MediaGlobal News was a nonprofit news agency based at the United Nations in New York. It was launched in January 2006 to create awareness in the global media of issues impacting the global South and shut down in 2015.
Business Leaders on Sustainable Growth and Rio+20
In June 2012 heads of state will convene in Brazil for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. Recognizing the need for collaboration between the public and private sectors in order to achieve these goals 400 international business leaders exchanges ideas in advance of the summit.
ICT Can Boost Cooperative Movement in LCDs
In designating 2012 as the UN International Year of Cooperatives, the international community recognizes the cooperative business model, which prioritizes human needs over profit margins. Today over 1 billion people worldwide are members of cooperatives, meaning they (rather than shareholders) own and govern the enterprises to which they belong. Ranging from small-scale to multi-million dollar businesses, cooperatives provide 100 million jobs.
SAXAPHONES SOUND FROM THE UN TO CELEBRAT THE UNIFYING POWER OF JAZZ
“What is jazz?” asked legendary trumpeter Quincy Jones at Monday night’s all-star concert in the General Assembly Hall of the UN. The occasion marked the first annual International Jazz Day designated by UNESCO, and conceived by it its newest Goodwill Ambassador, Herbie Hancock, in collaboration with the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz.
UN Pleads For $3.2 Billion to Fight Malaria
In advance of World Malaria Day today, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Malaria, Ray Chambers, hosted a working lunch on Monday to discuss the status of international efforts to reach “near-zero” malaria-related deaths. He reported on the tremendous progress made over the past decade – child mortality has decreased from 1 million per year, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa in 2000, to 500,000 today. Cause for celebration is tempered though, by the grim reality that the improved numbers still represent an average of one death per minute.
Mayors Clamor For a Voice at Rio+20 and Beyond
At a high-level meeting of sub-national government leaders and representatives from the World Bank and other institutions with a stake in Rio+20, delegates unanimously clamored for a more prominent role in sustainability and climate change talks.
Youth and Media Unite To Spur Social Awareness
“The media” is often presented as a monolithic, vaguely sinister entity that is as likely to exacerbate conflicts as it is resolve them. However, at a gathering of the Foreign Press Association last night at the Turkish Cultural Center to celebrate the upcoming Plural+ Film Festival, the United Nations Alliance for Civilizations (UNAOC) expressed confidence in the media’s ability to favorably shape global public opinion and policy.
START with Art: Refugee Children Develop Confidence and Creativity
Inspired by the UN Human Rights Council’s Declaration of the Rights of the Child, START seeks to heal, educate, and enrich the skills and opportunities of children in the poorest areas of the Middle East through art. With arts education programs at refugee camps and orphanages throughout Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine, as well as workshops for special needs children in the UAE, START actualizes Art Dubai’s commitment to give back to the region. They currently serve over 730 children per week and plan to reach more in the near future.
Women With Wings
Walking into the United Nations on International Women’s Day, the positive energy was palpable. A conference on “The Role of Business in Empowering Women” spawned a gathering of a geographically and experientially diverse individuals eager to advance financial inclusion, transparent corporate supply chains, and economic opportunities for women.
Sustainable Development for the 'Energy Poor'
In the theater of environmental preservation, increasing the global poor’s access to energy is usually cast as a necessary evil because it comes at the expense of the environment. Yet, given the direct correlation between adequate access to energy and poverty indicators such as life expectancy, infant mortality, and literacy rates, reducing poverty necessitates connecting the 1.6 billion people currently categorized by the International Energy Agency (IEA) as “energy poor” to some source of power.
Afghan Cultural Heritage Spurs Urban Renewal
Often overlooked amidst the US-led military campaign and ambiguous reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan is the country's cultural vibrancy, a legacy of its rich ancient civilization at the crossroads of various Greek, Indian, Persian, and central Asian empires. One organization is striving to harness Afghanistan’s artistic traditions in order to spur sustainable development.
BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE ON SUSTAINABLE GROWTH
In just over four months from now heads of state will convene in Brazil for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, called Rio+20 in reference to the city where the first such conference took place 20 years ago. Rio+20 will focus on promoting a green economy in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication and the institutional framework for sustainable development.