Monday 31 October 2011

Interview with Dame Pauline Green

Interview with Dame Pauline Green - ICMIFtv

Dame Pauline Green, Chair of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), talks about her vision for the future activities of ICA working with the wider co-operative sector. She speaks of ICA moving to a new period of it's development and responding to the members with the development of much stronger member propositions.

2012 International Year of Cooperatives - Video Clip

 

 

2012 International Year of Cooperatives - Video Clip


2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC)

Saturday 29 October 2011

Disarmament Week (24–30 October)

The annual observance of Disarmament Week, which begins on the anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, was called for in the Final Document of the General Assembly 1978 special session on disarmament -  (resolution S-10/2) . States were invited to highlight the danger of the arms race, propagate the need for its cessation and increase public understanding of the urgent tasks of disarmament.

In 1995, the General Assembly invited governments, as well as NGOs, to continue taking an active part in Disarmament Week  (resolution 50/72 B, 12 December 1995). It invited the Secretary-General to continue using United Nations information entities as widely as possible, to promote a better understanding among the public of disarmament problems, and the aims of the Week.

Tuesday 25 October 2011

Message from Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage - 27 October 2011

Message from Ms Irina Bokova,Director-General of UNESCO,on the occasion of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 27 October 2011

Among all the types of humanity’s heritage, the audiovisual heritage is one of those that provide the most direct and intuitive access to the wealth of world cultures and the infinite diversity of human civilization.

Audiovisual records offer unique means of learning, sharing and becoming informed through sound and image. They are, in form and content, living testimonies to the history of technology, performance and culture. By presenting images and sounds from foreign cultures, historic moments shaping our collective memory, they contribute to cementing the foundations of intercultural dialogue and enriching humanity’s awareness.

All these records, these films and soundtracks, are also extremely vulnerable. Part of the twentieth century audiovisual archive collection has already disappeared, victim of technological obsolescence, institutional neglect and losses due to deterioration, deliberate destruction or ignorance. The rapid development of the digital world has only compounded the challenges.

Protection of these records is a cultural and educational imperative and must never be taken for granted. Quite the opposite: it is an ongoing task. It is one of the central aspects of UNESCO’s flagship Memory of the World programme, which ensures the protection of humanity’s documentary heritage in all its forms. Many audiovisual records have already been included in the Memory of the World Register: “The Story of the Kelly Gang”, the first feature-length fiction film, the complete original film production of the Lumière brothers, and the “Liberation

Struggle Living Archive Collection”, a unique documentary on the apartheid system in South Africa. They are each an irreplaceable source of learning and discovery. Their loss would impoverish our world heritage and be tantamount to collective amnesia.

To protect the audiovisual heritage, appropriate safeguard measures should be instituted and training and support for archive professionals, libraries and specialized institutions provided. I invite today all UNESCO’s partners and collaborators to redouble efforts to ensure the protection of this unique documentary heritage and help it to fulfil all its educational and cultural promises.

Irina Bokova

World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2011 Theme


The theme for this year's celebration of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2011 is "Audiovisual Heritage: See, Hear, and Learn."


Sound recordings and moving images are extremely vulnerable as they can be quickly and deliberately destroyed. Essentially emblematic of the 20th century, audiovisual heritage can be irretrievably lost as a result of neglect, natural decay and technological obsolescence. Public consciousness of the importance of preservation of these recordings must be engaged and the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage is intended to be the platform for building global awareness.

UNESCO has adopted 27 October as the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage to better focus global attention on the issues at stake, in cooperation with the Co-ordinating Council of Audiovisual Archives Associations (CCAAA) and other partners. A growing number of archives around the world will be commemorating this Day with activities that highlight the fragility and vulnerability of this heritage, while celebrating the work of the heritage institutions that have helped to protect it.

Film, television and radio are our common heritage. They help to maintain the cultural identity of a people but countless documentary treasures have disappeared since the invention of image and sound technologies that permit the peoples of the world to better share their experiences, creativity and knowledge.
All of the world's audiovisual heritage is endangered. No where can it be said to be preserved but through initiatives such as the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage and the Memory of the World Programme, the precious work of preservation professionals is given impetus to manage a range of technical, political, social, financial and other factors that threaten the safeguard of heritage.

Recommended Resource Sites for AV Archiving

by Mick Newnham (National Film and Sound Archive, Australia)
Note: It is advised to periodically do a new search as new sites may become available, or links to existing sites may change.

UNESCO encourages everyone, everywhere to join us in celebrating 27 October by showcasing their precious collections as part of a global endeavour to promote the value of audiovisual heritage.

27 October is World Day of Audiovisual Heritage

27 October is World Day of Audiovisual Heritage, declared by UNESCO in 2005, a day which aims to raise awareness of the importance of audiovisual documents and draw attention to the urgent need to safeguard them.

The theme for this year's celebration of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage 2011 is "Audivisual Heritage: See, Hear, and Learn." - Now!" seems especially applicable to the audiovisual archives of the United Nations. The collection at Headquarters has its share of historical audiovisual materials – photos, films, and video and audio recordings – which are unique in the world and require careful attention and preservation.

The UN's audiovisual archive dates back as early as the 1920s and constitutes the memory of the Organization, from the League of Nations to the construction of UN Headquarters in New York, as well as the footage and programmes which continue to be produced daily. Archiving such a rich and complex collection is a major challenge.


