All posts by CPNN Coordinator

About CPNN Coordinator

Dr David Adams is the coordinator of the Culture of Peace News Network. He retired in 2001 from UNESCO where he was the Director of the Unit for the International Year for the Culture of Peace, proclaimed for the Year 2000 by the United Nations General Assembly.

London: International Peace Congress April 7

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from Transcend


(click on image to enlarge)

Question for this article:

How can we be sure to get news about peace demonstrations?

Alberto Portugheis is a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment. By profession a concert pianist and pedagogue, he is an active peace campaigner, whose anti-military stance  earned him a nomination  for the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize. As a result, Portugheis wrote, “Dear Ahed…..The Game of War and a Path to Peace” – a book that has received critical acclaim http://www.dearahed.co.uk. He contributes regularly to Twitter and has many followers. Some of his thoughts, ideas and reflections, which express only the desire “to make people think” and not take for granted what they read, “no matter where”, can be found in his blog  http://portugheis.livejournal.com.

Professor Alicia Cabezudo is a member of TRANSCEND International, Vice President of the International Peace Bureau-Geneva, of Open University of Catalonia-Barcelona, and the National University of Rosario-Argentina.
 
Christophe Barbey, Irenist (peace activator, theory and practices of peace and peace science), poet (smile cultivator) and lawyer (prevention and solutions) is a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment. He lives in the Swiss Alps and works sometimes in Geneva. Main representative at the United Nations in Geneva for the Center for Global Nonkilling  and for Conscience and Peace Tax International. Expertise on the place of peace in constitutions and the human right to peace, on countries without armies.

World Peace Flame to be lit in Ashland, Oregon (USA)

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article from the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission

On September 21, 2018, the International Day of Peace, the World Peace Flame will be lit in the Thalden Pavilion, Sustainability Center on the Southern Oregon University (SOU) campus. A delegation from the World Peace Flame Foundation will come to Ashland for the lighting ceremony, together with our State and City dignitaries. This symbol of peace, unity, freedom and celebration aims to inspire people everywhere that the individual plays a crucial role in creating peace at every level. From a few feet to less than a mile from the World Peace Flame Monument reside Walker Elementary School, Ashland Middle School, Ashland High School, and Southern Oregon University. The World Peace Flame will provide hope and inspiration to our future leaders, and light the hearts of all who visit it.


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There are few opportunities in our lifetimes to make contributions which have local, national and international significance, directly impact the aspirations of people of our daily lives and the lives of future generations, and become a proud part of our own legacy. This need has never been greater than it is right now. Establishing the World Peace Flame Monument in Ashland, Oregon is that opportunity through which we can recognize and work toward our commonalties, rather than our differences. This is “One Flame – uniting people worldwide”, the tag line from the World Peace Flame Foundation, The Hague, Netherlands.

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Question related to this article:

 
How can culture of peace be developed at the municipal level?

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On September 2015, Irene Kai, co-founder of the Ashland Culture of Peace Commission (ACPC) discovered the World Peace Flame Monument deep in the Snowdonia Mountain in Wales. She was told the history of the World Peace Flame and was offered a candle to light from the flame to bring back to Ashland. Irene lit the candle during the inauguration of ACPC on the International Day of Peace, September 21, 2015.
 
Local philanthropists Barry and Kathryn Thalden invited Ashland Culture of Peace Commission to put the World Peace Flame in the outdoor pavilion they had endowed at SOU. The World Peace Flame complements the pavilion’s goals of advancing innovation in sustainability and the arts. The eternal flame will be placed near the base of the obelisk encased in glass. It is flanked by two 24-foot cedar carvings by local Native American sculptor, Russell Beebe. He called one of the carvings the “teaching pole”. He said, “at this moment in history, we are at a crossroad; we must choose either the sacred path to wholeness or the path of destruction.” It is fitting for the World Peace Flame to be at the heart of the obelisk, to serve as the living flame igniting the flames in the hearts of all people to commit to walk our sacred path in peace.
 
The only other World Peace Flame in the United States resides in the Civil Rights Museum, the Lorraine Motel, Memphis, Tennessee, the assassination site of Dr. Martin Luther King. As the City of Ashland had proclaimed itself an International City of Peace, the Ashland monument will be known throughout the Cities of Peace all over the world. Visitors from Oregon, across the United States and from other countries will also be drawn to this flame of peace and carry it in their hearts back to their homes and communities.
 
We all have a role to play in bringing greater peace and well-being into our lives and that of our community. Please make a donation to ensure that the installation, lighting ceremony and ongoing care of the World Peace Flame will prevail.

Youth Dialogue at CSW62 presents policy recommendations for inclusion of young women and girls living in rural areas

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An article from UN Women

“Women and girls who live in rural areas are not at the danger of being left behind, they ARE being left behind,” said Lopa Banerjee, Director of the Civil Society Division at UN Women, opening the Youth Dialogue hosted on 17 March, at the 62nd Commission on the Status of Women. The Dialogue, focusing on the theme, “Leave No One Behind”, witnessed spirited discussions revolving around the challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of young women and girls living in rural communities, and was led by UN Women in collaboration with the UN Youth Envoy and nine civil society organizations.


