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Journée internationale des filles – 11 octobre

11 octobre 2024
Nicole Gregoire
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Catégories: De ceci... de cela...
Mots-clés: avenir, barrières sociales, développement, discrimination, education, études, femme, girl, homme, pauvreté

Because I’m a girl

C’est depuis 2007 que PLAN lutte contre les discriminations faites aux filles à travers le monde, qu’il s’agisse d’éducation, de travail, de violences ou de traditions familiales.

Et il aura tout de même fallu attendre 2012 pour que l’ONU décrète cette journée du 11 octobre comme première journée internationale des filles… Bien évidemment, cela n’est qu’un début et cette journée doit permettre une véritable prise de conscience au niveau de l’opinion publique internationale.

L’accès à l’éducation  (des filles ) est un instrument puissant et peut-être unique pour le développement et la lutte contre la pauvreté. En permettant un libre accès aux études secondaires, en levant les barrières sociales telles que les mariages précoces, les violences subies, les difficultés financières des familles, on entre enfin dans un cercle vertueux.

« La femme est l’avenir de l’homme »

Il serait difficile de ne pas rendre hommage au poète (et à toutes les femmes) quand il écrivait ce vers…
(poème de Louis Aragon, chanté par Jean Ferrat)

Un site à visiter : www.droitsdesfilles.fr     Source: Texte: Journée mondiale Image: unsplash.com (Courtney Cook)

23rd Sunday of Year B – 2024

6 septembre 2024
Nicole Gregoire
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Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: armed conflicts, different, discrimination, foreighners, inclusion, James 2:1-5, mentality, migrants, refugees

The vocabulary of our language develops with time; what happens in society influences the way we speak.
In our conversations, words which may have existed before, are now used with different connotations.
A new meaning is given to the way we express ourselves.

This is the case with the word ‘inclusion’ – it comes up quite often as people discuss different matters.
It is used in different circles, but most often it refers to the acceptance of certain people.
It is meant to correct the attitude of those who tend to leave aside some groups who become marginalized.
They are excluded because of race, customs, lack of social status, belief, etc.

The word ‘inclusion’ may not have been in use in the time of the saint James.
But the text of today’s 2nd reading shows that the apostle knew very well what it was about (James 2:1-5).
He also knew how important it was for the first Christians to practice it.

He writes to them in these words:
“Do not try to combine faith in Jesus Christ with the making of distinctions between classes of people”.

His message is as relevant today as it was when it was first written.
The example James gives in his epistle is not unknown among us…
The way we treat people – those “beautifully dressed” and the others “in shabby clothes” – speaks for itself!

It happens that we look down on people – or do not look at them at all – because they are different.
They dress differently, they speak in another way, they have customs that are strange to us, they do not worship as we do: in one word, they are ‘others’.
Mentally two groups have been formed: WE and THEY.

Nowadays, the policy of many states tends to reflect this mentality.
In this time of discrimination, armed conflicts, as well as natural disasters of different kinds, there are movements of  people from country to country.
Refugees and migrants are often labelled as ‘foreigners’ – they are not welcome in the countries that benefit from plenty of resources and enjoy peace.

But… the policies of states depend a lot on the citizens… and WE are the citizens!
In this respect, a modern parable is quite telling. 

A group of pilgrims had gone to Rome for a canonization celebration. Standing in the large area of Saint Pierre Square, they observe what is taking place. One of them asks a neighbor: “Did you know the one they will declare a saint?”
All those around him shake their head to say they did not know him.
The first man adds: “I have the impression that I have seen him in our area, I think I even noticed him knocking on doors.”
Someone near him replied: “Yes, he was often around…”
“You never opened the door to him?” came the next question.
“Uh… No…”
“But now… he is the one being declared a saint!”
The reply came without delay: “Oh, if we had known he was a saint, of course, we would have opened the door to him!”

The apostle James reminds us:
“It was those who are poor according to the world that God chose to be rich in faith
and to be the heirs to the kingdom he promised to those who love him”.

We cannot pretend we do not know…

 

Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at:https://image-i-nations.com/23e-dimanche-de-lannee-b-2024/ 

 

Source: Image: pexels.com (Timur Weber) unsplash.com (Eric Masur)

Journée mondiale contre l’obésité – 4 mars 2024

4 mars 2024
Nicole Gregoire
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Catégories: De ceci... de cela...
Mots-clés: activités physiques, changement, discrimination, fléau, idées reçues, lutte, maladie, mortalité, obésité, vision

Depuis 2010, date de la création de la journée européenne de lutte contre l’obésité, plusieurs journées (nationales, européennes, …) traitant de l’obésité coexistaient. A partir de 2020, bonne nouvelle, les forces se sont unies et il y a désormais UNE journée mondiale de l’obésité.

