In spite of everything, a culture of peace is emerging in all fields of human endeavour
monthly, year 22nd, no. 309 – 25th September 2022
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.*
* * * * * * *
The news are be divided into seven areas of reference:
1. Government and politics
2. Education and teaching
3. Economy, finance and planning
4. Arts of living and relationships
5. Work, science and industry
6. Society and communication
7. Rules, regulations and environment
In this way we intend to cover seven main fields of human life and activities, in which to record and promote, as always, the presence of goodwill in action and the culture of peace and cooperation that are for us the guiding values in these complex times. Each news item you will find in the seven fields will in turn be linked to one in particular of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals of Agenda 2030 United Nations
SDGs number 1-No Poverty-
Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
SDGs number 2-Zero Hunger
Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
SDGs number 3-Good Health and Well-Being
Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
SDGs number 4-Quality Education
Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
SDGs number 5-Gender Equality
Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
SDGs number 6-Clean Water and Sanitation
Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
SDGs number 7-Affordable and Clean Energy
Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
SDGs number 8-Decent Work and Economic Growth
Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
SDGs number 9-Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
SDGs number 10-Reduced Inequalities
Goal 10: Reduce inequality within and among countries
SDGs number 11-Sustainable Cities and Communities
Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
SDGs number 12-Responsible Consumption and Production
Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
SDGs number 13-Climate Action
Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
SDGs number 14- Life below Water
Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
SDGs number 15-Life on Land
Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
SDGs number 16-Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Goal 16: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
News related with SDGs number 17-Partnerships to achieve the Goals
Goal 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
* * * * * * *
Government and politics – Education and teaching – Economy, finance and planning
Arts of living and relationships – Work, science and industry
Society and communication –Rules, regulations and environment
COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2022/1504 of 6 April 2022 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EU) No 904/2010 as regards the creation of a central electronic system of payment information (CESOP) to combat VAT fraud
12 September 2022 - THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION (…) HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Technical measures for establishing and maintaining CESOP
1. The Commission shall develop technical measures for the establishment of CESOP with the following functionalities:
(a) receiving payment data transmitted by Member States;
(b) storing the payment data securely for a maximum period of 5 years from the end of the calendar year in which the Member States transmitted the information to it;
(c) cleansing the payment data of anomalies and mistakes, including duplications of the same payment;
(d) aggregating the payment data in relation to each payee; (…)
News related with SDGs number 16-Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
European Commission - State Aid: Commission approves up to €5.4 billion of public support by fifteen Member States for an Important Project of Common European Interest in the hydrogen technology value chain
19 July 2022 - The Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, an Important Project of Common European Interest ( IPCEI') to support research and innovation and first industrial deployment in the hydrogen technology value chain. The project, called "IPCEI Hy2Tech" was jointly prepared and notified by fifteen Member States: Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia and Spain. The Member States will provide up to 5.4 billion in public funding, which is expected to unlock additional 8.8 billion in private investments. As part of this IPCEI, 35 companies with activities in one or more Member States, including small and medium-sized enterprises ( SMEs') and start-ups, will participate in 41 projects (…)
News related with SDGs number 12-Responsible Consumption and Production
United Nations – Human Rights Council - Fiftieth session – Agenda item 3: Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development
Resolution: Independence and impartiality of the judiciary, jurors and assessors, and the independence of lawyers: participation of women in the administration of justice
18 July 2022 – The Human Rights Council (…)
1. Calls upon all States to guarantee the independence of judges and lawyers and the objectivity and impartiality of prosecutors, and their ability to perform their functions accordingly, including by taking effective legislative, law enforcement and other appropriate measures that will enable them to carry out their professional functions without interference, harassment, threats or intimidation of any kind;
2. Encourages States to promote diversity in the composition of the members of the judiciary, including by taking into account a gender perspective and by actively promoting the balanced representation of women and men from various segments of society at all levels, and of persons belonging to minorities and other disadvantaged groups, and to ensure that the requirements for joining the judiciary and the selection process thereof are non-discriminatory, public and transparent, and based on objective criteria, and guarantee the appointment of individuals of integrity and ability with appropriate training and qualifications in law based on individual merit and under equal working conditions; (…)
https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G22/408/77/PDF/G2240877.pdf?OpenElement
News related with SDGs number 16-Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
WFP and Government of Cambodia to launch behaviour change campaign to improve nutrition among schoolchildren
13 September 2022, Phom Penh – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), in partnership with the School Health Department of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS), is launching an innovative social and behaviour change communication (SBCC) campaign to improve the diets of primary school children in Cambodia. The nutrition-in-schools campaign was developed jointly by WFP and MoEYS.
