A U.S.based Nigerian tennis player, Tamina Kienka, has been named as a
member to the 2015 All American Division 1 Academic men’s team.
A statement released by Godwin Kienka, Coordinator of International
Tennis Academy (ITF), said that Kienka’s selection was announced by the
College Sports Information Directors of America on Tuesday.
Tamina Kienka
“Earning the distinction of Academic All-American is quite an honour
because it celebrates those athletes who have distinguished themselves
in academics and sports in the U.S., each year.
“The award is symbolic of Kienka’s scholarly talent,’’ it quotes
Curtis Lawson, Director of Tennis at the North Carolina Central
University (NCCU), where Kienka is a senior (final year) as saying.
The statement noted that Kienka, a former national junior, was the
first NCCU tennis player to ever earn the Academic All-America acclaim,
stressing that he won at the district level in 2014 and 2015.
It added that Kienka played a total of 53 matches in four years at
NCCU and capped his collegiate career 7-2 in his nine trips to the
court.
“In academics, the 20-year-old from Rivers State, entered the spring semester with a 4.0 grade point average (GPA).
“A biology (pre-med) and pharmaceutical science major, Kienka
received the Department of Biology Award for the highest performance as a
senior,’’ it said.
Kienka is the second NCCU student-athlete to attain Academic
All-America status since the institution transitioned to Division 1 over
a decade ago.
Source:http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2015/06/16/nigerian-bags-all-american-sports-academic-scholarship/
Empowering Youth to Build Peace
Youth conference
Director General Irina Bokova
© UNESCO/P. Chiang-Joo
On
16 June, 2015, the UNESCO Director-General, Ms Irina Bokova, launched
UNESCO's new integrated Framework of Action - Empowering Youth to Build
Peace - in the context of the International Conference on "Youth and the
Internet: Fighting Radicalization and Extremism," held at UNESCO
Headquarters on 16-17 June, 2015.
"We see the rise of a new generation of digital
natives today," said the UNESCO Director-General. "Our task must be to
empower a new generation of digital citizens at the global level –
starting with education, new intercultural skills, and deeper media and
information literacy. Our goal must be to support the positive civic
engagement of young people and youth initiatives online, to support
cohesive societies, to advance peace on the basis of respect, human
rights and dialogue."
The Conference opened in the presence of Her
Excellency Ms. Margarita Popova, Vice-President of the Republic of
Bulgaria, Excellency Mr Mohamed Sameh Amr, Chairman of the UNESCO
Executive Board, Ms Chafica Haddad, Chair of the UNESCO Information for
All Programme, Ms Albana Shala, Chair of the UNESCO International
Programme for the Development of Communication, M. Daniel Zielinski,
Directeur de Cabinet du Ministre de la Ville, de la Jeunesse et des
Sports, France, as well as Mr Hugues Mingarelli, Managing Director,
European External Action Service of the European Union.
More than 250 officials, experts, academics, youth
activists, civil society leaders and media representatives attended the
Conference, coming from all parts of the world.
Keynote speeches were given by Prof. Gilles Kepel,
Professeur des Universités, France, and Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Member of
Parliament, India, followed by a leading intervention by Mr. Ahmad
Alhendawi, the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth. The Conference
was organized with generous funding by the Republic of Bulgaria, the
Arab Republic of Egypt and People's Republic of China, in the framework
of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Information for All Programme and in
partnership with UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of
Communication.
The Director-General made the stakes clear in her opening statement.
“Today, 25,000 foreign terrorist fighters, from over
100 States, are active in Syria and Iraq, as well as Afghanistan, Libya
and Yemen -- most are young men, between 15 and 35 years old, but there
are increasing numbers of young women,” she said. “Today, we must build
the defences of peace in the minds of young women and men, and this
must start also online, by mobilizing the full power of the Internet for
peace.”
