Good News Agency – Year VII, n° 11
Weekly - Year VII, number 11 –
15th September 2006
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 (in charge) and Elisa Peduto.
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 and to
2,800 NGOs.
It is an all-volunteer service
of Associazione Culturale dei Triangoli e della Buona Volontà Mondiale,
NGO associated with the United Nations Department
of Public Information. The
Association has been recognized by UNESCO as “an actor of the global movement for a culture of peace” and it has
been included in the web site http://www3.unesco.org/iycp/uk/uk_sum_monde.htm
International legislation – Human rights – Economy and development – Solidarity
Peace and security – Health – Energy
and Safety – Environment and wildlife
Religion and spirituality – Culture and education
Fighting
poverty, UN reform to top General Assembly agenda, says new president
12 September – As the General Assembly opened its 61st session today,
the body’s new president promised to focus on alleviating extreme poverty and
advancing the process of UN reform undertaken during the previous session. “The
General Assembly has to continue to evolve and strive to deliver sustainable
solutions to the major challenges of our time,” Sheikha Haya Rashid Al Khalifa
told delegates this morning. “Reform is a process rather than an event.”
She noted that several
recommendations of the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document have yet to be fully realized,
such as disarmament and non-proliferation, Security Council reform, mandate
review and system-wide coherence.
The UN also had a crucial role
in promoting peace and security, she said. “Today, man-made conflicts are
destroying lives and displacing people on a scale that sometimes exceeds the
destructive effects of nature – floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, and tsunamis.”
A pressing issue was combating
international terrorism, which required the adoption of both preventive and
defensive measures, she said. Later briefing reporters, she expressed the hope
that after last week’s adoption of a resolution on a global counter-terrorism
strategy, the current Assembly session would reach agreement on a comprehensive
definition of terrorism.
She also said that it was
important to consolidate the reforms that had been achieved in the past year,
notably by ensuring that the new Peacebuilding Commission and Human Rights
Council have a real impact on large numbers of people.
Improving the situation of
women is also one of her top goals. The fact that half the world’s population
typically have less access to health care, employment, decision-making and
property ownership needed to be addressed, she told Assembly delegates.
Sheikha Haya is the first
female General Assembly President since 1969 and the first Muslim woman to hold
the post. “It does not matter that I am a Muslim or a Christian or Jewish,” she
told reporters. “We are human beings and we have the same worries and we have
the same problems.”
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=19809&Cr=general&Cr1=assembly
Five
former
Arms
Control Association applauds central Asian States for forswearing nuclear arms
Press Contacts: Daryl G.
Kimball
The Central Asian zone will be
the fifth such arrangement. Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean
(Treaty of Tlatelolco), the South Pacific (Treaty of Rarotonga), Southeast Asia
(Treaty of Bangkok), and Africa (Treaty of Pelindaba) have also banded together
to create nuclear-weapon-free zones.
http://us.oneworld.net/article/view/139136/1/
http://www.unece.org/press/pr2006/06trans_n05e.htm
"Freedom
From Want": The Development Agenda
Amnesty
International applauds UN Agreement on New International Treaty to Protect
Rights of Persons with Disabilities
WFUNA, UN Connections, 6
September - Amnesty International warmly welcomes the agreement reached by the
General Assembly's Ad Hoc Committee on the text to create a new core human
rights treaty to better promote and protect the rights of persons with
disabilities. This new Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities,
once formally adopted by the General Assembly and entered into force after
ratification by the necessary number of UN Member States, will be a key tool in
assisting millions of people with disabilities in achieving recognition of
their dignity and the effective protection of their human rights.
For the text of the
Convention, go to: www.un.org/esa/socdev/enable
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_35591.html
31 August - Students of
international law and international relations in
A total of 18 students
participated in the ICRC-sponsored event held from 22 to 25 August in Guba. It
included a series of lectures on IHL and discussions of practical cases. The Guba course design was based on the
existing Regional Summer School programme organised by the ICRC in
Experts from
NGOs
gather at
Fostering partnerships for security
and sustainable development
Raymond Sommereyns, Director
of the Outreach Division in the UN Department of Public Information (DPI),
which sponsored the three-day event, said participants had come armed with
specific examples of “effective partnerships to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs)” – a set of international targets for eradicating
poverty and other global ills by 2015.
“We have such huge tasks now
that I sometimes ask myself, ‘Will we make it?’ ” General Assembly President
Jan Eliasson told the gathering. He said those present faced a “huge test of
multilateralism” and pointed to the need to prove that “working together,
creating international structures, creating strong and effective international
cooperation, strengthening the United Nations, is a good thing for the world.”
