New PSA from Love Has No Labels Challenges Viewers to Confront the State of Freedom in the U.S. for Black Americans [Video Included]

New PSA from Love Has No Labels Challenges Viewers to Confront the State of Freedom in the U.S. for Black Americans (screengrab)

To support the ongoing fight for racial justice for the Black community, the Ad Council and R/GA today launched a new PSA from the iconic Love Has No Labels campaign to inspire all Americans to fight for racial equality in America. 

Building on the campaign's longstanding effort to address bias, the film holds a mirror to the simple acts of freedom often celebrated and taken for granted by non-Black Americans, revealing the stark contrast of those freedoms and the way Black people in this country endure systemic racism and injustice. 

The campaign ultimately encourages viewers to come together for racial justice, directing to lovehasnolabels.com for educational and actionable resources to help continue the work toward equality.

"The campaign's message is very simple yet profound: we all have a role to play in dismantling systemic racism in this country," said Lisa Sherman, president & CEO of the Ad Council. "It's time for Americans to listen, learn and act. While we know these long-simmering problems are nothing new, we want to leverage this moment in time, a national reckoning with race, and inspire change."

Developed pro bono by R/GA, the new PSA opens with idyllic images of America and traditional symbols of freedom – flags draped from windows, children watching fireworks – before highlighting specific moments of simple activities that have led to the harassment or murder of innocent Black lives. Jogging in a neighborhood, birdwatching in a park, driving, or sleeping safely in one's own bed. Juxtaposing these images, the PSA reminds viewers that before we celebrate the freedom most Americans have, we must fight for the freedom all Americans deserve, that Black lives matter.

The campaign directs to lovehasnolabels.com, where individuals can more deeply understand the underpinnings of racism and structural inequality today and what they can do to help end it. This includes ways to get involved locally or with national racial justice organizations and better understand issues like the Black Lives Matter movement, privilege, police reform, and mass incarceration.

R/GA Strategist Aaron Harridge stated, "we did this because we are educated to believe that 'freedom' is afforded to all Americans. This isn't true. We wanted to highlight the freedoms that the privileged masses take for granted. To truly achieve 'freedom' and take on the disproportionate systematic racism targeted at the Black community, we must ALL take action." 

Strategist Brandon Heard added, "For brands, companies, and people that choose to stand behind our message, know that activating allyship is a journey. This is just the beginning of what it looks like to turn privilege into power and to employ that power in an effort to advance the culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion."

The Video:

Love Has No Labels' brand partners Bank of America, Google, Johnson & Johnson, State Farm and Walmart are supporting the campaign by promoting content across their channels. In addition to funding the campaign, brand partners show their support during the year through online and offline activations including social messaging, custom content creation, employee engagement, events and more.

The integrated campaign will also receive donated media, digital and social support from partners including: AdTheorent, Adtoniq, AMC, The Atlantic, Audiomack, Condé Nast, Cox Communications, Crackle Plus, Criteo, Effectv (Comcast), Facebook, Forbes Media, Future plc, Google, GumGum, J2 Global, LinkedIn, LiveIntent, MiQ, Philo, Pinterest, Pluto TV, Reddit, SHE Media, true[X], TuneIn, Vox Media, Wayfarer Entertainment, YouTube and others. Publicis Media worked pro bono to develop a media strategy and secure targeted donated media placements to extend the campaign's reach. IPG's Matterkind will be executing targeted media through a donated Private Marketplace with The Trade Desk. The new Love Has No Labels creative will also be featured in an upcoming virtual concert with John Legend later this month, in partnership with Wave.

New PSA from Love Has No Labels Challenges Viewers to Confront the State of Freedom in the U.S. for Black Americans (screengrab)

• The Love Has No Labels campaign first launched nationally in 2015 with a video of skeletons dancing and embracing before coming out from behind an x-ray screen to reveal themselves as diverse couples, friends and families. 
• The original "Love Has No Labels" video became the first PSA to win an Emmy for Outstanding Commercial and received more than 169 million views making it the second most viewed social activism video of all time. 
• In 2016, it was followed by "We Are America" featuring WWE Superstar John Cena celebrating the diversity of America on Independence Day. 
• In 2017, Love Has No Labels put a twist on the kiss cam by turning it into a symbol for unbiased love with "Fans of Love." 
• The campaign launched its first short film in 2018 with "Rising," written by Lena Waithe (The Chi, Master of None) and directed by David Nutter (Game of Thrones), asking the question, "why does it take a disaster to bring us together?" 
• In total, the campaign's four videos have exceeded 380 million online views.

