Mediart Blog

RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE: THE CITIES OF TOMORROW

31/10/2022

Attractive and cosmopolitan, the cities attract. Athens, Tokyo, Paris or Rio de Janeiro – we all have seen advertisements like "3 dreaming days in Roma" or "Take a break in London". Because it is more attractive than the countryside, at this very moment, 55% of the world’s population decides to live in a city. The cities are however the center of all discussions. A huge amount of pollution, no safety, no inclusivity, too much poverty. It seems like the words sustainability and city can’t rhyme.

Every year, the United Nations devote the month of October to urban spaces with "Urban October" in relation to the UN sustainable development goal 11: "Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable". This huge event starts with the World Habitat Day and ends with the World Cities Day on the 31st of October. For one month, I, you, we, can participate and take part in conversations to improve the quality of the urban way of life. NGOs, schools, governments, everyone has a word to say.

This 3rd of October, the "World Habitat Day" took place in Turkey. The theme? "Mind the Gap. Leave No One and No Place Behind". This International Day has the goal to find solutions to reduce the citizens' inequalities, especially since the COVID 19 pandemy, the climate crises and the several conflicts all around the world. These major events made us realize how unequal we are. According to the sustainable development goals 2022, "less than ⅓ of city dwellers have convenient access to public transportation in sub saharan Africa". Some parts of the world still don’t have access to running water or medication or live in bad conditions. Creating housing and opening the dialogue, this is what the World Habitat Day tries to avoid.

The 31st of October, contrary to popular opinion, is not only Halloween, but also World Cities Day. During this whole day in Shangaï, it’s not candies which are going to be collected but ideas to improve the life quality in cities and to make them more sustainable. Because of their attractivity and the opportunities they represent, cities gather half of the world's population and they grow everyday to welcome more people.

However, there are several bad consequences: a huge pollution, poverty, criminality and insecurity – a lot of controversy surrounding the cities. Actually, "99% of the world's urban population breathe polluted air". With the climate emergency, it became a priority to reduce the gas emission by creating more green spaces or cycle paths, to encourage people to use bikes instead of cars. Also, most of the poor people live in big cities, in bad conditions, sometimes on the street.

"Better city, Better life" is the motto of World Cities Day; and the 2022 theme "Act local to go global" will welcome members of governments from different cities. Round tables, debates, in a few days we will have the answers on how the cities can be more sustainable.

Julie Marpeau

Julie is a French volunteer involved in the World Cities Day.

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Safe food today for a healthy tomorrow

19/10/2022

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The banana is brown? Nobody will buy it anymore. Stale bread? Let’s get a new one. The milk is on the turn? Better throw it away.

Every year, 2.5 billion tonnes of food are wasted across the world, according to a study by the World Wildlife Fund and Tesco. That is equivalent to 40% of all food produced for human consumption. Over the course of each year, this all adds up to more than 5.8 trillion wasted meals. What causes us to waste these quantities of food? How can we counteract this development?

Overproduction, processing problems, unstable markets and bad weather are among the main reasons for food loss long before it arrives in a grocery store. Once in the market or already bought, still a lot of food goes to waste – due to overbuying, poor planning and confusion over labels and safety. Restaurants are also responsible for large losses of food. Drivers include inflexibility of chain store management, oversized portions and extensive menu choices. On average, 55 percent of edible leftovers are left at the restaurants.
While industrialized countries in North America, Europe and Asia waste 222 million tons of food each year combined, other countries in sub-Saharan Africa produce 230 million tons of food each year, according to the U.N. Environment Programme. However, there is more than enough food produced in the world to feed everyone on the planet. And still about 829 million people worldwide suffer from hunger. Sustainable food production and consumption is becoming increasingly necessary and possible.

The United Nations state: “Sustainable Consumption and Production is about doing more and better with less.”
Goals include decoupling economic growth from environmental degradation, increasing resource efficiency and promoting sustainable lifestyles. Audits on how best to reduce the environmental impact of food production and cut waste throughout the food supply chain are being carried out by the European Commission. Current technologies and know-how allow immediate progress towards these goals. However, the measures will vary depending on the agricultural sector. One measure is to use natural resources efficiently. It is, for example, possible to reduce fossil fuels, optimise water use, reduce pollution of waterways, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, maintain soils and increase biodiversity. By implementing sustainable fishing, eliminating by-catch and reducing pollution of the sea, marine resources could be protected. Another approach is the production of food ingredients from sustainable sources by developing sustainability schemes. In order to also keep the ecological impact of packaging within a positive framework, efforts are being made to use environmentally efficient food packaging through the optimisation of packaging use and the usage of recycled materials with low environmental impact.

