hello

Greetings to each and everyone of you.


This section for English-speaking viewers –
and all those enjoying the culture –

has developed over the months and is now offering materials of all kinds:

texts, images, poems, videos, etc.

It will continue to provide you with rich contents week after week.

 

World Day for Audiovisual Heritage – 27 October

27 octobre 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: archives, awareness, cultural diversity, digital form, documents, linguistic diversity, préservation, respect, UNESCO

Audiovisual archives tell us stories about people’s lives and cultures from all over the world. They represent a priceless heritage which is an affirmation of our collective memory and a valuable source of knowledge since they reflect the cultural, social and linguistic diversity of our communities. They help us grow and comprehend the world we all share. Conserving this heritage and ensuring it remains accessible to the public and future generations is a vital goal for all memory institutions as well as the public at large. The UNESCO Archives has launched the project « Digitizing our shared UNESCO history » with this very goal in mind.

The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage (WDAH) is a commemoration of the adoption, in 1980 by the 21st General Conference, of the Recommendation for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images. The World Day provides an occasion to raise general awareness of the need to take urgent measures and to acknowledge the importance of audiovisual documents.

In this way, the World Day also serves as an opportunity for UNESCO’s Member States to evaluate their performance with respect to implementing the 2015 Recommendation Concerning the Preservation of, and Access to, Documentary Heritage, Including in Digital Form.

Source: Text & Image: https://www.unesco.org/en/days/audiovisual-heritage

30th Sunday of Year B – 2024

25 octobre 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: arrogance, blind spots, blindness, indifférence, injustice, John 9:41, Mark 10:46-52, prejudice, selfishness

Every person reading the gospel texts has his/her own reaction.
One may find a text helpful and inspiring, while the same text may not speak personally to someone else.
A certain scene presented in detail may retain the attention of someone but will leave another indifferent.

God’s moment, God’s touch, may not happen at the same time for everyone.
But God’s touch can be one of healing – healing the blindness as yet unrecognized.

Today’s gospel text shows us a blind man calling loudly and asking Jesus to have pity on him (Mark 10:46-52).
A few people may end the reading telling themselves: ‘Well, I am not blind, thank God!’,
and they move on to some activity.

Personally, I keep on mentally looking at the man and thinking: He was aware of his condition…
And some words come back to me, words of another gospel text also about blindness (John 9:41).
Jesus tells the Pharisees:

“If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin;
but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains”.

There is physical blindness and… there are other kinds of blindness…
Many people do not see what they do not want to see…
Some choose what to see and what not to see…

There are those who know that they would be faced with a challenge if they accepted to see the truth,
so, they deliberately close their eyes to what is plain to see!
Others are aware that they would be confronted with the need to change something in their lives, so they pretend they do not see…

Being willing to see may involved having a close look at different areas of my life to identify some… blind spots!

      – I may be blind to some injustice in my work practices…
      – I may be blind to the prejudice I have towards some groups of people…
      – I may be blind to the selfishness that leads me to ignore the needs of those close me…
      – I may be blind to the arrogance of my attitude lacking respect to those I judge as inferiors…
      – I may be blind to the kindness of the people I live and work with…

Blind spots – they can be of different kinds but all too obvious to people around me.

The prayer of the blind man of today’s gospel may be an appropriate request on my part as well:
« Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! »

 

Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/30e-dimanche-de-lannee-b-2024/

 

Source: Image: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/john-9-16-913-1734-38-2020/

World Breast Cancer Day – 19 October 2024

19 octobre 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: breast cancer, diagnosis, hormone therapy, risk, screening, treatment

Approximately 1 in 8 women (13%) in the U.S. will develop invasive breast cancer at some point in their life.

While advances in screening and treatment have reduced the overall risk of death from the disease, the number of people diagnosed with breast cancer continues to rise. One report found the breast cancer incidence increased by 1% per year between 2012 and 2021.

How common is breast cancer?

  • Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed among women in the U.S. Each year, about 30% of all newly diagnosed cancers in women are breast cancer.

  • In 2024, approximately 310,720 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, 16% of which will be in women younger than 50 years of age. Also, 56,500 women will be diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

  • About 66% of breast cancer cases are diagnosed at a localized stage — before cancer has spread outside of the breast — when treatments tend to work better.

  • There are currently more than four million women with a history of breast cancer in the U.S. This includes women currently being treated and women who have finished treatment.

  • Less than 1% of all breast cancers occur in men.

