Stories from around the globe show how a united world is already in motion. This platform highlights experiences, initiatives, and projects from people and communities working for unity and peace. Explore what’s happening and get inspired.
<p><em>Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president and an enduring icon of the struggle against racial oppression, died on Thursday, the government announced, leaving the nation without its moral center at a time of growing dissatisfaction with the country’s leaders.</em></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>“Our nation has lost its greatest son,</strong>” President Jacob Zuma said in a televised address on Thursday night, adding that Mr. Mandela had died at 8:50 p.m. local time. “His humility, his compassion and his humanity earned him our love.”</p> <p><strong>Mr Zuma called Mr. Mandela’s death</strong> “the moment of our greatest sorrow,” and said that South Africa’s thoughts were now with the former president’s family. “They have sacrificed much and endured much so that our people could be free,” he said.</p> <p><strong>Mr. Mandela spent 27 years</strong> in prison after being convicted of treason by the white minority government, only to forge a peaceful end to white rule by negotiating with his captors after his release in 1990. He led the African National Congress, long a banned liberation movement, to a resounding electoral victory in 1994, the first fully democratic election in the country’s history.
<p> </p> <p><em>Rabbi Sid Schwarz, director of Faith and the Common Good at Auburn Theological Seminary, tells about his Hanukkah on the huffingtonpost.com blog. As with Christmas and Kwanza, Hanukkah falls during the winter solstice, in the darkest time of the year, "each of us will need to find ways to light a candle and banish away the darkness".</em></p> <p><strong>"On the first night of Hanukkah this year</strong>, I found myself in an unusual place. I was supposed to be at a Jewish communal event hosted by Israel's Ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren. But at the last minute I was asked by the Indonesian Ambassador, Dino Patti Djalal, to participate in an interfaith panel which included one of the leading Muslim clerics of his country, Dr. Din Syamsuddin. Dr. Syamsuddin is the president of Muhammadiyah, an organization of 29 million Muslims that sponsors a wide range of social and educational programs in Indonesia and more than a dozen universities. Also on the panel was Rev. Michael Livingston, a Presbyterian and former president of the National Council of Churches who is now heading up their initiative to fight poverty.
<p> </p> <p> </p> <p><em>Task force proposals ready, 14 mln needed for Frontex operation</em></p> <p><strong>Brussels has allocated 30 million euros</strong> in funds for Italy's immigration emergency, EU commissioner for home affairs Cecilia Malmstrom said on Wednesday. The funds are aimed at programmes to welcome and assist migrants who land on Italy's coasts, including border patrols under Frontex mandate, the commissioner said, confirming the announcement made by President Jose Manuel Barroso after hundreds of migrants died off the Italian island of Lampedusa in October. Another 20 million have been allocated for emergencies in other member states.</p> <p><strong>The Task force set up after the immigrant</strong> shipwrecks off Lampedusa has drafted its proposals for a response of the European Union 'that can make a difference', announced Malstrom, who called on member states to use this unique opportunity to show that the EU is based on solidarity and support. The time has come to act, she said.
<p><em>Responding to a plea for help can sometimes have unforeseen consequences. This adventure of a community caring for the blind, gives rise to an original pilot experiment.</em></p> <p><strong>Oran, Algeria’s second city</strong>, overlooks the Mediterranean. It is also one of the major commercial and cultural centers of North Africa.</p> <p><strong>One group of mostly Muslims</strong> are engaged in living out the values of brotherhood as they are presented by the Focolare Movement. Scheherezad has been part of it since 1990. They have been involved in an ongoing experience with the blind: “In 1977,”she recounts, “I met a Catholic nun who was looking for someone who could teach French to a group of blind people from the city. I didn’t feel equipped for such a task, I’m a housewife and it seemed beyond my abilities. But in agreement with my husband, I decided to accept the work, thinking that there might be a plan of God in this.”</p>
<p> <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; border-width: 0px;"><em>Approvede by assembly. The biggest challenge is yet to come when it is presented to the Egyptian people in the form of a referendum.</em></p> <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; border-width: 0px;"><strong>Egypt’s constituent assembly</strong> has completed its work on a draft Costitution. It reflects how far the balance of power has shifted since the secular- based army deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi.</p> <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; border-width: 0px;"><strong>Among the provisions</strong> is a ban on parties formed on religious basis, and a rule that any future president must get Supreme Council approval for the position of defence minister – which means the military.</p> <p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; border-width: 0px;"><strong>“The 50 member committee</strong> has now approved the draft constitution with its new amendments, but the biggest challenge is yet to come when it is presented to the Egyptian people in the form of a (referendum), giving them a chance to have their say,” explained euronews correspondent Mohammed Shaikhibrahim.
