16 May, 2012
Work-Family Balance Benefits Families And Society At Large: UN Chief
United Nations, May 15 2012 (UN News Centre) – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has highlighted the need for work-family balance for the benefit of families and society at large, adding that while flexible working arrangements are becoming more widely available, there is much room for improvement. “We need to respond to the ever-changing complexities of work [...]
more…13 Apr, 2012
Countries Not Investing Enough in Water, Sanitation Projects – Report
Geneva – 12 April 2012 – While access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) has considerably improved globally, services coverage could slip behind if adequate resources are not secured to sustain routine operations, warns the 2012 UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water – or “GLAAS” – released today by WHO and UN-Water. [...]
more…12 Apr, 2012
UN Highlights Role Of Business Sector In Achieving Sustainable Development
Apr 11 2012, UN News Centre: The business and industry sectors play a key role in leading countries towards sustainable development, a top United Nations official said, adding that their collaboration and partnerships with governments are essential to accelerate progress around the world. “Business leaders have the power to make decisions today that can affect [...]
more…12 Apr, 2012
Dementia Cases Set To Triple By 2050 But Still Largely Ignored
Geneva, (World Health Organization News Release) 11 April 2012 – Worldwide, nearly 35.6 million people live with dementia. This number is expected to double by 2030 (65.7 million) and more than triple by 2050 (115.4 million). Dementia affects people in all countries, with more than half (58%) living in low- and middle-income countries. By 2050, [...]
more…12 Apr, 2012
Myanmar Plans To Seek World Heritage Status for Pyu Ancient Cities
10 Apr 2012, (UNESCO News Release): Myanmar authorities are advancing in their preparations towards nominating the Pyu Ancient Cities to the World Heritage List. International and national experts attended a seminar convened by UNESCO and the Department of Archaeology, National Museum and Library of the Myanmar Ministry of Information and Culture from 4-6 April 2012 [...]
more…9 Apr, 2012
China’s Over-65 Population Hits 123 Million
BEIJING, April 7 (Xinhua) — A total of 123 million Chinese were aged over 65 by the end of 2011, about 9.1 percent of the total population, the Health Aging Symposium announced Saturday. Chinese seniors aged 80 or above are expected to take up 30 percent of the population aged 65 or above in 2050, [...]
more…3 Apr, 2012
Ageing Societies to be Theme of World Health Day, April 7
Ageing and health – to which each and every one of us can relate – is the theme of this year’s World Health Day to be marked on April 7. Using the slogan “Good health adds life to years”, campaign activities and materials will focus on how good health throughout life can help older men [...]
more…8 Mar, 2012
Women are the Fabric, Quilts Reflect their Strength
Everywhere in the world, women weave and mend the social fabric of family and community, as well as clothing and textiles. Quilts, a traditionally female art form, often also serve as tangible expressions of women’s creativity, frugality, love, solidarity or sociability. A new exhibition of quilts in the lobby of the United Nations headquarters in [...]
more…8 Mar, 2012
Rural Women Miss Out on Education and Decent Jobs
The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day on March 8, “Empower Rural Women,” sheds light on the struggle that many poor, rural women face in completing even the most basic education — a finding that is backed up by new data analysis by the Education for All Global Monitoring Report team. This is true [...]
more…8 Mar, 2012
Gender Pay Gap “Frozen in Time”, Asia Faring Worst – Global Trade Union Report
7 March 2012 – A new report from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) reveals that worldwide, women are paid 18% on average less than their male counterparts at work. The report, “Frozen in Time: Gender Pay Gap Unchanged for 10 Years” released on the eve of International Women’s Day, looks at women’s wages in [...]
more…8 Mar, 2012
Economic Crises Have Biggest Impact on Rural Women – ILO
08 March 2012 (Statement issued by Juan Somavia, Director-General, International Labour Organization) — Today we celebrate International Women’s Day by recognizing the important contribution of rural women across the world to the well-being of their families and communities and in sustaining societies and economies. We call for action to ensure that all rural women can [...]
more…8 Mar, 2012
Guidebook Launched to Promote Women’s Participation in Politics
01 March 2012 (UN Development Programme) — With women under-represented in high level politics and decision-making the world over, a new Guidebook produced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) is showing political parties how they can begin to redress this imbalance by supporting women’s participation in the electoral [...]
