Good News Agency – Year VI, n° 10
Weekly - Year VI, number 10 – 15
July 2005
Managing Editor: Sergio Tripi,
Ph. D.
Rome Law-court registration
no. 265 dated 20 June 2000.
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
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International legislation – Human rights – Economy and development – Solidarity
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Youth on Status of Kosovo
Dejan
Georgievski
8 July - The Second session of
the Kosovo Round-Table of political party youth organizations in the region
starts today in Tirana, Albania. The gathering is expected to discuss the
future status of Kosovo. One interesting aspect of the event is that Serbian
and Kosovo participants travelled to Tirana together.
Representatives of political
parties' youth organizations from Kosovo, Serbia, Albania, Montenegro and
Macedonia will participate in the Round-Table. The aim of the conference is to
establish dialogue and trust which should replace the centuries-long tradition
of war and hatred in the region.
Among other things, the young
politicians will discuss the future status of Kosovo. The issues on the agenda
of the Kosovo Round-Table in Tirana include the "European Integrations and
Visa Regime", "Rule of Law", "Corruption", "The
Hague Tribunal" and the "Final Status of Kosovo". Each of the
discussions shall result in a declaration signed by all participants.
This is the second in a
planned series of conferences. The first was held in Ulcinj, September 2004.
The Round Table is organized by the Social-Democratic Youth, the youth
organization of the Social-Democratic Union, with the support by the Swedish
Social-Democratic Party.
http://see.oneworld.net/article/view/115029/1/
Regional
consultation on violence against children underway in Slovenia
July 8 - The Regional
Consultation for the UN Secretary General’s Study on Violence Against Children,
Europe and Central Asia are now in progress in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The event
is supported by the Council of Europe, UNICEF, WHO, OHCHR, and the NGO Advisory
Panel. Azerbaijan is represented here by members of the Milli Majlis
(Parliament) of Azerbaijan, Ministries of Health, Youth, Sport and Tourism and
the country non-governmental organizations. The Consultation to last till July
9 focuses on the issues concerning protection of children’s rights, and those
related to creation of the international regional and national – level networks
to fight violence against children.
Sudan: Detainees released
under ICRC auspices
Geneva (ICRC), 6 July – The
release of detainees held in connection with the long-running conflict in
southern Sudan is under way. Some 100 persons formerly held by the Sudan
People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) arrived today in Khartoum. They were the first
of more than 300 detainees expected to be released this week. The operation is
being carried out under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC), whose services as a neutral intermediary were requested by the
SPLA and the Sudanese government.
The ICRC's role is to
facilitate the transfer of released persons in accordance with the wishes of
the parties to the conflict, who bear ultimate responsibility for agreeing upon
and authorizing the releases. The ICRC’s main concern now is to ensure that the
operation is carried out in accordance with humanitarian principles. It has
therefore held private interviews with all detainees to establish that each is
returning home of his own free will.
The ICRC had previously
registered the detainees and visited them over the course of several years to
monitor the conditions of their detention and help them communicate with their
families.
Over many years the ICRC has
repeatedly asked the Sudanese government to grant it access to detainees under
its jurisdiction. No access has yet been granted. (…)
The release is a welcome
development for the ICRC, the detainees and their families, and marks a
significant step towards fulfilling the conditions set out in the Comprehensive
Peace Agreement. The ICRC will continue to monitor the situation of those still
detained and hopes that they too will soon be released.
Brussels, 30 June - The
European Commission adopted today a proposal for a Regulation establishing a
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. As the Commission has chosen the
protection and promotion of fundamental rights as one of its basic policy
objectives, the creation of the Agency is an important tool in meeting this
objective. (…)
The proposal follows the
decision of the Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the
European Union, taken in December 2003, to extend the mandate of the European
Union Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia, based in Vienna, by
converting it into a Fundamental Rights Agency. The European Parliament has
also called for the establishment of the Agency.
The Fundamental Rights Agency
will be an independent centre of expertise on fundamental rights issues through
data collection, analysis and networking, which currently does not exist at
European Union level. The Agency will advice the European Union Institutions
and the Member States on how best to prepare or implement fundamental rights
related European Union legislation. (…)
By proposing the establishment
of the Fundamental Rights Agency the Commission is implementing the first
priority of the recently endorsed Action Plan “The Hague Programme: Ten
priorities for the next five years - The Partnership for European renewal in
the field of Freedom, Security and Justice”.
Monaco: ICRC press prize goes
to Croatian documentary
6 July - On 1 July the ICRC
press prize was awarded to the Croatian journalist Suzana Hetrich and her team
for the documentary Djeca – Zrtve Rata (Child Victims of War) at the 45th Monte
Carlo Television Festival.
The 42-minute film, produced
and broadcast by HRT (Croatian Radio and Television), seeks to find out what
has happened to Anita, Martina, Zelkam, Tanja, Dragana, Ivan and Martina, seven
children who were wounded at the outbreak of the war in Croatia in 1991 and had
already been filmed at that time by Suzana Hetrich in the hospital where they
were being treated.
Fourteen years later, the
teenagers discuss the traumatic experiences they endured as children, their
feelings about war and the lives they are leading now. Using archive material
and footage shot in Zagreb, Vukovar and Vinkovci, Suzana Hetrich provides a
discreet yet compelling account of the plight of innocent victims and the
suffering inflicted on children in armed conflicts.
The press prize, which was
created in 2003 with the support of the Red Cross of Monaco and the Monte Carlo
Television Festival to mark the ICRC's 140th anniversary, is awarded to the
documentary that has best promoted the principles of international humanitarian
law by covering a conflict in terms of the suffering it has caused.
The
Kyoto process: an additional opportunity for the poorest countries?
Natural resource experts
recently met in Rome to discuss ways of giving poor countries incentives under
the Kyoto Protocol to improve the use of fuelwood and reduce deforestation,
loss of vegetation cover and land degradation.
Rome, 8 July -
On the eve of the G-8 Summit in Scotland, where climate change and Africa were
key subjects of discussion, natural resource experts met in Rome to discuss
ways of giving poor countries incentives under the Kyoto Protocol to improve
the use of fuelwood and reduce deforestation, loss of vegetation cover and land
degradation. (…)
The
Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism does give credit for afforestation
and reforestation projects. However, it does not provide incentives for a more
sustainable fuelwood and charcoal production and use, which could lead to a
reduction of deforestation, loss of vegetation cover or land degradation.(…)
The G-8 and the European Union will have to take a decision prior to the next
Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (Montreal in December 2005) on
whether the poorest countries, who will suffer most from climate change, should
continue to be, to a large extent, excluded from the Clean Development
Mechanism that would at least provide some of the badly needed financial
incentives to break the vicious circle of resource degradation and poverty,
according to participants to the FAO-Joanneum Research meeting in Rome. (…)
Time
for MDG Action is Now, Annan Tells London Gathering
London, 6 July - For the first
time developed and developing countries have accepted their responsibilities
for reducing poverty, while the targets for reducing vast socio-economic ills
have garnered unprecedented political support, giving the world a make-or-break
moment to improve the lot of the poor, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi
Annan said today. In an address at an anti-poverty event at London’s St. Paul’s
Cathedral, he focused on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which were
approved at a UN summit in 2000 and which prescribe measurements and targets
for the reduction or elimination of current socio-economic ills by 2015.
