Civil society organizations (CSOs) are invited to contribute to a global study on the technical and leadership capacity strengthening needs of CSOs being conducted as part of a research project for the Humanitarian Leadership Academy, an international learning initiative facilitating opportunities to enable people to prepare and respond to crises. To participate in the survey, which is available in Kiswahili, Arabic, French, Spanish and English and will be open until January 28, click on the headline above. (Read more...)
USAID (United States Agency for International Development) has launched a new website, WorkwithUSAID.org, to help empower new, current and future local and international partners with the knowledge and networks to navigate how to work with the agency. The website offers access to a variety of innovative services and curated resources designed to improve organizational readiness for partnership, connect partners to peers and experts, and prepare prospective partners to pursue USAID funding. To learn more, click on the headline above. (Read more...)
At a special meeting of the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Pakistan in December, delegates said they would work with the UN to try to unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in frozen Afghan assets in an effort to address a growing humanitarian crisis. The meeting was the biggest conference on Afghanistan since the U.S.-backed government fell in August. In a resolution released after the meeting, the OIC urged Afghanistan's rulers to abide by "obligations under international human rights covenants, especially with regards to the rights of women, children, youth, elderly and people with special needs." (Read more...)
From October 31 to November 13, the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), "Uniting the World to Tackle Climate Change," hosted by the U.K. in Glasgow, Scotland, brought parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The outcome document, known as the Glasgow Climate Pact, calls on nearly 200 countries to report their progress towards more climate ambition next year, at COP27, slated to take place in Egypt. It also reaffirms the global agreement to accelerate action on climate this decade.(Read more...)
How can small and medium NGOs and social enterprises help the public sector successfully adopt and scale their innovations? The Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) article, "Making the Government Adoption of Social Innovations Work," outlines lessons the authors learned on what enabled successful government integration, at both the state and village levels, of NGO Digital Green's video-based, agricultural extension program in India and highlights other examples of government programs institutionalizing projects designed and proven by smaller nonprofits.(Read more...)
As COP26, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, gets underway in Glasgow, Scotland, running until November 12, how can people tell if national leaders are really delivering bold, large-scale and rapid climate actions? According to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), look out for announcements around these three priority areas: swiftly closing the emissions gap to keep global temperature rise to no more than 1.5 °C, increasing international finance for adaptation, and meeting the existing commitment to provide $100 billion in international climate finance each year. To learn more and watch an explainer video, click on the headline above. (Read more...)
The Global Forum on Human Settlements (GFHS) will hold its 16th Annual Session online, on the theme, "Accelerate Green Transformation and Innovation towards Healthy, Resilient and Carbon-neutral Cities," from October 27 to 29, in observance of World Cities Day. Speakers include Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD); Marco Lambertini, director general of WWF International; and Dr. Frank Rijsberman, director general of the Global Green Growth Institute. WANGO is a partner of the conference. For more information and to register for free, click on the headline above. (Read more...)
The World Health Organization (WHO) has unveiled The Global COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy with the aim to make vaccines accessible to everyone, everywhere. The new strategy requires 11 billion vaccines to be made available, to defeat what the UN agency has labelled “a two-track pandemic." High and upper-middle income countries have used 75 percent of all vaccines produced so far, while less than half of one percent of doses have gone to low-income countries. “We have the tools to bring the pandemic under control, if we use them properly and share them fairly,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.(Read more...)
From October 4 to 6, Reuters IMPACT, a free virtual forum hosted by Reuters, will convene world leaders and forward-thinking pioneers to inspire, drive action and accelerate innovation towards addressing climate change. Speakers include Inger Andersen, executive director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP); Al Gore, former vice president of the United States; Sauli Niinistö, president of Finland; and Jennifer Morgan, executive director of Greenpeace. Setting the agenda for the conference are five themes: energy, built environment, food & land use, transportation, and finance. Among the partners of the event is WANGO. For more information, please click on the headline above. (Read more...)
EARTHDAY.ORG's My Future My Voice (MFMV) campaign brings together young environmental leaders worldwide with the purpose to provide a platform for them to share proven techniques to Restore Our Earth, the theme for Earth Day 2021. Today, 170 youth from 86 countries are involved in the initiative, which was launched on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day last year. EARTHDAY.ORG is now welcoming additional nominations of young environmental leaders from around the world. For more information, click on the headline above. (Read more...)