more…8 Mar, 2012
Rural Women Play Critical Role in Fighting Hunger Worldwide
05 Mar 2012 (UN Development Programme) — A few weeks ago I spoke with women farmers in Niger who are growing vegetables in some of the harshest climatic conditions on earth. With severe drought a recurring problem in their country and across the Sahel, access to water for irrigation and to appropriate seeds, fertilisers, advisory [...]
more…8 Mar, 2012
Rural Women Can Be More Productive Than Men in Central America
Mexico City – According to a new UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) study entitled Agricultural productivity of rural women in Central America and Mexico, rural women can be more productive than men in Mexico and Central America. However, they require the appropriate tools, such as productive inputs, microcredits, technical assistance [...]
more…8 Mar, 2012
World Bank Video on Women At Work Worldwide
On November 11th, 2011 (11.11.11), across the planet, the World Bank recorded the human experience for One Day on Earth http://www.onedayonearth.org. Women from around the world show and tell us what their work means to them. It’s time to think EQUAL. http://thinkequal.worldbank.org Click here to watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTRq0bMa2dg
more…8 Mar, 2012
New UN Atlas Shows Access To Secondary Education Still A Challenge For Girls
Mar 5 2012, (UN News Centre) – Access to secondary education is still a challenge for girls, especially in parts of Africa and Asia, according to a United Nations atlas published today that highlights the differences in education between girls and boys in terms of access, participation and progression. The atlas, which was produced by [...]
more…8 Mar, 2012
Partnership of Equals Can Help Solve Global Problems
Statement by Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director, UN Women, to mark International Women’s Day 2012
more…8 Mar, 2012
Equality Begins at Home for Rural Girls and Women
ROME, Italy, 5 March 2012 – As the world marks International Women’s Day this week, IFAD and its partners are pursuing new ways to advance the fundamental rights of poor rural girls and women at the household level. In the past, rural development organizations and programmes have generally promoted change – including women’s empowerment – [...]
more…7 Mar, 2012
UN Kicks Off Talks On New Blueprint For Disaster Risk Reduction
Mar 5 2012 (UN News Centre) — The United Nations disaster risk reduction office today announced the start of consultations on a new international blueprint for reducing disaster losses ahead of a conference on the issue that Japan has offered to host in 2015. Margareta Wahlström, the head of the secretariat of the UN International [...]
more…2 Mar, 2012
Remember to Mark Int’l Women’s Day on March 8, 2012
International Women’s Day will be marked on March 8, 2012. The global travel & tourism industry, one of the world’s largest employers of women, can be at the forefront of events commemorating this day. Here’s some food for thought.
more…29 Feb, 2012
UN Kicks Off I.T. ‘Hackathon’ To Promote Global Sustainability
Feb 28 2012 (UN News Centre) – A United Nations-backed competition with the goal of uncovering sustainable approaches to information and communication technology (ICT) kicked off today, bringing developers from around the world together in a ‘frenetic’ race of programming. Organized by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the two-day Green ICT Hackathon opened today in [...]
more…29 Feb, 2012
As Global Cities Grow, Living Conditions for Children Worsen, UNICEF Report Reveals
27 February 2012 – With the world undergoing the largest wave of urban growth in history, UNICEF’s annual flagship publication The State of the World’s Children 2012 (SOWC) says that almost half the world’s children now live in urban areas, and it’s calling for greater emphasis on identifying and meeting their needs. “We’re approaching some [...]
more…22 Feb, 2012
Half of Global Languages Face Extinction – Int’l Mother Language Day Message
21 Feb 2012 – Have you ever heard of kalkoti? An endangered language identified in 2011 by the UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, it is spoken by only around 4000 people in a village on the north-western border of Pakistan. It is estimated that nearly half of the approximately 6,000 languages spoken [...]
more…22 Feb, 2012
Global Small Farmers Forum: Climate Change Damage Will Hit Food Supplies
ROME, 21 Feb 2012 (IFAD) – Representatives of the millions of smallholders, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers around the world have agreed at a United Nations forum in Rome on the need to jointly address the global challenges of food insecurity and climate change. “As we have seen from the droughts in the Horn of [...]
more…21 Feb, 2012
UN Says Social Justice, Economic Progress Must Advance in Tandem
Feb 20 2012 (UN News Centre) – Calling on people to tap into the spirit of recent public protests worldwide against inequality, corruption, repression and a lack of decent jobs, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed the need for economic development to ensure greater social justice for everyone. Mr. Ban, in a message marking World Day [...]