Since the campaign's initial video launched in March 2015 there have been over 10.5 million U.S. sessions on lovehasnolabels.com. Since the launch of the campaign, significantly more adults agree that they can create a more accepting and inclusive environment (61% in March 2015 to 74% in April 2020), according to a survey commissioned by the Ad Council and conducted by Ipsos, Public Affairs. 

To date, the campaign has received more than $110 million in donated media.

SOURCE: The Ad Council

Covid-19: Sign the Letter for a Green Recovery

These three women have the power to make it happen: EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Europe’s top banker Christine Lagarde and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. (image via Avaaz)

Dear friends,

In days, Europe could put forward a bold, green Corona recovery plan that would be a beacon of hope for the rest of the world -- but big polluters and coal-loving governments are trying to derail it!

To fight back, Avaaz is joining a massive group of influential politicians, scientists, academics, business leaders and civil society, to back an ambitious green recovery for Europe.

And these three women have the power to make it happen: EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Europe’s top banker Christine Lagarde and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Let’s embolden them with 1 million signatures from all corners of the world, making sure they stay strong, face down the lobbyists and lead us towards the green future we need. 

Join now with one click -- in days, key parliamentarians will deliver our voices straight to Europe’s leaders and the media!

ADD MY NAME

To Commission President von der Leyen, Chancellor Merkel, Christine Lagarde and all EU leaders:
You’ve got the power to lead Europe and the world out of the dark days of this pandemic towards a brighter, greener future.

You can make the Green Deal our Recovery Deal by investing hundreds of billions a year to create green jobs and make our economies clean and fair. We count on you to put a climate bank and a climate budget at its heart, and ensure that all money is spent in line with the Paris agreement. It is time to move away from dirty fossil fuels, tax large corporate profits, and unleash the clean energy revolution we so desperately need.

Together, we are strong enough to fight back and recover from this virus. We are generous enough to ensure no one is left behind. And we are wise enough to ensure this recovery does not lay the foundations for even worse climate crises in the future.

ADD MY NAME

With hope for the future,

Loup Dargent

On behalf of Luis, Alice, Pascal, Patricia, Bert, and the whole Avaaz team

MORE INFORMATION:

• Polluter bailouts and lobbying during Covid-19 pandemic (The Guardian)
• Coronavirus recovery plan 'must tackle climate change' (BBC News)
• Why climate change is a pandemic in slow motion (and what that can teach us) (The Correspondent)
• Creating Jobs Saving Lives EU
• Time to invest in a healthy future: Time for a green & just recovery (Transport & Environment)  

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Korean Pop Music Video "Be The Future" Released to Media and Schools to Urge Youth to Stay Safe During COVID-19 [Video Included]

Korean Pop Music Video "Be The Future" Released to Media and Schools to Urge Youth to Stay Safe During COVID-19

Millenasia today released "Be The Future," a K-Pop music video encouraging young people to take measures to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. In releasing the video, the Millenasia Project band urged the world to unite in support of the 1.5 billion learners who have been affected by school and university closures as a result of COVID-19.

The music video -- starring Millenasia Project, a project band composed of K-Pop artists AleXa, Dreamcatcher and IN2IT -- was conceived by Millenasia and created in partnership with the Varkey Foundation, as a member of UNESCO's Global Education Coalition.

According to UNESCO, 1.5 billion students and youth across the planet have been affected by school and university closures due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In direct response, UNESCO launched the Global Education Coalition to facilitate inclusive learning opportunities for children and youth during this period of sudden and unprecedented educational disruption.

Stefania Giannini, Assistant Director General for Education at UNESCO, said, "I am delighted that these K-pop artists have united to send an important message about staying safe during this global pandemic. Our Global Education Coalition is determined to do all it can to facilitate inclusive learning opportunities for the 1.5 billion students and youth across the planet that have been affected by school and university closures due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Crucially, we're determined to put the teacher voice at the heart of our mission to give every child their birthright; a good education."

The Varkey Foundation, which established the annual US $1 million Global Teacher Prize to shine a light on the global teaching profession, was also excited to partner on the new music video.

