Good News Agency – Year VIII, n° 13
Weekly - Year VIII, number 13
– 26th October 2007
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
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Elisa Peduto. Good News Agency is published in English on one Friday and
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of Public Information. The
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International legislation – Human rights – Economy and development – Solidarity
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Religion and
spirituality
– Culture and education
Asia-Europe young leaders
symposium: 2nd Conference for young political leaders
Copenhagen (Denmark), October 24-28
The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) is pleased to announce
the upcoming 2nd Conference for Young Political
Leaders, to take place in Copenhagen, Denmark from the 24th to 28th October, 2007. The conference shall examine the Future of ASEM:
Youth Responses to Global Challenges by bringing together representatives of
youth branches of political organisations and young leaders who hold a position
of responsibility in those youth organisations recognized as having an
influence on national or international politics.
The conference shall also culminate in the
drafting and dissemination of a subsequent Report and Declaration which shall
be submitted for the consideration of the ASEM Heads of State and Government in
October 2008.
ASEM is an informal process of dialogue and
cooperation bringing together the 27 EU Member States and the European
Commission with 16 Asian countries and the ASEAN Secretariat.
http://www.asef.org/index.php?option=com_project&task=view&id=1042
United
Nations in Russia launches website for people with disabilities
On 19 October, in view of the
annually marked United Nations Day the UN Office in the Russian Federation
organizes a launch of its new website adapted for persons with disabilities.
Adaptation of the UN website for people with disabilities was carried out in
accordance with international standards developed by the Web Accessibility
Committee of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). As a result, the website that
has English and Russian versions, has become one of few websites with full
access for blind and visually impaired users in Russia and globally.
The question of accessibility
to electronic means of communication has become central at UN events dedicated
to the rights of disabled persons and modern information and communication
technology (ICT). In Russia, this issue has gained importance in view of the coming
ratification of the recently adopted international Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities. At the same time, there is a better understanding
that ICT for disabled persons is not only an essential instrument for
integration in the life of society, but also a significant operational factor
that allows these people making a valuable contribution for the benefit of the
society. (…)
New
guide on building age-friendly cities
London/Geneva, 1 October - WHO
today releases the first guide on age-friendly cities. The guide, which is
based on consultations with older people in 33 cities in 22 countries, has
identified the key physical, social and services attributes of age-friendly
urban settings. Istanbul, London, Melbourne, Mexico City, Moscow, Nairobi, New
Delhi, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, and Tokyo were part of the
consultation along with many other regional centres and towns. The publication
titled Global age-friendly cities: a guide is being launched in London and in
Geneva on the occasion of International Day of Older Persons. (…)
Led by New York, other cities
are exploring what makes cities more age-friendly for increasing older migrant
populations. "Age-friendly cities benefit people of all ages, not just
older people, and WHO is committed to disseminating and promoting the
implementation of the guide worldwide," said Mrs Daisy Mafubelu, WHO
Assistant Director-General for Family and Community Health. The guide is aimed
primarily at urban planners, but older citizens can use it to monitor progress
towards more age-friendly cities. At its heart is a checklist of age-friendly
features. For example, an age-friendly city has sufficient public benches that
are well-situated, well-maintained and safe, as well as sufficient public
toilets that are clean, secure, accessible by people with disabilities and
well-indicated. (…)
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2007/pr53/en/index.html
12
Projects reach final stage of "Experiences in social innovation"
competition
Finalists
will participate in the Innovation Fair
18 October - Twelve projects
from eight Latin America countries are finalists in the 2006-2007 round of the
Experiences in Social Innovation competition, organized by the Economic
Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), with support from the
W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The projects come from Argentina (2), Bolivia (1),
Brazil (4), Colombia (1), Ecuador (1), El Salvador (1), Mexico (1) and Peru
(1). Among them are initiatives to provide telephone assistance to the elderly,
improve the quality of life of pre-schoolers living with HIV/AIDS, reduce
maternal-infant mortality and generate income.
This year, seven of the
finalists work in areas of youth and/or education, including prevention of
violence in schools; student housing in a family setting; literacy training;
protection of teen domestic workers; alternatives to gang membership, and
inclusive access to education. All the initiatives contribute to progress in
meeting Millennium Development Goals and promoting social cohesion, with
innovative approaches to improving community health, education, nutrition,
environmental protection and income generation, through activities that promote
gender equity and attention to youths.
The 2006-2007 competition
finalists will be joined by the five prizewinners from last year's contest at
the Innovation Fair -- to be held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, from 4 to 7 December
- to showcase their achievements and share experiences with the general public.
The Awards Ceremony will be held Friday, 7 December. (…)
Rural
Bangladeshi woman is a 'Barefoot Researcher'
New York, 17 October
- Momana Begum, a rural Bangladeshi grandmother who never learned to read or
write, is making a profound difference in her village. Momana comes from one of
the most destitute families of an extremely poor village. Despite seemingly
insurmountable poverty, Momana—and her colleagues—are improving her village and
demonstrating that even those most marginalized—either because they are poor or
because they are women—can impact and improve their community.
In 2005, The
Hunger Project in Bangladesh launched a “Barefoot Researcher” which finds its
roots in Participatory Action Research (PAR). Barefoot Researchers are
volunteers from the poorest areas and are among the most destitute people
within these very poor villages. The Barefoot Researchers are trained by The
Hunger Project to identify the obstacles they and their neighbors face,
understand the underlying factors of those obstacles and then create solutions.
Barefoot Researchers are empowered to enroll and mobilize others in their
communities to work with them to carry out those solutions.
Momana, after
receiving her training, formed a research team of 25 other poor women from her
village. These women performed a census of their village, systematically
identified the main issues people had—and then armed with that data, took
action. (…) Momana—and the other 5,000
Hunger Project Barefoot Researchers throughout Bangladesh—have come to discover
that poverty is not their fate, that they are not less worthy and valuable
human beings. Momana—and the others—have discovered that they have the skills,
ability, intelligence and creativity to discover the issues that most important
to their community and cause change to address those issues. They find that
they have the ability and skills to end their own hunger and poverty. (…)
The Hunger
Project is an international NGO that works in partnership with grassroots women
and men in more than 22,000 villages across Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and
Latin America to sustainably end their own hunger. www.thp.org
http://www.interaction.org/newswire/detail.php?id=6004
ECLAC
and the Government of Germany will focus cooperation in areas of social
cohesion, technology and innovation
Other initiatives will be
developed in sanitation, decentralization and renewable energies
16 October - The Economic
Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and InWEnt Capacity
Building International, of Germany, today signed a Memorandum of Understand
aimed at fostering mutual cooperation through a series of joint initiatives
over the next three years. The
agreement (…) outlines a framework for the development of cooperation projects
and strategic association, as stipulated in the April 2007 agreement between
ECLAC and Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic and Development Cooperation
(BMZ) to implement the programme "Toward a More Just and Equitable
Globalization."(…) InWEnt (Internationale Weiterbildung und Entwicklung
gGmbH / Capacity Building International) is a German organization dedicated to
the development of human and organizational resources in international
cooperation. It works with technical and management teams, and economic,
political, administration and civil society decision-makers.
With project
“Clean School”, ADRA improves children’s access to water and sanitation in DRC
Lubumbashi,
Democratic Republic of Congo, October 12 - The Adventist Development and Relief
Agency (ADRA) will improve access to safe drinking water and teach practical
hygiene and sanitation methods through a three-month project in Katanga
province, in southern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The newly implemented
project, known as Clean School, will run from October to December 2007.
Many rural
Congolese families have poor access to clean water and limited understanding of
good hygiene, sanitation principles, and practices. The Clean School project
will improve the hygiene and sanitation of 12,242 pupils in 18 schools in the
town of Lubumbashi by building 208 latrines, providing faucets for hand
washing, and drilling five wells. In addition, students will attend classes in
hygiene and sanitation education to encourage safer hygiene practices. Classes
will focus on the importance of clean water and hand washing.
Funded by UNICEF,
the Clean School project is valued at $445,000.
