In spite of everything, a culture of peace is emerging in all fields of human endeavour
monthly, year 17th, no. 250 – 7 October 2016
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 media and editorial journalists, NGOs, service associations and high schools and colleges around the world.
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
India ratifies Paris climate pact at UN, brings it ever closer to taking effect
2 October 2016 - Bringing the Paris Agreement on climate change ever closer to its entry into force, India today joined the new global accord at the United Nations Headquarters in New York and became the 62nd country to deposit its legal instrument of ratification. Action on climate change is crucial for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and creating a more prosperous, equitable and livable future for all people. The Agreement, which calls on countries to combat climate change and limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, will take effect 30 days after at least 55 countries, responsible for 55 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, deposit their instruments of ratification.With today's action by India, which accounts for 4.1 per cent of the emissions, the Agreement only needs slightly more than 3 percentage points to reach the 55 per cent threshold. The "55 countries" requirement had already been met.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=55185#.V_ExFdSLQUQ
ICC finds Malian extremist guilty of war crime in destroying historic sites in Timbuktu
27 September 2016 - The judges sentenced Ahmad Al-Faqi Al-Mahdi, a member of a jihadist group linked to Al Qaeda, to nine years in prison for committing a war crime by deliberately destructing in 2012 nine mausoleums and the secret gate of the Sidi Yahia mosque in the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site of Timbuktu in Mali, the ICC said in a press release. “The decision of the International Criminal Court is a landmark in gaining recognition for the importance of heritage for humanity as a whole and for the communities that have preserved it over the centuries. It also supports UNESCO’s conviction that heritage has a major role to play in reconstruction and peace building,” said Irina Bokova, the Director-General of UNESCO.
UNESCO highlighted today that the “historic” decision, a first under the ICC’s founding Rome Statute, is a “crucial step to end impunity for the destruction of cultural heritage.” The agency also pointed out that the case “reminds us all of how heritage protection has become a major security issue, which cannot be delinked from the protection of human lives.”
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=55137
Security Council adopts resolution on nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament
23 September – Reaffirming that proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and their means of delivery, threatens international peace and security, the United Nations Security Council today adopted a resolution urging all States who haven't done so to sign the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.With 14 votes in favour and one abstention (Egypt), the resolution welcomed progress made towards universalization of the Treaty, noting that 183 States have signed the Treaty and 166 States have deposited their instruments of ratification. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty bans all nuclear explosions for both civilian and military purposes.
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty bans all nuclear explosions for both civilian and military purposes. Adopted by the UN General Assembly under resolution 50 (1996), the Treaty will enter into force 180 days after the date of deposit of the instruments of ratification by all States listed in its Annex 2.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsId=55068#.V-tyW4VOKM8
Indonesia to issue first license certifying legal timber entering Europe
FAO-supported initiative combats illegal logging and boosts sustainable livelihoods
15 September, Rome - FAO today welcomed an agreement by Indonesia and the European Union (EU) to issue the world's first Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) timber license as a major achievement in the fight against illegal logging. As of 15 November, the FLEGT license can accompany shipments of timber exported from Indonesia to EU member states to certify that the timber has been harvested, transported, processed and traded according to Indonesian law."Indonesia has taken important steps to strengthen forest governance, combat illegal logging, modernize its forest sector, and improve business practices," said Robert Simpson of FAO's FLEGT Programme, which supports tropical timber-producing countries engaged in FLEGT initiatives.
http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/433452/icode/
'Mack & Moxy' episode developed with Save the Children to stream on Netflix starting Oct. 1
29 September, Fairfield, Conn., USA - Families will be able to stream on Netflix the new children’s program "Mack & Moxy," including an episode on the importance of reading and early literacy created in partnership with Save the Children. In the United States, Save the Children offers a continuum of early literacy programming in some of the nation’s most marginalized communities. The organization supports mothers during pregnancy, provides home visits to families of infants and toddlers, helps young children get ready for school, runs literacy programs in elementary schools and empowers local leaders to make early literacy a priority. By reaching vulnerable children early and helping them get on track to be kindergarten-ready and to read well by third grade, Save the Children prepares children to succeed in the rest of their school years and beyond. Combining state-of-the-art 3D animation, live-action puppets, fun adventures, humor and music, each "Mack & Moxy" episode is geared toward kids ages 3 to 7 and inspired by the kindness of the great humanitarians who make this world a better place.
Facility for Refugees in Turkey: EU signs grants worth €600 million to help refugees on education and health
28 September - Today, the European Commission signed two direct grants worth €600 million to support Syrian refugees and host communities in Turkey in the areas of education and health. Since March this year, the EU has mobilised more than €2 billion out of its total budget of €3 billion under the Facility for Refugees in Turkey. The Facility supports the implementation of both the EU-Turkey Joint Action Plan and the EU-Turkey Statement and is designed to address the most critical needs of Syrian refugees and host communities living in Turkey today.
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-16-3191_en.htm
UN food relief agency reaches town in northern Iraq for first time in two years
28 September - For the first time in more than two years, the United Nations food relief agency has distributed urgently-needed food for people in and around the northern Iraqi town of Shirqat, which was under siege and cut off from humanitarian access from 2014 until earlier this month.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=55147#.V_EYZOCLTIU
Breaking bread: forging an interfaith pathway to zero hunger
23 September – The simple tenet of sharing food with others who have none runs through all religions. The act of ‘breaking bread’ was the inspiration for the eponymous event held on 21 September during the UN General Assembly’s High Level Week in New York. The event gathered representatives from diverse faith-based organisations to celebrate the inspirational role of faith communities in alleviating hunger and to affirm joining together to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger. The event was streamed live on Facebook, watched by thousands of people, many of whom shared messages of what breaking bread means to them. One follower commented, “’Being able to eat whatever you want to eat is not a luxury. It’s a basic human right”.
http://www.caritas.org/2016/09/breaking-bread-forging-an-interfaith-pathway-to-zero-hunger/
Dakota Fanning and Save the Children to light Empire State Building in honor of International Day of the Girl
by Jordyn Linsk
14 September, Fairfield, Conn., USA – Save the Children announced today that actress and Artist Ambassador Dakota Fanning will light the world-famous Empire State Building red on Tuesday, Oct. 11 in a special ceremony celebrating International Day of the Girl. Marked globally by the United Nations, International Day of the Girl is a designated day for communities and policymakers to discuss how to end discrimination against girls and create opportunities for girls to reach their full potential.(…).