Part of sustainable food production is also ethical production. This includes the consideration of people, the environment and animals. With regard to animal welfare and protection, the World Organisation for Animal Health uses a summary of the Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare as a guiding principle: the freedom from thirst, hunger and malnutrition, the freedom from discomfort and exposure, the freedom from pain, injury and disease, the freedom from fear and distress and the freedom to express normal behaviour. Within these guidelines and with the idea of valuing animals as sentient beings, morally acceptable food production can be ensured.

Environmentally Sustainable Food Consumption is the use of food products that meet the basic needs and create a better quality of life, while reducing emissions of waste and pollutants and the use of toxic materials, natural resources throughout your life. For private consumption, this means, for example, eating more vegetables, beans and nuts or aiming for a balanced variety. Buying food that meets a credible certified standard such as the Fairtrade logo ensures a more ethical production. When eating meat, be careful to moderate consumption. Proteins are also contained in many plant products. As foods high in fat, salt and sugar are treats, not staples, we tend to eat more of them without any health value. It is therefore also important to minimise this consumption.

Many of these methods can have immediate and long-term benefits for people, the economy and the planet. The next overripe banana can be turned into pudding, ice cream, banana bread or a smoothie. Not much is needed to make the world a better place. And your eating habits an old-age provision.

Alma Deten

Alma is a German volunteer involved in the World Food Day.

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misinformation and disinformation: what we can do to avoid it

17/10/2022

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“On the air of the Vremya program, behind the back of the host Ekaterina Andreeva, a girl appeared with a poster, the contents of which we are forbidden to transfer to Roskomnadzor and the Criminal Code.
According to unconfirmed information, this is the editor Marina Ovsyannikova. She is currently under arrest.”

This is not old news. This is happening now.

The piece of news is taken from the user's tweet called @novaya_gazeta, posted the 14th of March of 22. Unfortunately this tweet was written in a situation of war. Russia invaded Ukraine, on 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which actually began in 2014.

At the beginning of the year 2014, Crimea became the main objective of one of the worst crises ever lived between the West and Russia from the time of the Cold War. During February of that same year, Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, had already sent, quietly and unnoticed by the public, thousands of soldiers to Russia's bases that they had in Crimea, thanks to the Partition Treaty signed in 1997.

However, this is not the main topic of this article. If you want to know more about it, here’s the link to an report from the BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60525350.

The main topic of this article is the power of information and, as consequence, the misinformation and disinformation. Nevertheless, before entering into the subject, it’s appropriate to know the meaning of these two concepts. The first one, misinformation, means “wrong information, or the fact that people are misinformed”, and, on the other hand, disinformation signifies “false information spread in order to deceive people. We could say that the slight difference is that misinformation is not done on purpose, unlike disinformation.

Nowadays everyone with a phone and a user in social media (doesn’t matter instagram, facebook, or the most acclimated to this matter is twitter), can share information. But, is this information true? This is the origin of the idea of fake news, being even one of the biggest threats for democracies. How can we control the veracity and truthfulness of this news? Is there a way to increase our safety about what they are telling us? In response to this, UNESCO created the GAPMIL, standing for Global Alliance for Partnerships on Media and Information Literacy and whose primary aim and goal is to promote international cooperation to ensure that all citizens have access to media and information competencies. I would like to emphasize the word all, “all citizens have access to media and information competencies.” 43.1% is Africa’s internet penetration rate as of December 2021, according to Statista, the German Database. Notwithstanding, if we analyze Europe’s intenter access of households during the same year, it duplicates Africa’s number, reaching 92%.
You wouldn’t read this article if you didn’t even have access to the internet. How lucky are we?