Progress on achieving them will be reviewed at what is expected to be the
world’s largest summit ever next September at the UN. “All of you are here
because, like me, you know that this is a make-or-break moment for the
Millennium Development Goals – and for the world’s poor,” Mr. Annan said. “You
know that how we fare for the next 10 years hinges on decisions that must be
taken within the next days and months.”
New
US$40 million project to help the poor in remote mountain communities of
Northwestern Algeria
Rome, 13 July - More than
190,000 people in remote mountain communities in one of the poorer parts of
Algeria will benefit from a new US$40 million rural development project
financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the
Government of Algeria. IFAD will provide a loan of about US$11.8 million. The
loan agreement was signed today by the President of IFAD, Lennart Båge, and Mr Mokhtar Reguieg, Ambassador of Algeria to
Italy and Alternate Governor to IFAD, at headquarters in Rome.
The seven-year project will tackle
poverty in the Traras and Sebaa Chioukh mountains in northern Tlemcen Province,
helping local people, including smallholder farming families, women and
unemployed young people to raise their standard of living through a range of
initiatives, including improved management of natural resources.
According to the latest
figures unemployment in the project area ranges from about 40 to 60 per cent,
compared with the national average of 24 per cent, and is highest among young
people.
The area was hard hit during
the 1990s, when the security situation forced the exodus of part of the
population from rural areas, worsening the poverty level in these mountains
zones. As a result, many farmers lost their assets and equipment. People who left have now started to return
to the land they had abandoned, and one of the aims of the project will be to
help them rehabilitate their farms. (…) For more information: Farhana
Haque-Rahman,
UN
food safety and quality standards commission meets
Session
expected to adopt new standards for vitamin supplements and foods
Rome, 4 July -- The Codex
Alimentarius Commission (CAC) meets today with representatives from more than
100 countries present, to adopt a number of new or revised food safety and
quality standards that will safeguard the health of consumers worldwide and
improve food quality and agricultural trade opportunities.
One of the draft standards up
for consideration, on vitamin and mineral labeling, has sparked controversy
recently. It is designed to give consumers information about maximum
consumption levels for vitamin and mineral food supplements - taking into
account the fact that too high an intake of such substances can cause health
problems - and to guarantee that the minimum levels of the vitamins and mineral
supplements claimed to be present in a product are actually present.
The basis for the proposed new
international guidelines already exists as part of the national framework in
some Codex Member States. If adopted by Codex, the guidelines would not replace
existing national standards, or create new national rules where none exist, but
they could be used as guidance by countries choosing to increase consumer
information on maximum consumption levels of vitamin and mineral food
supplements. (…)
African
Women's Millennium Initiative (AWOMI)
Dakar, Senegal - The African
Women's Millennium Initiative (AWOMI) is working to ensure the participation of
African women in policy and decision making processes regarding the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). (…) African countries must also cope with crushing
debt; AWOMI notes that every African child is born with a $400 (US) debt
burden.
African women are
disproportionately impacted by this crisis of extreme poverty. Women represent
70% of those living on less than $1 a day; however, they are often the least
informed about the MDGs, and underrepresented in decision making forums about
resource allocation on the African continent. (…)
During the next several
months, AWOMI will train women in policy formulation and advocacy around
poverty reduction strategies; and, create and strengthen information networks
between rural women and national women's organizations, and international
global poverty and debt reduction campaigns. AWOMI is also organizing women to
present alternative economic policies in venues including the G-8 Summit, World
Trade Organization meetings, the African Union, and in World Bank Poverty
Reduction Strategy programs. The Global Fund for Women is supporting AWOMI's
critical efforts to include African women in the MDG process with a $50,000 Now
or Never grant. (…)
http://www.globalfundforwomen.org/work/grants/maps.html?profile=awomi
Women Entrepreneurs the 'Motor
for Development' – Workshop in Istanbul, July 11-12
By
Julio Godoy
Paris, July 7 (IPS) - Give
Arab women the chance to become entrepreneurs by facilitating access to
education, professional training and financial resources, and you will start
the motor of economic development and democracy in the Middle East and North
Africa region. That is the motto of the organisers of the workshop ”Building
awareness of women's entrepreneurship in the MENA region”, to take place July
11-12 in the Turkish city of Istanbul, under the auspices of the Organisation
for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD), which represents the 30 most
industrialised countries of the world.
The MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region includes 21 countries,
extending from Morocco to Pakistan, Turkey to Yemen.
The main objective of the
meeting ”is to raise consciousness among policy makers, investors and bankers,
and women and men in the Muslim world that women's entrepreneurship represents
an untapped reservoir for job creation, economic growth and social cohesion,”
Marie-Florence Estimé, deputy director of the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship,
Small and Medium Enterprises, and Local Development, told IPS. (…)
The workshop next week
promises to draw policy recommendations addressed to both public and private
decision-makers, which will be considered at the Ministerial Meeting of the
MECA-OECD Investment Programme, slated for November in Amman, Jordan. (…)
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=29406
Caritas closely monitors
flooding in India
Vatican City, 5
July – Caritas Internationalis is keeping a close eye on the situation in
several Indian states as unrelenting monsoon rains have unleashed flash floods
and mudslides in the last few days, killing more than 140 people, leaving
thousands homeless, and severely damaging infrastructure. (…) The government has declared a state of high
alert and started evacuating people to safer ground. The army and air force
have been called in to contribute to rescue and relief operations, and food
packages have been dropped to many victims left completely stranded by the
flooding.
Caritas India has been in
contact with all the Diocesan Social Service Societies in the affected areas, and
with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) – Ahmedabad. Together they have contacted
the Government Relief Commissioner to express their intention to assist with
relief efforts. According to Caritas India, immediate needs include the setting
up of relief camps, distribution of food, clean drinking water, and kitchen
utensils, medical care, and temporary shelter for thousands of flood victims.
Caritas India continues to monitor the situation closely and will keep the
Confederation apprised of any new developments and needs in the coming days.
Caritas Internationalis is a
confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development, and social service
organisations present in 200 countries and territories.
http://www.caritas.org/jumpNews.asp?idLang=ENG&idChannel=35&idUser=0&idNews=3194
Japanese
business giant ties up with WFP to mobilize support to end child hunger
Yokohama, 5 July - The Japan
Association for WFP (JAWFP) announced today that one of the most prominent and
respected business leaders in Japan, Uichiro Niwa, Chairman of the Board,
ITOCHU Corporation, is to become Chairman of the Executive Board of JAWFP.
