" Celebrate volunteering! " - International Volunteer Day (IVD) 2012

Theme for 2012: Celebrate volunteering!

International Volunteer Day (IVD) offers an opportunity for volunteer organizations and individual volunteers to make visible their contributions - at local, national and international levels - to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Apart from mobilising thousands of volunteers every year, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme works closely with partners and governments to establish national volunteer programmes to create structures that foster and sustain local volunteerism in countries. Through the Online Volunteering service volunteers can take action for sustainable human development by supporting the activities of development organizations over the Internet. Every day thousands of people are volunteering, online or on-site, contributing to peace and development and working to achieve the MDGs.

On International Volunteer Day (IVD) on 5 December 2012, we celebrate our commitment and hope for a better world. The main focus of IVD 2012 is awareness of and recognition for volunteers and volunteer organizations. The purpose is to recognise this commitment, to inform people about the impact of volunteering on peace and sustainable development, and to applaud volunteers for their dedication and impact.

UNV Online Volunteering Award 2012

The purpose of the award is to recognize online volunteers’ contributions towards achieving the MDGs, to showcase the many ways in which online volunteers can strengthen the capacities of organizations and to demonstrate the difference volunteers can make to peace and development projects by sharing their time, skills and expertise over the Internet.

The UNV Online Volunteering Award presents an opportunity for both, online volunteers and organizations, to bring their online volunteering experiences and good practices to the attention of a global audience.
More information

 

"Promoting Cooperatives Beyond 2012"

"Promoting Cooperatives Beyond 2012"

 

 

The International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) Short Film Festival will take place on 20 November 2012 at the United Nations Headquarters during the closing ceremony of the Year under the theme "Promoting Cooperatives Beyond 2012".

The seven winners selected raise awareness about cooperatives – what they are, and what they do – and encourage support and development of cooperative enterprises by individuals and their communities. The films also highlighted at least one of the 10 key messages of the International Year of Cooperatives:

• Cooperative enterprises build a better world.
• Cooperative enterprises are member owned, member serving and member driven
• Cooperatives empower people
• Cooperatives improve livelihoods and strengthen the economy
• Cooperatives enable sustainable development
• Cooperatives promote rural development
• Cooperatives balance both social and economic demands
• Cooperatives promote democratic principles
• Cooperatives and gender: a pathway out of poverty
• Cooperatives: a sustainable business model for youth

Winners of the International Year of Cooperatives Short Film Festival

1. What's to love about food co-ops? (2 minutes)
Produced by the National Cooperative Grocers Association
Country: USA

2. Cooperative of Apurimac (14 minutes)
Produced by Miko Meloni

Country: Peru


3. Women with courage (15 minutes)
Produced by Charlotte Marchesseault
Country: Brazil

4. Co-op Housing: more than a home (8 minutes)
Produced by the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada
Country: Canada

5. Food For Change: The Twin Cities Story (14:56 minutes)
Produced by Steve Alves
Country: USA

6. Red Chillies (15 minutes)
Produced by Samadanie Kiriwandeniya, Sanasa Development Bank
Directed by Rohana Warnakulasooriya
Country: Sri Lanka

7. Cooperative Enterprises Build a Better World by meeting Human Need not Human Greed (12:07 minutes)
Produced by the Co-operative Development Division of the Ministry of Labour and Small and Micro Enterprise Development, Trinidad and Tobago
Country: Trinidad and Tobago

Click here to watch the short films

World AIDS Day 2012 "Getting to Zero"