Sunny Varkey, Founder of the Varkey Foundation and Global Teacher Prize, said: "This music video is a fantastic way to ensure important messages about COVID-19 reach young people throughout the world. I am delighted that this video features 2020 Global Teacher Prize finalist Yun Jeong Hyun, highlighting how teachers across the world continue to inspire, even as the world shifts under their feet. Now, more than ever, we must shine a light on the world's teachers."

• The music video was created to remind young people that whilst they may not have symptoms of the virus, they can still transmit it to family or extended family members.

This music video offers a candy pink and pastel colored narrative with sassy performances, an adorable Siberian tiger mascot and the bebop spunk expected from Korean pop music. "Be the Future" offers a glimpse of a different time not so long ago, reminding us there is still optimism and small joys even in the worst of times.

"With hundreds of million fans around the world, K-Pop has proven to be a global sound for music," Keiko Bang, CEO of Millenasia, said. "We really wanted to make sure we were able to use a medium that would be family-friendly, but more importantly resonated with the youth."

The Millenasia Project band

AleXa said, "I strongly hope that this song and its message of health catches young people's attention. Don't let the seclusion get you down, it's important to stay connected to school, teachers and friends."

This is one of the first times K-Pop has been used as part of a UNESCO initiative and is a tribute to the medium which has accumulated more than an estimated 400 million fans in over 230 countries and regions worldwide. "Be The Future" delivers a universal and profoundly important message that will resonate with people from all walks of life.

Yeontae of IN2IT said, "My third-grade teacher taught me that at the very least we should all try to make a difference with our lives. Now that we are suffering by COVID-19, I can make a difference by staying at home and caring for my parents."

The Millenasia Project band was filmed and recorded just outside of Seoul, South Korea in late April with the production exercising best practices for social distancing at work. The music video collaboration was conceived, produced and released by Millenasia in just 4 weeks with composition, lyrics and choreography turned around in just 2 weeks.

Dreamcatcher's SuA said, "These are difficult times, but I hope everyone will keep their spirits up and I hope our energy in the music video will give you strength."

IN2IT, Dreamcatcher, and Alexa, based on their international and multicultural backgrounds, from Malaysia to Oklahoma, convey this sincere message in a simple but powerful way.

IN2IT, Dreamcatcher, and Alexa in a joint statement said: "We urge the world to unite to support the 1.5 billion learners who have been affected by school and university closures as a result of COVID-19. Amidst this crisis the world has discovered new reserves of creativity, compassion and resolve. We must ensure that the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on education actually strengthens, rather than weakens, our resolve to fulfill every child's right to a good education".

The Video:

• "Be The Future" is available now through Millenasia's YouTube channel, and on Apple Music, Spotify, Melon, Anghami, Boomplay, and 25 music platforms around the world. 
• For further information on this significant project and the music video, please visit millenasiaproject.com.

About the Artists:

• AleXa, a Korean-American Oklahoma-born artist, starred in the reality shows, Rising Legends and Produce 48. Her debut single "Bomb" reached #7 on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart with more than 12 million views as of May 2020.
• The up-and-coming all-girl group, Dreamcatcher, has made a big splash on the K-Pop scene with their edgy music videos like "Scream," and was nominated in the 2017 MNET Asian Music Awards for Best New Female Artist.
• IN2IT : After successfully winning on the wildly popular Korean music TV reality survival show 'Boys 24', the K-Pop boyband IN2IT have had 3 Top 10 on Korean album charts hits in 2017/2018 and have embarked on Asian and European music tours in 2018/2019.

The Millenasia Project band

About the Partners:

• Millenasia is a next-generation media company focused on targeting Asian millennials. They primarily focus on fandom, influencers, original and branded content, e-commerce, interactive social media, and technology-led storytelling.
• The Varkey Foundation believes every child deserves a vibrant, stimulating learning environment that awakens and supports their full potential. We believe nothing is more important to achieving this than the passion and quality of teachers. We founded the Global Teacher Prize to shine a spotlight on the incredible work teachers do all over the world and we continue to play a leading role in influencing education debates on the status of teachers around the world.
• UNESCO is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at contributing "to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information."

Hashtags: 

•  #BeTheFuture 
•  #MillenasiaProject

SOURCE: Millenasia

Alight Announces #InOurHands Global Campaign To Create Unity and Share Messaging About COVID-19 [Video Included]

Alight Announces #InOurHands Global Campaign To Create Unity and Share Messaging About COVID-19 (image via Alight)

Alight, formerly known as the American Refugee Committee, has announced the global launch of the IN OUR HANDS campaign. 

