WACC Statement on International Day of the World’s Indigenous People

Half way through the second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, launched in 2004 by United Nations’ General Assembly, there have been significant gains among the Indigenous peoples of the world. In regions such as Latin America, indigenous peoples are creating national and regional alliances and in some countries, such as Bolivia, they have an increased presence in the setting of national agendas as well as in public life.

Announcement

The World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) is pleased to announce that the tenth World Assembly of Community Radio Broadcasters will be held from 8 to 13 November 2010 in Ciudad de la Plata, province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. This will be the first Global conference of community broadcasters to be held in South America, where community radios were born 60 years ago.

Announcement

Print and online journalists who report on the environment can submit works to the 2010 Environmental Media Awards, designed to raise global awareness of environmental and sustainable development issues. Deadline: July 31. Six regional winners will receive cash prizes of US$500. An overall winner will be awarded US$5,000 and a travel grant to attend the award ceremony in Nagoya, Japan in October, during the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Introduction by María Teresa Aveggio, Programme Manager, WACC

		Six months ago today, a devastating earthquake hit Haiti. Registering 7.0 on the Richter scale, the quake killed 230,000 people and injured another 300,000. It destroyed media stations and most of Haiti’s landmarks including the Presidential Palace, the National Assembly and Port-au-Prince Cathedral. The US government, the World Bank and the European Union among others pledged more than $5bn in aid.
Source: maps.google.ca

Press Release

Human rights, financial crises, unmet universal access targets, ongoing stigma and discrimination and the need for greater collaboration across sectors in the response to the HIV pandemic will be key issues addressed by faith-based representatives at the 18th International AIDS Conference being held in Vienna, 18-23 July 2010. AIDS 2010 will bring over 20,000 medical professionals and scientists, government representatives, policy makers, persons living with HIV, civil society activists and others working in the field of HIV and AIDS under the theme "Rights Here, Right Now". The event takes place at the Reed Messe Wien.

Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum 2010, 21-23 June 2010, Bonn, Germany

More than 1,500 participants from 95 countries met June 21-23 to discuss  “Climate Change and the Media” at the World Conference Center Bonn. At the closing ceremony of the 2010 Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum, Deutsche Welle’s Director of Television, Christoph Lanz, said that journalists have to set really high standards. “We have to be solid, we have to be reliable, we should be able to validate all the different sources of information,” said Lanz. “It’s not about only transporting other peoples voices or opinions, it’s about investigating problems, investigating solutions and bringing this to the viewers, listeners and users – in an easy and understandable way.”

Press Release...

Winnipeg — About 80 high profile religious leaders from around the world will gather in Winnipeg from June 21- June 23 to listen and report to one another – but most importantly collaborate on sending a unified message to government leaders of the G8/G20 nations.

The message will press governments to remain true to the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) ratified by the 192 member states of the U.N. ten years ago. The goals aim to halve global poverty by 2015. The G8 nations – including Canada – pledged assistance in achieving the goals, but are well behind in meeting the promised deadline.

Full statement…

Women's contributions to conflict prevention and peace-building and their role in trengthening international security are largely under-reported. A web portal is now open aimed at information and knowledge sharing and providing a comprehensive online information source on women, peace and security

The PeaceWomen Portal is a tool that can be sued to search PeaceWomen.org. Many of its sub-sections covering Resources, Initiatives, Advocacy and Education Tools, and Useful Links have an otion to submit other organization’s project information, allowing users of the site to be full participants in its development.

APC (Association for Progressive Communications) the world’s longest-running network, is celebrating its 20th anniversary in May 2010. Twenty years networking online for social justice and sustainable development.

Between 1982 and 1987 several independent, national, non-profit computer networks emerged as viable information and communication resources for activists and NGOs. The networks were founded by people with experience in communication and international collaboration in the NGO world, and a deep commitment to making new communication techniques available to movements working for social change. Most networks were founded by a small number of people who devoted their personal equipment and all their free time to spread electronic communication to their colleagues working for change.