Save the Children aims to raise awareness of these issues and illuminate the need to educate and empower girls around the world. (…) Too often, girls are barred from the opportunity to learn, forced into marriage or even trafficked (…) Save the Children believes it is possible to build a world in which every girl survives, thrives and realizes her dreams. (…)and believes that reaching girls is a critical component of ending early marriage, preventable maternal and child deaths(…).
https://sponsor.savethechildren.org/.
http://www.savethechildren.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=8rKLIXMGIpI4E&b=9357111&ct=14924473
October 11 - 13: International Summit of Cooperatives, Quebec, Canada
2016 theme: Cooperatives: The Power to Act
Over 3,000 participants from 93 countries are expected to attend this major biannual gathering for leaders from the cooperative movement from around the world.
Efforts will be made to highlight the power of cooperatives to act and their significant impact at the local, national and international levels. It will also provide the opportunity to show how much strength cooperatives and mutuals wield when it comes to helping to solve the key global issues identified by the United Nations.
New label for mountain products puts premium on biological and cultural diversity. FAO and Slow Food team up to boost market access for highland producers
September 30, Rome— FAO's Mountain Partnership and Slow Food have launched a voluntary product label for mountain goods that's meant to improve market access for small highland producers from developing countries and highlight mountain products as distinct and sustainable.
The new label places a premium on goods that support local biodiversity and production methods that are linked to the cultural traditions of mountain communities. Products carrying the mountain label will be available in national markets, organic stores and specialty shops.
By giving mountain products a distinguishable brand, the labeling scheme will help local producers win market recognition by guaranteeing that products are predominantly produced and transformed in mountain areas and come from small-scale production respectful of local ecosystems. The scheme - which producers submit to voluntarily -- is also designed to ensure fair returns for producers and the equitable distribution of profits along the entire value chain.
http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/440360/icode/
Comcast, YMCA announce $15 million partnership to level playing field for low-income families
27 September, Philadelphia - Comcast and YMCA of the USA (Y-USA) announced a comprehensive $15.3 million partnership that combines the Y’s commitment to strengthening communities and improving the lives of children and families and the transformative potential of Comcast’s Internet Essentials, the nation’s largest and most comprehensive internet adoption program, to help prepare the next generation for the future. The multi-year partnership is anchored by Comcast’s commitment to increasing the public’s understanding of the important and impactful work the Y does in communities through the visibility of the Y’s For a better us® English and Spanish PSA’s. Additionally, Comcast will provide grants to further support digital literacy and academic achievement programs at Ys nationwide. (…) Y academic achievement programs foster social-emotional development and physical health and well-being of children.
Rural growth in Colombia: Yara steps in to increase productivity
22 September - Following the recent peace agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC in Cartagena which concludes a 52-year armed conflict, the country is now geared toward improving productivity in its agricultural sector. Yara International, a leader in crop nutrition and farmer support, has taken the timely step of supporting the government’s efforts on this issue.
Colombia, which relies on agriculture as the most important segment of its economy, still battles with an endemic problem of poor productivity. Due to the rugged Andean terrain covering Colombia, as well as the lack of irrigation, only roughly five per cent of the country’s land area is cultivated. The government is taking an increasing part in controlling, organizing and encouraging agriculture by giving financial support and social assistance for better housing to farmers, as well as providing them with technical help. However, foreign aid is always welcome.
http://www.ipsnews.net/2016/09/rural-growth-in-colombia-yara-steps-in-to-increase-productivity/
Thread announces Clinton Global Initiative commitment to provide dignified jobs and mobility to plastic bottle collectors in Haiti
21 September, New York - Thread, the leader in responsible fiber and fabric production, today announced a new Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Commitment to Action to address the problem of undignified and child labor in global supply chains, through a targeted effort in Haiti. Recycling offers a key entry point to participate in the circular economy, (…) that is restorative and aims to keep products, components, and materials at their highest utility and value at all times. In Haiti, many families rely on plastic collection as a sole source of income and often face the difficult choice of involving children in this work in order to ensure the security and well-being of the family. In partnership with Timberland, HP, Team Tassy, and ACOP, Thread’s commitment will help improve the working conditions and upward mobility of some 300 Haitians - 200 of them children - by providing valuable educational opportunities, job training, and medical care.
WFP lauds establishment of first Provincial Logistics Cluster in Indonesia
September 19, Yogyakarta - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today welcomed the official establishment of the first-ever provincial logistics cluster in Indonesia by the Governor of Yogyakarta. The Provincial Logistics Cluster coordinates the government, private sector, civil society and international agencies involved in emergency logistics. Its establishment enables the members of the cluster to agree upon the roles and responsibilities each will have once disaster strikes, and to practice working together before disaster strikes.
As the lead agency of the Global Logistics Cluster, WFP is working with the Government of Indonesia’s Disaster Management Agency to reinforce the speed and effectiveness of emergency response. This work is funded by the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance.
IFAD announces $100 million initiative to assist refugees, displaced people and their host communities in rural areas
September 19, New York - IFAD today announces the establishment of a new financing facility to assist refugees, displaced people and their host communities to address the increased pressure put on rural areas by the influx of millions of people. The facility will be launched today as a Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Commitment to Action at the CGI 2016 Annual Meeting. Through CGI’s unique model, IFAD will connect and collaborate with global partners ready to take action.
The Facility for Refugees, Migrants, Forced Displacement and Rural Stability (FARMS) has been created in response to the rural dimension of the current crisis resulting from the large movements of refugees and displaced people to rural areas of developing countries. The initial goal for FARMS is to mobilize US$100 million. IFAD has already received requests for support from Jordan, Lebanon, Sudan and Tunisia for up to $15 million. IFAD is matching these requests with potential donors. FARMS will support people living in rural areas of host countries by helping them to improve sustainable agricultural productivity.
https://www.ifad.org/en/newsroom/press_release/tags/p56/y2016/31145916
FAO and India’s SEWA join efforts to empower rural women and youth
September 13, Rome - India's Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) and FAO are strengthening their collaboration to boost rural development and reduce poverty in Asia and Africa via local initiatives focused on empowering rural women and youth. Building on years of successful partnership, the two organizations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today to intensify joint efforts aimed at building the capacities of the rural poor to fully benefit from rural economies, with particular emphasis on ensuring that women and youth are engaged and empowered.
