There are 82.4 million people forcibly displaced in the world. Around 30.5 million of them are refugees and asylum seekers. Compared to 2011 the amount of people, who have had to leave their homes for an unknown period of time, has doubled. 1 in every 95 people on earth has fled their home as a result of conflict or persecution, which is why it is so important to bring to light this issue and come together as one, to help each other.

The vast majority of refugees are being hosted in developing countries, to be more precise 86% of them. In many cases this also means poor living conditions, limited access to education, food and water. These countries are often over-populated with refugees and are already struggling to take care of country’s own people. What’s more about the living conditions, the fact that many of the camps, where refugees are situated are over-populated, camps that are meant to host around six thousand people, end up with hosting 38.000 people in reality.

When talking about education, it is one of the most vital parts of growing up. Unfortunately for 4 million refugee children are unable to attend school. Even if they do get elementary education it is extremely difficult and often impossible to get secondary education due to no fundings and no school facilities in the area where they live. For girls it is even more stark, only 27% of refugee girls have been enrolled in school, whereas there are 36% of refugee boys, who get to attend school. Due to having to leave their homes unexpectedly and with uncertainty of what lies ahead, their education will be interrupted for weeks, months or even years. On average, UNHCR estimates that refugees miss out on three to four years of schooling because of forced displacement.

In the class will be children who have seen their homes destroyed and their relatives injured or killed. Some may have disabilities, either from birth or as a result of the violence in their home countries. There may be a former child soldier, a survivor of sexual abuse, someone who made the journey to safety when their brother or sister did not.

Despite this, that classroom can transform and change children. It is a space where they can learn how to read, write and do mathematics. The studying goes beyond the curriculum, they are learning how to learn and they have the chance to learn about basic health care, hygiene, citizenship, human rights and where, how and from whom to get help.

From the first lessons through to university, education helps refugees stand on their own feet, allowing them to prepare for the future, whether that is in a host country or in their own country upon their return.

From UNCHR official webpage:

“The New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants pinpoints education as a critical element of the international refugee response.

Furthermore, Sustainable Development Goal 4 aims to deliver“inclusive and quality education for all and to promote lifelong learning”.

UNHCR partners with governments and international organisations to ensure quality protective education for refugee children and young people everywhere. Together with your help, they can learn how to rebuild their lives.
Education is a basic human right, enshrined in the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 1951 Refugee Convention.

Education protects refugee children and youth from forced recruitment into armed groups, child labour, sexual exploitation and child marriage. Education also strengthens community resilience.
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Education empowers by giving refugees the knowledge and skills to live productive, fulfilling and independent lives.
Education enlightens refugees, enabling them to learn about themselves and the world around them, while striving to rebuild their lives and communities.”

The 19th of June is the international day for the elimination of sexual violence in conflict. It was adopted in 2015 by the United Nations Organisation in order to raise awareness on this ongoing issue, honor the victims, as well as paying tribute to those who stood up against all forms of sexual violence, in and post-conflict.
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The resolution creating this international day intervines 15 years after several international jurisdictions recognised sexual violence to be a crime against humanity. Before that, sexual violence was considered by the UN as inevitable actions resulting from armed conflicts.

For the UNO, sexual conflict-related sexual violence refers to (but not exclusively) rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, enforced sterilization, forced marriage that is directly or indirectly linked to a conflict. Women are thus in the frontline, above all when it comes to procreation.
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As a result, the UNO pointed out its resolution the specific statute of women and girls, who are “particularly targeted” by the sexual violence, even though men and boys are also recognized to be victims. It is still hard to establish precise documentation on the matter, especially as experts estimate that for each rape reported in connection with a conflict, 10 to 20 cases go undocumented.

​Women’s bodies are being used as political, economic and strategic pressuring tools. Violations are part of a wide organisation in time of war, led directly by armies and Governments. Mass violations are commanded the same way as the decision of bombing a village, or sending troops.
 
The reason is the following: women have ever been contemplated as properties, that in wartime serve as currency. As the French historian Fabrice Vergili said, “capturing women is part of the war economy”.

Forced pregnancies are for example often organized by the armies in Democratic Republic of Congo in order to disintegrate the social fabric. The children are called “snake-children'' as if they were a poison to the population. They are abandoned and their mothers are often excluded of the comunnity, or even pushed to commit suicide because of the shame they represent. Women are judged to be responsible for their pregnancy, eluding men’s actions in the process of these violences.

Such sexual violences aren’t the doing of supposed remote tribes; Western countries taken as example regarding human rights are also guilty of these violences. Violation of women was for instance used as a tool of torture and intimidation by harkis in Algeria (Muslim Algerians who served as auxiliaries in the French Army) no later than the 1960ies. This shows how the mistreatment of women is worldwide institutionalised.

