Good News Agency – Year IX, n° 3
Weekly - Year IX, number 3 – 22nd
February 2008
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 engaged in improving the quality of life – news that doesn’t “burn
out” in the space of a day. Editorial research by Fabio Gatti (in charge) and
Elisa Peduto. Good News Agency is published in English on one Friday and
in Italian the next. It is distributed free of charge
through Internet to the editorial offices of more than 4,000 media
in 49 countries and to 2,800 NGOs.
It is an all-volunteer service
of Associazione Culturale dei Triangoli e della Buona Volontà Mondiale,
NGO 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 it has
been included in the web site http://www3.unesco.org/iycp/uk/uk_sum_monde.htm
International legislation – Human rights – Economy and development – Solidarity
Peace and security – Health
– Energy and Safety – Environment and wildlife
Religion and
spirituality
– Culture and education
The European Commission
presents policy priorities for 2009
Brussels, 13 February - The Commission has today presented its Annual
Policy Strategy setting out its political priorities for 2009. It outlines the
Commission's policy objectives in five priority areas: growth and jobs, climate
change and sustainable Europe, making a reality of the common immigration
policy, putting the citizen first, and Europe as a world partner. The
Commission will seek to gain approval for its legislative initiatives and also
look forward by stimulating debate on the internal market, social agenda and
budget reviews. (…)
During 2009, the Commission will maintain its focus on delivering
results for the benefit of citizens and businesses. Growth and jobs remain a
major policy priority for the Union, backed up by further efforts to tackle
climate change and to meet the energy needs of the Union. The Commission will
follow up on the Single Market review and on the revised Social Agenda. The
Commission will also look forward, laying the foundations for the years ahead.
On of the main highlights will be the work on the budget review, based on the
consultation now underway, which will pave the way for the preparation of the
next financial perspectives.
The
development of a common immigration policy will be a fundamental priority in
order to meet the challenges and harness the opportunities provided by
migration in an era of globalisation. Initiatives will be put forward to
simplify the life of citizens and ensure their security. Negotiations with
candidate countries will be pursued on the basis of the renewed consensus on
enlargement. Work to develop closer political and economic ties with partners
around the world will continue to intensify, and new partnerships with African
countries will be implemented in the context of the Africa/EU strategy. The
Commission will also continue to deliver on its better regulation agenda, to
focus on the proper enforcement of EU legislation and to ensure the sound
management of financial programmes. (...)
20
February : World Day of Social Justice
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/social/intldays/IntlJustice/index.html
Évora (Portugal): Conference on MDGs. Organizers: Évora
University, Institute for Development Studies and UNRIC.
Minsk (Belarus): The role of
health systems in chemical safety for EECCA countries
Organizer: WHO Regional Office
for Europe (Till 22 February)
Monaco: Tenth special session
of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Governing Council / Global
Ministerial Environment Forum. The theme for the meeting is Mobilizing Finance
for the Climate Challenge. (Till 22 February)
The distribution areas
in central Katanga can only be reached by boat
15 February - The
United Nations refugee agency is distributing supplies to some 55,000 displaced
people who have returned to their homes in the southern province of Katanga in
the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Roger Hollo, a protection
officer with the UN High Commissioner for Refguees (UNHCR) in the provincial
capital, Lubumbashi, said the initiative is part of the agency’s programme of
assistance and protection for people displaced in northern and central Katanga.
“Some 11,000 households, or 55,000 people, will benefit”, he said after the
distribution began in central Katanga’s Kilumbe district on Tuesday. The
exercise, expected to take up to three weeks to complete, involves handing out
kitchen utensils, blankets, jerry cans, mosquito nets, plastic sheeting,
buckets and soap to each returnee family. The refugee agency and a local
partner will also distribute string, nails and hammers to help the former
internally displaced people (IDP) construct homes. The World Food Programme
(WFP) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are also assisting the group. “I am very
happy and grateful for this gesture. I was lost, I had nothing left”, said an
old woman, who, like others at the distribution, fled her home three years ago
to escape fighting between government forces and the Mai-Mai militia. This
final distribution of food and supplies is being conducted in three isolated
villages close to the town of Bukama in central Katanga’s Kilumbe district. (…)
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=25636&Cr=democratic&Cr1=congo
14 February - The
United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has launched a $157 million joint operation with the Colombian
Government to provide food and other humanitarian assistance to more than
530,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the South American country over
the next three years. Starting in April, the programme will provide
assistance through a series of projects, including school feeding, food for
training, food for work and food assistance for both vulnerable communities at
high risk of displacement and for host communities for IDPs. WFP is already
helping over 500,000 people across Colombia each year, drawing on its network
of 10 field offices to support families and individuals who been forced to flee
their homes because of long-running fighting between Government forces, rebels
and paramilitary groups or attacks against civilians by armed groups. The
agency said in a press statement issued in Bogotá today that the new programme
will be the largest international cooperation scheme for IDPs ever developed by
a UN agency in Colombia. Praveen Agrawal, the agency’s country director in
Colombia, said “the unanimous support for the implementation of these
activities is not only the result of the excellent relationship between WFP and
the Colombian Government, but also testament to the positive results WFP has
achieved in the country during the last few years.”
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=25625&Cr=colombia&Cr1=
UN readies to provide more
lasting help for Chadian refugees in Cameroon
12 February - United Nations
aid officials in Cameroon are preparing plans to deliver protection and
assistance for some months to as many as 20,000 Chadian refugees who fled their
homeland last week because of deadly fighting between Government forces and
armed opposition groups.
An estimated 30,000 refugees
are currently in Kousséri, in north-eastern Cameroon, and UN High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) local representative Jacques Franquin said that after
handling the group’s immediate life-saving needs, the agency expects about two
thirds will not return to Chad in the coming weeks. (…)
This weekend UNHCR and its aid
partners will start officially registering the new refugees and offering some
of them transport to a camp near the town of Maltam, about 32 kilometres from
Kousséri.
Silvia Luciani, the acting
representative in Cameroon of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said
vaccinations against measles and polio will start tomorrow for up to 44,000
children among the refugees and the local host communities.
UNICEF has also been providing
48,000 litres of drinking water to the refugees each day since Saturday, when
the World Food Programme (WFP) began systematic distributions of food. The
Chadians will also receive blankets, soaps, buckets and jerry cans. (…)
http://www.un.org/apps/news/ticker/tickerstory.asp?NewsID=25597
Despite
constraints, FAO helping Gaza farmers
Projects
target herders, fishers, horticulture
Rome, 21 February - Despite
restrictions which make it hard to import essential inputs, FAO is helping
restore agricultural production and improve farmers’ livelihoods in the Gaza
Strip through a series of emergency projects. Eighty percent of Gaza’s
population is currently dependent on food aid and locally-grown produce is a
vital source of fresh food.
FAO currently has 14 projects
running in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with the bulk of activities (85
percent) involving the West Bank. But according to experts the most serious
area of humanitarian concern is Gaza, where agriculture and fisheries have been
badly hit by the lack of inputs, constraints on farm exports and restrictions
on fishing areas. The lower volume of assistance going to Gaza largely stems
from the fact that getting international goods and equipment into the area is
almost impossible.
Governments and organizations
funding the projects – to the tune of some US$10 million – include Italy,
Spain, Japan, Norway, the European Commission and the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. (…)
The projects are aimed at boosting agricultural production capacity and
securing livelihood improvements for farmers, shepherds, small ruminant rearers
and fishers.
15 February - The
annual meeting of the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural
Development (IFAD) has wrapped up with participants issuing a call for
stepped-up investment to help poor rural farmers. At the two-day IFAD Governing Council meeting in
Rome, delegates from the agency’s 164 Member States recognized the impact of
climate change and soaring food prices on poverty-stricken smallholders in
developing countries. Attendees suggested measures to ease the burden on the
rural poor, including reducing transportation costs, establishing safety nets
for those who purchase more food than they grow and increasing productivity
through research and micro-credit programmes. “The major donor countries have
not yet fully realized that the root cause of many social ills - youth
unemployment, migration, urban slums and immigration, stem from the lack of
investment in rural space”, IFAD President Lennart Båge told reporters. He
appealed for more fund to support agriculture, since the vast majority of the
world’s poorest reside in rural areas. Currently, only 3 per cent of all
international aid is directed towards farming.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=25648&Cr=ifad&Cr1=
Tea
prices to maintain upward trend in 2008
Output in Viet Nam increases 28 percent, another record crop in China
Rome, 14 February - In 2008, world
tea prices are expected to maintain their upward trend as a result of a tight
supply on the world market exacerbated by a projected 10 percent decrease in
Kenyan production due to civil unrest, according to an FAO report on current
and future trends in the tea market prepared for the Global Dubai Tea Forum
2008 (February 19-20). This follows a
review of the world tea market for 2006 which indicated an improvement in the
fundamental oversupply situation that had persisted for many years. Indeed, the
FAO Composite Price, as a world indicator price for tea, increased by 11.6
percent to reach US$1.83 per kg in 2006. The market fundamentals for 2007
suggest that this trend is likely to continue as the FAO Index has increased a
further 6.5 percent to US$1.95 per kg in 2007. World tea production grew by
more than 3 percent to reach an estimated 3.6 million tonnes in 2006, according
to latest available figures cited by the report. The expansion was due to
another record crop in China with 1.05 million tonnes - an increase of 9.5
percent over the record established in 2005 - and a record 28 percent increase
in output in Viet Nam which pulled its production up to 133 000 tonnes.
A rehabilitation and expansion
programme implemented by Viet Nam explains the impressive growth in output as
tea bushes reached optimum yields. In China, government policies to increase
rural household incomes and major rationalization of the farming systems
including the replacement of low yielding bushes also boosted production.
An increase was also recorded
in India, the second larger producer, where harvests were 3 percent higher,
totalling 945 000 tonnes for 2006. The increases in China, India and Viet Nam
should offset declines in major producing countries, according to the report.
(…)
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2008/1000784/index.html
Significant
increase in world cereal production forecast for 2008, but prices remain high
New
FAO web portal tracks market trends
Rome, 13 February - Early prospects
point to the possibility of a significant increase in world cereal production
in 2008, but international prices of most cereals remain at record high levels
and some are still on the increase, FAO said today.
The forecast increase in
production follows expansion of winter grain plantings and good weather among
major producers in Europe and in the United States, coupled with a generally
satisfactory outlook elsewhere, according to FAO’s latest Crop Prospects and
Food Situation report. With dwindling stocks, continuing strong demand for
cereals is keeping upward pressure on international prices, despite a record
world harvest last season, the report said. International wheat prices in
January 2008 were 83 percent up from a year earlier. Although prices are high,
total world trade in cereals is expected to peak in 2007/08, driven in great
part by a sharp rise in demand for coarse grains, especially for feed use in
the European Union, according the report. (…)
An even higher increase is
anticipated for Africa. Prices of basic foods have also increased in many
countries worldwide, affecting the vulnerable populations most, the report
said.
In order to limit the impact
of rising cereal prices on domestic food consumption, governments from both
cereal importing and exporting countries have taken a range of policy measures,
including lowering import tariffs, raising food subsidies, and banning or
imposing duties on basic food exports. (…)
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2008/1000783/index.html
ACDI/VOCA sponsors kickoff for
Asia Society’s Development Series
5 February - On February 5
ACDI/VOCA, together with BearingPoint, sponsored the Asia Society Development
Series kickoff luncheon at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington, D.C. U.S. Agency
for International Development Assistant Administrator Kent Hill, pinch-hitting
as featured luncheon speaker for USAID Administrator Henrietta Fore who was
unavailable due to illness, spoke on “Building Partnerships in Asia”.
He said the Global Development
Alliance mechanism under which 600 public-private alliances have been formed to
date has reversed a historic trend: so far, this program has received $2.1
million from USAID and $5.8 billion from partners.
Hill mentioned ACDI/VOCA’s
SUCCESS Alliance project in partnership with Mars, Inc., as an example of a
good public-private partnership. Mars is a leader in the industry’s global
effort for cocoa sustainability, and ACDI/VOCA is expert in strengthening the
smallholder link in the cocoa value chain in Ecuador, Indonesia, the
Philippines and Vietnam.
Vice President of the
Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Charles Sethness provided an update on
this relatively new program, which is based on the principle that aid is most
effective when it reinforces good governance, economic freedom and investments
in people. Countries are selected to receive assistance under MCC based on
their performance in these areas. (...)
ACDI/VOCA has so far won MCC
awards in Honduras, Armenia and Madagascar.
http://www.acdivoca.org/acdivoca/PortalHub.nsf/ID/news_AsiaSociety1.28.08
Cadbury, UNDP team up for
sustainable cocoa farming
Accra, Ghana, 28 January - (…) Cadbury, the world’s leading confectionery
company, announced in Accra, Ghana, today the establishment of the Cadbury
Cocoa Partnership together with the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), the Ghanaian Government and other partners, in an initiative designed
to secure the sustainable livelihoods of a million farmers in cocoa-growing
communities across Ghana, India, Indonesia and the Caribbean. Cadbury is to
invest seed funding of US$2 million (£1 million) in 2008 to establish the
Partnership, with annual funding levels rising to US$10 million (£5 million) by
2010. Seventy percent of the funds will be invested in small farming
communities in Ghana, which provides the cocoa beans for Cadbury’s UK chocolate
including Cadbury Dairy Milk, Wispa, Flake, Creme Egg and Buttons. The announcement
marks the centenary of Cadbury Brothers’ trading partnership with Ghana.
With current cocoa yields hitting only 40 percent of their potential in
the African country, the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership is designed to improve the
income of cocoa farmers by helping them increase their yields and produce top
quality beans, introduce new sources of rural income through microfinance and
business support, and invest in community-led development from schools and
libraries to biodiversity protection projects and wells for clean water. The
pioneering public-private model will be led from the grassroots up, with
farmers, non-governmental organisations, governments and international agencies
including the United Nations working together to determine how best to spend the
money and turn plans into sustainable action. (…)
http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/2008/january/cadbury-undp-ghana-20080128.en
Nandani Co-op signs MOU with
Radhakrishna Foodland
28 January - ACDI/VOCA’s
Growth-oriented Microenterprise Development Program (GMED) helped broker the
signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in India between Radhakrishna
Foodland, a major food exporter and retailer, and the Nandani Fruit and
Vegetable Growers’ Cooperative Society on January 23. The MOU is a landmark
agreement that will connect the large Indian food retailer - India’s equivalent
of Wal-Mart - with smallholder farmers.
Under the partnership, the
Nandani Cooperative’s 5,400 smallholder farmer co-op members will sell fresh
fruits and vegetables to Foodland. This market supply chain linkage will
increase the members’ profits and ensure a reliable supply of high-quality
fresh produce to Foodland. The supply chain will be managed with the help of
Infosys, an information technology services provider that developed software to
manage the flow of goods between the retailer and the co-op.