The UN's "Sustainable Development Goals Report 2021," launched in July, shows the toll that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The report indicates that the global extreme poverty rate rose for the first time in over 20 years, with 119 to 124 million people pushed back into extreme poverty and chronic hunger in 2020, and that an equivalent of 255 million full-time jobs were lost. UN Under-Secretary-General Liu Zhenmin said that while the pandemic has halted, or reversed, years of development progress, there are signs that countries are taking steps under their recovery plans that could improve SDG action, and that the next 18 months are critical. (Read more...)
For International Youth Day, August 12, several UN agencies stressed the key role that youth play with their creativity, drive and commitment in providing solutions to diverse global problems and challenges. UNESCO has the UNESCO Global Youth Community initiative and the Youth UNESCO Climate Action Network, the Economic and Social Council looks to advance the Youth Agenda and the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth hosted its first virtual Youth Lead Innovation Festival this August. Guided by its system-wide youth strategy, Youth 2030, the UN is strengthening its work for and with young people worldwide.(Read more...)
At a ceremony in June, WANGO presented its first Tourism for Peace Award to hospitality visionary Gerard "Jerry" Inzerillo, CEO of Diriyah Gate Development Authority and vice chairman of Forbes Travel Guide, in recognition of his unique contributions to world peace by bringing people together through travel and tourism. As part of his life long career in hospitality, Inzerillo served as a leading executive at the Kerzner Hotels and Resorts where he was a key figure in desegregating the Sun City resort in apartheid-era South Africa. Currently, he is working to make Diriyah, the ancestral home of the Saudi royal family, a major tourist destination to allow greater access to and understanding of the cultural, political and religious dynamics of the Arab and Muslim world.(Read more...)
The Go Give One campaign has been launched to give everyone, everywhere a chance to support the equitable global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. Created by the WHO Foundation, the campaign aims to mobilize 50 million individuals around the world to give $7 each toward the cost of a COVID-19 vaccine dose. The money raised goes to the COVAX Advanced Market Commitment (AMC), an innovative financing mechanism administered by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which procures vaccines for lower-income countries under the umbrella of One World Protected.(Read more...)
The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration was officially launched on June 4 with the aim to help prevent, halt, and reverse the degradation of ecosystems worldwide. The UN Decade runs through 2030, which is the deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the timeline scientists have identified as the last chance to prevent climate change. To learn how you can take part in the UN Decade and join #GenerationRestoration, click on the headline above. (Read more...)
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in collaboration with WANGO, will be hosting a free webinar explaining how to work with USAID, on Tuesday, May 11, from 10-11 a.m. EDT (New York time). The one-hour virtual event will cover an overview and brief history of USAID, as well as the partnership process, where to find funding opportunities, and more. Following the formal presentation, there will be a Q&A session with the presenters. (Read more...)
The second wave of COVID-19 in India is causing unprecedented devastation. On May 1, the country recorded more than 400,000 new cases. The surge in infections has overwhelmed hospitals, leading to a shortage of oxygen, beds, and medicines. The Government of India's nonprofit venture, Invest India, has compiled a list of NGOs that are responding to the current crisis. To learn more about these organizations, click on the headline above. (Read more...)
About one-third of all food produced is never eaten and food loss and waste accounts for 10 percent of global carbon emissions, although more data is needed to help understand and address the problem, researchers behind a report from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) say. "Reducing food waste would cut greenhouse gas emissions, slow the destruction of nature through land conversion and pollution, enhance the availability of food and thus reduce hunger and save money at a time of global recession," says UNEP chief Inger Andersen.(Read more...)
International Mother Earth Day, celebrated annually on April 22, provides an opportunity to raise global public awareness of the challenges to the well-being of the planet and all the life it supports. The Day also recognizes a collective responsibility, as called for in the 1992 Rio Declaration, to promote harmony with nature and the Earth, to achieve a just balance among the economic, social and environmental needs of the present and future generations of humanity.(Read more...)
COVAX was launched in the early months of the pandemic to ensure the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines throughout the world. Leading the efforts to procure and supply doses is UNICEF, in collaboration with the UN’s Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Some 92 low and lower-income countries are purchasing vaccines with support from COVAX, and it is expected that the poorest citizens will be vaccinated free of charge. To learn more about the initiative, click on the headline above. (Read more...)
