Category Archives: global

Generation Equality Forum: Mexico City, 29-31 March 2021

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An announcement from Foro Generacion Igualdad

The Generation Equality Forum will kick off in Mexico City 29-31 March 2021, hosted by the Government of Mexico.

With civil society at its core, the Generation Equality Forum in Mexico will reinforce the power and voice of feminist movements and youth and the commitment and action of different stake holders, including high level representatives from Member States, the private sector, and international organizations.

By analyzing progress and gaps since the 1995 Beijing Women’s conference, including the heightened urgency posed by the COVID crisis, the event will make the case for strengthened intergenerational and transformative feminist leadership and accelerated action on gender equality.

As the kick-off for the Generation Equality Forum journey, the event will:

– Launch the work of the Action Coalitions, and their calls for action for urgent implementation and investment

– Develop a multilateral feminist agenda to sharpen the Generation Equality Forum vision towards Paris

– Integrate the formation of a multilateral alliance of countries to promote the gender equality agenda

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(Click here for a Spanish version.)

Questions for this article

Does the UN advance equality for women?

Prospects for progress in women’s equality, what are the short and long term prospects?

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The event will include a series of dialogues that will address the structural and systemic obstacles that prevent the achievement of gender equality and fulfillment of the human rights of women and girls.

This event presents a historic opportunity to promote the full implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, and is aligned with the feminist foreign policy promoted by the Government of Mexico.

The Generation Equality Forum is a civil society–centred, global gathering for gender equality, convened by UN Women and co-hosted by the governments of Mexico and France. Kicking off in Mexico City, Mexico, on 29–31 March 2021, and culminating in Paris, France, in June 2021, this landmark effort will bring together governments, corporations and changemakers from around the world to define and announce ambitious investments and policies. The Forum will propel concrete, ambitious, and transformative commitments for gender equality.

Registration for the Generation Equality Forum in Mexico City is now open at this link, and an FAQ about the event is available here.

The Forum responds to the fact that—despite the commitments made in Beijing in 1995 to take strategic, bold action on gender equality—progress and implementation has been slow. Not a single country today can claim to have achieved gender equality. With women’s rights at risk of rolling back further as a result of the COVID-19 crisis—due to heightened poverty and risks of gender-based violence—the Forum is a rallying point to finally achieve the human rights of all women and girls.

The Generation Equality Forum will also fuel a powerful and enduring coalition for gender equality, bringing together governments, activists, corporations, feminist organizations, youth and allies to achieve transformative change.

To learn more about the Forum in Mexico, the Action Coalitions and to stay up-to-date on all the latest developments, visit the Generation Equality Forum website.

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Statement by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Women Executive Director, on International Women’s Day 2021

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

A statement from UN Women

International Women’s Day this year comes at a difficult time for the world and for gender equality, but at a perfect moment to fight for transformative action and to salute women and young people for their relentless drive for gender equality and human rights. Our focus is on women’s leadership and on ramping up representation in all the areas where decisions are made – currently mainly by men – about the issues that affect women’s lives. The universal and catastrophic lack of representation of women’s interests has gone on too long.



Video of Statement

As we address the extraordinary hardship that COVID-19 has brought to millions of women and girls and their communities, we also look ahead to the solid opportunities of the Generation Equality Forum and Action Coalitions to bring change.

During the pandemic, we have seen increased violence against women and girls and lost learning for girls as school drop-out rates, care responsibilities and child marriages rise. We are seeing tens of millions more women plunge into extreme poverty, as they lose their jobs at a higher rate than men, and pay the price for a lack of digital access and skills. These and many other problems cannot be left to men alone to solve. Yet, while there are notable exceptions, in most countries there is simply not the critical mass of women in decision-making and leadership positions to ensure that these issues are tabled and dealt with effectively and this has affected the pace of change for women overall.

(continued in right column)

(Click here for a French version of this article or here for a Spanish version.)

Questions for this article

Does the UN advance equality for women?

Prospects for progress in women’s equality, what are the short and long term prospects?

(continued from left column)

There are breakthroughs to celebrate, where women have taken the helm of organizations such as the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank and we look forward to more such appointments that help to change the picture of what a leader looks like. Yet this is not the norm. In 2020, as a global average, women were 4.4 per cent of CEOs, occupied just 16.9 per cent of board seats, made up only 25 per cent of national parliamentarians, and just 13 per cent of peace negotiators. Only 22 countries currently have a woman as Head of State or Government and 119 have never experienced this – something that has important consequences for the aspirations of girls growing up. On the current trajectory, we won’t see gender parity in the highest office before 2150. 

This can and must change. What is needed is the political will to actively and intentionally support women’s representation. Leaders can set and meet parity targets, including through appointments for all executive positions at all levels of government, as has occurred in the few countries with gender equal cabinets. Special measures can work; where countries have put in place and enforced quotas, they have made real progress on women’s leadership, as have those that have policies to address representation. Where these measures do not exist, progress is slower or even nonexistent and easily reversed.

No country prospers without the engagement of women. We need women’s representation that reflects all women and girls in all their diversity and abilities, and across all cultural, social, economic and political situations. This is the only way we will get real societal change that incorporates women in decision-making as equals and benefits us all.

This is the vision of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals and the vision of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. It is the vision of civil society and multitudes of young people who are already leading the way and of all those who will join us in the Generation Equality Action Coalitions. We need bold decisive action across the world to bring women into the heart of the decision-making spaces in large numbers and as full partners, so that we can make immediate progress on a greener, equitable and inclusive world.

global, United Nations, WOMEN'S EQUALITY,

International Women’s Day 2021

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

A publication of UN Women

Women of the world want and deserve an equal future free from stigma, stereotypes and violence; a future that’s sustainable, peaceful, with equal rights and opportunities for all. To get us there, the world needs women at every table where decisions are being made.

This year, the theme for International Women’s Day (8 March), “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world,” celebrates the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and highlights the gaps that remain.


Credit: UN Women/Yihui Yuan

Women’s full and effective participation and leadership in of all areas of life drives progress for everyone. Yet, women are still underrepresented in public life and decision-making, as revealed in the UN Secretary-General’s recent report. Women are Heads of State or Government in 22 countries, and only 24.9 per cent of national parliamentarians are women. At the current rate of progress, gender equality among Heads of Government will take another 130 years.

(continued in right column)

(Click here for a French version of this article or here for a Spanish version.)

Questions for this article

Does the UN advance equality for women?

Prospects for progress in women’s equality, what are the short and long term prospects?

(continued from left column)

Women are also at the forefront of the battle against COVID-19, as front-line and health sector workers, as scientists, doctors and caregivers, yet they get paid 11 per cent less globally than their male counterparts. An analysis of COVID-19 task teams from 87 countries found only 3.5 per cent of them had gender parity.

When women lead, we see positive results. Some of the most efficient and exemplary responses to the COVID-19 pandemic were led by women. And women, especially young women, are at the forefront of diverse and inclusive movements online and on the streets for social justice, climate change and equality in all parts of the world. Yet, women under 30 are less than 1 per cent of parliamentarians worldwide. 

This is why, this year’s International Women’s Day is a rallying cry for Generation Equality, to act for an equal future for all. The Generation Equality Forum, the most important convening for gender equality investment and actions, kicks off in Mexico City from 29 – 31 March, and culminates in Paris in June 2021. It will draw leaders, visionaries, and activists from around the world, safely on a virtual platform, to push for transformative and lasting change for generations to come.

Meet the activists, and get inspired by stories of women leaders we admire.

Event: United Nations Observance of International Women’s Day 2021
UN Women is pleased to invite you to the United Nations observance of International Women’s Day 2021. The theme is “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world on the way to the Generation Equality Forum”. Learn more.

Statements

Statement by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Women Executive Director, on International Women’s Day 2021.

In her statement for International Women’s Day (8 March), UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said: “We need women’s representation that reflects all women and girls in all their diversity and abilities, and across all cultural, social, economic and political situations. This is the only way we will get real societal change that incorporates women in decision-making as equals and benefits us all.”

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Past virtual events in March

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Here are events and application deadlines in March that were previously listed on the CPNN page for upcoming virtual events. Where possible links are provided to recordings of the events. Unless otherwise noted the events are in English.

Mar 1, 2021 06:00 PM CET
World Future Day Launch of Youth Fusion Elders

An online intergenerational dialogue launching the Youth Fusion Elders initiative. The event is being held in conjunction with World Future Day and Nuclear Remembrance Day, both of which occur on March 1.
— This launch event will feature an inter-generational dialogue between youth and elders within the peace and nuclear disarmament fields. We will learn from the highly valuable experiences and knowledge of ‘Elders’ in a conversation facilitated by youth leaders.
Click here for YouTube recording.

3 Mars 2021 Heure : 10H (GMT)
“Repenser l’Afrique Post Covid 19”

Organisé par l’Institut Mandela en partenariat avec l’Ecole Doctorale GAMO et le Laboratoire de Recherches et d’Actions Diplomatiques (LaRAD) vous invitent à la Vidéoconférence Panafricaine.
— Panélistes:
1)- Son Excellence Madame Fatima HARAM ACYL, Vice-Présidente de la Commission de la CEMAC,
2)- Professeur Mohamed HARAKAT, Professeur à l’Université Mohamed V de Rabat, Responsable de l’Ecole Doctorale Gouvernance de l’Afrique et du Moyen-Orient (GAMO)
— Modérateur : Dr Paul KANANURA, Spécialiste en Géopolitique, Géostratégie et Gouvernance, Président de l’Institut Mandela.
— Youtube recording of Vidéoconférence

jeudi 4 mars 2021 de 9h30 à 13h00 (Central European Time)
Webinaire Sur Femmes, Education Et Culture

Un cycle de trois webinaires organisés en France par la Commission nationale consultative des droits de l’homme (CNCDH) dans le cadre de webinaires consacrés aux droits des femmes,
— Mme Stefania Giannini, Sous-directrice générale pour l’éducation prononcera l’allocution d’ouverture au nom de la Directrice générale de l’UNESCO, conjointement avec Mme Karima Bennoune, Rapporteuse spéciale des Nations Unies dans le domaine culturel.
— Mme Véronique Roger-Lacan, Ambassadrice, Déléguée permanente de la France auprès de l’UNESCO, prononcera l’allocution de clôture.
— Georges Kutukdjian, animera la Table ronde N° 1 sur Comment l’éducation peut-elle promouvoir l’égalité femmes-hommes ?
— Programme détaillé en ligne ici.
— Cliquez ici pour l’enregistrement vidéo.

