In spite of everything, a culture of peace is emerging in all fields of human endeavour
monthly, year 21st, no. 297 – 13th January 2021
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
United Nations – General Assembly – Seventy–fifth session – Agenda item 72 (b) – Resolution: The right to food
28December 2020 – The General Assembly (…)
1. Reaffirms that hunger constitutes an outrage and a violation of human dignity and therefore requires the adoption of urgent measures at the national, regional and international levels for its elimination;
2. Also reaffirms the right of everyone to have access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food (…)
3. Considers it intolerable that, as estimated by the United Nations Children’s Fund, up to 45 per cent of the children who die every year before the age of 5 die from undernutrition and hunger-related illness (…)
11. Stresses that the primary responsibility of States is to promote and protect the right to food (…)
13. Also calls upon all States and, where appropriate, relevant international organizations to implement policies and programmes to reduce and eliminate preventable mortality and morbidity, as a result of malnutrition (…)
19. Stresses the importance of fighting hunger in rural areas, including through national efforts supported by international partnerships to stop desertification and land degradation (…)
https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N20/372/19/pdf/N2037219.pdf?OpenElement
News related with SDGs number 10-Reduced Inequalities
United Nations – General Assembly – Seventy–fifth session – Agenda item 72 (b) – Resolution: Enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights
28 December 2020 – The General Assembly (…)
4. Also reaffirms the duty of States to cooperate with one another in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations in the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, including with respect to the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination and all forms of religious intolerance;
5. Urges all actors on the international scene to build an international order based on inclusion, justice, equality and equity, human dignity, mutual understanding and promotion of and respect for cultural diversity and universal human rights and to reject all doctrines of exclusion based on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;
6. Reaffirms the importance of the enhancement of international cooperation for the promotion and protection of human rights and for the achievement of the objectives of the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance (…)
https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N20/372/33/pdf/N2037233.pdf?OpenElement
News related with SDGs number 16-Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
United Nations – General Assembly – Seventy–fifth session – Agenda item 69 (b) – Resolution: Rights of indigenous peoples
23 December 2020 – The General Assembly (…)
2. Urges Governments and the United Nations system, in consultation and cooperation with indigenous peoples through their representatives and institutions, to continue to implement appropriate measures at the national level, including legislative measures, to achieve the ends of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and to promote awareness of it among all sectors of society (…)
5. Encourages Member States, resident coordinators and United Nations country teams, within their mandates and in coordination with the Governments concerned, to involve indigenous peoples regarding issues affecting them in the preparation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Frameworks and country programme action plans; (…)
9. Reaffirms that indigenous peoples have the right to their traditional medicines and to maintain their health practices, 19 including inter alia the conservation of their vital medicinal plants, as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, and also reaffirms that indigenous individuals have the right to access, without any discrimination, to all social and health services; (…)
https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N20/373/46/pdf/N2037346.pdf?OpenElement
News related with SDGs number 10-Reduced Inequalities
United Nations – General Assembly – Seventy–fifth session – Agenda item 28 – Resolution: Trafficking in women and girls
23 December 2020 – The General Assembly (…)
6. Urges Member States, the United Nations and other international, regional and subregional organizations, as well as civil society, including non-governmental organizations, the private sector and the media, to fully and effectively implement the relevant provisions of the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons30 and the activities outlined therein; (…)
13. Calls upon Governments to intensify their efforts to prevent and address, with a view to eliminating, the demand that fosters the trafficking of women and girls for all forms of exploitation and in this regard to put in place or to enhance preventive measures, including legislative and punitive measures to deter exploiters of trafficked persons, as well as ensure their accountability; (…)
15. Calls upon Governments to strengthen measures aimed at achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls by, inter alia, enhancing their participation and leadership in society (…)
https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N20/371/89/pdf/N2037189.pdf?OpenElement
United Nations – General Assembly – Seventy–fifth session – Agenda item 63 – Resolution: Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
23 December 2020 – The General Assembly (…)
6. Re-emphasizes that the protection of refugees is primarily the responsibility of States, whose full and effective cooperation, action and political resolve are required to enable the Office of the High Commissioner to fulfil its mandated functions, and strongly emphasizes the importance of active international solidarity and burden- and responsibility-sharing; (…)
15. Underlines the centrality of international cooperation to the refugee protection regime, recognizes the burden that large movements of refugees place on major and long-standing refugee-hosting countries and communities, as well as their national resources, especially in the case of developing countries, and calls for a more equitable sharing of the burden and responsibility for hosting and supporting the world’s refugees (…)
21. Renews its call upon all States and other relevant stakeholders to provide the necessary support for the implementation of the global compact on refugees and its comprehensive refugee response framework with a view to sharing the burden and responsibilities for hosting and supporting refugees (…)
https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N20/372/68/pdf/N2037268.pdf?OpenElement
News related with SDGs number 16-Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
DIRECTIVE (EU) 2020/2184 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 16 December 2020 on the quality of water intended for human consumption (recast) (Text with EEA relevance)
