Good News Agency
A culture of peace is emerging in all fields of human endeavour
Good News Agency carries positive and constructive news from all over the world relating to voluntary work, the work of the United Nations, non governmental organizations and institutions engaged in improving the quality of life – news that doesn’t “burn out” in the space of a day. It is distributed free of charge through Internet to 10,000 media and editorial journalists in 54 countries and to 3,000 NGOs and 1,500 high schools, colleges and universities.
It is an all-volunteer service of Associazione Culturale dei Triangoli e della Buona Volontà Mondiale, an educational charity associated with the United Nations Department of Public Information. It is a supporter of the Global Movement for the Culture of Peace. In the final report of the Decade for a Culture of Peace project (2001-2010) provided to the UN Secretary-General for presentation to the UN General Assembly, Good News Agency is included among the three NGOs that have been playing an active role in the field of Information through Internet.
Contents
International legislation – Human rights – Economy and development – Solidarity
Peace and security – Health – Energy and Safety – Environment and wildlife
Religion and spirituality – Culture and education
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Unesco Chair on Education for Human Rights, Democracy and Peace
International legislation
(top)
Côte d’Ivoire takes big step to end statelessness by acceding to conventions
October 4 – Côte d’Ivoire acceded to the international conventions on statelessness. This is one of the key measures the Ivorian government is taking to reduce the number of stateless people in the country. For decades, proof of Ivoirian citizenship has been a controversial socio-political issue. The government is now working to clarify thousands of cases of individuals of undetermined nationality. It recently approved a reform of the nationality law which will allow stateless people and others born in the country to apply for citizenship if they have resided there for decades. Côte d’Ivoire is the 20th state to accede to one or both UN stateless conventions since 2011, when UNHCR formally began a global campaign to promote these legal instruments.
http://www.unhcr.org/524eb1a76.html
Ban welcomes signing of Arms Trade Treaty by majority of UN members, including US
New York, September 25 – With 19 countries, including the United States, signing onto a new treaty regulating international trade in conventional arms today on the sidelines of the annual General Assembly high-level debate, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the total number of signatories now exceeded half of all United Nations Member States.
“Today, a number of countries signed the Arms Trade Treaty, pushing the total number of signatures to more than half of all Member States,” Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said in a <http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=7130> statement, noting that the Secretary-General, as depository of a treaty he deems important, welcomes every signature. “It is of particular significance that the largest arms exporting country in the world, the United States, is now also among those countries who have committed themselves to a global regulation of the arms trade,” the spokesperson stressed.
Among other provisions, the new treaty – which will enter into force once it receives 50 ratifications – includes a prohibition on the transfer of arms which would be used in the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity and certain war crimes.
The treaty was adopted by a vote in the 193-member General Assembly in April after the final UN Conference dedicated to the issue failed to garner consensus on a text. The signatures received so far today push the number of signatories to 107, with two more expected this afternoon.
The treaty regulates all conventional arms within the categories of battle tanks, armoured combat vehicles, large-calibre artillery systems, combat aircraft, attack helicopters, warships, missiles and missile launchers and small arms and light weapons. – For more details go to UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/news
Saint Kitts and Nevis joins global Cluster Bomb Ban
September 14 – Saint Kitts and Nevis has become the latest country to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions, after depositing its instrument of accession on 13 September – the final day of the week long Fourth Meeting of States Parties to the Convention in Lusaka, Zambia.
This latest accession takes the total number of countries onboard this lifesaving humanitarian treaty to 113 and Saint Kitts and Nevis will become the 84th State Party to the ban when its accession enters into force on 1 March 2014.
Saint Kitts and Nevis participated in the Oslo Process that created the Convention, and has been present at the Fourth Meeting of States Parties hosted by Zambia. At the Lusaka meeting this week the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Zambia, in his capacity as President of the Convention in the coming year, has committed to championing universalization of the Convention to ensure more countries join this life saving ban.
http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/news/?id=4425
Human rights
(top)
Palestinian refugee children return to school in Lebanon, aided by UN and EU
October 4 – With their numbers swelled by the flow of refugees from Syria, tens of thousands of Palestinian children in Lebanon returned to school for the 2013/14 school year today with new learning and other materials provided by the United Nations and the European Union (EU). Some 40,000 students from 69 UNRWA schools across Lebanon, including 7,000 refugees displaced by the civil war raging inSyria, will receive the kits. UNRWA set up in 1949 after the foundation of Israel, provides education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, and microfinance to 5 million registered Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since 2005, the EU had provided 23.9 million Euros ($32.5 million) in support of UNRWA’s education programme.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=46188&Cr=palestin&Cr1=#.UlAP9zNH7IU
‘Ark of Return’: Telling the stories of 15 million slaves in a UN permanent memorial
September 23 – A Manhattan-based architect of Haitian descent was today announced as the winner of an international competition to design a memorial that will be permanently on display at United Nations Headquarters in New York to honour victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade.
Unveiling Rodney Leon’s ‘Ark of Return’, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the memorial “will serve as a reminder of the bravery of those slaves, abolitionists and unsung heroes who managed to rise up against an oppressive system, fight for their freedom and end the practice.”
The piece by Mr. Leon, a designer and architect of the African Burial Ground National Monument in lower Manhattan, features a “symbolic spiritual space and object where one can interact and pass through for acknowledgement, contemplation, meditation, reflection, healing, education and transformation,” according to its creator. Mr. Leon’s work was selected from among 310 design proposals from 83 countries in a competition launched two years ago by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), with support from the UN Department of Public Information’s Remember Slavery Programme, and Member States from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the African Union.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45947&Cr=slavery&Cr1=#.UlA2tdIWUl_
Economy and development
(top)
US$ 51 million IFAD loan to India for empowerment of tribal communities
October 4, Rome – The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will provide a loan of US$51 million to the Republic of India to finance the Jharkhand Tribal Empowerment and Livelihoods Project. The project, with a total cost of US$115 million, will aim to improve the living conditions of tribal communities, especially the ‘particularly vulnerable tribal groups’ (PVTGs), across Jharkhand.
Jharkhand has a population of 33 million and is the 5°poorest state in the country. Close to 51.6% of rural people live below the poverty line. The key poverty drivers are the low productivity of subsistence farming, forest degradation and the lack of non-farm activities and opportunities.
