Category: World News

London-based Polish artist and designer Matt Gidaszewski has launched #Portraits_For_Ukraine – uniting artists from around the world – to raise money for humanitarian aid for Ukrainian refugees. 

The initiative has been launched by My Design Arsenal (MDA), a platform for designers and artists created by Matt Gidaszewski and Allan Parsons.

It invites artists to put their skills to use by illustrating portraits, with all proceeds passed to Razom charity, a non-profit Ukrainian-American human rights organisation established to support the people of Ukraine.

Matt – who is spearheading the project – says he created the initiative after hearing heart-breaking stories from back home in Poland, where his mother has opened up her house to help Ukrainian refugees forced to flee their war-torn homeland.

Inspired by her support, he hopes the project will enable artists to put their talent to good use to help the millions of people who have fled their homes since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, many to neighbouring Poland.

Matt said: “We hear terrifying stories from them about their families, about a brother who they have not spoken to for over a month as he is trapped in Mariupol, loved ones that they had to leave behind, and siblings who tragically died. This was one of the triggers for the Portraits_For_Ukraine project. I wanted to create a project where an artist can have a direct impact by using his or her talent to induce some good.”

Matt Gidaszewski currently works for start-up company Medics.Academy as Head of Art and Design.

He launched #Portraits_For-Ukraine as a way to provide an outlet through which artists can show their support for the people of Ukraine.

So far £675 has been raised from the campaign, with 25 portraits created by 8 different artists with more artists continuing to join.

The platform enables anyone globally to commission a portrait of themselves or of their pets, with a contributing artist creating a unique portrait in their very own style. The artwork will then be sent to them and also displayed on the #Portraits_For_Ukraine website.

The goal is to get 1000 portraits created to produce a book containing all the artworks, names of all the artists and all the donors. The book will be available to buy with on demand printing and the money will also go to Razom Charity. 

This year, to tackle the current threats to life and stability from wars and conflicts, HWPL’s 9th Annual Commemoration of the Declaration of World Peace was held online on May 25th, 2022. With participants as representatives from politics, religion, academia, media and civil society, the event with the theme of “Institutionalizing Peace: Realizing the Collective Will for Peace” presented the progress of international cooperation to realise sustainable peace ensured by legal instruments.

The host organization, Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), proclaimed the Declaration of World Peace back in 2013. The declaration addresses the endorsement of national leaders, engagement of women and youth, cooperation among civil societies, and expansion of media coverage on peace. Afterward, it was developed into the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW) as a process to establish international legal instruments for global peace.

Young Min Chung, the General Director of the International Peace Youth Group (IPYG), an affiliate group of HWPL, said in his progress report, “730,000 citizens from 176 countries have signed in support of the DPCW for the past nine years which allows them to express their opinions more directly. Recently, the IPYG is running the Youth Empowerment Peace Workshop (YEPW), where they discuss the agendas such as education, human rights, and conflicts and conduct joint action as well as policy proposals.”

The 10 articles and 38 clauses of the DPCW include prevention and resolution of conflicts, gradual reduction of war potential and turning weapons into daily tools, respecting and resolving conflicts based on religion and ethnic identity, and spreading a culture of peace. The declaration is geared toward engaging nations, international organizations, NGOs, and individual citizens in taking action for a peaceful world.

As for the collaboration for peacebuilding, Chairman Man Hee Lee of HWPL appealed to the participants to be united as “messengers of peace” to bring freedom and peace to future generations. “This time (Russia) invaded Ukraine and started the war. This is why HWPL and families of peace have long called for the establishment of international law to prevent war potential. So, we gathered experts in international law globally and made the declaration with 10 articles and 38 clauses.”

As a case of activities to resolve religious conflicts, Raeesa Sheikh, a member of the Ansari Qadiri Tariqa Youth Club in Durban, South Africa participated in the HWPL Religious Youth Peace Camp shared about the importance of youth engaging in religious dialogues. “When we put ourselves in another person’s shoes when we look at things from various perspectives, we can keep an open mind and understand differences, and not discriminate based on those differences but rather look at those similarities and then come together so that we can ultimately live as God wants us to love, as brother and sister, as a community, as a nation, as humanity.”

Educators’ participation in peace-related activities was also introduced at the event. Teaching methodology with the use of Metaverse was demonstrated as a virtual world platform where students can experience peace by reading materials and observing diverse peace activities that are carried out in many parts of the world.

