UN Program Director News and Updates 2015
Maureen Burns-Bowie
Hello to all our UN Program members:
I am pleased to share with you how quickly our UN Program is growing and expanding. We have many new members, all of whom we warmly welcome. Participation in UN Programs is increasing, and even the most cynical of us have found their experiences at the UN life changing. I know the first time I walked through the doors, entered international territory, strolled along the Plaza and looked out over the East River, then into the corridors full of hard working and committed people from all over the world, I knew that this experience was quite unique and inspiring. And no matter how often I return, that feeling never changes. In fact, it grows stronger and deeper. This is a place where everyone involved is here to make the lives of all people in the world better, full of more opportunities to grow and expand to their fullest potential. The UN is flawed, as are all institutions, but it has a forward moving energy that is electric.
Liz Di Giorgio, Professor of Art at CUNY, has been coordinating our new Youth Representative program. Our two new youth delegates, Miranda Barnes and Soha Farooqui have begun attending briefings at the UN, and will be receiving credits for their work. Patti Jordan, President of the NYC Chapter of WCA is a new Grounds Pass holder and has worked with the UN Program to establish strong ties with her chapter. We welcome all of our new NYC members.
I am available to everyone. Please contact me with questions, observations, or new ideas. All are welcome.
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Hello to all our UN Program members:
I am pleased to share with you how quickly our UN Program is growing and expanding. We have many new members, all of whom we warmly welcome. Participation in UN Programs is increasing, and even the most cynical of us have found their experiences at the UN life changing. I know the first time I walked through the doors, entered international territory, strolled along the Plaza and looked out over the East River, then into the corridors full of hard working and committed people from all over the world, I knew that this experience was quite unique and inspiring. And no matter how often I return, that feeling never changes. In fact, it grows stronger and deeper. This is a place where everyone involved is here to make the lives of all people in the world better, full of more opportunities to grow and expand to their fullest potential. The UN is flawed, as are all institutions, but it has a forward moving energy that is electric.
Liz Di Giorgio, Professor of Art at CUNY, has been coordinating our new Youth Representative program. Our two new youth delegates, Miranda Barnes and Soha Farooqui have begun attending briefings at the UN, and will be receiving credits for their work. Patti Jordan, President of the NYC Chapter of WCA is a new Grounds Pass holder and has worked with the UN Program to establish strong ties with her chapter. We welcome all of our new NYC members.
I am available to everyone. Please contact me with questions, observations, or new ideas. All are welcome.
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UPDATE #1
CUNY Queensborough/WCA Interns Miranda Barnes (L) and Soha Farooqui (R) with Professor Liz DiGiorgio.
Photo: Darcy Neill Artist: Vasko Taskovski
"Inspiring Voices: Transforming the World, Lives and Communities"
Liz DiGiorgio
Attending the UN DPI/NGO inaugural briefing with the Women’s Caucus for Art’s two new Youth Representatives, Soha Farooqui and Miranda Barnes (both interns from the Department of Art and Design at Queensborough Community College, CUNY) made for a memorable and particularly inspiring day. Jeff Brez, UN DPI Chief of NGO Relations, Advocacy and Special Events, began the event with a warm welcome and a preview of the year ahead for the NGO community. He noted that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, and quoted Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s observations that “the year 2015 is a once in a generation opportunity. Our goal is to put people at the center, and protect our one and only planet. Our duty is to end poverty, leave no one behind, and build lives of dignity for all.”
Jeff Brez noted that the upcoming year would include many opportunities to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. The highlights include making final efforts toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s), and the UN Summit for the adoption of the Post-2015 Development Agenda, which will take place in September. In December the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties will lead a global effort toward a commitment to limit climate change to less than a two degree rise in global temperatures. He also reminded all to make use of the NGO Conference Declaration, which is found at the UN DPI/NGO Facebook page.
The panelists shared stories that included multicultural living, a journey from surviving terrorism to then working with the UN to counter it, and the story of a young man who discovered ways for communities to help themselves through ingenuity, social media, and the goodwill that is found both within and outside of communities in need.
Imani Woomera, a lyricist, poet, and the mother of co-panelist and young poet Zion Miyonga, shared hip-hop poetry that reflected their multicultural lives and global concerns. Ms. Woomera described growing up as a native Hawaiian, spending many years in Kenya, where Zion was born, and then returning to the US. Their poetry, including a wonderful duet, spoke of sustainability, equality, Jimi Hendrix, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr., and peace. Many words resonated, such as the call for “consuming less junk,” and “producing more quality.” Perhaps most relevant to the UNDPI/NGO community was the advice that “If you ever feel like you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.”
Roszel A. Morris shared her story of escaping from the North Tower on 9/11 and trying to get through the chaos that followed its collapse. She recounted how, in the midst of the fear and chaos, a stranger smiled and called to her from a car, offering to help. She learned that the woman worked for the UN, and asked if she would drive her to collect her daughter from daycare. Ms. Morris eventually came to work for the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), whose work includes thwarting support (financial and otherwise) for terrorism. Although she never found the woman who helped her that day, Jeff Brez invited Ms. Morris to speak directly to the camera in the hope that the message would eventually find its way to the woman. Ms. Morris finally had the chance to express her gratitude.
Panelist Karim Abouelnaga, the young founder and CEO of Practice Makes Perfect, told his impressive story of growing up in an immigrant family from Egypt, and overcoming the obstacles that his family faced, including the death of his father while he was still in his teens. His resilience and his ingenuity in raising support for his foundation, at first $2,000 from friends, and then millions from others, resulted in a program that provides over 500 low income children with education enrichment. He noted with conviction that the next 15 years will not be defined by 193 heads of state, but by the 7 billion people who inhabit the world. His foundation arose from the idea of communities and people, even the poorest, finding ways to help each other. For Mr. Abouelnaga, compassion, empathy and kindness are key to finding solutions and bringing about change. He emphasized his belief that “the poor are the best equipped to help themselves.” His goal is to support those internal systems of change.
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UPDATE #2
"The Holocaust, Homosexuals and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
Rights Today"
Liz DiGiorgio
Halina Olomucka "A Bunker" 1944
This briefing was organized in observance of the International Day for Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, which is January 27.
Erik Jensen, professor of history at Miami University of Ohio, gave a sense of the scale of the persecution of gay men during the Holocaust by noting that between 1933 and 1945 the Nazi regime investigated as many as 100,000 men on suspicion of homosexuality, convicting about half, and sentencing them to workhouses and prison, and, for 10,000 of them, to concentration camps, where 5,000 to 7,000 died. They suffered solitary confinement, castration, dangerous hormonal treatment, and hard labor as both a punishment and a pretended cure.
Although homosexuality had been prosecutable in Germany since 1872, laws were rarely enforced during the progressive 20’s, when twenty of the twenty-two gay publications worldwide were published in Germany. While the Nazis shut down lesbian clubs and publications, they did not target lesbians for prosecution. As Heinrich Himmler consolidated his power, he asserted control over birth management, abortion control and persecution of homosexuals, all to ensure the expansion of the German population. Although laws criminalizing homosexuality remained after the war, 1969 marked the beginning of liberalization. Because such laws were not lifted until 1994, the history of the persecution of gay men by the Nazi remained hidden long after the war.
It was only after the 70's that very few men, including Rudolf Brazda, came forward. After witnessing the unveiling of the German National Monument to the Homosexual Victims of the Nazi Regime in Tiergarten park in Berlin, Rudolf Brazda contacted the organizers, shared his story, and eventually marched with the mayor of Berlin, who was also gay, in a gay pride parade.
Although Rudolf Brazda passed away in 2011, a videotaped interview made shortly before his passing was shown, in which he recounts his imprisonment in Buchenwald. He told of having to wear the pink triangle, noting, “It was so ridiculous.” Others in the camp wore green triangles if they were regarded as common criminals. Jehovah's Witnesses wore purple, “asocials,” including the Roma, vagrants and mentally ill, wore black. Brazda noted that the only ones who mistreated the gay men in the camps were the SS. Other prisoners didn't bother him, although he was called a “fag.”
Rafael De Bustamante, Counsellor for Human Rights and Social Affairs of the EU Delegation to the UN and Co-Chair of the LGBT Core Group spoke about the work of the UN and the Core Group to secure rights for the LGBTI community, working under the guiding principle that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity, and that there are no grounds for discrimination and violence against anyone based on sexual orientation or gender identity. He noted that much of this work by the UN takes place primarily in Geneva and New York. Since 2006, there have been two statements and two resolutions on gender identification and sexual orientation in Geneva and one statement produced by the UN in New York. He noted that this work is often complicated, and that they often need to frame the issue in general terms that seek to ban violence and discrimination on any grounds. They also focus on broadening the definition of family, which can also include grandparents raising children. He noted that on Human Rights Day they united behind the theme “Love is a family value.”
Rick Landman spoke next about his efforts to fight community resistance to ensure that the Holocaust Memorial Park in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, is inclusive in commemorating the lives of all those who perished in the Holocaust. He spoke about his recently deceased father who was imprisoned in Dachau after Kristallnacht, but later joined the American army and was among the soldiers who liberated that camp. He described the 240 stones in the park that are inscribed with names of those who suffered and stories about the Holocaust. He detailed his steadfast efforts to have 10 remaining markers inscribed and dedicated to the many forgotten victims, including Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Roma/Sinti people, political prisoners, and those persecuted for homosexuality. He noted passionately that “all lives matter,” and that “Never Again” means “Never Again for anyone.”
Charles Radcliffe, Chief of Global Issues at the Office of the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, noted that the Nazis were successful in promoting the idea that some human beings were more valuable, more worthy of respect, more human than others. In response, the UN declared, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights” as the first article of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He also noted that it has been 20 years since the UN resolved that anti-homosexuality laws were a violation of privacy. While there are still tremendous amounts of discrimination and violence, there has also been great progress in LGBTI rights in Latin America, in South Africa, and parts of Asia. He also noted worrying trends in countries where penalties have been strengthened and activism banned, often using the issue as a scapegoat to rally the base using anti-Western sentiment. He noted the important role that the UN plays in documenting abuses with human rights monitors on the ground gathering information and meeting with government leaders behind the scenes to advocate for policy change. The UN also works to train judges, police, or civil society activists, while also working to change hearts, which is the purpose of the Free and Equal campaign, found at www.UNFE.org
Marianne Møllmann, Director of Programs, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) addressed common LGBTI-related myths. She noted that contrary to common belief, many regions have had longstanding expressions of gender fluidity. She noted that LGBTI people are not new, but that it is only the visibility of the issue is new, and greater visibility also brings greater danger in terms of violence against LGBTI individuals. She also countered the notion that LGBTI means the same thing everywhere, noting that it can be vastly different depending on where one lives. Lastly she countered the idea that it was all about sex, noting that it is about equal access to education and employment.
