Quality Education

Photo: Mijikenda Cultural Village meeting, Rabai, coastal Kenya. Credit: © Krystyna Swiderska

Protecting Indigenous Cultures for Saving Global Biodiversity

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.

: Phil Harris; OPINION; 17 February 2020

Photo: Young women return home after classes in the town of Bol in Chad. Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe.

Global Learning Crisis Stands in the Way of SDGs

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.

: Phil Harris; UN INSIDER; 29 January 2020

Photo: Main Building of the Peoples Friendship University in Moscow. Courtesy of PFUR University.

A Renowned Russian University Celebrates 60th Anniversary

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.

: Somar Wijayadasa; THE WORLD; Russia; 29 January 2020

Photo: Secretary-General António Guterres is photographed by a student during a visit to a school run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) at Baqa’a Camp in Jordan. Credit: UN

UN Chief Regards Youth As the ‘Greatest Source’ Of Hope

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.”

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 30 December 2019

Photo: Children raise their hands to answer a question in class at a UNICEF learning space in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. (8 July 2019). Credit: UNICEF Patrick Brown

Odds Still Stacked Against Poorest Children

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.

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Quality Education; 19 November 2019

Photo: Secretary-General António Guterres delivers a keynote address at the 81st Anniversary Commemoration of Kristallnacht at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, in New York. Credit: UN/Antonio Ferrari.

Holocaust Is Not Long Ago and Not Far Away

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.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 08 November 2019

Photo: Ambassador Chowdhury speaking on 2 October 2019 at the Soka University of America (SUA). Credit: Courtesy of SUA photographers.

The Culture of Peace Begins with Each One of Us

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.

: Ramesh Jaura; OPINION; 10 October 2019

Collage: María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly (left) and Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury (right). Credit: IDN-INPS.

An ‘Arduous Journey’ Toward the Culture of Peace and Beyond

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.

: Ramesh Jaura; SUSTAINABILITY; Quality Education; 03 October 2019

Photo: Job Fair. Credit: Milena Melnikova | INPS-IDN.

Kazakhstan Needs Young Graduates as Teachers for Education Reforms to Succeed

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.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Central Asia; 12 September 2019

Image: These cranes made by origami are called orizuru and are one of the classic origami designs (Japanese paper folding technique). Legend has it that whoever manages to join 1,000 paper cranes with threads (senbazuru) will fulfill a wish. They became popular as a symbol of peace after World War II. Source: UNICEF

UN Convenes A High-Level Forum to Stress the Significance of Culture of Peace

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – "The seed of peace exists in all of us. It must be nurtured, cared for and promoted by us all to flourish. Peace cannot be imposed from outside – it must be realized from within," says Ambassador Anwarul K. Chowdhury in the run-up to the High-Level Forum on the Culture of Peace on September 13, 2019 in the UN headquarters in New York.

Exactly the same day 20 years ago, in 1999, the General Assembly adopted, by consensus and without reservation, the pioneering and norm-setting resolution 53/243 on the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace.