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الزراعة والتنمية الريفية والغابات
الزراعة والتنمية الريفية والغابات
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.
“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.
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.
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.
Responding to gangs
This essay begins with a simple premise: if we don’t understand our problems we aren’t going to be able to solve them. This premise applies to challenges in a variety of fields: medicine social services education and juvenile justice. Criminal justice is replete with examples of well-intentioned efforts to curb gang crime and victimization that are based on incomplete or false understanding of the problem. Such examples include interventions that lack careful attention to implementation are built on stereotypes or partial problem descriptions or lack sufficient “dose size” to make an impact. Oftentimes interventions are guided by media stereotypes rather than scientific approaches.
Sapere Aude: A social mentorship project which uses education to promote social justice for children and young people living in the public care system
With the adoption of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its relevant Goals (SDGs) in 2015 the United Nations with Goal 4 renewed its mission for better education of children and young people worldwide. While the earlier Millennium Development Goals focused on access to primary education the 2030 Agenda goes beyond this. With Goal 4 and its focus on quality education the international community recognizes that learning goals in themselves are not enough – it is important to aim for both the quality of education as well as the social and emotional well-being of students in order to achieve substantial learning outcomes.
Youth: International law on the recruitment of children
The recruitment of children raises many important questions the most important being whether children should be recruited at all and what is the definition of a child. The most internationally accepted definition for a child soldier is established in the Cape Town Principles 1997 by UNICEF: “any person under 18 years of age who is part of any kind of regular or irregular armed force or armed group in any capacity.”1 However this is not a legal definition.
The rule of law in cyberspace is at risk
Criminal justice authorities need to be able to secure electronic evidence including on servers in the cloud to protect society and individuals against crime online. The powers to obtain such evidence must to be subject to data protection and other safeguards. Proposals to move ahead are now available.
Infocus: Who is susceptible to the call of political violence? A study of differential susceptibility and situational resistance to exposure to online violent extremism
Youth: Why collaborative communities are the future of youth empowerment and education
Companies around the globe are finding it difficult to recruit the right talent especially for emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI). A recent survey by EY and MIT Technology Review1 showed that 48% of current challenges comes in emerging technologies from a shortage of skilled talent while on the other hand the number of data scientists and machine learning engineers has increased tenfold in the last five years primarily due to access to online education.
Diversity: An impediment within the justice system?
People with different backgrounds with different experiences and heritages bring different perspectives to the judgement of a case impacting differently the decision-making process. How is this diversity dealt with? Human beings differ from one another by race ethnicity gender sexual orientation and many more. Amongst others stereotypical ideas of race and gender have been distilled into everyday rhetoric in a way that shapes people’s identities on societal expectations rather than on lived experiences. Although very little is true and natural about these stereotypical constructions of boys and girls the appropriation of these notions has led to a real damage and distortion in people’s identities.
Infocus: Obligation to investigate, minimum investigative standards under article 2 of the ECHR, and their applicability to Post-conflict situations
A more humane approach to addressing the harm of criminal behaviour
In this paper which is based upon research undertaken in 2017 and 20181 an alternative and more humane approach to addressing harm of criminal behaviour is presented. Our goal was to explore if this approach could transform the way society responds to crime.
Reintegration of minors, affected by conflicts. Main obstacles and good practices
They make great soldiers as they can be fearless fighters. Their missing education leads them to take huge risks as they can be convinced of their invincibility to bullets or injury and encouraged to think that their actions substitute for playing games. Calls to martyrdom and heroic deaths fighting for a region or the fatherland are considered a romantic and exciting attraction to young and easily influenced children.
Collective human action against deepfakes
For Immanuel Kant our senses are the gate to perceive information from the environment and to generate our knowledge. Yet in the age of advanced technology our senses are easily becoming subject of manipulation. In such context the fundamental question arises whether we humans with manipulated sense can continue relying on our own decision making. There has been an unprecedent progress in the quality of techniques for human image synthesis based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) which can manipulate our sense of sight. Deepfakes constitutes the most famous example of it. In just few years many alarming examples of fake content have involved politicians governments technology leaders and media celebrities. What does this mean for our future the future of our societies and the future of our countries? What will this manipulation entail at the moment we exercise our rights as citizens and voters? Perhaps instead of jumping into the complexity of these questions it is worth focusing on how our collective efforts can help us preventing technology from manipulating our senses. This consideration served as a guiding principal for the solution developed by the Open|DSE team in response to the UNICRI challenge at the Hackathon for Peace Justice and Security (The Hague June 2019). Before proceeding with the description of the solution let’s have a closer look at the AI technology behind the creation of this fake content.
How to train professionals for managing the contradictions of a multiethnic society?
The society we live in is so diverse and mixed that we are no longer able to understand it only through traditional research perspectives. It is multiethnic and we often see that the stories shared in the public arena do not reflect what happens in everyday life.
Why children are leaving their homes? Unaccompanied children in Europe: What to learn from them?
More than 100000 unaccompanied minors - mainly from Afghanistan Syria Eritrea and Somalia - applied for asylum in 78 countries in 2015 (UNICEF).