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> </p> <p><em>The two Presidents, Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan, will meet on November 19 in Vienna. The U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group James Warlick wrote this on his official page Twitter.<br /></em></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>The presidents of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, and Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev,</strong> will meet 19 of November in Vienna declares on his official page on Twitter James Warlick, the U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group. It's the first time in two years in a bid to restart stalled negotiations over the disputed region of Nagorny Karabakh.</p> <p><strong>The conflict between the two South Caucasus</strong> countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.</p>
<p><em>For "Protagonists of Fraternity" Mother Teresa: founder of the Missionaries of Charity, a Catholic order of nuns dedicated to helping the poor. She is still considered today one of the greatest personalities in the dissemination of a culture of peace and brotherhood.</em></p> <p><strong>Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu</strong>, now known as Mother Teresa, was the third and final child born to her Albanian Catholic parents, Nikola and Dranafile Bojaxhiu, in the city of Skopje (a predominantly Muslim city in the Balkans). <br />Both before Nikola's death and especially after it, the Bojaxhiu family held tightly to their religious beliefs. </p> <p><strong>When Mother Teresa was </strong>17 years old, she made the decision to become a nun. Having read many articles about the work Catholic missionaries were doing in India, Mother Teresa was determined to go there. Thus, Mother Teresa applied to the Loreto order of nuns, based in Ireland but with missions in India.</p>
<p> <em>"Same thing happened to me recently"</em></p> <p><br /><strong>November 14 - A Padua woman</strong> on Thursday found a wallet and gave it back to its owner telling him he should send some money to the Philippines rather than giving her a reward.</p> <p><br /><strong>"The same thing happened to me</strong> recently when a German tourist in a restaurant told us my husband's wallet had fallen to the floor," said school assistant Maristella Pasqualetti.</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong></strong></p>
<p><em>The new Paraguayan government of President Horacio Cartes is rapidly formalizing relations with its Mercosur partners. On Tuesday the ambassador that will represent the country in Venezuela, Enrique Jara took the oath of office, which in fact means full normalization of relations with the country ruled by Nicolas Maduro.</em></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>“I'm pleased with the job tasked</strong>, re-opening our embassy in Caracas and giving priority to all those bilateral issues pending: trade, energy, culture”, said Jara, the ambassador that will represent Paraguay in Venezuela, adding the resumption of a fluid political dialogue with Venezuela.</p> <p><strong>Jara is a professional diplomat</strong> who joined the foreign ministry in 1980 and has had posts in Brasilia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Panama and Bolivia. In addition to Jara, the president Cartes also took the oath of office to Elisa Mercedes Ruiz Diaz who will be Paraguay's representative before the Organization of American States in Washington.The ceremony at Government House in Asunción was headed by President Cartes and cabinet members.</p>
<p><em>Tales of survival, amid the devastation in Tacloban</em></p> <p><strong>Amid the devastation in Tacloban</strong>, tales of survival, resilience and generosity towards others are emerging daily.One concerns a small girl called Aisha.</p> <p><strong>She lost all her family when the super</strong> typhoon struck. She has now been taken in by Rodulfo Fernandez who himself has lost five relatives.</p> <p><strong>“Her whole family was wiped out,”</strong> explained Rodulfo. “The wind was so strong that many were blown out to the sea. Aisha clung on to something for hours, maybe it was a tree, and survived that way. I don’t actually know how she managed to do it. It is hard to believe.”</p> <p><strong>Despite his own loss, Rodulfo said he felt obliged</strong> to care for the traumatised Aisha whom he has renamed Christa in the hope that eventually she will be able to view her nightmare as a new beginning. In the meantime, what is left of his own family is taking one day at a time.</p>
<p><em>Campaign for Peace in the Great Lakes set to begin in December.</em></p> <p> </p> <p style="display: inline !important;"><strong>Catholic and Anglican bishops in the Congo</strong> have come together in a joint campaign meant to promote unity in this nation that has been up until recently ravaged by violence from an armed rebel group.</p> <p style="display: inline !important;"> </p> <p style="display: inline !important;"> </p> <p style="display: inline !important;"><strong>The Association of Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa</strong> (ACEAC) brings together the Catholic Bishops of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Rwanda and the Association of Anglican bishops. The joint initiative will be titled "Peace in the Great Lakes."</p> <p><strong>Bishop Fridoin Ambongo of Bokungo</strong>, president of the Commission For Justice and Peace of the ACEAC, presented the campaign in Kinshasa. The Congolese prelate spoke about the recent defeat of the M23 rebel group, which terrorized the area of North Kivu.</p>
<p> </p> <p><em>Life-saving devices to be placed all around Bussolengo</em></p> <p><strong>Verona, November 12 -</strong> A mayor in northern Italy on Tuesday said she was donating her salary towards buying defibrillators for the town. "I truly believe in this initiative," said Mayor Maria Paola Boscaini. "It's worth foregoing my mayor's salary".</p> <p><strong>The goal is to put the medical devices</strong> in crowded parts Bussolengo, outside Verona, such as schools, gyms, sporting complexes and shopping centers, giving residents easy access in the event of a heart attack.
<p><em>International relief effort is under way, but rescue workers have struggled to reach some towns and villages cut off since the storm.</em></p> <p><strong>Officials estimate up to 10,000</strong> people have died in Tacloban city (Leyte Island, Philippines) and hundreds elsewhere. Hundreds of thousands of people are displaced. The typhoon flattened homes, schools and an airport. It has since made landfall in northern Vietnam, near the Chinese border, where it has weakened to a tropical storm.<br />Supplies</p> <p><strong>Four million people have been affected</strong> in the Philippines, and many are now struggling to survive without food, shelter or clean drinking water.<br />A huge international relief effort is under way, but rescue workers have struggled to reach some towns and villages cut off since the storm.
<p> </p> <p><em>The Grand awa Family lives in one of the areas most affected by conflict</em></p> <p><strong>The Awa are an indigenous people who straddle</strong> the Ecuador-Colombia border but do not feel part of the modern societies on either side. That has not saved them suffering the consequences of the armed conflict that has battered Colombia for years. (…)</p> <p><strong>For the more than 4,000 Awa in Ecuador</strong> and some 40,000 in Colombia the border is non-existent. The ´Grand Awa Family´ is considered one territory, irrespective of internationally recognized borders. Unfortunately for the Awa people they live in one of the areas most affected by conflict. (…)
Dialogue & Interculture
New Humanity NGO presented the M.E.D.I.T.erraNEW project — co-financed by the Erasmus Plus Program — to the Youth Section of UNESCO in Paris.
Peace & Human Rights
Amid the rubble of Syria, art becomes an act of resistance. Discover the story of Aeham Ahmad, the “The Pianist of Yarmouk”, who defied the horror of war with the invincible beauty of his musical notes.
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.
An interview on communication with Michele Zanzucchi, journalist and writer, former director of Città Nuova, professor of communication at Sophia University Institute and at the Pontifical Gregorian University, and author of around forty books.
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