarian
activities and on basic principles of international humanitarian law.
In keeping with its usual
practice at such seminars all over the world, the ICRC endeavoured to draw
connections between universal humanitarian principles and familiar precepts of
local culture, customs and traditions – in this case, those of the Acholi. The
event concluded with a lively discussion of the ICRC’s mandate in armed
conflict, the principles of neutrality and independence, and the inhibiting
effect violence can have on humanitarian relief work.
Twenty-four
groups receive grants to end violence against women
United
Nations Trust Fund Grants Awarded to Initiatives in 30 Countries
United Nations, New York 22
November - The United Nations Trust Fund to Eliminate Violence against Women
will grant US$1.8 million to 24 groups in developing
countries who are working to end gender-based violence in their communities.
The announcement was made on the occasion of International Day for the
Elimination of Violence Against Women which falls on November 25th each year.
The Trust Fund is a unique multi-lateral mechanism established by the UN
General Assembly in 1996 and administered by UNIFEM. Grants are awarded by a
committee comprised of representatives of UN agencies and international NGOs.
Grants this year went to initiatives that focused on ensuring that national
policies and laws to end violence against women were being implemented.(…)
Since its establishment, the Trust Fund has granted more than US$10 million to
198 initiatives in 100 countries. Demand continues to outstrip supply. In 2005,
UNIFEM received 1,059 proposals amounting to tens of millions of dollars in
requests, but only had US$1.8 million to give out. The latter does represent an
80 per cent increase from the previous year, however, with contributions coming
from a diverse group of governments, nongovernmental organizations, the private
sector, and individuals. Among the governments giving for the first time is the
United States. It joins a government roster that includes Finland, Japan,
Trinidad and Tobago, Iceland, and Denmark, which supported the Trust Fund
in 2004.(…)
http://www.unifem.org/news_events/story_detail.php?StoryID=370
New
US$14.2 million and US$2.4 million loans to help Sri Lanka recover from the
tsunami
Rome, 1 December - Poor rural
families and fishers whose homes and livelihoods were destroyed by the tsunami
will benefit from two new development programmes in Sri Lanka.
The US$33.5 million Post-Tsunami Coastal Rehabilitation and Resource Management
Programme will be financed partly by an initial US$14.2 million loan from the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). IFAD will help mobilize
an extra US$14.2 million from other sources or from its own 2006 lending
programme. An additional US$1.5 million grant is expected from the Italian
government. The government of Sri Lanka will contribute US$3.4 million, while
the project participants will contribute an additional US$212,000 in kind.
A second US$4.7 million
initiative, the Post-Tsunami Livelihoods and Support and Partnership Programme,
will be financed partly by a US$2.35 million loan from IFAD. IFAD is committed
to help mobilize the remaining US$2.35 million from other sources, or from its
own 2006 lending programme. Today, the two loan agreements totalling US$16.55
million were signed by the IFAD President, Lennart Båge, and the Sri Lankan
Ambassador to Italy, Rodney Perera, at IFAD headquarters in Rome.(…) At least
140,000 households will benefit from the two IFAD supported programmes in
Kalutara, Galle, Matara, Hambantota, Ampara, Batticaloa and Trincomalle, the
seven tsunami- affected districts. (…) The three-year Post-Tsunami Livelihoods
and Support and Partnership Programme will focus on rapid rehabilitation and
development of rural infrastructure and housing in the seven districts. It will
directly benefit about 22,000 people by building or repairing 2,000 houses and
helping rehabilitate or develop social infrastructure, including community
centres and local clinics, drinking water supply schemes, drainage facilities,
feeder roads, and access roads for settlement areas.
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2005/44.htm
Gaza, 30 November - EU
Commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, Louis Michel, has today
signed in Gaza a financing agreement worth EUR 14 million for the UNRWA’s
coordinated food security programme. (…) On signing the agreement, Commissioner
Michel pointed out that for more than 30 years the European Union had been
supporting the activities of UNRWA, which works in difficult conditions to meet
the most urgent humanitarian needs. “In signing this agreement I want to
reaffirm the European Commission’s solidarity with the civilian victims of the
fighting,” he said.
EU solidarity with the
Palestinian refugees takes tangible shape in a substantial financial
contribution to the activities of the UN agency, to which the European
Commission is the chief donor. In 2005 alone, the Commission mobilised
humanitarian aid totalling nearly EUR 37 million to help meet the needs of the
four million Palestinian refugees in the West Bank and Gaza, and in Jordan,
Syria and Lebanon. This aid has helped finance emergency humanitarian aid,
temporary jobs, psychological support for children, housing aid for victims of
demolitions and rehabilitation of shelters in refugee camps. 20% of this EUR 37
million for humanitarian aid operations in the Middle East will go on UNRWA
operations in Gaza and the West Bank, besides helping Palestinian refugees in
Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. More information at :
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/echo/field/gaza/index_en.htm
Bangkok, 30
November - (United Nations
Information Services) - Countries in the Asia-Pacific region finalized a draft
Intergovernmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway Network today at UNESCAP
headquarters in Bangkok. The Agreement was finalized at the conclusion of an
Intergovernmental Meeting organized by UNESCAP from 28-30 November 2005. The Agreement is the outcome of three days of
constructive discussions among transport officials from across the region who
agreed that it could play a catalytic role in the construction and upgrading of
railway lines in Asia. The Trans-Asian Railway Network constitutes a major step
towards the identification of an integrated, international, intermodal network
in the region. A similar agreement for the Asian Highway Network came into
force in July 2005.(…) In close
collaboration with concerned countries, UNESCAP’s Transport and Tourism
Division has already started operationalizing the TAR network. Four
demonstration runs of container block-trains have been successfully implemented
along key segments of the TAR Northern Corridor between November 2003 and July
2004. Through these demonstration runs, the railways concerned have gained
greater awareness of international trade patterns arising from globalization,
and exercised new skills effectively to respond to the industry requirements
for efficient transport and logistics services.
http://www.unescap.org/unis/press/2005/nov/g29.asp
International
commodity policy challenges: cotton
New York, 22 November - Cotton
is a challenging sector. Producers of cotton include the richest and the
poorest countries in the world. In many African countries, particularly Benin,
Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali, cotton production contributes 5% to 8% of gross domestic
product (GDP) and 40% of export earnings. Cotton producers in developing
countries face a number of problems, including: low and fluctuating prices for
their products, difficulties in getting their products onto the international
market, low productivity and poor competitiveness, poor access to technology
and finance, weak research and extension services (technical support to
farmers)
Meanwhile, in 2004, in
developed countries, government support to the cotton sector totalled US$4.7
billion, or approximately one sixth of the farm value of production. These
imbalances were addressed in a recent panel discussion organized by the
Permanent Mission of Benin to the United Nations in New York and UNCTAD. (…)
The panel also discussed other problems affecting commodity-dependent countries
in general: dependence on a few low-value export products; inadequate
participation in international value chains; market access and market entry
difficulties arising from protectionist policies, subsidies, non-tariff barriers,
uncompetitive market structures and stringent market requirements.
http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Page.asp?intItemID=3606&lang=1
Ifold Onlus and the
"Regional Agency for Labour Policies" of the Region of Sardinia
started a new project to enhance women entrepreneurship: A network for gender
economies in the Province of Cagliari. Financed with funds from the
Programme-Goal 2003 of the national act 125/91 "Positive Actions for
Gender Equality", the project is
aimed at promoting a cultural change in the society through the creation and
testing of a new culture of network in business services for women
entrepreneurs, involving in the first place the associations of employers,
which until now have been supplying different services for women entrepreneurs
but without a specific gender perspective. The main purpose of the project
"Donne di credito" (Creditable women) is to build up a "provincial
network of gender economies" in order to experiment and disseminate a new
service's system to help and advise women entrepreneurs with special regard to
the financing issues.
