Good News Agency – Year VII, n° 7
Weekly - Year VII, number 7 – 26th
May 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
The European Commission welcomes
the creation of a “Certificate on European Law on Immigration and Asylum”
Brussels, 19 May 2006 - The European Commission
welcomes the announcement of the creation of a “Certificate on European Law on
Immigration and Asylum” by the Odysseus Academic Network. The Commission
considers the creation of this one year programme of training as an interesting
contribution of the academic community to the development of a common policy on
immigration and asylum. There is indeed a growing need for specific training on
those issues in the Member States and offering training opportunities is also a
significant element of capacity building for third countries cooperating with
the EU to improve immigration and asylum management. (…)
The programme which is the first of this kind, will
offer its participant a deep understanding of the developing European Law on
Immigration and Asylum from a theoretical as well as practical point of view.
It is made of one introductory module followed by two specialised modules on
immigration and asylum and a research paper.
The “Odysseus Network” is the Academic Network for
Legal Studies on Immigration and Asylum in Europe” created in 1999 with the
financial support of the European Commission. The courses will start in
September 2006 in Brussels and are given in English. All information is
available on the websit http://www.ulb.ac.be/assoc/odysseus
Geneva (ICRC), 16 May 2006 – The International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) welcomes the 20th ratification on May 12 of
the 2003 Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War. This ratification ensures the
entry into force of the Protocol, which is the first multilateral treaty of
international humanitarian law requiring parties to an armed conflict to clear
all unexploded and abandoned ordnance that threatens civilians, peacekeepers
and aid workers after the fighting is over.
The Protocol was adopted in response to an ICRC
initiative launched in September 2000. Concerned about the large numbers of
civilian casualties claimed by unexploded artillery shells, grenades,
cluster-bomb submunitions, mortars and similar ordnance, the ICRC called on the
States party to the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) to draw
up new rules in this area. While the international community has made great
progress in reducing the suffering caused by anti-personnel mines, other forms
of unexploded and abandoned ordnance continue to pose an equally grave threat
to civilians.
The Protocol was concluded by the 91 States party
to the CCW, including all the major military powers. It requires parties to an
armed conflict to:
· Survey, mark and clear explosive remnants of war
(ERW) in areas under their control after a conflict.
· Provide technical, material and financial
assistance for the removal of ERW left by their armed forces in areas not under
their control.
· Record information on explosive ordnance used or
abandoned by their armed forces and share that information with organizations
involved in clearance activities.
· Take all feasible precautions to protect
civilians from the effects of ERW, including marking and fencing off dangerous
areas and warning them of the risks. (…)
Reiterating this position, the ICRC calls on all
States that have not yet ratified this important treaty to do so urgently.
Lebanon adheres to a UNECE
Transport Convention
Geneva,
5 May -- On 22 March 2006, Lebanon deposited with the UN Secretary-General an
instrument of accession to the UNECE Convention on the Contract for the
International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR). This brings the total number of
States Parties to this Convention to 47. On the same date, Lebanon also
deposited an instrument of accession to the Protocol to the CMR Convention,
thus bringing the total number of States Parties to this Protocol to 32. In
accordance with their respective provisions, both legal instruments will enter
into force for Lebanon on 20 June 2006. The CMR Convention fixes the conditions
for the contract for the carriage of goods by road between the forwarder and
the carrier. In particular, it provides for the use of the consignment note and
establishes the conditions for liability, for example in the case of loss of
the goods or delays. (…)
http://www.unece.org/press/pr2006/06trans_p04e.htm
An alliance
of European civil societies have launched a campaign entitled the
"European Citizens’ Initiative".
The European Citizens’ initiative (ECI) would
require the European Commission to respond to a proposed change in European law
signed by at least one million EU citizens. This would enable European citizens
and civil society organizations to directly influence the political agenda of
the EU for the first time in history.
The idea of this campaign is to collect one million
signatures of people from all over the European Union demanding the
introduction of the ECI by the EU. At the moment, there is no possibility for
European citizens to iniciate or to modify European legislation.
The proposed start of the campaign is 9 May 2006,
and the campaign should not last longer than 18 months. In order for future
Citizens’ Initiatives to work the regulation must be designed in a
citizen-friendly way, so guidelines will be published on how this can be
ensured.
The European Civil Society states that the time
has come for the European project to be driven by the people, and not only by
an elite. They argue that when implemented, the ECI will be the first
transnational tool of democracy. It will give citizens a right of initiative
that is equivalent to that of the European Parliament, and much more effective
than the current European citizens’ right of petition. (…)
Amnesty International
May 10 - Amnesty International today congratulated
the first members of the Human Rights Council on their election, saying that:
"Each member has a duty to ensure that the Council will be strong and
effective and give the best possible protection to victims of human rights
violations all over the world." New Council members have a heavy
responsibility to create the right structures and procedures for a Council that
marks a fresh start in the UN's efforts to promote and protect all human rights
in all countries, and that sets aside past practices of selectivity, double
standards and excessive politicization. (…)
Some elected states have a record of serious human
rights violations or failure to cooperate fully with the human rights
mechanisms established by the Commission on Human Rights. These states must
improve their human rights performance and now also fulfil their distinct
obligation to uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of
human rights, as resolution 60/251, which established the Council, specifically
requires them to do. Human rights organisations will monitor how, and if, these
important promises are put into practice.
This has been the first election to a United
Nations political body by absolute majority of the General Assembly; each new
member of the Council had to achieve at least 96 votes in favour to secure a
seat. A further welcome advance on past practice is that for the first time,
candidate countries’ human rights records and pledges played a distinct role in
the elections, as the resolution required. (…)
http://www.globalpolicy.org/reform/topics/hrc/2006/0510newbeg.htm
May
21: Global Walk Against Child Hunger
The United Nations World Food
Programme (WFP) and its partners are mobilizing hundreds of thousands of people
worldwide to walk together on 21 May to call for an end to child hunger. This
will be the most comprehensive and diverse demonstration in history focused on
hungry children and the Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion
of hungry people globally by 2015.
On Sunday, 21 May 2006, more
than 700,000 people in over 100
countries across 24 time zones are expected to walk five kilometers to
highlight the battle against child hunger.