Occasionally, people tend to mislead these notions, we just mention, with freedom of press. If I have to be cautious with what I post, do I really have freedom of press? The answer to it is yes.
To live in a free press country means that newspapers, magazines, and television and radio stations are able to express any opinions they want, even if they criticize the government and other organizations.
Freedom of the press was not long established in Western countries such as France, Spain, Italy, in 1981, 1966, 1948 respectively.
It’s important to differentiate news from our opinions, towards having a good mindset to make the internet a high-quality and safe place.

For all of these reasons, we celebrate Global Media and Information Literacy Week. It was António Guterres, UN Portuguese Secretary-General, the one to underline the values of trust and solidarity as being the joining piece for social cohesion and social breakthroughs for the common good.
Therefore, let’s cherish and be aware of our privilege, by treasuring the value of the internet and information.

Maria Kieffer

Maria is a Spanish-Italian volunteer involved in the Global Media and Information Literacy Week.

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Mental illnesses – an invention of modern society

10/10/2022

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Mental illnesses came along with the existence of humanity. But since the invention of the social media platforms, a new kind of mental influence has arisen, which has caused an increase in the frequency of mental conditions. Social media is the cause of the manmade era of mental conditions. For World Mental Health Day on October 10th, it is needed to acknowledge and admit the impact that social media platforms can have on our health.

With the new influence of social media, new phenomena of mental illness are emerging.

One of these new phenomena is FOMO, which stands for Fear of Missing Out. FOMO exists because of the toxic atmosphere on social media platforms. On platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Co., people share photos and videos of their daily lives. This sounds very harmless at first, but the pictures most users share do not reflect reality. In that way, a fake world is being created, and people start to compare themselves to unrealistic standards and lifestyles. This leads to the increase of feeling unsatisfied with one's life and thinking other people experience more in their life. We all contribute without even noticing how the things we post, in the hope of keeping up with others, affect the people around us. So this chain reaction is kept alive by letting the surreal affect our minds and giving in to the masses by posting.

Users do not only compare their lifestyles, they even compare their looks. Editing apps used to be utilized to edit the lighting or clean up the setting of a picture. Compared to nowadays, it is insane when you realize how people do not use filters and editing apps to increase the quality of the picture but instead to make themselves look different. These filters were only the beginning. Faceapp and more programs started to be used, and people started to change details of their whole faces. In the past, it has mostly been models or celebrities who edited their pictures, but it has become a trend for the masses. Until the point where we are now, people tend to edit their whole face and do not seem natural anymore. Some edit their noses, some their fat, and so much more. It gets people to the point where they don’t accept their natural facial features anymore but want to fulfill some kind of impossible beauty standard.

"Catfish" has been the term for people who fake a personality on the internet and are not really who they pretend to be online. In the modern social media age, this term has earned a new meaning. Catfish nowadays are people who do not look like they do in their pictures uploaded on their social media accounts due to filters and editing.

Face-editing is being normalized in our society even though it should not be. Due to the fact that it destroys our image of beauty and diversity, people start to be ashamed of their real beauty, which can lead to serious self-doubt and mental conditions like depression. For a lot of people, the constant pressure that comes with feeling observed and comparing oneself leads to body dysmorphia. Body dysmorphia is a condition in which someone falsely believes that there is something seriously wrong with the size or shape of their body. Some people who suffer from body dysmorphia are not able to imagine their appearance. This leads to eating disorders, so it is true that mental health affects physical health and one also needs to focus on one's mindset and mental health.

More and more people undergo risky procedures and operations because they have been influenced on social media by promotions for operations that downplay the risks of dying during the operation.

Another point which comes with the modern age is fame. There have been famous people before the era of social media, but due to these platforms, being famous has taken on a new dimension. Private pictures of and information about famous celebrities spread faster than ever, and celebrities are constantly being observed. Most people connect being famous with wealth, fun, and opportunities. And in some cases, it is true, but it does not mean that being famous makes you happy. Some of the world's greatest artists, like Renliang Qiao, committed suicide. He has been cyberbullied and could not handle the huge amount of negativity. So this tragic event shows us again that we should be careful with the things and comments we publish on social media because we have an influence on other human beings. It is critical to remember that behind every account is a human being who may be hurt by our words.

So let us be kind to each other and try to bring some reality to the social media platforms.

