Cross Cultural Collaboration to Achieve the SDGs
Open communication, collaboration and cultural understanding are the hallmarks of international diplomacy, and a new initiative launched by Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, USA and Effat University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia looks to advance these principles through a newly launched partnership between the two schools.?
On 7 December 2015 students and faculty from the two schools gathered in person and via videoconference at the United Nations in New York for their inaugural meeting to discuss areas of mutual interest and give students from both schools an opportunity to share their cultural backgrounds. Attendees also discussed how the universities could collaborate to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals that were adopted by the United Nations on 25 September.? This collaboration is the first experience of this kind for both schools. ??
Global Education Motivators initiate funding drive to help victims of Chennai flooding
On December 2, 2015, torrential rains in Chennai, India triggered the region's worst flood in over 100 years, killing 300 and leaving the city of 4.8 million people underwater.?
The Chennai disaster is being called a 'perfect storm,' a shining example of what can happen when climate change meets poor urban planning, wrote Sreedhar Potarazu, founder of a software company focused on providing data science applications to assess health care delivery, in an op-ed on CNN.com.?
As the city of Chennai begins the process of drying out and cleaning up, students and teachers at the Omega School have been doing the same.?
Their library that housed more than 10,000 books now has only 20.?
The Omega School was established for the purpose of teaching children not only what they need to succeed in the real world by way of practical skills, but also to teach them the values that they need to cherish and uphold all their lives.
UNAOC Call for application for the Youth Event for our Global Forum in Baku
The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) invites young people from around the world who are members of youth led organizations/networks/initiatives to apply to the Youth Event at the 7th UNAOC Global Forum in Baku on April 25-27, 2016. The event, entitled Living Together in Inclusive Societies?is an amazing opportunity for participants to interact with key stakeholders, experts and other youth involved in social action and to contribute to shaping the global narrative on social inclusion.?
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Nations Reach Historic Agreement on Climate Change
On 12 December, 195 nations adopted an historic, legally binding agreement to combat climate change and unleash actions and investment towards a low carbon, resilient and sustainable future.? The Paris agreement for the first time brings all nations into a common cause based on their historic, current and future responsibilities.
The overarching aim of the agreement is to limit temperature rise in this century to two degrees Celsius and to drive efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The 1.5 degrees Celsius limit is a significantly safer defence line against the worst impacts of a changing climate. Additionally, the agreement seeks to strengthen the ability to deal with the impacts of climate change.
Promoting and Protecting Freedom: Human Rights Day 2015
Amid large-scale atrocities and widespread abuses across the world, Human Rights Day should rally more concerted global action to promote the timeless principles that we have collectively pledged to uphold. –Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General
This Thursday, 10 December, is Human Rights Day, a day that commemorates the adoption of the by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948.?
The Fast Track to End AIDS
Each hour nearly 140 people die from AIDS-related causes.?There are nearly 37 million people living with the disease and there were 2 million new infections reported in 2014.?Much has been done to address the AIDS epidemic in the last 10 years, but there is still work to do to halt the spread of HIV, ensure that people have access to life saving medications and address HIV/AIDS within the larger framework of the Global Sustainable Development Goals.
December 1 is World AIDS Day and provides an opportunity to raise awareness about what has been accomplished and the challenges that remain.?The theme for World AIDS Day 2015 is 'On The Fast Track to End AIDS:Ending the AIDS epidemic as part of the Sustainable Development Goals'.
World Leaders Meet in Paris to Tackle Climate Change
Today 150 heads of state from around the world are meeting in Paris to take on one of the most pressing issues of our time: climate change.? The meeting marks the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) , or COP21. This year presents an historic and unprecedented opportunity to bring the countries and citizens of the world together to decide and embark on new paths to improve the lives of people everywhere by reaching a new universal agreement to protect the planet and its people. .
The Preventable Pandemic: Sexual and Gender-Based Violence
25 November marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the start of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.
Violence against women and girls has been described by the World Health Organization as a global public health pandemic, with 1 in 3 women around the world experiencing physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.?
Did you know:
World Toilet Day Raises Awareness About Sustainable Sanitation
An international day devoted to toilets?? Many people around the world think you're joking when you tell them that 19 November is World Toilet Day.?But access to clean water and sanitation is no laughing matter.
A few facts:
A Tree Grows in Bridgeport: A Celebration of UN70
Dr. Rima Salah?[Second Row Center], Member of the Secretary General's High Level Panel on Peace Operations with students, faculty and Administration from the University of Bridgeport ?[Photo by Triton Marks].
On 30 October 2015 the University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, CT USA celebrated the 70th Anniversary of the United Nations. The ceremony paid special tribute not only to the UN, but also to an event that took place at University some sixty years prior. October 24, 1955, the University's Student Council planted a sapling to mark the tenth anniversary of the United Nations and to commemorate its achievements. The University took advantage of the UN's seventieth anniversary to rededicate the tree and to install a new plaque to replace the one that had weathered many a Connecticut winter.
Eduardo Ulibarri Bilbao discusses his new book: The UN that I lived
The UN that I lived
When, in August 1, 2010, I arrived to New York as the new Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations, my to do list was full of unavoidable tasks, but it also included a loose aspiration: to write a book about my experiences in the Organization.
As weeks, months and years passed – a total of four, my diplomatic commitments took over my literary drive. I deeply immersed myself in the structures, processes, negotiations, challenges, hopes and realizations of the UN, and put the idea of the book on hold. However, every time I wrote a report, recommended a stance, casted a vote, argued a position, talked to a colleague or worked towards consensus, my mind and my notes collected those experiences in a spontaneous way.
Most of the time I focused on documenting the issues, but it also was unavoidable to add my reflections, collect anecdotes and depict characters.
Launch of Annual World Risk Report Highlights Dangers of Food Insecurity
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Today the Alliance Development Works and the Institute for Environment and Human Security of United Nations University launched the World Risk Report 2015.? The 74 page report, launched in Berlin in both English and German, details the intersectionality between disaster risk reduction and reducing food insecurity among vulnerable populations around the world.?
The World Risk Report 2015 ?looks at food security within the context of the World Risk Index which systematically considers a country's vulnerability, and its exposure to natural hazards (e.g. flood, storm, earthquake) to determine the disaster risk ranking of 171 countries around the world. Food insecurity can increase disaster risk, for example by forcing people to move to higher risk areas more vulnerable to natural hazards in search of food or arable land.
The Second Annual J. Michael Adams Lecture and Conversation Series
On 30 October 2015, United Nations staff and delegates and university researchers and students gathered for the second annual J. Michael Adams Lecture and Conversation Series, featuring retired U.S. Ambassador Thomas Pickering and his reflections on the past and future of the United Nations.
International Day for Tolerance: 16 November
In 1996, the UN General Assembly (by resolution 51/95) invited UN Member States to observe the on 16 November, with activities directed towards both educational establishments and the wider public. You can learn more from the International Day for?Tolerance website, and also read a message for the 2015 obervance of the day from the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon?below:
Message from the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon
The call to practice tolerance was written into the identity of the United Nations 70 years ago.? Today, in a world buffeted by turbulence and change, the Charter's summons remains a vital touchstone for our work.
People are more connected?- but this does not mean there is more understanding.
The 15th East Asian Seminar on the UN System - The UN at 70 for a better World: East Asian Partnership in Global and Regional Governance
In October, the Shanghai UN research Association (SUNRA) organised, with support of the China Academic Net for UN Studies (CANUNS), Japan Association for UN Studies (JAUNS) Korea Academic Council (KACUNS) on the UN in collaboration with Academic Council on the UN System (ACUNS), a workshop and seminar on The 15th East Asian Seminar in the UN System: East Asian Partnership in Global and Regional Governance. The workshop and seminar brought together teams of scholars from three countries - China, Japan and Korea (CJK), and two representatives of ACUNS.
The workshop and seminar facilitated a good opportunity to foster the networking among the seminar's participants and the sharing of academic knowledge and exchange expertise on how to improve governance, accountability, and effective development delivery and results.