​The #MeToo movement launched in 2017 allowed global public debate on systematic sexual violence inflinged to women. The movement extended until having a local echo, like in Greece where the hashtag #Metoogreece is exploding since February 2021 after sexual abuse in the Greek sport world has been revealed.

Both the international day or the elimination of sexual violence in conflict and the #MeToo movement call for a change of perception of women’s bodies. Women’s bodies are their own and cannot be possessed.

Celebrating the 19th of June means supporting women’s rights. More than just liberating the speech about terrible sexual violence in order to change mentalities, the movement also demands legal tools of all sorts to be implemented : condamnation of perpetrators, consideration of the victims at the police station, procedures in the labor world.

​Here are some ways to take action to support gender equality: raise awareness by sharing articles, denounce any gender based sexual violence you see, donate to an association supporting women’s rights, whether international such as UN Women, or local.

Remember, acting for the elimination of sexual violence means acting for the recognition of women’s empowerment at the international level. It means acting for human rights.

Coral reefs are under immense pressure from human activities such as climate change, pollution, and destructive fishing practices. We have already lost 50 percent of the coral reefs globally. It is estimated that in the next 30 years, the remaining coral ecosystems will collapse as well. What would happen if all the coral reefs would die?

To start off, what even are coral reefs? They come in all colours, shapes, and sizes and are mostly found in shallow tropical waters (although some corals are also found in the deep sea, just not as colourful, but equally important). Corals get their colour from microscopic plants that live within their tissues. In addition, most of their nourishment comes from these plants.

This symbiosis is vital for both parties, however, current human activity and rapidly changing conditions have made coral reefs extremely vulnerable. The ocean is a magnet for heat. With greenhouse gases trapping warmth, most of the heat gets absorbed by the ocean, making its temperature rise. A rise in temperature, even if it’s just by a degree or two, can be devastating for coral reefs. With higher temperatures, the corals expel their plant partners and lose their vibrant colour and main source of food. If temperatures remain high for even a few weeks, the corals will starve and eventually die.

What is more, carbon dioxide, one of the main greenhouse gases, is making the ocean more acidic - these 2 factors are just too much for the coral reefs to handle.

All oceanic species and ecosystems are interconnected. Coral reefs, especially, play a huge role in keeping our ocean healthy. 

​Even though they cover less than 1% of the ocean floor, coral reefs are one of the most diverse ecosystems on Earth (home to 25% of all marine creatures). Over 1 million species live in and depend on coral reefs: it’s their main source of food, shelter, and spawning ground. If their habitat were to be destroyed, a huge number of fish, turtles, and other aquatic creatures would be lost alongside coral reefs.

Coral reefs play an important part in coastal protection. They act as natural wave barriers, protecting coastal communities from storm damage (a healthy reef can reduce coastal wave energy by up to 97%). In addition, healthy reef ecosystems have a big part in reducing shoreline erosion, which often results in coastal property loss (an estimated $500 million per year) as well as flooding.

Many people mistake corals for plants, but in fact, they are stationary animals, meaning they stay in one place for most of their life. To protect themselves from predators, many corals have evolved chemical defenses, which have medicinal potential. Plants and animals that live in coral reefs are important sources of new medicines being developed to treat heart diseases, viruses, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, and other diseases. In the near future, ecological communities that live in coral reefs could become a very important source of medical treatments 


Coral reefs have been growing in our ocean for 50 million years, yet today, even the healthy coral reefs are facing a great threat. Despite bringing great benefits to us, coral reefs are extremely vulnerable to human activity. With the current environmental situation, they are bound to go extinct, and with them, take millions of other creatures that depend on them.

The Member States of the World Health Organization created World No Tobacco Day in 1987 to draw global attention to the tobacco epidemic and the preventable death and disease it causes.
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This yearly celebration informs the public on the dangers of using tobacco, the business practices of tobacco companies, what WHO is doing to fight the tobacco epidemic, and what people around the world can do to claim their right to healthy living and to protect future generations.

Tobacco causes 8 million deaths every year. When evidence was released this year that smokers were more likely to develop severe disease with COVID-19 compared to non-smokers, it triggered millions of smokers to want to quit tobacco. Quitting can be challenging, especially with the added social and economic stress that have come as a result of the pandemic, but there are a lot of reasons to quit. 

The benefits of quitting tobacco are almost immediate. After just 20 minutes of quitting smoking, your heart rate drops. Within 12 hours, the carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal. Within 2-12 weeks, your circulation improves and lung function increases. Within 1-9 months, coughing and shortness of breath decrease. Within 5-15 years, your stroke risk is reduced to that of a non-smoker. Within 10 years, your lung cancer death rate is about half that of a smoker. Within 15 years, your risk of heart disease is comparable to a non-smokers.