more…17 Feb, 2012
UN Chief Calls on Countries to Heed Voices of Women and Young People
Feb 16 2012 (UN News Centre) – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed today the need to empower women and youth, who have been at the centre of recent social protest movements worldwide, and warned countries against ignoring their voices as they are critical to countries’ development. “Tahrir Square [in Cairo] and the fight for democracy throughout [...]
more…16 Feb, 2012
UN Chief Urges More Companies To Embrace Business Sustainability Ideals
Feb 14 2012 (UN News Centre) – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today encouraged more businesses to embrace the principle of sustainability in their strategies, noting that with the most of the world’s ecosystems in decline, widening social inequality and climate change, global prosperity, productivity and stability was at stake. “We need corporate sustainability to be [...]
more…16 Feb, 2012
Bid to Open Markets for Organic Products From Developing World
Feb 13 2012 (UN News Centre) – A United Nations-backed conference addressing the future of access to markets for organic products began today with delegates and experts gathered to examine the impact that trade standards are having on organic farmers in the developing world. The two-day forum, held in the German city of Nuremberg, will [...]
more…16 Feb, 2012
“Blue Economy” Needed To Protect Mediterranean Sea And World’s Oceans
Feb 10 2012 (UN News Centre) – The Mediterranean Sea is a “key pillar” for the development of the countries in the region, a senior United Nations official said today, warning that continued degradation of the aquatic environment could put its entire ecology at risk. The call came as delegates from 22 Mediterranean and European [...]
more…16 Feb, 2012
Call for Universal Ratification Of Treaty To End Use Of Children In Conflict
Feb 13 2012 (UN News Centre) – The United Nations envoy for children and armed conflict today called for universal ratification of a treaty protocol that outlaws the use of minors to fight wars and encourages States to set 18 years as the minimum age for recruitment. “So far, almost three fourths of the world [...]
more…16 Feb, 2012
Emerging Economies Need To Play Greater Role In Global Governance
Feb 13 2012 (UN News Centre) – Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro today called for the wider inclusion of emerging economies in global governance mechanisms, noting that powerful decision-making bodies do not sufficiently reflect the growing impact of developing and new markets on the world economy. “We need to ensure both greater synergies among, as well [...]
more…16 Feb, 2012
Women Must Be Empowered To “Create The Future We Want”
Feb 14 2012 (UN News Centre) – United Nations Member States must boost economic empowerment for women to help them realize the global community’s common goals, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro urged today, warning that gender discrimination around the world was still too widespread. “Too many countries still have discriminatory laws on the books. Laws that [...]
more…16 Feb, 2012
WHO Expands European Centre to Monitor Health Impact of Environment; Poor Worst Hit
Copenhagen and Bonn, 14 February 2012 (World Health Organisation) — One citizen out of five dies from environment-associated diseases in the WHO European Region. The environmental burden of ill health varies significantly across the Region, however, ranging from 14% to 54%. Within countries, the poor can be exposed to environmental risks five times more often [...]
more…16 Feb, 2012
UN Postal Union Acquires World’s First Postage Stamp Issued In 1840
Feb 15 2012 (UN News Centre) – The United Nations postal union reported today that it has acquired what is probably the world’s best-known stamp – the Penny Black – which was issued 172 years ago and shows a profile image of United Kingdom’s Queen Victoria on a black background. The Universal Postal Union (UPU) [...]
more…16 Feb, 2012
Finland Has Largest Share Of Economy Based On Information Technology
Feb 15 2012 (UN News Centre) – Finland has the world’s largest portion of domestic economic activities related to information and communication technology, with almost a tenth of the European country’s non-agricultural business workforce employed in the ICT sector, according to United Nations data released today. The data, released by the UN Conference on Trade [...]
more…13 Feb, 2012
FAO Food Price Index Rebounds in January
9 February 2012, Rome (Food & Agriculture Organisation) – The FAO Food Price Index rose by nearly two percent or four points from December to January – its first increase since July 2011. Prices of all the commodity groups in the index registered gains last month with oils increasing the most, followed closely by cereals, [...]
more…12 Feb, 2012
World Bank Launches “Women of the World” App
Washington DC, February 8, 2012 – The World Bank and Fotopedia, the publisher of popular iOS apps and winner of the Best Tablet App of the Year Crunchies Award, today announced their collaboration on a new free app titled “Women of the World” for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. “Women of the World” takes users on an [...]