Other current ADRA
DRC activities include projects in education, health and sanitation, and
nutrition support and rehabilitation, along with a resettlement program for
internally displaced persons (IDPs) and families returning from exile and
displacement after the country’s decade-long civil war.
http://www.interaction.org/newswire/detail.php?id=6007
Committee
on Trade, Regional Cooperation and Integration recommends enhanced
intra-African collaboration
Addis Ababa, 11 October (ECA)-
The fifth session of the Committee on Trade, Regional Cooperation and
Integration of the Economic Commission for Africa ended Wednesday October 10,
with the adoption of recommendations urging African regional institutions to
enhance their collaboration for the advancement of the continental integration
agenda. The outcomes of the meeting focus on the need for key regional
integration actors including ECA, the African Union (AU) and the African
Development Bank (ADB) to design a common framework in support of the
rationalization strategies of the Regional Economic Communities, especially in
their transformation into Free Trade Areas, Customs Unions and Common Markets.
This framework should facilitate the promotion of intra-African trade through
the harmonization of trade protocols and policies including rules of origins,
efficient management of corridors and the monitoring of non-tariff barriers.
(…)
Microenterprise
loans will help entrepreneurs create new jobs in Bangladesh
Rome, 10 October – A new
US$57.8 million development project will help provide credit to nearly 117,000
microentrepreneurs in Bangladesh enabling them to expand existing small
enterprises and develop new ones. Nearly 90 per cent of the borrowers will be
women. The Finance for Enterprise Development and Employment Creation Project
will also create thousands of jobs for extremely poor rural people.
The project will be largely
funded by a US$35 million loan from IFAD. It is cofinanced by the Palli
Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) and its partner non-governmental organizations,
who will contribute US$22 million and US$700,000 respectively. Participants in
the projects will also contribute US$60,000. (…) The project will train
microentrepreneurs to manage their businesses more effectively. It will also
show them how to add value to on-farm and off-farm products during the various
stages of the market chain, from the purchase of raw materials to the sale of
finished products. (…)
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2007/42.htm
More than 150 countries to
mark World Food Day
Special events scheduled for 16 October on “The Right to Food”
Rome, 10 October – More than 150 countries around the world
will observe World Food Day this year, organizing special events, conferences,
contests, sports activities and a global candlelight vigil on “The Right to
Food”.
FAO celebrates World Food Day
each year on 16 October, the day the Organization was founded in 1945 in Quebec
City, Canada. This year’s World Food
Day theme, "The Right to Food,” highlights a basic human right that is
often ignored as severe food insecurity continues to afflict more than 850
million people. The right to food, according to international law, is the right
of every person to have regular access to sufficient, nutritionally adequate
and culturally acceptable food for an active, healthy life. It is the right to
feed oneself in dignity, rather than the right to be fed. Since the 1996 World
Food Summit, FAO has worked with governments and communities worldwide to gain
recognition for this basic human right. (…)
ECLAC
and the Italo-Latin American Institute strengthen their cooperation programme - The two entities
will conduct joint activities to promote economic and social development
9 October - The Economic
Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Italo-Latin
American Institute (IILA) today signed a Framework Agreement for Inter-Institutional
Cooperation to strengthen joint cooperation activities for the economic and
social development of the countries of Latin America and their relations with
Italy and the European Union. The agreement was signed at ECLAC headquarters in
Santiago, Chile, by Ernesto Ottone, Deputy Executive Secretary of this UN
regional commission -- in representation of its Executive Secretary, José Luis
Machinea -- and by Paolo Bruni, IILA Secretary General.
ECA
embarks on a project to engender the Millennium Development Goals
Addis Ababa, 4 October (ECA) -
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), in partnership with UN-Habitat and
UNDP's Regional Gender Programme- Africa Bureau, has initiated an important
project on “Assessing progress in implementing the Millennium Development Goals
in relation to Gender Equality in Africa”. To kick-start this initiative, a
workshop was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 26-27 September 2007, gathering
representatives from ECA's African Centre for Gender and Social Development
(ACGS), the ECA African Centre for Statistics, UN-Habitat and UNDP's Regional
Gender Programme- Africa Bureau.
Opening the workshop, Ms.
Nefize Bazoglu, Head of UN-Habitat Monitoring Systems Branch, underlined the
importance of cooperation and partnership between UN entities and hailed the
initiative as a very encouraging example of such cooperation. The current
project, she said, “ brings together two UN Programmes and the Secretariat. It
also provides the opportunity for closer collaboration between the Gender and
the Monitoring Sections within UN-Habitat itself.” (…) Participants also
examined potential sources of data and were introduced to UrbanInfo, a
user-friendly computer software that UN- Habitat is currently using as a data
management tool, combining both data, graphs and maps. Closing the workshop,
Mr. Oyebanji Oyeyinka, Director of the Monitoring and Research division of
UN-Habitat, underlined that this important strategic partnership should be sustained
and extended to other areas of confluence. “It is indeed critical for Africa”,
he said, “to generate and disseminate knowledge and information on issues that
are at the heart of its development process”.
ASEM
Youth Dialogue 2007: Asia-Europe Strategic Choices for Equitable Development
Mindoro (Philippines), 10-17 November 2007 - The ASEM Youth Dialogue
provides a valuable challenge through which youth can exchange perspectives on
priority themes in the ASEM agenda. The Conference in Mindoro, the Philippines,
shall examine "Conscious
Choices for Equitable Development",
by bringing together up to 40 young representatives from youth organisations
working in this field. The programme will include field trips to sustainable
development sites, experience sharing, keynote lectures and interactive
discussions.
http://www.asef.org/index.php?option=com_project&task=view&id=1055
http://www.asef.org/projectData/documents/ayd2007%20-%20fact%20sheet.pdf
The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) was established in
February 1997 under the framework of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) process. In 2004, the membership grew
from 25 to 38 countries, plus the European Commission. ASEF seeks to promote
mutual understanding, deeper engagement and continuing collaboration among the
people of Asia and Europe through greater intellectual, cultural, and
people-to-people exchanges between the two regions. These exchanges include
conferences, lecture tours, workshops, seminars and the use of web-based
platforms. Hence, a major achievement is the establishment of permanent
biregional networks focused on areas and issues pertinent for reinforced Asia
Europe relations.
IFAD’s
map and study on migrant remittances shows that the money sent home by migrants
now tops 301 billion euros, three times official development assistance
On 26 October, Kevin Cleaver,
Assistant President, International Fund for Agricultural Development, following
the International Forum on Remittances on 18-19 October in Washington, will
present some of the highlights of the forum to the foreign press in Rome. He
will also present IFAD’s map and study on migrant remittances ‘Sending money
home: Worldwide remittances to developing countries’. The study, carried out in
collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank, shows that the money
sent home by migrants now tops 301 billion euros, three times official
development assistance.
The IFAD study is the first of
its kind to take into account money sent home informally, by hand, post or
unregulated community bankers. More than a third of this money is sent to poor
rural areas in developing countries, providing a major capital source for
development. Both private and public economic players and planners have yet to
fully appreciate the enormity of these sums in the new global economy or their
possible benefits for the recipients. The International Forum on Remittances
brought together key players to raise awareness of the challenges and
opportunities of remittances and shed light on the rural dimension of these
flows (…)
For more information contact:
Farhana Haque-Rahman, Chief, Media Relations, Special Events and Programmes , f.haquerahman@ifad.org
UK
aid charity provides rare glimpse from inside North Korea
An
exceptional glimpse of life inside one of the world’s most isolated regimes –
North Korea – has been provided thanks to a disaster relief charity set up by a
UK Rotary club
23 October - ShelterBox
specialises in providing emergency accommodation and other survival essentials
to disaster victims. Aid is delivered in pre-packaged kits – ‘ShelterBoxes’ –
each designed to help a family of 10 survive for at least six months. The
charity has just delivered 200 boxes containing tents and other equipment to
the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), after being asked by
the country’s government to help families left homeless by recent floods.
