In spite of everything, a culture of peace is emerging in all fields of human endeavour
Monthly – year 15th, number 230 –12 December 2014
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. It is distributed free of charge through Internet to 10,000 media and editorial journalists in 54 countries and to 3,000 NGOs and 1,500 high schools, colleges and universities.
It is an all-volunteer service of Associazione Culturale dei Triangoli e della Buona Volontà Mondiale, an educational charity associated with the United Nations Department of Public Information It is a supporter of the Global Movement for the Culture of Peace. In the final report of the Decade for a Culture of Peace project (2001-2010) provided to the UN Secretary-General for presentation to the UN General Assembly, Good News Agency is included among the three NGOs that have been playing an active role in the field of Information through Internet.*
International legislation – Human rights – Economy and development – Solidarity
Peace and security – Health – Energy and Safety – Environment and wildlife
Religion and spirituality – Culture and education
Vienna conference on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons - 8-9 December
In the past few years, a growing number of states and many civil society actors focussed on the humanitarian consequences and risks associated with nuclear weapons through different national, regional and international events and activities. Two international conferences were devoted specifically to this issue; in Oslo, Norway, in March 2013 and Nayarit, Mexico, in February 2014. This increased focus on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons is an important development and has a positive and uniting effect on international discussions about nuclear weapons.
The government of Austria is proud to host the 3rd international conference on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons which will take place on 8 and 9 December 2014 at the HofburgPalace in Vienna. With this conference, Austria wishes to strengthen the global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime and to contribute to the growing momentum to firmly anchor the humanitarian imperative in all global efforts dealing with nuclear weapons and nuclear disarmament.
The Vienna Conference will be open to all interested parties. International organizations and civil society representatives with relevant expertise will also be welcome.
http://www.vienna-conference-on-the-humanitarian-impact-of-nuclear-weapons
Costa Rica: a call to reach 100 States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in 2015
3 December, Costa Rica - In celebrating the sixth anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica and Chairman of the Meeting of States Parties, Mr. Manuel González Sanz, issued a call to reach a total of 100 States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions before the First Review Conference, to be held in Croatia in September 2015.
As of today, the Convention on Cluster Munitions has 88 States Parties. During the meeting of States Parties in San Jose last September, Belize made the announcement of the deposit of its instrument of ratification, thereby Central America became the first sub region free of cluster munitions.
Therefore, in the context of this anniversary, Costa Rica as President of the Convention, with the support of Ecuador and Norway, facilitators on Universalisation, together with civil society, have decided to launch a call to the signatory States and those who are not yet parties to the Convention, to redouble efforts to ensure that during the First Review Conference, we can tell the world that over 100 countries have decided, by a binding instrument, to say NO MORE cluster munitions.
USA - New child care law to force states failing Save the Children’s disaster report card to require emergency plans
Fairfield, Conn., USA, November 19 - Nearly a decade after Hurricane Katrina showed the nation how vulnerable children are to disaster, basic emergency planning standards for child-care providers will finally be required in every state. Unwilling to wait longer for lagging states to act, Congress included three child-care disaster planning standards tracked annually by Save the Children in the bipartisan Child Care Development Block Grant Re-authorization Act of 2014. Today, President Barack Obama signed the bill into law, instituting new educational, safety and health standards for child-care providers across the country.
Save the Children’s 2014 Disaster Report Card showed that 19 states still fail to meet all three child care emergency planning standards, which are based on recommendations of the National Commission on Children in Disasters formed after Hurricane Katrina.
The standards are that states require all child-care providers to have 1) evacuation/relocation plans, 2) family-child reunification plans and 3) emergency plans for children with special needs.
http://www.savethechildren.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=8rKLIXMGIpI4E&b=8943369&ct=14352387
International Migrants Day - December 18
International Migrants Day is observed on December 18 to mark the anniversary of the adoption by the UN General Assembly, in 1990, of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. During the last decade migrants have made up around 3% of the global population — 214 million people are today classified as migrants.
Migrants contribute greatly to the sense of cultural diversity in modern societies, and to our appreciation of the oneness of the human spirit. They give us the experience of living in a global neighborhood. Yet migrants are often subject to discrimination and exploitation. In a world of unity in diversity all communities are challenged to ensure that migrants are treated with humanity and their rights respected.
The Day will be observed by Migrants groups as The Global Day of Action for the Rights of Migrants, Refugees and Displaced People.
www.un.org/en/events/ www.globalmigrantsaction.org/
The Power of 1.8 billion youth
27 November - ‘Young people matter. They matter because an unprecedented 1.8 billion youth are alive today, and because they are the shapers and leaders of our global future. They matter because they have inherent human rights that must be fulfilled,’ according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) report State of World Population 2014. “Yet, in a world of adult concerns, young people are often overlooked. This tendency cries out for urgent correction, because it imperils youth as well as economies and societies at large.” Youth in today’s large numbers may be improperly seen as a daunting challenge, a drain on scarce resources, or properly seen as the potential architects of a historic transformation in human well-being, says the report, which was released on 18 November 2014.
“The largest global youth population in human history will have a profound effect on every aspect of our common future and can create a better world for all.” The effect can be overwhelmingly positive if young people are able to develop their capabilities, have access to education and health, including sexual and reproductive health, and find opportunities to fulfill the promise of their lives through, for example, decent employment.
http://www.pressenza.com/2014/11/power-1-8-billion-youth
UN Asia-Pacific forum opens meeting to advance gender equality
19 November - More than 700 representatives from governments, inter-governmental organizations, UN bodies and civil society in Asia and the Pacific began meeting today to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment with the keynote speaker highlighting the urgency of eliminating violence against women and girls. The “Asian and Pacific Conference on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: Beijing+20 Review” is being convened in Bangkok, Thailand by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in cooperation with UN Women, from 17 to 20 November. Over the next two days, delegates to the Conference will discuss and identify strategies for accelerating implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, adopted by the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women, as a key means of achieving gender equality, including such measures as strengthening Government institutions and accountability, forging stronger partnerships and enhancing financing.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=49383#.VIHrzTGG8XE
December 10, Human Rights Day - 2014 theme: Human Rights 365
"I call on States to honour their obligation to protect human rights every day of the year. I call on people to hold their governments to account." UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
The UN General Assembly proclaimed 10 December as Human Rights Day in 1950, to bring to the attention ‘of the peoples of the world’ the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.