23 December 2020 – The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union (…) have adopted this Directive:
Article 1
Objectives
1. This Directive concerns the quality of water intended for human consumption for all in the Union.
2. The objectives of this Directive are to protect human health from the adverse effects of any contamination of water intended for human consumption by ensuring that it is wholesome and clean, and to improve access to water intended for human consumption. (…)
Article 4
General obligations
1. Without prejudice to their obligations under other Union law, Member States shall take the measures necessary to ensure that water intended for human consumption is wholesome and clean. For the purposes of the minimum requirements of this Directive, water intended for human consumption shall be wholesome and clean if all the following requirements are met:
(a) that water is free from any micro-organisms and parasites and from any substances which, in numbers or concentrations, constitute a potential danger to human health;
(b) that water meets the minimum requirements set out in Parts A, B and D of Annex I;
(c) Member States have taken all other measures necessary to comply with Articles 5 to 14. (…)
News related with SDGs number 15-Life on Land
How a martyr killed by the mafia inspired a generation of Catholic lawyers
8 January 2021 - Soon-to-be Blessed Rosario Livatino was a Catholic judge brutally killed by the mafia in Sicily in 1990. Today his legal legacy lives on through the work of a center in Italy dedicated to issues of life, the family, and religious freedom. The Rosario Livatino Study Center, founded in 2015, consists of a group of lawyers, judges, magistrates, and university professors inspired by the life and work of the young Catholic judge -- recently declared a martyr by Pope Francis -- who often spoke about the intersection between the law and faith.
Trending Rights tweets of 2020
1 January 2021 - Countries around the world sought to quash peaceful protest in 2020, before and after the pandemic, but people seeking freedom and demanding change took to the streets to defend their rights. #BlackLivesMatter trended across the globe. Despite the regime’s ruthless crackdown, women in Belarus kept up the call for free elections. Journalists in China reported on the coronavirus from Wuhan, at grave personal risk. These stories and more in the year’s trending human rights tweets.
https://www.pressenza.com/2021/01/trending-rights-tweets-of-2020//
Six judges join the International Criminal Court’s bench as the Court begins a new chapter
24 December 2020 - Yesterday, the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the International Criminal Court (ICC) Statute concluded the election of six new judges to the bench of the ICC over the course of 2021 for a non-renewable term of nine years. FIDH welcomes the election of mostly highly qualified candidates and looks forward to their contribution to ensuring justice for all victims and survivors of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide over the course of their term in office.
Promoting International Humanitarian Law among communities in Eastern Europe and South Caucasus
23December 2020 – As 2020 draws to an end, Geneva Call launches a mass media campaign on key International Humanitarian Law (IHL) concepts targeting communities in Eastern Europe and South Caucasus. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, renewed fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh and frequent violations of the ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine have put a heavy toll on civilians and hors de combat. IHL violations have been continuously reported, leading Geneva Call to launch a mass social media campaign to raise awareness about the rules of war among all parties to conflicts in the region. In the past, Geneva Call’s media campaigns were mainly focused on combatants, framing their messages in ways that can easily be understood and assimilated by fighters. With this campaign, Geneva Call addresses a growing need to target civilians directly and empower them in their efforts to protect themselves from the effects of armed conflict. By designing 18 illustrated messages, Geneva Call wants to inform people of the obligations of all fighting parties towards them, but also to provide guidance on how to adapt their own behaviour in order to enhance their protection based on the obligations of belligerents. The campaign, targeting different key areas in Ukraine and South Caucasus, will be disseminated in Armenian, Azerbaijani, Russian and Ukrainian languages to reach a variety of different areas where civilian casualties are high.
News related with SDGs number 16-Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Partners working together to help landowners restore and manage longleaf pine forests in Mississippi and Alabama
5 January 2021: Around Lucedale, Mississippi, an unusual mix of partners is working together to restore one of the South’s iconic forests. The Longleaf Alliance (LLA), Wildlife Mississippi, the Mississippi Forestry Association, Enviva, and other partners are working together to boost longleaf pine habitats in southern Mississippi and southwestern Alabama by creating new opportunities for public and private landowners in this region.This plan works with private landowners to develop a management plan, provide forest certification, harvest undesirable woody plant material, and monitor long-term restoration effects on appropriate sites.The longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) was once the dominant tree species in the South, covering over 90 million acres from Virginia to Texas. Over the last 400 years, the abundance of this species was greatly diminished due to non-sustainable timber harvest, clearing of land for agriculture and development, and exclusion of fire. However, due to the collective hard work of partners throughout the region, longleaf is making a comeback on the landscape. Restoration of the longleaf pine ecosystem and the species associated with it are a high priority of federal and state agencies, non-profit organizations, industry partners, and private landowners across the southeastern United States. Beyond traditional timber income, properly managed longleaf pine habitats provide numerous benefits to both the ecosystem and the people who enjoy these forested habitats. One of the primary reasons that landowners restore longleaf is to create high-quality wildlife habitat. By restoring and managing this habitat, landowners and land managers not only provide essential habitat for common species, but potentially also for rare species like the gopher tortoise and the red-cockaded woodpecker.