Joana Khalo

Joana is a German volunteer involved in the World Mental Health Day.

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Dim the light for Birds at night

8/10/2022

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Where do you go when you are cold and hungry?

Maybe to the kitchen or to your closet for a jacket. Not everyone enjoys this luxury. Every year, migratory birds travel several thousand kilometres to adapt their habitat to their needs. And every year many of these birds have to die – because of climate change, because of illegal animal killing, because of light pollution, because of us. Although these factors are not stoppable by one single person, we can try to make a contribution to easing their path even with the smallest things, like switching off the lights.

How exactly are migratory birds endangered by us and what can we do about it?

In addition to direct human threats such as the killing of rare migratory birds, it is above all unconscious man-made changes in the environment that have an extreme influence on bird migration at night. It is estimated that in Europe and North America 99% of all people currently live under a so-called "lit sky", worldwide it is more than 80%. Light pollution is increasing in all places on the planet. The amount of artificial light on the Earth's surface increases by at least 2 per cent every year and could be even greater.

For wild animals, especially migratory birds, the increasing light pollution is a honourable threat. It causes the death of millions of birds every year.

Migratory birds face dangers such as exhaustion, predation and fatal collisions with buildings, simply because of depleted energy reserves. The birds are attracted by artificial light at night and become disoriented mainly when there is low cloud, fog, rain or when flying at low altitude. Thus, they may circle in illuminated areas.
Light pollution can also alter the birds' migration patterns, as well as their foraging behaviour and vocal communication. These problems are mainly caused by the fact that man-made light pollution changes the natural patterns of light and dark in ecosystems.

At the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals 2020, guidelines on the light pollution affecting seabirds and migratory shorebirds were endorsed. They include the special consideration of the likely wild species that could be impacted, the main sources of light pollution and facts about proximity to important habitats and migratory pathways. The parties of the convention are currently developing new guidelines focusing on bats and migratory landbirds.

However, many measures are already being taken to minimise light pollution. In numerous cities, governments and companies, initiatives such as “Lights Out” programmes are working to protect migratory birds. Guidelines for bird-friendly buildings, such as requests to turn off unnecessary lighting during migratory periods, attempt to eliminate light pollution as a hazard.
Many states and cities are trying to reduce light pollution by shifting to LED street lights which use less energy and have less of an effect on plants than traditional street lights with longer wavelengths and requiring shields to control where the light goes.
These native plants provide birds with the energy requirements needed for a long migration. They produce fleshy fruits which are very important during the late summer and fall. Others offer a variety of resources including flowers that provide nectar, fleshy fruits, acorns and nuts, seeds, and insects.

Migratory birds are a source of recreation for millions of bird watchers and enthusiasts who provide food and design backyard habitats to attract a variety of species throughout the year. But not only that: They provide ecosystem benefits that include pest control, pollination of plants and serve as food sources for other wildlife.

To preserve these important influences on our lives and the planet, and to make life easier for migratory birds, we need to take action now. It is time to take tougher action against climate change and turn off the lights when they are not needed.

Dim the light not only for your electricity bill, but also for birds at night.

Alma Deten

Alma is a German volunteer involved in the World Migratory Bird Day

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Inside the schools in Europe: Teacher Shortages

6/10/2022

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On World Teacher’s Day, we acknowledge the role of teachers in the development of society and the professional difficulties they face.

The new school year has begun with a teacher shortage crisis all over the continent. Not even an attractive pay scale can manage to combat the lack of popularity that this profession has been acquiring over the last few years.

The contribution of teachers can not be ignored. They are responsible not only for teaching programmed subjects but for forming a more sustainable and conscious generation. Shaping the minds of youth, to help turn children into responsible citizens. Teaching is the most influential job. So why the "most beautiful profession in the world," in the words of the Education Minister in France, Pap Ndiaye, is no longer popular?

There was a time when becoming a teacher was the ideal career path. A decent salary, convenient hours of work, and summer holidays. However, in the last years, the work conditions have changed, which led teachers to quit and the increased lack of interest in joining this area.