World AIDS Day 2012 " Getting to Zero

30 November 2012 – United Nations officials are marking World AIDS Day with a call for building on recent successes and pressing ahead to get to zero – zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths – by 2015.
“On this World AIDS Day, let us commit to build on and amplify the encouraging successes of recent years to consign HIV/AIDS to the pages of history,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for the Day, observed annually on 1 December.
The World AIDS Day Report for 2012, he noted, reveals significant progress in preventing and treating HIV/AIDS in the past two years. The number of people accessing life-saving treatment rose by 60 per cent and new infections have fallen by half in 25 countries – 13 of them in sub-Saharan Africa.
In addition, AIDS-related deaths have dropped by a quarter since 2005, according to the report, published by the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
“We have moved from despair to hope. Far fewer people are dying from AIDS,” said the Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé. “Twenty-five countries have reduced new infections by more than 50 per cent. I want these results in every country.
“The pace of progress is quickening. It is unprecedented – what used to take a decade is now being achieved in just 24 months. Now that we know rapid and massive scale up of HIV programmes is possible, we need to do more,” he said in his message for the Day.
The Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Irina Bokova, noted that progress must strengthen the determination to create a world free of AIDS. “HIV and AIDS can be conquered through renewed commitment and sustained solidarity. For this, we need to use every resource as best we can and draw on all available evidence,” she said.
The agency works for the 'triple zero' goal by supporting countries to improve HIV and age-appropriate sexuality education for young people, as well as tackling gender inequalities since women and girls are severely affected by HIV and bear the greatest burden of care.
Young people aged 15-24 are the group most affected by HIV, accounting for 40 per cent of all new adult HIV infections, according to UNAIDS. In 2011, about five million young people were living with HIV worldwide, with more than 2,400 being newly infected every day.
UNAIDS said it has harnessed the energy and creativity of youth and the fashion world in support of the global HIV response, with 11 young designers having joined together to create an exclusive collection of tops and t-shirts for Italian fashion retailer OVS.
Among those participating in the initiative – part of the “Make Love With” campaign, launched by OVS in partnership with UNAIDS – are Lavinia Biagiotti, Rachele Cavalli, Louis Marie de Castelbajac, Maria Sole Ferragamo, Marta Ferri, Alessandra Gucci, Alice Lemoine, Talitha Puri Negri, Lola Toscani, Rocco Toscani and Francesca Versace.
The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is marking the Day with a call to ensure that more pregnant women and children living with HIV receive the treatment they need – which is vital for reaching the goal of an AIDS-free generation.
As of December 2011, over 100,000 more children were receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART) compared to 2010, the agency stated. But less than one-third of children and pregnant women are receiving the treatment they need, as opposed to the global average of 54 per cent for adults overall.
“We must do still more to help mothers and children who live with HIV be able to live free from AIDS. We must rededicate ourselves to boosting the number of pregnant women and children being tested and treated through basic antenatal and child health programmes,” said UNICEF's Executive Director, Anthony Lake.
Good nutrition is vital for the health and survival of all people, but it is particularly important for people with HIV and AIDS, the Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), Ertharin Cousin, said in her message marking the Day.
“Food assistance not only increases the effectiveness of ART but also helps ensure greater adherence to treatment regimens, as people living with HIV are no longer forced to choose between treatment or food,” she added.
Ms. Cousin noted that, in the poorest communities, WFP's food and nutrition support to people living with HIV and their families, including pregnant women and new mothers, helps improve access to treatment and increase treatment success – which means saving more lives and seeing fewer infections.

International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People 2012

New York, 29 November 2012 - Secretary-General's message on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

It has been 65 years since the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 181, proposing the partition of the mandate territory into two States.  Achieving the two-State solution, to which both Israel and the Palestinians have committed, is long overdue.  During my recent trip to the Middle East following the dangerous escalation of violence in Gaza and Israel, I saw yet again the disastrous consequences -- in particular for the civilian populations -- of the absence of a permanent resolution of the conflict.  With the Middle East continuing to change rapidly and profoundly, it is more urgent than ever for the international community and the parties to intensify efforts towards peace.

The outlines of an agreement have long been clear, laid out in UN Security Council resolutions, the Madrid principles -- including land for peace --the Road Map, the 2002 Arab Peace initiative and existing agreements between the parties.  What is needed now is political will and courage, as well as a sense of historic responsibility and vision for younger generations.

Final status issues can only be solved through direct negotiations.  However, much work lies ahead to create the conditions that will allow the resumption of credible and meaningful negotiations and preserve the viability of the two-state solution.