Colombo, Sri Lanka, 5 December
- A primary school destroyed in the Tsunami will reopen as a completely rebuilt
model school at a ceremony next week. The Randombe Junior School, located in
Ambalangoda, in the Galle District, will be officially dedicated on 8 December
at 9:45 a.m. The dedication is the first of planned 25 schools being rebuilt by
the Rotary clubs of Sri Lanka. The Tsunami completely destroyed 92 schools and
damaged a further 90 others leaving a total of 85,000 students and 3,400
teachers without schools after the disaster. (…)
Randombe Junior School, a
primary and secondary school with 18 teachers and 264 students, will open for
classes when the school year starts in January. The schools are being built to
meet government standards, and have been upgraded to provide all modern
facilities including well-equipped libraries, state-of-the-art computer centres,
gymnasiums and science laboratories.
Rotary Sri Lanka was one of
the first organizations that offered to participate in a massive school
rebuilding effort set forth by the Sri Lanka Ministry of Education. Twenty-five
schools across the country were assigned to Rotary for rebuilding. Funding for
the estimated US$12 million project has been provided by Rotary clubs around
the world and The Rotary Foundation, with a major contribution from
StandardChartered Bank. The pledges received up to date exceed US$10 million.
The project is also supported by Microsoft who have provided the software for
the Computer Centres and who will also handle the curriculum for the next three
years. (…)
A second model school, Al-Aqsa
Vidyalaya is expected to be completed in early December. This primary and
secondary grade school located in Pottuvil in Eastern Sri Lanka serves 504
students. Work on several other schools is also progressing on schedule and
many are expected to be completed in time for the new school year.
Founded in 1905 in Chicago,
Rotary is a volunteer service organization with a worldwide membership of 1.2
million businesspeople and professionals who belong to 33,000 clubs in nearly
170 countries.
http://www.rotary.org/newsroom/presscenter/releases/2005/250.html
Vatican City, 2 December -
With temperatures dropping and snow falling, Caritas is moving quickly to
provide tents, plastic sheeting, blankets, and other essential items, including
kitchen utensils and hygiene kits, to survivors of the 7.6 magnitude earthquake
that struck Pakistan nearly two months ago.
The powerful quake claimed
tens of thousands of lives in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and
Pakistani-administered Kashmir, and left scores displaced and injured. It is
estimated that more than 3.5 million people have been affected. The exact death
toll has not been determined. However, Tariq Raza, emergency coordinator for
Caritas Pakistan’s field office in Mansehra, believes that all of the affected
communities have now been identified.
Caritas Mansehra’s assessment
work began in Balakot, a town in the NWFP that had been flattened by the quake.
Balakot was also the last point accessible by road. With numerous NGOs already
working there, Caritas Mansehra focused on getting relief to more remote
communities.
Caritas Mansehra reports that
many of the displaced have come down from their mountaintop villages – often
walking for hours – in search of shelter and food. Tent cities have sprung up
in towns like Balakot and Mansehra. However, other survivors have been
reluctant to leave behind their damaged houses or livestock, the source of
their livelihood.
It is reported that
150,000-200,000 people are still living in difficult-to-reach areas. (…)
http://www.caritas.org/jumpNews.asp?idLang=ENG&idChannel=35&idUser=0&idNews=3791
Save the Children receives $60 million
grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to save newborn lives
globally
Westport, CT, USA, December 1
– Save the Children today announced it has received a $60 million, six-year
grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help prevent newborn
illness and death in 18 countries in Asia and Africa and to build on the
achievements of the Saving Newborn Lives global initiative launched five years
ago. (…) Through this new grant, Save the Children will focus on ways to
identify and promote the large-scale adoption of proven, low-cost tools and
approaches that address the three main killers of 1-week-old babies –
infections, lack of oxygen supply to a baby during delivery and at birth, and
low birth weight. (…)
The Saving Newborn Lives
initiative, started with a $50.5 million Gates Foundation grant in 2000, has
already reached more than 20 million mothers and babies with essential health
services. The initiative helps ensure access to services such as skilled
midwife care; prompt treatment of newborn infections; tetanus vaccines for
pregnant women; and education about the importance of proper hygiene, warmth,
and breastfeeding for infants. (…)
http://www.savethechildren.org/
Diners
urged to share their desserts with the hungry
London, 29 November
- WFP has joined forces with a leading advertising agency to build public
empathy in Europe for the more than 850 million people who still go hungry,
despite a clear abundance of food worldwide and a growing epidemic of obesity. Working with the London office
of Leagas Delaney, WFP has helped to produce three unique commercials that
bring home the reality of hunger. The first commercial to appear on television, “Donate
a dessert”, will encourage viewers to think about hunger when they eat out. In a moving collage of voices,
African adults and children ask for a sophisticated dessert they might find at
an expensive restaurant. The viewer is asked to donate the cost of a dessert to
WFP, which could feed someone in the developing world for a month for the same
price. Click here to view the
commercial. The second concept is based on real stories of how
people in Africa cope with hunger and a lack of food. The film shows a woman
collecting stones which she then boils in a pan in front of her children until
they fall asleep. Before it was brought to life on film by
Leagas Delaney, this real story was gathered by a WFP worker in southern Sudan
who was told it is a traditional way of getting children to sleep during the
hunger season. In the third advert, a businessman dressed
in a pinstripe suit is shown struggling to cope with the daily challenges that
African women face across their continent on a daily basis. The “businessman” is seen pounding food in a village with a
crying baby strapped to his back and then shown dragging a sack of food aid
back to his home. The film ends by posing the question, “852 million people live
like this. Could you?”