March 8 from 11 AM to 12:30 PM Eastern Standard Time
Women’s Leadership in and for Health

Celebrated by the Pan American Health Organization
— Welcome remarks by Carissa Etienne, PAHO Director
— Panel Discussion:
Claudia López Hernández, Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia
Alejandra Mora Mora, Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission of
Women (CIM/OAS)
Julio Frenk, President of the University of Miami, U.S.A.
— Video – Women’s Leadership in and for Health
— Closing remarks by Mary Lou Valdez, PAHO Deputy Director
— Click here for the youtube recording

March 8 from 15:00-16:00 Central European Time
ILO celebration International Women’s Day

The International Labor Organization (ILO) proposes a high-level collective reflection on the challenges and opportunities in building a transformative agenda for gender equality as called for by the ILO Centenary Declaration
— Click here for the youtube recording.

Monday March 8 at 18:30 Central European time (12:30 Eastern Time USA)
Intergenerational Dialogue between Women Involved in Nuclear Disarmament

UNFOLD ZERO, Youth Fusion and Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (PNND) cordially invite you to join an inter-generational dialogue on March 8 highlighting the roles of women in the peace, disarmament and security fields, and the importance of including gender approaches to these issues in order to build more effective and sustainable security for all.
— Click here for the recording.

Tuesday, March 9, 2021 • 7:00 PM • Eastern Standard Time
Webinar: Leah Bolger on the U.S. Overseas Military Base Empire

The Overseas Military Base Empire: Presentation by Leah Bolger, President of the Board, World BEYOND War and retired U.S. Naval officer. She will present on the social, environmental, and economic impact of U.S. bases and how to close them.
— Sponsored by the CNY Beyond War and Militarism Committee
— The United States has over 200,000 troops stationed on more than 800 bases in more than 80 countries and all seven continents? They are provocative, increasing tensions throughout the world. Maintaining these bases drains hundreds of billions of U.S. tax dollars annually which could be much better used to fund human needs here and abroad.
— Host Contact Info: Greta, greta@worldbeyondwar.org
— Click here for the youtube recording.

March 9, 2021 11:00 AM in Bangkok
Together for Peace : Living Well with Super Diversity

On 30 and 31 March 2021, UNESCO Asia and the Pacific Regional Bureau for Education will be hosting the ‘Together for Peace (T4P) Regional Dialogue on the role of education in building a peaceful and sustainable future in Asia-Pacific’. As a leadup to this event, a series of three webinars on January 27, February 16, and March 9, will explore different dimensions of positive peace and solicit engagement from UNESCO National Commissions, development partners, education policymakers, teachers and school staff, and the general public.
— Living well with Super Diversity. Over the past several decades, there is an increasing recognition and acknowledgement among peoples and nations worldwide of the urgent challenges of living ethically and sustainably on a shared planet. Building a peaceful world must recognize that we are now living in global, national and local contexts where societies and communities are hyper connected, where mobility is accelerating, and where encounters with diversity are more salient in everyday realities and across social media and digital platforms. Such extreme diversity, if not acknowledged properly by the political and socio-economic systems in place, including education and the media, can unfortunately lead to misunderstandings, exclusion, marginalization, and violence.
— Click here for the youtube recording.

Wednesday, March 10, 2021 • 7:00 PM Greenwich Mean Time
No Return to Blair Wars – Online Launch

by Stop the Wars Coalition
Anti-war opinion is deeply embedded within British society and has been since the disaster of the Iraq War. The desire for a new foreign policy was part of the attraction of Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party; to distance itself from Corbyn, and the anti-war movement he represents, the Labour leadership has recently endorsed attacks on Stop the War – with accusations that by opposing wars we support dictators. Our members and supporters will recognise this trope.
— To rebuke these attacks Lindsey German and Andrew Murray have produced a new pamphlet, No Return to Blair Wars – A Reply to Open Labour, clarifying Stop the War Coalition’s anti-imperialist philosophy and setting out the left’s foreign policy choices.
— As a result of the overwhelming response and debate provoked by the pamphlet we’ve decided to host an online launch– event where you can hear from the authors and put forward your questions on the topics discussed in the pamphlet. We look forward to seeing you there.
— Click here for the youtube recording.

March 10, 2021 01:00 PM Eastern Standard Time
Taps for America’s empire of bases? Reducing the U.S. global bootprint

Sponsored by the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
The Biden administration is conducting a “Global Posture Review” meant to ensure that the worldwide presence of U.S. military forces is “appropriately aligned with our foreign policy and national security priorities.” This review offers an opportunity to change the way the United States deploys its forces, currently scattered on 800-some overseas bases. Momentum is growing to close hundreds of those bases and bring troops home, as proposed by experts across party lines in a new open letter. Join a group of those experts on Wednesday, March 1o from 1-2 pm EST to discuss why the Biden administration should sunset America’s base empire and how to strengthen U.S. national security in the process.
— The panel will include David Vine, professor of political anthropology at American University and board member of the Costs of War Project; Christine Ahn, Executive Director of Women Cross DMZ; and John Glaser, director of foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute. Quincy Institute President Andrew Bacevich will moderate.
— Click here for a recording of the event.

Wed, March 10th, at 10:00am-11:30am Eastern Standard Time (15:00-16:30 GMT)
Resisting Occupation: Connecting Palestine and Western Sahara

Sponsored by Nonviolence International (NVI)
— We will hear Palestinian, Sahrawi and other voices share their stories of nonviolent resistance to Moroccan and Israeli occupations. We have an amazing array of panelists that Mubarak Awad will be co-hosting with Rafif Jouejati a fellow NVI board member and Syrian-American human rights activist.
— Panelists:
Salka Barca, Founder of Karama Sahara, a Sahrawi advocacy group
Kamal Lfahsi, A Moroccan human rights activist
Stephen Zunes, Professor in international studies.
Jonathan Kuttab, NVI co-founder and Palestinian human rights lawyer.
— Click here for a recording of the webinar..

11 March 2021 08:00 – 09:30 Eastern Standard Time
Interactive dialogue: Counter-terrorism and COVID-19: Gendered perspectives

Join UN Women, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE ODIHR), the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF), and a panel of experts for a discussion on the gendered impacts of securitized approaches to preventing violent extremism and counter-terrorism, the new challenges that have emerged through the global pandemic, and the principles to guide civil society and governments moving forward. The webinar will be in English with simultaneous interpretation in Arabic, Spanish, French, and Russian.
— Full details
— Click here for a recording of the event.

March 11 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Greenwich Mean Time
Three forms of power-sharing and their relationship

sponsored by the Political Settlements Research Programme of The University of Edinburgh
— This webinar will examine the relationship between power-sharing and inclusion of non-dominant groups, and will use PA-X data to demonstrate how peace agreements provide for above-average inclusion of women, girls, and gender.
— Many case studies show post-conflict power-sharing to be exclusionary of various non-dominant groups. However, analysis of the PA-X database of peace agreements shows that those agreements with political power-sharing have provisions for women, girls and gender at a well above average rate. This research shows how Prof Christine Bell’s three-way functional typology of political power-sharing gives explanatory value to the relationship between power-sharing and inclusion. It shows that sub-state indigenous autonomy in particular is related to higher levels of inclusion of a variety of non-dominant groups in peace agreements. Further, the provisions in these agreements also tend to articulate inclusion in a particular way that emphasises community power rather elite driven aid. Featuring PSRP’s Dr Kevin McNicholl.
— The webinar was be held over Zoom, with joining links emailed to participants ahead of the event.
— Click here for a youtube recording.

March 16-25
Three Events at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women 2021 (CSW65) sponsored by Pathways to Peace

Forced Sterilization and Rape as a Form of Genocide, March 16, 1:30 pm EST
Empowering the Divine Feminine Within, March 21, 4:30 pm, EST
Child Sexual Abuse Prevention, Identification, and Eradication, March 25, 9:30 am, EST
— Sign up for an account here. Due to an overwhelming response to our virtual platform and Parallel Event application, you can now register for free!

March 18, 7:00 pm Eastern Standard Time
The Doomsday Machine with Daniel Ellsberg

Daniel Ellsberg, the man best known for his courageous act of sharing the secret history of disastrous U.S. Vietnam War planning, also – at the age of 30 – designed the U.S. nuclear warfighting strategy and doctrine. Chastened and committed to preventing nuclear war and preparations for omnicide, Dan wrote The Doomsday Machine, which describes the dangerous and illusionary foundations of U.S. nuclear war planning and urges specific steps that can be taken to reduce the dangers of nuclear war.
— Registration

18 March 2021 at 9am Eastern Standard Time
Advancing Gender Equality

Based upon the feedback and recommendations received from the first Global Webinar Series, Religions for Peace, in coordination with Regional Offices, will convene the second series of global capacity development webinars in 2021, with a view to continuing to facilitate the process of strategic Learning Exchange among IRCs across the movement.
— These webinars will focus on our Six Strategic Goals:
Promote Peaceful, Just, and Inclusive Societies
Advance Gender Equality
Nurture A Sustainable Environment
Champion the Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion
Strengthen Interreligious Education
Foster Multi-religious Collaboration and Global Partnerships
— Simultaneous translations for Arabic, French, and Spanish will be provided for all global webinars. Following each of these, regional webinars will be organized under the leadership of the Religions for PeaceRegional Secretaries General, in coordination with Religions for Peace International Secretariat.
— This event is by invitation only. Inquiries can be sent to pbartoli@rfp.org.

Thursday 18 March 2021, 15.30-17.30 Eastern Standard Time
Webinar – Seizing the moment: preparedness in early peace processes

An event hosted by Conciliation Resources and the United States Institute of Peace.
— This event, will explore how and under what conditions diverse stakeholders to conflict – such as non-violent movements, mediation support actors and conflict parties themselves – can seize opportunities to build nascent peace processes in the midst of challenging conflict contexts. The conversation will draw on Conciliation Resources’ latest Accord series publications, Pioneering peace pathways, outlining strategies and innovations to enable more resilient peacemaking practice, with reference to the emergence of Covid-19 and the growing climate crisis.
— Speakers:
Alexander Ramsbotham (Conciliation Resources)
Tabatha Thompson (United States Institute of Peace)
Cate Buchanan (Independent, Pioneering peace pathways Issue Editor)
Sophie Haspeslagh (American University Cairo)
Jonathan Pinckney (United States Institute of Peace)
Irena Grizelj (Independent, expert on youth participation in peace processes)
Michael Frank Alar (consultant, currently World Bank’s Fragility, Conflict and Violence team)
Ayak Chol (Strategic Defence and Security Review Board, South Sudan)
John Packer (Professor of International Conflict Resolution, University of Ottawa)
Ulrike Hopp-Nishanka (Senior Policy Officer, German Federal Government; conflict transformation practitioner)
TBC (Sasakawa Peace Foundation)
— Click here for a youtube recording of the webinar.

