The 2012 ASEAN Civil Society Conference

World Business and Development Awards open call for business contributions to sustainable development

The World Business and Development Awards on February 2 launched a call for nominations for successful business initiatives that are in line with the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development. All organisations, regardless of size or location, engaged in innovative business models that are delivering both commercial success and helping improve social, economic and environmental conditions are eligible to apply online by 25th March 2012 by downloading the form atwww.worldbusinessawards.net/nominate.

The award ceremony will be held on 19th June, when governments convene in Brazil at the Rio+20 Conference, closing the Business Action for Sustainable Development Business Day.

Celebrating a decade of biennial award giving, the World Business and Development Awards are organized by the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership this year with the Netherlands Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the UN Global Compact. The Awards demonstrate how companies can, through their core business activities, help achieve the Millennium Development Goals — eight internationally agreed targets to reduce poverty and environmental degradation and improve education, health conditions and gender equality by 2015.

"When businesses apply the full force of their core business activities to development challenges and measure their success both by profit and social outcomes, there is no limit to what can be achieved,” said Clare Melford, CEO of IBLF, “We hope that the WBDA will again stimulate businesses of all sizes and in all regions to bring forward their best examples and so accelerate progress towards achieving the MDGs."

The 2012 Awards will be given explicitly to companies delivering inclusive business models: sustainable, commercially-viable business initiatives that expand access for low-income people to goods and services, or improve their livelihoods by engagement in value chains as direct employees, suppliers or distributors, while also generating sales and profit growth.

In honour of the Rio+20 host country, there will be a special category designated for Brazil-based companies.

By bringing together examples of innovative, effective business practices, the World Business and Development Awards will also provide leading businesses and entrepreneurs with a valuable platform for networking and sharing experiences and promote best practices after Rio+20. This will encourage other businesses and governments to replicate and scale initiatives. 

An international judging panel made up of representatives of the organising partners as well as non-governmental organisations, universities, business entities, and international institutions will determine this year’s winners. A workshop on inclusive business will take place prior to the Awards ceremony, held in association with the Business Call to Action and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

In 2010, the Awards received an unprecedented 172 nominations, representing a variety of business and commercial endeavours undertaken by business associations, non-governmental organisations and individual companies from more than 42 countries. Diverse in nature, the 10 winning initiatives ranged from low-income housing in Mexico and assisting farmers in Sierra Leone, to offering affordable maternal health services in India.

“Past award winners have shown how companies can help boost sustainable growth and development,” said UNDP Administrator Helen Clark, “They can be a tremendous source of innovative and sustainable solutions which help transform people’s lives for the better."

"As progress towards the Millennium Development Goals comes under threat in the current economic climate, the Awards will highlight the critical role of the private sector in stimulating sustainable economic growth and development,” said ICC Secretary General Jean-Guy Carrier.

Contact Information

UNDP: Carolina Azevedo, carolina.azevedo@undp.org; +1 212 906 6127

ICC: Dawn Chardonnal, dawn.chardonnal@iccwbo.org; +33 1 49 53 29 07

IBLF: Jessica Scholl, Jessica.scholl@iblf.org; +44 20 7467 363

WASH Media Awards – 2011-2012

The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) welcome entries for the fourth edition of the WASH Media Awards. This competition is open to journalists who publish or broadcast original investigative stories and reports on water supply, sanitation or hygiene (WASH) related issues and their impact on individual and country development.

The WASH Media Awards recognize and support the crucial role of media in raising awareness of the importance of water, sanitation, and hygiene services. It aims to promote coverage of WASH issues in the local, national and international media to have a positive influence on decision-makers, the private sector, the civil society as well as individuals and households.

Timeline
To be eligible, entries must be published or broadcast between 1 April 2011 and 1 April 2012.

Formats
Journalists may submit one piece of work in the following formats:

• Print & online (traditional print media such as newspapers, magazines and journals; articles that appeared in electronic versions of print media sources – online editions of newspapers, magazines or journals – or in recognized reputable media sources)
• TV (including documentaries)
• Radio
• Cartoons & photos (that appeared in traditional print media such as newspapers, magazines or journals; articles that appeared in electronic versions of print media sources – online editions of newspapers, magazines or journals – or in recognized reputable media sources)

Languages
Entries will be accepted in English, French and Hindi. Works not originally produced in one of these languages must be translated into one of them.

Awards
Six prizes will be awarded:

1. One for the best entry in print & online format
2. One for the best entry in TV format
3. One for the best entry in  radio format
4. One for the best entry in cartoons & photos format
5. One for the best entry for the theme ‘economics of sanitation’ focusing on investing in sanitation, the cost of inadequate sanitation (financial, social, environmental etc.), sanitation marketing, sanitation entrepreneurship and any other related issues
6. One for the best entry from a journalist based in a high-income country or a field reporter working for an international media outlet

Prizes 1 to 5 will be awarded to journalists from developing and middle income countries. For prize number 6, journalists from high-income countries or working for an international media outlet are invited to send entries in the same formats and languages as indicated above.The six winners will receive a cash prize and participate in the World Water Week in Stockholm in August 2012 as special guests of WSSCC and SIWI. All the entries will be evaluated by an international jury of distinguished media professionals. Submissions
All entries must be received no later than 1st April 2012 together with a duly filled in entry form  either by regular post or email:

Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC), WASH MEDIA AWARDS, 15, chemin Louis-Dunant, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland

Tel: +41 22 560 8181
Fax: +41 22 560 8184

Email: wsscc@wsscc.org (mention in e-mail title: WASH MEDIA AWARD Entry)
The WSSCC FTP details can be provided upon request.

