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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.

 

13th Sunday of the Year, A

29 juin 2017
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: abundance, commitments, Concern, everlasting, first, happiness, Jn.10:10, let go, Life, Mt.16:37-42, priorities, promise, success, time

“FIRST THINGS FIRST”!
We hear these words from time to time.
They usually come from someone who has a lot to do already and to whom someone may ask to do something more…
The person may feel that too many tasks demand his attention, too many commitments claim her time and energy.
There is the obvious need to set priorities and, yes, to decide what should come first!

I would say that this Sunday (13th, Year A) is the day for doing exactly that: set priorities!
In fact, it is Jesus himself who asks us to do so and in no uncertain terms! (gospel: Mt.16:37-42).

His message is demanding, exacting, challenging!
We are to… stretch ourselves beyond the here and now.
We must extend our concern from the present to the ever-present = the everlasting!

We want life to be brimming with happiness and success and we are asked to… let go of it.
Let go of what we are trying to reach – at times, desperately so – to receive a life “in abundance” (Jn.10:10) promised to us.

It is a promise… Some may be tempted to say: ‘Only a promise…’
Yes, but from the one who never fails to make them come true! 

Source : Images : Adobe, Pinterest

International Day in Support of Victims of Torture – 26 June

26 juin 2017
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: cruelty, degrading treatment, dignity, healing, international law, personality, prohibition, punishment, rehabilitation, victims, violence

Torture seeks to annihilate the victim’s personality and denies the inherent dignity of the human being. Despite the absolute prohibition of torture under international law, torture persist in all regions of the world. Concerns about protecting national security and borders are increasingly used to allow torture and other forms of cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment. Its pervasive consequences often go beyond the isolated act on an individual; and can be transmitted through generations and lead to cycles of violence.

The United Nations has condemned torture from the outset as one of the vilest acts perpetrated by human beings on their fellow human beings.

Torture is a crime under international law. According to all relevant instruments, it is absolutely prohibited and cannot be justified under any circumstances. This prohibition forms part of customary international law, which means that it is binding on every member of the international community, regardless of whether a State has ratified international treaties in which torture is expressly prohibited. The systematic or widespread practice of torture constitutes a crime against humanity.

On 12 December 1997, by resolution 52/149, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 26 June the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, with a view to the total eradication of torture and the effective functioning of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

26 June is an opportunity to call on all stakeholders including UN Member States, civil society and individuals everywhere to unite in support of the hundreds of thousands of people around the world who have been victims of torture and those who are still tortured today.

Recovering from torture requires prompt and specialized programmes. The work of rehabilitation centres and organisations around the world has demonstrated that victims can make the transition from horror to healing.

Source: Text: UN  Image: spots.thinkglobalschool.com

 

International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking – 26 June

26 juin 2017
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: abuse, cannabis, commitment, drugs, hallucinogens, problem, society, trafficking, UN

The United Nations’ (UN) International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking falls on June 26 each year to raise awareness of the major problem that illicit drugs represent to society. This day is supported by individuals, communities and various organizations all over the world.

What Do People Do?
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has, over the years, been actively involved in launching campaigns to mobilize support for drug control. The UNODC often teams up with other organizations and encourages people in society to actively take part in these campaigns.

Governments, organizations and individuals in many countries, including Vietnam, Borneo and Thailand, have actively participated in promotional events and larger scale activities, such as public rallies and mass media involvement, to promote the awareness of dangers associated with illicit drugs.

Background
According to the UNODC, nearly 200 million people are using illicit drugs such as cocaine, cannabis, hallucinogens, opiates and sedative hypnotics worldwide. In December 1987 the UN General Assembly decided to observe June 26 as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The UN was determined to help create an international society free of drug abuse. This resolution recommended further action with regard to the report and conclusions of the 1987 International Conference on Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

Following the resolution, the years 1991 to 2000 were heralded as the “United Nations Decade Against Drug Abuse”. In 1998 the UN General Assembly adopted a political declaration to address the global drug problem. The declaration expresses UN members’ commitment to fighting the problem.

