Human Rights Day

President and Chair of the Commission on Human Rights, Eleanor Roosevelt, looking at the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Spanish. Credit: UN Photo.

Human Rights Day 2007 marks the start of a year-long commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

This theme for 2008, “Dignity and justice for all of us,” reinforces the vision of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as a commitment to universal dignity and justice. It is not a luxury or a wish-list. The UDHR and its core values, inherent human dignity, non-discrimination, equality, fairness and universality, apply to everyone, everywhere and always. The Declaration is universal, enduring and vibrant, and it concerns us all.

Since its adoption in 1948, the Declaration has been and continues to be a source of inspiration for national and international efforts to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms.

An essential element in the protection of human rights is a widespread knowledge and understanding among people of what their rights are and how they can be defended. The Declaration is now available in over 360 languages and is the most translated document in the world – a testament to its universal nature and reach.

Sixty years on, we pay tribute to the extraordinary vision of the Declaration’s original drafters and to the many human rights defenders around the world who have struggled to make their vision a reality.

The Declaration belongs to each and every one of us – read it, learn it, promote it and claim it as your own.

Source: United Nations web site

World AIDS Day

This year's World AIDS Day celebrates the leaders and communities worldwide who are setting examples, taking initiatives and helping the world to keep its promise to act on AIDS. This year, World AIDS Day focuses on "leadership", the theme set by the World AIDS Campaign under the five-year slogan “Stop AIDS, Keep the Promise”.

To know more about World AIDS Day and its campaing visit the UNAIDS website. The 2007 AIDS Epidemic Update can be read here

Web game provides free rice. . .

The World Food Programme (WFP) says hunger is the world's number one emergency. An internet word game has generated enough rice to feed 50,000 people for one day, the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) has said.

The game, FreeRice, tests the vocabulary of participants. For each click on a correct answer, the website donates money to buy 10 grains of rice. Companies advertising on the website provide the money to the WFP to buy and distribute the rice. FreeRice went online in early October and has now raised 1bn grains of rice. That is enough rice to feed 50,000 people for one day, the WFP said on Friday.

"Viral marketing"

The head of the WFP, Josette Sheeran, said: "FreeRice really hits home how the web can be harnessed to raise awareness and funds for he world's number one emergency." She said word of the game has spread with the help of internet bloggers and websites like Facebook and YouTube. "The site is a viral marketing success story."

P.S. The idea behind the game made me want to know more, and after some personal research, I found that it takes about 3,500 grains of rice to feed one person. That is the reason why it is interesting to look at the "TOTALS" page on FreeRice.