This number includes children throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Some 100,000 children are expected to walk in Sub-Saharan Africa alone. Most of
these are beneficiaries of WFP’s innovative and hugely successful School
Feeding Programme. (…)
“Fight Hunger: Walk the World” was initiated three years ago by
TNT, global provider of express, mail and logistics services. The event is the primary organizing vehicle for
engage citizens globally in the struggle to achieve an end to child hunger and
the first Millennium Development Goal. (…) www.fighthunger.org
Army
officers in Democratic Republic of the Congo receive training in humanitarian
principles
Kinshasa, 17 May
- The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Child Protection Division of
the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) and the
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) have concluded in
the eastern town of Bunia, Ituri Province, a training for 45 officers of the
Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) on humanitarian
principles and the protection of civilians. The officers were commanders of platoons,
sections, companies and battalions. Notably,
the participants were trained on international legal instruments and norms
pertaining to the involvement of children in armed forces, as well as the role
of armed forces in the protection of children and women against sexual
violence.
During the training workshop,
the participants identified opportunities for raising awareness among the
troops they command, and the modalities of applying these principles in the
field. Ten humanitarian actors,
based in Ituri and representing UN agencies, international and national NGOs,
also received the training on humanitarian principles and the absolute
necessity to abide by them, particularly in this pre-electoral period to better
guarantee the neutrality and impartiality of humanitarian action.(…)
http://ochaonline.un.org/webpage.asp?MenuID=10626&Page=2092
Towards
a common market in Africa
Two
Italian-financed projects to improve food security through a regional approach
Rome, 25 May - FAO announced
today the launch of two new projects to promote food security in five countries
in eastern and southern Africa, worth a total of $4.5 million. Both projects
are being financed by the Italian government under the FAO Trust Fund for Food
Security*.
The projects both focus on
modernizing agricultural systems and on promoting market access to provide
outlets for what is mainly subsistence farming as part of the broader strategy
agreed in 2001 by the member countries of NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's
Development). (…)
The first project, worth $3
million, will be implemented in the districts of three bordering countries,
Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda, in the Great Lakes region. Working together will
strengthen cooperation between all three, and each will be able to capitalize
on the experience of the others. There is a very little recourse to irrigation,
and agriculture is highly rainfall-dependent. The project will therefore
encourage the efficient use of available water resources and aim at
strengthening small farmers' organizations through training courses and
"field schools."
The other project, in which
$1.5 million is to be invested, will improve cassava production in Malawi and
Zambia. Recurrent droughts and poor yields of traditionally produced maize,
which is oversensitive to climatic variations, have encouraged the widespread
farming of cassava, making it Africa's fastest growing food crop today. In
Zambia it is the staple food of over 30% of the population. The aim of the
project is to enhance cassava's commercial potential by processing it, for
example into starch, which can also be exported.(…)
* The FAO Trust Fund for Food
Security was launched in 2001 by the Director-General of FAO, Jacques Diouf, in
the wake of the World Food Summit, to give a greater impetus to combating
hunger. Italy was one of the first FAO member countries to respond to the
appeal, with a pledge of 100 million euros, 60 million of which have already
been disbursed.
US$8.4
million IFAD loan for project to rehabilitate poor areas of the Congo
Rome, 22 May - Better seed distribution, disease-resistant plant
cuttings, stronger markets and better financial services are some of the
proposed benefits from a new development project to help rehabilitate some of the
poorest rural areas of the Congo.
The Rural Development Project in the Departments of Niari, Bouenza
and Lékoumou will be funded partly by a loan of US$8.4 million from the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The loan agreement was
signed today at IFAD headquarters in Rome (…) The Organization of the Petroleum
Exporting Countries Fund for International Development (OPEC Fund) is providing
cofinancing of US$7.5 million to the project.
The Congo is rich in natural
resources - mainly oil, water, forests and
arable land, but poor management in the 1980s and conflict in the 1990s led
to a steady decline in the country’s
prospects. Since the end of the war in 1999, economic recovery has been slow.
Although the Congo is Africa’s third largest oil exporter, there is vast
inequality in the distribution of income from oil and severe poverty is widespread,
especially in rural areas. (…)
The people in Niari, Bouenza
and Lékoumou are primarily subsistence farmers with little access to markets
and financial resources. Women and young people are particularly vulnerable.
The project will support the rehabilitation of roads and improve access to
markets. Distribution of better quality seeds and planting material will be
promoted, in particular disease-resistant cuttings for cassava. The project
will also work with farmers’ groups to
boost their management and negotiating skills.
The project will take a
participatory approach to planning and implementation, with special attention
being given to enabling vulnerable and marginalized groups to express their
needs. (…)
Land
reform in Madagascar to be strengthened by new project
Rome, 19 May – Madagascar’s
land reform programme will be strengthened by a new development project that
aims to improve security of land tenure for rural poor people. The project will
also promote social stability, reduce poverty and stimulate economic growth.
The US$23 million Project to
Support Development in the Menabe and Melaky Regions will be financed partly by
a US$13.1 million loan and a US$365 000 grant from the International Fund for
Agricultural Development (IFAD). The loan agreement will be signed on 19 May by
the Assistant President of IFAD, Ana Knopf, and the Ambassador for the Republic
of Madagascar in Rome, Auguste Richard Paraina.
Menabe and Melaky, in western
Madagascar, have high levels of poverty, malnutrition and illiteracy. The
populations in both regions are made particularly vulnerable by insecure land
rights and the high incidence of natural disasters. Madagascar is one of the
poorest countries in the world and this project will specifically help small
farmers with little or no land, who face severe malnutrition during the year.
About 200,000 people are expected to benefit directly from the eight-year
project. (…)
For more information contact: Farhana
Haque-Rahman,Chief, Media Relations, Special Events and Programmes f.haquerahman@ifad.org
Nairobi, 19 May (IRIN) - The European Commission
will support Somalia's political transition and fight against poverty through a
€70 million (US $89 million) aid package for the Somalia Recovery Programme.
The announcement of the funding on Friday followed a memorandum of
understanding signed on 28 March by EC President José Manuel Barroso, EC
Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Louis Michel, Somali
President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and Somali Prime Minister Mohammed Gedi. (…)
Somalia is one of the poorest nations in the
world, with 43.2 percent of its population living on less than $1 a day and an
infant-mortality rate of approximately 22 percent. The Horn of Africa nation
has had no functioning central government since the collapse of the regime of
Muhammad Siyad Barre in 1991. After a national reconciliation conference,
transitional federal institutions, comprising the federal government and
parliament, were formed in January 2005. (…)
On Wednesday, the British international
development secretary, Hilary Benn, visited Somalia and announced that his
department would provide US $18 million to support the transitional parliament
and ministers, provide humanitarian relief for drought-affected people and
support education programmes with the United Nations Children's Fund.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/RURI-6PXR82?OpenDocument
FAO
and China forge strategic alliance to improve food security in developing
countries
Around
3 000 Chinese experts and technicians will share their skills
Rome/Jakarta, 18 May – The
Government of China expressed its intent to provide the services of at least 3
000 experts and technicians over a six-year period to help improve the
productivity of small-scale farmers and fishers in developing countries, under
an agreement signed today with FAO. This FAO-China collaboration is part of
FAO's South-South Cooperation initiative, which aims to strengthen cooperation
among developing countries at different stages of development to improve
agricultural productivity and ensure access to food for all.
