Sharing Destiny
In 2012 the theme asked how could we shape our lives to contribute to an equitable future for all?
“We stand at a critical moment in Earth's history, a time when humanity must choose its future.
(This quotation and most of those that follow are from the Earth Charter)
In 2012 the world communitywas looking back to the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 with a conference Rio+20 in June which reviewed progress and assessed what the world and each of us needed to do next if we wanted to hand on a planet worth living in to future generations. One World Week 2012 offered us an opportunity to review the findings of the conference and plan the actions we could take to contribute to an equitable, harmonious and enduring future.
"Cooperatives are a reminder to the international community that it is possible to pursue both economic viability and social responsibility. "
(United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon)
2012 was also the UN Year of Co-operatives and our theme offered opportunities to celebrate sharing and working together with others.
We all wondered what the world was coming to and what the future hold for our children. How could we cope with a warming world, declining resources, growing inequality and unrest?
“As the world becomes increasingly interdependent and fragile, the future at once holds great peril and great promise.”
Could our generation take the steps needed right away to ensure that future generations would be able to continue to access the resources they needed to enjoy a fulfilling life? Were we prepared to embrace the changes that could offer hope and a future for all?
“To move forward we must recognize that in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms we are one human family and one earth community with a common destiny.”
We affirmed that we were all members of one world and that technology had enabled us to move around the globe for work and leisure and to communicate with ease. Also that trade had moved us closer, reinforcing our growing interdependence. However, we also recognised that some people had been forced to move by poverty, conflict and persecution to seek refuge and make new homes. We reflected that living and working together with people of many cultures and abilities had not only enriched our lives but enabled us to find shared ways of surviving as one world.
We acknowledged that our economies, natural environment and societies were increasingly interwoven. Could we cooperate to move towards a global society, which adapted to change while:
- balancing the needs of nature, economy and society,
- respecting universal human rights, and economic justice,
- and building a culture of peace?
We asked we could accept that it was only by working together to meet these challenges could we share quitably the legacy we have received with our descendants?
“Towards this end, it is imperative that we, the peoples of Earth, declare our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations.”
The following resources were recommended for event planners: -
the Earth Charter here
OWW's partners in the Stop Climate Chaos Coallition offed us a video: "Reasons to be cheerful" documenting progress on environmental protection since the first Rio Conference in 1992 (see it here)
OWWFollow up Rio+20 in your OWW events
In OWW 2012, under our theme of Sharing Destiny,we looked at the outcomes of the Rio+20 conference which took place in June, 2012. Representatives from around the world met at this UN environment summit to “secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development*, ... ”.
The Stop Climate Chaos Coalition (SCCC), of which OWW is a member, encouraged people to organise events to raise awareness of what was at stake at Rio in June and invite their MP to support a Rio Connection Declaration.
You could involve local representatives of other SCCC members in planning your OWW events for October. Have a look at the SCCC site where a Map tells you who is in your local area or you could get in touch with local branches of the SCCC members listed on the website.
So what was Rio+20 about?
In 1992, the UN Earth Summit in Rio de Janiero, Brazil, was unprecedented for a UN conference. It sought to help governments rethink economic development, recognising that economic and social progress depended on finding ways to prevent environmental degradation and preserve our resource base. Government representatives from around the world agreed to put in place:
“A comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally ... in every area in which human impacts on the environment.” (It became known as Agenda 21)
In 2012, twenty years on, the objective of the ‘Rio+20’ Conference was to:
“secure renewed political commitment for sustainable development*, assess progress to date and… address new and emerging challenges”.
(More information at: www.uncsd2012.org )
*What is meant by “sustainable development”?
There was much debate about this term with many feeling it had been highjacked from its original meaning.
A simple and common definition is “... development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
Living within our environmental limits is one of the central principles of sustainable development, but it also means meeting the diverse needs of all people in existing and future communities, promoting personal wellbeing, social cohesion and inclusion, and creating equal opportunity.
A green economy?