From socializing and entertainment to homework, the
Internet has become an essential part of life for young people today,
opening vast new opportunities for connecting and learning. At the same
time, the Internet provides violent extremists with powerful tools to
propagate hatred and violence and to identify and groom potential
recruits, creating global online communities that promote
radicalization, that promote hatred, intolerance as well as new forms of
racism, including anti-Semitism.
“All too often, the Internet can provide a powerful
megaphone for violence,” said Irina Bokova. “It can be a platform for
ideologies that reject human rights, that castigate diversity, that sow
discord, often drawing on false visions of faith. Far too many young men
and women cross from the ‘virtual’ to the ‘physical,’ to enrol with
extremist groups.”
“Violent extremists are radicalising young men and
women through the Internet – we must harness the Internet’s full
potential for peace, to widen opportunities for dialogue and civic
engagement, to nurture and take forward youth concerns and visions.”
This goal guides all of UNESCO’s action –- to
advance new forms of global citizenship education, to bolster cultural
literacy and build new bridges for intercultural dialogue, to develop
stronger media and information literacy and support media development
for human rights and peace, to provide young women and men with skills
and opportunities to engage positively in their societies.
Empowering Youth to Build Peace is UNESCO’s new integrated Framework for Action,
drawing on existing activities –including Global Citizenship Education,
the NET-MED Youth project, implemented in 10 countries of the
Mediterranean and the new social media campaign, #Unite4Heritage
launched by the Director-General at the University of Baghdad in March
to counter the propaganda of violent extremism.
The new Framework for Action is guided by a single
objective: to equip young people with knowledge, skills and values that
empower them to live peaceful, constructive and productive lives to
engage as responsible global citizens and to be resilient to any form of
abuse or manipulation, including radicalization and violent extremism.
A new component of the Framework for Action is Youth
2.0 -- Building Skills, Bolstering Peace, launched during the
conference. This is designed to support young people in building new
forms of global solidarity, including online, in resisting and
countering radicalization and violent extremism.
This new action will move forward at four levels. It
will, first, support multidisciplinary research on linkages between
Youth, Internet, radicalization/de-radicalization, as well as
research-informed policies and actions. It will also work to empower
youth online communities and key youth stakeholders on topics relevant
to counter-radicalization, by building their competencies and skills and
by equipping them with creative tools and knowledge. Third, it will
strengthen mobilization and cooperation between media professionals and
practitioners to combat radicalization and online hate speech, with a
focus on countries suffering tensions and conflict situations. Lastly,
it will support supporting creative media campaign and outreach
strategies targeting policy makers and opinion makers as well as the
general public (including young audiences).
“Our goal is to empower youth online,” said the
Director-general, “to build their resilience against hate speech,
radicalization and violent extremism, to empower their civic engagement
online.”
These messages were echoed by Mr Mohamed Sameh Amr,
Chairman of the UNESCO Executive Board, who spoke of the crucial
importance of the Conference and this new work: “Youth will reinvent our
future, a better future for all.”
Her Excellency Ms. Margarita Popova, Vice-President
of the Republic of Bulgaria, spoke of the challenges facing young women
and men across the world today, from alienation, poor opportunities,
marginalization and discrimination -- highlighting their key role as
“ambassadors and messengers for peace, for more peaceful societies.”
Mr. Daniel Zielinski, Directeur de Cabinet du
Ministre de la Ville, de la Jeunesse et des Sports, presented the wide
range of measure being introduced by the Government of France to prevent
radicalization through an emphasis on renewed citizenship”, underlining
the importance of “creating a community of destiny and shared values
with young people.”
Mr. Hugues Mingarelli, Managing Director, European
External Action Service of the European Union, spoke about the 2014
Communication of the Commission on preventing radicalization, stressing
also the need to protect freedom of expression on the Internet.
Ms. Chafica Haddad, Chair of the UNESCO Information
for All Programme, and Ms. Albana Shala, Chair of the UNESCO
International Programme for the Development of Communication presented
the essential work of IFAP and the IPDC in these areas.