Developed in conjunction with leading nonprofit design studio, IDEO.org, the campaign aims to unite people during a time of social distancing while also sharing bite-sized, positive messaging derived from World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines as a means to simply and effectively offer uplifting messages. 

Alight is joining forces with influencers, community leaders and partners around the world to help raise awareness and demonstrate how together, hand-in-hand, we can help slow the staggering rate at which COVID-19 continues to spread.

"We work closely with refugees in camps and settlements who don't have the systems in place to be protected from the coronavirus and also haven't necessarily received much information about the virus," says Alight's East Africa Representative Bernad Ochieng Ojwang. "So, as we've been working to prepare the communities of refugees and displaced people we serve every day for COVID-19, we knew we also wanted to create a campaign that could both reach other remote and marginalized communities with information and unite the global community against this global pandemic."

"Designers are looking to apply their creativity and craft to COVID-19 related efforts in this moment where their skills are most needed. We are optimistic that these messages can really shift behaviors and prevent the further spread of COVID-19 in vulnerable communities in East Africa and around the world," says Jocelyn Wyatt, CEO of IDEO.org.

The campaign centers around influencers coming together to express love and solidarity with all of those doing their part to stop the spread of COVID-19 using #InOurHands. They are writing messages of love and solidarity on the palms of their hands, sharing it and encouraging others to do the same, with the hope to send love to more than 28.7 million people worldwide.

Influencers from all over the world are already participating and posting across their social channels, including international musician, K'naan, along with Natalia Tewa, Millard Ayo, Idris Sultan, Harmonize TZ, Benjamin Fernandes, George Kagwe, Aar Maanta and Ayaan Mohallim.

The Video:

About Alight:

Established in 1978 by founder Neal Ball, Alight, formerly known as American Refugee Committee, provides health care, clean water, shelter, protection and economic opportunities to more than 3.5 million people in 17 countries each year. 

Alight believes in the incredible creativity, potential, and ingenuity of the displaced and works to shine a light on their humanity, the tremendous amount of good that's already happening and the possibilities to do more. 

The organization exists to see and help every person make meaningful change in the world – from displaced and marginalized communities in Africa, Asia and the Americas to...anyone, anywhere. 

Learn more about Alight at www.wearealight.org.

SOURCE: Alight

Let's Make China Free The Uyghurs!

Let's Make China Free The Uyghurs! (image via Avaaz.org)

Dear friends,

Coronavirus put China in the spotlight, but there's another crisis it wants to hide from the world: 1 million Uyghurs have been brutally detained and brainwashed by Chinese authorities!

Women raped and tortured, children stolen from their parents.

It's too horrific to believe this is happening in 2020 and most of our governments aren't brave enough to speak up. But we won't remain silent! In days, the UN could discuss this nightmare, and insiders say that a global call to bravery can get key countries to finally challenge China. If everyone reading signs now, we can deliver 1 million signatures into the meeting -- 1 for every Uyghur who has been detained!

Then, we'll take survivors' voices to parliaments across the world and pressure global companies to end their engagement in this cultural genocide -- showing China and the world that we won't let go until the Uyghurs are free.

Click here to sign the urgent call to free the Uyghurs!

Beijing has felt threatened by the Uyghur community for decades -- but it's steadily gone from caution to control, to repression, and now mass incarceration and indoctrination. The sheer scale of the repression requires huge tech infrastructure -- facial recognition, surveillance on homes and public spaces, and massive DNA databases.

Global brands offer capital and tech, while China offers up forced labor and huge returns on investment in Chinese surveillance technologies -- it’s an unholy alliance! But if the UN, governments, companies, and investors speak out, impose sanctions on those responsible, and throttle funding streams coming into China, Beijing could shift course… and we could make it happen!

Recently, a Holocaust survivor offered an 11th Commandment for humanity: “Thou shalt not be indifferent.” This is a matter of conscience for all of us.

Let’s start by compelling our governments to call on Beijing to protect the human rights of the Uyghur people. Then, we'll urge global investors and CEOs to break their silence and stop business as usual with China! 

Sign now and share with all of your friends.
Click here to sign the urgent call to free the Uyghurs!

Time and again our community has stood with brave minority groups fighting for their right to exist. From the Indigenous in the Amazon to the Maasai people in Kenya, we have amplified their voices for the world to hear. Now, let's amplify the voices of the Uyghurs suffering in mass brainwashing camps in China, and do all we can to help them walk free. Join now!

