In
the final report of the Decade for a Culture of Peace project presented to the UN General
Assembly, Good News Agency is included among the three NGOs that have been
playing a major role in the field of Information via the Internet.*
http://decade-culture-of-peace.org/2010_civil_society_report.pdf
Good News Agency – Year XII, n° 195
Weekly – Year XII, number 195
– 2nd December 2011
Managing Editor: Sergio Tripi, Ph. D.
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 1,600
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. The Association
has been recognized
by UNESCO as “an actor of
the global movement for a culture of peace” and is a member of the World
Association of Non Governmental Organizations.
International
legislation – Human rights – Economy
and development
– Solidarity
Peace and
security – Health – Energy and Safety – Environment and
wildlife
Religion and spirituality – Culture and education
Senior UN official lauds
trilateral pact to halt drug smuggling from
28 November – The head of the
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) today praised
counter-narcotics ministers from
The ministerial declaration
signed today by the three countries strengthens the joint planning cell, which
enhances analytical and operational capacity and coordinates joint operations.
The cell has yielded results in the past, coordinating 12 joint drug control
operations that led to the seizures of several tons of illicit drugs and the
arrests of key drug dealers and traffickers.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40532&Cr=afghan&Cr1=drug
Moroccans voted on Friday to
elect the 395 members of the Assembly of Representatives, or the country’s
lower house of Parliament, in line with constitutional reforms proposed by King
Mohammed VI earlier this year and approved by a public referendum in July. The reform
process was introduced after public demonstrations in
In a statement issued today by
his spokesperson, Mr. Ban welcomed the conduct of the polls and encouraged the
government to be formed in the weeks ahead to implement the reforms outlined by
the King and approved by the public. The statement also called on the incoming
government “to respond concretely to the legitimate aspirations of the people
of
Convention on
cluster munitions take firm hold
Cluster Munition
Monitor 2011 details progress made in implementing the Convention on Cluster
Munitions, the legally-binding treaty which 111 states have now joined,
agreeing to ban this deadly, indiscriminate weapon. Of states that have used
produced, exported, or stockpiled cluster munitions, 38 have now joined the
Convention on Cluster Munitions, thereby committing to never engage in those
activities again.
- Eleven States Parties have
completed destruction of their cluster munition
stockpiles (
- Collectively, States Parties
have destroyed nearly 600,000 cluster munitions containing more than 64.5
million submunitions.
- Two of the world’s biggest stockpilers—
Five countries that have
signed but not yet ratified the treaty have already completed destruction of
their stockpiles (
- Since the treaty entered
into force on 1 August 2010, an additional 28 countries have become States
Parties, including Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Lebanon, which are
all contaminated by cluster munition remnants.
http://www.stopclustermunitions.org/news/?id=3492
World’s
newest country makes banning landmines first international commitment
Author(s): Site Admin
<webmaster2@icbl.org>
Geneva, 11 November - The
Republic of South Sudan, where thousands live in daily fear of landmines, has
become the 158th State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty, just five months after
declaring independence. In depositing its instrument of succession at the
United Nations in
At the end of 2010,
South Sudan’s succession comes
just two weeks ahead of a key global conference on the Mine Ban Treaty: the
11th Meeting of States Parties, which will be held in
http://www.icbl.org/index.php/icbl/Library/News-Articles/South-Sudan-bans-landmines
Hilton
Foundation funds groundbreaking study on outcomes among youth in both foster
care and juvenile justice systems
Los Angeles, CA, USA, November 9 – A
first-ever study of youth in foster care and on probation in Los Angeles County
released today shows that these individuals are faring poorly under the current
system and face severe challenges in education, employment, health, mental
health and earnings potential. Funded by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the
study, “Young Adult Outcomes of Youth Exiting Dependent or Delinquent Care in
"This groundbreaking study shows
that vulnerable youth who have the opportunity to go to college and get a
decent job consume fewer public service resources," said Steven M. Hilton,
President and CEO of the Hilton Foundation. "More importantly, by giving these
youth a chance at a better future, our society also will gain contributing new
members and long-term benefits."
17 November – The United
Nations tribunal trying those most responsible for the 1994 genocide that
engulfed
In its verdict, the UN
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) ruled that Grégoire Ndahimana, the former
mayor of Kivumu commune in Kibuye
prefecture, committed the crime of extermination by “aiding and abetting as
well as by virtue of his command responsibility over communal police in Kivumu.” A count of complicity to genocide was dismissed.
The tribunal, which is based
in the northern Tanzanian town of
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40426&Cr=ictr&Cr1=
Published: 9 November 2011 –
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies (IFRC) –
the world’s largest humanitarian and development network – and its member
national Red Cross societies in the Southern Africa region launched a long-term
and intra-region Ubuntu initiative on the 21st of
October in
The five year Ubuntu programme, which will be implemented by National
Societies in Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe, will
achieve this through adapting their existing areas of work and introducing new
approaches in community-based health; disaster preparedness, risk reduction and
response; and tracing and family links services. In addition, it will
facilitate and promote social inclusion in both migrant and host communities,
especially those on major migration routes.
The Initiative is built on the
core values of African culture which include respect for any human being, collectivity and sharing, humility, solidarity, caring,
hospitality, and interdependence and is also in line with the Red Cross’
principles of non-discrimination to all persons with humanitarian needs,
irrespective of nationality or legal status.
IFAD
to call for enhancing effective partnerships at Busan
aid effectiveness forum
Rome, 28 November – Global
leaders attending the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF-4) on
29 November–1 December in Busan, Korea, will review
and assess progress made in the implementation of the Paris Declaration on aid
effectiveness and determine how global development efforts can be accelerated
over the next couple of years.