One of the participant students said, “I learned the need for international law to achieve peace. We need a law that can achieve peace. People must abide by the law and if all people become citizens of peace, we would not even need the law.”

Institutionalising Peace: HWPL Calls for Collective Action to Bring Peace as a Culture and NormHWPL has been developing global cooperation for peace both at the international level and at the national level by garnering the support of international organizations for the DPCW and working hand in hand to reinforce international norms to realize peace. With civil organizations, HWPL has been carrying out activities for the public good to ensure that peace takes root.

On the 24th of January 2022, over 22,000 social representatives from 51 countries attended the international peace conference celebrating the Peace Day held virtually. The event commemorated a civilian-led peace agreement made between the Islam and Catholic communities in Mindanao 8 years ago.

Back in 2014, Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), an international NGO mediated the conflict in Mindanao by proposing a peace agreement by local representatives. Witnessed by Chairman Man Hee Lee of HWPL, the peace agreement was signed by Hon. Esmael G. Mangudadatu, the then Governor of Maguindanao, and Archbishop-Emeritus Fernando Capalla of the Archdiocese of Davao representing local leadership. Since then, the province of Maguindanao and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) declared January 24 as “HWPL Peace Day” and have commemorated it as annual event to reaffirm international cooperation and local partnership for peacebuilding in Mindanao.

Moreover, peace monuments were built honoring the peace agreement in Mindanao. The 1st and 2nd Peace Monuments were erected in 2015 and 2016 respectively. In 2021, the third peace monument was unveiled in Cotabato City. Being the first in Luzon, a peace monument in Dingras, Ilocos Norte was unveiled last January 24 as part of the 8th Anniversary event of the HWPL Peace Day celebration. Also, another monument located in Siniloan Integrated National High School is set to unveil on Febraury. 

The event, under the theme of “Law of Peace in Heaven and on Earth”, aimed to promote interfaith harmony between religions and raise public support to establish international law for peace. 

Key figures gave congratulatory messages including Senate President Vicente Sotto III, Senator Panfilo Lacson, Senator Cynthia Villar, Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa, Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, and TV News Anchor Mariz Umali from the Philippines. Keynote speakers from various fields also presented commitment messages declaring their plans on promoting peace in their respective sectors including law, education, youth, women, private business and media.

Prabhu Mahendra Das, Temple President of Sri Sri Radha Madhava Mandir, said that he decided to participate in the World Alliance of Religions’ Peace (WARP) Office organized by HWPL as “a global platform for religious leaders to talk, share, discuss, learn, and grow together harmoniously and peacefully.” For the contribution to peace in the field of religion, he added, “I firmly believe that all religions should enter into a partnership through the form of a Memorandum of Understanding.”

Justice Raoul Victorino (ret), Chairman of Philippine National Prayer Breakfast (PNPB) and Dean of the College of Law of Philippine Christian University (PCU), shared how he was inspired by the “revolutionary movement” that HWPL initiated to endorse global peacebuilding through the draft the “Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW)” by global experts in international law to advocate peace as a global culture and norm. He declared, “I will strive to get the support of the President of the Philippines for the National Solidarity Support of DPCW. At the same time, I will integrate DPCW [education] in the college of law by collaborating with the Philippine Association of Law Schools.” 

Also, representing the Philippines education sector, Commissioner Ronald Adamat of the Commissioner on Higher Education (CHED) shared, “The CHED Commission en Banc has issued an endorsement to President Duterte, urging him to declare January 24 as ‘National Peace Day’, that will provide for simultaneous celebration and observance of peace through peace activities, events, and ceremonies by all instrumentalities and agencies of government, including the private sector. This shall also be celebrated and observed in the education sector.”

 “Our purpose is to bring all people in the world together to create a world of peace and leave it as a lasting legacy for future generations. To make this world a peaceful place without wars, let us become messengers of peace. Let us remind people around the world of that emotion—a longing for peace—and the Peace Day so they can remember all of this forever,” said Chairman Lee during the closing remarks.

Canon is partnering with the United Nations to take part in the Global Week to #Act4SDGs from the 17^th – 28^thSeptember. Canon will showcase its commitments to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as featuring in the UN’s ‘Turning Point Dialogue’ interview series to discuss the importance of storytelling to educate and inspire action.

