Goal 4 - SDGs for All

Photos courtesy of Frank Darko and Education in Ghana. Source: YaleGlobal Online.

Ghanaian Inventor Eases Children's Access to Schools Across Rivers

By Devendra Kamarajan

ACCRA (IDN) – A young inventor, Frank Darko, has designed a water cycle to help Ghanaian children living in villages throughout the Volta region reach schools. Currently, they must swim or wade through at least one river every day to get to the nearest school. This is particularly dangerous during the rainy season, three months a year.

Frank Darko, a 27-year-old Ghanaian man, was moved to action in 2017, after seeing a documentary and news reports about the children’s plight, reports Raluca Besliu in YaleGlobal. He invented a water bicycle to help children and others living in river regions to cross bodies of water.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 4; 07 December 2018

Photo: (L-R) Moderator, news anchor Richard Lui; Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, President of the General Assembly; António Guterres, UN Secretary-General; and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Women Executive Director participate in a panel discussion during the UN . Credit: UN Women/Ryan Brown

UN Kicks Off 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK (IDN) – Worldwide movements and corporate walk-outs have exposed the magnitude of violence against women and girls and highlighted how often such violence is normalized. Research shows that violence against women and girls affects one in three women worldwide and that no country is immune to this pandemic. Yet instead of holding perpetrators accountable, women and girls who experience violence are often blamed and their testimonies systematically called into question.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 5; 19 November 2018

Photo: Kalpana Saroj. Crdit: kamanitubes.com

An Indian Woman Rises from the Downtrodden to a Socially Aware Multimillionaire

By Sudha Ramachandran

BANGALORE (IDN) – In 2013, Kalpana Saroj, Chairperson of the Mumbai-based Kamani Tubes Ltd. (KTL), was awarded the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest honour for civilians, for her achievements in the fields of Trade and Industry.

Saroj was successful in turning around the fortunes of KTL, a manufacturing company producing quality copper and copper alloy pipes and tubes. She succeeded where others, including well-networked, male corporate honchos, failed. (P14) ARABIC | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | PORTUGUESE | TURKISH

: Ramesh Jaura; Project Articles; 12 October 2018

Photo (front l to r): High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez serving as Chairperson-Rapporteur, Human Rights Council President Vojislav Šuc, Permanent Representative of Slovenia. Credit: Sri Lanka Permanent Mission to UN in Geneva.

Sri Lanka Chaired UN Forum Focuses on Sport to Promote Human Rights

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) – The Social Forum of the UN Human Rights Council serves since 2008 as a unique space for open and interactive dialogue between civil society actors, representatives of Member States, and intergovernmental organizations, on a theme chosen by the Council each year. The 2018 Social Forum, with Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez as the Chairperson-Rapporteur, distinguished itself in more than one way.

: Ramesh Jaura; Goal 3; 05 October 2018

Photo: Winners of the 'SDGs and Her Competition' awards: Lucy Odiwa, owner of Tanzania-based WomenChoice Industries (right); and Mukuru Clean Stoves of Kenya owner, Charlot Magay (left). Credit: Sumaya Agha/UNDP

Sustainable Development Award Winners Celebrated at UN

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK(IDN) – Tanzania-based WomenChoice Industries and Mukuru Clean Stoves of Kenya are the global winners of the SDGs and Her Competition that seeks to increase knowledge about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their potential impact on women, as well as to encourage private sector partners and share best practices and innovative ideas.

They were celebrated at a side-event on September 24, 2018 during the high-level week of the UN General Assembly. The contest – co-sponsored by the World Bank Group, UNDP, UN Women, and the Wharton School Zicklin Center – showcases women micro-entrepreneurs who are helping to achieve the SDGs through their businesses.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 1; 25 September 2018

Photo: Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues: First Informal Interactive Hearing with Indigenous Peoples. 17 April 2018. United Nations, New York. Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elias

Indigenous Peoples in the Grip of 'Criminalization', Warns New UN Report

By Jaya Ramachandran

GENEVA (IDN) – A new United Nations report warns that "in a wide variety of countries," both physical violence and legal prosecution are used against Indigenous Peoples defending their rights and lands. They are "criminalized".

The report by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, to the UN Human Rights Council describes how private sector interests collude with governments in coveting the lands of Indigenous Peoples for economic development projects.

She was Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues from 2005 to 2010, and actively engaged in drafting and adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 1; 28 August 2018

Photo: Students in Marrakech planning change for their university community. Credit: The High Atlas Foundation.

Morocco Provides 'Safe Spaces' for Youth

By Julia Payne

MARRAKECH (IDN) – As a society, we have hopes and dreams for the future; for our children, our countries, and the global community. These aspirations rest on the shoulders of the young generation. August 12, 2018 marked the 18th celebration of the UN's annual International Youth Day.

This awareness day was a unique opportunity to reflect on youth's challenges and to celebrate and support the world’s future leaders. This year’s theme, 'Safe Spaces for Youth' highlighted the importance of youth’s engagement, participation, and freedom of thought.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 4; 19 August 2018

Photo: The Aboghlou women’s cooperative meets outside in Ourika Valley, Morocco.

Education Isn't the Only Key to Female Employment in Morocco

Viewpoint by Katherine O’Neill*

MARRAKECH (IDN) – The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has the lowest female employment rate of anywhere in the world. Though most countries in the MENA region, including Libya and Iran, have seen gradually increasing rates of working women, Morocco’s female labour force participation (FLFP) rate has actually decreased since 1999, now sitting at 26 percent, according to Brookings.

This decline not only contradicts global and regional trends, but also comes despite significant efforts both by the Moroccan government and NGOs to increase women’s education, in hopes of improving their employment opportunities. The World Bank estimates that higher FLFP rates could result in a 25 percent average increase in household income, something which would dramatically improve the lives of men, women, and youth in the region.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 4; 23 July 2018

Photo: From Left to Right (front row): Jayathma Wickramanayake, UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth; Karunarathna Paranawithana, Deputy Minister of Science, Technology, Research, Skills Development 7 & Vocational Training and Kandyan Heritage; Dr. Rohan Perera, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in New York; Francisco António Duarte Lopes, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Portugal to the UN in New York; Guy Ryder, Director-General ILO; Marie Paule Roudil, Director UNESCO. Credit: Sri Lanka Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.

291 Million Youth Live With No Electricity, No Computers, No Printers – UN Laments

By Shanta Roy

NEW YORK (IDN) – When the United Nations commemorated World Youth Skills Day on July 16, there was one strong underlying theme that overshadowed the event.

Despite marked progress in the role of youth in a society increasingly characterized by high technology and artificial intelligence, the new generation, particularly in the developing world, was still lagging far behind in the fast-moving digital world.

Addressing a High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development on July 16, the UN’s Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed pointed out a realistically depressing fact: globally, over 291 million children attend primary schools without any electricity.

: IDN-INPS Editor; Goal 4; 22 July 2018

Asia-Pacific May Achieve Only One Out Of 17 Goals By 2030

By Ramesh Jaura

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) spanning an area home to 4.1 billion people, or two thirds of the world’s population, sprang a surprise when it admitted that at the current rate of progress in the region only one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – Goal 4 on achieving quality education and lifelong learning – is on track to be met by 2030.

This astonishingly forthright message was delivered at the 2018 High-level Political Forum (HLPF 2018) at the UN headquarters in New York on July 16 when participants were briefed on the outcomes of the Fifth Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD), held in Bangkok, from March 28-30, 2018 in preparation for the HLPF.