18 March 2021 (Thursday) 10:00-11:00 AM Japan Standard Time (08:00-09:00 PM Eastern Standard Time)
Initiative for Peace in South Sudan: Insights from the Work of the Community of Sant’Egidio

A Webinar of the Network for Education and Research on Peace and Sustainability
— Speaker: Dr. Andrea Bartoli, the President of the Sant’Egidio Foundation for Peace and Dialogue. He works primarily on peacemaking and genocide prevention.
— Discussant: Mari Katayanagi, teacher at both International Peace and Coexistence Programme (IPC Programme), Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences; and Department of Integrated Global Studies, Faculty of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University.
— Click here for a recording of the webinar.

March 20, 2021 15:00 Central European Time
“Peace & Security in Albania” conference

Sponsored by Pathways to Peace, Së Bashku and the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
— This conference will focus on further establishing peace & security in Albania and will address humanitarian impact, European security, health, and women, peace, and security.
— Some notable speakers include:
Parliamentarian Elona Gjebrea Hoxha,
Parliamentarian Ermonela Felaj,
Daniel Högsta (ICAN),
Deputy Ambassador Clarisse Pasztory of the OSCE PiA,
Mayor of Mati Agron Malaj,
Secretary General of Red Cross Albania Artur Katuci,
Rinor Jani of Pathways To Peace,
Suela Lala of Fondacioni Së Bashku,
Christian Ciobanu of Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, and more.
— Register here

Sunday, March 21st – 4:00 PM to 11:00 PM Eastern Standard Time
THE COLD WAR TRUTH COMMISSION: A Day of Education, Testimonials & Action

Sponsored by Witness For Peace Southwest, CODEPINK & Addicted To War
— Part 1 Roots of U.S. Anti-Communism and Cold War
— Part II The Domestic U.S. Cold War
— Part III The U.S. Global Cold War, Then and Now
— Detailed program
— For More Information Contact Rachel: sojournerrb@yahoo.com – 310-971-8280 or Frank at: frank.dorrel@gmail.com – 310-838-8131
— Click here for a recording of the event.
— A youtube recording is also available here

Mon, March 22, 2021, 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM Central European Time
An evening with Ray Acheson and a preview of her brilliant new book: “Banning the Bomb, Smashing the Patriarchy”

The book offers a look inside the antinuclear movement and the recent successful campaign to ban the bomb — from scrappy organising to winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 and achieving a landmark UN Treaty banning nuclear weapons.
— Hosted by Scottish & UK ICAN Partners: WILPF, Scottish CND, Medact Scotland, UN House Scotland, Peace & Justice, and Trident Ploughshares.
— Register here

March 23, 2021, 6:30-8:30 pm Eastern Standard Time (USA)
Women as Catalysts for Peace

Hosted by Affinity Intercultural Foundation & the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP)
— The integrated nature of the SDGs shows the strong link of peaceful and inclusive societies with strong institutions to the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women. Investing in women’s leadership, economic empowerment and breaking down the barriers to enable women to thrive contributes to a peaceful and inclusive society. Better gender data matters for if we are not measuring progress, it can be very hard to call attention to the problem and find solutions. IEP is dedicated to shifting the world’s focus to peace as a positive, tangible and achievable measure of human well-being and progress. IEP women peace practitioners will be featured.
— Click here for a youtube recording of the event.

Tuesday, March 23: Noon. Eastern Standard Time
Walk with Me: A Biography of Fannie Lou Hamer

Sponsored by the Center for Nonviolent Solutions
Author Kate Clifford Larson speaks on her upcoming biography of civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer. Fannie Lou Hamer was an extraordinary American activist whose fight for basic human and political rights changed the course of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s
— Click here for youtube recording.

March 24, Wednesday, 3 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
Demilitarize the Budget! Budget Advocacy Training

Sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee
In this webinar, you’ll learn why the United States’ militarized budget is such a problem, how the budget and appropriations process works, and how you can get involved in the call to move money out of militarism and into our communities!
— Speakers Include:
Ashik Siddique, National Priorities Project
Savannah Wooten, Public Citizen
Moderator: Tori Bateman, AFSC
— Click here for a recording of the webinar
— It is also available on youtube.

Thursday March 25, 1:00-2:45 Eastern Standard Time
CSW65 Dialogue: “Women Leaders Impact Change”

An event supported and promoted by the Global NGO Executive Committee
For our contribution during the 65th session of the Commission on the Status of Women we have a dialogue with Women Leaders from various sectors and regions who will share their initiatives that support women’s rights and gender equality.
Register here

Thursday March 25th 2021 • 6:00 pm Eastern Standard Time
Common Ground: A Defining Moment

An anniversary program of Search for Common Ground
— Since 1982, we have worked on the frontlines of violent conflict, learning hard but powerful lessons. We know how to bring people together to identify their common interests, and how to heal communities to prevent violent conflict.
— On Thursday, March 25th, we will take stock of this defining moment and share lessons about how to find common ground and use it to strengthen your country, community, and own life. We hope that you can join us virtually for a special anniversary celebration as we rise to meet this moment.
— Click here for a youtube recording of the program.

Friday, March 26, 2021 • 6:00 PM • Greenwich Mean Time
Online Rally: #YemenCantWait – Stop British Support for the War

The Saudi-led war on Yemen is about to enter its sixth destructive year. According to a recent UN report, the war has already claimed 233,000 lives. It is estimated that 24 million Yemenis need humanitarian assistance – some 80% of the population – which is being thwarted by the Saudi-led coalition’s air and naval blockade of the country.
— And who is the main Western backer of the war? Boris Johnson and his Tory government. Even after Joe Biden announced an end to US support for the war the British government shamefully continues to sell bombs and aircraft to the Saudi regime who have created the worst humanitarian crisis on earth.
— We call on the British government to stop prolonging the carnage in Yemen by ending all arms sales and military support for the Saudi-led coalition immediately.
— Host Contact Info: office@stopwar.org.uk
— Click here for a youtube recording of the event.

Sunday, 28 March 2021 at 2:00 to 4:00 PM EDT (Toronto Time)
Project Save the World Invites You to our Next Monthly Global Town Hall

On the last Sunday of every month, we hold an open meeting on Zoom for activists worldwide who are addressing issues of militarism (especially nuclear weapons), global warming, famine, pandemics, radioactive contamination, and/or cyber risks.
— We talk for two hours with our video cameras on (not just audio, please), edit the recording, and put it on YouTube, Facebook, and our website: https://tosavetheworld.ca and then we publicize it widely.
— Facebook Event Page
— Visit Our Website at https://tosavetheworld.ca
— Join us here by zoom

Tuesday, March 30th, 7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
Annual Meeting of the Center for Nonviolent Studies

The evening includes a brief review of our 2020 programs and a presentation by Paula Green and Beth Johnson on Hands Across the Hills: US Dialogues in an Era of Polarization, a highly recognized residential program of dialogue and cultural exchange engaging progressives from Western Massachusetts with conservatives from Eastern Kentucky coal country.
— Youtube recording of the meeting.

Mar 30, 2021 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time (US and Canada)
A Seat at the Table: In Conversation with Ambassador Swanee Hunt focused on women in roles of leadership

Join the World Trade Center Washington, DC and the World Trade Center Dublin for a webinar series focused on women in roles of leadership in diplomacy, international business, philanthropy, culture and the arts. Hosted by Susan Sloan, author of “A Seat at the Table: Women, Diplomacy and Lessons for the World” our first conversation will feature Ambassador Swanee Hunt, activist, philanthropist, scholar, artist, internationalist, former U.S. Ambassador to Austria and founder of the DC-based Institute for Inclusive Security.
— Click here for a youtube recording of the conversation.

Tuesday, March 30, 2021: 8:00 – 9:30 pm Eastern Standard Time
Webinar for nuclear abolition

This webinar, featuring three internationally recognized advocates for nuclear abolition, will provide an update on nuclear weapons policies and programs and an overview of relevant developments in international law. It will also expand thinking on the need to rethink familiar approaches to disarmament and to shift the focus of disarmament advocacy from recognizing the effects of nuclear weapons to analyzing the causes of nuclear arms racing and the risks of war among nuclear-armed countries. How do the same root causes drive many of our most pressing crises? Speakers include Jackie Cabasso, co-convener of United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ).
— Click here to register.

Tuesday, March 30th at 12 pm Eastern Standard Time
The Hard Choices that Women Peacebuilders Face

Women all over the world are dedicating their lives to building peace and ending violence. But while their impact gets the spotlight, their challenges, sacrifices, and personal hardships often do not. What hard choices do they face? What do they choose? On occasion of Women’s History Month, Search for Common Ground is tackling these questions at an interactive discussion.
— Our speakers:
Adrienne Lemon, Director, Institutional Learning Team at Search for Common Ground
Aude Darnal, Associate Director of the New American Engagement Initiative at the Atlantic Council
Mena Ayazi (moderator), Program Officer, Children & Youth at Search for Common Ground
— Click here for a recording of the event.

global

New UNEP synthesis provides blueprint to urgently solve planetary emergencies and secure humanity’s future

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

A press release from the United Nations Environmental Program

The world can transform its relationship with nature and tackle the climate, biodiversity and pollution crises together to secure a sustainable future and prevent future pandemics, according to a new report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) that offers a comprehensive blueprint for addressing our triple planetary emergency.


Launch of report
”

The report, Making Peace with Nature, lays out the gravity of these three environmental crises by drawing on global assessments, including those from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, as well as UNEP’s Global Environment Outlook report, the UNEP International Resource Panel, and new findings on the emergence of zoonotic diseases such as COVID-19.

The authors assess the links between multiple environmental and development challenges, and explain how advances in science and bold policymaking can open a pathway towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and a carbon neutral world by 2050 while bending the curve on biodiversity loss and curbing pollution and waste. Taking that path means innovation and investment only in activities that protect both people and nature. Success will include restored ecosystems and healthier lives as well as a stable climate.

“By bringing together the latest scientific evidence showing the impacts and threats of the climate emergency, the biodiversity crisis and the pollution that kills millions of people every year, [this report] makes clear that our war on nature has left the planet broken,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in the report’s Foreword. “But it also guides us to a safer place by providing a peace plan and a post-war rebuilding programme.

“By transforming how we view nature, we can recognize its true value. By reflecting this value in policies, plans and economic systems, we can channel investments into activities that restore nature and are rewarded for it,” he added. “By recognizing nature as an indispensable ally, we can unleash human ingenuity in the service of sustainability and secure our own health and well-being alongside that of the planet.”

Amid a wave of investment to re-energize economies hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, the blueprint communicates the opportunity and urgency for ambitious and immediate action. It also lays out the roles that everyone – from governments and businesses to communities and individuals – can and must play. 2021 is especially crucial, with upcoming climate and biodiversity convention meetings – NFCCC COP 26 and CBD COP 15 – where governments must come up with synergistic and ambitious targets to safeguard the planet by almost halving greenhouse gas emissions in this decade, and by conserving and restoring biodiversity.