Teacher salaries rarely reflect the importance of their job. Teachers are paid less now than they were 20 years ago. According to the OECD “Education at a Glance” 2020 report, teachers’ salaries have decreased in a third of countries since 2000. With the 2009 financial crisis, salaries were either frozen or cut all across Europe. With fewer professors, there was an intensification of work for those who didn’t quit. Along with the lack of recognition and the bad public image, often publicized in the media and in politics, it culminates in a precarious situation.

The pandemic situation, with the various restrictions and the fear of contagion, highlighted the already existing problem. In 2020, there was a marked decrease in the number of professors available to teach. Experts say that it is yet too soon to fully understand the consequences of the pandemic on the educational system, however, we can already see traces of the negative impact.

In five countries alone — Germany, Hungary, Poland, Austria, and France — more than 80,000 teaching positions remain unfilled. Lessons are being canceled, classes are bigger, support for special needs is being slashed, and the school timetable is being shortened.

David Edwards, general secretary of Education International, a global federation of teachers’ unions, said: “Everyone is very concerned about shortages [in Europe and elsewhere]. It’s a real crisis.”

It’s time for a big change. UNESCO attributed the theme: “The transformation of education begins with teachers” to this year's World Teacher’s Day. Celebrations will address the commitments and calls for action necessary to find a solution to the crisis. In order not to compromise the formation of the next generations and the future of society, it is necessary to transform education. And the change begins in recognizing teachers’ work.

A teacher is a friend, philosopher, and guide who holds our hand, opens our mind and touches our hearts. One of the oldest professions in the world is now at risk. Measures have to be taken, and the mindset has to change: Teachers are the solution, not the problem. They spread knowledge and help create the foundations of society, therefore, they deserve better working conditions and a special thank you from all of us.

Sara Sousa

Sara is a Portuguese volunteer involved in the World Teachers' Day.

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The difficulties of Aging in a Changing World

3/10/2022

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On the 1st of October, International Day for Older Persons raises awareness to ensure people can get old with dignity.

We are all born with the same human rights. Unfortunately, we live in a world of negative stereotypes towards older people and older age. This ageism drives discrimination and societal judgments, making the elderly feel ignored and devalued. However, we are all living longer, and it is urgent to start recognizing that getting older is not a problem to be solved, but a sign of a successful journey.

“Being older is something that should be celebrated” - Ken Bluestone

On the 1st of October, we celebrate the International Day of Older Persons. In particular, we honor their strength and resilience in a changing world. This special date is aimed to encourage people to break negative misconceptions about aging by calling public attention to the world of older people. In addition, this date enables the elderly to realize their potential and gives them an opportunity to feel part of society.

Over the past years, the world has suffered many crises that had affected especially the oldest ones. The virus Covid-19 has hit older people’s rights, causing fear around this group. Since 2020, the elderly are living at a higher risk of developing serious illnesses from this virus. Therefore, they needed to adapt to an unconfident life surrounded by worries, and loneliness.

Moreover, focusing on the world going around us today, the crisis happening in Ukraine it’s generating a huge impact on older people. Ukraine has the world’s oldest population. One out of every four people is over the age of 60. In addition, they have been living through conflict since 2014. In other words, older persons in Ukraine have been deprived of their basic rights, such as health and security, for 8 years now.

These facts are only two examples that demonstrate the strength that is needed when aging in a changing world. The idea of resilience describes the capacity to recover and adapt from difficulties. Aging is respecting as getting older. But, unfortunately, far too often we tend to forget or ignore the older people in our lives, and even underrecognize them.

That’s why getting older is terrifying for almost all of society. We use to relate aging with weakness because we don’t appreciate their strength. We tend to forget them because they aren’t a member of our society with full capacities.

However, it is now needed to step up our efforts and protect the rights and dignity of older persons. It is essential to break the negative stereotypes that are still alive and give the elderly the opportunity to participate as actively as anyone else.

Sara Díez

Sara is a Spanish volunteer involved in the International Day for Olders Persons.

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MEDIART

RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE: THE CITIES OF TOMORROW

Safe food today for a healthy tomorrow

misinformation and disinformation: what we can do to avoid it

Mental illnesses – an invention of modern society

Dim the light for Birds at night

Inside the schools in Europe: Teacher Shortages

The difficulties of Aging in a Changing World

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