The Trans Atlantic Center, a research and community development initiative in Nigeria, in co-collaboration with WANGO, will be holding a webinar on "Repositioning Leadership for Sustainable Economic Growth" for NGO and civil society leaders from across the country and beyond at 10 a.m. West Africa Time (GMT +1) on March 27. The event will be the first in a series of three aimed at developing the skills and talents of leaders in the nonprofit, public, and private sectors as a means to support sustainable development in Kogi state and Nigeria. Among the speakers are Dr. Uche Igwe, a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics (LSE), and philanthropist Mrs. Lami Onayi Ahmed, founder of the Lift Up Care Foundation. To access the webinar, click on the headline above. (Read more...)
A new Charities Aid Foundation of America (CAF America) report based on a survey of more than 800 charities in 152 countries found that charities worldwide see organizational management capabilities as critical to the resilience of charities in a post-pandemic recovery. The report, "Future-Proofing Nonprofits for the Post-Pandemic World," also found that three-quarters of respondents say building organizational resilience will require finding new ways to fundraise with digital technology, followed by using communication more effectively for fundraising and resource mobilization (71 percent) and cultivating new and existing donors to diversify funding sources (69 percent).(Read more...)
A global virtual "Rally of Hope" bringing together world leaders from the government, civil society, and faith communities, who will address the themes of interdependence, mutual prosperity, and universal values, will be convened on February 27 at 7:30 p.m. EST. UN World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley, Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari, and Oxford University vaccine professor Dr. Sarah Gilbert will be among the speakers at the event, which is being co-sponsored by UPF, an international NGO in general consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the UN. To learn more or to register, please click on the headline above. (Read more...)
NGOs are invited to participate in an online survey on human security being conducted by the World Academy of Art & Science (WAAS) and WANGO in collaboration with the UN Trust Fund for Human Security (UNTFHS) through February 28. The survey is an opportunity for NGOs to share their views on the contributions human security has made at the national, regional, and global levels; its challenges; and the areas where it can bring the most value to the work of organization in different stakeholder groups. To begin the survey, please click on the headline above. (Read more...)
The 2030 Agenda Partnership Accelerator will be hosting a webinar, "Partnership Platforms - National Mechanisms for Advancing SDG Implementation," from 8 to 9:15 a.m. EST on February 23. The online event will provide an opportunity to gain insights from a number of existing partnership platforms and hear perspectives from different stakeholders on how we can create an enabling environment that fosters more effective platforms nationally that can advance implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). (Read more...)
The World Economic Forum's UpLink project, a digital platform crowdsourcing innovative solutions addressing the Sustainable Development Goals, will be hosting a session on "Accelerating Grassroots Innovation" on January 25, from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. CET, during the #DavosAgenda. Speakers include Eren Bali, CEO and Co-Founder, Carbon Health; Diego Saez-Gil, Founder and CEO, Pachama; and HRH Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, Crown Prince of Norway, The Royal Court.(Read more...)
EpiCore is a virtual community of health professionals using innovative surveillance methods to verify outbreaks of infectious diseases. The initiative, a partnership between ProMED, HealthMap, TEPHINET, and Ending Pandemics, is looking to expand its coverage worldwide, and in particular, in Africa, and invites health professionals and staff from NGOs working in the field in the region to join its network. For more information, please click on the headline above. (Read more...)
From January 11 to 14, Reuters will host one of the biggest leadership summits in the world, Reuters Next. The virtual conference will be convened under the theme, "Rethink, Rebuild, Recover; A New Vision For A Better Tomorrow," with speakers including: Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank; Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada; Salman Khan, founder of the Khan Academy; and Sebastian Thrun, CEO of Udacity. Among the topics that will be examined during the four days: global trade, climate change and sustainability, the U.S. election and the impact of Brexit, and economic recovery following the pandemic. For more information, please click on the headline above. (Read more...)
Following the successful conclusion of its 15th annual session, held virtually from October 15 to 16, on the theme, "Post-Pandemic Recovery and Transformation: Resilient Cities, Healthy Planet," the Global Forum on Human Settlements (GFHS), a WANGO partner, issued a statement in support of the implementation of the UN report, "Policy Brief: COVID-19 in an Urban World." (Read more...)