WFP, in collaboration with the Royal Government of Cambodia, has been providing nutritious school meals to primary and pre-primary school children since 1999, helping to improve nutrition outcomes as well as student attendance, concentration and learning. However, as school meals represent only a portion of children’s diets and do not tackle food consumption at home or unhealthy snacking behaviours, there is still an opportunity to use schools as a platform to influence children’s diets more broadly.
https://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-and-government-cambodia-launch-behaviour-change-campaign-improve-nutrition-among
News related with SDGs number 4-Quality Education
Princeton to cover all college bills for families making up to $100,000
Next year, a quarter of its students will pay nothing to attend the Ivy League university
(by Nick Anderson)
8 September 8, 2022 - For six years, Princeton University has boasted that the average family making less than $65,000 a year pays nothing for an undergraduate student’s tuition, room and board. Financial aid grants cover the entire bill. Now the Ivy League school, one of the world’s wealthiest and most exclusive universities, is extending that pledge to include most families earning up to $100,000. The new full-ride benchmark, announced Thursday, will take effect in fall 2023. More than a quarter of Princeton undergraduates are expected to qualify. The aid expansion will also benefit families over the threshold, including even many affluent ones with incomes of as much as $300,000.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/09/08/princeton-student-tuition-financial-aid/
News related with SDGs number 4-Quality Education
Mastercard launches new children’s health and education campaign with support from UEFA Foundation for Children
6 September 2022 - Mastercard, with support from the UEFA Foundation for Children, has kicked off a new fundraising campaign supporting Save the Children. The campaign aims to help children in poverty realize their potential through the power of football, other sports and educational activities, such as literacy and the arts. The UEFA Foundation for Children will support the initiative in various ways including monitoring and evaluating the campaign’s impact. Mastercard is supporting the programmes by providing the technology to allow people to donate to the cause, and matching donations made up to €300,000. The campaign forms part of Mastercard’s Cause Enablement work, through which it is transforming the digital donation world to make it easier for charities to connect donors to causes, and make seamless giving possible for everyone, everywhere.
News related with SDGs number 1-No Poverty
USA- A2P Energy: how a Tech Platform is reducing agricultural pollution and increasing clean energy use in India
16 September 2022: Now that the Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge 2022 winners have been officially announced, you’ll want to learn more about each winning team and the story behind each innovation. The Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge is an online competition that awards cash prizes to early-stage tech entrepreneurs solving the world’s toughest problems. Since 2017, the competition has awarded $3.25 million USD to 78 start-ups from 25 countries. We are excited for you to learn more about the 2022 winning teams addressing some of the biggest challenges we face through technology-based solutions. In this blog we will learn about Agri To Power (A2P Energy), winner of the $100,000 USD Climate Impact and Regeneration Prize. Their solution addresses the problem of crop waste burning in India, which causes unhealthy air pollution, damaging carbon emissions, and a financial burden for already struggling farmers. A2P’s technology platform uses AI and satellite imagery to identify areas where crop waste burning is prevalent, and creates a marketplace where crop waste can be turned into clean biofuels instead.
News related with SDGs number 11-Sustainable Cities and Communities
USA - How T-Mobile is supporting Hispanic & Latino Communities with digital literacy programs
16 September 2022: T-Mobile began supporting LULAC’s Conexiones program in 2021. Key pillars of the program include an introduction to digital privacy and security, using the internet to conduct research and to identify misinformation, combating cyberbullying, building a healthy self-image and digital reputation, and cultivating positive relationships online. In 2021, we also supported the Unidos Latinx in Business program, which aims to help Hispanic/Latino business owners thrive in a digital world. Program participants learned how to use affordable technological solutions including 5G connectivity, digital payments, and budgeting apps to streamline their business operations. The Latinx in Business program also offers overviews on how to use email, social media, and texting to provide customer service, as well as timely information on COVID-19-specific federal aid programs for small businesses, and COVID-19 safety Protocols.
News related with SDGs number 11-Sustainable Cities and Communities
LINCOLN - Arbor Day Foundation accelerates local tree plantings in neighborhoods of greatest need through Community Resiliency Grant Program
15 September 2022: In partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation, Bank of America has provided $250,000 to support community health and resilience grants to four local environmental organizations. This funding will contribute to projects aimed at increasing environmental equity in several underserved neighborhoods and vulnerable communities in four cities across the country.