The IFAD-supported project aims to enable 136,000 tribal households, including 10,000 PVTG households in 14 districts of the state. The project will foster community-based institutions to empower village communities, especially women; introduce sustainable natural resource management systems; and enhance food security and income by introducing improved farming practices and proven production technologies.
http://www.ifad.org/media/press/2013/46.htm
From obligation to desire: 2.5 billion aspirational consumers mark shift in sustainable consumption
New York, October 3 – A new global consumer study by BBMG, GlobeScan and SustainAbility confirms the rise of nearly 2.5 billion consumers globally who are uniting style, social status and sustainability values to redefine consumption. According to the report, The 2013 Aspirational Consumer Index, more than one-third of consumers globally (36.4%) identify as Aspirationals, defined by their love of shopping (78%), desire for responsible consumption (92%) and their trust in brands to act in the best interest of society (58%). The study draws from a telephone and in-person survey of 21,492 consumers across 21 international markets conducted in April 2013.
“Driven by young, optimistic consumers in emerging markets and amplified by technology and social media’s influence, Aspirationals represent a powerful shift in sustainable consumption from obligation to desire,” said Raphael Bemporad, co-founder and chief strategy officer at brand innovation consultancy BBMG.
“Aspirationals are materialists who define themselves in part through brands and yet they believe they have a responsibility to purchase products that are good for the environment and society,” said Eric Whan, Sustainability Director at GlobeScan. “By engaging Aspirational consumers, brands can further the shift toward more sustainable consumption and influence behavior change at scale.”
FEED II project awarded in Ethiopia
Largest livestock population in Africa targeted
September 30 – ACD/VOCA’s successful work with Ethiopian smallholder livestock producers will continue thanks to a cooperative agreement worth almost $14 million awarded on Sept. 12 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The FEED II (FEED stands for Feed Enhancement for Ethiopian Development) project will increase livestock and poultry productivity by continuing to develop the animal feed sector.
Raising livestock is a major livelihood activity and source of income in Ethiopia. The country’s livestock population is the largest on the African continent, with an estimated 80 million cattle, sheep, goats and camels, and 32 million poultry. They account for 12-16 percent and 30-35 percent of total and agricultural GDP, respectively. Ninety percent of crop production is dependent on animal draft power. Livestock contribute to the livelihoods of 60-70 percent of Ethiopia’s population. The overall goal of FEED II is to increase the incomes of Ethiopian smallholder livestock producers by improving access to, and use of, consistent, affordable, high-quality animal feed that can support greater livestock and poultry productivity and efficiency.
http://www.acdivoca.org/site/ID/news-FEED-II-Project-Awarded-Ethiopia
Value chain project increases Egyptian farmer yields, income and trust
Public-private partnership strengthens Egypt’s tomato value chain
September 25 – A public-private collaboration of USAID, Heinz International, ACDI/VOCA and 13 Egyptian tomato-processing companies has more than doubled Egypt’s process tomato-growing season, made the country a net exporter of tomato paste and established strong business relationships between the country’s producers and processors.
The Agribusiness Linkages Global Development Alliance (GDA), a USAID-funded public-private partnership designed to strengthen process tomato production and value-added horticulture in Egypt, ended in July, having surpassed nearly all its original program goals, despite a program redesign, the invasion of a new and devastating tomato pest, and ongoing political turmoil.
Implemented by ACDI/VOCA, the project improved the capacity of smallholder producers to provide a large, consistent quantity of process tomatoes (tomatoes grown for processing) to Heinz International and 13 domestic processors who became buyers and signatories to forward contracts with tomato growers.
http://www.acdivoca.org/site/ID/news-Public-Private-Partnership-Strengthens-Egypt-Tomato-Value-Chain
Poverty declines as inequality deepens
By Thalif Deen
United Nations, September 25 (IPS) – As world leaders from 193 countries evaluate the successes and failures of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) during high-level meetings and special events here, the United Nations claims that extreme poverty worldwide has been cut in half.
The number of people living on less than 1.25 dollars a day fell from 47 percent in 1990 to 22 percent in 2010, five years ahead of the targeted 2015 deadline, according to the latest figures released Wednesday by the world body. But much of the reduction in poverty – amounting to about 700 million people leaving the ranks of the indigent – has taken place in countries such as India, China and Brazil, which have huge populations. There are still 1.2 billion people still living in extreme poverty in most of the world’s poorer nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. But poverty alleviation has also resulted in the rise of a new middle class.
On the negative side, this has triggered mass social protests in Brazil, China, India, Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia. And this may be an unintended consequence of poverty eradication. Perhaps more importantly, poverty alleviation even in these countries may hit a dead end soon because of the widespread financial crisis worldwide – as currencies collapse and exports shrink. (…)
Sameer Dossani, advocacy coordinator, Reshaping Global Power at ActionAid, told IPS the United Nations, first and foremost, needs to move beyond the 1.25 dollars-a-day definition of poverty. “The roots of global crisis are the incredible concentrations of wealth and the failure of that money to trickle down,” he said. (…)
http://www.ipsnews.net/2013/09/poverty-declines-as-inequality-deepens/
Norway invests $23.7 million in crop diversity to help farmers face climate change
September 24, Muscat, Oman – The government of Norway has pledged $23.7 million to conserve and sustainably manage the world’s most important food crops, citing the critical need for crop diversity at a time when populations are soaring and climate change is threatening staples like rice and maize. “In just ten years we will have a billion more people at the global dinner table, but during that same time we could see climate change diminish rice production by 10% with a one degree increase in temperature,” said Marie Haga, Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, which will play a key role in distributing the funds.
The Norwegian investment is intended to facilitate greater collaboration internationally in the collection, conservation and utilization of seeds and plants. It adds to recent contributions from Italy and the European Union to help carry out the Treaty’s mission and another from the United States to help fulfill the Crop Trust’s endowment. The Treaty, which is hosted at FAO, is intended to help ensure farmers and researchers have access to a large diversity of seeds and other plant genetic material to address a variety of risks, including those caused by extreme weather and plant pests and diseases.
http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/197662/icode/
Cargill and CARE renew effort to fight hunger, improve incomes among smallholder farmers
New partnership extends multi-year, multi-country program that has helped more than 100,000 people improve their livelihoods
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, September 24 – Cargill and CARE today announced the renewal of a global partnership that is helping farmers and their families in developing countries increase their productivity and incomes, improve food security in their communities and better educate their children. The new three-year, $7.5-million partnership builds on the success of the Rural Development Initiative, a five-year, $10-million initiative begun in 2008 that has benefited the livelihoods of more than 100,000 people in India, Ghana, Cote d’IVoire, Egypt, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Brazil.
