Enfance et jeunesse
Evolution from a social animal to a virtual animal? using new tech and AI during and Post-COVID-19 crisis period
“Man is by nature a social animal” proclaimed Aristotle. This characteristic has made us organize into complex hierarchical societies where individuals are interdependent to satisfy basic necessities. Although we all know that social distancing is the most effective way to contain the spread of coronavirus, this is something biologically unnatural for humans.1 In this health emergency, many governments have decided to impose strict measures to limit social interactions to an absolute minimum. Lockdowns, limitations of movement of people and closure of borders have all been necessary measures for the good of societies.
Mohamed Sidibay: The role of teachers is to restore our confidence
Orphaned at the age of five, Mohamed Sidibay became a child soldier during the civil war in Sierra Leone, and owes his survival to school. A tireless advocate of education, particularly through the Global Partnership for Education, he tells the story of his debt to a teacher who knew how to reach out to him.
“He for She”: The new wave of the cultural revolution
A patriarchal society confers the title of “breadwinners” on ‘him’ and bestows them with the responsibility to earn for the family. This confers another title on him as “head of the family” which thematically corresponds to “white man’s burden” as it creates an illusion that only men are capable of earning for the family. Unfortunately, the phrase “the father is the head of the family” is taught already as a lesson in pre-primary school thereby sowing the seeds of inequality in innocent minds. This illusion, born from the patriarchal mindset, laid the foundation for the socio-economic gender inequalities present today and is the root cause of intergenerational inequality faced by women.
A teacher brings hope to a remote Chinese village
The people who live in Heihumiao, in central China’s Henan province, often dream about leaving the mountains to find a better life in the city. Zhang Yugun also left. But once he graduated, he chose to return to the village where he grew up – to give the children a fighting chance.
Partner and domestic violence during the COVID-19 crisis
The global spread of COVID-19 has dramatically impacted our lives. In an effort to contain the virus, governments across the globe have resorted to social distancing, home lockdowns, and isolation policies. However, such measures can have a negative impact on people’s mental well-being, put pressure on their relationships and cause stress, thus potentially contributing to an increase in violence and aggression within households. A recent review of the psychological impact of quarantine measures confirms that isolation can produce several negative emotional effects, such as post-traumatic stress syndrome, emotion regulation problems, depression, and increased feelings of stress. Experiencing stress and powerlessness is associated with an increased risk of violent victimization. Perpetrator and victims often know each other. The combination of stress-inducing factors due to the lockdown and potentially living together with a perpetrator of violence may trigger an increase and worsening of various forms of violence within the household.
AESI promoted active dialogue among students on several topics of international relations in this pandemic period
Preparing young people for the diplomatic and international careers of today means facing the new international crises with an innovative and global vision that analyzes their real causes first and then provides adequate and effective responses over time. Furthermore, a greater synergy with international organizations such as the United Nations (UN) is needed. In this regard, the European Association of International Studies (AESI) usually organizes two missions in Geneva in coordination with the Italian Representation at the United Nations agencies. Unfortunately, the health emergency has not allowed this tradition to continue this year, but the liaison with the Director-General of the UN Agencies in Geneva, Ms. Tatiana Valovaya, is still vigorous and the activities promoted by AESI for young university students are considered of great importance. Indeed, AESI is strongly convinced that only by investing in the new generations with innovative and global training, which envisage above all concrete contacts with international actors such as the UN and the European Union (EU), we can achieve a future of peace and promote a culture of solidarity. Furthermore, we believe that the interaction with young university students who are preparing for diplomatic and international careers can also enrich international organizations through a deeper understanding of young people’s perspectives, enhancing also their creative solutions to crises. The Director-General of the United Nations Agencies in Geneva illustrated in her Message to AESI what the priorities of this health emergency are, but she also encouraged the UN to listen to the new generations. She invited students to send them messages and contributions. The Director-General also expressed her wish to meet with the young AESI members in Geneva when it will be possible. The University will play a great role in the future, not only with respect to the international relations dimension, but above all with the involvement of young people in the process of renewing peace promotion strategies in crisis situations. The United Nations has discovered this great added value and for this we also thank the United Nations Director-General of Geneva.