This year’s slogan, Human Rights 365,encompasses the idea that every day is Human Rights Day. It celebrates the fundamental proposition in the Universal Declaration that each one of us, everywhere, at all times is entitled to the full range of human rights, that human rights belong equally to each of us and bind us together as a global community with the same ideals and values.
www.un.org/en/events/ www.ohchr.org/
ACDI/VOCA celebrates National Farmers’ Day in Ghana
Farmer-to-farmer volunteers help Ghanaian farmers and businesses grow more food
December 5 – In Ghana, the first Friday in December marks the national holiday known as National Farmers’ Day. The day honors the industrious farmers, who by their efforts, have kept food on Ghanaian tables throughout the year. This year’s theme “Eat What You Grow” highlights the important role that farmers can play in improving food security for their families and communities.
ACDI/VOCA has a long history of supporting farmers and agribusinesses in Ghana to strengthen food security. One such project is the USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer program, which supports smallholder farmers and agribusinesses in Ghana through short-term volunteer assignments.
A recent example of Farmer-to-Farmer volunteers working hand-in-hand with local farmers and businesses to help strengthen food security in Ghana comes from an assignment carried out by Dr. Dan McGrath. McGrath worked with Agri Commercial Service Limited, an agribusiness company involved in several farming activities. Additionally, the firm provides agricultural services like plowing and training on good agronomic practices to outgrowers. Eight farmer-based organizations work with Agri Commercial Service Limited—totaling 500 smallholder farmers from Kintampo, Tain, and West Mamprusi and Wenchi districts in the Northern Region of Ghana.
http://www.acdivoca.org/site/ID/news-acdi-voca-celebrates-national-farmers-day-ghana
November 24, Rome– Today the government of the Republic of Uganda and IFAD signed a US$29 million loan agreement to finance the Project for Financial Inclusion in Rural Areas (PROFIRA). This project aims to sustainably increase access to and use of financial services by rural populations in Uganda.
With a total cost of $36.6 million, the project is cofinanced with $4.9 million contribution from the Government of Uganda and $1.4 million contribution from the beneficiaries themselves.
PROFIRA is designed to help 576,000 financially excluded rural households, particularly women and young people, to improve their economic activities and livelihoods. It will also expand and improve the communities’ access to financial services aiming to increase loans and savings resources available to and used by members.
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2014/74.htm
Globally rising demand for food: KfW contributes significantly to food security and rural poverty reduction
November 24, Frankfurt - On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), KfW Development Bank has signed a framework agreement with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) totaling EUR 400 million and – as part of the agreement - a first promotional loan over EUR 100 million. IFAD will use the KfW funds for rural investment in middle income countries; they will facilitate an increase in agricultural production, especially through better production technology in crop farming and livestock husbandry as well as modern, water-saving irrigation systems. The funds will further support small farmers in marketing their produce and securing land use rights; they shall also serve to establish rural financing systems. The.KfW funds will assist IFAD's work to support poor rural women and men reach food security worldwide.
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2014/kfw.htm
IFAD invests in rural populations of western Côte d’Ivoire to boost food security and access to markets
November 21, Rome – The Government of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) signed an agreement today to finance a project that aims to improve food security in six regions in the west by increasing smallholder farmers’ access to services, technologies and markets while strengthening the resilience of their production systems to climate change.
IFAD’s loan of US$17.45 million is supplemented by two grants, one for $17.45 million plus an additional $7 million from IFAD’s Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme. With a total cost of $59.7 million, the project will also benefit from $10 million in co-financing from the OPEC Fund for International Development, $5.33 million from the Government of Côte d’Ivoire and $2.49 million from the beneficiaries themselves.
PROPACOM–extension west (Agricultural Production and Marketing Project – Extension West) will complement the ongoing PROPACOM project which began implementation in the centre-north, north and northeast of the country in May 2013. It will target 240,000 smallholders, particularly women and young people who are involved in food production, processing and marketing, to enhance their incomes and improve their livelihoods.
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2014/73.htm
Germany boosts nutrition & resilience efforts for Malawi’s vulnerable communities
November 13, Lilongwe - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed two contributions from the government of Germany totalling €2.6 million. Part of the donation, €395,900 , is for nutrition assistance, and the remaining €2,250,000 will help build resilience over a four-year period in some of Malawi’s most food insecure districts.
Despite a good harvest in most areas, the July report of the Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) found that 640,000 people in 19 districts would not meet their food needs during the lean season. WFP and its partners are providing a mixed monthly food basket or cash transfers to increase and sustain food security in affected areas during the lean season. The German government’s contribution will provide Super Cereal to an estimated 25,000 pregnant or lactating women in 19 districts from December 2014 to March 2015.
The funds from the German government will enable WFP to provide food and cash transfers to some 15,500 food-insecure households this year in Balaka, Zomba and Karonga districts, while at the same time supporting the creation of productive assets at household and community levels.
WFP thanks Japan for school feeding support
Novemeber 10, Sana'a - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Yemen today expressed its thanks for a donation of US$5.3 million to support on-site school feeding up to the end of the current school year. Under this operation, WFP will provide a daily snack, consisting of a nutritious date bar, to some 295,000 primary and secondary schoolchildren regularly attending school, to encourage attendance and help them to concentrate during lessons. Japan is the third largest donor to WFP Yemen – in 2013, Japan contributed more than US$30 million.
School feeding in Yemen is being carried out under WFP’s current two-year Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation, which aims to provide assistance to some 6 million Yemenis, through activities such as relief food assistance, food and cash for work, school feeding, and nutritional support for women and young children. The operation is supporting a gradual shift from relief assistance to resilience-building and livelihood support, with a view to lifting the most vulnerable Yemeni populations out of food insecurity and poverty and providing them with the means to create a sustainable future.
http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/wfp-thanks-japan-school-feeding-support
Local leader promotes new technologies to boost agricultural production in Zambia
Together with her husband, Phiri manages a demonstration plot for the USAID-funded Production, Finance, and Improved Technology Plus (PROFIT+) project, which is implemented by ACDI/VOCA. More than 200 farmers have visited the plot to witness new agricultural technologies in practice.
