United Nations Yak

The Preamble to the Constitution of UNESCO declares that ‘since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed’.

UNESCO - the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was founded on 16 November 1945. For this specialized United Nations agency, it is not enough to build classrooms in devastated countries or to publish scientific breakthroughs. Education, Social and Natural Science, Culture and Communication are the means to a far more ambitious goal : to build peace in the minds of men. Read the rest of this entry ?

The GLObal Systems Analysis and Simulation Association in the U.S.A. (GLOSAS/USA) is a publicly supported, non-profit, educational service organization and is a consortium of organizations dedicated to the use of evolving telecommunications and information technologies to further advance world peace through global communications. GLOSAS fosters science and technology based economic development to improve the quality of life, stressing two important principles - sharing and collaboration.

GLOSAS/USA played a major pioneering role in extending U.S. data communication networks to other countries and deregulating Japanese telecommunication policies for the use of e-mail triggering the de-monopolization and privatization of Japanese telecommunications industries and leading to a movement emulated in many other countries with  more than 1.3 billion email users around the world nowadays. Read the rest of this entry ?

Tostan’s mission is to empower African communities to bring about sustainable development and positive social transformation based on respect for human rights.  Since 1991 Tostan has brought its holistic 30-month education program to thousands of communities in nine African countries. Tostan has been recognized by the international community for our groundbreaking work with villagers living in extreme poverty in remote areas. Tostan means “breakthrough” in the West African language of Wolof. Please visit Tostan.org for more information.

Tostan is the winner of the 2007 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize. http://www.tostan.org/web/page/578/sectionid/556/pagelevel/2/interior.asp Read the rest of this entry ?

Cristal Montañéz Baylor, former Miss Venezuela, runway, print and television model, is the Executive Director of Hashoo Foundation, USA,  a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization chartered in Houston,TX, with the mission of alleviating poverty through economic self-sustenance and education.

The Women Empowerment through Honey project is one of various strategies that are being developed to fulfill the founding philanthropic principles of the Hashoo Foundation in Pakistan and beyond.

Hashoo Foundation’s Women Empowerment Honey Bee Farming Project
selected as a finalists of the BBC World News and Newsweek World Challenge 08
TheWorldChallenge.co.uk/html/home.html Read the rest of this entry ?

Muriel met Mr. Jhawar at the Clinton Global Initiative CGI 2008 conference.

Since 1972, Usha Martin Limited has been working towards the development of Jharkhand through its corporate social responsibility arm, Krishi Gram Vikas Kendra (KGVK).

An NGO with a difference… an idea with infinite possibilities.  An idea that is touching the lives of more than 50,000 households in 350 villages — at KGVK our mission is to facilitate integrated progress and prosperity in rural Jharkhand, one of India’s most impoverished states, and to bring the benefits of economic development to a community left behind.

This is a challenge too huge for any one sector to tackle alone.  We can only make a real difference by converging efforts of the government, corporate bodies, NGOs, and above all, the people of Jharkhand. Read the rest of this entry ?

                                2008 ushers in the fourth annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI),  bringing together global leaders from business, government, academia, science, religion, and non-governmental organizations, including numerous heads of state, former heads of state, CEOs of multinational corporations and prominent philanthropists. CGI is a forum for participants to develop and then implement workable solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Please visit http://muriella.wordpress.com/2008/09/23/clinton-global-initiative-2008/ for the full story.

To see the video of Queen Rania talking on education in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, please click on this link: Queen Rania video.

Muriel has asked this podcast to be re-published in conjunction with the special story CNN is featuring this month. Hosted by CNN’s chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, “The Survival Project: One Child at a Time” examines what kind of action is required to stop the un-necessary deaths of children under the age of five.

Muriel’s special guest today is Ann Veneman, the executive director of UNICEF. Ms. Veneman assumed the leadership of UNICEF on May 1, 2005, becoming the fifth Executive Director to lead UNICEF in its 60-year history. Prior to joining UNICEF, Veneman served as the 27th Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture from 2001 to 2005.

As the children’s agency of the United Nations, UNICEF works on the ground in 156 developing and transitional countries to help children survive and thrive. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for poor countries, UNICEF works to advance the Millennium Development Goals by Read the rest of this entry ?

Muriel chats with Dr Noel Brown, former Director of the United Nations Environment Program - who was one of the founders of UNEP, he worked there from 1973-1995 .

Dr. Brown, Former Director of UNEP (North America) and is now President, Friends of the UN

Dr. Brown has been considered an environmental diplomat and a great champion for the cause of earth. He spends a great deal of his time these days focusing on the Oceans, as a Member of the Board of Governors of the International Ocean Institute (IOI) and a director of Read the rest of this entry ?

Elizabeth Dowdeswell’s eclectic public service career has spanned provincial, federal and international borders and transcended traditional disciplinary lines. Throughout, her focus has been on engaging the public in public policy-making; seeking innovation in the successful management of organizations through change; and, strengthening communications and education as means to achieve results. Read the rest of this entry ?

Muriel hosts Mr. William Swope, Vice President and General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Intel Corporation.

Muriel learns a great deal about the other side of Intel - its philanthropic side which supports, among others, three flagship programs which enable education and enhance lives using technology as the basis for learning, empowerment and growth.

Learn how Intel is leading the way in providing key components for successful 21st-century learning environments for children around the world.

Intel® Education Initiative
Expanding What’s Possible
Read more here - www.intel.com/worldahead

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