With hope and determination,

Loup Dargent

On behalf of Meetali, Diego, Luis, Huiting, Nataliya, Will, Wissam and the rest of the Avaaz team

More information:

• Watched, Judged, Detained (CNN)
• In China’s Crackdown on Muslims, Children Have Not Been Spared (New York Times)
• US Universities And Retirees Are Funding The Technology Behind China’s Surveillance State (BuzzFeed News)
• Exposed: China’s Operating Manuals For Mass Internment And Arrest By Algorithm (International Consortium of Investigative Journalists)
• US Lawmakers Want An Examination Of The US Money Funding Surveillance Tech In China (BuzzFeed News)

What We Don't Understand About Young People's Motivations

Young people stand on the steps of the Alberta legislature during the climate strike in Edmonton in 2019. Youth are often seen as problems rather than as people who are creating solutions. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken)

Young people are demanding change. In the last few days, young Indigenous activists and their supporters blocked parliamentarians in Victoria, B.C., from accessing the provincial legislature and led waves of protest across the country.

For some young people, climate change is urgent. For others, gun violence is a crisis. From truth and reconciliation to inclusion and diversity and mental health, young people are bringing awareness to societal crises and making headlines along the way.

Historically, this is really nothing new. Young people have long been leaders and catalysts of important movements. Unfortunately, these change-makers are often thought to be outside of what is considered typical of this age group.

Young people are often labelled problematic, selfish or not yet ready to lead. This negative view of young people aligns with the multitude of research studies that frame their questions within a deficit model.

In a deficit model, the standard for healthy development is preventing behavioural or emotional problems. In both cases, there is a failure to acknowledge youth’s capacity or motivation to contribute to something larger. Underestimating youth is a mistake. Of course it is important to acknowledge and study the risks and barriers faced by this age group, but if we do not balance this view with understanding their capacities and contribution, it can lead to some faulty assumptions.

What youth can do

In our Community and Youth (CandY) research lab, we use a positive psychology approach. As such, we examine the positive motivations and capacities of youth. We are especially interested in the role young people play in improving our society, as well as the role communities can play to offer young people contexts that allow them to thrive.

Our research is rooted in the psychosocial model of Erik Erikson developed in the 1950s and 1960s. When boiled down to its simplest form, Erikson’s theory states that we all face a series of crises across our lifespan. How we resolve these crises helps determine our developmental success.

For example, in adolescence we face the crisis of identity versus identity diffusion; in midlife we face generativity versus stagnation. That is, when we’re young, we’re trying to figure out who we are and what matters to us, and as we age, we become more concerned with what we’re leaving behind.

Generativity — defined as concern for future generations as a legacy of the self — is well-studied. Most studies on generativity only consider people in middle age, even though there is evidence to suggest that this concern for the future and one’s own legacy is important earlier in the lifespan.

In fact, young people do share a concern for the future and their contribution to it. Our research shows that young people between the ages of 14 and 29 show levels of generative motivation that are as high or even higher than adults. Early generativity is also associated with caring friendships, community involvement and healthy identity development in adolescence and young adulthood. So not only are young people interested and capable of caring for future generations, but doing so is likely good for them.

Autumn Peltier, a young water defender from Wikwemikong First Nation, is an advocate for climate change policy.

Beyond the research, Autumn Peltier, a young activist advocating for clean water, has said, “We are the keepers of the generations yet to come.” She leaves little room for doubt that young people can be motivated by generativity.

Changing how we work with youth

Our team has seen first hand the generativity of youth at the Students Commission of Canada (SCC), a not-for-profit organization that is working towards a world “where all young people transition successfully into adulthood.”

At their “Canada We Want” conferences, we have witnessed early generativity in action. Young people from across Canada with a diversity of experience, expertise and identities work together to develop a plan to create the change that they want to see in their community, tackling issues such as poverty, employment, prejudice and substance abuse. This work is then presented to politicians, policy-makers and other leaders and has helped inform Canada’s first national youth policy. 

Taking IT Global is another organization that capitalizes on young people’s generativity. It works to “empower young people to become agents of positive change in their local and global communities.” It has given out more than 2,500 grants to youth, and also provides education and online resources for adults. The grants have helped youth educate boys about mental health, and prompted a $15-million cleanup of a river in Nova Scotia.