Tackling three planetary threats together

Economic growth has brought uneven gains in prosperity to a fast-growing global population, leaving 1.3 billion people poor, while tripling the extraction of natural resources to damaging levels and creating a planetary emergency. Despite a temporary decline in emissions due to the pandemic, Earth is heading for at least 3°C of global warming this century; more than 1 million of the estimated 8 million plant and animal species are at substantially increased risk of extinction; and diseases caused by pollution are currently killing some 9 million people prematurely every year. Environmental degradation is impeding progress towards ending poverty and hunger, reducing inequalities and promoting sustainable economic growth, work for all and peaceful and inclusive societies.

(article continued in right column)

Question for this article:
 
Despite the vested interests of companies and governments, Can we make progress toward sustainable development?

(Article continued from the left column)

The report shows how this trio of environmental emergencies interact and have common causes, and thus can only be effectively addressed together. Subsidies on fossil fuels, for instance, and prices that leave out environmental costs, are driving the wasteful production and consumption of energy and natural resources that are behind all three problems.

Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP, said the report highlighted the importance of changing mindsets and values, and finding political and technical solutions that measure up to the Earth’s environmental crises.

“In showing how the health of people and nature are intertwined, the COVID-19 crisis has underlined the need for a step-change in how we view and value nature. By reflecting that value in decision-making – whether we are talking about economic policy or personal choices – we can bring about a rapid and lasting shift toward sustainability for both people and the environment,” she said. “‘Green recovery’ plans for pandemic-hit economies are an unmissable opportunity to accelerate the transformation.”

Released ahead of the fifth UN Environment Assembly, the report presents a strong case for why and how urgent action should be taken to protect and restore the planet and its climate in a holistic way.

It presents examples of what transformative change can look like, and how it can create prosperity, employment and greater equality. Far-reaching change involves recasting how we value and invest in nature, integrating that value into policies and decisions at all levels, overhauling subsidies and other elements of economic and financial systems, and fostering innovation in sustainable technologies and business models. Massive private investment in electric mobility and alternative fuels show how whole industries recognize the potential gains from shifting quickly.

The authors point out that ending environmental decline in all its forms is essential to advancing many of the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular poverty alleviation, food and water security and good health for all. An example is how intensifying agriculture and fishing in sustainable ways, allied with changes in diets and lower food waste, can help end global hunger and poverty and improve nutrition and health while sparing more land and ocean for nature.

Reinforcing the call for action, the report stresses the need for stakeholders at all levels of society to be involved in decision-making, and identifies dozens of key actions that governments, businesses, communities and individuals can and should undertake in order to bring about a sustainable world.

For instance:

* Governments can include natural capital in measures of economic performance, put a price on carbon and shift trillions of dollars in subsidies from fossil fuels, non-sustainable agriculture and transportation towards low-carbon and nature-friendly solutions

* International organizations can promote One Health approaches and ambitious international targets for biodiversity, such as expanded and improved protected area networks

* Financial organizations can stop lending for fossil fuels and develop innovative finance for biodiversity conservation and sustainable agriculture.

* Businesses can adopt the principles of the circular economy to minimize resource use and waste and commit to maintaining transparent and deforestation-free supply chains

* Non-government organizations can build networks of stakeholders to ensure their full participation in decisions about sustainable use of land and marine resources

* Scientific organizations can pioneer technologies and policies to reduce carbon emissions, increase resource efficiency and lift the resilience of cities, industries, communities and ecosystems

* Individuals can reconsider their relationship with nature, learn about sustainability and change their habits to reduce their use of resources, cut waste of food, water and energy, and adopt healthier diets

A sustainable future also means learning from the COVID-19 crisis to reduce the threat of pandemic diseases. The report underlines how ecosystem degradation heightens the risk of pathogens making the jump from animals to humans, and the importance of a ‘One Health’ approach that considers human, animal and planetary health together.

(Thank you to Phyllis Kotite, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, United Nations,

Past virtual events in December 2020

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Here are events from December that were previously listed on the CPNN page for upcoming virtual events. Unless otherwise noted the events are in English.

Dec 1, 2020 18:30 PM in London
Students say No to War on Yemen

The war in Yemen has entered its sixth, devastating year. Over 100,000 people have died and millions are the brink of famine. The British Government is complicit in this war; over £5 billion worth of arms have been sold to the Saudi coalition since the start of the war and RAF personnel have maintained Saudi planes and directed the bombings. Stop the War Coalition, alongside organisations around the world, has called a global day of action against the war on Yemen on 25th January 2021. Students have played a major role in fighting against British involvement in the war, organising protests across the country over the summer, and will have a vital role in building the day of action. Join us to discuss how we can take action on the 25th January and end the war on Yemen.
— Speakers (tbc):
Lucy Nichols, Stop the War
Malak Mayet, Campaign Against the Arms Trade
Adhiyan Jeevathol, London Students for Yemen
Lamar Campbell, Young Labour International Representative
Hasan Patel, Young Labour Under 18’s Representative
Register here

December 3-5
Development, Environment and Peace Nexus (DEEPEN): Peace Making in Borderlands

United Nations Research Institute for Social Development
— Violence and conflict in borderlands are inseparable from environmental degradation and hinder social development. This close connection, however, also provides the potential to reverse the vicious cycle of conflict, disruption to nature and social exclusion and move, through a holistic transformative approach, toward a virtuous cycle of peace, ecological integrity and inclusive development. At this uniquely multidisciplinary conference, speakers will explore the complex relationships between development, environment and peace in borderlands, challenging conventional approaches and introducing innovative theories and practices for sustainable and peaceful development.
— Click here for the program
— The on-line event is open to a global audience and free of charge. Register here.

Friday 4th December 2020 9.15am–12pm GMT
European peace and security through the 2020s

Mayors for Peace European Chapter, NFLA and ICAN joint webinar
How do we create a safer, more peaceful continent free of nuclear weapons?
— The webinar will bring together mayors and experts on nuclear disarmament, and will concentrate on the important role of local towns and cities in creating safe, resilient, sustainable and more peaceful communities.
— This meeting will be hosted on Zoom and will also be streamed live on You Tube. The meeting will be held in English, with English-Spanish simultaneous translation offered by the City of Granollers.
— Register here

December 5 and 6
Conference for climate justice and peace

United for Intercultural Action : European Network against nationalism, racism, fascism and in support of migrants and refugees
— We want to invite you to join us online for a conference which is going to take place online on December 5th and 6th, 2020 on the 10th anniversary of thePrague Spring 2 network.
This time the following questions are going to be raised:
— How can we organize a campaign in all parts of Europe for an eco-social transformation and disarmament and a Nuke Free Europe and Climate Justice?
— How can communities strengthen each other across borders finding ways to build trust and resilience through local food production and stronger solidarity economies?
— How can we dismantle authoritarian, military, trade and financial international regimes that support the continuation of racist colonial and neocolonial oppression and where and what can be the contribution of our organizations like trade unions, peasant and Human Rights organizations to peace and democracy?
— Click here for the program
— Register here. Zoom link will be sent by email.

9 December 9:00 -10:30 (Mexico City)
“Protecting Human Rights Defenders: the commitment of the European Union”

On the occasion of the International Human Rights Defenders Day, the Delegation of the European Union to Mexico invites you to this webinar with the participation of human rights defenders in Mexico.
— Registration required: http://bit.ly/39umEMv

Mercredi 9 décembre 10H-12H France (en français)Le désarmement conventionnel, influence t-il le désarmement nucléaire ?

— L’Union européenne, et plus largement les Etats du continent européen ont une approche très variée concernant le sujet du désarmement nucléaire. . . Dans le domaine du désarmement conventionnel l’unité est plus forte, tous ayant adhéré aux différentes normes internationales. La récente fin du Traité sur les forces nucléaires à portée intermédiaire (qui visait à éliminer des missiles emportant aussi bien des charges nucléaires ou conventionnelles) a montré une nécessité de renforcer une voie européenne du désarmement (face à la Russie, la Chine, les Etats-Unis). Mais cette voie commune peut-elle exister au niveau du désarmement conventionnel et nucléaire ? Ou c’est l’unité face aux enjeux de désarmement classique qui peut permettre d’entrainer (une sorte d’étapes par étapes) une position plus forte et commune sur l’interdiction et l’élimination des armes nucléaires ?
— ICAN France, avec le soutient de la Heinrich Boell Stiftung Paris, vous invite à entendre des chercheurs et parlementaires sur ces réflexions, puis à débattre avec eux.
— Inscription : https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dkTCQ7d7SDaK2vBwghTtcw

9 December 2020, 3.00 PM – 4.30 PM CET
Webinar on human rights, peace and security in the Americas

Welcome to a webinar on human rights, peace and security in the Americas, organised by the Swedish Foundation for Human Rights together with the Nordic Institute of Latin American Studies at Stockholm University.
— In the seminar we will discuss the impact of the Inter-American Commission and Court* on the situation for human rights, peace and security in different countries of the Americas. We will also examine the limitations to their power and the possibilities to influence the ongoing crises we see in for example Venezuela and Nicaragua. We are very pleased to be able to draw on the knowledge of prominent experts in different fields to guide us on the topic of the webinar, including the finalists of the Swedish Foundation for Human Rights student essay competition 2020!
— Panellists and presenters:
— Andrés Rivarola Puntigliano, Director of the Nordic Institute of Latin American Studies.
— Diego Rodríguez-Pinzón, Professorial Lecturer in Residence and Co-Director of the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at American University Washington College of Law (WCL).
— Pär Engström, Senior Lecturer in Human Rights at the Institute of the Americas, University College London.
— Amalia Ydrefelt Hanell, law student, Uppsala University.
— Lovisa Kårelius, law student, Uppsala University.
— Helmer Jonelid, law student, Uppsala University.
— Moderator: Sofia Fotini Ekarv, Swedish Foundation for Human Rights
— Please register for the webinar here

Thursday – Dec 10, 2020, 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm CET (Central European Time)
Peace and Human Rights issues in the Gulf Region

Join us for a diverse and innovative discussion of Peace and Human Rights issues in the Gulf Region. The Webinar will feature:
— Husain Abdulla, Executive Director of ADHRB, Bahrain
— Sarah Leah Whitson, former Director of the MENA division of the Human Rights Watch, USA
— Dr. Saeed al-Shehabi, Political Activist and Member of the Bahrain Freedom Movement, Bahrain
— Yasmine Taeb, Senior Fellow on Congress and Foreign Policy at the Center for International Policy, Iran-USA
— Chaired by Amela Skiljan, IPB Coordinator, Germany
— To register, please send an email with your name and affiliation to: info@ipb-office.berlin

10 de diciembre a las 17:30 hora Ciudad de México
“Educación para Paz y Derechos Humanos” (en español)

JunPaz te invita a la converencia “Educación para Paz y Derechos Humanos”,.
Imparte: Roberto arlos Domínguez Cano, Doctorante en Negociación por el Instituto de Medicacón de México
— La podrás seguir por zoom. Inscripciones aqui

