YUVA is organising the Session 5 of the Mauritius Youth Parliament on the theme “This House believes that housewives should be paid for their work” with YUVANs, secondary school students, university students, government officials, NGO representatives and personalities from the corporate sector as participants.
In this context, YUVA invites you as participant on Thursday 4 May 2017, from 09:00hr to noon at the Municipality of Port Louis.
New tuberculosis (TB) ethics guidance, launched today by the World Health Organization (WHO), aims to help ensure that countries implementing the End TB Strategy adhere to sound ethical standards to protect the rights of all those affected.
TB, the world’s top infectious disease killer, claims 5 000 lives each day. The heaviest burden is carried by communities which already face socio-economic challenges: migrants, refugees, prisoners, ethnic minorities, miners and others working and living in risk-prone settings, and marginalized women, children and older people.
“TB strikes some of the world’s poorest people hardest,” said Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General. “WHO is determined to overcome the stigma, discrimination, and other barriers that prevent so many of these people from obtaining the services they so badly need.”
Poverty, malnutrition, poor housing and sanitation, compounded by other risk factors such as HIV, tobacco, alcohol use and diabetes, can put people at heightened risk of TB and make it harder for them to access care. More than a third (4.3 million) of people with TB go undiagnosed or unreported, some receive no care at all and others access care of questionable quality.
The new WHO ethics guidance addresses contentious issues such as, the isolation of contagious patients, the rights of TB patients in prison, discriminatory policies against migrants affected by TB, among others. It emphasizes five key ethical obligations for governments, health workers, care providers, nongovernmental organizations, researchers and other stakeholders to:
provide patients with the social support they need to fulfil their responsibilities
refrain from isolating TB patients before exhausting all options to enable treatment adherence and only under very specific conditions
enable “key populations” to access same standard of care offered to other citizens
ensure all health workers operate in a safe environment
rapidly share evidence from research to inform national and global TB policy updates.
From guidance to action
Protecting human rights, ethics and equity are principles which underpin WHO’s End TB Strategy. But it is not easy to apply these principles on the ground. Patients, communities, health workers, policy makers and other stakeholders frequently face conflicts and ethical dilemmas. The current multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) crisis and the health security threat it poses accentuate the situation even further.
“Only when evidence-based, effective interventions are informed by a sound ethical framework, and respect for human rights, will we be successful in reaching our ambitious goals of ending the TB epidemic and achieving universal health coverage. The SDG aspiration of leaving no one behind is centred on this,” said Dr Mario Raviglione, Director, WHO Global TB Programme.
“The guidance we have released today aims to identify the ethical predicaments faced in TB care delivery, and highlights key actions that can be taken to address them,” he added.
World TB Day is an opportunity to mobilize political and social commitment for further progress in efforts to end TB. This year, World TB Day signals new momentum at the highest levels with the announcement of the first ever Global Ministerial Conference on Ending TB, which will be held in Moscow in November 2017.
“The Global Ministerial Conference will highlight the need for an accelerated multisectoral response to TB in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Dr Ren Minghui, Assistant Director-General HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases. “It will emphasize that global action against antimicrobial resistance must include optimized care, surveillance and research to address MDR-TB urgently”.
The Conference will inform the UN General Assembly high-level meeting on TB which will be held in 2018.
In the context of National Day 2017, YUVA, in close collaboration with the Petit Raffray Social Welfare Centre, organised a get together for senior citizens of the village.
Apart from a cultural show, the 700 attendees were served lunch.
What is the International Day of Happiness? It’s a day to be happy, of course!
Since 2013, the United Nations has celebrated the International Day of Happiness as a way to recognise the importance of happiness in the lives of people around the world. In 2015 the UN launched 17 Sustainable Development Goals that seek to end poverty, reduce inequality, and protect our planet – three key aspects that lead to well-being and happiness.
We are excited to announce that the Smurfs have rallied behind the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for this year’s International Day of Happiness!
The United Nations invites each person of any age, plus every classroom, business and government to celebrate the International Day of Happiness using hashtag #SmallSmurfsBigGoals.
