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Migration and Awareness of Trafficking in Persons
In Africa, Asia, Being a World Citizen, Conflict Resolution, Current Events, Environmental protection, Europe, Fighting Racism, Human Rights, Middle East & North Africa, Migration, NGOs, Refugees, Solidarity, The Search for Peace, Track II, United Nations, World Law on October 28, 2019 at 12:40 PM
By René Wadlow
On October 23, 2019, 39 people, 8 women and 31 men, were found dead in a refrigerated trailer truck coming from Belgium in the last leg of its journey. The truck was at a parking lot in Essex, near London, England. The identity of the persons is still in the process of being investigated. They may be Vietnamese having traveled through China, or Chinese. The victims draw sad attention to the process of trafficking in persons.
The United Nations (UN) Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration has drawn attention to the positive aspects of migration. However, there are also negative aspects so that we are also concerned with migration that is not safe such as trafficking in persons. A UN report presented to the Commission on the Status of Women highlighted that human trafficking is one of the fastest growing criminal industries and one of the biggest human rights crises today. The vast majority of victims trafficked are for sexual exploitation, while others are exploited for forced labor and forced marriage.
One aspect of migration issues is the issue of the trans-frontier trafficking in persons. Awareness has been growing, but effective remedies are slow and uncoordinated. Effective remedies are often not accessible to victims of trafficking owing to gaps between setting international standards, enacting national laws and then implementation in a humane way.
The international standards have been set out in the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. The Convention and the Protocol standards are strengthened by the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families. The worldwide standards have been reaffirmed by regional legal frameworks such as the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.
Despite clear international and regional standards, there is poor implementation, limited government resources and infrastructure dedicated to the issue, a tendency to criminalize victims and restrictive immigration policies in many countries.
Trafficking in persons is often linked to networks trafficking in drugs and arms. Some gangs are involved in all three; in other cases agreements are made to specialize and not expand into the specialty of other criminal networks.
Basically, there are three sources of trafficking in persons. The first are refugees from armed conflicts. Refugees are covered by the Refugee Conventions supervised by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the country of first asylum. Thus, Syrian refugees are protected and helped by the UNHCR in Lebanon, but not if they leave Lebanon. As 25% of the population of Lebanon are now refugees from the conflicts in Syria, the Lebanese government is increasingly placing restrictions on Syrian's possibility to work in Lebanon, to receive schooling, medical services, proper housing etc. As a result, many Syrians try to leave Lebanon or Turkey to find a better life in Western Europe. Refugees from Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan follow the same pattern.
The second category are people leaving their country for economic reasons − sometimes called "economic refugees." Migration for better jobs and a higher standard of living has a long history. Poverty, ethnic and racial discrimination, and gender-based discrimination are all factors in people seeking to change countries. With ever-tighter immigration policies in many countries and with a popular "backlash" against migrants in some countries, would-be migrants turn to "passers" − individuals or groups that try to take migrants into a country, avoiding legal controls.
A third category − or a subcategory of economic migration − is the sex trade, usually of women but also children. As a Human Rights Watch study of the Japanese "sex-entertainment" businesses notes "There are an estimated 150,000 non-Japanese women employed in the Japanese sex industry, primarily from other Asian countries such as Thailand and the Philippines. These women are typically employed in the lower rungs of the industry either in 'dating' snack bars or in low-end brothels, in which customers pay for short periods of eight or fifteen minutes. Abuses are common as job brokers and employers take advantage of foreign women's vulnerability as undocumented migrants: they cannot seek recourse from the police or other law enforcement authorities without risking deportation and potential prosecution, and they are isolated by language barriers, a lack of community, and a lack of familiarity with their surroundings." We find similar patterns in many countries.
The scourge of trafficking in persons will continue to grow unless strong counter measures are taken. Basically, police and governments worldwide do not place a high priority on the fight against trafficking unless illegal migration becomes a media issue. Therefore, real progress needs to be made through nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), such as the Association of World Citizens, which has raised the issue in the UN Human Rights bodies in Geneva. There are four aspects to this anti-trafficking effort. The first is to help build political will by giving accurate information to political leaders and the press. The other three aspects depend on the efforts of the NGOs themselves. Such efforts call for increased cooperation among NGOs and capacity building.
The second aspect is research into the areas from which children and women are trafficked. These are usually the poorest parts of the country and among marginalized populations. Socioeconomic and educational development projects must be directed to these areas so that there are realistic avenues for advancement.
The third aspect is the development of housing and of women's shelters to ensure that persons who have been able to leave exploitive situations have temporary housing and other necessary services.
The fourth aspect is psychological healing. Very often women and children who have been trafficked into the sex trades have a disrupted or violent family and have a poor idea of their self-worth. This is also often true of refugees from armed conflict. Thus, it is important to create opportunities for individual and group healing, to give a spiritual dimension to the person through teaching meditation and yoga. There are needs for creating adult education facilities so that people may continue a broken education cycle.
There are NGOs who are already working along these lines. Their efforts need to be encouraged and expanded.
Prof. René Wadlow is President of the Association of World Citizens.
Migration in a Globalized World Economy
In Being a World Citizen, Current Events, Europe, Fighting Racism, Human Rights, Middle East & North Africa, Migration, NGOs, Refugees, Social Rights, Solidarity, The former Soviet Union, The Search for Peace, United Nations, World Law on December 21, 2018 at 12:12 AM
By René Wadlow
The present era of globalization of the economy is not new, but as a term and also as an organizing concept for policy making, it dates from 1991 and the formal end of the Soviet zone of influence which had some of the structures of an alternative trading system.
Earlier, dating from the 1970s the term used was "interdependence". The emphasis was on economic relations but there was also some emphasis on cultural and political factors. In a July 1975 speech, United States Secretary of State Henry Kissinger who had an academic background and kept himself informed of theoretical trends said "All of us – allies and rivals, new nations and old nations, the rich and the poor – constitute one world community. The interdependence on our planet is becoming the central fact of our diplomacy… The reality is that the world economy is a single global system of trade and monetary relations on which hinges the development of all our economies. An economic system thrives if all who take part in it thrive."
Interdependence was to help build a world society based on equality, justice, and mutual benefit. As Secretary Kissinger said the need was "to transform the concept of world community from a slogan into an attitude."
Interdependence was to be articulated into policies leading to disarmament, peaceful change, improved welfare especially for the poorest and respect for human rights. However, in practice the continuing USA-USSR tensions, questions of access to oil especially in the Middle East and the difficulties of establishing rules and controls for the world trade system kept "interdependence" as a slogan and not as a framework for policies and decisions of major governments.
The term "globalization" has progressively replaced that of "interdependence" The concept of globalization continues the interdependence focus on global economic linkages but adds an emphasis on the organization of social life on a global scale and the growth of a global consciousness. Global consciousness is the essential starting point of world citizenship. Globalization is a socio-economic process in which the constraints of geography on social and cultural patterns recede and in which people become increasingly away that these geographic constraints are receding.
The rapid pace of globalization requires that research and practice keep up with the speed of changes in order to reduce unnecessary risks and to provide legitimacy and confidence in the world system. However, within the world society – as within national societies – there are many different interests. At the world level, there are not yet the web of consensus-building techniques found in public and private institutions at the national level.
There were recently two intergovernmental conferences being held at the same time which indicated the possibilities and the difficulties of reaching agreement among most of the States of th World: COP 24 held in Katowice, Poland devoted to issues of climate change and the conference on the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, held in Marrakech, Morocco.
The COP 24 had the advantage of building on the 2015 Paris Climate Accord and on the serious scientific research carried out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The Katowice conference was to develop a common system of rules, reporting and measurement for the Paris Climate Accord. This "rule book" was largely accomplished. A sub-theme was to show that the international spirit which had led to the Paris Agreement was still alive and well despite criticism and a lack of visible progress.
The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration is the first of its kind, although there are earlier agreements on the status of refugees. In many countries, there has been sharp debates on immigration policy – often with more heat than light. Some States have already indicated that they will not sign the Compact even though it has been repeatedly pointed out that the Compact is not a treaty and thus not legally binding. The Compact sets out aspirations and strengthens some of the processes already in practice. The representatives of some States which signed indicated that they will be "selective" in the processes which they will put into practice.
Blue: Will adopt the Compact, Red: Will not adopt the Compact, Yellow: Considering not adopting, Gray: Undetermined
There was an agreement to hold a review conference in 2022. There is a growing tendency in inter-governmental treaties to set a review conference every four or five years to analyze implementation and the changing political and economic situation.
The Association of World Citizens (AWC) has been stressing for some years the importance of migration issues. Migration is likely to increase as climate changes have their impact. Thus, the AWC calls upon Nongovernmental Organizations to focus cooperatively and strongly on migration and the standards of the Global Compact.
Global Compact for Migration: A Necessary First Step
In Being a World Citizen, Current Events, Europe, Fighting Racism, Human Rights, Migration, NGOs, Refugees, Solidarity, Track II, United Nations, World Law on July 15, 2018 at 9:17 PM
On July 12, 2018, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly agreed to the text of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration after more than a year of discussions among Member States, nongovernmental organizations, academic specialists on migration issues as well as interviews with migrants and refugees.