10 de diciembre a partir de las 2:00 p.m.(Colombia hora local)
Foro “Genocidio comunal y social en Colombia” (en español)

Con motivo de la conmemoración del Día Internacional de los Derechos Humanos, la revista Derecho y Realidad se complace en invitar al Foro “Genocidio comunal y social en Colombia”, que contará con la participación de reconocidas personalidades del ámbito nacional e internacional y en el que se debatirán acciones en defensa de la vida y obra de los líderes sociales y comunales, quienes están siendo víctimas de un genocidio sistemático, en medio del silencio estatal y la indiferencia social.
— Se podrán conectar por los siguientes links:
Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82302616418
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLgcDD5yfQkGp80PC6QU77w

Thursday December 10. 8am Central Europe Time (10 am Moscow, 1pm Dhaka, 4pTokyo/Seoul, 7pm Suva)
Friday December 11. 11:30 Eastern time USA/Canada. (5:30pm CET)
Launch of Youth Fusion: website and youth actions for nuclear abolition

— Youth around the world are standing up for peace and nuclear disarmament, and taking action in innovative ways that are making a difference. The Youth Working Group of Abolition 2000 global network to eliminate nuclear weapons builds cooperation amongst these youth actions, brings youth voices into key UN and other disarmament processes, and facilitates inter-generational dialogue to turn youth energy and vision into effective policy action.
— We invite youth, and the not-so-young, to join the Abolition 2000 youth working group as they launch Youth Fusion – the new online platform and youth action plan for a nuclear-weapons-free world.
— Program and other information for session 1 will be posted on the Session 1 event facebook page. Click here to register.
— Program and other information for session 2 will be posted on the Session 2 event facebook page. Click here to register.

11 diciembre – 13:30-16:30 GMT (Intérpretes: En/Es/Fr/Pt/It)
Llamado a la Asamblea Mundial Virtual de Habitantxs (3ª sesión)

— Para hacer el balance de la movilización global Cero Desalojos para Coronavirus
— Para acordar los ejes estratégicos de movilización: construir la alternativa basada en los derechos humanos y ambientales y la redistribución equitativa de los recursos
— Para definir la Agenda Solidaria de lxs Habitantxs 2021, la convergencia de las re-existencias en tiempos de pandemia
— Participación: Gunnar Theissen, Encargado de Derechos Humanos en apoyo del Relator Especial ONU sobre el Derecho a la Vivienda, OHCHR
— Haga clic para recibir el enlace Zoom para participar en la Asamblea!

December 9-12
Festival hip hop Cartagena

Bajo el lema ‘Cultura y artes para la paz’, El Festival hip hop Cartagena surgió como respuesta y alternativa a la crisis social y cultural que se vive en la ciudad de Cartagena, buscando mantener viva la cultura hip hop de la ciudad a través de acciones encaminadas al fortalecimiento de las raíces histórico culturales.
— El festival se llevará a cabo del 9 al 12 de diciembre, de manera virtual. El evento se transmitirá por las redes sociales oficiales del festival, por las redes oficiales de la Alcaldía Mayor de Cartagena en cabeza del Instituto de Patrimonio y Cultura de Cartagena-IPCC y los canales aliados independientes que se sumen a la causa. Además se contará con una excelente agenda académica con invitados de lujo que consta de los siguientes 5 conversatorios:
— Miércoles 09 de diciembre- 10:00 a.m.(hora local) Movimiento Hip hop en Cartagena 1980- 2000: ‘Resistencia y poesía callejera por una cultura de paz’
— Jueves 10 de diciembre – 10:00 a.m.(hora local) Cultura para el desarrollo: la cultura Hiphop en Cartagena de Indias.
— Jueves 10 de diciembre – 4:00 p.m.(hora local) La danza como escenario de poder
— Viernes 11 de diciembre – 10:00 a-m.(hora local) Industria de la música: salas de conciertos y distribución digital.
— Viernes 11 de diciembre – 4:00 p.m.(hora local) Derechos culturales, cultura hip hop y equidad de género.
— Click here for live videos

Thursday – Dec 10, 2020 and Sunday, December 13 @1 pm ET (Canada)
How Israel Became Its Own Worst Enemy and Its Hope for the Future: A Personal Perspective

Canadian Friends of Peace Now
How Israel Became Its Own Worst Enemy and Its Hope for the Future: A Personal Perspective
with Ami Ayalon and guest host Jim Torczyner
— Admiral (res.) Ami Ayalon is a former director of the Shin Bet (Israel’s security service), commander of the Israeli Navy, government minister and member of Knesset (Labour). He recently co-authored Friendly Fire: How Israel Became its Own Worst Enemy and the Hope for its Future. This is a memoir of Ayalon’s journey towards becoming a strong voice for peace between Israelis and Palestinians and his analysis of the barriers impeding peace. He critiques self-defeating policies that have undermined Israel’s civil society while heaping humiliation upon its Palestinian neighbours. The book discusses what Israel must do to achieve relative peace and security and to sustain itself as a Jewish homeland and liberal democracy.
— Audience questions welcome. You may send advance questions to info@peacenowcanada.org
— Register for this event here.

Monday, December 14-15
7:00 pm to 8:30 pm (New York), Monday 14 December
9:00 am to 10:30 am (Japan), Tuesday 15 December

Please join PeaceBoat for a very special online discussion with Ms Michiko Hattori, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima
— Organised by Peace Boat and #Youth4Disarmament, a project of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA).h
— Seventy five years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world still faces the grave threat of the nuclear weapons. As the hibakusha survivors age, there are fewer opportunities to listen to their first-hand stories. We can continue to honour them by celebrating their lives and work and by discussing possible actions we can take together and individually.
— A discussion wil be followed by a youth-led question and answer session.
— RSVP here: https://bit.ly/3qKpm6v

Dec 14-15
Dec. 14 at 8:00 PM in Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Dec. 15 at 10:00 AM KST

Militarization, Killer Robots, and the Korean Peninsula: The Case for Peace
— Join the transnational feminist campaign Korea Peace Now! for this discussion on on Dec. 14 at 8:00pm EST about killer robots in South Korea: what they are, why you should care, and how ending the Korean War can help stop them.
— Featuring:
Ray Acheson, Campaign to Stop Killer Robots
YouKyoung Ko, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
Youngmi Cho, Korean Women’s Movement for Peace
Moderated by Catherine Killough, Women Cross DMZ
— Simultaneous interpretation in Korean and English will be provided***
— Register here

Tuesday, Dec 15, 5:00 PM Pacific Time USA
“How to Avoid a War in Asia”

Join Code Pink, Beyond the Bomb, Women Cross the DMZ and World Beyond War for an amazing panel.
Panelists:
Hyun Lee: National Organizer, Women Cross the DMZ
Jodie Evans: Co-Founder, Code Pink
Molly Hurley: Organizer, Beyond the Bomb
David Swanson: Exec. Director, World Beyond War
Leah Bolger: Board President, World Beyond War
— Register here in advance for this meeting
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Wednesday 16 December 2020 from 11:00 AM to 12:15 PM CET
Live Webinar: Accelerating Youth Inclusion in Building Peace

— To honour the 5th anniversary of the Youth, Peace and Security Resolution, the Kingdom of Denmark and the Kofi Annan Foundation are hosting an online panel discussion on how to accelerate change towards the meaningful inclusion of young women and men in shaping peace.
— Our panel of experts will share concrete examples and good practices of how member states, the EU and civil society organisations are contributing to the Youth, Peace and Security agenda and discuss what remains to be done to make youth inclusion a reality.
— Register here

Wednesday, December 16th 11:00 am EST. (1600 GMT)
“Jonathan Kuttab’s Booklet Launch” Webinar Registration – We Are All Part of One Another

— “I am launching a book which I hope, with your help can address the current impasse, and perhaps change the conversation around Israel / Palestine. Many activists are frustrated, despondent, and floundering with no clear vision or direction. We need some fresh out-of-the-box thinking. This is true for Palestinians, Israelis, and our friends in the international community. I’ve asked Nonviolence International, a group I co-founded and value deeply, to lead the effort to get this book into the hands of people across the political spectrum and across the world.
— To learn more about the text and see what people are saying, please visit: Beyond The Two-State Solution.
— Please RSVP here to join the launch event.

December 16-18
Workshop on contributions of smart city projects to climate resilience

— Co-organizers: Hiroshima University (Network for Education and Research on Peace and Sustainability), Global Carbon Project-Tsukuba International Office, Future Earth, Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change
Research (APN)
— This 3-day workshop is consisted of sessions related to three main activities:
1. The first day is allocated to presentations by authors who have submitted their works to be considered for publication in a special issue of Environment and Planning B. Details about the special issue are available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/page/epb/collections/special-issues 2.
On days 2 and 3 the participants will take part in interactive sessions focused on investigating the actual and potential contributions of smart cities to climate resilience.. . .
3. On day 3 a parallel session will be organized to discuss contributions of smart cities to urban climate change mitigation. . .
— Registration: Please register here to receive zoom link prior to the event. https://bit.ly/2HsrTQz

Sunday 20 December, 23:00 UTC+01
The Venezuelan Election, a blow to US Imperialism.

Organised by the United National Antiwar Coalition et Bahman Azad
— The United Socialist Party of Venezuela, the party of Nicolas Maduro won a stunning victory in the recent election for the National Assembly. However, the US has sought to undercut this victory and to deny the will of the Venezuelan people. This webinar will give us the chance to hear voices of people who were there as election observers and independent journalists and saw a different picture than the one projected by the US government. Their talks will be followed by questions and answers. Please join us and share the information about this webinar.
— Speakers:
— Margaret Flower, Popular Resistance
— Vijay Prashad, Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
— Bahman Azad, U.S. Peace Council
— Zoe PC, Peoples Dispatch
Register here
Click here to watch replay on youtube

24 December 2020, 4:00PM Eastern Daylight Time (New York)

Deadline to submit application for Online Youth Consultation on Preventing Violent Extremism through Sport
— Invitation from the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) within the framework of the UN Global Programme on Security of Major Sporting Events, and Promotion of Sport and its Values as a Tool to Prevent Violent Extremism, implemented by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) in partnership with UNAOC, United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) and the International Centre for Sport and Security (ICSS).
— The consultation aims to gather the input and guidance of young people in developing various outputs such as an awareness campaign to be launched concurrently with global sporting events next year and with the involvement of professional athletes; a policy guide; a handbook; and an app. These products will aim to advance the power of sport and its social values as a tool to prevent violent extremism, and to strengthen the engagement and cooperation of youth and Member States in using sport to promote sustainable peace and development.
— Participants must be :
* between 15 and 19 years old
* Wish to contribute to the advancement of sport in promoting social inclusion, ensuring sustainable peace and preventing radicalization and violent extremism
* Have experience with policy guides, innovative programmes, knowledge sharing tools and/or awareness raising/communication campaigns
— Click here for results of the Consultation.

