United Nations Member States, by ratifying or accepting the UN Charter, have committed themselves to the values of multilateralism and diplomacy for peace.
But as we mark this year’s International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace, this commitment is being broken. The principles at the heart of multilateral cooperation are under the greatest strain since the founding of the United Nations.
From the climate crisis to the multiplication of conflicts – including the ongoing war in Ukraine; the governance of weapons of mass destruction; health emergencies; and the global refugee protection regime – the multilateral system and the value of diplomacy are under threat from all directions.
We need to transform this moment of crisis into a moment for multilateralism.
The recommendations in my report on Our Common Agenda aim to protect and strengthen the foundations of global cooperation and create a networked, inclusive multilateralism that is fit for the future.
On the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace, I call on all governments and leaders to renew their commitment to dialogue and global solutions that are the only sustainable path for peace.
Hoy celebramos el Día del Idioma Español en las Naciones Unidas.
El español es un instrumento importante de nuestra organización y de la gobernanza mundial.
Es un símbolo vibrante de nuestro apego colectivo al multilingüismo, un principio fundamental y un elemento indispensable de nuestros esfuerzos por la paz, los derechos humanos y el desarrollo sostenible.
Pero el español es mucho más que eso.
Es una lengua universal, y por tanto variada. Es un idioma hablado por más de 500 millones de personas y que conecta a individuos y comunidades de todo el mundo, convirtiéndose así en piedra de toque del diálogo en nuestro planeta.
En este día tan especial, quiero unirme a ustedes para celebrar la riqueza de su bagaje histórico y cultural.
Les deseo a todos un feliz Día de la Lengua Española en las Naciones Unidas y en todo el mundo.
El español es único entre los idiomas que se hablan en los Estados Unidos, no solo por la gran cantidad de hablantes, sino también por la variedad de formas en que se usa a diario.
EVENTS
104th AATSP Annual Conference
SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO JULY 9-12, 2022
¿Qué significa esto para la enseñanza del español como lengua de herencia (HL), y más en general, para toda la educación en español en los EE. UU.? ¿Cómo preparamos mejor a nuestros estudiantes (tanto los de herencia como los de segundo idioma) para usar el español en el contexto de los EE. UU. y cómo capacitamos a los maestros para que enseñen de esta manera?
Profundizando en esta pregunta, examinaré el estado actual del español en los EE. UU. utilizando un marco de vitalidad lingüística desarrollado por Joseph LoBianco y otros. Las lenguas minoritarias son vitales o saludables cuando cumplen tres condiciones: tienen capacidad, lo que significa que tienen una masa crítica de hablantes, brindan oportunidades de uso en una amplia gama de dominios e inspiran el deseo de estudiar y usar la lengua. .
Finalmente, examinemos las innovaciones que surgieron durante la pandemia que pueden respaldar este modelo de educación y aumentar el acceso a ricas experiencias de desarrollo profesional para todos los docentes".
He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in the English language.
EVENTS
Presented by the UN Chamber Music Society of the United Nations Staff Recreation Council
UN CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY MUSIC THERAPY CONCERT WITH CLASSICAL PIANIST JEROME LOWENTHAL
WEILL RECITAL HALL AT CARNEGIE HALL 154 W 57TH STREET
Monday, 2 May 2022 7:30pm EST
The UN Chamber Music Society is proud to present a concert in support of the Helen Sawaya Fund, a philanthropy program headquartered at Mount Sinai Health System, whose mission is to enhance the experience of cancer patients using complementary therapies which include music therapy.
Music, which symbolizes peace and hope, also holds the power to help in alleviating pain, easing side-effects, while reducing physical and emotional stress. Founded in 2016, the UN Chamber Music Society is dedicated to promoting the United Nations' goals and values at large - through the universal language of music.