It is crucial to sustain the ceasefire concluded last week that ended more than one week of devastating violence in Gaza and southern Israel.  There must be no rocket fire from Gaza, which I have condemned repeatedly.  The issues that have been pending since the adoption of Security Council resolution 1860 in January 2009 must be resolved decisively: ending the closure, preventing the illicit trafficking of arms and achieving intra-Palestinian reconciliation.  Palestinian unity that supports a negotiated two-State solution is essential for the creation of a Palestinian State in Gaza and the West Bank.

It remains essential that the Palestinians overcome their divisions, based on the commitments of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the positions of the Quartet and the Arab Peace Initiative.

It is equally important to preserve the commendable achievements of the Palestinian Authority’s state-building efforts in the West Bank and the territorial contiguity it needs.  Continued settlement activity in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, is contrary to international law and the Roadmap, and must cease.  Unilateral actions on the ground will not be accepted by the international community.  Allowing proper development and planning in Area C is also necessary, instead of demolitions and land confiscation.  Israel continues to build the wall on West Bank land, contrary to the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice.  I am also concerned about rising settler violence resulting in Palestinian injuries and property damage.

Amid these many challenges to the realization of their legitimate aspirations for statehood, the Palestinians have decided to seek Non Member Observer State status in the General Assembly.  This is a matter for Member States to decide.  It is important for all concerned to approach this responsibly and constructively.
The goal remains realizing the just and lasting peace for which generations of Palestinians and Israelis have been longing -- a peace that will end the occupation that started in 1967, end the conflict and ensure that an independent, viable and sovereign State of Palestine lives side by side with a secure State of Israel.  I call on Israeli and Palestinian leaders to show vision and determination.  I also urge the international community to help them forge a credible political path that will meet the legitimate aspirations of both sides.
I pledge to do everything in my power support this goal.  On this International Day, I count on all involved to work together to translate solidarity into positive action for peace.

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Statements on 29 November 2012

• New York, 29 November 2012 - Secretary-General's remarks to Peacebuilding Fund High-Level Stakeholders Meeting
• New York, 29 November 2012 - Secretary-General's remarks to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People

COP18.CMP8 - DOHA 2012 - UN Climate Change Conference

Doha Climate Finance Series

November 26, 2012 - December 7, 2012

Location: 18th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP18) in Doha, Qatar.

A series of events bringing together representatives of governments, financial institutions and civil society to discuss and debate key issues related to climate finance.

Contact:

• Clifford Polycarp, Senior Associate
  cpolycarp@wri.org+1 (202) 729-7756

A series of events that will bring together representatives of governments, financial institutions and civil society to discuss and debate key issues related to climate finance, share lessons learned and test new ideas to address the financing challenge associated with addressing climate change ambitiously. The themes include: Climate Finance Architecture, Green Climate Fund, Scaling Up Climate Finance and Effectiveness of Climate Finance.

Wednesday, 28 November, 13:15 – 14:45

Making the Green Climate Fund Relevant and Responsive to Indigenous People

Lead Organizer: Tebtebba Foundation
Event type: Official side event
Wednesday, 28 November, 20:15 – 21:45

The Green Climate Fund: Operationalizing the Private Sector Facility: The ‘who?’ and ‘how?’ of private finance mobilisation

Lead Organizer: UNEP-FI & CMIA
Event type: Official side event
Thursday, 29 November, 19:00 – 22:00

Scaling Up Climate Finance: Financing Models and Financial Instruments

Lead Organizer: WRI, JICA & AFD
Event type: Dinner*
Friday, 30 November, 19:00 – 22:00

Role of National and International Climate Funds and Institutions

Lead Organizer: WRI, GIZ, AFD, JICA, CA & CDKN Event type: Dinner*
Saturday, 1 December, 19:00 – 22:00

Elevating Adaptation Finance: Opportunities and Challenges for Increasing Climate Resilience

Lead Organizer: E3G, One World & WRI
Event type: Dinner*
Monday, 3 December, 08:00 – 10:00

Getting Ready to Scale Up Climate Finance

Lead Organizer: WRI, UNEP & UNDP
Event type: Breakfast*
Monday, 3 December, 20:15 – 21:45

