World Toilet Day Raises Awareness About Sustainable Sanitation
An international day devoted to toilets?? Many people around the world think you're joking when you tell them that 19 November is World Toilet Day.?But access to clean water and sanitation is no laughing matter.
A few facts:
A Tree Grows in Bridgeport: A Celebration of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ70
Dr. Rima Salah?[Second Row Center], Member of the Secretary General's High Level Panel on Peace Operations with students, faculty and Administration from the University of Bridgeport ?[Photo by Triton Marks].
On 30 October 2015 the University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, CT USA celebrated the 70th Anniversary of the United Nations. The ceremony paid special tribute not only to the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, but also to an event that took place at University some sixty years prior. October 24, 1955, the University's Student Council planted a sapling to mark the tenth anniversary of the United Nations and to commemorate its achievements. The University took advantage of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's seventieth anniversary to rededicate the tree and to install a new plaque to replace the one that had weathered many a Connecticut winter.
Eduardo Ulibarri Bilbao discusses his new book: The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ that I lived
The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ that I lived
When, in August 1, 2010, I arrived to New York as the new Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations, my to do list was full of unavoidable tasks, but it also included a loose aspiration: to write a book about my experiences in the Organization.
As weeks, months and years passed ¨C a total of four, my diplomatic commitments took over my literary drive. I deeply immersed myself in the structures, processes, negotiations, challenges, hopes and realizations of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, and put the idea of the book on hold. However, every time I wrote a report, recommended a stance, casted a vote, argued a position, talked to a colleague or worked towards consensus, my mind and my notes collected those experiences in a spontaneous way.
Most of the time I focused on documenting the issues, but it also was unavoidable to add my reflections, collect anecdotes and depict characters.
Launch of Annual World Risk Report Highlights Dangers of Food Insecurity
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Today the Alliance Development Works and the Institute for Environment and Human Security of United Nations University launched the World Risk Report 2015.? The 74 page report, launched in Berlin in both English and German, details the intersectionality between disaster risk reduction and reducing food insecurity among vulnerable populations around the world.?
The World Risk Report 2015 ?looks at food security within the context of the World Risk Index which systematically considers a country's vulnerability, and its exposure to natural hazards (e.g. flood, storm, earthquake) to determine the disaster risk ranking of 171 countries around the world. Food insecurity can increase disaster risk, for example by forcing people to move to higher risk areas more vulnerable to natural hazards in search of food or arable land.
The Second Annual J. Michael Adams Lecture and Conversation Series
On 30 October 2015, United Nations staff and delegates and university researchers and students gathered for the second annual J. Michael Adams Lecture and Conversation Series, featuring retired U.S. Ambassador Thomas Pickering and his reflections on the past and future of the United Nations.
International Day for Tolerance: 16 November
In 1996, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly (by resolution 51/95) invited Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Member States to observe the on 16 November, with activities directed towards both educational establishments and the wider public. You can learn more from the International Day for?Tolerance website, and also read a message for the 2015 obervance of the day from the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon?below:
Message from the Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon
The call to practice tolerance was written into the identity of the United Nations 70 years ago.? Today, in a world buffeted by turbulence and change, the Charter's summons remains a vital touchstone for our work.
People are more connected?- but this does not mean there is more understanding.
The 15th East Asian Seminar on the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ System - The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ at 70 for a better World: East Asian Partnership in Global and Regional Governance
In October, the Shanghai Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ research Association (SÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵRA) organised, with support of the China Academic Net for Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Studies (CANÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵS), Japan Association for Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Studies (JAÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵS) Korea Academic Council (KACÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵS) on the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ in collaboration with Academic Council on the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ System (ACÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵS), a workshop and seminar on The 15th East Asian Seminar in the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ System: East Asian Partnership in Global and Regional Governance. The workshop and seminar brought together teams of scholars from three countries - China, Japan and Korea (CJK), and two representatives of ACÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵS.
The workshop and seminar facilitated a good opportunity to foster the networking among the seminar's participants and the sharing of academic knowledge and exchange expertise on how to improve governance, accountability, and effective development delivery and results.
On fifth anniversary of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Academic Impact, Ban stresses empowering youth to lead global progress
Yesterday at United Nations, to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the United Nations Academic Impact,?a series of conversations took place with the ECOSOC Chamber filled with students, academics, civil society, representatives of the diplomatic community and the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ family.
Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ News Centre was there covering the event - you can read more in their article: .
The archived video of the event is also available .
The message from the Secretary-General for the Fifth Anniversary of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Academic Impact is below:
Call for entries ¨C Disarmament Poster Contest
In commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the first Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ General Assembly resolution, which established the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons and all weapons of mass destruction, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs is pleased to sponsor the .
Learn more from the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Office for Disarmament Affairs:
Public Health in the post-2015 Development Agenda Series: Training the Next Generation of Public Health Professionals
This is the fifth article of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAI series Public Health in the post-2015 development agenda. Schools and departments of public health at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAI member institutions were asked to submit articles highlighting research and work relating to the proposed Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to showcase the importance of public health in the post-2015 development agenda. Please note that the articles are for discussion, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations.
Call for science briefs for the 2016 Global Sustainable Development Report
The Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) is a United Nations publication aiming to strengthen the science-policy interface at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ High Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, and provide a strong evidence-based instrument to support policymakers in promoting poverty eradication and sustainable development.
With the establishment of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ High-level Political Forum (HLPF) in 2012, Governments have created an entry point for scientists across the world to be heard at the highest levels of the United Nations. The call for science briefs ¨C concise, factual, peer reviewed, open access ¨C contributions from scientists and researchers that highlight issues, research findings or solutions is a unique opportunity to bring scientific issues to the attention of policy makers.
Enlightened Universe, an interactive sculpture for Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ70
In New York's Central Park earlier this month, Ban Ki-moon unveiled Enlightened Universe, an interactive sculpture by renowned Spanish artist Cristobal Gabarron created in honour of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ's 70th anniversary. The commemorative art installation depicts 70 life-size figures joined in hand around a central globe, creating a human chain of global citizenship, solidarity, tolerance, respect for nature, and shared responsibility. You can see the video here:
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Minister Al Kuwari presents Educate a Child book of photography at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵESCO
As part of its continued effort to highlight the pressing need for primary education for all, officially launched a new book at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵESCO Headquarters in Paris in October. Entitled 'Challenges & Reality'. Educate a child is a global programme of the . The volume contains a new collection of images of out of school children from photojournalist Maher Attar. Educate A Child commissioned the book as a means to bring attention to the world's children who have not had their right to a primary education fulfilled.
Public Health in the post-2015 Development Agenda Series: How Public Health Institutions can contribute to the post-2015 Development Agenda
This is the fourth article of the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAI series Public health in the post-2015 development agenda. Schools and departments of public health at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAI member institutions were asked to submit articles highlighting research and work relating to the proposed SDGs and to showcase the importance of public health in the post-2015 development agenda. Please note that the articles are for discussion, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations.
Although the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?were finalized in September 2015,?public health institutions?have already embraced?the values the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent?through their?work to improve population health, and thus, improve human development.?This article highlights the work of the?University of S?o Paulo?and provides an example to how public health institutions can contribute to the post-2015 development?agenda. ?
A Q&A with Doug Roche ¨C The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ in the 21st Century
Prof.?Douglas Roche appeared at the United Nations Bookshop in New York on 8 October to launch his new book titled: The Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ in the 21st Century. Prof. Roche was Canada's Ambassador for disarmament, and was appointed to the Canadian Senate from 1998-2004. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Academic Impact Intern Laura Phillips?got a chance to meet with Prof. Roche beforehand to discuss some of the topics from his book.
Q: Let's start with the question that forms the premise of your book: is the United Nations?effective in building human security?