PROFIT+ works with farmer advisors like Phiri to introduce new agricultural technologies to help smallholder farmers increase productivity. Through these trained advisors, approximately 12,000 farmers have learned about a variety of topics including the benefits of seedling production, greenhouse management, integrated pest management, and environmental mitigation planning.
Small-scale farmers have also taken part in ACDI/VOCA’s Farming as a Business curriculum, which helps them view agriculture as a sustainable business and make the shift from subsistence farming to farming for profit. PROFIT+ is a core activity of the U.S. government’s Feed the Future global hunger and food security initiative in Zambia.
http://www.acdivoca.org/site/ID/news-zambia-local-leader-promotes-new-technologies
WFP 72 hour Syria appeal joins forces with music industry leader Aloe Blacc for #ADollarALifeline
December 5, Rome– As support continues to flow in to help feed Syrian refugees, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is taking its unprecedented social media campaign to the next level with a new video supported by chart-topping musician Aloe Blacc.
On Monday, the lack of funds forced WFP to suspend its food assistance e-voucher program for nearly 1.7 million Syrian refugees. An unprecedented social media campaign #ADollarALifeline was launched to raise the US$64 million needed immediately to reinstate food assistance through e-vouchers this December. Individuals, corporations and governments around the world contributed US$21.5 million in the first 24 hours of the campaign. Blacc’s song “I Need A Dollar” is the soundtrack for the #ADollarALifeline video launching today on WFP’s social media channels and by supporters everywhere. The video can be viewed on http://www.wfp.org/ForSyrianRefugees.
Armenia: Drinking water for villagers in border area
Yerevan (ICRC), 5 December – Residents of the remote village of Movses, in the Tavush region along the international border with Azerbaijan, now have safer and easier access to clean drinking water thanks to support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in Armenia. The ICRC improved the water network, bringing drinking water much closer to residents, and built a water source catchment to feed a reservoir serving the 1,350 village residents. Projects of this kind form a part of the ICRC's broader assistance programmes for border-area communities.
In connection with this project benefiting 11 households, the existing water network was enhanced with an additional 580-metre pipeline, a 3,000-litre plastic water tank, and a self-closing public tap to prevent unnecessary water leakage. These measures brought drinking water closer to the homes of residents, who previously had to cover long distances to collect it from the nearest source.
The ICRC also built a water source catchment in Movses. From now on, water will run through a newly laid 200-metre pipeline into a 100-cubic-metre reservoir.
Syria: Aid delivery across front lines in Homs
December 4 – The armed conflict in Syria is continuing unabated and affecting millions of civilians across the country. In November, the ICRC provided food for 542,000 people, more than in any previous month. The organization also crossed front lines to provide clean water and health care to civilians in need. In addition, it continued to engage in dialogue with the various parties on urgent humanitarian issues, including during a Damascus visit by ICRC President Peter Maurer.
On 25 November, ICRC engineers and Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteers delivered water purification supplies to the opposition-held areas of Al Rastan and Talbiseh in Homs. The delivery enabled the municipality to continue providing clean water for over 70,000 people. In another operation carried out across front lines, which took place on 1 November in the opposition-held Al Waer neighbourhood, also in Homs, ICRC and Syrian Arab Red Crescent health-care personnel delivered enough kidney dialysis supplies to treat over 700 patients.
Syria is the site of the ICRC's largest operation in terms of expenditure, with an annual budget of over 139 million Swiss francs. Over 285 ICRC staff members based in offices in Damascus, Aleppo, and Tartus work closely with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent throughout the country. The ICRC also helps Syrians who have had to flee to Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq because of the violence.
https://www.icrc.org/en/document/syria-aid-delivery-across-front-lines-homs#.VILmLdJJknk
Big gifts are surging in 2014, Chronicle tally finds
By Maria Di Mento
December 4 – The donation of $100-million to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Wednesday was the 17th contribution of that amount or more made this year. Fred Eshelman, who made his fortune developing medications, made the gift to the institution’s pharmacy school.
All signs are strong that 2014 will be a robust year for gifts from the wealthy: Already contributions of $50-million or more grew by more than $800-million, according to a Chronicle tally of donations made by this point in both 2013 and 2014, including some $4.9-billion in gifts of $50-million or more. The surge in the dollar figure is the result of bigger gifts, not more of them: Just 40 contributions of $50-million or more have been made this year, compared with 42 in 2013.
For example, rich Americans announced three donations of $500-million or more this year, compared with just one last year. This year, Ted Stanley, a businessman, pledged $650-million for mental-health research, while David Murdock, who owns the Dole Food Company, pledged $500-million to a science institute that bears his name; and Nicholas and Jill Woodman, founders of the GoPro camera company, gave that amount to a community foundation. The Chronicle keeps a free database of all gifts of $1-million or more. To report new donations, send a message to gifts@philanthropy.com.
http://philanthropy.com/article/Big-Gifts-Are-Surging-in-2014/150367/
Africa Solidarity Trust Fund grants FAO $1.5 million to support Ebola-hit countries
Grant is part of $6.5 million to boost Africa-wide initiatives including youth employment and South-South Cooperation
December 2, Rome/Accra - Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the countries hardest hit by the Ebola epidemic, will each receive $500.000 to help curb the potentially devastating impact of the disease on food security and on the livelihoods of farmers and others in rural areas.
The $1.5 million grant comes from the Africa Solidarity Trust Fund and will be used in support of FAO's recently launched Regional Response Programme to tackle food security and agriculture issues related to the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa. The funds will be used over a 12-month period to assist 7.500 households - about 45.000 people - in the three targeted countries.
http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/270542/icode/
US Government helps WFP continue food assistance to millions of Syrians with $125 million contribution
November 26, Amman - The United States government has confirmed a contribution of an additional US$125 million to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to help feed millions of Syrians in need. Confirmation of the funding has arrived at the start of winter, when the need for food and other assistance becomes more urgent than ever. The contribution from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) included US$55 million to help WFP provide food to over 4 million people living inside Syria and US$70 million for assistance to over 2 million Syrian refugees in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, through food vouchers.
Because of this contribution, WFP has been able to maintain the food voucher programme for refugees throughout November and has been able to secure food for distribution to affected families within Syria in November and December. Since the onset of the war in Syria, the US government has injected close to a billion dollars in food assistance (US$933 million) to thousands of hungry Syrian families through WFP making it our largest donor both regionally and globally. WFP requires US$35 million each week to feed those left hungry by the war in Syria.