The International Conference is designed to support
the action of States and the international community, by understanding
more clearly the use of Internet in fueling violent extremism and by
exploring effective tools in response. From a range of angles and
experiences, the Conference will discuss the insight and experiences of
Governments, international organizations, research and academia, as well
as Internet companies, and present case studies from around the world.
It will also focus on the rich, multifaceted landscape of youth online
engagement, particularly youth-led initiatives that are paving the way
ahead.
“Young women and men must have confidence in
themselves, in their communities, in their futures,” said Irina Bokova.
“They must know their own histories to defend those of others. Their
rights must be respected, to share these with all humanity. This is the
importance of this Conference, working with and for young women and men,
to nurture their ideas, their imagination, their visons.”
Empowering Youth to Build Peace
Youth conference
Director General Irina Bokova
© UNESCO/P. Chiang-Joo
On
16 June, 2015, the UNESCO Director-General, Ms Irina Bokova, launched
UNESCO's new integrated Framework of Action - Empowering Youth to Build
Peace - in the context of the International Conference on "Youth and the
Internet: Fighting Radicalization and Extremism," held at UNESCO
Headquarters on 16-17 June, 2015.
"We see the rise of a new generation of digital
natives today," said the UNESCO Director-General. "Our task must be to
empower a new generation of digital citizens at the global level –
starting with education, new intercultural skills, and deeper media and
information literacy. Our goal must be to support the positive civic
engagement of young people and youth initiatives online, to support
cohesive societies, to advance peace on the basis of respect, human
rights and dialogue."
The Conference opened in the presence of Her
Excellency Ms. Margarita Popova, Vice-President of the Republic of
Bulgaria, Excellency Mr Mohamed Sameh Amr, Chairman of the UNESCO
Executive Board, Ms Chafica Haddad, Chair of the UNESCO Information for
All Programme, Ms Albana Shala, Chair of the UNESCO International
Programme for the Development of Communication, M. Daniel Zielinski,
Directeur de Cabinet du Ministre de la Ville, de la Jeunesse et des
Sports, France, as well as Mr Hugues Mingarelli, Managing Director,
European External Action Service of the European Union.
More than 250 officials, experts, academics, youth
activists, civil society leaders and media representatives attended the
Conference, coming from all parts of the world.
Keynote speeches were given by Prof. Gilles Kepel,
Professeur des Universités, France, and Dr. Shashi Tharoor, Member of
Parliament, India, followed by a leading intervention by Mr. Ahmad
Alhendawi, the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth. The Conference
was organized with generous funding by the Republic of Bulgaria, the
Arab Republic of Egypt and People's Republic of China, in the framework
of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Information for All Programme and in
partnership with UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of
Communication.
The Director-General made the stakes clear in her opening statement.
“Today, 25,000 foreign terrorist fighters, from over
100 States, are active in Syria and Iraq, as well as Afghanistan, Libya
and Yemen -- most are young men, between 15 and 35 years old, but there
are increasing numbers of young women,” she said. “Today, we must build
the defences of peace in the minds of young women and men, and this
must start also online, by mobilizing the full power of the Internet for
peace.”
From socializing and entertainment to homework, the
Internet has become an essential part of life for young people today,
opening vast new opportunities for connecting and learning. At the same
time, the Internet provides violent extremists with powerful tools to
propagate hatred and violence and to identify and groom potential
recruits, creating global online communities that promote
radicalization, that promote hatred, intolerance as well as new forms of
racism, including anti-Semitism.
“All too often, the Internet can provide a powerful
megaphone for violence,” said Irina Bokova. “It can be a platform for
ideologies that reject human rights, that castigate diversity, that sow
discord, often drawing on false visions of faith. Far too many young men
and women cross from the ‘virtual’ to the ‘physical,’ to enrol with
extremist groups.”
“Violent extremists are radicalising young men and
women through the Internet – we must harness the Internet’s full
potential for peace, to widen opportunities for dialogue and civic
engagement, to nurture and take forward youth concerns and visions.”