ShelterBox photographer Mark
Pearson travelled with some of the boxes to Jigokri, a small village in the
province of Kangwon – no more than 25 miles from the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ)
that divides the North and South Korea. The area is extremely sensitive and
very few visitors to North Korea are allowed beyond the capital Pyongyang, let
alone within such a short distance of the DMZ. (…) The invitation to assist in North Korea came via First Steps, a
Canadian charity that has been operating for several years in the country and
was aware of the work of ShelterBox.
The ShelterBox Trust is a UK
registered charity organised and administered by the Rotary Club of
Helston-Lizard. The charity’s President is HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. By working through local Rotary clubs in the
countries where disasters have occurred, ShelterBox is often able to get aid
where it is needed faster than any other organisation. Approximately 45% of
funding comes as donations from the UK public. The remaining money is raised by
Rotary Clubs worldwide. (…)
www.shelterbox.org www.firststepscanada.org
Peru and
Paraguay hit by extreme weather conditions; European Commission grants aid of
Euros 3 million
Brussels, 19
October - The European Commission has taken two decisions on the supply of
humanitarian aid to combat the effects of the cold weather in Peru and the
drought and forest fires in Paraguay. The two grants of EUR 1.5 million each
will provide assistance for around 60 000 people in Peru and 40 000 in
Paraguay, all among the most vulnerable. The funds are administered by the
Commission's humanitarian aid office (ECHO), under the responsibility of
Commissioner Louis Michel.
"These two
countries are accustomed to extreme weather conditions. However, we cannot
escape the fact that the associated problems are growing in scale and depriving
the local people of any hope of a better existence. Most donors in Peru have
shifted the focus of their humanitarian funding from the cold weather to the
terrible consequences of the earthquake. In Paraguay, donors have been
concerned principally with putting out the fires rather than helping the
victims. In both cases, the Commission is stepping in to meet the needs of
those who have suffered, seeking to finance projects that have a
disaster-preparedness dimension. Let us do what we can to stop history simply
repeating itself", said Louis Michel. (…)
For more
information on Commission humanitarian aid: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/index_en.htm
Central African
Republic: permanent ICRC presence in Birao
18 October -
After opening a sub-delegation in Paoua over 18 months ago and another one in
Kaga Bandoro in early 2007, the ICRC has now established a permanent presence
in the north-eastern part of the Central African Republic by setting up a third
sub-delegation in Birao, near the border with Sudan and Chad.
The ICRC's
presence in the area will enable it to assess and respond to the population's
needs in terms of protection and assistance, to broaden its contacts, to
support the local branch of the Central African Red Cross Society in its
efforts to boost its capacities, and to carry out activities aimed at raising
awareness of international humanitarian law
Although the
situation in the north-east of the country has remained relatively calm in the
past few months, the consequences of the violent clashes that took place in
November 2006 and March 2007, compounded by torrential rains and a lack of
basic infrastructure, have yet to be fully assessed. By establishing a
permanent presence in the area, the ICRC hopes to be able to better respond to
the situation.
http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/central-african-republic-news-18102007
38.7
million people break Guinness World Record for Stand Up and Speak Out on International Day for the
Eradication of Poverty
Johannesburg, 18 October -
Over 38.7 million people, in 111 countries have broken the Guinness World
Record – set last year at 23.5 million - for the largest number of people to
“STAND UP AGAINST POVERTY” in 24 hours.
The “Stand Up and Speak Out”
record attempt took place over 16th and 17th October and was jointly organised
by the United Nations Millennium Campaign (UNMC) and the Global Call to Action
against Poverty (GCAP) with a wide range of other partners. The challenge saw
millions of people physically and intentionally standing up against poverty,
inequality and in support of the Millennium Development Goals. They spoke out
to demand a more urgent political response to the growing crisis of global
poverty.
United Nations Secretary
General, Ban Ki-moon, who led a stand up action at UN Headquarters in New York,
said “Today tens of millions of people are making their voices heard by
standing up and speaking out against poverty and for the Millennium Development
Goals. They are sending messages that call on their leaders to keep their
promises. They are calling for the actions of citizens to be matched by the
actions of Governments, in developing and developed countries alike, to
demonstrate the political will required to end the scourge of poverty once and
for all."
For 24 hours from 9pm GMT on
the 16th of October people around the world from all walks of life came
together in their schools, streets, market places, in front of government
buildings and local councils, in workplaces and houses of worship, at sports
and cultural events and at public landmarks to demonstrate their frustration
that we still live in a world where 50,000 people die daily from preventable
causes. The mass mobilisation provided a platform for global civil society
seeking more active involvement in the current aid architecture debate, debt
cancellation processes, trade negotiations and public accountability
monitoring. The largest numbers of people who took part in this mobilisation
came from developing countries. (…)
For photos & video, please visit www.standagainstpoverty.org/press
Celebrities
serve as bingo callers in benefit to build new school in Sudan
Save the
Children to build and equip school in Atok, where no school exists today
Washington, DC,
October 10 - A group of committed Los Angelinos including Felicity Huffman,
Helen Hunt, Ricki Lake, Anthony LaPaglia, Bill Macy, Neil Patrick Harris and
Steven Weber joined Save the Children this past Saturday night to host a Bingo
Night that raised funds to build a school in the village of Atok in the Nuba
Mountains of Sudan. Due to decades of war, no schools for children exist today
in many areas of Sudan including the village of Atok.
The special
fundraising event coincides with the first anniversary of Save the Children's
Rewrite the Future campaign which seeks to address the educational needs of an
estimated 39 million children whose living situations are so unstable as a
result of war and conflict that they are prevented from attending school. Actresses,
writers and producers from the television and movie industry put together the
event including Gabrielle Allan-Greenberg, Gia Carides, Jennifer Crittenden,
Jackie Filgo, Juliette Hohnen, Elizabeth Ingold, Allison Smith, Jamie Tarses,
and Katie Tarses. LaPaglia and Weber, whose wives are on the committee, emceed
the agency's second annual live auction in Los Angeles. Last year's event
helped build a school for 270 children in the remote area of Dendi, Ethiopia. (…)
http://www.savethechildren.org/newsroom/2007/celebrities-serve-as-bingo.html
UNDP
launches TV spot featuring Ronaldo and Zinédine Zidane
Geneva – The United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) seeks to galvanize global efforts against poverty
by launching a new TV spot directed by world renowned film director Wim
Wenders, starring UNDP Goodwill Ambassadors Zinédine Zidane and Ronaldo.
Created pro-bono by the advertising agency Young & Rubicam (Paris) and
produced by LDM Productions the spot shot in Paris on 23 April will be released
during the second week of October. It will be broadcast worldwide thanks to the
generous support of television channels and networks. In this unusual TV spot,
Zidane and Ronaldo simply thank anonymous people in the streets of several
cities for what each of them did to help reduce poverty. The aim is to
encourage people and institutions alike to take initiatives and cooperate at all
levels to succeed in halving poverty everywhere by 2015.
This is one of eight goals
adopted in 2000 by 191 governments known as the “Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs)” to combat poverty, hunger, diseases, illiteracy, gender gaps and
environmental degradation. In 1990 one person out of three in the world lived
on less than a dollar a day. This figure has now dropped to one in five.
Although this global success is driven by large countries such as China and
India, many countries lag behind and 54 have become poorer. (…)
http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/2007/october/wenders-zidane-
20071011.en;jsessionid=a25_CHzpZSW6
Bloomberg
Family Foundation contributes US$ 9 million to WHO to support life-saving road
safety programme
Geneva, 16 September - The
World Health Organization (WHO) today announced a US$ 9 million contribution
from the Bloomberg Family Foundation to support an important new effort to
pilot policies and programmes to prevent the needless loss of life on the
world's roads. Demonstration projects in Mexico and Viet Nam will help
significantly decrease the death, injury and disability resulting from road
traffic crashes - an area of public health which has been underfunded in the
past.