The Rotary Foundation rises on expert list of top nonprofits
By Arnold R. Grahl, Rotary News
26 November - The Rotary Foundation has continued its steady growth, moving up 35 spots to 85th in The Chronicle of Philanthropy's annual ranking of the top 400 nonprofit organizations in the United States. The ranking is based on monetary contributions from private sources and reflects the increasing generosity of those who support Rotary's mission. According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, The Rotary Foundation received $239,576,000 in 2013, a 32.4 percent increase from the previous year.
"This clearly shows our members recognize the unparalleled value of giving to their Foundation," says John Hewko, Rotary's general secretary. "They know that by giving to the Foundation their dollars have a much greater impact. And friends of Rotary respect that the Foundation puts their gift to great use."
The Foundation recently earned a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, the largest and most prestigious independent evaluator of nonprofits in the United States. In the 2013-14 Rotary year, 92 percent of the Foundation's expenditures were applied to programs, with only 6 percent spent on fundraising and 2 percent on administrative expenses. The Foundation funded $23.5 million in district grants and $47.3 million in global grants. These grants support local and international humanitarian projects as well as scholarships. Together with its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Rotary has led the effort to eradicate polio, contributing more than $1.3 billion to the initiative since its outset. (...)
https://www.rotary.org/en/news-features/news/rotary-foundation-rises-expert-list-top-nonprofits
Republic of Korea provides US$ 7 million to help WFP support nutrition needs in DPR Korea
November 19, Seoul/Rome - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has received US$7 million from the government of the Republic of Korea for WFP’s operations in support of the nutritional needs of women and children in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
Since WFP announced its funding crisis in DPRK in August, new contributions have been received from China, Kuwait, Liechtenstein and Russia, as well as the Republic of Korea. This newest donation, which comes from the Ministry of Unification, is the first contribution from the Republic of Korea to WFP’s operations in DPRK since 2007.
WFP launches Food Voucher Programme for displaced Iraqis
November 11, Baghdad - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has started providing food vouchers to assist half a million Iraqis displaced by the conflict in Iraq. Thanks to a donation of US$5 million from Japan and a contribution of US$2.2 million from Germany, WFP began distributing the food vouchers in the district of Soran in the governorate of Erbil.
Displaced people suffer from an uncertain future and a loss of control over everyday life. Food vouchers help to restore a sense of normalcy and choice. Each person receives a voucher worth US$26 dollars. The food vouchers will benefit families who have settled in safer locations where food is available in the market but they cannot afford to purchase it. Within the next three months, WFP plans to distribute food vouchers to half a million displaced Iraqis in the Kurdistan region.
In Iraq WFP has been assisting Syrian refugees in camps with vouchers since November 2012, injecting almost US$40 million into the local retail economy. WFP also distributes food vouchers to Syrian refugees in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Through this system, the local economies of the five countries have received more than US$500 million since the voucher programmes began in 2012.
http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/wfp-launches-food-voucher-programme-displaced-iraqis
European Union’s continued generosity helps WFP feed millions of displaced Syrians
November 10, Amman - On behalf of millions of Syrians affected by the protracted crisis, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has welcomed another generous contribution from the European Commission’s Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) towards its life-saving response. The €9.5 million contribution helps provide food for thousands of internally-displaced Syrians trying to survive the conflict in their country in addition to Syrian families who have been uprooted and taken refuge in Iraq and Jordan.
As the humanitarian situation in the region continues to deteriorate, marking one of the most complex and tragic human disasters of our time, WFP continues to expand its programmes and aims to reach more than 6 million people in need of food assistance each month.
Syria: UN envoy travels to Turkey for talks on ‘freeze’ of conflict in Aleppo
8 December – The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura has met officials in Turkey as part of regional consultations related to bringing an end to the nearly four-year Syria crisis.In Istanbul, Mr. de Mistura met yesterday with a delegation of the Syria National Coalition, headed by Hadi Al-Bahra, the president of the Coalition. According to a UN spokesperson, the two exchanged views on his proposal to “freeze” the conflict in Aleppo and on ways to make that plan operational on the ground.
The Special Envoy’s plan, first presented to the UN Security Council on 30 October, would initially seek to halt the fighting and create an environment whereby humanitarian aid could reach the beleaguered population in Aleppo. It would also provide visible proof that the on-the-ground narrative can be shifted from a military one to a political one.
Mr. de Mistura met separately with the Under Secretary at the Turkish Foreign Ministry and today he travels to Gaziantep, in southern Turkey, to discuss his plan with key rebel groups from Aleppo.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsId=49541#.VIa0VzGG-So
EU-Syria: €180 million to deal with crisis and spill-over in Lebanon and Jordan
4 December - The European Commission today adopted a package worth €180 million to deal with the effects of the Syrian crisis in the country itself, as well as in Lebanon and Jordan, who are currently hosting around 1.1 million and 630,000 refugees respectively. This package deals with the longer-term development needs of the refugees and internally displaced persons. It addresses in particular the education of children and young adults, in line with the UNICEF-sponsored “No Lost Generation” Initiative as well as measures to improve the resilience of the refugees as well as the communities hosting them through economic development activities.
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-2364_en.htm
Sharp drop in landmine casualties; but international funding for remaining mine clearance declines
Washington DC, USA, 3 December - Fewer people were killed and injured by landmines in 2013 than in any previous year, and nearly all use and production of the weapon has ceased, said the latest annual report of the Nobel Prize-winning International Campaign to Ban Landmines. Landmine Monitor 2014 was released on the seventeenth anniversary of the signing of the Mine Ban Treaty.
In 2013, the recorded number of casualties caused by mines and other explosive remnants of war decreased to 3,308—the lowest level since the Monitor started recording casualties in 1999—and nearly one-quarter fewer than in 2012.
With the August 2014 accession by Oman, a total of 162 countries are now States Parties to the treaty. Of only 35 states still outside the agreement, almost all abide by its key provisions, indicating near-universal acceptance of the mine ban norm. A victory for global recognition of the treaty came when the United States announced new policies in June and September 2014 banning use of antipersonnel mines except on the KoreanPeninsula, banning production of the weapon, and accelerating destruction of its stockpile. There was no confirmed use of landmines by a member of the Mine Ban Treaty in the reporting period, from September 2013 to October 2014.
http://www.icbl.org/en-gb/news-and-events/news/2014/landmine-monitor-2014-launch.aspx
UN envoy welcomes deal between Iraqi, Kurdish region on oil, finances
2 December – The head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) welcomed today an agreement reached between the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government to resolve issues related to oil exports and the budget.