Violent extremist offenders rehabilitation and reintegration in prison: A focus on the challenges and way forward in Mali
In his remarks to the High-level Meeting on Mali and the Sahel held on the margins of the General Debate of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, the Secretary General António Guterres acknowledged the increasing threat posed by the rise of violence in the Sahel and its spreading towards the Gulf of Guinea. He also warned about terrorist groups exploiting local conflicts and acting as defenders of communities to enhance their popularity and local support. As a matter of fact, countries in the Sahel region have been experiencing a significant increase in the level of violence, resulting in severe consequences for the population. According to Mohamed Ibn Chambas, UN Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), the casualties caused by terrorist attacks in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, have increased five-fold since 2016. The fragile circumstances and the deteriorating security situation have also pushed many people to flee their homes, with more than one million refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) sheltered in the central Sahel.
Domestic violence — the shadow pandemic of COVID19 Effects of policy measures on vulnerable population
To prevent the spread of Covid19, many governments have been taking strict measures such as closing borders, imposing nationwide lockdowns and setting up quarantine facilities. While these measures may ensure that social distancing is followed seriously, they may have indirect effects on the economy and adverse effects on the well-being of people, especially the vulnerable population.
Wide angle: A second-chance school in Montreal
To succeed where traditional schools have failed. This is the challenge that teachers at the Centre d’intégration scolaire (Centre for academic integration, CIS) in Montreal, Canada, face every day. The Frenchlanguage school takes in students whose educational paths have been rocky – gaining their trust is a prerequisite for any learning.
From the holds of the Clotilda to Africatown
In May 2019, the news that archaeologists had discovered the wreck of the Clotilda – the last recorded slave ship to arrive in the United States, fifty-two years after the international slave trade had been outlawed – made headlines around the world. But all the attention focused on the ship’s owner, its captain, and the ship itself, rather than on the victims of this appalling journey.
Teach me if you can: From classrooms to the big screen
“To give back to teachers their status as life’s great heroes, because they change the destinies of children, and they change the future of the world”. This is the ambitious goal of Teach Me If You Can (working title), a feature-length documentary currently being produced by Winds, a French film production company. The idea, inspired by UNESCO – which is a partner in the film – is to present several portraits of teachers across the world who go above and beyond their job requirements, and to show the universal nature of their commitment.
COVID-19 pandemic and illicit drugs
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, no clear evidence has emerged of a significant decrease in the supply of drugs at the global level, including in Italy, even after the quarantine was extended to the entire country.