Road traffic crashes kill
nearly 1.2 million people annually and injure up to 50 million more, with the
majority of deaths and injuries occurring in low- and middle-income countries.
Road traffic crashes are the leading cause of death globally for 10-to-24
year-olds. Most of these young lives are lost while walking, riding on their
bicycles or motorcycles, or using public transport. In addition to the human
suffering they cause, road traffic crashes place a huge burden on national economies;
their cost in low- and middle-income countries amounts to more than the annual
development assistance the countries receive. (…)
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2007/pr49/en/index.html
German
NGO works on landmine clearance in Quang Tri (Vietnam)
15
October - Germany-based Solidarity Service International (SODI) on October 15
started its landmine clearance initiative in a resettlement area for flood
victims of the Hai Lang District in central Quang Tri Province. Under the
initiative, around 40.8 ha of lands will be cleared to build houses, schools,
clinics and farms for the locals.
The
organisation plans to clear mines and unexploded ordnances on around 160 ha of
cultivated land in the resettlement area by early 2008 with the aim of reducing
the instances of injuries and deaths posed to farmers when clearing land for
agricultural production.
english.vietnamnet.vn
http://www.landmine.de/en.titel/en.news/en.news.one/index.html?entry=en.news.0f1ce192232c0000
From Lake
Geneva to the Dead Sea: Armin Köhli’s new cycling challenge
9 October -
International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance, together
with Municipalities of Nova Gorica and Krsko, Institute of Republic of Slovenia
for Rehabilitation, Embassy of Switzerland, Slovenian Cycling organization,
Cycling clubs Hit Nova Gorica and Olimp 2004 welcomed Armin Köhli in the
Municipality of Nova Gorica on 9 October 2007.
Armin left
Geneva on 1 October and plans to arrive to Jordan on 18 November 2007, where
the 8 Meeting of State Parties to the Ottawa Convention against landmines is
due to take place. By accomplishing this effort, Armin hopes to raise public
and media awareness in the fight against the landmines, which causes 15.000
victims every year worldwide, many of them being children. Countries to be
crossed are: Switzerland, France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia,
Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
Armin Köhli is
a double amputee and endurance cyclist. For several years he has taken part in
campaigns to raise awareness about antipersonnel mines and cluster bombs. He
has taken on the challenge of a 4800 km bike tour across Europe and the Middle
East. For the past four years Armin dedicated his cycling efforts in the fight
against landmines by taking part in various projects. http://www.itf-fund.si/news/news.asp#m223
Azerbaijan: New
play areas protect children from landmines
Geneva (ICRC),
8 October – The Azerbaijan Red Crescent Society is today opening safe-play
areas for children in two villages in the Gazakh district, along Azerbaijan's
western border with Armenia.
In Azerbaijan,
large numbers of landmines and other explosive remnants of the Nagorny-Karabakh
conflict continue to prevent many residents from returning to a normal way of
life. This is especially true for the children, whose natural curiosity and
desire to play can have deadly consequences if they encounter a mine.
The playgrounds
in the Gazakh district are part of an ongoing project that started in 2005,
with financial assistance from the Norwegian Red Cross and practical support
from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Since the beginning
of 2007, the ICRC has been providing the Red Crescent with both financial and
other support for the project. (…)Over the past two years, 25 safe-play areas
have been set up. Another 10 will open this month. The project is just one of
many carried out by the ICRC and National Societies around the world to reduce
the impact of mines and other explosive remnants of war through practical
measures in contaminated areas. (…)
http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/azerbaijan-news-081007
Survivors and
States join forces against cluster bombs
Belgrade,
October - Cluster bomb survivors gathered in Serbia this week to ensure their
rights were at the heart of international efforts to ban the weapon by 2008. Twenty-two
of the 26 affected states participated in the Belgrade Conference of States
Affected by Cluster Munitions, the latest development in the Oslo Process for a
new treaty banning these weapons, which has gathered the support of 82
countries in just seven months. (…)
During the
conference, Albania announced it would not produce or trade in cluster bombs,
pending the negotiations of a new treaty. Uganda and Montenegro announced they
will destroy their stockpiles. Serbia declared it is considering a moratorium.
Survivors from
Afghanistan to Uganda were united in their demand for a strong, effective
treaty to ban the use, production, stockpiling and transfer of all cluster
bombs. Clearance of contaminated land, upholding the rights of victims to
rebuild their lives, and international financial assistance were equally
appealed for. (…)
The CMC is an
international network of over 200 civil society organisations in 50 countries
committed to protecting civilians from the effects of cluster munitions. Members
of the CMC network work together on an international campaign calling on
governments to conclude a new international treaty banning cluster munitions by
2008. More information on the CMC is available online at http://www.stopclustermunitions.org.
http://www.minesactioncanada.org/home/index.cfm?fuse=Home.News&ID=308
Bié:
British NGO destroys over 1,000 explosives devices (Angola)
At
least 1,406 explosive devices were removed and destroyed in the southern Bié
province by the British NGO "The Hallo Trust", during the third
quarter of 2007.
According
to the institution's provincial director, Tomé Filipe, among the explosive
devices destroyed there were 50 anti-personnel mines, 38 anti-tanks, 1,069
non-detonated explosive devices and 13 ammunitions of small calibre. The
explosive devices have already been deactivated and collected in some mined
fields, while others were found in open air in Kuito, Katabola, Chitembo and
Kunhinga districts. According to the director, in the same period the NGO
cleared an area of 190,913 square metres in the afore-mentioned regions and
reduced the dangers of landmines in an area of 130 kilometres of roads. At the
moment, as to the official, the institution is carried demining works in some
mined fields of Kuito, Chitembo and Katabola districts.
http://www.landmine.de/en.titel/en.news/en.news.one/index.html?entry=en.news.0f1ce0781dd70000
1-2 November: A
global convention to ban chemical weapons
The year 2007
marks the 10th anniversary of the entry into force of the Chemical Weapons
Convention (CWC). To promote the work and achievements of the CWC, the
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), in conjunction
with the International Council of Chemical Associations and the European Union,
is hosting the Industry and Protection Forum (IPF) 2007. (…)
The Forum will
take place on 1-2 November 2007 at the World Forum Convention Center (WFCC) in
The Hague, The Netherlands. It will promote the implementation of the
Convention and awareness of its requirements, and will discuss practical
experience with its implementation. It will also help international cooperation
in key areas relevant to the Convention, as well as debating and promoting the
involvement of the chemical industry in the effective implementation of the
Convention. The Forum is being organised for the first time, and will bring
together all key stakeholders engaged in the CWC implementation from all over
the world. (…)
http://www.cefic.be/Templates/shwNewsFull.asp?HID=1&NSID=662&P=1&NID=1
Rotarians
travel to Ethiopia to immunize children against polio
Rotary
International News - 18 October - More than 70 Rotarians from the United States
and Canada are working with fellow Rotarians, volunteers, and health workers to
administer the oral polio vaccine to children as part of a nationwide
immunization campaign in Ethiopia 18-20 October. (…)
Significant
progress has been made toward ending polio in Ethiopia, which has not reported
a single case of the disease this year. The country recorded 22 cases in 2005
and 17 in 2006 after an outbreak in the Horn of Africa. Vigilant surveillance
remains critical, especially during the upcoming season of traditional
pilgrimages that bring many travelers to the region.
In addition to
protecting children from polio, the group will visit a Rotary club-supported
well project that provides clean drinking water to about 30 villages.
For as little
as 60 cents worth of vaccine, a child can be protected against this crippling
disease for life. To date, the annual number of polio cases worldwide has been
reduced from 350,000 in the mid-1980s to approximately 2,000 cases in 2006. Only
four countries – Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan – are still polio
endemic.
Rotary’s
commitment to end polio represents the largest-ever private sector support of a
global health initiative. In 1985, Rotary members worldwide vowed to immunize
all the world’s children against polio. Since then, Rotary has contributed
US$620 million to polio eradication, of which $7.7 million has supported
immunization campaigns in Ethiopia.