There was much talk of a green economy - Governments and businesses wanted a green economy that promoted growth through developing energy saving technologies and low carbon technologies. One of OWW's partners, the World Development Movement, warned that it all depended on whose green economy it is! More here
INTERNATIONAL: The International Week for Nonviolence
Date: 17 Array 2015 00:00 to 25 Array 2015 23:00
The International Week for Nonviolence
Date: October 17th -25th 2015
Venue:
Various locations around the United States and Internationally.
The Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence is running as part of the International Week for Nonviolence, so please read the blogs here:
http://www.instantblogsubscribers.com/entry/Zhana21/261320/Blogging+Carnival+for+Nonviolence+2015
Links for the Week for Nonviolence are also available on that page.
Preserving and Strengthening the Middle/Working Class.
"Changing the Culture of Violence in America - and the World".
This event is NOT about "hope", it is about practical methods to bring about positive change.
We CAN transform society. It starts by transforming ourselves.
You can also read the blogs in the Blogging Carnival for Nonviolence. Blogs by Nonviolent Communication (NVC) trainers and authors who work internationally, as well as members of Black Women for Positive Change, and others, will be updated daily during the Week for Nonviolence.
They will include topics such as:
Black Lives Matter - Is There an Age Gap?
Transforming Conflict into Connection and many more.
Please join us. http://www.instantblogsubscribers.com/entry/Zhana21/261320/Blogging+Carnival+for+Nonviolence+2015
Young people and elders will be sharing our views, methods and experience of nonviolence.
Any members of organisations, faith communities, or others organising events during the Week for Nonviolence please contact Black Women for Positive Change with deails.
This is open to everyone. http://www.blackwomenforpositivechange.org/2015-week-of-non-violence-flyer/
Admission Details: All Welcome
PORTSMOUTH: OWW at Wild Thyme-Exhibition & Stall
Date: 18 Array 2015 10:00 to 24 Array 2015 22:00
OWW at Wild Thyme
Date & Time: 18 - 24 October 2015
every day from 10am -2pm
Venue: Wild Thyme
102 Palmerston Road
Southsea PO5 3PT
Exhibition about OWW in the shop window
inside an exhibition about
Fairtrade and Global Justice Now's campaigns
about Agroecology and African food
A stall with a different focus each day:
Mon: Fairtrade and Global Justice Now campaigns information
Tues: Traidcraft sales; Global Justice Now campaigns info.
Wed: Fairtrade and Global Justice now campaigns information
Thur: Fairtrade
Fri: Zaytoun and Palestinian products - sales
Sat: Fairtrade (maybe not definitely as Great South Run starts)
Call us: 02393 073768
Email us: info@wildthymewholefoods.co.uk
Admission Details: all welcome
BAKED ALASAKA: Alderley Edge, Birmingham,Stoke, Wolverhampton, Lichfield, Shrewesbury
Date: 19 Array 2015 19:30 to 24 Array 2015 19:30
BAKED ALASAKA
Theatre production by Riding Lights
Touring from September 16th until November 28th 2015
Full details of the tour and all venues can be found at
http://ridinglights.org/baked-alaska-tour-dates/
Tickets can be purchased
from the Box Office: 01904 613000 OR online
Press photos can be viewed at
http://ridinglights.org/baked-alaska-production-photos/
Extra-ordinary theatre for these extraordinary times
An island in the South Pacific has a problem. It’s hollow.
Anxiety levels are rising in a North American boardroom. Eve’s garden is bursting with next door’s rubbish. Even the ducks have relocated… they’re in Bangladesh.
From the four corners of the earth come colourful, inter-connecting stories of humanity living with the wild, unpredictable effects of climate change.
Scientists, farmers, oil magnates, climate warriors, prophets, mothers, journalists and others just like you and me – we’re all in the mix and hungry for a recipe of hope. In the struggle over power, some sound the warming bell, some blow hot and cold, while others make a pudding of the planet.
Vivid, sharp and deliciously entertaining, BAKED ALASKA serves up the realities of climate change with flair and clarity about the temperatures involved.
In the high-energy, ‘seriously funny’ style for which Riding Lights is well known, BAKED ALASKA is something we can all look forward to… unless we do something about it.