زاوية كبرى: في مونريال، مدرسةالفرصة الثانية
موي لك هعفر لواحي يذلا يّدحتلا وه كلذ .ةيديلقتلا ةسردلما تلشف ثيح حاجنلا ذيملاتلا يوأي زكرم وهو ،ادنك في لايرنومِب سياردلا جامدنلاا زكرم في نوسّردُلما ينب لاّوأ ةقثلا ءاسرإ نود مّلعتلل لاجم لاو .ةيساردلا مهتيرسم في اورثعت نيذلا.ذيملتلاو ملعلما
الأحداث: في البيرو، ترميمالجسر المعلّق لكيسواشاكا
،ويربلاب ،وهيوك ميلقإ ناّكُس عمتجي ،ةنس لك نم وينوي رهش نم لولأا عوبسلأا للاخ ديلقتلا اذه .كاميروبأ رهن يتّفض ينب طبري يذلا لابحلا سرج ميمترل ،مايأ ةثلاث ةّدلم يدالما يرغ فياقثلا ثاترلل ةلّثمُلما ةمئاقلا في 2013 ذنم هليجست ّمت زيدنلأل ميدقلا.ةّيناسنلإل
مصير أحفاد ركاب كلوتيلدا،آخر سفينة رقيق أمريكية
ادليتولك ةنيفس ماطح فاشتكا نع راثلآا ءاملع نم ددع نلعأ ،2019 ويام رهش في تايلاولاب تسرأ اهنأب اهنع فرعُي قيقرلل ةلقان ةنيفس رخآ يهو ،امابلاآ ةيلاو في مامتهلاا نكل .عمجأ ملاعلا في فحصلل لىولأا تاحفصلا برخلا اذه ردصتو .ةدحتلما هذه اياحضب مامتهلاا نم يرثكب رثكأ ناك اهسفن ةنيفسلاو اهناطبقو ةنيفسلا كلامب.ةعيرلما ةلحرلا
في الكونغو: 76 تلميذا في قسم واحد
ةسردلماب مّلعم اموغن جراس نانروتاس ،ليفازارب في رايردوب لا يحب ةيئادتبلاا ةسدنهلا سيردت اّيموي ّللىوتي .وغنوكلاب ذيملاتلا نم لئاه ددعل فيصرتلاو في يموي حافك .دحاو فص في ينصوصرم.تابلطتلما ىندلأ دقتفت ةسردم
ضيفتنا
فنعلاب ديدنتلل نهتلامح للاخ نم ةلمح لثم ،ءاسنلا لتقو يناسنجلا صقنت نل«( NiUnaMenos# يننقت لجأ نم نهحافكو ،)»ةدحاو لاو زواجتت ،هميرجت ءاغلإو ضاهجلإا لكب يربعتلل تافلاتخلاا ينتنجرلأا ءاسن برتعُتو .نهئارآ نع دحاو توصبو مزح نم ةغلابلا ،يكسيرينيم ليلين ةيقوقحلا ءاسنلا ءلاؤه ينب نم ،ًاماع 90 رمعلا ةكللما« ضعبلا اهبّقل .ًاطاشن رثكلأا يتلا ةحشولأا نول لىإ ًةراشإ ،»ءاضرخلا يعوطلا ضاهجلإا تاصرانم اهيدترت رادصإ ةروضر نع نعفادي يتلالا نملآاو.»تولما يدافتل نوناق«
Entretien: Ibrahim Thiaw, conseiller spécial pour le Sahel, Transformer le Sahel en une terre d’opportunités
D’originaire mauritanienne, Ibrahim Thiaw a récemment été nommé conseiller spécial du Secrétaire Général des Nations Unies pour le Sahel. Ancien directeur exécutif adjoint de ONU-Environnement, M. Thiaw est notamment chargé de mobiliser un soutien national et international pour le développement socio-économique de la région du Sahel, qui couvre 10 pays africains. M. Thiaw s’est entretenu avec Minielle Baro du Centre d’information des Nations Unies à Dakar sur sa vision, le sentiment d’urgence et les opportunités d’investissement au Sahel.
Vêtements d’intérieur: Le luxe africain s’exporte
Depuis des siècles, des matériaux non finis destinés à la fabrication de vêtements — soie, coton, peaux — sont vendus et expédiés d’Afrique vers les capitales occidentales de la mode, notamment Londres, Paris et New York. En contrepartie, un petit nombre de vêtements prêt-à-porter, de chaussures bon marché et de vêtements d’occasion retrouvent le chemin de l’Afrique — à des prix largement majorés ou sous forme de dons caritatifs.
La ‘Petite Afrique’ perd de son attrait
Dans la chaleur étouffante d’une après-midi tropicale à Guangzhou, une ville au sud-est de la Chine, un groupe d’Africains d’âge-moyen à l’affût de clients potentiels était en vadrouille à l’entrée d’une rue bordée de boutiques tandis qu’un autre groupe de trois femmes et un homme berçant un enfant dans ses bras attendaient auprès de leurs ballots de marchandises dans une rue adjacente.