Forbidden Art
As I left the briefing, I stopped to visit the two exhibitions in the General Assembly lobby: one documenting the history of the Holocaust and the other displaying artwork produced at great risk by the prisoners of Auschwitz-Birkenau. It was a moving experience to realize that amid all the death and destruction, and among every persecuted group, there were individuals who struggled to maintain their humanity and their link to civilization by continuing to compose music or make art. Urszula Winska, a survivor of Ravensbruck, was quoted recalling “ . . . I used to take out a small sack, hidden on my chest, full of various carved marvels. I would pick them up one by one and as I would stare at them I would contemplate the beauty of what they could become. At those moments, the fact that the place was cramped and uncomfortable, and that the neighbors were quarreling meant absolutely nothing. We were so united by that aesthetic experience, as if by a prayer, so far from the surroundings.”
Auschwitz prisoner and survivor Halina Olomucka noted, “I’m drawing nervously, every subject is a good one. It seems that I can bear the hunger, thirst and fear, on condition that I am able to draw.” Her drawing and all of the work displayed speak volumes.
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"Focus on Faith Series: Women and Faith"
Liz DiGiorgio
Moderator Azza Karam, Ph.D. is Senior Advisor on Culture and Social Development at the United Nations Population Fund.
The Panelists:
Shafferan Sonneveld is the Global Advocacy Director of Muslims for Progressive Values.
Julia Berger is Principal Researcher at the Bahá'í International Community’s United Nations Office.
Rev. Theodora Nmade Brooks is Vicar (Pastor) of St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in the Longwood Community of the South Bronx.
Rabbi Marla J. Feldman is a reformed Rabbi and has been the Executive Director of Women of Reform Judaism.
Kamila Jacob is the Youth Ministries Coordinator at Universalist Church of All Souls on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
This briefing was conducted through a series of questions posed by the moderator. Several commonalities emerged from the discussion that ensued, and it was noted that an event like this at the UN would have been problematic 10 years ago. In response to the question “What does it mean to be a woman of faith,” each panelist gave a brief introduction about their beliefs, including Julie Berger’s response that the idea of seeking to categorize themselves was something that made her uncomfortable because labels can create divisions. Some expressed the belief that having faith provides a support system in one’s faith community, and the security of knowing that one works in partnership with God for the betterment of humanity.
It was noted that helping others is an essential principle of every faith, and one that can unite women of faith. Lemah Gbowee and Malala were cited as women whose faith allowed them to take great risks for the benefit of others. Lemah Gbowee worked with an inclusive faith community of women, and at enormous personal risk, to bring peace to Liberia, while Malala nearly sacrificed her life in pursuit of an education for herself and, now, for all women and girls.
The ideal faith community was described as something in which the collective provides strength, while not diminishing the individual. The belief that God wants peace for all of his people, regardless of religious belief, was common to all the panelists. There was agreement in the belief that with full equality women can and will lead humanity to peace.
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UPDATE #4
"Transitioning from the MDG’s"
Liz DiGiorgio
Moderator: Jeff Brez, Chief of NGO Relations, Advocacy and Special Events, DPI
Amina Mohammed, Special Advisor of the Secretary-General on Post-2015 Development Planning
Thomas Gass, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs, DESA
Mitchell Toomey, Director, Millennium Campaign, UNDP
Florencia Soto, Public Information Officer, Strategic Communication Division, DPI
Jeffrey Huffines, Chair, 65th DPI/NGO Conference and United Nations Representative of CIVICUS.
Among those attending this briefing was a group of young women from Sapporo Sacred Heart School in Japan. Jeff Brez invited them to the stage to start the briefing with a song. They sang “Flowers Will Bloom,” a song that they perform when raising funds for earthquake relief.
Jeff Brez began the session urging those in attendance to tweet, using #dpingo and #action 2015.
Amina Mohammed began with a report on the progress achieved by the MDG’s: a decline in global poverty, an increase in the rates of primary education, and greater access to clean water. While many more children have gotten to primary school, she emphasized that improvements are needed in the quality of education and in access to education beyond the primary level. She noted that there is more gender parity in education, in parliaments, and, even in panels, but that it is a continuing struggle. She stressed that good systems need to be in place in order to address the health agenda. While noting improvements in water and, to a lesser extent, in sanitation, she acknowledged the fact that there was no progress made with regard to the environment. She emphasized the urgency of the Sustainable Development Agenda as being perhaps the last one that can effectively address environmental issues. She stressed the need to integrate economic and environmental initiatives.
Ms. Mohammed pointed out that the data revolution was one that was missed in the MDG’s, and questioned how we could even attempt to have a global agenda without baselines and credible data. She emphasized the need to strengthen institutions to measure, review and report instead of relying on seasonal donations to achieve baseline data. She noted the need to have everyone on board, including civil society, business, donors, and governments as “silo busters” working together for one objective.
Ms. Mohammed noted that parliaments will be integral to the laws that are put in place, and that they have an oversight responsibility. She discussed a new financing framework that would unlock trillions of dollars to put forth the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Agenda and the importance of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference in December, repeating her concern that this may be the last generation that can do something meaningful for the environment.
During the Q and A, Ms. Mohammed addressed an audience member who suggested that there be an international day to address each goal of the SDG’s. In response, she noted that the civil society sector is shrinking and that she believed there was a need to establish a day in observance of civil society.
Mitchell Toomey also acknowledge the importance of the data revolution, and began his presentation with an anecdote about a young man he encountered in Nigeria who was working with a smart phone to gather inside information about Silicon Valley and finance. The young man had educated himself through the Khan academy and online news, and was clearly empowered by that access.
Mr. Toomey noted, “you can make progress in what you can measure,” and that “a complex world requires a complex agenda.” He pointed to the My World Survey, which had 7 million participants, and which placed education at the top of the agenda. He also stressed the need to measure and create accountability for progress with continuous feedback.
Florencia Soto addressed the need to reach those who don’t know what the SGD’s mean. She noted that awareness is rising and that environmental degradation is becoming more commonly known. She stressed the need to explain to people that the MDG’s have worked, that targets work, and that we need to build upon the work of the MDG’s. She spoke about a website that will be launched for this purpose.
Jeffrey Huffines spoke about the organized consultations that resulted in the NGO Conference Declaration, and noted that these consultations have produced an impressive repository of research documents in support of the agenda to achieve an equitable, inclusive and sustainable world. He urged everyone to reflect upon the report of the Open Working Group, and emphasized the important role that civil society will play in putting forth the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
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UPDATE #5
"Women Taking the Lead:
Designing & Monitoring Sustainable and Gender-Responsive Infrastructures"
Liz DiGiorgio
Moderator: Jan Peterson, Chair, Huairou Commission
Panelists: Olga Segovia, Coordinator of Women and Habitat Network, Latin America
Esther Mwaura-Muiru, Founder and Coordinator for Groots, Kenya
Ruth Serech, Coordinator of Mayan Women (CODIMM) and Fundacion Guatemala
Morana Stipisic, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Urban Design Program, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University
Jo Berg, Gender Specialist, United Nations Human Settlement Program – UN Habitat.
When I think of gender equality, infrastructure does not immediately come to mind; however, this briefing made it clear that gender-aware infrastructure is crucial to achieving gender equality. Jeff Brez noted cases where it is discovered that infrastructure has not worked for women and girls, typically after large investments have been made. He cited “eureka moments” when it is realized that the roads built with the intention to make traveling easier for women actually stopped them from traveling, and cases where schools built to improve education for girls wound up hindering their education because the restrooms turned out to be unsafe. These were offered as examples of the problems inherent in designing from the top down, as opposed to working from the grassroots level up.
Jan Peterson, Chair of the Huairou Commission, asserted that gender equality is crucial to the Sustainable Development Agenda and that gender-responsive infrastructure is key to its implementation. The Huairou Commission was established in 1995 at the 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing for the purpose of creating space in the global women's movement for grassroots community involvement. Ms. Peterson noted that women need places to meet, improved access to water, sanitation, roads and basic services, all of which are crucial to fighting poverty.
Olga Segovia worked with the Safer Cities Program in seven Latin American cities with two basic ideas: to build spaces with more gender equity, conviviality and safety, and to foster neighborhood recovery, with concerns for violence and perceptions of safety. She noted the need for better transportation and for data that includes women.
Moderator Jan Peterson emphasized that there are many cities where women don’t think they have the right to be safe, and, consequently, just stay home. She noted that here in New York women still carry their babies in strollers down subway stairs, without thinking that their city could make better accommodations for women and children. She noted that the disabled rights community has advocated more successfully for transportation needs than women have.
Esther Mwaura-Muiru spoke with pride about Kenya’s new constitution, which was developed in 2010. She noted that it ensures gender equality and encourages public participation in government. She objected to using the term “poor women,” noting that women are not poor, even though they may live in poor conditions. She wisely noted the importance of keeping the focus on the condition of poverty, which can be changed. She gave examples of how infrastructure improvements in Kenya, such as building roads and bridges, had allowed rural women farmers to increase production dramatically and to market their produce directly without a middleman. She noted how the government of Kenya relies on women to monitor infrastructure in order to plan improvements.
Ruth Serech spoke about the role of Guatemalan women working to prevent and respond to disasters and to foster resiliency. They have conducted community-mapping projects to locate public lands, and have organized and coordinated with local governments to maintain current information about threats and vulnerabilities. Their work has led to the development of both planting methods and road construction that resist flooding.
Jo Berg noted the projection that by 2050, two-thirds of all people will be living in urban environments, and that there is a great need to plan for this. He endorsed holistic urban planning that is gender-responsive, and provides access to public spaces, making it safe for women to navigate cities at night. He noted the long-overdue need to revise thinking on restrooms, which any woman reading this post has no doubt had time to contemplate while waiting in line. He noted that Habitat III, the UN’s global urban forum, would take place in Quito in 2016 for the purpose of planning for the urban future that we want.
