International Women's Hackathon 2014

This April, at college campuses around the globe as well as at the USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington DC, there will be the International Women's Hackathon 2014. The intention is to empower young women leaders in computer science. The goal of the Hackathon is to find computing solutions to help human trafficking victims. On the Microsoft website there is a training kit as well as other information. There are opportunities for girls in high schools to get involved. Be sure to register your your event by March 25 if you are hosting one!

More info on the event is available here: http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/events/womens-hackathon2014/default.aspx

6 Development Innovations from 2013

Books for All brings a wealth of knowledge and technology to the classroom

As the year comes to a close, the internet is abound with lists in reflection of the achievements (or messups) from this year. Here is a really great list highlighting some innovations in areas such as hunger, education, shelter, and technology from the United Nations Foundation and its partners: http://www.unfoundation.org/blog/6-cool-development-innovations.html

These innovative ideas can help shape the future of our planet. Be sure to talk with your Girl Scout troop about what kind of knowledge background can help in creating these innovative ideas, such as science, technology, and economics as well as leadership, teamwork, and team management. Innovation and change can be sparked by just one idea! What will be the next big idea in 2014?

Social Media Action: Send a Tweet, Raise a Dollar

DJ David Guetta has recently teamed up with the UN to raise money through social media for different organizations and UN programs. The action is simple: head to http://worldhumanitarianday.org/ and choose one of the phrases to tweet. For every tweet submitted, $1 will be given to a development organization or program. So far over 2 million people have participated! You can also watch the music video to the song David Guetta developed for this campaign above.

Be sure to tweet before time runs out!

Children's Opportunity: International Children's Painting Competition "Wasting Our Food is Wasting Our Planet"

The United Nations Environment Programme is once again hosting International Children's Painting Competition. According to UNEP:

The International Children’s Painting Competition (ICPC) on the Environment is organized every year by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Japan-based Foundation for Global Peace and Environment (FGPE), Bayer and Nikon Corporation. Some 3 million entries from children in more than 150 countries have been received since the competition’s inception in 1991.

UNEP’s Regional for Office of North America in partnership with Bayer Corporation has launched the 23^rd annual International Children's Painting Competition (ICPC) for the 2013-2014 school year. We are calling for entries to all six to 14- year-olds in the United States and Canada to express their creativity and environmental awareness by participating in this year’s competition. 

The theme is “Wasting Our Food is Wasting Our Planet.” The Students are expected to focus on the responsibility we all have in reducing the enormous amount of food that is lost or wasted each year worldwide. Please look at the attached brochure for the entry requirements and the press release for more information. 

All entries must be submitted by March 15, 2013.  Click here for more details!

Today is International Migrants Day!

In recognition of the 232 million people living outside of their country of birth, today is International Migrants Day! The UN is utilizing the hashtag #IAmAMigrant to share the personal stories of migrants, even UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. They have a Storify page you can also use to track the progress of the hashtag today. You can download some nice posters, such as the one below, from the UN website here.

Teh AFL-CIO recently shared stories from their office of what it is like to be a migrant as well. You can read them here.

Finally, the UN hosted a program today, which you can catch the tail end of right now, click here for more info: http://outreach.un.org/unai/2013/12/09/classroom-conversation-migration-and-development-18-december-2013/

Happy Human Rights Day!

December 10 is Human Rights Day. The United Nations Girls' Education Initiative (UNGEI) has alerted us that Girl Rising will be hosting a Twitter Chat from 12-1:30pm EST, titled Girls Rights as Human Rights: A Conversation About Empowering girls and Organizing for Change." They will be utilizing the hashtags #HumanRightsDay and #GirlRising. Be sure to tune in! More info on Girl Rising is available here: http://www.girlrising.com/
From the UNGEI blog, there is a post from Equality Now on how they are working to end violence against girls in schools in Zambia, which you can check out here: http://blog.ungei.org/?p=495 Here is also a blog post about a program in Cameroon to encourage girls to stay in school through the organization Women Thrive Worldwide: http://blog.ungei.org/?p=478
A bit of a mature topic, there was recently a study done by Emory University and UNICEF addressing a sensitive issue young women face when trying to attend school in Freetown, Sierra Leone: menstruation. In the US, we might not appreciate how women are able to discretely go through menstruation, thanks to resources and education. In Freetown, the study found that girls often are teased at school during this time, do not have the adequate resources to handle with menstrual flow, and they often miss school during this time. More information on the research can be found here:&nbsp

Food Focus Event: Recap!

Girls look out at the view from the Dana Center

Recently, the World Assn of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) UN NYC Team hosted an event "Food Focus: Enough for Everyone!" to raise awareness about food waste. Over 30 Junior girls (grades 4-5) from the Girl Scouts of Greater New York attended the event, which was held on November 9 in the beautiful Dana Center in the north end of Central Park. Girls who participated in the event earned the WAGGGS Climate Challenge Badge (more info on the badge available here: http://www.wagggs.org/en/take_action/activities/climatechange). "Think, Eat, Save" t-shirts and youth magazines on food & the environment were provided by UN Environment Programme (UNEP) for all of the girls who attended the event. Oxfam provided informational booklets on food waste, paper place mats with food facts on them, and stickers for girls to take home. Special thank you to our youth volunteers from the Forever Green Leadership Team (more info on the team is available here: http://www.girlscoutsnyc.org/girls/Environmental-Leadership-Programs/forever-green).

Girls making their own compost bins to take home with them

Resources:

Video

 

"The Rotten Journey" by Wildlife Watch UK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jruwgDcK2C0
Discussion Questions on "The Rotten Journey"
1. What did the apple core eventually become? (soil)
2. How long does composting take? (many months)
3. What are some things you can compost? (apple, grass, paper, etc.)
4. What do you need to break down the items into soil? (oxygen, water, worms)
5. What were the benefits to composting? (benefits the plants)

"Food Wastage Footprint" by FAO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoCVrkcaH6Q
Questions on "Food Wastage Footprint"
1. What are some of the negatives of food waste? (wasted food, money, water, land, carbon emissions)
2. If food is not fit for humans, who could it be given to? (animals)
3. What are some other food waste solutions provided in the video? (adjusting prices of irregular shaped food, storing food, food portions, adjust sell by date)
4. What is the base of the food waste pyramid? (minimize landfill)
5. Who can play a role in reducing food waste? (producer, supermarket, household, restaurant, nation)

Girls watch the two short videos

Websites

Oxfam booklets that were distributed at the event are available online here: http://www.oxfamamerica.org/campaigns/food-justice/five-principles-for-feeding-the-planet

TUNZA, the youth component of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), has a website with information for children & youth to get involved in saving the environment: http://www.unep.org/tunza/

A girl presents the "advertisement" she made on composting

YUNGA, or the Youth & UN Global Alliance, has some great information and resources on climate change: http://yunga-youth.weebly.com/

The FAO, or the Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN, which was a co-sponsor of the Climate Change badge, has a ton of climate change information available here: http://www.fao.org/climatechange/youth/en/

Information on composting in New York City: http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycwasteless/html/compost/compostproj.shtml