Good News Agency – Year IX, n° 2
Weekly - Year IX, number 2 – 1st
February 2008
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 4,000 media
in 49 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
Human rights – Economy and development – Solidarity
Health – Energy and Safety – Environment and wildlife
Religion and spirituality – Culture and education
UN Secretary-General: Penalize
those that use child soldiers
Child recruitment continues in over one dozen
countries, reports Ban Ki-moon
29
January – Child soldiers are being recruited in at least a dozen countries and
the United Nations should impose sanctions against those responsible,
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Tuesday in a report to the Security
Council. Children are being used for fighting in armies and other groups mainly
in African and Asian countries, including Uganda and Sri Lanka, Ban said.
UNICEF estimated last year that some 250,000 children serve as soldiers. Read
the UN News Centre's release
The
recruitment and use of children in armed conflict is taking place in more than
one dozen countries around the world, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon states in a
new report, calling for further measures to combat the scourge. The practice
continues in Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, the Central African Republic (CAR),
Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Myanmar, Nepal, the
Philippines, Somalia, Sudan, Sri Lanka and Uganda, Mr. Ban notes in his latest
report on children and armed conflict, covering the period from October 2006 to
August 2007.
On
the positive side, he reports that no new cases of child recruitment have been
recorded during that period in Côte d’Ivoire. The parties to the conflict there
have not only ceased recruitment but have taken measures to identify and
release children associated with them for rehabilitation, Mr. Ban writes. (…)
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=25440&Cr=child&Cr1=soldier
ITUC and ETUC Welcome European
Convention Against Human Trafficking
Brussels,
30 January (ITUC Online). The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) have welcomed the entry into
force of the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in
Human Beings.
The
Convention becomes legally binding on the first ten countries to have ratified
it (Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Georgia, Moldova,
Romania and Slovakia), on 1 February, with Bosnia-Herzegovina, France and
Norway following on 1 May. Most
European countries have taken the first steps to ratify the Convention, with
the UK having already announced its intention to complete the ratification by
the end of 2008.
“Human
trafficking is an appalling reality which exists in much of Europe. Putting this Convention into place,
alongside the relevant International Labour Organisation Conventions, will help
ensure that Europe plays its part in tackling this worldwide scourge. It is the
first legally binding European instrument on this issue”, said John Monks,
General Secretary of the ETUC and of the ITUC’s Pan-European Regional Council
(PERC).
Trade union organisations throughout Europe
are active in the fight against human trafficking, and will form part of a
Global Trade Union Alliance to combat forced labour and human trafficking. The alliance is being established by the
ITUC with support from the International Labour Organisation (ILO). (…) For more information, please contact the
ITUC Press Department on: +32 2 224 0204 or +32 476 621 018.
Kenya: Red Cross helps
trace missing family members
Geneva/Nairobi, 18 January - In the wake of Kenya’s post-election
violence that forced large numbers of people to flee their homes, the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has helped the Kenya Red Cross
to set up tracing teams in all the main affected areas. Red Cross volunteers
and counsellors have been instructed to look out for unaccompanied children and
refer them to local tracing teams. The Kenya Red Cross (KRCS) has also set up a
telephone hotline with numbers in seven cities and towns in the affected
areas. So far, the KRCS has registered
over 150 cases of children separated from their families. Of these, more than
120 have been successfully reunited. The KRCS has also received close to 150
requests to help locate adult family members. Over 100 additional cases of
separated family members were solved by KRCS staff on the spot through very
simple methods such as allowing them access to Red Cross mobile phones. (...)
Working through the Kenya Red Cross, the ICRC has also provided food and
essential household items to those affected. Joint ICRC/KRCS teams are ensuring
proper water supplies and sanitation facilities for the displaced. ICRC
surgical teams have been working at Eldoret’s Moi hospital since the beginning
of January.
http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/kenya-news-180108
Port
of Spain, Trinidad, Tobago, 11 January - UNICEF has teamed up with the Local
Organizing Committee (LOC) for the 2009 Caribbean Games to highlight the impact
of violence against children throughout the Caribbean. The LOC and Caribbean
Association of National Olympic Committees (CANOC) will join hands with UNICEF
offices throughout the Caribbean to promote awareness and advocate for the end
of violence against children. The first ever 2009 Caribbean Games will be held
from 13 to 19 July 2009, with sporting events that include swimming and
water polo, track and field, boxing, netball and volleyball. (…)
The
UNICEF, LOC and CANOC partnership for the 2009 Caribbean Games will facilitate
strategic programming, help raise awareness to improving the quality of lives
of all children, including vulnerable children and those at risk in communities
throughout the region as well as promote child-friendly environments. The
public, especially young people aged 10 to 24 will become more aware of the
impact of abuse and be better informed about how to protect themselves from
such abuse. (…) http://www.unicef.org/media/media_42451.html
Sustainable
agriculture and land management in the context of climate change
Geneva,
28-29 January
Geneva,
25 January – (…) About 200 delegates representing Governments,
inter-governmental organizations, United Nations agencies, and civil
society organizations will gather to discuss progress made in implementing
sustainable development goals in the areas of agriculture, land management,
desertification and drought. They will address particular obstacles encountered
and major breakthroughs made in the UNECE region. The meeting is also expected
to touch upon the important linkages between climate change and agriculture and
between climate change, desertification and drought that affect large parts of
the UNECE region, in particular the Northern Mediterranean subregion, Central
and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Discussions
on agriculture will address questions like how to meet the growing demand for
agricultural commodities while protecting natural resources, the issue of
agricultural subsidies and the competing interests between food security and
bioenergy production. Looking beyond the UNECE region, delegates will
furthermore assess the support of donor countries from the UNECE region for
sustainable agriculture and rural development in Africa in the context of
climate change, and review obstacles and possible next steps to be taken to
strengthen cooperation between these regions. (…)
http://www.unece.org/press/pr2008/08env_p01e.htm
CARE announces $5.2
million grant from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for dairy farmers
Small-scale farmers in
Bangladesh will increase milk production and income
25 January - CARE today announced a grant of $5.2 million over four
years from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for strengthening the dairy
value chain in Bangladesh to increase the productivity of small-scale dairy
farmers and link them to the formal dairy market. Bill Gates, co-chair of the
foundation, announced the project as part of a package of agricultural
development grants at a press conference with Amos Namanga Ngongi, President of
the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), and World Bank President
Robert B. Zoellick at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland.
CARE will use the grant to provide landless and smallholder farmers with
the opportunity to enhance their participation in and profit from the dairy
value chain in Bangladesh, where 80 percent of the population of 147 million
people lives in rural areas and cattle are an inseparable part of the farming
system. (...)