In its first five years, the Rural Development Initiative has helped more than 42,000 children complete primary school, improved the health and nutrition of 30,000 children, trained more than 6,000 teachers and enabled more than 57,000 parents to better nourish and educate their children. In addition, technical assistance and training provided to farmers through the Rural Development Initiative has helped increase incomes for some 27,000 farmers and their families.
The next phase of the collaboration between CARE and Cargill will focus on projects in seven countries: India, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Egypt. The projects will continue the partnership’s focus on reducing chronic hunger, improving nutrition and empowering rural communities to address issues such as child labor and access to education.
Animals and low-tech gear give needy farmers a boost in Central Mozambique
September 17, Maputo – Farm animals and low-tech equipment are to be delivered to smallholder farmers in Manica and Tete Provinces by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). The purchase of the machinery has been made possible by a donation of some US$54,000 from USAID. More than 200 special bicycles, adapted for use in rural areas, will be given to women farmers at a subsidized price so they can more easily reach local markets. With the assistance of Banco Opportunidade, a revolving fund will be established using the money paid for the bicycles to support other initiatives.
The donation has been made in support of WFP’s Purchase for Progress (P4P) programme, which aims to create markets for more than 21,000 farmers in Manica, Tete, Nampula, Zambézia and Sofala provinces. P4P is designed to build the capacity of farmers’ associations and smallholder farmers, enabling them to become more competitive and more productive.
Solidarity
(top)
South Africa contributes to the fight against hunger in the Democratic Republic of Congo
October 2, Kinshasa – The Republic of South Africa has announced a contribution of US$ 290,000 to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to assist displaced people facing food insecurity in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).These funds will enable WFP to provide food assistance to 12,000 displaced families, or 60,000 people, for one month. Some 2.6 million people are currently displaced in DRC, mostly in the east of the country.
South Africa supports several humanitarian projects in DRC, notably those undertaken in partnership with the Ministry of Health for the acquisition of diagnostic equipment for tuberculosis and the upgrading of key units of the country’s leading hospitals.
WFP plans to give some US$ 458 million worth of food assistance to 4.2 million vulnerable people in DRC between June 2013 and December 2015. WFP is currently facing a six-month shortfall of US$ 57 million for its operations in DRC.
Mali: aid for half a million people in north of country
October 2 – With violence growing in intensity in the north, the ICRC and the Mali Red Cross are carrying out a vast programme of food aid for half a million displaced people and residents in the Kidal, Gao,Timbuktu and Mopti areas.
“The humanitarian consequences of the armed violence in the north of the country, combined with difficult weather conditions, are hitting civilians hard,” said Christophe Luedi, head of the ICRC delegation in Mali. To help people meet their most urgent food needs and also regain some measure of self-reliance, the ICRC, working in cooperation with the Mali Red Cross and with the support of community leaders, continues to bring aid to the people hardest hit in the Mopti, Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal areas.
These activities are being carried out in coordination with the other humanitarian organizations in the area, and with the technical support of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries.
http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/update/2013/10-02-mali-update-distributions.htm
Telecom for Charity announces new design, website, video and commitment to effective socially responsible business
Telecom for Charity is poised to grow, announcing a new website and feature video out this week
New York, October 2 – Telecom for Charity (T4C) is an initiative that helps clients save on business telecommunications solutions while helping support nonprofit organizations: T4C donates 5% of clients’ monthly telecom expenditures to any charity of the client’s choosing. T4C seeks to increase charitable giving by introducing its unique embedded philanthropy model into the telecommunications procurement vertical.
The new website and video will help T4C share its message with potential clients and not-for-profit partners. The video, to be released this week on the Telecom for Charity website (www.telecomforcharity.org), is an animated short produced by Ecodeo Group, a digital media firm focused on environmental sustainability.
Save the Children and IKEA Foundation collaborate on 24-hour emergency response initiative
Westport, Conn., USA, September 27 – In conjunction with this month’s UN Global Compact Leaders Summit, Save the Children and the IKEA Foundation have announced that they have signed a $1.75 million (1.3 million euros) global humanitarian partnership agreement for 24-hour emergency response, focusing on the most vulnerable children affected by a humanitarian crisis.
Through this innovative program, the IKEA Foundation ensures a speedy 24-hour approval of humanitarian response funding to Save the Children at the very onset of an emergency. This enables rapid deployment of humanitarian experts to the field, whereby Save the Children can enhance and strengthen its capacity to respond when disaster strikes.
At the onset of an emergency, the IKEA Foundation guarantees a decision 24 hours after receiving a funding application from Save the Children, whereby Save the Children can immediately allocate the funds to the response.
Brazil donates rice to WFP Refugee Operation in Ethiopia
September 24, Addis Abeba – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today received 1,513 metric tons of rice, valued at US$718,000, from the Government of Brazil to assist refugees living in various camps in Ethiopia.
“WFP is grateful for Brazil’s noteworthy contribution and keen interest in helping refugees who are unable to support themselves,” said Abdou Dieng, WFP Representative and Country Director in Ethiopia. “We also appreciate the support given by the Norwegian and Swiss governments for the transportation and delivery of the food to refugees”
Brazil has significantly increased its contributions to WFP in recent years, from US$1 million in 2007 to nearly US$83 million in 2012. Brazil has so far provided more than 23,000 metric tons of food, valued at $11.4 million to WFP’s operations in Ethiopia.
WFP Ethiopia is assisting 370,000 refugees who fled from Somalia, South Sudan and Eritrea. The organization aims to meet the basic nutritional needs of these families until conditions are ripe for them to return to their countries of origin.
http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/brazil-donates-rice-wfp-refugee-operation-ethiopia
USA – Save the Children partners with Red Cross after flood
Organizations work together to meet the emotional needs of children recovering from disaster
Denver, Colo, USA, September 22 – The American Red Cross and national partner Save the Children have teamed up to help ease the trauma and impact of the recent floods on local children. In the initial days following the Colorado floods, the Red Cross worked with Save the Children to provide the “Child-Friendly Spaces” program in evacuation shelters to make the shelters more welcoming for child evacuees and families.
The program includes pre-packaged kits that contain equipment to mark off a special area for children, activity supplies (such as art materials, books, games and toys), and other materials to help ensure children’s safety and protection in shelters. These safe play areas allow children to play, socialize, and begin to recover from emotional distress and offer hundreds of children the chance to be kids again. The kid-friendly activities create a safe and supportive place for children to play with their peers and caring adults in the midst of the turmoil that surrounds them.
http://www.savethechildren.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=8rKLIXMGIpI4E&b=8486803&ct=13317371
Japan helps support hunger relief in Zimbabwe
September 12, Harare – The Government of Japan has announced a contribution to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) of more than US$4.2 million to boost food and nutrition security among some of the poorest families in Zimbabwe.