The Chinese specialists, with
practical expertise in irrigation, agronomy, livestock, fisheries, post-harvest
handling and other fields, will be gradually deployed for three-year assignments
over a total period of six years. The recipient countries will be jointly
selected from a list of potential beneficiaries provided by FAO.
China is a major provider of
South-South Cooperation experts and has already signed agreements with Bangladesh,
Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Mauritania and Nigeria, as well as with 14 Small Island
Developing States under regional programmes.
ECA Workshop Adopts Natural
Resources Cluster Development
by
Yinka Adeyemi
18 May - A workshop aimed at
disseminating the findings of ECA’s landmark cluster study of South Africa and
Mozambique, has ended in Maputo with broad recommendations on a better and
integrated understanding of the mineral resources sector and what it takes to
maximize its linkages with local economies and improve its legacy beyond the
currency of mining. The workshop on “Integrated Resources Planning: Fostering
Minerals Clusters”, was organized by ECA in collaboration with UNCTAD, CEPMLP,
SEAMIC, MINTEK and the government of Mozambique. It was attended by 85
participants including high-level policy makers from Ministries of Mines,
Finance and Planning of 16 African countries.
The workshop was premised on
the realization that government policies and institutions were critical to
realizing the potential of mineral resources in Africa, and that institutional
and capacity gaps still exist in many African countries to manage the sector to
foster growth and development of the continent. The workshop also provided the
tools for minerals policy design and implementation, and enhance participants’
knowledge and capacity on mineral-related subjects.(…) http://www.uneca.org/
New
investment initiative aims to improve fisheries management and reduce poverty
in Africa
The
new funding scheme is the first of its kind
Nairobi/Rome,
16 May – A new partnership aimed at restoring depleted fisheries and reducing
poverty in Africa was launched today by the African Union (AU), the World Bank,
WWF – the Global Conservation Organization, and the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
This partnership includes a
commitment of US$60 million from the Global Environment Facility which is to be
matched 3-1 in funds from other donors for a total of approximately
US$240 million over the next ten years. The new funding scheme is the
first of its kind focussed on sustainable fisheries in the large marine
ecosystems of Africa and will work to reduce poverty in coastal communities and
curtail overfishing of marine resources. The funding will be used to assist
countries' efforts to better manage their marine fisheries and improve the
living conditions of fishing communities. (…)
The World Bank, FAO and WWF, through
an extensive consultative process with stakeholders, have over the last two
years designed the investment fund and promoted the partnership with the
African Union and coastal countries that underpins it. The African Union will
chair an advisory committee that includes regional fisheries management
organizations and which will oversee the fund and partnership activities.(…)
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000293/index.html
Teheran, Iran - Groundbreaking
event for handicrafts and tourism –
Teheran, 15 May - An enthusiastic response from high level
local and international tourism and
handicrafts experts has brought more than 500 participants from 35 countries to
the world's first Conference on Tourism and Handicrafts opened last Saturday in
Tehran. Its aim is to define the links between handicrafts and tourism. This
three day International Conference is organized by the United Nations World
Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Iran Cultural Heritage and Tourism
Organization (ICHTO) with the support of UNESCO and will focus on employment
opportunities, alleviation of poverty and discovering new ways to promote
tourism and handicrafts.
In his inauguration speech,
Taleb Rifai, UNWTO Deputy Secretary-General referred to the Conference as a
ground breaking event: “Tourism and handicrafts have a great effect on the
lives of the people in today’s world”, he said, “and Iran, with its great
historical heritage, is a natural choice as the host country for this
conference.(…) “Handicrafts and their interactions with tourism can be
used as an instrument in creating a dialogue between peoples and nations in the
coming global society.The First International Conference on Tourism and
Handicrafts is a suitable measure in achieving this goal,” said Esfandyar Rahim
Mashaee, Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the President of
Iran Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization. (…)
Above all, the Conference aims
at addressing how handicrafts and tourism could serve to reduce poverty
especially in remote rural areas within a broader framework of achieving the
Millennium Development Goals.
http://www.world-tourism.org/newsroom/menu.htm
Tanzania’s
poorest livestock farmers to be helped by new development programme
Rome, 8 May – Tanzanians who
are very poor and depend heavily on farming animals for their livelihoods will
be supported to increase their incomes through improved production and better
access to markets and livestock services when a new US$39 million development
programme gets underway. The Agriculture Sector Development Programme –
Livestock: Support for Pastoral and Agro-Pastoral Development will be partly
funded by a US$20.0 million loan from the International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD) and cofinanced by the Government of the United Republic of
Tanzania and the Belgian Survival Fund. The loan agreement was signed today at
IFAD’s headquarters in Rome (…)
Implemented under the
Agricultural Sector Development Programme, it will target the poorest
pastoralists and agro-pastoralists in 11 regions and will launch a wide range
of initiatives that will boost animal production and broaden opportunities for
people to improve their livelihoods, especially women, young people and
marginalized groups.(…)
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2006/22.htm
UNDP supports rickshaw project
for tsunami victims
Sigli,
Indonesia – Tsunami victims are receiving
assistance to restart their businesses and return to normal life. In Sigli, in
the province of Banda Aceh, Indonesia, rickshaws are being handed over to small
traders and porters. This project is supported by the United Nations
Development Programme and is being implemented by Islamic Relief in partnership
with the local NGO Maimun Centre. In consultation with the community, the
beneficiaries were chosen among the most vulnerable families. The rickshaws
are not a donation. The project is organized as a micro-credit
system. Each recipient agrees to pay back its value in weekly
instalments. The money returns to the community fund, so that new
rickshaws can be purchased and benefit more families. This way the local
economy is boosted and the beneficiaries develop a sense of empowerment and
responsibility towards the project. http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/may-2006/aceh-rickshaw-20060518.en;jsessionid=aEN5AHzlWVr6
Latin
America and the Caribbean's Gross Domestic Product to Grow 4.6% in 2006
The
region should maintain last year's growth rates, amidst favourable
international conditions.