Here are a few reasons why it’s worth quitting smoking:

• When you buy tobacco, you are financially supporting an industry that exploits farmers and children 
  It threatens the health of your friends and family – not just you
  
• Tobacco affects your look almost immediately. Tobacco makes your skin wrinkly, making you look older faster.
  
• Smoking prematurely ages the skin by wearing away proteins that give the skin elasticity, depleting it of vitamin A and restricting blood flow. Moreover, tobacco makes your teeth yellow and creates excess dental plaque, not mentioning the never ending smell on your skin and clothes.
  
• It’s expensive - you could be spending your money on more important things
  
• Tobacco use has negative social consequences
  
• Smoking reduces your fertility
  
• Tobacco causes over 20 types of cancer
  
• Tobacco harms almost every organ of the body
  
• Tobacco pollutes the environment
  

The most serious problem is the popularity of tobacco among teenagers. They are pushed by the environment to follow the smoking craze and feel isolated when they step out of line. Youngsters are more prone to get addicted and the smoke affects their body causing huge damage for the rest of their life. Providing everyone works together to keep youth safe from the harms of tobacco use, we can move further toward a healthier, smoke-free world.
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So what actions can we undertake to prevent people from smoking?

• Fund state tobacco control programs 
• Work to limit tobacco product advertising
• Use science-based strategies to prevent and reduce tobacco use, like tobacco price increases, hard-hitting media campaigns, adopting comprehensive smoke-free laws, licensing tobacco sellers, and limiting where tobacco products can be sold
• Provide barrier-free access to treatments proven to help people quit

It’s common knowledge that smoking is harmful for the users. However, let’s think not only about ourselves. Our friends and relatives would love to spend more time with us too. Choice is yours but don’t be late.

Every year on april, the International Day of Sports for Development and Peace is the opportunity to remember that sports can bring us together around same goals or values. Even in adversity and times of pressures, matches can bring out best from people with fair play and sportsmanship. 

Here are 7 moments during sports competition where people displayed fair play in their behaviours. 

​Accidents and collisions can happen quite often during football matches, and even lead to critical injuries for a player. In 2017, during an encounter opposing Bohemians 1905 and Slovacko in Czech Republic, Bohemian’s goalkeeper : Martin Berkovec, was knocked out. After swallowing his tongue, his life would have been threatened if not for another player's fast reaction.

The defender of the opposing team, Francis Kone, displayed first aid to the unconscious goalkeeper and saved his life, before the injured player was taken to hospital. After the game, Martin Berkovec, who was feeling better posted the following message on facebook to thank his saviour : "I would like to thank Francis Kone for rescue and emergency at today's game... I'm glad for the relief and thanks again!!!"

This is something remembered as one of the biggest signs of opposition to Hitler’s dictatorship in Germany before the beginning of the Second World War. At Berlin’s Olympic Games in 1936, Jesse Owens, a black American Athlete won 4 gold medals and even got a world record in the long jump competition. 

But few know that, during one of the competitions, a small piece of advice led Owens to a victory and forged a great friendship between two athletes of different nations. After two failed attempts to qualify for the final of the long jump competition, Jesse Owens was close to abandoning any idea of winning a gold medal. But a german athlete : Luz Long came to him before the last attempt and told him to change his mark and take off well before the foul line in order to avoid fouling the last attempt. Jess Owens followed this advice and managed to set up a new olympic record and get the gold medal. 

Luz Long, who got a silver medal, was one of the first to applaud him at the ceremony and this day marked the beginning of a true friendship above any border or racist ideology until Long lost his life during a battle in 1943.

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The match of the century between Bobby Fisher and Boris Spassky was one of the most followed chess game in the world. In the context of the cold war, many expectations were placed on the shoulders of the two chess champions. 

On September 1st 1972 in Reykjavik, Bobby Fisher and Boris Spassky both compete for the title of the world chess champion during a final match. 

After the match ends, more than one thousand spectators attending the competition stood up to applaud Fisher’s victory and Spassky, despite the pressure of the consequences of his loss, joined them into a bigger acclamation. With Spassky having asked not to play in front of the cameras, there is no footage remaining of this gesture but the records, articles and movies relating this episode all talked about this proof of sportsmanship crushing any borders.

This display of fair play has a part in this top because, even if at the time it was not the case, chess has been recognized as a sport by the International Olympic Committee since 2000 and can also be, as a sport, used as a tool for development and peace as well as promoting good values. ​