Leagas Delaney and
the film production company, Partizan, donated their services free of charge to
produce the adverts that were all shot on location in Kenya. (…)The
“donate a dessert” advert has already been picked up by international cable and
satellite channels and is due to start running in December. All of the
commercials are available in 30 second and one minute formats and will be
translated into a number of different languages for international audiences.
http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=1939
UNICEF
and UAE Partners Shaping Model Humanitarian Agreements for Pakistani Children
Amman, 28 November 2005 --- An
innovative approach to emergency response following the October 8th earthquake
in Pakistan has engaged important partners in the UAE in a strategy that
combines financial contributions with hands-on action to help meet the needs of
children in devastated areas, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Rima Salah said
today, following a mission to the Middle East and South Asia. UNICEF agreements
with the UAE Red Crescent Society and Dubai Aid City have produced a
combination of cash donations, technical support, medical teams and regular
planeloads with basic relief items. (…) Vitamin A supplementation constitutes
another pressing UNICEF priority with focus on Pakistani children suffering
from sickness and malnutrition. Vitamin A boosts children’s immune
systems. With winter gradually setting in, ongoing emergency efforts to
immunize and boost the health of children remain urgent and can save lives.
Also important is the mobilisation of multi-country cooperation over the next
few weeks to deliver supplies needed to get children into learning environments
as quickly as possible.
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_30125.html
by
Moussadiq Ali & Rebecca Lyman - Communications
World Vision has signed an
agreement with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to distribute
urgently needed food supplies to an estimated 46,610 people in five high
altitude villages in the Seron valley of the North West Frontier Province
(NWFP). Food is now a priority in quake affected zones, says the UN, which is
granting more than 50 per cent of the total cargo it transports to food, with
about 40 per cent granted to shelter and other items. The 4,412 metric tons of
food, including wheat flour, vegetable oil, lentils, and salt will be
distributed in Jabbar Panjul, Jaburi, Sachan, Manda Gucha and Jacha; where the
bitter Himalayan winter has already set in.
Distributions will start on Wednesday 30 November and will continue
until April 2006. (…)
http://www.wvi.org/wvi/news/latest_news.htm
The
Kenya Volunteer Development Service diversifies its activities
The Kenya Volunteer
Development Service (KVDS) is a non governmental organisation based in Western
Kenya. The organisation assists people, rural communities and various Self Help
Groups - irrespectively of their political and religious background - in
achieving sustainable development and controlling environmental
degradation. The KVDS has been
officially registered in 1993 to the NGO Board of Kenya (Reg.-No.:
OP/218/051/9355/134). Activities include, among others: Providing or protecting
water resources; Livelihood projects; Fish farming; Horticulture & fruit trees; Poultry & dairy farming.
Environment protective
development - The KVDS is aware of environmental problems due to deforestation
like water shortage, erosion and endangering of many species (e.g. bats, birds
and insects). Because wood is still needed for many purposes in all day life
like cooking and constructing, it is necessary to enlighten the people of the
consequences of cutting down trees. That is why the KVDS teaches the importance
of planting trees.
Reforestation & Tree
Nursery - Indigenous as well as exotic trees are planted continuously to
provide rural communities with firewood, timber for building and trees of
medical value. Also, indigenous trees improve the environmental conditions for
many birds and insect species and help to keep Kenya's original landscape.
Planting trees also reduces desertification and soil erosion. The KVDS
maintains its own tree nursery at the Resource Center in Shikunga village.
Agroforestry - Different tree
species are planted together with food crops to reduce evaporation and to
provide additional nutrient supply through nitrogen fixation (e.g. Sespania
sp.)
Authors: Simona Beltrami and
Nancy Ingram
Zagreb, Croatia, 2
December – “In the first year since the
Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World, encouraging progress has been made in
terms of destroying stockpiled mines, clearing mined land, and assisting
victims,” said Steve Goose, Head of Delegation of the International Campaign to
Ban Landmines (ICBL). “We have also seen positive movement towards the Mine Ban
Treaty by States yet to join.”
Over 600 delegates,
representing governments, civil society and international organizations from
more than 115 countries, converged in the Croatian capital of Zagreb for the
6th annual global meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty. This was the
first opportunity for the world’s mine action community to assess whether any
real progress has been made on the 70-point, five-year Action Plan agreed to
during the Nairobi Summit on a Mine-Free World, the first Review Conference of
the Mine Ban Treaty in November 2004.
Key announcements at the
meeting included: Guatemala completing mine clearance; Algeria and
Guinea-Bissau completing stockpile destruction; Nigeria destroying mines
previously retained for training; and Australia pledging $75 million Australian
dollars for mine action over five years.
At the opening of the meeting,
the ICBL, represented by over 180 delegates from 63 countries, clearly stated
its expectations for outcomes. (…)
http://www.icbl.org/news/final_press_release
December - As the UN Mission
in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) comes to a close at the end of this year, it may
serve as a model for successful peacekeeping, as well as a prototype for the
UN’s new emphasis on peacebuilding.
Six years ago UN peacekeepers
moved into Sierra Leone to oversee a feeble peace process which included
monitoring a shaky ceasefire and supporting a transition to democratic
governance. Since then, the UN helped the war-ravaged country to make
impressive gains towards peace, demonstrating how the world body can respond to
the needs and demands of countries in conflict in a rapidly changing global
environment. Over the course of its mandate, the UN disarmed tens of thousands
of ex-fighters, assisted in holding national elections, helped to rebuild the
country’s police force, and contributed towards rehabilitating the
infrastructure and bringing government services to local communities. The UN
also helped the Government stop illicit trading in diamonds and regulate the
industry. During the war, rebels had used money from “blood” or “conflict”
diamonds to buy weapons which had fuelled the conflict. (…)
While UNAMSIL has done much,
Sierra Leone still faces many challenges (…) To help meet these challenges, the
newly ceated UN Integrated Office for Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) will take over
from UNAMSIL beginning January 2006 . Its mandate would be to cement UNAMSIL’s
gains. The new office will help the Government strengthen human rights, realize
the Millennium Development Goals, improve transparency and hold free and fair
elections in 2007. It will also work together with other UN missions in the
sub-region and provide security for the Special Court.
http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unamsil/Overview.pdf
Mumbai/Madurai, December 2
(IPS) - On December 2, outside Mumbai's humming Churchgate Station at rush
hour, a group of young people from university and schools -- all members of the
National Cadet Corps (NCC) -- stage a streetplay to raise awareness. Stretched
above their heads and that of hundreds of commuters streaming out of one of
India's busiest railheads are banners: Stop AIDS, Keep the Promise. "If you are not aware, HIV/AIDS kills,
whatever your religion," says Lt. Shyamalee of the NCC, a countrywide
youth network of 1.3 million that regularly mobilises its members to sensitise
citizens on social issues. On Wednesday, NCC cadets organised a huge rally that
was joined by Army officers, sailors of the Indian Navy, and hundreds of
ordinary people at Chowpatty, Mumbai's most popular beach.