The grant to CARE, announced at the World Economic Forum as part of a
package of grants totaling $306 million, nearly doubles the foundation’s
investments in agriculture since the launch of its Agricultural Development
initiative in mid-2006. (...)
http://www.care.org/newsroom/articles/2008/01/20080125_gatesgrant.asp
The
Statistical Commission for Africa to take charge of statistics development in
Africa
24
January (ECA) - The first meeting of the Statistical Commission for Africa (StatCom-Africa) closed Wednesday 23 January in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with a resolution
designating StatCom-Africa “as the apex body in charge of statistics and
statistical development on the continent.” Close to 200 delegates representing
national statistical offices, regional and international development
institutions and development partners attended the three-day meeting. (…) The
meeting called on African countries to mainstream statistics into national
planning and budgeting processes to ensure statistical activities are
adequately funded and seen as a key element in the development process, rather
than as an add-on. Development partners were also called upon to provide
sustainable technical and financial assistance for the collection, processing,
analysis and use of data, particularly data necessary for monitoring the
Millennium Development Goals. (…)
US$19.2
million programme in Malawi will help poor rural people become key players in a
newly liberalized economy with private sector support
Rome,
23 January – A new IFAD-supported development programme in Malawi will create
opportunities for poor rural people to benefit from the country’s emerging
economic liberalization. The US$19.2 million Rural Livelihoods and Economic
Enhancement Programme will be partly financed by a US$8.4 million loan and a
US$8.3 million grant from IFAD. The loan agreement was signed today by Brian G.
Bowler, Malawi’s Ambassador to the European Union, and Kanayo F. Nwanze, IFAD’s
Vice-President. The Royal Tropical Institute of the Netherlands will provide an
additional US$100,000 grant. The Government of Malawi will contribute
US$390,000.
Through
their participation in the progamme, small-scale crop, livestock and fish
producers and processors will be linked up with relevant people in the private
sector to gain the knowledge and skills they need to participate fully in the
market place. The programme will improve farmers’ links to value chains by
establishing more efficient production, transport, storage, processing and
marketing systems for agricultural commodities. (…)
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2008/05.htm
IFAD-backed
US$84.6 million project in Bangladesh will help increase agricultural
productivity and farm incomes
Rome, 22 January – A new
project will work to boost agricultural productivity and farmers’ incomes in
Bangladesh by improving the quality and responsiveness of national research and
extension services. The US$84.6 million National Agricultural Technology
Project will be partly financed with a loan of US$19.5 million from IFAD. The
loan agreement was signed today by Bangladesh’s Ambassador to Italy, Fazlul Karim,
and IFAD’s President, Lennart Båge. The World Bank will cofinance the project
with US$62.5 million and the Government of Bangladesh will contribute US$2.6
million. “The overall objective is to support the government’s strategy to
increase national agricultural productivity and farm income,” said Nigel Brett,
IFAD’s country programme manager for Bangladesh. A number of factors contribute
to the poverty of farming communities in Bangladesh. One of the most important
is the lack of improved pro-poor technologies. The country’s weak research and
extension services are currently unable to generate and deliver such
technologies to farming communities. “The project will work to improve the
quality and responsiveness of national research and extension services,” said
Brett. “It will make them more demand-driven and more appropriate to the needs
of small and marginal farmers. (…)
With
this project, IFAD has financed 25 programmes and projects in Bangladesh,
investing a total of about US$443 million.
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2008/04.htm
Land
Policy Forum Recommends Strong Support for Homegrown Policies
21
January (ECA) - The consultative workshop on land policy in Eastern Africa
concluded Friday 18 January, with a call to African governments to contribute
at least ten percent of national budgets to the land sector. Participants noted
that while this may seem like a high investment, considering that land disputes
are at the centre of many conflicts, it is a small price to pay in the long
run. While appreciating the contribution that development partners are making
to the formulation of land policies, the workshop stated that land policies
have a higher chance of successful implementation if they are home grown and
owned; and it the policy development process is consultative and inclusive with
the active involvement of civil societies. It called for capacity building for
national institutions to equip them to undertake the important task of land policy
development and implementation. (…) The next subregional workshop on land
policies will take place in West Africa in March. The final continental report
is due to be handed to the summit of African heads of states and governments in
January 2009.
Diversification
and new markets for better food security in West Africa
With Italian support, FAO launches projects in five
of the world’s poorest countries
Rome,
21 January – A series of projects, launched as part of the FAO Trust Fund for
Food Security, will aim to revive agricultural output and create new marketing
opportunities for producers in five African countries. This new initiative is
financed by a $10 million contribution from the Italian Government. The
countries targeted for support are: Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Senegal and
Sierra Leone. Aside from their close proximity to one another, they have
another feature in common – all of them suffer from alarming levels of poverty
and malnutrition. In some cases, up to 70 percent of the population is living
below the poverty line. (…)
All
five countries have a striking demographic statistic in common: the average age
of the population is extremely low. In Mali and Senegal, 47 percent of the inhabitants
is under 15; in Sierra Leone, 42 percent is under 15 and 75 percent is under
35. (…) In all five countries, the projects focus on agriculture as a major
tool for reducing poverty and increasing food security. But they also recognize
that boosting output alone is not enough, and that any strategy must include
initiatives to improve the commercialization of products. One key element in
each project will be training and apprenticeship activities for local
producers’ associations, delivered via farmer field schools. These will teach
farmers how to store and conserve products so that they are not forced to sell
all their crops straight after harvest. (…)
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2008/1000772/index.html
$US35 million loan signed by IFAD President in Viet
Nam to expand market access and develop businesses for small farmers in Mekong
Delta
Hanoi, January 18 –
Vietnam’s rural poor must be given the chance to place their products on the
national and global supply chain if extreme poverty is to be eradicated in
Vietnam, said Lennart Båge, President of the International Fund for
Agricultural Development. As one of the fastest growing economies in the world,
Viet Nam has cut poverty from 60 per cent to 20 per cent in little over a
decade. Extreme poverty still exists
however especially in rural areas where 45 per cent of people still live below
the poverty line compared with nine per cent in the cities “The government of Viet Nam has made
remarkable progress in reducing poverty even in rural areas” said Båge,
speaking during an official visit to Hanoi.
“One of the ways to ensure that poor rural people also benefit
from this phenomenal growth is by creating the right market conditions for
private investors in agriculture and their cooperation with farmer households.”
In Viet Nam as elsewhere, poor farmers, smallholders and other rural households
might not know, or be able to increase their incomes from the commodity value
chains through processing or negotiating with the wholesale customers who are
in a position to obtain fairer prices for them for their agricultural
products. And even if they can, they
don’t always have the means to meet the bio safety requirements of large
international food purchasers such as supermarket chains. The IFAD President
spoke after signing a $US35 million loan agreement and a US$550,000 grant with
the government of Viet Nam to assist the poor households in Ben Tre and Cao
Bang provinces in developing market-based agricultural production and business.
(…)
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2008/02.htm
The
European Commission awards funding to new civil protection simulation exercises
and projects
Brussels,
14 January - The European Commission
has awarded grants worth €4.07 million to projects and large-scale pan-European
simulation exercises proposed under the recently adopted Civil Protection
Financial Instrument. The exercises will involve earthquake and flooding
simulations, and will be led by organisations from five European countries. (…)
Seven simulation exercises to be led by France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the
United Kingdom and Sweden have been awarded just over €2.6 million. The exercises
will feature a variety of scenarios, including earthquakes and cross-border
flooding. Simulation exercises promote a common understanding of co-operation
in civil protection assistance interventions and help accelerate response in
major emergencies. These learning exercises test response capabilities and
provide an opportunity for all actors involved in operations under the
Community Civil Protection Mechanism to enhance their operational co-operation.
The exercises will take place over 2008-2009. (…)
The
Civil Protection Financial Instrument is intended to support and complement the
efforts of Member States for the protection of people, the environment and
property (including cultural heritage) in the event of natural and man-made
disasters, acts of terrorism and technological, radiological or environmental
accidents. It also facilitates reinforced co-operation between Member States in
the field of civil protection. It covers response and preparedness actions, and
has a financial envelope of around €190 million for 2007-2013.
