Today: 20th Anniversary of the Start of the Rwandan Genocide

Today marks the start of the Rwandan Genocide, which began April 7, 1994. In honor of the event, the nation will begin a week of mourning, starting today with a ceremony at the genocide memorial in the capital of Kigali. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as well as Rwandan President Paul Kagame spoke earlier today at the ceremony. A flame has been lit and will remain lit for 100 days, the same duration as the genocide, which did not end until July 1994. According to a BBC report, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon stated that the UN is still ashamed over it's failure to prevent the 1994 genocide.

More information:
"Rwanda genocide: 20th anniversary bring a nation together to mourn" (The Guardian): http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/apr/07/rwandan-genocide-20th-anniversary-thousands-mourn-stadium

"Rwanda marks 20th anniversary of genocide" (RTE): http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0407/607166-rwanda-marks-20th-anniversary-of-genocide/

"Rwanda genocide: UN ashamed, says Ban Ki-moon" (BBC): http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-26917419

VIDEO: "Ban Ki-moon, 20th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide" (YouTube, United Nations channel):

Girls in ICT Day

ICT International Girls in ICT day will next be observed on 24 April 2014. 

What is ICT?

According to Wikipedia: Information and communications technology (ICT) is often used as an extended synonym for information technology (IT), but is a more specific term that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals), computers as well as necessary enterprise software, middleware, storage, and audio-visual systems, which enable users to access, store, transmit, and manipulate information.


What is a Girls in ICT Day event? 

These are events where girls and university students are invited to spend the day at the office of ICT companies and government agencies so they better understand the opportunities the ICT sector holds for their future. Ministries of ICT, Education, Labour, Youth, National ICT Regulatory Authorities, ICT companies, academic institutions, relevant UN agencies, NGOs and other stakeholders are encouraged to organize Girls in ICT day events on 24 April 2014. The ITU Secretary General invites all ITU Member States and Sector Members to organize events attracting as many girls and young women as possible.

To ensure that interested students can find more information about such events in their country, the ICT Studies and Careers Section includes links to national Girls in ICT Day activities. Public and private sector organizations are encouraged to consult the Girls in ICT Day Toolkit to help plan a Girls in ICT Day event. This Toolkit was developed by WITNET, the Global Network of Women ICT Decision Makers created in line with ITU Plenipotentiary Resolution 70.

Please contact ITU at girlsinict@itu.int for further information and coordination if you’re planning to celebrate Girls in ICT Day in 2014.

There are a ton of information, resources, tool kits, scholarship info, and much more available on the Girls in ICT website, which you can check out here: http://girlsinict.org/

A Public Forum on: “The Privatization of the Post-2015 Development Agenda"

There is an open event to the public to discuss the augmentation of partnerships with private companies to help achieve social justice goals set by the UN member nations. This is a UN Side Event-- it is an event hosted by a non-governmental organization on a subject related to UN policy.

The following information was sent in an email by IBON International:

A Public Forum on “The Privatization of the Post-2015 Development Agenda Issues and Challenges in Partnerships with the ‘Private Sector’”
8 April 2014, 1:15 – 2:45 PM
2nd Floor Conference Room, UN Church Center

“Partnerships” for sustainable development are increasingly being promoted as a major, if not the primary, enabler for the implementation of the successor international sustainable development goals to replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. However, a growing number of civil society groups warn against a partnerships approach that places primary emphasis on enticing private sector partiipation and investments as this risks reinforcing the corporate capture of the post-2015 agenda. This one-and-a-half hour Public Forum seeks to provide critical perspectives on the major issues and challenges associated with partnerships with the “private sector” for sustainable development.

 The event is co-organized by Bread for the World, the Campaign for People's Goals, Center for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Board of Church and Society-UMC, Global Policy Forum, IBON International, Misereor, Social Watch and Third World Network.

Microsoft: Inviting Girls to Dream Big

Microsoft just launched this month their Dream Big Movement campaign, which was first announced on International Women's Day and WAGGGS learned about it during a panel on girls in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) during the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) recently. It is an exciting new program to get girls involved and engaged in STEM courses as well as following through to a STEM career path.

Here's a cool infographic on why it's so important to get girls/women more involved in STEM careers (if it comes up small in your browser, check out the original here!):

 

Here's how you can get involved in the Big Dream Movement right now:

In the meantime, we encourage you to SKYPE BigDreamMovement and leave a personal video message. If you’re a professional woman or man, describe your Big Dream and offer advice to young women wanting to pursue a future in STEM. If you’re a young woman, tell us what is your Big Dream is and how a future in STEM can help you get there.

Here's a trailer for the documentary they will be releasing as well:





More info on the Big Dream Movement and CSW available here: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/msr_er/archive/2014/03/24/inviting-girls-to-dream-big.aspx

Women's Human Rights (W's HR) App

There is an excellent app available for anyone in need of legal information and documents on international women's and human rights. The goal is to make these documents readily accessible to anyone around the world. The app is sponsored by the government of Switzerland and is available for IOS, Android, and Blackberry.

