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By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network
NEW YORK (IDN) — Zimbabwe is experimenting with a bold attempt to make parents prioritize education and bring down drop-out rates.
Harare has amended its laws to make the first 12 years of schooling compulsory. Children are now required by law to stay in school for an extra five years to 16 years of age.
It is also now an offence to expel children on the grounds of pregnancy or non-payment of fees.
Viewpoint by Krystyna Swiderska*
COVENTRY (IDN) – Species are being lost at about a thousand times the natural rate of extinction. This is faster than at any other period in human history. Ecosystems – the vital systems on which all life depends – are being degraded across the globe.
This crisis of biodiversity loss is finally receiving some attention. But its connection to another loss – that of indigenous cultures – is rarely mentioned. From animals to insects and plants, biodiversity loss cannot be effectively addressed without tackling the rapid disappearance of indigenous cultures. The two are inextricably linked.
By Kwame Buist
NEW YORK (IDN) – “Without education, we cannot achieve any of the SDGs,” UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed warned a meeting held at United Nations headquarters to mark International Day of Education.
And yet, with 2030 – the year set by the United Nations for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals – looming on the horizon, the world is lagging behind, prompting the UN Secretary-General to issue a global call for a Decade of Action to accelerate their implementation.
Viewpoint by Somar Wijayadasa*
MOSCOW (IDN) – If education is the ultimate gift one can give a child, then, the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia has given that gift to more than 150,000 deserving young men and women from many countries around the world – who otherwise would never have had the opportunity to receive higher education — especially in a foreign country.
Besides, the university is characterised by a cooperative and friendly attitude — one of respect and mutual assistance. With multinational traditions and customs, cuisine, dancing and music — the whole world is in one Moscow street: the Miklukho-Maklaya Street.
By Santo D. Banerjee
NEW YORK (IDN) – With “uncertainty and insecurity all around”, Secretary-General António Guterres has described young people as “the greatest source of hope”. In welcoming the New Year, he said: “The United Nations stands with you and belongs to you”.
According to the UN chief, the current situation is characterized by: Persistent inequality and rising hatred. A warring world and a warming planet. Climate change is not only a long-term problem but a clear and present danger, he said. “We cannot afford to be the generation that fiddled while the planet burned.”
By Sean Buchanan
NEW YORK (IDN) – Although there have been historic gains over the last 30 years in improving children’s lives, urgent action is needed if the poorest children are to feel the impact, warns a new UN report.
The report, published on November 18 by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and released ahead of World Children’s Day on November 20, calls on countries to recommit to promises made under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1989.
Viewpoint by António Guterres
Following are extensive extracts from UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ speech on 7 November 2019 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York which was marking the 81st anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogrom carried out by the Nazi regime. Underlining his continued fight to stamp out antisemitism, racism and other forms of hatred, he accentuated that since nobody is born to hate, intolerance can be prevented and unlearned.
NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – Kristallnacht was not just the night of broken glass; it was the night of broken lives, broken families, broken societies, broken dreams.
Viewpoint by Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury *
The writer is the founder of The Global Movement for The Culture of Peace (GMCoP), former Under-Secretary-General and High Representative of the United Nations.
ALISO VIEJO, California, USA (IDN-INPS) – My life’s experience has taught me to value peace and equality as the essential components of our existence. They unleash the positive forces of good that are so needed for human progress. Peace is integral to human existence — in everything we do, in everything we say, and in every thought, we have, there is a place for peace. We should not isolate peace as something separate. It is important to realize that the absence of peace takes away the opportunities that we need to better ourselves, to prepare ourselves, to empower ourselves to face the challenges of our lives, individually and collectively.
By Ramesh Jaura
BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – “Let’s Build a Culture of Peace,” exhorted Nobel Peace laureates in an urgent call to “all countries and organizations of the world, their leaders and citizens“, at the 17th World Summit in Mérida, the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán.
“In the midst of the current challenges of war, fear, racism, intolerance, and populist nationalism, today more than ever it is necessary to promote a Culture of Peace that follows tolerance and respect for diversity as a fundamental principle of coexistence among human beings and nations,” they declared.
By Milena Melnikova*
TARAZ (IDN) – Since 2016, the educational system in Kazakhstan has undergone numerous reforms, and in October 2018 President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced further reforms, including a pledge to increase spending in education along with science and healthcare to 10 percent of national GDP within five years.
With the aim of making Kazakhstan one of the 30 most developed countries in the world by 2050, the education budget will be boosted dramatically and a Law on the Status of Teachers will be developed to make teaching an attractive profession.
IDN-InDepthNews offers news analyses, features, reports and viewpoints that impact the world and its peoples. It has been online since 2009. Its network spans countries around the world.