Today's MoU comes ahead of a high-level event, "Stepping It Up Together for Rural Women to End Hunger and Malnutrition," which will take place 16 December in Rome and is being co-organized by FAO, the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the European Commission in close collaboration with key UN partners.
http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/433019/icode/
Sweet potato farming in Gaza brings cash and tasty treats
13 September, Gaza – The health benefits of sweet potatoes are well known around the globe. But the healthy and delicious snack has even more value for some families in Palestine because sweet potato farming in Gaza is especially profitable for local farmers. Through a land restoration project, ANERA has helped 399 farming families and bring life to 214 acres of land that had been abandoned or laid fallow for years. The project also provides farmers with agricultural tools, installation of a drip irrigation system as well as training on best practices in farming.
http://www.anera.org/stories/sweet-potato-farming-in-gaza-brings-cash-and-tasty-treats/
$15 million in USAID funding looks to spark “new era” in agricultural data collection
September 7, Rome - USAID and FAO have signed a $15 million agreement aimed at boosting the capacity of developing countries to track key agricultural data -information that is essential to good policymaking and that will help track progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The USAID donation will cover the first phase of an FAO-led project that will run from 2016 to 2021 starting with pilot efforts in four developing countries, two in Sub-Saharan Africa, one in Latin America and one in Asia.
The goal: To design and implement a new and cost-effective approach to agricultural data collection in developing world contexts, known as agricultural integrated surveys (AGRIS). The end result will be high-quality data on a wide range of technical, economic, environmental and social dimensions of agriculture that will help governments analyse and understand the impacts of agricultural policies, assess progress toward the SDGs and other goals, and shape better policies.
http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/430779/icode/
Religious charities commit $52 million to help elderly Jews
By Nicole Wallace
26 September – Two large religious charities have announced a $52 million commitment to provide food and medicine to elderly Jews — including Holocaust survivors — in the former Soviet Union.
The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews has established the IFCJ Food and Medicine Lifeline, which will deliver assistance to tens of thousands of poor, elderly Jews through a network of local agencies run by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. (…) The four-year commitment marks a significant expansion of the two-decade partnership between the two nonprofits.
https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Religious-Charities-Commit-52/237902?cid=cpfd_home
Iceland and WFP sign strategic partnership agreement to help reach Zero Hunger
September 23, New York - Iceland and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) signed a landmark agreement to provide flexible, predictable and multi-year funding for WFP’s work towards helping to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 of zero hunger by 2030.
Flexible funding is the lifeblood of humanitarian operations; it is also critical to WFP’s ability to react fast in emergencies as well as maintain support for neglected crises. Inspired by the “Grand Bargain” proposed at the World Humanitarian Summit earlier this year, under which donors committed to more flexible funding and aid agencies to greater transparency and cost-consciousness, Iceland will provide WFP with funds that are not earmarked for specific countries or specific operations.
Over the next five years and through the Strategic Partnership Agreement, Iceland’s contribution to WFP will be at least US$2.2 million in fully flexible funding. The Strategic Partnership Agreement is centred around food security and nutrition challenges in both emergencies and protracted crises, including ways of promoting livelihood opportunities. There is also a focus on gender issues and accountability to affected populations.
Morgan Stanley renews $8 million commitment with Feeding America, the Nation’s leading hunger-relief charity
22 September, New York - The Morgan Stanley Foundation (…) announced its renewed commitment to hunger relief through a $8 million, four-year pledge to Feeding America to support children’s hunger and produce programs. This grant will build on the Firm’s $13 million previous support to Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger relief charity. The key components of the grant will expand the firm’s Flex Grants program, to help twenty-five local food banks start, grow and sustain childhood feeding programs annually. It will also include training and strategic planning support to assist the local food banks in extending the benefits of the grants long beyond the grant cycle to ensure sustained services to the community. Through the grant, the firm also committed funds this year to increase the availability of fruits and vegetables for children, through a new initiative that increases its food banks’ ability to access, transport and store fresh produce.
Hygiene kits help Syrian refugees live with dignity
21 September – A UNHCR study on hygiene practices among Syrian refugees residing in Akkar revealed that items like soap are too expensive for many families. Some 13 percent of Syrian refugees in Akkar reported washing hands with water only. To help Syrian refugees cope, ANERA delivered Days for Girls fully-washable feminine hygiene kits with help from Direct Relief. ANERA added to the kits bars of soap, shampoo and moisturizers donated by Johnson & Johnson. The delivery was preceded by an awareness session on healthy hygiene practices and proper use of items the kits contain. In the center, ANERA also distributed illustrated flyers with tips on health and hygiene.
http://www.anera.org/stories/hygiene-kits-help-syrian-refugees-live-dignity/
WFP and Japan partner to empower women farmers in the Kyrgyz Republic
September 20, Bishkek - WFP and the Embassy of Japan today participated in a ceremony to provide equipment to support food-processing businesses and rural women’s entrepreneurship across seven rural communities in the Kyrgyz Republic. The food processing equipment is part of a US$490,000 contribution from Japan to economically empower over 2,000 vulnerable rural households, primarily women. The contribution aims to enhance agricultural knowledge and skills, boost small businesses, and protect agricultural livelihoods for rural women.
Through support of local authorities, users of the equipment will be able to establish and operate enterprises to process agricultural produce and provide food-processing services to other farmers. These businesses will help rural women to secure stable incomes and generate additional tax revenues for local communities. Through funding from Japan, WFP has also provided training on food processing, food safety requirements (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point), financial management, and value chain development to support business capacity development and boost women farmers’ incomes.
http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/wfp-and-japan-partner-empower-women-farmers-kyrgyz-republic
CRS, InterAction pledge $1.2 billion in humanitarian support
19 September - Catholic Relief Services and twenty-nine other international humanitarian organizations have pledged to invest $1.2 billion over three years in global humanitarian efforts. Announced ahead of President Barack Obama's Leaders' Summit on Refugees, CRS and other members of InterAction, a U.S.-based alliance of international nongovernmental organizations, will track and announce annually private investments by participating member NGOs in humanitarian aid related to refugee services and relief.