In Busan,
IFAD will call for a global partnership for agriculture development between
civil society, governments, donors and private sector. The Fund will show how
aid efficiency can be scaled up by sharing its own proven rural development
solutions. A good example of a project which has been scaled up to make a real
and lasting difference in the lives of millions of people,
is in the highlands of
The basic principles of the
projects’ demand-driven approach have been incorporated by one of
Country ownership is at the
heart of effective aid for agriculture and rural development. It is a process
that allows governments, civil society and the private sector to participate in
all aspects of rural development, including the creation, implementation and
monitoring of national development strategies, programmes
and projects.
Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness
(HLF-4)
The joint FAO/WFP report,
published today, estimates that while harvests are expected to increase by
about 8.5 percent over last year, the country will still have a cereal import
requirement of 739 000 metric tons. With planned Government imports for the
year at 325 000 tons there remains an uncovered cereal deficit of 414 000
tons.
The report concludes that
nearly 3 million people will continue to require food assistance in 2012.
Pulses and fortified blended foods are recommended specifically to address the
problem of protein deficiency, to help recovery from a severe lean season and
to prevent a further spike in malnutrition.
http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/95179/icode/
More
than 132,000 persons helped through ADRA's JENGA II
project in D.R. Congo
November
22,
Through
JENGA II, ADRA is targeting farming households and assisting them to increase
and diversify agricultural productivity, in addition assisting them improve the
commercialization of their crop's yield, and enhance overall community
resiliency to food insecurity shocks. This is being achieved through the
establishment of farmer field schools (FFS) that are training beneficiaries in
various agricultural practices, while familiarizing them with improved
technologies. http://www.adra.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=11582&news_iv_ctrl=1141
Western Union and USAID launch second African Diaspora Marketplace with
small business workshops in seven cities
Tour kicks off second phase of successful initiative designed to create
entrepreneurial solutions to economic and social challenges
Engelwood, Colo. and
Washington, November 22 - The Western Union Company (NYSE:WU) a leader in
global payment services, the Western Union Foundation and the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID) today launched the second African Diaspora
Marketplace (ADM), an initiative which encourages sustainable economic growth
and employment by supporting U.S.-based African diaspora entrepreneurs with
ideas for start-up and established businesses in sub-Saharan Africa.
ADM II is launching with a
small business workshop tour kicking off November
ADRA successfully enhances access to reliable food
sources in
November
22, Silver Spring, Md., USA - The
Adventist Development and Relief Agency's (ADRA) Northern Ghana Food Security
Resilience Project (NGFSRP), which served to improve food security for some
10,000 poor and vulnerable small-scale rural farmer households (about 70, 000
people), has come to completion.
Implemented
by ADRA Ghana, the project was funded by the European Commission (EC) with
ADRA-UK providing 10 percent matching fund. This 20-month project benefitted an estimated 130 communities in the Upper West
and Northern Regions of Ghana, with specific objectives to improve coping
strategies for vulnerable people in the midst of soaring food prices.
ADRA
Ghana provided training to farmers, who then taught organized groups of
farmer's best practices in the field of agriculture. This included on site
selection, land preparation methods, soil fertility improvement and management,
cost-effective fertilizer and manure applications, use of mulch farming
methods, composting, use of high yielding crop varieties, recommended planting
methods, farm maintenance and management practices, pest and disease management,
and use of Low External Input and Sustainable Agriculture (LEISA) methods.
http://www.adra.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=11583&news_iv_ctrl=1141
Global
South-South Development Expo at FAO, 5-9 December
As northern countries tighten
their economic belts, countries from the global south are, increasingly, taking
the financial and technical leads to support innovative, successful solutions
in food production, agricultural technology, nutrition, and other areas. While
much of the world has faced difficulty in achieving the Millennium Development
Goals, several countries of the South have seen major successes in reducing
extreme poverty and hunger and improving access to water, healthcare, education
and other benefits.
From 5-9 December 2011, the UN
Food and Agriculture Organization will host the Global South-South Development
Expo, the first expo dedicated solely to showcasing and sharing successful
examples of Southern-led solutions to global development challenges.
The 2011 edition of the GSSD
Expo – which is organized every year by the UN’s Special Unit for South-South
Cooperation – will put the spotlight on the food insecurity crisis in the
South, where more than 925 million still go hungry every day.
Royalties
from new book earmarked for
By Raymund
Flandez
November 23 – The Occupy Wall
Street movement and other efforts like it are getting a fund-raising boost from
a book that seeks to chronicle and lend credence to the protests.
Yes! magazine,
a nonprofit publication that covers environmental and
political issues, released a new book last week called This Changes Everything:
Occupy Wall Street and the 99% Movement.
The book’s aim is to analyze
the movement, which protests social and economic inequality.
All royalties for the print
edition of the book will be given to Occupy protests throughout the
Yes! magazine, an ad-free
publication founded in 1996, worked with Berrett-Koehler
Publishers to write and publish the book to coincide with the two-month
anniversary of the first Occupy protests at New York’s Zuccotti
Park. Many of the chapters were adapted from the magazine’s coverage of the
Occupy movement, Ms. Korten says.
The magazine plans to give a
total of 500 free copies to more than 80 Occupy sites; it has already handed
out free copies to the lending libraries, information desks, and media tents of
Occupy sites, including those in New York; Oakland, Calif.;
San Francisco; and Washington.