For that reason, reform of the
UN was critical, said the President, whose term ends in five days when a new
leader of the 192-member Assembly, Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa of
Looking around the room, he
said the NGOs had worked with the UN “at the barricades together” on such
issues as AIDS, disability and disarmament. “We need your voices; we need your
contribution,” he stressed. “I want you to feel that you are partners with us
in the work on development, security and human rights, and the basic pursuit
that we must work for a life of dignity for all.” A number of representatives
of governments and NGOs also addressed the opening session, which was held in
the morning. In the afternoon, panellists discussed the theme “Moving
Development Forward.”
Source: UN News Service http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/139132/1/
Record
rice yields for
FAO-led
project to solve rice production gap
Rome/Krasnodar (
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/
Higher
hopes for C4 rice
Increasing
yields to feed a growing world population
Rome, 25 August – “The development
of the C4 rice or similar varieties is very much welcome and we strongly
recommend member governments and the donor community to provide full support to
the current research based on improving the photosynthetic efficiency of the
rice plant”, the International Rice Commission Secretary Nguu Nguyen said
today.
Mr. Nguyen was commenting on
recent reports on a major international scientific effort to enhance the rice
plant’s efficiency, or what is known to experts as converting rice from a C3
plant to a C4 plant, where the “C” refers to the carbon captured by
photosynthesis for growth.
The more solar energy a rice
plant can efficiently capture, the more it will yield, explained Mr. Nguyen.
“We need to meet the challenge of feeding a growing world population which is
projected to reach 8.3 billion in 2030 with an accompanying rice demand of 771
million tonnes,” he said.(…)
3.9 tons of medical aid
delivered securely to
Due to damage to
infrastructure and the Israeli blockade, aid has been difficult to deliver in
http://www.interaction.org/newswire/detail.php?id=5386
Community
centers provide help that heals
By Charlotte Brudenell,
ACT-Caritas
Dereig camp, South Darfur, 7
September - People living in camps in
On the outskirts of the town
of
Action by Churches Together
International (ACT) and Caritas Internationalis (CI) are working together in a
joint response to the
DanChurchAid is a member of
ACT International - a global alliance of churches and related agencies working
to save lives and support communities in emergencies.
British
amputee completes bicycle tour in
He completed the tour to raise
money for The Cambodia Trust, a Britain-based charity providing rehabilitation
for Cambodian land mine amputees, polio victims and other disabled people.
It was Moon’s second
cross-country journey in
In
http://www.landmine.de/en.titel/en.news/en.news.one/index.html?entry=en.news.0d0701f24f550000
Futbol Club
Barcelona, UNICEF team up for children in global partnership
UNICEF
center of club’s jersey "More than a Club" reaches out
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_35642.html
Lutheran
World Relief providing assistance to flood-affected families In
Since late July, torrential
monsoon rains have caused widespread flooding throughout several Indian states,
driving 4.5 million people from their homes and damaging crops, livestock,
property and infrastructure. Over 200 deaths have been reported and thousands
of people lack basic necessities such as food, drinking water, shelter and
clothing. (…)
LWR is responding to the
situation through Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, a global
alliance of churches and related agencies that assists in disaster response
worldwide. Relief efforts will initially focus on providing temporary shelter
and distributing food, water, blankets, clothing, and school supplies to the
most vulnerable people affected by the floods. In addition, emergency
sanitation and health services will be provided in order to prevent the
outbreak of disease. Post-crisis intervention will include housing support,
assistance with rebuilding livelihoods, the rebuilding of public infrastructure
and environmental restoration. Communities will also receive training in
disaster preparedness and advocating for government assistance. Throughout the
aid process ACT partner churches, district officials and community
organizations will provide ongoing assessment in order to best help those
affected regain self-sufficiency. (…)
http://www.interaction.org/newswire/detail.php?id=5394
31 August - For the new school
year, starting on 1 September in the
It is a custom in the northern
The ICRC distributes essential
household items every three months to over 60,000 people in
Club
volunteers raise sweat and money to make school’s reopening a reality
Wayne Hearn
New Orleans, USA, August 29 —
The Rotary Club of New Orleans has maintained a long relationship with historic
Warren Easton High School, so club members were not about to abandon their old
friend in its darkest hour. After Hurricane Katrina’s winds and flooding dealt
the 93-year-old building a near death-blow, the Rotary club rallied in
response, first by helping to convince school authorities that Warren Easton
should reopen at all, and then by raising money and providing the “sweat
equity” to make it happen.
