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 Psoriasis Day – 29 October 2024
Psoriasis is a skin disease that causes a rash with itchy, scaly patches, most commonly on the knees, elbows, trunk and scalp. Psoriasis is a common, long-term (chronic) disease with no cure. It can be painful, interfere with sleep and make it hard to concentrate.
Source: Text: Google
Psoriatic Disease and the Family
Living with the psoriatic disease can be tough for both the person affected and their family members. It’s important to recognize that the challenges don’t just impact the individual but also their family. Both the person with psoriatic disease and their family members deserve support. National policymakers must understand this to address their specific needs.
IFPA presents World Psoriasis Day. Each year, the global community unites to raise awareness and call for action in support of people living with psoriatic disease. World Psoriasis Day has been celebrated on October 29th for more than a decade. Today, World Psoriasis Day is observed in over 70 countries.
Psoriatic Disease and the Family
This year’s World Psoriasis Day 2024 theme is ‘Family”. Everyone navigating the challenges of psoriatic disease deserves unwavering support. This includes recognizing the challenges faced not only by the individual with psoriatic disease but also by their loved ones. As part of our commitment to raising awareness and understanding, we will create resources detailing the effects of psoriatic disease on the family economy, work life, social life, relationships, etc.
Source: Text & Image: https://ifpa-pso.com/world-psoriasis-day
World Occupational Therapy Day – 27 October 2024
The theme for World Occupational Therapy Day 2024 is ‘Occupational Therapy for All’. The theme reflects the important role of the profession to facilitate the ability of individuals, communities and populations to participate in the activities that they want, need or are expected to do in their daily lives.
Source: Text: https://wfot.org/news/2024/launch-of-the-world-occupational-therapy-day-2024-theme Image: https://wfot.org/resources/world-occupational-therapy-day-2024-translated-logos
Why Is World Occupational Therapy Day Celebrated?
World Occupational Therapy Day is celebrated to thank occupational therapists and the work they do to help others. It can help people to understand their role in greater depth, and allow occupational therapists to share their goals with others.
The event also promotes occupational therapy as a profession. It can be an extremely rewarding career for those who choose it, so it’s important that as many people as possible understand what occupational therapy is all about and how they can enter the profession.
What Do Occupational Therapists Do?
Occupational therapy is a branch of healthcare; occupational therapists help people of all ages in lots of different areas. They can support people with their mobility, motor skills, and daily tasks. Their role is to work with a person, identify strengths and difficulties that they experience in everyday life, and find ways to tackle these things.
Occupational therapists can help adults and children with mobility problems, SEND, and those struggling to adapt after an operation. They can also help elderly people who are finding that ageing is affecting how they carry out their daily tasks.
No matter what the person’s circumstances are, an occupational therapist’s aim is to develop someone’s confidence and independence in carrying out their daily tasks, or other activities.
Source: Text: https://www.twinkl.ca/event/world-occupational-therapy-day-2024
World Day for Audiovisual Heritage – 27 October
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.
30th Sunday of Year B – 2024
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
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?
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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.
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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
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
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
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
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.