The discussion had gained visibility in September 2016 at the UN General Assembly which set out the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants. As a result, the International Organization for Migration, created in 1951 largely to deal with displaced people after the Second World War, was more formally integrated into the UN "family".
The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, welcomed the Global Compact, saying it reflected "the shared understanding by Governments that cross-border migration is, by its very nature, an international phenomenon and that effective management of this global reality requires international cooperation to enhance its positive impact for all. It also recognizes that every individual has the right to safety, dignity and protection."
However, the General Assembly President, Miroslav Lajcak, also indicated the limitations of the agreement saying "It does not encourage migration, nor does it aim to stop it. It is not legally binding. It does not dictate. It will not impose. And it fully respects the sovereignty of States." The Global Compact will be formally adopted by Member States at an intergovernmental conference in Marrakesh, Morocco on December 10-11. Thus, it is useful to see what the Compact does do and what non-governmental organizations concerned need to do between now and early December.
Citizens of the world have stressed that the global aspects of migration flows have an impact on all countries. The changing nature of the world's economies modify migration patterns, and there is a need to plan for migration as the result of possible environmental-climate changes.
The current flow of migrants and refugees to Europe has become a high profile political issue. Many migrants come from areas caught up in armed conflict: Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, Somalia. The leaders of the European Union (EU) have been divided and unsure in their responses. Local solidarity networks that offer food, shelter, and medical care are overwhelmed. Political debates over how to deal with the refugees have become heated, usually with more heat than light. The immediacy of the refugee exodus requires our attention, our compassion, and our sense of organization.
EU officials have met frequently to discuss how to deal with the migrant-refugee flow, but a common policy has so far been impossible to establish. At a popular level, there have been expressions of fear of migrants, of possible terrorists among them, and a rejection of their cultures. These popular currents, often increased by right-wing political parties make decisions all the more difficult to take. An exaggerated sense of threat fuels anti-immigration sentiments and creases a climate of intolerance and xenophobia.
Therefore, the Association of World Citizens, which is in consultative status with the UN, is stressing the need for cooperative efforts carried out in good faith to meet the challenges of worldwide migration and continuing refugee flows. There is a need to look at both short-term emergency humanitarian measures and at longer-range migration patterns, especially at potential climate.
We know that there are governments whose view is that "Yes, there are migrants and refugees, but we do not want them here. Our first and last line of defense is SOVEREIGNTY." In addition to these governments, there are political parties and groups with a less legalistic line of defense. There are shades of racism and religious prejudice that go from pale to very strongly colored. We can expect these groups to be very active between now and early December to push government to indicate that the Global Compact is not a treaty, is not binding, and will not influence national decision making.
Thus, it is up to those holding World Citizen Values of equality, respect, cooperation and living in harmony with Nature to be even more active before December so that the Global Compact will serve as a framework for governmental and civil society action.
Human Rights: Government Failures, NGO Need to Organize!
In Being a World Citizen, Children's Rights, Democracy, Fighting Racism, Human Rights, Humanitarian Law, International Justice, NGOs, Religious Freedom, Social Rights, Solidarity, The Search for Peace, United Nations, War Crimes, Women's Rights, World Law on March 4, 2018 at 10:08 PM
In his final address to the Human Rights Council on February 26, 2018, United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein decried the "pernicious use of the veto" by permanent members of the UN Security Council – the USA, Russia, and China in particular – to block any unity of action to reduce the extreme suffering of innocent people in "the most prolific slaughterhouse of humans in recent times."
However, it is not only the veto in the Security Council which prevents governments from acting. There is a widespread failure of governments to act. "Time and again, my office and I have brought to the attention of the international community violations of human rights which should have served as a trigger for preventive action. Time and again, there has been minimal action."
He continued by mentioning States in which armed conflicts were the framework for constant human rights violations, including the fundamental right to life: Syria, Yemen, Myanmar, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
He highlighted the growing wave of narrow nationalism promoted by political parties and in some cases by the leaders of government. "Xenophobes and racists in Europe are casting off any sense of embarrassment – like Hungary's Viktor Orban who earlier this month said 'We do not want our color…to be mixed in with others' "
He concluded with a warning and an encouragement to action. "It is accumulating unresolved human rights violations which will spark the conflicts that can break the world…For the worst offenders' disregard and contempt for human rights will be the eventual undoing of all of us. This we cannot allow to happen."
In the light of the use of the veto in the UN Security Council and the realpolitik considerations of States in general, it is the task of nongovernmental organizations (NGO) to promote the resolution of armed conflicts through negotiations in good faith and the respect of humanitarian international law while the armed conflicts go on. NGOs must work so that universal human rights are the basis of society at all times.
In order to carry out these crucial tasks, NGOs must become stronger, have greater access to the media, increase their networks to more countries, and develop greater cooperation among themselves. These challenges require a wise use of current resources and efforts to increase them. There is a need to increase cooperation with universities and other academic institutions for background information and analysis. Government representatives always look for factual errors in NGO presentations as a way to discredit the whole presentation. Dialogue with the representatives of governments must be continued and, if possible, made more regular. States will continue to be important agents in the world society, and we must try to be in contact even when government actions are unreasonable, even criminal.
Cooperation among NGOs will facilitate an outreach to more sectors of the world society. Often a specific NGO will reach a particular milieu – religious, geographic, professional, social class. By cooperation a wider audience can be reached, and techniques for positive action set out.
As the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stressed armed violence, systematic repression, waves of hate and xenophobia are strong today, and there is a real danger that they will grow. To meet these negative challenges, we who uphold the unity of the human family must organize ever-more effectively.
World Policy for Migrants and Refugees
In Africa, Being a World Citizen, Conflict Resolution, Current Events, Democracy, Europe, Fighting Racism, Human Rights, Middle East & North Africa, Solidarity, The Search for Peace, United Nations, World Law on October 4, 2016 at 7:26 PM
«There is no doubt that Mankind is once more on the move. The very foundations have been shaken and loosened, and things are again fluid. The tents have been struck, and the great caravan of Humanity is once more on the march.»
Jan Christian Smuts at the end of the 1914-1918 World War.
On September 19, 2016, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly held a one-day Summit on "Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants", a complex of issues which have become important and emotional issues in many countries. The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) published a report on international migration indicating that there are some 244 million migrants, some 76 million live in Europe, 75 million in Asia, 54 million in North America and others in the Middle East, Latin America and the Pacific, especially Australia and New Zealand. In addition, there are some 24 million refugees – people who have crossed State frontiers fleeing armed conflict and repression as well as some 40 million internally-displaced persons within their own country. Acute poverty, armed conflicts, population growth and high unemployment levels provide the incentives for people to move, while easier communications and transport are the means.
However, as we have seen with the many who have died in the Mediterranean Sea, people will take great risks to migrate. Thus, there is an urgent need to take away the monopoly of the life and death of refugees from the hands of mafias and traffickers and to create an effective world policy for migrants and refugees.
This is the third time that the major governments of the world have tried to deal in an organized way with migration and refugees. The first was within the League of Nations in the 1920s. The 1914-1918 World War and the 1917 Russian Revolution had created a large number of refugees and "stateless" persons – citizens of the former Russian, Ottoman, and Austro-Hungarian Empires. These people had no passports or valid identity documents. The League of Nations created a League identity document – the Nansen Passport – which gave some relief to the "stateless" and brought international attention to their conditions. The Nansen Passport, however, became overshadowed in the mid-1930 when people – in particular Jews – fled from Germany-Austria and were refused resettlement.
The second international effort was as a result of the experiences of the 1939-1945 Second World War and the large number of refugees and displaced. Under UN leadership was created the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees. In addition, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, originally created as a temporary body, was made a permanent UN agency in recognition of the continuing nature of refugee issues.
The current third international effort is largely a result of the flow of refugees and migrants toward Europe during 2015-2016. The disorganized and very uneven response of European governments and the European Union to this flow has indicated that governments are unprepared to deal with such massive movements of people. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have not been able to deal adequately with this large number of persons despite many good-will efforts. Moreover, certain European political movements and political parties have used the refugee issue to promote narrow nationalist and sometimes racist policies. Even a much smaller flow of refugees to the USA has provoked very mixed reactions – few of them welcoming.
The September 19 Summit is a first step toward creating a functioning world policy for migrants and refugees. The Summit is not an end in itself but follows a pattern of UN awareness-building conferences on the environment, population, food, urbanization and other world issues. The impact of UN conferences has been greatest when there are preexisting popular movements led by NGOs which have in part sensitized people to the issue. The two UN conferences which have had the most lasting consequences were the 1972 Stockholm conference on the environment and the 1975 International Year of Women and its Mexico conference. The environment conference was held at a time of growing popular concern with the harm to the environment symbolized by the widely-read book of Rachel Carson Silent Spring. The 1975 women's conference came at a time when in Western Europe and the USA there was a strong "women's lib" movement and active discussion on questions of equality and gender.
Migration and refugee issues do not have a well-organized NGO structure highlighting these issues. However human rights NGOs have stressed the fate of refugees and migrants as well as human rights violations in the countries from which they fled. There is also some cooperation among relief NGOs which provide direct help to refugees and migrants such as those from Syria and Iraq living in Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and those going to Greece and Italy.