Morana Stipisic spoke about gender disparities in the field of architecture, as well as the lack of recognition accorded to woman architects. She explained that women comprise approximately 44% of students enrolled in architecture programs, yet only 15% of licensed architects are women. She also noted gender disparity in awarding the Pritzker Architecture Prize, which was given to Robert Venturi in 1991, while his working partner and wife Denise Scott Brown was excluded. It wasn’t until 2004 that the Pritzker Prize was awarded to a woman, Zaha Hadid, and it wasn’t until 2010 that the prize was awarded to a male/female team, Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa, partners in the firm Sanaa.
Professor Stipisic expressed the belief that best design works both from the top down and the grassroots up, all at the same time. She noted some progress in this regard with the establishment of the Jane Jacobs Medal by the Rockefeller Foundation in 2007. This award honors Jacobs whose writing, especially The Death and Life of Great American Cities, has been so influential in urban design. According to the Rockefeller Foundation, it is awarded to individuals “whose creative uses of the urban environment build a more diverse, dynamic and equitable city.” A grassroots approach, such as that advocated by Jane Jacobs, and gender balance within the field of architecture will clearly do much to create more gender-responsive infrastructure that will undoubtedly create conditions conducive to gender equality.
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Mary Hamill, Helaine Soller, Elizabeth Sowell-Zak, Martha Nicholson
At the recent UN Commission Status of Women Conference, The UN Program of International Caucus premiered "Women Artists Consider Our World", an hourlong video/documentary showcasing artists from the UN Program who have created artwork which addresses the MDG's (Millenium Development Goals) and SDG's (Sustainable Development Goals). We had a good turnout and a room full of engaged and committed women activists.
After the video presentation, Betsy Damon engaged the audience in discussion about activist/art programs attendees were involved in, with representatives from around the world sharing their stories.
The travelling postcard show "Women Do It", curated by Priscilla Otani and Sherri Cornett drew lots of attention, and all were encouraged to participate and contribute to the show.
In attendance from WCA were: Eva Preston, Sheryl Intrator Urman, Miranda Barnes (Youth Rep) Nina Kuriloff, Mary Hamill, Betsy Damon, Marcia Annenberg, Anne Kantor Kellett, Elizabeth Sowell-Zak,Patti Jordan, Martha Nicholson, Helaine Soller, Maureen Burns-Bowie
TO VIEW VIDEO:
vimeo.com/150805188
WCA artists included in video: Alli Berman, Maureen Burns-Bowie, Sherri Cornett, Linda Rae Coughlin, Betsy Damon, Liz DiGiorgio, Joanna Fulginiti, Mary Hamill, Marjorie Hamlin, Carole Richard Kaufmann, Anne Kantor Kellett, Simone Kestelman, Sheri Klein, Ikie Kressel, Allison Milewski, Eva Preston, Seda Saar, Bonnie Jo Smith, Helaine Soller, Elizabeth Sowell-Zak, Joyce Ellen Weinstein, Negin Sharifzeda
At the recent UN Commission Status of Women Conference, The UN Program of International Caucus premiered "Women Artists Consider Our World", an hourlong video/documentary showcasing artists from the UN Program who have created artwork which addresses the MDG's (Millenium Development Goals) and SDG's (Sustainable Development Goals). We had a good turnout and a room full of engaged and committed women activists.
After the video presentation, Betsy Damon engaged the audience in discussion about activist/art programs attendees were involved in, with representatives from around the world sharing their stories.
The travelling postcard show "Women Do It", curated by Priscilla Otani and Sherri Cornett drew lots of attention, and all were encouraged to participate and contribute to the show.
In attendance from WCA were: Eva Preston, Sheryl Intrator Urman, Miranda Barnes (Youth Rep) Nina Kuriloff, Mary Hamill, Betsy Damon, Marcia Annenberg, Anne Kantor Kellett, Elizabeth Sowell-Zak,Patti Jordan, Martha Nicholson, Helaine Soller, Maureen Burns-Bowie
TO VIEW VIDEO:
vimeo.com/150805188
WCA artists included in video: Alli Berman, Maureen Burns-Bowie, Sherri Cornett, Linda Rae Coughlin, Betsy Damon, Liz DiGiorgio, Joanna Fulginiti, Mary Hamill, Marjorie Hamlin, Carole Richard Kaufmann, Anne Kantor Kellett, Simone Kestelman, Sheri Klein, Ikie Kressel, Allison Milewski, Eva Preston, Seda Saar, Bonnie Jo Smith, Helaine Soller, Elizabeth Sowell-Zak, Joyce Ellen Weinstein, Negin Sharifzeda
Eva Preston and Maureen Burns-Bowie
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UPDATE #7
Professor Liz DiGiorgio, and UN Youth Representatives Soha Farooqui and Miranda Barnes
"The Paradox of Income and Happiness"
Liz DiGiorgio
Opening remarks: Jeff Brez, Chief, NGO Relations, Advocacy and Special Events
Opening Poem: Always What We Need by Sri Chinmoy, read by Bhikshuni Weisbrot, President of the UNSRC Society of Writers
Moderator: Mary-Mitchell Campbell, Broadway Conductor/Musical Director Finding Neverland and founder of ASTEP (Artists Striving to End Poverty)
Hector Escamilla, President of Tecmilenio University, Mexico
Jeffrey Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute – via video
Dr. Kaiping Peng, Berkeley Professor and founding member of the International Positive Education Network
Ami Dar, Founder and Executive Director, Idealist.org
Closing Poem With My Fish-Skin Drum read by Pulitzer Prize winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa
The best news to come out of the briefing on the International Day of Happiness was that the idea of measuring progress through the lens of happiness instead of purely economic indicators is gaining traction. Jeff Brez recalled the exuberant tone of last year’s observance, in which the UN Fund partnered with Pharrell Williams. The outcome of that campaign, entitled “24 Hours of Happiness,” included 1,300 recorded videos of “Happy” dances from 70 countries around the world to encourage support for the UN Foundation’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). Jeff Brez noted that this year’s focus is on the practical aspects of applying the research into what makes us happy and addressing the factors that hinder others from being happy. There were many examples of such practical applications in the presentations that followed.
Jeffrey Sachs appeared via video to explain the findings of his research, which reveals six major factors that contribute to human happiness. They are GDP per capita, a sense of having social support, years of healthy life expectancy (physical and mental), the prevalence of generosity in others as well as in oneself, perceptions of having an honest government, and freedom to make life choices. Sachs announced that the latest report, “World Happiness Report 2014,” would be released on April 24, 2015.
Hector Escamilla described how Tecmilenio University in Mexico applies the science of positive psychology in all of its degree programs throughout Tecmilenio University. The University is a private non-profit institution with 29 campuses and one online campus. It serves 43,000 students enrolled the last three years of high school through to bachelor and master degree programs. The goal of the University is to provide students with the tools and competencies to be happy in life, to generate high employment and to produce students who have a purpose in life. Helping to achieve these goals are 710 faculty and university leaders certified in positive psychology. They work as part of the International Positive Education Network, and employ a model based on the PERMA Model developed by Martin Seligman, Director of the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Their model includes positive emotions, engagement, positive relationships, meaning, achievement, wellness, and mindfulness.
Dr. Kaiping Peng, a founding member of the International Positive Education Network, discussed a similar program and research conducted in China. When Chinese students were asked what made them happy, they responded that spending time with parents, family and friends made them happy, while school made them unhappy. Dr. Peng cited the dramatic rise in GDP in China over the past twenty years, but noted that the happiness level remained the same. Dr. Peng worked to establish a research foundation to study the practice of positive education. This approach relies on a positive curriculum, positive teaching, and positive activities to increase student and teacher satisfaction.
Deborah Heisz, Co-Founder of Live Happy described how the publication grew out of the realization that consumers did not have easy access to the academic literature on the science of happiness. She cited research that claims that 50% of personal happiness is determined by genetics, that 10% is based on circumstances, but 40% of personal happiness can be created. She listed the financial gains to be had by companies with happy employees. She cited research that shows that happy employees earn 30% more for their companies, save 37% in healthcare costs, save 40% of costs due to missed work, and that they save companies 87% of the costs incurred when employees seek other employment. In addition, happy employees earn 30% more in earnings and are 40% more likely to get promotions.
Alejandro Adler Braun is a member of the International Expert Well-being Group, which is working with the UN to establish a New Development Paradigm based on wellbeing and happiness. Braun noted that when the GDP was created in the 1930’s it became synonymous with progress. He cited longitudinal research revealing that, beyond the level of extreme poverty, increases in GDP do not make countries happier. The results of his research with the Ministry of Education in Butan, the only country to measure Gross Domestic Happiness, revealed that wellbeing involves skills that are teachable and learnable, and that wellbeing promotes academic achievement, physical health, and care for the environment. His research with ten countries showed that these skills can be employed on a large scale to increase human happiness, and he identified ten basic skills that reliably increase wellbeing. They are mindfulness, empathy, effective communication, resilience, emotional literacy, critical thinking, decision-making, identifying and using strengths, and developing healthy relationships.
Moderator Mary-Mitchell Campbell, a Broadway Musical Director and founder of Artists Striving to End Poverty (ASTEP), shared her own story of moving to India, where she began to understand poverty in a new way. She spoke of hungry people she encountered who wouldn’t dream of not sharing their food with others. She spoke about an orphaned girl who was nonetheless joyful and liked to sing “My Favorite Things.” Her experience taught her that she didn’t need to feel guilty about what she had, but that it made her more grateful what she has and more conscious of what she wastes.
Ami Dar is the founder of the Idealist.org, which connects 100,000 NGO’s and millions of individuals who wish to engage in good works around the world. He noted that we all know what makes us unhappy, and that we know that relationships, love, friendships work and nature can make us happy. He maintained that social isolation is the greatest threat to happiness, and cited as an example that people living in slums around the world often seem happier than people who live in large buildings designed by others for poor. He stressed the need to consult with the communities that one is trying to help. He also noted that the often-repeated goal of getting children off the streets is “insane.” His assertion that “Kids belong in the streets” was acknowledged with delighted laughter, and he lamented that there are fewer and fewer places in the world where the streets are “owned by the children” playing together during the afterschool hours. He warned of the harmful effects of any change from social cohesion to isolation. He concluded his remarks with the observation that happiness is “the place where pleasure and purpose meet,” and that it requires courage to stop what one is doing in order to follow that path to happiness.