For more information: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/civil
Ecuador:
Local Business Development Program - New project won
8
January - ACDI/VOCA won a $5.6 million, USAID-funded Local Business Development
(LBD) program to accelerate growth in Ecuador’s border regions. The program
will leverage the practical results of recent programs to encourage licit
activities in these regions. LBD will connect both private and public sector actors
to overcome obstacles for sustained growth, combating physical isolation, lack
of knowledge of end-market requirements, difficulty in accessing financing for
working capital or investments, and difficulty in attaining economies of scale
for profitable participation in value chains.
Ecuador
is located between two of the world’s leading producers of coca and cocaine and
is faced with the threat of a rapidly growing illicit drug economy. Although
Ecuador has sound agricultural production, its high rural poverty levels create
a need for targeted economic development to help negate the effects of the
narco-economy on rural populations.
http://www.acdivoca.org/acdivoca/PortalHub.nsf/ID/news_newbizEcuadorLBD
Overview
2007 on trade agreements and disputes in Latin America
Recourse to the World Trade Organization and
integration regimes as a means of resolving disputes, plus new advances in
regional agreements, took place in 2007.
4
January - Major landmarks during 2007 in Latin American and Caribbean trade,
disputes and the evolution of the Doha Round process are covered in two
articles posted on the web page of the ECLAC Division of International Trade
and Integration. The article Overview of Trade Issues in 2007 (Balance de temas comerciales en 2007) analyzes the issues
and positions held by the countries of the region in the Doha Development
Round, following the resumption of negotiations last February. It also
reviews progress in extra- and inter- regional trade pacts.
In 2007 the members of the
Andean Community of Nations and the Central American Common Market both began,
separately, negotiations toward association agreements with the European Union
(EU). Trade agreements were approved between Peru and the United States, Chile
and Japan, and the CARIFORUM countries (CARICOM plus the Dominican Republic)
with the EU. In Central America, the Protocol to the Treaty on Investment and
Trade in Services was drawn up. In South America, countries agreed to the
creation of the Union of South American Nations and, at the end of 2007, signed
the Founding Act of the Banco del Sur by Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador,
Paraguay and Venezuela, with initial capital of US$7 billion. The adhesion
process of Venezuela to MERCOSUR also continued, among other developments. (…)
Save the Children assists flood-affected
communities in Bolivia
La Paz (Bolivia), 25 January -
Save the Children is rushing to provide lifesaving assistance to children and
families forced from their homes by rising floodwaters in Bolivia.
The agency, working with local
Civil Defense Emergency Committees, is currently supplying medicines in the
municipalities of Yapacani and Puerto Villarroel, where hundreds of families
have lost their homes and have moved to shelters. Save the Children is
assessing emerging needs in those areas and in El Alto, and will provide food,
clean water and other materials to families as necessary. (...)
The severe rainy season has
pushed Bolivia’s major rivers to flood stage, threatening lowland and valley
communities in the departments of Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, Chuquisaca, La Paz,
Potosí, Pando, Tarija, Beni and Oruro. More than 21,000 people live in the
affected areas and, to date, there have been 27 deaths. Flooding and landslides
have cut off communities and lines of communication. The rains are expected to
continue through March.
Save the Children has been
working in Bolivia since 1986. (…)
http://www.savethechildren.org/newsroom/2008/Flooding-in-Bolivia-2008.html
Kenya: ICRC dispatches
medical supplies to Nakuru
Nairobi, 25 January - The International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) has provided Nakuru Provincial Hospital with enough medical supplies to
treat some 100 weapon-wounded patients.
An ICRC truck carrying the 1.4-tonne consignment left the organization’s
logistics base in Nairobi early Friday afternoon. The supplies include
pharmaceuticals, dressings, sutures, anaesthetics, and other surgical
consumables. They were dispatched at the request of officials at the hospital
and in coordination with the Ministry of Health. (...)
Working through the Kenya Red Cross Society, the ICRC has also furnished
food and essential household items to people affected by the violence. Staff
from the ICRC and the Kenya Red Cross are striving together to ensure adequate
water supplies and sanitation for people forced to flee their homes. The ICRC
is also assisting the Kenya Red Cross in its work to reunite families who have
been separated by the events. (…)
http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/kenya-news-250108
Germany - Federal Foreign Office to provide winter
emergency aid for Afghanistan
24 January - The Federal
Foreign Office is donating 1 million euro to German aid agencies for urgent
projects to deal with the winter emergency in Afghanistan. The country is
currently in the grip of the harshest winter for more than a decade. People
living in remote villages as well as returnees and internally displaced persons
are particularly at risk. (...)
Heavy snowfalls and extreme
cold have left Afghanistan’s western and northern provinces as well as the
central highlands seriously short of supplies. In winter many valleys in the
central highlands are completely cut off, also from medical services. The
Federal Foreign Office is funding six health stations there to provide basic
medical services for over 100,000 people. The station staff bring in their
supplies before the onset of winter and spend the winter months with the local
communities they serve.
In cooperation with various
aid agencies the Federal Foreign Office is supplying blankets, warm clothing
and basic foodstuffs for those in need. Schoolchildren, too, are provided with
warm clothing so they can continue their education in unheated classrooms. This
latest contribution brings the Federal Foreign Office’s total humanitarian aid
and humanitarian demining funds for Afghanistan since 2001 to around 68 million
euro.
http://www.landmine.de/en.titel/en.news/en.news.one/index.html?entry=en.news.0f9f75a5388e0000
One million DKK to floods in Africa
Copenhagen, 22 January - Heavy
rain has made the numerous rivers in southern Africa overflow their banks.
Thousands of families have been evacuated and need help. DanChurchAid sends one
million Danish kroner (DKK) to emergency aid to the most severely affected
countries which are Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia. The emergency work is
coordinated through Action by Churches Together, ACT International.
Around 80,000 people have been
affected by the floods in the three countries since mid-December last year,
UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports. Worst
case is Mozambique, where approximately 72,000 people are affected. Especially
the areas along the rivers Zambezi, Buzi, Pungue are hit. (…)
Together with UN’s World Food
Programme, WFP, Christian Care has already distributed food to more than 8,000
people. ACT partners are now estimating the need for additional help.
In Zambia the southern
province is the one most severely affected. The heavy rain has created floods
in 34 districts. Here as well, fields, road, bridges, wells and artesian boring
have been destroyed. Schools have also been smashed. Humanitarian organisations
fear that water borne diseases may spread within a few days.