In addition to
raising and contributing funds, over one million Rotarians have volunteered
their time and personal resources to help immunize more than two billion
children in 122 countries during national immunization campaigns.
http://www.rotary.org/en/MediaAndNews/News/Pages/071019_news_ethiopiaNID.aspx
Reports
of significant progress in fight against malaria
Seattle, USA, 17 October -
Significant gains in the fight against malaria in sub-Saharan Africa are being
made, according to a new report released today. The report, Malaria and
Children, prepared by UNICEF on behalf of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership
(RBM), contains a comprehensive assessment of the progress that has been made
in malaria control. “In Sub-Saharan Africa, Malaria kills at least 800,000
children under the age of five each year,” said UNICEF Executive Director Ann
M. Veneman. “Controlling malaria is vital to improving child health and
economic development in affected countries.
Studies show that malaria disproportionately affects the poorest people
in these countries, and so contributes to their further impoverishment.”
The report shows that, from
2004 to 2006, there has been a rapid increase in the supply of
insecticide-treated nets, with annual production of nets more than doubling
from 30 to 63 million. Another large increase in production is expected by the
end of 2007. The number of these nets
procured by UNICEF more than tripled in the two years to 2006 to nearly 25 million
and is more than 20 times greater today than in 2000. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria, a
public-private partnership that provides health funding, has also increased its
distribution of insecticide treated nets from 1.35 million in 2004 to 18
million in 2006, and other major donors have scaled up their activities. Along
with this increase in supply have come improvements in the distribution of nets
to those communities in greatest need.
Distribution of the nets and other malaria interventions have been
successfully incorporated into existing maternal and child health, immunization
and antenatal care programmes. (…)
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_41227.html
US announces boost for FAO’s
bird flu programme
Country and communication
activities to benefit
Rome, 17 October – The United States will support FAO’s avian influenza
control and prevention programme with an additional US$38 million, FAO
announced today. The United States is one of the biggest donors to the agency’s
programme. With the new funding, US support to the FAO avian influenza
programme has reached a total of about $63 million.
FAO is currently assisting more than 100 countries in their efforts to
prevent and control avian influenza. The United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) said in a letter to FAO that the contribution will be
earmarked for core Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza containment and control
activities, including in-country surveillance and early warning, efforts to
reduce disease transmission, and communication to increase public awareness and
preparedness. (…)
Training
of teachers on how to give psychosocial support in emergencies
Tehran, 15 October – “Training
teachers and counselors on how to provide psychosocial support to children and
their families before a disaster strikes should be an essential element of any
emergency preparedness and disaster risk reduction program,” UNICEF’s Representative
in Iran, Christian Salazar, said today. Speaking at a conference organized by
the Iran Interior Ministry’s National Disaster Task Force, Salazar stressed
that most disaster-affected populations were able to recover from their
experiences and return to normalcy provided that security was restored and they
had access to basic information and the skills to help themselves.(…)
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_41230.html
Teaching
good eating habits to reduce malnutrition and diet-related diseases
FAO
publishes planning guide for nutrition education in primary schools
Rome, 9 October - Educating
school children in healthy nutrition is one of the most effective strategies
for overcoming malnutrition and chronic diet-related diseases but has been
neglected far too long, FAO said today.
The UN agency announced the publication of a new comprehensive guide for
curriculum development addressing nutrition education in primary schools. (…)
Good nutrition education can
make children aware of how to achieve a nourishing diet with limited means; how
to prepare and handle food safely and how to avoid food-related risks. As
future parents, they will know about the benefits of breastfeeding and complementary
feeding, and be able to educate their children to follow a diet that is well
balanced and of good quality. (…)
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2007/1000673/index.html
The Global Fund
taps Mercy Corps for major Pakistan TB initiative
Portland, Ore.,
USA, 4 October – Mercy Corps is teaming up with The Global Fund To
Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the Pakistan Ministry of Health on a
five-year, $56 million program that aims to reduce the burden of TB by 2015, in
line with the Millennium Development Goals. This agreement marks the first
partnership between the Global Fund and Mercy Corps, as well as an expansion of
the global humanitarian agency’s health programs.
Mercy Corps is
the principal recipient of a $26 million initiative to lead advocacy,
communication and social mobilization efforts with eight partner organizations.
The agency has been running similar programs for the past three years in 13
districts. New projects will include large-scale social marketing campaigns and
ongoing activities in 57 hard-to-reach, underserved districts, specifically
targeting rural populations, females and youth ages 15 to 25. Programs commence
this week. (…)
According to the
World Health Organization’s 2007 Global TB Report, Pakistan suffers from the
seventh-highest burden of TB in the world. The bacterial disease kills 62,000
people there each year, and only 27 percent of the cases are detected. The
number of TB cases in Pakistan is on the rise due to grinding poverty – more
than 20 million people live on less than $1 a day – and explosive population
growth. (…)
http://www.interaction.org/newswire/detail.php?id=5999
AmeriCares and
International Medical Corps airlift relief for cholera outbreak in Iraq
Stamford, CT,
USA, October 4 – AmeriCares and International Medical Corps (IMC) are
delivering critical medicines to Iraq in an emergency airlift responding to the
cholera outbreak in that country. Cholera
and other forms of dehydrating watery diarrhea have spread through northern
Iraq recently, affecting some 30,000 people there. The first cholera cases were
reported in Baghdad at the end of September. According to healthcare workers in
the country, there is a shortage of medicines to control these disease(s) that
can spread widely and rapidly. (…) IMC will airlift the shipment to Iraq and
will assist the Iraqi Ministry of Health with the distribution of the medicines
where they are needed most. At least half of the donation will go to internally
displaced communities.
In cooperation
with Iraqi health authorities, International Medical Corps distributed cholera
treatment supplies for over 3,000 patients at the end of August. IMC is also
supporting an educational campaign on cholera prevention that is headed by the
Iraqi Ministry of Health. (…) Since 2003, International Medical Corps has been
helping to restore the Iraqi health infrastructure through the rehabilitation
of health structures, training of doctors, nurses, and paramedics; providing
medical equipment and drug supplies to primary health care centers;
re-establishing disease surveillance systems; and extending and rehabilitating
water supply and purification systems. All IMC programs focus on strengthening
the existing Iraqi infrastructure to avoid the creation of a parallel system in
order to encourage long-term change and limit dependence on foreign assistance.
http://www.interaction.org/newswire/detail.php?id=6000
(top)
One
laptop per child dream in sight
New York, 22 October (UN
Headquarters) – The United Nations’ senior-most diplomat responsible for the
world’s most vulnerable countries has lauded the persistent efforts of American
architect and computer scientist Nicholas Negroponte to make available a low
cost, durable and simple to use laptop to children in the developing world. The
initiative is the brainchild of Professor Negroponte, founder and chairman of
the One Laptop per Child non-profit association, currently on leave from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he was co-founder and
director of the MIT Media Laboratory.
Speaking at a special
demonstration of the so-called “$100” laptop organised by his office at United
Nations Headquarters in New York, Cheikh Sidi Diarra, Under-Secretary-General
and High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked
Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) praised
professor Negroponte for defying the sceptics and bringing nearer to fruition
what had sounded to many people like a dream when the idea of a “$100 laptop”
was first mooted.
The laptop packs several
innovations including a sunlight readable display so that it can be used
outside. It has no moving parts, can be powered by solar, foot-pump or
pull-string powered chargers and is housed in a waterproof case. (…) Professor
Negroponte’s project launched the "give one, get one" scheme that
allowed individuals to purchase two laptops at a pre-determined price after the
project's founder admitted that concrete orders from the governments of
developing nations had not always followed verbal agreements. One laptop would
be sent to the buyer whilst a child in the developing world would receive the
second machine.
Bioenergy
policies and targets: opportunity for, or threat to, the European forests?
Geneva, 16 October - The
recent surge of interest in renewable energies and, in particular, biomass
energies has complex consequences all over the world. UNECE and FAO are
together exploring these impacts and opportunities for the forest sector in the
European region, so that policy making may be based on the most reliable and
recent information and analysis. (…) To address these questions, a UNECE/FAO
policy forum on “Opportunities and impacts of bioenergy policies and targets on
the forest and other sectors: what is the future contribution of wood to
meeting UNECE region’s energy needs?” was held in Geneva on 10 October 2007, in
conjunction with the annual session of the UNECE Timber Committee. A study on
"wood resources availability and demand - implications of renewable energy
policies" by the UNECE/FAO Timber Section in cooperation with the
University of Hamburg was presented at the Forum. Analysing national and
European policies and targets for renewable energy, it showed that huge extra
amounts of wood would be required in the future if these targets were to be
met. (…)
http://www.unece.org/press/pr2007/07tim_p05e.htm
Waste water
gets a second and third life at Dow
16 October -
The Dow site in Terneuzen, the Netherlands has won the Cefic European
Responsible Care Award 2007 for its project to reuse household wastewater for
the production of demineralised water. Since the start of Dow’s operations in
Terneuzen, water management has been essential for the company as the
Zeeus-Vlaanderen region where the Dow’s site is located has a structural lack
of fresh water.
In order to
deliver water for generating steam and to feed manufacturing plants in their
production location, Dow, in co-operation with the district Water Board and
Evides, a local water purifier, took the first steps towards sustainable
management of the regional water balance.
Building the
necessary infrastructure, new water production facilities and reusing Dow’s
internal fresh wastewater effluent as cooling tower water supply were the key
aspects of this unique and innovative project. Thus, reusing the waste waters
originating from all households in Terneuzen, the water can be delivered -
after purification in the biological waste-water treatment plant of the Water
Board - as clean effluent to water producer Evides. This means it is no longer
necessary to discharge the waste water effluent into the Western Scheldt
estuary. Evides uses the effluent to produce demi-water (demineralised water)
which is then delivered to Dow. (…)
http://www.cefic.be/Templates/shwNewsFull.asp?HID=1&NSID=666&P=1&NID=1
Commission
promotes take-up of hydrogen cars and the development of hydrogen technologies
Brussels, 10 October - The
European Commission has adopted two proposals today that will mark a step
forward in the development and marketing of clean and safe hydrogen vehicles
The first is the setting up of the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Technology
Initiative (JTI), an ambitious industry-led integrated programme of Research,
technology development and demonstration activities. This Public-Private
Partnership driven by European industry will be implemented over the next 6
years with a financial contribution from the EU of € 470 million, to be matched
by the private sector. The JTI should accelerate the development of hydrogen
technologies to the point of commercial take-off between 2010 and 2020.
Secondly, a number of hydrogen cars are already ripe for market introduction
today. Thus, the Commission proposes to simplify their approval so that they
will be seen more often on Europe's streets. Both proposals will now be
considered by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. (…)
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/automotive/directives/proposals.htm
First
agreement that might save Mediterranean monk seal from extinction
Adeje,
Tenerife, Spain, 17 October – A new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the
protection of the Eastern Atlantic Populations of the Mediterranean Monk Seal
was concluded under the auspices of CMS. The Islamic Republic of Mauritania,
the Kingdom of Morocco, the Republic of Portugal and the Kingdom of Spain
signed the agreement in Adeje in the margins of the CMS meeting on Western
African Talks on Cetaceans and their Habitats (WATCH). The agreement will be
open for signature to all the Atlantic range states. Since 1986, the
populations of Mediterranean Monk Seals have been at the centre of the
Mediterranean Action Plan of UNEP. The Mediterranean Monk Seal has also been a
main focus of CMS conservation measures for marine mammals. The Mediterranean
Monk Seal is one of the most threatened marine mammals in the world and is
listed on the Appendices of the Convention. Only approximately 500
Mediterranean Monk Seals remain in the wild. (…) Monk Seal populations play an
important role in coastal and marine ecosystems. But natural phenomena and the
development of human activities have significantly reduced them. The Eastern
Atlantic Populations of the Mediterranean Monk Seal greatly suffer from
entanglement and mortality in fishing gears, over fishing, hunting and human
persecution, pollution, as well as from natural factors such as toxic
phytoplankton. (…)
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=519&ArticleID=5685&l=en
UNECE
assesses the environmental performance of Montenegro
Geneva, 11 October - The
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has just issued the
second Environmental Performance Review (EPR) of Montenegro, which has been
prepared by a team of international experts with the coordination of the UNECE
secretariat. The environmental performance of the Republic of Montenegro was
reviewed for the first time in 2002. This second review reflects the progress
made by the country since then and the challenges that remain to be tackled.
Mr. Predrag Nenezic, Minister of Tourism and Environment of Montenegro,
launched the EPR on 11 October 2007 at the Sixth Ministerial Conference
“Environment for Europe” in Belgrade.
As a result of the efficient
work carried out by the UNECE international team of experts and good
collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and Environment of the Republic of
Montenegro, the second report of EPR contains a set of 31 specific
recommendations. They relate to priority actions that need to be implemented to
improve the state of environment and to create the necessary preconditions for
a more effective integration of the goals of sustainable development into
sectoral policies. (…)
http://www.unece.org/press/pr2007/07env_p07e.htm
The Interfaith Encounter
Association (IEA) and
Kehillat
Mevakshei Derech offers a new bi-weekly course: “Encounter with the Religions of Jerusalem”
Join us as we delve together into the religions of
the residents of our city so that we may come to understand better the special
religious tapestry of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem, October 18 - Some
40 people came to the opening session of this new series. The theme was the
Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) community and it was presented by Rabbi Dr. Don Maimon,
after short introductory notes by Dr. Yehuda Stolov, Executive Director of the
Interfaith Encounter Association, and by Ms. Felicie Rosenberg, a member of
both IEA and Mevakshei Derech and organizer of the course. The next session
will take pace on Wednesday 31.10.07 at 19:30: Fr. Dr. David Neuhaus will
present the Catholic community.
Rabbi Maimon started with a
general introduction to the series. It is a theological scandal that religion,
which is supposed to connect people, is used to separate them from one another.
Especially in the Holy Land religion is a central component in the communal
identity and without deeply understanding it is impossible to build real
coexistence. (...)
Today, when the world is a
global village and communities interact with each other, everyone has to know the other. Therefore
interfaith encounter is unavoidable.
Week
of Spirituality, Values and Global Concern - United Nations HQ, 22-26 October
“Unless
there is a spiritual renaissance, the world will know no peace.”
(Dag
Hammarskjöld, UN Secretary-General, 1953-1961)
In honor of the 62nd
anniversary of the United Nations, the Week of Spirituality, Values and Global
Concerns has been created to bring about a culture of peace in which we, the
peoples of the world, can address together our common challenges in a holistic,
positive and transformative way. The Week’s activities recognize that
spirituality and adherence to universal values, such as those expressed in the
United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, are key
to providing solutions to global concerns.
The Week of Spirituality,
Values and Global Concerns is being launched on 22–26 October, 2007 at UN
headquarters, during the United Nations 62nd anniversary, to inspire and generate
collective engagement in an annual worldwide celebration. Members of the UN
community and the public are invited to participate in a series of programs and
activities.
Sponsored by the NGO Committee
on Spirituality, Values & Global Concerns (NY) in partnership with the
Values Caucus and the Spiritual Caucus.
Baha'i
testifies at U.N. about understanding among religions
United Nations,
5 October (BWNS) - A Baha'i from Tanzania - where different religious
communities live peacefully together - testified yesterday before the United
Nations General Assembly on how to promote religious understanding. Addressing
an informal hearing on "Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding and
Cooperation for Peace," Mitra Deliri said that in her country, "large
Christian and Muslim populations live side by side, intermarry and celebrate
each other's religious festivals."
"It is a living example of religious pluralism," she said. "This
coexistence did not come about by accident but rather as a result of the vision
and deliberate action of Tanzanian leaders, dating back to the country's first
president...," she said.