<p> </p> <p><em><span class="Apple-style-span">Air lift leaves from Brindisi</span></em></p> <p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><strong>A humanitarian aid flight</strong> for victims of this month's devastating Typhoon Haiyan left for the central Philippines from Brindisi in southern Italy, the foreign ministry announced on Wednesday.</span></p> <p><strong>Aboard the plane were 42.5</strong> tonnes of basic items including tents and emergency shelters, cannisters to transport drinking water, water purification equipment, electrical generators, medical supplies and portable toilets.</p> <p><strong>Italy's overseas aid</strong> department and the Italian charity Intersos have provided the emergency items, the foreign ministry said.
<p> </p> <p><em>Not just meals, but concrete and personal service in the canteen of Dominga in Valencia, that was born in a difficult social context, to serve the elderly in need.</em></p> <p><strong>For several years now Dominga </strong>of Valencia (Venezuela), has been managing an open canteen for the elderly in her neighbourhood. The iniziative was born to allow the elderly people living in poverty to have a balanced diet in a welcoming environment. The elderly already arrive in the morning and they can stay with people of their age, playing dominoes or watching television, but above all to be in an environment where they are looked after with care.</p> <p><strong>Dominga is always attentive towards</strong> all the elderly who come to the canteen and, when one of them stops coming, she personally goes to visit him or her, often finding them in a pitiful situation and unable to move.</p>
<p><em>First among states which aren't members of the Council of Europe.</em></p> <p><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><strong>Belarus subscribes to the Convention</strong> on the fight against human trafficking and thus becomes the first country, among those which are not members of the Council of Europe, that has ratified this agreement.</span></strong></span></strong></p> <p><strong>The news of the signing</strong> - by the Minister of Internal Affairs Ihar Shunevich - was reported in a press release issued by the Council, which informs that GRETA, International group of experts on action against trafficking, could be able to publish the results of its assessment of the measures taken from Belarus in order to help prevent trafficking, protect victims and prosecute perpetrators.
<p><em>The problem of overcrowded prisons is at the heart of a workshop for prison workers. Efforts in response to a critical situation</em></p> <p><strong>“I would share one particular incident</strong>. The guys were walking around the corridors. One of us noticed a new arrival. His eyes were weary and still. One of us went up to him and asked: ‘What is it?’ and the guy was speechless. He understood him perfectly: he had had the same experience. He said: ‘Go on, come to my cell and I’ll offer you a good cup of coffee!’ As he prepared the coffee, he continued: ‘Look! You’re doing okay here. Today the sun is shining, and you’ve made a friend. What more do you want from life?’ On visiting day they both happened to be in the same room.The wife and son of the new arrival stood up and went over to thank him for the goodness he had shown their relative.”
Economy & Work
Thirty-five years ago a dream was born: the Economy of Communion. In late May Argentina will host an extraordinary celebration where people of all ages will come together to breathe new life into this project and write the future for a different kind of economy.
Art & Social Commitment
Art is not just memory, but a living force. Art historian Giulia Spoltore guides us through the great works of war-defying art, illustrating how beauty can transform society and create a universal culture of peace.
Health, Sport & Ecology
Lorna Gold, Executive Director of Laudato Si’ Movement, reflects on ten years of the encyclical, analysing how integral ecology is an essential path to global unity and tackling the climate crisis.
Education & Research
Operation Mato Grosso is working on over 100 missions across Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia, all rooted in education, hard work, and solidarity. Jacopo Manara, who has been a volunteer for years, tells us their story.
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