Des guichets uniques aux postes-frontières
Responsable du marketing chez Dairibord Zimbabwe, une entreprise d’export alimentaire et de boissons régionale cotée en bourse, Tracy Mutaviri espère gagner des parts de marchés grâce à la Zone de libreéchange continentale (ZLEC) africaine.
L’Afrique, prête pour le nucléaire?
L’énergie nucléaire était auparavant une option sophistiquée réservée au monde industrialisé. Mais, elle pourrait être une source d’énergie pour la plupart des pays africains. Actuellement, seule l’Afrique du Sud possède une centrale.
Is Africa ready for nuclear energy?
Years back, nuclear energy was a fancy option limited to the industrialized world. In due course, nuclear could be an energy source for much of Africa, where only South Africa currently has a nuclear power plant.
Interview: Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, UNCTAD Secretary-General, Africa has phenomenal potential for intra-continental trade
Forty-nine of Africa’s 55 countries have signed the framework for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to create a single continental market for goods and services, with free and unfettered movement of businesspeople and investments. When at least 22 countries ratify it, the AfCFTA will officially come into force, potentially making the continent the largest trading bloc in the world. Africa Renewal’s Zipporah Musau spoke with Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, the secretary-general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), on what countries stand to gain and what challenges to expect. Excerpts.
Africa set for a massive free trade area
The shelves of Choithrams Supermarket in Freetown, Sierra Leone, boast a plethora of imported products, including toothpicks from China, toilet paper and milk from Holland, sugar from France, chocolates from Switzerland and matchboxes from Sweden.
Interview: Ibrahim Thiaw, Special Adviser for the Sahel, Turning dry Sahel into land of opportunity
Ibrahim Thiaw of Mauritania was recently appointed the UN Secretary-General’s special adviser for the Sahel. A former deputy executive director for UN Environment, Mr. Thiaw is now charged with, among other responsibilities, mobilising domestic and international support for the socioeconomic development of the Sahel region, which covers 10 African countries, according to the UN. In this interview for Africa Renewal, Mr. Thiaw spoke with Minielle Baro of the UN Information Centre in Dakar on his vision, the need for urgency and the significant investment opportunities in the Sahel. These are excerpts.
Gender: Women-led tech startups on the rise in Africa
On the surface, sub-Saharan Africa boasts the world’s highest rate of women entrepreneurs, at 27%. The MasterCard Index of Women Entrepreneurs 2017 listed two African countries, Uganda (34.8%) and Botswana (34.6%), as having the highest percentage of women entrepreneurs globally.
China’s ‘Little Africa’ losing its allure
In a sweltering monsoon afternoon in Xiaobei, in Guangzhou, a city in southeast China, a group of young and middle-aged African men take positions up and down a street lined by shops, alert to the passing of potential clients. Not far from them, in an adjacent street, another group of Africans—three women and a man holding a child in his arms— huddle around bales of merchandise. As the sun slowly sets, the town square fills up with people.
Eric Kaduru: Agripreneur with a passion
Most young people would hesitate before leaving a stable job for an entrepreneurial venture. But not for a plucky 34-year-old Ugandan, Eric Kaduru, who made a decision to leave his advertising job in the capital city, Kampala, to become an agripreneur—an entrepreneur in the agriculture business.
Gwendolyn Myers: A peace advocate
I was born in 1990, a year after the Liberian civil war began, and was only 13 years old when the war ended in 2003. My mother told me that at the time of my birth, she could not afford even a blanket to wrap the new baby. A midwife was kind enough to assist with a cloth. Those were trying times for my family.
Phumzile Van Damme: A young MP with a mission
Phumzile Van Damme, one of the youngest members of parliament in South Africa, is also the shadow minister for communications.
African youth demand a seat at the table: Voices of young Africans are becoming difficult to ignore
A new wave is sweeping across Africa. Elections on the continent are increasingly yielding younger leadership than ever before. From presidents to ministers and governors, senators to members of parliament, Africa’s young people are demanding a seat at the political table.