“The aim of the project is to bring small-scale farmers into the
retail supply chain. This is a pilot project, and we want it to be sustainable
so that when our program ends in September 2008, it will run without us,” GMED
Chief of Party Don Taylor said. (…)
http://www.acdivoca.org/acdivoca/PortalHub.nsf/ID/news_NandanisignsMOU
African Statistical
Commission
UNECA
hosts high-level dialogue on scaling up statistical development
Addis Ababa, 19 January - The first session of the Statistical Commission for Africa
(Statcom-Africa) was held in UNECA
headquarters in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia on Monday, 21 January. This is an
historic event for the African statistical community and also coincides with
the 50th anniversary of the establishment of UNECA.
Among other recommendations emerging from this meeting, participants urged African countries to
mainstream statistics into national planning and to design an NSDS and
recognised the donors' key role in funding statistical development.
The next session of Statcom-Africa is scheduled for 18-22 January 2010
in Addis-Ababa
http://www.paris21.org/pages/events/all-events/list/?id_event=579
http://www.uneca.org/statistics/statcom2008/default.htm
US$175 million secured for The
Gambia’s fight against poverty
London - The Gambia’s main development partners pledged financial support of
US $ 175 million over the next three years to back up the country’s poverty
reduction strategy. These contributions were announced at the end of a Round
Table Conference in London, 5-6 February, attended by representatives
of 27 bilateral, multilateral and other donor agencies including Bretton
Woods institutions. In addition to the pledges, there are strong prospects for
substantial additional funding from debt relief, grants and other financial
resources. In this regard, an appeal was made for non-Paris Club creditors and
non-Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative agencies to provide debt relief on
terms comparable to the Paris Club creditors. Development partners attending
the conference unanimously commended the government of The Gambia for having
become eligible for full debt relief since the reforms undertaken and the
country’s track record of good performance made it reach the so-called
“completion point” under the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)
Initiative. They were also satisfied that the government’s second poverty
reduction strategy paper (PRSP II) provided a sound basis for addressing poverty
in The Gambia. (…) This seventh Round Table Conference (RTC) for The Gambia was
organized with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
(…)
http://content.undp.org/go/newsroom/2008/february/gambia-poverty-20080208.en
UN
Rwanda responds quickly to earthquake emergency needs
Kigali, 13 February - The
UN agencies in Rwanda join forces to assist in meeting the immediate needs
caused by the earthquake that struck the Western Province on Sunday 3rd
February. (…)
The UN responded immediately by supplying tents, plastic sheeting,
medicines and family kits. ‘We’re now preparing for further support for water
purification, medicines, family kits and temporary shelter for affected
families, school children and hospital patients,’ says Moustapha Soumaré UN
Resident Coordinator. On Monday 4th February the Government sent a Ministerial
Team to the area for an assessment and to quickly establish an assistance
mechanism. The UN Country Team joined the Government mission to assess best
ways for UN support. (…) ‘The UN is well equipped to assist the Government in
responding to this Emergency situation’ says Moustapha Soumaré. ‘Working to
deliver as One helps us quickly design a support package based on each of the
agencies comparitive advantage’, he adds. ‘It is important that after a quick
assessment of needs and response, UN agencies and partners assist on organizing
a deeper assessment to identify areas and people with specific needs, find out
additional risk such as emergent epidemic prone diseases due to the earthquake,
by strengthening the surveillance system and support in the elaboration of an
advocacy document for the immediate, middle and long term period’ says Dr
Mamadou Malifa Balde, Officer in Charge of WHO.
“In an emergency situation, children and women bear the blunt of the
impact. In this emergency more than 30,000 primary school children and more
than 2,000 secondary school children are missing school. While the
psychological stress experienced is difficult to assess, the UN and other
partners are working with the Government to ensure a quick return to school in
a safer environment for the children” says Dr Joseph Foumbi, UNICEF
Representative. (…)
New community centre - a place
for all generations
by Catherine Dennis/
ACT-Caritas
Dereig Camp, South Darfur,
Sudan, 12 February - Under the shade of a straw roof, the space is alive with
chatter. Children play outside while women gather in groups to practice newly
learnt skills that include making pasta and traditional mat weaving.
In a place where life is hard,
this second community centre has just opened to become a source of strength for
the people of Dereig, particularly for the women of the camp. (…) With the
addition of the second community centre, more women will be able to benefit
from adult literacy classes, group and individual counselling sessions, as well
as workshops raising awareness in human rights, peacebuilding, gender-based
violence and conflict resolution. The centres are also vital meeting places
where women have space (a precious commodity in camps such as Dereig) to meet,
to share, talk and laugh. Men also gather here at certain times as members of
peace committees or to take part in building stoves or weaving traditional
baskets. (…)
DanChurchAid
is a member of ACT International - a global alliance of churches and related
agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies.
Uganda Red Cross helps Kenyan
refugees
by Lawrence Lutaaya, Uganda Red
Cross Society
12 February - The Uganda Red
Cross Society (URCS) is working tirelessly to help more than a thousand
refugees who have fled neighbouring Kenya following post-election violence.
The URCS has taken a lead role
in the response at the request of the Ugandan government, which recently
relocated the Kenyan refugees to Mulanda camp in the Tororo district to ensure
their safety and provide a better quality of life for them.
During his visit to the site,
Acting Secretary General Mr Michael Nataka said that URCS will continue to work
with other humanitarian agencies such as the United Nations High Commission for
Refugees (UNHCR) to ensure that the refugees get basic necessities for safe
livelihood while in the camp.
URCS has been trying to ease
the plight of Kenyan refugees left homeless by the post-election crisis since
late December 2007, and initially managed the transit camps in Busia and Malaba
before the move to a large central camp in Tororo. (…)
The local Red Cross has also
distributed relief items to the refugees with the support of the International
Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and with contributions from the Kenyan
community in Uganda. (...)
http://www.ifrc.org/Docs/News/08/08021202/index.asp
Red Cross efforts continue
after storms
by Katie Lawson, Staff Writer,
RedCross.org
11 February - A line of
thunderstorms and tornadoes swept across the midsection of the United States
last week, killing more than 50 people, injuring scores of others, and
destroying dozens of homes and buildings.
Red Cross chapters responded
immediately during the night, opening shelters and providing comfort to those
forced from their homes. Almost a week following the storms, the Red Cross
relief effort begins to switch focus.
To date, the Red Cross has
opened 14 shelters, welcomed 492 overnight guests, and served 9,263 meals.
While many of the shelters have since closed their doors, information is still
available on a blog (http://redcrosstn.wordpress.com) dedicated to the tornado
relief effort.
While the majority of Red
Cross disaster assessment has been completed, Red Cross volunteers will remain
hard at work in the region to assure that everyone who needs support can
receive it. Several Red Cross service centers are open throughout the affected
areas of Tennessee for individuals and families who need assistance. (...)
http://www.ifrc.org/Docs/News/08/08021401/index.asp
Save the Children assists
children suffering through Tajikistan’s extreme winter
Westport, Conn., USA, 7
February - Save the Children has initiated a rapid response to meet the
immediate needs of children and families in Tajikistan, which is enduring its
coldest winter in decades and faces widespread food and fuel scarcity. Extreme
winter temperatures, depleting food and fuel stocks, probable, prolonged
blackouts at the national level beginning mid-February, and limited access to
water is pushing the entire population of Tajikistan (an estimated 7 million
people) into humanitarian crisis. (…)
Save the Children - in
coordination with the Tajik government and other agencies - will focus its
relief activities in rural areas where it currently implements long-term
development programs, including the districts of Jomi, Khuroson, Vakhsh, Vose,
Kulob, Baljuvon and Khovaling in the Khatlon Region. The agency plans to reach
10,000 children with lifesaving assistance. (...)