Breast cancer facts Historical incidence rates Between 1980 and 2000, breast cancer incidence rates in the U.S. climbed, before dropping in the early 2000s. One theory is that this decrease was partially due to the reduced use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) by women after the results of a large study called the Women’s Health Initiative were published in 2002. These results suggested a connection between HRT and increased breast cancer risk. From 2012 to 2021 (the most recent decade of data available), invasive breast cancer incidence increased by 1% per year.

Age at diagnosis The median age at the time of breast cancer diagnosis is 62 — meaning that half of women with breast cancer are diagnosed before age 62 and half are diagnosed afterward.

 

Source: Text: https://www.breastcancer.org/facts-statistics        Image: https://www.bcrf.org/blog/breast-cancer-awareness-month-ideas-fundraising/

This information is provided by Breastcancer.org.
Donate to support free resources and programming for people affected by breast cancer.

29th Sunday of Year B – 2024

18 octobre 2024
Nicole Gregoire
2 Comments
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: glory, God of paradoxes, God of surprises, honor, Mark 10:35-45, power, service, strenght, weakness

Some years ago, I read a book entitled The God of Surprises. *
Today, I ask myself whether a book has ever been written under the title of: The God of Paradoxes!

This thought came to me as I read today’s gospel text (Mark 10:35-45).
The two apostles, James and John, are possibly the first to meet this God in Jesus.

They come to ask Jesus for something and, before voicing their request, they make it clear that they want him to grant them what they ask for!
What they want is places of honor in God’s kingdom – sitting at the right and the left of Jesus in his glory, no less!

Jesus’ answer is a reply they surely did not expect.
First, he asks them if they are ready to share in his suffering.
Then, he tells them clearly:

“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all”.

He assures them that this is his own way of life:
“Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve”.

This is the lesson that the apostle Paul would also learn and pass on to the Christians of Corinth.
The message he had received from God telling him:

“My power is made perfect in weakness » (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

Obviously, this is not what is prevalent in society today.
Examples are few of those who choose this lifestyle.
The advertising business certainly does not follow this approach.
Jesus’ words do not seem to have much appeal…

Greatness in service… Power in weakness…
Only God can make such choices, follow such strange paradoxical ways…
Ony God… and those who accept to follow his ways…

Would I dare to step on that path?…

* Author: Gerard W. Hughes

 

Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/29e-dimanche-de-lannee-b-2024/

 

Source: Images: https://www.scripture-images.com/phone-backgrounds/web/mark-10-44-web-mobile-wallpaper.php                                                                    https://church4u2.wordpress.com/2016/07/03/mark-1045/

World Organ Donor Day – 17 October

17 octobre 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: 'passport of life', organ donation, patients, quality of life, saving lives, serious illnesses, treatment

Remember the importance of organ donation in saving lives!

On the occasion of World Organ Donor Day, celebrated every year on 17 October, the Ministry of Health and the Luxembourg Transplant association, the official body for managing donations and transplants in Luxembourg, are renewing their efforts to raise awareness of organ donation.

To support this cause, Luxexpo The Box hosted the 14th Spinning Marathon on 8 October. This sporting and charitable event brought together a large number of sportsmen and women with the aim of raising public awareness of the crucial role played by organ donors in our society.

For a number of serious illnesses, organ transplantation remains the only means of treatment to ensure patients’ survival. For others, an organ transplant offers the possibility of regaining a quality of life that is less dependent on the equipment that supports their failing organs.

It is therefore essential that Luxembourg contributes to organ donation so that Luxembourg residents can benefit from transplants.

Without organ donation, there can be no transplants!

Even though organ procurement and transplantation activities are recovering worldwide, the negative impact of COVID-19 will remain for some time. In Luxembourg, 8 people donated their organs in 2022 (compared with only 2 in 2021). As a result, 38 organs from Luxembourg were successfully transplanted by centres in the Eurotransplant network (European network for the management of organ procurement and transplantation). 105 patients (+15 compared with 2020) were registered on the national pre-transplant list awaiting transplantation in a foreign centre. 55 new patients were added to the list during the year and 1 patient on the list died in 2022. In 2022, 35 residents of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg received transplants in foreign centres.

Order your passport of life

In Luxembourg, any deceased person is potentially considered an organ donor. Subscribing to the « passport of life », Luxembourg’s organ donor card, facilitates the work of doctors and spares the family from having to make difficult decisions.