Young activists gathered at the CSW62 Youth Dialogue on 17 March, 2018. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

“As young people, what all of us need to understand is that using our voice doesn’t cost anything,” said Jaha Dukureh, anti-FGM activist from The Gambia, and now UN Women’s Regional Goodwill Ambassador for Africa, emphasizing on the importance of solidarity among the youth.

The event called attention to the structural barriers faced by young women and girls in rural communities and highlighted practical solutions in the form of recommendations for policy makers.

“We are the largest generation the world has ever seen. We are 1.8 billion strong,” said Jayathma Wickramanayake, the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, moderating the inter-generational dialogue with six young activists working on various issues such as access to ICT, indigenous people’s rights, and rights of people living with disabilities.

One of the panellists, Edward Ndopu from the World Economic Forum, originally from South Africa, said, “the barrier [for young people] is not in participation, the barrier is to leadership. I come from a continent with the world’s largest youth demographic. But in the African continent, when we look at the people who represent us in office, the average age of Members of Parliament is between 65 and 70.”

Shelley Cabrera from the Continental Liaison for Indigenous Women of the Americas Network, another panellist, said, “As youth, we need to take a stance and pass on the torch to those who will follow.”

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Question for this article

Youth initiatives for a culture of peace, How can we ensure they get the attention and funding they deserve?

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In a conversation with the youth, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the Executive Director of UN Women, observed, “the first thing that worries me about the situation of young people and women is the normalization of exclusion. One challenge and responsibility of the UN is to address this normalization.” She urged young people to come together and form alliances for accelerating progress.

Throughout the day, youth participants, academics, experts and activists from rural and urban communities discussed a range of issues that impact rural youth, including health, violence, education, land rights and the environment, economic justice, and access to information and technology. A set of policy recommendations were presented in conclusion by the youth, which included: ensure access to free quality education – inclusive of digital literacy, human rights education and comprehensive sex education, ; ensure services are well-funded, survivor-centred, free, and accessible to young women, girls living and working in rural areas; increased opportunities that enable young women and girls and trans youth living and working in rural communities to meaningfully participate the labor market by investing in financial literacy programmes, providing training opportunities that lead to decent and meaningful work as well ability to unionize and to form cooperatives; adopt and enforce legislation that gives girls and young women equal inheritance rights, as well as rights to property and resources. 

Responding to the recommendations, Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka said, “the recommendations will be taken to the Chair of CSW and to negotiating delegates to inform the development of the Agreed Conclusions of the CSW62.” She also encouraged the participants to take these recommendations to their own communities and disseminate widely. She assured that UN Women will support its country offices in the dissemination and advocacy.

The Vice Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth from Germany, Ms. Elke Ferner, reiterated the vital role of the youth as agents of change and promised to work more closely with the Missions to include the voices of young rural women and girls in their delegations to CSW. Canada’s Senator from Manitoba, Ms. Marilou McPhedran, committed to take all the recommendations to the Prime Minister and to the Youth Advisory Council in Canada.

Rural women and girls routinely face exclusion in all spaces, and recognizing this, Jayathma Wickramanayake insisted on data collection as one of the main components for the achievement of Agenda 2030 for rural women and girls and said that systems must be put in place for shadow reporting on SDGs and youth in rural areas.

Wrapping up the event, UN Women’s Lopa Banerjee said, “This dialogue was conceived as a space where young women and girls from rural communities can discuss how they can thrive as leaders, not simply live, not survive: but thrive. Our work at UN Women will be to make sure that these community-led solutions, whether on education, on violence, on stigma-free comprehensive sexual education, or land rights, will be taken into account in the CSW62 agreed conclusions.”

This year’s Youth Dialogue followed an inter-generational civil society dialogue  organized by UN Women and partners, which also diverse constituencies from around the globe to discuss what it would take to leave no woman or girl in any rural area behind in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

USA: Branford High Students Find Their Voice

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article by Marcia Chambers from the New Haven Independent

Abby Boyle, a junior at Branford High School, remembers the moment she took her cell phone to sign up her high school for the national student walkout to raise awareness about gun violence in the nation’s schools. 

It was a moment she and others will never forget because it was part of a national event that has transformed her and hundreds of other Branford students, an event they organized. 

“A big part of this was to show that our generation is going to make the change because we are the future, and we are soon to be adults. So it is like this is our time to really get out there and have them listen to us,” said Jayleen Flores (pictured), a senior and the president of the school’s Student Council.


Abby Boyle, Jayleen Flores, Andrew DeBenedictis, Mary Olejarzyk
(Bill O’Brien photo)

The national student walkout idea began on social media shortly after 17 students and teachers were gunned down in their classrooms on Feb. 14 at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. A former student armed with a high-powered assault rifle and determined to open fire went into the school and executed his plan.

Branford students created their own program, encouraged by school administrators to do so. The Walsh Intermediate School also had a program. The high school program held last Wednesday was led by Boyle and three other student leaders, Flores, a senior; Andrew DeBenedictis, a junior; and Mary Olejarzyk, a junior. Flores is student council president. The others all hold officer positions in various school organizations. (See photo)

The four students met with the Eagle last Friday in the office of High School Principal Lee Panagoulias, Jr., who said about 500 to 600 students attended the walkout program, which had been planned for outdoors, but was redirected to the school gym because it had snowed the day before. Those who did not participate went to the school auditorium. Faculty chose their destinations as well.

Olejarzyk said, “I think in terms of finding our voice, we were never told no. This administration was willing and excited to help us. In a lot of different schools in other parts of the country and even in Connecticut, kids were told they would be suspended if they walked out, and that is not personally what I think they should be saying. Young people were the lowest number of voters turning out in recent elections. I think we need to encourage voting, and I appreciate what our school did. They let us have our voice.”

The students said they would have liked the press to be there and one of them said she had contacted a local television station. “I think the press being there would have been nice, especially for us. I think it would have been nice because more people could have heard our story,” Boyle said.

Before last Wednesday’s event, the Eagle contacted Hamlet Hernandez, the district’s superintendent, to ask if we could cover the student program at the high school. He said it was closed to the press. He would not explain why it was closed to the press except to say some events were open and some were not. 
 
Growing Up With Sandy Hook

Boyle, one of the high school’s leaders, wanted her school to be part of a program to commemorate the lives of those lost that day and to find a way to talk about safety for students. The attack on the Florida high school was the 17th school shooting in the U.S. in the first 45 days of 2018. 

These Branford teens have lived with kids being killed in their classrooms since they were 12. They said they all remember well when a young man named Adam Lanza walked into the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, five years ago and opened fire, killing 20 children, ages 6 to 7 years old, and six educators, including teachers and the school principal. Then he killed himself. He had earlier killed his mother. 

Abby Boyle, a junior at Branford High School, remembers the moment she took her smart phone to sign up her high school for the national student walkout to raise awareness about gun violence in the nation’s schools. 

It was a moment she and others will never forget because it led to a national event that has transformed her and hundreds of other Branford students.

When Olejarzyk spoke before those in the high school gym she read a letter she wrote to U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, who in the aftermath of Sandy Hook has devoted himself to changing how the nation deals with guns and the law. In her letter she told Murphy what it was like “to be our age and to grow up in an age of Sandy Hook. This has to stop.”

Murphy, along with U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and U.S. Reps. Rosa DeLauro and Elizabeth Esty spoke to the thousands of students who assembled at the National Student Walkout in Washington, D.C. 

Olejarzyk told Murphy what it has been like “with this constant news of new mass shootings in schools in other places. This affects us.” She said she wrote Murphy that “we are ready to make the change; we are ready when we are 18 vote for officials who will make the change on what should be adopted.”

Boyle said she started the process to involve BHS in the national student walkout “about one month ago,” after she learned about the walkout on social media. “The idea was to get kids involved and to raise awareness against gun violence and to show remembrance for all the victims lost due to that violence and to show Congress that we care.”

Thousands of students in schools across the state and country walked out on the morning of March 14, each school doing it their own way. In nearby Guilford the students walked out of their classrooms and onto the street, standing in front of their school. Other kids took to their local town or city halls. But some Connecticut school districts threatened to suspend students for walking out, not happy with the idea that students would create their own independent program. 

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Question related to this article:

Do you think handguns should be banned?, Why or why not?

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Student Chosen Themes
 
At the Branford High gym, each of the four student leaders, led with a theme. Boyle began with a Remembrance, reading aloud the 17 names of those shot to death. Flores spoke about students finding a voice. DeBenedictis spoke about student unity, and Olejarzyk spoke about teenage life and its challenges. 

The Branford students defined the walkout as leaving their classrooms, not necessarily leaving the building. “We all physically left the classroom. There were a lot of different ways to do this and this is the way we chose it,” DeBenedictis said. He added that it had snowed the day before and the student leaders didn’t feel comfortable forcing everyone out. We decided it was better to have it in the gym,” he said, adding it was easier to hear in the gym than on the field.
   
Flores got right to the point on the location issue. “When I spoke I made the point that it doesn’t matter where we’re standing, but that we are standing. Some people were pretty upset that we weren’t going out, but it shouldn’t matter where we are. It is what we are standing up for.”

All four were highly aware of the fact that they may well be the generation to change America’s thinking about guns, violence, and schools. Each has come to see how they empowerment works; each has now discovered an inner voice they want to share with others.

DeBenedictis said, “And what we are seeing in Congress is that actions that should have been happening haven’t taken place over the last 20 years where school shootings have become increasingly more common. And because our politicians really aren’t taking care of this we felt it was time for students to step up and start fighting for ourselves.” 

Olejarzyk agreed. “I think what happened in Florida really resonated with people our age because we are very politically aware and after what the students in Parkland started we felt really inspired to help make their message louder up here.”

The Eagle asked each student what he or she took away from the experience.

Boyle said, “I guess what I felt thinking back a few weeks ago when I found this (demonstration) on the internet, I said I am going to set up my school for this and see what happens. I was thinking this probably won’t be a big thing. And it is just so surreal to see that we were part of this movement and that we are such a small little school, in a small town, in a small state, but it really shows that our actions matter, that we could do something really huge.”

DeBenedictis said, “When all was said and done, thousands if not hundreds of thousands of students at schools participated in this across the country. We are writing history in textbooks for one of the largest student movements in history.

“This really helped us find a voice, a united front. I think this is an issue that students need to be organized on.  As young people we found a voice on this issue. With the march on Washington coming, it is really good that we are making this all happen,” DeBenedictis added. 

Panagoulias, who let the students do virtually all the talking at the interview, was asked by the Eagle about earlier student movements in American history.

He remembered demonstrations of decades past. “During the ’70s it was a lot of us versus them, students versus the institution. I think one of the things Branford chose to do is to support their kids. This was a great opportunity for the entire learning community. Some teachers went out. Some didn’t.”

The principal asked the four students, “If you wanted to go outside do you think we would have supported that?”

“Yes,” Boyle said. “It didn’t matter where.” DeBenedictus observed that in the gym “we could hear each other speaking.”

What the four students said they learned was that coming together changed how they think. Each seemed to have found new goals and a new direction that would take them outside themselves in the future.

Voting in Elections  

Asked if they had registered to vote, all said they have pre-registered to vote so that may do so when they turn 18.  The principal said “We will have the Registrars of Voters here in the spring when more kids are of age so that they can register.” 

Boyle delivered the register to vote message to the hundreds of students gathered in the gym. “Our decisions matter. Each and every one of us has to register to vote. We need support. Our generation needs to have a voice.” The energy in the gym after a walk-out that lasted 17 minutes was intense, she said. “ This was an overflowing of energy, of positivity. Everyone was commenting. It was really awesome,” she said. 

Flores said, “Everyone I talked to left with a great feeling afterward. They were inspired.”

DeBenedictis pointed out that for many people “this was their major political event, for many this was the first time they made a poster, or came out because they were passionate about something and that was a really big deal for a lot of students. I think that will inspire them in the future, to stand up for what they believe in.

“One other thing I want to add. I think this idea that young people are completely apathetic about politics, I think that is declining. If you look at our generation, how passionate we are about these issues that are affecting us, I think young people are really waking up. I think it will explode in 2016 and especially in the presidential election in 2018.” 

Other Points of View
 
Those students who did not walk out may still be involved in many of the issues, Panagoulias observed. 

“Those students may be involved but they may have different opinions. Because they chose not to participate it may mean they have different viewpoints but they may still be involved.”

Boyle said that while the focus of her program was not guns or violence “we brought it up and mentioned it, and some people have really strong opinions about gun restrictions and gun laws.

“Even if you may have a different opinion than me or any of us here today, we can still work together to come up with a better solution. You know it is not always about being so left or so right. Like sometimes you have to be in the middle to find a solution. I think many do not realize that.”

Ahed Tamimi and the Pathology of the Israeli Mind

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An article by Dana Visalli for Global Research

The trial of Ahed Tamimi—the sixteen year old Palestinian girl who slapped a fully-armed Israeli soldier who was standing in her front yard looking for Palestinian demonstrators to shoot—is supposed to reconvene in a few days. (Editor’s note: Her request that the trial should be public has been denied.) Israeli military courts have a 100% conviction rate, even of children. Ahed is one of several Palestinian youth who have become symbolic throughout the world for the 70-year old Palestinian struggle to regain and retain their own land and their basic rights as human beings. She has already been in prison for three months for attempting to protect her home and family from Israeli soldier-intruders. Her mother Nariman, who went to visit Ahed the day after she was taken to prison, was arrested upon her arrival and has also spent the last three months in jail. (See earlier CPNN article).

I traveled to Ahed’s village of Nabi Saleh a week ago, to learn more about problems confronting the village as Israelis appropriate their fields and water supplies for an ever-growing illegal (according to the United Nations) Israeli settlement nearby, and in hopes of meeting Ahed’s father Bassem and her cousin Janna Jihad Ayyad. Upon arrival no one was home so I took a seat on the front porch. Soon various people were coming and going, and one of them told me Bassem was away, but that Janna was around. We phoned her and she showed up a few minutes later.

Janna is a precocious eleven year-old who speaks English fluently and has been filming and reporting on the abuses of her people by the Israelis since she was seven. The deaths of two men in her village—her cousin, Mustafa Tamimi, and another uncle, Rushdie Tamimi—served as a trigger for her to begin documenting what was happening in Nabi Saleh. Mustafa was killed by an Israeli gas canister and Rushdie was fatally shot in his groin.

She has risked her own safety many times to document Israeli behavior in Palestine, which over the last 70 years includes driving a million Palestinians off of their land and from their homes, and appropriating for themselves the vast majority of what prior to 1947-48 had been the Palestinian homeland. To some degree she has an advantage over adult reporters, because as she puts it, “The soldiers catch the big journalists and take their cameras….The camera is stronger than the gun. I can send my message to many people, and they can send it to others.”

At this point she has a Facebook page with 280,000 followers and her own Youtube channel, well worth visiting. Children in Palestine are forced to grow up early and fast. Janna’s uncle Bilal explained, “We must teach our children not to accept humiliation and not be cowards. We are under occupation. We cannot teach our children silence; they must fight for their freedom.”

