Tennis in Chernobyl?

The UN got a little help from a tennis player last week in raising awareness for its new program in Eastern Europe. The UN will allocate $2.5 million to help people who are still affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986. The UN initiative will provide assistance to communities in a region home to 5 million people that cuts across three different countries. Tennis superstar Maria Sharapova urged for an international effort to assist in rebuilding affected areas. Sharapova, a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Program, has a personal connection to the Chernobyl disaster. A huge area was affected by radiation, and her parents were forced to relocate just before she was born. Sharapova said of the 23rd Chernobyl anniversary, “We must continue to work with the same goal in mind: bringing life back to normal for all the people touched by the disaster.”

In order to help dispel fears and misinformation, the UN will provide education and training to a wide range of civil society actors; including teachers, medical professionals, media, and community leaders. The program will also focus on giving advice about health risks and healthy lifestyles. The work will be a collaboration between the United Nations Development Program, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Health Organization.

Click here to see the video.

Watch your step!

Can you remember your parent telling you to “look both ways before crossing the street,” or remember those caution signs telling you to “watch your step”? For children living in Sarajevo, Bosnia, and Herzegovina, taking safety precautions when walking to school was not enough to protect them from landmines that remained following the conflict in the 1990s. Since 1996, over 1,500 people have been killed or maimed as a result of landmines.

In order to prevent further deaths as a result of landmine detonation, Bosnia and Herzegovina have acquired two new mine clearing machines to clear up to one million landmines. Each machine is valued at $600,000.

Since 2003, the UNDP has worked with a mine awareness project that includes mine clearing training, education projects on mine risks, technical expertise and funds for mine clearance equipment. UNDP’s work has drastically reduced the number of children hurt by mines. UNDP is also working to create economic opportunities away from mine locations so that the risk of being injured is also decreased.

To find out more about UNDP’s commitment to mine removal, click here. Also be sure to check out International Mine Awareness and Assistance Day on April 4, a day the United Nations has dedicated to raising awareness of the global hazards of landmines.

Better Opportunities in Moldova

Can you imagine living in a country where you are not given the same access to opportunities as your friends? After gaining its independence, Moldova suffered a decline in its economy and many of its citizens were displaced and without jobs. Moldovan orphans, children without families, single mothers and expectant mothers are among the beneficiaries of a new UNDP program entitled, “Better Opportunities for Women and Youth,” that will provide psychological and social services, life skills classes, and job-preparation coaching.

By educating Moldova's underprivileged youth and women, the country hopes to improve its economy by providing more citizens the opportunity to participate. After completing classes and job-preparation coaching, adults will be able to apply for jobs in seven newly created partnerships with private businesses. By having the incentive to receive higher education and effectively change their futures, underprivileged youth be rewarded with job opportunities upon the completion of their programs.

To find out more about the "Better Opportunities for Women and Youth" in Moldova, click here

How UNDP Helped the Republic of Georgia After Conflict

In August 2008 there was a conflict between Russia and Georgia. The conflict destroyed livelihoods of many. To help restore normalcy to Georgia, the United Nations Development Program worked closely with the Georgian Government.

We could write more about it, but instead we thought you might like to listen:

Check out this video blog by UNDP staff member Louisa Vinton to learn about UNDP's efforts.

INtegrating the OUTcasts

Were you a member of a clique in high school? Whether you were a member of the chess club, a cheerleader, a Mathlete, or MVP of the football team, it was societally acceptable for you to receive an integrated and equal education. However, young people living with HIV have experienced discrimination by society due to the lack of public education about the disease. From 2001-2007 the prevalence of HIV in Eastern Europe has increased 140 percent. People are so afraid of the social effects of being HIV positive that many have neglected to seek medical help for their condition. According to a recent survey regarding the education of HIV positive children, many citizens living in the Ukraine and Russia believe that it “would be better to create a boarding school for them, so that they could be educated separately.”

To combat the negative stigma that is associated with HIV, UNDP has launched a campaign in Eastern Europe to help promote public education about the condition and to integrate historically marginalized populations into society regardless of their status as a HIV-positive individual. Providing equal education, access to jobs, and health care are the main goals of the UNDP's work in Eastern Europe.