News related with SDGs number 15-Life on Land
ITALY - FPT Industrial Partners With Green Pea - The World's First Green Retail Park
1 January 2021: - Leading energy transition towards an increasingly sustainable transport model not only requires expertise and state-of-the-art technology, but also practical and accessible solutions that demonstrate that an environmentally conscious way of living and consuming is achievable in the present and not just a vision for the future. These are the reasons that led FPT Industrial, the global powertrain brand of CNH Industrial N.V., to become a partner of Green Pea - the first Green Retail Park in the world – which was inuagrated on December 9th in Turin, Italy, next to the Eataly – the store dedicated to a high quality Italian eating experience – in the Lingotto area of the city. Green Pea was born from an idea of Oscar Farinetti and is entirely built of recycled and recyclable materials, according to the philosophy of second life, as well as being completely dismantlable. The place is dedicated to the theme of "Respect" and to a new way of consuming, offering high-quality sustainable products and services on 15,000 sqm spread over five floors, mainly Made in Italy, but with low or no environmental impact. 66 shops, a museum, three restaurants, a swimming pool, a spa, and a Club dedicated to creative idleness are there for visitors to enjoy. In addition to its commercial aspect, Green Pea offers experiences, events, and all the services necessary and available to live Green. FPT Industrial has a large exhibition area inside the Green Pea Discovery Museum, which the brand has interpreted as an educational area where the public can be brought closer to the themes of technology, sustainable mobility, and the scenarios of a city of the future.
News related with SDGs number 8-Decent Work and Economic Growth
A holiday gift with impact: crowdfunding solar-powered water access in Africa
23 December 2020, Rome – This holiday season, some of the world’s poorest families in Somalia and Malawi look set to access water through innovative solar energy products financed through a crowdfunding project set up by the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). Through this pilot project, IFAD has invested in training NGOs, who currently work with them in Africa, to raise funds through crowdfunding to bring solar-powered irrigation to Malawi, and purified water to Somalia. Through this crowdfunding campaign, 2,400 Somalis could access clean water and energy through a OffGridBox - a mobile solar system that purifies water and distributes energy with no environmental impact. In Malawi, with donations from crowdfunding, a solar irrigation system will provide water for 30 farming families, enabling them to supply food to 12 surrounding villages. The families will be trained to use and maintain the system. Crowdfunding emerged after the 2008 financial crisis. In 2017, US$65 billion was raised on global crowdfunding platforms and there is a growing trend to use crowdfunding to mobilize finance in developing countries. The World Bank has estimated that by contributing small amounts, households in developing countries could deploy up to $96 billion a year in crowdfunding investments by 2025.
https://www.ifad.org/en/web/latest/news-detail/asset/42212752
News related with SDGs number 8-Decent Work and Economic Growth
How Phoenix feeds the hungry with fresh food while saving local businesses and farms
(By Michael Goonan)
9 January 2021 - Around the world, individuals have found all kinds of innovative ways to support each other during the coronavirus pandemic—but so have governments. In Arizona, the city of Phoenix has managed to save dozens of farms and restaurants, while also getting free meals to those who need it most.
Between July and December in 2020, the Feed Phoenix program provided more than 50,000 meals to local residents—an amazing feat in itself, but only the beginning. When the city received its CARES Act federal funding in April, it could have simply directed the money to food banks. Instead, it asked a nonprofit group, Local First Arizona, to take a more holistic approach to shore up the city’s food system.
https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/how-phoenix-feeds-people-and-saves-businesses//
News related with SDGs number 2-Zero Hunger and number 3-Good Health and Well-Being
The European Union contributes €7.5 million towards UNICEF programmes supporting the most vulnerable children and families in Syria
29 December 2020 - The European Union has contributed €7.5 million towards UNICEF’s support for the most vulnerable children and families in Syria. This funding will help provide over one million conflict-affected people, mainly children and women, with access to protection, health, nutrition, education, water, sanitation and hygiene services. This comes in addition to an earlier contribution of €1.5 million to support preparedness and response efforts to the COVID-19 pandemic in both Northwest and East Syria.
EU funding allows WFP to support communities devastated by floods in Sindh Pakistan
24 December 2020, Islamabad – Thanks to a contribution of € 500,000 from the European Union (EU), tens of thousands of families in Sindh Province have received food and cash assistance from WFP in the aftermath of the devastating floods that hit the country in August. Support from committed donors like the EU allowed WFP to reach over 71,000 people, who were most affected by the disaster, with in-kind food assistance by early September. The second phase of the response is currently underway, aiming to support 117,000 people. Each family will receive PKR 15,000 (EUR 76) in cash that will help them meet their food and other essential needs. Apart from the food and cash assistance, the EU’s support has allowed WFP to produce and disseminate information packages on nutrition and hygiene among mothers and children across Sindh Province. Another awareness-raising initiative has sensitized communities to the importance of precautionary measures preventing the spread of COVID-19 and dengue.
https://www.wfp.org/news/eu-funding-allows-wfp-support-communities-devastated-floods-sindh-pakistan
Support from the European Union helps WFP avert a hunger catastrophe in Burkina Faso
21 December 2020, Ouagadougou – A donation of € 4.2 million from the European Union (EU) contributed to WFP’s efforts to stave off a hunger catastrophe in Burkina Faso, where 2 million people are struggling to feed themselves due to the combined effects of conflict, climate shocks and the socio-economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The EU’s contribution, made through the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department (ECHO), has helped WFP ramp up its emergency response in 2020 to reach over 1.2 million people across the country with life-saving assistance. Over one million people, having fled violence, are internally displaced and live in precarious conditions. Most of those forced to flee are subsistence farmers and livestock herders who have had to abandon their farms, homes, assets and livelihoods. Support from the EU enabled WFP to provide timely food assistance to vulnerable communities during this year’s lean season – the period between June and August when food stocks are at their lowest while families await the next harvest. The contribution from the EU also allowed WFP to launch the United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) in Burkina Faso. UNHAS provides a crucial flight service to all humanitarian and development actors by facilitating access to hard-to-reach areas.