Japan’s support comes at a time of looming food crisis in the southern African country. Some 2.2 million people will need food assistance between January and March 2014, according to a recent study undertaken by the Government of Zimbabwe in partnership with the United Nations and other organizations. The Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC) Rural Livelihoods Report estimates that one in four of the rural population could face hunger during the coming lean season. WFP and partners are preparing to assist some 1.8 million vulnerable people through food distributions and cash transfers beginning in October.
Japan’s contribution will help fund various WFP initiatives including programmes to assist vulnerable rural households until the next harvest and malnourished HIV/TB patients, women and children.
http://www.wfp.org/news/news-release/japan-helps-support-hunger-relief-zimbabwe
Peace and security
(top)
Keeping fleeing Syrians safe from mines and UXO
October 2 – Around 59,000 Syrians have fled to northern Iraq over the past month in one of the biggest waves of refugees since the conflict began. As thousands flock into areas potentially riddled with landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO), MAG is helping to keep men, woman and children safe. The recent exodus has pushed the number of Syrian refugees in Iraq close to 200,000, creating desperate conditions. Following decades of conflict, northern Iraq is an area scattered with mines and other explosive weapons. Around 13 camps and centres are currently under construction in Iraq’s Kurdistanregion, many on the sites of former military bases and fortresses where potentially deadly items litter the ground.
So far, MAG has cleared land equivalent to almost 300 Wembley-sized football pitches to help provide shelter, water and basic amenities to Syrian refugees. By clearing more land so that camps can be built and expanded, MAG’s work is helping to ease the immense pressure on overcrowded facilities. Plans to extend the camp are under way. But with the whole area located on the plot of an old, sprawling military camp, the surrounding countryside also poses a threat.
As well as clearing land, MAG is helping to educate families in the camp about the risks.
UN Convenes High-Level Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament
The overwhelming majority of countries condemned the continued existence of nuclear weapons and called for their banning and elimination at the first ever UN high-level meeting on nuclear disarmament on 26 September 2013. While some of the nuclear-armed states spoke disparagingly about the meeting’s importance, the rest of the international community demanded immediate action to remove the scourge of these weapons of terror once and for all.
The majority of participating states clearly voiced their frustration with the perpetual lack of progress and expressed their sense of urgency at achieving concrete goals. “Our collective efforts to move away from the nuclear abyss have remained too modest in ambition and brought only limited success,” warned the President of Austria. “Nuclear weapons should be stigmatized, banned and eliminated before they abolish us.”
In an attempt to counter this rising wave of states free of nuclear weapons asserting their agency over the nuclear disarmament question, the nuclear-armed states complained about “distractions” from “existing processes.” The nuclear-armed states, and some of their allies that still believe they “benefit” from nuclear weapons, argued that the step-by-step approach to disarmament is the “only” way forward.
Ray Acheson and Beatrice Fihn, “High-Level Meeting Issues Resounding Call for Banning and Eliminating Nuclear Weapons,” Reaching Critical Will, September 26, 2013
Source: Sunflower, October, http://www.wagingpeace.org/sunflower.php?issue=195
UNMAS Director inaugurates new Mine Action Projects in South Sudan
September 23 – This week, the Director of UNMAS, Ms. Agnes Marcaillou, visited South Sudan to meet with senior officials, tour recently launched mine action initiatives and inaugurate an armory newly refurbished. During the three-day visit, Ms. Marcaillou visited the Rajaf Police Training Center, where an UNMAS-led team of Irish military trainers, with the support of UN Police, is teaching South Sudan National Police Service (SSNPS) officers to safely dispose of conventional munitions. The course, a first of its kind, will be taught to an additional six batches of students over the next 12 months.
Graduates of the intensive eight-week course will be able to respond to unexploded ordnance threats, forming a sustainable and readily deployable mine action capacity within the SSNPS.
http://www.mineaction.org/news/unmas-director-south-sudan
The German Federal Foreign Office supports landmine victims in Myanmar through donation to DanChurchAid
September 18 – Through the donation of EUR 150,000 the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO) supports DanChurchAid (DCA) victim assistance efforts in Myanmar. Victim Assistance efforts enable victims of armed conflict and violence to be reintegrated into society. In Myanmar, DCA offers direct support to victims – e.g. prosthetic legs – and encourage duty bearers to support and assist victims. The donation from GFFO will contribute to this work by ensuring the continued operation of DCA’s mobile prosthetic limb clinic, which assists victims of landmines who have little to no access to similar services offered elsewhere in the country.
Health
(top)
Italian Red Cross provides psychosocial support after boat tragedy in Lampedusa
October 4 – On Wednesday morning, a boat carrying 500 migrants sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa. More than 110 are confirmed dead, but hundreds more people are missing from the boat. The Italian Red Cross has been providing assistance and psychosocial support to the 155 survivors and those affected. Alessandra Diodati, a worker for the Italian Red Cross who is responsible for the social aspects of the Praesidium project on Lampedusa, said psychosocial support was a vital aspect of the society’s operations at times like this.
On the island of Lampedusa, the Praesidium project monitors the arrival of immigrants. “We are always there for landings,” said Diodati. “These days, we have decided to increase our provision of psychosocial support, together with other organizations operating here on Lampedusa. From now on, a psychologist will be available at the reception centre, both for the survivors as well as any of those working here who need psychosocial support following the tragedy.
“People experience a variety of states, from disbelief to feelings of guilt for having made it while not being able to help others,” Diodati said. Managing these feelings becomes all the more difficult when you arrive in a country where people speak a different language. The Italian Red Cross will provide an Eritrean interpreter to help overcome the language barrier.
Syria: MSF provides emergency care to families fleeing to Iraq
October 2 – Every day, thousands of people continue to flee the violence in Syria. Since the conflict began, over two million Syrians have sought refuge in neighbouring countries. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been working in northern Iraq to respond to this situation since May 2012. Some 60,000 refugees from Syria have crossed the border into the Kurdish region of Iraq since it reopened on 15 August after being closed for three months. On the day it reopened, 7,000 people crossed the border; in the month since then, some 800 Syrians were crossing each day.
Since mid September, the border has again been closed for two weeks before opening again. MSF is preparing its teams at the border and in the surrounding camps to respond to any large influx of people.
Most of the Syrian refugees arrive at the border on foot after a long journey through a desert valley in intense heat, having left everything behind: family members, homes and belongings. Teams from MSF have set up health posts on both sides of the border, providing medical consultations and distributing water to refugees waiting to be transferred to a number of transit camps which are currently being set up in Dohuk, Erbil and Sulaymaniya governorates.
http://www.msf.org/article/syria-msf-provides-emergency-care-families-fleeing-iraq
Senegal provides free access to health services for 2.5 million under-five children
On 1 October 2013, Senegal launched its initiative providing free of charge access to health services to children under five. As many as 2.5 million Senegalese children will benefit from this measure that aims at accelerating reduction in child mortality by 2015, particularly for the poorest. During the first phase, started October 1st, parents of children aged zero to five will no longer pay for consultations, vaccination and hospitalization at health centers and hospitals. A significant service package will be offered free of charge, including treatment of malaria, pneumonia, diarrheal diseases (with ORS and zinc), severe acute malnutrition and pediatric HIV, in addition to vaccination services.
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_70562.html
Oversight Board reaffirms unflagging commitment
Statement by heads of agencies of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative
On 26 September, the Polio Oversight Board (POB) – made up of the heads of Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) partners WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and senior leadership of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation— met for the first time with donors such as Norway, the US, Canada, Japan and the Islamic Development Bank, and other key stakeholders such as the Nigerian and Pakistani governments and the GAVI Alliance, to review progress against the GPEI’s Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013-2018, launched earlier this year.
The POB’s mandate is to provide strong, active leadership of the global polio eradication program and to maintain the highest levels of accountability and transparency among the GPEI’s core agencies.
Last September, during the UN General Assembly, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon joined heads of state from Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan, as well as donor government officials and donors from the public and private sectors, to commit the political leadership needed to stamp out polio forever. Earlier this year, the World Health Assembly unanimously approved a six-year Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan to achieve a polio-free world by 2018. World leaders had previously met in Abu Dhabi to pledge US$4 billion in support of the plan, more than three-quarters of its projected cost.
http://www.polioeradication.org/MediaRoom/Newsstories.aspx
Indian philanthropist boosts Rotary’s push to end polio with new US$ 1 million gift
September 19 – Indian philanthropist and businesswoman Rajashree Birla has announced a new gift of US$1 million to Rotary to help eradicate polio. The gift brings her total contributions to the Rotary effort to more than $7.2 million.
What’s more, this gift will be matched two-for-one by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, resulting in $3 million in new funding for the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). Rotary is a leading partner in the GPEI, especially in advocating government and donor support, fundraising, and building public awareness. Through the End Polio Now: Make History Today fundraising campaign, the Gates Foundation is matching two-for-one every new dollar Rotary commits to polio eradication, up to $35 million per year, from 2013 through 2018.
Birla’s gift underscores India’s commitment to remain polio free. India — which some experts believed would be the last nation to beat polio — hasn’t recorded a case of the disease since January 2011.
Atfaluna is unique center of support for deaf, Gaza
September 9 – ANERA began its long partnership with Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children in Gaza in 1993 through scholarship and training programs, which provided a whole range of vital services for deaf children and adults – from classroom to office.
Twenty years later, the ANERA-Atfaluna partnership is thriving.
ANERA recently constructed an additional floor for Atfaluna’s building and added a science lab. The audiology and speech therapy clinics were renovated and expanded. Two additional rooms for audiology tests and speech therapy were added to the audiology center, which now meets international standards.
http://www.anera.org/stories/atfaluna-is-unique-center-of-support-for-deaf-in-gaza/
Malawi: Boosting infants’ health through improved complementary feeding practices and recipes from locally available foods
In Malawi, official statistics for malnutrition are alarmingly high with most statistics showing very little improvement over the last 30 years. FAO, with funding from the Government of Flanders through the Flanders International Cooperation Agency (FICA), is collaborating with the government of Malawi in a project entitled Improving Food Security and Nutrition Policies and Programme Outreach (IFSN). One component encapsulates a comprehensive nutritional education programme targeting families with infants between 6-24 months to prevent malnutrition. The nutritional education programme has a specific component focusing on the development of improved complementary feeding practices and recipes using locally available foods.
The project aims to reach out to 15,000 food insecure households and provide educational and training support to 31,500 households and 10,500 school children in all impact areas by the end of its life span.
http://www.fao.org/in-action/malawi-boosting-infants-health/en/
Energy and safety
(top)
1st U.S. Impact & Sustainable Trade Mission attracts over 100 European Limited Partners
London, October 4 – Watershed Capital Group along with the United States Department of Commerce concluded the first U.S./European Impact & Sustainable Private Equity Certified Trade Mission. Over 100 European Limited Partners met with the first-of-its-kind trade delegation of 10 US-based fund managers operating in the impact and sustainable sectors including clean energy, green consumer products, base of the pyramid, organic farmland, sustainable timber, and gender and financial inclusion investment strategies.
Based on the success of this trade mission, Watershed Capital Group is planning future trade missions. The U.S. delegation traveled to Zurich, Amsterdam, and London. The U.S. Administration, the U.S. Department of Commerce International Trade Administration, and the G8 each have established initiatives around Impact Investing and recognize Impact Investing as an emerging investment strategy that seeks to generate positive environmental and social benefits along with financial return.
Industry drives new eco-rating scheme for mobile devices
Geneva, 27 September – Experts attending last week’s ITU Green Standards Week have called for a new, globally aligned eco-rating scheme for mobile devices. The proposed eco-rating scheme would extend across networks, manufacturers and national boundaries and empower consumers to make informed purchasing decisions based on a standardized assessment of a mobile phone’s environmental impact. Organizations working with ITU’s Standardization Sector on the new scheme include device makers Alcatel-Lucent, Apple, BlackBerry, Fujitsu, Huawei, Motorola, Nokia and Samsung, operators AT&T, Orange, KPN, Telefónica and Vodafone, and industry partners including the GSMA.
For industry, the new scheme will mark a simplification of the process of gathering and processing eco-efficiency information. For consumers, it will provide an easy-to-understand, credible rating that allows them to choose mobile devices with a lower environmental impact.
http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/2013/40.aspx#.UlJ2BVxH5Ms
USA – “Fukushima…Diablo, Now What?” – October 24, Santa Barbara University Club
The UNA,Santa Barbara and Tri-Counties Chapter, is inviting non-profits, media, and concerned businesses to collaborate in developing strategies for understanding and responding appropriately to the unfolding catastrophe at Fukushima. Town meeting 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
100 invited guests from the media, non-profit organizations, business leaders, civic organizers and international scholars will collaborate and explore the ongoing crisis of Fukushima which has already had international dimensions. Piloting Through Chaos author, Julian Gresser will present the methodologies for anticipating catastrophe and dealing with risk and contingency, for these challenges of our times. Attorney, Douglas Gillies will facilitate the discussion.
Environment and wildlife
(top)
Cod, coral and seabirds protected from the threat of oil
Norway, October – The new government of Norway has committed to protecting valuable areas of the ocean from being impacted by petroleum activities, putting the value of nature in front of the need for oil. “This is not just a victory for all of us who have spent countless hours and years fighting for it. It is first and foremost a great victory for nature, including cod, seabirds, the world’s largest coldwater coral reef, and for renewable jobs and the transition to a 100% renewable society,” said Nina Jensen, CEO of WWF-Norway.
During 2013 WWF-Norway ran a campaign to keep the coasts of Lofoten, Vesterålen and Senja free from oil and gas exploration. Oil and gas activity in this area would threaten the world’s largest cod stock, the world’s largest cold water coral reef and mainland Europe’s biggest seabird colony. Uncertainty grew during the Norwegian election campaign on whether a new government would open up areas of Lofoten, temporary protected since 2001, for oil drilling as a reaction to pressure from the industry. But minority parties fought hard to ensure a permanent ban was in place to prevent any oil drilling and ensure these areas remain oil-free.
http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?211092/Cod-coral-and-sea-birds-protected-from-the-threat-of-oil
Building islands in seas for the sea’s oxygen
Idea Dream – Robert Muller’s Ideas ~ Idea 3215
3 October (Good Morning World) – Someday humans will build islands in the middle of the seas and oceans for people to settle there and survive on the oxygen produced by the seas and oceans (three quarters of all oxygen of this planet). Builders are bound to rush into the empty spaces of the seas and oceans. I am surprised that they have not yet done so.
http://robertmuller.org/ideas/
U.S. Forest Service to revaluate Big Thorne timber sale due to effects on wolves and deer
October 1, Juneau, AK – The U.S. Forest Service has announced that it will require a more critical review on the “Big Thorne” timber project before the agency can move forward. Big Thorne is the largest timber sale in the Tongass National Forest since the pulp mill days. The decision on the appeal requires the Forest Service to reexamine the impacts of such large-scale logging on Prince of Wales Island on the deer and Alexander Archipelago wolf populations. Southeast Alaskans hailed the decision while calling on the Forest Service to drop the project permanently and refocus priorities away from large-scale old-growth logging.
Major reductions of greenhouse gas emissions from livestock within reach – UN agency
September 26 – Wider use of available best practices and technologies could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock sector by as much as 30 per cent, according to a new study released today by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The report, “Tackling climate change through livestock: A global assessment of emissions and mitigation opportunities,” represents the most comprehensive estimate to date of livestock’s contribution to global warming, as well as the sector’s potential to help tackle the problem. According to the agency, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with livestock supply chains add up to 7.1 gigatonnes (GT) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-eq) per year – or 14.5 per cent of all human-caused GHG releases. The main sources of emissions are: feed production and processing (45 per cent of the total), outputs of GHG during digestion by cows (39 per cent), and manure decomposition (10 per cent). The remainder is attributable to the processing and transportation of animal products, the agency stated in a news release.
ECOWAS ministers adopt Forest Convergence Plan for West Africa
Ministers in-charge of forests and wildlife from member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have adopted the Convergence Plan for the Sustainable Management and Utilization of Forest Ecosystems in West Africa and the Sub Regional Action Programme for Combating Desertification in West Africa at a meeting held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire on 12 September. According to FAO’s statistical data, forests in West Africa are receding at an alarming rate of 19% over the last ten years, a loss of about 870,000 hectares per year between 2000 and 2010. The main factors causing deforestation in the sub-region are not limited to uncontrolled logging, bushfires, extensive farming, land use conflict but also political, legal, institutional, technical and economic challenges.
Sub-regional institutions in the forestry and wildlife sectors, with the support of international intergovernmental and non-governmental institutions and organizations, initiated the West Africa Forest Dialogue process leading to the development of the Convergence Plan. The process was an answer to the need in the sub-region regarding the poor cooperation between West African countries in the area of forest and wildlife management. FAO provided technical support to the process through a Technical Cooperation Project which was implemented in collaboration with the ECOWAS.
http://www.fao.org/highlights/from-the-field/detail/en/c/196908/
Religion and spirituality
(top)
Nuclear abolition guide for religious communities
The Basel Peace Office has developed a resource guide for Religions for Peace, a global coalition of representatives of the world’s major religions. The guide outlines the nuclear threat and describes the important contributions that religious communities can make to the movement to abolish nuclear weapons.To download a copy of the full guide, click here.
http://www.wagingpeace.org/sunflower.php?issue=195
Saluting Swami Vivekananda – Chicago celebrates birth of interfaith – November 16
The Council for a Parliament of the World’s Religions is thrilled to welcome Chicago-area Vivekananda Vedanta Society’s Swami Varadananda, one of three co-founding trustees of CPWR, to our Living Out The Vision anniversary program and benefit dinner on November 16 in Chicago. Varadananda will honor Vivekananda, the Hindu saint and historical luminary whose conviction about harmony among the world’s religions was first heard by the west at 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions.
Initially inspired by Vivekananda, the formation of the modern CPWR is credited to the dream of three monks of Vivekananda’s order, the Vedanta society. Their decision to expand the 100-year commemoration of Swami Vivekananda’s 1893 speech Hindu celebration to an interfaith Parliament mobilized several Chicago religious communities which would become the CPWR’s Chicago champions.
http://www.parliamentofreligions.org/
Culture and education
(top)
OPCW “great choice” for Nobel Peace Prize
Stockholm, 11 October – The Norwegian Nobel Committee just announced that the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) receives this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. The news comes two weeks after Paul Walker, an expert for chemical weapons and their global elimination was named a recipient of the 2013 Right Livelihood Award “for working tirelessly to rid the world of chemical weapons”.
Walker has been cooperating closely with the OPCW since its inception. He has engaged government leaders, NGOs, think tanks and citizens’ groups around the world to work towards full implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and for a world free from the dangers of chemical weapons. Walker also led the effort to establish the CWC Coalition, an international NGO network to support the Chemical Weapons Convention and the OPCW.
Contact: Right Livelihood Award Foundation, Birgit Jaeckel, birgit@rightlivelihood.org
http://www.rightlivelihood.org/news.html
Palestinian refugee children return to school in Lebanon, aided by UN
October 4 – With their numbers swelled by the flow of refugees from Syria, tens of thousands of Palestinian children in Lebanon returned to school for the 2013/14 school year today with new learning and other materials provided by the United Nations and the European Union (EU).
Some 40,000 students from 69 UNRWA schools across Lebanon, including 7,000 refugees displaced by the civil war raging in Syria, will receive the kits. UNRWA set up in 1949 after the foundation of Israel, provides education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, and microfinance to 5 million registered Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Since 2005, the EU had provided 23.9 million Euros ($32.5 million) in support of UNRWA’s education programme. As one of the largest UNRWA partners in education and health for children, UNICEF has provided $1.03 million since 2011 for learning support activities, including the back-to-school kits. Education, protection and health assistance has totalled nearly $1.2 million in 2013 alone.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=46188&Cr=palestin&Cr1=#.UlJpeVxH5Ms
2013 Right Livelihood Laureates secure fundamentals of human life
The Awards will be presented at a ceremony in the Swedish Parliament on December 2
Stockholm 26 September – The 2013 Right Livelihood Awards go to four recipients. The Laureates will equally share the cash award of SEK 2 million (ca. EUR 230,000). The Jury awards:
– Paul Walker (USA) “for working tirelessly to rid the world of chemical weapons”.
– Raji Sourani (Palestine) “for his unwavering dedication to the rule of law and human rights under exceptionally difficult circumstances”.
– Denis Mukwege (Democratic Republic of Congo) “for his courageous work healing women survivors of war-time sexual violence and speaking up about its root causes”.
– Hans R. Herren/Biovision Foundation (Switzerland) “for his expertise and pioneering work in promoting a safe, secure and sustainable global food supply”.
The 2013 Right Livelihood Awards were announced today at a press conference in Stockholm by Ole von Uexkull, Executive Director, Dr. Juliane Kronen (Germany) and Marianne Andersson (Sweden), board members of the Right Livelihood Award Foundation.
The Awards will be presented at a ceremony in the Swedish Parliament on December 2, 2013, at 4 pm, hosted by the Society for the Right Livelihood Award in the Swedish Parliament.
* * * * * * *
(top)
When Good News Agency has a tangible evidence that civil society, NGOs, enlightened institutions are making the difference, than we have An Outstanding Story to share with our readers. This fine piece of writing by Professor Emer. Dimitra Papadopoulou substantiates her vision for a culture of peace.
ARISTOTLE UNIVERSITY OF THESSALONIKI
UNESCO CHAIR ON EDUCATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, DEMOCRACY AND PEACE
UNESCO/UNITWIN Award 2002
by Professor Emer. Dimitra Papadopoulou,
UNESCO Chairholder – September 2013
The UNESCO Chair on Education for Human Rights, Democracy and Peace of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (henceforth A.U.Th.) was established in the beginning of 1997, by a bilateral Agreement between UNESCO and A.U.Th. The “Chair” is attached to the A.U.Th., which is the largest University of Southeast Europe with 11 Faculties, 41 Schools, 2.300 Faculty Members and about 75.000 students.
The purpose of the UNESCO Chair is, according to Article 2 of the Agreement, “to promote an integrated system of research, training, information and documentation activities in the field of human rights, peace and democracy at local, sub-regional and regional level”. The “Chair” aims at promoting the values of a Culture of human rights, peace and non violence within the University, as well as to the other two educational levels (primary and secondary education) in order to increase the awareness and sensitivity of academics, students and public opinion to them.
This “Chair” is the product of the development and institutionalization of two earlier initiatives: a) the Peace and Human Rights Education Programme which was introduced by Professor Dimitra Papadopoulou in the School of Psychology/A.U.Th. in 1986, and expanded in 1993-94 to an interfaculty interdisciplinary programme, and b) the educational activities of the Institute of Education for Peace, a greek NGO, founded by Prof. D. Papadopoulou in 1986.
Main Activities
The UNESCO Chair of the A.U.Th. maintains a profile of academic-educational as well as community-oriented activities. Academic activities entail an undergraduate and a graduate course, whereas community oriented ones involve specific actions ranging from training courses, conferences and seminars to cultural events (art exhibitions, concerts, theatre etc.).
Since 1997, the UNESCO Chair has focused its activities on introducing and promoting in the University, as well as in primary and secondary education curricula, the concepts of human rights and peace, as well as the values of the Culture of Peace. The aim of these activities is to sensitise various target groups or the public at large on issues of human rights, peace, non-violence, democratisation, etc.
1. The academic activities of the UNESCO Chair constitute an essential part of its presence and work at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. In the context of its academic work, the UNESCO Chair runs two Academic Programmes on Education for Human Rights, Democracy and Peace:
At the undergraduate level, the UNESCO Chair organizes and runs an interfaculty interdisciplinary programme on Education for Human Rights, Democracy and Peace entitled: “Contemporary world problems and the scientist’s responsibility: an interdisciplinary approach“, which is offered to students of almost all Schools of the Aristotle University. The Programme is based on invited lecturers from various University Schools who contribute on a voluntary basis. Until now (1994-2013) more than 120 academics have taught in this Programme, coming from about 37 Schools of A.U.Th (Schools of Psychology, Philosophy, Pedagogy, Law, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, Biology etc.) as well as from other Universities of Greece (University of Thessaly, University of Ioannina, University of Aegean, etc.).
The Programme is designed and directed by the UNESCO Chairholder Professor Dimitra Papadopoulou.
Over 5000 students have already taken this course, attending lectures on more than 100 different subjects, such as: · various aspects of global environmental problems, · issues related to natural resourcesand their distribution, · international organizations and their contribution to the solution of international problems, · international efforts for the protection of human rights, · positive and negative uses of nuclear power, · chemical and biological warfare, · AIDS, · drugs, · child neglect and abuse, · illiteracy, · social exclusion, · a culture of peace and non-violence, · homeless children, · racism andxenophobia, · refugees, · the UNESCO programmes towards a culture of human rights and peace, · intercultural dialogue, etc.
At the postgraduate level, the UNESCO Chair participates since 1998 in the European Master Programme on Human Rights and Democratization, which is co-organized by 41 Universities from all Member-States of the European Union. The UNESCO Chair of the Aristotle University is one of the founding Universities of this M.A. Programme and serves as the coordinating University for Greece.
The lectures given in the UNESCO Chair/A.U.TH. focus on the following three thematic areas:
a. Issues of Peace and Human Rights Education. Towards a Culture of Peace
b. Contemporary World Problems and the Scientist’s Responsibility
c. Human Rights, Issues of International Law and International Relations
Within the framework of this M.A. Programme, a wide exchange of graduate students takes place at a pan-European level. Thirty one (31) Μaster Theses have been elaborated so far by the “Chair” foreign M.A students, many of which have won distinctions on a pan-European level.
Some of the Theses’ topics elaborated in the UNESCO Chair are the following:
· “Musical declarations of Human Rights: An investigation into how music can be used as a tool for Human Rights awareness raising”, 2006
· “Diversity and norm evolution: At the crossroads of human rights and democracy“, 2010
· “Non-violent Conflict Resolution Methods and Education as a Contribution Towards a Culture of Peace in Schools Situated in Greece”, 2012
· “Writing the history of violence anew: transitional justice and reconciliation through children’s narrative”, 2013
During the period 1998-2013, the UNESCO Chair/A.U.Th. M.A. Programme has been attended by students from eighteen (18) countries such as Belgium, Denmark, Romania, Ireland, Turkey, China, Rwanda, Guatemala etc.
Forty-one (41) professors from 12 Schools of A.U.Th. and other Greek Universities, as well as representatives of International Organisations (UNESCO, UNICEF), have taught and supervised students’ Theses in this postgraduate course offered every year by the UNESCO Chair/A.U.Th.
2. The “Chair” cooperates also with primary and secondary school teachers of all scientific fields throughout the country, with the aim of promoting and cultivating the values of a Culture of Peace in schools. For this purpose, the “Chair” has created the National Network of Schoolteachers for a Culture of Peace and Non Violence, which enjoys the active participation of a large number of teachers.
3. The UNESCO Chair has also been collaborating with the National Armed Forces. The collaboration consisted in the delivery of lectures and documents concerning issues of Education for Human Rightsand Peace, as well as the Culture of Peace, to Armed Forces personnel, soldiers and the public.
4. Since 1998, in order to disseminate the values of Human Rights and Peace and the Culture of Peace, the UNESCO Chair organizes Conferences (National and International) and Symposia on topics such as:
“50 Years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 – 1998”, May 14-17, 1998.
“Towards a Culture of Human Rights and Peace. The Role of the Universities”, International Interdisciplinary Conference, December 2-4, 1999.
“The Role of Teachers in the Culture of Human Rights and Peace”, National Interdisciplinary Conference, December 14-16, 2001.
“Children’s rights: violations and protection. International Conventions and actions in the field”, Symposium, April 4, 2008
“Immigrants in Greece: Realities and Perspectives”, National Conference, December 18, 2008
“2011–International Year of Volunteers: Inspiration, Action, Social Change”, National Conference, May 4, 2011
5. Recognizing the eminent role of art in the promotion of human rights and peace and the importance of NGOs for the dissemination of these concepts in society, the UNESCO Chair, in co-operation with theInstitute of Education for Peace, has organised, since 1998, a series of cultural events such as concerts, childrens’ painting exhibition, dance festival etc.
The UNESCO Chair links the University of Thessaloniki with International Intergovernmental Organisations (UNESCO, UNICEF etc.), with the Global Network of 772 UNESCO Chairs and 68 UNESCO/UNITWIN Networks (in 840 Universities and Institutions located in 132 countries), with the Network of 41 European Universities which co-organize the Master’s Programme on Human Rights andDemocratization, as well as with many International and Greek NGOs.
The numerous and multidimensional activities of the UNESCO Chair of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki are based on a wide range of co-operations with various institutions, networks, Universitiesand individuals, such as academics, teachers, artists, students and citizens. It is a key principle of the UNESCO Chair to expand its activities in order to reach and sensitize as many Target Groups as possible to global problems and questions.
The activities of the UNESCO Chair have a very strong impact on the students of the A.U.Th. The fact that approximately 5000 students have attended the Chair’s interdisciplinary courses since 1997, illustrates its ability to draw their attention and interest to major global issues.
It is worth noting that the UNESCO Chair’s activities are not limited inside the academic community, but extend to the rest of the society as well. Through its various Conferences, Round Tables, educational interventions etc, the UNESCO Chair manages to attract a variety of audiences and raise public awareness about the above mentioned issues.
All the activities of the UNESCO Chair, as well as its administration, are carried out by volunteers (University professors, teachers of primary and secondary education, students, members of NGOs, etc.) who offer their time and knowledge for free.
In 2002, UNESCO awarded the UNESCO Chair/A.U.Th. the UNESCO/UNITWIN International Award for its educational / academic work because, in the wording of the Awarding Decision, “…the UNESCO Chair at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece, illustrates the great potential of Higher Education to contribute to attaining the constitutional mission of UNESCO: “to construct peace in the minds of men and women”.
Information:
UNESCO Chair on Education for Human Rights, Democracy and Peace
Director: Dr. Dimitra Papadopoulou, Professor Emeritus,
School of Psychology/A.U.Th.
* * * * * * *
(top)
Next issue: 15 November 2013
Good News Agency is published monthly (except August) in English, Italian and Portuguese. Past issues are available at www.goodnewsagency.org . Rome Law-court registration no. 265 dated 20 June 2000.Managing Editor: Sergio Tripi (sergio.tripi@goodnewsagency.org). Editorial research by Fabio Gatti (fabio.gatti@goodnewsagency.org), Chiara Bartoletti, Elisa Minelli, Elisabetta Pacifici, Isabella Strippoli. Webmaster and media and NGO coverage: Simone Frassanito (simone.frassanito@goodnewsagency.org)
Good News Agency is distributed free of charge through Internet to 10,000 media and editorial journalists of the daily newspapers and periodical magazines and of the radio and television stations in 54 countries, to 3,000 NGOs, 1,500 high schools, colleges and universities, as well as over 24,000 Rotarians in the world.
It is an all-volunteer service of Associazione Culturale dei Triangoli e della Buona Volontà Mondiale, a registered, not-for-profit educational charity chartered in Italy in 1979 The Association operates for the development of consciousness and promotes a culture of peace in the ‘global village’ perspective based on unity in diversity and on sharing. It is based in Via Antagora 10, 00124 Rome, Italy. The Association is a member of the World Association of Non Governmental Organizations and of the Union of International Associations.
Special Work, Exhibit + Performance Chances: Giant NYC Art Fair!