Ms. Deliri, who
represented the Baha'i International Community at the two-day hearing, also
said it was important for governments to create a climate where freedom of
religion or belief is clearly upheld in law and in practice. (…)
Ms. Deliri was
among approximately two dozen representatives of nongovernmental and religious
organizations from around the world who addressed the General Assembly
yesterday.
Other speakers,
for example, included Paul Knitter of the Union Theological Seminary in the
USA, Gamal I. Serour of the International Islamic Center for Population Studies
and Research at the Al Azhar Centre in Egypt, Sohan Lal Gandhi of the Anuvrat
Global Organization in India, Fatima Ahmed of Zenab for Women in Development in
Sudan, and Steven Rockefeller of Earth Charter International in the United
States. (…)
http://news.bahai.org/story/580
"What the World Needs to
Know about Interfaith Dialogue..." by Richard M. Landau
Everything you need to
know about working in harmony with people of other faiths
The product of 25 years of
research and practice, What the World Needs to Know about Interfaith
Dialogue... is a comprehensive ebook that covers virtually every aspect of dialogue between diverse religious
groups. (...) Written in an accessible style, shows you how to overcome basic
differences to ensure the longevity and productivity of an interfaith dialogue
group. (...) So whether you are new to interfaith dialogue
or you’ve been in the field for years, What the World Needs to Know about
Interfaith Dialogue… is a critical tool to help you work in harmony with
people of other faiths.
It’s an entertaining,
fast-paced reference text supplemented with additional useful anecdotal
information. It touches on virtually every situation and challenge you’ll
encounter in interfaith dialogue. (...) it’s an exhaustive sourcebook and a
manual of diplomacy and tact. (...)
http://www.interfaithdialog.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=121&Itemid=27
http://www.how-to-succeed-at-interfaith-dialogue.com/
“Children First”: Week
of Prayer and World Fellowship 2007 - November 11-17
The
World YWCA/YMCA Week of Prayer and World Fellowship 2007 will take place from November 11-17 with the theme Children First.
The theme reflects the challenges children face in our community;
discrimination, poverty, injustice, violence and lack of education. As a
women's organization, the World YWCA believes that the empowerment of girls is
intrinsically linked to the empowerment of women. We need to focus on children
to ensure our future leaders are healthy and strong.
The World YWCA is a global network of women leading social and economic
change in 125 countries worldwide. It advocates for peace, justice, human
rights and the environment, and has been at the forefront of raising the status
of women since it was founded in 1855.
http://www.worldywca.info/index.php/ywca/world_ywca/about_us
Christian and Muslim women in dialogue: “Moving towards peace through
religion”
Tehran,
Iran, November 25-28
Women from the WCC (World
Council of Churches) constituency and from Iran's Muslim majority as well as
some Muslim women from outside Iran will begin a dialogue on the role of women
in “Moving towards peace through religion” at a 25-28 November meeting in
Tehran, and through preparatory discussions on the internet. One aim of the three-year
dialogue process is to publish material on a just society of women and
men, and on the treatment of women in the world of religion. The participants'
diverse backgrounds as teachers, clergy, artists, academics or NGO-activists
will ensure a hands-on approach to these issues.
The
process is being organized by the WCC programme on inter-religious
dialogue and cooperation in collaboration with an Iranian NGO, the
Institute for Interreligious Dialogue (IID), which will also host web-logs for
each of the women to discuss approaches to the topic.
Global Link
Teleconference - May Peace Prevail On Earth
heard around the world!
October
27th, Prayers for the World
Participants from around the world connect on a
telephone conference line to offer blessings and prayers for peace to prevail
in every country (195) on earth. This
is a unique opportunity to listen to the voices of the world praying for peace
simultaneously and in unison.
To view participation map, testimonials, and teleconference
information please visit www.http://worldpeace.org/teleconference.php Hosted by The World
Peace Prayer Society www.worldpeace.org
"Prayer:
between faith and science" - 2nd International Congress "PRAYER
2007" at the University of Hamburg, 3-4 November
Where does prayer start for a modern person? Is
prayer to devote oneself to a divine advocate in the sense of the large world
religions? Or is it Buddhist meditation? Or is it simply the silent dialogue
with ourselves? As the 1st congress on prayer in 2005 was such a success,
the non-denominational and politically
independent Society "Ethik im Alltag" ("Ethics in Everyday Life") is organizing - together
with the University of Hamburg - a
second congress on the same subject.
Mrs. Lelani Dias, initiator and organizer, says, "Many of us only
start to pray when there is a crisis in our life, but religion and the search
for unity belong to the roots of our
cultural identity".
The variety of the programme explores the various
aspects of prayer and addresses
everyone who seeks fresh viewpoints and possibilities to re-discover prayer. In 32 speeches,
presentations and workshops plus cultural events renowned scientists, artists,
peace activists, management trainers and representatives of various faiths will
come together. Speakers include Professor Hans-Peter Dürr (Global Challenges
Network), Rev. Dr. Marcus Braybrook (World Congress of Faiths, GB), Dr. Anna
Gamma (Lassalle Institute for Zen Ethics Leadership), Rika Saionji (World Peace
Prayer Society Japan), Dr Rhaim Oruc Güvenc (Mamara University Istanbul). The
congress will be inaugurated on November 2nd at 7 pm with "Prayers of the
World - The Search for Unity" at
St. Johannis Church Harvestehude. For more details please see www.gebetskongress.de or contact press
representative Mrs. Stefanie Koch at stefanie-koch@gmx.com
Thiruvalla
Peace Center: One Modest Building Hosts an Immense Statement of Peace
On September 9th, 2007 in Thiruvalla, India,
interfaith peacebuilders from around the world witnessed the inauguration of
the first United Religions Initiative (URI) Peace Center in the region. Joseph Chaco, a local resident, envisioned
this project to address the growing intra-Christian conflict in Kerala that
threatens to erupt in violence. In
order to set aside a space where the local community could engage in much
needed interfaith dialogue, he decided to donate a small plot of land for the
project. The URI, an NGO that works on
a global, grassroots level to promote enduring daily, interfaith cooperation
and to end religiously motivated violence, provided him with a grant of $2,500
dollars – enough to build a modest building in the middle of the lush
countryside. This project was dedicated
with a plaque from the URI and was an illustration of the immense power of
grassroots work around the world. Peace
begins at home and almost all attendees of this inauguration noted the feeling
of small but powerful change that this event incited in each one of them.
URI’s Executive Director, Charles Gibbs, wrote an inspiring account of this
event, one of an infinite number of small but profound stories that bear
witness to often overlooked, local efforts to promote peace. Please visit http://www.uri.org/Features/Features_Main/URIcntr.html to read this account and view pictures of
the inauguration.
Haiti: UN
peacekeepers rebuild school in troubled neighbourhood of capital
19 October –
More than 1,500 children in one of the most troubled neighbourhoods of Haiti’s
capital are attending classes again after soldiers serving with the United
Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) helped to renovate a school
building that had been left unusable by the violent activities of armed gangs. At
a ceremony yesterday, MINUSTAH officials handed over the keys for the Lycée
Jacques Roumain in the Martissant district of Port-au-Prince, which re-opened
last month and already has 1,576 students. The school has been renovated,
complete with new toilets, fences, a kitchen, repainted buildings and dozens of
classroom benches for children, thanks to a joint effort involving MINUSTAH,
the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the International Organization for Migration
(IOM) and the national education ministry. The United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) provided much of the funding for the project,
which cost about $1.7 million. (…)
http://www.un.org/apps/news/ticker/tickerstory.asp?NewsID=24351
UN peacekeepers
open resource centre for Liberian schoolchildren
19 October -
About 600 students will benefit from technical and vocational skills training
at a new resource centre equipped with computers, sewing machines and a
library, courtesy of Pakistani peacekeepers serving with the United Nations
Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). The Pakistan-Liberia Friendship Centre is located
in C. H. Deway High School in Tubmanburg, some 60 kilometres west of Monrovia,
the capital of the West African nation that is seeking to recover from a brutal
civil war that killed almost 150,000 people. (…)
UNMIL Force
Commander Lt.-Gen. Chikadibia
Isaac Obiakor lauded the Pakistani contingent for their active involvement in
building peace through community empowerment projects such as renovating
schools, providing computers and educational materials, and skills training. He
called on Liberians to take the initiative to build their country, saying
“self-help is a very necessary attribute in national development.”