The effort by Yes! comes after
22
November - Following devastating earthquakes in the eastern
provinces of
The
number of houses and schools that were destroyed during the catastrophe has
still to be ascertained, but is expected to be immense. Ten of thousands are
without shelter and have been accommodated in makeshift tents and sheds.
Egitim Sen is engaged in
emergency aid work since the first day after the earthquake. Their branch
offices throughout
http://www.ei-ie.org/en/news/news_details/2012
ADRA
receives major grant from Chinese government in response to Cambodian floods
November 22,
http://www.adra.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=11581&news_iv_ctrl=1141
By Nick Krewen, www.samaritanmag.com
15 November – If you find
yourself in the charitable spirit during the holidays, you can give the gift of
sustainability. From now until the end of the year, Ten Thousand Villages — the
oldest and largest Fair Trade organization in
For example, a $40 gift will
buy four bags of cement that will be used to construct a sand dam in
A member of the World Fair
Trade Organization, a coalition of handicraft and agricultural producers, Ten
Thousand Villages has raised over $5 million in donations since pairing with
the Mennonite Central Committee in 2003. These “commerce with a conscience”
items can be purchased by individuals, groups or corporations, and tax receipts
are available.
Health
centers and boarding school brought back to life in
By Jennifer O'Riordan
(...) The local healthcare centers in the villages of Duoba
and Jonvarsuz held reopening ceremonies on Oct. 26,
after renovations were completed with the help of Counterpart and the U.S.
State Department. Both facilities provide a vital resource to village residents
and to those living in the surrounding area of Javonon
Jamoat. “The centers mean a
lot to the communities, without them, access to healthcare in the area would be
very limited. Counterpart is delighted to be able to help renovate these
facilities,” says Rang Hee Kim, Director of
Humanitarian Assistance at Counterpart. (...) With funding from the State
Department and contributions from the Faizobod
District government, Counterpart’s Community and Humanitarian Assistance
Program (CHAP) organized the repairs and managed the reconstruction projects. The
district government’s contributions of $6,000 made possible the installation of
new roofs on both facilities. Through its commodity distribution program,
Counterpart will also provide furniture and medical equipment to the Jonvarsuz and Duoba healthcare centers. (...)
http://www.counterpart.org/blog/health-centers-and-boarding-school-tajikistan
International
Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people 29 November 2011
By Claudette Habesch, Secretary General of Caritas Jerusalem
Since 1948, we Palestinians
have experienced dispossession and exile. Our diaspora
counts today more than 9 million people all over the world.
Since 1967, we Palestinians
continue to live under occupation. Checkpoints, the separation wall, lack of
access to farmlands and humiliation are part of our daily life. For years, we
plead for justice so that peace can come to the two peoples of the
After decades of fruitless
negotiations and faced with a shrinking homeland, we felt compelled to go to
the United Nations to ask for the full recognition of the State of Palestine. We
hope the nations of the world will respond to our call for the respect and
dignity of the Palestinian people at the General Assembly of the United
Nations.
On this day of Solidarity, we
wish no less than justice and peace. Thanking you for your prayers, your
solidarity, and your courage to stand with the rights of the Palestinian
people.
With
Constituent Assembly extended, Ban calls on
Earlier this month Mr. Ban
welcomed the agreement reached among
Palestinian pupils at UN
schools form group image as dove of peace
25 November – Hundreds of
children from United Nations-run schools in the
The children, who attend
schools run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the
Near East (UNRWA), gathered at the foot of the Mount of Temptation, outside
Meanwhile, UNRWA has entered a
partnership with the Spanish football club Real Madrid under which eight Social
Sport Schools will be established in the Gaza Strip and the
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40520&Cr=&Cr1=
First 12 months of EU-Funded
DCA mine project celebrated in
The first 12 months of a DanChurchAid (DCA) mine action project in
At the 25 October event held
in the Moxico capital of Luena,
DCA presented its results regarding the work in Alto Campo. So far, 710 mines
and 450 explosive remnants of war have been found and destroyed. 350,000 sqm have been cleared by manual clearance and another
150,000 sqm by non-technical survey processes.
Because of the difficult terrain and the spread of items, works is particularly
difficult. So far, 37 people have been hurt in Alto Campo. Of these, 15 have
died. (…)
Ban praises
22 November –
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today congratulated
The border had been the
subject of intense and sometimes violent disputes between the West African neighbours for decades until they agreed to a United
Nations-backed process to settle the matter.
The ICJ resolved the issue
with a ruling in 2002. The verdict was followed by the 2006 Greentree
Agreement – signed under the auspices of former Secretary-General Kofi Annan – under which Nigeria
recognized Cameroonian sovereignty over the Bakassi
Peninsula, one part of the border.The commitment of
Cameroon and Nigeria to peacefully resolve their border dispute should be a
source of inspiration for countries around the world that face similar
challenges.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=40486&Cr=cameroon&Cr1=
18 November – An estimated 25
per cent of Sirte's inhabitants are now back in their homes. Others who had been displaced by the
fierce fighting that ended last month are coming to the city to check on the
state of their houses and belongings. The International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC) and the Libyan Red Crescent have delivered food and other relief
items to over 10,000 people returning to the centre of the devastated city.
On 17 November, the ICRC,
together with Sirte-based Libyan Red Crescent
volunteers, finished the urgent aid delivery in the city centre, which was the
part of the city most extensively damaged. One-month food rations consisting of
rice, beans, pasta, tomato paste, salt, sugar and tea were distributed.
"Baby food is available for families with infants," said Charlotte Bennborn, an ICRC delegate who participated in the
distribution. "And people returning to severely damaged houses receive
blankets, hygiene parcels, jerrycans and plastic
sheeting."