The Rotary club so far has
raised more than $100,000, and its members — along with Rotary members from
other states — put in over 2,000 volunteer hours in the sweltering
The New Orleans Rotary club
“adopted” Warren Easton in 1985. It sponsors the school’s Interact club (a
Rotary-like service club for students) and awards annual scholarships to
college-bound seniors. Future Katrina-related improvements planned by Rotary
include fresh paint for more classrooms, the installation of mini-blinds,
plumbing repairs, and equipping and stocking three science labs, the library
and the virtual learning center. (…)
http://www.rotary.org/newsroom/presscenter/releases/2006/283.html
On
October 15&16 the world will…
STAND
UP against poverty, stand up for the Millennium Development Goals
Launched by the Millennium
Campaign, STAND UP is an innovative and exciting challenge to set an official
Guinness World Record - the greatest number of people ever to STAND UP Against
Poverty and for the Millennium Development Goals - on
STAND UP is a mobilization
initiative designed to coincide with global mobilizations around the
International Day of Poverty Eradication and the White Band Day of the Global
Call to Action against Poverty. (…) Monitored by Guinness World Records the
STAND UP challenge will take place between
www.millenniumcampaign.org/standup
UNA-USA
Honors Bill Clinton and Dean Kamen
On October 10, UNA-USA will
honor former President Bill Clinton and inventor Dean Kamen at its annual
Global Leadership Award Dinner. More then 6 years after leaving the White House,
Architecture
for Humanity's Model Home Program
Architecture for Humanity
launched a program to build a number of Model Homes These homes
will meet the new FEMA elevation and building code requirements of
In
Although reconstruction has begun,
much work lies ahead. Many projects are still underfunded and residents have
yet to see little if any of the financial assistance that has been promised. If
you'd like to sponsor a project, let us know--and of course it's never too late
to donate or volunteer. www.architectureforhumanity.org
8 September -
"Unexploded ordnance
poses a direct threat to communities and internally displaced persons and
hampers humanitarian relief," said
http://www.landmine.de/en.titel/en.news/en.news.one/index.html?entry=en.news.0d0700984ca60000
Catholic
Relief Services begins Youth Summer Camps in
Camp activities include
picture-drawing to address trauma and conflict-resolution games to foster youth
leadership and peace building. Children also receive three meals a day plus
snacks. More than 100 children, boys and girls ages nine to 16, are attending
this week’s session in the city of
Although activity-filled days
cannot erase the trauma of war, the camp does offer children methods to express
themselves and an outlet to socialize and play far from their devastated
villages. "Maybe their houses are destroyed. Maybe even a family member is
dead. The main thing is that they can laugh here,” says Farah Hassouna, a DPNA
social worker. (…)
CRS and its other local
partner agency, Caritas
http://www.interaction.org/newswire/detail.php?id=5387
UN to
convene international conference in support of Palestinian people
6 September – A United Nations committee will convene
the UN International Conference of Civil Society in Support of the Palestinian
People tomorrow in
In a series of meetings and
workshops, the event will address such issues as the impact of peace movements,
political parties and trade unions; campaigns to uphold international law; and
strengthening civil society initiatives. An action plan is expected to be
adopted at the closing session on Friday afternoon. The meeting is being
convened by the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the
Palestinian People.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=19730&Cr=Palestin&Cr1=
Clear
Path sponsors landmine survivors to attend sport events
September 4 - Started on
30 out of 40 athletes are
landmine/UXO survivors, who had overcome their pains, sorrows, family
circumstances… to be what they are today. Each of them is aiming to gain a
ticket to
Sponsoring the participation
of landmine survivors in sport events has been CPI’s annual activity since
2003. With this assistance, many poor survivors could have a chance to assess
to the tracks; and surprisingly, quite a few survivors wrote their names in the
National Team to compete at the regional events.
http://clearpathinternational.org/cpiblog/archives/000754.php#000754
Memorandum
of Understanding signed between ITF and
On 4 September 2006, the
official singing of Memorandum of Understanding between International Trust
Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance and the Azerbaijan National
Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) took place in
http://www.itf-fund.si/news/news.asp#m185
What
will you do for peace on 21 September?
September 1 – “With just ten days to go until Peace Day, I
am delighted to tell you that we now have commitments to mark the Day in 183
member states of the United Nations. There are only a few member states in
which no commitments have yet been made. They are as follows:
The Peace One Day (POD) film
project began as the vision of one man, British filmmaker, Jeremy Gilley.
Launched in September 1999, POD gained active support from all sectors of
society, from governments through to individuals. In September 2001, POD
achieved its primary objective. A United Nations General Assembly resolution
(A/Res/55/282), put forward by the UK and Costa Rican governments, was
unanimously adopted by all UN member states, formally establishing an annual
day of global ceasefire and non-violence on the UN International Day of Peace,
fixed in the global calendar on 21 September - Peace Day. All sectors of
society are being asked to honour and celebrate the Day on 21 September. The
vision of the Day extends far beyond the cessation of violent conflict and
represents an opportunity for individuals to join in a moment of global unity.