So how can we incorporate these ideas in our everyday interactions with young people? Whether we are parents, teachers, coaches or community leaders, it is worth reflecting on whether our assumptions of youth stem solely from a deficit model, or whether we account for the capacities and motivations of young people. Rather than focusing on what they lack, much more focus can be placed on their capacity and desire to have a positive and lasting impact. At the same time that we are asking young people who they want to be, we should be asking young people what kind of world they want to leave behind.

Greater awareness of the importance of generativity in youth will contribute to a more pervasive narrative of young people as capable, and motivated to contribute, thus combating some useless and inaccurate stereotypes about youth.

So the next time you see a young person in the news, or in your community, making the world a bit better for the next generation, you might smile to yourself and think, “Typical.”

About Today's Contributors:

Heather Lawford, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Bishop's University and Heather L. Ramey, Adjunct Professor, Child & Youth Studies, Brock University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

Citizens Regeneration Lobby - Group Representing U.S. Consumers, Farmers & Ranchers - Endorses Bernie Sanders

Citizens Regeneration Lobby - Group Representing U.S. Consumers, Farmers & Ranchers - Endorses Bernie Sanders (jmage via berniesanders.com)

The Board of Directors for Citizens Regeneration Lobby (CRL), representing about 2 million U.S. consumers and thousands of farmers and ranchers, today announced its endorsement of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Ronnie Cummins, president of the board, issued the following statement:

"Sen. Sanders, the first of the 2020 Democratic presidential contenders to back the Green New Deal, has outlined a $16.3-trillion plan that includes $841 billion to transform the U.S. industrial agriculture system into an organic regenerative food and farming system that supports independent family farmers, guarantees access to healthy, locally produced food for all, cleans up our waterways, restores soil health and biodiversity and promotes climate stability.

Industrial agriculture's monopolistic approach to food and farming has all but destroyed America's family farms and rural communities. And the industry's reliance on toxic chemicals and degenerative farming practices makes it one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas pollution. Sanders' Green New Deal, in addition to holding the fossil fuel industry legally and financially accountable for its pollution and climate-destructive behavior, also takes on Big Ag by, among other things, enforcing anti-trust laws and declaring a moratorium on factory farms.

Sanders' Green New Deal is the only plan in the industrialized world that sets a goal high enough to actually reverse global warming and eliminate economic injustice, environmental destruction, deteriorating public health and global conflict, while also offering the first realistic assessment and timeline for what needs to be done in the limited timeframe left to avoid climate catastrophe."

In September 2019, CRL, along with Regeneration International, Organic Consumers Association, the Sunrise Movement and other organizations, launched the national coalition of U.S. Farmers & Ranchers for a Green New Deal. 

The coalition represents about 20,000 independent farmers, ranchers and members of food and farming organizations committed to overhauling U.S. agriculture policies in order to advance organic regenerative agriculture and land-management practices.

Citizens Regeneration Lobby is the 501(c)(4) sister lobbying organization of the Organic Consumers Association. The nonprofit grassroots organization lobbies on behalf of millions of consumers and farmers for safe, healthful food and a clean, biodiverse, climate-stable ecosystem. 

SOURCE: Citizens Regeneration Lobby

Trump Cancels Obama Landmine Policy; Ensures Civilian Suffering With New Mine Use Potential

Trump Cancels Obama Landmine Policy; Ensures Civilian Suffering With New Mine Use Potential (image via LoupDargent.info)

The Trump Administration has announced a deadly landmine policy shift, effectively committing the U.S. to resume the use and stockpiling of antipersonnel landmines. 

Landmines are devastating, victim-activated devices that cannot discriminate between the footstep of a child or that of a soldier.

"This move is a death sentence for civilians," says Jerome Bobin, Canadian Executive Director of Humanity & Inclusion. "There are acts in war that are simply out of bounds. Nations, even superpowers, must never use certain weapons because of the superfluous injury and unnecessary suffering they cause. Landmines fall directly into this category. There is no use for landmines that cannot be accomplished by other means that do not so significantly and indiscriminately kill and maim civilians."

The move is a direct reversal of President Obama's 2014 commitment that inched the U.S. closer to compliance with the 1997 Ottawa Convention, known as the Mine Ban Treaty. President Obama's move left only the Korean peninsula as an exception, due to ongoing mine use in the demilitarized zone.

Failure rate

The announcement states, "The Department of Defense is issuing a new landmine policy. This policy will authorize Combatant Commanders, in exceptional circumstances, to employ advanced, non-persistent landmines specifically designed to reduce unintended harm to civilians and partner forces."