The briefing began and ended with readings from the poetry anthology entitled Happiness: The Delight-Tree, published by the UN Staff Recreation Council’s Society of Writers. The anthology includes poetry from 56 countries in 30 different languages accompanied by English translations. A book signing followed the panel presentation.
U N INTERNATIONAL DAY OF HAPPINESS
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Miranda Barnes (L) Soha Farooqui (R) Photo: Liz DiGiorgio
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____________________________________________________________________________
UPDATE # 9
"International Day of the Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the
Transatlantic Slave Trade"
Soha Farooqui
Transatlantic Slave Trade"
Soha Farooqui
Gaynell Curry, the Gender and Women’s Rights Advisor for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights introduced the panelists. She noted that it was disturbing to know that women were treated worse than men and that they held the bigger burden. She spoke about how people of African decent currently tend to be at lowest positions in social hierarchy, are the poorest of the poor, and have difficulty receiving a higher education, which leads to poverty from generation to generation. She spoke about how the UN is working on trying to address and resolve these issues.
The panelists were women who work to educate others on racism and slavery and women and slavery, through history as well as by using modern day technology to reach out to people so that they can become educated about these issues.
Francoise Verges, the first panelist, has published on memories of slavery, colonization and decolonization. She spoke about how France was a part of the slave trade, and how they do not want people to know that. She spoke about the importance of educating people on what really happened in history. She noted that today there are more women slaves than men and that they are used to work in the sex industry and the caregiving industry, which is increasing, but the government does not take it as seriously as they should because they take drug trafficking and arms trafficking more seriously. I think this is something that definitely needs to be reconsidered. She also noted that women are the first victims of war. It is sad to see what is currently going on during war and even during peacetime, and that it has been happening for centuries. Women have been sexually exploited around the world and have been victims of gang rape, which is inhuman. It is intolerable that it continues to this day. Verges emphasized that “we need to remember and not let this happen any longer. We should mourn and think of the people who have disappeared and do something so that this does not happen again.”
Margaret Washington is an African American history and culture professor who teaches at Cornell University. She spoke about the women in American history who are inspirational and should be remembered for their efforts in ending slavery. It was beautiful to know that all of these women, not only women of African decent, and women from all kinds of social classes, became activists during the 18th and 19th century to end slavery. Washington spoke about Sojourner Truth, who was born among the Dutch and was freed at the age of 27. She spoke very little English, yet became the most prominent speaker and was one of the most influential activists of her time. She met Abraham Lincoln who showed her the bible that the African American people of Baltimore gave to him when Maryland emancipated its slaves. She was quoted as saying, “this is very beautiful, and to think that the government that supports this bible would not even allow my people to read.” Washington ended by wondering what these great women would be doing today about human trafficking and about what happened to the girls who were kidnapped in Nigeria. She noted that “we stand on the shoulders of very great women and it is up to us to keep the legacy going.”
Eola Dance is the Northeast Region Manager for the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program of the National Parks Service. She discussed how to learn about the history of women and slavery with the program. She spoke about how the National Parks Service’s Underground Railroad National Monument is dedicated to teaching about the life and legacy of Harriet Tubman. The National Parks Service will be celebrating its 100-year anniversary in 2016, and their charge is to remember and teach about resistance to slavery through programs designed to reach broad audiences. She mentioned exhibits, multimedia events, junior ranger programs, conferences and walking tours to further educate people on the role of women in the abolition of slavery. She noted the change in focus in the historic sites in the past ten years to tell the stories of women abolitionists, activists, and humanitarians who worked to help those who had been freed from slavery instead of just portraying them as engaged in domestic work. She notes that this change acknowledges “the power of those who made difficult decisions for themselves and their families to move toward freedom, education and self-help.”
Elizabeth Maurer is the Director of the National Women’s History Museum, which is an institution that does not yet exist as a building, although its online programs are a rich and growing educational resource. She noted that Congress has authorized a commission to devise a feasible plan to investigate how to create the museum ,find a location, develop a governing structure and funding, and described its mission to “educate, inspire, empower, and shape the future by integrating women’s distinctive history into the culture and history of the United States.” She showed us one of the museum’s online exhibits, which featured women in the 18th century who were determined to fight slavery. She described how the National Women’s History Museum offers sites, biographies and live programming in Washington DC as well as a series of online exhibits. She stated that, “people need to know the past in order to better understand themselves. The past is a foundation to of where we are in the present.” If we do not understand history, then we cannot correct the mistakes that our ancestors have made, and we will make no progress." Maurer also noted that the representation of women in American history textbooks is only 15% but it has gone up since 2006 when the percentage was 13%. It is nice to know that we are making progress. Maurer also quoted, “If you don’t see yourself in the history that is presented then you don’t see yourself as being a full member of your culture and society.” She noted that just as 19th century women realized that in order to effect social change they needed to have the vote, we now know that in order to address injustice women need to have a political identity and political power. Maurer noted that young women today tend to be self-reliant, that they are often surprised when they encounter barriers. When they do meet resistance they tend to think there is something wrong with themselves rather than seeing the cultural dynamics working against them. She explained that if we put emphasis on historical context we can look deeper at the real issues and understand that these barriers have roots in the past and do not end overnight.
The panelists were women who work to educate others on racism and slavery and women and slavery, through history as well as by using modern day technology to reach out to people so that they can become educated about these issues.
Francoise Verges, the first panelist, has published on memories of slavery, colonization and decolonization. She spoke about how France was a part of the slave trade, and how they do not want people to know that. She spoke about the importance of educating people on what really happened in history. She noted that today there are more women slaves than men and that they are used to work in the sex industry and the caregiving industry, which is increasing, but the government does not take it as seriously as they should because they take drug trafficking and arms trafficking more seriously. I think this is something that definitely needs to be reconsidered. She also noted that women are the first victims of war. It is sad to see what is currently going on during war and even during peacetime, and that it has been happening for centuries. Women have been sexually exploited around the world and have been victims of gang rape, which is inhuman. It is intolerable that it continues to this day. Verges emphasized that “we need to remember and not let this happen any longer. We should mourn and think of the people who have disappeared and do something so that this does not happen again.”
Margaret Washington is an African American history and culture professor who teaches at Cornell University. She spoke about the women in American history who are inspirational and should be remembered for their efforts in ending slavery. It was beautiful to know that all of these women, not only women of African decent, and women from all kinds of social classes, became activists during the 18th and 19th century to end slavery. Washington spoke about Sojourner Truth, who was born among the Dutch and was freed at the age of 27. She spoke very little English, yet became the most prominent speaker and was one of the most influential activists of her time. She met Abraham Lincoln who showed her the bible that the African American people of Baltimore gave to him when Maryland emancipated its slaves. She was quoted as saying, “this is very beautiful, and to think that the government that supports this bible would not even allow my people to read.” Washington ended by wondering what these great women would be doing today about human trafficking and about what happened to the girls who were kidnapped in Nigeria. She noted that “we stand on the shoulders of very great women and it is up to us to keep the legacy going.”
Eola Dance is the Northeast Region Manager for the Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program of the National Parks Service. She discussed how to learn about the history of women and slavery with the program. She spoke about how the National Parks Service’s Underground Railroad National Monument is dedicated to teaching about the life and legacy of Harriet Tubman. The National Parks Service will be celebrating its 100-year anniversary in 2016, and their charge is to remember and teach about resistance to slavery through programs designed to reach broad audiences. She mentioned exhibits, multimedia events, junior ranger programs, conferences and walking tours to further educate people on the role of women in the abolition of slavery. She noted the change in focus in the historic sites in the past ten years to tell the stories of women abolitionists, activists, and humanitarians who worked to help those who had been freed from slavery instead of just portraying them as engaged in domestic work. She notes that this change acknowledges “the power of those who made difficult decisions for themselves and their families to move toward freedom, education and self-help.”
Elizabeth Maurer is the Director of the National Women’s History Museum, which is an institution that does not yet exist as a building, although its online programs are a rich and growing educational resource. She noted that Congress has authorized a commission to devise a feasible plan to investigate how to create the museum ,find a location, develop a governing structure and funding, and described its mission to “educate, inspire, empower, and shape the future by integrating women’s distinctive history into the culture and history of the United States.” She showed us one of the museum’s online exhibits, which featured women in the 18th century who were determined to fight slavery. She described how the National Women’s History Museum offers sites, biographies and live programming in Washington DC as well as a series of online exhibits. She stated that, “people need to know the past in order to better understand themselves. The past is a foundation to of where we are in the present.” If we do not understand history, then we cannot correct the mistakes that our ancestors have made, and we will make no progress." Maurer also noted that the representation of women in American history textbooks is only 15% but it has gone up since 2006 when the percentage was 13%. It is nice to know that we are making progress. Maurer also quoted, “If you don’t see yourself in the history that is presented then you don’t see yourself as being a full member of your culture and society.” She noted that just as 19th century women realized that in order to effect social change they needed to have the vote, we now know that in order to address injustice women need to have a political identity and political power. Maurer noted that young women today tend to be self-reliant, that they are often surprised when they encounter barriers. When they do meet resistance they tend to think there is something wrong with themselves rather than seeing the cultural dynamics working against them. She explained that if we put emphasis on historical context we can look deeper at the real issues and understand that these barriers have roots in the past and do not end overnight.
_______________________________
UPDATE # 10
Jeffrey D. Sachs, Presentation and Book Signing Event: “The Age of Sustainable Development,” Liz DiGiorgio
Of all the informative and inspiring UN/DPI sessions provided for the NGO community this past year, I urge everyone to listen to this one directly. Professor Jeffrey Sachs has a vast understanding of the kinds of analysis, integrative thinking, and collaborations needed to achieve sustainable development. He understands the urgency of doing so, and, in partnership with the UN, has the capability to engage the multiple stakeholders needed to communicate this urgency to individuals, communities, businesses, institutions, leaders and governments around the world. The full presentation can be found at the following link:
http://webtv.un.org/search/jeffrey-d.-sachs-presentation-and-book-signing-event-the-age-of-sustainable-development-meet-the-author-series/4207414672001?term=Jeffrey%20D.%20Sachs
Maher Nasser, Director of the Outreach Division of the Department of Public Information served as moderator and Ambassador David Donoghue of Ireland introduced Jeffrey Sachs as an economist, Senior UN Advisor, best-selling author, and leader in sustainable development.