The Summit's Declaration is very general, and some observers have been disappointed with the lack of specific measures. However, we can welcome the spirit of the Summit Declaration with its emphasis on cooperative action, a humane sense of sharing the responsibilities for refugees and migrants and on seeking root causes of migration and refugee flows. What is needed now are strong NGO efforts to remind constantly government authorities of the seriousness of the issues and the need for collective action. Refugees and migrants are not a temporary "emergency" but part of a continuing aspect of the emerging world society. Thus there is a need to develop a world policy and strong institutions for migrants and refugees.
Building on the UN Summit to Address Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants
In Being a World Citizen, Children's Rights, Conflict Resolution, Current Events, Democracy, Europe, Fighting Racism, Human Rights, Social Rights, Solidarity, The Search for Peace, United Nations, Women's Rights, World Law on September 20, 2016 at 6:58 PM
On September 19, 2016, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly held a one-day Summit on "Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants", a complex of issues which have become important and emotional issues in many countries. Restrictive migration policies deny many migrants the possibility of acquiring a regular migrant status, and as a result, the migrants end up being in an irregular or undocumented situation in the receiving country and can be exposed to exploitation and serious violations of human rights.
Citizens of the world have been actively concerned with the issues of migrants, refugees, the "stateless" and those displaced by armed conflicts within their own country. Thus we welcome the spirit of the Summit Declaration with its emphasis on cooperative action, a humane sense of sharing the responsibilities for refugees and migrants and on seeking root causes of migration and refugee flows. There are three issues mentioned in the Summit Declaration which merit follow up action among the UN Secretariat, world citizens and other non-governmental organizations:
1) The migration of youth;
2) The strong link between migration, refugee flows, and improving the structures for the resolution of armed conflicts;
3) Developing further cooperation among non-governmental organizations for the protection and integration of refugees and migrants.
The Migration of Youth
Youth leave their country of birth to seek a better life and also to escape war, poverty, and misfortune. We should add to an analysis of trans-frontier youth migration a very large number of youth who leave their home villages to migrate toward cities within their own country. Without accurate information and analysis of both internal and trans-frontier migration of youth, it is difficult to develop appropriate policies for employment, housing, education and health care of young migrants and refugees. It is estimated that there are some 10 million refugee children, and most are not in school.
Studies have noted an increasing feminization of trans-frontier migration in which the female migrant moves abroad as a wage earner, especially as a domestic worker rather than as an accompanying family member. Migrant domestic workers are often exposed to abuse, exploitation and discrimination based on gender, ethnicity and occupation. Domestic workers are often underpaid, their working conditions poor and sometimes dangerous. Their bargaining power is severely limited. Thus, there is a need to develop legally enforceable contracts of employment, setting out minimum wages, maximum hours of work and responsibilities.
The Association of World Citizens recommends that there be in the follow ups to the Summit, a special focus on youth, their needs as well as possibilities for positive actions by youth.
The strong link between migration, refugee flows, and improving the structures for the resolution of armed conflicts
The UN General Assembly which follows immediately the Migration-Refugee Summit is facing the need for action on a large number of armed conflicts in which Member States are involved. In some of these conflicts the UN has provided mediators; in others, UN peacekeepers are present. In nearly all these armed conflicts, there have been internally-displaced persons as well as trans-frontier refugees. Therefore, there is an urgent need to review the linkages between armed conflict and refugee flows. There needs to be a realistic examination as to why some of these armed conflicts have lasted as long as they have and why negotiations in good faith have not been undertaken or have not led to the resolution of these armed conflicts. Such reflections must aim at improvements of structures and procedures.
Developing further cooperation among nongovernmental organizations for the protection and integration of refugees and migrants
We welcome the emphasis in the Summit Declaration on the important role that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) play in providing direct services to refugees and migrants. NGOs also lobby government authorities on migration legislation and develop public awareness campaigns. The Summit has stressed the need to focus on future policies taking into account climate change and the growing globalization of trade, finance, and economic activities. Thus, there needs to be strong cooperation among the UN and its Agencies, national governments, and NGOs to deal more adequately with current challenges and to plan for the future. Inclusive structures for such cooperation are needed.
International Day of Migrants: Need for a UN-led World Conference on Migration and Refugee Flows
In Being a World Citizen, Conflict Resolution, Current Events, Europe, Fighting Racism, Human Rights, Solidarity, The Search for Peace, United Nations, World Law on December 18, 2015 at 9:52 AM
December 18 was set by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly to call attention to the role of migrants in the world society. The date was chosen to mark the creation of the UN-negotiated International Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families. The aim of the Convention was to insure that migrants and their families would continue to be covered by the human rights standards set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Covenants, and other human rights treaties. In practice, migrants are often "between two chairs" − no longer of concern to the State they have left and not yet covered by the human rights laws of the State to which they have gone.
Ratifications of the Convention have been slow with a good number of governments making reservations that generally weaken the impact of the Convention. In 2004, a commission of independent experts was set up to study the reports to the UN of governments on the application of the Convention − a commission that is part of the Human Rights Treaty Body System. Reports from each government party to the Convention are to be filed once every four years. However, the discussions within the Migration Treaty Body and its subsequent report attract the attention of only a small number of people. However, the discussion deals with the report of only one government at a time while migration is always a multi-State issue and can have worldwide implications.
Moreover, many States consider that earlier International Labor Organization conventions deal adequately with migrant rights and see no need to sign a new convention.
Therefore, the Association of World Citizens, which is in consultative status with the UN, is calling for a UN-led world conference on migration and refugee issues, following earlier UN world conferences on the environment, food, housing, women, population, youth, human rights and other world issues. The pattern of such UN-led world conferences usually follows a common pattern: encouragement of research and data collection by UN agencies, national governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and academic institutions. Then regional meetings are held to study the regional dimensions of the issue. The regional conferences are followed by the world conference of government representatives with the participation of NGO delegates of organizations which hold consultative status. Usually there is also a parallel NGO conference with a wider range of NGOs present, especially those active at the local or national level. From such a world conference a plan of action is set to influence action by UN agencies, national governments, and NGOs.
Only a UN-led conference with adequate research and prior discussions can meet the challenges of worldwide migration and continuing refugee flows. There is a need to look at both short-term emergency humanitarian measures and at longer-range migration patterns, especially at potential climate modification impact. A UN-led world conference on migration can highlight possible trends and especially start to build networks of cooperation to meet this world challenge.
Prof. René Wadlow is President and a representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva of the Association of World Citizens.
The Genocide Convention: An Unused But Not Forgotten Standard of World Law
In Being a World Citizen, Current Events, Fighting Racism, Human Rights, International Justice, United Nations, War Crimes, World Law on December 9, 2015 at 7:58 PM
On the anniversary of the 1948 Convention on Genocide, it is imperative to identify a relevant existing body – such as the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) – to strengthen in order to be able to deal with the first signs of tensions, especially "direct and public incitement to commit genocide."
December 9 is the anniversary of the 1948 Convention on Genocide, signed at the UN General Assembly held in 1948 in Paris. The Genocide Convention was signed the day before the proclamation on December 10, 1948 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The two texts were much influenced by the Second World War. The crimes of Nazi Germany were uppermost in the minds of those who drafted the Genocide Convention in order to deal with a new aspect of international law and the laws of war. The cry was "Never again!"
The protection of civilians from deliberate mass murder was already in The Hague and Geneva Conventions of international humanitarian law. However, genocide is different from mass murder. Genocide is the most extreme consequences of racial discrimination and ethnic hatred. Genocide has as its aim the destruction, wholly or in part, of national, ethnic, racial or religious group as such. The term was proposed by the legal scholar Raphael Lemkin, drawing on the Greek genos (people or tribe) and the Latin cide (to kill) [1].
Genocide in the sense of a desire to eliminate a people has nearly always a metaphysical aspect as well as deep-seated racism. This was clear in the Nazi desire to eliminate Jews, first by forced emigration from Europe and, when emigration was not possible, by physical destruction.
The genocide of the Jewish people in Europe during World War II, carried out in such infamous places as the Auschwitz concentration camp pictured above, was the leading cause for the drafting and adoption of the UN Genocide Convention. The following day, the UN General Assembly also adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We see a desire to destroy totally certain tribes in the Darfur conflict in Sudan that did not exist in the much longer and more deadly North-South Sudan Civil War (1956-1972, 1982-2005). Darfur tribes are usually defined by "blood lines" — marriage and thus procreation is limited to a certain population, either within the tribe or with certain other groups with which marriage relations have been created over a period of time. Thus children born of rape — considered 'Janjaweed babies '— after the government-sponsored Janjaweed militias— are left to die or are abandoned. The raped women are often banished or ostracized. By attacking both the aged, holders of traditional knowledge, and the young of child-bearing age, the aim of the destruction of the continuity of a tribal group is clear.
We find the same pattern in some of the fighting in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo where not only are women raped but their sexual organs are destroyed so that they will not be able to reproduce.
As then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said at UNESCO in 1998,
"Many thought, no doubt, that the horrors of the Second World War − the camps, the cruelty, the exterminations, the Holocaust – could not happen again. And yet they have, in Cambodia, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Rwanda. Our time − this decade even − has shown us that man's capacity for evil knows no limits. Genocide − the destruction of an entire people on the basis of ethnic or national origins − is now a word of our time too, a stark and haunting reminder of why our vigilance must be eternal."