The Department of Public Information (DPI) continuing efforts to preserve the unique audiovisual heritage of the United Nations – and, as importantly, to keep this heritage accessible to the world – is critical in making sure the Organization's story may be told in images and sounds to future generations.


In the labyrinth of the Secretariat’s basements, a huge task is being performed by a small team of archivists: to inventory and classify all UN audio, film and video materials before the Capital Master Plan reaches the lower levels of the building." The history is here and needs to be preserved and be accessible" said Antonio Carlos Silva from the Multimedia Ressources Unit. Part of the work is also to select the most valuable materials to be treated in priority, taking into account the physical conditions of the items and their value to the Organization, and to recommend methods and standards of preservation and digitization of the most at-risk audiovisual materials.


Vinegar syndrome, the acidification of the plastic base of film, is one of the major concerns. With an estimated 7% of the film collection already suffering from acidification, finding digitization and storage solutions has become especially urgent.
The audiovisual archives held by the UN Department of Public Information (http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/archives.html ) are a unique collection that tells the stories not only of international diplomacy that shaped our history but also of the people and the times they lived in. The collection comprises 37,500 hours of film and video, 800,000 photographs, and about 55,000.00 hours of audio recordings.




To address the challenges of preserving these archives, DPI, along with other departments and stakeholders, are developing a sound digitization programme. In the meantime, partnerships have been forged with the national archives from various member states such as Brazil, France, Greece, and the Republic of Korea, who selected parts of the collection and will digitize them themselves. These institutions will also provide the UN with a high resolution preservation copy of the selected material and therefore of UN historical moments affecting our humanity.

World Development Information Day - 24 October

"The effective use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) holds the potential of boosting economies, improving healthcare delivery, enhancing education and learning processes, and strengthening democratic processes." Commission on Science and Technology for Development

Report of the Secretary General (E/CN.16/2009/2)



The General Assembly in 1972 instituted World Development Information Day to draw the attention of world public opinion to development problems and the need to strengthen international cooperation to solve them (resolution 3038 (XXVII)). The Assembly decided that the date for the Day should coincide in principle with United Nations Day, 24 October, which was also the date of the adoption, in 1970, of the International Development Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade.

The Assembly felt that improving the dissemination of information and the mobilization of public opinion, particularly among young people, would lead to greater awareness of the problems of development, thus, promoting efforts in the sphere of international cooperation for development.

In recent years many events have interpreted the title of the day slightly differently. These have concentrated on the role that modern information-technologies, such as the Internet and mobile telephones can play in alerting people and finding solutions to problems of trade and development.


One of the specific aims of World Development Information Day was to inform and motivate young people and this change may help to further this aim.


Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Review - Peru
Implementing WSIS Outcomes: Experience to Date and Prospects for the Future
Working Group on Improvements to the Internet Governance Forum
Summary of the 2nd meeting of the Working Group on improvements to the Internet Governance Forum (24 and 25 March 2011)
Progress made in the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society at the regional and international levels
Summary of the 1st meeting of the Working Group on improvements to the Internet Governance Forum (25-26 February 2011)

The Human Right to Water and Sanitation Milestones

March 1977 Mar del Plata UN Water Conference
The Action Plan from the United Nations Water Conference recognised water as a right for the first time declaring that “All peoples, whatever their stage of development and social and economic conditions, have the right to have access to drinking water in quantities and of a quality equal to their basic needs”.

November 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child
The Convention explicitly mentions water, environmental sanitation and hygiene. Article 24(2) states:
“States Parties shall pursue full implementation of this right and, in particular, shall take appropriate measures: …
c) to combat disease and malnutrition, including within the framework of primary health care, through, inter alia, the application of readily available technology and through the provision of adequate nutritious foods and clean drinking water, taking into consideration the dangers and risks of environmental pollution; …
(e) To ensure that all segments of society, in particular parents and children, are informed, have access to education and are supported in the use of basic knowledge of child health and nutrition, the advantages of breastfeeding, hygiene and environmental sanitation and the prevention of accidents”
www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm


December 1979 - Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
The Convention sets out an agenda to end discrimination against women, and explicitly references both water and sanitation within its text.
Article 14(2)(h) of CEDAW provides: “States parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in rural areas in order to ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women, that they participate in and benefit from rural development and, in particular, shall ensure to such women the right: … (h) To enjoy adequate living conditions, particularly in relation to housing, sanitation, electricity and water supply, transport and communication”.
www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/

Principle 4 of the Dublin Conference states that “… it is vital to recognize first the basic right of all human beings to have access to clean water and sanitation at an affordable price”.
www.wmo.int/pages/prog/hwrp/documents/english/icwedece.html

June 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. Rio Summit



Chapter 18 of Agenda 21 endorsed the Resolution of the Mar del Plata Water Conference that all peoples have the right to have access to drinking water, and called this “the commonly agreed premise.”
www.un.org/esa/dsd/agenda21/


September 1994 - United Nations International Conference on Population and Development

The Programme of Action of the UN International Conference on Population and Development affirms that all individuals: “Have the right to an adequate standard of living for themselves and their families, including adequate food, clothing, housing, water and sanitation.”
www.un.org/popin/icpd2.htm

December 1999 - UN General Assembly Resolution A/Res/54/175 “The Right to Development”

