UUA International Blog Archive

AUTHOR: Judy Manton AUTHOR EMAIL: jhmanton [at] gmail [dot] com AUTHOR URL: SUBJECT: [UUA International] Join the UU-UNO at General Assembly! IP: 68.192.200.78 Array ( [First Name, Last Name] => Judy Manton [Email] => jhmanton [at] gmail [dot] com [Congregation (no...

No allergies I can help out as opposed to simply attending the breakfast AUTHOR: Alex (Alley) Wolff AUTHOR EMAIL: peace4uu [at] gmail [dot] com AUTHOR URL: SUBJECT: [UUA International] Join the UU-UNO at General Assembly! IP: 170.24.132.130 Array ( [First Name, Last Name] =>...

Starting May 12th, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues convened for the thirteenth time at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The ten day forum focuses on a spectrum of indigenous issues including economic, social development, environment, culture...

The Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office Invites YOU to a film screening of " Veil of Silence ". Film screening at 1:15pm followed by panel discussion at 2:30pm Panelists: Habeeb Lawal —Filmmaker, Veil of Silence Bruce Knotts —Director of the Unitarian Universalist...

Aderko Bless is a 14 years old student of Asitey presby JHS. He said his nickname is polite and it was given to him by his big brother. He comes from Ahabaso but stays at Asitey with his grandmother. He has lost both parents and thus he is a double orphan, they died when he was...

Please join the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office during our General Assembly 2014 Events! UU-UNO Director, Bruce Knotts , will be speaking at LGBTQ and Immigration - An Intersection of Human Rights , hosted by UURISE , on Thursday, June 26th, from 12:30pm-1:45pm (...

I had the privilege of meeting Nanleeb Ishmael Isaac during our annual site visit to Ghana in February. He is our newest volunteer for our Every Child is Our Child program and works closely with our program monitor. Isaac is 26 years old and comes from a family of 9. He is from...

Religious Freedom Most of the time, we see religious freedom invoked to protect conservative religious views. However, Unitarians and Universalists have a long and pioneering history of supporting religious freedom, because our progressive views have never been shared by the...

We are approaching the 1 since the launch of the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office Climate Action Team Initiative. We are happy to report that a total of 16 Climate Action Teams have been established across the United States and Canada. While each Climate Action Team...

by Daniel Lofredo Rota The rights of India’s transgender population have been legally recognized for the first time by the country’s top court. India’s citizens now have a right to choose their gender, including a ‘third gender,’ which the government must include as a category...

As many of you may know, the UU United Nations Office is dedicated to combating climate change and environmental degradation. Staying abreast of both domestic and international issues, we are very concerned about the water crisis in California. In the midst of one of the worst...

My name is Caroline, and I am a graduate student intern with the UU-UNO Climate Change Program. In light of the Typhoon disaster in the Philippines, I have decided to fast during the last week of the Warsaw Conference . From sunrise Monday the 18th, until sundown Friday the 22nd...

Registration is open for the IARF 34th WORLD CONGRESS which will be held from 24-27 August, 2014 at Birmingham University, Birmingham, UK . The keynote speaker is Karen Armstrong, leader in the creation of THE CHARTER FOR COMPASSION. Small group sessions and outings will...

Since 1957 the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office has hosted an annual Spring Seminar. In 1998 the event became an intentionally inter-generational space that brought together youth, young adults, and adults in shared dialogue around issues that matter to our Unitarian...

Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu, who became the icon of forgiveness as the Chair of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and his daughter, the Reverend Mpho Tutu, are issuing a Global Forgiveness Challenge to coincide with the release of their long-anticipated...

After two weeks of discussion, argument, song, dance, discernment, and community building, the 58th Commission on the Status of Women has drawn to a close. Hundreds of individuals from all over the world to foster dialogue regarding the role of women in the Post-Millennium-...