Mr. Nicodène Ruhashyankiko of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination of Minorities wrote in his study of proposed mechanisms for the study of information on genocide and genocidal practices "A number of allegations of genocide have been made since the adoption of the 1948 Convention. In the absence of a prompt investigation of these allegations by an impartial body, it has not been possible to determine whether they were well founded. Either they have given rise to sterile controversy or, because of the political circumstances, nothing further has been heard about them."
In a telegram sent from Paris in December 1948, Raphael Lemkin asked Ms. William Dick Sporberg, a member of the United States Committee for a United Nations (UN) Genocide Convention, to organize a cable campaign to persuade the United States Mission to the UN to support the adoption of the convention. Until the very last minute, no efforts were to be spared if the Genocide Convention was to come to existence and make the hopes of a whole generation traumatized by wide-scale extermination come true. (C) Google Cultural Institute/Center for Jewish History
Article VIII of the Genocide Conventions provides that "Any Contracting Party may call upon the Competent Organs of the United Nations to take such action under the Charter of the UN as they consider appropriate for the prevention and suppression of acts of genocide or any of the other acts enumerated in article III". Unfortunately no State has ever done so.
Thus we need to heed the early warning signs of genocide. Officially-directed massacres of civilians of whatever number cannot be tolerated, for the organizers of genocide must not believe that more widespread killing will be ignored. Yet killing is not the only warning sign. The Convention drafters, recalling the radio addresses of Hitler and the constant flow of words and images, set out as punishable acts "direct and public incitement to commit genocide." The Genocide Convention, in its provisions concerning public incitement, sets the limits of political discourse. It is well documented that public incitement − whether by Governments or certain non-governmental actors − including political movements − to discriminate against, to separate forcibly, to deport or physically eliminate large categories of the population of a given State because they belong to certain racial, ethnic or religious groups, sooner or later leads to war. Therefore, the Genocide Convention is also a constant reminder of the need to moderate political discourse, especially constant and repeated accusations against a religion, ethnic and social category of persons. Had this been done in Rwanda, with regard to the radio Mille Collines perhaps the premeditated and announced genocide could have been avoided or mitigated.
For the UN to be effective in the prevention of genocide, there needs to be an authoritative body which can investigate and monitor a situation well in advance of the outbreak of violence. As has been noted, any Party to the Genocide Convention (and most States are Parties) can bring evidence to the UN Security Council, but none has. In the light of repeated failures and due to pressure from non-governmental organizations, the UN Secretary-General has named an individual adviser on genocide to the UN Secretariat. However, he is one adviser among many, and there is no public access to the information that he may receive.
Therefore, a relevant existing body must be strengthened to be able to deal with the first signs of tensions, especially "direct and public incitement to commit genocide." The CERD created to monitor the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination would be the appropriate body to strengthen, especially by increasing its resources and the number of UN Secretariat members which service CERD. Through its urgent procedures mechanisms, CERD has the possibility of taking early-warning measures aimed at preventing existing strife from escalating into conflicts, and to respond to problems requiring immediate attention. A stronger CERD more able to investigate fully situations should mark the world's commitment to the high standards of world law set out in the Genocide Convention.
Prof. René Wadlow is President and a representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva of the Association of World Citizens (AWC) and editor of Transnational Perspectives.
Raphael Lemkin. Axis Rule in Occupied Europe (Washington: Carnegie Endowment for World Peace, 1944)
For good overviews see: Walliman and Dobkowski (Eds) Genocide and the Modern Age (New York: Greenwood Press, 1987), F. Chalk, K. Jonassohn. The History and Sociology of Genocide (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990), G. J. Andreopoulos (Ed) Genocide: Conceptual and Historical Dimensions (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1994), Samantha Power A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide (New York: Basic Books, 2002), John Tirman, The Death of Others (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), William Schabas, Genocide in International Law (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000)
December 18: International Migrants Day
In Africa, Asia, Being a World Citizen, Current Events, Environmental protection, Europe, Fighting Racism, Human Development, Human Rights, Middle East & North Africa, Solidarity, United Nations, World Law on December 17, 2014 at 11:33 PM
"Let us make migration work for the benefit of migrants and countries alike. We owe this to the millions of migrants who, through their courage, vitality and dreams, help make our societies more prosperous, resilient and diverse."
Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations.
In December 2000, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly proclaimed December 18 as the International Migrants Day. The day was chosen to highlight that on a December 18, the UN had adopted the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrants Workers and Members of Their Families. Although migration to and from countries is a worldwide flow of people, only 42 countries, basically Latin American, North and West African, Indonesia and the Philippines, have ratified the Convention. The Convention created a Committee on Migrant Workers which meets in Geneva to review once every four years a report of the Convention members on their application of the Convention. The Convention also created a mechanism by which the Committee could receive individual complaints. Only three States have ratified this individual complaints mechanism: Mexico, Guatemala and Uruguay.
Today, there are some 232 million persons who reside and work outside their country of birth. The reasons for migration are diverse − most often economic, but also refugees from armed conflicts and oppression, and increasingly what are called "ecological refugees" − persons who leave their home area due to changing environmental conditions: drought, floods, rising sea levels etc. Global warming may increase the number of these ecological refugees.
After war, persecution, and poverty, a new danger is now driving people away from their homes in their millions – climate change. (C) Tck Tck Tck
Although migration is an important issue with a multitude of consequences in both countries of origin and destination, the Committee on Migrant Workers, a group of experts who function in their individual capacity and not as representatives of the State of which they are citizens, has a low profile among what are called "UN Treaty Bodies" – the committees which review the reports of States which have ratified UN human rights conventions such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights or the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
Since the great majority of States receiving migrants − Western Europe and North America – have not ratified the Convention on Migrant Workers, other ways have to be found within the UN system to look at migration issues. Thus has been created outside the UN system but in close cooperation with the UN, the Global Forum on Migration and Development and the Global Migration Group to address the opportunities and challenges of international migration. Within the UN, there was the recent, October 2013 "High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development".
In 2013 the Conservative-led Government of the United Kingdom publicly called on undocumented migrants to "go home or face arrest", a move that was basically inhumane and completely out of place. (C) Socialist Party of Great Britain)
The Governments at the Dialogue unanimously adopted a Declaration (A/68/L.5) calling for greater cooperation to address the challenges of irregular migration and to facilitate safe, orderly and regular migration. The Declaration also emphasized the need to respect the human rights of migrants and to promote international labor standards. The Declaration strongly condemns manifestations of racism and intolerance and stresses the need to improve public perceptions of migrants.
UN conferences and such dialogues or forums serve as a magnet, pulling Governments to agree to higher ideals and standards collectively than they would proclaim individually. This is not only hypocrisy − though there is certainly an element of hypocrisy as Governments have no plans to put these aims into practice. Rather it is a sort of "collective unconscious" of Government representatives who have a vision of an emerging world society based on justice and peace.
In 2010 two French singers, Stanislas and Mike Ibrahim, released a song entitled "Tu verras en France" ("You'll see in France"). In this song, the two young men call for attention to the situation of migrants who leave their home countries hoping to find a better life in France but end up undocumented and living in extreme poverty, constantly having to run from the police if they don't want to end up in jail or sent back to their country of origin.
The role of nongovernmental organizations is to remind constantly Government representatives that it is they who have written the text and voted for it without voicing reservations. Numerous States which ratified the International Convention on Migrant Workers made reservations limiting the application of the Convention on their territory. Thus, the Declaration of the High-level Dialogue was not written by the Association of World Citizens but by Government diplomats.
The Declaration is a strong text and covers most of the important issues, including human mobility as a key factor for sustainable development, the role of women and girls who represent nearly half of all migrants, the need to protect the rights of migrant children and the role of remittances to families.
The Declaration merits to be better known and widely quoted in the on-going discussions and debates on migration policies and practices.
Le droit universel à la fraternité
In Being a World Citizen, Cultural Bridges, Fighting Racism, Human Rights, Solidarity, The Search for Peace, Uncategorized, World Law on February 11, 2014 at 9:25 PM
LE DROIT UNIVERSEL A LA FRATERNITE
Par Bernard Henry
(D'après « The Universal Right to Brotherhood », du même auteur :
https://awcungeneva.com/2014/02/10/the-universal-right-to-brotherhood/)
En tant qu'Organisation Non-Gouvernementale (ONG) dotée du Statut Consultatif auprès de l'ONU et active au sein du Conseil des Droits de l'Homme, l'Association of World Citizens a toujours défendu les Droits de l'Homme partout dans le monde, tous les Droits de l'Homme, qu'ils soient civils, politiques, économiques, sociaux, culturels ou autres, tels que ceux plus récemment reconnus au développement et à un environnement sain.
Depuis le début de la décennie, le désir mondial de Droits de l'Homme est plus visible que jamais auparavant. Mais les nombreux auteurs de violations auxquels le peuple du monde doit faire face – les gouvernements des Etats, les corporations multinationales, les groupes politiques non-étatiques, armés ou non – balaient ouvertement les Droits de l'Homme comme étant de simples revendications politiques qui en valent d'autres, leur refusant le moindre caractère de prérogatives universelles reconnues en droit international.