To that end, CRS has developed specific policy recommendations for the United States and international donor community, including a call for the U.S. to design and fund humanitarian interventions that integrate refugees into host communities over the long term; engage development actors in responding to refugee needs.
http://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/crs-interaction-pledge-1.2-billion-in-humanitarian-support
UK supports WFP cash and voucher Programme for vulnerable people in Sudan
September 18, Khartoum - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today welcomed a contribution of GBP 3 million from the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) for its cash and voucher assistance programme supporting conflict-affected communities in Sudan. WFP plans to use GBP 2 million to support 220,000 displaced people across Darfur with vouchers for four months, helping them to purchase a wide variety of food items from local shops. The remaining GBP 1 million will be used to top up a contribution of GBP 2.2 million that WFP received early this year for the launch of a cash assistance programme.
WFP first launched its voucher assistance programme in 2009 in central and eastern Sudan. The programme has since expanded to reach the Darfur region where it currently supports more than half a million food-insecure displaced people who purchase food from more than 180 local traders. Thanks to DFID support, WFP has also successfully introduced electronic voucher technology in Sudan, supporting over 30,000 displaced people in Darfur.
New IFRC web application, virtualvolunteer.org, brings life-saving information to migrants
15 September , Geneva/Stockholm - The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is rolling out a new web application called virtualvolunteer.org that puts practical, trustworthy and potentially life-saving information at the fingertips of migrants or people considering migrating. IFRC and IBM joined forces earlier this year to design and develop virtualvolunteer.org, which is universally accessible with any connected device, designed for low bandwidth settings, and is easily adaptable for migrants’ needs anywhere in the world. IBM Cloud provides national, regional and global access to the application. virtualvolunteer.orgis currently being piloted in Greece and will soon be rolled out for people in or arriving in Turkey, Italy and Sweden and will later expand to other countries. The web application provides useful and timely information about available assistance and services in specific countries and details procedures, rights, entitlements, legal options and safety tips.
Japan steps up support to fight hunger and boost nutrition in Africa
September 9, Yokohama - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today welcomed a US$21.6 million cash contribution from the Government of Japan to provide vital food and nutrition assistance to the most vulnerable people in 11 countries, with 90% of the contribution going to 10 African nations. Beyond Africa, US$2.2 million will be granted to Sri Lanka to provide school meals to 160,000 food-insecure school children.
At the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD VI), held in Nairobi in August, Japan reaffirmed the importance of nutrition as “the very foundation of health,” and is stepping up its support for the alleviation of hunger and malnutrition on the continent. WFP is an active partner of the “Initiative for Food and Nutrition Security in Africa (IFNA),” which was launched at TICAD VI by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), and is ready to accelerate collaboration with Japan in the area of nutrition.
http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/japan-steps-up-support-fight-hunger-boost-nutrition-africa
Japan donation boosts WFP’s assistance to refugees in Tanzania
September 8, Dar Es Salaam - WFP has received a contribution of US$1.8 million from the Government of Japan for food and nutrition assistance to more than 200,000 refugees in northwest Tanzania.
In total, 1,800 metric tonnes of food commodities have been purchased with funds contributed by the Government of Japan. Assistance has been substantially scaled up due to an influx of over 153,000 refugees from Burundi, following an outbreak of violence in the Central African nation last year. The Burundians have joined an existing caseload of some 65,000 refugees, most of them from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Japan has made contributions to WFP’s refugee operations in Tanzania totalling US$9.2 million over the last six years. WFP spends approximately US$5 million every month on basic food needs for refugees in Tanzania. Between now and December 2016, an additional US$6.7 million is required to ensure WFP Tanzania can continue to provide food assistance to the full caseload of refugees.
http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/japan-donation-boosts-wfp-assistance-refugees-tanzania
October 24 - 28, Week of Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns, UN Headquarters, New York
Organised by the NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns - NY, this annual week of events honors the anniversary of the founding of the UN. It seeks to foster the growth of a culture of peace in which "we, the peoples of the world", can address together our common challenges in a holistic, positive and transformative way. This year the 10th annual Spirit of the United Nations Awards will be presented on October 24.
October 2, International Day of Non-Violence
To mark the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the UN General Assembly decided that October 2nd be observed as an occasion to "disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness". The resolution reaffirms "the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence" and the desire "to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence". more
www.un.org/en/events/nonviolenceday
www.facebook.com/nonviolenceday
UNHCR welcomes new support for refugees at Leaders’ Summit
20 September - UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has welcomed the significant new support committed today by governments to improve protection and solutions for refugees at the Leaders’ Summit on Refugees, convened by US President Barack Obama in New York.
The 50 states and organizations participating in the summit have increased their contributions to humanitarian appeals in 2016 by US$4.5 billion, including US$1 billion from the US, according to President Obama’s opening address.
Good news from US Government in Laos
by Ingebjørg Sørenes
8 September – The US Government is providing an additional 90 million dollars for the removal of cluster munitions in Laos over the next three years. - Laos is heavily affected by cluster munition (…). Norwegian People’s Aid is the largest international Humanitarian Disarmament NGO currently working in Lao PDR. (…) It is estimated that remnants from over 80 million cluster bombs and blinds still remain in the Cambodian countryside after the nine yearlong US led «secret war» on Laos that ran parallel to the Vietnam War. (…) President Barack Obama dropped the news on Tuesday as he attended the regional summit ASEAN. It was the first time for a sitting US President to visit the small country after the Vietnam War, and Obama took the opportunity to emphasize America’s moral obligation in helping Laos heal.
http://www.npaid.org/News/News-archive/2016/Good-news-from-US-Government-in-Laos
Niger Red Cross responds to Rift Valley fever outbreak
23 September, Nairobi/ Geneva - The Red Cross Society of Niger has quickly mobilized 60 volunteers to disseminate information and preventive messages in communities affected by an outbreak of Rift Valley fever, a highly infectious viral disease. The Ministry of Health says 23 people have died from the virus and 60 people have been infected. Nearly all of those infected are pastoralists. There are also reports of significant livestock deaths from the virus, particularly cattle, sheep and camels. The Red Cross Society of Niger is closely monitoring the outbreak, in coordination with the Ministry of Health and World Health Organization (WHO) and is prepared to scale-up its relief efforts, with support from IFRC, to help curb the spread of the disease.