Download your donor card using the « passport of life » application available on iPhone and Android, or on sante.lu.

Further information on organ donation is also available at http://www.luxtransplant.lu/.

Source: Text: https://gouvernement.lu/en/actualites/toutes_actualites/communiques/2023/10-octobre/17-journee-don-organe Press release by the Ministry of Health 
                Image: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/my-organ-donation-opt-out-hell/

Conflict Resolution Day – 17 October 2024

17 octobre 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: arbitration, communities, conciliation, conlict resolution, facilitation, families, médiation, négociation

Each Year ACR celebrates Conflict Resolution Day the third Thursday of October

This year it is October 17, 2024

Our logo of the tree was designed as a symbol to celebrate growth in Conflict Resolution. The first year, start small, but just like the tree the seeds you plant one year, will continue to grow and blossom each 
year.
Conflict Resolution Day was conceived in 2005 by ACR to:
  • Promote awareness of mediation, arbitration, conciliation and other creative, peaceful means of resolving conflict;
  • Promote the use of conflict resolution in schools, families, businesses, communities, governments and the legal system;
  • Recognize the significant contributions of (peaceful) conflict resolvers;
  • Obtain national synergy by having celebrations happen across the country and around the world on the same day.

 

Source: Text & Image: https://acrnet.org/page/ConflictResDay

International Day of Rural Women – 15 October 2024

15 octobre 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: ancestral knowledge, biodiversity, collective future, education, environmental conservation, land rights, sustaining nature, technology

Rural Women Sustaining Nature for Our Collective Future

Achieving gender equality and empowering women is not only the right thing to do but is a critical ingredient in the fight against extreme poverty, hunger and climate change.

Women are responsible for half of the world’s food production while working as environmental and biodiversity stewards. As farmers, women have learned how to cope with and adapt to climate change, for example, by practicing sustainable agriculture in harmony with nature, switching to drought-resistant seeds, employing low-impact or organic soil management techniques, or leading community-based reforestation and restoration efforts

Indigenous women have been at the forefront of environmental conservation by bringing invaluable ancestral knowledge and practices, and rural women have been leading global and national climate movements that have spotlighted the need for action for the sake of this and future generations..

Given their position on the frontlines of the climate crisis, women are uniquely situated to be agents of change — to help find ways to mitigate the causes of global warming and adapt to its impacts on the ground.

However, reports prove that climate change has a more pronounced impact on women, primarily indigenous and peasant women, whose agricultural dependence, living conditions, and marginalization expose them to a greater degree of changes due to climate, loss of diversity, and pollution.

This International Day of Rural Women’s theme is “Rural Women Sustaining Nature for Our Collective Future: Building climate resilience, conserving biodiversity, and caring for land towards gender equality and empowerment of women and girls.” 

Let’s promote their work as food providers and protectors of the environment. Let’s demand their participation in decision-making within their communities. Let’s promote rural areas where women can have the same opportunities as men.

Did you know?

  • Rural women have less access to a range of resources, from land rights and credit to education and technology. If women had the same access to productive resources as men, farm yields could increase by 20–30 per cent, feeding an additional 100 to 150 million people.
  • Every year, female-headed households experience income losses of 8 percent due to heat stress, and 3 percent due to floods, relative to male-headed households.
  • A 1° C increase in long-term average temperatures is associated with a 34 percent reduction in the total incomes of female-headed households, relative to those of male-headed households.

 

Source: Text: https://www.un.org/en/observances/rural-women-day     Image: 

28th Sunday of Year B – 2024

11 octobre 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: assess anew, detachment, estimages, eternal life, Mark 10:17-30, poor, possessions, real value, reappraise, riches, wealth

There are times when we feel we are no longer sure about certain things which we thought we knew well.
We suddenly become aware that we may need to take into consideration some factors and readjust our thinking.

It could be so regarding… wealth, riches, possessions…
It may be that we need to reappraise, to evaluate anew, to assess again, to revise the estimates we had made…
Today’s gospel text may lead us to do just that (Mark 10:17-30).

The scene presents us a man who comes to Jesus with a most important question:
he wants to know how to inherit eternal life – no less!
The text tells us:
“He had great wealth”.

But, as Jesus answers him, he tells him openly:
“One thing you lack…”

No matter how great his wealth, or how many possessions he has acquired, he is told, and he knows, deeply, that something is missing.
This mysterious ‘thing’ is… DETACHMENT… he is ‘possessed’ by his possessions!