Sunday, December 27. 2:00-4:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (US/Canada)
Global Town Hall

On the last Sunday of every month, Project Save the World hosts a one-hour conversation via Zoom videoconference about our various projects working to prevent one or more of these threats: war and weapons / global warming / famine / pandemics / radioactive contamination / cyberattacks.
— Video conference URL: https://zoom.us/j/9108970203

December 29

Deadline for nominations for the Peace and Climate action European Youth (PACEY) Plus Award 2021.
— Please make your nomination in one of the two categories:
1. European youth project: A project based in Europe or run by youth from Europe;
2. Beyond Europe youth project: A project based outside Europe or a Global youth project.
— Self-nominations are permitted.
— The Award is organised jointly by the Basel Peace Office and the Präsidialdepartement des Kantons Basel-Stadt, Kantons- und Stadtentwicklung (Office of Cantonal and Urban Development, Department of Presidential Affairs, Canton of Basel-Stadt, Switzerland).
— Questions to info@baselpeaceoffice.org.
— For more information please visit www.baselpeaceoffice.org
— Nomination form

global

Past virtual events in February

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Here are events and application deadlines in February that were previously listed on the CPNN page for upcoming virtual events. Where possible links are provided to recordings of the events. Unless otherwise noted they are in English.

Feb 4, 2021 05:45 PM GMT (London)
Liverpool StW: The Assange case: what next?

Speakers:
John McDonnell MP
Kristinn Hrafnsson, editor in chief of WikiLeaks
Deepa Driver, Haldane Society court reporter
Alan Gibbons, Labour activist and author
— Click here for a recording of the event

Thursday, February 4, 2021, 12:00-1:00 EST
Gerald Horne discusses his book, The Dawning of the Apocalypse: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy, Settler Colonialism, and Capitalism.

— sponsored by the New Haven Free Public Library
Acclaimed historian Gerald Horne joins us for a virtual lunch hour discussion of his book, The Dawning of the Apocalypse: The Roots of Slavery, White Supremacy, Settler Colonialism, and Capitalism in the Long Sixteenth Century. Horne is John J. and Rebecca Moores Professor of African American History at the University of Houston. He has published more than three dozen books, including The Apocalypse of Settler Colonialism and Jazz and Justice, both by Monthly Review Press.
.. The Dawning of the Apocalypse is a riveting revision of the “creation myth” of settler colonialism and how the United States was formed. Here, Gerald Horne argues forcefully that, in order to understand the arrival of colonists from the British Isles in the early seventeenth century, one must first understand the “long sixteenth century”– from 1492 until the arrival of settlers in Virginia in 1607.
During this prolonged century, Horne contends, “whiteness” morphed into “white supremacy,” and allowed England to co-opt not only religious minorities but also various nationalities throughout Europe, thus forging a muscular bloc that was needed to confront rambunctious Indigenes and Africans. In retelling the bloodthirsty story of the invasion of the Americas, Horne recounts how the fierce resistance by Africans and their Indigenous allies weakened Spain and enabled London to dispatch settlers to Virginia in 1607. These settlers laid the groundwork for the British Empire and its revolting spawn that became the United States of America.
— No registration necessary. Join us in Zoom using this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81097812539
— This event will also stream live on our Facebook Page. Click here for the recording.
— For more information, email Isaac Shub at ishub@nhfpl.org or call 203-946-8130.

Saturday, February 6 at 2 PM EST
Building the Antiwar Movement Under the Biden Administration

This will be a discussion with UNAC [Unied National Antiwar Coalition] administrative committee members:
Bahman Azad, Ajamu Baraka, Judy Bello, Sara Flounders, Margaret Flowers, Margaret Kimberley, Cassia Laham, Autumn Lake, Joe Lombardo, Jeff Mackler, Rhonda Ramiro)
— Click here for the youtube recording

February 7-8 (see program for times)
PyeongChang Peace Forum (PPF) 2021

Experts from around the world will discuss concrete approaches and effective campaigns to abolish war and eliminate nuclear weapons, key objectives of the United Nations, with the aim of achieving these no later than 2045, the 100th anniversary of the UN.
— You are cordially invited to register for the three sessions on Peace ans SDGs hosted PNND, APSD, PCK in partnership with many international CSOs during the PPF 2021.
The outcome of the sessions will be incorporated into the PyeongChang Agenda for Peace (PCAP) 2021.
A zoom or youtube link and background materials will be sent to those who have registered here in advance.
— Click here for the recording of day 1.
— Click here for the recording of day 2.
— Click here for the recording of the closing ceremony

Tuesday, February 9, 2021 9 p.m. (EST)
Asia-Pacific Political Economy: Dynamics and Their Implications

In recent decades, the Asia/Indo-Pacific region has been transformed by unprecedented economic growth, driven in significant measure by globalization, law wage production, growing economic inequality, repressive labor laws, technological coemption and disregard for the environment. With the world’s three largest economies the region is responsible for 60 percent of global gross domestic product.
–Impacting these dynamics are the impacts of the pandemic, the U.S.-Chinese trade war including sanctions and restrictions on technological export, China’s Belt and Road, the recent Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, competition for control of the South China Sea, and increasing military tensions across the region.
— The newly launched Asia-Pacific Working Group will host a webinar providing background and analysis about the political economy of the Asia/Indo-Pacific region.
— Featured speakers will be:
Walden Bello, Focus on Global South & University of the Philippines
Juliet Lu, Cornell University
Achin Vanaik, Transnational Institute and University of Delhi (ret)
— You can watch the recording here

Thursday, Feb. 11, 7:00 – 8:00 pm EST =
Fri, February 12, 2021, 1:00 AM – 2:00 AM CET
Mohonk Consultations (USA)

Please join us for an online panel presentation on how to overcome polarization and find common ground. Our speakers will highlight practical approaches, building on the 125-year living tradition of peacebuilding at Mohonk Mountain House. Our panel members and the titles of their presentations are as follows:
— Dennis Kucinich, “Stepping Out of Polarization”
— Lester Strong, founder and director of the Peaceful Guardians Initiative, “The Four Gateways of Communication
— Dior Williams, Rondout Valley High School student and member of its Human Rights Club, “The Importance of Humility”
— It is clear that we are in a period of intense polarization in the US and in many areas around the globe. Recent events have given hope that a shift may be underway, presenting us with an opportunity to change the perspective of enmity to one of collaboration and unity in working toward a common understanding. Tools for avoiding conflict and finding common ground are extraordinarily useful and needed at this unique time, as is the spreading of goodwill. How can each of us, in our own way, be part of a solution?
— Visit our website for more details, including speaker biographies.
— REGISTER HERE
— Click here to see a recording of the event

Friday, February 12, 2021 • 10:00 – 11:30 AM EST (GMT-05:00)
Webinar: Bahrain 10 Years After

10 years after the Bahraini government violently cracked down on mass pro-democracy protests in February 2011, the country remains riven by levels of unrest, political crisis, and human rights violations. Bahrainis continue to protest and demonstrate almost nightly, continuing their calls for greater political and economic freedoms as well as greater respect for human, civil, and political rights. The government continues to meet these demonstrations with force and violence, arresting dissidents and critics, and filling jails with peaceful protesters. These moves by the government have not led to sustainable peace, but have helped fuel dissatisfaction among many.
— After four years of the Trump administration’s total disregard for human rights in U.S. policy toward Bahrain, this panel will discuss what steps Congress and Biden’s administration should take to address the ongoing crisis in Bahrain. The panel will address the efforts to release political prisoners and end the culture of impunity in the country. In addition, the panel will address ways to pressure the Biden administration to end U.S. military support for the Bahraini government.
— Moderator: David Swanson
— Panelists:
Husain Abdulla  
Ali Mushaima
Medea Benjamin
Barbara Wien
— Participants had the opportunity to ask questions of the panelists.
— Click here for a recording of the event.

Sunday 14 Feb., 2021, 3 PM, EST
ZOOM with Dr. FRANK ROMANO on ICC decision re: ISRAELI WAR CRIMES

The program will be moderated by activist/artist Jacqueline Taylor Basker, New York City.
— Lawyer Frank Romano was one of the lawyers submitting a brief to the ICC to accuse Israel of war crimes. Hear his amazing story that involved his kidnapping, jailing, escape and evasion of Israeli authorities so he could complete his brief! We will also discuss briefly the ICC – International Criminal Court – its history and function.
— The event will be recorded so If you cannot join in then, send an email to Jacqueline Taylor Basker for a link to the event at: jtaylorbasker@gmail.com.
— Here is the recording of the event.

Monday, Feb 15th from 7-8pm EST / 4-5pm Pacific time.
Campaign Nonviolence Organizer Meeting

Calling all Campaign Nonviolence Organizers,
— If you can’t make it, please fill out this short survey. This is another way to participate in the conversation and share responses to the discussion prompts we’ll explore on Monday. We will also be planning more calls throughout the year at different days/times.
— On Monday, we’ll explore:
What’s most exciting to you about building a culture of nonviolence?
What are you interested in working on this year?
What pro-tips can you share with your fellow organizers?
What’s YOUR vision for Campaign Nonviolence in 2021?
— Register here

February 18 at 8 p.m. EST
For Peace in Korea, No More War Drills!

With the U.S. and South Korea scheduled to resume massive wargames targeted against North Korea, Women Cross the DMZ has organized a webinar, For Peace in Korea, No More War Drills!
— Speakers include: Wooksik Cheong, Director of Peace Network (South Korea), Catherine Killough, Advocacy and Leadership Coordinator of Women Cross DMZ (US), and Jovanni Reyes, Member Coordinator of About Face: Veterans Against War (US)
Click here for the youtube recording of the event.