Sanitation initiative in south-eastern Haiti shows promising results – UNICEF
22 September - A sanitation initiative in south-eastern Haiti has shown encouraging results, with a major reduction in the number of water-borne infections for local residents, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). “Five localities in this region have been declared open defecation free (ODF), which marks progress in the prevention of cholera and other water-borne diseases in the area,” the UNICEF Representative in the country, Marc Vincent, told the UN News Centre. “In the area of sanitation we have come a long way and there is still a long way to go,” he added. “For UNICEF, we are active in 120 communities and, in total, more than 20,000 people in the country now benefit from living in an ODF environment – this is a substantive change and it inspires hope.”
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=55035#.V_DkddSLQUQ
At UN, global leaders commit to act on antimicrobial resistance
Collective effort to address a challenge to health, food security, and development
21 September, New York - World leaders today signalled an unprecedented level of attention to curb the spread of infections that are resistant to antimicrobial medicines.Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) happens when bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi develop resistance against medicines that were previously able to cure them.
For the first time, Heads of State committed to taking a broad, coordinated approach to address the root causes of AMR across multiple sectors, especially human health, animal health and agriculture. This is only the fourth time a health issue has been taken up by the UN General Assembly (the others were HIV, noncommunicable diseases, and Ebola).Countries reaffirmed their commitment to develop national action plans on AMR, based on the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance— the blueprint for tackling AMR developed in 2015 by WHO in coordination with FAO and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). Such plans are needed to understand the full scale of the problem and stop the misuse of antimicrobial medicines in human health, animal health and agriculture.
Leaders recognized the need for stronger systems to monitor drug-resistant infections and the volume of antimicrobials used in humans, animals and crops, as well as increased international cooperation and funding. They pledged to strengthen regulation of antimicrobials, improve knowledge and awareness, and promote best practices — as well as to foster innovative approaches using alternatives to antimicrobials and new technologies for diagnosis and vaccines. Leaders at the UN meeting called on WHO, FAO and OIE, in collaboration with development banks such the World Bank other relevant stakeholders, to coordinate their planning and actions and to report back to the UN General Assembly in September 2018.
http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/434147/icode/
Access campaign: MSF welcomes GSK’s decision to lower the price of the pneumonia vaccine for some of the world’s most vulnerable children
20 September, New York/London - Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) welcomes the decision by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to lower the price of its pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) for humanitarian organisations that serve refugee and crisis-affected children. For seven years, MSF has been in discussions with GSK and Pfizer – the only two manufacturers producing the pneumonia vaccine – for access to a more affordable price. GSK’s price reduction is a significant step forward in protecting vulnerable children who are reached by humanitarian organisations like MSF. MSF now hopes that Pfizer will match GSK’s offer, and that both companies will additionally reduce the price of the vaccine for governments of developing countries which still can’t afford to add the PCV vaccine to their standard childhood immunisation package. (…) Pneumonia is the leading cause of child mortality worldwide, killing almost one million children every year.
Surgeons from India bring relief to underserved patients in Rwanda
Jonathan W. Rosen – The Rotarian
19 September – Hundreds of people gather in an open-air courtyard at University Central Hospital in Kigali, Rwanda. (…) Over the next eight days, a team of 18 specialized doctors (12 of whom are Rotarians) will perform surgeries on 268 Rwandan patients, including procedures in orthopedics and urology. The trip, initiated by District 3080 (India) and hosted by District 9150 (Central Africa), is funded by The Rotary Foundation with support from the Rwandan government. (…) Rajendra Saboo, 1991-92 Rotary International president, is busy coordinating the last-minute logistics of the mission.(…)
Rwanda, a compact central African country with mountainous topography (…) is perhaps best-known for its darkest moment: the slaughter of up to a million citizens, mostly members of the Tutsi minority, in the 1994 genocide. Twenty-two years later, it’s one of the fastest-growing economies in Africa. Kigali, its capital, is among the tidiest cities on the continent. Since 1994, life expectancy has more than doubled in Rwanda while maternal and child mortality rates have fallen. (…) The Rotary mission (…) also provides training: mission doctors teach cutting-edge surgical techniques to local physicians, medical students, and residents. During surgery, the visiting doctors demonstrate techniques and learn from host country doctors (…)
ICN Wellness Centre in Swaziland celebrates decade of support to wellbeing of healthcare workers
Geneva, 19 September - September 2016 marks the 10th anniversary of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) Wellness Centre in Swaziland. The ICN Wellness Centre programme aims to strengthen health systems through the provision of quality comprehensive health services for all cadres of healthcare workers and up to four of their immediate family members.
The ICN initiative in Swaziland, a first of its kind, brings together international healthcare specialists including: the Ministry of Health of Swaziland; the Swaziland Nurses Association; Becton, Dickinson and Company; the Danish Nurses Organisation; and the Stephen Lewis Foundation. To date, the Swaziland Wellness Centre has cared for 5,200 clients with more than 28,200 visits and the Centre’s staff has grown significantly from 5 employees in 2006 to 12 devoted staff members in 2016, thanks to the engagement of the Ministry of Health notably. The concept initiated through the Swaziland Wellness Centre has been a model, opening the way to a wider network of ICN supported Wellness Centres in Lesotho, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia.
Mercy Ships - Surgeries have started in Cotonou, Benin!
18 September - As the Mercy Ships Screening Center in Cotonou closes, the five surgical theatres onboard the Africa Mercy open! Orthopedic, Maxillofacial and Plastic Reconstruction surgeries have started this week and will continue through o the end of the month.
The Dental Clinic also opened September 12, and the Hope Center will open on September 23rd. Over the next three weeks our screening team will continue to work in communities such as Kandi, Bembereke and Parakou, traveling inland to reach more people in need that couldn’t be at our Cotonou screening. Stay tuned for more news and stories from the Africa Mercy as we move forward with our 2016/2017 field service in Benin!
Mercy Ships uses hospital ships and ground-based teams to deliver free surgeries and medical care to developing nations.
http://mercyships.ca/surgeries-have-started
WFP and the Government of Sierra Leone bolster care and support to HIV/TB patients
September 8, Freetown -The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes a contribution of US$3.1 million from the Government of Sierra Leone and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria - enabling WFP to scale up nutritional support for more than 20,000 Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART) and tuberculosis (TB) patients. People living with HIV have weakened immune systems and increased nutritional needs. Proper nutritional support is essential to ensure that their treatments work. In collaboration with the Ministry of Health & Sanitation, WFP is providing nutrition support to ART clients & TB patients through community health centres in Sierra Leone.