The grant awardee organizations are the following environmental nonprofits:
Georgia: Trees Atlanta
California: Friends of the Urban Forest in San Francisco
Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
Washington, D.C.: Casey Trees
Bank of America has been a long-standing leader in supporting nature-based solutions to climate change and supporting underserved communities. This is the fourth grant Bank of America has provided to the Arbor Day Foundation’s Community Resiliency Grant program. The program helps to drive more green infrastructure projects, builds on sustainability efforts, and increases resiliency in urban communities most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
News related with SDGs number 11-Sustainable Cities and Communities
SEATTLE - Expedia Group launches new global Social Impact & Sustainability Strategy
15 September 2022: Expedia Group today announced its new global social impact and sustainability strategy to advance a travel ecosystem that is responsible, open, and accessible to all. Combining the company’s mission, purpose, and values with its traveler-centric mindset, the Open World™ social impact and sustainability strategy is focused on three priorities – increasing access for underserved travelers, democratizing the travel economy, and innovating sustainable solutions for the future of travel.
Earlier this year, the company announced its Open World technology platform – created for partners of all sizes to leverage and configure products and services needed to succeed in the travel ecosystem. Aligned with this innovation, and the belief that travel is a force for good, the next iteration of Open World extends to the traveler experience, community engagement, and environmental impact. The Open World™ social impact and sustainability strategy will tackle inequities in travel, accelerate meaningful change for the mosaic of travelers and communities that power the global industry, and ensure a healthy planet.
News related with SDGs number 15-Life on Land
Polish educators in full solidarity with Ukrainian colleagues and children
5September 2022 – From hosting refugees in union buildings, to organising donations, volunteering at border crossings and reception centres and organising classes for children, education unions and their members in Poland have shown great solidarity with those fleeing the war raging in the neighbouring country of Ukraine.
ZNP: Providing Ukrainian refugees with quality education and decent living conditions
“We knew that some activities were needed even before the Russian aggression. We had to prepare a strategy quicky. We sent protest letters to Russian authorities. After, we mobilised teachers,” explained Dorota Obidniak of the Związek Nauczycielstwa Polskiego (ZNP). Her union organised many activities. With other unions and many Polish organisations, ZNP helped by lending properties to be used by refugees- 250 refugees are hosted in ZNP holiday and training centres. It also provided refugees with phones and SIM cards, washing machines, etc. “Now we organise holiday camps for students from Ukraine, as we got funds from the American Federation of Teachers,” Obidniak observed. (…)
News related with SDGs number 16-Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Launch of Philippine National Action Plan on Youth, Peace, and Security
2 September 2022– The National Youth Commission, through its Chairperson and CEO USec. Ronald Cardema and Commissioner representing Mindanao ASec. Alexa Dayanghirang witnessed another milestone of the youth during the launching of NAP-YPS at the PICC on August 30, 2022. The NAP-YPS is a 10-year plan that details key action points strengthening the meaningful participation of young people in peacebuilding, governance, protection of human rights, and the implementation of global and national sustainable development agenda. It is also the first youth-led and multi-stakeholder driven national policy on youth, peace, and security in the Philippines. (…)
https://cpnn-world.org/new/?p=28034
News related with SDGs number 16-Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
FACT SHEET: President Biden announces Student Loan Relief for borrowers who need it most
24 August 2022 - A three-part plan delivers on President Biden’s promise to cancel $10,000 of student debt for low- to middle-income borrowers
Today, President Biden is announcing a three-part plan to provide more breathing room to America’s working families as they continue to recover from the strains associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. This plan offers targeted debt relief as part of a comprehensive effort to address the burden of growing college costs and make the student loan system more manageable for working families.