Queries
Queries can be directed to:

Ms. Tatiana Fedotova, WSSCC Communications Officer, tatiana.fedotova@wsscc.org
Mr. Rami Abdel Rahman, SIWI Communications Officer, rami.abdelrahman@siwi.org

:::More Info:::

General Council Elected New Chair

The General Council, on 14 February 2012, elected Ambassador Elin Johansen (Norway) as chairperson for 2012.

Ambassador Elin Johansen (Norway) is elected as chairperson of the General Council for 2012 (WTO)

The outgoing chair, Ambassador Yonov Frederick Agah (Nigeria), informed members that consensus had not been achieved on the slate of names for the appointment of officers to WTO bodies. The General Council agreed that the new chair should continue consultations, and that it would reconvene as soon as possible to continue its consideration of this matter.

Director-General Pascal Lamy and many delegations paid tribute to the leadership of Ambassador Agah during the past year. They especially commended his efforts leading to the success of the Eighth Ministerial Conference held last December.

The General Council adopted the two waiver decisions: “Cuba — Article XV:6 — Extension of the waiver”, and “European Union — Additional autonomous trade preferences granted by the EU to Pakistan”. Pakistan expressed gratitude to members and the EU in particular for the decision.

The Chairman of the Dedicated Session of the Committee on Trade and Development, Ambassador Anthony Mothae Maruping (Lesotho), recalled the Decision on the Work Programme on Small Economies adopted at the Eighth Ministerial Conference,  and said that the focus of that programme for this year would be the identification of non-tariff measures and their effect on small economies. Barbados, speaking on behalf of the small vulnerable economies (SVEs), said that non-tariff measures were an important area for further examination in the WTO, and particularly critical for small vulnerable economies whose exports could be permanently impaired by non-tariff measures. 

The outgoing General Council chair reported on his consultations on a proposal by the Arab Group on improving the guidelines for granting observer status to intergovernmental organizations in the WTO. He urged continued engagement of members to address this issue.

The Director-General reported on the implementation of the recommendations for savings and more efficient use of resources made by the Budget Committee and adopted by the General Council at its November 2011 meeting. He referred to measures taken on documentation and to save on translation costs, including moving from detailed minutes of meetings to summary records. He sought members’ co-operation in devising better notification formats and in developing more efficient notification processes. Another important element in this cost-saving exercise was to improve the scheduling and management of meetings.

Source: http://www.wto.org/english

Czech Republic offers CZK 500,000 to WTO training programme for developing countries

The Czech Republic on January 25 has donated CZK 500,000 (about US$26,306) to the WTO Global Trust Fund.

This donation will finance technical assistance programmes and training activities for developing and least developed countries with the aim of enhancing their ability to participate effectively in the WTO negotiations and ensure they fully benefit from the results achieved during these negotiations.

“I welcome this new donation which demonstrates the Czech Republic continuous commitment to help developing countries fully benefit from the multilateral trading system” declared WTO Director General Pascal Lamy.

The Czech Republic Ambassador Kateřina Sequensová stated that “this donation is a concrete demonstration of the Czech Republic’s continuous support to developing countries in better understanding the WTO rules, with the aim of expanding their trading activities and making trade a tool for growth, development and poverty reduction”.

Netherlands offers US$5.06 million to training for least-developed countries

The Netherlands on February 6 has donated EUR 3.9 million (approximately equal to US$5.06 million) to the Netherlands Trainee Programme (NTP) for the period 2012-2015.

Launched in March 2005, The Netherlands Trainee Programme aims at providing junior public officials from least-developed countries, the opportunity to learn about trade related issues and to develop their knowledge of trade policy, while working for the WTO. After up to 10 months of WTO internship, the trainees go back to their ministries and contribute to the strengthening of their countries’ institutional capacity. Particular attention is given to African countries.

“I welcome this new donation which demonstrates The Netherlands continuous commitment to help developing countries fully benefit from the multilateral trading system” declared WTO Director General Pascal Lamy.

The Dutch Minister for Development and Cooperation, Ben Knapen, stated that “The Netherlands has decided to renew and further enhance the arrangement governing its Trainee Program. This donation is a concrete demonstration of The Netherlands continuous support to developing and least developed countries in better understanding the WTO rules, with the aim of expanding their trading activities and making trade work as a tool for growth, development and poverty reduction”.

