October 2 is the International Day of Non-Violence The International Day of Non-Violence is marked on 2 October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence. According to General Assembly resolution A/RES/61/271 of 15 June 2007, which established the commemoration, the International Day is an occasion to “disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness”. The resolution reaffirms “the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence” and the desire “to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence”. Click to learn more. “The only virtue…
Fanfare for all Peoples – 70th anniversary film for UN – premiered today at the opening of the general debate of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly. (Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
Happy weekend, everybody! Fall has undeniably arrived, according to the calendar and to the weather as well. The past days were incredibly gloomy in Hungary. These are very exciting times in world affairs, though, look! I will do my best to keep you updated on the events of UN week in the coming days, so stay tuned! Now, here is your round up for this week. 5 Big Stories that Will Drive the Agenda During UN Week Next week is UN Week! It has already started actually with the Sustainable Development summit this Friday, but the general debate starts tomorrow…
The Sustainable Development Summit is underway in New York City. The summit kicked off yesterday with an historic opening address by Pope Francis, a call to action from Malala Yousafzai and performances by Shakira and Angelique Kidjo among other events. The new sustainable development goals or global goals as they are widely referred to got adopted by the General Assembly too! Now comes the hard part: acting on the newly adopted goals. For a recap of yesterday’s events, click here. To learn more about the sustainable development goals, click here. The 2015 Global Citizen Festival is now also a part of…
Peace will not come out of a clash of arms but out of justice lived and done by unarmed nations in the face of odds. Mahatma Gandhi 21 September is the International Day of Peace! The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by resolution 36/67 of the United Nations General Assembly to coincide with its opening session, which was held annually on the third Tuesday of September. The first Peace Day was observed in September 1982. Click to learn more.
Happy Sunday everybody, lots of world affairs to blab about these days… As things aren’t getting any better around Hungary, the Office of the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights issued statements on its Facebook page both in Hungarian and in English, emphasizing that seeking asylum cannot be viewed as a crime. Unfortunately, as of 15 September, in Hungary, it is. At courts along the southern borders asylum seekers are now being prosecuted for entering Hungary illegally. Hopeful though, there are plenty of Hungarian lawyers who are ready to protest against the new laws, calling themselves Lawyers for the rule…
Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects by the University of California, San Diego on Coursera Continuing my MOOC series, I am taking the lazy approach and reblog from myself, since I have already written about this course last year. Actually, I would only do that, if Tumblr let me. I keep forgetting that you are not allowed to reblog from yourself… Anyway, I copy myself instead. This post is actually very current, since the next session is starting this week, so you are well in time to join! I sincerely recommend you do…
Happy weekend, everybody! Summer is just about to return for a few days in Hungary, which I am really happy about – as if there were not enough overly warm days during the past months… Well, what can I say, I love summer! Meanwhile I am working on a few things to shake up my professional profile, online and real time – is there a difference anymore, anyway? While I will have to use my time management skills really hard, there will be some exciting new posts on this platform, too. Here’s this week’s round-up, for a start… Why Does…
I do not want to create any illusions that the refugee crisis will be over any time soon. It will not. But pushing back boats from piers, setting fire to refugee camps, or turning a blind eye to poor and helpless people: that is not Europe. Europe is the baker in Kos who gives away his bread to hungry and weary souls. Europe is the students in Munich and in Passau who bring clothes for the new arrivals at the train station. Europe is the policeman in Austria who welcomes exhausted refugees upon crossing the border. This is the Europe…
Happy weekend everybody, and happy labor day weekend to all my US readers, who – according to Google Analytics – make up the third largest crowd among my overall readership. BTW, I am still in the process of figuring out why the first place goes to Russia, but then, shoutout to my Russian readers too, anyway! I have never thought I would ever be writing these words, but seriously, I wish my country wouldn’t be on international news that much! Even the daily news roll of my favorite global affairs blog came out one day with the title “Seriously, Hungary?”. And…
