As the world becomes increasingly connected and transformed by information and communication technologies (ICTs), the need to empower youth in developing countries with access to technology and training becomes increasingly important in our digital age.
7 Billion Actions is collecting stories of organizations and individuals making a difference in a world at 7 billion. See all stories here and add your own!
Power of One: Justine Masika Bihamba
What’s your action?
My work centers around getting communities in the Northern Kivu Province to mobilize against sexual violence against women and young girls. I also work to get Congolese authorities and the international community to effectively fight against the root causes of sexual violence.
I chose this work because my passion for the women and young people who are suffering from this human cruelty is so great that I dream of contributing to the mobilization of communities against the violence, as well as getting Congolese authorities to focus on the causes and not the consequences of the sexual violence. My belief/conviction is that I dream of a Congo where all women have the right to dignity.
Each country celebrated the world population reaching 7 Billion in their own way. In Lao PDR the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and the Ministry of Health (MoH) partnered with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to present people with welcome gift baskets that included a health information package and a birth certificate to the mothers of all babies born on this very important day at the Mahosot Hospital in Vientiane, Lao PDR. Read the entire press release here.
Photo Credit: UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund, Country Office: Lao PDR.
As part of the 7 Day Countdown to a world of 7 billion people, we’re dedicating each day this week to a specific key topic relating to the 7 Billion Actions campaign.
Monday’s topic will be Environment: Healthy Planet, Healthy People and we’re partnering with UNEP, the UN Environment Programme to spark some conversation around this important issue.
The episode will broadcast on Saturday, October 29th at 10:10 and 20:10 GMT and on Sunday, October 30th at 7:10 and 23:10 GMT.
Missed the broadcast? You can view the segment here.
As part of the 7 Day Countdown to a world of 7 billion people, we’re dedicating each day this week to a specific key topic relating to the 7 Billion Actions campaign.
Saturday’s topic will be Young People: Forging the Future. Join us for all day conversation on youth and innovation hosted by UNFPA’s Youth Initiative, Conversations for a Better World. In a world of 7 billion, the collective power of the youth can make a huge impact on the world, especially as they leverage new technology such as social media to mobilize for change.
As part of the 7 Day Countdown to a world of 7 billion people, we’re dedicating each day this week to a specific key topic relating to the 7 Billion Actions campaign.
Sunday’s topic will be Urbanization: Planning for Growthand the 7 Billion Actions campaign is partnering with UN-HABITAT to bring special attention to this topic.
Share your story with us. What have you seen people do it your city that makes it a more livable place? Bike lanes? Farmers markers? Urban farming?
What are you doing to make your neighborhood a more livable space?
As part of the 7 Day Countdown to a world of 7 billion people, we’re dedicating each day this week to a specific key topic relating to the 7 Billion Actions campaign.
Friday’s topic will be Ageing: An Unprecedented Challenge, with an interactive chat hosted by WHO, the World Health Organization.
The Director-General for IPPR, the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Tewodros Melesse writes about ‘what the 7 billion means for Africa,’ in the DFID, Department for International Development, blog.
When covering the subject of contraception, he quotes the former head of the UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund, Nafis Sadik, saying “It is the freedom from which other freedoms flow.” Further stating that, family planning is one of the most successful international development stories. Read the entire story here.
Photo Credit: Chloe Hall/IPPF
Louise Holly, Save the Children’s Advocacy Advisor and part of the Newborn and Child Survival Team, writes about the benefits of family planning. Read about it here.
Check out this feature, which includes podcasts, photos, films, case studies, blogs, eyewitness reports, and more on a world of 7 billion from the UK Department for International Development (DFID).
As the world passes 7 billion people, the UK is highlighting that 215 million women who would like to delay or avoid having children are unable to do so. Over the next four years, British aid is changing lives by making it possible for at least 10 million more women to use modern methods of family planning so that they can decide for themselves whether, when and how many children to have.
You can visit the DFID’s Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/ukdfid or follow them on Twitter with the Twitter handle: @DFID_UK!
Read how the British are helping change the lives of at least 10 million women by giving them the opportunity to use contraception in the news story: “Changing lives: Zambian soap stars spread the word on family planning,” from the DFID, Department for International Development.
The story focuses on how drama, dance, and music are being used to educate communities on the benefits of Family Planning, and where they can access the proper services. Local Celebrities, such as Chilufya Mifumbi, are joining in as well.
As we move closer to October 31st, the day the world population reaches 7 Billion, find out where you fit into 7 Billion. Just enter your birthday into ‘7 Billion and Me,’ the newly launched interactive website from the UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund, which personalizes demographic trends. The website aims to help put these huge numbers in perspective by allowing users to relate their own personal characteristics —-such as date of birth, place of birth, sex, and current residence- to the rest of the world’s, soon to be, 7 billion citizens.
What do you need to improve your life? Is it better education? Or a better balance between life and work? How do you measure your well-being?
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (the OECD) is a key resource that governments, business people, workers, activists, academics, students, the media and citizens look to for policy advice. For fifty years, the OECD has been in the business of helping governments to identify the best policies for raising living standards.