This goal guides all of UNESCO’s action –- to
advance new forms of global citizenship education, to bolster cultural
literacy and build new bridges for intercultural dialogue, to develop
stronger media and information literacy and support media development
for human rights and peace, to provide young women and men with skills
and opportunities to engage positively in their societies.
Empowering Youth to Build Peace is UNESCO’s new integrated Framework for Action,
drawing on existing activities –including Global Citizenship Education,
the NET-MED Youth project, implemented in 10 countries of the
Mediterranean and the new social media campaign, #Unite4Heritage
launched by the Director-General at the University of Baghdad in March
to counter the propaganda of violent extremism.
The new Framework for Action is guided by a single
objective: to equip young people with knowledge, skills and values that
empower them to live peaceful, constructive and productive lives to
engage as responsible global citizens and to be resilient to any form of
abuse or manipulation, including radicalization and violent extremism.
A new component of the Framework for Action is Youth
2.0 -- Building Skills, Bolstering Peace, launched during the
conference. This is designed to support young people in building new
forms of global solidarity, including online, in resisting and
countering radicalization and violent extremism.
This new action will move forward at four levels. It
will, first, support multidisciplinary research on linkages between
Youth, Internet, radicalization/de-radicalization, as well as
research-informed policies and actions. It will also work to empower
youth online communities and key youth stakeholders on topics relevant
to counter-radicalization, by building their competencies and skills and
by equipping them with creative tools and knowledge. Third, it will
strengthen mobilization and cooperation between media professionals and
practitioners to combat radicalization and online hate speech, with a
focus on countries suffering tensions and conflict situations. Lastly,
it will support supporting creative media campaign and outreach
strategies targeting policy makers and opinion makers as well as the
general public (including young audiences).
“Our goal is to empower youth online,” said the
Director-general, “to build their resilience against hate speech,
radicalization and violent extremism, to empower their civic engagement
online.”
These messages were echoed by Mr Mohamed Sameh Amr,
Chairman of the UNESCO Executive Board, who spoke of the crucial
importance of the Conference and this new work: “Youth will reinvent our
future, a better future for all.”
Her Excellency Ms. Margarita Popova, Vice-President
of the Republic of Bulgaria, spoke of the challenges facing young women
and men across the world today, from alienation, poor opportunities,
marginalization and discrimination -- highlighting their key role as
“ambassadors and messengers for peace, for more peaceful societies.”
Mr. Daniel Zielinski, Directeur de Cabinet du
Ministre de la Ville, de la Jeunesse et des Sports, presented the wide
range of measure being introduced by the Government of France to prevent
radicalization through an emphasis on renewed citizenship”, underlining
the importance of “creating a community of destiny and shared values
with young people.”
Mr. Hugues Mingarelli, Managing Director, European
External Action Service of the European Union, spoke about the 2014
Communication of the Commission on preventing radicalization, stressing
also the need to protect freedom of expression on the Internet.
Ms. Chafica Haddad, Chair of the UNESCO Information
for All Programme, and Ms. Albana Shala, Chair of the UNESCO
International Programme for the Development of Communication presented
the essential work of IFAP and the IPDC in these areas.
The International Conference is designed to support
the action of States and the international community, by understanding
more clearly the use of Internet in fueling violent extremism and by
exploring effective tools in response. From a range of angles and
experiences, the Conference will discuss the insight and experiences of
Governments, international organizations, research and academia, as well
as Internet companies, and present case studies from around the world.
It will also focus on the rich, multifaceted landscape of youth online
engagement, particularly youth-led initiatives that are paving the way
ahead.
“Young women and men must have confidence in
themselves, in their communities, in their futures,” said Irina Bokova.
“They must know their own histories to defend those of others. Their
rights must be respected, to share these with all humanity. This is the
importance of this Conference, working with and for young women and men,
to nurture their ideas, their imagination, their visons.”
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