On the journey to establish a
Peace Day, teachers encouraged Jeremy to provide a resource pack that would
support young people to become the driving force behind the vision of a united
world. The pack focuses on practical issues of peace and non-violence, and
provides guidelines for extended Peace Day projects. The pack contains a
multi-region DVD containing both a 32-minute classroom version and the
feature-length version of the award-winning documentary Peace One Day, plus
extras. Although this resource pack has been created specifically for the UK
National Curriculum, teachers from overseas will certainly find it useful. The
long-term vision is to create a generic global resource to be made available in
2007/8.
Aid
for
The European Commission
boosted its contribution to the
€10 million will be used to
create a Reconstruction Assistance Facility aimed at offering technical
assistance to the government for the reconstruction process and at increasing
administrative capacity. The Lebanese private sector will receive €18 million
to reinforce its competitiveness. Another €4 million will be made available to
ensure that the rule of law is respected and to improve internal security.
Regarding humanitarian assistance, current key priorities are access to
drinking water, the provision of shelter, access to health care and the removal
of landmines.
The Commission's action falls within
the framework of the UN Security Council Resolution 1701 which provided the
basis for an end to hostilities. Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Commissioner for
External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, insisted that in
implementing the resolution, the security situation cannot be separated from
economic and humanitarian aspects. (…) The Commission stressed that the
priorities agreed on in the joint EU-Lebanon Neighbourhood Action Plan were
more vital now than ever and explained that the EU was ready to support
http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/president/focus/lebanon_en.htm
Memorandum
of Understanding signed between ITF and
On
http://www.itf-fund.si/news/news.asp#m185
Peace
educators explore uses of the Earth Charter
The 2006 annual International
Institute on Peace Education (IIPE) — held 30 July to 6 August in San José,
Costa Rica — included three different workshops on how the Earth Charter can be
used in education at all levels, from earth childhood development to university
courses. The IIPE event, entitled ¨Toward a Planetary Ethic: Shared and
Individual Responsibility,¨ was organized by the Peace Education Center of
Teachers College, Columbia University (New York), and by the UN Mandated
University for Peace, an ECI Strategic Partner. In sharp focus: the principle
of universal responsibility. For more
information, see: http://www.tc.columbia.edu/PeaceEd/iipe/index.htm
Imagine
a Culture of Peace
To
young people, ages 5-25, around the globe: an invitation from the Dalai Lama
Foundation, Peace
Tell a story, write a poem or
essay, paint a picture or take a photo. Share your impression of what
"peace" and "a
culture of peace" look like. Join your dream of peace to ours, and help
make it concrete. Select an incident or situation of conflict or violence in
your family, school, community state, nation, or the world. Reflect on how the
conflict arose, and imagine how it might be avoided or resolved peacefully.
Take action! Accept a challenge! Create an individual or community project that
will help to create a culture of peace.
Express your impressions artistically.
Choose how to best describe or demonstrate the incident or situation you
select: letter to a parent, friend, government official or newspaper; letter to
your future self from the present, or to your present self from the future;
essay, poem, drama script, song, or short story. Create a report – either text
or images -- of your own practical project to help create a culture of peace.
Photo journal, or photos of your painting, collage, or sculpture. Submit your
impression of peace as an individual or as part of a classroom or community
group. Submit your work on line. Share your work with others. Read the
acceptance criteria and submission procedures for Imagine a Culture of Peace at
http://www.imagineacultureofpeace.org E-mail your
questions to info@imagineacultureofpeace.org
Iraqi-Kurd
bomb clearance team flies into
MAG
sends in staff from northern
MAG has sent a special team
from
The teams will be
concentrating on clearing from homes, schools, gardens, access routes and other
populated areas in the Nabatieh region, as well as providing education
programmes to manage the risk to thousands of returnees. The UN recently stated
that they have seen around 100,000 unexploded cluster bomblets at 359 separate
sites in
MAG (Mines Advisory Group) is
one of the world's leading humanitarian organisations providing
conflict-affected countries with a real chance for a better future. We clear
the remnants of conflict from some of the world's poorest nations, we educate
and employ local people and help provide solutions for those trapped by poverty
and economic devastation through no fault of their own.
http://www.mag.org.uk/news.php?s=2&p=5391
The
Peace
The Peace Registry of the
Peace Alliance Foundation (PAF) is an interactive, online database of
individuals and organizations, large and small, who demonstrate and are working
for a culture of peace—a culture characterized by nonviolence, compassion,
cooperation, and inclusion.
The Peace Registry is located
at www.peaceregistry.org Visitors may learn
about and network with peace workers at the local, national, and international
levels; search by location, area of interest, or focus: nominate their own
candidates for inclusion in the Peace Registry.
Currently, there are over 200
entries in the Peace Registry with listings of organizations based in the
Some organizations already listed
in the Peace Registry include the Center for Non-Violent Communication,
CodePink, BothAnd, the
East
Asian Rotarians pioneer rural health projects in
By Vukoni Lupa-Lasaga, Rotary
International
11 September - Thousands of
women and children in
Cervical cancer is the most
prevalent cancer in Mongolian women, according to Luvsandorj Bayarsaikhan, a
doctor and Khuree club member who is the driving force behind the screening
initiative. He notes that up to 40 percent of the population is infected with
human papillomavirus (HPV), the major cause of cervical cancer. The incidence
of cervical cancer is expected to rise among Mongolian women, 95 percent of
whom have never been screened for the disease. (…)
http://www.rotary.org/newsroom/programs/060911_mongolia.html
UN Health Agency
to vaccinate millions of children in the Horn of Africa
8 September – In the largest-ever synchronized vaccination
campaign in the Horn of Africa,
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=19761&Cr=polio&Cr1=
by Mandla Luphondvo - World
Vision
September 6 - More men are
joining support groups for people living with HIV. As a result, more men are also participating in community
development initiatives. In Lubombo Plateau Area Development Programme (ADP)
two support groups initiated by women now have close to 20 men each. Five women
started Mlindazwe support group in March this year. It has 49 members, 16 of
whom are men who intend undertaking a chicken rearing project. The women are
currently undergoing training on sewing at Mlindazwe primary school. (…) At
Sitsatsaweni, men who have been diagnosed HIV positive have joined hands
through a support groups initiated by women. They have raised and sold 450
chickens to the ADP. Through the support group, members are able to generate
some income. Most of the members are on anti-retroviral therapy (ART) and need
to have a balanced diet.
These support groups have been
motivated and facilitated by Lubombo Plateau ADP. These efforts have been
complemented by a new system devised by
Medical doctors help newly
diagnosed patients contact other HIV positive patients for support. After this
introduction, the member who joins the network is then able to get support and
be part of the nearest support group in his or her community.
http://www.wvi.org/wvi/news/latest_news.htm#Swaziland
6
September - The guidebooks call it ‘remote’, ‘undiscovered’ –
A joint HIV prevention and
care project, run by Guizhou provincial authorities, and UNAIDS` Cosponsor
UNICEF is making some headway towards tackling the growing figures and at the
same time involving people and groups from all sectors in the AIDS response.
Established in 2001, the project focuses particularly on young people, tackling
the often difficult issue of injecting drug use and its crossover with HIV, as
well as providing care and support for people living with HIV. (…)
http://www.unaids.org/en/MediaCentre/PressMaterials/FeatureStory/20060906-china.asp
Patient
mobility: European Commission to launch public consultation on EU framework for
health services
Brussels, 5 September - The
European Commission today decided to launch a public consultation on how to ensure
legal certainty regarding cross-border health services under Community law, and
to support cooperation between the health systems of the Member States. The
consultation will be based on a Communication to be drawn up by European Health
and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou setting out ideas for an
EU framework for safe, high-quality and efficient healthcare services,
reflecting the outcome of the orientation debate held today by the Commission.
The first step will be a consultation on issues such as: the conditions
according to which cross-border health care must be authorised and paid for,
and the provision of information to patients about treatments available in
other Member States; which health authority is responsible for supervising
cross-border health care in different circumstances; responsibility for any
harm caused by healthcare and compensation; patient rights; and supporting
health systems through European co-operation. On the basis of responses to this
consultation, any formal Commission proposals will follow in 2007.
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_overview/co_operation/mobility/patient_mobility
4 September - Caravanning
in
http://www.unaids.org/en/MediaCentre/PressMaterials/FeatureStory/20060901-morocco.asp
FEANTSA
conference on ensuring access to health for homeless people
FEANTSA, the European
Federation of National Organisations working with the Homeless organises in
The conference aims to bring
together policymakers, homelessness service providers and healthcare
professionals from across the EU to establish a better common understanding and
what could be the role of the EU. The conference will feature 5 workshops:
Ensuring access to health for homeless people; Mental Health and Dual
Diagnosis; The Right to Health; Information and Training for Health; 5. Health
Promotion. To register: christine.lambert@feantsa.org
(top)
11 September – The United
Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today
dispatched a three-member team to
Three people are reported
killed and some 3,000 others have sought medical help, complaining of
intestinal and respiratory problems, as well as vomiting, nausea and nose
bleeds, after inhaling fumes from hazardous substances dumped at a series of
sites around
Following a formal request
from the Ivorian Government, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is conducting
an investigation through the Secretariat of the Basel Convention on the
Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, which it
administers.
The Secretariat is probing
whether the Basel Convention’s trust fund can be used to help pay for the
clean-up operation, which could cost more than $13 million. It is also studying
where legal responsibility for the crisis may lie.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/ticker/tickerstory.asp?NewsID=19790
World
Water Week
WFUNA, UN Connections, 6
September - World Water Week in
Implementing the research
& innovation agenda for
SusChem
puts sustainable chemistry into action
Brussels, 28 August – Yesterday
27 August in Budapest, a set of proposals to implement an ambitious European
research agenda for the chemical & biotech sciences developed by SusChem
(the European Technology Platform for Sustainable Chemistry) was discussed and
endorsed by a meeting of stakeholders. The workshop on the SusChem
Implementation Action Plan (IAP) also looked at the ongoing role of SusChem,
examined funding possibilities and debated the specific needs of new EU Member
States.