Jesus’ invitation is to let go, to give to the poor something of his riches and, in this way, obtain “a treasure in heaven”.
Jesus calls him to reconsider what is truly of value, something enduring, everlasting.
None of the riches he owns will last eternally – they may be damaged, lost, stolen…
But to let go of what he has amassed and considers precious… he cannot do.

No wonder we are told that:
“The man’s face fell. He went away sad…”
Because he was not ready to follow Jesus’ way – the way that brings liberation.

We may feel that we resemble him in some ways.
We may also be like the apostles who were “amazed” at Jesus’ words.
The Jews of the time believe that riches were a sign of God’s favour.

Jesus makes it clear that God’s true blessings enable us to do what is impossible for us:
leaving behind what we hold as precious to follow Jesus’ way…

 

Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/28e-dimanche-de-lannee-b-2024/

 

Source: Image: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

International Day of the Girl Child – 11 October 2024

11 octobre 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: Child marriage, climate, conflicts, crisis, Gender equality, girls, hope for the future, needs, poverty, sexual violence, vision

The 2024 International Day of the Girl theme is ‘Girls’ vision for the future’.

This year’s theme conveys both the need for urgent action and persistent hope, driven by the power of girls’ voices and vision for the future.

Today’s generation of girls is disproportionately affected by global crises of climate, conflict, poverty and pushback on hard won gains for human rights and gender equality. Too many girls are still denied their rights, restricting their choices and limiting their futures.

Yet, recent analysis shows that girls are not only courageous in the face of crisis, but hopeful for the future. Every day, they are taking action to realize a vision of a world in which all girls are protected, respected and empowered.
But girls cannot realize this vision alone. They need allies who listen to and respond to their needs. 

With the right support, resources and opportunities, the potential of the world’s more than 1.1 billion girls is limitless. And when girls lead, the impact is immediate and wide reaching: families, communities and economies are all stronger, our future brighter.

It is time to listen to girls, to invest in proven solutions that will accelerate progress towards a future in which every girl can fulfil her potential.

Did you know?

  • Nearly 1 in 5 girls are still not completing lower-secondary and nearly 4 in 10 girls are not completing upper-secondary school today.
  • Around 90 per cent of adolescent girls and young women do not use the internet in low-income countries, while their male peers are twice as likely to be online.
  • Globally, girls aged 5-14 spend 160 million more hours every day on unpaid care and domestic work than boys of the same age.
  • Adolescent girls continue to account for 3 in 4 new HIV infections among adolescents.
  • Nearly 1 in 4 married/partnered adolescent girls aged 15-19 have experienced physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner at least once in their lifetime.
  • Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, 100 million girls were at risk of child marriage in the next decade. And now over the next ten years, up to 10 million more girls worldwide will be at risk of marrying as children because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: Text & Image: https://www.un.org/en/observances/girl-child-day

World Day Against the Death Penalty – 24 October 2024-2025

10 octobre 2024
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: abolitionist movement, conflict resolution, death penalty, human dignity, individuals, long-term solutions, marginalized groups, societies

Observed every 10 October, the World Day Against the Death Penalty unifies the global abolitionist movement and mobilizes civil society, political leaders, lawyers, public opinion and more to support the call for the universal abolition of capital punishment.

The day encourages and consolidates the political and general awareness of the worldwide movement against the death penalty.

On 10 October 2024 and 2025, the World Day will be dedicated to challenging the misconception that the death penalty can make people and communities safer.

Security is commonly understood as freedom from danger or threat, but its interpretation varies considerably. It is a term rooted in political discourse and often used as a political tactic to influence public opinion and justify security policies. The determination of who are considered threats, and who are to be protected is often influenced by power dynamics, discrimination, and inequality. When applied to criminal justice, security offenses are in many cases broadly defined and can be open to abuse. Using the “security argument” at best politicizes a judicial procedure that is supposed to be impartial and fair, and at worst provides a context for human rights abuses in the name of State protection.

It is undeniable that the death penalty does not protect individuals and societies because it threatens human dignity and reinforces social and economic disparities by disproportionately affecting marginalized groups. To achieve effective long-term solutions, we must prioritize people’s concerns, tackle the root causes of crime and violence and apply a human security approach in conflict resolution and creating safer societies. Abolish the death penalty now!

 

Source: Text & Image: https://worldcoalition.org/campagne/22nd-world-day-against-the-death-penalty/