The Global Week to #Act4SDGs, which launched in 2017, is designed to flip the script on prevailing global narratives of apathy and fatalism to instead focus on positive messages that can drive actionable change. The week aims to drive inspiration in others through a series of activities including workshops and panel discussions, raising awareness of the work being done to create sustainable change and encouraging others to take action.

Canon will be encouraging its community of partners and regional HQs around the world to get involved by sharing the activity on social media and encouraging partners in local regions to share any local initiatives that are driving forward positive change. #Act4SDGs’ ambition for 2021 is to inspire at least 100 million people to take individual and collective SDG action, up from 56 million in 2020, with its overall target being to mobilise 1 billion actions by 2030.

Throughout the week, Canon will be sharing content on how young people are already working towards the SDGs through its Young People Programme (YPP). Canon’s YPP aims to educate young people across EMEA on the power of visual storytelling, in turn enabling them to create sustainable change by driving projects covering a range of topics including gender equality, wildlife conservation and climate change.

“The Global Week will shine a light of hope across borders, to show that our actions as individuals matter. It is a global mobilization of collective action, bringing about transformative change and turn it around for people and the planet. The Young People Program from Canon not only trains youth to visually express themselves in a creative, it allows us to listen, see, and understand their point of view. With Canon’s support these voices can be heard far and wide, and I am proud of our ongoing partnership as it continues to grow each year.” Marina Ponti, Director UN SDG Action Campaign.

The Global Week will also feature the UN’s Turning Point Dialogue series, consisting of short interviews in which established and emerging changemakers will voice their thoughts on the important issues that affect our world. As part of this, the Canon Engagement Lead for Developing Nations, Jeanine El Moughrabi, and Lens on Live Project co-founder, Sam Powers will be taking part in a panel to discuss ‘turning it around for youth empowerment through visual storytelling’, and their work on a recent Canon YPP in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Congo Young People Programme, named Operation Goma, works with students aged 16-24 comprising of Internally Displaced Persons, orphans and those living in extreme poverty. Over six months, instructors from the local community will run six courses including photography, computer literacy and entrepreneurship. By empowering young people with these skills and the tools for communication, the programme aims to equip them to become agents of change and inspire movement within their communities.

Ahead of the talk, Jeanine El Moughrabi says, “It’s so important that we work to provide opportunities such as the YPP to developing regions and empower the participants to tell their stories in their own voice. By doing so, we can not only help young people from disadvantaged communities to develop their skills and create change for themselves and their communities, but we can also spread the message of the importance of education in inspiring long-term, sustainable action.”

Leading research and humanitarian agencies have joined forces to harness data and technology in a bid to stop climate shocks resulting in hunger in vulnerable livestock farming communities.

The Jameel Observatory for Food Security Early Action is being created to help tackle the growing threat to people in the world’s drylands posed by the increasing severity and frequency of climate-related disasters.

The new venture will bring together the expertise of five partners – the University of Edinburgh, the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Save the Children, the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), and Community Jameel.

The partnership will connect cutting-edge technology and data surveillance on early warning signs of severe weather and systemic climate change with community-driven applications and interventions.

The Jameel Observatory will engage with agencies that work with farmers to develop and apply digital and analytical tools that help them shape their own food security, nutrition and livelihoods.

Researchers plan to use community-level data together with satellites, drones, weather data and remote sensing to understand, prepare for, and mitigate the likely impact of climate shocks.

The Jameel Observatory’s first project aims to fill the evidence gaps that currently prevent effective forecast-based action to protect children and their families’ livelihoods and nutrition in parts of East Africa.

As the world turns its attention to the UN Food Systems Summit and COP26, there is a sharp focus on the need to be fully prepared for the vulnerabilities, shocks, and stresses triggered by changing climate.

Drylands, which are home to billions and make up 40 per cent of the word’s land area, are at risk from fluctuating rainfall, drought, rising temperatures and land degradation. These create insecurity and conflict caused by competition for resources.

By the time the full force of these crises is felt, and hunger takes hold it is often too late to respond effectively, experts say.

Each partner will bring specific insights to the work of the Jameel Observatory. The University of Edinburgh will use its expertise in data-driven innovation to combine data, information and local knowledge to better predict climate risks, encourage coordinated actions and guide interventions.