In Remembrance of Madam Mary Rose Quist (Nana Manye Mamle Okleyo) Manya Krobo Paramount Queen Mother (1920-2013) During our February 7-14 visit to the Every Child is Our Child Project in Ghana, we were saddened to learn of the passing of the Paramount Queen Mother of the Manya...

Thanks to generous donations from members of the Climate Change Task Force and the fundraising efforts of Unitarian Universalist Justice Florida , the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office's (UU-UNO) Climate Change program intern, Caroline Achstatter, was able to attend...

During our 2014 Every Child Is Our Child site visit I had the pleasure of meeting Susan and was immediately taken aback by the fire and determination in her eyes. Susan is one of our four Senior High School Students and the only one who is not boarding at her school. It is...

Background of CSW The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a functional commission of UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). It was established on 21 June 1946. It is the principal global intergovernmental policy-making body that dedicated to the promotion of gender...

By Dylan Debelis Since 1957 the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office has hosted an annual Spring Seminar. In 1998 the event evolved into an intentionally intergenerational space that brought together youth, young adults, and adults in shared dialogue around issues that...

Calling to end pushing LGBTIs into double victimization! First, donors do not fund LGBTI support programs (except few exceptions over the recent years and its too little). Second, donors continue funding governments ignoring their human rights violations against LGBTIs. As an...

by Val Kalende ( Reposted from the Huffington Post) Uganda's "jail the gays" bill will likely become law anytime soon perhaps as soon as this week. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has promised Ugandans that he will assent to the bill after receiving medical evidence from...

On February 27th, 2014 the NGO Committee on Human Rights and Unitarian Univeralist United Nations Office held a panel discussion on Homophobia around the world.The panel centered on actions taken by the Russian, Ugandan, Nigerian, and Indian governments against the LGBTQIA...

In early February, Bruce Knotts, UU-UNO Director, and Maria Militano, Every Child is Our Child (ECOC) intern, traveled to Odumase Krobo, Ghana for our yearly monitoring visit. The purpose of this visit was to maintain our relationship with the ECOC leaders, build new...

During our 2014 site visit (INSERT LINK), we had the pleasure of meeting a very special student that has been in our program since 2010. Susan is an inspiring young woman whose resilience and perseverance shines through. She is 18 years of age and is in her first year of Senior...

It was dreadful to wake up this morning to the news that the President of Uganda had signed the 'anti-gay' bill into law. Though this action has looked likely for weeks, there has been some hope that Museveni would challenge the popular will in his country. Instead, he re-...

We are Here, and We are Heard Once again, the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office (UU-UNO) played an active role during the final session of the Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development. Between the dates of February 3rd and 7th, the OWG8 discussed important...

Our esteemed colleague and beloved friend Eleanor Mason passed January 29th, 2014, peacefully in her daughter's arms at the age of 94. A founding member of the Morristown Unitarian Fellowship (MUF), Eleanor was the UU-UNO volunteer Envoy Coordinator for many years, succeeded by...

New York became the World Unitarian and Unitarian Universalist community hub when 120 participants from 25 different countries gathered January 27-31 for the Council Meeting and Conference of the International Council of Unitarian Universalists (ICUU)). This was first time that...

U/U youth are invited to participate in an international youth exchange program through the First Unitarian Society of Westchester (FUSW). Since 2008, American U/U youth have been exchanging with U/U families in Europe for a couple weeks each year, experiencing the profound...

A Review of the LGBT-Faith and Asylum Network Retreat January 8-January 10, 2014 The trip from New York City to Washington, D.C., daunting as it may seem for a first-timer, is quite easy and comfortable. As a native New Yorker, born and raised, I had never embarked on a trip to...

Is world peace an optimist’s dream? Something shouted at war protest by people who don’t understand the way the world works? Or is it something much more realistic? If you want to take action that’s beyond just talking about it – this is for you. As broadcast on KKFI Kansas City...

On Friday, December 20, 2013, the Ugandan Parliament passed the long-dreaded kill-the-gays bill otherwise known as the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The bill, as passed, does not call for the death penalty; instead, it mandates life imprisonment for "aggravated homosexuality."...