Established in
September 2003, UNMIL supports the implementation of the ceasefire agreement
and the peace process; protects UN staff, facilities and civilians; bolsters
humanitarian and human rights activities; and assists in national security reform,
including national police training and the formation of a new, restructured
military.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/ticker/tickerstory.asp?NewsID=24348
IFAD
- On the occasion of International day for the Eradication of Poverty, presentation on desertification by Italian
high school students
On the occasion of the
International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on 17 October, 70 Italian
students visited IFAD. The students were selected by the Italian National
Agency for New Technologies, Energy and the Environment (ENEA) from among a
total of 300 who participated into DesertArt initiative.
DesertArt is an initiative
aimed at raising awareness amongst young people about land degradation,
desertification, climate change and their impact on poor people worldwide.
Through DesertArt, the students had the chance to experience lives very distant
from their own by means of art, literature, and intercultural exchanges with
students from developing countries, including Burkina Faso and Cameroon.
The students came to IFAD to
present their research and exchange their views and experiences with IFAD
staff. For more information: Farhana Haque Rahman, Chief of Media Relations and
Special Events, Communications Division, F.Haquerahman@ifad.org
"In the
Circle of Creation": A glance into the culture of the American native
people and a convention to spread the educational principles of Earth Charter
by Elisabetta
Dalto
17 October -
During the Italian week for the celebration of the UN Decade of Education for
Sustainable Development, Cogeme Onlus Foundation, Earth Charter Affiliate in
Italy, is organizing an international event to be held on November 10th, in
Castegnato, Brescia titled “In the circle of creation. Education and wisdom of
native people”, a space to know more about the American native people and for
the disemination of the Earth Charter as an educational tool.
Among many
speakers, it has to be highlightened the presence of Manitonquat, the spiritual
guide of Wampanoag Tribe, who will bring useful remarks on the deep and holy
relationship which bound men to nature according to the culture of the American
native people. His teaching will give rise to helpful hints which can represent
the starting point for the application of the Earth Charter’s principles.
The convention
organized by Cogeme Onlus Foundation in collaboration whit Castegnato
Municipality, is supported by the Province of Brescia and Lombardia Region as
well as by Università Cattolica S. Cuore and Italian Ministry of the
Environment. On an international level, the Foundation has obtained the
patronage of UNESCO (Paris) and of Green Cross International.
Cogeme Onlus
Foundation was born from the service company Cogeme spa in Rovato (Brescia) and
is deeply involved in natural environment, thanks to the promotion of projects,
research and events about education on sustainable development.
http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/2007/10/in_the_circle_of_creation_a_co_1.html#more
Training
workshop on educational policy and education for international understanding
The 7th
Asia-Pacific training workshop was held at the UNESCO Peace Center and the
International Cooperation Training Center on 1~16 Oct 2007 for the purpose of
training EIU trainers of member states.
Convening 25
educators and educational administrators of 18 countries within and without the
region this workshop delivered EIU concepts and themes in an integrative and
synthetic mode. Sessions for themes of EIU (cultural diversity, sustainable
development, human rights, peace, and globalization) were primarily presented
by lectures and moderator through the combination of lecture and activity, and
then participants were requested to share local cases and situations that would
lead to discussion for reflection or adoption.
In addition,
study visits to KEDI and KERIS and the visit to a middle school class gave a
comprehensive and realistic picture of Korean school system, so that the
trainees can have a comparative reflection on their local educational
conditions and envision for better policy and system towards a Culture of
Peace. All the sharings and reflections
were summed up in participants’ presentation of national action plan which was
cooperatively drafted by both teachers and educational administrators.
Considering the
scope and diversity of participants and the interpersonal, intersectoral, and
intercultural interactions sensed throughout the workshop, the training reached
closer to its aim than ever before.
http://www.en.unescoapceiu.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=361&Itemid=1
EDC receives
$4M to support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)
learning for students and teachers
National
Science Foundation increases funds for ITEST programs
Boston, MA,
USA, 15 October – Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) has been
awarded a $4 million grant from the National Science Foundation to continue and
expand its work as a national resource center for over 100 programs designed to
produce more science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) savvy
kids to fill the looming shortage of qualified U.S. workers.
The resource
center supports the national effort known as ITEST (Information Technology
Experiences for Students and Teachers). ITEST reaches more than 120,000
students and over 4,000 teachers in grades 6-12, through projects in schools,
universities, museums, and afterschool programs.
Under the
4-year grant agreement, EDC will continue to bring students and teachers from
each of the projects together—both in person and virtually—to share promising
practices, address challenges, and offer recommendations that can be shared
with educators and policymakers across the U.S. This information and the
lessons learned are shared through a Web site (www.edc.org/itestlrc),
publications, conference presentations, and public symposia and webcasts. (…)
The ITEST initiative, including the Learning Resource Center, are funded by the
National Science Foundation.
Education
Development Center, Inc. (EDC) is an international nonprofit organization that
conducts and applies research to advance learning and promote health. EDC
creates and manages more than 300 projects in 35 countries. Visit www.edc.org.
http://main.edc.org/newsroom/press_releases/itestlrc.asp
Sustainable
Development: Education and Environment Ministers join forces
Geneva, 11 October - Education
and Environment Ministers of the UNECE region met for the first time in the
framework of the “Environment for Europe” process and, in a joint statement,
reaffirmed their commitment for the implementation of Education for Sustainable
Development (ESD) in the region. They considered achievements, lessons learned
and challenges identified in terms of implementation of the UNECE Strategy for
ESD since the Kiev Conference and agreed on the way ahead. They were proud that
all commitments made in Kiev and Vilnius were fulfilled as a regional contribution
to the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.
A comprehensive reporting
mechanism and set of indicators was valued as an innovative tool that helped
countries to evaluate progress in the implementation of the Strategy. The
feedback of 36 national implementation reports – even though the details of
information are different – was a success. The pilot reporting exercise was one
of the success stories of the first phase of implementation (2005–2007),
showing that the countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA)
are well on their way to building institutional capacity necessary for ESD. The
South-East European (SEE) countries are still in the initial stages of
implementing the Strategy. Other countries reported significant progresses. (…)
http://www.unece.org/press/pr2007/07env_p10e.htm
Ecovillage
Design Education - Training of Trainers
- 27 October - 24 November
The
Findhorn Foundation in partnership with the Global Ecovillage Network and Gaia
Education
Based on the Gaia Education
Ecovillage Design Curriculum - an official contribution to the United Nations
Decade of Education for Sustainable Development 2005-2014
You are invited to join this
four-week comprehensive training of trainers on the fundamentals of
sustainability design for urban and rural settlements, covering all elements of
an ecovillage-based education. This will entail training at three distinct
levels: First, we will explore the content of each of the four key pillars of
ecovillage-level sustainability: ecology, economy, community and
worldviews. Second, we will weave
together insights and discoveries made in each of these areas into an
integrated design process with hands-on practical application exercises. Third, we will explore different
participatory learning approaches to deliver the Ecovillage Design Curriculum,
developed by leading edge sustainability educators from around the world. (…)
The programme is based at the
Findhorn Ecovillage and comprises four separate weeklong modules, which may be
attended as a whole or separately. It will provide a practical forum for
learning and developing skills needed to work with and teach effectively design
for sustainability at all levels. Ecovillage Design - Training of Trainers is
an advanced training course aimed at individuals involved in sustainable
community initiatives of all kinds; students and professionals in
architectural, engineering and building careers; permaculture and other
sustainability designers; sustainable land use and regional planners; social
workers, educators and business people interested in ethical development.
http://www.findhorn.org/programmes/programme189.php
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