Save the Children has worked
in Tajikistan since 1994. The agency has programs to combat hunger and
malnutrition, protect vulnerable children, improve the quality of preschool and
primary education, and improve family health and community health services,
especially in rural areas. (…)
http://www.savethechildren.org/newsroom/2008/tajikistan-winter.html
Fill
the cup: turning hunger into hope for millions of children
AC
Milan and Brazil soccer star footballer Kaka’, WFP Ambassador Against Hunger
and the face of the “Fill the Cup” campaign in Italy.
Milan, 7 February - A major
international fundraising and awareness initiative to benefit millions of
hungry school children worldwide was announced today by the world’s largest
humanitarian agency - the United Nations World Food Programme. “Fill the Cup”
aims, literally, to fill a cup with food for all of the 59 million children who
go to school hungry throughout developing countries around the world - boosting
their chances for health, education and a more promising future. (…) President
John Agyekum Kufuor said school feeding has helped Ghana to stay on track to
achieve the Millennium Development Goals, the first of which is to halve hunger
and poverty by 2015. “Every nation’s future rests on food and education,” said
Kufuor. WFP is leading the way in seeking to raise funding from governments,
from companies and from individuals. WFP estimates that it would cost about
US$3 billion per year to feed all 59 million children worldwide; US$1.2 billion
would provide meals for the 23 million children in 45 of the neediest African
countries.(…) WFP is partnering with the city of Milan, which has made world
hunger one of the key elements of its campaign to secure the World Expo. It was
agreed that the Red Cup presentation be made first in Italy, before expanding
it to other G8 countries and beyond. (…)
http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2756
WFP
helicopter starts relief flights to flood victims in Mozambique
Johannesburg, 22 January - The
United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) began relief flights today to provide
vital humanitarian assistance to tens of thousands of people affected by the
extensive flooding along the Zambezi valley in central Mozambique. Around
76,000 people have been displaced by the current floods. Based in the town of
Caia, WFP’s Mi8 helicopter flew its first missions this morning - carrying 2.5
mt of cereals and pulses on each flight to Goligoli, where over 13,000 people
have been displaced by the floods and are in need of food assistance. WFP is
planning to deliver 74 mt of food to Goligoli, which should take the helicopter
around 4-5 days. The helicopter will deliver food and non-food supplies on a priority
basis on behalf of the entire humanitarian community to displaced people in
inaccessible resettlement areas. All flight and cargo decisions will be taken
in consultation with the government’s National Institute for Disaster
Management (INGC) and other partners. A second helicopter is on stand-by for
deployment to Caia to enhance the humanitarian response. (…)
http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2745
World
Water Day 2008 – The Tap Project will run from March 16 to 22 in 15 cities in
USA
Volunteers
needed
The Water & Sanitation
Rotarian Action Group (WASRAG) is excited to partner with the U.S. Fund for
UNICEF on the highly successful Tap Project, originally launched in New York
City by the U.S. Fund last year and which is expanding in 2008 to involve
restaurants across the U.S. We need
your help to make this project a success!
On World Water Day 2007,
nearly 300 restaurants in New York City invited diners to pay $1 for the tap
water they normally enjoy for free to be donated towards UNICEF programs
improving drinking water for children around the world. Insufficient access to clean drinking water
is the second largest killer of children under the age of five, and the Tap Project
raises funds for providing safe water and sanitation facilities, and promoting
safe hygiene practices.
This year, the Tap Project
will run throughout World Water Week, March 16-22, which is a UN initiative
intended to confront the global water crisis.
In 15 cities across the U.S., leading advertising agencies, all donating
their services to create a unique Tap branded experience in their own city,
will garner restaurant and diner participation while educating the public about
those who struggle to survive without adequate drinking water.
For every dollar raised, a
child will have clean drinking water for 40 days.
With WASRAG members’ deep
understanding of the global water crisis that those in the developing world
face, your voice and actions as a Tap Project Volunteer will encourage
restaurants to participate in Tap and advocate for the issue within your local
community. Volunteers will be provided
materials and guidance and will be joining one of the most exciting national
campaigns for child survival in history.
To learn more and to register
as a volunteer, please visit www.TapProject.org
Displaced Kenyans at
police station in Tigoni, 30 kilometres from Nairobi
15 February -
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has lauded the progress made towards ending the
political crisis that has gripped Kenya since contested elections were held in
the East African nation last December. The parties to the Kenya
National Dialogue and Reconciliation process, which includes the planned
creation of an independent review of the electoral process, announced today that
their talks are advancing. In a statement, Mr. Ban said that
he “hopes these understandings will contribute immediately to reduced levels of
violence in the country” where some 1,000 people have lost their lives and more
than 310,000 others displaced since the December elections in which President
Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner over opposition leader Raila Odinga. The
Secretary-General expressed his concern for the safety of civilians, urging the
full respect of human rights in the country and applauding “all those Kenyans
who in these trying times have reached out to their neighbours irrespective of
ethnic differences”. To heal the country’s rifts, he said it was essential for
its leaders to be open to compromise and reconciliation. Mr. Ban also expressed
his full and ongoing support for the mediation efforts of the Panel of Eminent
African Personalities led by former Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=25647&Cr=kenya&Cr1=
Giving peace a chance: Rotary
announces new class of World Peace Fellows
Evanston, Ill, USA, 14
February - Amid daily headlines of war, suicide bombings, ethnic and religious
violence and social unrest emerges some welcome positive news: The Rotary
Foundation has named a new class of World Peace Fellows to study peacemaking
and conflict resolution at the six Rotary Centers for International Studies
located at leading universities in England, Japan, Australia, Argentina, and
the United States.
Launched in 2002, this
innovative approach to world peace is a master's level program aimed at
equipping the next generation of global and community leaders with skills
needed to reduce the threat of war and violence. The Rotary World Peace Fellows
are selected every year in a globally competitive process that begins when they
apply through their local Rotary clubs. Applicants must demonstrate a commitment
to peace and international understanding through their personal and community
service activities or academic and professional achievements.
Like the members of the
classes preceding them, the 60 students in the 2008-10 class are a diverse
group, representing 33 countries and an array of professional and cultural
backgrounds. Their interests and areas of expertise include public health,
education, international law, economic development, psychology, journalism, and
social justice.
Rotary is the world's largest
privately-funded source of international scholarships and has more than 30,000
Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographic regions. For more information
about the Rotary Centers for International Studies, please visit www.rotary.org
Interested in becoming a
Rotary World Peace Fellow? Contact a Rotary Club in your area or send an email
to rotarycenters@rotary.org
One year contract with AECI to
mine action activities in Eastern Congo
12 February - DanChurchAid
(DCA) Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) program in DR Congo has signed a one year
contract with the AECI, Spanish Agency for International Cooperation under the
Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for an amount of 554.713 Euros to finance
Mine Action activities in Eastern Congo.
The contract started on the
1st of December 2007 and will end on the 30th of November 2008.
The action is entitled
“Humanitarian Mine Action Programme for internally displaced, returning
refugees and war affected communities in South-Kivu Province, Democratic
Republic of Congo.”
