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NOBEL WOMEN'S INITIATIVE

The Nobel Women's Initiative was established in 2006 by sister Nobel Peace Laureates Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Wangari Maathai, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan Maguire. We six women -- representing North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa -- have decided to bring together our extraordinary experiences in a united effort for peace with justice and equality.

Only 12 women in its more than 100 year history have been recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Peace Prize is a great honor, but it is also a great responsibility. It is this sense of responsibility that has compelled us to create the Nobel Women's Initiative to help strengthen work being done in support of women's rights around the world - work often carried out in the shadows with little recognition.

We believe that peace is much more than the absence of armed conflict. Peace is the commitment to equality and justice; a democratic world free of physical, economic, cultural, political, religious, sexual and environmental violence and the constant threat of these forms of violence against women – indeed against all of humanity.

It is the heartfelt mission of the Nobel Women's Initiative to address and work to prevent the root causes of violence by spotlighting and promoting the efforts of women's rights activists, researchers and organizations working to advance peace, justice and equality. By sharing a platform with these women, the NWI will spotlight their tireless work to prevent violence against women. By helping to advance the cause of women, we believe we advance all of humanity.

United by our desire to combat all forms of violence against women in all circumstances, we also recognize that specific issues for women vary around the world. One element of our work will be to sponsor international meetings of women every two years -- in a different region of the world -- to highlight issues of concern to women there. The objective of these meetings is to underscore our commonalities and differences by providing inclusive and energizing forums that ensure meaningful dialogue and networking by women's rights activists around the world -- but with a view to action.

It is our commitment to action that brings us together. Therefore, our meetings will be linked with concrete work in the target region leading up to the conference, along with post-conference plans of action to address the issues addressed at the conference. In this way, the Nobel Women's Initiative will support meaningful work on the ground.

We believe profoundly in the sharing of information and ideas. By networking and working together rather than in competition, we enhance the work of all. The Nobel Women's Initiative is committed to supplementing and enhancing existing work and is determined to avoid duplicating the work of others. We want to open new ground for discussion, debate and change.

We hope you share our excitement about the potential of the Nobel Women's Initiative to meaningfully contribute to building peace with justice and equality by working together with women around the world.

Mehr Informationen unter www.nobelwomensinitiative.org/about.php

Dies ist ein Bericht von WUNRN
www.wunrn.com

Expertenforum der OSZE

Berlin, 25.01.2008

Das vom Bundestag zusammen mit der OSZE organisierte Forum „Bekämpfung des Antisemitismus – Herausforderungen und erfolgreiche Methoden“ fand diesmal im Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus des Bundestages statt.

Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel berichtete kurz über die zuvor stattgefundene Gedenkstunde im Bundestag. Dort las die Schauspielerin Angela Winkler Texte der tschechisch-jüdischen Schriftstellerin und Holocaust-Überlebenden Lenka Reinerová. Musikalisch begleitet wurde die Gedenkstunde von Avitall Gerstetter, Deutschlands erste jüdische Kantorin, mit zwei Liedern von Ilse Weber und Karel Svenk, die beide im Ghetto Theresienstadt entstanden sind. Gerstetter ist als Kantorin besonders unter den orthodoxen Juden nicht unumstritten. Außerdem setzt sie sich vehement für einen Dialog zwischen den Religionen ein und veranstaltet jährlich den „Avitallscup“, ein Fußballtournier für Juden, Muslime, Christen und Atheisten.

Als regelrechtes Wunder empfindet die Bundeskanzlerin, dass es wieder jüdisches Leben in Deutschland gibt: „Es gibt jüdisches Leben in ganz neuer Form durch die zu uns gekommenen Juden aus Russland. Damit ist eine unglaubliche Aufgabe für die jüdische Gemeinde in Deutschland verbunden, bei der wir die gesamtgesellschaftliche Verpflichtung haben, zu helfen. Wenn man sieht, vor welcher Integrationsaufgabe die jüdische Gemeinde steht, so können wir sie auf gar keinen Fall damit alleine lassen.“

Rene Nyberg, der Botschafter Finnlands in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und Vertreter des OSZE-Vorsitzenden, erklärte, unter dem finnischen Vorsitz werde das Hauptziel sein, die Toleranz zu stärken.

El Papa apela a los medios para que adopten una «info-ética»

zunächst nur in Spanisch

CIUDAD DEL VATICANO
El Papa Benedicto XVI apeló el jueves a los medios para que practiquen la «info-ética», diciendo que a menudo son usados con irresponsabilidad para esparcir la violencia e imponer «modelos de vida distorsionados».
En su mensaje para la Jornada Mundial de las Comunicaciones de la Iglesia Católica, Benedicto XVI dijo que mientras los medios hacen mucho bien, a menudo se usan también por razones ideológicas y tratan de crear la realidad en vez de informar sobre ella.
«Cuando la comunicación pierde su base ética y elude el control de la sociedad, termina sin tomar en cuenta la centralidad y la dignidad inviolable del hombre», precisó en el mensaje de tres páginas.
«Por esta razón, es esencial que las comunicaciones sociales defiendan asiduamente a la persona y respeten íntegramente la dignidad humana. Muchas personas piensan ahora que hay una necesidad, en esta esfera, de ‘info-ética’, así como tenemos bioética en el campo de la medicina e investigación científica vinculada a la vida», agregó.
Los medios, dijo, frecuentemente están en riesgo de transformarse en lo que llamó «sistemas que apuntan a someter la humanidad a las agendas dictadas por los intereses dominantes del día».
Bajo el pontificado de Benedicto XVI y de su predecesor, Juan Pablo II, el Vaticano a menudo acusó a los medios de promover el consumismo y elementos de estilos de vida que considera no éticos, como el sexo prematrimonial y la homosexualidad.
«Mientras que afirman representar la realidad, pueden tender a legitimar o imponer modelos distorsionados de la vida personal, familiar o social», dijo Benedicto XVI.
«Además, a fin de atraer oyentes e incrementar el tamaño de las audiencias, no dudan por momentos en recurrir a la vulgaridad o la violencia, y en pasarse de la raya», añadió.
El uso apropiado de los medios, incluyendo Internet, está surgiendo como un desafío clave del tercer mileno, concluyó.
La Iglesia celebra su Jornada Mundial de las Comunicaciones el 4 de mayo.*.

Building Peaceful Communities through spreading the Culture of Service

zunächst  nur in Englisch

Manila, Philippines                  Costal Cleaning Projekt 

On the early morning of December 9 at 6:00 AM, around 10,000 volunteers from thirty-nine schools and universities in Metro Manila, and over 100 community groups flocked to join in the first Balikatang Kabataan para sa Kaunlaran ng Bayan Coastal Cleaning Project, a massive coastal cleanup of the Manila Bay to kick-off the Global Peace Festival 2007 celebration.

The Collegiate Association for the Research of the Principles  in the Philippines together with the Philippine Society of National Service Training Program Educators and Implementers, Inc.  initiated the project on the theme, "Building Peaceful Communities through Spreading the Culture of Service," with full support from the City of Manila and the Hon. Mayor Alfredo S. Lim. Also of note were the international delegates from around the globe representing different sectors of society who joined the cleanup brigade.