December 1, World AIDS Day, is
celebrated globally as a grim reminder of the fact that the most feared disease
was getting out of control despite efforts to check it. Health professionals
and activists are trying to put a brake on the illness, particularly in urban areas
where HIV prevalence remains worryingly high. (…)
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=31275
1 December - Commonwealth
Secretary-General Don McKinnon has called for sustained political leadership to
eradicate polio, a preventable disease which causes paralysis, physical
deformity and often death. He said that the fight against polio is part of the
fight against poverty, as one of the Millennium Development Goals is to combat
HIV/AIDS and other diseases.
Mr McKinnon was addressing a
High-Level Consultative Meeting on 'Polio Eradication and the Commonwealth'
held at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, on 30 November 2005. (…)
All but six countries in the
world, including three Commonwealth countries, have eliminated polio, according
to the World Health Organisation (WHO). (…)
The Global Polio Eradication
programme launched in 1988 has involved US$4 billion in a partnership
consisting of donor countries, the World Bank, UN Foundation, Rotary
International, UNICEF, WHO and the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention
to provide free vaccines. To date, some 2 billion children have been immunised
in 200 countries. (…)
http://www.thecommonwealth.org/Templates/System/LatestNews.asp?NodeID=147636
UNAIDS,
WHO and UNFPA endorse European Union statement on the need to scale up HIV
prevention
Geneva/New York, 30 November
2005 - The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the World
Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
endorse today’s announcement by the European Union (EU) to intensify HIV
prevention efforts. The EU’s statement reaffirms the Member States’ commitment
to tackling HIV and AIDS, particularly in developing countries. UNAIDS, WHO and
UNFPA support the EU’s statement, which calls for a rapid increase in the scale
and scope of HIV prevention efforts in order to get ahead of the epidemic. The
AIDS epidemic can only be reversed if HIV prevention efforts are scaled up as
part of a comprehensive response that simultaneously expands access to
treatment and care. Universal access to HIV prevention, care and treatment should
be the world’s immediate goal. (…)
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2005/np25/en/index.html
High-Tech industry called to
fight AIDS
New York, 30 November -
Faith-based investors announced today their efforts as shareholders to work
with seven high-technology companies heavily exposed to HIV/AIDS and
Tuberculosis through their operations, supply chains, and customer base in
South and Southeast Asia.
Shareholder HIV/AIDS activists
connected to the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR)
successfully worked with companies such as Ford Motor Company and Coca-Cola to
expand the HIV-TB-Malaria response of companies in the automotive and beverage
sector. Now they are bringing their message to Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM,
Intel, Lucent, Motorola & Texas Instruments. (…)
The ICCR HIV/AIDS Caucus
represents a broad cross section of institutional investors. Roman Catholic
religious orders, Protestant denominations, faith-based pension funds, and
major health care providers are joining mutual funds, professional money
managers, and organized labor in the effort. ICCR members boast a combined $110
billion in assets under investment. Many of the organizations have staff on the
ground in developing countries fighting the HIV/AIDS Pandemic.
http://www.iccr.org/news/press_releases/2005/pr_worldaidsday113005.htm
WHO
welcomes key United Kingdom support for global patient safety
London/Geneva, 28 November -
The World Health Organization (WHO) welcomes the announcement by the United
Kingdom government that it will donate a total of £25 million (US$ 43 million)
to support global efforts to improve patient safety. This donation recognizes
the need to take effective, visible and concerted action to reduce the growing
number of adverse events in health care and their impact on patients’ lives.
The World Alliance for Patient Safety was launched in October 2004 to raise
awareness and political commitment to improve the safety of patient care and to
facilitate the development of patient safety policy and practice in all WHO
Member States. The UK contribution will be used to build on existing efforts
and work by the Alliance in six major areas and to develop new work programmes
(…)
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2005/pr63/en/index.html
WTO
to provide assistance in strategic re-positioning for Indonesia and Bali with
the support of the government of Andorra
Madrid, 22 November – As part
of the World Tourism Organization’s Tsunami and Crisis Relief Action Plan WTO,
a Seminar on Positioning, Re-Positioning and Image Recovery, will be taking
place in Bali on 10 and 11 December 2005. The Seminar is jointly organized by
the World Tourism Organization, through its Education, Training and Knowledge
Management Department and the WTO.Themis Foundation, and the Ministry of
Culture and Tourism of Indonesia, with the generous financial contribution of
the donor country, Andorra. Aimed at providing effective proposals and
recommendations on the re-positioning and image recovery of tourism in Bali,
taking into account the experience, knowledge and views of key decision-makers,
the two-day seminar will be an inter-active exercise involving all players from
the public sector at central and local level, industry leaders representing the
hospitality, tour operator, travel agency, transport, entertainment sectors,
destination management organizations and educators. (…) The seminar will focus
on the concept of positioning, its application to the current situation of
tourism in Indonesia and Bali, as well as Bali’s present positioning in the
various international markets and will place major emphasis on issues crucial
to the re-positioning of Indonesia and Bali.
http://www.world-tourism.org/newsroom/Releases/2005/november/andorra.htm
Counterpart
teams up with the private sector to fight a deadly disease in the Caribbean.
Kingston, Jamaica, November 17
– Counterpart International is partnering with the Coca-Cola Foundation, the
Coca-Cola Company and the Jamaica-based ASHE Caribbean Performing Arts Ensemble
to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS prevention and behaviour change among young
people in Jamaica. The six month “Teens HIV/AIDS Prevention Project” was
launched in Kingston to promote comprehensive life skills education through
youth-led training, and a referral system for youth-friendly services. ASHE,
working alongside Counterpart International’s HIV/AIDS specialist Dr. Youssouf
Sawadogo, will coach and promote the creation of HIV Awareness Clubs for youth
peer education, training, support and skills building.
Lisa-Ann Joseph, Caribbean
Public Affairs and Communications Manager at the Coca-Cola Company, said that
the project will aim to help Jamaican teenagers cope with life’s challenges.
(…) Noting that AIDS is the leading cause of death in women aged 20-29 and
second leading cause of death in children aged 1-4 in Jamaica, Joseph said
research has shown that HIV/AIDS transmission knowledge is low among
adolescents in Jamaica. The pilot aims to address this. (…)
http://www.counterpart.org/dnn/Default.aspx?tabid=49&metaid=FCMI1300-f7f
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Corporate renewable energy group hits
360 megawatt mark, launches similar effort in Europe
Montreal, Canada, December 1 -
Some of the largest companies in the world today announced that they have
increased their purchases of renewable energy. The World Resources Institute
(WRI) and members of its Green Power Market Development Group announced 185 new
megawatts (MW) of renewable energy purchases and projects, bringing the total
number of MW under contract to 360 – the average size of a coal-fired power
plant. At 360 MW, these companies are more than a third of the way to their
goal of building markets for 1000 MW of new, cost-competitive green power in
the United States. At a press conference today as part of the United Nations’
climate change meetings, WRI also announced the launch of a similar corporate
renewable energy purchasing partnership in Europe.