OPENING MESSAGE Melissa Fleming, UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications
UN CHAMBER MUSIC SOCIETY OF THE UNITED NATIONS STAFF RECREATION COUNCIL WITH CLASSICAL PIANIST JEROME LOWENTHAL
Brenda Vongova, Artistic Director & Piano
Hana Mundiya, Violin Rohan Mundiya, Violin
Jeremy Kienbaum, Viola May Endy, Cello Sachiko Kato, Piano
GABRIEL FAURE (1845 - 1924) Dolly, Op. 56: 1. Berceuse Jerome Lowenthal (Piano), Brenda Vongova (Piano)
JEAN-PHILIPPE RAMEAU (1683 - 1764) Les Boréades, RCT 31, Act IV, Sc.IV: Entrée de Polimnie Hana Mundiya (Violin), Rohan Mundiya (Violin), Jeremy Kienbaum (Viola), May Endy (Cello)
PABLO CASALS (1876 - 1973) - Song of the Birds May Endy (Cello)
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF (1873 - 1943) 2 Pieces, TN ii/22: No. 2 Romance in A Major Sachiko Kato (Piano), Brenda Vongova (Piano)
FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797 - 1828) Piano Trio No.2 in E Flat Major, Op.100, D.929: II. Andante Con Moto Hana Mundiya (Violin), May Endy (Cello), Brenda Vongova (Piano)
INTERMISSION
Remarks by Dr. Gabriel Sara, Co-Founder & Director of the Helen Sawaya Fund & Medical Director of the Chemotherapy Infusion Suite, The Mount Sinai West Hospital
ERIC NEVEUX (1972 - ) Music from the motion picture "De son vivant" ("Peaceful") directed by Emmanuelle Bercot (arr. James McWilliam for the UN Chamber Music Society); (c) Studiocanal - Les Films du Kiosque - Unkle Productions Hana Mundiya (Violin), Jeremy Kienbaum (Viola), May Endy (Cello), Brenda Vongova (Piano)
VADIM PETROV (1932 - 2020) Ruské evangelium (arr. for the UN Chamber Music Society) Hana Mundiya (Violin Solo), Rohan Mundiya (Violin I), Jeremy Kienbaum (Viola), May Endy (Cello), Brenda Vongova (Piano)
“Aatini Nay” (Lyrics from Gebran Khalil Gebran, Composed by Nagib Hankache) | (arr. A Bu for the UN Chamber Music Society) | Courtesy of “Voix de l’Orient” (A.Chahine & Fils)
Hana Mundiya (Violin), Jeremy Kienbaum (Viola), May Endy (Cello), Brenda Vongova (Piano)
JOE HISAISHI (1950 - ) "Reprise" from Spirited Away[arr. by Sachiko Miyano for the UN Chamber Music Society] Hana Mundiya (Violin I), Rohan Mundiya (Violin II), Jeremy Kienbaum (Viola), May Endy (Cello), Brenda Vongova (Piano)
CHRISTOPHER TIN (1976 - ) "Baba Yetu" from Calling All Dawns (Arranged for the UN Chamber Music Society)
Hana Mundiya (Violin I), Rohan Mundiya (Violin II), Jeremy Kienbaum (Viola), May Endy (Cello), Brenda Vongova (Piano)
FORUM: Storytelling is an incredibly effective tool when it comes to educating younger generations. Indeed, books are vital vehicles to access, transmit and promote education, science, culture, and information worldwide.
EVENTS: On World Book and Copyright Day, UNESCO calls on its partners to share the message that books are a force to address contemporary challenges, to understand political and economic realities, and to combat inequalities and misinformation.
The city, already a UNESCO Creative City since 2017, was selected for its comprehensive plan for policies around the book to trigger social change, combat violence and build a culture of peace.
Guadalajara’s proposed programme focuses on three strategic axes:
regaining public spaces through reading activities in parks and other accessible places;
social bonding and cohesion especially though reading and writing workshops for children;
strengthening of neighbourhood identity using intergenerational connections, story-telling and street poetry.
As a UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts Guadalajara has supported its local talents and advancing creative industries through initiatives that places media arts at the core of their programmes including in its world-famous International Book Fair. The city will further make use of its cultural assets such as libraries, reading rooms, bookstores, independent publishing houses, to improve violence-prevention policies. These resources will be leveraged to advance human rights, gender equality and the culture of peace among members of the public and harness the great potential of books to contribute to social transformation.
ACTIVITIES
Activities will include literary events in collaboration with Latin-American writers, an artistic project on the Tower of Babel, events linking theatre and music to literature and the use of local radio for poetry readings.
Cities designated as UNESCO World Book Capital undertake to promote books and reading and to organize activities over the year. As the twenty-second city to bear the title since 2001, Guadalajara follows Tbilisi (2021) Kuala Lumpur (2020). Past winners include Madrid (2001), Alexandria (2002), New Delhi (2003), Anvers (2004), Montreal (2005), Turin (2006), Bogota (2007), Amsterdam(2008), Beirut (2009), Ljubljana (2010), Buenos Aires (2011), Erevan (2012), Bangkok (2013), Port Harcourt (2014), Incheon (2015), Wroclaw (2016), Conakry (2017), Athens (2018), Sharjah, (2019).
The Earth Day 2022 will occur in April 22nd under the theme “Invest in our Planet”. With this in mind, we see all sorts of people advocating for climate change solutions. The International Mother Earth Day is annually celebrated to “raise global public awareness of the challenges to the well-being of the planet and all the life it supports’, “recognize a collective responsibility to promote harmony with nature and the Earth”, and “achieve a just balance among the economic, social and environmental needs of the present and future generations of humanity”.
Let us see what happens from here on come Earth Day 2022. I think it is also important to learn Earth Day’s history and what-not, so let’s have a go at it!
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development envisions a world in which humanity lives in harmony with nature, and in which wildlife and other living species are protected. However, unsustainable economic systems have endangered all forms of life, human and non-human – exemplified in the steep loss of biodiversity from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems, and the climate crisis approaching a point of no return. A reversal of the current path demands nothing less than a paradigm shift.
This interactive dialogue will discuss the relationship between harmony with nature and the protection of biological diversity, with the aim to inspire citizens and societies to reconsider how they interact with the natural world in the context of sustainable development.
Furthermore, the need to “Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss” is set as Sustainable Development Goal 15 of the 2030 Agenda.