Niwa will give strong support to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP)
and its friendship association in Japan, JAWFP. “I would like to play a
catalyst role to mobilize support from the Japanese business community and
civil society to wipe out child hunger from the world,” said Niwa.
“Participation by private companies in the fight against hunger will help
enhance motivation and commitment of their staff members and employees.”
JAWFP is a non-profit
organization, which was set up in 1999 to assist WFP in advocacy and
private-sector fundraising in Japan. Niwa hopes to enhance the activities of
NGOs in Japanese society through his new role as chairman of JAWFP. (…)The
Council will rally support for the private fundraising activities of JAWFP
through various events and programmes, capitalizing on the expertise and the
networks of member corporations, organizations and individuals. (…)
http://www.wfp.org/index.asp?section=2
Viet
Nam: Swimming, a vital life skill for children
By Steve Nettleton and Jihun
Sohn
Dong Thap Province, Viet Nam,
8 July – Not knowing how
to swim can cost a child his or her life, especially in Viet Nam. Waterways
outnumber roads in Dong Thap Province in the Mekong River Delta of southern Viet
Nam, and annual flooding caused by monsoon rains takes a severe toll,
particularly on children. Drowning accounts for more than half of all
injury-related deaths of Vietnamese children between four and fifteen. Each day
some forty children die from drowning. Most of these children could be saved -
if they only knew how to swim.
Here, teaching children to
swim requires some special precautions - as there are no swimming pools - so
lessons must be organized in rivers or lakes, or even in the sea. UNICEF is
supporting the training of instructors, and has helped design a simple swimming
net to ensure the safety of lessons. (…) The swimming lessons are part of a
broader, nationwide effort by UNICEF and the Vietnamese government to protect
children from injury. It’s the first program of its kind in the world. By
raising public awareness of common dangers, the project aims to change people’s
attitudes and behaviour, and reduce death or disabilities from accidents.(…)
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/vietnam_27595.html
Physicians For Peace
recognized by Charity Navigator
Norfolk, VA. USA – July 6 - In
light of the public's renewed interest in Africa brought about by this past
weekend's Live 8 Concert Series, Charity Navigator recognized 33 charities for
their work in Africa and is recommending them to donors. Each of the 33
charities, including Norfolk, VA-based Physicians For Peace (PFP), was vetted
by Charity Navigator’s analysts and has received either a 3 or 4-star rating
for their overall fiscal health. For two consecutive years, Physicians For
Peace has earned the highest 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, joining only
five percent of the more than 4,260 charities evaluated thus far this year by
Charity Navigator. (…)
Over the last 30 years,
Physicians For Peace has actively brought medical aid, education and training
to several African nations, including: Egypt, Eritrea, Ghana, Liberia, Morocco
and Nigeria. Currently Physicians For Peace is active in Eritrea and Nigeria
(…)
Using medicine as a
peace-building tool, PFP has conducted programs in 44 countries over the past
three decades, building bridges between diverse cultures, ethnicities and
religions. Physicians For Peace is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that
encourages financial and in-kind contributions to underwrite its mission-based
work. For more information, please visit www.PhysiciansForPeace.org.
http://www.interaction.org/newswire/detail.php?id=4138
28 June - Four aid workers
from Southwark-based charity CARE International will be taking a 100-mile cycle
ride this week to raise awareness of the Make Poverty History campaign.
Raja Jarrah, of Barcombe Road,
Streatham, Elliot Bates, of Deals Gateway, Deptford, Gigi Davies, of Brougham
Road, Hackney, and Neil Munro, of St Hughes Close, Wandsworth, will be cycling
from Newcastle to Edinburgh in two days and will join cyclists from all over
the UK – expected to number in their thousands – as part of the Jubilee G8 Bike
Ride.
The riders will converge on
the Scottish capital where the G8 summit of world leaders will be discussing
ways of eradicating poverty in the developing world. They will join a bike ride
round Edinburgh on Friday then take part in the Make Poverty History rally on
Saturday.
Jarrah, CARE International’s
programme director, said: “Our day-to-day job involves working to eradicate
poverty but we wanted to do a little bit more and help bring the issue to
everybody’s attention. That’s what the ride and the rally is all about – making
people aware that something can be done to make poverty history.”
Further information on the
bike ride can be found on the website www.leedstidal.org/g8rides/ and on the
Make Poverty History campaign on www.makepovertyhistory.org
http://www.careinternational.org.uk/newsroom/media_release.php?id=469
ADRA
assists Uzbek refugees in Kyrgyzstan
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA, June
27 - On May 20, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) became one
of the first humanitarian agencies to provide emergency supplies to 530 Uzbek
refugees in Kyrgyzstan.
The relief supplies included
clothing, hygiene products, towels, blankets, medical supplies, books, toys,
and other necessities valued at more than $20,000.
“This assistance was vital for
suffering people looking for asylum in the Kyrgyz Republic, and we express our
gratitude for the participation of the organizations that contributed to the
project,” said Victor Zotov, director for ADRA Kyrgyzstan. The organizations
that contributed to the relief effort include: ADRA, AmeriCares, the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Sabre Foundation, the
Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Kyrgyz Republic, and deputies
from the local parliament in the southern region of Kyrgyzstan.
More than 500 Uzbeks fled to
Kyrgyzstan after violence broke out in the city of Andijan, Uzbekistan, on May
13. The number of deaths resulting from the violence is yet to be determined.
ADRA is present in 125
countries, providing individual and community development and disaster relief
without regard to political or religious association, age, or ethnicity.
http://www.adra.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5732&news_iv_ctrl=1141
Rolls-Royce
Adds Power to UNDP Thailand Tsunami Effort
Bangkok, 24 June -
Rolls-Royce is putting jet engine power behind the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) in helping to revitalize communities hard-hit by the tsunami
in southern Thailand. More than 1,200 coastal families in 10 communities in
Phang Nga Bay stand to benefit from this unprecedented collaboration between
UNDP and Rolls-Royce. The partnership will help to create livelihood
opportunities, assist in the repair of fishing boats, boat engines, nets and
tackle for the affected communities. (…) Included in the project will be the
reconstruction of the all-important wooden pier marketplace used by the
communities for trading and selling goods and marine products. (…) Rolls-Royce
has agreed to provide a cash contribution of USD 50,000 to UNDP’s overall USD 6
million tsunami recovery programme in Thailand.(…)
http://www.undp.or.th/whatsnew/rolls-royce.html
Global Young Leaders
Conference
Author:
Anne Capelle
On
the 8 of July, the ICBL spoke at the Global Young Leaders Conference in Prague
on the theme: “Landmines: a Hidden human Rights’violation, taking Action for
Change”
Ali Srour, a young survivor
from Lebanon and 2004 Raising the Voices Graduate started the conference by a testimony
of his life. He then explained which of his human rights had been violated
through the presence of mines in his country and his accident.