Wednesday, February 18, at 7 am EST (Boston)
U.S.-China Relations: Challenges and Prospects for Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific

Joseph Gerson will be joining Prof. Wang Danning for an International Peace Bureau webinar.
Discussants include Anurada Chenoy from India, Enkhsaikhan Jargalsaikhan from Mongolia, and Lee Jun-kyu from South Korea.
— YouTube video of webinar available here

February 18 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm GMT
Conflict, Peace, & Covid-19

— Sponsored by the Political Settlement Research Programme
— This event will offer insights into how local and regional actors in the MENA region and the African continent are responding to the pandemic. Panellists will introduce their research on the response to Covid-19 in the following areas:
— Iraq and Syria: Dr Juline Beaujouan will examine how the pandemic has affected political trust and social cohesion in northwest Syria.
— Yemen: Robert Wilson will explore how local actors in Yemen could support the response to Covid-19 by navigating regional and sub-regional local dynamics, alongside early insights into how security actors are enforcing Covid measures in Taiz.
— There will be ample opportunity for questions from the audience after the presentations.
— The webinar will be held over Zoom, with joining links emailed to participants ahead of the event. Register here

Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021 – 2:00PM EST
“The Story of Forgiveness”

We warmly invite you to the premiere of “The Story of Forgiveness,” presented by The Stanford University Forgiveness Project and PEPSTAR. In this inaugural event, we will be screening the short film, “Admissions”, starring Academy Award nominee, James Cromwell, and winner of 26 international awards.
— This will be followed by a moderated discussion with a distinguished panel that will focus on the intersection of peace and forgiveness. For more information please click the button to view and download the flyer.
— Link for Zoom Meeting

February 22 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm MST (Calgary, Canada)
Panel on Student Leadership and Activism

sponsored by Educators for Peace and Justice
— We are excited to have five student activists sit on our panel to discuss student activism and leadership: Nyakier Buong, Tanisha D, Alicia Aikens, Chase Cardinal, and Erin Knight!
— We will be learning more about how these leaders were inspired, what opportunities they have had to be leaders, and what they think teachers can do to support students! These students are working to bring change in the Canadian communities that they are part of.
— Join us in discussion on how educators can continue to support their students and work for a better tomorrow. Additionally, all participants will be given the opportunity to ask our panelists any questions they may have.
— Join Zoom meeting here

Feb. 22, 3 PM EST/12 PM Pacific Time
Julian Assange Appeal & the First Amendment

Sponsored by the United National Antiwar Coalition
— An online panel discussion on the persecution of Julian Assange. A British judge has recently blocked his extradition from the UK to the US, where he would face unprecedented charges that aim to criminalize basic journalistic activity. The US is appealing that decision, but the indictment against Assange was drawn up during the Trump administration, and the newly elected Biden DOJ should take a new look at the case and drop the charges.
— Our panel will give an overview of Assange’s case, the threat his prosecution poses to the First Amendment, and the latest on his legal proceedings in the UK.
— Hear: Alice Walker, Mumia Abu-Jamel, Nathan Fuller & Joe Lombardo with Jeff Mackler moderating
— For more information: AssangeDefense.org
— Click here for the recording of the event on YouTube

Tuesday, February 23 at 10 am EST (Boston)
Nuclear disarmament webinar

The Peace and Planet international network will be holding the first of a series of nuclear disarmament webinars, as we build toward this summer’s Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference. Titled The International Nuclear Disarmament Agenda, it will feature Oleg Bodrov of the Public Council of the South Coast of the Gulf of Finland (Russia), Jackie Cabasso of the Western States Legal Foundation (US), Ariel Denis of the International Peace Bureau (France), Sharon Dolev of the Middle East Treaty Organization (Israel).
— Click here for a recording of the event.

Feb 24, 2021 07:00 PM EST
Is Nonviolent Policing Possible?

The Center for Nonviolent Solutions presents:
Charles Alphin Sr. a retired police captain and veteran trainer in Kingian Nonviolence who thinks that nonviolent policing is possible. Join us for an engaging evening on nonviolence and policing.
— A close associate of civil rights leader Dr. Bernard Lafayette Jr, Mr. Alphin has provided trainings in Kingian Nonviolence around the world and to numerous police departments in the US including Atlanta, GA, St. Louis, MO, Detroit, MI, Beaumont, TX, Providence, RI, Oakland, and Beverly Hills, CA.
— YouTube recording of the event

Feb 26, 2021 01:00 PM EST
Dialogue: “Women Artists Making an Impact”

NGO Committee on Sustainable Development
Our Dialogue will highlight women artists who are having an impact in their communities through their social good initiatives. They are empowering women of all ages to be leaders with a focus on sustainable solutions to support the United Nations 2030 Agenda for the SDGs so we “Leave No One Behind.” In addition we will focus on the UN75 Peoples’ Declaration for the UN We Need and the futuree we want.
— Webinar registration

Friday, 26 February 2021, 15:30 CET
Webinar del Progetto “L’intersezione sessismo-razzismo”: InTRATTAbili
Webinar on the project “The intersection of sexism and racism”: InTRATTAbili

The webinar will take place through the “Zoom” platform. The event will be recorded and followed by the Facebook pages of the sponsoring associations. English / Italian – Italian / English translation is provided.
— Il progetto “L’intersezione sessismo/razzismo: rete di donne contro la violenza”, promosso dalle associazioni IParticipate, Progetto Arcobaleno e AntropoLogiche, finanziato da Fondazione Marchi, organizza Venerdì 26 febbraio 2021 (ore 15.30 – 1730) il webinar “InTRATTAbili: schiavitù contemporanee e il caso della tratta delle donne” di confronto e incontro con alcune tra le principali realtà dell’associazionismo femminile sul territorio di Firenze, Scandicci, Pisa che si occupano delle schiavitù contemporanee e in particolare della tratta, nel quadro dell’intersezione sessismo/razzismo. Ospite d’onore Meena Patel, da Londra fondatrice delle Southall Black Sisters, che con i loro 40 anni di attività sia sociale che politica allarga al confronto internazionale su questi temi.
— The project “The intersection of sexism / racism: a network of women against violence”, promoted by the IParticipate associations, Progetto Arcobaleno and AntropoLogiche, financed by Fondazione Marchi, organizes the webinar “Intractable: slavery on Friday 26 February 2021 (3.30 – 1730) and the case of the trafficking of women “of confrontation and encounter with some of the main realities of women’s associations in the territory of Florence, Scandicci, Pisa that deal with contemporary slavery and in particular with trafficking, within the framework of the intersection of sexism / racism. Guest of honor Meena Patel, founder of the Southall Black Sisters from London, who with their 40 years of both social and political activity has expanded to international debate on these issues.
— Click here for more information

Feb 27, 2021 04:00 PM EST
Training on the New Sanctions Kill Toolkit

The Sanctions Kill coalition created a new toolkit that anyone can use to educate their organization, group or community about what economic sanctions are, the impact they have, why they are illegal and how they also hurt people in the United States. The toolkit is composed of a 20-minute slideshow, a sample script and resources.
— You are invited to a webinar to learn more about the toolkit, hear a sample presentation and ask questions. This is led by members of groups in the Sanctions Kill coalition. All who are interested are welcome. Please spread the word.
— Zoom register here

Saturday February 27 from 5:30 – 7:00pm Central European Time
Let’s talk Nuclear Disarmament

Sponsored by UNFOLD ZERO, the UN Youth Association of Denmark and Youth Fusion
— The program includes experts on global initiatives for nuclear disarmament, nuclear weapons & the law, Danish nuclear weapons policy, gender & disarmament, and the inter-generational impact of the B-52 nuclear weapons bomber accident at Thule airbase in 1968 (which Youth Fusion has recently raised in UN Human Rights Committees).
— Click here to register for the event.

Sunday, February 28, 2021 • 5:00 PM • Eastern Standard Time
The journey to a world free of nuclear weapons – where we are and how you can get involved

The Florida Peace & Justice Alliance Presents: “The journey to a world free of nuclear weapons – where we are and how you can get involved” with presentations by Dr. Lynn Ringenberg of PSR-Florida and David Combs of the Union of Concerned Scientists
— Host Contact Info: Al Mytty, amytty@hcamllc.com
— Click here for a recording of the event.

Sunday, 28 February 2021 at 2:00 to 4:00 PM Eastern Standard Time
Global Town Hall

Project Save the World invites you to our next monthly Global Town Hall. On the last Sunday of every month, we hold an open meeting on Zoom for activists worldwide who are addressing issues of militarism (especially nuclear weapons), global warming, famine, pandemics, radioactive contamination, and/or cyber risks. We talk for two hours with our video cameras on (not just audio, please), edit the recording, and put it on YouTube, Facebook, and our website: https://tosavetheworld.ca and then we publicize it widely.
— Zoom URL

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global

These six global struggles show the power of nonviolence in action

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article by Rivera Sun from Waging Nonviolence (reprinted according to a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license)

In today’s media world — especially if you live inside the U.S. media bubble — if you hear news about foreign countries, it tends to be about business, political leaders, wars or disasters. Overall, it presents a dismal view of our fellow citizens — not to mention a disempowering one. But here are six of the many stories of ongoing nonviolent campaigns for change in countries across the world. They show the agency and power of ordinary people working for justice, rights, peace and dignity. They show that people don’t have to hold wealth, weapons or traditional power to be powerful. Instead, they need community, connection and some tools of nonviolent action.


Women farmers prepare roti bread (chapattis) as they block a railway track during a protest against the recent passing of agriculture reform bills in the parliament on the outskirts of Amritsar on October 17, 2020. (Photo by NARINDER NANU/AFP via Getty Images – Creative Commons)

1. India’s women farmers reassert their place and presence in farmer protests: India’s farmer protests have captured headlines around the world — as well they should. They are the largest protests in human history. On Jan. 18, Mahila Kisan Diwas (Women Farmers’ Day), women farmers across India demonstrated to reassert their place in the ongoing farmers’ struggle against Modi’s neoliberal agricultural laws. This action was organized in part to redress gender imbalances, particularly around media coverage that cut women out of the struggle’s story.

Due to the impacts of global patriarchy, women in movements have often needed to correct the record, rebalance who’s in the room and invited to the table, and (re)assert their pivotal roles in creating change. Studies show that women play powerful roles in nonviolent movements. They were at the heart of Sudan’s 2019 nonviolent revolution against a 30-year dictatorship. They propelled Chile’s recent constitutional revision campaign so decisively that the slogan for the re-write is “never again without women.” And, in India, women and women farmers have been organizing mass demonstrations, general strikes and protest encampments in such large numbers that they’ve consistently broken world records over and over in the past two years. It’s important to get the story straight!

2. Striking Palestinian workers triumph: Much of the news about Palestine is heart wrenching and tragic. We hear of bombings, orchards being razed, houses bulldozed and more abuses of Israeli occupation. Yet, here is a nonviolent campaign that is significant because the Palestinian workers not only won human and labor rights, they also won an apology for the racist comments their Israeli employer made. During the 19 days of an open-ended strike, the workers lost all wages and were threatened with being fired and replaced with other workers. But they persevered, and they won. (A word of caution: the strike’s agreement must still be upheld by an Israeli court.)

(Article continued in the right column)

Question for this article:

Can peace be guaranteed through nonviolent means?

(Article continued from the left column)

Palestinian organizers are heartened by the news. The secretary of the trade unions in Palestine said, “We hope that this small victory is the beginning of other victories for our workers and our people that have been subjugated by Israel’s inhumane apartheid and settler colonial oppression.” They also credited international solidarity and words of encouragement from global workers with helping them persevere and succeed.