Through the deployment of two
survey/MRE/HIV-AIDS teams and one EOD team in South-Kivu Province the main
objectives of DCA, supported by AECI, are the following:
·
To reduce the risks of accidents caused by landmines and Unexploded
Ordnance.
·
To reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS (HIV/AIDS awareness is an integrated
component of DCA HMA Programme).
·
To give the population (war affected local people, IDPs and Refugees)
access to agricultural lands, water and basic social services.
·
To develop a national competence to ensure the sustainability of
Humanitarian Mine Action Activities.
·
Feeding of the information on mines and UXO into IMSMA (Information
Management System for Mine Action) compatible format as well as starting the
post-clearance assessments. (…)
Nepal: Parliamentary support
for the Mine Ban Treaty
31 January - Members of the
Nepalese parliament participating in a seminar organized by the Nepal Campaign
to Ban Landmines (NCBL) expressed strong support for a ban on antipersonnel
mines and vowed to actively promote Nepal’s accession to the Mine Ban Treaty
through their political activities.
The seminar, focusing on the
role of parliamentarians in promoting accession to the Mine Ban Treaty and mine
action, was held in Kathmandu on 27 January and was attended by the Speaker of
the Interim Legislative Parliament, Subhash Chandra Nembang, as well as
representatives from all the main political parties in the country. Other
guests included representatives from the Canadian Embassy in Kathmandu and the
Nepal Army. (...)
Seminar participants stressed
the need for effective policies on victim assistance, and for the inclusion of
landmine survivors in existing provisions for victims of conflict and disabled
people. They also identified the need for mine risk education nationwide as
well as for increased human, technical and financial resources for mine
clearance.
http://www.icbl.org/news/nepal_speaker
New
IPB book: Whose Priorities? - A guide for campaigners on military and social
spending
by Colin Archer, IPB
Secretary-General
This book is a follow-up to
IPB's earlier volume Warfare or Welfare? Disarmament for Development in the
21st Century.While that work attempted to describe the nature of the problems
facing us, the new publication sketches out some approaches to campaigning in
opposition to militarism, and offers summary accounts of 18 projects undertaken
by civil society groups around the world. Full text available here. Published 2007,
76pp, A4 format, illustrated. ISBN: 92-95006-04-6. German translation here.
The
International Peace Bureau is dedicated to the vision of a World Without War.
We are a Nobel Peace Laureate (1910) and over the years 13 of our officers have
been recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize. Our 300 member organisations in 70
countries, and individual members, form a global network bringing together
expertise and campaigning experience in a common cause. Our current main
programme centres on Sustainable Disarmament for Sustainable Development. We
welcome your participation. For a detailed overview of IPB's recent work
please have a look at our: Activity Report for 2006-2007
15 February - At a
Valentine’s Day art auction in New York yesterday to benefit the United Nations-backed
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, more than $40 million was raised to fight
HIV/AIDS in Africa. The contemporary art auction was part of the (RED)
campaign, which, since being launched in 2006 by Bono and Bobby Shriver, has
become one of the largest consumer-based fundraising efforts by the private
sector for an international humanitarian issue. Yesterday’s event “is yet more
confidence expressed in the work of the Global Fund and those thousands of
health workers who turn the money into lives saved”, said Michel Kazatchkine,
the Fund’s Executive Director. With support from its partners - the Gap,
Hallmark, Apple, Motorola, Emporio Armani, American Express, Converse,
Microsoft and Dell - the Global Fund takes no overhead so that all (RED) money
is sent directly to the Fund to be invested in HIV/AIDS programmes in Africa.
To date, funds generated by (RED) have already provided anti-retroviral
treatments to nearly 30,000 people and reached over one million women and
children through counselling, HIV testing and other services. Since its
creation in 2002, the Global Fund has contributed more than $10 billion to
fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria through 550 programmes in 136 countries.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=25639&Cr=global&Cr1=fund
Volunteers travel across the
globe to battle polio in remaining strongholds
World
on the verge of eradicating second disease after smallpox
Evanston, Ill., USA, 14
February - More than 100 volunteers from the United States, Canada, Australia
and Europe will travel to India and the West African country of Nigeria to
immunize children against polio - a crippling and potentially fatal disease
that still threatens children in parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle
East. These volunteers - all members
of Rotary, a humanitarian service organization that has made polio eradication
its top philanthropic goal - will work with local authorities and Rotary
members to help administer the drops of oral polio vaccine to every child under
the age of five, deliver the vaccine to remote villages and educate families on
the importance of protecting children against polio.
India and Nigeria are the
major strongholds of polio and among just four countries (including Pakistan
and Afghanistan) where the wild poliovirus has never been stopped. World health
experts say that a polio-free world now hinges on these four countries.
Rotary's commitment to end
polio represents the largest private-sector support of a global health
initiative ever. Since 1985, Rotary has
contributed more than US$650 million, a figure that will increase to $850 million
by the time polio is eradicated.
Besides raising and contributing funds, over one million men and women
of Rotary have volunteered their time and personal resources to help immunize
more than 2 billion children in 122 countries.
With its community-based
network worldwide, Rotary is the volunteer arm of a global partnership
dedicated to eradicating polio. Since
the 1988 launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, when 125 countries
were polio-endemic and more than 350,000 children paralyzed by the disease each
year, polio cases have been slashed by 99 percent. The Global Polio Eradication
Initiative is spearheaded by WHO, Rotary International, the US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF).
For further information visit
email elizabeth.minelli@rotary.org or visit www.polioeradication.org
MSF treats more than 4,000 for
cholera in DRC’s Katanga province
13 February - Cholera cases
are still on the rise in Katanga province, in the southwest of the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC). (...) Since late September, a total of 4,029 cases
have been reported by Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
emergency teams in the cities of Lubumbashi, the economic capital, and Likasi,
a city of 350,000 people. At least 97 patients have died.
“MSF can now treat patients
adequately in two cholera treatment centers in Lubumbashi and in a third center
installed in Likasi,” says Bertrand Perrochet, coordinator of MSF’s DRC
emergency pool. “However, it seems that we have not yet reached the peak of the
outbreak, as the number of patients is still increasing in the two cities”.
(...)
In Likasi, located at about 60
miles north of Lubumbashi, MSF has admitted 1,486 patients to its cholera
treatment center since late December. Forty-eight patients have died, with
nearly half of these deaths occurring over the last week. Epidemiological data
confirm an increasing trend: cases have gone from 275 in the third week of
January to 404 in the first week of February. There continues to be many new
admissions - about 60 new cases per day - with an average of 160 patients
hospitalized at the clinic at any given time.
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/article.cfm?id=2520
Red Cross responds to avian
influenza outbreak in eastern India
Amit Kumar, International
Federation, New Delhi
12 February - Indian Red Cross
Society (IRCS) volunteers and staff in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal
are working around the clock to distribute information about the potentially
deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza, as authorities continue efforts to cull
2.8 million birds. (...)
The West Bengal state branch
of the IRCS has distributed avian influenza information brochures (which were
produced at the IRCS National Headquarters in 11 languages) written in the
local Bengali language to all affected districts. (…)
Trained disaster management
volunteers have also started an awareness campaign. In coordination with local
governments, they are visiting communities and explaining to the unwilling and
at times angry villagers about the pandemic and urging them to hand over
poultry to the culling teams.
In the West Bengal district of
Murshidabad, teams of IRCS volunteers are working around the clock to raise
community awareness about the disease and to convince villagers to part with
their chickens. However, beyond this, the volunteers are also training
community members to be able to distribute information themselves. Using this
grassroots method, about 15,000 villagers in 110 villages have been reached by
the awareness campaign.
