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VOICES RISING
YEAR IV - Nº179
April
28, 2006
content
1.-
GLOBAL ACTION WEEK, 24 – 30TH APRIL 2006
2.-
DEMOCRACY RESTORED IN
NEPAL!!
3.- CALL
FOR ACTION ON 28 MAY
4.-
HEARINGS ON LDCS - NEW YORK - CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
5.- “FORUM ON PRODUCTIVE EMPLOYMENT AND DECENT WORK”
6.-
AIDS
ANNOUNCEMENT
7.- INFORMAL INTERACTIVE HEARINGS ON INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT
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1.-
GLOBAL ACTION WEEK, 24 – 30TH APRIL 2006
By Marcela Hernandez
ICAE
secretariat@icae.org.uy
In
Uruguay, this year, we took a step forward and strengthened our advocacy
actions through joint coordination of activities with government
authorities. For the first time the civil society and the state worked
together to promote education for all and lifelong learning as this has been
defined as one of the key education policies of the Ministry of Education
and Culture.
On March 29th. the Campaign was launched at Parliament with
the attendance of different civil society organizations and networks,
politicians, media and other actors highly involved in education. Material
was distributed among campaigners as well as action guidelines.
On April 25th. the Big Hearing was held at the National
Library where more than 150 people gathered to celebrate the Global
Action Week. It was a unique opportunity for civil society organizations and
other institutions working in formal and non-formal education, to present
the work done for the campaign and to put forward their proposals to a panel
composed by: the Director of Education from the Ministry of
Education and Culture (Luis Garibaldi); the Director of Social
Policies from the Ministry of Social Development (Christian Mirza);
and two civil society representatives from ICAE (International
Council for Adult Education) (Celia Eccher) and REPEM (Popular
Education Network of Women from Latin America and the Caribbean ) (Iliana
Pereyra) respectively. A great diversity of groups and institutions from 11
departments/provinces out of a total of 19, joined the campaign and sent
their work using different creative methodologies: dossiers, surveys,
questionnaires, photos of groups working on the campaign proposal, power
point presentations, paintings, drawings, etc. 10 groups personally
presented their work, at the Big Hearing, to the panel and the rest of the
audience.
In his closing words, the Director of Education from the Ministry of
Education and Culture remarked the concern and commitment of this ministry
towards the incorporation of new education proposals in the hope that
actions can be taken in the near future to tackle these education needs.
……………………………………………….
APOLOGIES FOR CROSS-POSTING
Global Action Week is on us!
actionweek@campaignforeducation.org
lucytweedie1@gmail.com
The GCE Global Action Week has got well under way and the extent of the
support and actions for Every Child Needs A Teacher going on around
the world is quite phenomenal. Campaigners are coming out in droves in over
100 countries. Presidents, Ministries of Education, local politicians and
officials are being presented with ' dossiers' about teachers that
have been conscientiously collected by GCE networks highlighting how serious
the problems facing teachers and students in are these countries. So much
passion and thought has gone into providing evidence at Big Hearings
around the nationally identified issues surrounding the call that 'Every
Child Needs A Teacher'.
Whilst the strength of the global GCE coalition is clearly demonstrated
through the remarkable similarity of actions around the world, each national
coalition has given their own national campaigns unique flavour from massive
grassroots mobilisation to local songs, plays, art exhibitions, street
festivals and children's competitions around the themes.
The media responses to the events have been overwhelming. For a taste of
these go to:
http://www.campaignforeducation.org/action/action_media_coverage_gaw.html
For more information on what is happening in countries and a full run- down
of activities pictures keep visiting the GCE website:
www.campaignforeducation.org
Here is a taster and if you imagine there are over a hundred of these!