There are also lots of
dangerous unexploded devices in Sirte. The ICRC has
started to clear unexploded ordnance in the city and in Bani
Walid, focusing on the areas that pose the greatest
threat to returning civilians. Together with the Libyan Red Crescent, it is
beefing up its efforts to raise awareness of these dangers among the
population.
http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/news-release/2011/libya-news-2011-11-18.htm
Mass
polio vaccination campaign to prevent outbreaks
November 25 -
Heeding the lessons of the
past, the country launched National Immunization Days (NIDs)
on 14 November at a ceremony hosted by Vice President Abd-Rabbu
Mansour Hadi. More than
40,000 health workers were mobilized, aiming to vaccinate more than four
million children under five years of age over four days. Prior to the
vaccination round, public service message were broadcast on television and
radio, posters and banners were widely distributed, and around 3,330 Imams were
brought on board to inform Yemeni parents of the importance of vaccinating
their children.
While a full analysis of the
round is still being compiled, initial reports tell of "unprecedented
cooperation and support from communities and local authorities in most part of
the country". By the third day of the campaign, more than 3.7 million
children had already been immunized.
http://www.polioeradication.org/tabid/408/iid/177/Default.aspx
By Dan Nixon
Rotary International News, 23
November – With just one case of polio reported in the last 10 months,
On 20 November, a team of
Rotarians from District 3700 (
The following day, the team
took part in a door-to-door mop-up campaign, administering vaccine to children
who otherwise would have missed receiving it. A TV news crew from
http://www.rotary.org/en/MediaAndNews/News/Pages/111122_news_indiapolio.aspx
14 November – Even for the
long-suffering Somali population, the events of the past year have been
challenging. The conflict that began two decades ago continues, and its
consequences are exacerbated by drought, one of the worst on record in the
country.
Thousands of people have been
forced to flee
It is in this context that Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
has, in less than six months, provided intensive medical care to more than
10,000 severely malnourished children who were brought to the facilities. MSF
has projects in:
- Northern
- Eastern
- Across much of south-central
MSF has also enrolled a total
of 54,000 children in outpatient feeding programmes for the severely
malnourished in more than 30 locations in these three countries.
http://www.msf.org/msf/articles/2011/11/somalia-msf-treats-tens-of-thousands-affected-by-crisis.cfm
Making
water pure and simple
Fluoride occurs naturally in
water throughout the world, with several belts of high groundwater
concentrations. One stretches from
Earlier this year, photographer
Allison Kwesell traveled to
Patari and several other villages to document the
children – in whom the irreversible effects of too much fluoride are only
beginning to surface – and their parents and grandparents, hunched over canes,
legs bowed. She also photographed the Indian Rotarians who delivered the
specially designed filters. The US$40,000 global grant project also provided
toilet blocks, safe drinking water, and hygiene training to eight schools
serving about 2,300 students in Uttar Pradesh. The effort addressed two areas
of focus under the Foundation’s Future Vision Plan: disease prevention and
treatment, and water and sanitation. WHO estimates that almost one-tenth of the
global disease burden could be prevented by improving water supply, sanitation,
hygiene, and management of water resources. As the
Indian villages demonstrate, the solution requires a targeted approach,
including assessments of each community’s needs.
http://www.rotary.org/en/MediaAndNews/TheRotarian/Pages/Water1111.aspx
(top)
Global
green economy has become a reality, un official says
New York, November 28 - The
global green economy has become a reality but world governments must do more to
ensure its success, the head of the United Nations agency responsible for
poverty reduction and environmental sustainability declared today.“One
thing is clear: green industry is real. It is already here,” UN Industrial
Development Organization (UNIDO) Director-General Kandeh
K. Yumkella told the opening session of the agency’s
biennial conference in
Citing UNIDO’s
“major role” in driving the UN agenda forward on green energy issues, Dr. Yumkella also pointed to progress made by developing
countries in greening their industries as an example of his agency’s contribution
to next year’s meeting on sustainable development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
(Rio+20).
The General Assembly has also
named 2012 as the International Year of Sustainable Energy for All. http://www.un.org/news/
The
power to persevere: how one city is rebuilding itself through biomass
By Steve Leone, Associate
Editor, RenewableEnergyWorld.com
16 November,
Yes, it is renewable energy.
But it has always been about more than that. It’s about jobs — 400 during the
two years of construction, 40 permanent positions at the plant itself once it
opens and about 200 more year-round to supply the wood needed to generate
power. It’s also about the tax base that will grow because of this deal. Cate Street Capital’s $275 million project will bring to
the region an estimated $40 million in annual wages, fuel procurement and
purchased goods. And over the life of the project, the Burgess Biopower Plant will pay
Second
Meeting of IRENA Council, 13-14 November
During this meeting the
Council deliberated the draft Work Programme and Budget
for 2012, and discussed a draft of the Mid-term Strategy. IRENA’s
Council is served by three Committees: Governance and Legal; Finance; and
Policy and Strategy. Each of these Committees held meetings in the two days
prior to the Council, to form views and recommendations to present to the
Council. The Work Programme and Budget 2012 will be
conveyed to the Second Session of the Assembly, to be held in January 2012. The
Mid-term Strategy will continue to benefit from discussions by Members at the
Assembly in January, where a number of high-level officials representing IRENA’s members are expected to participate.
http://www.irena.org/News/Description.aspx?NType=NWS&PriMenuID=16&catid=84&mnu=cat&News_ID=158
Penguins rescued from
Posted on 24 November - The
first little blue penguins affected by the Rena oil spill were released back
into the wild at
The container ship Rena
grounded on Astrolabe Reef in
An army of volunteers has
cleaned the beaches and rocks and the National Oiled Wildlife Recovery Team
made the decision to release 49 of the little blue penguins in their care this
week.
http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?202517
WWF
welcomes move by
Posted on 24 November – WWF
congratulates Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels group on
its groundbreaking decision to stop serving shark fin at its hotel and resort
properties as of 1 January, 2012. Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels is the parent company of the
Peninsula hotel chain and operates nine
Having campaigned for years to
stop the over-fishing of sharks around the world, WWF fully supports the
company's move. Furthermore, WWF applauds the motivation behind its
announcement, to “inspire other hospitality companies to do the same and that
our industry will play a role in helping to preserve the biodiversity of our
oceans,” according to a company statement.
Since May 2010, WWF-Hong Kong
has been actively promoting an Alternative Shark Free Menu Programme to hotels and
restaurants across the city. The programme was a major step in encouraging
local caterers to provide shark-free banquet options in addition to their usual
menus. The number of participating companies has surged eight-fold in a single
year. Now, nearly 100 hotels and Chinese restaurants are offering their own
unique, shark-free banquet options. This growing support from the catering
sector implies that the market trend is changing and consumers are becoming
more environmentally conscious.
http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?202516/WWF-welcomes-move-by-Peninsula-hotel-chain-away-from-shark-fin
Entergy Charitable Foundation issues $1.25 million in
grants
* $75,000 to the national Arbor Day Foundation to help fund their The Energy-Saving
Trees program, a community tree planting program that helps residents save
energy by planting the right trees in the right places to effectively shade
their homes.
* $25,000 to St. Charles Parish Louisiana
for continued development of Wetland Watchers Park, a park which serves not
only as a recreational outlet, but as a service learning site for wetlands
conservation and restoration.
The
Entergy Charitable Foundation is a private, nonprofit
foundation wholly funded by Entergy Corporation shareholders. The goal of the
foundation is to support initiatives that help create and sustain thriving
communities. ECF has a special focus on low-income initiatives as well as
educational and literacy programs and efforts to protect the environment.
URI’s
“Intolerance Ends With Me” campaign extended
On-line
pledge campaign to promote tolerance will continue through November 16
On September 1, 2011, URI
(United Religions Initiative) invited people around the world to sign a pledge
to take action against intolerance in their communities. With responses still
coming in from more than 50 countries, URI is extending the campaign until
November 16, the International Day for Tolerance.
The campaign was inspired by
both the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on
Partners and sponsors for the
campaign include the Council for a Parliament
of the World’s Religions, North American Interfaith Network, the Pluralism
Project, Interfaith Unity News, 20,000 Dialogues, My Fellow American, Bond zonder Naam (Movement Without a
Name), 2011 Hours Against Hate, Covenant of the Goddess, and World Faith.
http://www.uri.org/files/Static%20Page%20Files/Intolerance%20Campaign%20Extended%20PR.pdf
Webinar:
Ending Poverty: Practical Steps for Those Inspired by Their Faith
Wednesday,
December 14, 2011, 10:00am
This webinar
will address spiritual and practical imperatives that emerge from the
intersections of religion and development. We now approach the culmination of
the Millennium Development Goal challenge set in the year 2000. What are the
successes, flops, and challenges we must face to create greater equity in our
communities and around the world?
Katherine Marshall is a Senior
Fellow at
Partnership
UNRWA with Real Madrid will establish 8 sport schools in Gaza and West Bank
“With about 700 schools across
the
The project is intended to
give Palestinian refugee children the opportunity to practise
sports and learn values such as teamwork and to increase their self-esteem.
http://www.unrwa.org/etemplate.php?id=1158
10th
Youth Assembly @ the United Nations: January 18 - 20, 2012 at UN Headquarters,
NYC
The 10th Youth Assembly at the
United Nations: The YA+10@UN MDG Executive Sessions is free after registration
processing and acceptance. The January event will engage young professionals in
think tanks, networking, and special events focused on success for the MDGs.
The YA empowers
nearly one thousand young people annually to find success for the UN's 8 MDGs throughout the world. Attendees receive free,
practical training on how to start NGOs, administer or manage campaigns, and
identify existing work by governments, the UN, or civil society. It is among
the largest youth networking events on the UN’s annual calendar.
"[The
YA] is an important mechanism of the United Nations.
Not only does it give young people a chance to be included … it also brings new
perspectives to the General Assembly, thereby enriching its work." – U.N. Secretary
General Ban Ki-Moon
If you register for the
YA+10@UN prior to 15 December, you will receive one of the very limited
invitations to attend the TEDx event at the UN. TED
(Technology Entertainment and Design) is a global set of conferences formed to
disseminate "ideas worth spreading."
USAID awards EDC $35M to provide programs for youth in
The
five-year Advancing Youth Project, part of USAID’s
portfolio of youth livelihood development projects known as EQUIP3, will
provide increased access to high-quality, alternative basic education services,
social and leadership development, and livelihoods for out-of-school youth aged
13–35 who have marginal or no literacy and numeracy
skills.
The new project builds on EDC’s
implementation of the Core Education Skills for Liberian Youth (CESLY) project,
which launched a new non-formal education curriculum and helped the ministry
create a more effective teacher corps in
Santa
“Cause” is coming to town
The
Beit Atfal Assumoud’s vocational training
program in Nahr El Bared - The community organization
partners with different humanitarian aid organizations like American Near East
Refugee Aid (ANERA) to support underprivileged youth within the walls of the
camp.