Jeffrey Sachs expressed gratitude to be launching his book at the UN, “the epicenter of our hopes for the world” and as “the only place that we can imagine with the ability and the legitimacy and the experience to create a coordinated global framework of universal reach, which is exactly what we need and which is exactly in the spirit of sustainable development.” He noted that there are several high-level processes at work to enable the 193 member states to come to consensus on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will replace the Millennium Development Goals at the end of 2015.
Professor Sachs noted that sustainable development requires both an analytical and moral approach, and that the analytical approach will require the capacity to think about the interaction of complex systems like the natural (climate systems), the human (social, cultural and political systems), economic, technological, and our built and designed environments. While people are generally trained to know something about one of these issues, he notes that sustainable development will require knowledge of how these systems interact.
He cautioned that changes in these systems can be and have been nonlinear, noting the sudden financial collapse triggered on September 14, 2008, when Lehman Brothers went under. As an example of nonlinear change in the environmental system, he noted how an ice sheet breaking away could cause a dramatic rise in sea level. He also cited the catastrophic nature of nonlinear change in social systems, such as in Syria and the Balkans, where people who used to live as neighbors suddenly kill each other. In light of the threat of such nonlinear changes, Professor Sachs views sustainable development as “a warning system that can prevent small disasters from turning into large ones.”
Professor Sachs emphasized that the UN stands for the moral approach and that it seeks to find shared goals that can bridge divisiveness. He described the goals as being like “consciousness itself,” part of our “collective global brain” that can remind us all that “this matters.” He reminded the audience that, “one billion people are struggling for survival every day, and we need to do something about it.” He stressed the need to call attention to conditions that threaten the basis of our very existence. He discussed his excitement at having recently met with the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, along with leaders of the world religions who have taken part in exchanges with each other and with the scientific community, noting that this mutual understanding means that there is a chance to make a difference now.
Professor Sachs maintains that the analytical and moral dimensions must be joined together. He emphasized that planning is essential since “the world does not run itself,” and that this cannot be left to market forces, which do not promote social inclusion or protect the environment. He noted the persuasive power of John F. Kennedy’s speech in his efforts to achieve the 1963 test ban treaty by stressing common interests: “So, let us not be blind to our differences--but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.” Maher Nasser asked Jeffrey Sachs to explain something that he had spoken about in the past regarding the connection between droughts in Yemen and Syria and the conflicts that subsequently erupted. Professor Sachs recalled being invited to Yemen ten years ago by former President Saleh to see the country and to make suggestions. He recalled being shocked at finding a parched land, severe water stress, and extreme poverty. He saw that it was ready to explode and went to Washington to try to bring attention to the situation, without success. He observed that if you “leave tinder around long enough in a very hot place, it’s going to catch fire.”
In a frank and compelling discussion about the film “Captain Phillips,” Professor Sachs spoke about the enormous cost of military intervention that might have been unnecessary if smaller sums had been invested in development.
Professor Sachs pointed out that it isn’t a coincidence that there is chaos across the dryland regions, Mali, North Africa, the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, where climate change is bringing more drying and drought. He referred to a study by the Earth Institute that was published by the National Academy of Science that looked at Syria from 2006 to 2009. It noted soaring food prices, demonstrations against the government, a crackdown, insurrection and massive influx of arms. He cited the consequence as 200,000 or 300,00 people dead. He cautioned the audience that this a predictable pattern that the world must begin to understand and prevent.
Professor Sachs noted that many governments have separate ministries to deal with the environment, the economy, and other issues, but that sustainable development requires having someone responsible to bring these different ministries together and to oversee planning. He spoke about the importance of having multiple stakeholders from business, government, universities, and civil society. He noted the inevitability of the SDGs encountering criticism, acknowledging that “we are living in the Age of Snarkiness,” but he hastened to add his strongly held view that “Cynicism is unethical. It makes it hard for us to do things. Let’s figure out how to make things work.”
Of all the informative and inspiring UN/DPI sessions provided for the NGO community this past year, I urge everyone to listen to this one directly. Professor Jeffrey Sachs has a vast understanding of the kinds of analysis, integrative thinking, and collaborations needed to achieve sustainable development. He understands the urgency of doing so, and, in partnership with the UN, has the capability to engage the multiple stakeholders needed to communicate this urgency to individuals, communities, businesses, institutions, leaders and governments around the world. The full presentation can be found at the following link:
http://webtv.un.org/search/jeffrey-d.-sachs-presentation-and-book-signing-event-the-age-of-sustainable-development-meet-the-author-series/4207414672001?term=Jeffrey%20D.%20Sachs
Maher Nasser, Director of the Outreach Division of the Department of Public Information served as moderator and Ambassador David Donoghue of Ireland introduced Jeffrey Sachs as an economist, Senior UN Advisor, best-selling author, and leader in sustainable development.
Jeffrey Sachs expressed gratitude to be launching his book at the UN, “the epicenter of our hopes for the world” and as “the only place that we can imagine with the ability and the legitimacy and the experience to create a coordinated global framework of universal reach, which is exactly what we need and which is exactly in the spirit of sustainable development.” He noted that there are several high-level processes at work to enable the 193 member states to come to consensus on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will replace the Millennium Development Goals at the end of 2015.
Professor Sachs noted that sustainable development requires both an analytical and moral approach, and that the analytical approach will require the capacity to think about the interaction of complex systems like the natural (climate systems), the human (social, cultural and political systems), economic, technological, and our built and designed environments. While people are generally trained to know something about one of these issues, he notes that sustainable development will require knowledge of how these systems interact.
He cautioned that changes in these systems can be and have been nonlinear, noting the sudden financial collapse triggered on September 14, 2008, when Lehman Brothers went under. As an example of nonlinear change in the environmental system, he noted how an ice sheet breaking away could cause a dramatic rise in sea level. He also cited the catastrophic nature of nonlinear change in social systems, such as in Syria and the Balkans, where people who used to live as neighbors suddenly kill each other. In light of the threat of such nonlinear changes, Professor Sachs views sustainable development as “a warning system that can prevent small disasters from turning into large ones.”
Professor Sachs emphasized that the UN stands for the moral approach and that it seeks to find shared goals that can bridge divisiveness. He described the goals as being like “consciousness itself,” part of our “collective global brain” that can remind us all that “this matters.” He reminded the audience that, “one billion people are struggling for survival every day, and we need to do something about it.” He stressed the need to call attention to conditions that threaten the basis of our very existence. He discussed his excitement at having recently met with the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, along with leaders of the world religions who have taken part in exchanges with each other and with the scientific community, noting that this mutual understanding means that there is a chance to make a difference now.
Professor Sachs maintains that the analytical and moral dimensions must be joined together. He emphasized that planning is essential since “the world does not run itself,” and that this cannot be left to market forces, which do not promote social inclusion or protect the environment. He noted the persuasive power of John F. Kennedy’s speech in his efforts to achieve the 1963 test ban treaty by stressing common interests: “So, let us not be blind to our differences--but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.” Maher Nasser asked Jeffrey Sachs to explain something that he had spoken about in the past regarding the connection between droughts in Yemen and Syria and the conflicts that subsequently erupted. Professor Sachs recalled being invited to Yemen ten years ago by former President Saleh to see the country and to make suggestions. He recalled being shocked at finding a parched land, severe water stress, and extreme poverty. He saw that it was ready to explode and went to Washington to try to bring attention to the situation, without success. He observed that if you “leave tinder around long enough in a very hot place, it’s going to catch fire.”
In a frank and compelling discussion about the film “Captain Phillips,” Professor Sachs spoke about the enormous cost of military intervention that might have been unnecessary if smaller sums had been invested in development.
Professor Sachs pointed out that it isn’t a coincidence that there is chaos across the dryland regions, Mali, North Africa, the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, where climate change is bringing more drying and drought. He referred to a study by the Earth Institute that was published by the National Academy of Science that looked at Syria from 2006 to 2009. It noted soaring food prices, demonstrations against the government, a crackdown, insurrection and massive influx of arms. He cited the consequence as 200,000 or 300,00 people dead. He cautioned the audience that this a predictable pattern that the world must begin to understand and prevent.
Professor Sachs noted that many governments have separate ministries to deal with the environment, the economy, and other issues, but that sustainable development requires having someone responsible to bring these different ministries together and to oversee planning. He spoke about the importance of having multiple stakeholders from business, government, universities, and civil society. He noted the inevitability of the SDGs encountering criticism, acknowledging that “we are living in the Age of Snarkiness,” but he hastened to add his strongly held view that “Cynicism is unethical. It makes it hard for us to do things. Let’s figure out how to make things work.”
______________________________
UPDATE #11
Wiki Commons
Celebrating with Voices of African Mothers
Liz DiGiorgio
On June 17, Maureen Burns-Bowie and I had the opportunity to attend the Millennium Development Goals: 2105 Progress Awards Gala sponsored by Voices of African Mothers (VAM) at the invitation of Dr. Sylvester Rowe, former Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone. Dr. Rowe has had a distinguished career in peacekeeping, disarmament, and human rights. As a member of the Advisory Board of VAM, executive committees of UN/DPI/NGO, and Peace Messenger Cities he invited us to attend this celebration of individuals who have achieved progress within a wide range of issues encompassed by the MDGs, including promoting health, education, development, and gender empowerment.
The 2015 Distinguished Honoree was Princess Nauf Bendar Al Saud, of Saudi Arabia, recognized for her work to empower women artists and for her achievements in research to support optimal health. Maureen Burns-Bowie and I had the opportunity to meet privately with with Dr. Nauf Bendar Al Saud before the ceremony, where we spoke about her recently completed PhD in clinical medicine and her ten years of experience as founder of the Lahd Gallery, which began in Riyadh in 2005 and expanded to London and the internet .The Lahd Gallery represents the work of emerging and established women artists of the MENASA (Middle East, North Africa and South Asia) regions. Noteworthy exhibitions have included Kuwaiti Pop Art, Sudanese paintings, Turkish art and sculpture, Arabic – Semitic calligraphy and art installations of Greek/Arabic mystical objects. Our meeting included a discussion about art and science, and the holistic view that Dr. Nauf Bendar holds that human potential can encompass both.