With the contribution from the Global Fund, WFP will be able to purchase staple foods, including rice, pulses and fortified vegetable oil. A food basket containing these items will be provided to undernourished ART/TB patients and their families to ensure an effective treatment.
During the Ebola outbreak, WFP was able to continue to provide nutritional support to ART and TB patients. Proper nutrition is an essential means of protecting the lives and livelihoods of people living with HIV and TB. Improved food security also plays a critical role in helping to stop the spread of the epidemics.
Kenyan Geothermal gets $60 million from African Development Bank
22 September - The funds will go to state-owned Geothermal Development Co. to buy three drilling rigs, according to regional director at the Abidjan, Ivory Coast-based financial institution. Kenya “has enormous potential in geothermal power capacity which it has not fully exploited,”.The country has been tapping geothermal power in the Rift Valley since the 1980s and has the potential to add another 10 GW, according to Geothermal Development. It generated 43 percent of its electricity from the underground steam last year, data from Bloomberg New Energy Finance shows.
World Rivers Day - September 25
Every year since 2005, when the UN Water for Life Decade was launched, millions of people around the world have observed the last Sunday of September as World Rivers Day.
World Rivers Day highlights the many values of our rivers, strives to increase public awareness, and encorages the improved stewardship of all rivers around the world. Activities include stream cleanups, habitat enhancement projects, educational outings, and community riverside celebrations. In previous years several million people across more than 60 countries have participated in the Day.
IDP celebration of planting 650 mangrove trees
22 September - Our interfaith network in Kampot Province, Cambodia, planted 650 mangrove trees from the Forestry Officer and the community leader at Trapaeng Sangkae community. We brought together 95 participants (including 33 ladies) who were Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, students, and community members. We collaborated with the Kampot interfaith network, with the Department of Religion and Cults in Kampot, and with commune council members, district officers, religious leaders, and environmental officers jointly for this event. We also collaborated with a local volunteer youth group called Cambodian Youth Association in Cambodia and Japan.
http://uri.org/the_latest/2016/09/idp_celebration_of_planting_650_mangrove_trees?
European food and retail industry support WWF’s campaign to protect Doñana National Park
21 September – A consortium of leading European retailers, food companies and processing companies who buy over 20 per cent of strawberries and other berries produced in Doñana have endorsed WWF’s global campaign to protect this Spanish World Heritage Site. The Doñana Group from the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform has asked for urgent implementation of water and environmental governance in the area. WWF has been working with the Doñana Berries and Sustainable Water Management Group - coordinated by the SAI Platform - to speed up sustainable agriculture solutions in the Doñana area, to safeguard the future of nature and of the sector itself. The area produces 70 per cent of all strawberries grown in Spain. Illegal agriculture is depleting the region’s water resources and is also unfair on licensed farms. Doñana, Europe’s most important wetland for migratory birds, is one of the flagship sites for WWF’s global campaign to defend World Heritage Sites and end the threats jeopardizing the future of this vital natural area and the people who depend on it.
International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer - September 16
2016 theme: Ozone and Climate: Restored by a World United
The theme for this year's International Ozone Day recognizes the collective efforts of the parties to the Vienna Convention and the Montreal Protocol towards the restoration of the ozone layer over the past three decades and the global commitment to combat climate change.
As a result of concerted international efforts, the ozone layer is healing itself and is expected to recover by the middle of this century. In addition, the Montreal Protocol has significantly contributed to the mitigation of climate change by averting the emission of more than 135 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent into the atmosphere by simply phasing out ozone-depleting substances.
www.un.org/en/events/ozoneday/
Reducing the spread of antimicrobial resistance on our farms and in our food
14 September, Rome - FAO today pledged to help countries develop strategies for tackling the spread of antimicrobial resistance in their food supply chains, as governments prepare to debate the emerging challenge posed by medicine-resistant "superbugs" next week at the UN General Assembly.The increased use –and abuse– of antimicrobial medicines in both human and animal healthcare has contributed to an increase in the number of disease-causing microbes that are resistant to medicines traditionally used to treat them, like antibiotics. According to FAO's Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance, released today: "Antimicrobial medicines play a critical role in the treatment of diseases of farm animals and plants. Their use is essential to food security, to our well-being, and to animal welfare. However, the misuse of these drugs, associated with the emergence and spread of antimicrobial-resistant micro-organisms, places everyone at great risk."
http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/433096/icode/
Colombia ACIP trains indigenous community in GIS technology
Wiwa community uses Google Earth to establish demo plots and protect ancestral land
9 September, Colombia – USAID-funded Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Program (ACIP) improves the status and incomes of ethnic minorities in Colombia. The small indigenous Wiwa community of northern Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta is one such community. For the Wiwa, economic growth initiatives must be comprehensive and take their culture and worldview into account. Such activities must respectfully use their land and preserve mother earth by balancing natural resources. ACIP has stepped in to help them commercially cultivate cocoa and fruit through agroforestry systems. Part of ACIP’s intervention in the area involved a Geographic Information System (GIS) specialist who trained community members, including 50 families, to establish demonstration plots. Each family mapped out and then cultivated two hectares of land with cacao, plantain, and/or avocado.
http://www.acdivoca.org/2016/09/colombia-acip-trains-indigenous-community-in-gis-technology/
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Interfaith Peace Conference
30 September – The International Day of Peace, also known as the World Peace Day, occurs annually on September 21. It is observed by many nations, political groups, military groups, and peoples. Pakistan Council for Social Welfare & Human Rights (PCSW&HR) is an active Cooperation Circle (CC) of the United Religions Initiative (URI) in Pakistan. PCSW&HR observed the International Day of Peace on 21st September 2016 and organized the Interfaith Peace Conference at the head office of PCSW&HR in Sialkot.People from different religions, governmental and nongovernmental officials, both electronic and print media representatives, PCSW&HR’s officials, and more participated in the conference.
http://uri.org/the_latest/2016/09/interfaith_peace_conference
October 5, World Teachers' Day
Theme 2016: Valuing Teachers : Improving Their Status
Think about the role of teachers in the transition into a new era. Who are the teachers? What is required of those who teach the children and young people?
Created by UNESCO, World Teachers Day celebrates teachers worldwide.
www.worldteachersday.org www.unesco.org
Rotary - New Englanders, Nigeria clubs aid Boko Haram refugees
by Marty Peak Helman, District 7780 Foundation Chair
30 September - The American University of Nigeria (AUN) was co-founded by Rotarian Felix Obadan in 2000, and 12 years later, when Felix was governor of Rotary’s District 9125, which covers a large portion of Nigeria, he chartered the Rotary Club of Yola-AUN on campus. Their strong influence on campus makes it not surprising that many University professors and senior staff are Rotary members, and that the University prides itself on its work toward peace, entrepreneurship, and economic development as well as its strong academics.
The University’s mission is to graduate students prepared to take on the challenges in Nigeria and throughout West Africa – challenges of climate change, development, and peace building. And peace is not an abstract concept at the university. After all, it is located in Yola, the capital of Adamawa State, in the region where Boko Haram is most powerful. In fact, those few dozen Chibok schoolgirls who escaped from being kidnapped by Boko Haram are now safely living at the University, where they are receiving social services and education. (...)
https://blog.rotary.org/2016/09/30/new-englanders-nigeria-clubs-aid-boko-haram-refugees/
Africanews launches its first pan-African ad campaign
On Saturday 24 September, Africanews starts its outdoor campaign in 7 sub-Saharan countries
Pointe-Noire, Republic of the Congo - 22 September - Africanews is the the first pan-African and multilingual news outlet. The unique media offering all viewpoints, all voices, all ideas, launches its campaign "Africanews, Your Voice" which aims to show the new face of news coverage from a fast-moving continent. Africanews, launched this year by its sister company Euronews, has created a fully-fledged pan-African network, with editorial decisions made in Africa for an African audience.
To illustrate this remarkable editorial position, the campaign presents Africanews' iconic journalists who represent an exceptional team of 90 media professionals from the whole of sub-Saharan Africa. From Pointe-Noire (Congo-Brazzaville), they provide unique coverage from a purely pan-African perspective of African and international news.
http://www.datapressepremium.com/rmdiff/2007798/AfricanewsCampaignEN.pdf
Progress made on funding education for all Syrian refugee children - but not enough
September 22 - World leaders promised in February they would provide the funding needed to get one million Syrian refugee children into school in this academic year. The co-hosts of the London conference where that pledge was made were the United Kingdom, Germany, Kuwait, Norway and the United Nations.
That high-powered Supporting Syria group met again yesterday at the UN in New York - and heard that progress is being made but not quickly enough. Sarah Brown, Executive Chair of the Global Business Coalition for Education, told the co-hosts that 30,000 messages had been sent to them on Facebook and Twitter - along with handwritten letters from Syrian youth. They all said one thing: You Promised. The messages urged leaders to work harder to ensure that every child in host countries gets into school.
Yara Harake, a consultant youth co-ordinator with A World at School''s parent charity Theirworld, delivered the letters from Syrian refugee children to the UN.
http://www.aworldatschool.org/news
UN announces inaugural class of 17 youth leaders to support Global Goals
19 September – The United Nations envoy on youth today unveiled the inaugural class of 17 youth leaders who have been recognized for their leadership and contribution to the achievement of the 17 Global Goals, also known as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change by 2030. Selected from over 18,000 nominations from 186 different countries, these leaders, aged 19-30 years old, come from many different backgrounds and will support efforts to engage young people in the realization of the SDGs and will have opportunities to engage in UN and partner-led projects.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=54960#.V_EOauCLTIU
International solidarity helps Iraqi teachers organise
14 September, Iraq- The Iraqi Teachers’ Union received a recent boost to its efforts through a workshop organised by Education International's Arab Countries Cross-Regional Structure and the British National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers. Twenty-five Iraqi Teachers’ Union (ITU) leaders and heads of ITU branches participated in a capacity building workshop organised from 6-7 September in Beirut, Lebanon, by the Education International Arab Countries Cross-Regional Structure (EI ACCRS).Organised in coordination with the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT),this workshop, a preliminary needs’ assessment and introduction to organising, highlighted the importance of organisers within the union, what ITU needs to improve its organisers’ skills, and how social media can help recruit new members. (…)
https://www.ei-ie.org/en/news/news_details/4099
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CONSTRUCTIVE JOURNALISM
by
Sergio Tripi
The future which needs to be built
The energy which allows us to travel into the future and build it in an evolutionary way is a fundamental type of energy: one which springs from the awareness of the unity of peoples. In spite of the various involutional situations which we see every day, we can already discern those signs which indicate that the future will be built precisely with this fundamental energy. It springs naturally and uncontrollably from the two new values which are emerging in humanity’s consciousness: unity in diversity and sharing. These two values are gradually giving life to a reality which bases its very existence on the growth in a unifying awareness of the various forms of expression of reality itself and of the answers conceived by humanity to face and resolve the crucial problems of our times, on the solution of which the very construction of the future depends.
The present crisis of values reflects fundamentally a lack of love, the natural expression of which is to cooperate and share, to carry out activities in harmony with the environment and to distribute resources and make them circulate through the entire body of humanity. The aim of serving the common good should prevail over the interest of one party, whether this is understood as a person or a social class or as a single nation in the international context. However, the social, political and economic system of the world is still mostly formulated to take, to accumulate and to separate. We have learnt to master the art of creating barriers and, as a result, we excel in the sad capacity of creating the worlds of “the haves” and “have nots”. The positive consequence of this situation is that we are discovering that the global environment is threatened and we are becoming increasingly aware of the unavoidable need to fight for a change of consciousness, a change based on the growing awareness of the fundamental characteristics of the future that needs to be built.
A wise use of discrimination and creative imagination is essential for recognizing among the new possibilities those which are best able to improve the quality of life. There are many signs which indicate how the cultivation of awareness is becoming an accepted aim not only in the education of the young but also in the world of adults. These tendencies allow us to glimpse what the future that should be built has in store: a global culture, with regional and national differences preserved so that they enrich each other: all based on the growing awareness of the various constructive aspects of the reality in which we live and the emerging values which express it. This awareness assigns to humanity as a whole, but also to every individual inhabitant, the ability and the responsibility to contribute to the creation of a better future from the viewpoint of the emerging values, which arise from the increasingly perceived evidence of the unity of peoples and the individual and collective responsibility for bringing it about.