Article 12 of the Resolution affirms that “in the full realization of the right to development, inter alia: (a) The rights to food and clean water are fundamental human rights and their promotion constitutes a moral imperative both for national Governments and for the international community”.
www.un.org/depts/dhl/resguide/r54.htm

September 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development

The Political Declaration of the Summit states “We welcome the Johannesburg Summit focus on the indivisibility of human dignity and are resolved through decisions on targets, timetables and partnerships to speedily increase access to basic requirements such as clean water, sanitation, energy, health care, food security and the protection of biodiversity”.
www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/documents/summit_docs/1009wssd_pol_declaration.htm



November 2002 General Commment No. 15. The right to water

General Comment 15 interprets the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) confirming the right to water in international law. This Comment provides guidelines for the interpretation of the right to water, framing it within two articles, Article 11, the right to an adequate standard of living, and Article 12, the right to the highest attainable standard of health. The Comment clearly outlines States parties obligations to the right and defines what actions would constitute as a violation.
Article I.1 states that “The human right to water is indispensable for leading a life in human dignity. It is a prerequisite for the realization
of other human rights”.
www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/0/a5458d1d1bbd713fc1256cc400389e94/$FILE/G0340229.pdf

July 2005 - Draft Guidelines for the Realization of the Right to Drinking Water and Sanitation. E/CN.4/Sub.2/2005/25 
 
These draft guidelines, contained in the report of the Special Rapporteur to the UN Economic and Social Council, El Hadji Guissé, and adopted in Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, are intended to assist government policymakers, international agencies and members of civil society working in the water and sanitation sector to implement the right to drinking water and sanitation. These Guidelines do not legally define the right to water and sanitation, but rather provide guidance for its implementation.
www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/water/docs/SUb_Com_Guisse_guidelines.pdf

November 2006 Human Rights Council Decision 2/104

The Human Rights Council “Request the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, taking into account the views of States and other stakeholders, to conduct, within existing resources, a detailed study on the scope and content of the relevant human rights obligations related to equitable access to safe drinking water and sanitation under international human rights instruments, which includes relevant conclusions and recommendations thereon, to be submitted prior to the sixth session of the Council”.
www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/water/docs/HRC_decision2-104.pdf

December 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities


Article 28, defines the right of persons with disabilities to an adequate standard of living and states “2. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to social protection and to the enjoyment of that right without discrimination on the basis of disability, and shall take appropriate steps to safeguard and promote the realization of this right, including measures: (a) To ensure equal access by persons with disabilities to clean water services, and to ensure access to appropriate and affordable services, devices and other assistance for disability-related needs”.
www.un.org/disabilities/convention/conventionfull.shtml


August 2007 - Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the scope and content of the relevant human rights obligations related to equitable access to safe drinking water and sanitation under international human rights instruments

Following decision 2/104 of the Human Rights Council, the Report from the High Commissioner for Human Rights states that “It is now the time to consider access to safe drinking water and sanitation as a human right, defined as the right to equal and nondiscriminatory access to a sufficient amount of safe drinking water for personal and domestic uses… to sustain life and health”.

Through this resolution, the Human Rights Council decides “To appoint, for a period of three years, an independent expert on the issue of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation”.
ap.ohchr.org/documents/E/HRC/resolutions/A_HRC_RES_7_22.pdf

October 2009 Human Rights Council Resolution 12/8

In this resolution, the Human Rights Council welcomes the consultation with the independent expert on the issue of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation, acknowledges the independent expert’s first annual report and, for the first time, recognizes that States have an obligation to address and eliminate discrimination with regard to access to sanitation, and urges them to address effectively inequalities in this area.
www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/12session/resdec.htm



For the first time, this UN Resolution formally recognises for the right to water and sanitation and acknowledges that clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the realisation of all human rights. The Resolution calls upon States and international organisations to provide financial resources, help capacity-building and technology transfer to help countries, in particular developing countries, to provide safe, clean, accessible and affordable drinking water and sanitation for all.
www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/64/292


Following the UN General Assembly resolution, this resolution of the UN Human Rights Council affirms that the rights to water and sanitation are part of existing international law and confirms that these rights are legally binding upon States. It also calls upon States to develop appropriate tools and mechanisms to achieve progressively the full realization of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation, including in currently unserved and underserved areas.
http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G10/166/33/PDF/G1016633.pdf?OpenElement


In this resolution, the Human Rights Council decides “to extend the mandate of the current mandate holder as a special rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation for a period of three years” and “Encourages the Special Rapporteur, in fulfilling his or her mandate… to promote the full realization of the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation by, inter alia, continuing to give particular emphasis to practical solutions with regard to its implementation, in particular in the context of country missions, and following the criteria of availability, quality, physical accessibility, affordability and acceptability”.
http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G11/124/85/PDF/G1112485.pdf?OpenElement

References
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), World Bank. The Human Right to Water. Legal and Policy Dimensions. 2004.
www.wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2004/10/18/000090341_20041018135134/Rendered
/PDF/302290PAPER0Human0right0to0H20.pdf
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Water as a Human Right? 2004.
data.iucn.org/dbtw-wpd/edocs/EPLP-051.pdf

• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), UNESCO Etxea - UNESCO Centre Basque Country. Outcome of the International Experts’ Meeting on the Right to Water. Paris, 7 and 8 July 2009. 2009.
unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001854/185432e.pdf