The honorees included:
Beverly Bond, founder of Black Girls Rock, DJ, and music, entertainment and social entrepreneur, has worked to mentor, empower and celebrate women of color.
Danielle Butin, MPH, OTR, founder and Executive Director of the AFYA Foundation has worked to ship recovered medical and humanitarian supplies, including birth kits, to African and Caribbean nations to promote global health.
Laurie Cumbo, New York City Council Member and founder of MoCADA, Brooklyn’s museum of contemporary African diasporan arts, has advocated for workforce equality, gender pay equality, parental rights, and reproductive rights.
Dawna Michelle Fields, National Program Manager of Colgate’s “Bright Smiles, Bright Futures,” has worked to promote dental health awareness across the US.
Jared Genser, founder of Freedom Now, an NGO that focuses on freeing prisoners of conscience across the world He has represented Elie Wiesel, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Desmond Tutu. He is Managing Director of Perseus Strategies, a law and consulting firm that focuses on human rights, humanitarian, and corporate responsibility projects, and is affiliated with Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Brenda Meyers-Powell, founder of the Dream Catcher Foundation, has worked to help marginalized women in the Midwest to exit the world of drugs and prostitution.
Youssou N’Dour, Minister of Culture of Senegal and Grammy award-winning international singer, has organized concerts to benefit humanitarian and human rights causes around the world. He was chosen as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations and UNICEF.
Isha Sesay, founder of W.E. Can Lead, an organization that provides educational assistance and mentoring to African girls, and award-winning anchor and correspondent for CNN, has covered international issues such as the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and the kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls from Chibok.
VAM Youth Ambassador Janelle Boyd opened the evening. The MC was Kenny Frimpong of Akwaaba Media, guest speaker was Dolores Scott Brathwaite, Judge for the Town of Greenburgh, New York, and the talented entertainers included modern vocalist Moriah Ormsby, gospel vocalist Evangelist Valerie Boyd, soprano vocalist Di Zhao, and dancers from the cultural group Asanteman. We congratulate all of the honorees, and extend our sincere thanks to Voices of African Mothers, whose mission is to “establish a peaceful African continent by using the methods of conflict resolution and diplomacy.”
Liz DiGiorgio
On June 17, Maureen Burns-Bowie and I had the opportunity to attend the Millennium Development Goals: 2105 Progress Awards Gala sponsored by Voices of African Mothers (VAM) at the invitation of Dr. Sylvester Rowe, former Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone. Dr. Rowe has had a distinguished career in peacekeeping, disarmament, and human rights. As a member of the Advisory Board of VAM, executive committees of UN/DPI/NGO, and Peace Messenger Cities he invited us to attend this celebration of individuals who have achieved progress within a wide range of issues encompassed by the MDGs, including promoting health, education, development, and gender empowerment.
The 2015 Distinguished Honoree was Princess Nauf Bendar Al Saud, of Saudi Arabia, recognized for her work to empower women artists and for her achievements in research to support optimal health. Maureen Burns-Bowie and I had the opportunity to meet privately with with Dr. Nauf Bendar Al Saud before the ceremony, where we spoke about her recently completed PhD in clinical medicine and her ten years of experience as founder of the Lahd Gallery, which began in Riyadh in 2005 and expanded to London and the internet .The Lahd Gallery represents the work of emerging and established women artists of the MENASA (Middle East, North Africa and South Asia) regions. Noteworthy exhibitions have included Kuwaiti Pop Art, Sudanese paintings, Turkish art and sculpture, Arabic – Semitic calligraphy and art installations of Greek/Arabic mystical objects. Our meeting included a discussion about art and science, and the holistic view that Dr. Nauf Bendar holds that human potential can encompass both.
The honorees included:
Beverly Bond, founder of Black Girls Rock, DJ, and music, entertainment and social entrepreneur, has worked to mentor, empower and celebrate women of color.
Danielle Butin, MPH, OTR, founder and Executive Director of the AFYA Foundation has worked to ship recovered medical and humanitarian supplies, including birth kits, to African and Caribbean nations to promote global health.
Laurie Cumbo, New York City Council Member and founder of MoCADA, Brooklyn’s museum of contemporary African diasporan arts, has advocated for workforce equality, gender pay equality, parental rights, and reproductive rights.
Dawna Michelle Fields, National Program Manager of Colgate’s “Bright Smiles, Bright Futures,” has worked to promote dental health awareness across the US.
Jared Genser, founder of Freedom Now, an NGO that focuses on freeing prisoners of conscience across the world He has represented Elie Wiesel, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Desmond Tutu. He is Managing Director of Perseus Strategies, a law and consulting firm that focuses on human rights, humanitarian, and corporate responsibility projects, and is affiliated with Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard University. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Brenda Meyers-Powell, founder of the Dream Catcher Foundation, has worked to help marginalized women in the Midwest to exit the world of drugs and prostitution.
Youssou N’Dour, Minister of Culture of Senegal and Grammy award-winning international singer, has organized concerts to benefit humanitarian and human rights causes around the world. He was chosen as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations and UNICEF.
Isha Sesay, founder of W.E. Can Lead, an organization that provides educational assistance and mentoring to African girls, and award-winning anchor and correspondent for CNN, has covered international issues such as the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and the kidnapping of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls from Chibok.
VAM Youth Ambassador Janelle Boyd opened the evening. The MC was Kenny Frimpong of Akwaaba Media, guest speaker was Dolores Scott Brathwaite, Judge for the Town of Greenburgh, New York, and the talented entertainers included modern vocalist Moriah Ormsby, gospel vocalist Evangelist Valerie Boyd, soprano vocalist Di Zhao, and dancers from the cultural group Asanteman. We congratulate all of the honorees, and extend our sincere thanks to Voices of African Mothers, whose mission is to “establish a peaceful African continent by using the methods of conflict resolution and diplomacy.”
UN
HH Princess Nauf Bendar Al Saud, Distinguished Honoree, receives the Millenium Development Goals 2015 Progress Award, from Nana-Fosu Randall, Founder and President of Voices of African Mothers. They are both wearing a necklace presented to them by Barack and Michelle Obama for the occasion.
_____________________________________________________________________
________________________________
UPDATE #12
"Acting Globally in the Digital Age"
Soha Farooqui
Lauren McHugh, Executive Producer and host at PBS39 in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, wished everyone a good morning at the United Nations on a beautiful Thursday summer day. Each panelist described how technology and social media were helpful tools for their profession and projects. They described the importance of investing our time in technology to reach broader audiences in order to help people and the planet by educating everyone, specifically young people. After my own teenage years, I stopped engaging in social media because I didn’t understand the point of sharing my thoughts and feelings through a post to people I didn’t even know and perhaps didn’t really care about. As a young adult, I prefer engaging with people in person, which I feel youth nowadays no longer know how to do. My life as a barista has pretty much taught me how to talk to people in the real world. By greeting everyone with their first “good morning” for the day while serving them their coffee, opened up a pathway for further meaningful conversations. However, I understand as time moves forward, in order for us and the planet to grow, everyone should learn to use technology sufficiently and positively, so that we can maintain some level of awareness on issues that matter to all of us, especially with regard to issues that require emergency responses, such as the natural and human-made disasters.
One of the panelist, Waqas Javaid, a partner at Isometric Studios, gave a powerful presentation that really stood out to me, entitled, "Inclusion, Equality, Progress: Dignified Representation in the Digital Age." He discussed how a good design communicates your mission on an emotional and intellectual level, noting, “Your design helps you reflect who you are for your organization,” which is why good design should be worth putting thought into. He explained that many organizations use two approaches to design when portraying a need in a developing country: “the pity card” and the “Western savior.” He explained that this is not an effective way to engage people or to get them involved in the issue because there is a huge disconnect in using this approach. In order for people to understand the issue, they shouldn’t have to feel sorry for the people in need, they need to be able to connect to them. He explained how his partner, Andy Chen, went to Africa and Uganda for the organization Evidence Action, whose goal is to provide clean water and deworming. Instead of using the people as props, he photographed the people, the water dispensers, and the life surrounding them to emphasize the activities related to the water that is essential for these people's lives. He also gave portable cameras to the children so that the viewer is no longer looking down on them. He described how this approach creates more of a connection because it puts the viewer in their shoes for that moment, creating empathy, not just sympathy. The organization was able to raise $20,000 dollars during the holiday season after they used the isometric's philosophy of design.
Liberty Asia is another organization that Javaid and his company helped in their work behind the scenes trying to change policies and laws to prevent human trafficking by appealing to governments and banks. His team traveled to Asia to understand the root of the problem, which they learned was immense and very hard to understand. They realized that the design the organization had been using was “dumbed down” to vulgar images that were confusing and not helpful in solving the problem. They noted that the people most at risk of being trafficked and forced to work under unhealthy labor conditions were children, so they educated children on these issues. They gave these children cameras in order to see life from their point of view.
Javaid also spoke about a major design project for an exhibition in Washington DC in the Ronald Reagan building, which is the second largest government building in the U.S. USAID (United States Agency for International Development) wanted to present a biennial exhibition to showcase their long-term investment in technology and development. Their goal is to end severe poverty by 2030. Javaid and his team created a theme entitled “Extreme Hope,” which turned into “Extreme Progress.” The exhibition was organized in three parts; Extreme Health, Extreme Knowledge, and Extreme Nourishment, which gave everyone a better understanding of poverty. It also presented personal stories of people who are suffering from poverty, so that visitors to the exhibition could understand the issue on a personal level. Javaid and his firm used design in a personal way that enables the audience to feel the severity of the problems through their unique and new positive approach.
As people living in this society that changes with the newest best thing every day, we need to understand how to use technology as a positive tool for solving global issues using new and unique approaches. Attending the UN DPI/NGO briefing and hearing about Javaid’s innovative approach to design has changed the way I look at design. I now understand that in order to be successful in communicating and solving problems, we all need to invest our time in learning to use technology in new ways that speak to our times.
__________________________________________________________
"Acting Globally in the Digital Age"
Patti Jordan
BRIEFING OBJECTIVE:
Inform NGO community about new & innovative communications platforms
and their use in impacting global change.