It cannot be doubted that the most advanced part of humanity, more aware of its duties than of its rights, is increasingly refuting those obsolete values which led to goals and models of behaviour which aimed to gratify the individual person and the individual country. Those types of behaviour which expressed egoistic values and placed on the altar material success, hedonism, consumerism and the lack of an ethical code of responsibility limiting what it is lawful to pursue in consideration of respect for others. Today there is emerging in consciousness the need and, simultaneously and in spite of everything, the initial evidence of a new and global ethic and this can only spring from the concept of unity in diversity which many people of advanced consciousness have begun to embrace. It is an idea of explosive power: it knocks down the obstacles of different doctrines, overcomes the barriers of different concepts and behaviours and defeats the misunderstanding, animosity and hatred that such differences, sometimes exacerbated to the point of fanaticism, have originated and consolidated. From this concept, simple to express but still difficult for many to assimilate, come the right answers to those questions which humanity is asking itself in order to express new human relationships directed to the realization of that ‘global village’ in which every person and every people will play their part for the construction of a more just existence and a more decent life for all.
The revolution of information
Illusion, as we know, is that state of consciousness which prevents a person, or a people, from seeing events in their right perspective, from understanding their origin and from considering their consequences. When this lucidity of perception is missing, a person or a people are clouded by the illusion of believing they know the truth and of thinking, appraising and deciding on the basis of it; thus their decisions and their behaviour are the expression of an illusion and represent an answer to a partial reality. The dissolution of world illusion depends on the capacity of humanity to penetrate with reason the thick clouds of illusion which have accumulated through the centuries and which prevent a clear and impartial vision of the human condition.
In this process, the role of information is so evident as not to need consideration apart from being regarded increasingly as the principal agent which determines the knowledge and understanding of reality, determining factors for the constructive development of the process of dissolving illusion. It is knowledge gained thanks to the desire to learn to know the other races, ethnic groups and cultures which constitute our global village; and it is comprehension as the expression of love for all humanity, without paying attention to the differences which seem to exist between the various cultural values, considering them instead as elements which express in substance a complete picture of reality as evidence of unity in diversity.
At present, however, this truly global knowledge and comprehension are still not prevalent because the flow of news on the planet moves above all in one direction, from North to South, and from the urban to the rural zones. Moreover, apart from some ‘alternative’ means of communication which are appearing with determination in the world of information, the flow and the content of the news are controlled by the principal news agencies which operate at a global level. These agencies communicate only what they think the readers want to read and this is not without consequences. In the case of the developing countries, for example, the news in circulation concentrates on the problems of those nations, like coups d’etat, crimes and revolutions and very often ignore the efforts which are being made to deal with the presuppositions and causes of those problems.
Every day, a newspaper receives and examines thousands of news items and publishes about five hundred. In this way, each day we find ourselves facing a selection which, begun by the big news agencies, continues on the tables of the editorial committees; a selection which, as a whole, ends by representing a partial reality, a reality ‘selected’ on the basis of a series of considerations of varying nature which take into too little account the responsibility of representing reality in its entirety, both with its shadows and its lights. We must be wiser in managing the possibility of global diffusion of information; perhaps the increase in a certain sense of bewilderment and frustration is also the consequence of the imbalance in the choice of news, which emphasizes strongly the dramatic, and often cruel and brutal news, relegating to a very distant background news that is positive and indicative of a constructive and responsible way of being.
The act of selecting certain subjects and leaving others aside produces in the mind of the public a picture of the world which can well be incomplete and at times really distorted. The world changes every day before our eyes and the decisions which we have to take depend on the information which we receive and how we interpret it. The clouding and illusions of the past must give way to a new and more realistic and comprehensive way of considering other nations, cultures and peoples. And it is absolutely obvious that a complete flow of information will be able to make an important contribution to the maturation of our consciousness as citizens of this planet. In effect, what criteria does the person who chooses the news follow? Is it right that the educational responsibility of the information sector is often ignored? Is it right that utilitarian criteria prevail to such an extent as to weaken greatly the voice of other criteria which do not belong to the tangible world of quantity but to the more subtle, and so more precious, one of quality? The axiom that reality is truth on the contrary accentuates our responsibility for an information which represents reality in its entirety, thus approaching truth as far as possible.
Information and public opinion
The deontological duty of representing reality in its various aspects is at the basis of the current revolution of constructive information. The benefits that this revolution is beginning to give are amazing for the speed with which they are succeeding each other. With the beginning of this new century the presence of means of communication which broadcast constructive information based particularly on values which unite and enrich mind and heart, and not only on those that separate and impoverish, has emerged and gradually increased. Thus for some years an information has taken shape which reports news items that, by their nature today, finally, “make news”, proving sensationally wrong the saying that “good news does not make news”.
The concepts of the right to information, the duty to broadcast it and the plurality of information rightly take into account two fundamental subjects of the process of information: the journalist and the public. In this context, another fundamental right must also be considered, which has been ignored up till now and which it is now time to recognize and start to discuss: the right of the news item to be broadcast. After having expressed this ‘provocative’ idea in a conference on communication in 1999 without getting any reactions worthy of note, I again made this reflection during a recent television encounter of TG2-Insieme, putting on an imaginary toga of a lawyer defending the right of the news item to be broadcast. This time the idea aroused positive reactions among the participants and this dialectical experiment convinced me that the idea has reached the stage at which it is appropriate to start expressing and circulating it.
Vox populi, vox Dei. Besides a growing part of the population, the thousands of non-governmental organizations, the tens of thousands of non-profit associations and the many millions of people engaged in voluntary work corroborate the fact that a growing demand for an awareness based on wide-ranging information is already being actively expressed. It is a growing demand, which will soon bring about a radical and generalized change in the world of information, a change which will be fully expressed in the frame of reference of constructive journalism.
(Translation by Jancis Browning)
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Next issue:11 November 2016.
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, Community of Living Ethics, Elisa Minelli. Webmaster, media and NGO coverage: Simone Frassanito (simone.frassanito@goodnewsagency.org)
Good News Agency is distributed free of charge through Internet to media and editorial journalists of the daily newspapers and periodical magazines and of the radio and television stations, NGOs, service associations, high schools and colleges as well as over 26,000 Rotarians around 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.”