All ACT partners, including
DanChurchAid, are preparing emergency work in the Southern province which will
consist of clothes, blankets, provisional housing, mosquito nets etc. (…)
WFP helicopter starts relief flights to flood
victims in Mozambique
WFP-chartered
Mi8 helicopter has started flying emergency food rations to tens of thousands
of Mozambicans stranded by flooding along the Zambezi valley
Copyright:
2008 Alex Wynter/IFRC
Johannesburg, 22 January - The United Nations World
Food Programme (WFP) began relief flights today to provide vital humanitarian
assistance to tens of thousands of people affected by the extensive flooding
along the Zambezi valley in central Mozambique. Around 76,000 people have been
displaced by the current floods. Based in the town of Caia, WFP’s Mi8
helicopter flew its first missions this morning – carrying 2.5 mt of cereals
and pulses on each flight to Goligoli, where over 13,000 people have been
displaced by the floods and are in need of food assistance. WFP is planning to
deliver 74 mt of food to Goligoli, which should take the helicopter around 4-5
days. The helicopter will deliver food and non-food supplies on a priority
basis on behalf of the entire humanitarian community to displaced people in
inaccessible resettlement areas. All flight and cargo decisions will be taken
in consultation with the government’s National Institute for Disaster
Management (INGC) and other partners. A second helicopter is on stand-by for
deployment to Caia to enhance the humanitarian response. (…)
http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2745
Save the Children
delivers lifesaving supplies to families in flooded Mozambique
Westport, Conn., USA, 17 January - Save the Children is beginning distribution
of household kits - comprised of blankets, cooking and eating utensils, water
purifiers, soap, buckets and plastic sheeting - to 3,500 families. The agency
has distributed additional plastic sheeting to 155 families in Mopeia.
Ongoing and torrential rains are pushing the country’s major rivers out
of their banks, threatening the lives and livelihoods of thousands of families.
An estimated 59,000 people have been displaced by floodwaters in the Zambezi
River basin, according to government authorities. Other major rivers in central
Mozambique are still above alert stage. Save the Children’s assessment teams
working in the Zambezi Valley, where the agency has long-term programs, report
that shelter, clean drinking water, food and sanitation are immediate
priorities. (...) Prolonged flooding is predicted, prompting fears that this
year’s floods will be bigger than those of 2007, which affected more than a
quarter of a million people.
With the school year beginning in two weeks, Save the Children is assessing
the need for temporary schools so that children do not miss out on an
education. The agency has already established a tent school in the Mopeia
resettlement center.
Save the Children has programs in three of the four provinces expected
to see the worst of the Zambezi flooding. The agency has been working in
Mozambique since 1988. (…)
http://www.savethechildren.org/newsroom/2008/lifesaving-supplies-Mozambique.html
As
violence ebbs, UNICEF joins other agencies in providing aid for up to 100,000
people in Kenya
Nairobi,
9 January - As the unrest that rocked Kenya quells, UNICEF and other agencies
are rushing to provide aid for up to 100,000 people, the estimated number in
urgent need of assistance. The majority are women and children, says
UNICEF. The children’s agency is warning that the violence is the symptom
of deep rooted problems, including widespread poverty. The UN is
estimating that as many as 500,000 may need long-term assistance and there are
fears that the unrest could affect humanitarian operations in neighbouring
Sudan, Uganda and parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Children in many
of the affected parts of the country have long suffered from chronic
malnutrition. The recent violence and subsequent displacement of over 250,000
people, threatens the lives of already vulnerable children and women.
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_42396.html
MSF increases role as
cholera outbreak picks up speed in the DRC
Katanga, 25 January - A team of 15 from MSF’s Congo Emergency Pool (PUC;
Pool d’Urgence Congo) is currently working to fight a cholera epidemic that has
been raging since the start of the year in the heart of Lubumbashi, the capital
of Katanga province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Lubumbashi, a
mining city in the south east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) with
a population of 1.3 million, is the second largest city in the country (next to
the capital, Kinshasa).
To date, 767 cholera patients have been treated in the MSF supported
cholera treatment centre (CTC) and the number of patients is rising slightly.
There were 278 new patients admitted over the course of last week - an average
of 30 to 40 new patients every day.
The MSF team consists of a coordinator, three doctors, six nurses, five
logistics specialists and a water and sanitation/disinfection expert. Highly
contagious, cholera is a bacterium that is easily transmitted via stools and
vomit and through drinking contaminated water. Two additional members of the
MSF team are taking care of raising awareness among the population on ways they
can protect themselves. (…)
MSF is now focusing its efforts in order to limit the spread of the
epidemic, while aware that it could not be contained in time due to the lack of
adequate resources deployed for the poorest population of this rich mining
city. (…)
Rotarian to donate $2
million to help end polio
By Tiffany Woods
24 January - Rotary’s efforts to eradicate polio have gotten a US$2
million boost from a Rotarian diamond and jewelry magnate. Harshad Mehta, a
native of India who is a senior partner in the Belgium-based Rosy Blue diamond
and jewelry company, has pledged to donate the money to Rotary’s polio
eradication efforts over the next three years.
Mehta, the largest Indian donor to The Rotary Foundation, was inspired
to make the commitment after learning about the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation’s $100 million challenge grant for polio eradication. Rotary must
match the grant dollar for dollar over a three-year period. (…)
Mehta serves as chair of the United Arab Emirates operations of Rosy
Blue, a family business that employs more than 15,000 people around the world.
He’s also Armenia’s honorary consul in Mumbai and the vice chair of the Dubai
Diamond Exchange. He is a past chair of the Gem and Jewelry Export Promotion
Council and a past vice president of the Federation of Indian Export
Organizations. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, listening to music,
walking, swimming, playing cricket, and spending time with his wife, three
children, and five grandchildren.
In the final push to stop polio, Mehta urges Rotarians not to give up.
“We must further strengthen our resolve as we are so close to the ultimate
goal,” he says. “Any slackening at this point will result in a total loss of
all the time, effort, and money put in over the past years.”
http://www.rotary.org/en/MediaAndNews/News/Pages/080124_news_harshadmehta.aspx
Integrated
health strategies can save children’s lives, says UNICEF flagship, State of the
World’s Children Report 2008
Geneva, 22 January – Strategies that can help reduce the
number of children who die before their fifth birthday were highlighted today,
at the launch of UNICEF’s flagship report - The State of the World’s Children
2008: Child Survival – in Geneva. While recent data show a fall in the rate of
under-five mortality, the State of the World’s Children Report 2008 goes beyond
the numbers to suggest actions and initiatives that should lead to further
progress. “Community-level integration of essential services for mothers,
newborns and young children, and sustainable improvements in national health
systems can save the lives of many of the more than 26,000 children under five
who die each day,” said Ann M. Veneman, UNICEF Executive Director. “The report
describes the impact of simple, affordable life-saving measures, such as
exclusive breastfeeding, immunization, insecticide-treated bed nets and vitamin
A supplementation, all of which have helped to reduce child deaths in recent
years.” The report’s analysis also reveals that far more needs to be done to
increase access to treatments and means of prevention, so the devastating
impact of pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, severe acute malnutrition and HIV can
be better addressed. The challenge is to ensure children have access to a
continuum of health care, backed by strong national health systems.
"Stepping up investment in health systems will be crucial if we are to
meet the child health targets set by the United Nations, but progress can be
made even when health systems are weak,” said Dr. Margaret Chan,
Director-General of the World Health Organization. (…)
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_42643.html
Ban Ki-moon hails
Rotary’ s role in eradicating polio
UN Secretary-General
addresses service organization’s assembly
17 January - Hailing Rotary International as a crucial partner of the
United Nations in the battle against polio, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today
praised the group’s perseverance in overcoming enormous obstacle in the
campaign. “For 22 years, you and your fellow Rotarians have dedicated your time
and efforts to eradicating polio,” he said in a video message to the
organization on the campaign that has immunized almost two billion children
around the world against the highly infectious, often paralyzing and sometimes
fatal disease.
“You have done so in the face of extraordinary challenges. You have
overcome financial shortfalls, conflict and lack of security. You have
conquered cultural barriers and lack of political will. At every turn, in the
face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, you have found creative solutions,
in partnership with the World Health Organization, UNICEF and the US Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention. In this way, Rotarians have shown the world
what can be achieved when civil society and the United Nations partner
together.”