News related with SDGs number 10-Reduced Inequalities
Recipient of the $2.5 Million Hilton Humanitarian Prize
Norwegian Refugee Council to receive $2.5 Million Prize
9 August 2022 – The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is pleased to announce that the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) – an organization working in more than 35 countries to support people forced to flee – has been selected as the 2022 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize recipient and will receive $2.5 million in funding. As the world’s largest annual humanitarian award presented to a nonprofit, the Hilton Humanitarian Prize recognizes extraordinary contributions toward alleviating human suffering. To date, the Hilton Foundation has awarded more than $41 million to recipients of the Prize. NRC joins the roster of 26 Prize Laureates, including CAMFED, Homeboy Industries, METAdrasi, SHOFCO, icddr,b and The Task Force for Global Health, among others. (…)
Since its foundation in 1946, NRC has effectively and courageously protected the rights of people who are displaced by violence and find themselves in extreme vulnerability during crisis. NRC works for civilians in armed conflict, prioritizing neglected and hard-to-reach areas where access to assistance is limited, and increasingly supports people displaced by natural disasters, the adverse effects of climate change and generalized violence. The organization listens to people in need and collaborates with local organizations and communities to deliver a response that is solutions-orientated and tailored to the context (…)
News related with SDGs number 16-Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
GEORGIA - Southern Company Partners With General Services Administration To Reduce Energy Costs, Improve Sustainability at GSA's Georgia Federal Buildings
16 September 2022: he Southern Company system is partnering with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to increase energy efficiency in 12 federal buildings across Georgia, reducing GSA's carbon footprint and improving overall sustainability. Innovative solutions from the Southern Company system will focus on three key areas – energy efficiency, resiliency and greenhouse gas reductions. Southern Company subsidiaries Atlanta Gas Light and PowerSecure are coordinating the improvements, planned for completion in 2024, and are expected to reduce GSA's annual energy and water costs by nearly $3.3 million. The GSA announced the award of the $117 million Utility Energy Service Contract, which is part of the Biden-Harris Administration's Climate Smart Buildings Initiative. The improvements are expected to enhance building performance and efficiency, while reducing operating costs by approximately 45%. In addition, carbon emissions are expected to be reduced by 18,000 to 21,000 metric tons per year across all 12 GSA buildings. The project will replace and modernize equipment, such as chillers and boiler plants, air and water distribution and direct digital control systems. In addition, improvements will also include the conversion of more than 60,000 light fixtures to LED technology, as well as the installation of high-efficiency water fixtures. The project is expected to cut energy consumption by 40-50 percent across the 12 sites.
News related with SDGs number 12-Responsible Consumption and Production
SAN DIEGO - Illumina Accelerator Invests in the Fifth Global Funding Cycle of Startups Advancing Breakthrough Therapeutics, Diagnostics, Women's Health, and Sustainable Agriculture Applications
15 September 2022: Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN), a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, today announced that it has invested in six genomics startups for the fifth global funding cycle of Illumina Accelerator in the San Francisco Bay Area and Cambridge, UK. Illumina Accelerator is a world-class company creation engine focused on partnering with entrepreneurs to build breakthrough genomics startups. The program also announced today the October 1, 2022 application deadline for its next funding cycle. During six-month funding cycles twice per year, Illumina Accelerator provides the selected startups with access to seed investment, access to Illumina sequencing systems and reagents, and business guidance, genomics expertise, and fully operational lab space adjacent to Illumina's campuses in Cambridge or the Bay Area. Illumina Accelerator is accepting applications for the next funding cycle, which are due by October 1, 2022. Through a single process open to applicants from around the world, Illumina Accelerator will select up to five companies for each location. To learn more and apply, visit the website.
News related with SDGs number 9-Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Home of the future may be made from aloe and egg whites
(by Rebecca Coons)
12 September 2022 - In Spain, the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia has 3D printed a structure using natural materials including dirt, aloe, egg whites, and enzymes. Dubbed TOVA, the prototype structure is zero-waste and only sources materials from within a 50-meter radius. (…) Construction is responsible for over a third of global carbon dioxide emissions, according to IAAC. Build at Valldaura Labs using a 3D printer from WASP, TOVA’s roof is wooden, and a waterproof coating was added to ensure durability—even in extreme weather conditions. Cavities within the walls help maintain heat in winter and shield from solar radiation in warmer months.
News related with SDGs number 9-Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
African leaders demand funds to adapt to climate change
9 September 2022 - The leaders of two dozen African countries Friday urged wealthier nations to uphold their aid pledges so the continent can tackle climate change impacts for which it shares little blame. They made the call after African leaders on Monday lashed out at industrialised nations for failing to show up to a summit in the Netherlands on helping African nations adapt to these changes. (…)
News related with SDGs number 13-Climate Action
USA - Helping Communities Harness the Power of the Arts
16 September 2022: The positive impacts of arts education for students of all ages have long been acknowledged—improved cognitive and critical thinking skills, higher test scores and graduation rates, and reduced disciplinary infractions, to name a few.1 However, access to arts education is often limited: The very students who could benefit from it the most are often the least likely to receive it.2 To expand those pathways, Principal® Foundation funded a collaboration called My Voice between the Des Moines Art Center and the Des Moines, Iowa-based By Degrees Foundation during the 2021-2022 school year. Its goal was to demonstrate how intentional, focused art education could enhance students’ educational experience.