Parfois même, les gouvernements répressifs et autres entités qui le sont tout autant vont jusqu'à prétendre qu'ils agissent au nom même des Droits de l'Homme, accusant en cela leurs critiques et leurs opposants d'attenter eux-mêmes aux Droits de l'Homme.
C'est comme si chacun ne revendiquait plus les Droits de l'Homme qu'à son seul profit, ignorant superbement autrui et considérant les Droits de l'Homme comme étant tout ou rien – mes droits ou les leurs, l'un ou l'autre mais pas les deux. Rien ne saurait être plus contraire à l'idée même de défense des Droits de l'Homme.
Le Préambule de la Déclaration universelle des Droits de l'Homme, depuis 1948 clé de voûte du droit international des Droits de l'Homme, affirme très clairement qu'une protection effective des Droits de l'Homme par la loi est essentielle « pour que l'homme ne soit pas contraint, en suprême recours, à la révolte contre la tyrannie et l'oppression ». Même si certains peuvent voir en les Droits de l'Homme une question trop « conflictuelle » à aborder, ignorer ou renier les Droits de l'Homme rend bel et bien impossible à toute personne, tout gouvernement, ou toute autre entité que ce soit, d'espérer en tout bon sens atteindre une quelconque paix ou un quelconque progrès dont il ou elle puisse tirer parti.
L'Article Premier de la Déclaration se fait encore plus explicite sur ce point :
« Tous les êtres humains naissent libres et égaux en dignité et en droits. Ils sont doués de raison et de conscience et doivent agir les uns envers les autres dans un esprit de fraternité. »
Fraternité – c'est bien là le mot qui compte, car c'est là tout ce que les Droits de l'Homme veulent dire.
Se soucier de son prochain, un être humain comme soi-même. Accorder de l'importance à la vie, la liberté, la sécurité d'un ou d'une autre autant qu'aux siennes propres. Vouloir faire le bien des autres plutôt que de concevoir sa propre vie comme un combat permanent et inexorable contre tous. C'est cela, vivre « dans un esprit de fraternité », et partant de là, respecter les Droits de l'Homme, à commencer par le plus essentiel d'entre eux – le droit à la fraternité.
Même s'il est devenu très à la mode de chercher des noises à autrui en invoquant les Droits de l'Homme, se conduire ainsi n'a aucun sens, dans la mesure où la défense des Droits de l'Homme doit être par essence inclusive et jamais sectaire. Lorsque l'on reconnait le droit à la fraternité en tant que droit inaliénable devant être garanti à toutes et à tous, l'on en vient tout naturellement à reconnaître tous les autres droits consacrés par la Déclaration et par bien d'autres instruments internationaux de Droits de l'Homme – civils, politiques, économiques, sociaux et culturels.
La Déclaration universelle des Droits de l'Homme en langue française, langue maternelle de son principal artisan, le Français René Cassin.
Dans la droite ligne de ce principe, la Déclaration se termine sur trois articles rappelant la primauté du droit à la fraternité sur tous les autres :
« Toute personne a droit à ce que règne, sur le plan social et sur le plan international, un ordre tel que les droits et libertés énoncés dans la présente Déclaration puissent y trouver plein effet. »
Bien évidemment, cela veut dire que chacun a droit à la paix, et plus évident encore, il ne peut y avoir de paix sans la fraternité.
« 1. L'individu a des devoirs envers la communauté dans laquelle seul le libre et plein développement de sa personnalité est possible.
2. Dans l'exercice de ses droits et dans la jouissance de ses libertés, chacun n'est soumis qu'aux limitations établies par la loi exclusivement en vue d'assurer la reconnaissance et le respect des droits et libertés d'autrui et afin de satisfaire aux justes exigences de la morale, de l'ordre public et du bien-être général dans une société démocratique.
3. Ces droits et libertés ne pourront, en aucun cas, s'exercer contrairement aux buts et aux principes des Nations Unies. »
Peut-on être plus clair ? L'on ne peut jouir de ses droits qu'au sein de la communauté humaine, « dans un esprit de fraternité », donc, ni en dehors de la communauté ni contre la communauté.
« Aucune disposition de la présente Déclaration ne peut être interprétée comme impliquant pour un Etat, un groupement ou un individu un droit quelconque de se livrer à une activité ou d'accomplir un acte visant à la destruction des droits et libertés qui y sont énoncés. »
La plus forte, et la plus logique, conclusion possible à une déclaration universelle des droits – les droits ne peuvent être revendiqués, à plus forte raison utilisés, pour faire du tort à qui que ce soit, ce en aucune circonstance. En d'autres termes, si vous ne reconnaissez pas le droit à la fraternité, vous ne pouvez tout simplement pas vous prévaloir de vos droits du tout.
Jargon juridique mis à part, ce n'est là rien d'autre que ce que disait déjà Albert Schweitzer lorsqu'il a créé son concept de Respect de la Vie (Ehrfurcht vor dem Leben). Dans son livre paru en 1923, La Civilisation et l'Ethique, Schweitzer résumait ce concept ainsi : « L'éthique n'est rien d'autre que le Respect de la vie. Le Respect de la vie me fournit le principe fondamental de la morale, à savoir que le bien consiste à entretenir, assister et mettre en valeur la vie, et que détruire la vie, lui faire du tort ou y faire obstacle est mal. »
En un temps où il n'existait aucune véritable institution politique ou juridique au niveau mondial, ce qui s'en rapprochait le plus étant une Société des Nations bâtie pour l'essentiel sur des vœux pieux et dénuée de tout pouvoir de promulguer des lois, Schweitzer proclamait déjà, de la manière la plus claire qui puisse être, le droit universel à la fraternité.
En 1952, la philosophie du "Respect de la Vie" valut à Albert Schweitzer le Prix Nobel de la Paix.
Plus le « respect », selon l'idée que Schweitzer s'en faisait, du droit à la fraternité est important, plus l'oppression et l'injustice ont du mal à s'installer dans une société. Que l'on se batte contre une dictature, que l'on engage le combat contre des politiciens qui propagent le racisme, que l'on manifeste pour un salaire décent, que l'on dispense un enseignement à des enfants démunis ou que l'on fournisse à un village isolé l'accès à l'eau potable, l'on affirme une seule et même chose : nous sommes citoyens du monde entier, l'humanité est notre famille, et en tant qu'êtres humains, nous avons le droit de vivre en famille avec nos frères sur la Terre.
Bernard Henry est Officier des Relations Extérieures du Bureau de Représentation auprès de l'Office des Nations Unies à Genève de l'Association of World Citizens.
The Search for Peace
Being a World Citizen


Original Redhead Condiments wants to expand operations and continue developing products with the taste, and quality you have come to know and love.
The expansion will include the "greening" of the product packaging and the introduction of recipes, and unique ways of using Original Redhead products. Original Redhead Condiments believes in sustainability and is mindful of creating as little impact on the environment whenever possible.
• Educating people on the health benefits of Original Redhead and fermented products.
Additional funds will be used for general operations. Local markets, retail and restaurant locations throughout Edmonton, and eventually Canada will see benefits from your donations.
In return for your support, we have created a variety of fun, and unique rewards to choose from. We hope one piques your interest and raises the fun factor for your current food adventure.
Why Support Original Redhead Condiments?
Original Redhead condiments was created with the condiment connoisseur and health-conscious fermented foodies in mind. Stuart brings a broadening knowledge of fermentation and nutrition to Edmonton's diverse food scene. With these values in mind he hopes to make healthy flavorful foods more accessible to Edmontonians everywhere.
It's no secret that eating a diet rich in fermented foods is good for you. Our fermented line of products utilizes a process that preserves food naturally, and creates beneficial enzymes, b-vitamins, Omega-3 fatty acids, and several strains of probiotics. Plus, it boosts endorphins and releases serotonin in the brain (the happy chemical), scientifically making you happier.
Our fresh salsas are free of preservatives, excess amounts of salts & sugars, and other harmful additives. We truly believe that fresh tastes better.
Stuart Whyte (yes, he's a redhead) is the creator of Original Redhead Condiments.
He's been in the culinary industry for more than a decade and has worked in several kitchens with renowned chefs throughout Western Canada.
With his experience, proprietary recipes, and a penchant for success, Stuart is ready to take the next step in expanding operations with the help of the community (that's you!).
We believe this business can be a long-term success because of the amazing support from the community already, and the encouragement to continue raising the bar in condiment and side dish flavours.
This isn't just about us though. Part of Original Redhead's philosophy is that working with the community and promoting as many others as possible all along the way is paramount to our success.
The biggest risk or challenge, like any other business, is the inability to scale at the rate of demand. This is the main reason for seeking the support in raising the capital required to scale up in an effective and efficient manner, in order to meet the growing demand for the Original Redhead Condiments product.
Of course, the main way you can contribute to the success of this campaign is to purchase one of the awesome rewards available. Other ways you can help is by helping us spread the word as much as possible including sharing, liking, tagging, forwarding whatever you can, to everyone you know.
So, what do you say? Trust your gut and support the campaign!
Best hot sauce i have ever tried! Im alwags busy on the weekends so I never make it down to the market for some. Keep on going!
Sorry it took so long! I'm the worst!
Love your stuff and your entrepreneur spirit.