The world’s success in eradicating polio now depends on four countries -
Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan - and a further US$ 440 million is
needed over the next two years for victory, according to an assessment in
October by the independent Advisory Committee on Polio Eradication (ACPE),
which oversees the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.
“When the last chapter on polio eradication is finally written, it will
tell one of the most spectacular success stories in public health,” Mr. Ban
said. “It will describe one of the world’s most remarkable partnerships. And it
will highlight your personal service to humanity. (…)
http://www.polioeradication.org/
Afghanistan: hygiene
promotion reaches Kabul’s poorest districts
By Ali Hakimi, International Federation information
officer in Kabul
17 January - Nikbakht, a 40-year-old mother of four children, lives in
one of the poorest districts in central Kabul. Here in Chindawol, an average of
three families cram into each small house. The sanitary conditions are horrendous.
The traditional drop toilets are typically in a poor state of repair, with very
few having a cover. It is not surprising then that, according to the United
Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), nearly 50,000 children die from diarrhoea in
Afghanistan every year.
In an attempt to address this, the country’s public health ministry
joined forces with the Afghan Red Crescent Society and the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to launch a four-day
sanitation campaign. The idea for the campaign was sparked by seven suspected
cases of cholera in Kabul in July 2007. It was implemented by more than a
hundred Red Crescent volunteers, who travelled from house to house in order to
pass on potentially lifesaving hygiene information.
Each volunteer group contained one male and one female Red Crescent
volunteer, which made it easier for them to be welcomed into the houses of
strangers and to pass on their message to all members of the household -
particularly the women.
Nikbakht is one of many women to be reached by the campaign. She
listened intently as Afghan Red Crescent volunteer Sakina Mohammad Hassan
showed her a series of photographs showing good hygiene practices. (…)
http://www.ifrc.org/Docs/News/08/08011702/index.asp
Polio vaccine reaches
over 400 million children in 2007
More than 400 million
children vaccinated in 2007
16 January - Most dangerous serotype beaten back, as intensified
eradication effort zeros in on remaining reservoirs
More than 400 million children under the age of five were vaccinated
multiple times against polio in 2007 in 27 countries, the Global Polio
Eradication Initiative announced in January. In total, more than 2.2 billion
doses of oral polio vaccine (OPV) were administered during 164 vaccination
campaigns, primarily in the remaining endemic countries (Afghanistan, India,
Nigeria and Pakistan), in re-infected countries and in high-risk areas. (…)
Large areas of the remaining endemic countries now appear to be free of
this serotype, including the western end of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most
populous state and an area in which the virus has been more entrenched than
anywhere else on earth.
Given this progress, the Advisory Committee on Poliomyelitis Eradication
- the independent body providing strategic guidance to the Global Polio
Eradication Initiative - endorsed continuing these intensified eradication
efforts in 2008-2009. This will mean a significant ramping-up of both the
quantity and quality of supplementary immunization activities in the remaining
endemic areas in an bid to rapidly stop polio once and for all.
Full financing of the intensified phase is critical, as the increased
activities come with significant budgetary implications. For 2008-2009, the
Global Polio Eradication Initiative faces a global funding gap of US$ 525
million. US$ 175 million of this amount is needed for 2008. A full budget has
now been published in the updated Financial Resource Requirements document,
available at www.polioeradication.org/fundingbackground.asp
http://www.polioeradication.org/
Turkmenistan
Government to fully support flour fortification
Turkmenistan, 14 January -
UNICEF welcomes the Turkmenistan Government’s self-sustainable flour
fortification programme. Fortification of flour with micronutrients that
contain iron and folic acid will reduce iron deficiency anaemia and improve the
overall nutritional situation of women and children across the country. The
Government will finance the flour fortification programme as part of its
commitment to child survival and development, and will work with UNICEF
to procure micronutrients that will be added to supreme grade and first grade
flour. (…)
The
flour fortification programme is one of many programmes contributing to the
health and well being of the children and women of Turkmenistan. Since 2001,
the Government of Turkmenistan has financed 100 per cent of vaccines
procurement using UNICEF Procurement Services. In 2004, the country
achieved universal salt iodization.
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_42447.html
(top)
EU Sustainable Energy Week 2008
Brussels, 28 January - 1 February - Under
the umbrella of the Sustainable Energy Europe Campaign (SEE), the European
Commission’s Directorate-General for Energy and Transport, the European
Institutions, the Slovenian Presidency and major stakeholders concerned with
sustainable energy are together putting on the second EU Sustainable Energy
Week (EUSEW). It will take place in Brussels, Belgium, and in other cities
across Europe from Monday 28 January to Friday 1 February, 2008.
The
EUSEW is the key reference for sustainable energy issues in Europe. The events
organised during EUSEW cover key topics that highlight the multi-sectoral
nature of sustainable energy development and stress the need for everyone to
work together towards a common goal; from renewable energy sources to energy
efficiency, from EU policy to local action, from distributed energy to
planning, from technologies to markets, from legislation to behaviour to
education, from buildings to transport.
European Info Day 2008
Brussels, 31 January - About €
50 million will become available to support European intelligent energy
projects under the 2008 call for proposals. But only the best
project proposals will be selected for funding.
The European Info Day 2008
event will help you apply successfully and find suitable project partners. More
than 400 participants are expected. (...)
Info Day video recordings and
slides will be made available on this page after the event.
The European Info Day is a
part of the EU Sustainable
Energy Week 2008
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/intelligent/events/infodays_en.htm
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/intelligent/projects/index_en.htm
Solar Conference 2008: “Putting Light to Work” -
Cairo, Egypt, 24-28 February
The
highly successful Solar conference series, started in 1991, provides a place
where researchers interested in fundamental and applied aspects of
photochemistry can meet and inspire one another. Located in the “sun-blessed”
country of Egypt, the Solar Conference recognizes that successful photochemical
applications go hand in hand with advancement of fundamental understanding of
photoinduced processes and excited states. Year after year, this conference
attracts a wide pool of world authorities from various fields to Egypt. The
large and continuing interest of the scientific community for this conference
is a result of the unique blend of good science, networking, hospitality and
remarkable venue. In its own right, Solar significantly contributes to the
education of the countries own scientists, particularly the emerging young
generation of Egyptian scientists.
http://www.sabrycorp.com/cms/so/08/index.cfm
New energy and climate package
for Europe: The European Commission leads the way towards a massive expansion
of wind power
23 January - Today’s
Commission proposal for 20% renewable energy by 2020 paves the way for a
massive expansion of wind energy in the 27 Member States and a new energy
future for Europe. It proposes a stable and flexible EU framework in which
Member States keep control of their renewable energy policies through
successful national support systems. In addition, cross-border transfer of
guarantees of origin can only take place where Member States have met or
exceeded their interim targets. For the European Wind Energy Association
(EWEA), these two elements are crucial for maintaining investor confidence and
encouraging substantial investments in green electricity.
“The European Commission has
today provided a powerful response to the imminent energy and climate crisis.
By introducing a voluntary trading mechanism, controlled by Member States, the
proposal maintains market stability, increases investor confidence and will
help Member States to reach their ambitious, yet achievable, targets”.