For more information, click here

Ethnic Integration in Kosovo

Can you imagine living in a country where it is legally acceptable to segregate your neighbors simply because they have different religious or cultural beliefs? It's hard to believe that since the creation of Yugoslavia in 1943, Kosovar Albanians have been ethnically segregated and have suffered violent discrimination. Luckily, the United Nations came to the rescue in 1999 following the war that erupted between Kosovar Serbians and Kosovar Albanians.

In order to prevent further ethnic conflicts from arising, the United Nations Development Programme has teamed up with CARE Kosovo to promote democratic governance and the societal integration of minorities into society. Not being able to call 9-1-1 in the case of an emergency was a reality for Kosovar Albanians. Instead of providing security, the pan-Serbian police force was known to carry out atrocities against Kosovar Albanians. Thus one of the UN's first measures was to provide all the citizens of Kosovo security by desegregating the police task force.

In addition to providing security to Kosovars, the UNDP is working to incorporate minorities into government affairs and local organizations. By assisting citizens with the creation of reliable ethnically-mixed democratic governments that guarantee the equality of all persons regardless of religious or cultural heritage, the UNDP hopes to create a Kosovar society in which all ethnicities are accepted.

For more on the United Nations' work to improve ethnic relations through Democratic Initiatives, click here

It was all about the Blue Flag!

Friday October 24th, the UN celebrated its birthday, marking 63 years to the date since its mandate began in 1945. Like the rest of the world, the UN has evolved quite rapidly over these years, containing 192 member states and thousands of programs. The occasion was celebrated in an array of events throughout the whole world, which included film screenings in DC, blood drives in Namibia, concerts in New York, and tree-planting in Darfur; The UN Yearbook was also launched and a ceremony was held in Moscow honoring 60 years of UN presence in Russia.

We might ask, what does UN Day really mean? Well, this day celebrates the UN’s success throughout time. It also promotes the values inscribed within the Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as honoring the everyday struggle to make this a peaceful and just world.

UN Recognizes Glasgow as an 'Official City of Music'

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced yesterday that the city of Glasgow would be the newest addition to its Creative Cities Network. UNESCO recently created this global partnership to encourage universal social, economic and cultural development by promoting creativity at a local level. Glasgow joins the ranks of other artistically innovative cities like Seville and Bologna.

Culture, affirms UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura, is an defining trait of all societies. It allows people to see the world both introspectively and retrospectively; they are better able to understand their values and their individual purpose in life. Additionally, it highlights the lifelines of societies and encourages people to be proud of their nations achievements as well as their own.

Glasgow was named to this exclusive list because of the role of music in defining and supporting its economy. It averages 130 concerts a week, ranging in style from underground grunge rock to traditional Celtic music. Music revenues account for $150 million of Glasgow's annual GDP. Through the UN's recognition, Glasgow and the other cultured cities will be able to share their individual culture with a much larger audience and encourage new outlets for self expression both at home and abroad.

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Uniting over the Black Sea

Countries sharing a common natural resource often fight over ownership and rights, but nations surrounding the Black Sea are well on their way to solidifying mutually beneficial policies that contribute to the economic development of the region.

UNDP has recently signed a renewed cooperation agreement with the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) to ensure that this integration continues to take place in a sustainable manner. New focus will be placed on poverty reduction and capacity building, allowing countries to help themselves in the future.

UNDP already implements the Black Sea Trade and Investment Promotion Programme (BSTIP), which promotes the establishment of economic, business and networking linkages in the region that benefit all members. The twelve member states are Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.

Kosovars Returning to Peace and the Promise of Development

Hundreds of thousands of Kosovo people have fled the province since violence began to break out in the mid 1990s. Now, with the help of UNDP, these families can return to this once war-ravaged area with the hope of peaceful development.

In the village of Vidanje in the Central-West of Kosovo, the UNDP has implemented the Government Assistance to Returns project, which has helped Kosovo-Serbs return to their previous homes alongside Kosovo-Albanian neighbors. Through this UNDP project, more than 50 houses have been reconstructed. A community center has been established and a functioning electrical and sewage system, as well as suitable roads, have been constructed, thus literally paving the way for Kosovo’s future.

On his visit through Kosovo, Under-Secretary-General and Associate Administrator for UNDP Ad Melkert, stressed the importance of refugee return within the goals of development and the necessity to foster an inclusive development for peace. Remarking to two returned families, one Kosovo-Albanian-Christian and the other Kosovo-Bosniak-Muslim, Melkert said:

It is important to provide a future for the young people in Kosovo so that they are not only encouraged to stay, but also are reintegrated into a society that has a place for everyone.