The Jameel Observatory will be based at the International Livestock Research Institute in East Africa. ILRI works with hundreds of partners throughout the continent and is home to the Mazingira Centre and other projects focused on food security and environmental research in dry lands.

Save the Children has been working to tackle hunger and malnutrition in some of the toughest places in the world for 100 years. The aid agency brings a wealth of practical and programmatic experience supporting communities to respond, prepare and adapt. Save the Children is committed to strengthening forecast-based action to food crises using tools like the Household Economic Analysis to predict the impacts of climate shocks on vulnerable families.

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab is an evaluation and knowledge partner and will connect Jameel Observatory with teams of researchers to help assess the initiative’s interventions. J-PAL will also share evidence on effective climate change and adaptation programs from existing experimental evaluation literature.

Community Jameel is an international organisation tackling some of the world’s most urgent issues and challenges, with action and solutions based on evidence, science, data and technology. It is supporting the Jameel Observatory and providing its expertise in establishing collaborative institutes and research programmes for the past 75 years.

Fady Jameel, Vice Chairman of Community Jameel, said: “The Jameel Observatory continues Community Jameel’s tradition of supporting initiatives that align expertise, resources and data to have an impact. It will address the effects of the climate crisis – the great challenge of our time – through bold solutions that combine international, regional and local perspectives, ensuring they are fit for purpose and can be implemented at scale. As the Jameel family marks 75 years of philanthropy and business this year, we are inspired by our partners in this new venture, and look forward to contributing our own strategic input to ensure its success.”

George Richards, Director of Community Jameel, said: “Evidence and data are keys to unlocking effective responses to the threat of climate change on vulnerable communities. The Jameel Observatory’s approach will enable a shift from reacting to the climate crisis to data-driven anticipation and adaptation, helping to find better solutions to the challenge of food insecurity. We are honoured to be supporting the launch of this centre of excellence, and to offer Community Jameel’s experience in developing and mobilising partnerships that unite world-leading scientific expertise with locally tailored action to tackle this urgent issue.”

Alan Duncan, of the University of Edinburgh’s Global Academy of Agriculture and Food Security, said: “The Jameel Observatory will deliver targeted decision-making tools to those who are facing the most challenging effects of climate change. We know that no single organisation has the ability to address the complexities facing drylands communities. With expertise in data-driven innovation in a range of contexts, the University of Edinburgh is well-placed to lead this partnership by bringing pastoralist communities together with experts in big data, earth observation and food security. Our work must tackle real problems faced by real people. The project aims to complement other food security initiatives already underway.”

Hassan Bashir, Founder Director of Nourishing Nomads Limited and Director at Agency for Inclusive Insurance Development, said “Pastoralist markets in Africa are remote, disaggregated and costly to service sustainably. Innovative models that take advantage of data and analytics can help improve efficiency, scale and impact across the pastoralist regions of Africa.”

Joanne Grace, Head of Hunger and Livelihoods at Save the Children, said: “In a world increasingly impacted by climate change, forecasting the impact of droughts and severe weather on hunger and malnutrition and acting early to stop lives from being lost is of urgent importance. Getting it right would be monumental for the health of children for decades to come. The Jameel Observatory aims to help ensure that acting early to prevent food crises becomes the norm rather than the exception.”

Jimmy Smith, ILRI’s Director General, said: “We’re delighted to host and help inaugurate the official opening of the Jameel Observatory. Like ILRI, the Jameel Observatory is a centre dedicated to research for development. Its focus on drylands and fragile ecosystems could not be timelier. The need to work with pastoral peoples as well as other organisations that serve them is essential if we are to help pastoral communities prepare for climate-driven food security and nutrition shocks.”

Iqbal Dhaliwal, Global Executive Director at J-PAL, said: “Climate change is the defining problem of this century. We are honored to join this partnership and support investments in rigorous evaluation and evidence-informed decision-making to help ensure that people on the frontlines of climate impacts and experiencing poverty are not left behind.”

International Peace Youth Group (IPYG) and the Namibia Youth Development Organisation joined forces on Saturday 27 June 2020 for a webinar on how Africa’s youth can use social media to spread a culture of peace during the covid-19 pandemic.

The two youth groups have held a series of webinars, the Youth Peace Classroom, during Youth Month with renowned activists for change and participants from across the African continent. 