https://www.wfp.org/news/support-european-union-helps-wfp-avert-hunger-catastrophe-burkina-faso
Looking Back: emergency response in Arauca (ERA) program supports vulnerable groups
17December 2020 – Recent figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees show that there are nearly 5.4 million Venezuelan migrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers in the world. Colombia, being a neighboring country, and sharing more than 2,000km of land border, has received the highest number of people fleeing the political, social, and economic crisis. These include Venezuelan nationals and Colombian returnees, who had themselves once fled to the neighboring country in search of better futures but since returned to their homeland. Migration Colombia figures from September 2020 estimate that there are 1,715,831 Venezuelans in Colombia, with the next highest in Peru (1,043,460), followed by Chile (457,324) and then Ecuador (417,199). The program focused on strengthening food security; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); and psychosocial care using ACDI/VOCA’s social change program DecidoSer. Through the WASH component, the ERA program assisted with repairs to boreholes, distributed filters and handwashing stations, and facilitated workshops on the correct use of these items as well as other hygiene topics.
Pope Francis joins 25 countries to fight against poverty and hunger in first round of pledges to IFAD
11 December 2020, Rome – Despite the economic consequences of COVID-19, a growing number of countries around the world today stepped up their investments in long-term development, signalling a greater awareness of the links between hunger, inequality and instability which often spark humanitarian crises. These announcements were made at the first formal pledging session in support of IFAD’s Twelfth Replenishment - a process whereby Member States commit funds to the organization for its work in 2022-2024. Some of the world’s poorest countries were among the first to announce their commitments. Ahead of the pledging session, Pope Francis also indicated his support to IFAD through an unprecedented contribution from the Holy See. IFAD has called for donors to significantly increase their contributions to deliver an overall programme of work of at least US$11 billion from 2022 to 2024, including through a new private sector financing programme and an expansion of its pioneering climate change adaptation programme (ASAP+). This would help approximately 140 million rural people increase their production and raise their incomes through better market access, contributing to creating jobs and improving food security and nutrition for the world’s most vulnerable people.
https://www.ifad.org/en/web/latest/news-detail/asset/42200258
Costa Rica: Peace brings together parliamentarians from the world in our country
24 December 2020 - Congressmen from Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Honduras and El Salvador are visiting the country to promote the value of tolerance and the culture of peace, fight against discrimination, religious sectarianism and ethnocentrism and to develop the norms of international law and human rights, to strengthen the principles of tolerance and achieve peace. The meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean Group of the International Parliament for Tolerance and Peace takes place in our country from Wednesday the 16th to Friday the 18th.
News related with SDGs number 16-Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Mexico: The Academic of Education participates in the Conference for Peace of the Maguen David Hebrew School
24 December 2020 - A workshop “Peace transcends and summons us” was held for high school students from the Maguen David Hebrew School as part of their Conference for Peace. The workshop was taught by Prof. Susana Memun Zaga, coordinator of the Area of the Degree in Organizational and Educational Pedagogy of our Faculty of Education.
News related with SDGs number 16-Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Ethiopia conducts a reactive yellow fever vaccination campaign to protect communities around an affected district
11 January 2021 - A yellow fever vaccination campaign targeting 700 000 people in Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP) and Oromia regions was conducted in November 2020, achieving 93% of the target. The campaign aimed to stop the spread of an outbreak that was first reported in Enor-Ener Woreda in Gurage Zone of SNNPR by vaccinating eligible age groups in 12 woredas (districts), one of them in Oromia, that were identified as potential epicenters of the outbreak. A first reactive campaign was conducted in 17 kebeles (sub-districts) of Enor-Ener in March 2020 when the outbreak occurred, bringing the outbreak quickly under control.
News related with SDGs number 3-Good Health and Well-Being
Here's to your health: healthy solutions for a complex world
8 January 2021 - Using the latest technologies and advanced analytics to make infrastructure, ecosystems, and communities healthier and more sustainable. As the old saying goes, if you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything. At Tetra Tech, we use our Leading with Science® approach every day to support healthy people, healthy communities, and healthy environments. Using the latest technologies and advanced analytics, our technical specialists are helping to make buildings and infrastructure smarter, ecosystems more functional and resilient, and our complex world a little safer, healthier, and more sustainable.
https://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/709751-heres-your-health-healthy-solutions-complex-world//
News related with SDGs number 3-Good Health and Well-Being
Top priorities for the next decade of Nursing Health Services Research
8 January 2021 - The U.S. health care system faces increasing pressures for reform. The importance of nurses in addressing health care delivery challenges cannot be overstated.
Purpose: To present a Nursing Health Services Research (NHSR) agenda for the 2020s.