more…12 Feb, 2012
World Bank Hails Role of Diaspora as a Resource for Development
Buenos Aires, February 2, 2012 (World Bank News Update) – Some years ago, the immigration from China, India, Taiwan, and Israel to Silicon Valley contributed to transforming sectors in these countries, through activities such as consultancy, policy recommendations, the establishment of new government departments, and participation in advisory committees and discussion groups. Could other diasporas [...]
more…12 Feb, 2012
UN Wraps Up Year Of Forests By Highlighting Their Social, Economic Value
Feb 9 2012 (UN News Centre) – The United Nations will wrap up today its year-long campaign to raise awareness on the importance of forests and the people who depend on them with a series of events that spotlight their role and impact in socio-economic activities. “Each of us, all seven billion people on Earth, [...]
more…12 Feb, 2012
Report Warns Of Dangers Of Increasing Electronic Waste In West Africa
Feb 10 2012 (UN News Centre) – West Africa is facing a significant increase in waste generated by electronic equipment which poses mounting health and environmental risks, according to a United Nations report released today. About 85 per cent of the waste produced in the region comes from domestic consumption, the report reveals. However, the [...]
more…12 Feb, 2012
UN Invites Countries To Tune In For First World Radio Day On Feb 13
Feb 10 2012 (UN News Centre) – The role of radio as a facilitator of education, freedom of expression and public debate will be celebrated as World Radio Day is observed for the first time on Monday by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). “In a world changing quickly, we must make [...]
more…8 Feb, 2012
UN Marks Interfaith Harmony Week: “Common Ground for a Common Good”
Feb 7 2012 (UN News Centre) — The President of the General Assembly Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser today stressed the potential of all of the world’s religions to promote global peace and stability, saying that faiths have common principles that can be used to bring about grater unity and harmony among people. “We recognize and celebrate [...]
more…7 Feb, 2012
2,000 More African Communities End Female Genital Mutilation in 2011
UNITED NATIONS, 6 Feb 2011, (UNFPA Press release) — Almost 2,000 communities across Africa have abandoned female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) in 2011. This brought the total numberof communities renouncing the practice to 8,000 over the last few years, according to new findings by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, and UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s [...]
more…7 Feb, 2012
Connection Technologies “Critical To Building the Future We Want”
Feb 6 2012 (UN News Centre)–The upcoming United Nations summit on sustainable development is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to set the world on a durable track that guarantees a decent standard of living for everyone today without compromising the needs of future generations, a top UN official says. Sha Zukang, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, [...]
more…7 Feb, 2012
Thieves Worsen Global Warming With Attack on Iconic Glacier
GENEVA, 2 February 2012 (UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction) – Climate change was a key driver in 2005 when 168 UN member states agreed on an international blueprint for disaster risk reduction but there is no reference in the Hyogo Framework for Action* to the environmental threat posed to the world’s retreating glaciers by [...]
more…7 Feb, 2012
British Singer-Actress Becomes UNESCO Artist For Peace
Feb 6 2012 (UN News Centre) – The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced today that the renowned British singer and actress Sarah Brightman will join its roster of Artists for Peace who use their prestige and charisma to promote the agency’s programmes and messages. Sarah Brightman Ms. Brightman will be formally [...]
more…7 Feb, 2012
Nominations Open for Global Business Awards That Follow Rio+20 Principles
02 February 2012 – The World Business and Development Awards today launched a call for nominations for successful business initiatives that are in line with the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development. All organisations, regardless of size or location, engaged in innovative business models that are delivering both commercial success and helping improve social, economic [...]
more…7 Feb, 2012
World Freerice Week Launched To Fight Hunger Through Social Media Power
ROME, 01 February 2012, (World Food Program) – The theory of “Six Degrees of Separation” says that every person in the world is connected to every other person in the world through, at most, six other people. Through its online hunger-fighting game Freerice.com, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) is encouraging Freerice players to use [...]
more…2 Feb, 2012
New UN Initiative Taps Power Of Social Media To Fight Global Hunger
Feb 1 2012 (UN News Centre) – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is launching a week-long campaign in which users of the popular online trivia game Freerice can recruit their friends to help bring food to the world’s most vulnerable populations. World Freerice Week, from 6 to 11 February, will have as its [...]
more…23 Jan, 2012
Demographic Trends: Sex Selection Scourge Still Shows Preference for Boys
UNFPA Press release, 16 January 2012 – The sex-ratio imbalance that has plagued certain Asian countries has been increasing in the last few years with one exception, the Republic of Korea, while a few European countries, including Albania, Armenia and Montenegro, are showing rises too. Moreover, some regions of China, India and Viet Nam — [...]
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