It is this type of development, aware of the conditions of social cohesion particular to this post-conflict region, which helps to make UNDP projects not only successful now, but successful for years to come on the road to recovery ...

For more details, see this UNDP Press Release.

Young, but Business Savvy - Microcredit in Turkey

Recently, UNDP has created a revolutionary micro credit program for Turkey’s youth, in partnership with the Turkish Economic Bank (TEB) and the Young Managers and Businessmen’s Association (GYİAD). The program, which will help around 500 18-35 year olds create new businesses, takes a multifaceted approach to business entrepreneurship by providing not only initial funding but also business education, vocational training, and consulting services to new companies.

The president of GYİAD, Pınar Eczacıbaşı, thanked UNDP for its efforts:

I believe that we are cooperating with the best partners in this field both in Turkey and on an international level and that we are creating a major opening for Turkey’s young population. I believe that the Micro Credit Project that was initiated in order to encourage the youth into production and entrepreneurship will be successful.

This project continues the microfinance theme, which was established in 2005 with the UN's International Year of Microcredit. UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis pledged support for Turkey's push for youth entrepreneurship, an innovative project that will provide new opportunities for young professionals to participate in the economy.

Creating Corporate Responsibility

Ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe has experienced economic growing pains. With the transition from state-controlled economies to market-centered ones, business has been in overdrive. In the push for profits, the fast growth of the private sector in this region has left behind and further marginalized some societal groups. That's where institutions and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) come into play.

UNDP firmly believes that CSR can foster social cohesion, and has therefore decided to fund a project to study and support companies that integrate social and environmental concerns into their business operations.

An important recommendation is that there needs to be greater cooperation between the government, civil society and businesses in order to ensure the future success of CSR. The project aims to advance the implementation of CSR practices in Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Macedonia, Poland, Slovak Republic and Turkey.

UNDP often provides services to countries at a higher policy level, putting in place trickle-down mechanisms to ensure that reforms reach the groups most in need of social or economic change.

Graduation

In the very long run, the true measure of success for development organizations is whether a country is able to grow, prosper, and no longer need aid. The small Baltic country of Lithuania is one success story. Since the end of the Cold War, with the help of organizations like UNDP, they have been able to transition to a flourishing democracy with a flourishing market economy. In 2004 their success was recognized with their acceptance into the EU and WTO.

While Lithuania needs help from UNDP less and less, they have learned valuable lessons that can help other developing countries. To help them begin making the transition from recipient to donor, UNDP has launched the Time to Help Others campaign. If you speak Lithuanian, you can check out the tv spot they produced.
The campaign is designed to "inform the public about development... increase awareness of development issues among members of the Parliament... establishing a database of Lithuanian [development] experts as well as defining the areas in which Lithuania can co-operate" and helping the government create their own overseas development agency.

Helping Uzbekistan in every area of development

Central Asia, home to 56 million people in 5 countries, is the most landlocked region in the world, making it incredibly difficult to take advantage of its vast natural gas and oil reserves. Uzbekistan in particular suffers from this challenge.

In May, the UNDP held a "Strengthening partnerships for Human Development in Central Asia" conference in Kyrgyzstan. For the Uzbek government, the focus was on how to achieve the MDGs by 2015. UNDP projects in the country range from:

• public finance reform
• regional microfinance schemes
• civil society and gender empowerment
• water governance
• energy and environmental sustainability

This list is far from exhaustive, and Uzbek officials have expressed gratitude to the UNDP for its commitment to development in the region. See here for an interview with Fikret Akcura, UNDP Resident Representative of Uzbekistan.

UN Gives Back to the Environment

The UN has long been active in confronting the challenges of climate change and promoting alternative energy. Now they will begin leading by example.

In the small country of Montenegro, the UN is constructing a "green" office. The plans will go along with the new One UN projects in 5 test countries of combining the efforts of the different UN agencies under one roof to be more effective.

The structure will be built off the banks of the River Moracia in the City of Podgorica and will be completely self sufficient using no outside energy sources to run. The roof is a single slab that is perforated with large openings for natural ventilation and lighting purposes. Photovoltaic cells floating above the roof slab act as a shading device while also providing enough energy to meet the building’s estimated annual energy demands. The ventilation system works on the displacement principal, using the heat generated in the interior to drive the movement of air. This is a wonderful example of the steps forward the UN is taking to be more effective and care the environment.