Active Citizens

COP27: Climate Change Exacerbates Vicious Loop of Human Rights Inequity

By Busani Bafana
Climate change is worsening injustice globally, and the poor and vulnerable communities are the most affected. It is time the world acted on fulfilling human rights and building a liveable planet, says Yamide Dagnet, director for Climate Justice at Open Society Foundations.

Indigenous Peoples Have Their Own Agenda at COP27, Demand Direct Financing

By Daniel Gutman
Indigenous peoples are no longer content just to attend as observers and to be seen as victims of the impacts of the current development model, at the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) on Climate Change. That is why they came to the summit in Egypt with an agenda of their own, including the demand that their communities directly receive funding for climate action.

Solar Power Brings Water to Families in Former War Zones in El Salvador

By Edgardo Ayala
The need for potable water led several rural settlements in El Salvador, at the end of the 12-year civil war in 1992, to rebuild what was destroyed and to innovate with technologies that at the time seemed unattainable, but which now benefit hundreds of families.

Mexican Environmental Prosecutor’s Office Dodges Charges against Mayan Train

By Emilio Godoy
A beige line slashes its way through the Mayan jungle near the municipality of Izamal in the southeastern Mexican state of Yucatán. It is section 3, 172 kilometers long, of the Mayan Train (TM), the most important megaproject of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's administration.

Say “No” to Foreign Intervention in Haiti to Kill our People: We Stand Ready for Peaceful Transition of Leadership

By Harvey Dupiton
Talks of an inevitable U.S. military intervention in Haiti are brewing within diplomatic circles. Without any constitutional or legal authority, our Haitian de facto government gave the green light for special forces to be sent to Haiti to combat our poor people-forgotten, jobless, left with no other choice for survival but the gang violence and insurrection ravaging the country.

How to Stop the ‘Hunger Pandemic’ Part 2: How to Reduce Food Loss

By Alissa Yoon, Alexander John Ham, Alex Yoon, Hyunsang "Sean" Cho, Karuta Yamamoto, Souta Oshiro and Sungjoon Ham
A group of middle school students living in Asia filmed this video on their campaign to reduce food waste. They learned many lessons: Only take as much food as you can eat; don’t waste, eat ugly fruit and compost. In this production, they spoke to experts about how to ensure that everybody has something nutritious to eat.

University Outreach Project Teaching Tissue Culture to Potato Farmers

By Maina Waruru
Until a few years ago, Kenyan potato farmer Richard Mbaria used to harvest just four tonnes of the crop from an acre of land thanks to poor quality seeds, combined with an attack on the crop by pests and diseases.

UN Censures 42 Nations for Retaliating Against Human Rights Activists & Journalists

By Thalif Deen
The United Nations has singled out 42 countries (out of 193 member states) for condemnation-- virtually blacklisting them-- for retaliating against human rights activists and journalists

Caribbean-American Artist Depicts ‘Chosen Family’

By SWAN
For two months over the summer, Caribbean-American artist Delvin Lugo presented his first solo show in New York City, exhibiting large, vibrant canvases at High Line Nine Galleries on Manhattan’s West Side and featuring queer communities in his homeland, the Dominican Republic.

Small Farmers in Peru Combat ‘Machismo’ to Live Better Lives

By Mariela Jara
"My father was very ‘machista’, he used to beat my mother... It was a very sad life," said Dionisio Ticuña, a resident of the rural community of Canincunca, on the outskirts of the town of Huaro, in the southern Peruvian highlands region of Cuzco more than 3,000 meters above sea level.

Women in Argentine Slum Confront Violence Together

By Daniel Gutman
The Padre Carlos Mugica neighborhood looks like another city within the Argentine capital, which most people usually see from up above as they drive past on the freeway but have never visited. It is a shantytown in the heart of Buenos Aires, of enormous vitality and where women are organizing to confront the various forms of violence that affect them.

Journalists, Under Threat, Need Safe Refuge Through Special Emergency Visas

By Gypsy Guillén Kaiser
“This woman sitting next to me, Maria Ressa, is a Nobel laureate and a convicted criminal,” said barrister Amal Clooney, who co-leads the international legal team representing Ressa. The founder of news website Rappler, Ressa has been targeted with a barrage of legal charges intended to stop her journalism in the Philippines.

Korean Slums: The Shadows of Society, or the New Light for the Future?

By Dongjun Lee, Hyunjae 'Henry' Cho and Minseung Kim
Have you watched Parasite? In 2021, everyone seemed to be watching it. But I wonder how many of them paid attention to the old man who found a little shelter in a hidden basement behind the kitchen of a mansion. However hidden it was, that's where he could meet his basic needs. That was his little slum.

Deadly Smoke: Feeding Children Kills Cafeteria Staff

By Soo Hyoun Lim and Hyeonuk Hwang
During my summer break this year, I read a news article about five school cafeteria workers who had died of lung cancer. Due to these incidents, a union of cafeteria workers, wearing their aprons and holding their lunch trays, held a protest in front of the President’s office on a scorching summer day. And it made us think about the devastating working conditions for the school lunch employees. Isn’t it so disheartening that we eat our school lunch at the expense of their health?

Women Advocates for Harvesting Rainwater in Salinity-Affected Coastal Bangladesh

By Rafiqul Islam
Like many other women in Bangladesh's salinity-prone coastal region, Lalita Roy had to travel a long distance every day to collect drinking water as there was no fresh water source nearby her locality.

Civil Disobedience – How to Make Enemies and Influence People

By Paul Virgo
Blocking metros and highways in rush-hour traffic to stop commuters getting to work. Vandalizing petrol pumps to put them out of use. Halting sporting events such as the French Open and the British Grand Prix. Disrupting bemused art lovers by gluing oneself to priceless masterpieces.

Guatemalans Fight Extractive Industries

By Edgardo Ayala
The majority of the Guatemalan population continues to oppose mining and other extractive projects, in the midst of a scenario of socio-environmental conflict that pits communities defending their natural resources against the interests of multinational corporations.

Peruvian Trans Women Fight for Their Right to Identity

By Mariela Jara
"Without recognition of your identity by the State and society, there is no exercise of citizenship or rights," said Leyla Huerta, director of Féminas Perú, an organization that has been working since 2015 to empower transgender women in the face of the highly vulnerable situation they find themselves in.

A Plea for the Creation of a UN Youth Assembly

By Simone Galimberti
There are many ways the UN can have a sizeable role in promoting the engagement and participation of youth and helping them becoming a central pillar of a new way of doing policy-making.

There’s no Stopping Renewable Power in Chile, but Community Energy Is Not Taking Off

By Orlando Milesi
Renewable energies, especially solar and wind power, are growing inexorably in Chile, driven by large companies. But community generation of alternative energy is not taking off, despite a law promoting it.

ECW Interviews Three Inspiring #Youth4EiE Advocates on International Youth Day

On this International Youth Day, ECW interviewed three inspiring #Youth4EiE Advocates – Nataly Rivas, Angela Abizera, and Jean-Paul Saif. Nataly, Angela, and Jean-Paul are three Global Youth for Education in Emergencies panel members.
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