The report presents Save the Children Norway’s Thematic Evaluation of children’s participation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Guatemala, Nepal and Uganda from 2006-2008.
13 children and youth from the four study countries participated in the launch and workshop and shared with the audience some of the tools they used to explore their experiences of armed conflict, and their understanding of peace building. Presentations included songs, a risk map, peace albums, and drawings.
This is Part 2 of a series of blog posts dealing with psychosocial support interventions for vulnerable children in West Africa. Click here to read Part 1.
In the following audio clip, Dr. Alice Behrendt (in the photo above), a project manager for psychosocial support interventions for affected children in West Africa for Plan, talks about some of the innovative methods used to treat severely affected children, particular in post-conflict situations.
The interventions Behrendt describes include both indigenous methods and Western strategies adapted to the West African context.
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently released a document entitled, “The Platform for an Integrated Africa Policy”. The document presents an overview of Norwegian cooperation with Africa, and provides a basis for implementing concrete measures.
The Platform underscores Norway’s desire to develop its foreign policy dialogue with African countries on issues such as climate change, conflict resolution, human rights and health.
Rock musicians from around
the world took a stand against human trafficking at a recent concert at the
Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia. The concert was sponsored by the MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking)
campaign.
This was the first rock
concert ever performed at the massive 12th-century temple, a UNESCO World
Heritage Site.
I recently had the opportunity to interview Dr. Alice Behrendt, of the Plan West Africa Regional Office, in Oslo. Alice is a project manager for psychosocial support interventions for vulnerable children.
The interview was fairly lengthy and covered a number of interesting topics, so will be split into several postings. Here is part 1.
In the following clip, Alice discusses her work with severely affected children in Togo, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Camaroon.
Click below to view a short video about The Ban Bus, a campaign bus that has traveled 10,000 km across Europe to raise awareness about the Convention on Cluster Munitions. It arrived in Oslo yesterday.
(Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit (second from the left) and Minister Erik Solheim (second from the right))
Amila de Saram Larssen
Click below to hear what Norway's Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Special Representative for UNAIDS; Erik Solheim, Minister of Development and the Environment; and Dr. Sigrun Møgedal, Norway's HIV/AIDS Ambassador had to say about the significance of World Aids Day when I spoke to them at an HIV/AIDS awareness raising event at Youngstorget in Oslo.
Media companies, including the News Corporation, CBS and Time Warner are donating advertising space and time in the US in an attempt to boost the initiative’s efforts to place low-cost laptops in the hands of children in developing nations.
In a recent article on the subject, Steve Lohr of The New York Times writes that the advertising is expected to start conversations and increase donations to the project.
The World Bank and the Nike Foundation plan to execute the first pilot project to help smooth the transition of adolescent girls from school to quality work in Liberia in January 2009.
Interventions planned include helping girls complete education, build skills that match market demand, find mentors and job placements, offer incentives to potential employers to retain, and train young women to overcome some of the cultural barriers to young women's employment.
Umoja is a cultural exchange programme involving young artists from Mozambique, South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Norway.The main objectives of the programme are to support art and culture in society, develop cultural institutions, and develop individuals.
As many as 100 000 people made their way to downtown Maputo for the concert that was produced for television, and will be broadcasted by SABC in several African countries. Well-known African artists Timbila Muzimba, Malaika, Dama do Bling and others performed.