• United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), Centre on Housing rights and Evictions (COHRE), American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Manual on the Right to Water and Sanitation. 2007.
www.unhabitat.org/pmss/listItemDetails.aspx?publicationID=2536

Contact details
United Nations Office to support the International Decade for Action ‘Water for Life’ 2005-2015/UN-Water Decade Programme on Advocacy and Communication (UNW-DPAC)
Casa Solans
Avenida Cataluña, 60
50014 Zaragoza, Spain
Tel. +34 976 478 346/7
Fax +34 976 478 349
water-decade@un.org
www.un.org/waterforlifedecade

Sunday 23 October 2011

United Nations Day - 24 October 2011


 Secretary-General's Message

Days from now, the human family will welcome its seven billionth member.
Some say our planet is too crowded.  I say we are seven billion strong.
The world has made remarkable progress since the United Nations was born 66 years ago today.
We are living longer.  More of our children survive. More and more of us live at peace, under democratic rule of law.
As we have seen in this dramatic year, people everywhere are standing up for their rights and human freedoms.
And yet … all this progress is under threat. From economic crisis. Rising joblessness and inequality. Climate change.
Around the world, too many people live in fear. Too many people believe their governments and the global economy can no longer deliver for them.
In these turbulent times, there is only one answer: unity of purpose.
Global problems demand global solutions.
They compel all nations to unite in action on an agenda for the world’s people.
That is the very mission of the United Nations:
To build a better world.
To leave no one behind.
To stand for the poorest and most vulnerable in the name of global peace and social justice.
On this special day, let us recognize:
Never has the United Nations been so needed.
In our increasingly interconnected world, we all have something to give and something to gain by working together. 
Let us unite, seven billion strong, in the name of the global common good.
Ban Ki-moon

Secretary-General's Message for the UN Day Concert



 

 

UN Day Concert

Days from now, the human family will welcome its seven billionth member.  Some say our planet is too crowded.  I say we are seven billion strong
We will only be able to exploit that strength for the benefit of all if our societies are built on tolerance, empathy and understanding.  I therefore welcome the theme of this UN Day concert, sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Mongolia to the United Nations, which celebrates cultural diversity.
I well remember my visit to Mongolia in 2009.  I stayed overnight in a ger, the one-room tent that traditional herders share with their family.  I was asked to name a newborn takhi, an endangered species of wild horse in Mongolia.  I called it Peace, “Enkhtaivan”, in Mongolian.  I also enjoyed an evening of traditional entertainment such as we will experience tonight. 
Our increasingly interconnected world affords endless opportunities for learning about and interacting with other cultures and traditions.  Yet, those same networks also offer a too-convenient avenue for mobilizing the myopic hatred that can spawn a range of ills from discrimination to genocide.  Our challenge is to build a better world -- more just, more tolerant, more inclusive.  We all have something to give and something to gain by appreciating each other’s diversity and working together in common cause. 
In these turbulent times, we must all seek unity of purpose.  That is the very mission of the United Nations: to leave no one behind; to stand for the poorest and most vulnerable; and to stand against intolerance in the name of global peace and social justice.  On this special day, let us unite, seven billion strong, in the name of the global common good.
Ban Ki-moon

 

UN Day Concert

Traditionally, UN Day is marked by an international concert in the General Assembly Hall.
The 2011 UN Day Concert will take place on Thursday, 27 October 2011, from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the General Assembly Hall at UN Headquarters in New York.
In observance of the 66th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations Organization, the concert this year is sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Mongolia to the United Nations, and is being dedicated to Celebrating Cultural Diversity.

Programme

Mongolian National Horse Fiddle Ensemble Featuring the Mongolian National Horse Fiddle Ensemble and the National Academic Ensemble of Folk Song and Dance, the 90-minute concert will feature a selection of Mongolian traditional music, opera, contortion and dance, as well as contemporary pieces and world classics.
The concert will be available live and delayed on UN Webcast and Time Warner Cable Channel 150 in the New York City area.

Secretary-General's message for the concert

Dancers

The Horse-Head Fiddle

The morin khuur is a traditional Mongolian bowed stringed instrument. It is one of the most important musical instruments of the Mongol people, and is considered a symbol of the Mongolian nation. The morin khuur is one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity identified by UNESCO. It produces a sound which is poetically described as expansive and unrestrained, like a wild horse neighing, or like a breeze in the grasslands.

Long-Song

This genre is called "Long song" (Urtyn duu) because each syllable of text is extended for a long duration. A four-minute song may only consist of ten words. Lyrical themes vary depending on context; they can be philosophical, religious, romance, or celebratory, and often use horses as a symbol or theme repeated throughout the song.