The IAP activities are
collected around themes of major importance for sustainable chemistry:
bio-based economy; energy; health care; information and communication
technologies; nanotechnology; sustainable quality of life; sustainable product
and process design; and transport. The
IAP further outlines three visionary projects, introduced in the SusChem
Strategic Research Agenda (SRA). These projects crystallised the possible
future societal benefits of the proposed research. (…)
The need to create a
supportive regulatory and financial environment for innovation and research was
also emphasised. Finally, the future role of SusChem as a European networking
body in chemistry and biotechnology was discussed. (…)
http://www.cefic.be/Files/NewsReleases/SusChemPR.doc
Preliminary
Court decision would bar leasing in critical wetlands at Teshekpuk Lake, Alaska
Decision
could save the internationally significant wildlife habitat
Alaska Native communities near
the lake have voiced strong opposition to a federal plan to allow oil and gas
drilling in the area around the lake, which is an important subsistence hunting
and fishing ground. They have been
joined by scientists, sportsmen's groups, other conservationists, and hundreds
of thousands of concerned citizens who have voiced their concerns about
potential impacts to nesting and molting grounds used by large populations of
geese and other waterfowl. (…) Judge Singleton has allowed for additional arguments
from both sides, and is expected to issue a final ruling by the end of the
month.
Satellites help scientists
track migratory birds
Rome/New
York, 6 September – Wearing light
solar-powered global positioning system (GPS) satellite transmitters, wild
swans from Mongolia are winging their way across Eurasia, while land-bound
scientists tracking the birds’ journeys on computers say that these unique
studies will shed light on how wild birds may be involved in the spread of
avian influenza.
In August, a team of international scientists from FAO and the U.S. Geological
Survey (USGS) joined the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000388/index.html
September 4 -
“The results of the study
demonstrate what scientists and conservationists having been saying for years,
that creating marine sanctuaries means fish can mature and populations can
recover,” said Richard Leck, a marine and coastal policy officer with
WWF-Australia. “What is truly exciting about this research is that not only are
the protected areas flourishing but there is very likely to be a spillover
effect to surrounding areas which will benefit the whole ecosystem. This
research clearly shows that a network of marine sanctuaries with a strong
zoning plan is vital to ensuring the sustainable future of the reef.”
Stretching for over 2,000km
along
WWF is a strong advocate of
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). In the last few years alone, the global
conservation organization has helped achieve protection for more than
200,000km2 of marine areas around the world, including the
http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/index.cfm?uNewsID=79760
Course
to develop statistical indicators of environmental sustainability
In
4 September - The Economic Commission for
World
environment body gets a US$3 billion boost
New Funds will Combat Environmental Degradation
Cape Town, South Africa, 28
August – The world’s largest environmental
funding body—Global Environment Facility (GEF)—received its biggest ever
financial boost today with 32 governments agreeing to contribute US$ 3.13
billion to finance environmental projects over the next four years. The
agreement was endorsed by the 32-member GEF Council in
http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/august-2006/gef-20060828.en;jsessionid=a7bmlcX7o8qc
International
Day of Peace Vigil, September 21
In 2006 the International Day
of Peace will be observed on Thursday, September 21st. Find out how you can
take part in a global vigil of meditation and prayer in support of the Day.
Every year the United Nations
calls upon individual people of goodwill and organisations to observe this
International Day with activities dedicated to the creation of a culture of
peace, and to a day of global cease-fire and non-violence.
To support this special Day on
a spiritual level, a group of organisations representing a wide variety of
religious and spiritual traditions has, since 2002, co-ordinated an International
Day of Peace Vigil, encouraging local groups and
individuals to hold a 24 hour Vigil in houses of worship and places of spiritual
practice.
As a contribution to this
global focus the United Nations Days & Years Meditation Initiative and
Intuition in Service have, since 2002, coordinated an international Vigil of
meditation and prayer for the 24 hours of September 21st from midnight to
midnight. The 24 hours are divided into 15 minute periods. The aim is to have
individuals or groups commit themselves to spend specific 15 minute periods in
prayer or meditation for world peace. You can choose the 15-minute time slots
you will participate, and see the list of all participants in your slots. You
can also see a list of all the participants in the Vigil in the equivalent GMT
times.
UNA-USA Student Alliance Programme: revamped
Student
11
Days of Global Unity - Creating a Culture of Peace - Celebrating a Sustainable
Future
September
11 – 21 - Culminating on the International Day of Peace
With
more than 250 events in over 60 countries!