On the day I visited our conversation took a different direction. After briefly talking about life under occupation and how much she missed her best friend Ahed, I showed her a book I had brought with me, Wildflowers of the Mediterranean. She was quickly transformed from a serious journalist reporting on the disaster that has befallen her people into an animated, enthusiastic student of the natural world. She dashed around Ahed’s yard, bringing in the many spring blooms, searching in the book for the ones she did not recognize, and pointing out the ones she already knew.

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Question for this article

Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?

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At one point she stood in the very spot in the entryway to the Tamimi household (see image on the right) where Ahed had confronted the Israeli soldiers three months before. Where Ahed had found young Israeli men armed with machine guns bent of perpetuating violence against Palestinians on Palestinian land, Janna was for that moment immersed in the beauty of the good earth. The contrast could not have been more stark. Foreigners arriving with guns and bombs are resisted. Arriving with peaceful intentions one is met with a cup of tea.

I spent two hours with Janna, wandering the hills above the village, identifying flowers and enjoying the impressive limestone geology. The ground everywhere is littered with tear gas canisters, spent concussion grenades and smoke bombs. The Israelis have been harassing the people of Nabi Saleh for 70 years, plenty of time for the spent ammunition to form windrows among the fields of flowers.

The cruelty exhibited by the Israelis in their hungering to imprison the young Ahed Tamimi, whose only wish was to protect her people and her home from intruders and whose only weapon was a mere slap—the inherent cruelty of those hungering to put her in a prison cell for years, or even forever, with some government officials calling for rape and further darker abuse—this display of pathological cruelty by an entire society has people throughout the world wondering what curse has befallen the people of Israel.

One possible answer is that they are obsessed with the hallucination that they are somehow a ‘chosen people,’ that they are somehow better than the rest of humanity, even that they are the preferred favorites of some mythological god. As prime minister Menachem Begin exulted after the Zionist slaughter of Palestinians at the village of Deir Yassin prior to the 1948 war, “God, God, Thou has chosen us for conquest.” According to the Israel Democracy Institute, approximately two thirds of Israeli Jews believe that Jews are the “chosen people”.

This sense of superiority over others is in fact a common human trait, mixed though it always is with a countervailing feeling of inferiority and fear. Albert Einstein in the wisdom of his old age addressed this pathology when he observed, “A human being experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. The delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us.”

The obvious deeper truth made clear in our time through scientific inquiry is that all humans have the same long, deep and difficult history. All humans evolved together in Africa for 200,000 years before any left that continent. All human beings share 99.9% the exact same genetic code and 99.9% the same long, traumatic evolutionary journey.

The human family faces pressing ecological challenges at this particular locus along the course of our Big History, shared by all people, such as, for example, overshoot of the human population and diminution of the richness, beauty and diversity life on earth. None of our challenges are mitigated or even addressed by the mythologies spun by the human mind over the course of our our short-term, 3000-year Little History. Those working for a viable future for all of people and for the biosphere as a whole look forward to the Zionists and the Jews and all Israelis maturing out of their mythological hallucination of separateness and rejoining the family of humanity and the community of life on the journey towards a viable future.

The author, Dana Visalli, is an ecologist living in Washington State. He is currently volunteering in Palestine for a month. He can be reached at jdanavisalli@gmail.com, www.methownaturalist.com

Cuba a ‘Champion’ of Children’s Rights: UNICEF

. HUMAN RIGHTS .

An article from Telesur TV

The United Nations Children Fund, or Unicef , has declared Cuba a ‘champion’ in children’s rights. According to Unicef 99.5 percent of Cuban children under six years of age attend an early childhood education program or institution.

María Cristina Perceval, the regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean region, said, Cuba’s exemplary model of early education, “Educa a Tu Hijo (Educate Your Child),” is being adopted by many other nations. 

Perceval, who made the comments during a recent event in Cuba’s capital, Havana, also highlighted the significant advances made by the country in health. The Caribbean nation was the first to work towards the elimination of maternal and child transmission of HIV / AIDS in 2015. 

Health and education policies form the core of Cuba’s socialist programs. Cuba first initiated the social program focused on children’s well-being, 26 years ago. The Unicef in the region works in collaboration with the government in these social programs.

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Questions related to this article:

Rights of the child, How can they be promoted and protected?

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The ‘Educate Your Child’ initiative promotes the role of family and community in children’s formative years. Through the program, the government also prioritizes the participatory methodologies and social commitment in the area of child development. 

“The government has installed a mechanism for communities to not only deal with emergency situations, but also with other phenomena, with efficacy, professionalism, and speed,” Perceval added. 

“We are grateful to share this information that the education mechanism which incorporates childhood education, elimination of vertical transmission of HIV, and prevention of teen pregnancies. Champions, champions, champions!”

According to the 2016 Unicef report which cited the official statistics from the Ministry of Education, “There are more than 855,000 children under six years of age in Cuba, of whom 99.5 percent attend an early childhood education program or institution.”  

“Cuba has adopted a holistic approach to early childhood development (ECD), providing children under six and their families with a system of integrated services that aims to promote the best start in life for all children and the maximum development of each child’s potential,” the report added.

Perceval also pointed out that communities have played an essential role in “allowing with much humility to work on what is lacking,” adding that there is work to be done against gender violence in the region. 