Anne Capelle, ICBL Executive
Director, presented the general effects of mines on victims and population, as
well as the ICBL and the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT), highlighting in what ways the
MBT was achieved through a unique process allowing new ways of making changes.
The conference was attended by
400 students aged between 16 and 18 years old from 40 countries. The Young
Leaders conference is a two weeks program in Central Europe during which the
students are introduced to diplomacy and multilateral relations. Through active
and participative educational methods, they are learning how to bring upon
changes in a complex environment. (…)
The following days, both Ali
and Anne met with the students in smaller groups for more informal exchanges on
the issues.
Links are now created between
the ICBL and the GYLC and it is expected that further collaboration will
develop as well as links with the Youth project from Mine Action Canada.
http://www.icbl.org/news/gylc?eZSESSIDicbl=398ce4a36ebea0396d362faf392098a9
The Japanese Campaign to Ban
Landmines at EXPO 2005 AICHI, Japan
by
Virginie Andre
"One
person can make a difference it is true but together we can win the world we
want!"
Sister Denise Coghlan
Japan, 5 July - The Japan Global Exposition, EXPO 2005 Aichi,
the first exposition of the 21st century, is now being held from April to
September 2005. The EXPO emphasizes the participation of "citizens"
including "NPOs/NGOs" in addition to the more traditional
participation of "nations" and "companies" and is holding a
"NGO Global Village". Ten million people have visited EXPO since it
began in March 25.
JCBL participate to the
"NGO Global Village" along with other national and international
NGOs/NPOs. The Pavilion of JCBL is open from July 1st to 31st, focusing on the
success story of the civil society calling for the total ban of anti-personnel
landmines. The main organiser of the event in Nagoya is Maekama Masayo.
JCBL has a tent for the month
of July and has invited international campaigners Tun Channareth and Denise
Coghlan from Cambodia - first week, Freddy de Alwis and Ranawaka Arachchige
from Sri Lanka, Purna Shova from Nepal and Cho Jay Kook from Korea along with
survivor Kim Su Min. (…) A map of the world shows the countries that have not
signed the treaty and people are invited to write on a yellow butterfly an
invitation or a hurry up call for them to sign on. Butterflies are flapping all
over the world and now are hanging from the ceiling. (…)
http://www.icbl.org/news/japanesecampaignjune2005?eZSESSIDicbl=398ce4a36ebea0396d362faf392098a9
Anti-mine week in Sri Lanka
Colombo, July 5 - Sri Lanka's
authorities have designated the first week of July and August as "National
Mine Action" weeks to raise awareness about landmines that continue to
kill in the country's north and east. According to the National Steering
Committee on Mine Action, the months of July, August and September are the most
dangerous for landmine injuries.
Each year at this time, people
return to their fields to begin planting and harvesting crops. "It is then
that the lands of the north and east, seeded with explosives, reap their deadly
harvest," said a statement from Unicef. (…) During these two weeks,
activities will be held in Jaffna, Vavuniya, Mannar, Puttalam, Anuradhapura,
Kilinochchi, Batticaloa, Ampara and Trincomalee.
Across the country, radio
spots will be aired to alert people to the dangers of landmines and how to
protect themselves against injury or death. (…)
UNICEF and it partners focus
on school and community-based initiatives to educate children and communities
about the dangers of landmines and unexploded ordnance.
The UN body is also providing
support to survivors and advocating that the government sign the Anti-Personnel
Mine Ban Treaty (APMBT) and for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to
sign the Geneva Call (the APMBT for non-state actors). (…)
http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=94126&n_date=20050705&cat=India
German aid for minesweeping in
Bosnia
July 3 - Ten years after the end of the Bosnian war,
landmines continue to threaten the lives of around 1.3 million people. Germany
is now making funds available to speed up the mine clearance activities in the
country.
More than 400 people have died
in Bosnian minefields since the end of the war. Making the country mine-free is
a difficult and time-consuming job that requires significant funds in addition
to the technological know-how. In an attempt to help Bosnia in the demining
process, Germany has pledged 1.7 million euros ($2 million) in aid for
minesweeping in 35 locations across the country. (…)
Thanks to the help of the
German government, which is one of the most important donor countries in Bosnia
and Herzegovina, large minefields will be cleared beginning this summer. Around
2,000 square kilometers of land in Bosnia and Herzegovina -- two million square
meters -- is abandoned and unusable because of existing mines. As much as they
are a threat to human lives, landmines are responsible for significant economic
losses in this country which is still struggling to recover from war. (…)
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1636791,00.html
Nuclear
Age Peace Foundation: Think Outside the Bomb
National
Youth Conference, August 15-21, University of California, Santa Barbara
The Nuclear Age Peace
Foundation has been at the forefront of educating and empowering young people
to take action for a nuclear weapons-free future. From our work on the recent
Guide to the Demilitarization of American's Youth and Students, to our
Internship Program, UC Nuclear Free Campaign and Peace Leadership Trainings,
our Youth Outreach Initiative is reaching more young people than ever.
This summer (…) we are pleased
to have the opportunity to host a first-of-its-kind National Youth Conference
on nuclear organizing called Think Outside the Bomb from August 15-21. The
conference will bring together some 60 young leaders, disarmament experts,
educators and activists from across the country to help teach and support young
peace leaders working on nuclear issues. The conference will take place at the
University of California, Santa Barbara.
The conference is designed to
bring together young people who currently are, or would like to be, active in
efforts to promote a world free of the threat of nuclear weapons and redress
the toxic legacy of the Nuclear Age. Conference participants will be empowered
to become more involved in these issues nationally and will engage in dialogue,
linking nuclear issues to other social, racial, economic and environmental
justice issues. (…) Learn more by visiting the conference website at http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/programs/youth-outreach/youth-conference/index.htm.
International
conference draws up strategy to fight avian influenza
International animal and human
health experts today unveiled a plan designed to reduce the risk of the H5N1 avian
influenza virus spreading from poultry to humans and appealed for funds to make
it work.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 6 July
-- International animal and human health experts today unveiled a multi-point plan designed to reduce the risk of the H5N1 avian influenza
virus spreading from poultry to humans, and appealed to the international
community to come forward with funds to make it work and help stave off the
risk of an influenza pandemic.
The
strategy was drawn up at a three-day conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
attended by experts from around Asia, as well as by senior representatives of
FAO, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health
Organization (WHO).
The plan will be the basis for
urgent actions by affected states and will be made available to the
international community to help donors focus on the areas of highest need.(…)
Delegates concluded that priority should be given to the situation in
small-scale and backyard farms, the scene of the majority of human cases since
the avian influenza outbreak became known in early 2004. (…)
WHO estimates the cost of an
effective response on the public health front at about $150 million, mainly for
capacity building in affected countries, including emergency support in the
areas of laboratory diagnosis, vaccine development, surveillance and public
education. Some of the funds would be earmarked for antiviral drugs and
personal protective equipment for people most at risk of infection.
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2005/104565/index.html
First
generic medicines factory being set up in Afghanistan
Public-private partnership equips Afghan population to
produce safe and effective generic medicines - Medicines production equipment arrives in
Kabul
Kabul,
July 5 (OCHA News) - Today the donated production machinery for a newly
constructed generic medicines factory named "Baz International
Pharmaceutical Company Ltd." arrived in Kabul. It will be the first
medicine plant built in Afghanistan since the civil unrest. About 300 million
to 400 million tablets of urgently needed medicines such as antibiotics and
analgesics will be produced each year. Production is scheduled to start in the
fourth quarter of 2005. The locally produced generic medicines will
significantly improve the availability of safe, effective and affordable
medication in the country. (…)
The
project’s primary goal is to construct a pharmaceutical plant in Kabul to
provide safe and effective generic medicines to the Afghan population.
Currently, one-quarter of all Afghan children die before the age of 5, often
from treatable infectious diseases due to the lack of proper medication.
Approximately 40 local employees will be taught basic operating skills and
production technology to allow them to be self-sufficient.
The
plant’s equipment and materials, as well as pharmaceutical expertise and
training are being donated by the European Generic Medicines Association (EGA),
the official body representing roughly 500 pharmaceutical companies from the
generic medicines industry in Europe. In September 2005, 14 Afghan technicians
will be trained in EGA member companies in Europe in order to start production
in Afghanistanby the end of 2005. (…)
http://www.egagenerics.com/ega-afghanistan.htm
Global
health organizations recognize Rotary International’s unprecedented role in the
fight to end polio worldwide
Geneva/New York/Atlanta 21
June – On the occasion of Rotary International's 100th anniversary, the Global
Polio Eradication Initiative today paid tribute to the humanitarian service
organization’s commitment to ending polio worldwide.
As a key partner in the
Initiative – the world’s largest health drive which also includes the World
Health Organization (WHO), US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
and UNICEF – Rotary is the leading private-sector contributor second only to
the United States Government. Since 1985, when Rotary launched its PolioPlus
program, individual Rotary members have collectively raised US$600 million and
contributed countless volunteer hours to help immunize more than 2 billion
children in 122 countries. (…)
The spread of polio could end
this year. Just over 1,000 cases were reported in 2004, compared to 350,000 in
1988– a 99 percent reduction. Of the remaining six endemic countries, four in
Asia and North Africa have recorded just 30 cases between them in 2005. In west
and central Africa, only three countries have reported cases this year:
Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria. This is despite a major epidemic that swept the
region in 2004, causing outbreaks in 16 previously polio-free countries. (…)
At Rotary’s Centennial
celebrations in Chicago, Illinois, the partners presented Rotary with a statue
symbolizing the drops of oral polio vaccine that protect children from the
disease. (…)
Radio helps communities access
useful health information
(Source Weekly, 28 June) -
Radio programmes can help communities to access useful health information,
romote behavioural change and widen access to health services. This is the
conclusion of a recent paper [1] from Britain’s Department for International
Development (DFID) which draws on examples of initiatives using radio to
promote better health for poor people.
Radio has a far better reach
than television. It is estimated that in 2001 one in four Africans (205 million
people) had access to a radio. A significant expansion recently of radio-based
interventions is showing it can be a cheap and effective means of providing
health information and stimulating both community dialogue and national debate
on health policy issues. (…)
[1] Skuse, A. (2004). Radio
broadcasting for health : a decision maker’s guide. Information and
Communication for Development (ICD), Department for International Development. PDF file
http://www.comminit.com/pdf/RadioBroadcastingForHealth.pdf
Another
Chinese lake reconnects with the Yangtze
Anqing, China, 5 July –
Following the opening of a dyke in Hubei Province's Zhangdu in mid-June,
another dyke in Anhui Province’s Baidang Lake has been opened as part of a
WWF-HSBC freshwater initiative to restore the ‘web of life’ along the Yangzte
River.
Depleted by intensive crab
farming, as well as the unnatural disruption between the region’s lakes and the
river, Baidang Lake has shrunk from 100sq km in the 1950s to its current size
of 40sq km. Natural fisheries production in the region has also declined
sharply.
The opening of Baidang Lake’s
dyke – the result of a joint effort between WWF and the Yangtze Fishery
Administrative Committee – will help the migratory flow of fish, allowing them
to breed upstream into the Yangtze, and for young fish fry to return to the
lake where they can grow to maturity. WWF experts believe the move will
increase fish populations, allowing local fisheries to increase yields by five
per cent within the next three years. (…)
http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/news.cfm?uNewsID=21673
Marshland
restoration in Spain’s Doñana National Park
Doñana National Park, Spain, 1
July – Hundreds of hectares of agricultural land will be restored to original
marshlands in Spain’s celebrated Doñana national park following a recent
decision by the park's scientific board.
The Doñana 2005 Restoration
Project's Scientific Board approved the restoration of 1,600ha of marshes,
which were transformed in the 1970s into low-quality agricultural land, as well
as the removal of 40kms of clay walls constructed in the 1980s around the park
to initially prevent overflooding from the nearby Brazo de la Torre riverbed,
an arm of the Guadalquivir River.
Having helped set up the
scientific board in 1999, WWF has long called for the removal of these
surrounding walls. “Connecting the
Doñana marshes naturally with the river is an important step to returning the
ecosystem back to its original state, as well as towards wetland management
that respects natural variability,” said Guido Schmidt, Head of WWF-Spain’s
freshwater programme. (…)
http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/freshwater/news/news.cfm?uNewsID=21612
EDN Film Series reaches 1.2
billion Chinese viewers
Series highlights safe water,
safe rivers
Washington, DC,
June 30 – Earth Day Network, in conjunction with partner Global Village
Beijing, has produced a series of films on the importance of water
conservation. The film series, titled “Earth Day Special: Water from the Eyes
of a Child,” is airing on government controlled Chinese National Television and
was featured as part of a larger Earth Day awareness exhibit at the Sony
Explora Center in Beijing.
This series is the second
environmental film set aimed at educating the general public about the
importance of water conservation. The films, produced at the request of Chinese
National Television, aired continuously for three months reached an estimated
1.2 billion audience. (…)
Global Village Beijing is a
Chinese non-governmental organization specializing in education through media
and community activities. Founded by Sherri Xiaovi Liao in 1996, Global Village
Beijing is currently the coordinator for the China Earth Day Committee, a group
made up of six Chinese non-governmental organizations.
http://www.earthday.net/news/07-01-05_release.aspx
Indian
Ocean Tsunami Warning System formally established - Work begins on systems for
the Caribbean and the Mediterranean
30 June - The Indian Ocean
Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System formally came into existence today with
the establishment of an Intergovernmental Coordination Group (ICG) to govern
it. The 23rd Assembly of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
(IOC) also adopted resolutions establishing similar bodies for the Caribbean
and adjacent regions as well as the North-East Atlantic, the Mediterranean and
connected seas. Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura welcomed the developments
and encouraged participants “to maintain the momentum that has allowed a great
deal of progress to be achieved in a few short months.” Mr Matsuura also stressed
that “UNESCO would continue to support Member States in their efforts to
provide the best possible protection for their populations against tsunamis and
other ocean-related hazards.”
The ICG for the Indian Ocean
system will be made up of the IOC’s Member States in the region and be
supported by a secretariat, provided by the IOC. The Group is expected to hold
its first meeting from August 3 to 5, in Perth (Australia).(…)
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=28234&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
Researchers from the Middle
East and Europe work together to halt Dead Sea degradation
(European Water Management
News, 29 June) - The shrinking of the Dead Sea has brought researchers from
Jordan, Israel and Palestine together, along with two EU partners, in order to
establish how water management in the region could be improved. The five
research teams are working towards the drafting of different scenarios - how
different forms of interaction with the Dead Sea will affect natural resources
- and hope to present these scenarios to stakeholders, including politicians.
The project is funded under the International Cooperation (INCO) strand of the
EU’s Fifth Framework Programme (FP5).
The Dead Sea Basin has been
affected by the economic and demographic changes that have taken place over the
last 50 years. The shrinking of the surface area by around 30 per cent makes
the degradation visible to all. (…) The partners consider this research as fairly urgent. Not only
because of the rapid degradation of the area, but because the World Bank is
currently funding a feasibility study on pumping water from the Red Sea to the
Dead Sea. As the water would need to be pumped upwards, this would be a very
expensive solution, and is not favoured by the consortium. The World Bank study
is intended to assess the feasibility of such a scheme, and is not addressing
the likely environmental impact of the proposal.
http://www.deadseaproject.org http://systemforschung.arcs.ac.at/jowapubl/ www.nwp.nl
WWF teams up with financial industry
to tackle climate change
London, UK, 29 June – The
financial industry needs to systematically screen climate change risks,
according to a new report by the Allianz Group and WWF, which outlines specific
steps for actions to better integrate risks from climate change into the
insurance, banking, and asset management sectors.
Allianz, an international
financial services provider, marked the publication of the report – Climate
Change & the Financial Sector: An Agenda for Action – with a pledge to increase
investments in renewable energies by 300 to 500 million euros over the next
five years. (…) To tackle climate change risks more strategically, Allianz will
address the issue at the board level and examine carbon risks in banking, asset
management, and insurance. "The financial industry plays a pivotal role in
helping to mitigate the effects of climate change and steer the world towards
clean energy," said Robert Napier, Chief Executive of WWF UK. (…)
http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/climate_change/news/news.cfm?uNewsID=21477
Europe can reach a low
emissions future
The
European Environment Agency in Copenhagen has identified pathways to achieve
Europe's contribution to a global climate change target.
Copenhagen, 29 June - Global
and European action is needed to meet the challenge of ensuring that global
temperatures will never rise more than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial
levels. This commitment to take the lead towards a "low emissions
future" was agreed by all countries in the European Union. (…)
Europe cannot achieve this
goal alone. The report has looked at a contribution that would require a fall
in EU greenhouse gas emissions by 40% of 1990 levels by 2030. The report
projects substantial changes in the EU energy sector by 2030. The sector is
currently responsible for 80 % of all EU greenhouse gas emissions. More than
half of the reductions required in the EU would be based on achievable
technologies inside Europe, meaning more efficient electricity and heat
generation and use of energy in households, industry, services/agriculture and
transport, a switch to low-carbon fuels and increases in renewable energy
mainly from wind and biomass. The remaining reductions would be achieved by
international emissions trading involving the rest of the world. These are the
key findings revealed in a new report launched today by the European
Environment Agency. The report sets out a number of scenarios assessing what
changes would be needed to ensure a low global emissions future at the lowest
cost. (…)
http://org.eea.eu.int/documents/newsreleases/ghg_report2005-en
Environmentally
friendly weapon against locusts proves effective
FAO
calls large-scale field tests of biopesticide in Algeria a major breakthrough
Rome, 28 June - For the first
time, an environmentally friendly weapon against Desert Locusts has been
successfully tested under large-scale field conditions, FAO said today.
During a field trial organized
jointly by the plant protection authorities of Algeria and FAO near El Oued in
eastern Algeria, the biopesticide, called Green Muscle®, was sprayed on more
than 1 400 hectares of land infested by Desert Locust larvae. Locusts were
clearly weakened and started moving slowly after four days and were then eaten
by birds, lizards and ants. The new control method uses a natural fungus,
called Metarhizium anisopliae, which infects locust hoppers in such a
way that they stop feeding and die in one to three weeks. "This successful large-scale test is a
major breakthrough in the battle against locusts," said Niek van der Graaff,
Chief of FAO's Plant Protection Service.
For further information: erwin.northoff@fao.org FAO’s web page on Desert Locusts: http://www.fao.org/ag/locusts/en/info/info/index.html
Support for South Pacific
Coral Reefs with coral gardeners and reef guides
Coral gardeners and trained
reef guides are new and vital professions for reef tourism areas, adding
earning capacity and skills to local communities and to the Fiji tourism
experience.
Counterpart International, in
collaboration with Partners in Community Development Fiji (PCDF), is about to
embark on a new three-year intensive coral reef restoration effort in
Fiji.
The "Living Reefs – Cakau
Bulabula" project will be part of the global Coral Gardens program and the
new phase will continue the momentum of the existing programs but focus more on
the tourism and aquarium aspects.
The East Asia Pacific
Environment Initiative (EAPEI), which has pledged funding for the work, wants
communities to become skilled in sustainable coral reef resource management,
low-tech environmental restoration, marine park management, reef-based
ecotourism, and sustainable coral farming, and Counterpart's proposals fit the
bill perfectly. (…)
Coral gardeners and trained
reef guides are new and vital professions for reef tourism areas, adding
earning capacity and skills to local communities and to the Fiji tourism
experience.
Funding for the EAPEI work,
whose goal is to improve environmental conditions and quality of life by
increasing environmental capacity and knowledge in the East Asia and Pacific
region, will be channeled through the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID). (…)
http://www.counterpart.org/dnn/Default.aspx?tabid=49&metaid=F86K0117-a19
Annual
Meeting of the UNCTAD Virtual Institute – Geneva, 11-15 July
The first annual meeting of
the UNCTAD Virtual Institute (Vi) will take in Geneva between 11-15 July 2005.
The Vi brings together a network of institutions of higher learning from around
the world who conduct teaching and research on globalisation, international
trade and development. The Vi works to build the capacity of these institutions
through exchanging research, expertise and resources among each other and with
UNCTAD. The members of the Vi will share their experiences, exchange ideas and
identify activities that can strengthen their teaching and research in
UNCTAD-related areas. They will also find ways of making teaching and research
practical, policy-orientated and locally relevant. At the meeting new resources
on the economics of commodity production and trade, and the economic and legal
aspects of international investment agreements will be discussed. Members will
get to know each other in an informal setting, have opportunities to share and
discuss their work, debate key ideas and issues and establish the basis for a
sustainable relationship. The outcome of the meeting will be a plan for future
activities and events that can be implemented in coming year.
http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Meeting.asp?intItemID=2068&lang=1&m=10574&year=2005&month=7
International
cooperation in higher education: Commission gives green light to 108 Tempus
projects
Brussels, 8 July - The European Commission has selected 108
university co-operation projects under the Tempus Programme to start on 1
September 2005. Each project lasts for a period of two or three years and
involves a minimum of three universities in the European Union and its
neighbouring countries. The projects will be the EU’s contribution to the
modernisation of the higher education systems of those partner countries . (…)
Tempus is the European Union’s
programme for supporting the modernisation of higher education in 27 countries
in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Western Balkans and the Mediterranean
region, mainly through university cooperation projects. (…) Tempus projects are
organised as consortia between institutions in EU Member States and those in
the partner countries. The projects fall into three categories, the most
important of which is that of the Joint European Projects (… that) aim at
transferring knowledge from EU universities to institutions in the partner
countries in the areas of curriculum development, university management and
institution building. (…) The other two project categories are Structural and
Complementary Projects, which are designed to support national higher education
reforms and strategic framework development, and Individual Mobility Grants,
which target higher education professionals in the partner countries.
Nelson
Mandela joins the ranks of UNESCO Goodwill Ambassadors
12 July - Nelson Mandela,
former President of South Africa, has been designated UNESCO Goodwill
Ambassador by Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura, in a ceremony today at the
Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg, South Africa. Mr Mandela has been
awarded the title “in recognition of his outstanding leadership in the fight
against apartheid and racial discrimination, in his country and worldwide; for
his dedication to reconciliation between different communities; his unfailing
commitment to democracy, equality and learning; his support for all the
oppressed of the Earth; and his exemplary contribution to international peace
and understanding.” (…)
Mr Mandela served as his
country’s first democratically-elected president from 1994 to 1999, overseeing
South Africa’s transition from minority rule and winning international respect
for promoting reconciliation. Since his retirement, he has been active on
behalf of a number of social and human rights organizations.
As one of UNESCO’s Goodwill
Ambassadors, Mr Mandela joins an outstanding group of celebrity advocates who
have generously accepted to use their talent and status to promote UNESCO’s
work and ideals. They include Valdas Adamkus, President of Lithuania; H.R.H.
Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxemburg; Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of
Thailand; and Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 1992.
http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php
ECLAC launches new website for the Information Society
It
brings together a wealth of information, links and a bookstore offering publications
by the United Nations regional body on this subject.
4 July - A new space within
the ECLAC website was
launched by the Information Society
Programme of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). Created as a
space for promoting virtual meetings between specialists, business people,
governments, international bodies and civil society, the website seeks to
promote public policies, stimulate regional cooperation, monitor progress,
provide analytical and technical assistance in preparing and implementing
strategies for developing the information society. (…)
This
new website also offers all ECLAC publications, grouped
according to the four eLAC Plan of Action themes: access to infrastructure;
skills and know-how; content and public service; policy instruments. It offers
direct links to other relevant web sites, among them the World Summit on the
Information Society, which will take place in Tunis, November 2005.(…)http://www.eclac.org/cgi-bin/getProd.asp?xml=/prensa/noticias/comunicados/5/21985/P21985.xml&xsl=/prensa/tpl-i/p6f.xsl&base=/prensa/tpl-i/top-bottom.xsl
Adults
receive a "C" from American teens
UCAN
Teen Report Card Shows Adults Score Well in Some Areas, Need Improvement in
Others
Washington, DC, June 17-- With
most schools coming to a close for the summer, report card day has now come for
American adults. The good news for adults is that they passed, but the bad news
is their grades were mediocre.
According to the 7th Annual UCAN Teen Report Card, which asked more than
1,000 teens ages 12 to 19 across the country to grade adults in more than 20
different categories, adults received an average overall grade of
"C." (…)
In total, adults received B's
in the following categories: providing a quality education for young people,
providing young people with a safe place to live, creating job opportunities
for the future, keeping schools safe from violence and crime, fighting AIDS,
protecting teens and kids from gun violence, being honest, preventing child
abuse, leading by example, making neighborhoods safer and protecting young
people from terrorism. (…)
Adults received satisfactory C
grades for the following subjects: fighting the war on terrorism (which dropped
from a B last year), disciplinary tactics, combating prejudice and racism, preventing
teens from running away, understanding the realities of teen sex, protecting
the environment, protecting teens and kids from gun violence, stopping young
people from using drugs, stopping young people from smoking, getting rid of
gangs, listening and understanding young people, stopping young people from
drinking, helping young people cope with depression and reducing bullying among
young people. The only D grade adults received was for having a limited
understanding of why teens runaway from home. (…)
Created and sponsored by the
Chicago-based UCAN (Uhlich Children's Advantage Network), the UCAN Teen Report
Card is an annual measure of adult progress on issues affecting teens, as
graded by teens themselves. (…) A full copy of the UCAN Teen Report Card,
including all grades and ancillary materials, can be found at: http://www.ucanchicago.org/reportcard
. (...)
http://www.cwla.org/printable/printpage.asp
5th
IFLAC PAVE PEACE CONFERENCE
Ayres Hotel, LA. California - August 3-6, 2005
IFLAC PAVE PEACE, The
International Forum for the Culture and Literature of Peace, organizes this
interdisciplinary conference. IFLAC is a network of women leaders, peace
researchers, writers, poets, educators, journalists and media, working together
to foster joint cooperation and understanding in our global village. The
conference will bring together experts and participants from a broad range of
fields, to discuss the impact of the cultural and literary dimensions for
promoting the paving of a global Culture of Peace, which would creatively
“pave” and promote a world beyond war. There will be: Panels, Roundtable,
Workshops, Research Papers, Peace Stories and Poems, as well as International
Cultural Feasts in the Evenings. (…)
Media sponsors: WomensRadio,
Sister Space Radio, and Global Peace Solution TV. The Global Peace Network will
be chairing a panel on "The Communications Revolution and its Effects on
Culture.” For further information, please visit:
www.iflac.com/ada www.iflac.com
TRANSCEND Peace
University – 20 Courses starting October 2005!
Announcing Registration for the October 2005 semester
Johan Galtung, the Rector of
TPU and one of the founders of peace studies, invites you to join practitioners
and students from around the world on-line. http://www.transcend.org/tpu
With faculty and Course
Directors drawn from amongst the leading scholars and practitioners in their
fields internationally, TPU is the world's first truly global, on-line Peace
University designed for government and NGO practitioners, policy makers and
students at any level working in the fields of peace, conflict transformation,
development and global issues. Since 1996 300+
on-site skills institutes have been offered for 6,000+ participants around the
world, using the TRANSCEND manual "Conflict Transformation By Peaceful
Means," published by the United Nations. There will be certificates;
for single courses, diplomas for clusters of courses and eventually BA, MA; and
PhD degrees. Participants may combine on-line and on-site courses. (…)
For more
information or to apply on-line, please visit www.transcend.org/tpu.
Please note, the
deadline for applications for the October Semester is September 15, 2005.
* * * * * * *
(top)
The
spreading of the Culture of Peace is substantiated by the very meaningful and
comprehensive world report based on
the reports of 670 organizations from over 100 countries. It was run by
Fundación Cultura de Paz, whose President is Federico Mayor, former UNESCO
Executive Director. This summary report, which shows that the culture of peace
is advancing, has been formally submitted to the United Nations
Secretary-General with the request that it be submitted to the 60th
Session of the U.N. General Assembly for its consideration in the plenary
meeting planned to be devoted to the International Decade for a Culture of Peace
and Non-violence for the Children of the World, 2001-2010.
The
final paragraph of the summary report stresses that “Sharing of information is
essential to development of the global movement, as stated by the General
Assembly in its resolution A/53/243”, and Good News Agency is included among
the six organizations mentioned whose “important initiatives are already
underway”.
The
date of the plenary meeting of the UN General Assembly devoted to the Decade
will be announced when the General Assembly publishes its schedule, probably in
September.
Decade for Culture of Peace
and Non-Violence
CIVIL
SOCIETY REPORT AT MIDPOINT OF CULTURE OF PEACE DECADE
The global movement for a culture of peace is advancing. This is
the conclusion of most organizations from around the world, as they report
progress toward a culture of peace during the first five years of the
International Decade for the Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children
of the World. It is documented by over 3000 pages of information submitted
before May 15 by 670 organizations from over 100 countries which are freely
available on the website http://decade-culture-of-peace.org/cgi-bin/ib3/ikonboard.cgi. This information
is only the tip of the iceberg, since
some organizations posted information later and many others that promote a
culture of peace were not contacted or did not respond to the questionnaire for
this report, as indicated by the many partnerships listed by participating
organizations. They number in the many thousands, corresponding to the call for
partnerships for a culture of peace in General Assembly Resolution A/53/243 (para B.A.6).
The advance is especially remarkable given that it has been only
five years since UN General Assembly resolution A/53/243 first called for a
global movement for a culture of peace. It is also remarkable because, as
reported from around the world, the mass media has failed to report on news of
the culture of peace, and the United Nations and the lead agency for the
Decade, UNESCO, have given very little attention to it. In Brazil where 15
million people signed the Manifesto 2000, special credit is given to the
International Year for the Culture of Peace for having launched the movement in
the Year 2000.
The richness of the reports reflects the definition of a culture
of peace provided by the General Assembly resolution A/52/13 that first called for a “transformation from a culture of war and
violence to a culture of peace and non-violence”: a culture of peace consists
of “values, attitudes and behaviours that reflect and inspire social
interaction and sharing based on the principles of freedom, justice and
democracy, all human rights, tolerance and solidarity, that reject violence and
endeavour to prevent conflicts by tackling their root causes to solve problems
through dialogue and negotiation and that guarantee the full exercise of all
rights and the means to participate fully in the development process of their
society.” And the Programme of Action for a Culture of Peace (A/53/243) adopted by the
General Assembly in 1999 encompasses eight programme areas: Education for a
culture of peace: Equality of women; Democratic participation; Sustainable
development; Human rights; Understanding, tolerance, solidarity; Free flow of
information and knowledge; International peace and security. Advice to the UN
in all of these areas is given here from the reporting organizations.
This General Assembly definition of the culture of peace is
positive rather than negative, going far beyond the previous definition of
peace as the absence of armed conflict. This is not always easy for people to
understand. For example, “in Japan people are apt to think that peace means the
situation without wars and nuclear weapons through the experience of the World
War. Peace Education means the
teaching of the nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, air raid attacks and
the battles in Okinawa … We spent a lot of time to make understood the
difference between peace and culture of peace to fellow groups or people who
made efforts for peace.” Many other organizations also underline that it is
important to explain the nature of the culture of peace.
Although highlights from reports are summarized here, the full
information, available on the Internet, is far richer than any summary can
indicate. Hundreds of photographs illustrate culture of peace activities,
showing a complex picture of children, women, men working, playing,
celebrating, demonstrating, engaging in hundreds of activities that promote
life, cooperation, solidarity, hope, commitment to change and improvement of
their lives and the lives of others, a view of the culture of peace that is not
found elsewhere in such a global and all-encompassing vision.
It is generally agreed that, as one report puts it, there is a
remarkable “scarcity and difficulty of access to resources for the promotion of
the culture of peace, in comparison with the immense expenses for the promotion
of war and violence.” One exception, perhaps, is the enormous resources devoted
to tourism, which, as reported by the International Institute of Peace through
Tourism, has a great potential to contribute to a culture of peace.
The qualitative indicators of progress reported by most
organizations need to be further developed as quantitative indicators for a
culture of peace during the second half of the Decade. Starting points are
provided by the indicators of international peace and security, human rights
and development provided by Escuela de Cultura de Paz, and indicators for peace
education referenced by the Peace Studies Program of Clark University.
Sharing of information is essential to development of the global
movement, as stated by the General Assembly in its resolution A/53/243, especially in view of the failure of the
mass media to provide news of the culture of peace. It is generally agreed that
systems of information exchange need to be greatly expanded in the second half
of the Decade. Important initiatives are already underway, including those
described in reports from the Good News Agency, the Transnational Foundation
for Peace and Future Research, the Peace Research Information Unit Bonn, the
Danish Peace Academy, Education for Peace Globalnet and the International
Coalition for the Decade, as well as others in the planning stage such as the
Signis Asia Assembly from Malaysia. All of the arts are employed, e.g.: Agencia
Internacional para el Fomento de Acciónes con Hip-Hop; Conseil International de
la Danse; International Forum for Literature and Culture of Peace; Jipa Moyo
Comics; The Art Miles Mural Project. Two other Internet sources of culture of
peace information have already been supported by General Assembly resolutions:
the CP Internet pages of the UNESCO Website and the Culture of Peace News
Network.
http://decade-culture-of-peace.org/cgi-bin/ib3/ikonboard.cgi
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Next issue: 9 September.
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Good News Agency is distributed free of charge through Internet to over 3,700 editorial offices of the daily newspapers and periodical magazines and of the radio and television stations with an e-mail address in 48 countries: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bosnia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Holland, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela, USA, and it is also available in its web site: http://www.goodnewsagency.org
It is a service of Associazione Culturale dei Triangoli e della Buona Volontà Mondiale, a registered non-profit educational organization chartered in Italy in 1979 and associated with the Department of Public Information of the United Nations.
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.
Via Antagora 10, 00124
Rome, Italy. E-mail: s.tripi@tiscali.it
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