18
April - The Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean will grow 4.6% in 2006,
up slightly from last year (2005). For 2007, growth is expected to slow a
little to around 4%. This is the projection from the Economic Commission for
Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
in its report América Latina y el
Caribe: proyecciones 2006-2007 (Latin America and the Caribbean: Projections
2006-2007) (…)
In 2006, growth rates for
Latin American countries will range from 3% to 6%, except for Argentina and
Venezuela, which will grow by more than 6%. As in previous years, the Southern
Cone (Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay) and the Andean Community posted the
most growth, at 6.9% and 5.7%, respectively. Argentina, with growth expected to
reach 7.5% in 2005, will lead in the Southern Cone, thanks to strong domestic
demand, especially from investment. In Brazil, lower interest rates, reflecting
less restrictive monetary policy, should stimulate a significant response from
domestic demand, taking growth to 3.5%. The 7% growth forecast for Venezuela
should boost the average for the Andean Community overall.(…)
Kabul, 18 May -
The ICRC, the Afghan Red Crescent Society and the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have come to the aid of some
300 families in the remote Gurziwan and Belchiragh districts of Fariab province,
in northern Afghanistan, following heavy spring floods that partially or
completely destroyed their houses. (…)
Each family has received essential household items
such as tarpaulins, blankets, kitchen sets and jerrycans. Families whose houses
were completely destroyed have also received a tent. In addition to an initial
food ration distributed immediately after the flood, about 200 families in
Gurziwan valley and 36 families in Belchiragh district have also received 200
kg of rice, beans and oil – enough for two months.
The Red Cross / Red Crescent is closely consulting
with other humanitarian organizations regarding possible future aid. Northern
Afghanistan is frequently affected by natural disasters such as landslides,
floods and earthquakes. Backed by the ICRC and the International Federation,
the Afghan Red Crescent stands ready to respond should the need arise.
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. May 15 – A little known
humanitarian initiative launched by the U.S. Congress may prove the most cost
effective mechanisms for delivering aid.
“Operation Provide Hope” has spent only $3.9
million to distribute $3.9 billion worth of assistance to the former Soviet
Union. Jerry Oberndorfer, U.S. Department of State Director of Coordination for
U.S. Assistance to Europe and Eurasia, said the program provided “big bang for
the buck” while speaking to implementation partners and beneficiaries in
Bishkek.
Lelei LeLaulu, President of Counterpart
International, one of the managers of the initiative, agreed noting that “the
leveraging made possible by the program’s partners makes it one of the most
productive uses of public money.” He
added that “for every taxpayer dollar, the operation provides almost $10 of aid
– most of it coming from private American charities.”
Each year, 80 U.S. groups collect approximately
$11 million in critically needed commodities which Counterpart ships. On any given day, about 100 containers worth
of goods are in transit through Counterpart’s logistics system. (…)
http://www.counterpart.org/dnn/Default.aspx?tabid=49&metaid=G6GP4623-c7b
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA, May 19 - The
Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is providing emergency food aid
for 13,000 people in the severely drought-affected area of Gode, in the Somali
Region of Ethiopia.
The primary goal of the project is to ensure the
survival of those living in the hardest hit area of Ethiopia, in the southern
Somali region. ADRA is working in one of the worst affected areas, Adadle
Woreda, a district in the Gode Zone that consists of 40 villages, where
malnutrition and death rates are higher than most other parts of the country.
The project targets groups most vulnerable to the
drought. "We want to focus primarily on extremely weakened children under
the age of five, because they are at the most serious risk of dying,” said Gaby
Heuser, disaster response project coordinator,ADRA Germany. “We also will
provide support for pregnant women, lactating mothers, and HIV and AIDS
patients."
Recipients will receive special therapeutic food
during the worst period of the drought, starting June 1. Each will receive
enough food to last them for one month. Those who suffer from HIV and AIDS will
also receive more than six pounds of a high-energy, vitamin-enriched food supplement.
The project, worth nearly $300,000, is funded
primarily by the German Government, in partnership with the ADRA office in
Germany. The intervention will continue through August. (…)
http://www.interaction.org/newswire/detail.php?id=5046
UN News
May 10 - The newly launched United Nations Central
Emergency Response Fund (CERF) today announced its first disbursements for the
world’s most under-funded emergencies, with 12 States, 11 of them in Africa,
benefiting from a total of $32 million.
The Fund, which has so far received $254 million of its $450 million
target reserve, was launched two months ago to jump-start relief operations and
save thousands of lives that would otherwise be lost to delay under the
then-existing Central Emergency Revolving Fund, with only $50 million in
resources.
A third of CERF’s resources is reserved for making
up shortfalls in chronically under-funded emergencies, and today’s allocations
cover long-term refugee crises and other impacts of instability and insecurity
due to civil or regional conflicts.
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland, who
manages the Fund, said the beneficiaries would be Burundi, the Central African
Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),
Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, the Republic of Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe, all in
Africa; and Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.
Forty countries and two private sector donors have
so far contributed to the Fund. (…)
http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/develop/oda/2006/0510cerfpays.htm
Darfur, Sudan’s conflict-ridden northwest region,
has been called the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis.” Rough estimates put
the death toll at 400,000, with 3.5 million suffering from starvation and 2.5
million have been displaced throughout the region, living in tent camps without
adequate nutrition, sanitation, shelter or medical supplies. Counterpart International partnered with
Relief International’s medical teams to bring life-saving pharmaceuticals and
medical supplies to the affected communities. (…)
Mobilizing donated goods and services, Counterpart
delivered over $1.8 million in medical supplies and $3.7 million in
pharmaceuticals to Al-Fashir, the capital of northern Darfur. The medical supplies, including syringes,
needles, catheters, bandages, wheelchairs and hospital beds, were donated by
Gleaning for the World, a longtime partner.
Medicines for Humanity, generously supplied the pharmaceuticals,
including de-worming medicine and antibiotics. Shipment costs and logistical
arrangements were in part donated by Skylink Aviation, a Canadian based firm.
The medical supplies and pharmaceuticals will be
used to stock both mobile and stationary clinics that serve the most isolated,
and severely affected, regions in Darfur. (…)
Counterpart International, an international
development organization with 40 years of experience in over 60 countries, has
delivered almost $1 billion in aid around the world since 1991.
http://www.counterpart.org/dnn/Default.aspx?tabid=49&metaid=G65K0024-bae
World Cup: UNICEF, FIFA
partnership for children
New York/Geneva/Zurich/London,
16 May - UNICEF and the world’s governing soccer body Fédération Internationale
de Football Association (FIFA) today officially kicked off their partnership campaign
for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany™ under the banner Unite For
Children Unite For Peace. The campaign spotlights the power of
soccer in promoting values of peace and tolerance within communities and at the
international level.