(Christian Kjaer, EWEA Chief Executive Officer)
World Future Energy Summit - January 21-23
Something
special has happened in Abu Dhabi - “...an extraordinary conference” Lord
Foster
Highlights of the First World
Future Energy Summit:
• The Crown Prince has
announced the investment of 15 billion dollars in the future of energy
• Masdar has challenged our understanding of what it means to live in a
city.
• We’ve had the future
king of England speak by hologram
• The United States has
asked OPEC to hike oil output
• Lord Brown, who was CEO
of BP for 12 years, has summed up the energy markets over the past 40 years
• BP have announced a
$2billion dollar hydrogen plant for Abu Dhabi
• We’ve even had calls
for a revolution! (from Greenpeace)
It difficult to even keep up
with the scale of business and progress that has taken place here over the past
3 days. 11,172 people have come through
these doors. 230 companies have come from 22 countries all over the world, 230
media have reported and if you google World Future Energy Summit you’ll find over
200,000 hits.
3rd International Solar Cities
Congress 2008 - Adelaide, Australia, 17-21 February
The
International Solar Cities Congress is part of the International Solar Cities
Initiative and the 2008 Congress will be the third solar cities congress. The
objectives of the International Solar Cities Initiative are to support UN
energy and climate policies by stimulating the interest of cities into becoming
benchmark cities that commit to ambitious emission reduction goals; help cities
systematically integrate renewable energy and energy efficient technologies and
industries into environmental, economic and city planning; and provide
scientific support for the validation and design of effective measures and
policies for Solar Cities. The 3rd Congress will appeal to all professionals
and individuals with an interest in sustainable energy and its role in our
urban environment. The International Solar Cities Initiative (ISCI) has been
formed to address climate change through effective measurable action at the
urban community level. The members of ISCI are cities, institutions and
individuals who want to help each other in this task.
http://www.solarcitiescongress.com.au/program.htm
Energy Commissioner Andris
Piebalgs welcomes the resolution of the Kashagan oil field dispute
Brussels, 16 January - Energy
Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, has welcomed today the fact that an agreement has
been reached between the members of the Kashagan consortium and the authorities
of Kazakhstan. The resolution of this dispute will allow the development of the
Kashagan oil field, the largest oil discovery in more than 30 years, to proceed
at the quickest pace possible (with the production stream to come on line by
2011). Such progress should also help to ease world energy markets at a time of
sharply increasing energy demand.
The Memorandum of
Understanding signed in Astana on 14 January 2008 brings an end to a six-month
standoff between the members of the Kashagan consortium which includes ENI,
Exxon Mobil, Total, Royal Dutch Shell, Inpex and ConocoPhillips. Discovered in
2000, it is the largest oil field discovered in the North Caspian Sea and is
situated close to the Kazak city of Atyrau. The dispute has emerged due to the
concerns raised by the Republic of Kazakhstan on the impact of certain factors
that have influenced the speed and cost of the project development. Indeed,
Kashagan represents a significant technical and environmental challenge due to
the high sulphur content with associated production of hydrogen sulphide gas,
wide temperature variations from –40 to +40C and a deep, high-pressure
reservoir.
How much water do you
really use? The truth may shock you
New York, 8 January - America’s waterscape is changing. Climate shifts
and population increases are putting pressure on our fresh water sources,
leading to record-setting droughts and unprecedented water shortages. Despite
the recent surge in media coverage about our water problems, most Americans
still don’t realize that they have a role to play in addressing the problem.
But a new website called H2O Conserve (www.h2oconserve.org) is coming online to
show us that it’s time to do something about our 1,000-plus gallon-a-day habit.
Every aspect of our lives is connected to water, and we use enormous
amounts of it to make everything from electricity to food to household products.
For example, it takes 24 gallons of water to make a single pound of plastic,
and over a hundred gallons to make a pound of cotton. Even the electricity we
use is tied to water - with power plants consuming 40 percent of our country’s
fresh water resources.
The website’s H2O Calculator takes all this into account, and after you
answer a few questions it reveals just how much water your lifestyle requires.
How much do you think you use? Well, the average American guzzles an
astonishing 1,189.3 gallons per day according to the calculator’s measure - not
just a drop in the bucket! (...)
After using the calculator, visitors are invited to learn more about our
water system and important water issues. It also provides tips for saving water
at home - a valuable resource given the recent water shortages and droughts
that many Americans are facing these days.
H2O Conserve was developed by a group of public interest organizations,
including Food & Water Watch, the Interfaith Center on Corporate
Responsibility, GRACE, and the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. (...)
http://www.iccr.org/news/press_releases/2008/pr_water011008.htm
The European Commission has set out
targets for the year 2010 for both renewables and energy intensity that, whilst
indicative, have been endorsed by national governments. To achieve our goals,
all of us need to get involved, as individuals, communities, industry
representatives or members of public authorities. Together we can make a
difference and no contribution is too small in the drive to shape a better energy
future for all European citizens.
Set in this context
Sustainable Energy Europe 2005-2008 gives a strong signal of support to all
partners in sustainable energy that will add value by disseminating their
results and will raise awareness of key decision-makers across Europe of the
benefits of increased investments in this sector.
http://www.sustenergy.org/tpl/page.cfm?pageName=introduction
Water Cooperation between UN-ESCWA and
Germany
Represented by Executive
Secretary Bader Omar Al Dafa, UN-ESCWA signed on 11 January 2008 a memorandum
of understanding with the German Embassy in Lebanon, represented by Ambassador
Hansjoerg Haber concerning the project "Advisory Services to UN-ESCWA and
UN-ESCWA Member Countries in the Water Sector". (…) Germany is funding
projects in the Western Asia region with about 1 billion dollars, and water
represents an important sector of its work. (…)
Driven by its objective to
support economic and social cooperation among the countries of the region and
promote development in order to achieve regional integration, UN-ESCWA aims to
ensure that Western Asia interacts with other regions, to familiarize them with
the circumstances and needs of the countries of the region. (…)
Biogas: helping poor farmers help the planet and
themselves
Animals are an important
source of food and income for many poor rural people, but their manure is a source
of one of the world’s most potent greenhouse gases. One sow and her piglets
will produce about 9 tonnes of carbon-dioxide through the methane generated by
their droppings. Turning manure into biogas is a triple-win situation: it
improves the lives of poor rural people by giving them an affordable source of
energy for cooking and lighting, replaces the time spent for fuelwood
collection with money-making activities, and reduces the release of greenhouse
gases that cause global warming.