Supporting students through arts education
The By Degrees Foundation, which works with public schools on the city’s north side, selected 12 elementary, middle, and high school students to participate in the inaugural My Voice cohort. Art educators from the Art Center developed a curriculum on how to view, discuss, and critique art, intended to help develop critical thinking and vocabulary skills. The students made multiple visits to the Art Center for tours with an art educator. As a capstone project, each student selected a work from the museum’s permanent collection and responded with original artwork of their own.
https://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/754951-helping-communities-harness-power-arts
News related with SDGs number 11-Sustainable Cities and Communities
Somalia: 150,000 families in conflict affected areas receive life-saving cash amid drought and inflation
31 August 2022- Nairobi (ICRC)- More than 150,000 households, most of them in south and central Somalia, received enough money to buy food for a month, the first in a series of monthly payments intended to provide emergency relief to people pushed out of their homes by the severe drought battering the country. Each family was given $90 to cover the cost of food or other necessary items, through a programme run by the International Committee of the Red Cross totaling more than $13 million so far. (…)
The drought has lasted for four consecutive rainy seasons, and its economic impact on the vulnerable communities is aggravated by the protracted armed conflict and rising food and fuel prices. The purpose of cash assistance is to help the most vulnerable people to survive and to minimize debt. (…) With the next rain due in October, rural families, stripped of their livelihoods, continue to flee to towns, hoping to receive help from relatives and aid groups. More than 30,000 people were displaced in May, 100,000 in June, while July recorded 83,000, according to the UN data. Since January 2021, more than a million people are believed to have been displaced because of the drought. To help people build resilience in the face of the worsening impact of climate shocks, the ICRC supports agricultural cooperatives with training, drought resistant seeds, farming tools and cash for fuel needed to irrigate. (…)
News related with SDGs number 2-Zero Hunger
Women's Foundation of the South debuts inaugural Gratitude Report
The institution recaps first year since launching last August; Thanks supporters
29 August 2022, New Orleans /CSRwire/ – Women’s Foundation of the South exists to improve futures for women and girls of color in the South by supporting both women-of-color-led nonprofits who do the same and women-of color entrepreneurs. The organization, which celebrates its one-year anniversary this month, details its first year of operations in its just-released and first-ever Gratitude Report, which functions as an annual report for its first fiscal year. The organization’s first year of operations have proven to be exceptionally impactful, and the report details its accomplishments over the course of the past 12 months, including the non-profits it supported through its donations, as well as how it raised the funding to do so. Financials and programming are covered, including its innovative W Ō C @ Rest initiative. The Gratitude Report introduces its leaders and board of director’s members and provides brief bios of each one. It also outlines WFS’s vision – what it plans to accomplish over the course of the next 18 months. Women’s Foundation of the South’s Gratitude Report is undeniably compelling and it leverages infographics to depict more complex information to ensure that it is easily and quickly understood. The organization believes that funding – and elevating – Black women and women of color in the South will simultaneously lift their families, and that this work will similarly impact and elevate future generations as well, breaking the cycle of entrenched, generational poverty. This is especially important right now, as COVID-19 has exacerbated racial disparities in health and economic prosperity. The recent social injustice and racial reckoning movements have opened the nation’s collective mind to righting the wrongs of the past and finally making room for equality and inclusion. WFS, a woman-of-color led non-profit, embodies the spirit of August’s Black Philanthropy Month: the time for Black philanthropists to anchor support in Black-led non-profits is now. (…)
News related with SDGs number 11-Sustainable Cities and Communities
Rules, regulations and environment
(top)
Stanford researchers model benefits of riverfront forest restoration
(by Rob Jordan)
12 September 2022 - A new Stanford University-led study in Costa Rica reveals that restoring relatively narrow strips of riverfront forests could substantially improve regional water quality and carbon storage. The analysis, available online and set to be published in the October issue of Ecosystem Services, shows that such buffers tend to be most beneficial in steep, erosion-prone, and intensively fertilized landscapes – a finding that could inform similar efforts in other countries. (…)
https://news.stanford.edu/2022/09/12/healthy-rivers-healthy-people/
News related with SDGs number 15-Life on Land
University of Queensland-led training center to be global hub for green plastics
(by Meghan Sapp)
12 September 2022 - In Australia, a new University of Queensland-led training center is set to become a hub for world-leading research in ‘green’ plastic. The A$13 million Australian Research Council (ARC) Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Bioplastics and Biocomposites, based at UQ’s School of Chemical Engineering, aims to make large-scale plastic pollution a problem of the past. (…) The training center will also focus on training to develop industry-ready researchers in chemical and materials engineering, polymer chemistry, environmental science, social science, policy and business.