More Info:

From a press release by the Swiss government:

The app's search function allows users to quickly find the texts of international conventions, UN resolutions, declarations and other documents relating to various women's human rights and gender issues: from early marriage, to sexual violence to the economic empowerment of women.

From the app's "About" page:

About the Women's Human Rights' App

W’sHR App is a practical tool for easy access to relevant international legal instruments as well as agreed language contained in 128 UN documents on women’s human rights adopted by UN bodies. In addition, it also comprises a range of regional documents. This new innovative tool serves stakeholders as a basis for strong argumentation and allows for more coherent and efficient negotiation processes. It helps to safeguard negotiated achievements and to make further progress in the field of women’s human rights and gender equality.

W’sHR App has a clear and user-friendly structure based on over 100 keywords. For each keyword it provides an overview, keyword-related legal basis and agreed UN language.

Overview: 
In this section, the users will find a short introduction to each keyword. Each overview is based on definitions developed by specialized UN agencies, and/or stipulated in relevant legal instruments and other UN documents approved by UN Member States. Other relevant keywords are cross-referenced where necessary to give a comprehensive understanding of the issue.

Legal basis: 
The purpose of this section is to directly link the keyword to the core legal basis of the issue. The section presents the relevant provisions of international legal instruments, complemented by a selection of important regional legal instruments.

International:
Relevant articles of 18 UN human rights conventions and other international legal instruments are directly linked to each keyword.

Regional: 
This section enables the users to take into account relevant legal provisions from 23 regional instruments and documents adopted by the African Union, the Organisation of American States, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Council of Europe.

Even though the selection of legal instruments proposed is comprehensive, it is not exhaustive.

Agreed language:
The agreed language from intergovernmental processes is based on 87 texts that we consider to be particularly important for the human rights of women and gender equality. These texts have been negotiated and approved by UN Member States within the framework of, amongst others, Conferences, the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the Commission on the Status of Women, the Human Rights Council, the Security Council as well as the Commission on Population and Development, and were adopted by consensus.

This section is divided into preambular paragraphs (PP) and operational paragraphs (OP), including "additional agreed language." If agreed language is identically used in different texts, the most recent text has been chosen.

Oxfam America Hosts Foreign Aid 101 with Dorothy Ngoma at Fordham University

On April 1, Oxfam America will be hosting Dorothy Ngoma, speaking on US foreign aid. Here is info from the NYC Action Corps' email newsletter:

Have you heard that the U.S. spends one-third of the budget on foreign aid? At least, that's what most Americans think we spend. In fact, only 1% of the federal budget is spent on life-saving foreign aid programs. Learn more about that 1% in our easy to use guide on all things foreign aid, Foreign Aid 101.

For aid myths, truths, and acronyms galore, please join Oxfam America for a reception celebrating the launch of our new, updated report Foreign Aid 101. This new report sets out to answer fundamental questions, such as why the US gives foreign aid, how much it costs, and how to make it more effective for citizens around the world.

Please join us for a conversation with Dorothy Ngoma of the Presidential Initiative on Safe Motherhood in Malawi to discuss maternal health, safe motherhood, and how Oxfam works with partner organizations continue to pressure international governments to fund effective maternal health initiatives around the world and other foreign aid programs. Ms. Ngoma is on a U.S. tour with Oxfam to raise awareness and lobby for effective foreign aid programs that empower citizens in developing countries to hold their governments accountable from the bottom-up.

Fordham University Lincoln Center Campus:

• 155 W 60th St, McMahon Hall Room 109
  New York, NY 10023
• Tuesday, April 1, 2014 from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM (PDT)

Speakers:

• Dorothy Ngoma, Principal Secretary, Presidential Initiative on Safe Motherhood in Malawi
• Will Fenton, Advocacy Advisor, Oxfam America

Event is free. Refreshments will be served. 

  

Please RSVP at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/foreign-aid-101-a-discussion-with-dorothy-ngoma-tickets-10994602151?aff=es2&rank=1&sid=c0bc073ab06d11e3bfee12313b049561

UN International Day of Happiness with Pharrell this Thursday

For the "International Day of Happiness" on Thursday, March 20, the UN Foundation has teamed up with Pharrell, whose song "Happy" has recently become a sensation. Here's the official music video in case you didn't see it, which is actually an abridged version of a 24 hour video they did (which you can check out in full length here: http://24hoursofhappy.com/):

So, what can you do? Share your YouTube video or Instagram photo of you being happy (be sure to use the tag #happyday) and then upload it here: http://24hoursofhappiness.com/ Check back in on March 20 at noon and you may just find your video or photo featured on the website!

Confused why there is an International Day of Happiness? Here is a great article from Huffington Post, "Why in the world do we need an International Day of Happiness?": http://www.huffingtonpost.com/valerie-alexander/why-in-the-world-do-we-ne_b_4938095.html

Who is this guy Pharrell anyway? Great article on who he is and why he's so darn happy from Radio.com: http://news.radio.com/2014/03/07/pharrell-williams-and-united-nations-foundation-team-up-for-international-day-of-happiness-2014/