The growth and popularity of
vocational training within refugee communities has sparked a sense of hope for
many refugees. As they recover from a
tremulous past, the certifications and training have given them an opportunity
to find employment that helps them support their families and rebuild their
lives.
In partnership with Reach Out
to
http://www.anera.org/ourWork/commEcoDev/DoorsOpenForNahrElBaredYouth.php
Introduction
to Peace Education: A course for educators
Online
course conducted
by: Teachers Without Borders, January 30-March 26, 2012
The Teachers Without Borders Introduction to Peace Education supports
educators in their professional development as peace educators and connects
them with like-minded colleagues around the world through a supportive virtual
learning environment. The 8-week online course consists of three modules that
provide a strong foundation in peace education theory and invite participants
to explore ways in which they can put peace education into practice. Module 1
explores peace education theory through its history, definitions, and core
concepts. Module 2 focuses on the scope of peace education, and encompasses
different approaches to the field. Module 3 emphasizes the practice of peace
education, including pedagogy, communication, and how to promote a culture of
peace in your school and community.
http://www.nationalpeaceacademy.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=382&Itemid=88
*******
Editorial
by
Sergio Tripi
Because of the
rapid progress of the technology for communication, we are rapidly becoming one
world, which recognizes that it has sufficient resources to allow everyone on
the planet to enjoy fundamental goods like food, housing, education, work and
medical assistance. In spite of this formidable potential, however, man still
needs to express adequately his desire to put an end to suffering on the global
level. To this end, those individual and collective attitudes and ways of
behaving are necessary which can translate the widespread and growing awareness
of this responsibility into reality.
Perhaps, at the
global level, we have expected too much from others instead of taking on our
individual and national responsibilities. And thus still today several
essential human conditions, those which should ensure a daily life free from
need and worthy of being lived, are sadly denied to many peoples of the earth.
Originated from the
Millennium Declaration produced by the United Nations, the eight Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), international development
goals that all 193 United Nations member states have agreed to achieve by the
year 2015, are
the answer that humanity must give to the problems of our time.
1 –
To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2 –
To attain primary education everywhere
3 –
To promote gender equality and strengthen the role of women
4 –
To reduce infantile mortality
5 –
To improve the health of mothers
6 –
To fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7 –
To ensure environmental sustainability
8 –
To realize a global partnership for development.
These Goals are subdivided into 21 well
identified targets which are measured by 60 indicators. A specific and in-depth analysis certainly cannot be made in this context; however, here it is
possible and, I think, useful to indicate how the progress of national and
international institutions, supported and upheld by the work of civil society,
is apparent and spurs us to reinforce efforts to overcome those obstacles, and
the consequent delays, which impede their attainment.
Human Rights: abstract concepts with little
possibility of materializing, according to some; crucial ideals for the
progress of humanity, according to others. Fortunately, the latter now
constitute the majority of that part of humanity which is inclined to reflect
and to make assessments. In this initial period of the new millennium, human
rights, whether in their fundamental aspects or in their eminently concrete
ones of a practical kind which characterize daily existence, are a field of
vital importance. They represent the basis on which every just society should
be founded, whether a remote village or the world community. A basis which is
ideal, consisting of principles, but also a range of objective and specific
situations to be realized with determination along a definite path and through
intermediate stages which can be monitored. So it is that Human Rights give
rise to the Millennium Development Goals.
At the United Nations Summit for the
Millennium, in September 2000, the heads of the nations of the world decided to
go into the new millennium taking on full responsibility for a fundamental
declaration on the development of the global environment: the Millennium Declaration, signed by 189 countries and then elaborated as
eight goals to be reached by 2015. The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were defined in the light of agreements arising in
the nineteen-nineties from a series of world conferences of the United Nations
and constitute the commitment of all countries to reduce poverty and hunger, to
fight disease, gender inequality, illiteracy, lack of drinking water and
environmental degradation. The awareness of the problems to be resolved in
order to pursue the Millennium Development Goals includes the recognition of
the efforts which must be made by the developing countries, as well as the
contribution that can be made by the developed countries through commerce,
development assistance, debt relief, the availability of essential medicines
and the transfer of technology.
MDG 1
– To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
1st
target: to halve the proportion of the population which lives
on less than a dollar a day.
The Preface to the Millennium
Report of 2005 on the subject “Halving hunger: it can be done” says: “The
Project of the United Nations for the Millennium set up the Task Force on
Hunger in 2002, with the mandate to develop a strategy for halving hunger by
From a long-term point of view, there is
certainly no lack of substantial and encouraging elements for this formidable
work of social construction. I quote from an article in Good New Agency of
2009: “Of course, much still remains to
be done, but it is incorrect to affirm that things are getting worse and worse,
because this only involves the risk of leading to an insidious sense of
impotence. This is the first stage in a path towards resignation and inertia,
feelings which are really paradoxical at a time when there is the concrete
possibility of realizing important goals for humanity that were unimaginable
even up to the generation of our grandparents. From 1950 till today, world
income has increased 10 times, while it had grown not even 4 times in the
previous fifty years; the number of the poor has diminished by 20% in the last
10 years, despite the fact that the population has grown by 15%. As a whole,
from 1950 till today the number of people who live below the level of poverty
has passed from 50% to less than 25%. According to the UNICEF report Progress
for Children (PFC), “between 1990 and today, more than 1.2 billion people have
gained access to drinking water. Between 1990 and 2004 access to drinking water
increased, at a global level, from 78% to 83% and it is estimated that from
1970 till today it has even passed from 30% to 83%. The rate of global
malnutrition has fallen from 50% to 17% between 1950 and today. Overall life
expectancy at birth has grown by 20 years in the last 40 years and infant mortality has been reduced
by 50 percent.