Last week's report that India's Supreme Court had issued a ruling upholding the criminalization of gay sex was shocking. And, LGBT activists in India have organized and responded quickly. Derek Mitchell, the Director of the UUA's Holdeen India Program writes from New Delhi that...

.. If you're a U/U young adult living outside the US, we want to talk to you! The UUA International Office is conducting a listening project. If you're interested, book Shawna Foster or send her an email . What's a listening project? It's when an interviewer spends time with a...

Warsaw Climate Conference 2013 – THE INSIDE SCOOP Since 1995, The United Nations Climate Change Conference has been held annually at different locations around the world. This year, the conference was held in Warsaw, Poland from November 11th through the 23rd. We were fortunate...

The International Council of Unitarians and Universalists (ICUU) will hold its biannual Conference and Council Meeting January 28-31, 2014 at the beautiful and inspiring campus of the UU congregation at Shelter Rock in Manhasset, New York. More than 140 Unitarians and Unitarian...

As I attend the Religions for Peace World Assembly in Vienna, I can’t help but feel deep pride as a Unitarian Universalist. There are more than six hundred religious leaders here from all over the world—Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs. There are even...

Every 5-6 years the worlds largest and most representative interfaith organization focused on Peace, Religions for Peace (RFP) convenes a World Assembly of senior-most religious leaders for the purpose of forging a deep moral consensus on contemporary challenges, eliciting a new...

The sound of laughter, smooth jazz, and the clink of champagne glasses rose out of Reidy Hall, located in the lower level of All Souls in New York City, on Friday evening, November 8th, 2013. Old friends were gathered around tables adorned with elegant flowing table cloths, felt...

Update, Monday November 17, 0013: Reaching Out to Survivors in the Philippines In the week since a super typhoon devastated parts of the Philippines, UUSC and the UUA have sprung into action with the generous support of donors to the UUSC-UUA Philippines Typhoon Haiyan Relief...

In 1996, a box was uncovered at the home of a parishioner of All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington D.C. In that box were nearly 50 colorful drawings made by children as thanks for gifts received from the church fifty years earlier. Not many people in the church knew the story...

Reverend Fulgence Ndagijamana, minister of the Assembly of Unitarian Christians of Burundi writes from Bujumbura: On January 27th 2013, the central market of Bujumbura caught fire and thousands of families lost their livelihoods . It is important to remember that the central...

[gallery type="rectangular" ids="5448,5457,5456,5455,5454,5453,5452,5451,5450,5449"] On Sunday, October 20, 2013 the Bicutan UU Church in Metro-Manila installed its first minister, Rev. Ma. Theresa (Tet) Gallardo. The church's new chapel, which was dedicated one year ago, was...

The International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF) will be hosting its 34th World Congress at the University of Birmingham, in the United Kingdom, from August 24 to 27, 2014 . The theme of the upcoming congress, "Challenges for Religious Freedom: The Digital Age," is...

Get excited for UN Sunday ! To celebrate UN Day (October 24th), the UU-UNO posted readings to be used for a UN Sunday service or event. We invited our UU-UNO Envoys (and any passionate congregants) to host UN Sunday service or event and focus on this year's topic: Sex, Love and...

[youtube= http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=KcDzMnHzlZs ]. Visit Communities of Conscience website Vishna is a four year old boy who is like any other you will meet at that age. He is from Cambodia, and has bright brown eyes and pinchable cheeks. His...

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the Philippines earlier this week, centered below the island of Bohol. A state of emergency has been declared in Bohol and Cebu. Please extend your thoughts and prayers to all who are suffering through this disaster. The center of Unitarian...

ICUU International Ministers Gathering February 1 and 2, 2014 Theme: Connecting As Ministers Across Unitarian and Unitarian Universalist Cultures “We serve and work in many different countries, within many different cultures, in different economies and political settings,...