Dates and Venues in One World Week
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Monday 19/10/2015 Alderley Edge, Cheshire |
Time: 7:30pm Alderley Edge Methodist Church, Chapel Road. Alderley Edge SK9 7DU. Venue phone: 01565 872306 |
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Tuesday 20/10/2015 Birmingham |
All Saints Kings Heath | |
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Time: 7:30pm All Saints Church, 2 Vicarage Rd, Kings Heath, B14 7RA. Venue phone: 0121 444 0760 |
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Wednesday 21/10/2015 Stoke-on-Trent |
St Paul’s Church | |
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Time: 7:30pm. St Paul’s, 131 Longton Hall Road. ST3 2EL. Venue phone: 01782 598366 |
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Thursday 22/10/2015 Wolverhampton, W. Midlands |
St. John’s in the Square | |
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Time: 7:30pm. St. John’s in the Square, St. John’s Square WV2 1DT. Venue phone: 01902 422642 |
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Friday 23/10/2015 Lichfield, Staffordshire |
Lichfield Cathedral | |
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Time: 7:30pm.
Lichfield Cathedral, The Close. WS13 7LD. Venue phone: 01543 306100 |
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Saturday 24/10/2015 Shrewsbury |
Church of the Holy Spirit | |
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Time: 7:30pm. |
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OXFORD-New Marston: OWW Hope in Action
Date: 24 October 2015to 14:00
One World Week - HOPE IN ACTION
This will be an interfaith occasion for celebrating diversity and
sharing concerns for our future with the theme ‘Hope in Action’
Date and Time: Saturday 24th October 2015
10.00 am to 2.00 pm.
Venue: St Michael's Church
Marston Road
New Marston
Oxford, OX3 0JA
There will be six separate areas in the church, each being a study area for a topic.
The topics will include:
pro-poor governments (South America’s experience)
anti-austerity movements and world trade
war and nonviolence
food justice
migrants, refugees and asylum seekers
the culture, insights and resources of world faiths including
Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism and maybe others
Each study area will have one or more of the following:
information sheets, pictures, artefacts, slide show, a talk, discussions, etc
People who attend are invited to spend as much time as they wish in any or all of the topic areas they choose.
There will be short periods when we gather together
to share what we’ve learned from the stalls, celebrate our unity
and plan action to express our hopes for the future.
For further information:
Contact: David Paterson
Email: davidpaterson130@gmail.com
Telephone: 07557 522 914
MERE, WARMINSTER: One World Fair
24 October 2015
Churches Together in Mere and District
One World Fair
Date and Time: Saturday October 24th 2015
11am - 2pm
Venue: The Grove Building, Church Street,
Mere, Warminster, Wiltshire BA12 6DS
Stalls, Food, Music, Dance, Story Telling, Fair Trade
Children's Activities, Face Painting
Any Profit will be donated to the work of
Disability and Development Partners in Nepal
(a Charity working with disabled people in developing countries)
Admission: Free
For Further Details Contact:
Janet Way Tel: 017 4786 0884
Email: jwaywitsend@gmail.com
BIRMINGHAM: Concert - Songs of hope for Africa
24 October 2015
Songs of hope for Africa
Concert with Juliet Mukisa
Date & Time: Saturday October 24th at 7pm
Venue: Banners Gate Community Church,
Westwood Road
Birmingham B73 6UH
A concert with Juliet Mukisa, a singer/songwriter from Uganda,
with an amazing supporting programme.
Admission: Free but with an offering to support projects in Africa
Contact Name: Richard Becher
Email: becherhouse@btinternet.com
Telephone: 07954 591366
CHELTENHAM: Talk 'Human Rights and the Migrant Crisis'
24 October 2015
Talk 'Human Rights and the Migrant Crisis'
Date & Time: Saturday 24th October at 7.30pm
Venue: Friends Meeting House, Warwick Place
Cheltenham GL52 2NP
Event Description:
Alex Chalk
Conservative MP for Cheltenham
will speak on
'Human Rights and the Migrant Crisis'.
The event is organised by Global Justice - Gloucestershire
Admission: Free All welcome
Contact Name: David Evans
Telephone: 07976 047839