Throat Singing singer and fiddler

Perhaps the best-known musical form of the Mongols is the throat
singing tradition known as hoomii. Sung differently than traditional
vocals, this unique type of singing involves the production of two
distinctively audible pitches at the same time, including a low pedal
note, or drone, derived from the fundamental frequency of the vocal
cord vibrations, and higher melodic notes that result when the
singer's mouth acts as a filter, selecting one note at a time from
among the drone's natural overtone series pitches.
Download Programme PDF document

Poster

Concert Poster
  Click on the image to download the PDFPDF document

Friday 21 October 2011

World Statistics Day - October 20



 "Advancing the global statistical system"
Major work areas and accomplishments 2011

United Nations Statistics Division Brochure

Major work areas and accomplishments
Classifications
Dissemination of Global Statistics
Distributive Trade
Energy Statistics
Environment Statistics
Environmental-Economic Accounting
Gender Statistics
Geospatial Information
Industry Statistics
Information Technology
International Merchandise Trade
International Trade in Services and Tourism
Millennium Development Goals
National Accounts
Population and Housing Censuses
Social Statistics


United Nations Statistics Division
Department of Economic and Social Affairs

For further information, contact: statistics@un.org
Visit our site at:  unstats.un.org

Thursday 20 October 2011

Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger (MDG 1) - CIDA

Targets
  • Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than $1 a day
  • Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all, including women and young people
  • Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger
MDG 1―Eradicate Extreme Poverty
and Hunger

(PDF 155 KB, 3 pages)

Overview

A bowl © United Nations
Although extreme poverty has been significantly reduced since 1990, major gains in the attainment of eradicating extreme poverty are likely to have stalled due to the economic downturn. Nevertheless, according to the World Bank Global Monitoring Report 2010, the overall poverty rate is still expected to fall to 15 percent by 2015, indicating that the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target can be met.

Trends vary among the regions, with sub-Saharan Africa lagging far behind the others. For instance, it is estimated that the poverty rate there will reach 38 percent by 2015. Poverty affects women and girls differently than men and boys: although both women and men may be poor, women and girls often are less able to pull themselves out of poverty than men and boys due to discrimination, lower status, and conditions and opportunities that are more limited.

Hunger, low agricultural output, expanding populations, low private sector development, and a lack of access to credit also accounts for many of the obstacles facing the world's poor.
Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger (MDG 1) - CIDA

MDG 2 - Achieve Universal Primary Education - CIDA

Target

  • Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling
MDG 2―Achieve Universal Primary Education
(PDF 145 KB, 2 pages)

Overview

A pencil © United Nations
Basic education has a direct and proven impact on poverty reduction and sustainable development. Globally, primary school enrolment and completion rates are showing significant improvement:
  • Primary school enrolment has increased by 25 million children between 1999 and 2005
  • More girls are attending school than ever before
  • Gender parity in primary schools has been achieved in two thirds of all countries
Despite this progress, important challenges remain. While enrolment in primary education has continued to rise, reaching 89 percent in the developing world, up from 83 percent in 2000, global numbers of out-of-school children are dropping too slowly and too unevenly for the target to be reached by 2015. There are also huge disparities between regions. In sub-Saharan Africa, even if the enrolment increased by 18 percentage points―from 58 percent to 76 percent―between 1999 and 2008, it is estimated that 45 percent of children remained out-of-school.

Persistent gaps and challenges that need to be addressed include girls' exclusion, reaching the most marginalized, and ensuring quality education in fragile states, which account for almost half of all out-of-school children. The gender gap in the out-of-school population has also narrowed: the share of girls in this group decreased from 57 percent to 53 percent globally between 1999 and 2008. Again, progress is uneven: 28 countries still have a gender parity index of less than 0.97. Of these countries, 18 are in sub-Saharan Africa.


MDG 2 - Achieve Universal Primary Education - CIDA

MDG 3 - Promote gender equality and empower women - CIDA

Target
  • Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015
MDG 3―Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
(PDF 194 KB, 2 pages)

Overview

Woman Symbol © United Nations
MDG 3, the promotion of gender equality and women's empowerment, is the only Millennium Development Goal that is both a goal in itself and is recognized as essential to the achievement of all other Millennium Development Goals. Evidence compiled by the World Bank from 73 countries shows that the incidence of poverty tends to be lower and that economic growth tends to be higher in countries with greater equality between women and men.

Nonetheless, global progress on achieving MDG 3 is lagging. The target of eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005 has already been missed, although progress has been made. In the developing regions as a whole, 96 girls were enrolled in primary school for every 100 boys in 2008, compared to 91 in 1999. Eliminating gender disparity at all education levels by 2015 may still be possible, but the other indicators for MDG 3 show progress to be slow. For example, in parliamentary representation, while global proportion of seats held by women continues to rise slowly, averaging 19 percent as of January 2010, a third of developing countries still have less than 10 percent or no female representation in parliament at all.

MDG 3 - Promote gender equality and empower women - CIDA

MDG 4 - Reduce Child Mortality - CIDA

Target
  • Reduce by two thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate
MDGs 4 and 5― A Leading Role in Reducing Child Mortality and Improving Maternal Health
(PDF 147 KB, 3 pages)

Overview

Toy Bear © United Nations
Many childhood illnesses can be prevented through proper nutrition, healthcare, and basic medical treatment. Yet every year, approximately 8.8 million children under the age of five die from preventable illnesses.

In many countries, the major causes of ill health and death among children continue to be malnutrition, HIV/AIDS, malaria, and a lack of basic infrastructure and access to good quality primary health care. Four diseases―pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria, and AIDS―accounted for 43 percent of all deaths in children under five worldwide in 2008. Most of these lives could have been saved through low-cost prevention and treatment measures. Discrimination against women and girls also exists within families, often resulting in boys being given preference for food and access to healthcare, while girls may be denied treatment and care.