The Green Power Market
Development Group is a unique commercial and industrial partnership dedicated
to building corporate markets for green power. In the United States its members
are Alcoa Inc., The Dow Chemical Company, DuPont, FedEx Kinko’s, General Motors,
IBM, Interface, Johnson & Johnson, NatureWorks LLC, Pitney Bowes, Staples
and Starbucks. (…) In fact, seven of these companies now purchase at least 10
percent of their annual U.S. electricity consumption from renewables. Group
members also are among the largest non-utility buyers of renewable energy in
the United States. (…)
http://newsroom.wri.org/newsrelease_text.cfm?NewsReleaseID=350
Solar
cooking spreads in developing world
Chad: Teaching solar cooking to refugees
Derk Rijks of the KoZon
Foundation, and solar cooking trainer Marie-Rose Neloum, continue to teach
solar cooking at the Iridimi camp for refugees from the Darfur region of Sudan.
Nearly 250 panel-type solar cookers have been distributed to refugees, 50 of
which were assembled at the camp. Supplies for an additional 500 cookers have
arrived and production is expected to begin immediately. Demonstrations were
also held at Hadjer Hadid for villagers and refugees at the nearby camps at
Breidjing and Tréguine. (…) Contact: Derk Rijks rijks.agrometeo@wanadoo.fr; or
contact KoZon Foundation, wiewen@bart.nl, Web: www.kozon.org
Eritrea: SCEN awarded out of 300 nominees
An Eritrea solar cooker
project organized by the foundation Solar Cooking Eritrea Netherlands (SCEN)
recently edged out 300 nominees to win an award for small-scale development projects.
The award, presented by Dutch organizations the National Committee for
International Cooperation and Sustainable Development (NCDO) and the Wild Geese
Foundation, carries a monetary value of nearly $6,000. SCEN won based on
project quality, thoroughness of the organization, efficient working methods,
financial transparency, and the "for women, by women" aspect of the
project. This year SCEN hopes to enable 4,500 families to solar cook with
simple panel-type solar cookers based on Solar Cookers International's
"CooKit." Thus far, 1,500 women have been trained, of which 700 have
purchased CooKits for about $3.50 each. (…) www.solarcookingeritrea.nl
Sri
Lanka: Sun Ovens International with Rotary clubs’ support sent 200 solar box
cookers
With support from dozens of
U.S. and Canadian Rotary clubs, Sun Ovens International has sent 200 of it's
high-quality solar box cookers - Global Sun Ovens(r) - to the Help - Sri Lanka
Consortium, a grassroots organization working to re-house tsunami victims. The
cookers will enable 200 families with newly built homes to fuel an estimated
70% of their cooking with solar energy. Paul Munsen, Sun Ovens International's
president, will teach Sri Lankan women how to use the cookers. Additionally,
two Sri Lankan orphanages will receive commercial-sized Villager Sun Ovens(r)
to cook meals and bake bread to generate income for the orphanages. These large
ovens can cook 1,200 meals per day and have a propane backup system. Contact:
e-mail: info@sunoven.com, Web: www.sunoven.com; for information
on Help - Sri Lanka Consortium, visit www.rehablanka-tsunami.org.
Source: “News You Send”,
December, Solar Cookers International http://solarcookers.org
Brazil,
Unctad sign agreement on Free and Open-Source Software
16 November 2005, Gilberto
Gil, Minister of Culture of Brazil, and Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary
General of UNCTAD, signed a memorandum of understanding today to support the
promotion of free and open-source software (FOSS). The event took place at the
World Summit on the Information Society in Tunis. The signing ceremony was
followed by an advisory session on FOSS for Portuguese-speaking delegations
attending the Summit. The advisory session included one-on-one consultations
with international experts on FOSS. The aim of the memorandum of understanding
is to improve training and education in the use of FOSS. This software has been
found to be very helpful for closing the "digital divide" in
computer-based technology between developing and industrialized nations. But
reaping the benefits of FOSS requires that developing countries have sufficient
expertise to use the software effectively. The agreement between Brazil and
UNCTAD is intended to help extend this expertise to Portuguese-speaking nations
with the help of FOSS training experts and by sharing relevant training
materials and resources.
http://www.unctad.org/Templates/webflyer.asp?docid=6523&intItemID=1528&lang=1
Montreal, 30 November – The
Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), in cooperation with federal
agencies, scientists, academics and nongovernmental organizations, today
published the first trinational conservation plans ever to be formulated for
North American wildlife species.
Under the North American
Conservation Action Plans (NACAPs), a common conservation approach will be
applied to six wildlife species—the leatherback turtle, humpback whale,
pink-footed shearwater, burrowing owl, ferruginous hawk and black-tailed
prairie dog—across Canada, Mexico and the United States. Each plan suggests
actions to reduce threats, share expertise and provide key information to the
public and wildlife officers. Highlights of the NACAPs include a proposal to
reduce the use of pesticides that affect the burrowing owl's food supply,
distribute information to ship masters and their companies on how to avoid
striking whales, promote sustainable fishing practices and eliminate at-sea
dumping of debris that may affect sea turtles. (…) In June 2003, the three
North American governments adopted a long-term strategy for the conservation of
critical species and habitats in North America. The action plans form a key
element of this strategy, as does a complementary process aimed at establishing
a North American Marine Protected Areas Network and grasslands conservation
corridor. The work to safeguard the six NACAP species begins in earnest this
week with a series of meetings in Mexico with regional conservation partners.
State government officials will meet with the CEC to identify areas of
collaboration to implement and disseminate the plans.
http://www.cec.org/news/details/index.cfm?varlan=english&ID=2689
Maputo, Mozambique, 29
November – Several international organizations have joined forces with WWF to
conserve Mozambique's unique marine habitat and wildlife. The partnership,
consisting of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), UN Foundation,
International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN) and Conservation International
(CI), will provide financial support to activities being implemented by WWF in
and around the country's Primeiras and Segundas Islands. (…) An education
programme targeting fishermen is already underway to further enhance and raise
awareness on the need for protecting birds, marine turtles, coral reefs,
sharks, whales and dolphins. (…)
The new partnership will
complement the efforts of the government of Mozambique in implementing an
integrated development plan for the region's marine and coastal resources.
Support has also been provided to build capacity for the local organizations,
including fishermen associations, to implement activities aimed at protecting
endangered species and sensitive habitats. (…)
Thursday Island, Queensland,
Australia, 21 November (BWNS) -- A weekly Baha'i radio program is building
bridges of understanding across the more than 100 islands of the Torres Strait
in the far north of Australia. Aimed at
providing a service to the Baha'i community scattered throughout the islands,
the program is now also attracting participation by many of the majority
Christian population. The program uses a talkback format and functions as an
on-air study circle, based on a self-directed approach to training adopted by
Baha'i communities worldwide. In a study circle, participants read through
selected passages from the Baha'i writings together, and share their understandings
with the guidance of a facilitator. The program is broadcast on Thursday Island
community radio station 4MW, which is listened to by some 85 per cent of Torres
Strait residents.