3. In Sri Lanka, hundreds of tea plantation workers strike to defend jobs and social rights: In Sri Lanka, workers on tea plantations are unionized, but due to lack of action by union leadership, Gartemore Estate workers have been on a wildcat strike (a strike without union approval) since the end of December. After the Gartemore Estate sold off a portion of its lands, the workers feared the erosion of their rights and the loss of their jobs under the new management. They are worried that the current owner plans to develop tourist facilities on the estate instead of tea, which would drastically reduce the workforce. Some workers also fear that important personal documents, including birth and death certificates, health and other family papers, currently in the estate office would not be protected under the new management. The strike organizers are demanding a written agreement — not a verbal promise — that outlines a set of demands to protect workers around these issues. 

4. Doctors in Peru launch hunger strike over lack of protections and equipment: Since the start of the pandemic, Peru’s healthcare workers have been using nonviolent action to push for improved protections and equipment. Now, at least four doctors began a hunger strike as a protest against the substandard working conditions. Medical personnel have been protesting for a week just as a second wave of coronavirus cases is hitting the country. They’re not alone. Medical worker strikes have been erupting around the world. Just two weeks ago, medical students in Ecuador won similar demands after walking off the job and withstanding police repression. Will the Peruvian doctors succeed? Time will tell.

5. Oil workers strike in Kazakhstan: More than 60 oil workers have gone on strike in Kazakhstan’s northwestern region, seeking a salary increase. The workers walked out on Jan. 29 saying that their monthly salaries of about $160 should be doubled, as they currently fail to allow them to provide for their families. They could find solidarity with the office employees of a British gas company, who have held numerous strike actions over substandard wages. These workers — and those in many other industries — are up against the “fire and rehire” policies that the pandemic’s economic impacts have aggravated.

6. Canadians block weapons trucks going to the Yemen War: Serious about halting the Yemen War, Canadians blocked a caravan of trucks hauling armored vehicles and other weapons to shipping locations headed for Saudi Arabia. Sitting down in front of the wheels, stretching banners across the roads, and risking arrest were a few of the tactics used. The direct action in Hamilton, Ontario coincides with hundreds of events to pressure the Biden administration, and other governments, to stop arming Saudi Arabia. Their action is reminiscent of the ways Italian dock workers have repeatedly refused to load weapons onto ships headed to Saudi Arabia in opposition of the Yemen War. 

These six nonviolent campaigns are just a fraction of the stories Nonviolence News collects and circulates week after week, both in the United States and abroad. (You can read more in this week’s round-up here and sign-up to the newsletter to receive it in your inbox.) These stories reveal that nonviolent action is a global phenomenon — and that it’s being used for everything from peace to increased wages to human rights and health protections and more. Each struggle has unique lessons to offer all of us in our organizing work. At the same time, these stories also remind us of our common humanity — and that ordinary people everywhere are striving for justice, peace and fairness. 

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, global

With 10-Point Declaration, Global Coalition of Top Energy Experts Says: ‘100% Renewables Is Possible’

.. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ..

An article from Common Dreams (reprinted according to provisions of Creative Commons)

Setting out to rebut defeatist and cynical claims that transitioning the entire global energy system to 100% renewables by 2035 is infeasible, a group of dozens of leading scientists from around the world unveiled a joint declaration Tuesday arguing that such a transformation of the fossil fuel-dependent status quo is not only necessary to avert climate disaster but eminently achievable.


Video of Declaration

What’s required, argue the 46 signatories  of the new 10-point declaration  (pdf), is sufficient political will, international coordination, and concrete action on a massive scale to institute a total “re-design of the global energy system.”

“We have lost too much time in our efforts to address global warming and the seven million air pollution deaths that occur each year, by not focusing enough on useful solutions,” said Mark Jacobson, director of the Atmosphere/Energy Program and professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University.

“Fortunately, low-cost 100% clean, renewable energy solutions do exist to solve these problems, as found by over a dozen independent research groups,” added Jacobson, one of the seven original signers of the declaration. “The solutions will not only save consumers money, but also create jobs and provide energy and more international security, while substantially reducing air pollution and climate damage from energy. Policymakers around the world are strongly urged to ensure we implement these solutions over the next 10-15 years.”

The year 2035 has been described by some scientists as the “deadline for climate action” at which humanity “could cross a point of no return” if governments fail to drastically reduce global carbon emissions in the years prior.

The scientists’ new declaration, characterized as a concise summary of decades of findings from some of the world’s leading energy researchers, argues that a “transformation to 100% [renewable energy] can occur faster than current expectations: the power sector can transform by 2030 and the other sectors soon thereafter.”

In addition to helping the world avert catastrophic warming, the researchers argue that such a transformation would also “stimulate investments of trillions of dollars and create millions more jobs than lost worldwide” while providing “sustainable energy security for future generations.”

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Question for this article:

Are we making progress in renewable energy?

(Continued from left column)

The full 10-point declaration states:

1. Numerous studies have investigated 100% renewable energy (RE) systems in regions, countries, and worldwide, and they have found that it works, not only for providing electricity, but also for providing all energy.

2. A transformation to 100% RE can occur faster than current expectations: the power sector can transform by 2030 and the other sectors soon thereafter. With political will, a transformation of the global energy sector by 2030-35 appears to be possible!

3. Electricity in a 100% RE system will cost less than in our current energy system; the total energy cost of a 100% RE system will be lower than the cost of conventional energy, even if we exclude social costs.

4. The total social cost (energy, environmental, climate, and health cost) of a 100% RE system will be drastically lower than of business as usual. The sooner we achieve  a 100% RE system, the faster these savings will be realized!

5. A 100% RE system can supply regions, countries, and the world reliably (24-7) with energy at low cost.

6. A massive re-design of the global energy system will be needed, including increasing energy efficiency on all levels.

7. Solar and wind will be the key pillars of energy supply, plus flexibility in many forms, especially storage, sector coupling, demand response management, large- and small-scale grid integration.

8. The studies agree that electricity will take a massively increasing share (about 80-95%) of the global energy supply. Electrification will result in a superabundance of cheap clean, renewable energy, increasing prosperity for all humanity.

9. All our studies show that creating the new 100% RE system will benefit the world economy. It will stimulate investments of trillions of dollars and create millions more jobs than lost worldwide. Superabundant clean, renewable energy will create wealth and provide a boost for every sector of the global economy.

10 . Such a rapid transformation is necessary to stop the 7 million human deaths that occur annually today worldwide from air pollution, to slow the growing damage due to global warming and thus avoid the climate catastrophe, and to provide sustainable energy security for future generations.

Stressing the viability of the kinds of transitions that will be necessary to achieve 100% renewable energy across the globe by 2035, the coalition’s website points out that

To date, 11 countries have reached or exceeded 100% renewable electricity; 12 countries have passed laws to reach 100% renewable electricity by 2030; 49 countries have passed laws to reach 100% renewable electricity by 2050; 14 U.S. states and territories have passed laws or executive orders to reach up to 100% renewable electricity by between 2030 and 2050; over 300 cities worldwide have passed laws to reach 100% renewable electricity by no later than 2050; and over 280 international businesses have committed to 100% renewables across their global operations.

“The transformation to 100% renewables is possible,” the scientists said, “and will be coming much faster than the general expectation.”

global, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

‘Women and girls belong in science’ declares UN chief  

. WOMEN’S EQUALITY .

An article from United Nations News

Closed labs and increased care responsibilities are just a two of the challenges women in scientific fields are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN chief said in his message for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, on Thursday. 


Video made by the Secretary-General

“Advancing gender equality in science and technology is essential for building a better future”, Secretary-General António Guterres stated, “We have seen this yet again in the fight against COVID-19”. 

Women, who represent 70 per cent of all healthcare workers, have been among those most affected by the pandemic and those leading the response to it. Yet, as women bear the brunt of school closures and working from home, gender inequalities have increased dramatically over the past year.  

Woman’s place is in the lab 

Citing the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) he said that women account for only one third of the world’s researchers and hold fewer senior positions than men at top universities, which has led to “a lower publication rate, less visibility, less recognition and, critically, less funding”. 

Meanwhile, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning replicate existing biases.  

“Women and girls belong in science”, stressed the Secretary-General.  Yet stereotypes have steered them away from science-related fields. 

Diversity fosters innovation 

The UN chief underscored the need to recognize that “greater diversity fosters greater innovation”.  

“Without more women in STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics], the world will continue to be designed by and for men, and the potential of girls and women will remain untapped”, he spelled out. 

Their presence is also critical in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to close gender pay gaps and boost women’s earnings by $299 billion over the next ten years, according to Mr. Guterres. 

“STEM skills are also crucial in closing the global Internet user gap”, he said, urging everyone to “end gender discrimination, and ensure that all women and girls fulfill their potential and are an integral part in building a better world for all”. 

(continued in right column)

(Click here for a French version of this article or here for a Spanish version.)

Questions for this article

Does the UN advance equality for women?

Prospects for progress in women’s equality, what are the short and long term prospects?

(continued from left column)

 ‘A place in science’ 

Meanwhile, despite a shortage of skills in most of the technological fields driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution, women still account for only 28 per cent of engineering graduates and 40 per cent of graduates in computer science and informatics, according to UNESCO.  

It argues the need for women to be a part of the digital economy to “prevent Industry 4.0 from perpetuating traditional gender biases”.  

UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay observed  that “even today, in the 21st century, women and girls are being sidelined in science-related fields due to their gender”.  

As the impact of AI on societal priorities continues to grow, the underrepresentation of women’s contribution to research and development means that their needs and perspectives are likely to be overlooked in the design of products that impact our daily lives, such as smartphone applications.  

“Women need to know that they have a place in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and that they have a right to share in scientific progress”, said Ms. Azoulay.

‘Pathway’ to equality

Commemorating the day at a dedicated event, General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir informed that he is working with a newly established Gender Advisory Board to mainstream gender throughout all of the UN’s work, including the field of science. 

“We cannot allow the COVID-19 pandemic to derail our plans for equality”, he said, adding that increasing access to science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, for women and girls has emerged as “a pathway to gender equality and as a key objective of the 2030 Agenda  for Sustainable Development”. 

Mr. Volkan highlighted the need to accelerate efforts and invest in training for girls to “learn and excel in science”. 

“From the laboratory to the boardroom, Twitter to television, we must amplify the voices of female scientists”, he stressed. 

STEM minorities  

Meanwhile, UNESCO and the L’Oréal Foundation honoured five women researchers in the fields of astrophysics, mathematics, chemistry and informatics as part of the 23rd  International Prize for Women in Science.  

In its newly published global study on gender equality in scientific research, To be smart, the digital revolution will need to be inclusive, UNESCO shows that although the number of women in scientific research has risen to one in three, they remain a minority in mathematics, computer science, engineering and artificial intelligence. 

“It is not enough to attract women to a scientific or technological discipline”, said  Shamila Nair-Bedouelle, Assistant UNESCO Director-General for Natural Sciences.  

“We must also know how to retain them, ensuring that their careers are not strewn with obstacles and that their achievements are recognized and supported by the international scientific community”. 

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