WHY POVERTY? is a groundbreaking cross-media event reaching more than 500 million people around the world via television, radio, internet and live events in November 2012. Launching during one intense week, people around the world will be asking the question 'Why Poverty?'
The Why Poverty? launch event took place at the UN Secretariat on the 27th September 2012 with keynote speeches from the UN Deputy Secretary General, Mr Jan Eliasson, and HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.
Indigenous communities in Namibia are demanding greater inclusion in decision-making at all levels, according to the United Nations independent expert on the rights of indigenous people.
James Anaya says indigenous people also want increased educational opportunities and full recognition of traditional authorities representing minority communities.
Professor Anaya says there are government initiatives for the development of the San people and other minorities.
Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker is concerned that some 60 percent of people in conflict areas of the world are under the age of 25.
Whitaker, as a Goodwill Ambassador for Peace and Reconciliation with UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, participated in the International Day of Peace observance at the United Nations on 21 September 2012.
Before the ceremony, he talked to Gerry Adams about his work with young people in developing countries.
Duration: 4'51"
New media and technology are changing the way people communicate, but they can also help change the world for the better.
That is the premise of the Social Good Summit (www.socialgoodsummit.org) to be held from 22-24 September on the margins of the annual UN General Assembly.
While the 92nd Street Y, a cultural institution in New York City, is the home base for this year’s event, the conversation will be global with participation from people all across the world.
A former Somali refugee has won the prestigious annual award of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR).
Hawa Aden Mohamed is the winner of this year’s Nansen Refugee Award which is given to people or groups for their outstanding work to help refugees.
She has been a teacher, a former director of education, a social worker and a refugee.
Gerry Adams reports.
Duration: 3'05"
There is an African proverb which says “When elephants fight, it is the grass that gets hurt.”
In Afghanistan, when two families fight, young girls are often the victims.
To settle debts or disputes, or just to have a bit of peace, warring families will trade a daughter in a traditional practice known as “Baad.”
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says the girls frequently end up with physical and psychological scars from being mistreated and abused by the receiving families.
Dianne Penn reports.
Making the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities count for Women and Children is the theme of the current session of the Conference on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
It was adopted by the General Assembly in December of 2006 and came into force on 3 May 2008 when it received its 20th ratification.
The Chittagong Hill Tracts is one of the most diverse regions of Bangladesh. Access to basic education has been a major challenge for young people in this rural area. The distance to education facilities has contributed to the low enrolment of young children.
In 2003 the UN’s development program implemented a decade-long education initiative designed to support the government’s efforts to achieve basic education in the region.
Gerry Adams reports.
Duration: 2'31"
Internships give young people a chance to gain work experience and find a job.
The International Labour Organization (ILO) says that with high rates of youth unemployment, internships have become increasingly common in developed countries.
However, the ILO points out that internships have been criticized as a source of cheap or free labour as a result of widely reported cases of their abuses.
Every year on the 23rd of August, the United Nations commemorates the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.
It is one of three annual days dedicated to remembering the dark days of the enslavement of Africans and the violations of human rights that continue today.
