Showing posts with label millennium development goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label millennium development goals. Show all posts

Kuwait Times: "Kuwaiti named one of Washington's top 100 women in charity work"

, , 8:35 PM | 0 comments

"The wife of Kuwait's Ambassador to Washington, Sheikha Rima Al-Sabah, was named by a prominent Washingtonian magazine as one and the only Arab and foreigner of the 100 most distinctive women in Washington in the field of advocacy and nonprofit work. Rima Al-Sabah is among the top Washington hostesses and had raised over seven million dollars in five years for humanitarian causes she supports.


Al-Sabah said that her mission does not stop here, and that she will continue to find a cause she feels passionate about and will help raise money to help in any way. Asked how she picks her causes, "They pick me," she responded, explaining that coincidences and many other factors are involved.

Every year, Kuwait's Ambassador Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Rima Al-Sabah hold an Annual Gala Dinner to raise money, each year for a different beneficiary. Since 2005, Rima Al-Sabah, who is the Founder and Chairwoman of the Gala, her efforts included raising USD one million to benefit USA for UNHCR in its efforts to assist Iraqi refugees wishing to return home.

In 2006, over $ 1.2 million was raised to benefit UNICEF in its efforts to improve educational opportunities for children in Afghanistan, especially girls, whereas in 2007, USD 1.4 million went to Project HOPE and the development of the Basrah children's hospital in Iraq, while in 2008, $D 1.6 million was raised for reducing malaria in Africa.

The adopted cause in 2009 was the fight against climate change, with USD 1.8 million raised. As for her 2010 cause, Al-Sabah told KUNA that she plans to raise over U SD two million for the Central Asia Institute to help build schools for girls in remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan...." (click here for full article)

UNDP's 2009 Arab Human Development Report Now Available

, , 4:16 PM | 1 comments

This is the 5th installment of the AHDR (for full PDF of report, click here). Why is this report particularly interesting? Well, because Kuwait is chosen as one of four Arab states polled through questionaires on personal views of human security.


According to the report, the countries as well as their justification, included the following:

"These were (1) Morocco, considered to have gone farther than any other Arab state along the path of political emancipation, (2) Lebanon, which combines political emancipation with sharp sectarian divisions that have erupted more than once into civil war, (3) Kuwait, which reflects a distinctive culture, and whose citizens enjoy one of the highest levels of affluence in the Arab countries, and (4) the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which still languishes under Israeli occupation...

The report stresses that the questionnaire on human security included a broad gamma:

The questionnaire addressed eight aspects of human security: the concept; environmental security; security in its political and global dimensions; security in society (relations among groups); economic security; nutritional security; health security; and personal safety."

So how does Kuwait fair in terms of its perceptions? Here are some findings:

1. 91% of those polled in Kuwait viewed environmental pollutants as a threat, and it was Kuwait's highest ranked threat

2. More than half of all Kuwaitis were very satisfied with their current situation. Around 41% were moderately satisfied. Only 10% of Lebanese, about 20% of Moroccans, and around 7% of OPT were very satisfied with theirs.

3. When asked how safe they feel, about 4/5 felt at least self and secure. Rankings for the other three countries were much lower, with only less than 15% of Lebanese feeling the same, 20% of OPT, and 40% of Moroccans.

4. The most fascinating finding was "what makes citizens feel insecure?" and the responses were as follows, in order of importance:

Kuwait:
economy/inflation, wars, environmental pollution, detiorating morals

Lebanon:
economy/inflation, security, politics, health

Morocco:
health, poverty, unemployment, road accidents

Occupied Palestinian Territories:
occupation, economyc/inflation, politics, security


Lastly, my favorite quote from the report is the following:

"Coming generations have a right to an environmental inheritance that has not been overdrawn or mismanaged"

This is particularly true given that Kuwait's highest perceived threat stems from environmental concerns. I was actually having a conversation with David of The Gulf Blog recently, stating that one of the most disappointing responses I often receive from young Kuwaitis when I ask them about their concerns for their country's future is "it doesn't matter because I will not be alive then".

In short, future generations are not included in the Social Contract as the current generation does not have any obligation to them. In other words, they are not considered legitimate citizens by the current generation. Just as a democracy gone sour is a tyranny of the majority, this is a tyranny of a generation. One might argue against that this situation harms both ancestors and future generations in Kuwait, as there is hardly a respectful trace of Kuwait's past in the present.

8: Directors Come Together to Focus on UN MDGs

, 4:16 PM | 0 comments


I just found out about a movie released last year entitled "8", which is actually a collection of eight short films, each based around one of the eight Millennium Development Goals, directed by: Abderrahmane Sissako, Gael Garcia Bernal, Mira Nair, Gus Van Sant, Jan Kounen, Gaspar Noe, Jane Campion and Wim Wenders.  Has anyone seen it?  The official movie website can be found by clicking here.  The UN MDGs (for a direct link, click here) include the following:


1. To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. To achieve universal primary education
3. To promote gender equality and empower women
4. To reduce child mortality
5. To improve maternal health
6. To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. To ensure environmental sustainability
8. To develop a global partnership for development

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