FIFA and UNICEF are joining
forces during the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ to use one of the world’s great sporting
events as a platform to show how sport can create self-esteem, self-confidence
and trust among children. (www.unicef.org/football) (…) The dedicated campaign
website spotlights these top “Team UNICEF” players as well as highlights video
stories of 11 children who have overcome various situations of violence and
conflict through the power of football. As part of the campaign, UNICEF,
FIFA and the non-governmental organization Family Violence Prevention Fund will
launch a manual for football coaches to use to help address issues of violence
and discrimination, particularly against women and girls. (…) The
manual will be published in English, French, Spanish, and German and will be
distributed globally.
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_33963.html
by Line Brylle
5 May - It is a happy day for
the two DanChurchAid deminers Mayumbu Kamenga aged 42 and Mbungu Vangu aged 38.
They have just been demobilised from the national Congolese army, in which they
both served almost half of their lives, 23 years and 18 years respectively. (…)
When a soldier leaves the army in the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) he receives 110 US dollars, two pairs of civilian
trousers, a tent, a plastic bucket and two cooking pots. After that the
ex-soldiers are left to survive on a support of 25 US dollars per month during
another 6 months after which the army no longer provides for them.
The two DanChurchAid deminers have just received
the red band on their military service card which signifies that one is
demobilised or has left the army – for good. The services of that person can no
longer be required by the army. (…) The two former soldiers now turned deminers
just want to be seen as ordinary people and to be respected as civilians: “We
just want to be disciplined and commit ourselves to the work of DCA. We are at
DCA orders now!” they say,very seriously at first, then they both start
laughing.
DCA’s demining programme in DRC will now look to
recruiting more ex-soldiers, as a contribution to the national demobilisation
process. (…)
12 May - On the 9.5.2006 the H.E. Mrs. May Britt
Brofoss, the Kingdom of Norway Ambassador in Slovenia, handed over the signed
Memorandum of Understanding to Mr. Goran Gačnik, director of ITF, at the
Kingdom of Norway embassy. The Kingdom of Norway thus contributed an amount of
USD 4.975.619,13 to ITF earmarked for
demining an technical survey projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina and
Croatia. Part of the donation, in
amount of USD 24.880 will be earmarked
for the rehabilitation of mine victims from the region of SE Europe.
In the past eight years, Kingdom of Norway donated
more than $ 32.2 million US confirming
to be one of the biggest supporters to Mine Action in SE Europe through ITF as
well as worldwide. The regular and generous donations for mine action
activities made by the Kingdom of Norway substantially contribute to resolution
of mine problem in SE Europe.
http://www.itf-fund.si/news/news.asp#m177
Zimbabwe : Army embarks on
de-mining exercise
by Oscar Nkala, www.andnetwork.com
The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) has said it has embarked on a fresh exercise to clear landmines from parts of the country’s eastern border with Mozambique.
Johannesburg, 9 May (AND) -
According to ZNA public relations officer Colonel Ben Ncube, the de-mining
exercise will cover a 50km stretch between the Sango Border Post and Cross
Corner Minefields in the south-eastern corner of the country.
Col. Ncube said the clearance would free up previously inaccessible parts to border community villages and facilitate the free movement of people between Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa. The ZNA, which began the de-mining exercise in the late 1980s with help from the European Union (EU) and the United States of America (USA) said it was going to carry out the exercise using its own resources. It has already accomplished other tasks despite the cutting of US-EU aid in the diplomatic rows of 2000-2003. “We are doing this project using our own personnel and resources.” The Zimbabwe Defence Forces Engineers have just finished work on de-mining the Victoria-Falls –Mlibizi (Binga) area and the liberated land has been handed back to the people.
The Sango Border Post
de-mining exercise is also meant to facilitate the development of new Limpopo
Trans-Frontier Park, an extensive project aimed at enhancing conservation and
facilitating tourism between Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa. (…)
19 May - Response planning is underway following confirmation
of a case of imported polio in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the
country's first case in nearly 6 years.
The mop-up immunization activity is expected to take place in the
high-risk areas of Bas Congo Province, Kinshasa and neighbouring parts of
Angola and Congo-Brazzaville, targeting up to 3 million children, starting 9
June.
After the two and a half year-old girl was
reported to have developed paralysis in Bas Congo province, laboratory testing
confirmed poliovirus as the cause on 10 May.
Genetic sequencing has determined that the virus
is closely related to a strain from Angola, of Indian origin.
Over 80% of children in Bas Congo have had oral
polio vaccine, making the province one of the best-immunized in the
country. The swift response being
planned - in accordance with standard guidelines issued by the Advisory
Committee on Polio Eradication for countries with importations of polio - is
expected to prevent further spread. Importations such as this re-affirm the
urgency of interrupting poliovirus transmission worldwide.
http://www.polioeradication.org/content/general/Outbreak_UpdatesDRC20060519.asp
Islamabad/Geneva (ICRC),19 May – The International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) today formally handed over its 100-bed field
hospital in Muzaffarabad to the Ministry of Health of Pakistan-administered
Kashmir. This handover follows the successful completion by 67 Pakistani
medical personnel of an intensive two-week training course organized by the
ICRC, the Norwegian Red Cross and the Ministry of Health of
Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The aim of the course was to enable the
participants to operate the field hospital on their own should another natural
disaster hit the area or other emergencies occur.
The Finnish and Norwegian Red Cross societies
provided the field hospital for the ICRC as part of the humanitarian response
to urgent needs arising from the earthquake that struck Pakistan-administered
Kashmir last October. The ICRC ran the hospital for five months, treating 848
inpatients and several hundred more outpatients.
Some 50 expatriate staff worked permanently in the
Muzaffarabad field hospital from October 2005 to February 2006, when it was
officially closed.
11 May - Health workers in Niamey, the capital of
Niger, are worrying about the start of this year’s rainy season. While everyone
is delighted to see the rains come after months of prolonged drought and
famine, the health workers know that the rains also mark the beginning of the malaria
season with much illness and death. But this year, and thanks to the nationwide
free distribution of long lasting insecticidal nets (LLIN) in December 2005,
and in March 2006, the people of Niger all have mosquito nets to protect
themselves against the dreaded mosquitoes.