MDG 2
– To attain primary education everywhere
In the decades up to 2000,
significant progress in this direction had been registered everywhere, though
with notable differences between the various regions of the planet (in Europe
the rate of
illiteracy is 1.8%; in
However, the prospects for this Goal are not
bright and are decreasing, even though many poor countries are making huge
efforts. Enrolment in elementary schools has been increasing and in 2008 it
reached 89% of the developing world (it was 82% in 1999), but the rate of
growth is not sufficient to ensure that, by 2015, all boys and girls complete a
full cycle of primary school. The sub-Saharan countries (enrolment: from 58% in
1999 to 76% in 2008) and those of western Asia (from 83% to 88%) and those of
southern
MDG 3
– To promote gender equality and strengthen the role of women
Globally, women are about 74%
of the (estimated) 774 million illiterate adults. In the world, 77% of adult
women can read and write, while 87% of men are in this position. World-wide,
the opportunities for women to have an income-earning job have increased. But
in the developing countries the majority of women work in informal sectors or
in the context of the family (without retribution); so they do not enjoy
security of income. In sub-Saharan Africa and in southern
At the top of the social scale, there is
another significant fact: the increase in the number of women who hold a seat
in parliament is slow. In the world, in September 2008 women occupied little
more than 18% of national parliamentary seats (chamber of deputies and senate),
with a negligible increase with respect of the previous year. In particular, at
the end of October 2008, the percentage of women in parliament was:
This low profile of the female
role and its slow progress are an obstacle from many points of view. It is
impossible to put an end to poverty and achieve the Millennium Development
Goals until discrimination is eliminated against women, who can make a vital
contribution to the economy, government, the peace process, their community and
their families. The study “Gender Dimensions of Agricultural and Rural
Employment: Differentiated Ways out of Poverty”, undertaken by FAO, IFAD and
ILO, whose report was published in English on 21 January 2011, was conducted
with the main aim of finding adequate responses to the principal obstacles to
the attainment of a decent job for everyone. The study underlines that “every
measure that tends towards gender equality and the reduction of poverty must
recognize that in the rural reality women carry out most of the work related to
the care of the children and the family. The weight of linking the productive
with the reproductive responsibility inevitably impedes their possibility of
obtaining a paid job, often increases their level of stress and has an impact
on the dynamics of power in the family context. These effects are not
considered in the conventional notion of a decent job, which tends to be
focused only on situations of paid work”. Two significant examples: unpaid work
in the context of family agricultural undertakings constitutes 34% of informal
female work in
At this point I remember that one of the
most beautiful thoughts on women’s role was expressed at the beginning of the
twentieth century by the far-seeing Russian writer Helena Roerich:
“The flight of the spirit of humanity cannot be supported by only one wing”. In
view of the reality which humanity has built over the millennia of ‘masculinist’ history, I am strongly convinced that the time
has arrived to intensify efforts to realize the implications of this splendid
thought.
MDG 4
– To reduce infant mortality
While some countries have
obtained great improvements towards achieving the goals related to health,
others remain behind on this path. Often the countries with less progress are
those characterized by high levels of HIV/AIDS, difficult economic conditions
or conflicts. Globally, the number of deaths of children below five years of
age has gone down to 8.8 million, a reduction of 30% with respect to 1990. It
is estimated that the percentage of malnourished children who are less than
five years old diminished from 25% in 1990 to 16% in 2010. The percentage of
births assisted by specialized personnel has increased world-wide, even though,
in the regions examined by the World Health Organization in
MDG 5
– To improve the health of mothers
Maternal health continues to
be the Millennium Development Goal which registers the most unsatisfactory
progress. Recent estimates indicate that maternal mortality has diminished
since 1990 but at an annual rate well below the reduction of 5.5% necessary to
attain the Goal. The study indicates, for the period 1990-
The contribution of civil society in this
battle is well exemplified by what has been done by the volunteers of
MDG 6
– To fight HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
HIV/AIDS – Between 2001 and 2008 the new cases of
HIV/AIDS infection diminished by 16%. In 2008, 2.7 million people
contracted the illness and there were two million deaths from this illness. In
2008, about 45% of the 1.4 million seropositive
pregnant women in
the countries of low and medium income had an antiretroviral therapy to prevent
the transmission of HIV to the child. In those countries, at the end of 2008,
over four million people were being treated with that therapy, but over five
million seropositive people were unable to obtain
treatment.
Between 2001 and 2009 the rate of new
infections of HIV stabilized or diminished by more than 25% in at least 56
countries of the world, including 34 countries in sub-Saharan
Tuberculosis
– In spite of an increase in new cases of TB in the world, due to the increase
in the population, a larger number of patients are being cured successfully.
Mortality from TB among HIV-negative people diminished from 30 deaths per
100,000 people in 1990 to 21 deaths per
Malaria
– There are indications that 38 countries are proceeding in the right
direction to attain the goal of reducing malaria: it is estimated that, in
2008, 243 million cases of malaria caused 863,000 deaths, mostly of children
under five years of age. The distribution of nets treated with insecticide has
been increased, but the requirements for these have been greater than their
availability everywhere. Access to antimalarial
medicines (especially the therapy based on the combination with artemisina) has increased but it was insufficient in all
the countries checked in 2007 and 2008.