Saturday’s panel of speakers included Kudakwashe Mushonga, a Zimbabwean UN Association Program Manager and peace and conflict resolution graduate, Naftalie D-Naff Amukwelele,  a Namibian multiple award-winning rapper, Ruvimbo Nyikadzino, a Zimbabwean TV presenter and motivational speaker and South Africa’s Masego ‘Maps’ Maponyane, TV presenter, actor and entrepreneur. The event was held on Zoom and streamed live on Facebook to over 90 participants.

The first speaker, Kudakwashe Mushonga, urged all young people to consider personal opinion versus informed opinion, thinking carefully and seeking our fact before posting, commenting or reacting to anything online. 

“Are you following the crowd or are you making a stand for what’s right?” said Mushonga. In reference to the leaders and influential figures we follow online, “we shouldn’t deify or demonise them,” he said, adding that they are people and will make mistakes. 

Mushonga urged the youth to remember that their comments and opinions matter but it does not mean that these opinions are fact. 

“There’s still a certain amount of bias involved in your opinion. Give room for someone to come in with a different perspective… Be open minded. You’re allowed to defend your opinion but allow that others will have different opinions to you.”

Mushonga also urged youth to have a life outside of social media, noting that mental health and face to face interaction with people is important. 

“Look around and see what you can do to improve your surroundings… and read a book!”

Naftalie D-Naff Amukwelele, a respected influencer in the music industry, urged musicians and celebrities to be conscious of the fact that to fans, anything they say will be perceived as truth. 

“We need to distance ourselves from negativity…we should not be speaking unless we are bringing in peace,” he said. 

“For us in the spotlight, we have the power to influence. If we do not use this platform to speak into the communities, there will be a void in history,” he said, adding that all must think of future generations. “History will not remember you if you were silent when history gave you a moment to act.”

“These platforms are not just for us to enjoy, but for us to make a mark in our communities.”

Ruvimbo Nyikadzino went on to motivate with her talk on “social media: a tool or a weapon?”

Highlighting the fact that social media can be used as a weapon and do harm, making reference to the people who have committed suicide because of social media, she encouraged all to use social media rather as a tool to aid one in accomplishing a task. 

“What message are you communicating to people? Are you going to build someone or destroy someone?” said Nyikadzino. 

“Political leaders can use social media as a weapon but we are not for that,” she stressed. “Use it as a tool and be known for the right things. When you use it as a weapon, it’s not going to take you anywhere. Let us use social media positively and let’s strive every day to be as peaceful as we can.”

The final speaker, South African ‘Maps Maponyane as he is known to fans, philanthropist and UNICEF advocate amongst his many other projects, spoke about the power of social media for achieving sustainable peace. 

“Believe it or not if you are on social media right now, each and every one of you is in this modern age, a celebrity. You have the power to start a conversation. 

“Youth really need to consider what messages they are putting out. You need to perceive your social media as being a billboard on a busy highway that everyone sees.”

“Often the things we say are driven by what will give us the most likes and support and often are not driven by what we know to be morally right. This is a great time for us now to consider. How can we possibly use these mediums to make it cool to care? How can we make this cool, spreading this empathy for each and every person?”

Maponyane also stressed, as Mushonga did, to use social media positively for one’s own sense of peace and mental health.

“This used to happen to me so much. You’ll post something you truly believe in, it will get many positive comments but then one or two negative ones. But we ignore all the positives but take the negativity to heart.”

Maponyane urged all to consider that in previous generations they couldn’t spread a message as quickly or as far-reaching as the youth can using social media today. 

“We have so much power but we are lacking the discernment to use it properly to leave a positive mark. 

“In Africa sadly we’re in a situation where our leaders are on average 72 years old. Africa is so young so why are our leaders so old? We have the power to spread whatever it is we want to spread. We had the power they never had. This is the best way for the youth to have a voice, to have a positive message and spread it in a cohesive way.”

“Let’s start with ourselves and how we engage. That’s how we can build positive and sustainable peace and make this a continent where everyone can have success and thrive.”

From the very active webinar chat to the speakers’ presentations, what really stood out was the same, cohesive message. Let’s drive peace forward as our main message using social media as our tool, not a weapon.

As Maponyane put it, let’s make it #cooltocare.

Follow @IPYG_Africa on Twitter and @ipyg_za on Instagram.

Follow the Namibia Youth Development Organisation on Facebook.