Week Ahead: UNHCHR Meets to Discuss Progress on the Right to Development | UNICEF: Learning Passport Yields Results | European Parliament: Emotion in Facial Recognition Banned in the EU
Week Ahead: UNHCHR Meets to Discuss Progress on the Right to Development | UNICEF: Learning Passport Yields Results | European Parliament: Emotion in Facial Recognition Banned in the EU
WHO: Youth Road Safety | IPU: Case Studies from Brazil | WTO: Electronic Commerce
It is short week in Europe and the agenda at the UN in Geneva reflects that.
Week in Review
European Parliament: Equal Pay for Equal Work bill signed into law, May 10.
European Parliament
Artificial Intelligence Act
Artificial Intelligence has dominated the airwaves, social media, and wherever one turns to read the news there is talk of its perils. More than before, and this is a good thing as the hype has overshadowed the real concerns for democracy, up till now.
Will we, as a society, be able to regulate it?
Will industry and regulators find common ground?
I interviewed Dr. Gianclaudio Malgieri, Associate Professor of Law at Leiden University School of Law, author of Vulnerability & Data Protection Law, Oxford University Press, to speak about the advances on the draft of the Artificial Intelligence Act, that was discussed at the European Parliament early May.
UNICEF and Microsoft Deliver Digital Education Programmes for Teachers, Adolescents and Children Refugees in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America
Listen to my interview with Mac Glovinsky from UNICEF in New York, on the digital education programme delivered with Microsoft.
Scroll all the way down.
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Presented by Microsoft
The World Needs Cybersecurity Experts
Microsoft Expands Training Programs for Women in 28 Countries
Learn more about Microsoft’s engagement with the UN here.
UNICEF and Microsoft Partnership Delivers Results
Learning Passport
Interview with Mac Glovinsky, the lead on the partnership between Microsoft and UNICEF to bring formal education to children and adolescents that are forced to flee their homes. That happens because they are either internally displaced in their own countries due to civil strife, or they are refugees from post-conflict and war zones, as well as are escaping their countries after extreme weather events that destroy their cities, their homes, and schools, and cause them to interrupt their regular schooling.
The Learning Passport works in partnership with local governments to make sure that children and adolescents do not lag behind on their formal education during a period for them that is already very trying on their physical and mental health.
The programme has been deployed for children and adolescents refugees from Ukraine in Poland and other neighbouring countries from the start of the hostilities.
UNICEF uses the curriculum of country of origin developed in partnership with national governments departments of education. Since some areas have poor connectivity, no broadband access, they figured a hybrid model that allows kids to use their computers off-line too. UNICEF Learning Passport has also been focusing on the mental health of refugee teachers to help them to integrate in the host country.
COMMITTEE on INFORMATION
How the UN Communicates With Global Audiences
Country-members review activities of the UN public information and strategic communications around the globe from mid-to-late-2022 to January 2023.
“The Committee on Information adopted the SG report by consensus, providing the Department of Global Communications with clear direction & strong support in our work to advance the important work of the United Nations, combat misinformation and more.” Maher Nasser, UN Department of Global Communications.
We interviewed Maher Nasser, Director, UN Department of Global Communications, in New York, to speak about the annual report and the priorities set up by the Committee on Information on the work of the UN News and Media Division, the outreach section, the office of the spokesperson, advertising campaigns, ambassador programmes with celebrities in sports and film, and the overall strategic communications’ plan using social media platforms.
With an annual budget of roughly $90 Million USD, the Department of Global Communications plays a crucial role on shaping the public perception of the organisation around the globe.
Building Trust and Combating Misinformation
Source: UN
Full document here
Highlights
The Department of Global Communications continued to implement its COVID-19 communications response initiative, on the theme of science, solutions and solidarity, to promote reliable information and address misleading and harmful narratives.
Through the Verified initiative, the Department worked with civil society groups, media broadcasters, activists and companies around the world to gain access to mainstream audiences and vulnerable groups, including those with lower rates of uptake of vaccines, and to deliver trustworthy content in support of global efforts to stop the pandemic.
Between 1 July and 31 October 2022, the Verified initiative reached more than 18.2 million people and engaged over 500,000 people globally through a series of online activities and live events, with efforts focused in particular on audiences in Brazil, India, Kenya, South Africa and Trinidad and Tobago.
In India, the Verified initiative included the launch of two campaigns aimed at increasing vaccine uptake among migrant workers and tribal communities in New Delhi, the capital city, and in the state of Tamil Nadu.
The campaigns, through which community leaders were engaged to share content with the above-mentioned groups, reached more than 18,700 people, online and offline, through audiovisual content, which helped to ensure that the messaging was accessible to communities with lower literacy rates.
By expanding its network of trusted messengers in India to include health-care workers, doctors, scientists, content creators, journalists, resident welfare associations, sanitation workers, corporate leaders, automobile drivers, youth leaders and influencers with millions of followers, such as Mithila Palkar and Satshya Tharien, and engaging those partners to share content addressing misinformation on COVID-19, the Verified initiative reached over 3.6 million people in the country.
In Africa, the Verified initiative engaged with celebrities and content creators to achieve its goals. In Kenya, it partnered with Nairobi-based celebrity DJ Grauchi to remind people about the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine.
That collaboration included two performances that garnered a total of 454,000 views on social media, reached over 190,000 people and engaged more than 5,000. In South Africa, the initiative partnered with content creator Mashudu Modau and celebrity DJ Frypan, who used their social media channels to reach more than 71,800 people with COVID-19 messaging related to employment, entrepreneurship and music.