In order to be sure these nets are used correctly
for protection, armies of volunteers are being mobilized to visit families
throughout the country. They will encourage them to hang-up the nets and ensure
that children and pregnant women who are at highest risk sleep under the nets
every night during the rainy season. Working closely with the National Malaria
Programme, the president of the Niger Red Cross, M. Ali Bandiare is leading
more than 5,500 volunteers who will visit more than 10,000 villages and
communities during the next two weeks of May. (…)
This “Hang-Up” effort during the last weeks of May
is demonstrating how volunteers who are also beneficiaries can be mobilized for
community education. This is a vitally important follow-on to Niger’s
nationwide distribution of 2.3 million nets which was made possible with
support from the Global Fund, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies, Swiss Tropical Institute, Niger Ministry of Health and its
Malaria Programme, Niger Red Cross, Canadian CIDA through the Canadian Red
Cross, Center for Medical Research (CERMES) Niger, Polio Eradication, WHO,
UNICEF, the CDC, country NGOs, Norwegian Red Cross and NORAD, American Red
Cross, and other national and international donors.
http://www.ifrc.org/Docs/News/06/06051102/index.asp
WHO
announces pharmaceutical companies agree to stop marketing single-drug
artemisinin malaria pills
Washington, D.C./Geneva, 11
May -- The World Health Organization
(WHO) announced today that 13 pharmaceutical companies have agreed to comply
with WHO's recommendation to phase out single-drug artemisinin medicines for
oral treatment of malaria. This group includes the main producers of high
quality artemisinin monotherapies. The companies will now focus their marketing
efforts for malaria primarily on Artemisinin Combination Therapies (ACTs), in
line with WHO recommendations.
The use of single-drug
artemisinin treatment, or monotherapy - especially on a wide scale for the
treatment of uncomplicated malaria - hastens development of resistance to
artemisinin in malaria parasites. When used correctly in combination with other
anti-malarial drugs in ACTs, artemisinin is nearly 95% effective in curing
uncomplicated malaria and the parasite is highly unlikely to become drug
resistant. Therefore, in January 2006, WHO appealed to all companies to stop
marketing oral artemisinin monotherapies and to re-direct their production
efforts towards ACTs. Following the January appeal, an additional 23 companies
were identified and informed of WHO's recommendation. 13 companies said they
would comply with the WHO guidance. Additional companies have said they are
willing to collaborate with WHO in this endeavour. (…)
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2006/pr23/en/index.html
(top)
Introducing the International
Bioenergy Platform (IBEP)
May 2006 - The International
Bioenergy Platform (IBEP) is being presented to the international community in
the energy, agriculture and environment sectors as a mechanism for organizing
and facilitating a multidisciplinary and global approach. IBEP is expected to
provide analysis and information for policy and decision-making support; to
build and strengthen institutional capacity at all levels; to enhance access to
energy services from sustainable bioenergy systems; and to facilitate
opportunities for effective international exchange and collaboration. (…)
The number of people living on
less than US$1/day is about the same as the number of those lacking access to
commercial energy: two thousand million people. Extending an electricity supply
grid to remote households in a rural setting can mean costs of up to US$0.70
per kilowatt-hour, seven times the cost of providing electricity in an urban
area. In this context, the availability of more bioenergy in its two main forms
— wood energy and agro-energy — can help provide cleaner energy services to
meet basic energy requirements. This century could see a significant switch,
from a fossil-fuel-based to a bioenergy - based economy, with agriculture and
forestry as the main sources of biomass for biofuels such as fuelwood,
charcoal, wood pellets, bio-ethanol, biodiesel and bio-electricity.
http://www.fao.org/sd/dim_en2/en2_060501_en.htm
Eritrea -
The solar cooker project keeps on growing
The Eritrea solar cooker project organized by the
foundation Solar Cooking Eritrea Netherlands (SCEN) continues to spread solar
cooking knowledge in the Anseba region. As of January 2006, women from eight
villages in the region, who previously purchased CooKits, attend monthly
classes to further their skills and work through any issues. SCEN hopes to
extend these classes to 32 more villages in the region by the end of this year.
Local women are fabricating CooKits in the city of
Keren. One hundred CooKits have been made, and more are in the works (pending
re-supply of aluminum foil, which must be imported). According to SCEN
representative Janine Pater, local fabrication is important: “This is a major
step forward in accomplishing the objective that now, and in the future,
everyone in Anseba will be in a position to buy and/or make a CooKit without
restriction.”
Contact: Clara Thomas, Solar Cooking Eritrea
Netherlands, Prof. van Reeslaan 11, 1261 CS Blaricum, Netherlands. E-mail: cookit.ned@wanadoo.nl , Web: www.solarcookingeritrea.nl
Paraguay –
European Solar Prize to commitment for the use of renewable energies
Paraguay continues to be an exciting place when it
comes to transforming lives through solar energy. Responsible for a long chain
of successes are two closely entwined organizations: la Fundación Celestina
Pèrez de Almada and the Center for Solar Energy (CEDESOL). Led by Professor Martin
Almada and engineer Jean-Claude Pulfer, the twin organizations bring solar
energy out of the laboratories and universities to people in need. Their
projects provide enough solar equipment and training to transform whole
villages, creating solar futures in several villages, and bringing those
futures into the present, one village at a time.
With support from the Swiss Embassy in Paraguay,
the Almada-Pulfer team recently supplied solar cooking equipment to two schools
for lunch preparation. Solar dehydrators will provide out-of-season healthy
fruit snacks to students. Dr. Almada was recently awarded a prestigious
European Solar Prize from EUROSOLAR, the European Association for Renewable
Energies. The award honors his “commitment for the use of renewable energies in
order to give people hope and find a way out of poverty.” Congratulations! For
more information on this award, and to view a short video of Dr. Almada’s work,
visit http://www.eurosolar.org/new/en/esp_2005.html
.
Contact:
Dr. Martin Almada, Fundación Celestina Pèrez de Almada, Av. Carlos Antonio
López, 2273 Asunción, Paraguay. E-mail: malmada@rieder.net.py ; Jean-Claude Pulfer,
CEDESOL, Boqueron 532, 1404 Asunción, Paraguay. Tel: 59 5 21579831, e-mail: cedesol@rieder.net.py
Rotarian spreads solar cooking in Turkey – Now begins
expanding to Armenia
Rotarian Abdullah Paksoy and
his solar energy/fuel efficiency team from Misis, along with trainers from the
United States, led multi-day demonstrations in the cities of Gazientep and
Adiyaman. Rotary Club members attended presentations and saw examples of solar
cookers and fuel-efficient wood stoves in action. Fifteen household solar
cookers and one community solar cooker were on display at a village square
demonstration witnessed by more than 70 people. Bulgur, chicken, rice, and
eggplant were among the dishes cooked. A fuel-efficient wood stove was used for
baking bread. Forty women attended a demonstration held in a cotton field where
they worked. The women brought food to be solar cooked for their midday meal.
During the past five years,
the Adana-Seyhan Rotary Club, with leadership from Mr. Paksoy, has developed a
functioning education center in Misis for teaching about solar cookers and for
housing inventory and equipment. About 3,000 CooKits have been manufactured in
Adana, and over half have been distributed. Mr. Paksoy admits that teaching women
to adopt changes in their long-established, traditional cooking habits is a
very slow process. Firewood shortages and rising gas prices play an
increasingly important role in this transition.