Method: A meeting of an interdisciplinary group of 38 health services researchers to discuss five key challenges facing health care delivery (behavioral health, primary care, maternal/neonatal outcomes, the aging population, health care spending) and identify the most pressing and feasible research questions for NHSR in the coming decade.
https://www.rand.org/pubs/external_publications/EP68429.html//
News related with SDGs number 3-Good Health and Well-Being
Egypt: ICRC, Egyptian Red Crescent provide humanitarian assistance to families most affected by COVID-19
24 December 2020 – Cairo (ICRC / ERC) – The Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC), in cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), has distributed food and hygiene parcels to 1,500 families affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 10 governorates across Egypt. The relief assistance aims to alleviate the consequences of the pandemic and the preventive measures that followed. It is meant to support the Egyptian families whose livelihoods were negatively impacted by the preventive measures, or those who have lost family members to the virus. The aid was distributed in the governorates of Giza, Qalyoubia, Menoufia, Beni Suef, Alexandria Marsa Matrouh, Qena, Luxor, Aswan and New Valley. Teams from the ERC and ICRC also held awareness sessions during the distribution missions on how to protect oneself from COVID-19 and to curb the spread of the virus. Both the ERC and the ICRC are part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. They work in close cooperation to provide humanitarian support and undertake efforts to reunite families or re-establish contact between family members after they’ve been separated because of conflict, other situations of violence, natural or man-made disasters, or migration.
News related with SDGs number 3-Good Health and Well-Being
Trekking through the snow to deliver vaccines
Vaccinators tackle winter conditions and challenging contexts during Afghanistan’s last polio campaign of the year.
23 December 2020 – On a wintery November day, vaccinators across Afghanistan wrapped up warm, checked that they had facemasks and hand sanitizer, and headed out into the cold morning. Their mission? To reach 9.9 million children with polio vaccines, before snowfall blocked their way. From valleys to muddy lanes, we look at some of the environments where vaccinators work, as well as some of the key challenges that have made 2020 one of the toughest years for polio eradicators. (…) The incredible contributions of the polio programme to COVID-19 response are testimony to the agility and adaptability of Afghanistan’s programme in the most difficult circumstances. Many hope that lessons learnt from this experience can be applied to achieving the eradication goal. Ending polio requires everyone – including polio personnel, communities, parents, governments and stakeholders – to commit to overcoming challenges. As the weather turns colder and snow continues to fall, many are looking ahead to what 2021 holds for polio eradication in Afghanistan.
http://polioeradication.org/news-post/trekking-through-the-snow-to-deliver-vaccines/
News related with SDGs number 3-Good Health and Well-Being
Indigenous youth as key actors in defending and promoting their communities’ food heritage
23 December 2020 - After three years of mutual learning with indigenous youth and based on the teachings of the case-study undertaken, Slow Food launched a small prize to reward the best project proposals by indigenous youth. This small contribution was aimed to indigenous youth who participated to the training events held withing the IFAD and Slow Food project between 2017 and 2020 and distinguished themselves in being proactive in starting or continuing activities based on the good, clean and fair Slow Food principles.
Youth participants had to submit proposals aimed at creating or strengthening activities for the defence and promotion of their communities’ food heritage. 7 of them (majority being women-led) from Latin America and Africa were selected by a Committee (also composed in its majority by women) and the results were far greater than expected, as always when giving trust to indigenous youth.
https://www.slowfood.com/indigenous-youth-prize//
News related with SDGs number 3-Good Health and Well-Being
Princeton researchers lead study looking at what US needs to reach net zero by 2050
(by Meghan Sapp)
30 December 2020 – In New Jersey, with a massive, nationwide effort the United States could reach net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 using existing technology and at costs aligned with historical spending on energy, according to a study led by Princeton University researchers. The new “Net-Zero America” research outlines five distinct technological pathways for the United States to decarbonize its entire economy. The research is the first study to quantify and map with this degree of specificity, the infrastructure that needs to be built and the investment required to run the country without emitting more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than are removed from it each year. It’s also the first to pinpoint how jobs and health will be affected in each state at a highly granular level, sometimes down to the county (…).
News related with SDGs number 12-Responsible Consumption and Production
Lloyd's market to quit fossil fuel insurance by 2030
(by Veronique Lafon-Vinais – The Guardian)
December 29, 2020 – Last week the Lloyd's of London, the world's oldest and biggest insurance market, under pressure from stakeholders, finally joined the climate change movement and adopted a new policy to "stop insurance cover for coal, oil sands and Arctic energy projects by January 2022 and to pull out of the business altogether by 2030". (...) This means that one year from now energy companies trying to get new projects going in coal, oil sands and the Artic will have to look elsewhere for insurance - knowing that most major global insurers have already stopped providing coverage for such projects. For existing projects, coverage will be phased out progressively. This is extremely significant - boards have to stand up and take notice. There is no going back. Climate Change and energy transition need to be at the top of the agenda.
https://energycentral.com/c/cp/lloyds-market-quit-fossil-fuel-insurance-2030
News related with SDGs number 13-Climate Action
A greener green tea: two friends develop teabags made of leaves
(by Rebecca Coons)
December 28, 2020 – In Assam, India, two entrepreneurs and childhood friends have created natural teabags made from leaves to replace traditional options made from plastic. Upamanyu Borkakoty and Anshuman Bharali founded Wooláh to help commercialize their innovation, which they dubbed Truedips. The bags are comprised of two compressed leaves shaped cylindrically and bound with cotton. (…) In just four years of operation, Truedips is already a favorite among organic tea farmers in Assam, Meghalaya, and Darjeeling. (…) Citing McGill University data, The Better India notes a single tea bag releases over 10 billion microplastic particles, potentially impacting human and environmental health.