Non-persistent mines are typically laid on the ground surface, and they should be able to destroy themselves within a relatively short period of time—from few hours to days.

"Don't be fooled," warns Alma Taslidžan Al-Osta, Humanity & Inclusion's Disarmament and Protection of Civilians Advocacy Manager. "Everything that man creates has a failure rate. The idea that so-called "advanced" landmines will be safer than older types of devices, is absurd. What happens if they don't neutralize as intended? Our teams see, first hand, how weapons often marketed as "self destructing" continue to injure, maim, and terrorize civilians all over the world on a daily basis.

We also see how quickly and regularly civilians move from one area to another to avoid conflict. What if they enter a mined area and such self-destruction hasn't happened to the mines around them?"

Mine Ban Treaty

The U.S. is one of the few countries that has yet to join the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, sharing ranks with China, Egypt, India, Israel, Pakistan, and Russia. There are 164 States parties to the treaty, making the ban on landmines a universal norm of international humanitarian law. However, the great paradox of this policy shift is that for nearly 30 years, the U.S. has refrained from using or trading antipersonnel landmines.

What's more, the policy change sends a very negative signal, essentially handing a blank check to States or groups willing to continue or expand their use of landmines, which had significantly decreased after the entry into force of the Mine Ban Treaty. "Canada cannot remain indifferent to this dramatic American movement," Bobin adds.

Humanity & Inclusion's decades of experience with clearing landmines, as well as taking care of survivors of landmine explosions, leads to the conclusion that no use is safe.

 "We oppose in the strongest terms the idea that military commanders will feel empowered to use mines," Bobin notes. "The safest landmine is the one that is never produced."

Backward step

"Make no mistake, this is absolutely a step backward," Bobin adds. "This significant and negative development is a thunderclap for all of the thousands of individuals who have survived contact with a landmine, as well as the family and friends of hundreds of thousands who have not."

Humanity & Inclusion runs projects to minimize the impact of landmines on civilians in dozens of countries, returning land to communities through demining, teaching people to spot, avoid and report explosive remnants of war through risk education, and providing support and care to victims of landmines. The organization works to raise the visibility of these landmine victims and their communities, so that the world is reminded of the scourge of landmines.

Mine Ban Treaty

The Mine Ban Treaty prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of antipersonnel mines. It is the most comprehensive international instrument for eradicating landmines and deals with everything from mine use, production and trade, to victim assistance, mine clearance and stockpile destruction. The treaty has been signed in Ottawa in 1997.

The International Campaign against Landmines received the Nobel Peace Price, Oslo, December 1997 (image via Humanity & Inclusion)

About Humanity & Inclusion

Co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for its work banning landmines, Humanity & Inclusion (the new name of handicap international), is an independent international aid organization working in situations of poverty and exclusion, conflict and disaster for 38 years. 

Humanity & Inclusion is one of six founding organizations of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, and winner of the 2011 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize. 

Humanity & Inclusion takes action and campaigns in places where "living with dignity" is no easy task. In 2018, Humanity & Inclusion's projects directly benefited 2.1 million people.

SOURCE: Humanity & Inclusion Canada

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Oceana Report: Soft Drink Industry Can Stop Billions Of Plastic Bottles From Polluting The Ocean By Switching To Refillables

Oceana Report: Soft Drink Industry Can Stop Billions Of Plastic Bottles From Polluting The Ocean By Switching To Refillables (jmage via oceana.org)

Oceana, the largest international advocacy organization dedicated solely to ocean conservation, released a report today finding that the beverage industry could decrease marine plastic pollution by 4.5 billion to 7.6 billion bottles each year, a 22% decrease, by increasing the market share of soft drinks and water sold in refillable bottles by just 10% (in place of single-use throwaway PET bottles).

The report, entitled "Just one word: Refillables. How the soft drink industry can reduce marine plastic pollution by billions of bottles each year," also estimates that between 20 billion and 34 billion plastic PET bottles produced and sold by the soft drink or Non-Alcoholic Ready to Drink (NARTD) industry enter the ocean each year.

"Beverage companies are major ocean polluters and are producing billions of plastic bottles every year that end up in the sea essentially forever," said Oceana CEO Andy Sharpless. "They need to take responsibility and make commitments to reduce plastic production and waste."