Gogontlejang Phaladi: A social change activist
At a recent youth forum at the United Nations headquarters in New York, 24-year-old Gogontlejang Phaladi from Botswana was in the spotlight. The organisers of the event consider her one of the “most innovative young people across the world.”
Cape Town water taps running dry
Mohammed Allie’s wife has given up showers while Cape Town, South Africa’s second-largest city after Johannesburg, contemplates life without a drop of water in its taps. Allie, a BBC correspondent, related his wife’s experience with the shrinking supply of water, caused by an historic three-year drought.
The hashtag revolution gaining ground
When some 276 teenage girls were kidnapped from their boarding school in northeastern Nigeria in April 2014, Oby Ezekwesili, a civil society activist and former World Bank vice president, was disheartened by the lacklustre response of her government and local television stations.
Interview: Lt. General Daniel Opande, first force commander, UN Mission in Liberia, “How we disarmed Liberian fighters”
From 2003 to 2005, retired Lieutenant General Daniel Opande was the force commander of the peacekeepers of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). Tough but diplomatic, the Kenya Defence Forces officer in 2004 got the commanders of Liberia’s warring factions to agree to the disarming of more than 100,000 former combatants. UNMIL also provided security, technical and logistical support for the electoral process that culminated in peaceful democratic elections in 2005. As the mission finally winds down operations in March 2018, Africa Renewal’s Zipporah Musau and Kingsley Ighobor interviewed Lieutenant General Opande on his experience leading a multinational force during a most challenging period in Liberia. These are excerpts.
William Elong: An ICT innovator
The news wasn’t big enough to excite international media, but it was an exciting development this year in Cameroon when Will&Brothers, a local engineering and consulting company, unveiled the first-ever drone made in Cameroon.
UN signals new era of partnership with Africa
With United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres as a guest at the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in his first month in office in January 2017, and then again this January past, the UN is signaling a new era of partnership with the regional body and with the continent.
Interview: Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Women executive director, “Bringing rural women to the frontline”
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and executive director of UN Women, recently began a second term in office. In her first term, she drew attention to women’s issues globally, getting some countries to change gender discrimination laws. In this interview with Africa Renewal’s Kingsley Ighobor, Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka discusses her vision and the hurdles that African women continue to face.
South African tourism holding steady
Recent reports that Cape Town, a popular tourist destination in South Africa, will soon run out of water due to a prolonged drought hardly seem to be slowing down the country’s burgeoning tourism industry.
Mission accomplished: 15 years of peacekeeping success in Liberia
On a bright, sunny day in January this year, Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf turned over power to George Weah, a decorated soccer star, following peaceful and successful elections. This marked Liberia’s first democratic transfer of power in more than 70 years.
Nurturing young leaders: Training young African leaders can take societies to great heights
Thanks to a unique fellowship at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) as an Ibrahim Leadership Fellow, Marian Yinusa is making an impact in the lives of school-age girls in her birthplace of northern Nigeria.
Women: Liberia’s guardians of peace
Not long ago, images of child soldiers and the nation of Liberia were wedded in the minds of the international community. The country was struggling to end a horrific civil war, but military efforts were going nowhere.
Africa could be the next frontier for cryptocurrency
Interest in cryptocurrency, a form of digital currency, is growing steadily in Africa. Some economists say it is a disruptive innovation that will blossom on the continent.
Infrastructure key to intra-African trade
Ken Ukaoha knows something about infrastructure and intra-Africa trade. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Kenaux International Concept, a shoe and garment manufacturing company based in Aba, southeast Nigeria. Kenaux’s products sell in Nigeria and other African countries, including Ghana, South Africa and parts of Central Africa.
Confronting sexual violence in schools
Rachel Njeri, a student of Makerere University in Uganda, wept bitterly when recounting a sexual assault that took place in April 2018. “I tried to resist his actions but he was stronger than me. He grabbed me and threw me on the cabinet files at the corner.”