News related with SDGs number 15-Life on Land
Leather alternative uses algae and food waste
(by Rebecca Coons)
12 September 2022 - In India, a leather alternative made from algae and food and fiber waste has won the runner-up James Dyson Award for India, having been narrowly squeezed out of the top spot by a reusable EpiPen. (…) Kudarat uses natural binders, biopolymers from algae, and natural waterproofing agents. Food and flower waste are used as dyes. The material lasts as long as animal leather but biodegrades in 3 months if left in the environment.
https://www.biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2022/09/12/leather-alternative-uses-algae-and-food-waste/
News related with SDGs number 15-Life on Land
Going with the flow: study shows canals help boost your mood
7 September 2022 - The study, carried out by King’s College London, Nomad Projects and J & L Gibbons in partnership with the Canal & River Trust, shows that spending time by canals and rivers is linked to feeling happy and healthy. Researchers report that the combination of blue and green space with wildlife has a greater impact on wellbeing than spending time in an environment that is characterised by only green space. The researchers used Urban Mind, a smartphone-based app, to collect thousands of real time audits about participants’ location and mental wellbeing. Results from this first of its kind study showed positive associations between visits to canals and rivers and mental wellbeing, as well as a positive experience for feelings of safety and social inclusion relative to all other types of environments (such as indoors, outside in an urban environment, or near green spaces). (…)
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/going-with-the-flow-study-shows-canals-help-boost-your-mood
News related with SDGs number 15-Life on Land
New bird species discovered in remote Chilean island
2September 2022– Researchers have described a bird species new to science found on a remote island off the southern tip of the Americas. The subantarctic rayadito (Aphrastura subantarctica), a small brown bird with a large beak, is related to a group of forest-dwelling birds, the rayaditos. But there is no forest on the Diego Ramirez Islands off the coast of southern Chile where The subantarctic rayadito are found. “There are no bushes and no woodland species, literally in the middle of the ocean a forest bird has managed to survive,” Ricardo Rozzi told Reuters. Rozzi is an academic from Chile’s University of Magallanes and the University of North Texas and director of the Cape Horn International Center for Global Change Studies and Biocultural Conservation (CHIC) and an author of the study published recently in Scientific Reports. Genetic analysis revealed that the bird was different from its closely related cousins.
https://wildlife.org/new-bird-species-discovered-in-remote-chilean-island/
News related with SDGs number 15-Life on Land
AATI: an innovative initiative to transform African agriculture
The African Agricultural Transformation Initiative (AATI) set to enable successful execution of strategic agricultural interventions
16 August 2022, Nairobi - As the current crises and disruption in food networks lay bare most African countries’ dependence on food imports, it has become critically urgent to transform the agriculture sector in order to lift vulnerable rural people out of poverty and hunger, according to the African Agricultural Transformation Initiative. Endowed with a budget of US$19.6 million until 2025, AATI is dedicated to improving sustainable development in Africa by bridging the gap between the formulation of strategic agricultural initiatives and their successful implementation at local level. Speeding up and strengthening that implementation will have a pronounced impact on improving food security, reducing rural poverty and helping small-scale farmers adapt to climate change. AATI is currently launching its first wave covering four countries (Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and Senegal). This initiative is born as a result of the close collaboration among AGRA, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and McKinsey & Company.
https://www.ifad.org/en/web/latest/-/aati-an-innovative-initiative-to-transform-african-agriculture
News related with SDGs number 15-Life on Land
* * * * * * *
(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: Fabio Gatti. Editorial research by Fabio Gatti, Isabella Strippoli, Elisa Minelli, Salvatore Caruso Motta, Chiara Damilano, Francesco Viglienghi, Carlo Toraldo, Andrea Landriscina, Nazzarena Franco. 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 Piazzale degli Eroi 8, 00136 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.”