While some regions are on track to achieve MDG 4 by 2015, many countries remain behind, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where some countries have experienced increases in child mortality due to HIV/AIDS.
MDG 4 - Reduce Child Mortality - CIDA

MDG 5 - Improve maternal health - CIDA

Targets
  • Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio
  • Achieve universal access to reproductive health

MDGs 4 and 5― A Leading Role in Reducing Child Mortality and Improving Maternal Health
(PDF 147 KB, 3 pages) - Improve Maternal Health & Child Mortality

Overview

Pregnant Woman © United Nations
MDG 5, to reduce maternal mortality by three quarters by 2015, has experienced the least progress. While a number of middle-income countries have made rapid progress in reducing maternal deaths, maternal mortality and morbidity still remains unacceptably high in the developing world, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia.

Every year, more than 500,000 women die because of complications during pregnancy, childbirth, or in the six weeks after delivery. Most of these deaths (99 percent) occur in developing countries and most often could have been prevented.

Disparity and inequity in access to health services underlies this global trend. Half of all maternal deaths (265,000) occur in sub-Saharan Africa, and another third (187,000), in Southern Asia. Together, these two regions account for 85 percent of all maternal deaths. Large disparities also exist between women living in rural and urban areas, although the gap did narrow between 1990 and 2008.

The leading causes of maternal mortality in developing regions are haemorrhage and hypertension, which together account for half of all deaths in expectant or new mothers. The proportion of women in developing countries who received skilled assistance during delivery rose from 53 percent in 1990 to 63 percent in 2008. Progress was made in all regions but was especially dramatic in Northern Africa and South-Eastern Asia, with increases of 74 percent and 63 percent, respectively.

MDG 5 - Improve maternal health - CIDA

MDG 6 - Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases - CIDA

Targets
  • Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS
  • Achieve, by 2010, universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS for all those who need it
  • Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases
MDG 6―Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases
(PDF 175 KB, 2 pages)

Overview

Medecine Bottle © United Nations
Health throughout the world has improved significantly over the past few decades, but this benefit has not been widely shared: the greatest burden of disease continues to be borne by the poor. Globally, the number of people newly infected with HIV peaked in 1996 and has since declined to 2.7 million in 2008. However, the number of people living with HIV worldwide continues to grow, largely because people infected with the virus are surviving longer. Due to inequality, violence, and discrimination, women account for half the people living with HIV worldwide and nearly 60 percent of those infected in sub-Saharan Africa.

Half the world's population is at risk of malaria, and an estimated 243 million cases led to nearly 863,000 deaths in 2008. Of these, 767,000 (89 percent) occurred in Africa. Global production of insecticide-treated mosquito nets has increased fivefold since 2004―rising from 30 million to 150 million in 2009. Nearly 200 million nets were delivered to African countries by manufacturers during 2007-2009 and are available for use; nearly 350 million are needed to achieve complete coverage there. Funds disbursed to malaria-endemic countries rose from less than $0.1 billion in 2003 to $1.5 billion in 2009.

The universal burden of tuberculosis (TB) is falling slowly. Incidence fell to 139 cases per 100,000 individuals in 2008, after peaking in 2004 at 143 cases per 100,000. There were an estimated 9.4 million new cases of TB in 2008, up from 9.3 million cases in 2007 and 8.3 million in 2000. Of the total number of cases, an estimated 15 percent are among those who are HIV-positive.
MDG 6 - Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases - CIDA

MDG 7 - Ensure environmental sustainability - CIDA

Targets
  • Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources

  • Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving, by 2010, a significant reduction in the rate of loss
  • Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation

  • By 2020, to have achieved a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers

MDG 7―Ensure Environmental Sustainability- (PDF 170 KB, 2 pages)

Overview

Environmental Icon © United Nations
The impact of environmental degradation and climate change threatens the achievement of all the Millennium Development Goals. The poor in developing countries are especially vulnerable and the least able to adapt to the effects of environmental degradation. There have been only modest improvements and many setbacks in meeting the targets of this goal. Progress on this MDG is extremely varied in terms of both geographic region, as well as individual targets. Global deforestation-mainly the conversion of tropical forests to agricultural land―is slowing but continues at a high rate in many countries.

While the target to halve the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water may be met by 2015, more than 2.5 billion individuals still lack sustainable access to basic sanitation. The world is ahead of schedule in meeting the 2015 drinking water target, yet 884 million individuals worldwide still rely on unimproved water sources. Of these, 84 percent (746 million) live in rural areas. In 2008, an estimated 2.6 billion individuals around the world lacked access to an improved sanitation facility. If the trend continues, that number will grow to 2.7 billion by 2015.

Deforestation continues relatively unabated, and biodiversity continues to decline. Emissions contributing to climate change continue to increase, and there is increased migration to urban areas, threatening the modest progress made in reducing the number of urban slums. Nevertheless, over the past 10 years the share of the urban population living in slums in the developing world has declined significantly: from 39 percent in 2000 to 33 percent in 2010.