News related with SDGs number 12-Responsible Consumption and Production
European Union approves world’s largest Green Stimulus
(by Zachary Shahan)
20 December 2020 – On Friday, EU lawmakers agreed to provide a €672 billion recovery fund boost for the EU economy. How green is it? Fairly green — 37% of the funding has to go to projects that help the climate. Unfortunately, there’s also support in there for “alternative fuels” — which includes biofuels and gas. They are counting such applications as “green.” Furthermore, there is no mention at all of electric cars. They are simply not named at any point in the text. Clearly, electrifying transport is key to achieving climate objectives. (…) Thanks to climate regulations, 2020 has been a big boost stimulating much needed progress from the automakers, turning Europe into the hottest electric vehicle region on the planet, but much work is yet to be done, including — as noted above — in the realm of batteries. This green recovery package could help a great deal in that regard, but not if precious euros are squandered on biofuels and other sideshow gas contortions. (…)
https://cleantechnica.com/2020/12/20/european-union-approves-worlds-largest-green-stimulus/
News related with SDGs number 13-Climate Action
What the next 5 years hold for the Paris Agreement
(by Nat Keohane)
16 December 2020 – Last Saturday, December 12, was the fifth anniversary of the Paris climate agreement, and countries around the world gave it a proper (virtual) fête, filled with announcements on how countries planned to step up their action to curb climate change. Although some of the announcements represented modest steps forward, the overall effect of the event was to capture the growing climate momentum of recent months rather than break new ground. The event also got many observers thinking back to that other Saturday in Paris, five years ago, when the agreement was approved – and, inevitably, weighing what the future will bring for the accord. As we head into 2021 and draw closer to the annual international climate negotiations in Glasgow next November (known as COP26), three issues will increasingly dominate the discussion: the need for greater ambition in setting the next round of targets; a shift from negotiations to implementation, not only at national level but also among key global sectors like aviation and shipping; and the enduring importance of the rules for monitoring and reporting emissions, known as the “enhanced transparency framework.” (…)
https://energycentral.com/c/ec/what-next-5-years-hold-paris-agreement
News related with SDGs number 13-Climate Action
IFAD and GCF scale-up action to improve life for millions of people and restore ecosystems in Africa’s Great Green Wall
11 January 2021, Paris – Millions of poor farmers living in the world’s most climate-impacted parts of the Sahel have cause for hope today because of their governments’ support for accelerating Africa’s Great Green Wall (GGW), an area covering 11 countries from Senegal and Mali in the West to Ethiopia and Djibouti in the East. A new investment programme is planned to support Sahelian governments through a partnership between the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). IFAD and other GCF accredited entities will submit projects for funding consideration by the GCF’s Board, under this new Great Green Wall Umbrella Programme (GGW Up). IFAD will lead the set up of the programme and ensure its coordination with other partners. Project activities will aim to restore ecosystems and tackle the interlinked issues of climate change, job creation, poverty alleviation, food security and peacebuilding. The GGW Up will support land restoration and the sustainable management of natural resources, scaling up existing investments in the GGW by other partners over the last 12 years. Small-scale farmers and agribusinesses will have better access to markets and strengthened value chains, creating economic opportunities and jobs, through the development of climate-resilient infrastructure and expanding the use of solar energy.
https://www.ifad.org/en/web/latest/news-detail/asset/42264232
News related with SDGs number 15-Life on Land
Environment Groups launch activities for Zero Waste Month
8 January 2021 - Manila, Philippines - Philippine environment groups belonging to the About BFFP movement launched their activities at the opening of the celebration of the National Zero Waste Month. The Break Free From Plastic (BFFP) is a global movement working towards a future free from plastic pollution. In a webinar held last January 5 titled “Ang Tira, Gawing Bongga!”, Jove Benosa, Zero Waste Campaigner of Ecowaste Coalition, said that the whole country generates over 40,000 tons of garbage per day not to mention the pile-up of disposable face masks due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “After the holiday festivities, we find our bins filled to the brim again as if we are not yet throwing enough throughout the year. This is what we coined as “holitrash”, meaning trash that we accumulate from the holiday season composed of disposable food containers, plastic and other packaging wastes, and food leftovers,” he bared.
https://www.pressenza.com/2021/01/environment-groups-launch-activities-for-zero-waste-month//
News related with SDGs number 11-Sustainable Cities and Communities
This will be the world’s largest Passive House-certified office building
(by Lucy Wang)
1 January 2021 - Boston’s Financial District will soon welcome the groundbreaking Winthrop Center, a year-round, mixed-use gathering space with a suite of impressive eco-friendly credentials. Designed by Handel Architects in partnership with MIT professors, Winthrop Center will not only target LEED certifications and a WELL certification but is also expected to become the largest Passive House-certified office building in the world. The project takes COVID-19-era concerns into account with its emphasis on healthier indoor environments and will include features such as MERV 15 filtration and airtight workspaces that minimize moisture transfer and entry of contaminants.