You are invited to participate
in the annual 11 Days of Global Unity! 11 Days is an annual worldwide promotion
of peace and sustainability launched in 2004 by We, The World with more than
250 concerts, festivals, webcasts, and other events culminating on September 21
the U.N. International Day of Peace.
This year 11 Days will be
bigger than ever. We are collaborating with many groups with special
celebrations. See 11 Days Highlights below or go to
www.WeTheWorld.org/11days for the
complete Calendar and other information. Some of the vents around the world:
Earthdance will celebrate their 10th Anniversary on the weekend of Sept. 15th
to 17th including Arun Gandhi and "The Gandhi Tour"; Earthdance is a
leading participant in 11 Days with more than 220 events in 50 countries, such
as South Africa, Taiwan, Brazil, Zambia, Nepal, Denmark Australia, United
States (Northern California Hub Event) and many more!; 100 year Anniversary of
Gandhi's first nonviolent campaign Sept. 11th against racial prejudice in South
Africa with MK Gandhi Institute; Interfaith Ceremony Sept. 11th with Arun
Gandhi on the mall in Washington DC; Peace Alliance Foundation Launch of it's
Peace Registry ; Peace Alliance/Dept. of Peace National Walk for Peace
September 16th; 100 Years of Non-Violence/New Yorkers for A Dept. of Peace September
11th USA nationwide screenings of the movie Gandhi; We, The World presentation
of the Heart of Humanity Award to Arun Gandhi for the Gandhi Family in
recognition of 100 years of Satyagraha (Nonviolence) at Earthdance Hub Event
("The Gandhi Tour") Sept. 15th in Northern California above San
Francisco; Pathways to Peace/International Day of Peace. Sept. 21st (25th
Observance of the International Day of Peace) including more than 600 events in
160 nations!
New
comic book on HIV/AIDS launched for deaf community in
By
Caroline Nenguke
10 September - Using
illustrations of South African Sign Language instead of speech bubbles, a new comic
book is reaching out to the deaf community with messages about HIV and AIDS,
sexual violence and sexual rights. The
14-page 'Are Your Rights Respected?' follows a group of friends attending deaf
school as they learn about their sexuality, how to protect themselves from HIV,
their rights to health and education, and how to deal with sexual abuse. (…)
The new comic book was
developed by the Gay and Lesbian Archives (GALA) - an independent project of
the South African History Archives at the University of the Witwatersrand in
http://africa.oneworld.net/article/view/139084/1/
by Makopano Letsatsi - World
Vision
September 6 - Twelve primary
schools from Nazareth Area Development Programme (ADP) recently participated in
a HIV and AIDS awareness song and poetry competition with the theme ‘we will
overcome AIDS’. The crowd was entertained by poems delivered by pupils from
seven schools, focusing on the theme of the day. The performers of the three
winning poems were awarded school bags, while the rest were given a pencil,
rubber, and ruler each.
A song aimed at disseminating
the HIV and AIDS message to primary school children was composed specifically
for World Vision in the Nazareth ADP by local composer Karabo Lekhanya and
carried the theme of the competition.
The Nazareth ADP HIV and AIDS
Officer and event organiser said the music event was part of an awareness
campaign whose aim is to educate school children on preventive measures. Song
composer Lekhanya said the song depicts the devastating effects that HIV virus
brought to Basotho nation and the world at large. Later in the song there is a
message of hope that through combined effort, HIV can be overcome like other
diseases. (…)
http://www.wvi.org/wvi/news/latest_news.htm#Swaziland
Private
Sector comes forward to support girls’ education in Yemen
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_35579.html
Earth
Charter International and UNESCO conference in Latin America draws additional
support, aims to be major event - 31
October-2 November, University for Peace,
As reported in our last issue,
UNESCO now considers Earth Charter International as a strategic partner in
advancing the goals of the UN Decade for Education for Sustainable Development
("DESD"). UNESCO together with the
The conference is already
attracting considerable attention, and additional funding and sponsorship have
now been committed from the United National Environment Program (UNEP) and the
Avina Foundation. Approximately one hundred participants are expected,
including senior government officials from education ministries throughout
Central and
http://www.earthcharter.org/files/resources/ECI_Newsflash_2006_4%20ENG.pdf
* * * * * * *
by Sergio Tripi
Reflections
on the 59th Annual UNDPI-NGO
Conference: “Effective Partnerships for Human Security and Sustainable Development”,
for which 2,500 representatives of non-governmental organizations from more
than 90 countries gathered together at the United Nations in New York from the
5th to 8th September.