Mr. Paksoy’s team has also
begun to spread solar cooking to Armenia.
Contact: Abdullah Paksoy,
Adana-Seyhan Rotary Club, Kurtulus Mah, Sinasi Ef. Cad 9/1, 01120 Adana, Turkey. Tel: 903224540733, e-mail: aspaksoy@turk.net
17 May - The Atlantic hurricane season will
officially start on 1 June, and meteorological experts are predicting that the
Caribbean and Central America could witness above average levels of activity.
Experts forecast that the season, which lasts until the end of November, will
produce up to 14 tropical storms, with six to eight of these becoming
hurricanes, of which two to four may be classified as major hurricanes.
Red Cross preparations for the hurricane season
are well under way. Today, in St. Lucia representatives of 23 Central American
and Caribbean national Red Cross Societies, Overseas branches and other actors
such as ECHO (European Commission Humanitarian Aid Department), Spanish Agency for
International Cooperation (AECI), United Nation's office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Carribean disaster and emergency
response agency (CDERA) will gather for a three day meeting on disaster
preparedness.
Participants will revise and update contingency
and co-ordination plans. The meeting will specifically focus on strengthening
disaster management networks in the region. (…)
http://www.ifrc.org/Docs/News/pr06/3606.asp
8 May - A public advocacy campaign by the
Karaganda Civil Society Support Center (CSSC) EcoCenter and the NGO Reflection
has recently resulted in a government decision to delay the construction of a
mercury disposal site until citizens’ concerns are addressed. The campaign was
initiated when local authorities selected a popular recreation site three
kilometers from Temirtau City for the disposal of mercury from a long-closed
Karaganda Oblast (region) industrial plant. Because the proposed site is so
close to the rapidly expanding city and many people visit the area, the risk of
current and future mercury exposure to the general population is high.
The CSSC EcoCenter along with the NGO Reflection,
both USAID grantees through the Community Action Grant Program, conducted a
series of public hearings to gauge public opinion on the controversial issue
and to ensure compliance with environmental conventions. In response to voiced
concerns, the two organizations initiated an advocacy campaign to facilitate
local citizen participation in the decision-making process. The campaign
attracted attention from a variety of government institutions, including
Parliament. As a result, the construction of the site has been postponed
indefinitely.
http://www.usaid.gov/locations/europe_eurasia/press/success/2006-05-08.html for
more information.
http://www.counterpart.org/dnn/Default.aspx?tabid=49&metaid=G69P0155-d82
Singapore, 11 May (BWNS) -- Young members of the
Baha'i community here recently gave support to a national interfaith project
aimed at bringing Singaporeans of all races and religions together.
About 40 youth gathered at the Singapore Baha'i
Center on 15 April 2006 to fold paper lotuses as part of the Project Million
Lotus 2006, which is sponsored by the Singapore Buddhist Federation.
The effort aims to have young people of all races
and religions make a million paper lotuses as symbols of purity and harmony.
"The idea of folding a paper lotus is taken from the symbolic meaning of a
lotus that grows in muddy water and yet emerges into a pure and beautiful
flower," said Lynette Thomas, Secretary of The Spiritual Assembly of the
Baha'is of Singapore. (…) The 40 young people who gathered at the Singapore
Baha'i Center included many from Chung Cheng High School who are not Baha'is.
(…)
The project has received support from Singaporean
President S.R. Nathan, as well as from the Central Singapore Community
Development Council, Trust Central, the Inter Religious Organisation (IRO) of
Singapore, and several Singapore corporations.
The lotuses were scheduled to be displayed at the
Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza on 6-7 May 2006 as the highlight of the "Growing
Compassion, Harvesting Harmony," Singapore celebration of the Vesak
Festival. (…)
http://news.bahai.org/story.cfm?storyid=448
Afghanistan - Girls’ attendance
doubles in Afghan schools
by Mary Kate MacIsaac – World Vision Afghanistan
Communications Manager
17 May - Girls’ school attendance has doubled in
Afghan schools supported by World Vision and USDA, according to statistics
collected by World Vision school monitors. Using baseline numbers from 2004
when World Vision began its school enhancement programming, 8,522 girls were
attending schools under the USDA-supported Food-for-Education programme. Two
years later, in March 2006, records show attendance at 16,909. (…) Boys’
attendance during the same time period increased 31 per cent. (…) During the
former Taliban regime (1996-2001) the education of girls was strictly
forbidden, while boys received religious training. (…)
World
Vision International is a Christian relief and development organisation working
for the well being of all people, especially children. Through emergency
relief, education, health care, economic development and promotion of justice,
World Vision helps communities help themselves.
http://www.wvi.org/wvi/news/latest_news.htm
UNOPS & UNICEF rebuild
schools in four counties
Monrovia, Liberia, 17 May – UNICEF and its partner, UNOPS,
the United Nations Office for Project Services, have completed the
rehabilitation and refurbishment of 13 government schools in four Liberian
counties. The physical rehabilitation of the schools was undertaken by UNOPS
with funding from UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund. The cost for the
entire project was more than US$500,000. The rehabilitation work ranged from repairing
walls, roofs, and installing windows and doors to building a brand new
schoolhouse in Kpotomai, Lofa County.(…) Counties benefiting from the physical
rehabilitation and refurbishing of schools were Grand Gedeh, Lofa, Montserrado,
and Nimba. With the exception the Dinplay Public School in Dinplay, Nimba
County which is nearing completion, all of the rehabilitated schools have been
turned over to Government authorities and are currently being used for
instructional purposes. (…)
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_33994.html
Nairobi, Ethiopia, 15 May — Rotary International,
the world's largest privately-funded source of international scholarships, has
launched a promotion of its newest educational program to potential
beneficiaries in Africa. Beginning in Nairobi this week, the promotion is aimed
at encouraging more Africans, Kenyans in particular, to apply for the
scholarships to earn a master's level degree in peace and conflict resolution
studies. The awards are part of a Rotary program, called the Rotary Centers for
International Studies in peace and conflict resolution, to train future
diplomats, government officials, and social leaders in the art of
peace-building and conflict resolution.
Africa , which bears the brunt of most of the
world's armed conflicts, especially needs the services of professionals with
the skills to help prevent wars and broker peace efforts. According to Frank
Devlyn, trustee chair of The Rotary Foundation, the program is part of Rotary's
effort to promote peace through education. "You have only to pick up a
newspaper to realize how vitally important it is that our world leaders be
skilled in the arts of conflict resolution and peaceful negotiation," says
Devlyn. (…)
Through a world-competitive process, the program
annually awards fully funded scholarships to up to 70 students, who are
officially known as Rotary World Peace Fellows, to study at the centers.