The global network of United Nations information centres also played a key role in sharing Verified content with audiences at the national and local levels. To support COVID-19 vaccination efforts, the United Nations information centre in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, produced a video in collaboration with the Brazilian screenwriter KondZilla, the music group Trilogia da Escócia and Equipe Halo, a group of scientists and health-care professionals who volunteered their time to address COVID-19 vaccine concerns and misinformation. The video garnered 300,000 views on TikTok and YouTube with the help of more than 100 influencers who contributed to its promotion.
In November 2022, in partnership with the instructional website wikiHow, the Verified initiative launched a free digital literacy course entitled “How to spot and counter disinformation online”. Available in six languages – Czech, English, French, German, Russian and Spanish – the course was aimed at helping audiences to recognize disinformation narratives and stop their spread.
A multilingual digital literacy course on combating misinformation online – launched in 2021 by the Verified initiative in partnership with wikiHow – continued to help audiences to learn how to identify and resist misinformation and how to fact-check and respond to false content. The course also provided advice on how and when to take a break from social media altogether.
In line with the recommendation put forward by the Secretary-General in his report entitled “Our Common Agenda” (A/75/982), the Department continued its work on developing a global code of conduct to promote integrity in public information.
The Department began a desk review of threats to information integrity across the world and of applicable regulatory efforts occurring at the national and regional levels. The Department also intensified its exchanges with stakeholders in the field of information integrity, including think tanks, academia, media institutions and the United Nations system.
In addition, the Under-Secretary-General undertook speaking engagements and published a series of articles on Medium and other platforms addressing information integrity, misinformation, disinformation and hate speech.
The Department also continued to engage with major social media platforms, such as Meta, TikTok and Twitter, to advocate transparency and promote action to address disinformation, hate speech and freedom of expression, including in crisis situations, during which the spread of harmful content posed an especially urgent challenge.
The Department also worked to ensure a coordinated, consistent and effective approach across the United Nations system in its discussions with the platforms.
Week Ahead (in Geneva and online)
Source: International Parliamentary Union
Processing high volumes of inputs from citizen engagement in parliamentary business: Case study from Brazil
16/05/2023 - Virtual
In this second seminar on processing mass data, IPU will consider four tools used by the Brazilian Parliament to encourage public participation and manage mass input from citizens.
Strengthening parliamentary action at COP28
25/05/2023 - Virtual
As part of the its campaign Parliaments for the Planet, the IPU is organizing a series of webinars in the lead-up to the UN climate talks at COP28 in Dubai, UAE, in December. This first seminar looks at climate science with a focus on the recent IPCC findings.
World Health Organisation
Source: WHO
15 – 17 May 2023
7th Meeting of the Strategic and Technical Advisory Group of Experts (STAGE) for Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition (MNCAHN)
Virtual meeting Agenda
Monday 15 May at 14:00 CEST, WHO and The Global Youth Coalition for Road Safety will host a 30-minute live chat on Instagram, with Etienne Krug, WHO Director of the Department of Social Determinants of Health, and Sana Khasawneh, Advocacy and Campaigns Manager, Youth for Road Safety (YOURS).
WTO
Source: WTO
Tuesday, 16 May
Meetings
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration
Informal Heads of Delegation Meeting
Dedicated Discussion on Electronic Commerce
Human Rights at the UN
Source: Office of the High-Commissioner for Human Rights
Meeting of Working Group on the Right to Development
There will be the election of the new chair-rapporteur and review of the progress made in the promotion and implementation of the right to development.
CEDAW
Informal meeting with NGOs and national human rights institutions
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
The CEDAW Committee consists of 23 experts on women’s rights from around the world.
The CEDAW treaty is a tool that helps women around the world to bring about change in their daily life.
In countries that have ratified the treaty, CEDAW has proved invaluable in opposing the effects of discrimination, which include violence, poverty, and lack of legal protections, along with the denial of inheritance, property rights, and access to credit.
Ongoing
International Law Commission Meetings in Geneva
The International Law Commission was established by the General Assembly, in 1947, to undertake the mandate of the Assembly, under article 13 (1) (a) of the Charter of the United Nations to "initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification".
The International Law Commission will hold its seventy-fourth session at the United Nations Office at Geneva from 24 April to 2 June and from 3 July to 4 August 2023 (11 weeks).
Weekend Edition
Weekend Edition: Wines of Great Britain
London
Celebrating Wines of Great Britain
In recent years wine production in Great Britain has grown exponentially. The reason? Global warming. (If there is a silver lining this must be it. Kidding.) But also geology (and savoir-faire), the UK soil is similar to that of the region of Champagne. Which is good soil for growing Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier, the three varietals for making sparkling wine in the Methode Champagnoise. Not to be confused with the Charmat or Petnat methods.
There is also the ability by a growing number of wine producers of doing excellent vinification. As a country that has imported fine wine for centuries, we take that that knowledge is good baseline to start, the British winemaker has already a well-educated palate.
If you visiting the UK this Summer there is a wine shop now, at Gatwick Airport, that sells English wines, and expect to see more served at the embassies, consulates, and missions around the world as well as production for export increases. Also if you fly British Airways, you can taste the sublime Hattingley Valley sparkling wines.
Wines of Great Britain, the national association for the English and Welsh wine industry, pledged to undertake a project or campaign with an environmental or sustainable angle this year, which would mark the King’s Coronation year.
Check their home page.
We interviewed Julia Trustam Eve, Head of Marketing, Wines of Great Britain, the national association for the English and Welsh wine industry, to speak about the upcoming English Wine Week in June, and the growing UK wine tourism sector, as well as the principal markets for export of English wine today (you will be surprised!).
June in Paris
Hélène Leloup: Portrait of a Life in African Art
African Modern & Contemporary Art | Sotheby’s
Great exhibition and auction opening in Paris, on the 21st June.