Cette mobilisation apporte une réponse mondiale à une maladie qui gagne du terrain partout sur la planète. Mobilisée, la Ligue contre l’obésité (LCO), association qui fédère 70 associations et réunit 9 000 membres, multiplie les événements en France.

L’obésité concernerait actuellement 2 milliards de personnes de plus de 20 ans dans le monde entier et 4 millions de personnes atteintes d’obésité en meurent, chaque année.

Il s’agit d’un véritable fléau pour l’OMS, qui n’hésite pas à parler d’épidémie mondiale.

Des moyens de lutte

Les 192 états membres de l’organisation ont adopté, en 2013, une résolution visant à lutter plus efficacement contre les maladies non transmissibles et faire reculer le nombre de décès causés par l’obésité.

Parmi les mesures concrètes proposées, on retrouve l’amélioration de l’étiquetage dit « nutritionnel » sur les aliments issus de l’industrie alimentaire, la diminution de la teneur en sucres dans les boissons non alcoolisées, la réduction drastique des teneurs en sel dans les plats préparés et l’abandon des acides gras utilisés dans l’industrie agroalimentaire.

Source: Texte (abrégé): Journée mondiale

Les missions du World Obesity Day

Un rendez-vous mondial
La date du 4 mars marque la Journée mondiale contre l’obésité. Cet événement nous permet de mobiliser les énergies et de sensibiliser les mentalités afin de faire évoluer la vision du public en luttant contre les idées reçues.
Une maladie méconnue
L’obésité est une maladie. En brisant les tabous, en œuvrant auprès des personnes atteintes par cette maladie multifactorielle, en soutenant la recherche, nous améliorons la compréhension de ses causes et nous développons les actions nécessaires pour la soigner.
Un changement de regard
En modifiant la façon dont l’obésité est abordée et perçue dans la société, nous encourageons les gens à devenir des défenseurs de la cause, à respecter les victimes de l’obésité et à stopper la discrimination.

Le challenge connecté « Kilomètre contre l’obésité »

La semaine du 4 mars 2024, partout en France métropolitaine et en Outre-mer, les participants pourront marcher, courir, nager ou pédaler (etc.) au nom de la lutte contre l’obésité. Ils pourront enregistrer leurs kilomètres de marche, de course à pied, de natation ou de vélo sur le site de la Journée mondiale contre l’obésité ou sur l’application Décathlon Coach. Les heures d’activité physique réalisées en plein air ou en intérieur seront comptabilisées.

 

Source: Texte & Image: https://journeemondialecontrelobesite.com/

International Day of Education – 24 January

24 janvier 2024
Nicole Gregoire
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Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: discrimination, hate speech, human rights, lasting peace, learning, UNESCO, violent conflicts, xenophobia

The sixth International Day of Education will be celebrated on 24 January 2024 under the theme “learning for lasting peace”. 

UNESCO is dedicating the International Day of Education celebrated on 24 January 2024 to the crucial role education and teachers play in countering hate speech, a phenomenon which has snowballed in recent years with the use of social media, damaging the fabric of our societies.  

The world is seeing a surge of violent conflicts paralleled by an alarming rise of discrimination, racism, xenophobia, and hate speech. The impact of this violence transcends any boundary based on geography, gender, race, religion, politics, offline and online. An active commitment to peace is more urgent today than ever: Education is central to this endeavor, as underlined by the UNESCO Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development. Learning for peace must be transformative, and help empower learners with the necessary knowledge, values, attitudes and skills and behaviours to become agents of peace in their communities.

Source: Text & Image: UNESCO

Journée mondiale de la santé sexuelle – 4 septembre

3 septembre 2023
Nicole Gregoire
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Catégories: De ceci... de cela...
Mots-clés: amour, bien-être, communication, discrimination, OMS, pédopornographie, violence, viols

Journée mondiale de la santé sexuelle

Si vous imaginez une journée un peu légère, voire grivoise, vous n’y êtes pas du tout! La journée mondiale de la santé sexuelle existe bel et bien et son origine est à rechercher du coté de l’OMS (Organisation Mondiale de la Santé). Plus concrètemnet, elle a été instituée en 2010 par l’Association mondiale de santé sexuelle (World Association for Sexual Health – WAS).

Le concept de santé sexuelle

On parle ici de santé publique. La définition devrait aller de soi et pourtant, elle pose toujours question. A tel point que l’OMS en propose 2 sensiblement différentes.