Titled
"Baha-Bi-Buiya," which means "Light-Light-Light" in the two
main dialects of the Torres Strait and in Arabic, the program has been
broadcast now for more than a year.
Local Baha'is Janelle Gebadi
and Margaret Gabey host the program, with the support of back-up presenter Ina
Aiputa. The presenters read the passages from the Baha'i writings and then the
audience participates in what are often lively discussions. (…)
http://news.bahai.org/story.cfm?storyid=406
“The
Power of People” – 2nd Global Symposium, 9-13 December, Lucknow
City, India
Global Partnership for World
Democracy (GPWD) is hosting the 2nd Global Symposium from 9 to 13 December 2005
at Lucknow City, India in which nearly 250 participants from 102 countries will
be participating (www.cmseducation.org/symposium)
(…) The Global Symposium recognizes the "Power of People" to move and
reform the Governments and Corporate structures to create global
sustainability. (…) The objective of the GPWD is to facilitate Global Campaign for World Democracy. This
Campaign will be formally launched at the Global Symposium when the various
participating organizations will come to join hands for the launching of Global
Partnership for World Democracy and will start to work to evolve Global Action
Agenda from now till 2007. (…)
Nearly 400 participants from
all regions of the world gathered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, from 7-9
November to celebrate accomplishments of the Earth Charter Initiative over the
past 5 years, share experiences, and launch a new phase of the Initiative.
Because of the Dutch royal
family's long-standing involvement with the Charter, and with sustainable
development generally, Earth Charter+5 was formally embraced as part of Queen
Beatrix’s Silver Jubilee celebrations. Her Majesty the Queen attended the
closing ceremony to hear the conclusions of the conference, and to receive the
first copy of a new book, The Earth Charter in Action: Toward a Sustainable
World. (…)
The event included a number of
other gatherings, starting with the Earth Charter Youth Initiative (5-7
November), which met live for the first time after four years of intensive
on-line networking. The Earth Charter Commission itself met for the first time
since launching the Charter five years ago (7 November). Thematic sessions
explored the application of the Earth Charter in peace-making, inter-faith
dialogue, business, education, local governments, international law. (…)
http://www.earthcharter.org/news/index.cfm?id_activity=660&actual=2005
Education
for All: some progress, can do better
Dakar, Senegal, 28 November
- Significant progress has been made
towards achieving Education for All, but “huge challenges” must still be
overcome if the objectives set by the world’s nations in Dakar (Senegal) five
years ago are to be met by 2015, UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura said
here today. Mr Matsuura was speaking at the Fifth Meeting of the High Level
Group on Education for All (EFA), which was formally opened by the Premier of
the People’s Republic of China, Wen Jiabao, in the presence of the President of
Mongolia, Nambaryn Enkhbaya, HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand,
and the Vice-President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Arthur Zahidi
N’Goma.
Referring to the findings of
the recently released EFA Global Monitoring Report, the Director-General said
that even though the goal of achieving gender parity by 2005 has been missed,
more girls are in school than ever before. Some 20 million new students are
attending classes in low-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South and West
Asia, he added, and national spending on basic education as well as external
aid to EFA have also risen. (…)
The High Level Group meeting
on Education for All brings together ministers of education, cooperation and
development, the donor community and other intergovernmental and
non-governmental organizations annually to assess progress towards the EFA
goals. This year’s meeting, hosted by the Government of the People’s Republic
of China, will focus on the goal of halving adult illiteracy by 2015. It will
also work on a Joint Action Plan to stimulate action on the EFA goals and to
offer better, concrete, support at the national level to countries in their
efforts to achieve them.
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=30986&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
The
Samba of Roda and the Ramlila proclaimed Masterpieces of the Oral and
Intangible
25 November - The
Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today proclaimed 43 new
Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritages of Humanity. Traditional
Indian performances of the Ramayana, the Ramlila, Japan’s Kabuki theatre, the
Zambian Makishi Masquarade and the Samba of Roda (Brazil) are among the
masterpieces proclaimed. This is UNESCO’s third proclamation of Masterpieces of
the Oral and Intangible Heritage, an international distinction destined to
raise public awareness of the value of this heritage, which includes popular
and traditional oral forms of expression, music and dance, rituals and
mythologies, knowledge and practices concerning the universe, know-how linked
to traditional crafts, as well as cultural spaces. Often vulnerable, this
heritage, a repository of cultural diversity, is essential to the identity of
communities and peoples.
The 43 new masterpieces were
proposed to the Director-General by an 18-member jury chaired by Princess Basma
Bint Talal of Jordan. The jury met from 20 to 24 November to examine 64
national and multinational candidatures. A total of 47 masterpieces were
proclaimed in 2001 and 2003. Twenty-seven of them have already benefited from
UNESCO’s support, particularly from safeguarding operations which received
financial assistance from Japan.(…)
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=30973&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
During
the World Summit on the Information Society: ECLAC Executive Secretary warns of
benefits and costs associated with digital technologies
Without
the right public policies and institutions, the information society may deepen
social inequalities in Latin America and the Caribbean
Tunis, 17 November - "The
new technologies do not automatically guarantee more growth," said José
Luis Machinea, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America
and the Caribbean (ECLAC), during his remarks to the World Summit on the
Information Society (WSIS), in Tunis. He warned that achieving the benefits
promised by Internet and digital technologies involves more than computers and
fibre optic cables. They also require a combination of solid, democratic
institutions, robust public policies, an environment favourable to innovation
and creativity, and an active, well organized civil society. He noted that
Latin America and the Caribbean is the world's least equitative region and added
that digital technologies should focus on ensuring growth with equity. (…) In
terms of electronic government, the use of ICTs in the public sector has become
a new factor in encouraging efficiency and transparency of the state. Almost
all countries have electronic government programmes and five rank among the
world's top 25 in this sense: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile and Mexico.
The region's countries seek to advance even further in the introduction of ICTs
in public primary and secondary schools. (…)
The purpose of the World
Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), being held in Tunis from 16 to 18
November, is to guarantee that the benefits of information and communications
technologies (ICTs) are accessible to all and to focus on providing specific
advantages in some areas, among them governance strategies, health care,
education, literacy, cultural diversity, gender equality, sustainable
development and environmental protection.