Columbia
A whole week
of exciting activities are planned for the city of Medellin, supported by
smaller actions across the regions. Monday 24 th saw a forum on
the right to education in the Palace of Justice attended by judges and other
judicial officials. On Tuesday 25th a special 'Education Day'
will be held in every education institution in Medellin and Antioch,
supported by the trade union movement. For Wednesday 26 th, the
coalition is planning to focus on two sectors of the city, working with
community groups to champion the right to education. Thursday 27th is the
day of the Big Hearing in the Council of Medellin, where results of
research on costs of education carried out by Corporation Region will be
presented. On Friday 28 th a public art exhibition will be on
show in the 'Seat of Lights', supported by a range of inspiring symbolic
campaigning activities. Finally, on Saturday a children's party will be held
with messages around 'Every Child Needs a Teacher'.
Imelda Arana Saenz
iarana@col-online.com ;
iaranas@unal.edu.co
Tel: +571 245 5437 x 11716
Isabel Sepúlveda (
isepulve@region.org.co)
Bangladesh
As this is election year in Bangladesh, the major focus for the CAMPE - GCE
coalition has been on "Constituency Advocacy" and MPs and accordingly
local/community level elected representatives (UP members) have obviously
become the major stakeholders. Almost all the partner organizations of CAMPE
with a coverage of nearly 5 millions households (approximately 25
million mostly grassroots people) are mobilizing these stakeholders to
strengthen public opinion and pressurize local and national level decision
makers to focus on teachers as the major players in achieving EFA. In most
of these areas/locations, teachers, human rights group, child rights forums,
women's organizations and media are joining the initiative. Education
International affiliates will also support large scale support from the
teachers' group. The Big Hearing will be held from 24 to 30 April in more
than 30 districts all over
Bangladesh.
The Big Hearing will then take place in the capital city of Dhaka on
25th April 2006.
Rasheda Choudhury:
rasheda@campebd.org
+880-2-8115769
+880-2-81155031
+880-2-9130427
Mr Mayeen:
mayeen@campebd.org
The Gambia
Results collected recently by the National Assembly on Education
monitoring visits to schools (30 schools were visited per region- there are
6 regions), the BESPOR Studies on Teachers in Educational Region 5,
testimonies from students on teachers will be presented to the President of
The Gambia, Cabinet Ministers and other key policy makers in the form of
providing evidence " case for the teacher". There will also be
drama and songs by rap groups and traditional communicators (women who
use singing and drama to put across messages related to issues affecting
their lives). These will serve as "witnesses" to the " case for teachers".
The Big Hearing on the Quality Teacher for every Student. The
President was targeted and it is planned that the Vice President and some
cabinet members will attend The process will be documented on video and
audio. Banners, posters, flyers and other advocacy materials will be used
during the big-hearing.
Matarr Baldeh
efanet2004@yahoo.co.uk Tel:+220 9924 688
Or +220 449 6666
Adelaide Sosseh
asosseh@hotmail.com
Haiti
Aiming for maximum impact, Haiti's coalition has been preparing a range of
exciting activities for next week which they anticipate will get lots of
media attention. During April, information about the realities faced by
teachers at the local level has been prepared, supported by photographic
evidence. Out-of-school children and parents have shared their views on
education and teachers. All of this information is being compiled into a
national dossier, that will be presented at a Big Hearing between President
Rene Preval and teachers and students on 29 th April. Throughout
the week the campaign will work with artists' groups to put on exhibitions
and fun activities in schools and other public places.
Anne Marie Coriolan
repthaiti@yahoo.fr
+509 246 3385/3496
cradhaiti@yahoo.com
Uganda
The
Global Action Week is packed with events. Kicking off with Monday being the
collection of the dossier for The Case For Teachers. Then on 25th
politicians will be going back to schools to hear more about the realities
inside the schools. This will also be the day of one of 3 Big Hearings.
The second 2 will take place on 27th in Kampala and Bushenyi. The Week will
come to a close with the opening of the Teachers Delegates Conference on the
theme: Every Learner Needs A Teacher.
Excitement is running high in the country with the possibility of all
districts taking part in the collection of the children's dossier on the, "
need for teachers", which shall be compiled into one document
and handed over to the Hon. Prime Minister Appollo Nsimbambi at the
national big hearing where guests from the donor community, line
ministries and other education stakeholders have been invited. The
participation of all districts in the collection of the dossier is a first
and a milestone achievement for GCE activities in Uganda.
Fred Mwesigye: +256312262154
fenu@africaonline.co.ug
********************************************
2.- DEMOCRACY RESTORED IN
NEPAL!!
Prakash
Bhattarai
IALLA II graduate
Youth Action
Nepal
youthactionnepal@ntc.net.np
Dear All,
It is my pleasure to inform you that ultimately the people's power has
compelled the King to reinstate parliament and leave the executive power to
the people. King during his public statement on last night has made such
announcement to handover the executive power to the people reinstating the
parliament for diving a proper political direction to form the multiparty
government with the participation of mainstream political parties which
further will work on initiating dialogue with the Maoists who are operating
armed violence for the last one decade. Observing the people's movement for
the last three weeks it is proved that the people's supremacy and their
non-violent movement is always appreciable to get democratic freedoms and
fight for their fundamental rights.
Nepalese people all over the country are now come to the street to celebrate
their victory that they were keenly waiting for the last few years. Nepali
people are believing that this new paradigms in the Nepalese politics will
support people's desire for peace and prosperity in Nepal.
I would like to thank you all of you for your kind concern and solidarity on
people's democratic movement in Nepal. We believe this will keep continue
even in the future and we will continue fighter together for peace, justice
and human rights forever.
With Warm Regards,
Prakash Bhattarai
Chairperson
Youth Action Nepal
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3.-
CALL FOR ACTION ON 28 MAY
International Day of Action for Women's Health
Dana van Breukelen (WGNRR)
office@wgnrr.org
During
the 1987 WGNRR members’ meeting in Costa Rica, 28 May was declared the
International Day of Action for Women's Health. 28 May has since become
widely known and celebrated around the world by women’s and health groups.
In 1999, it was officially acknowledged by the government of South Africa.
Every year,
WGNRR – in collaboration with members and campaign supporters - publishes a
Call for Action to raise awareness and promote solidarity and action on the
International Day of Action for Women’s Health. In the 1990s, the Calls for
Action mostly addressed issues related to maternal mortality and morbidity.
Since the late 1990s, the topics have been broadened to cover issues like
health services, trade agreements, health sector reforms and AIDS.
From 2003
onwards, the Call for Action is part of the
Women’s Access to Health Campaign
and focuses on a specific topic within the campaign. You can access digital
copies of the Calls for Action from this website. To request a hard copy,
write to
office@wgnrr.org.
Organise
your own action on 28 May and let us know! Look at the
List of WAHC supporters to
check who else supports the Women’s Access to Health Campaign to get ideas
for partnerships.
Women's Global Network for Reproductive Rights
Printed on 25-04-2006
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4.-
HEARINGS ON LDCS - NEW YORK - CALL FOR NOMINATIONS
Ramin.Kaweh@unctad.org
Dear All,
The Informal Interactive Hearings of the General Assembly with
non-governmental organizations (NGO), civil society organizations (CS) and
the private
sector (PS) on the Midterm Review of the Implementation of the Programme of
Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001 - 2010 will be
held at U.N. headquarters in New York on 22 June 2006, in accordance with
General Assembly resolution 60/228.1
The one day hearings will provide NGOs, CS and the PS an opportunity to make
recommendations for the consideration of the General Assembly during its
High Level Meeting on the Midterm Review of the Implementation of the
Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001 -
2010, which will take place on 17 and 18 September 2006.
All information necessary to register for the hearings is available on the
website of the Office of the High Representative for Least Developed
Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing
States (OHRLLS) at
www.un.org/ohrlls. Click on the "Midterm Comprehensive Global Review of
the Programme of Action" in the middle of the page. Then go to the left hand
side column under "meetings" and click on "Informal Interactive Civil
Society Hearings, 22 June 2006". The information note and nomination forms
for participation in the hearings are available on the left-hand side column
in English and French.
Please note that the deadline for submission of nomination forms for
invitation as speakers/active participants has been extended to
Tuesday, 02 May 2006.