Loved the hotsauce I tried at the farmers market, excited to learn more at the cooking class! yay!
Cheers to the entrepreneurial spirit. Good luck with your campaign!
Stu you saucy Mofo! Let's do this!!!
Can you pass the sauce?!
The power of social Media thanks to your friends at Bent Stick brewing!
Hey! For my sauces I'd like verse, leek and original redhead :) thanks Stu and good luck!
Your sauces are simply AMAZING! Keep up the good work!
Beat of luck Stuart with the business we look forward to sampling your products.
A really great product, it would be a pleasure to see more of it in more places. I got the small sauce box: Salsa Roja, Original Redhead, and Hopped Honey Mustard.
Stuart's passions for healthy living, good food, and quality are what bring his condiments to life. Having worked in the food industry for over a decade, he has a very well rounded understanding and appreciation for well balanced flavor. Many of the fermented sauces take at least 1 month to finish, and much like the flavor- Stuart's love for the science has matured over time.
Kaiya's teaching approach is purely an expression of her perspective and relation to her personal practice. Having been a yoga practitioner for years before she even thought about becoming a teacher, she has a very strong understanding of proper alignment in her own body, and her classes clearly reflect that. Kaiya is a Sattva RYT 200 hour, and registered with The Yoga Alliance.
If you were hoping to get the brunch reward, it's sold out. There are still many rewards to choose from including a catered bbq party and Original Redhead Condiments starter packs.
Help a friend get in on our exclusive pricing by sharing the perks with friends.
We know many of you have questions, so please feel free to reach out to us at our support address info.originalredhead@gmail.com. Our team will respond promptly within 48 hours. We look forward to hearing from you!
Receive a jar of our seasoning blend and a personalized thank you. Includes shipping.
Trust your gut T-shirt and one bottle of our Original Redhead HotSauce.
Three (3) bottles of your choice of Original Redhead Sauces and a water bottle. Delivery included.
Includes personalized thank you, ORC recipe index, T-Shirt, and a water bottle. Includes shipping.
Four (4) bottles of Original Redhead Sauces (one of each) and a water bottle. Delivery included.
Cooking Class - Healthy Fermentation - On Sale! Save 50%. Was $200.
Includes 3 Original Redhead condiments, 2 FUGE Fine Meat Salamis, 1 Bonjour Bakery Bread, and 2 kinds of cheese from Bonjour Bakery and board from BOBFISH Woodworks. Alberta Only.
$200 for Brunch for the Bunch!
Instructed by KSauce (Kaiya - YYT 200) and lunch provided by Original Redhead Condiments- includes one bottle of hot sauce to keep. (Edmonton Only). On Sale! Save $50. Was $300.
Catered BBQ for up to 6 people in your home. Includes a Pork Shoulder from Bear and Flower Farm, or Beef Brisket. Mexi street corn, slaw, chips and salsa, Grilled chicken hearts, and Taco bar. extras based on consultation. The price also includes decorations, delivery, and a Pinata filled with Mexican candies. On sale!! Save $75. Was $400.
Fermentation start-up kit: ORC recipe index, chamber, shelving unit, art of fermentation, heater, temp controller, velcro strips, two jars with a c02 release, ph meter. Includes in-home setup. Edmonton and area only. On Sale! Save $200. Was $650.


Part of a senior team responsible for providing advisory services to a company with respect to market entry strategy.
Assessed the financial impact for a local school to expand its operations into a middle school program.
Benchmarked the product to 1 Mil transactions/hour using Automatic Workflow Repository & optimization of queries.
Created dashboards using OBIEE for payments module and collaborated with project management team to produce impactful reports.
Prepared Functional and Technical Design Specification Documents.
Analyzed the test cases for system integration testing and user acceptance testing.
Analyzed the root cause for issues assigned and communicate to all the stake holders to take them to closure as per the agreed Service Level Agreement.
Trained new team members to understand the product and software used.
Visualized the dataset in R to understand the critical reasons for attrition in the company.
Showcased visually impactful dashboards using Tableau to help the company understand the measures that could be taken to reduce attrition & built a predictive model using Weka and Python.
Improved the accuracy by 5% using balancing techniques like Synthetic Minority Over-Sampling.
Identified the KPIs and developed a Tableau dashboard to analyze the data.
Prepared a dataset of important attributes from the organization's database using MySQL for regression.
Determined the likelihood of an individual making donations using a predictive model to improve their constituent base.
Cleaned the dataset with null values and segregated useful information using OpenRefine.
Set up a relational database for the dataset with integrity constraints and the cleaned data was loaded.
Visualized the dataset in R studio to ensure that the cleaned dataset had meaningful data for preparing models.


Our astronomers meet on the third Friday of the month for Astro Cafe: This month (19 April) it is at 6:30 PM at Tim Hortons in Sechelt. If the skies are clear after we have coffee and discussion, we take our telescopes down to the seawall in Davis Bay for public viewing. The forecast is looking promising at present. There is a full Moon which will interfere with deep sky viewing. Everyone welcome!
We're asking for members to meet at the Sunshine Coast Arts Centre, 5714 Medusa St., Sechelt, at 7 PM on 12 October for a brief AGM at which we will be voting for the new executive.
At 7:30 PM, the Sunshine Coast Centre of the RASC presents two speakers. The first is Dr. Chris Gainor, a historian specializing in the history of space flight and aeronautics. He has five published books. He is also President of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, and editor of Quest: The History of Spaceflight Quarterly. Chris' topic will be: History of the Hubble Space Telescope. The Hubble Space Telescope was launched 28 years ago in 1990. After overcoming problems caused by a defective main mirror, Hubble has made discoveries that have revolutionized our view of the universe we live in. This talk will cover the history of HST based on a history book the speaker is writing for NASA.
The second speaker is Sarah Savić Kallesøe, a Simon Fraser University undergraduate student involved with the research and public outreach affairs of the Trottier Observatory since its inception in 2015. As the first student with training and access to the observatory, Sarah has led imaging projects, astronomy workshops, and data collection sessions. In 2017, Sarah was invited to conduct research with the graduate student observational astrophysics group at the Niels Bohr Physics Institute, University of Copenhagen, where she was the youngest member and the only Canadian accepted. Her research was conducted at the Nordic Optical Telescope in La Palma of the Spanish Canary Islands and focused on quasar identification and classification of novel supernovae. The results of this project were published in the Astronomer's Telegram and included in the NASA Astrophysics Database.
Sarah will graduate from SFU with a First Class Distinction Bachelor's of Science in Population and Quantitative Health Sciences in June 2019. She is the 2019 BC Rhodes Scholar nominee for SFU and her career aspiration is to contribute to the World Health Organization's research relating to the well-being of migrants and their access to health care services. While her formal undergraduate education in public health does not directly relate to astronomy, she appreciates the complexity of both systems. Beyond academia and astronomy, Sarah thoroughly enjoys exploring BC's nature her Scout group.
Admission is free: donations gratefully accepted at the door.
Join us at the Botanical Garden on September 2nd for the very popular Harvest Festival, this is usually one of our best attended events. This will be the last outreach event for the club this year and we will have our solar observing telescopes out in force. Lets hope for some clear, smoke free skies.
After a two-year absence, the Sunshine Coast Centre of the RASC is bringing the popular Astronomy in the Park program back to Porpoise Bay Provincial Park in Sechelt on Saturday, 11 August from 1 to 11:30 p.m. There will be club telescopes, an information booth with membership information, displays and astronomy related giveaways.
The first "star" of the day will be the sun, and with the club's safe solar telescopes, participants will be able to look for fiery prominences and sun-spots. Club members will be on hand with telescopes all afternoon and into the night to answer questions and show off the wonders of our universe.
Bill Burnyeat, formerly of the MacMillan Planetarium, will be doing a presentation in the park amphitheatre at dusk. Afterwards our astronomers will have their telescopes in the park picnic area for viewing Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and countless other celestial objects while overhead the Perseid meteor shower takes place. With clear skies and a new moon, participants should be able to see constellations, star clusters and nebulae. It's the best show on earth and it's absolutely free.
Remember to bring a flashlight with a red light to preserve night vision.
NOTE: Our observatory will not be open on this evening as all of our volunteers will be committed at this event.
From July 12 to August 12 the Gibsons Public Art Gallery will be presenting a collection of photos, Heavenly Wonders- Astrophotography by Erwin Diener. We invite you to be moved and challenged by the profound beauty and vastness of cosmic space while reflecting on the human experience. This meet and greet event is scheduled for Saturday July 21, 1 pm – 4 pm. Members of the Sunshine Coast Centre will be present to interpret the photos and show the public views of the sky with telescopes.
At 7:30 PM, 9 March 2018, at the Sunshine Coast Art Centre, 5714 Medusa St., Sechelt, the Sunshine Coast Centre of the RASC presents Vancouver Centre President Leigh Cummings, who will be doing a presentation on Mars Exploration.
Service Award for Bill Clark!


We are delighted to announce that we, St John and St James have achieved the School Games GOLD Mark Award for the 2017/18 academic year.
Unicef have awarded SJSJ a Rights Respecting Schools GOLD award in recognition of our outstanding work across the school. Each class has two RRS ambassadors, who meet regularly to come up with ideas about how we can promote the rights of children. This year, as well as awarding individual children with awards each week, the RRS team have decided that they will offer daily recognition by handing out special stickers to children that they spot respecting the rights of all children.
We are proud to announce that The Green Team have been awarded a Bronze certificate by Eco-Schools for their hard work so far this year! The Green Team have been working towards making our school a more sustainable place to be. They have completed an environmental review and established three key focus points which they intend to work on this academic year. Look out for the amazing events and campaigns that they have planned over the upcoming weeks!
We are delighted to share that we have been selected as part of the Mayor's Gold Club for our outstanding achievements in maths across the school.
The Mayor's London Schools' Gold Club is an annual scheme which celebrates and shares exceptional practice in London's schools. Gold Club members have 'bucked the trend' by achieving exceptional outcomes for all their pupils, whatever their circumstances. The school to school programme allows all schools across London to learn from the good practice of Gold Club schools in improving pupils' aspirations and achievements. Funded by the Mayor, it's a free opportunity to find out what Gold Club schools are doing to make a difference for their pupils and how they're doing it.
St John & St James is listed as one of the lead schools in part of a multiple teaching schools alliance in Hackney.
Healthy Schools London has awarded St John & St James a Bronze award for kick starting our journey to encourage all students to be happy and healthy. Schools across London are working together to help children learn about their health, and develop their motivation and self respct to make healthy choices.
We are delighted to announce that St John & St James has been awarded an International School Award by the British Council. Throughout the school children are exposed to Spanish lessons which not only encourage communication in a different language, but also offer children with the opportunity to explore similarities and differences between cultures and lifestyles; all of this has been recognised in the process of achieving this award.


OS Detect - 32-bit or 64-bit?
Win10 All Settings is a utility software that enables the use of different system settings. The main aim of the application is to help users customize Windows 10 in all circumstances with alternative configuration interfaces, and it can also perform some hidden settings.
Precise CPU Stress can stress the system in an adjustable and variable level based on CPU and RAM usage. Resource usage is displayed on a graph. The software can analyze the internal processes of the computer, and provides a good basis for performance and stability tests as well.
Easy Dark Mode is a useful utility software which facilitates the setup of Light and Dark display modes available in Windows 10, and enables quick switching between them.
myProcesses is a versatile process manager software. It enables process-level monitoring of various computer processes, as well as carrying out actions related to the setting, registry, and management of individual processes.
myResources displays the load status of the computer's basic resources (disk, CPU, memory, network) using graphs and active icons. The program is also capable of displaying resources on a merged graphic chart (SumGraph), giving you an informative and spectacular way of monitoring your computer's internal processes.
Conventional computers provide some basic information with the help of LEDs. Modern computers often lack these LEDs or they are not in a clearly visible place. AddLEDs replaces or supplements them by means of software.
One of the major inventions in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update is the built-in colour filter. The colour filter radically change the appearance of your screen and its application can significantly improve your visual experience. Easy Invert makes it easier and automatable the use of the built-in colour filter feature.
NetGraph is a free to use network bandwidth monitor. It shows real-time information about the state of network traffic in a visual display format selected by the user. NetGraph can monitor the data flows of wired, Wi-Fi and mobile broadband connections, as well as that of the local network and the internet.


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WFP chief seeks million from donors, billionaires for food
by: EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press
Posted: Oct 9, 2020 / 11:02 PM CDT / Updated: Oct 9, 2020 / 11:51 PM CDT
World Food Program (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley speaks to the media about the organization's Nobel Peace Prize win, at the airport in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, late Friday, Oct. 9, 2020. The World Food Program won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for fighting hunger and seeking to end its use as "a weapon of war and conflict" at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has driven millions more people to the brink of starvation. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick)
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Even before COVID-19 became an issue, World Food Program chief David Beasley was warning global leaders that the world would face the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II in 2020.
He said that was because of wars in Syria, Yemen and elsewhere, locust swarms in Africa, frequent natural disasters, and economic crises including in Lebanon, Congo, Sudan and Ethiopia. Then came COVID-19 which quickly became a pandemic that has swept the world, escalating the need for food — and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says it is still not under control.
Beasley, who got COVID-19 in April, has spent the months since he recovered reaching out to world leaders and visiting stricken countries with a new warning that he delivered to the U.N. Security Council last month: millions of people are closer to starvation because of the deadly combination of conflict, climate change and the coronavirus pandemic.
He said the WFP and its partners were going all out to reach as many as 138 million people this year — "the biggest scale-up in our history."
Beasley urged donors, including governments and institutions, to help, and he made a special appeal to the more than 2,000 billionaires in the world, with a combined net worth of $8 trillion, to open their bank accounts.
The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday to the U.N. food agency is a tribute not only to its work in the even greater humanitarian crisis than Beasley envisioned in this COVID-ravaged year, but as the Nobel committee made clear it is a plea for unity and multilateral cooperation to tackle global challenges as WFP has done in a world facing increasing nationalism and populism.
Beasley called the award "a humbling, moving recognition of the work of WFP staff who lay their lives on the line every day to bring food and assistance for close to 100 million hungry children, women and men across the world — people whose lives are often brutally torn apart by instability, insecurity and conflict."
He also paid tribute to the agency's government, organizations and private sector partners who help the hungry and vulnerable.
"Every one of the 690 million hungry people in the world today has the right to live peacefully and without hunger," Beasley said in a statement on the WFP website.
"Today, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has turned the global spotlight on them and on the devastating consequences of conflict. Climate shocks and economic pressures have further compounded their plight," he said. "And now, a global pandemic with its brutal impact on economies and communities, is pushing millions more to the brink of starvation."
While the food crisis is mainly the result of conflict, Beasley said in April that he raised the prospect of a hunger pandemic because of the economic impact of COVID-19.
He told the Security Council last month that famine has been averted because of generous donations, but "this fight is far, far, far from over — the 270 million people marching toward the brink of starvation need our help today more than ever."
And he said 30 million people who rely solely on WFP for food to survive will die without it, and WFP needs $4.9 billion to feed them for a year.
"We're doing just about all we can do to stop the dam from bursting," Beasley said. "But, without the resources we need, a wave of hunger and famine still threatens to sweep across the globe. And if it does, it will overwhelm nations and communities already weakened by years of conflict and instability."
WFP's logistics operation is key to delivering food to tens of millions in need, and lockdowns and closed borders because of the pandemic have created immense difficulties for the agency.
Beasley has stressed that measures to contain the coronavirus must be balanced with the need to keep supply chains and trade moving across borders. And he has repeatedly expressed concern over COVID-19 shutdowns not only impeding the delivery of food but worsening other problems, such as disrupting vaccinations and treatments for other illnesses.
"There is a grave danger that many more people will die from the broader economic and social consequences of COVID-19 that from the virus itself, especially in Africa," Beasley has said, "and the last thing we need is to have the cure be worse than the disease itself."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Trish Doolin said Seattle's KeyBank went as far as to call her company to verify if she was actually an employee there.
A Black female architect in Washington State is claiming she was discriminated against at a KeyBank branch this week when she deposited her paycheck. Trish Doolin said that a banker looked up her company and called her human resources department to make sure she really worked for their and that her check was real.
The 37-year-old who is a job captain of architecture at design firm Nelson, Inc. recently told BuzzFeed News that she just moved to Seattle a few weeks prior to the incident and that her direct-deposit hadn't taken effect yet.
"I went in, deposited my check, and went about my day," the Doolin recalled of Wednesday morning.
A few minutes later, the bank called her saying there was a problem and asked her to return to the bank. According to Doolin, she was taken into a cubicle of a white bank manager, identified as Thor Loberg, when she noticed that her design firm's website was pulled up on his computer.
Doolin said the manager then called her HR department and "kept saying it was for the bank's safety," and never asked to see her ID. When he couldn't get hold of her company, Doolin was then told a nine-day hold was going to be placed on her paycheck because her account hadn't been open for 30 days yet and the bank needed to verify the funds.
After returning home work later on that afternoon, Doolin called the bank to express her anger of how she was treated earlier that day. Yet, she ended up speaking with a female worker who rejected that racial bias was behind the situation.
However, the woman released Doolin's funds into her account when she saw that it had been open for 29 days. But for Doolin, the damage had already been done.
Doolin told Buzzfeed that said she plans to switch banks this weekend.


Throughout my 37-year career as a lawyer I was a business attorney with Moye White LLP in Denver, primarily focusing on Chapter 11 business bankruptcies and related disputes. Arising out of my extensive experience negotiating complex multi-party business disputes and workouts in and out of bankruptcy, I realized that I enjoyed helping other parties resolve their disputes as much as I enjoyed advocating for my own clients. This led me to study mediation, including initially taking 40-hour courses at CDR Associates and Harvard Law School (more recently I also completed the American Bankruptcy Institute 40-hour course at St. John's University in NYC). I began actively mediating cases in the mid to late 1990's.
Over the years, my mediation work gradually evolved from a small adjunct of my legal practice to a major component of my professional life. Ultimately I reached the decision to retire from the practice of law at Moye White and go out on my own to focus solely on mediation. Thus, as of January 1, 2018 Burghardt Mediation Works was established.