Required applicant qualifications include an undergraduate degree, excellent
leadership skills, and a demonstrated commitment to peace and international
understanding through service, academic, or professional achievements. The
centers are located on the campuses of Duke University and the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; International Christian
University, Tokyo, Japan; Sciences Po, Paris, France; Universidad del Salvador,
Buenos Aires, Argentina; University of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England;
University of California, Berkeley, California, USA; and University of
Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
http://www.rotary.org/newsroom/presscenter/releases/2006/269.html
3 May - This year’s largest international
children’s celebration– the First European Festival of Children’s Art &
Creativity -- will be held on May 27-31, 2006 at the Olympia Park in Munich,
Germany. Children from across Europe and special guests from the United States
as well as Australia, Ghana, Kenya, Pakistan, South Korea, Sri Lanka and the
United Arab Emirates will together paint a 100-meter long mural-flag at the
Olympia Park. Children will have the opportunity to experience and express
their collective creativity, depicting their imagination and fantasies, joys
and concerns for the future. The colorful flag-mural will symbolize the hope of
children around the world for a peaceful and creative global community.
On May 31st the flag-mural will be hoisted in a
televised ceremony onto the Olympia Park Tower. This will be a historic moment
because permission to use the Olympia Park Tower has never been granted before,
and now children have won the right to showcase their art and creativity and
its relationship to sport and peace building. On May 31st, the Olympia Park
Tower will be transformed into an international icon for peace and friendship.
(…)
http://www.icaf.org/news/newsfiles/200605040001.html
IV
World Congress Verbania 2006: “Positive side effects” – June 8-11
Side effects are part of a
chain reaction: a snow flake becomes an avalanche; the simultaneous presence of
sun and rain produces a rainbow. Positive side effects are the best “medicine”
that exists; negative side effects are the worst “poisons” for body and mind as
well as for the environment. Peace Education helps us to understand how to
create positive and beneficial effects as well as positive and beneficial
side-effects; how to minimize those causes that produce harmful, negative and
violent sideeffects. In this way we may create a better quality of life both
for ourselves as well as for future generations. Inner peace is the most
powerful means to create positive side effects and it is the most solid
foundation for world peace.
In order to liberate ourselves
of all negative and violent side effects, it is essential that we work united,
in the field of research as well as dialogue: that we create a world network of
positive and peaceful side effects in the fields of education, economy, media
information, science and spirituality.
Thursday 8 June: 16h Opening
Ceremony; 18h Keynote & Special Guest Speakers; 19h Cocktail and musical entertainment. Friday 9 June: 09h
“Education” with positive side effects for your health; 15h “Media” with
positive side effects for your health. Saturday 10 June: 09h and 15h “Science” with positive side
effects for your health. Sunday 11 June: 09h “EconomY” with positive side
effects for your health; 11h “Spirituality” with positive side effects for your
health. 15h Conclusions. Registration form and complete programme on the web
site:
UNA-USA
& UNA-NCA Annual Meetings
Washington, DC: June 7-11
One of the big events of the
UNA year is taking place on Thursday, June 8, through Saturday, June 10, right
here in Washington -- the national conference of UNA local leaders from around
the country. This is not a "business meeting," but rather an unusual
opportunity to be brought up-to-date through a series of workshops and plenary
sessions, on: 1) the major issues confronting the UN (and the US!); and 2) the
latest thinking on how to run a successful UNA chapter (membership building,
fund raising, public relations, etc.).
Some of the highlights are:
1) The "Day on the Hill" on Thursday, June 8 where there
will be briefings by such luminaries as Senator Chuck Hagel (R, NE) and
Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D, MN), as well as visits to Congressional
offices and for the first time students get the opportunity to participate in
“Day on the Hill” for free. For more information and to register, visit: www.unausa.org/DayOnTheHill .
2) The UNA-NCA will have its
54th Annual Meeting on Saturday, June 10th at 5:30 PM at the Marriott
Metro-Center Hotel in downtown Washington, DC. 2006 election results for
Officers and Board members will be announced.
A renewed UNA-NCA Strategic Plan will be presented. We welcome the
participation of Chapter and Division members from around the country attending
the CCD Annual Meeting, and encourage use by all of the UNA-NCA Annual Meeting
as a forum for exchange and learning among UNA-USA members. This meeting is
free of charge but RSVP is required no later than June 5th at paula@unanca.org or at (202) 223.6092.
3) The Saturday night banquet
with journalist Barbara Crossette (who covered the UN or the New York Times) as
master of ceremonies and Kemal Dervis, the new head of the UN Development
Programme (UNDP) and generally considered #3 in the UN Secretariat, as
principal speaker. (…)
www.unausa.org/annualmeeting2006
The
World Wisdom Alliance: invitation to co-create a new global alliance!
Toronto,
Canada, July 26 to 28.
The Club of Budapest Canada is
hosting the gathering at the Toronto Marriott Bloor Yorkville hotel, following
the World Wisdom Council special meeting, and is the organization coordinating
the creation and implementation of the Alliance in partnership with numerous
other groups.
The core of the Alliance will
be a new, 'on-line community' of like-minded organizations addressing our
growing, societal and environmental challenges and opportunities, both global
and local, via a unique web portal now being built.
It will be certainly be an exciting and inspirational
'action-oriented' gathering to launch the World Wisdom Alliance. Ervin Laszlo,
Michael Laitman, Ashok Gangadean, Elisabet Sahtouris, Lybert 'Uncle' Angaangaq,
Nancy Roof and many others from around the world will be here. Your
participation and support is essential to the co-creation and on-going success
of this major initiative! Please click this link to directly register for the
Alliance launch and to book your hotel accommodations: http://www.clubofbudapest.ca/registration.html . Please note that
registration and participation is free! However space is limited.
Star
of Hope
Star
of Hope, The Life and Times of John McConnell, by Robert M. Weir, with a
foreword by George Gallup, Jr., first edition, 338 pages and 72 illustrations.
Star Of Hope, the biography of John McConnell, founder of
Earth Day, by Robert M. Weir can be ordered directly from Swan Books for the
special price of $ 20.--, including postage. Please send your check to Swan
Books, Box 953, Pine Plains, NY 12567. Orders are also accepted by e-mail (seythal@aol.com ) or fax (518 398
6012).
* * * * * * *
Next issue: 16 June 2006.
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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, and it is also available in its web site: http://www.goodnewsagency.org
It is a 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
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