In China, an IFAD-supported biogas project has helped
about 30,000 poor households by providing nearly 23,000 biogas tanks. As a
result, methane emissions have dropped, incomes have risen and household
sanitation has improved. (…) Biogas units turn human and animal waste into a
mixture of methane and carbon dioxide gases that can be used for lighting and
cooking. Each household builds its own plant to channel waste from the domestic
toilet and nearby shelters for animals, usually pigs, into a sealed tank. The
waste ferments and is naturally converted into gas and compost. In addition to
producing energy, the project has resulted in better sanitary conditions in the
home. (…) The Guangxi project has become a catalyst for other initiatives in
the region. To date, 2.73 million biogas tanks have been built in villages,
benefiting about 34.2 per cent of the rural households in Guangxi. It is
estimated that 7.65 million tons of standard coal and 13.40 million tons of
firewood are saved annually in Guangxi because of the use of biogas.
http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/asia/chn/voices/biogas.htm
UNEP
supported polar boat breaks free of Arctic Pack Ice
22 January - Tara, the UNEP
supported polar boat, has broken free from the Arctic ice sheet after a record
breaking scientific expedition across the top of the world. Wedged in the pack
ice, Tara "drifted" with the wind and ocean currents at an average
speed of 10 km/h for more than 500 days. In one and half years she covered
5,200 kilometers in the Arctic, and at one point was only 160 kilometers from
the North Pole, the northern-most position ever reached by a schooner. The boat
is now sailing in open water, and by the end of the week is expected to reach
land at Longyearbyen, capital of Spitsbergen. She will then continue on to her
home port of Lorient in France. (…)
As
part of the International Polar Year, Tara has provided an unprecedented
platform for scientific observations and research (including the European
DAMOCLES project) on how the Arctic environment is changing. Throughout the
course of the expedition, it has been relaying these findings to scientists,
policy makers and the general public alike. (…)
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=525&ArticleID=5734&l=en
IFAD
provides US$16.6 million to improve natural resource management and adaptation
to climate change in Yemen
Rome,
21 January – A new US$42.2 million project in Yemen will help reduce rural
poverty by reversing the accelerating trend of natural resource degradation in
five of the country’s poorest areas. The Rainfed Agriculture and Livestock
Project will be financed partly by a low-interest IFAD loan of US$16.6 million.
(…) The project has three components, two of which will be financed by the
International Development Association (IDA). The third component, focused on
productive rural development, will be cofinanced by IFAD and IDA. This
component will be implemented in 23 districts and will benefit directly about
185,000 poor households.
Natural
resources are being placed under greater stress by rapidly increasing
populations in the governorates of Al-Mahweet, Hajjah, Hodeidah, Lahej and
Sana'a. The five governorates face drought and water scarcity as a result of
climate change. Since the local economy is based predominantly on rainfed
agriculture, the project will seek to upgrade and diversify agricultural
production. At the same time it will use participatory natural resource
management initiatives to help halt and reverse the accelerating trend towards
resource degradation. The project will also assist small farmers, herders, poor
landless people and women-headed households to strengthen their processing and
marketing systems. (…)
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2008/03.htm
The stinky fish of
poor fishing practice
17 January - Destructive fishing has many critics, with the newest being
an animated fish puppet emerging from an icebox to push the virtues of
sustainably caught seafood.
Stinky Fish, the brainchild of WWF’s International Marine Programme and
viral movie makers, Free Range Studios, is the star of a new consumer education
and information website which goes live today. (...)
“We’ve aimed Stinky Fish mainly at fish buyers and eaters with the
underlying message that your seafood spread is going to be all the more
satisfying if you buy and eat with a conscience” said Sarah Bladen of WWF’s
International Marine Programme. Or, in the cartoon chatter that Stinky Fish
uses: “It’s time to slap your appetites into line with your ethics.”
But there is more than admonishment. Stinky Fish has a six step plan for
fish consumers to do just that. Stinky Fish reserves his approval for fish
products carrying the ecolabel of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and the
plan revolves around preferring MSC - labelled seafood, asking retailers and
restaurateurs for sustainable fish and generally adding in small personal ways
to the overall consumer demand for seafood that doesn’t cost the seas.
Consumers are advised to just stay away from some seafood where the
populations are so depleted, the fishing methods so destructive or the task of
differentiating the sustainable from the unsustainable is impossible. The list
includes the once but no longer plentiful Atlantic cod, overfished Atlantic
bluefin tuna, swordfish from areas still using banned driftnets, and orange
roughy driven into depletion almost as soon as it was discovered just a couple
of decades ago.
Stinky’s Sustainable Seafood Shopping Survey provides a mechanism for
aware consumers to start reinforcing the message for seafood providers.
Returning the survey to Stinky Fish and his willing WWF analysts will also add
to knowledge of consumer level retailing practice.
http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/index.cfm?uNewsID=121620
2007
Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo, 10 December 2007
The
joint winners of the Nobel Peace Prize Award in 2007—the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Al Gore, former Vice-President of the USA
and environmental campaigner—was announced on 12 October 2007. (…) The award
ceremony took place at Oslo City Hall, Norway on 10 December 2007 in the
presence of the King and Queen of Norway. (…) In his presentation speech, the
Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said that, for a long time, there had
been great doubt about whether global warming was man-made but that, thanks to
the IPCC, there was very little such doubt today. The Chairman of the IPCC,
Rajendra Pachauri, received the award on behalf of the Panel and gave a
lecture, in which he paid tribute to the thousands of experts and scientists
who have contributed to the work of the Panel over almost two decades of
evolution and service to humanity. He also expressed his gratitude to WMO and
UNEP, the co-sponsors of IPCC, for their support. (…)
The
work of the IPCC had shown how vital it was for the scientific evidence on
climate change—and mankind’s role therein—to be used as the basis for moving
forward the political process on curbing climate change. The integration of
reliable information in socio-economic decision-making was a prerequisite for
sustainable development. (…)
http://www.wmo.ch/pages/about/sec/ceremony_en.html
WCC General
Secretary confident about Christian unity progress
Rome, January
25 - At today’s
ecumenical Vespers service presided by Pope Benedict XVI, World Council of
Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia underlined the importance
of “a church that is one and united in its witness” to a world marked by
violence and disunity. The service in Rome marked the conclusion of the
100th anniversary of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. (...)
In an interview
published today in the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore
Romano, Kobia shared his vision that the ecumenical movement would reach,
by the mid-21st century “a level of unity such that Christians everywhere
regardless of their confessional affiliations, can pray and worship together
and feel welcome to share in the Lord’s Table at every church”. Such an example
of unity, he continues, might “help humanity to overcome all divisions”, so
that the people of the world would “be able to live together in peace and
harmony regardless of their backgrounds and identities.”
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1722/wcc-general-secretary-con-4.html
Christian youth movements
call for signs of unity
100th
anniversary of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
January 24 - A number of major international Christian youth
movements and organizations called for stronger efforts towards unity in a
joint statement issued on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Week of
Prayer for Christian Unity. Addressed to the heads of the Roman Catholic
Church, the World Council of Churches, Christian World Communions and Regional
Ecumenical Organizations, the statement asks them to “share ecumenical dialogue
with young people” and expresses the commitment of the signatories to “raise
awareness of the importance of Christian unity among young people”.
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1722/christian-youth-movements.html
Vatican
City, January 24 ((PCCS/SIGNIS) - The Holy Father released his message for
the 42nd World Communications Day, which we publish here in his entirety, on
January 24, Feast of Saint Francis de Sales. WCD 2008 will take place on May 4,
2008 on the theme “The Media: At the Crossroads between Self-Promotion and
Service. Searching for the Truth in order to Share it with Others”. (...)
http://www.signis.net/article.php3?id_article=1935
Vatican City, 10 January - Benedict XVI will receive in audience
Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, who will visit Rome to mark
the 90th anniversary of the Pontifical Oriental Institute. The Pontifical
Council for Promoting Christian Unity confirmed the audience is scheduled for
Thursday, March 6.
The patriarch will visit Rome for the celebrations of the anniversary of
the foundation of the Pontifical Oriental Institute, entrusted to the Society
of Jesus, and established by Pope Benedict XV in 1917. Bartholomew I himself
received a doctorate from the institute.