The
World Wisdom Council: Meeting in conjunction with Goi Peace Foundation's “Forum
2005 - Creating a New Civilization” -
Tokyo, Japan, 10-12 November 2005
The Tokyo Declaration, 11
November: “We, the Members of the World Wisdom Council, building on our
Declarations of Budapest and Hanover in advancing our mission and fulfilling
our mandate, (…) be it resolved… That we shall henceforth make it our highest
priority to do all in our power to activate and ignite the imminent, and
rapidly emerging evolved consciousness in the life of the people on a planetary
scale, so as to facilitate and accelerate the blossoming of a higher form of
civilization that embodies the global wisdom of humankind, in order that
generations now living may bring forth a world in which the entire human family
may flourish in harmony with all of nature on this precious planet. That, to this end, we shall concentrate our
efforts in building powerful and sustainable networks, co-creative
partnerships, seeking to activate and draw together in common cause the vast
and growing diversity of initiatives now working around the planet to bring
forth a newly awakened peaceful and sustainable civilization” (…)
“With this objective in mind,
today, in Tokyo as we launch a partnership aimed at creating a new planetary
civilization, we resolve to focus our energies on developing the
Wisdom-in-Action, a tangible, comprehensive strategic plan of action, to help
ignite an emergent critical mass of awakened global citizens. (…)” Contact: David Woolfson, Coordinator, World Wisdom
Council grtmill@idirect.com
Department
of Public Information launches Un Radio News/Usa,
A new
audio news service for Us radio market
November - United Nations
Radio launched UN Radio News/USA, a new source of audio feeds for radio
broadcasters about the world Organization and the issues that affect the
American people. UN Radio News/USA is updated as news breaks and is available
free to radio stations at www.un.org/radio/newsusa.
(...) Through the service, broadcasters
enjoy access to a selection of actualities as well as complete, unedited audio
of the day's meetings, speeches, news conferences and media stakeouts, making
it possible for stations to cover the UN as never before. Spanish news and
special reports will also be posted. (…) UN Radio News/USA is supported by the
United Nations Foundation. For more information: www.unfoundation.org
3rd
WSF World Spirit Forum - Collaboration in Consciousness
January
22 - 25, 2006 - Arosa, Switzerland
7 December - This third 2006
WSF World Spirit Forum will bring together the WWC World Wisdom Council
(intitiated by Club of Budapest) with the first
WSYC World Spirit Youth Council (initiated by Children of the Earth) and delegates
from spiritual non profit organizations in a meaningful dialogue of preparing
for the future. (…) This Forum will be a three day intensive meeting scheduled
for selected visionary young people and world-renowned elders to begin to
work on a conscious ethical living-systems approach to the future. Non-profit
organization representatives will focus on furthering consciousness
collaboration and meaningful cross-fertilization of ideas and practices so as
to achieve a shared commitment. (…)
This year's theme will be "Collaboration in Consciousness".
Join inspiring visionaries such as Jane Goodall, Ervin Laszlo, Franz Josef
Radermacher. See you at the World Spirit Forum?
Overall information on the 3rd WSF
World Spirit Forum (pdf-file)
(top)
UNESCO CHAIR ON EDUCATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS,
DEMOCRACY AND PEACE
UNITWIN / UNESCO Chairs Award
Winner (November 2002)
by Professor Dimitra
Papadopoulou, UNESCO Chairholder
A.
1997-2003
The UNESCO Chair on Education for
Human Rights, Democracy and Peace of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
(henceforth A.U.Th.), Greece, was founded in the beginning of 1997 by a
bilateral Agreement between UNESCO and the Aristotle University. The “Chair” is
attached to the A.U.Th., which is the largest University of Southeast Europe
with 10 Faculties, 44 Schools, 2.200 Faculty Members and about 70.000 students.
The purpose of the UNESCO
Chair is, according to Article 2 of the Agreement, “to promote an integrated
system of research, training, information and documentation activities in the
field of human rights, peace and democracy at local, sub-regional and regional
level”.
Main Activities
The UNESCO Chair of the
A.U.Th. maintains a profile of academic-educational as well as community-oriented
activities. Academic activities entail an undergraduate and a graduate course,
whereas community oriented ones involve specific actions ranging from training
courses, conferences and seminars to cultural events (art exhibitions,
concerts, theatre etc.).
Since 1997, the UNESCO Chair
has focused its activities on introducing and promoting in the University, as
well as in primary and secondary education curricula, the concepts of human
rights and peace, as well as the values of the Culture of Peace. The aim of
these activities is to sensitise various target groups or the public at large
on issues of human rights, peace, non-violence, democratisation, etc.
The academic activities of the
UNESCO Chair constitute an essential part of its presence and work at the
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. In the context of its academic work, the
UNESCO Chair runs two Academic Programmes on Education for Human Rights and
Peace:
1. At
undergraduate level, an Interfaculty, Interdisciplinary
Academic Programme on Education for Human Rights and Peace, entitled “Contemporary World Problems and the
Scientist's Responsibility: an Interdisciplinary Approach”.The UNESCO Chair
offers the above Programme to undergraduate students of almost all Schools of
A.U.Th.. The Programme is based on invited lecturers from various University
Schools who contribute on a voluntary
basis. The Programme is designed
and directed by the UNESCO Chairholder Professor Dimitra Papadopoulou.
From the beginning of 1997
until the Spring Semester of 2003 (a total of 13 semesters), eighty (80)
Professors taught in the Programme, most of them coming from A.U.Th.,
but also from other Greek Universities and from as many as twenty-five University Schools, such as the Schools of: Law, Psychology,
Physics, Biology, Chemical Engineering, Medicine, Philosophy, Pedagogy,
Classics, History, etc.
In
total, sixty lectures were given
on subjects, such as: The rights and
protection of political refugees ● New Biotechnologies and Bioethical Questions ● Violence on Children:
Protection of their Rights ● The Right to Religious Freedom and Equality ● Xenophobia, Racism, Social
Exclusion ● Underprivileged
Groups: Refugees and Migrants ● Terrorism and Asymmetrical Warfare ● Education for Human Rights, Democracy and
Peace: Towards a Culture of Peace ● Women's Rights and Democratic Education:
Discussing about Gender, Democracy and Citizenship, etc.
2. At
post-graduate level, the UNESCO Chair participates, since 1998, in the European Master's Degree in Human Rights
and Democratisation. The programme is organised with the co-operation of 38
Universities of all the Member States of the European Union.
The lectures given in
Thessaloniki (UNESCO Chair/A.U.Th.) focus on the following three thematic areas:
a. Issues of Peace and Human Rights
Education. Towards a Culture of Peace
b. Contemporary World Problems and the
Scientist’s Responsibility
c. Human Rights, Issues of International Law and International
Relations
The UNESCO Chair has also
developed a wide range of activities regarding Education for Human Rights and Peace in Schools. These activities
include:
1. A close cooperation
and joint activities with Schoolteachers at all levels of education, with a
view to promote the principles of Education and the Culture of Human Rights and
Peace in primary and secondary schools throughout Greece.
In the context of the above
cooperation, the UNESCO Chair of the A.U.Th. established in 2001 the National Network of Schoolteachers for a
Culture of Peace and Non-Violence, a
Peace Movement of Greek Educators, which currently consists of more than 700
members. The aim of this Network is for all participants to promote – through
their teaching practice and combined efforts – the principles of the Culture of
Human Rights and Peace.