WTO launches essay award for young economists

The WTO launched on 16 February the “2012 Essay Award for Young Economists”. The Award aims to promote high-quality research on trade policy and international trade co-operation among young economists and to reinforce the relationship between the WTO and the academic community.

Prize

The annual WTO Essay Award consists of a prize of CHF 5,000 to the author(s) of the winning essay. In the case of a co-authored paper, the prize will be equally divided among the authors. The winning paper will be officially announced at the annual meeting of the European Trade Study Group (ETSG), which is currently the largest conference specializing in international trade. The award ceremony will take place in September 2012 in Leuven, Belgium. The winning author(s) will receive funding to attend the meeting.

Selection

An Academic Selection Panel is responsible for the selection of the winning paper. The Panel comprises:

• Professor Avinash Dixit (Princeton University)
• Professor Robert Staiger (University of Wisconsin)
• Professor Alberto Trejos (INCAE Business School).

Dr Patrick Low (Director, Economic Research and Statistics Division, WTO Secretariat) is ex officio Member of the Panel. Dr Michele Ruta (Counsellor, Economic Research and Statistics Division, WTO) coordinates the work of the Selection Panel.

Eligibility

The paper must address issues related to trade policy and international trade co-operation.  The author(s) of the paper must possess or be engaged in the completion of a PhD degree and, if over 30 years of age, be no more than two years past a PhD defence. In the case of co-authored papers, this requirement shall apply to all authors. In addition, to be considered for the Award, essays cannot exceed 15,000 words.

Past winners

• The 2011 WTO Prize was awarded to Rafael Dix-Carneiro (University of Maryland) and Kyle Handley (Stanford University). 
• The 2010 WTO Prize was awarded to Dave Donaldson (MIT) and Olena Ivus (Queen’s University). 
• The 2009 WTO Prize was awarded to Ralph Ossa (University of Chicago). The runner-up was Mostafa Beshkar (University of New Hampshire). 

·         Important deadlines

·         Essays must be submitted by 1 June 2012. The Economic Research and Statistics Division of the WTO Secretariat will shortlist eligible papers by 15 June 2012 and the Selection Panel will take a final decision by 15 July 2012. Only the author(s) of short-listed essays will be notified. 

Publication

·         The winning essay will be published in the WTO Working Paper Series and it is the responsibility of the author(s) to endeavour to secure publication of the contribution in a journal.

Submissions

·         All submissions should be sent to essay.award@wto.org. Submissions should include as separate attachments in PDF format:

·         1. the essay

2. the CV of the author(s), specifying (i) current affiliation(s), (ii) the academic institution awarding the PhD, (iii) the year (or the expected year) of the PhD, (iv) the date of birth of the author(s).

Source: http://www.wto.org/english

"My Wonderful Mother" Compaign

International Women's Day is celebrate in many countries around the world. In 101st Anniversary of the International Women's Day on March 08, 2012, the Open Institute will participate with the Ministry of Women's Affair by organizing an awareness campaign on the value of Mother under the theme “My Wonderful Mother”.

The Open Institute would like to invite you to participate and shares us your mother story. This story can be about your own mother or of the other mother you have known. It can be also a fiction story. Story telling can be in difference form such as painting, writing, poem, video clip, etc. Your story and painting will be broadcast in the Open Institute's women web portal, twitter, face book, etc.

Activities
You all are welcome to share us your story about a mother. This story can be about your own mother or of other mother you have known. It can be also a fiction story. Story telling can be in difference form such as painting, writing, poem, video clip, etc. Your story and painting will be broadcast in the Open Institute's women web portal, twitter, face book, etc.

• Collect painting (hand painting, computer painting, picture taken from digital camera and camera mobile phone) describe about a mother.
• Collect story (hand written or computer typing) about "My Wonderful Mother" (very short story)
• Make a video clip about a wonderful mother
• Collect article about wonderful mother. You can collect any article about mother from any kind of publications such as newspaper, magazine, bulletin, research, etc. Please note that, source of information ( article you collected) should be well attributed.
• Promote discussion about " My Wonderful Mother" through social network tools (twitter, facebook, online forum, blog ) and gender mailing list.

- Please send your story, painting, article, etc to the address evaw@open.org.kh
- Please note, this is for non-professional artist/writer. Please write and paint in the way you think of a mother. But professional artists/writer are also warmly welcome

For further question, please send an email to evaw@open.org.kh call 023 224 821
Phnom Penh 13 February, 2012

Please follow think for more information:
http://women.open.org.kh/km/announcement-women-2012

http://women.open.org.kh/km/IWD-OI-concept-note-2012

Technology Generation People are just as Smart as like that

Asia according to some Americans

Asia according to some Americans. 
Photo Credit : Alphadesigner

Cambodia = skulls, Thailand = brothel , Vietnam = cemetery,  Iran is Satan, Japan is Toyota, Korea is Samsung, China is Supermarket, Somalia is Jack Sparrow, Mogolia is Savages, Iraq is Fuck to name a few. What is America according to Asian ?