For more information, please contact Fred Kirungi at the OHRLLS:
Tel: +1-917-367-3431
Fax: +1-212-963-0419
Email:
kirungi@un.org
***************************************************
5.-
“FORUM ON PRODUCTIVE EMPLOYMENT AND DECENT WORK”
Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) at the United
Nations
8-9 May 2006
The Department of Economic and Social Affairs has the pleasure of
inviting NGOs to the: “Forum on Productive Employment and Decent Work”
8-9 May 2006
10.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.
Location: ECOSOC Chamber, United Nations Headquarters
This event, which will feature renowned specialists and practitioners on
issues of employment and decent work from the academia and the United
Nations system aims at discussing the complex issues surrounding
unemployment and offering tangible policy guidance on solutions in support
of the preparations for the 2006 High-level Segment of the Economic and
Social Council on “Creating an environment at the national and
international levels conducive to generating full and productive employment
and decent work for all, and its impact on sustainable development”.
The event brings together Member States, representatives of the academic
community, the United Nations system and stakeholders.
Opening Remarks by Mr. José Antonio Ocampo, Under-Secretary-General
for Economic and Social Affairs
Statement by H.E. Mr. Ali Hachani, Ambassador and Permanent
Representative of Tunisia to the United Nations, President of the Economic
and Social Council
Panel Discussions will be held on:
• Macroeconomic policy and employment generation;
• The effects of structural reform on employment;
• Labour market flexibility and decent work;
• Social protection options;
• Formalizing the informal sector;
• Generating rural employment;
• How effective and costly are active employment generation programs
For further information, or if you wish to attend, please contact Mr. Paul
Simon, Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination, DESA at (917) 367-5027;
fax (212) 963-7454; email: simonp@un.org
**************************************************
6.-
AIDS ANNOUNCEMENT
RESOURCES: UN SECRETARY GENERAL'S REPORT AND UNAIDS UNIVERSAL ACCESS
SUMMARY REPORT
CATHERINE L. BORDEAU, U.S.A
Dear Colleagues,
The Secretary General's report - 'Declaration of Commitment on HIV/ AIDS:
five years later' - is now publicly available for downloaded at:
http://data.unaids.org/pub/Report/2006/20060324_SGReport_GA_A60737_en.pdf
The UNAIDS summary report - 'Towards universal access: assessment by the
Joint United Nationas programme on HIV? AIDS on scaling up HIV prevention,
treatment, care and support' - is also available at:
http://data.unaids.org/pub/InformationNote/2006/20060324_HLM_GA_A60737_en.pdf
Alternatively, all language versions are available for both reports on the
UNAIDS High Level Meeting on AIDS webpage:
http://www.unaids.org/en/AIDSreview2006/AIDSReview2006/default.asp
Best regards,
Catherine
Catherine L. Bordeau
Ecumenical Planning Coordinator for the 2006 UNGASS Review
Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance
www.e-alliance.ch
***************************************************
7.- INFORMAL INTERACTIVE HEARINGS ON
INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT
Ramin.Kaweh@unctad.org
The General Assembly, in its resolution A/60/490, decided to hold a
High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development in New York
from 14 to 15 September 2006.
As part of the preparatory activities leading to the High-level Dialogue,
the Assembly will hold one day of informal interactive hearings with
representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society
organizations and the private sector on 12 July 2006 at United Nations headquarters in
New York.
The objective of the informal interactive hearings is to provide an
opportunity for NGOs, civil society and the private sector to interact with
Member States and offer input for the September High-level Dialogue.
All organizations wishing to nominate a representative to attend the
hearings need to fill in the on-line application form available on
unmigration.org (by copying and pasting this address in your web
browser) by
5 May 2006.
The site also contains a detailed announcement and an information note,
featuring the selection criteria and process for participants and the
provisional programme of the hearings. Owing to time constraints, only one
nomination for speaker or spokesperson per organization will be considered.
Although not guaranteed, some funding to cover the costs of participation in
the hearings might be available.
Applications sent by fax and email will not be accepted. If you have any
questions, please contact the United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison
Service at +1 212 963 3125.
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