Source: Text: timeanddate.com Image: unodc.org

International Olympic day – 23 June

23 juin 2017
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: athlètes, champions, conflicts, dream, education, goal, héritage, history, mutual understanding, Olympics, Youth

The history of the Olympic movement is rooted in the deep past (776BC). The first (modern) Olympic games were recorded in 1896. At the time they were so important event that warring States ceased their conflicts in order to commemorate this event.

Since that year it has been more than thirty Olympiads. And only three times in 110 years (1916, 1940, 1944) games were not held due to war. Many athletes have shown outstanding results over the past few years, won hundreds of trophies and medals. The movement gained momentum with each passing games.

But in 1967, the international Olympic Committee announced the establishment of 23 June, the International Olympic day. Olympic Champions is a sports heritage of any country. The education of youth in the spirit of mutual understanding through sport to further strengthen the world is the goal of the Olympic movement.

To be a member, or better yet the winner of the Olympic games, the dream of every athlete. Athletes around the world remain faithful to this call. And actively promote the Olympic movement.

Source: Text: Russian Events and Holidays  Image: Canadian Olympic School Programme

 

12th Sunday of the Year, A

22 juin 2017
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: compassion, conviction, discretion, enthusiasm, faith, God Father, Holy Spirit, Mt.10:26-33, religion, respect, silence, speak about God

« To speak or not to speak: that is the question”, some would say…
This is what we are confronted with in the last lines of this Sunday’s gospel (Mt.10:26-33, 12th Sunday of the Year, Year A) as we hear Jesus tell us:

“If anyone declares himself for me in the presence of people,
I will declare myself for that person
in the presence of my Father in heaven.
But the one who disowns me in the presence of people,
I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven.”
 
Words that are direct, challenging and perhaps a little disturbing…
Disturbing in this day and age when many will tell you that religion is a private matter.
Some people claim that one should keep to oneself what he or she believes.
We are not to bother others with matters of faith, they say.
Matters of faith which may not interest them, in any case, and which may even antagonize them.

It is true that much harm can be done by speaking in a way that shows no respect for the beliefs of others.
Trying to coerce people to take on our own ways of relating to God – for this is what religion is about – is certainly not what he expects from us.
Yet, there are times when we should speak, situations which call for our intervention.

But we should speak with tact as much as enthusiasm.
Our words should be voiced with as much discretion as conviction.
To be a witness, surely, to speak for God and about God, most certainly but…
it should be done with consideration, compassion, as much as conviction.

We need to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us to speak or not to speak…
He is the one who will enable us to blend, in the proper way, wise speech and respectful silence…

Source: Image: Dissolve
 

World Day of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis -21 June

21 juin 2017
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: ALS, atrophy, brain, cells, death, muscles, neurological disease, respiratory system, spinal cord, symptoms

What is amyotrophic lateral sclerosis?
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare group of neurological diseases that mainly involve the nerve cells (neurons) responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement. Voluntary muscles produce movements like chewing, walking, breathing and talking. The disease is progressive, meaning the symptoms get worse over time. Currently, there is no cure for ALS and no effective treatment to halt, or reverse, the progression of the disease.

ALS belongs to a wider group of disorders known as motor neuron diseases, which are caused by gradual deterioration (degeneration) and death of motor neurons. Motor neurons are nerve cells that extend from the brain to the spinal cord and to muscles throughout the body. These motor neurons initiate and provide vital communication links between the brain and the voluntary muscles.

Messages from motor neurons in the brain (called upper motor neurons) are transmitted to motor neurons in the spinal cord and to motor nuclei of brain (called lower motor neurons) and from the spinal cord and motor nuclei of brain to a particular muscle or muscles.

In ALS, both the upper motor neurons and the lower motor neurons degenerate or die, and stop sending messages to the muscles. Unable to function, the muscles gradually weaken, start to twitch (called fasciculations), and waste away (atrophy). Eventually, the brain loses its ability to initiate and control voluntary movements.

Early symptoms of ALS usually include muscle weakness or stiffness. Gradually all muscles under voluntary control are affected, and individuals lose their strength and the ability to speak, eat, move, and even breathe.