Dans les années 1970, l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé (OMS) proposant la formulation suivante :

« La santé sexuelle est l’intégration des aspects somatiques, affectifs, intellectuels et sociaux de l’être sexué, réalisée selon des modalités épanouissantes qui valorisent la personnalité, la communication et l’amour. »

Cette définition posait déjà les bases d’une conception intégrative de la santé sexuelle, qui ne se limitait donc plus à l’absence d’infections sexuellement transmissibles.

A partir des années 1990 (eh oui, dans un autre millénaire), prenant en compte l’impact du sida, une nouvelle définition a été proposée :

« La santé sexuelle est un état de bien-être physique, mental et social dans le domaine de la sexualité. Elle requiert une approche positive et respectueuse de la sexualité et des relations sexuelles, ainsi que la possibilité d’avoir des expériences sexuelles qui soient sources de plaisir et sans risque, libres de toute coercition, discrimination ou violence. »

Mais pourquoi une Journée Mondiale ?

La lecture de ce qui précède nous a amené dans un univers quasi médical. Cela voudrait-il dire que la journée ne s’adresse qu’aux spécialistes? Peut-être pas. Réfléchissons un instant aux perversions de la pédopornographie, aux viols, à la pornographie devenue le contenu le plus important (en volume) du web. Et responsons nous la question de la nécessité d’une bonne santé sexuelle.

Un site à visiter : cerhes.org     Source: Texte & Image: Journée mondiale

International Widows’ Day – 23 June

23 juin 2023
Nicole Gregoire
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Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: basic rights, dignity, discrimination, grief, health, poverty, trauma, violence

Invisible Women, Invisible Problems

For many women around the world, the devastating loss of a partner is magnified by a long-term fight for their basic rights and dignity. Despite the fact that there are more than 258 million widows around the world, widows have historically been left unseen, unsupported, and unmeasured in our societies.

Today, as armed conflicts, displacement and migration, and the COVID-19 pandemic leave tens of thousands of women newly widowed and many others whose partners are missing or disappeared, the unique experiences and needs of widows must be brought to the forefront, with their voices leading the way.

Experience from the past, shows that widows are often denied inheritance rights, have their property grabbed after the death of a partner, and can face extreme stigma and discrimination, as perceived ‘carriers’ of disease. Worldwide, women are much less likely to have access to old age pensions than men, so the death of a spouse can lead to destitution for older women. In the context of lockdowns and economic closures, widows may not have access to bank accounts and pensions to pay for healthcare if they too become ill or to support themselves and their children. With lone-mother families and single older women already particularly vulnerable to poverty, this is an area that needs urgent attention.

On International Widows’ Day, 23 June, take a look at some of the issues affecting widows around the world and what must be done to safeguard and advance their rights.

Nicaraguan women

Problems for widows in developing countries

close-up of an older lady with gray hair

What you should know about widowhood

As widows move through their own experiences of grief, loss, or trauma after the death of a spouse, they may also face economic insecurity, discrimination, stigmatization, and harmful traditional practices on the basis of their marital status.

 

Source: Texte & Images: https://indonesia.un.org/en/237245-international-widows%E2%80%99-day-23-june       https://www.un.org/en/observances/widows-day

 

International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia – 17 May

17 mai 2023
Nicole Gregoire
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Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: discrimination, gender identity, inclusive policies, LGBT, media, sexual orientation, violence

Combating discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity

Fighting discrimination based on sexual orientation has been an aim of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe since 1981. European governments took a historical step on 31 March 2010, when they recommended measures to combat discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. This is the first specific legal standard in the world to combat discrimination of this kind.

History

17 May is the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, commemorating the 1990 decision of the World Health Organization to remove homosexuality from the list of mental disorders. Every year, policy makers, opinion leaders, the media and the general public are challenged to address the urgent need to combat violence and discrimination against LGBTI persons and to build inclusive societies, enriched through their diversity.

The Council of Europe has been adamant in voicing its commitment to end homophobia and transphobia in its member states.

Discrimination against LGBTI people remains a reality across Europe. But some progress has been made. 

Examples of the positive impact of the Council of Europe’s standards and activities include the adoption of new legislation to recognise and protect LGBT couples and families, the adoption of legal gender recognition laws, the launch of national action plans on LGBTI persons’ rights, and exchanges of good practice and know-how on LGBTI inclusive local and regional policies.