https://inhabitat.com/this-will-be-the-worlds-largest-passive-house-certified-office-building//
News related with SDGs number 11-Sustainable Cities and Communities
Key actors unite to support finance action ahead of COP26
Finance coalitions and NGOs announce coordination effort, working with COP26 Presidency
12 December 2020, London - Ahead of the 2020 Climate Ambition Summit and the fifth-year anniversary of the Paris Agreement, key finance coalitions and NGOs focused on mobilizing public and private financial institutions for climate action have agreed to coordinate and to align their efforts with the COP26 Presidency and the Race to Zero to secure high ambition commitments from across the global financial sector. The COP26 Finance Coalition Coordination Mechanism (FCCM) ensures that finance coalitions and NGOs are aligning with COP26 objectives and that the entire global community engaged in mobilizing financial institutions for climate action is better coordinated and all “rowing in the same direction” for COP26. The FCCM consists of cross-organisational teams focused on specific jurisdictions. In addition to the below global and regional coalitions and NGOs, country teams include a range of national organizations working with financial institutions on climate change. Each FCCM country team has developed and is iterating a strategy for finance sector mobilization in their jurisdiction. (…)
https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/press_releases/local_press_releases/?1170866/COP26-FCCM
News related with SDGs number 13-Climate Action
Australia’s largest ever nature regeneration plan launched
9December 2020 – WWF-Australia has kickstarted an ambitious Regenerate Australia plan to double koala numbers on the country’s east coast, as well as save and grow 2 billion trees by 2030, after disastrous bushfires led to losses of billions of animals and trees. Ambitious initiatives are already underway – including two global innovation challenges offering A$3 million to develop bold solutions that help people and nature recover, and testing the distribution of gum tree seeds by drones to regenerate bushland. Bushfire-affected and indigenous communities inputted into the development of the initiative, which aims to raise A$300 million over 5 years. The past year has seen wildfires raging from the Amazon to the Arctic – the result of persistent and drier weather caused by climate change, together with other factors ranging from accidental burning to clearing forests for agricultural land. WWF is working with partners to tackle the crisis in a number of countries, including a Bolivian fire response programme that supports 147 indigenous communities. For more about our global work to restore forests, read a feature about the progress we are making in South America’s Atlantic forest.
https://updates.panda.org/australias-largest-ever-nature-regeneration-plan-launched
News related with SDGs number 15-Life on Land
IRENA strengthens ties to drive renewables in Africa
December 9, 2020 – The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the African Development Bank have agreed to work closely together to advance the continent’s energy transition. The pair will work through joint initiatives that support investments in low-carbon energy projects. Under the Declaration of Intent, the two organisations confirmed their wish to collaborate on supporting the continent’s energy transition under a framework of core activities. These include co-organising renewable energy investment forums as part of IRENA’s contribution to the Climate Investment Platform and collaboration on the Bank’s annual Africa Investment Forum. Furthermore, strong emphasis will be placed on concrete support for enhancing the role of renewable energy in Nationally Determined Contributions and sustainable development objectives. (…)
https://renews.biz/65022/irena-and-afb-to-collaborate-on-africas-energy-transition/
Religion and spirituality
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The Island Within (Orchestral)
8 January 2021 - “The Island Within” is one of Thich Nhat Hanh’s cherished meditation texts – a guided meditation on taking refuge in our own “island within” – a safe place we can always come back to, where we are protected by our practice of mindfulness, aware of our breath and aware of the sensations and feelings in our body. This musical setting of the text was written during the 2020 Rains Retreat, in Plum Village, France. And recorded non-locally, with the generous support of our musician friends from around the world.
https://plumvillage.org/articles/the-island-within-orchestral//
ASIA/PAKISTAN - Christians welcome the new government initiative to protect religious minorities
7 January 2021 - Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - "We appreciate the government's renewed commitment to the protection of religious minorities in Pakistan, especially for the protection of those falsely accused and for the protection of innocent underage girls trapped in forced conversions and marriages. The initiative of the Government Office for Interreligious Harmony will certainly strengthen peace and harmony between people of different religions and help ensure that members of religious minorities do not to live in fear".
News related with SDGs number 10-Reduced Inequalities
Catholics and Lutherans reaffirm commitment to communion
5 January 2021 - The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Lutheran World Federation recently announced the publication of the updated Italian translation of historic ecumenical document called the “Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification”. A post on the Council’s website notes that by launching the updated document on the January 3rd, the day this year when Catholics and Lutherans remember the 500th anniversary of the excommunication of Martin Luther, both the Lutheran World Federation and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity underscore their commitment to walk together on their common journey from conflict to communion.
Chopra Living: 4 Tools to nourish your mind & body for the new year
(by Adam Brady)
30 December 2020 - As you stand on the threshold of the end of one year and beginning of another, you may pause to reflect on what you hope the earth’s next trip around the sun will bring. Perhaps you long for new opportunities, an improved financial situation, better relationships, more stillness and calm, or a deeper spiritual connection. No matter what your desires may be, the New Year can often feel like a launch pad for turning your dreams into action and desires into reality.
UN declares 4 February 'International Day of Human Fraternity'
24 December 2020 - The UN General Assembly adopts a resolution declaring 4 February as the International Day of Human Fraternity. It comes as the result of Christian-Muslim cooperation to promote peace, harmony and intercultural dialogue in the world.
Fratelli tutti, the recent encyclical of Pope Francis on fraternity and social friendship, as well as the “Document on Human Fraternity”, signed by him and the grand imam of Al Azhar last year, have found a strong echo in the halls and corridors of the United Nations.
The UN General Assembly on 21 December adopted a resolution declaring 4 February as the International Day of Human Fraternity. The day is to be observed each year, beginning in 2021.