Global Climate Finance 2012: Overall Flows and National Strategies for Effective Financing

Lead Organizer: CPI & EDF
Event type: Official side event
Tuesday, 4 December, 09:00 – 17:00

The Green Climate Fund: Operationalizing the Private Sector Facility

Lead Organizer: UNEP-FI & CMIA
Event type: Informal workshop
Tuesday, 4 December, 19:00 – 22:00

Strengthening the Transparency and Effectiveness of Climate Finance

Lead Organizer: ODI, CPI, WRI & JICA
Event type: Dinner*
Tuesday, 4 December, 20:15 – 21:45

Climate Finance: A Question of Justice and Reparations

Lead Organizer: JS-APMDD
Event type: Official side event
Wednesday, 5 December, 20:15 – 21:45

National Development Banks’ Approaches to Leveraging the Private Sector Climate Investment

Lead Organizer: KfW
Event type: Official side event
Thursday, 6 December, 20:00 – 22:00
High-level session

Raising Ambition on Climate Finance

Lead Organizer: WRI & CPI/SGG
Event type: Dinner*
*By invitation only.

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ORGANIZED BY
L’Agence Française de Développement (AFD)
Climate Analytics (CA)
Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN)
Climate Markets & Investment Association (CMIA)
Climate Policy Initiative/San Giorgio Group (CPI/SGG)
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
Jubilee South Asia Pacific Movement on Debt & Development (JS-APMDD)
One World
KfW Development Bank (KfW)
Overseas Development Institute (ODI)
Tebtebba Foundation
Third Generation Environmentalism (E3G)
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI)
World Resources Institute (WRI)

AIE’s 50th anniversary “Serving Abroad…Through Their Eyes” photography exhibition.

In commemoration of Veterans Day, the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Art in Embassies (AIE) and the U.S. Department of Defense proudly announce the 12 “Best in Show” featured in AIE’s 50th anniversary “Serving Abroad…Through Their Eyes” photography exhibition. A year ago on Veterans Day, Military, Civil Service and Foreign Service personnel were invited to submit photographs illustrating their life while serving abroad. More than 3,200 images were submitted, from which 161 finalists were chosen; ultimately, the 12 “Best in Show” were identified. These photographs, selected by a panel of distinguished photo-journalists, depict themes of friendship, places, faces, loss or triumph, providing a window on the complexity, diversity and courageous work performed by America’s heroes throughout the world.
Read more on : 
U.S. Department of State - Art in Embassies

Veterans Day Event

International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women - 25 November

Millions of women and girls around the world are assaulted, beaten, raped, mutilated or even murdered in what constitutes appalling violations of their human rights. From battlefield to home, on the streets, at school, in the workplace or in their community, up to 70 per cent of women experience physical or sexual violence at some point in their lifetime. As many as a quarter of all pregnant women are affected.

All too often, perpetrators go unpunished. Women and girls are afraid to speak out because of a culture of impunity. We must fight the sense of fear and shame that punishes victims who have already endured crime and now face stigma. It is the perpetrators who should feel disgraced, not their victims.
My UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign is engaging governments, international organizations, civil society groups, the media and ordinary citizens.  Last year, when UNiTE asked young people around the world how they intended to help advance this critical cause, I was very encouraged by the responses. Many youth called for an end to ignorance. They said we should not condone negative attitudes. They demanded that we raise our voices to promote human rights, and join forces to help victims. One young man said simply that boys could fight violence against women “by growing up to be responsible and respectful fathers and husbands.”
The United Nations is working on all of these fronts. We are raising awareness through public outreach programmes. Our UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women just this month announced plans to disburse $8 million to local initiatives in 18 countries. Members of my expanding Network of Men Leaders are addressing violence by raising public awareness, advocating for better laws and holding governments accountable.
As we build on these efforts, we must fundamentally challenge the culture of discrimination that allows violence to continue. On this International Day, I call on all governments to make good on their pledges to end all forms of violence against women and girls in all parts of the world, and I urge all people to support this important goal.

Ban Ki-moon