 

Source: Text: https://human-rights-channel.coe.int/    Image: Freepik

International Epilepsy Day – 13 February 2024

12 février 2023
Nicole Gregoire
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Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: diagnostic, discrimination, epilepsy, fear, misunderstanding, seizures, treatment

Despite being one of the world’s oldest known medical conditions, public fear and misunderstanding about epilepsy persist, making many people reluctant to talk about it. That reluctance leads to lives lived in the shadows, lack of understanding about individual risk, discrimination in workplaces and communities, and a lack of funding for new therapies research. People with epilepsy die prematurely at a higher rate compared to the general population. The most common cause of death from epilepsy is sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, known as SUDEP. For many people living with epilepsy, the misconceptions and discrimination can be more difficult to overcome than the seizures themselves.

International Epilepsy Day seeks to raise awareness and educate the general public on the true facts about epilepsy and the urgent need for improved treatment, better care, and greater investment in research.

Facts in Tweet-size Bites

  • 65 million people around the world live w/ #epilepsy
  • 3.4+ million people in the U.S. live w/ #epilepsy
  • 1 in 26 people in the U.S. will develop epilepsy at some point in their lifetime
  • 4 to 10 out of 1,000 people on earth live w/ active #seizures at any one time
  • 150,000 new cases of #epilepsy are diagnosed in the U.S. each year
  • One-third of people w/ #epilepsy live w/ uncontrolled #seizures because no available treatment works for them
  • For 6 out of 10 people w/ #epilepsy the cause is unknown
  • Each year, more than 1 in 1,000 people with epilepsy die from sudden unexpected death in epilepsy, known as SUDEP.
  • 4 out of 10 people w/ #epilepsy in the industrialized world do not receive appropriate treatment
  • 8 out of 10 people w/ #epilepsy in developing nations do not receive appropriate treatment

 

Source: Text & Image: https://www.epilepsy.com/volunteer/spreading-awarness/international-epilepsy-day#

30th Sunday of Year C – 2022

21 octobre 2022
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: condemnation, discrimination, God's ways, judging world people, Luke 18:9-14, seeing ourselves, upside down

Reading the gospel text of this Sunday (Luke 18:9-14) some could exclaim:
“This is the world upside down!”

Somehow, it is!

The last verse says:
“All those who exalt themselves will be humbled,
and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
 
It seems obvious from these words that we need to learn something very important.

We must learn to appraise situations and judge people – including ourselves – in God’s way.
Better still, we should leave the judging to him!

Of course, we must gauge the situations we find ourselves in, so as to act accordingly.
It is also necessary to ascertain the attitudes of people around us, so as to react appropriately.
But discrimination and condemnation like those we see in the Pharisee of Jesus’ parable,
these are unacceptable to God.

We need to adjust our vision –

    • the manner in which we perceive the world,
    • the way we regard people,
    • the way we consider ourselves,

must become God’s ways.

This may be the work of a lifetime… but now is the moment to start!

And the new vision that results may fill us with wonder!

 

Note: Another reflection is available on a different theme in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/30e-dimanche-de-lannee-c-2022/

 

Source: Images: pixabay.com  nextbigideaclub..com

International Day of Peace – 21 September 2022

21 septembre 2022
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: compassion, conflicts, discrimination, empathy, hatred, non-violence, peace, racism

2022 Theme: End racism. Build peace.

Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.

But achieving true peace entails much more than laying down arms.  It requires the building of societies where all members feel that they can flourish. It involves creating a world in which people are treated equally, regardless of their race.

As Secretary-General António Guterres has said:

“Racism continues to poison institutions, social structures, and everyday life in every society. It continues to be a driver of persistent inequality. And it continues to deny people their fundamental human rights. It destabilizes societies, undermines democracies, erodes the legitimacy of governments, and… the linkages between racism and gender inequality are unmistakable.”

As conflicts continue to erupt across the globe, causing people to flee, we have seen race-based discrimination at borders. As COVID-19 keeps attacking our communities, we have seen how certain racial groups have been hit much harder than others. As economies suffer, we have seen hate speech and violence directed at racial minorities.

We all have a role to play in fostering peace. And tackling racism is a crucial way to contribute.

We can work to dismantle the structures that entrench racism in our midst. We can support movements for equality and human rights everywhere. We can speak out against hate speech – both offline and online. We can promote anti-racism through education and reparatory justice.

The 2022 theme for the International Day of Peace is “End racism. Build peace.” We invite you to join the efforts of the United Nations as we work towards a world free of racism and racial discrimination. A world where compassion and empathy overcome suspicion and hatred. A world that we can truly be proud of.

 

Source: Text: UN   Image: unmiss.unmissions.org