Nickolay Mladenov commended the Iraqi Prime Minister and the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for their “leadership and spirit of compromise” and stressed the importance of “direct and frank dialogue” in forging agreements that serve the interests of Iraq and the Iraqi people.
He urged all Iraqi leaders to continue showing the same sense of unity and compromise as they sought to address other urgent priorities, “including the adoption of the Federal budget for 2015, as well as other crucial legislation, and to work towards national reconciliation and restoration of confidence among Iraq’s communities.”
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsId=49491#.VH7oujGG-So
Africa is at the forefront of the culture of peace
December - This month we see once again, as we have noted before, that Africa is at the forefront of the culture of peace. African journalism serves as a model for the rest of the world in its promotion of culture of peace, so much so that one of the CPNN discussion questions is devoted to this theme. Of special importance, because it supports the economic development of Africa, is the continued advance of tourism for a culture of peace. As described in the CPNN interview with Lou D'Amore of the International Institute of Peace through Tourism, the major upcoming symposium in South Africa, addressing this subject, is the latest in a series of conferences and initiatives that have been taking place since 2001.
In education for culture of peace there are remarkable advances. The new reference Manual for Peace Education, Human Rights and Citizenship for all of the West African countries, sponsored by UNESCO, is available online in almost all of the indigenous languages of the region. Here we see that culture of peace transcends national boundaries and applies to the region as a whole, and all of its traditional ethnic groups. Increasingly, thanks to the renewed involvement of UNESCO, there are networks of civil society organizations dedicated to development of culture of peace in Africa.
http://cpnn-world.org/bulletin/bulletin-12-8.html
Geneva: 35 armed movements adopt a declaration to better protect civilians in armed conflict
26 November – From 17th to 20th November, Geneva Call held in Geneva its Third Meeting of Signatories to the Deeds of Commitment and gathered 70 high-level representatives – political leaders, commanders and officers and legal advisers – of 35 armed non-State actors (ANSAs) coming from 14 different countries including Syria, Burma/Myanmar, Sudan, Philippines and Somalia.
During three days, representatives from ANSAs attended sessions on international humanitarian norms, child protection, humanitarian mine action and gender issues given by recognized academics and experts coming from organizations such as UN agencies and international NGOs.
In a final declaration, all present ANSAs reaffirmed their willingness and responsibility to protect civilians in armed conflict and improve compliance with the “rules of war”. Signatories to the Deeds of Commitment adopted a specific declaration in which they commit to respect and implement the Deeds of Commitment they have signed. To kick off the conference, two armed movements from Asia committed to abide by international humanitarian norms by each signing one of Geneva Call’s Deeds of Commitment. More signatures of the Deeds of Commitment by participants are expected soon.
This conference was organized in collaboration with the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action and with the financial support of the European Union’s humanitarian aid.
Greenpeace champions the Marshall Islands
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, November 19 - Greenpeace, the most inclusive, people-powered collective movement in the world, is lending its strong support to the Marshall Islands and the Nuclear Zero Lawsuits. In doing so, they are sending a clear message to the world that it is long past time for the nuclear Goliaths to begin negotiations for nuclear disarmament.
Kumi Naidoo, Executive Director of Greenpeace International, said, “We stand with the people of the Marshall Islands in their fight to rid the world of nuclear weapons. Having seen their land, sea and people poisoned by radiation, they are now taking to task the nine nuclear-armed nations for failing to eliminate this danger which threatens humanity at large. Greenpeace salutes their struggle and joins them in declaring that Zero is the only safe number of nuclear weapons on the planet.”
Greenpeace Champions the Marshall Islands
Liberia: MSF Ebola Transit Unit to support the safe re-opening of Redemption Hospital for regular service
December 5 – As part of continuing efforts to combat Ebola in Liberia, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has set up a ten-bed Ebola Transit Unit near RedemptionHospital in the densely populated slum community of NewKruTown on the outskirts of Monrovia.
RedemptionHospital is a 200-bed public health facility. It was closed for regular service and was turned into a holding centre for Ebola patients at the height of the crisis in August 2014. As the only facility offering free medical care for a catchment area of 90.000 people in Monrovia, this was a severe blow to the city’s inhabitants – especially to those not able to afford private health care.
Although the out-patient department (OPD) has reopened to treat people with less critical conditions, the hospital remains closed to the public for all other services. Since mid-November, MSF is aiming to isolate as many Ebola patients as possible from NewKruTown by supporting the triage at the hospital’s OPD and by running the Transit Unit that allows for quick isolation, diagnosis and referral to an Ebola Management Centre (EMC) for Ebola suspects if needed. This should help the hospital to return to its role as a secondary health care provider in due course.
The YEC project is a much needed psycho-social support for the children in Gaza
by Aseel Baidoun
27 November – (...) The critical situation of children is the outcome of seven weeks of Israeli land, air and sea raids on the Gaza strip between July 3rd and August 26th, 2014. OCHA reported that the psychosocial stress caused by the war has deeply affected children, who constitute over half of Gaza’s population, with at least 373,000 children identified in September, 2014 as in need of psychosocial support. In response to the conflict and the overwhelming trauma impacted on children, the local NGO Youth Empowerment Center (YEC) in Gaza discontinued its psycho social support project "SANED" and adopted an emergency response which is funded by DCA/FCA. (...)
A key project objective for YEC is to promote the stabilization and resilience of children with psycho social distress by providing them with a safe place where boys and girls can play, learn, interact and share activities in an environment that promotes gender equality. The emergency project targets 1,200 children. The project aims to assist them return to normal functioning at home and at school. Many children are manifesting trauma through fear, anxiety, insomnia, hyperactivity and bed wetting.
The children participate at the centers in a structured program which integrates psycho social support with developmental goals. In practice this means that children are involved in creative activities which address their psycho social issues as well as educational. (...)
https://www.danchurchaid.org/news/news/gaza-s-children-are-not-sleeping
ViiV Healthcare: new grants in support of ending mother to child transmission of HIV
London, November 27 - The Positive Action for Children Fund (PACF) is proud to announce 103 grants for 2015 totalling £5 million. 54 new grants and 49 extensions will be funded to support community responses to help end mother to child transmission of HIV thereby delivering crucial services to mothers, children and HIV affected families. PACF partners with local organisations working to improve the health and wellbeing of women and children affected by HIV, and the communities they live in. All PACF projects work to strengthen ties between these communities, local health systems and governments, so that more families have access to information, prevention measures, testing and care for HIV.
In 2015, more than 50 organisations will be partnering with PACF for the first time. Thanks to these new partnerships, PACF will be reaching into previously unsupported countries, including Togo, Angola and Colombia. Their work will extend into 25 countries. Of the 103 new and extended partnerships announced for 2015, almost 90 partners are community based organisations focused on smaller initiatives, showing an ever stronger trend towards supporting localized projects. PACF aims to reach key populations that are often in rural areas and are underserved by health facilities.
Miles to end polio: $6 million crosses the finish line for polio eradication
By Ryan Hyland, Rotary News
23 November - Rotary General Secretary John Hewko and six RI staff members bicycled 104 miles in Tucson Arizona, USA, on Saturday, for the Miles to End Polio event, raising more than $6 million for polio eradication. The money raised by Rotary will receive a two-to-one match from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
In addition to the team from Evanston, 100 Rotary member riders took part in the ride.
The fundraising ride is part of the annual El Tour de Tucson bike event in Tucson, Arizona, USA. The race attracts more than 9,000 cyclists a year, making it one of the top cycling events in the U.S. The Rotary team from Evanston was joined by Rotary members from Arizona's District 5500, and other members from around the world.
Hewko tweeted that he finished the race in 5 hours and 2 minutes. "Really enjoyed riding in El Tour de Tucson along with 100 Rotarians and members of the Rotary International staff," Hewko added. "As a group we were able to raise over $6 million for polio eradication which will help bring us even closer to the dream of a polio-free world. I am deeply moved by the generosity and passion of Rotarians around the world and Rotary staff."
Pakistan - Parents defend their children’s right to life
20 November – The Convention of the Rights of the Child, which marks its 25th anniversary on the 20th November, defines the right of each child to survive and develop to their full potential.
In North Waziristan, Pakistan, bans on immunization have meant that children have gone without access to polio vaccines since July 2012. North Waziristan is one of the final reservoirs of the virus. “The militants banned vaccination in their strongholds and would punish anyone in public if they were found vaccinating children,” said Salman Shah, a boy in his teens, whose studies in Political Science were interrupted by the unrest.
This summer, military campaigns in North Waziristan caused over a million people from North Waziristan to leave the area to protect their families. As unvaccinated people moved out of the area, the fear grew that this would offer the virus a chance to regain hold in other areas of the country. However, the government of Pakistan and the partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, including WHO, have taken steps to seize the opportunity to reach displaced families at permanent vaccination points as they leave North Waziristan, and in the host communities in which they settle.
The World Health Organisation has been crucial in ensuring that the displacement of families from North Waziristan was seized as an opportunity.
Yemen: Enrolment for antiretroviral treatment increasing in health facilities
MSF trains healthcare providers in several hospitals in Sanaa alongside targeted community groups and HIV associations
Sanaa, Yemen. 19 November - Stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV and AIDS (PLHIV) is still a reality in Yemen, but it has reduced significantly in some public health facilities including Al Jumhuri, Al Sabeen, Al Zuabairi, Al Zahrawi and Al Olofy where training sessions have been held in the last years by the Yemeni health authorities in collaboration with national and international NGOs, says the international medical humanitarian organization Mèdecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
In Al Jumhuri Hospital in Sanaa, where MSF is working in collaboration with the National AIDS Program (NAP) since the beginning of 2010, the number of enrolments at the antiretroviral (ART) clinic has increased: in 2010, there were 105 new enrolments for ART treatment compared to 164 new patients only in the first half of 2014. The rate of ART coverage has increased by 115% in three years (2010-2013). The number of admissions of PLHIV is increasing too. In 2013, 14 PLHIV were admitted in the hospital while the number in the first 9 months of this year reaches 25. Besides, more deliveries and surgeries have been performed to PLHIV in 2014 compared to previous years.
http://www.msf.org/article/yemen-enrolment-antiretroviral-treatment-increasing-health-facilities
Save the Children opens first Ebola community care center in Liberia
Fairfield, Conn., USA, Nov. 18 - Save the Children opens its first Community Care Center (CCC) in Liberia, to provide rapid assessments of suspected Ebola patients close to their community.
The CCC is a community-based approach that aims to provide a rapid way of isolating and treating patients suspected of having Ebola, while offering families and communities the opportunity to remain close to them, and reducing the trauma of family separation.
The CCC is designed in a way that allows visitors to see and speak to patients and will help to demystify Ebola for anyone who is wary of seeking medical help. It also offers the opportunity to train the communities and families of those infected on how to care for their loved ones in a safe way while reducing the stigma surrounding Ebola.
Although a significant undertaking, the CCC is comparatively quicker and easier to get up and running. This approach is being replicated by other organizations in line with the Liberian Government's support for the initiative. The Liberian government has embraced the idea and other organizations have embarked on building 65 CCCs across the country, in areas of most need, to help combat the virus. Save the Children plans to build up to ten Community Care Centers (CCCs) in Margibi.
http://www.savethechildren.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=8rKLIXMGIpI4E&b=8943369&ct=14349569
Three… Two… One?
With the possible eradication of wild poliovirus type 3, the polio eradication countdown is getting closer than ever to achieving no more cases of polio worldwide.
November 14 - On 10 November 2012, an 11 month old boy from Yobe in northern Nigeria became the last child to be paralyzed by wild polio virus type 3 (WPV3). More than two years on, no other case of the virus has been reported since, anywhere in the world. Experts are becoming quietly more confident that this means global WPV3 transmission may have been interrupted. This would be a historic milestone for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), following on from the global eradication of wild poliovirus type 2 (WPV2) in 1999. It would mean that only one wild serotype – wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) – is still circulating anywhere in the world.
Two years with no cases of the virus is no guarantee of its eradication, however. One of the key dangers with WPV3 is that it is less virulent than WPV1, causing cases at a rate of approximately 1 in 1,000 infections (compared with 1 in 200 infections with WPV1). While causing fewer cases is a good thing, it also means the virus can transmit silently for longer without being detected. Continued surveillance is necessary before the global eradication of WPV3 can be conclusively determined, with more time being the strongest guarantee that the virus is not circulating without showing itself through cases of paralysis.
Restoring vision to hundreds in China
By Ryan Hyland, Rotary News
29 October - (...) For several summers Razo, a member of the Rotary Club of Warner Robins, Georgia, USA, traveled to rural northwest China with a team from Georgia-based nonprofit Gansu Inc., to provide free sight-restoring cataract surgery to some of the country's poorest residents. In 2012, after 22 years and 6,000 successful procedures, Gansu's founder, ophthalmologist William Conrad, retired and discontinued the organization's operations. But Razo didn't want the effort to end. (...)
During one of his missions with Gansu, Razo had met Frank Yih, of the Rotary Club of Shanghai. Yih, who is chair of the nonprofit HuaQiao Foundation, which provides in-country logistical support for international charities, arranged housing for team members during their last two visits to China. When Gansu closed its doors, Razo's Rotary club and the Shanghai club partnered to fund cataract surgery for 400 people at two hospitals in the northeast provinces of Shandong, Gansu, and Qinghai, as well as remote areas closer to Shanghai.
The clubs raised a total of $46,000, including $21,000 in matching funds from The Rotary Foundation. The surgeries, each of which cost about $110 and took about two hours, were completed in June. The Shanghai club collaborated with Vision in Practice, an organization that provides surgical training, consultation, and assistance to eye care institutions and professionals, to oversee the procedures and assist hospital staff. Yih says the grant project has introduced a low-cost, high-quality cataract surgery model into the Chinese health care system, and he hopes his club can help expand the effort. "If this type of surgery and outreach can be integrated nationwide, millions of elders in the rural villages can enjoy the benefit of regaining their vision through affordable operations," says Yih. "This will ease the burden of our country's health care dramatically."
https://www.rotary.org/en/restoring-vision-hundreds-china
In Canada, More Jobs in Green Energy than Tar Sands
'The global clean energy revolution isn’t a future scenario—it is underway right now,' declares Clean Energy Canada
by Deirdre Fulton, staff writer
December 2 - Canada's clean energy sector is booming, with the number of people who work for green energy organizations outnumbering those whose work relates to tar sands, finds the first annual status report on the country's shift to renewable power. The study, Tracking the Energy Revolution: Canada (pdf), reveals a 37 percent employment increase and a cumulative investment of $25 billion in the green energy sector over the past five years. In addition, the energy-generating capacity of Canada's wind, solar, run-of-river hydropower and biomass plants has expanded by 93 percent since 2009, and electric vehicle sales doubled between 2012 and 2013, the report says. "The global clean energy revolution isn’t a future scenario," said Merran Smith, director of Clean Energy Canada, which put out the report. "It is underway right now, and it presents huge potential benefits for Canadians."
Tracking the Energy Revolution praises provincial leadership in Quebec and Ontario for pushing policies that promote wind and solar energy, but it criticizes other jurisdictions, such as Alberta and Saskatchewan, as well as "a seemingly indifferent federal government" for "not yet pursuing their opportunities with the necessary vigor to unlock our clean energy potential." (...)
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2014/12/02/canada-more-jobs-green-energy-tar-sands
Soitec announces 46 percent efficient solar cell
New Hampshire, USA, December 2 - Concentrating photovoltaic system manufacturer and solar developer Soitec, in conjunction with CEA-Leti both of France along with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Germany, announced that they have achieved a new world record for the direct conversion of sunlight into electricity.
The record multi-junction solar cell converts 46 percent of the solar light into electrical energy. Multi-junction cells are used in concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) systems to produce solar electricity in PV power plants, in regions with a large amount of direct solar radiation. Soitec is currently constructing a 44-MW CPV plant in Towsrivier, South Africa. The achievement of a new world record comes just one year after the one previously announced in September 2013 by these French and German partners.
Soitec plans to produce a 50 percent efficient cell in the near future and according to the company’s VP of Solar Cell Product Development Jocelyne Wasselin, this new achievement paves the way to do that. “I have no doubt that this successful cooperation with our French and German partners will drive further increase of CPV technology efficiency and competitiveness,” she said in a statement.
USA - Energy Department announces $9 million to lower costs, increase performance of solar energy systems
2 December - Supporting the Administration’s effort to make solar energy more affordable and accessible for all Americans, the Energy Department today announced more than $9 million in funding for breakthrough research and development projects that will advance the reliability and durability of solar photovoltaic (PV) technologies. This funding opportunity will support projects aimed at improving product testing and increasing module quality and performance by providing the solar energy community and investors with access to improved predictive models, relevant accelerated testing techniques, and more reliable photovoltaic modules that will ultimately increase PV system investments.
India shines with renewable energy announcement
Gland, Switzerland, 28 November - As world leaders gather in Lima, Peru for the next round of the UN climate negotiations, India announced that it intends to more than double its use of renewable energy as a share of its electricity mix by 2020. The action would help India advance economic development while reducing CO2 emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.
India has indicated it aimed to increase the share of renewables to at least 15 per cent of its total energy usage, up from 6 per cent currently. The country says it also hopes to bring in nearly USD$100 billion investment in renewable energy projects and install 100GW of solar capacity.
India’s announcement this week follows separate declarations on emissions reductions by the US, China and the European Union. It is an important demonstration of how nations can act on their domestic development needs, while also addressing pressing social issues – like energy access for the poor, health and jobs.
http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?234271/India-shines-with-renewable-energy-announcement
Peoples' Summit on Climate Change, Lima, Peru - December 9 - 12
The Peoples’ Summit will be a major alternative event during the 20th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 20) scheduled for the first half of December in Lima, Peru.
The agreements that will be adopted at both of these events will be of utmost importance for the future of the planet and of humanity. We are facing a global emergency. The negative effects on the lives of people and on the planet’s ecosystems are greater by the day, extreme weather events are causing heavy losses and damages, often irreversible, and all of this is intensifying vulnerability and poverty across the world.