Target n.1 of SDG 15, in particular, explicitly mentions mountains among the ecosystems to be conserved, restored and sustainably used in line with international agreements.
The outcome document of the Rio + 20 Conference, the Future We Want recognizes, through paragraphs 210-212, both the benefits, derived from mountain regions, as essential for sustainable development and the crucial role played by Mountain ecosystems in providing water resources to a large portion of the world's population. It also acknowledges the importance of mountains as home to indigenous people and local communities.
The Future We Want warns about the vulnerability of fragile mountain ecosystems to the adverse impacts of climate change, deforestation and forest degradation, land use change, land degradation and natural disasters, the marginalisation of its communities. Therefore, it invites States to reinforce cooperative action with effective involvement and sharing of experience of all relevant stakeholders and to adopt a long-term vision and holistic approaches, including through incorporating mountain-specific policies into national sustainable development strategies, which could include, inter alia, poverty reduction plans and programmes for mountain areas, particularly in developing countries.
Prior to Rio+20, Sustainable Mountain Development was discussed at the third session of the Commission on Sustainable Development and the nineteenth Special Session of the General Assembly, held in 1997. The following year, the General Assembly also proclaimed 2002 as the International Year of Mountains, by adopting without a vote, a draft resolution recommended by the Economic and Social Council.
Sustainable Mountain Development is also the subject of Chapter 13 of Agenda 21, which notes that mountains are an important source of water, energy, biological diversity, key resources, such as minerals, forest products and agricultural products, and of recreation. Mountain environments represent major ecosystems which are essential to the survival of the global ecosystem, but they are rapidly changing. Many global mountain areas are experiencing environmental degradation. At the same time, about ten percent of the world's population depends directly on mountain resources, and a much larger percentage draws on mountain resources, including and especially water.
Chapter 13 also includes two programme areas to further elaborate the problem of fragile mountain ecosystems. These are:
Generating and strengthening knowledge about the ecology and sustainable development of mountain ecosystems; and
Promoting integrated watershed development and alternative livelihood opportunities.
The United Nations designated 21 April as World Creativity and Innovation Day to raise the awareness of the role of creativity and innovation in all aspects of human development. There may be no universal understanding of creativity. The concept is open to interpretation from artistic expression to problem-solving in the context of economic, social and sustainable development.
The creative economy which includes audiovisual products, design, new media, performing arts, publishing and visual arts– is a highly transformative sector of the world economy in terms of income generation, job creation and export earnings. Culture is an essential component of sustainable developmentand represents a source of identity, innovation and creativity for the individual and community. At the same time, creativity and culture have a significant non-monetary value that contributes to inclusive social development, to dialogue and understanding between peoples. Follow the conversation with the hashtags #IAmCreative, #WCIW, #WCID.
CAMPAIGN: Creative Economy for Sustainable Development.
Chinese was established as an official language of the United Nations in 1946. However, in the early years, Chinese was not commonly used in the work of the United Nations.
Today the International Community pay tribute to Cangjie, a legendary figure in ancient China claimed to be the inventor of Chinese characters.
EVENTS: Today, more and more UN offices and staff members work with the Chinese language. The language, therefore, bears testimony to the evolvement of the United Nations, as well as the increasingly closer relationship between it and China.
EXHIBITS: Calligraphy exhibition by Pang Zhonghua, a well-known pioneer of hard nib calligraphy in China
PUBLICATIONS
Over the past four decades, learning Chinese as a second language has transformed from individual small-scale endeavors to organized mass studies worldwide. In a fast-changing world, the field of L2 Chinese language education is confronted by unprecedented challenges and opportunities. This book presents recent pedagogical practices, innovations and research in L2 Chinese language education across five continents. Bringing together a diverse range of leading researchers and educators, it showcases the latest knowledge, teaching-led research, innovative curriculum design and pedagogical practice in a variety of instructional contexts. Through a mix of overview chapters, empirical studies and critical discussions, the book addresses four key themes – formal instruction; language education technology; curriculum development; and critical overviews– and reflects the latest challenges and coping strategies for teaching and learning Chinese in an increasingly digital world.
It will be essential reading for researchers, teachers and students of Chinese as a second language, as well as curriculum developers and textbook writers.Frontiers of L2 Chinese Language Education
Teaching in action: L2 Chinese pedagogical practice and reflection
Innovative excellence: A case study of a Chinese language flagship program
From individual tones to connected speech: The case of Tone 3
Student engagement and pedagogical innovations for the pandemic- precipitated online delivery of university Chinese courses
Connecting Integrated Performance Assessment to Chinese
Oral corrective feedback on Mandarin pronunciation in live online classes
From input to output: Learnability of the Chinese existential structure
A proposal for a pedagogical grammar syllabus in tertiary Chinese language education in Japan
Striving for educational equity in South Africa: L2 Chinese instruction under Covid-19
Online Chinese language teaching now and post COVID-19: Challenges and opportunities from the experience and perspective of a UK teacher
Seventy years of Chinese language education in New Zealand: A transdisciplinary overview
Looking ahead: Contextualizing the future of L2 Chinese pedagogy studies