Mauritius’ YUVA and New Delhi’s Zygma have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), focused on culture, performing arts and modeling.
Mr Krishna Athal, National President of YUVA and Mr Sherman Preet Singh, head executive of Zygma Artists & Productions have signed the MoU yesterday afternoon.
About Zygma Artists & Productions
As a modern day Production and Marketing Company, we aim to propose and facilitate a one-stop production, merchandising and marketing solution to top-notch clientele.
We are an artists’ collective; the finest Indian and International models, make-up artists, photographers and fashion stylists. We offer this platform to make-up artists, stylists and photographers to showcase their work and interact with potential clients to get opportunities to work with them.
Aim to collaborate with YUVA
“We want to manage and provide logistics support for all events/activities/operations of YUVA in India. Also, we would be willing to support the organisation’s activities financially while organising billateral conferences and summits between India and Mauritius,” said Mr Sherman Preet Singh.
YUVA, in close collaboration with the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC), is organising a second edition of the Opportunity Forum; this time at Lallmatie Social Welfare Centre.
This event is in-line with YUVA’s goal to reduce unemployment among young people in Mauritius.
The event would be held on Sunday 2 April 2017 at the Lallmatie S.W.C., targeting mainly the unemployed young people of the district of Flacq.
Attendees would be able to follow a one-hour presentation by YUVA and HRDC, and they will be able to register (on-spot) for the National Skills Development Programme for training in technical skills that are in high demand. The youngsters’ education level varied from form III to HSC.
The professional courses being offered to the young people are in different sectors, mainly Tourism & Hospitality, Construction, ICT and Nursing. The duration of the courses may vary from 6-12 months.
Apart from getting a free professional course, every participant would also be receiving a monthly stipend of Rs 6,000.
We, at YUVA, are proud to bring our brick to contribute in reducing unemployment in Mauritius. We invite all unemployed young people residing in the district of Flacq to join us on that day, so that they can grab the opportunities we are offering to them for a better future.
Note: YUVA will soon be organising similar forum every month in the rest parts of Mauritius. Do not worry if we haven’t yet reached your district; we will ultimately.
International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.
The idea of this theme is to consider how to accelerate the 2030 Agenda, building momentum for the effective implementation of the new Sustainable Development Goals, especially goal number 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls; and number 4: Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning. The theme will also focus on new commitments under UN Women’s Step It Up initiative, and other existing commitments on gender equality, women’s empowerment and women’s human rights.
Some key targets of the 2030 Agenda:
By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and Goal-4 effective learning outcomes.
By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and preprimary education so that they are ready for primary education.
End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.
Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.
The world of work is changing, and with significant implications for women. On one hand, we have globalization, technological and digital revolution and the opportunities they bring, and on the other hand, the growing informality of labour, unstable livelihoods and incomes, new fiscal and trade policies and environmental impacts—all of which must be addressed in the context of women’s economic empowerment.
History of the Day
International Women’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. International Women’s Day first emerged from the activities of labour movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and across Europe.
Since those early years, International Women’s Day has assumed a new global dimension for women in developed and developing countries alike. The growing international women’s movement, which has been strengthened by four global United Nations women’s conferences, has helped make the commemoration a rallying point to build support for women’s rights and participation in the political and economic arenas.
Chronology
1909 The first National Woman’s Day was observed in the United States on 28 February. The Socialist Party of America designated this day in honour of the 1908 garment workers’ strike in New York, where women protested against working conditions.
1910 The Socialist International, meeting in Copenhagen, established a Women’s Day, international in character, to honour the movement for women’s rights and to build support for achieving universal suffrage for women. The proposal was greeted with unanimous approval by the conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, which included the first three women elected to the Finnish Parliament. No fixed date was selected for the observance.
1911 As a result of the Copenhagen initiative, International Women’s Day was marked for the first time (19 March) in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, where more than one million women and men attended rallies. In addition to the right to vote and to hold public office, they demanded women’s rights to work, to vocational training and to an end to discrimination on the job.