A new global agreement on climate change is to be reached at COP 21, programmed in Paris in 2015. It will have to be ambitious, fair, equitable, and binding to be able, in record time, to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by no less than 50% based on the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities; it will have to include climate justice for the most vulnerable. If no such agreement is reached, the life of future generations is at risk.
http://grupoperucop20.org.pe/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=67&Itemid=255
Caritas fighting fires with knowledge and preparation in Chile
3 December – When massive forest fires swept towards the community of Cancha Quillay in Chile, its residents were prepared. Thanks to a Caritas project to reduce the effects of disasters, residents armed themselves with large containers of water, spades and anything else they could get their hands on to fight the spread of the fire. The community had been drilled in what to do in the event of fire and also children in schools were taught how to react so as to avoid putting their lives at risk.
“The project really helped us organise ourselves so the forest fire didn’t catch us unaware,” said Jeanette Fuentes, one of the members of a community emergency committee, which was set up as a result of the project. “What I learnt ensured I was prepared and was calm enough to overcome my fear.”
http://www.caritas.org/2014/12/caritas-fighting-fires-knowledge-preparation-chile/
Green Climate Fund pledges increase political momentum for global climate agreement
Gland, Switzerland, 20 November – Political momentum for a new global climate deal was boosted today when more than US$1 billion was pledged to the Green Climate Fund at a conference in Berlin.
The funds will be used for projects in developing countries – like scaling up renewable energy – to reduce emissions and help strengthen their defences against climate impacts.
Samantha Smith, leader of the WWF’s Global Climate and Energy Initiative says while today’s announcement is good news, it can only be considered as “seed funding”. “These contributions are at the low end of the range of expectations, but they are a significant beginning and will enable the fund to begin financing activities at scale next year,” says Smith.
The initial resource mobilisation period is four years. Additional pledges from more countries are expected, particularly at the upcoming UN climate summit in Lima, Peru. Another pledging conference is scheduled to be held by 2018.
The Green Climate Fund was established in 2010 at the UN climate summit in Cancun, Mexico. The fund is the main financial mechanism under the UN Framework Convention on Climate change to help developing countries address climate change challenges.
http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?233477/Green-Climate-Fund
Religion and spirituality
(top)
Intercultural and interreligious relations in Israeli hospitals
The Israel branch of 3FF, the Three Faiths Forum, runs a ground-breaking project for improved intercultural relations between Muslims, Christians and Jews in Israel.
Over the past seven years we have worked with 200 participants annually in the humanities and healthcare improving understanding between different faiths and cultures. The core of the project provides compulsory intercultural training for medical and healthcare professionals. The aim of the project is to enhance intercultural communication between medical professionals, their patients and fellow staff members. Our educational methodology is based on the interreligious techniques and values of ‘Scriptural Reasoning’ and the Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme.
Three Faiths Forum (3FF) was founded in 1997 by Sir Sigmund Sternberg, the late Sheikh Dr Zaki Badawi and Revd Dr Marcus Braybrooke to encourage friendship, goodwill and understanding between people of different faiths, especially between Muslims, Christians and Jews.
As the name suggests, it was originally a forum where religious and community leaders could meet. 3FF was the first forum of its kind and provided completely new opportunities for leaders from these three faiths to address issues together. Today, we work not only with leaders but with people at all levels of society. We run programmes that give people from all walks of life opportunities to learn, engage and build new relationships across community lines.
http://www.3ff.org.uk/middleeast http://www.3ff.org.uk/jobs/programmes-officer-parliamentors.php
RS Finding Common Ground
Harvard University, USA - The Pluralism Project is a two decade-long research initiative that engages students, academics, and community members in studying the new religious landscape of the United States. The religious demographics of America are changing as immigrants from all over the world take the oath of citizenship and claim the United States as their home. From the beginning this has been a nation of religious diversity, but today it is one of the most religiously diverse nation on earth, despite its overwhelming Christian majority.
Over the past five decades, immigration has dramatically changed the religious landscape of the United States. Today, the encounter of people of different religious traditions takes place in our own cities and neighborhoods. In 1991, the Pluralism Project at Harvard University began a pioneering study of America's changing religious landscape. Through an expanding network of affiliates, we document the contours of our multi-religious society, explore new forms of interfaith engagement, study the impact of religious diversity in civic life, and contextualize these findings within a global framework.
http://worldinterfaithharmonyweek.com/finding-common-ground http://www.pluralism.org
UPEACE: Online Diploma in Human Rights and Forced Displacement
The Human Rights Centre of the United Nations mandated University for Peace is delighted to introduce a brand new online professional development diploma in Human Rights and Forced Displacement which will be offered in 2015. The diploma can be obtained by successfully completing the following five online courses (please click on the links for further information about each of the courses):
Each of these online courses is also offered as a stand-alone certificate course, but participants can now obtain a diploma by taking all the five courses which fall within the overarching theme of forced displacement. The diploma is designed in a way that participants develop incremental expertise in the different limbs of forced displacement and its linkages with human rights.
www.hrc.upeace.org www.upeace.org
* * * * * * *
(top)
Good News Agency is published monthly (except August) in English, Italian and Portuguese. Past issues are available at www.goodnewsagency.org . Rome Law-court registration no. 265 dated 20 June 2000.Managing Editor: Sergio Tripi (sergio.tripi@goodnewsagency.org). Editorial research by Fabio Gatti (fabio.gatti@goodnewsagency.org), Isabella Strippoli, Chiara Bartoletti, Elisa Minelli. Webmaster, media and NGO coverage: Simone Frassanito (simone.frassanito@goodnewsagency.org)
Good News Agency is distributed free of charge through Internet to 10,000 media and editorial journalists of the daily newspapers and periodical magazines and of the radio and television stations in 54 countries, to 3,000 NGOs, 1,500 high schools, colleges and universities, as well as 27,000 Rotarians in the world.
It is an all-volunteer service of Associazione Culturale dei Triangoli e della Buona Volontà Mondiale, a registered, not-for-profit educational charity chartered in Italy in 1979 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. It is based in Via Antagora 10, 00124 Rome, Italy. The Association is a member of the World Association of Non Governmental Organizations.
* http://decade-culture-of-peace.org/2010_civil_society_report.pdf - In section A - International Organizations, page 12, the Report says: ”Diffusion and exchange of culture of peace information via the Internet has become the major instrument for several international organizations, notably the Culture of Peace News Network, the Good News Agency and the Education for Peace Globalnet.”