This is not the first time
that the IRCS has had to respond to an outbreak of avian influenza. In 2006,
volunteers and staffed distributed more than half a million information
brochures in response to an outbreak of the disease in a few districts of
Maharashtra. (…)
http://www.ifrc.org/Docs/News/08/08021201/index.asp
Hands up for polio eradication
7 February - More than 41
million children under five years old were targeted for an additional dose of
oral polio vaccine (OPV) last week in Nigeria’s first national round of
vaccination in 2008. Tens of thousands of health workers, community mobilizers,
independent monitors and volunteers spread out across the country to ensure no
child was missed.
In Lagos, Nigeria’s largest
city, Her Excellency the First Lady of
Lagos State, Mrs Amimbola Fashola, rallied mothers to vaccinate their children.
Traditional and religious leaders and other state and local government
officials were also on hand to ensure the round got of to a flying start.
Strengthened ownership from
government at all levels and support from traditional and religious leaders is
improving coverage, crucial to protect the impressive gains made against polio
in 2007.
A second National Immunization
Plus Day (NIPD) is scheduled for February 23-26. Preparations are currently
under way to strengthen micro-plans,
maps and vaccinator knowledge particularly in the highest-risk areas.
http://www.polioeradication.org/content/general/LatestNews200802.asp#POL_NIG
Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation awards $2.6 million to International Medical Corps for emergency
response in Kenya
Los Angeles, 5 February -
International Medical Corps (IMC) today announced a $2.6 million grant from the
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support its emergency response to the
unfolding humanitarian crisis following Kenya’s contested presidential election
last month. With thousands lacking medical care, housing, and income, the foundation’s
support will be used to expand IMC’s outreach among the estimated half million
Kenyans now in need of immediate assistance.
The funds will support primary
health care and mental health services delivered through International Medical
Corps’ mobile clinics in Nairobi’s Kibera slum as well as in Rift Valley
Province. These clinics treat several
hundred people per day, particularly women and children suffering from diarrhea
due to poor water and sanitation, upper respiratory tract infections as a result
of insufficient shelter, and malaria. In addition, the grant will provide for
improved water and sanitation and the distribution of food and material support
to displaced and vulnerable persons. (…)
International Medical Corps
will also use grant funds to enhance its existing HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis
programs to focus on preventing patients from defaulting on their medications
and to ensure adequate nutrition to patients on antiretroviral and antibiotic
treatment. (…)
http://www.imcworldwide.org/content/article/detail/1629/
(top)
Hydrogen powered cell phone battery - a reality
17
February - Offering twice the run-time of batteries
and with recharge times on the order of 10 minutes, Angstrom’s EverOn
capability promises to supplant the lithium ion batteries commonly used in
today’s portable electronic devices.
Angstrom has announced a global first with the completion of a six-month
test of fully integrated fuel cell-powered mobile devices. This revolutionary
power platform was successfully integrated into MOTOSLVR L7 handsets for the
trial, with no modification to the outside dimensions of the devices. The trial
devices did not rely on the use of any battery - instead, they drew power from
Angstrom’s Micro Hydrogen platform, which is comprised of a novel fuel cell
architecture, innovative micro-fluidics and a revolutionary refillable hydrogen
storage tank. Angstrom has demonstrated research results showing twice the
talk-time of the equivalent batterypowered devices in side-by-side testing.
Angstrom is currently collaborating with world-leading battery
manufacturers, portable electronic device makers and mobile service providers
towards the commercialization of its Micro Hydrogen technology. (...)
Three major banks sign The
Carbon Principles
by
Anne Moore Odell
With
the help of environmental groups and power companies, Citi, JPMorgan Chase and
Morgan Stanley outline carbon risk management for banks.
13
February - If banks are serious about managing their carbon footprints, they
must go beyond simply greening up their own companies’ use of electricity to
examining the projects they help finance. Three of the largest US banks have
created a carbon risk management protocol for their investment portfolios with
the drafting of The Carbon Principles.
At
the beginning of February, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, and Citi signed The
Carbon Principles, which lays out guidelines for climate change risk management
and the financing of building new electricity power plants. The financial
institutions conceived the Principles with input from power companies,
including American Electric Power, CMS Energy, DTE Energy, NRG Energy, PSEG,
Sempra and Southern Company, and the non-governmental organizations,
Environmental Defense and the Natural Resources Defense Council. (…)
The
banks to address carbon risks around the construction of new coal burning power
plants also created an Enhanced Diligence framework attached to The Carbon Principles.
The Enhanced Diligence framework evaluates the carbon risks associated with
heavy carbon producing plants, mainly coal plants, by looking at the potential
risks of future carbon litigation, carbon storage, etc.
The
three Carbon Principles embraced by the banks are energy efficiency; renewable
and low carbon distributed energy technologies; and conventional and advanced
generation. Under conventional and advanced generation, the Principles include
natural gas, coal and nuclear power. (…) The Carbon Principles are the first
time that US banks have come together to construct guidelines for investing in
new electricity generating plants and the greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted during
power production. The three original signatories invite other organizations and
banks to sign onto The Carbon Principles. (…)
http://www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/2468.html
Global
partners for emergency communications
The
Vodafone Group Foundation and United Nations Foundation Technology Partnership
joins World Food Programme to improve communications during humanitarian crises
Barcelona, 13 February - The
World Food Programme (WFP), The Vodafone Group Foundation, and the United
Nations Foundation announced today a ground-breaking ‘global partnership for
emergency. Over the next three years, this partnership will help contribute to
our work to help save millions of lives. The partnership will increase the
effectiveness of information and communications technology (ICT) response to
major emergencies and disasters around the world. The partnership - which
includes a $4.3 million commitment from The Vodafone Group Foundation-United
Nations Foundation Technology Partnership as well as a further $1.8 million
contribution from the WFP - will develop the first-ever ICT training programme
which will be open to the global community of humanitarian relief
organisations. (…) The focus of the partnership will be to standardise ICT
solutions used by global aid organisations to improve the speed with which
critical communications networks can be established in the immediate aftermath
of a humanitarian crisis. (…)
http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2768
International Energy
Agency
11 February - The IEA has updated its Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency policies
databases, with the assistance of governments. With records dating back to
1999, these databases arguably represent the most comprehensive collection of
national policies on renewable energy and energy
efficiency for IEA member countries as well as some non-member countries. Go
to: Renewable Energy database or Energy Efficiency database.
The International Energy
Agency (IEA) acts as energy policy advisor to 27 member countries in their effort to
ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for their citizens. Founded during
the oil crisis of 1973-74, the IEA’s initial role was to co-ordinate measures
in times of oil supply emergencies. As energy markets have changed, so has the
IEA. Its mandate has broadened to incorporate the “Three E’s” of balanced
energy policy making: energy security, economic development and environmental
protection.
http://www.iea.org/ http://www.iea.org/about/index.asp
FAO
unveils new bioenergy assessment tool
Weighs
impact on food security
Rome, 8 February - A decision-support
tool developed by FAO will help ensure that countries can enter the rapidly
growing field of bioenergy industry to produce benefits for the poor without
jeopardizing their food security. The tool, an “analytical framework” designed
by a team of economists from FAO, Utrecht University’s Copernicus Institute and
Darmstadt’s Oeko-Institut, was unveiled at a two-day experts’ meeting of FAO’s
Bioenergy and Food Security (BEFS) project. The three-year project, funded by
Germany, is aimed at making sure that bioenergy does not impair global food
security.
The analytical framework
allows governments interested in entering the bioenergy sector to calculate the
effect of their policy decisions on the food security of their populations.
Bioenergy can affect food prices and rural incomes and thus has important
implications - both positive and negative - for food security.
Applying the analytical
framework will enable national policy makers to minimize negative consequences
while maximizing positive outcomes. A prerequisite for running the framework is
the establishment of a bioenergy development scenario, a process in which FAO
helps government clearly define their bioenergy policy options and the various
possible strategies to achieve those options. The analytical framework then makes
it possible, through five steps, to assess: technical biomass potential;
biomass production costs; the economic bioenergy potential; macro-economic
consequences; national and household-level impact and consequences on food
security. (…)
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2008/1000782/index.html
FAO - Bioenergy: Can it fuel a rural renaissance?
The State of Food and Agriculture 2008
Biomass
was the first energy source harnessed by humans and remains the main source of
energy for the 2 billion people in the world who lack access to electricity,
liquid fuels and other modern energy services. In recent years liquid biofuels
have attracted renewed interest in response to volatile and
rising petroleum prices, global climate change and rural development
concerns. Concerns have mounted, however, regarding their effectiveness in
meeting these challenges and their potential for negative environmental and
social consequences. The State of Food and Agriculture 2008 examines bioenergy,
especially liquid biofuels, and asks whether it can fuel a rural renaissance.
The report addresses the biophysical and economic potential of 1st and 2nd
generation biofuels, global and local environmental impacts, agricultural
commodity price impacts, and implications for poverty and hunger. It
also explores policy options to ensure positive outcomes for people and
the environment.
http://www.fao.org/es/esa/en/pubs_sofa_08.htm
Celebrities show their true
colours at Global Green USA’s annual Pre-Oscar Party
14 February - In a show of
solidarity for Global Green USA’s initiatives, celebrities use their star power
to fight against global warming and poverty at the 5th annual Pre-Oscar Party
on Wednesday, February 20. In the words of Salma Hayek, actress and devoted
Green Cross supporter: “As the world struggles to combat poverty and global warming,
Global Green is proving we can find solutions that benefit communities and
reduce global warming”.
With an exclusive performance
by Michelle Branch and surprise musical guests, Hollywood’s most visible
personalities will gather to promote environmental awareness and advocacy,
including Leonardo DiCaprio, Orlando Bloom, Penelope Cruz, Edward Norton,
Charlize Theron and others.
As celebrities and musical
guests prepare for the red carpet at the Oscar ceremony, they will also support
Global Green USA’s numerous innovative programmes, particularly recent
initiatives to promote sustainable architecture (the Sustainable Design
Competition) and green policy-making (Green Housing Initiative) in the movement
to reconstruct New Orleans in sustainable ways in the aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina. Another initiative is the Global Solar Fund to promote investment in
photovoltaic energy. (...)
http://www.greencrossinternational.net
HP joins WWF Climate Savers program,
pledges further reductions
13 February - HP has joined
the WWF Climate Savers program, a group of leading corporations from around the
world that are working with World Wildlife Fund to reduce their greenhouse gas
emissions, WWF and HP announced today.
At a Climate Savers summit
held this week in Tokyo, HP officials pledged to reduce emissions from
operations and the use of its products by six million tons below 2005 levels by
2010. In addition, the company committed to reduce energy consumption by 15
percent in its operations from 2005 levels, while achieving a 25 percent
reduction in the energy used by its products and operations combined below 2005
levels by 2010. (…)
HP’s announcement comes as
companies from around the world gathered to discuss business strategies to
reduce climate change at the Climate Savers Tokyo Summit. During the summit, HP
said it will sign the Tokyo Declaration - a call to action and renewed
commitment on global warming.
HP officials said the company
has already made great strides in reducing its emissions through operational
efficiency and product recycling. In 2007, HP announced it would reduce energy
use from its products and operations by 20 percent over 2005 levels by the end
of 2010. But by the end of October 2007, HP had already reached a 19.2 percent
reduction, so it strengthened the goal further to 25 percent. (…)
http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/news/press_releases/index.cfm?uNewsID=124720
Congo Wetlands reserve to be
world’s second largest
2 February - WWF has welcomed
the World Wetlands Day announcement of the world’s second largest
internationally recognized and protected significant wetlands reserve in the
Congo “as a clear sign of the world’s increasing interest in the green heart of
Africa”. (…)
Around 300,000 people live in
the 5,908,074 hectare Grand Affluents RAMSAR wetland, with the four major
tributaries to the Congo flowing through it being the origin of its name as
well as making the area an important transport network.
The world’s largest RAMSAR
wetland is the 6,278,200 ha Queen Maude Gulf Migratory Bird Sanctuary in
Canada.
Other Congo area RAMSAR sites
declared on World Wetlands Day included wetlands on major Congo tributaries
such as the Libenga and the Sangha in The Cameroons and two coastal wetland
reserves important to migrating birds at Cayo-Loufoualeba and Conkouati-Douli.
(…)
World Wetlands Day
commemorates the signing of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in
the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea.
http://www.panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/news/press_releases/index.cfm?uNewsID=123840
Kobia sees changing landscape
14 February -
New expressions of Christianity. The growing prominence of the global South.
The impact of globalization. Increasing religious diversity. These factors and
others are contributing to a “rapidly changing ecclesial context,” one that
World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia addressed in
his comprehensive report to the Central Committee on Thursday.
The WCC will
only continue to function as a privileged instrument of the wider ecumenical
movement if ... openness to change is shown, and concrete steps for greater
clarity of roles and improved cooperation between different actors in the
ecumenical movement are taken,” Kobia said.
Amid that
changing landscape, Kobia - who is undergoing evaluation by the Executive
Committee and Central Committee this week as his contract is up for renewal -
said the WCC stood amid a number of tensions in its present and future. It must
deepen the fellowship of existing member churches while at the same time
reaching out to broaden the ecumenical movement. Calls for the WCC to do more
come as its governing bodies are urging it to focus more narrowly and make the
most of its resources. At the same time, differing understandings of biblical
truth are testing the bonds of Christian unity. (...)
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1722/kobia-sees-changing-lands.html
New York, 15 February - A new statement from the Baha’i International
Community calls for a coherent, principle-based approach to the eradication of
global poverty. BIC representatives introduced the statement, “Eradicating
Poverty: Moving Forward as One,” yesterday at a luncheon held at their offices
across from the United Nations. About 40 representatives from various
non-governmental organizations and UN agencies gathered for the presentation.
Tahirih Naylor, a representative of the BIC to the United Nations, said
the statement was released to coincide with the 46th Commission for Social
Development at the United Nations, which runs 6-15 February 2008. (...)
As part of that
process, the BIC contacted selected members of the Baha’i community around the
world and asked them to organize discussions on poverty and human rights
involving individuals from the local level. These discussions took place in six
countries - Brazil, Guyana, Haiti, India, Namibia and Turkey - and the
consultations there provided first-hand experiences and impressions from
individuals who are most affected by poverty.
http://news.bahai.org/story/604
Cardinal to host
meeting with Muslims on next step in dialogue
Vatican City, 7
February - Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for
Interreligious Dialogue, will host a meeting with Muslim representatives in
early March to plan a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI and the next step in their
dialogue. Sohail Nakhooda, editor in chief of Islamica Magazine in Jordan, said
the meeting with Cardinal Tauran was scheduled for March 3-4. Nakhooda was one
of the 138 Muslim scholars who wrote to Pope Benedict and other Christian
leaders in October proposing new efforts at Christian-Muslim dialogue based on
the shared belief in the existence of one God, in God’s love for humanity and
in people’s obligation to love one another. Pope Benedict responded in November
by inviting a group of the Muslim scholars to meet with him and to hold a
broader working session with the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue
and with representatives of the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic
Studies and the Pontifical Gregorian University. Five of the 138 scholars,
including Nakhooda, will participate in the March meeting.
http://www.catholicnews.com/data/briefs/cns/20080207.htm
Decade
of interreligious dialogue and cooperation for peace
Geneva, 1 February - In the
beautiful Geneva countryside at the Bossey Chateau, from the 8-11 January 2008,
a group of people from the interfaith movement as well as Civil Society from
around the world, met to discuss the proposal
for a Decade of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace. The
Brahma Kumaris (BKWSU) were present together with other organizations
including: CPWR, IARF, URI, WCRP, Temple of Understanding, 3HO, Minorities of
Europe, Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies - Jordan, Arya Samaj, SG/USG,
CONGO, CONGO’s CSVGC-Geneva, Interfaith International, LGWPF, WWSF, The
Bahai’s, Muslim, Orthodox, WV, LWF,WARC.
A group of people had already
been working on this project prior to this meeting in order to create a
dialogue within and between the different religions for the improvement of
peace between communities and nations.
One of the purposes of this
meeting was to work on a draft proposal for a resolution to be submitted and
approved by the General Assembly during its 63rd session (2008-2009). As well
as developing an institutional arrangement for mechanisms to facilitate
successful implementation.
The objectives of the meeting
were met and work will be carried on to the next phase; involving relationships
with countries and networking with more faith based organisations.
Translating
findings into action: “Education for All” regional policy reviews
Have
existing policies been effective in realizing Education for All? What policies
and strategies are needed to ensure the right to education for the un-reached?
UNESCO, Paris, 18 February -
Two policy review conferences are taking place this month to identify policy
gaps and develop strategies to meet the Education for All goals by 2015
The South-East Asia EFA
Mid-Term Policy Review Conference will take place from 18-21 February 2008 in
Jomtien, Thailand.
In parallel, the EFA Medium
Term Review for the Arab States will review the challenges for the Arab Region
from 19-21 February 2008 in Doha, Qatar.
The aim of these policy review
conferences is to translate the findings of the national EFA Mid-Decade
Assessment and the 2008 EFA Global Monitoring Report into concrete actions for
the region. Contacts: s.malisa@unescobkk.org r.abdul-latif@unesco.org
EI and Australian teachers
welcome official apology to Aborigines
13 February - EI and
Australian teachers are wholeheartedly applauding the new federal government’s
formal apology to indigenous Aboriginal people for past injustices and human
rights violations.
On 13 February, the first day
of taking office, newly-elected Prime Minister Kevin Rudd rose in the
Parliament and apologised in an emotional and magnificent speech to all
Aborigines for past laws and policies that “inflicted profound grief, suffering
and loss”. (...)
In a statement signed by AEU
Federal President Angelo Gavrielatos and Federal Secretary and EI
Vice-President Susan Hopgood, the Australian Education Union called the apology
“a significant moment in Australia’s history.” (…) The AEU statement urged the
government to go beyond today’s apology: It said “all levels of Australian
governments must further acknowledge and urgently act to redress the
significant and unacceptable gap between the educational outcomes of Indigenous
and non-Indigenous students.”
The union also welcomed the
government’s announced commitment to prioritise provision of early childhood
education for Indigenous children. (…)
The apology comes in advance
of the World Indigenous Peoples Conference, slated to be held on the
traditional lands of the Kulin Nation in Melbourne, Australia from 7-11
December 2008. Education is the theme of this year’s conference (...).
http://www.ei-ie.org/en/news/show.php?id=719&theme=indigenous&country=australia
4 February -
The United Nations University OpenCourseWare Portal
makes course material used by the university’s Research & Training Centres
and Programmes available on the web free of charge to anyone. With the opening
of the site, the UNU joins a select group of over one hundred leading
universities from around the world committed to supporting the growth of free
and open digital publication of high quality educational materials. Initially
the UNU OpenCourseWare Portal offers open access to about a dozen courses
developed by three of the university’s centres (in Canada, Macao, and the Netherlands)
and the Tokyo-based UNU Media Studio. Expressing his support for this
initiative, UNU Rector Konrad Osterwalder said, “This signifies our commitment
to broadening access to high-quality educational materials and will contribute
to the United Nations University’s core mission, which seeks to further the
generation and sharing of knowledge in order to strengthen individual and
institutional capacities to resolve pressing global problems”. The topics currently covered include e-governance, economic development and innovation, mangrove
biodiversity and integrated watershed management. More courses are in
production and in 2008, additional UNU units will participate in this
initiative which promotes open sharing and global benefits for self-learners
and educators.
Human
Rights in Education and Health
Essay
competition for high schools students of the Province of Cagliari (Sardinia,
Italy) promoted by the Rotary Club of Cagliari in accord with Good News Agency
in the context of the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (10 December 1948 – 10 December 2008)
Cagliari, 1 February - The
Rotary Club of Cagliari has launched an essay competition for the high schools
students of the Province of Cagliari, which begins in the current school year
and will be concluded by the end of December 2008. The students, either
individually or in group, will have to deal with the subject “Human Rights in
Education and in Health”. The essays can be supported by multimedial
instruments and accompanied by drawings, tables, pieces of research, films,
CD-rom, etc. The participating schools will receive regularly and free of
charge the e-newsletter Good News Agency, which can be a valid means of knowing
projects being carried out by international institutions and civil society in the field of human rights.
The competition foresees the
following prizes: Rotary prize of 1,000 euros given to the best essay; Rotary
prize of 500 euros to be given to the second best; Rotary prize to 250 euros
for the third best; Good News Agency’s prize of 250 euros to the essay that best
indicates the connection between human rights, training and information.
The announcement of the
competition has already been sent by the General Direction of the Regional
School Office to the Schools Directors.
For further information, please contact Dr. Maria Luigia Muroni, tel. +39 070 490848; mob. +39 347 8590788; e-mail: marialuigiamuroni@virgilio.it
Art Exhibit Melting
Ice / A Hot Topic: Envisioning Change will travel to Monaco
25 January -
The Natural World Museum (NWM) and the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) have revealed plans to bring their innovative and highly celebrated art
exhibit, “Melting Ice / A Hot Topic: Envisioning Change”, to the Principality
of Monaco in honor of the official programming for the Tenth Special Session of
UNEP’s Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum on Globalization
and Environment: Financing the Climate Challenge. This forum is the largest
gathering of environmental leaders from across the globe. “UNEP and NWM have
joined forces to generate environmental awareness through the Art for the
Environment initiative” said Achim Steiner, Under Secretary-General of the
United Nations and Executive Director of UNEP. “Science informs the mind, music
and the heart but art connects with the human spirit. We urgently need to
empower all three of these essential human elements if we are to rise to the
challenge and seize the opportunities for economic, environmental and social
renewal glimpsed through the lens of climate change.” The international exhibit on climate change will be hosted by the
Office of Cultural Affairs in Monaco (DAC) from 20 February - 16 March 2008.
UNEP and NWM have been partners since 2005 through the global “Art for the
Environment” initiative, a curatorial programme that utilizes the universal
language of art to unite people into action and thought on a broad spectrum of
environmental topics. (…)
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=525&ArticleID=5737&l=en
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