The report was announced at investor and media briefings held at HSBC USA headquarters in New York. Attendees also heard about HSBC Global Research reports detailing how prominent bottlers in Latin America are leading the trend toward refillables.

"As public awareness of plastic waste in the world's oceans grows, the global beverage industry is grappling with the risk of brand damage and higher regulatory costs from its outsized reliance on disposable plastic bottles. Oceana's report brings much-needed insight into the scale of the environmental problem and an emerging solution in a transition to refillables," said Carlos Laboy, Global Beverage Head and Latin American Food Analyst, HSBC Securities (USA) Inc.

The report notes that studies have found that refillable bottles have a lower carbon footprint than single-use throwaway plastic bottles, citing recent life cycle analysis studies in Germany and Chile. Dr. Henning Wilts of the Wuppertal Institute writes in the report that "looking at the specific case of refillable PET bottles as compared to single-use bottles, (lifecycle) analyses found that refillables save up to 40% of raw materials and 50% of greenhouse gas emissions."

Recycling rates are declining in the U.S., and only 9% of all plastic ever produced has been recycled, Oceana's report notes. In addition, single-use throwaway bottles with recycled content still become pollution in the ocean because the companies don't recover these bottles after selling them. In contrast, 95% to 99% of refillables are returned to beverage companies for re-use.

Studies have found that plastic pollution is dramatically impacting life in the oceans. A recent report found that 90% of all seabird species have ingested plastic, and even zooplankton – the base of the food chain – has been found to be ingesting plastic. Oceana is campaigning around the world to reduce throwaway plastic production and address this problem at its source.

"Just one word: Refillables. How the soft drink industry can reduce marine plastic pollution by billions of bottles each year"

• To access Oceana's full report, please visit oceana.org/Refill.

SOURCE: Oceana

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Ruckify Launches T-Shirt Fundraiser To Help Support The Australian Wildfire Relief Efforts

The 'Support Australia' t-shirts from Ruckify have a list of organisations you can help during and after the bushfire crisis (image via Ruckify.com)

Ruckify, the global peer-to-peer marketplace for all things rentals, has launched a t-shirt fundraising campaign to support those affected by the devastating Australian bushfires.

The shirts, which will be available on a dedicated RuckifyStore, list a number of organisations people can donate to both during and after the fire crisis that has devastated communities and destroyed large tracts of wilderness in recent months.

All proceeds will be donated to the New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) for firefighting equipment and training as Australia's bushfire season continues, while anyone who purchases a shirt will receive $5 off a Ruckify rental of their choice.

The idea and design for the shirts came from Ruckify staff, after a company-wide conversation about feelings of helplessness as news of the disaster flowed in.

Ruckify founder and CEO Steve Cody said staff had helped communities inundated near the company's headquarters during the Ottawa River floods in April 2019, and wanted to find a way to lend support to others in need on the other side of the world.

"Since Ruckify's founding two years ago, community, environmentalism, and sustainability have been at the heart of our values," Mr Cody said. "These fires have dealt a blow to the Australian people, and the environment, that will be felt for years to come.

These disasters affect us all, and will continue to do so as the effects of climate change become more apparent. Australians help North Americans every year with funding and resources during wildfire season, and we want to contribute in any way we can."

The fundraising campaign complements Ruckify's ongoing TreeProject, the company's commitment to plant a tree for every sign-up, transaction, and review at ruckify.com.

"It's time for all of us to step up and acknowledge the status quo will no longer work in the face of climate change and the resulting natural disasters," Mr Cody said.

Through both our shirt fundraising campaign and TreeProject campaign, we want to be part of the solution."

The front and back of the Ruckify 'Support Australia' shirts (CNW Group/Ruckify)

• Those interested in the $30 shirts can order them at the dedicated RuckifyStore, where they will be shipped for free.

About Ruckify

Ruckify is the world's largest online peer-to-peer rental marketplace, empowering its members to embrace the sharing economy and leave unnecessary purchases behind. Designed with both people and businesses in mind, anyone can post their items and spaces on Ruckify for people in their community to rent. 

Founded in Ottawa, Canada in 2018 on a foundation of community building, environmentalism, education, and freedom, Ruckify is dedicated to changing the world and curtailing the spread of unsustainable consumerism. 

The platform has also launched TreeProject, a commitment from Ruckify to plant a tree for every transaction made on the app. 

The Ruckify Tree Project (image via Ruckify.com)

SOURCE: Ruckify