To date I have conducted roughly 50 mediations, most of which have involved six to eight figures and complex business, commercial, real estate, and/or bankruptcy issues. The cases have involved many different industries, and most have taken significant time and effort to resolve. I particularly enjoy the challenge of multi-party disputes. I have mediated matters in Colorado, Utah, California, and New York, and remain open to serving in other states.
I have twice been designated the "People's Choice" (once for bankruptcy, once for mediation) in Law Week Colorado's Barrister's Best award program. In 2017 I was invited to join the National Academy of Distinguished Professionals, an ADR organization which has only 35 members in the entire state of Colorado.
Please consult the Burghardt Mediation Works website, www.bmw-pc.com, for more details about my mediation practice or contact me directly at jb@bmw-pc.com.


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Khalid Latif, Contributor
University Chaplain, NYU / Director, Islamic Center at NYU / Founder & Owner, Honest Chops
Ramadan Reflection Day 25: Women in the House of God
Imam Khalid Latif is blogging his reflections during the month of Ramadan, featured daily on HuffPost Religion. For a complete record of his previous posts, click over to the Islamic Center at New York University or visit his author page, and to follow along with the rest of his reflections, sign up for an author e-mail alert above, visit his Facebook page or follow him on Twitter.
My wife and I were driving home late last night and decided to find a mosque to pray in on our way. There is a great emphasis on praying during the night throughout the month of Ramadan, but the last 10 nights have that much more of an emphasis.
We stopped at a mosque that we usually don't go to and when we walked into the main entrance it seemed like there were only men coming in. I asked someone if there was an area for women to pray and how to get there. He said there was and pointed us in the direction of what lead to a shoe rack. He then asked someone else how to get to the women's area and this second young man told us to go outside and around the corner where we would find a back entrance that led into the area designated for women.
Priya and I walked together and as we turned the corner we stumbled over a hose and breathed in the fresh scent of garbage from three cans placed conveniently there. We then turned into a pitch black darkness that was illuminated all of a sudden with a sensor light that turned itself off almost as quickly as it turned itself on. If you've ever seen the back allies in the Spider-Man movies, this "women's entrance" would make them look like a well-lit park. I told Priya that I would meet her right at the door when she was done praying so she wouldn't have to walk through that darkness by herself.
I never really understood why some mosques are so comfortable in creating spaces for women that really are just disrespectful, both of the women themselves and the ritual that they are coming to undertake. Prayer is the most important pillar of Islam, and as a maintainer of a house of God, how could one justifiably think they are honoring that responsibility by providing a space that makes the congregant feel as if they made a mistake in coming to pray there? It's not your house, it's God's house. And if I'm coming there to worship God, you have to provide for me the best possible atmosphere in doing so, whether I am a man or a woman.
My friend Hind Makki wrote a piece on this a few weeks ago appropriately entitled Where's My Space to Pray in This Mosque?
I've prayed in different places all over the world. On the beach in the Maldives, in a jungle in Sri Lanka, right in front of the kaaba in Mecca, in parks and on street corners all over NYC, on mountains and hills, in rainstorms and in the snow. Each place has been meaningful and in many places I've felt a deep connection, alhamdulillah. I was able to move beyond the mere mechanics of the prayer and into something deeper. My surroundings played a role in that connection and it's enhancement. My friends Musa Syeed, Aman Ali and Bassam Tariq, whom some of you might remember from the 30 Mosques Project, made a video recently that I think puts this into a good perspective. It follows a young woman named Deena "who loses her job and decides to start a daily photo blog with her free time. What results is an intimate glimpse in to a woman's prayer and the personal struggle connecting with the Divine."
Deena speaks about why she prays and what she hopes to gain out of it. How she describes it isn't really that different from most others Muslims, whether they are male or female. We are simply looking to connect to our Creator, and it's not OK for any of us to lose on that opportunity because of our gender.
I interviewed a young woman a few weeks ago for a women's initiative that we are starting at our Islamic Center at NYU. She spoke about how her local mosque doesn't really provide adequate space for women and how, especially during Ramadan, she finds herself cramped, surrounded by children who are crying, and straining to hear and understand much of the service. She went on to say how it really hit her hard when her husband one day took her to another mosque and they found themselves in a large, open space that was designated for men to pray in. They both prayed there together and she described it as one of the best experiences in her life. Her ability to concentrate and focus multiplied itself and tears starting to stream down her face as she got more and more into it, all because of her surroundings. She tasted that, and then found herself back in the reality of her own local congregation, that didn't really seem to care too much about the quality of her prayer.
If the question is one of religious permissibility, then Islam clearly states that women are allowed to pray in mosques. Habib Ali Al-Jifri, a well-known Muslim Scholar, addresses this here.
A mosque is not meant to be a place that is run or driven by ego. My prayer is not more important than your prayer, nor is yours more important than mine. If I am in the place of facilitating, then I need to understand that, as important as my prayer is to me, it's just as important to someone else. To take away from one's experience simply because they are female is not justifiable. How I could do that comfortably with an understanding that I would stand in front of God one day worries me. It's one thing if I take away from my own prayer. But if I am the cause of someone else's prayer being adversely impacted, what am I really hoping to set myself up for?
Check out The Huffington Post's Ramadan liveblog updated daily with spiritual reflections, blog posts, photos, videos, and verses from the Quran. Tell us your Ramadan story.
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Discussions between public health officials and the drug industry regarding a deal to ensure that people in poor countries can receive medicines at affordable prices has ended without resolution.
The meeting, which was sponsored by the United Nations' World Health Organisation (WHO), was suspended after delegates used up the six allotted days for negotiations and agreed to meet again in late April 2008 and conclude a deal later in May .
The goal of the talks is to produce guidelines which would foster research and development of affordable drugs to treat diseases prevalent in poor countries, while respecting intellectual property rights of pharmaceutical companies.
Big Pharma argues it needs strong revenues from drug sales to finance research and development into new treatments, including for diseases prevalent in developing countries. The pharmaceutical industry has also condemned the WHO draft plan, while richer countries anxious to keep the taxes of the global drug industry are also unimpressed by the plan.
Health advocates, including aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), say that development of drugs for poor countries is lacking. MSF said the talks, which were hosted by the Intergovernmental Working Group for Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property (IGWG), did see some encouraging progress, however.
A spokesperson for MSF added: "Countries are pushing WHO to be more active in resolving the access to medicines crisis, and take a pro-health approach to intellectual property. Governments are taking steps to address the fundamental reasons why investment into innovation for diseases of the poor is lacking."
The pharmaceutical industry, represented by the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations (IFPMA), said it was disappointed by the lack of a deal and called for more public funds to encourage drug development.


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Alice Christensen
Noelle Lothamer | Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Michigan Breastfeeding Network
Alice Christensen, a nurse, has chaired the Michigan Breastfeeding Network as a volunteer since 2009. She recently wrote a grant proposal and was awarded a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to transition the network from an all-volunteer organization into a more structured and formalized nonprofit.
Michigan Nightlight: What does being a leader mean to you?
Michigan Breastfeeding Network Chair Alice Christensen: A leader is someone who looks at the big picture and asks the question, "What if?" A leader is also someone who encourages and engages others to be a part of the process and to collaborate…. I believe in the adage that "it takes a village" to make a bigger impact.
What is your dream for kids?
I want kids to be encouraged to have their own dreams, and to grow up in a loving environment in which those dreams are supported. I would also love kids to grow up in a culture in which they see breastfeeding as the normal way to feed an infant.
I would also love kids to grow up in a culture in which they see breastfeeding as the normal way to feed an infant.
What is one concrete thing that could be done to improve the environment for social sector work in Michigan?
I would point to Stanford's study on collective impact. We need a common agenda, shared measurement systems, mutually reinforcing activities, continuous communication, and backbone support. That's how we're going to make societal changes around breastfeeding and other social issues in Michigan.
How do you know you're making progress?
I look at progress from two standpoints: that of increased breastfeeding and health outcomes, and Michigan Breastfeeding Network's annual progress as an organization. For the former, I see progress in the increase of designated "baby friendly hospitals" [hospitals recognized by UNICEF & the World Health Organization as providing a high level of care and education for breastfeeding mothers and their babies]. For the latter, we'll make progress through strategic planning, structures for sustainability, an increase in local coalitions, and an increased role in advocacy for different projects throughout the state.
With networks, we have a greater ability to have an impact when many people are working on a common goal.
I'm proud of successfully writing and obtaining the Kellogg grant so that we can move the organization forward, and I'm proud that we're the go-to organization in the state for advocacy and support of breastfeeding.
What role have networks played in your professional career? How have those networks, both business and personal, affected the work you are able to do?
I'm a nurse, so my role has always been to teach, support, and promote healthy behaviors. From that perspective, I approach problems in the manner of asking "What about, what do you think?" Nothing is black and white, and none of us live in a vacuum; we live in communities, states, and nations. With networks, we have a greater ability to have an impact when many people are working on a common goal. You have to have an open mind and value the resources and talents that others bring to the table.
Healthcare & Wellness, Maternal & Child Health, Nonprofit Leadership, Nutrition & Nutrition Education
Promoting infant health
The Michigan Breastfeeding Network recognizes human milk as the norm for infant feeding. Our mission is to promote, protect and support breastfeeding as a vital part of the health and development of children, their families, and the community. We ...
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