“The Federation of Cuban women is immensely fierce, but we have known that violent practices could occur in public spaces and have insisted on eradication of all types of child abuse in communities and institutions,” The U.N. senior official added.

International Solar Alliance – A Symbol of Hope and Cooperation

.. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ..

An article by Dr Ravi P Bhatia from Transcend Media Service

Renewable energy is being tapped and promoted in many parts of the world to meet the challenges of environmental pollution, global warming and climate change. One of the main factors behind the environmental challenge is the factor of our dependence on coal powered energy production that is highly polluting and is causing various types of adverse effects including on the health of human beings.


These issues were discussed in great detail in the UN Convention of Climate Change held in Paris in December 2014 and commitments made by several countries including the major ones – USA, China, India, France Germany, Japan and others about taking measures to not increase the global warming beyond 1.5 degree Celsius by the end of the century. This would necessitate both financial commitments as well as by adopting technological measures such as stressing increased production and utilization of renewable energy.

As is well known by now, renewable energy does not have these adverse effects and hence it is being promoted worldwide. Of course tapping the renewable sources and putting them in practice have their own distinct difficulties but they do not cause the pollution that is so damaging. Renewable energy is produced mainly from the sun (solar energy), wind power, tidal waves. Great emphasis is being laid on harnessing the sun’s energy through the use of solar cells that convert sun’s rays into electricity.

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Question for this article:

Are we making progress in renewable energy?

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Unfortunately, USA appears to be backing out from its commitments on climate change made in Paris as well as the following year in Marrakesh. The responsibility of mitigating the effects of climate change is falling primarily on India, France and China. In order to meet the challenges of global warming and climate change, India had proposed an alliance of countries called the International Solar Alliance (ISA) two years back, with support of France and several countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The first meeting of ISA is being held in New Delhi from 11 March with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the French President Emmanuel Macron co-chairing the inaugural meeting. Speaking on the occasion Mr. Modi referred to the wisdom of India’s ancient Vedas that had clearly stressed the importance of our Sun for sustaining life – human, animal and plant, on the Earth. This was manifested in India’s respect for the Sun in various epics and its Mantras. He stressed that “We have to look at the balanced and all-encompassing philosophy of the Vedas to meet the challenge of climate change. We have to take urgent steps towards this objective.” The French President also spoke about the significance of solar power and renewable energy to meet the global challenge and committed both financial and technological support for this noble venture.

It was stressed by both the leaders that with these commitments and the active support of the 32 countries that have ratified the framework agreement of the Alliance, the target of about 175 GW of energy from renewable sources could be met by the end of 2022. Of this, solar and wind energies would contribute 100 and 60 GW respectively.

Many participating countries also spoke in favor of renewable energy and promised that they would also take appropriate steps, however small they may be to promote renewable energy in their countries. They also sought financial and technological support which France and India agreed to provide.

The inaugural meeting of the Solar Alliance gives us hope that the challenges of environmental pollution, global warming and climate change are being recognized and addressed by many countries. This meeting also encourages the coming together of different nations — developed and developing, to meet common challenges through goodwill and cooperation.

March 28: 1st meeting of UN High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

A newsletter received by email from Unfold Zero

On March 28, the United Nations will hold the preparatory meeting for the 2018 UN High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament.

At the preparatory meeting, UN member states will appoint the President (Chair) and other officials, adopt the agenda and agree on the rules of procedure for the UN High-Level Conference, which will take place at the UN from May 14-16.


Frame from the Reach-High video to promote the UN High-Level Conference

This will include a decision on whether to restrict NGO participation in the High-Level Conference to only ECOSOC organisations, or open it up to the range of disarmament organisations that are permitted to participate in other UN disarmament forums (See UN High-Level Conference: Call for wider NGO participation).

In addition, a number of UN member states will likely use this occasion on March 28 to announce their participation (or non-participation) in the UN High-Level Conference,

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Question related to this article:

Can we abolish all nuclear weapons?

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What will be your government’s position?

Will your government announce its intention to attend the UN High-Level Conference at the highest level, in order to support and advance nuclear risk-reduction and disarmament measures?

Will your government support a wide participation of disarmament NGOs in the UN High-Level Conference, or accept a restriction to only allow ECOSOC organisations the possibility to attend?

If you have not already asked your government these questions, click here for a sample letter to send to your prime minister, foreign minister and UN ambassador (plus contacts for many of them).

The Abolition 2000 Youth Network invites young and ‘young at heart’ to be a part of a global video action to support the UN High-Level Conference.

Send to marzhan@pnnd.org your video clip of ‘reaching high for a nuclear-weapon-free world.’ They will compile the videos and show to world leaders to encourage them to take action at the High-Level Conference. Click here to view the promo video.

Best wishes and we look forward to seeing many of you in New York for the UN High-Level Conference and civil society side-events in May, 2018.

Yours sincerely

UNFOLD ZERO

2018 Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

A communication from International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA)

Dear IANSA friends and members,

We are pleased to announce the 2018 Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence will be held from May 7 to May 14, 2018! Launched by IANSA in 2003, the annual Week of Action (WoA) is a chance for us to advocate collectively for an end to illicit trade and misuse of small arms and light weapons.