Moderator:
Laura McHugh, Executive Producer PBS39 Lehigh Valley
Panelists:
Helen Rosengren, Public Information Officer for the UN
Carlos Islam, Associate Public Information Officer
Advocacy & Special Events Section / UN Dept. of Public Information
Kathryn Suma, Department of Public Information NGO Relations Youth
Caroline Avakian, Founder of SourceRise, Managing Partner at Socialbrite
UN Concerns - Social / Economic / Sustainable Development and our 2 objectives:
1. To reach our UN Millenial Goals
2. Ongoing Global Sustainable Development
UN currently reaches people universally through:
-2 main newsletters
-Social Media
Social Media helps UN achieve global reach especially to youth:
-Google hangouts
-Facebook chats
-Twitter
-YouTube
-SlideShare.net/undea
-LinkedIn (soon)
We want…
-More in-depth multimedia content
-More graphics
Our communications platform seeks to aid two main areas:
-More help for people
-More help for the Planet, the environment
(UN Summit on Sustainable Development - Sept. 2015, Ethiopia)
The UN sees sustainable development as a collective responsibility
Speakers’ Main Points:
Waqas Jawaid, Partner at Isometric Studio:
Isometrics is a group of Designers creating Branding Messages
We have a Design Director and several interns
We seek “Digified representation in the Digital Age”
-no more “pity narrative”
-no more “western saviors”
Isometrics traveled to Kenya and Uganda and showed people in their “natural environment”
Gave cameras to the children to empower them to take photos of themselves
Changed existing website by more closely clipping or cropping pictures with narratives that often continue onto the next page for dynamism. Looks much less staged
Website we designed was up in one week with interns
Raised $200,000 for this cause on reconstructed website
In graphics and visual identity, Isometrics never uses people as “visual props”
We use terms like extreme progress instead of extreme poverty, always positive, never negative
Kathryn Suma, NGO Relations Youth
Can be beneficial to have a bilingual website or blog to reach a very broad audience
Youth are skilled in social media so NGO’s can make use of their know-how
Recommended free website: WIX.com. It has non-profit templates and its basic website templates are free. A great “starter” website for an NGO
Caroline Avakian Founder of Source Rise
Social Media must always connect to:
-main strategy
-mission
How do we technically keep up yet meet our political goals
Discussed the effects of “crowd funding” – raising money for an NGO online
Important Points in Q&A with NGO audience:
Websites:
Websites great for knowing more about who we are and what we do, more in-depth content
Have a page set up to have visitors contribute money
Although Social Media is popular, websites still look more professional, more established
Social Media:
A vehicle to bring traffic to your website
Social media activates your messaging.
Social media keeps general public informed on what people are doing “on the ground.”
Social media forces you to condense which can be good.
Question:
How can we guarantee the freedom of Social Media around the world? A Human Rights issue
_________________________________________________________
One of the panelist, Waqas Javaid, a partner at Isometric Studios, gave a powerful presentation that really stood out to me, entitled, "Inclusion, Equality, Progress: Dignified Representation in the Digital Age." He discussed how a good design communicates your mission on an emotional and intellectual level, noting, “Your design helps you reflect who you are for your organization,” which is why good design should be worth putting thought into. He explained that many organizations use two approaches to design when portraying a need in a developing country: “the pity card” and the “Western savior.” He explained that this is not an effective way to engage people or to get them involved in the issue because there is a huge disconnect in using this approach. In order for people to understand the issue, they shouldn’t have to feel sorry for the people in need, they need to be able to connect to them. He explained how his partner, Andy Chen, went to Africa and Uganda for the organization Evidence Action, whose goal is to provide clean water and deworming. Instead of using the people as props, he photographed the people, the water dispensers, and the life surrounding them to emphasize the activities related to the water that is essential for these people's lives. He also gave portable cameras to the children so that the viewer is no longer looking down on them. He described how this approach creates more of a connection because it puts the viewer in their shoes for that moment, creating empathy, not just sympathy. The organization was able to raise $20,000 dollars during the holiday season after they used the isometric's philosophy of design.
Liberty Asia is another organization that Javaid and his company helped in their work behind the scenes trying to change policies and laws to prevent human trafficking by appealing to governments and banks. His team traveled to Asia to understand the root of the problem, which they learned was immense and very hard to understand. They realized that the design the organization had been using was “dumbed down” to vulgar images that were confusing and not helpful in solving the problem. They noted that the people most at risk of being trafficked and forced to work under unhealthy labor conditions were children, so they educated children on these issues. They gave these children cameras in order to see life from their point of view.
Javaid also spoke about a major design project for an exhibition in Washington DC in the Ronald Reagan building, which is the second largest government building in the U.S. USAID (United States Agency for International Development) wanted to present a biennial exhibition to showcase their long-term investment in technology and development. Their goal is to end severe poverty by 2030. Javaid and his team created a theme entitled “Extreme Hope,” which turned into “Extreme Progress.” The exhibition was organized in three parts; Extreme Health, Extreme Knowledge, and Extreme Nourishment, which gave everyone a better understanding of poverty. It also presented personal stories of people who are suffering from poverty, so that visitors to the exhibition could understand the issue on a personal level. Javaid and his firm used design in a personal way that enables the audience to feel the severity of the problems through their unique and new positive approach.
As people living in this society that changes with the newest best thing every day, we need to understand how to use technology as a positive tool for solving global issues using new and unique approaches. Attending the UN DPI/NGO briefing and hearing about Javaid’s innovative approach to design has changed the way I look at design. I now understand that in order to be successful in communicating and solving problems, we all need to invest our time in learning to use technology in new ways that speak to our times.
__________________________________________________________
"Acting Globally in the Digital Age"
Patti Jordan
BRIEFING OBJECTIVE:
Inform NGO community about new & innovative communications platforms
and their use in impacting global change.
Moderator:
Laura McHugh, Executive Producer PBS39 Lehigh Valley
Panelists:
Helen Rosengren, Public Information Officer for the UN
Carlos Islam, Associate Public Information Officer
Advocacy & Special Events Section / UN Dept. of Public Information
Kathryn Suma, Department of Public Information NGO Relations Youth
Caroline Avakian, Founder of SourceRise, Managing Partner at Socialbrite
UN Concerns - Social / Economic / Sustainable Development and our 2 objectives:
1. To reach our UN Millenial Goals
2. Ongoing Global Sustainable Development
UN currently reaches people universally through:
-2 main newsletters
-Social Media
Social Media helps UN achieve global reach especially to youth:
-Google hangouts
-Facebook chats
-YouTube
-SlideShare.net/undea
-LinkedIn (soon)
We want…
-More in-depth multimedia content
-More graphics
Our communications platform seeks to aid two main areas:
-More help for people
-More help for the Planet, the environment
(UN Summit on Sustainable Development - Sept. 2015, Ethiopia)
The UN sees sustainable development as a collective responsibility
Speakers’ Main Points:
Waqas Jawaid, Partner at Isometric Studio:
Isometrics is a group of Designers creating Branding Messages
We have a Design Director and several interns
We seek “Digified representation in the Digital Age”
-no more “pity narrative”
-no more “western saviors”
Isometrics traveled to Kenya and Uganda and showed people in their “natural environment”
Gave cameras to the children to empower them to take photos of themselves
Changed existing website by more closely clipping or cropping pictures with narratives that often continue onto the next page for dynamism. Looks much less staged
Website we designed was up in one week with interns
Raised $200,000 for this cause on reconstructed website
In graphics and visual identity, Isometrics never uses people as “visual props”
We use terms like extreme progress instead of extreme poverty, always positive, never negative
Kathryn Suma, NGO Relations Youth
Can be beneficial to have a bilingual website or blog to reach a very broad audience
Youth are skilled in social media so NGO’s can make use of their know-how
Recommended free website: WIX.com. It has non-profit templates and its basic website templates are free. A great “starter” website for an NGO
Caroline Avakian Founder of Source Rise
Social Media must always connect to:
-main strategy
-mission
How do we technically keep up yet meet our political goals
Discussed the effects of “crowd funding” – raising money for an NGO online
Important Points in Q&A with NGO audience:
Websites:
Websites great for knowing more about who we are and what we do, more in-depth content
Have a page set up to have visitors contribute money
Although Social Media is popular, websites still look more professional, more established
Social Media:
A vehicle to bring traffic to your website
Social media activates your messaging.
Social media keeps general public informed on what people are doing “on the ground.”
Social media forces you to condense which can be good.
Question:
How can we guarantee the freedom of Social Media around the world? A Human Rights issue
_________________________________________________________
UPDATE #13
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Photo: Miranda Barnes
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Maureen Burns-Bowie
Due to budget constraints, the UN DPI NGO conference this year was modest compared to last year, both in terms of numbers of participants as well as number of presenters. The theme was a celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the United Nations: "Honoring the Past, Recognizing the Present, Imagining the Future".
An overriding theme was of Civil Social Responsibility. There is a strong current of ideas within the UN that it will no longer be able to do it's job without the voice and engagement of individuals. The SDG's are a "bottom up" agenda. They are a shared vision of humanity. It is crucial for all citizens to articulate that the SDG's are a list of goals the people want to achieve, and to hold their leaders accountable for progress being made There are no longer problems that belong to an individual country. Global cooperation is crucial.
Below is an article written by our Youth Representative Soha Farooqui. Oculus is a virtual reality program that allows the viewer to "experience" an environment in a palpable and engaging way, with 3D imagery, surround sound, and total 360 degree immersion in a locale. Seventeen programs are being developed, one for each of the SDG's. The goal is to heighten awareness and compassion, to create an experience of the interconnectedness we all share.
The Oculus Virtual Reality Experience
Soha Farooqui
At the 2015 NGO Conference at the United Nations, I had the opportunity to view a short 8 minute film using an Oculus, which lets a viewer personally experience a film in virtual reality. You put on a head-mounted display and from that you experience a three-dimensional, computer-generated environment. As you move back and fourth and 360 degrees, you become a part of the environment in the film. It was an experience that I really had to be a part of to understand this immense problem of refugees.
