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Our Latest
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Secrets to Change and Greatness
Posted by UN Dispatch on November 21, 2008
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA--It's something of an understatement to say that President-elect Barack Obama is admired here in Ethiopia. Outside the UNICEF headquarters, a young street vendor was hawking bootleg copies of Obama's acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. I passed on the DVD, but did pick up the Ethiopian version of Dreams From My Father. According to an Amharic speaking friend the Ethiopian publisher took some liberties with the title, which literally translates as "Secrets to Change and Greatness."
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Running With Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Haille Gebrselassie
Posted by UN Dispatch on November 21, 2008
ON A MOUNTAIN OVERLOOKING ADDIS ABABA - Running is the national sport of Ethiopia. It is also a favorite activity of Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen. So, naturally, when he visited Addis for this week's meeting of the Africa Commission, Prime Minister Rasmussen made a point to meet the current world record holding marathoner Haille Gebreselassie for a morning jog. Rasmussen is clearly in better shape than his security detail. But he's no match for Gebreselassie, who ran the Berlin Marathon in under 2 hours, 4 minutes. Here's Gebreselassie explaining the finer points of running at 2,800 meters above sea level to a very winded Prime Minister of Denmark.
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Get the conversation started with youth
Posted by Nothing but Nets on November 21, 2008
Last week, I participated in a Nothing But Nets event that took place on UCLA’s campus. The event was akin to a youth camp – it was fun and games, but there was also a deeper purpose behind it and the kids didn’t spend the night.
The students, ranging from sixth to eighth graders, are part of global classrooms (like a junior Model United Nations). They were already familiar with malaria and other global issues, but this magnificent event drove the message home. The message was to talk about malaria; spreading the word about this serial killer will pave the way for its elimination.
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Broomstick Legs: Children Starving in Haiti
Posted by UN Dispatch on November 20, 2008
Recently, fellow Dispatch blogger Vanessa Valenti wrote about child abductions in Haiti, explaining that "while both boys and girls have been kidnapped, it seems that females are a large target, and often raped and sexually abused." Vanessa goes on to say that the gangs who kidnap the children often end up murdering them, despite the family paying their requested ransom.
Now, another heartbreaking story about Haiti's children:
The 5-year-old teetered on broomstick legs -- he weighed less than 20 pounds, even after days of drinking enriched milk. Nearby, a 4-year-old girl hung from a strap attached to a scale, her wide eyes lifeless, her emaciated arms dangling weakly. ...
Read More »U.N. World Food Program country director Myrta Kaulard said she fears more deaths from malnutrition in other isol
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More Troops for Congo
Posted by UN Dispatch on November 20, 2008
The Security Council has indeed voted -- unanimously, nonetheless -- for what the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has long needed: more troops. Even that, on its own, of course, will not be enough.
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Videocasts
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The Heroes of Virunga National Park
Virunga National Park is both the oldest and the largest national park in Africa, and it is the continent’s longest inscribed World Heritage site. However, years of armed conflict and poaching have not only put the site itself in danger, but also the lives of the park rangers that guard one of the last strongholds of the endangered mountain gorilla.
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Putting Technology to Work for the United Nations
The Vodafone Foundation and the United Nations Foundation work together to improve disaster relief communications and health data collection around the world through the use of mobile technology.
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Carbon Offsets
UN Foundation is carbon neutral. We offset the carbon we emit from staff travel, heating, cooling, and electricity consumption. We offset that carbon by planting trees in the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve in Mexico.
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Haiti: Emergency Communications for Disaster Relief
After four consecutive cyclones tore through the island nation of Haiti, TSF and WFP immediately deployed to the region to establish emergency telecommunications systems to support and help coordinate the relief efforts being carried out by humanitarian aid agencies working on the ground. TSF also ran a humanitarian calling operation, providing survivors with free satellite-based phone calls to reconnect with loved ones.
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Traveling Responsibly Off the Beaten Path
Traveler Megan Lantz-Oh describes her experience doing volunteer work in Vietnam. This story shows the value of giving back to local communities. You can find out more about voluntourism and traveling responsibility online at www.friendsofworldheritage.org
Podcasts
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TSF Deploys to Pakistan
Posted on November 7, 2008
Télécoms Sans Frontières Head of Mission Simon Genin calls in about the response to the 6.5 earthquake in Pakistan. Genin describes conditions in the field and explains how TSF is providing vital communications links to earthquake survivors and relief workers.
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Oisin Walton reports from massive flooding in Haiti
Posted on September 25, 2008
Haiti has been hit by four severe tropical storms in less than a month. UN and other aid agencies are serving hundreds of thousands affected by the flooding. Télécoms Sans Frontières deployed two teams to Haiti to reconnect communications and communities devastated by the disaster.
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World Food Programme in Haiti
Posted on September 16, 2008
Mark Phillips, Haiti Tropical Storm ICT Coordination Officer for the UN World Food Programme (WFP), reports from Gonaives, Haiti on efforts to rebuild emergency communications for disaster relief in the wake of three consecutive, devastating hurricanes.
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Outcomes of the Expedia Employee Service Program in Baja California
Posted on June 24, 2008
Kate Dodson of the United Nations Foundation traveled to the Baja California Peninsula and World Heritage site. She shares her impressions of the area, the trip and how the program helped local tour operators.
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World Food Programme Reports from Myanmar
Posted on June 11, 2008
John Bursa, Regional Telecommunications Officer for the UN World Food Programme (WFP),reports from Yangon, Myanmar (Burma) on efforts to reconnect communications and communities in the aftermath of the deadly Cyclone Nagris.