Most people with ALS die from respiratory failure, usually within 3 to 5 years from when the symptoms first appear. However, about 10 percent of people with ALS survive for 10 or more years.

Source: Text: NIH Images: Dramstime.com, Fact Retriever

 

 

International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict – 19 June

19 juin 2017
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: courage, eradication, forced marriage, girls, human trafficking, need, peaceabuilding, prévention, rape, sexual violence, survivors, victims, Women

« Endemic sexual violence including rape, abduction, human trafficking, sexual slavery and forced marriage contributes to the disproportionate suffering of women and girls in conflict. » — UN Secretary-General, António Guterres

On 19 June 2015, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 19 June of each year the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, in order to raise awareness of the need to put an end to conflict-related sexual violence, to honour the victims and survivors of sexual violence around the world and to pay tribute to all those who have courageously devoted their lives to and lost their lives in standing up for the eradication of these crimes.

The date was chosen to commemorate the adoption on 19 June 2008 of Security Council resolution 1820 (2008), in which the Council condemned sexual violence as a tactic of war and an impediment to peacebuilding.

2017 Theme: “Preventing Sexual Violence Crimes through Justice and Deterrence”.

Source: Text: UN  Image: Journée Mondiale

World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought – 17 June

17 juin 2017
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: awareness, deserts, drought, Earth, environment, international cooperation, land, NGOs, sun, UN, urgent need

The United Nations’ World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought is annually observed on June 17 to highlight the urgent need to curb the desertification process. It also aims to strengthen the visibility of the drylands issue on the international environmental agenda.

Background
In December 1994, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 17 the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. The assembly acknowledged that desertification and drought were global problems because they affected all regions of the world. The assembly also realized that joint action by the international community was needed to combat desertification and drought, particularly in Africa.

States were invited to devote the World Day to promoting awareness of the need for international cooperation to combat desertification and the effects of drought, and on the implementation of the Convention to Combat Desertification.  Since then, country parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), non-governmental organizations and other interested stakeholders celebrate this particular day with outreach activities worldwide on June 17 each year.

Symbols
In March 2005 the UN agencies involved in celebrating the 2006 International Year of Deserts and Desertification organized a logo competition for that particular year. Krishen Maurymoothoo, a graphic designer from Mauritius, won the contest. The winning design featured three elements: a tree, which covers the logo as a protective roof; the Sun, which acts as a symbol of warmth and life; and the dunes, which were formed of several colors relating to the Earth’s land.

The current UNCCD logo, although different in some aspects, shares some similarities with Maurymoothoo’s logo: trees that protect the Earth; the Sunlit sky, which brings about warmth in the background; and the land. Both logos use earth-based colors, which include green and brown.

Source: Text: timeanddate.com  Image: UNCCD

 

International Day of the African Child – 16 June

15 juin 2017
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: awareness, challenges, education, empowerment, equal opportunity, governments, improvement, language, need, NGOs, OAU, opportunities, organisations, protextion, rights, students, sustainable development, thème

The Day of the African Child has been celebrated on June 16 every year since 1991, when it was first initiated by the OAU Organisation of African Unity. It honors those who participated in the Soweto Uprising in 1976 on that day. It also raises awareness of the continuing need for improvement of the education provided to African children.

In Soweto, South Africa, on June 16, 1976, about ten thousand black school children marched in a column more than half a mile long, protesting the poor quality of their education and demanding their right to be taught in their own language. Hundreds of young students were shot. More than a hundred people were killed in the protests of the following two weeks, and more than a thousand were injured.

On June 16 every year, governments, NGOs, international organisations and other stakeholders gather to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the full realization of the rights of children Africa. For 2014, the theme chosen returns to the roots of the movement: A child-friendly, quality, free, and compulsory education for all children in Africa

Source: Text: Wikipedia  Image: Day of African Child

The Day of the African Child (DAC) 2017 will be commemorated on the theme “The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development for Children in Africa: Accelerating protection, empowerment and equal opportunity”.   (The African Child Information Hub)