For a moment, I become a part of the life of a young Syrian girl from a Refugee Camp. As I moved back and forth I saw the life surrounding her. She has been in the camp along with her family for over a year now and wonders how much longer until this part of her life will be over. She explained what the kids do on a daily basis. She is 12 years old and attends an all girls’ school in Syria. She explained how the girls have to wait until the boys are finished playing soccer so that they can play and each game is as short as 15 minutes because there are so many children waiting for their turn. She also mentioned how she did not understand why even after the war, boys still prefer to play violent video games on computers (which the girls are not allowed to be on) and even wrestle to keep busy. They say they are just working out and wrestling to stay busy, but she questioned what the real reason was. She and her family still manage to eat dinner together every night. It is something her mother wishes them to do. She expressed her love for her mother’s food even though she does not have all of her spices to cook with. She said there are more children than adults in the Refugee Camps and it sometimes makes her feel like they are the ones in charge. To know that these children don’t have their guardians anymore because they lost their lives because of this war is what we should really think about.
It was incredible that I felt her every word, every emotion and every concern when I put the oculus headset on. The experience made me cry inside and it made me feel true empathy towards the child narrator. I wished that I could just walk up to her and save her and save all of the other children. People talk about war all the time and the tragedies it brings but I would never really know how it feels and I cannot relate because I just hear about it or just read about it, but after this experience I felt like a human watching other humans suffer and not being able to do anything about it. I actually felt the consequences of war and felt with everything in me what the bad side of humanity can do by watching other humans suffer. Right after the panelists’ discussions about the SDG’s they let us experience the tragedies in the world by bringing them to us. The Oculus experience simply makes you feel human again in this world that is drowning you in unnecessary distractions, blocking you from seeing the bigger picture.
If we can’t realize what war is doing not only to humanity but also to animals and to the environment, than I believe that the cost of producing and distributing the oculus virtual reality experience to high school history classes and to museums is worth the cost. The Sustainable Developmental Goals are a positive vision for a better place for everyone who is breathing and living on the planet. The oculus experience creates empathy and that is just enough to make people go out and educate themselves and do something about these immense issues and actually help accomplish the SDG’S. It helps you open your eyes and become human again because you finally feel with your heart by focusing on a meaningful moment, without any distractions.
Soha wearing Oculus equipment. Photo: Miranda Barnes
Due to budget constraints, the UN DPI NGO conference this year was modest compared to last year, both in terms of numbers of participants as well as number of presenters. The theme was a celebration of the 70th Anniversary of the United Nations: "Honoring the Past, Recognizing the Present, Imagining the Future".
An overriding theme was of Civil Social Responsibility. There is a strong current of ideas within the UN that it will no longer be able to do it's job without the voice and engagement of individuals. The SDG's are a "bottom up" agenda. They are a shared vision of humanity. It is crucial for all citizens to articulate that the SDG's are a list of goals the people want to achieve, and to hold their leaders accountable for progress being made There are no longer problems that belong to an individual country. Global cooperation is crucial.
Below is an article written by our Youth Representative Soha Farooqui. Oculus is a virtual reality program that allows the viewer to "experience" an environment in a palpable and engaging way, with 3D imagery, surround sound, and total 360 degree immersion in a locale. Seventeen programs are being developed, one for each of the SDG's. The goal is to heighten awareness and compassion, to create an experience of the interconnectedness we all share.
The Oculus Virtual Reality Experience
Soha Farooqui
At the 2015 NGO Conference at the United Nations, I had the opportunity to view a short 8 minute film using an Oculus, which lets a viewer personally experience a film in virtual reality. You put on a head-mounted display and from that you experience a three-dimensional, computer-generated environment. As you move back and fourth and 360 degrees, you become a part of the environment in the film. It was an experience that I really had to be a part of to understand this immense problem of refugees.
For a moment, I become a part of the life of a young Syrian girl from a Refugee Camp. As I moved back and forth I saw the life surrounding her. She has been in the camp along with her family for over a year now and wonders how much longer until this part of her life will be over. She explained what the kids do on a daily basis. She is 12 years old and attends an all girls’ school in Syria. She explained how the girls have to wait until the boys are finished playing soccer so that they can play and each game is as short as 15 minutes because there are so many children waiting for their turn. She also mentioned how she did not understand why even after the war, boys still prefer to play violent video games on computers (which the girls are not allowed to be on) and even wrestle to keep busy. They say they are just working out and wrestling to stay busy, but she questioned what the real reason was. She and her family still manage to eat dinner together every night. It is something her mother wishes them to do. She expressed her love for her mother’s food even though she does not have all of her spices to cook with. She said there are more children than adults in the Refugee Camps and it sometimes makes her feel like they are the ones in charge. To know that these children don’t have their guardians anymore because they lost their lives because of this war is what we should really think about.
It was incredible that I felt her every word, every emotion and every concern when I put the oculus headset on. The experience made me cry inside and it made me feel true empathy towards the child narrator. I wished that I could just walk up to her and save her and save all of the other children. People talk about war all the time and the tragedies it brings but I would never really know how it feels and I cannot relate because I just hear about it or just read about it, but after this experience I felt like a human watching other humans suffer and not being able to do anything about it. I actually felt the consequences of war and felt with everything in me what the bad side of humanity can do by watching other humans suffer. Right after the panelists’ discussions about the SDG’s they let us experience the tragedies in the world by bringing them to us. The Oculus experience simply makes you feel human again in this world that is drowning you in unnecessary distractions, blocking you from seeing the bigger picture.
If we can’t realize what war is doing not only to humanity but also to animals and to the environment, than I believe that the cost of producing and distributing the oculus virtual reality experience to high school history classes and to museums is worth the cost. The Sustainable Developmental Goals are a positive vision for a better place for everyone who is breathing and living on the planet. The oculus experience creates empathy and that is just enough to make people go out and educate themselves and do something about these immense issues and actually help accomplish the SDG’S. It helps you open your eyes and become human again because you finally feel with your heart by focusing on a meaningful moment, without any distractions.
Soha wearing Oculus equipment. Photo: Miranda Barnes
UN Program UN Representatives saying hello to Queen Mother Dr. Delois Blakeley, Ambassador of Goodwill to Africa and Community Mayor of Harlem. She is a strong example of engaged citizens who take their responsibility to their community as well as the world, seriously and with great flair.
Maureen Burns-Bowie, Soha Farooqui, Queen Mother, Miranda Barnes, Liz DiGiorgio
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I have to confess that I have often not been comfortable inside the mantel of "woman artist," and though I myself was president of the National Association of Women Artists for several years and active with that group for many, it has been my habit to substitute the words "man artist" to remind myself how ridiculous the above nomenclature was.
Not any more.
After going last evening to a program that the Fordham School of Law organized jointly with the United Nations Remember Slavery Programme, entitled "Truth: Women, Creativity and Memory of Slavery" my view of women's organizations and particularly women's artist organizations has been turned on its head. While I have had some hazy understanding of the following for the bulk of my life, it was not until last night that my breath was taken away by finally realizing the truth and the scope of this. By this I mean that women have not been written into the history of the world. Yes, there are specks here and there, the Cleopatra and the Georgia O'Keefe. But while serving up the warm meal of history they have been only the pepper sprinkled on top.
I was stunned last night by the power of the women - scholars, artists - on this panel who each brought something truly nourishing to the table. There was the story of Sojourner Truth with her pile of postcards containing a photo of herself, below which was written "I am selling my shadow to support my substance" - her shadow being her photograph, and her substance being her word. There was the mention of a slave ship arriving, with a tally of 182 men on board. Not remarked in the tally were all the women, all below deck and all dead. They were there. But they weren't. There was the story of the slave "Dolly," for whom a $50 reward was posted, saying that she had taken up with a white man. Of all the slaves who were recaptured after running away in that area, she was the the only one who was never found. Deborah Willis said that she did not run away. She self-emancipated.
I am going to list the women who participated in last night's presentation. It is worth looking them all up and reading about their work. If I speak about them all to you here, it will take longer than the evening's program.
They were: Dr. Aimee Meredith Cox and Dr Yuko Miki of Fordham University; Dr. Deborah Willis of NYU; Gabriela Salgado, curator living in the UK; Dr Iyunolu Osagie of Penn State University; Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro, author and pioneer from Puerto Rico; and Dr. Nicole R. Fleetwood of Rutgers University, New Brunswick.
Angel Uwamahoro, a Fordham student, performed the work of Maya Angelou "And I Still Rise." If I hadn't already been moved to tears by the presentation and the Q & A, this alone would have done it.
I will pass on to you an offering from Ms. Arroyo Pizarro.
Be a lion!
And I'll leave you there with that.
Not any more.
After going last evening to a program that the Fordham School of Law organized jointly with the United Nations Remember Slavery Programme, entitled "Truth: Women, Creativity and Memory of Slavery" my view of women's organizations and particularly women's artist organizations has been turned on its head. While I have had some hazy understanding of the following for the bulk of my life, it was not until last night that my breath was taken away by finally realizing the truth and the scope of this. By this I mean that women have not been written into the history of the world. Yes, there are specks here and there, the Cleopatra and the Georgia O'Keefe. But while serving up the warm meal of history they have been only the pepper sprinkled on top.
I was stunned last night by the power of the women - scholars, artists - on this panel who each brought something truly nourishing to the table. There was the story of Sojourner Truth with her pile of postcards containing a photo of herself, below which was written "I am selling my shadow to support my substance" - her shadow being her photograph, and her substance being her word. There was the mention of a slave ship arriving, with a tally of 182 men on board. Not remarked in the tally were all the women, all below deck and all dead. They were there. But they weren't. There was the story of the slave "Dolly," for whom a $50 reward was posted, saying that she had taken up with a white man. Of all the slaves who were recaptured after running away in that area, she was the the only one who was never found. Deborah Willis said that she did not run away. She self-emancipated.
I am going to list the women who participated in last night's presentation. It is worth looking them all up and reading about their work. If I speak about them all to you here, it will take longer than the evening's program.
They were: Dr. Aimee Meredith Cox and Dr Yuko Miki of Fordham University; Dr. Deborah Willis of NYU; Gabriela Salgado, curator living in the UK; Dr Iyunolu Osagie of Penn State University; Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro, author and pioneer from Puerto Rico; and Dr. Nicole R. Fleetwood of Rutgers University, New Brunswick.
Angel Uwamahoro, a Fordham student, performed the work of Maya Angelou "And I Still Rise." If I hadn't already been moved to tears by the presentation and the Q & A, this alone would have done it.
I will pass on to you an offering from Ms. Arroyo Pizarro.
Be a lion!
And I'll leave you there with that.
____________________________________
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