MDG 7
– To ensure environmental sustainability
In view of the serious
worsening of environmental conditions in the course of the last decades, the
report of the Task Force on environmental sustainability (UN Millennium Project
2005, Environment and Human Well-being: A
Practical Strategy), after studying the various problems in depth, put
forward ten specific, articulated recommendations, which constitute a practical
strategy for ensuring environmental sustainability. These recommendations of
the Task Force had a direct contribution from almost a hundred experts, even
though the members of the Task Force took direct and sole responsibility for
them. The breadth of scope of the fields examined by the study is well
demonstrated by the ten recommendations of the report, which are: to improve
the systems of small-scale agricultural production; to promote the management
of forests both for their protection and for a sustainable production; to fight
the threats to the resources of fresh water and to ecosystems; to tackle the
threats to fishing and marine ecosystems; to tackle the causes of pollution of
the air and of water; to reduce the effects foreseen of global climatic change;
to reinforce institutions and global governance;
to correct the failures and distortions of the market; to improve access
to, and utilization of, scientific and indigenous knowledge; and to increase
environmental sustainability, including it in all proposals for development
projects.
As these ten recommendations
indicate, the basic problems are many and the ways of dealing with them are
various and difficult; but we must succeed, all working to the best of our
ability, because the emergency is great and environmental sustainability is
vital.
Goal
8 – To develop a global partnership for development
Here the goals for improvement
are manifold and very demanding and concern, at the institutional level, the
commercial and financial system; the needs of the least-developed countries;
and the debt of the developing countries. Besides the institutional level, in this
march towards the improvement of human conditions, the role of civil society is
sometimes decisive, frequently stimulating and always a point of reference. It
is appropriate to remember, in this perspective, the motto for the year
2011-2012 which the President elect of Rotary International, Kalyan Banerjee, announced to the
Governors elected for the Rotarian year 2011-12: “Know yourself in order to
embrace humanity”. And at a certain point in his speech he said: “There are
many things that we know how to do well: to work for clean and safe water; to
spread literacy; to collaborate in every possible way with the new generations,
our young people, in our new Way of action and to help them become the leaders of tomorrow”.
Then, quoting Gandhi, Banerjee invited the Rotarians
to devote themselves to change: “You must be the change that you wish to see in
the world. If we desire peace, we must live in peace in our families and in our
communities. To put an end to environmental degradation, reduce the rate of infant
mortality or prevent hunger, we must be the instrument of change, recognizing
that it must be brought about in each one of us”.
A
final reflection
The eight Millennium Development Goals are
wonderful evidence of unity in diversity, and to achieve them the role of the
institutions will have to be integrated and at times anticipated, by the work
of civil society. Without doubt the most advanced part of humanity, that part
which is more aware of its own duties than of its own rights, is increasingly refusing
those obsolete values which have given rise to goals and models of behaviour tending to gratify the single person or country.
Those kinds of behaviour, to make it clear, which
have put on the altar material success, hedonism, consumerism and the lack of
an ethical code of responsibility to provide a limit to what can rightly be
pursued in consideration of the rights of others. It now seems evident that the
silent part of humanity of which I speak, which is mobilized by and for the
evolution of consciousness, is responding with growing determination to this
new way of being, which aims at the common good in the perspective of unity in
diversity.
* * *
Sergio
Tripi, editor of Good News Agency, founder and
president of the publishing educational charity, after a career as company
director, was from 1996 to 2001 the Representative to
Sources:
United Nations headquarters –
UN Development Program – UN World Food Program – UNICEF – World Health
Organization – UNAIDS Report, November 2010.
Gender
dimensions of agricultural and rural employment: Differentiated pathways out of
poverty – status, trends and gaps, study conducted by FAO, IFAD
and ILO, January 2011.
UN Millennium
Project 2005. Halving Hunger:
It Can Be Done. The Earth Institute at
Non è
vero che tutto va peggio
(It's not true that everything gets worse), by Michele Dotti
and Jacopo Fo, EMI 2008.
Il sistema globale seconda edizione. Geografie
La fine della
povertà (Endo of poverty), by
Jeffrey D. Sachs, Mondadori, Milano.
Translation by Jancis Browning.
* * * * * * *
(top)
Good News Agency is published in English
on one Friday and in Italian the next. Past issues are available at www.goodnewsagency.org .
Managing Editor: Sergio Tripi, Ph.D.
Editorial research by Fabio Gatti, Arianna Cavallo, Azzurra Cianchetta. Webmaster: Fabio Gatti.
Media and NGOs coverage: Maurizio Palazzoni.
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: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bermuda, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Caribbean Islands, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Holland, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Oceania, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, USA. It is also distributed free of charge to 3,000 NGOs, 1,600 high schools, colleges and universities, as well as 22,000 Rotarians in the world.
It is an all-volunteer service of Associazione Culturale dei Triangoli e della Buona Volontà
Mondiale, a registered 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
The Association is a member of the World Association of Non Governmental Organizations.
*In the final report of the Decade for a Culture of Peace project (2001-2010) presented to the
UN General Assembly (http://decade-culture-of-peace.org/2010_civil_society_report.pdf),
Good News Agency is included among the
three NGOs that have been playing a major role in the field of
Information. In section A -
International Organizations, the Report says:
"Participatory
Communication and Free Flow of Information and Knowledge has been advanced
largely through use of the Internet by civil society corresponding to para 6 in the 1999 Programme of Action calling for the
promotion of a culture of peace through sharing of information among actors in
the global movement for a culture of peace (p.7). 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
(p.12).