In the face of toughest global challenges, the United Nations Foundation (UN Foundation) links problems with solutions to foster global peace, prosperity, and justice. It connects people, ideas, and resources to help the United Nations (UN) solve the most intractable global problems, such as energy access, climate change, global health, women’s empowerment, population, hunger, and poverty eradication. In fact, it literally reflects its motto, “Connecting You with the United Nations.”
Established by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner in 1998, the UN Foundation has been an advocate for the UN and helped the UN address pressing and far-reaching international issues through partnerships, campaigns, and fundraising.
A worldwide partnership between the public and private sectors is indispensable and very significant. The UN Foundation has a wide range of dynamic and win-win partnerships with corporations, organizations, and influences around the world. Since the UN Foundation was founded, it has established more than 300 organizational partnerships with over 40 UN agencies and more than 100 governments.
A great example of its corporate partnership is the collaboration between NBA Cares and the UN Foundation campaign Nothing But Nets, a global grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa. Not only does the message about malaria reach wide audiences via the platform provided by NBA Cares, but it also highlights the involvement of NBA Cares in the campaign. In this way, the UN Foundation offers its partners the ability to do good in the world while also promotes their corporate causes.
To strengthen the connection between the UN and influences, the UN Foundation supports the UN Department of Public Information (DPI) to run the UN Creative Community Outreach Initiative (CCOI), which acts as a liaison between the UN and top level content creators, such as directors, new media professionals, and writers. The initiative aims to inform people about the activities of the UN and its priority issues via TV, film, music, and new media.
Because of the approaching 2015 deadline of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a blueprint accepted by all the world’s countries and leading development institutions, discussion over the Post-2015 Development Agenda has become one of the most important and influential conversations of this century. As a longstanding and strong supporter of the UN, the UN Foundation will convene informal meetings and workshops on thematic issues and facilitate global dialogues among developing country think tanks, thought leaders, civil society and private sector partners.
– Liying Qian
Sources: UN Foundation, UN Business, UN CCOI, UN Association
Photo: PR Web
Bubonic Plague Hits Madagascar
It is amazing that in the year 2013, the Bubonic Plague still exists on this planet. The disease that is known as the Black Death that caused at least 25 million deaths in the 14th century has this week been linked the death of at least 20 people in Madagascar, and may still infect more in the weeks to come.
This announcement is one of the worst outbreaks of the disease in years, and there is concern that it could spread to more towns and cities in the region. The Bubonic Plague is a disease that is transmitted through animals, usually through rats that hold infected flees which then infect humans, which has a high mortality rate if not immediately treated. This disease has mainly been eradicated from most areas of the world, but has been known to appear in developing nations such as Madagascar, where there are low hygiene levels, high levels of population and low resources to prevent the disease.
There was warning from the International Committee of the Red Cross in October that the nation of the East Coast of Mainland Africa was at high risk of an epidemic, but the warnings went mostly unheeded by the locals in the region. It is not that the locals were negligent in preventing the spread of this disease, but there are higher systemic problems that are harder to overcome for the locals.
Madagascar harbored this plague for many reasons. Locals in the region have low literacy rates, which makes it hard to share live saving information that prevents exposure to diseases. The country of Madagascar does not support a strong democratic government with a low corruption rate. When corruption is prevalent through all levels of government, funds that can be applied towards improving the nation often end up in the pockets of the few that are in power, adding to the national poverty.
The nation is one that is often prone to civil unrest, which many violent outbreaks has increase the use of military force on the people. The frequency of civil unrest has suppressed desire for foreign tourism which has decreased revenue for the national economy.
Madagascar is just an example of how poverty in a region can encourage the spread of life threatening diseases. Nations that have low standards of living, high levels of populations, weak central governments and low levels of hygiene are danger zones for disease. It is discouraging for a disease that has largely been eradicated from the face of the world to still exist in this poor region of the world.
– Travis Whinery
Sources: Time, Daily Mail, BBC, Reuters UK
Photo: Wikimedia
Serbia’s Domestic Violence Epidemic
The traumatized collective consciousness of the Serbian people is understandable given the war and strife the country has experienced in recent decades. These events coupled with pervasive poverty and patriarchal cultural norms have created a disturbing trend of domestic violence. A recent article by the Associated Press highlights that 54% of Serbian women have faced domestic violence in their lifetime. This statistic is extremely shocking compared to the 30-40% of women worldwide who have faced abuse and 25% in the United States.
The AP provides two harrowing accounts of violence. One account focuses on Mica, a woman who set her husband on fire after enduring years of abuse. The husband died of his injuries several days later in the hospital. The other describes a Serbian veteran who killed 13 relatives and wounded his wife in a mass shooting spree. The husband’s violent tendencies, typified by his habitual beatings of his wife, were never reported to authorities.
One of the major reasons that violence has perpetuated within Serbian society is the presence of deeply rooted patriarchal social norms. The image of the strong Serbian man and the submissive woman is a generally held view as opposed to an egalitarian relationship found in more liberal societies. This deeply held belief coupled with severe economic misery only compounds the problem. When frustration is pervasive, violence tends to follow.
There is also a severe lapse of authority with regards to Serbian officials preventing instances of abuse and prosecuting those responsible. Although the Serbian government has recognized the problem by enacting targeted legislation, the recent economic crisis has drained budget resources to the point that adequately funding these legal mechanisms is troublesome.
Furthermore, local authorities have shown a complete lack of interest in seriously prosecuting offenders to the fullest extent of the law. Most cases are resolved with warnings to the perpetrators. Shockingly, UNDP has discovered that the vast majority of cases involving domestic abuse resulted in the prosecutor failing to even interview the victim and the perpetrator 79.5% of the time. And 66.7% of the time criminal charges were dismissed, citing lack of evidence. It seems as though tolerance for this type of violence is rooted not only within individuals but within the public institutions charged with punishing perpetrators.
UNDP has created a project to help solve the crisis of domestic violence. The Integrated Response to Violence against Women in Serbia is attempting to change these deeply held beliefs within the country by creating preventative programs such as youth education on gender equality and gender based violence, programs aimed at reaching out to perpetrators, and campaigns focused on raising public awareness and altering stereotypes.
The Associated Press points out that perhaps awareness for this problem is gaining traction among authorities in Serbia. For instance, in the case of Mica, the judge issued her a minimum sentence of five years in jail for the murder of her husband. The judge even seemed to show sympathy for all the years of abuse she endured.
– Zack Lindberg
Sources: UNDP
5 “Nerdy” Charities
Whether someone is a fan of computers or an avid gamer, they stand for it with pride and enjoy being a part of your respective community. Perhaps they wish to do a good deed for the world, but are not sure where to start; below they will find a list of the five charities that best resonate with the interests of many people:
1. EurekaFund
Revolving around various proposals for creating clean, innovative, environmentally-friendly technology, EurekaFund is a database of current research proposals that require further funding. The site provides options of directly donating to a particular project or–in the case that they are a scientist–the possibility of submitting their work and opening a fund of its own.
2. SciFlies
A site to for browsing and inspiration, SciFlies includes modern solutions by conscientious scientists, whose individual profiles are also accessible here. Consumers will read their stories and surely discover something worthy of their time: many of the designs presented here induce a lot of promise and hope for the near future. All fundable projects are accessibly categorized by subtopics, often including photographs and links to outside sources for more in-depth information.
3. Creative Commons
With a mission of universalizing innovation, creativity, and information, and in partnership with Research & Development, Creative Commons is an excellent place for those desiring to see a world of knowledge. Think everyone should have an equal chance at higher education? Check out Creative Commons. In the information and technology age of today, there are few things we cannot accomplish already–to help further spread knowledge across the population is to revolutionize our future.
4. Child’s Play Charity
Here is one for us worldly gamers. Child’s Play is a game industry charity that has been around for a decade. Through donations from its followers, it supplies over seventy hospitals and its young residents across the globe with toys and games. All goals are set up as “achievements” in this charity, and the impact it has in its focus area has brought a lot of positive feedback to gamers.
5. Wikipedia
Good, old, trustworthy Wikipedia–everyone with access to a computer and internet knows Wikipedia, everyone uses Wikipedia, and most cannot help loving Wikipedia. The non-profit online encyclopedia with endless resources always welcomes donations; help sponsor what is shaping up to be our primary source of information if you enjoy having nearly anything you need to know in just one search away.
– Natalia Isaeva
Sources: Eureka Fund, SciFlies, Child’s Play, Creative Commons, Hub Pages
Photo: Agiel Geoscience
Ending Violence Against Women with Cartoons
Human rights group Breakthrough launched a surprising new campaign tackling violence against women. Advertisements featuring an animated scenario have been playing on TV sets across the U.S. The short scene depicts men stopping other men from acting inappropriately towards women. In one bit, a man stops another man from slapping a female vendor’s bottom as she walks by them. The tag “#BeThatGuy. Stop violence against women in its tracks” flashes across the screen. The ads were first tested at Miami Speedway last month, where they were extremely well received.
The videos are based off the idea that men are a part of the problem, but also a part of the solution. The core idea is that men can use their male privilege to speak up for women where women may be unable to have a voice.
Breakthrough plans on running more ads both online and on TV that discourage gender-based violence. Breakthrough organizer Ishita Srivastava says she believes in “meeting people where they are,” including at sporting events with high institutionalized gender bias.
The campaign is called “Ring the Bell,” and calls on men to hold each other accountable. Breakthrough calls violence and discrimination against women and girls “unacceptable.” The organization has centers in India and the U.S. that specialize in using media, pop culture, art and community mobilization to encourage people to “live up to their full potential.”
Breakthrough has also launched campaigns against early marriage and sex-selective termination, and in favor of immigration rights, racial justice and HIV/AIDS prevention.
– Stephanie Lamm
Sources: Breakthrough, WITNESS Blog, Aljazeera
Child Labor: An Overview
“Millions of children are victims of violence and exploitation. They are physically and emotionally vulnerable and they can be scarred for life by mental or emotional abuse. That is why children should always have the first claim on our attention and resources. They must be at the heart of our thinking on challenges we are addressing on a daily basis. We know what to do, and we know how to do it. The means are at hand, it is up to us to seize the opportunity and build a world that is fit for children,” remarked Ban Ki-moon, Secretarty-General of the United Nations on November 20, 2009, on the Twentieth Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Just as Ban Ki-moon mentioned, children are not physically or mentally ready to enter the labor force. With the lack of physical abilities, the safety of the workplace cannot be ensured, for both the children and other employees. In fact, children are more likely to be abused and mistreated in an environment centering around child labor.
“Few human rights abuses are so widely condemned, yet so widely practiced. Let us make (child labor) a priority. Because a child in danger is a child that cannot wait,” stated Kofi Annan, Former UN Secretary-General. Around the world, more than 211 million children between the age of 5 and 14 are being forced to work. Among these children, 120 million children are working full time.
To eradicate child labor, people should first understand what leads to such situations. For example, poverty is the first and foremost reason of child labor. Since many parents do not have the capability to support their household, children end up working to help support the family’s daily lives. Another reason for child labor is a poor education system.
When education is expensive or not readily available, impoverished parents do not see the benefit of learning and think that working is a better alternative. In the United States, there are many laws that prohibit child labor, however, in some countries, child labor laws exist, but are not enforced. Companies can thus take advantage of the cheap labor and further exploit it.
On the other hand, many organizations have been striving to put a stop to child labor by various programs. For example, the United Nations has been running campaigns to raise the awareness of child labor across various nations and airing them in global events such as the World Cup. Moreover, in order to raise the level of education in poverty stricken areas, the Red Cross and governments of third world countries have been recruiting teachers to volunteer in remote areas.
– Phong Pham
Sources: Child Labor Public Education Project, UN: Agencies Urge Greater Action, International Labor Rights Forum, UN: Child Labor
Photo: Addicting Info
10 Great Quotes About the Poverty of War
War seems endemic to civilization, and in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nigeria and other places around the world people are fighting right now for some of the same basic reasons they have for millennia. Access to resources often determines the victors in any struggle, but both sides must face deprivations during any prolonged conflict and those hardships tend to be what most observers remember most vividly. Most of humanity’s greatest minds have witnessed war from one vantage or another and few have ever had any accolades to laud on the subject but many have had something to say. Here are a few thoughts from some great thinkers, most who witnessed war in the modern era.
1. “Probably, no nation is rich enough to pay for both war and civilization. We must make our choice; we cannot have both.” ~Abraham Flexner, American educator
2. “When the rich wage war it’s the poor who die.”~Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher from his play Le diable et le bon dieu
3. “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense.” ~Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered this message as part of a speech on peace during his presidency
4. “No matter what political reasons are given for war, the underlying reason is always economic.” ~A. J. P. Taylor, British historian and broadcaster
5. “The 1st panacea of a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the 2nd is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; a permanent ruin.” ~Ernest Hemingway, American writer and world traveler
6. “There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.” ~Sun Tzu, from The Art of War
7. “The basic problems facing the world today are not susceptible to a military solution.” ~John F. Kennedy said this in a speech during a West Point graduation
8. “How is it possible to have a civil war?” ~George Carlin, American comedian
9. “Even the most piddling life is of momentous consequence to its owner.” ~James Wolcott, current American journalist and writer
10. “Wars are poor chisels for carving out peaceful tomorrows.” ~Martin Luther King Jr. said this when speaking of the horrors of the Vietnam War
– Tyson Watkins
Sources: AAVW, IAS, Antiwar, Brainy Quote, Goodreads, EdChange, The Borgen Project Magazine
Photo: The Guardian
World Leaders Remember Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela, former South African President, was highly regarded by leaders all over the globe. His legacy will live on in South Africa and in the hearts of past and present influential leaders.
Soon after the announcement of Mr. Mandela’s death, President Barack Obama praised the South African leader as an influential and inspiring leader who motivated people all across the globe, including the President himself. President Obama solemnly stated that he could not imagine his life without the example set by Mr. Mandela.
Previous U.S. Presidents, including Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, also commended Nelson Mandela for his role in the anti-apartheid movement and outspokenness.
F.W. de Klerk, South Africa’s last apartheid leader, also commended Nelson Mandela for his willingness to compromise and passion for the betterment of South Africa. De Klerk stated in 1990 that though his relationship with Mr. Mandela was “often stormy” “they were always able to come together at critical moments.”
The Dalai Lama, a fellow Nobel Peace laureate, recently said that he will “personally miss a dear friend” and that Mr. Mandela’s “spirit will go on” even though he has physically departed.
Though his controversial position in South Africa during the Apartheid, Nelson Mandela has become a world-renowned leader and activist. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon hopes that Mandela’s legacy will continue to motivate people across the globe to work for a better world. The White House flags are set to fly at half-staff through Monday.
– Lienna Feleke-Eshete
Sources: All Africa, Yahoo
Photo: News Discovery
Digging Up the Truth, Yasser Arafat
As the President of the Palestinian National Authority, Yasser Arafat dedicated his life to combating Israel for the sake of his nation’s right to self-determination. After decades of activism and leadership, Arafat’s life came to an end on November 11, 2004 after having suffered from a mysterious month-long illness. More puzzling than the onset of Arafat’s undetermined illness was his unexpected death.
Since Arafat had died while undergoing treatment in a French military hospital, no autopsy had been carried out immediately after his death. Under French law only his wife, Shuha, had the legal authority to request an autopsy at that time. Due to the absence of an autopsy, in the years since Arafat’s passing, a spectrum of rumors ranging from HIV to poisoning have been circulated. However, after years of speculation, Arafat’s body was exhumed for an autopsy in 2012.
To the dismay of many, even the autopsy of Arafat yielded inconclusive results. After separate laboratory testing conducted by Al Jareeza, France, and Russia, each result yielded inconsistent findings. According to Russia, an insufficient amount of polonium-210 was found in the remains of Arafat in order to conclusively declare poisoning as the cause of death. However, Al Jareeza ardently maintains the conviction that Arafat had indeed succumbed to poisoning by polonium-210. On the other hand, France stands a slightly neutral stance by concluding that while unusually high levels of polonium had been discovered in Arafat’s system, the cause of death was most likely natural causes in conjunction with a generalized infection.
Although the results and interpretation of Arafat’s autopsy are inconclusive, the staggering price of his exhumation is less bewildering. No official statements regarding the cost of the former Palestinian leader’s exhumation has been issued yet. However, according to The Guardian, a typical exhumation in the UK is priced at approximately £5,000 or $6, 867.
Under the assumption that a family of four needs $146 per week to purchase adequate and healthy groceries, the cost of exhuming Arafat could have bought a family of four living in the United States groceries for 46 weeks. Furthermore, since 50 percent of the world’s population subsides on less than $2.50 a day, Arafat’s exhumation could have also enabled an individual living in a non-industrialized nation to secure shelter, food, and clothing for almost 2,747 days, or roughly 7.5 years.
Although uncovering the truth behind Yasser Arafat’s death holds momentous political implications for Palestine and its international relations, the cost of the exhumation also has enormous political merit- we live in an age in which digging up the past is given more care than shaping the immediate future. The cost of a single exhumation could also have been utilized to allow an impoverished child to see his or her 7th birthday.
– Phoebe Pradhan
Sources: The Spectator, The Guardian 1, 2, USA Today, World Bank
Photo: The Times
Syrian Refugee Camps in Demand
Overfull and varying widely in accommodation, Syrian refugee camps have become an international crisis. The United Nations has made the largest humanitarian appeal for aid ever at $5 billion to relieve the situation but has received less than $2 billion to date. Some 2.2 million refugees are currently scattered across Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt while more Syrians are fleeing war at an alarming pace. Estimates say more than 3 million refugees will be in those areas by January.
Such numbers are startling given the Syrian population before the onset of war was only 22.5 million. Lebanon, for example, has no official camps despite having more than a million refugees in its borders and does not allow the building of permanent refugee structures. Those who can afford it rent apartments or rooms in the cities at an exorbitant rate while others share the homes of sympathetic civilians or even inhabit abandoned buildings in depressed areas. In the northeast region, an average of 17 people per household are packed together according to a study conducted by Doctors Without Borders last year.
Water, food and healthcare are rationed out slowly and insufficiently, with less to go around as numbers rise. Employment for refugees was around 20% last year in Lebanon, and the economies of Iraq, Turkey and Jordan are in little better position to provide opportunities for such a rapid influx of labor.
Dependency on humanitarian aid is heightened and the desperation of the situation has many refugees working for extremely low wages in poor conditions and engaging in child labor. Economic and physical insecurity in Jordan’s Zataari camp has led parents to arrange hurried marriages for their teenage daughters as young as 14. Matchmakers recruit young girls for Saudi husbands but often end up as prostitutes or victims of “pleasure marriages” where the suitor divorces them after consummation.
Though some of Syria’s displaced persons find bourgeois housing in Cairo or end up in one of Turkey’s refugee camps that consist of metal trailers with access to satellite T.V. and air conditioning, most see basic necessities and sanitation as luxuries. The Domiz camp in Iraq is made up primarily of tents and has 45,000 residents despite being designed for just 30,000. In just two weeks between August and September, more than 1,500 people were treated for upper respiratory infections there by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Security is also an issue in these camps with reports of rape, theft, kidnapping and murder being common. In the Zataari camp, Jordan security forces restrict entry but lack the manpower to adequately police the camp’s 120,000 residents. Other camps in Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkey reportedly funnel arms and recruits back into Syria. In Lebanon, crime has increased by 30% and increased tensions between Hezbollah and Sunni refugees may be behind the recent bombing of the Iranian embassy in Beirut.
Syria’s bordering nations are gradually increasing restrictions for entering refugees. Lebanon and Turkey are both planning to relocate some people to camps they wish to build within Syria’s insecure borders. Only about 25% of Syria’s refugees are actually in camps now, the rest are trying to survive by their own means. There are also an additional 3.8 million who are internally displaced.
Despite their faults, the refugee camps provide essential support and the need for more camps is evident, but where they can be built and how they will be funded is not so clear.
– Tyson Watkins
Sources: Medecins Sans Frontieres, World Health Organization, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Syrian Arab Republic,
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Moving Refugees, The Guardian, Integrated Regional Information Networks, BBC, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Syrian Regional Response Plan, Aljazeera, The Daily Star United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Stories from Syrian Refugees, The New York Review of Books
Photo: NPR
UN Foundation: Connecting UN And The World
In the face of toughest global challenges, the United Nations Foundation (UN Foundation) links problems with solutions to foster global peace, prosperity, and justice. It connects people, ideas, and resources to help the United Nations (UN) solve the most intractable global problems, such as energy access, climate change, global health, women’s empowerment, population, hunger, and poverty eradication. In fact, it literally reflects its motto, “Connecting You with the United Nations.”
Established by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner in 1998, the UN Foundation has been an advocate for the UN and helped the UN address pressing and far-reaching international issues through partnerships, campaigns, and fundraising.
A worldwide partnership between the public and private sectors is indispensable and very significant. The UN Foundation has a wide range of dynamic and win-win partnerships with corporations, organizations, and influences around the world. Since the UN Foundation was founded, it has established more than 300 organizational partnerships with over 40 UN agencies and more than 100 governments.
A great example of its corporate partnership is the collaboration between NBA Cares and the UN Foundation campaign Nothing But Nets, a global grassroots campaign to save lives by preventing malaria, a leading killer of children in Africa. Not only does the message about malaria reach wide audiences via the platform provided by NBA Cares, but it also highlights the involvement of NBA Cares in the campaign. In this way, the UN Foundation offers its partners the ability to do good in the world while also promotes their corporate causes.
To strengthen the connection between the UN and influences, the UN Foundation supports the UN Department of Public Information (DPI) to run the UN Creative Community Outreach Initiative (CCOI), which acts as a liaison between the UN and top level content creators, such as directors, new media professionals, and writers. The initiative aims to inform people about the activities of the UN and its priority issues via TV, film, music, and new media.
Because of the approaching 2015 deadline of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a blueprint accepted by all the world’s countries and leading development institutions, discussion over the Post-2015 Development Agenda has become one of the most important and influential conversations of this century. As a longstanding and strong supporter of the UN, the UN Foundation will convene informal meetings and workshops on thematic issues and facilitate global dialogues among developing country think tanks, thought leaders, civil society and private sector partners.
– Liying Qian
Sources: UN Foundation, UN Business, UN CCOI, UN Association
Photo: PR Web