ASIA/PAKISTAN - Interreligious gathering for Christmas: believers, together, messengers of peace and unity
21 December 2020 - We are messengers of love, unity, peace and harmony and our interreligious gathering for Christmas brought together citizens of Karachi, of all faiths, in order to set a good example of interreligious harmony and spread a message of coexistence. Since we are disciples of Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace, it is our main responsibility to work to live and promote peace in our environment". This is what Fr. Saleh Diego, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Karachi said at the end of the demonstration which saw the gathering of more than a thousand people including Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Bahai, in a meeting that lasted the whole day on Sunday 20 December, at the initiative of the Protestant Christian movement "Rapha Mission International".
Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympic Games: young people put olympic values into action
7 January 2021 - From 9 to 22 January 2020, with 640,000 on-site spectators and thousands more watching from 191 countries worldwide, Lausanne 2020 brought together almost 1,900 young athletes aged between 15 and 18 in a spectacular event to celebrate youth, sport and culture. But, located on the shores of Lake Geneva, amid hills, mountains and vineyards, Switzerland’s fourth-largest city offered more than just an idyllic setting. Lausanne fulfilled Pierre de Coubertin’s ambitious Olympic dream: to empower, encourage and educate young people, regardless of their race, nationality and income. Its ambition? To become an incubator of ideas and innovation and an opportunity to build young people’s skills. In line with the mantra “for youth, by youth and with youth”, organisers involved almost 130,000 young people in preparing and delivering the event.
Education Cannot Wait (ECW) approves US$33.3 million for Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in the Central Sahel
5 January 2021 - Education Cannot Wait (ECW) today announced US$33.3 million in catalytic investment grants in response to the health and humanitarian crisis in the Central Sahel in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger. These investments result in a total of US$103 million of ECW investments approved within the last month for refugee, forcibly displaced, host-community and other vulnerable girls and boys in these countries, as well as crisis-affected children and youth in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The new multi-year resilience programmes in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger bring together humanitarian and development actors to jointly deliver inclusive, quality education to children and youth left furthest behind in the Central Sahel. These joint programmes will run for three years, with the goal of leveraging an additional US$117 million in co-financing from national and global partners, the private sector and philanthropic foundations.
News related with SDGs number 4-Quality Education
10 Stories that inspired readers in 2020
(by Ayu Sutriasa)
28 December 2020 – It’s hard to believe we are coming to the end of 2020. This year has been, well, a shitshow, but we’re here. We made it this far. That alone is enough of an accomplishment, methinks.
On the YES! team, we have worked hard to be your guide through the chaos, bringing you a steady stream of solutions-focused stories to help you make sense of everything, provide tips and information, and even soothe your anxiety (because we know plenty of that was going around this year!)
This roundup of our most-read stories of 2020 is a reflection of what this year has brought up for many of us. These stories ask the hard questions, directly call out root causes, and remind us that we all have a role to play in creating a more just, sustainable, and compassionate world.
https://www.yesmagazine.org/health-happiness/2020/12/28/best-of-yes-2020//
News related with SDGs number 4-Quality Education
WFP and Ministry of Education provide food assistance for families of students attending public schools
17 December 2020, Beirut – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) started this week, in close partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE), distributing the first round of food assistance for vulnerable Lebanese and Syrian refugee schoolchildren and their families across Lebanon. The food parcels replace traditional in-school meals children would otherwise be receiving as part of WFP’s nation-wide programme and as schools remain closed. Due to the deterioration of the economic situation in Lebanon, WFP expanded its school feeding programme for the 2020-2021 academic year to reach 50,000 students in 81 schools – an increase by about 20,000 children compared to the last academic year. Distributions will include all students benefiting from WFP school feeding programme, even if their families were receiving other forms of assistance through WFP. The food parcel covers 40% of the daily food needs of a family of five for one month. It includes rice, pasta, burghul, lentils, beans, sunflower oil, sugar and salt. This distribution was funded by the governments of Italy, Canada and Ireland and aims to help the most vulnerable school children and their families meet their food needs while preserving the linkages between families and schools to minimize dropouts once schools reopen. During this critical period, in addition to providing a shock-responsive safety net through distribution of family food parcels, WFP has rehabilitated six school kitchens to provide fresh meals to 5,000 children attending public schools once schools resume.
Experience a Parliament of Planetary Citizenship in 2021?
17 December 2020 - The working groups made their reports at the final Plenary and the volume of questions and suggestions invited many hours of joint work. The excellent effort of Convivialism Transnational, supported by the Humanists, the Dialogues network and by VOS will be followed up in three events already planned. On December 20 from 2 to 4 pm in Brazil, in the virtual environment created by VOS, the discussions on the Parliament of Planetary Citizenship will continue, with a possible pilot experience of the creation of a Parliament within the Multiconvergence (objectives and legitimacy of such a Parliament, its methodology of operation, etc.), and of the actions of Multiconvergence so far. In January 2021, during the virtual World Social Forum, a conversation on new ways of doing planetary citizen politics is already planned and in February another Multiconvergence network will animate the next meeting, which will continue the process.
https://www.pressenza.com/2020/12/experience-a-parliament-of-planetary-citizenship-in-2021//
News related with SDGs number 4-Quality Education
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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 (fabio.gatti@goodnewsagency.org). 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.
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* 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.”