Benedict XVI visited the patriarch in Turkey in 2006, on the occasion of
the feast of St. Andrew. On Dec. 6, the Pope received a delegation from the
Pontifical Oriental Institute and recognized that the role the institute
provides has “an effective ecumenical value, because drawing from the heritage
of wisdom of the Christian East enriches everyone.”
http://einews.blogspot.com/2008/01/bartholomew-i-to-visit-pontiff-on-march.html
Interfaith Speakers Bureau
Three
orientation sessions
San Francisco, January 2008 - Islamic Networks Group has been
educating people in schools, businesses, and community organizations about
Islam since 1993. The international oganization, based in San Jose, has
provided highly-trained speakers to present the fundamentals of Islam, while
countering stereotypes and misconceptions. ING has now undertaken to expand
their work by developing a pool of interfaith speakers who can do the same for
Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Judaism, as well as Islam. They are
looking for interested individuals who are members of congregations or
religious communities and who would be willing to be trained and to be
available to speak at various times and places around the Bay Area. Interested
people are required to attend one of three orientation sessions to be held
around the Bay in January, 2008. (...) ING is a non-profit, educational
organization founded in 1993 that promotes religious literacy and mutual
respect through on-site presentations and interfaith dialogues to schools,
community agencies, and other institutions.
http://www.ing.org/ifsb/ifsb.asp
World Peace Prayer Global Link Teleconference - February 3rd, Sunday,
11am Eastern Standard Time USA
A
Live Teleconference connecting voices from around the globe in prayers for peace
to prevail in each of the 192 countries and all the other regions of the
world. A multi-cultural, interfaith
opportunity for the global heart to merge as ONE through LIVE interactive
prayers. This Teleconference will be
broadcasted live by the All One Now Network webcast service www.allonenow.org. The Global Link Teleconferences are hosted
by The World Peace Prayer Society. To
learn more and register please visit: http://www.worldpeace.org/teleconference.php
Encounter with the Religions of Jerusalem: 9th session
Bi-weekly course organized jointly by Interfaith
Encounter Association and Mevakshei Derech Community
13 February: Encounter
with The Greek Orthodox Church. Lecturer: Archbishop Aristarchus, Chief
Secretary of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
http://www.interfaith-encounter.org/upevents.htm
http://www.interfaith-encounter.org/Religions%20of%20Jerusalem.htm
3-H project shines the
light of literacy in Brazil
By Joseph Derr Rotary International
News
25 January - A Rotary Foundation 3-H Grant that introduced the
concentrated language encounter (CLE) method to Brazil in 2001 continues to
boost literacy rates among low-income families throughout the country. With
support from the Foundation, Brazilian host partners in districts 4520, 4560,
and 4760 and international partners in districts 6900 (Georgia, USA) and 7080
(Ontario, Canada) developed a US$344,862 project that set up a CLE training
center in Contagem, Minas Gerais.
Today, more than 1,900 teachers and other educational experts have
learned the method that has taught more than 72,600 beneficiaries how to read
and write. Through CLE, students learn from group texts and activities rather
than rote memorization and repetition. With low costs and a highly interactive
aspect that is popular with students, CLE programs have proven effective in
numerous developing countries.
“In this area, we’ve had a big problem with functional illiteracy,” says
Glaúcia Rosa Alves, a trainer at one of the centers. “We needed a low-cost and
effective method, and then Rotary came.”
Dozens of local Rotary clubs are now promoting and supporting CLE
methodology in Brazil. The
active involvement of local Rotarians has also led to numerous non-grant
projects to help schools with materials, meals, and health care. (…)
http://www.rotary.org/en/MediaAndNews/News/Pages/080125_news_brazilessay.aspx
23 January - Education
International has launched a website to showcase the many contributions that
education trade unions are making to development cooperation projects around
the world. The EI
Development Cooperation website provides the visitor with an overview of the
projects EI member organisations are conducting through mutual cooperation, to
not only further the cause of teacher organisations in every country, but also
to promote peace, democracy, social justice and equality around the world.
All projects are carried out through partnerships formed by teacher
unions and coordinated through EI. They aim to empower teacher unions to be
independent, autonomous and democratic, in order to effectively represent,
defend and promote the interests of their members and the quality of education.
A major feature of the new website is the Project Database which
contains the details of all the projects carried out by EI member
organisations. Visitors to the site are able to search for a project by date,
host country, region and theme.
As an integrated component of the EI Web Portal, projects carried out in
a country are also automatically displayed in the relevant country profile on
the website of the EI Barometer. Education International’s Barometer of Human
and Trade Union Rights provides the most comprehensive report yet of the state
of human and labour rights and the provision of quality education in countries
around the world. This connection enables the visitor to get a comprehensive
picture of not only the projects carried out in this country, but the whole
educational and social situation within the country as well. (...)
http://www.ei-ie.org/developmentcooperation.
http://www.ei-ie.org/en/news/show.php?id=704&theme=ei&country=global
Art
Exhibit Melting Ice / A Hot Topic: Envisioning Change will travel to Monaco
25
January - The Natural World Museum (NWM) and the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) have revealed plans to bring their innovative and highly
celebrated art exhibit, "Melting Ice / A Hot Topic: Envisioning
Change", to the Principality of Monaco in honor of the official
programming for the Tenth Special Session of UNEP's Governing Council/Global
Ministerial Environment Forum on Globalization and Environment: Financing the
Climate Challenge. This forum is the largest gathering of environmental leaders
from across the globe. "UNEP and NWM have joined forces to generate
environmental awareness through the Art for the Environment initiative"
said Achim Steiner, Under Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive
Director of UNEP. "Science informs the mind, music and the heart but art
connects with the human spirit. We urgently need to empower all three of these
essential human elements if we are to rise to the challenge and seize the
opportunities for economic, environmental and social renewal glimpsed through
the lens of climate change." The international exhibit on climate change
will be hosted by the Office of Cultural Affairs in Monaco (DAC) from 20
February - 16 March 2008. (…)
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=525&ArticleID=5737&l=en
An innovative program where
overseas students will be able to learn spoken Arabic in Israel has been
launched by the International Department of Givat Haviva and the Jewish
Agency’s MASA / Journey Israel organization.
Both MASA and Givat Haviva’s
International Department are continuously on the lookout for new educational
programs that will afford an unforgettable experience with a study opportunity
of a lifetime. The two organizations have now come together to create a tailor
made program for overseas students wishing to learn Arabic (Palestinian), Arab
culture, and general Israel and Middle East studies whilst experiencing the
daily pulse of Israeli life in a predominantly Muslim Arab region of the
country. (...)
The joint Givat Haviva - MASA
study program also includes learning about Israel’s history, people, culture,
and politics as well as quality studies regarding the Middle East. (...) “One
of the great advantages of studying here at Givat Haviva will be the
opportunity through community work in local villages of actually not only being
able to be helpful to one’s neighbors but possibly also be bridge builders
between the Jewish and Arab communities who live so close to each other in this
very special region,” said Barel, a member of Kibbutz Barkai which borders on
the Arab Israeli Muslim villages of Umm al-Kutuf and Arara in Wadi Ara.
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It is an all-volunteer service of Associazione Culturale dei Triangoli e della Buona Volontà Mondiale, a registered non-profit educational organization chartered in Italy in 1979 and associated with the Department of Public Information of the United Nations.
The Association operates for the development of consciousness and promotes a culture of peace in the ‘global village’ perspective based on unity in diversity and on sharing.
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