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Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Sustainable Peace and Security

August 23, 2021

Ghanaian Media and Youth Converge to Discuss Issues of Migration in the Country

UNESCO in Brazil and Energisa distribute 2,500 basic-needs grocery packages in 11 states in the first stage of the 'Energia do Bem' Movement

October 30, 2020

International Peace Day campaign #EnoughWar – Youth for peace in Yemen

On the occasion of the International Day of Peace a youth campaign calling for a ceasefire throughout Yemen has been launched In the framework of the United Nation Peace Building funded project Empowering Yemeni youth towards peace ensuring access to information and participation UNESCO and RNW Media through the Manasati30 platform are jointly implementing the campaign which aims to bring young people together to play a role in shaping the future of their country and calling for a ceasefire throughout Yemen as a fundamental step towards a lasting peace The campaign was launched on the International Day of Democracy on September 15 and continue until September 28 with a special focus on the International Peace Day September 21 Under the hashtag EnoughWar the campaign uses social media to call for a ceasefire in Yemen In line with the theme of this years International Peace Day building peace together the campaign is mobilizing young people to play a role in the peace process and amplifying the voices and opinions of young women and men calling for peace The campaign kicked off with a vox pop video in which young people share their messages on peace

September 23, 2020

Indigenous peoples and the COVID-19 pandemic: a Global Overview

From the Okavango Delta in Botswana to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico how are indigenous peoples being impacted on by the COVID19 pandemic and how has UNESCO responded Contagious diseases and indigenous peoples have a long and painful history As Jared Diamond described aptly in his 1998 Pulitzer Prize winning nonfiction book Guns Germs and Steel the contemporary inequalities of our planet and the vulnerabilities of indigenous peoples are in part tied to pandemics that were brought about by unprecedented travel and colonization The novel coronavirus and the COVID19 pandemic have raised again the specific vulnerabilities and resilience required of indigenous peoples The pandemic is severely affecting indigenous peoples while it also highlights conditions of social and economic marginalization that amplify the impacts on them as compared to the general population On 30 January 2020 the World Health Organization WHO declared the Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 SARSCoV2 outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern On 11 March 2020 with the virus spreading rapidly in Asia Europe and other regions WHO declared a pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 COVID19 UNESCO has responded swiftly to the pandemic while its staff simultaneously adhere to confinement and sanitary regulations of host countries UNESCOs COVID19 response has mobilised all Sectors and offices as well as its important partnerships including the Global Education Coalition and the International Coalition of Inclusive and Sustainable Cities ICCAR COVID19 has amplified the need for scientific cooperation and for strengthening the nexus between policy decisions and sound scientific knowledge and practice when dealing with a global public health crisis UNESCOs International Bioethics Committee and its World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology COMEST noted in a Joint Statement the increased fragility of marginalized groups in times of pandemic and the collective responsibility to protect them from any form of stigmatization and discrimination UNESCOs Intersectoral Working Group on Indigenous Peoples issues worked to assemble this newsletter to describe our understanding of the pandemic to share the voices of indigenous partners and to describe actions currently being undertaken UNESCO is guided by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2007 and the UNESCO Policy on engaging with indigenous peoples 2017 The purpose of the newsletter is to document the specific cooperation by UNESCO with indigenous peoples with the intention to promote a spirit of inclusion respect solidarity and leaving no one behind Indigenous peoples are recognized in UN instruments as the guardians of much of the planets biological cultural and linguistic diversity Despite the fact of their important roles in nature and culture their societies and living conditions are still among the most vulnerable in the world The crisis caused by COVID19 has affected their communities in particular ways notably when the virus has reached into remote areas with limited access to quality public services such as health and education At the outset of the pandemic UNESCO hosted major online meetings of Ministers of Science and Ministers of Culture to promote international cooperation and solidarity UNESCO draws on its expertise and partnerships to help carry the burden of the pandemic and improve the quality of responses and cooperation In alignment within its strategic plan and programme priorities UNESCO supports the new forms of participation in cultural life and exchanges on how best to counter exclusion while promoting global cooperation on scientific knowledge including through new initiatives on Open Science The pandemic has highlighted that continuity of education must be ensured when many children cannot physically go to school For children without access to electricity or adequate technology this has been difficult or impossible Further we have been reminded that the information highway does not ensure accurate and reliable information gets into the fast lane Misinformation and disinformation circulate rapidly with undesirable consequences UNESCO has prioritized improved access to accurate and reliable information encouraging these to be available in languages that are best understood by the users The pandemic has exposed certain structural vulnerabilities and inequalities within and between countries Within countries the pandemic has further revealed inequalities faced by vulnerable groups which may include indigenous peoples in their enjoyment of human rights such as access to health care information in languages that are best understood and participation in decisionmaking cultural life national education and the economy Specific vulnerabilities of indigenous peoples may be understood through the lens of their capacity to engage in cultural and livelihood practices social organisation and initiatives that aim to deal with the current crisis Some of the traditional knowledge and wellness practices such as voluntary isolation homebased care economic solidarity and enclosure of their territories may be particularly relevant today During these difficult times UNESCO has been inspired to see an outpouring of cooperation and solidarity that is nourished by human values culture and knowledge from people in very different contexts all over the planet In the news item on our partnership with an African indigenous peoples network we saw that indigenous peoples are helping each other reaching out to remote communities and promoting solidarity across borders The response to the pandemic has entailed some degree of suspension of civil political social economic cultural or linguistic rights the rights underpinned by the mandate and mechanisms of the United Nations Important questions have been posed and reverberate globally What is in the public good How do we protect the most vulnerable parts of society Does a national emergency response require differentiation to accommodate diverse local contexts What role does culture play during a health crisis How do we make the best use of available knowledge and resources when health education and economic systems are under strain

Spirulina, a miracle ingredient in Lake Chad

Spirulina or dihe is an algae rich in protein 60 to 70 of dry matter in other words 15g of spirulina contain as much protein as 100g of beef It is used in both human and animal nutrition and even in cosmetics In Chad this foodstuff which is particularly interesting for combating malnutrition is produced in the natron ponds of the Lake Chad basin

UNESCO in Brazil joins projects in support of communities affected by the crisis caused by the pandemic

Creativity and Innovation: a call for people to explore these qualities

The adoption of the 2030 Agenda opened new pathways for incorporating culture into social and economic inclusion policies and environmental sustainability with innovative solutions proposed by the States themselves using the power of culture to imagine and conceive a more inclusive just world with greater equality

Young Syrians learn to convert fear into hope with education

Young Syrians learn to convert fear into hope with education