The theme for this year’s campaign is: “End the Crisis of Gun Violence”. Taking place one month before the Third Review Conference (RevCon3) on the UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (PoA), this year’s Week of Action will be an opportunity for urge governments to:

* Exert greater control over ammunition–the component that makes guns lethal.

* Make concrete commitments to increasing women’s participation in small arms control.

* Provide greater support for survivors of gun violence.

* Crack down on corruption that facilitates the illicit trade in small arms and ammunition.

* Enact or strengthen legislation to disarm domestic violence abusers.

Within communities, the WoA is also a chance to:

* Raise awareness of intimate partner violence and the increased dangers of having a gun in the home.

* Network with young people who are also concerned about gun violence and help amplify their voices.

* Raise awareness of the support that survivors of gun violence need.

* Bring civil society organizations together for a common goal.

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Question related to this article:

Do you think handguns should be banned?, Why or why not?

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* Raise awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals–particularly SDG 16.4, “significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows”, SDG 5.2, “eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls”, and SDG 4.A, the aim to “provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all”.

Suggested actions for the week include:

* Meeting with parliamentarians or government officials to press for concrete actions and compromises to reduce gun violence that can be reported at RevCon3;

* Engaging media outlets to ensure gun control and disarmament remain a priority in your country – linking it with the upcoming RevCon3;

* Launching a social media campaign (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and blogs) to push governments to take meaningful and effective actions to prevent gun violence. Where possible, use the hashtags #WeekOfAction #EndGunViolence #IANSA

* Holding seminars or workshops

* Organizing rallies or marches

* Participating in television, radio or newspaper interviews

* Conducting community awareness surveys

* Holding sports or arts activities that highlight the importance of reducing gun violence

* Releasing relevant studies and publications

The logos for this year’s Week of Action can be found in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese here. For a report on activities carried out last year, click on this link. Our briefing papers, including “What is RevCon3,” a “Global Overview of the Small Arms Problem, “The Programme of Action on Small Arms: Incomplete without the Inclusion of Ammuntion”, “Civil Society Advocacy Guide,” and “Five Key Issues for RevCon3” can be found here. Our video “Silencing the Guns” can be found here.

We are grateful for your upcoming contributions and look forward to this meaningful week of activism! If you have any further questions, please contact me at rose.welsch@iansa.org.

Sincerely,

Rose, UN Liaison Officer, International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA)
777 United Nations Plaza, 3E, New York, NY 10017 USA

Brazil: World Social Forum concludes in Salvador

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article written by Comunicação CUT no Fórum (translated by CPNN)

The thirteenth edition of the World Social Forum came to an end on Saturday (March 17), attracting more than 60,000 people to the various activities and debates held during the five-day event.


(Photo: Alan Alves/ G1 – Click on image to enlarge)

The main venue was on the campus of the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), in Ondina, but other spaces of the Bahia capital held activities as well, including the Exhibition Park, the Isba Theater and the Pituaçu stadium..

The tone to the Forum was set by discussions of democratization of communication, financial system, work, education and youth, future of work, science and technology, employment and income, rights for migrants and refugees, national sovereignty and science and technology. “This is my first forum and the debates have been very rich and complementary and show the importance of our struggles and confrontations against the advance of neoliberalism,” says Chilean student Maribel Diaz.

Cedro Silva, the president of the Central Única dos Trabalhadores da Bahia highlighted the importance of the event held in the capital of Bahia. “CUT Bahia is proud to have organized the World Social Forum here in Salvador. The positive result is that we are sure that people from other states, from other countries, will return to their places of origin full of energy and possible solutions for a possible society that respects the rights of all.”

Here is a review of what was promoted during the 5 days of activities at WSF 2018

Income Generation

A democratic and collective space between social organizations; the World Social Forum was also the opportunity for many families to earn extra money and support themselves. This is the case of Maria Andrezina, an artisan from Tocantins. She traveled a distance of more than 1500 km in three days of travel to expose and sell the crafts she makes from golden straw. This craft has been developed by her family for generations and is their only source of income. “With the money from the sales I can pay the bills and kept the expenses of the house. The Forum is an excellent opportunity,” she says.

Ensuring income is also one of the goals of Thais Maciel, member of a collective of mothers. Born in Brasilia, Thais traveled to Brazil with her son Davi, who is one year and six months old along with other mothers to sell their crafts. “I have traveled this country and David has been with me for two months. With the sale of these crafts I keep my expenses and his expenses. That’s what matters to me. I do not want to get rich, I want to support my family and participate in moments like this,” she says.

Products of family agriculture, clothing, and ecological bed, table and bath items were also found throughout the Federal University Campus, supporting an economy of solidarity.

The Future of Work

The Future of Labor was a priority theme in the CUT Tent during the five days of the World Social Forum.

In this year’s edition, the themes and priorities of the CUT were: 1) democracy and work, 2) the future of work, 3) food production / food sovereignty; and, 4) migrations.

The activities brought together hundreds of participants from different categories in the two Tents (Margarina and Chico).