2. A
Programme for the Sensitisation of the Youth to Human Rights and Peace,
implemented by the UNESCO Chair, in collaboration with the Institute of
Education for Peace (launched in 1998).
The aim of this Programme of
Education for Human Rights and Peace in Schools is to familiarise and sensitise
pupils with basic concepts of human rights and peace, through exercises and
games of experiential learning. Also, as a result of these educational
interventions, a teacher’s book “The
alphabet of Human Rights Education and Peace” was published by the UNESCO
Chair, A.U.Th., Thessaloniki, December 2001.
The UNESCO Chair has been also
collaborating with the National Armed
Forces, since 1998. The collaboration consists in the delivery of lectures
and documents concerning issues of Education for Human Rights and Peace, as
well as the Culture of Peace, to Armed Forces personnel, soldiers and the
public.
Since 1998, in order to
disseminate the values of Human Rights and Peace and the Culture of Peace, the
UNESCO Chair organizes National and International
Conferences on topics such as:
“50
Years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 – 1998”, May 14-17, 1998.
“Towards
a Culture of Human Rights and Peace. The
Role of the Universities”, International
Interdisciplinary Conference, December
2-4, 1999.
“The Role of Teachers in the Culture of Human
Rights and Peace”, National
Interdisciplinary Conference, December 14-16, 2001.
Some of the topics discussed
in these Conferences are:
“Children: A case of provocative violation of human
rights” * “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 50 years
later: Reality beyond Ideology” * “Environmental Protection: an issue of Peace Education” * “Human Rights and management of ethnic conflicts” * “Xenophobia, Racism and School” * “Child abuse and
neglect”, etc.
Since 1998, the UNESCO Chair
has also organized a number of Symposia on topics such as:
“Youth
for a Culture of Peace”, May 7, 1998. The Symposium was dedicated to the 50th Anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
“2000 – International Year for a Culture of Peace”, April 20, 2000. The Symposium was
dedicated to 2000 - International
Year for a Culture of Peace, etc.
Art- Recognising the
eminent role of art in the promotion of human rights and peace and the
importance of NGOs for the dissemination of these concepts in society, the
UNESCO Chair, in co-operation with the Institute of Education for Peace, has
organised, since 1998, a series of cultural events.
B.
2003-2005
From autumn 2003 until
summer 2005 several activities of the UNESCO Chair took place:
I. The UNESCO Chair
continued successfully its undergraduate
and postgraduate academic programme in the field of Education for Human
Rights and Peace towards a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence. The programme is
interdisciplinary and interfaculty at both its levels.
1.“Contemporary World Problems
and the Scientist’s Responsibility” (undergraduate level)
During the period mentioned
above, numerous lectures were given by 22
Professors from 12 Schools of the University of Thessaloniki.
Lectures were, also, offered by six
NGOs, i.e. Medicins Du Monde, Doctors Without Frontiers, Amnesty
International, etc. In total, 31
lectures were given.
2.
“European Master’s Degree in Human Rights and Democratization” (postgraduate
level)
17
professors from the Schools of Psychology, Law and Philosophy-Pedagogy of the
University of Thessaloniki gave lectures at the UNESCO Chair’s postgraduate
programme, during the above mentioned period of time.
In the context of this
postgraduate programme, foreign students prepared, under the supervision of the
Chair’s academic staff, their Master of Art Theses.
Within the same context, apart
from the lectures organized at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki during
the spring semester of each academic year, the UNESCO Chair also offers
lectures in the winter semester courses every year, which take place in Venice,
Italy.
II. Our collaboration
with the National Network of Schoolteachers for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence is one of UNESCO Chair’s
most creative activities. This partnership guarantees the introduction of the
Culture of Peace values in the Greek schools as well as the sensitisation of
both educators and pupils in these values.
III. “Towards a Culture of
Peace. Education for Peace in School” (Editor: Dimitra
Papadopoulou), a new publication by the UNESCO Chair in collaboration with the
Institute of Education for Peace (Thessaloniki, 2005, p.530). The book, a
collective and interdisciplinary volume, is the Chair’s and A.U.Th.’s
contribution to the International Decade towards a Culture of Peace and
Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010).
Concluding Remarks
The numerous and
multidimensional activities of the UNESCO Chair of the Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki are based on a wide range of cooperations with various institutions, networks, Universities and
individuals, such as academics, teachers, artists, students and citizens. It is
a key principle of the UNESCO Chair to expand its activities in order to reach
and sensitize as many Target Groups
as possible to global problems and questions. Thus, the UNESCO Chair has been
organizing, since 1997, its educational/ academic, as well as community oriented activities on
an interdisciplinary/pluridisciplinary
basis, through its cooperation with the following partners:
Professors of several Schools
and Faculties of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, such as, inter alia: the Schools of Psychology,
Law, Philosophy and Education, Physics, English Language and Literature, Chemical
Engineering etc. The participation of the UNESCO Chair in European Projects and Networks (such as the
European Master's Degree in Human Rights and Democratisation and the TEMPUS)
has opened the way to a closer cooperation of the UNESCO Chair/A.U.Th. with
other academic Networks.
Through the above
cooperations, the UNESCO Chair/A.U.Th. is constantly developing a broad
interdisciplinary framework of studies regarding multiple contemporary
problems, focusing on peace, human rights, democracy, tolerance, non
violence, environmental problems etc. Some of the issues discussed in the
Academic Programmes of the UNESCO Chair are the following: Terrorism and Asymmetrical Warfare § Water and environment problems and their peaceful
settlement § The
pros and cons of Nuclear Physics § New Biotechnologies and Genetically Modified
Organisms, Bioethical Questions § Migration and Cultural Identity § Violence on Children § The Right to Religious Freedom and Equality, etc.
The activities of the UNESCO
Chair have also a very strong impact
on the students of the A.U.Th. The fact that approximately 1900
students have attended the Chair’s interdisciplinary courses since 1997,
illustrates its ability to draw their attention and interest to major global
issues.
It is worth noting that the
UNESCO Chair’s activities are not limited inside the academic community, but
extend to the rest of the society as well. Through its various conferences, round tables, educational interventions etc, the UNESCO
Chair manages to attract a variety of audiences and raise public awareness about the
above mentioned issues.
The creation by the UNESCO
Chair of the National Network of Schoolteachers for a Culture of Peace and
Non-Violence has added a new significant perspective to its
multidimensional activities. The Network members have been working actively and
with great eagerness in order to diffuse and implant the values of love,
respect, tolerance and democracy in the minds of hundreds of children.
UNESCO Chair on Education for
Human Rights, Democracy and Peace.
Chairholder: Prof. Dimitra
Papadopoulou
Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki e-mail: dipeace@psy.auth.gr website: http://unesco.auth.gr
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