A project of the Non-profit International Press Syndicate Group with IDN as the Flagship Agency in partnership with Soka Gakkai International in consultative status with ECOSOC
Viewpoint by Kul Chandra Gautam*
KATHMANDU (IDN) — As a previously unknown mystery disease caused by the novel coronavirus struck Planet Earth in the winter of 2019-20, public health officials and the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended universal mask-wearing, physical distancing, lockdowns and travel restrictions, while awaiting the arrival of preventive vaccines and effective therapies.
By Moumita Maji*
SANTINIKETAN, India (IDN) — Different units of Visva-Bharati University have come together since the onset of the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, in an attempt to fight the virus and ensure the safety of the community with minimum expenses but maximum courage. The home-grown strategy developed is unique with an emphasis on a scientific approach that enables maximum penetration within and outside the campus.
The endeavour which went into the Action Phase on May 18, is an ambitious project that engages most associated with the institution and is unlike anything that is being attempted elsewhere.
By Jamshed Baruah
GENEVA (IDN) — Artificial Intelligence (AI) holds great promise for improving the delivery of healthcare and medicine worldwide, but only if ethics and human rights are put at the heart of its design, deployment, and use, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO’s report, Ethics and governance of artificial intelligence for health, is the result of two years of consultations held by a panel of international experts appointed by WHO.…
By Professor Ellen Hernandez*
The article below explores the importance of education and literacy in the U.S. and Morocco in informing citizens of their rights.
COLLINGSWOOD, USA (IDN) — On June 19, 2021, Americans officially recognized “Juneteenth” as a national holiday. Most Americans understand the holiday to be a celebration of the end of slavery brought about by the U.S. Constitution’s 13th Amendment.…
By Nisar Keshvani
SINGAPORE (IDN) — Imagine. The most remote of mountains. Two thousand metres above sea level. On the Silk Road, and 240 km away from China. In secondary cities with populations going up to 150,000. Therein, majestically stands a fully-residential university, delivering a world-class education for the next generation of Central Asian learners—regardless of their financial position.
On June 19, the University of Central Asia (UCA) made history. Its inaugural cohort of 57 students will graduate in Computer Science; Communications and Media; Economics and Earth and Environmental Science. (P10) CHINESE | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | TURKISH
…
Viewpoint by Yossef Ben-Meir
The writer is a former Peace Corps Volunteer and president of the High Atlas Foundation.
MARRAKECH (IDN) — The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are aspirationally universal, addressing globally relevant issues with earnest objectives. Despite the profound good that they represent, fundamental problems exist with the Goals. They lack prescriptiveness, even to the extent of not explicitly aligning with what we know is indelible to sustainability: local people’s participation. (P09) ARABIC | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | SPANISH…
By Jaya Ramachandran
GENEVA (IDN) — The leaders of seven industrial nations, constituting the Group of Seven (G7 Summit), have pledged in a landmark agreement to share COVID-19 vaccine doses internationally, in support of global equitable access and to help end the acute phase of the pandemic. In doing so, they have built on the momentum of the G20 Global Health Summit hosted by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on May 21 and the Gavi COVAX AMC Summit hosted by Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga of Japan on June 2.…
Viewpoint by Maíra Martini *
NEW YORK (IDN) — Governments gathered for the first-ever UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) against corruption June 2-4, 2021. This could have been an opportunity for the more and the less advanced economies to come to the table and discuss bold improvements to the current international anti-corruption framework and architecture. It fell short.…
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*
LUND, Sweden (IDN) — There’s hardly a person alive who doesn’t know that the Third World continents of Africa, Asia and Latin America are having a desperate struggle fighting the Coronavirus. At a time when the richer countries are winning the fight against the virus many Third World countries—like Brazil, India and South Africa—are overwhelmed by it.…
By Santo D. Banerjee
NEW YORK (IDN) — “The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods” was the theme for World Oceans Day 2021 as well as a declaration of intentions that launches a decade of challenges to get the Sustainable Development Goal 14, “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources”, by 2030.
The importance of the theme of this year’s World Oceans Day celebrated on June 8, is underlined by the fact that the ocean covers over 70% of the planet. It is our life source, supporting humanity’s sustenance and that of every other organism on earth.…