MDG 7 - Ensure environmental sustainability - CIDA

MDG 8 - Develop a global partnership for development - CIDA


Targets
  • Address the special needs of least developed countries, landlocked countries and small island developing states
  • Develop further an open, rule-based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and financial system
  • Deal comprehensively with developing countries' debt
  • In cooperation with the private sector, make available benefits of new technologies, especially information and communications

  • MDG 8―Develop a Global Partnership for Development - Overview
People © United Nations
The United Nations Millennium Declaration represents a global agreement: developing countries will do more to ensure their own development, and developed countries will support them through aid, debt relief, and better opportunities for trade. Virtually nothing in the sphere of international development happens without effective partnerships. The challenge of reducing poverty around the world is simply too big for any single government or organization to tackle alone.

MDG 8 - Develop a global partnership for development - CIDA

Sunday 16 October 2011

The 2011 Commemoration of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP)

International day for the eradication of poverty 2011

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
The 2011 Commemoration of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (IDEP) will be held on Monday, 17 October at United Nations Headquarters in New York, focusing on the theme
 

"From Poverty to Sustainability: People at the Centre of Inclusive Development".
 
With global attention focused on the upcoming Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), it is critical to draw attention to the importance of poverty eradication for building sustainable futures for all. People living in poverty face increasingly difficult challenges as climate change, environmental degradation and rising food prices threaten their livelihoods and survival. The path to sustainable development must ensure that people living in poverty are included in decision-making processes, and that concrete action is taken to respond to their needs and demands.

The 2011 IDEP presents an opportunity to acknowledge the efforts of people living in poverty and to have their voices heard. It is an occasion to recognize that poor people are at the forefront of the fight against poverty and are critical partners for achieving sustainable development. The objective of the IDEP 2011 is to illustrate the important and tangible ways in which people living in poverty can simultaneously protect the sustainability of their environment and break the cycle of poverty, and how these efforts can be supported and scaled up.
In addition to the Commemoration in New York, celebrations of the Day are being organized worldwide. Through resolution A/RES/47/196 adopted on 22 December 1992, the General Assembly invited all States to devote the Day to presenting and promoting concrete activities with regard to the eradication of poverty and destitution. 

Related organizations and information:

Secretary-General's Message on the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2011

 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2011

 




For decades the United Nations has worked to free people from poverty.

We have made great progress — but today those gains are in doubt. 

Too many people are living in fear:

Fear of losing their jobs;

Fear of not being able to feed their families;

Fear of being trapped forever in poverty, deprived of the human right to live with health and dignity and hope for the future.

We can meet the challenges we face — the economic crisis, climate change, rising costs of food and energy, the effects of natural disasters.

We can overcome them by putting people at the centre of our work.

Too often in the debates that will shape our future, I see three groups missing.  The poor … the young … and the planet.

As we work to avoid a global financial meltdown, we must also work to avoid a global development meltdown.

In the name of fiscal austerity, we cannot cut back on common-sense investments in people.  

Malaria can be stopped.  AIDS can be reversed.  Millions of mothers can be saved from dying in child birth.  Green investments can generate jobs and growth.

This is not theory.  It is happening.
Now is not the time to slide backwards.
Now is the time to push harder to meet the Millennium Development Goals.
Now is the time to prepare to make the most of next year’s crucial Rio + 20 conference on sustainable development.
Together, let us listen to people – and stand up for their hopes and aspirations.

That is how we will build a world free of poverty. 
Ban Ki-moon

 

Previous Messages

How does international price volability effect domestic economies and food security ?

The state of food insecurity in the world 2011

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Rome, 2011

High and volatile food prices make poor farmers, consumers and countries more vulnerable to poverty and food insecurity. Kostas Stamoulis, Director, Agricultural Development Economics Division, FAO, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, talks about the impact of price swings and what can be done.

UN Secretary-General's message on World Food Day 2011, theme: Food prices - From crisis to stability

UN Secretary-General's message

IN WORLD FOOD DAY MESSAGE, SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS ON RICH, POOR COUNTRIES ALIKE TO INVEST ENERGY, RESOURCES NECESSARY TO WIN BATTLE AGAINST HUNGER


Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for World Food Day, commemorated on 16 October:

Today, in the Horn of Africa, more than 13 million people are affected by one of the region’s worst droughts in 60 years. Famine grips swathes of southern Somalia. Yet, drought does not need to become famine — nor should it ever be allowed to, either through system failure or through the kind of deliberate deprivation we are seeing in areas controlled by Al-Shabaab.

The hunger in the Horn of Africa is but a fraction of a needless global menace. There is more than enough food on the planet to feed everyone, yet today nearly 1 billion people will go hungry. I urge world leaders in rich and poor countries alike to invest the energy and resources necessary to win the battle against hunger — a key pillar of our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Lasting solutions must cover the full spectrum of food security – from improving the resilience of smallholder farmers to deploying safety net programmes that help protect the most vulnerable.

This year’s World Food Day highlights the issue of price volatility. For the world’s poorest people, many of whom spend up to 80 per cent of their income on food, this can be devastating. In 2007-2008, food price inflation pushed some 80 million people into hunger. Recent food price hikes have propelled another 70 million people into extreme poverty.

We need to break the links between poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition. Families impoverished by price volatility risk seeing their babies’ minds and bodies permanently damaged by malnutrition; their children being taken out of school and put to work, and their income-producing livestock slaughtered for food. The answer is to put in place policies, like those advocated by the Scale Up Nutrition movement, to ensure all people have access to sufficient nutrition.

This month the world’s population will top 7 billion people. The world has the knowledge and the resources to end hunger; we have the tools to ensure that the poorest are buffered from the impact of rising prices. Let us use them — now — to conquer hunger.