This annual UNDPI-NGO
conference has shown, once again and increasingly, the stupendous process of
transformation which is being carried out by a meaningful part of humanity
which, refusing the old values, is fighting to build a different reality. If
some events make it seem as if we are living in the stone age, for other
reasons we seem to be on another planet;
and the attentive eye of the observer must know how to perceive above
all the positive and promising signs, because those are the ones which announce
the future that we are in the process of building. “Energy follows thought”
says an old axiom; and, in a world which has scientifically demonstrated that
it is made of energy, thought tries once again and definitely to be the “motor”
of reality and thus the promoter of the evolution of consciousness which is changing
reality from the inside. It is the most silent evolution and at the same time
the loudest one that man can make, the only one capable of making a permanent
impression on the reality of our lives and of reestablishing a scale of values
worthy of this definition.
Undoubtedly, today’s crisis of
values reflects a lack of readiness to cooperate, distribute and circulate
resources throughout the whole body of humanity and in harmony with the
environment. From the ethical perspective, the aim of serving the common good
should prevail over the interest of one party, whether this is understood as a
corporation or social class, or as a single nation in the international
context. However, the social, political and economic system of the world is
still mainly set up to take, to accumulate, to separate. We have learnt to
master the art of creating barriers and, as a result, we excel in the sad
capacity of creating worlds of “those who have” and “those who have not”. And
thus we discover that the global psychic and physical environment is threatened
and we inwardly realize the absolute necessity of a creative change of
consciousness.
Consciousness, if we look
carefully, is deeply changing. We are quickly accepting the fact that we cannot
go ahead as we have done so far and we are becoming ever more open to new
possibilities. A wise use of creative imagination is essential for recognizing
among these new possibilities those most able to improve the quality of life.
It is necessary to utilize those noble inclinations of behaviour which are
called solidarity, sharing and responsibility for the common good. And the
growing and no longer marginal participation of civil society in the process of
reaching the Millennium Development Goals is the direct and tangible confirmation,
extremely tangible, of the silent evolution of consciousness which the world is
carrying out and which is hardly talked about, though for not much longer.
There is no doubt that the
most advanced part of humanity, that which is most aware of its duties and
rights, is more and more refusing those obsolete values which have given rise
to objectives and models of behaviour which tend to gratify the single
individual or the single country. Those types of behaviour, to make it clear,
that have placed on the altar material success, hedonism, consumerism and the
lack of an ethical code of responsibility which limits what it is right to
pursue in relation to respect of the rights of others. It now seems evident
that the silent part of humanity of which I speak, the one mobilized by and for
the evolution of consciousness, has begun to respond with growing determination
to this new way of being. To this farsighted part of humanity it is quite clear
what should now be refused as undesirable and unworthy of the evolutionary
level and the capacity for understanding that man has reached, and it is
equally clear to it what road should be taken, where to aim for, what to seek.
Today there appears in
consciousness the need, and at the same time the initial evidence, of a new and
global system of ethics, which can only spring from that new concept which many
people of advanced consciousness have already begun to make their own: that of
unity in diversity. It is a concept of
enormous power: it knocks down the limitations of different doctrines,
overcomes the barriers of different conceptions and behaviour and defeats the
incomprehension, animosity and hatred which such differences, heightened to the
point of fanaticism, have given rise to and consolidated. It is in this way
that comprehension is born: first of all from respect of the other, whether
this “other” is a type of behaviour, a person, a philosophical doctrine or a religious belief. From this
evolutionary concept, easy to say but difficult for many to assimilate, it will
certainly be possible to make the right reply emerge to those questions which
humanity is asking itself in order to refound the science of human
relationships and build a new era of peace.
Utopias, chimeras? Certainly
not, because civil society is now on the march. The direction is the right one,
it is the one of evolution. The evidence of its incredible force, made of love
and spirit of brotherhood, is before the eyes of the person who wants to see
and can see, of the person who has not failed to notice already that public
opinion, now brought together by modern means of communication which inform it
in real time on the events of the planet, is now strong enough to be able to
modify the society which expresses it. Consequently, civil society is having a
new, deep and increasingly determining role for the future that we want to
build.
* * * * * * *
(top)
Next issue: 6 October.
* * * * * * *
Good News Agency is distributed free of charge through Internet to over 3,700 editorial offices of the daily newspapers and periodical magazines and of the radio and television stations with an e-mail address in 48 countries: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Holland, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, USA. It is also distributed free of charge to over 2,800 NGOs around the world and it is available in its web site: http://www.goodnewsagency.org
It is an all-volunteer service of Associazione Culturale dei Triangoli e della Buona Volontà Mondiale, a registered non-profit educational organization chartered in Italy in 1979 and associated with the Department of Public Information of the United Nations.
The Association operates for the development of consciousness and promotes a culture of peace in the ‘global village’ perspective based on unity in diversity and on sharing.
Via Antagora 10, 00124
Rome, Italy. E-mail: s.tripi@tiscali.it
* * * * * * *
(TOP)