1913-1914 International Women’s Day also became a mechanism for protesting World War I. As part of the peace movement, Russian women observed their first International Women’s Day on the last Sunday in February. Elsewhere in Europe, on or around 8 March of the following year, women held rallies either to protest the war or to express solidarity with other activists.
1917 Against the backdrop of the war, women in Russia again chose to protest and strike for “Bread and Peace” on the last Sunday in February (which fell on 8 March on the Gregorian calendar). Four days later, the Czar abdicated and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote.
1975 During International Women’s Year, the United Nations began celebrating International Women’s Day on 8 March.
1995 The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a historic roadmap signed by 189 governments, focused on 12 critical areas of concern, and envisioned a world where each woman and girl can exercise her choices, such as participating in politics, getting an education, having an income, and living in societies free from violence and discrimination.
2014 The 58th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW58) – the annual gathering of States to address critical issues related to gender equality and women’s rights — focused on “Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls”. UN entities and accredited NGOs from around the world took stock of progress and remaining challenges towards meeting the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The MDGs have played an important role in galvanizing attention on and resources for gender equality and women’s empowerment.
The UN and Gender Equality
The Charter of the United Nations, signed in 1945, was the first international agreement to affirm the principle of equality between women and men. Since then, the UN has helped create a historic legacy of internationally-agreed strategies, standards, programmes and goals to advance the status of women worldwide.
Over the years, the UN and its technical agencies have promoted the participation of women as equal partners with men in achieving sustainable development, peace, security, and full respect for human rights. The empowerment of women continues to be a central feature of the UN’s efforts to address social, economic and political challenges across the globe.
YUVA is pleased to announce the Mauritian Student Essay Contest 2017 on the next system. With a panel of respected politicians, activists and scholars as judges, we will award three first prizes for the best original essays by a secondary, an undergraduate, and a graduate. Three runner-up prizes will also be awarded. We aim to publish a compilation of the best essays submitted.
Deadline for essay submission: 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, 10 May 2017
Mode of submission: Post your essay to the following address through normal post —
YUVA Head Office
C/o Essay Writing Contest
204, Jade Court
Jummah Mosque Street
Port Louis
Do not forget to include your full name, educational institution you attend, the category you’re participating in (secondary/undergraduate/graduate), and your contact details in a separated sheet in your envelop.
Writing: 800 to 2000 words in English language
Note: This contest is reserved for citizens of Mauritius and strictly for students enrolled in secondary/undergraduate/graduate programme. Also, submissions should be individual; no group submission is encouraged.
Why this contest?
The current system is failing all around us. The economy is stagnating. The political system is stalemated. Communities are in decay. The lives of thousands are compromised by economic and social pain. Violence is endemic among individuals, communities, and nations. Civil liberties are eroding. Near-record numbers of citizens remain incarcerated. Underemployment, inequality, and ecological despoliation deepen day by day. The planet itself is threatened by climate change. A generation of young people expects to be worse off than their parents. The very idea of building a cooperative community of caring responsibility has faded from public discourse and common understanding.
Essay question:
But if you don’t like the present system… what’s your alternative?
The time has come to think boldly about what is required to deal with the systemic difficulties we are facing. It is time to begin a real conversation about genuine alternatives. It is time to develop thoughtful, system-building answers to system-threatening challenges. It is time to debate what it will really take to move in a new direction capable of producing sustainable, lasting and more democratic social, economic, and ecological outcomes.
To this end we are launching the Mauritian Student Essay Contest 2017 on the next system. We’re throwing open the debate to a wide range of contributors willing to do the hard work of moving beyond critique to proposing solutions in the form of comprehensive alternative political-economic system models and approaches that are different in fundamental ways from the failed systems of the past and present. Such visions might include not only core economic institutions but also – as far as is possible – political structure, cultural dimensions, transition pathways, and so forth.
It’s time to talk about what’s next. It’s time to talk about the next system.
Inspired from TheNextSystemProject, YUVA has launched this initiative in Mauritius.