Ban Ki-moon
Secretary-General
United Nations

World Food Day 2011 - Worldwide Events
World Food Day 2011 - Poster
World Food Day 2011 - Issues Paper

Saturday 15 October 2011

Taylor's Education Group World Food Day





World Hunger Crisis:
Here at Taylor's, we believe strongly in service: not only to our students and our country, but to the world as a whole. Hunger and malnutrition are at the forefront of urgent problems in the world today, especially with the current Somalian crisis. Over a billion people on our earth go hungry every day, and malnutrition plays a role in more than half of all childhood deaths. We believe that this is a severe and urgent problem. More importantly, we believe that all of us are part of the solution.

Thus, Taylor's Education Group (TEG) has pledged to pack and donate 1,000,000 meals through TEG World Food Day, when we will hold a series of Meal Packaging Events at Taylor's University and Taylor's College campuses as well as Sri Garden Schools on 16 October 2011. Each pack consists of 6 meals. Partnered with NGOs such as Stop Hunger Now and Food for the Hungry International, we aim to pack 166,667 packs (or 1,000,000 meals) to be distributed to crisis-burdened areas or school feeding programmes.



About Meal Packaging Events:
KP SL Bertarikh 6hb Sept 2011
No Lesen: A012732
Meal Packaging Events are fun-filled charity events that anyone can engage in, making them fantastic team building or family day events. Food packing lines will be formed by volunteers, with each section specializing in certain packaging activities. Every volunteer is given a specific task to do, which could involve funneling, measuring, sealing, or boxing. Each finished package contains 6 highly nutritious meals containing rice, soy protein, dried vegetables, flavoring and 21 essential vitamins and minerals.

Our target for this event is to actively address the problem of world hunger by having at least 1,000 volunteers pack 1 million meals within 1 day on 16 October 2011. We are also striving to bring the issue of world hunger to the forefront through the media and participants of the event. In addition, we would like to be part of generating continuous successful Meal Packaging events. In the past, the 45 million meals that have been packaged have been received in 76 countries.

Please click here for the Soft Launch of World Food Day.

About Our Partner – Stop Hunger Now (SHN):
Stop Hunger Now is an international hunger relief agency that has coordinated the distribution of food to countries all over the world, with over 45 million meals packaged and transported to crisis-burdened areas or school feeding programmes in 76 countries. They are dedicated to providing food and life-saving aid to the most vulnerable, and to creating a global commitment to mobilize the necessary resources. For more information, visit their website www.stophungernow.org.

Be a Part of the Solution:
We would like to invite you to help us make a difference.
Click to download World Food Day Food Raising Form.

There are many ways to contribute, including:
  • Purchasing RM18 World Food Day T-shirts. All proceeds will go directly towards this worthy cause.
  • Volunteering on World Food Day itself. This is the most hands-on way to get involved – become one of the 1,000 volunteers that will create a million meals on 16 October 2011 across Taylor's campuses! Make a real difference and join us for a meal packaging event.

    Date     : 16 October 2011
    Venue  : Taylor's University
    Taylor's College
    Sri Garden Schools
  • Be a Volunteer: Register here to be a volunteer to pack food on TEG World Food Day. For Taylor's University Lakeside Campus, log on to: http://www.planetReg.com/E8291342253 For Taylor's College Subang Jaya & Sri Hartamas, log on to: http://www.planetReg.com/E82412531253
  • Food-Raising. Taylor's Education Group will prepare any amount of 375-gram food packs, containing 6 meals of soy protein, rice, dried vegetables and nutrient-filled flavoring, each worth RM6, on your behalf.

    Companies may choose from the following sponsorship options:

    • Contribute 350 meal packs, worth RM2,100:
      • Corporate logo placement in leaflet & poster
      • Mention in PR materials
    • Contribute 850 meal packs, worth RM5,100:
      • Corporate logo placement in leaflet & poster
      • Exposure in Taylor's 8 websites
      • Mention in PR materials
    • Contribute 1,700 meal packs, worth RM10,200:
      • Corporate logo placement in leaflet, poster, buntings, and backdrop
      • Exposure in Taylor's 8 websites
      • Exposure in Taylor's 3 Facebook pages
      • Personal meal packing line
      • Mention in PR materials
    • Contribute 3,350 meal packs, worth RM20,100:
      • Corporate logo placement in leaflet, poster, buntings, backdrop, banner, and T-shirt
      • Exposure in Taylor's 8 websites
      • Exposure in Taylor's 3 Facebook pages
      • Personal meal packing line
      • Mention in PR materials
Contact Us
"TEG World Food Day" Food-Raising Committee c/o Corporate Marketing
Block A, Level 3, No. 1 Jalan Taylor's, 47500 Subang Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia
T: +60 3 5629 5000    F: +60 3 5629 5141
E: csr@taylors.edu.my

Come and participate in Share The Love Concert @ Taylor's Lakeside Campus. All proceeds from the sale of Julie's biscuits will go towards TEG World Food Day.
Click below:
Any contribution you make to this event directly provides emergency food supplies to our fellow being around the world who are in life-threatening crisis situations.

Thank you for being part of the solution
and together we will reach our goal:
One Day, One Million Meals.


Partner: Official Media:
Corporate Sponsors: