During November we brought together two distinguished academics to explain the history of democracy and explore what the future might hold. This is an important subject which no doubt we will return to again!

Volunteers from both Coventry and Warwick Universities provided valuable assistance in organising and videoing this event. The resulting video will be published after the Christmas vacation, but you can find a link to the podcast later in this newsletter.

We also ran the inaugural session of the new Coventry Schools Peace and Justice Forum. This generated a wealth of ideas and plans for how we will move forwards, and anyone who wants to get involved should follow the link below. 

Our next event will be a Model United Nations Presentation and Simulation run by the MUN Group of Warwick University. 

Student volunteers from Coventry University have decided to organise a project to help people spot the signs of somebody who has been trafficked, provisionally called "Spot the Traffick".

You will find below links to all these items, plus the other posts we made to the UNACov.uk during November.

We wish all our readers a happy and peaceful Christmas.

United Nations Association Coventry Branch

Why Rosalinda Volunteered for UNA Coventry

Why do people volunteer with United Nations Association Coventry Branch? This is why Rosalinda Birdinia volunteers. She is a first year student of International Relations at Coventry University. I am so disheartened by the current situation. People engaging in endless war, like the one in Syria. People living in fear because of the threat from extremists like ISIS. People hating other …

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UN Online Volunteers

You can volunteer to work online directly with UN related agencies around the world through UN Online Volunteering. The United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme contributes to peace and development through volunteerism worldwide. Online volunteering allows organizations and volunteers to team up to address sustainable development challenges – anywhere in the world, from any device. Online volunteering is fast, easy – …

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Democracy Podcast

Podcast of the event "Does Democracy Have A Future?" held at Coventry University on 23 November 2016. It was introduced by Philip Brown, secretary of the United Nations Association Coventry Branch. Professor Matt Qvortrup gave a brief summary of the history of Democracy. He is Chair of Political Science in the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations at the …

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Human Trafficking Project

Students from Coventry University who volunteer to help United Nations Association Coventry Branch have started a project to make the public more aware of the issue of human trafficking. The first meeting of the group was held on 23 November working together with UNA Coventry they have already planned their first steps to explore the best way to bring this to …

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United Nations Recipes for Peace, Rights and Well-Being

"Recipes for Peace, Rights & Well-being Prepared in International Geneva" includes over 40 recipes written by actors of International Geneva, show-casing their work in an innovative and creative way. The cookbook is a unique collection which gives a taste of the expertise and far-reaching impact of international Geneva. With the aim to creatively communicate the significance of the work done …

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Democracy and the United Nations

Although produced by the United Nations Information Service in 1988, this document is still a valuable insight into the place of democracy within the United Nations. Democracy is one of the universal and indivisible core values and principles of the United Nations. It is based on the freely expressed will of people and closely linked to the rule of law and …

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Educational Resources

Human Rights Education In 2008, the United Nations initiated a year of human rights learning to mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In the UK, UNA-UK teamed up with UNESCO Associated Schools to produce materials to help secondary school teachers and students explore human rights together. The resulting resources on Human Rights education can be found …

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Citizenship and the UK National Curriculum

Citizenship (Key Stages 3 & 4) The UK National Curriculum specifies that pupils should be taught Citizenship. UNA Coventry would like to offer our support to Coventry teachers to fulfil this objective. The following are extracts from the National Curriculum: Purpose of study A high-quality citizenship education helps to provide pupils with knowledge, skills and understanding to prepare them to play a …

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Transparency International Corruption Index

At his final press conference in Geneva, UN Deputy Director-General Jan Ericsson was asked why the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) did not include the measurement of corruption in member states. He confessed he knew nothing about this index. References http://www.transparency.org/research/cpi/overview Press conference video

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End of Austerity in Europe?

On Wednesday 16 November 2016, the commission published a review of the budget programmes put forward by various countries. It called for a fiscal expansion next year of 0.5 per cent of GDP in Europe, saying this was necessary to maintain the recovery. It warned eight EU member states that the 2017 budget may violate its own commitment to the Stability and …

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Lord Alderdice at RISING 15

The call for ‘promoting peaceful and inclusive societies’ is number 16 out of the 17 sustainable development goals. In this talk to the RISING Global Peace Forum in 2015, Lord Alderdice argues that this betrays a fundamental fault not just with the SDGs but with almost all human attempts to resolve problems. Lord Alderdice is one of the UK’s most …

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Trumping Climate Control?

What will be the effect of the election of Donald J Trump to the US Presidency on the battle to control climate change? The following comments appeared on the day the election results were announced 9 November 2016. New York Times Mr. Trump has repeatedly denied the science of human-caused climate change...saying it was a hoax created by the Chinese. …

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International Organisation for Migration

Established in 1951, IOM is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. With 165 member states, a further 8 states holding observer status and offices in over 100 countries, IOM is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services …

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Volunteer Policies

Expenses Policy Volunteers can reclaim all reasonable expenses incurred in their activies on behalf of UNA Coventry provided they keep their receipts and submit a written claim including copies of those receipts. Volunteer Policy Volunteers fulfil roles as required by UNA Coventry Branch either on a short-term or long-term basis. The current roles are shown on the UNACov.uk website. Volunteers …

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Climate Action Network (CAN)

UNA Coventry Branch is working with India Foster of the University of Warwick to create a Climate Action Network (CAN) in Coventry and, later, in other towns and cities. This project is still at the planning stage and we will update this page as more information becomes available. Resources Climate Action Network International The Climate Action Network (CAN) is a worldwide network …

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For their generous support, UNA Coventry expresses its thanks to our partner Penny Press Ltd, publishers of books and websites about the History of the Universe.