For these activities held at the tent, CUT brought special guests such as; Márcio Porchman, of the Perseu Abramo Foundation; João Felício, from CSI; Vitor Baez, from CSA; the ambassador Celso Amorim, former minister of Foreign Affairs; and Valter Sanches, of Industrial, among others.

Participation of trade unions

The participation of the trade unions was decisive for the success of the 2018 World Social Forum in Bahia.

With their flags of struggle and thematic in defense of the workers of Bahia and Brazil, the unions contributed to the construction of a better world.

Throughout the 5 days of debates more than 100 activities were registered and debated in the Tent for the Future of Work. Recognition, unity and commitment to workers sum up the participation of trade unions.

Forinho

For the first time in the history of the World Social Forum, a special space was reserved for children, the Forinho. While David’s mother sold handicrafts, he joined the Forinho, along with other children.

The Children’s Forum amused the children with games and recreational activities. “While I’m in the debates, in the fight, she’s having fun,” says David’s mother.

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(Click here for the original article in Portuguese.)

Question for this article:

World Social Forums, Advancing the Global Movement for a Culture of Peace?

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Artistic and cultural interventions

National artists such as Tulipa Ruiz, Ilê Aiyê and Ana Cañas participated in the World Social Forum. Ana Cañas from São Paulo participated in the World Assembly of Democracies, held in the Pituaçu stadium with the participation of several development leaders such as former President Lula and former Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya, and paid tribute to councilor Marielle Franco of PSOL, who was assassinated in Rio de Janeiro on the night of last Wednesday (March 15). At the same event, the Afro bloc Ilê Aiyê made a presentation, highlighting black culture and rejecting racism and all forms of prejudice. The singer Tulipa Ruiz gave a presentation to the youths who were camped in the Parque de Exposições.

Defense of the Lula and Democracies

The high point of the Forum took place on Thursday and included the participation of former President Lula, former President Dilma Rousseff and former Honduran leader Manuel Zelaya. The president was acclaimed in the event of Launching of the Committee of International Solidarity in Defense of Lula and the Democracy in Brazil, realized in the tent for Future Work. The Committee aims to develop worldwide support to overturn the coup and system of repression that has been established in Brazil. Organized by the Central Única dos Trabalhadores and the Perseu Abramo Foundation, the launch of the Committee was also attended by the ambassador and former defense minister, Celso Amorim, and Professor of the University of Coimbra, Portugal, Boaventura de Sousa Santos.

That night was the most awaited moment of all the programming and was also the one of greater adhesion. Thousands of people gathered at the Pituaçu Stadium to attend the World Assembly in Defense of Democracies and to see closely the great exponents of left-wing movements and parties. The most eagerly awaited guest was former President Lula, but the audience was also thrilled to be moved and to imagine a better future for our country with speeches by the governor of Bahia Rui Costa, Senator Gleisi Hoffman, federal deputy and presidential candidate Manuela D ‘Ávila, former president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, as well as trade union leaders and representatives of social movements and students. All were united to struggle for the preservation of the democratic state of right that has been constantly threatened by the coup government of Michel Temer.

Assembly of Women

During the Assembly of Women held in Pelourinho, the women approved a document that expresses their indignation at the situation to which they are submitted. The document proposes ways to defend women around the world.

The document includes 11 proposals that will be part of the internationalist agenda. Among the demands of women are:

* public policies that guarantee productive and reproductive work;

* recognition of the identity of expression and gender and recognition of women’s rights;

* an end to feminicide, transfeminicide and all forms of violence against women practiced in all spheres, whether public or private;
access to political power;

* the end of the persecution and the murder of women human rights defenders;

* access to universal education that is emancipatory, transformative and non-sexist and racist;

* an end to the imprisonment of blacks, natives, immigrants and poor people;

* dismantling of the patriarchal structure of the media.

The women spoke out against racism, xenophobia, genocide and all forms of discrimination; against capitalism, colonialism and imperialism that exploits and expropriates women all over the planet.

The women approved a motion of repudiation for the death of councilwoman Marielle Franco and another one of solidarity with the struggle of the women of Venezuela.

At the end of the Assembly, the participants left in a march to the Town Square with the sound of the Didá Band of the Terreiro de Jesus.

Youth Camp

As of today (March 17), a new phase of social and political confrontations is on the scene for hundreds of young people in the country. The Intercontinental Youth Camp brought together young people from all over the country to talk about politics and youth rights in Brazil and in the world.

It was three days of debates, integration and lots of fun for the young people at the Parque de Exposições in Salvador.

Ágora dos Futuros

On the morning of the last day (March 17), the results of various activities were presented.
 
The last day of the World Social Forum reserved an important moment of convergence among the 19 axes of discussion that were part of the event. Members from various parts of the world have transformed the UFBA Central Library into the “Agora of the Futures”, a space destined to expose actions that will keep alive the flame of knowledge that was created during the 13th edition of the World Social Forum in Salvador.
 
More than 60 thousand people from 120 countries took part in the activities and 1500 collectives, organizations and entities were registered.
 
Some 1400 self-organized activities were carried out with the participation of representatives from countries around the world, such as Canada, Morocco, Finland, France, Germany, Tunisia, Guinea, Senegal and Central America.