On the occasion of the “Summit of Conscience on the Climate”, Valdelice Veron, a Guarani-Kaiowá leader, came to Paris on the 21st of July to testify before the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (ESEC) on the distress of her people. The campaign was called “Why do I care?” After years of fighting amid general indifference, this could mark the beginning of a real awareness of the international community on the subject. Nevertheless, the road may be long and the public are far from being...

On the occasion of the “Summit of Conscience on the Climate”, Valdelice Veron, a Guarani-Kaiowá leader, came to Paris on the 21st of July to testify before the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (ESEC) on the distress of her people. The campaign was called “Why do I care?”. After years of fighting amid general indifference, this could mark the beginning of a real awareness of the international community on the subject. Nevertheless, the road may be long and public opinion is far from...

This is what’s usually called a “whim”. On a cold December evening over decent beer at a Canadian bar, a decision was made: “How about a month long road trip?” Between incredulous looks and bewildered handshakes, two friends and I decided to go to Mexico. Enormous excitement and preparation give way to gnawing apprehension. We were asked to be careful of the violence and drug trafficking, and we anxiously left Toronto. Holding our credit cards, we get to the bus station in Mexico City, and head...

Since 2011 about 1.5 million Syrians have been seeking asylum in Lebanon. 1.5 million people, this is more than a quarter of the Lebanese population. To face government lack of involvement, NGOs, local and international initiatives raise and try to give answers to the refugees needs. Information and training are major in a country with threats of war coming from mortal politic dissensions far away from daily issues for families. To understand what is going on in Lebanon, one has to understand...

Ukraine has made the choice to carry out a legislative offensive to counter Russian influence, regardless of its form. This has given rise to memorial "decommunsation" laws which sanction political opinion and historical analysis in a country seeking order and stability. Ukrainian authorities have recently threatened to forbid entry into Ukraine and to sentence anyone entering Crimea without local permission, questioning the province’s attachment to Russia and considering it an occupied zone....

Since 2012, an NGO named Padma has been acting in Villa El Salvador in the South of Lima in order to improve the living conditions of its vulnerable inhabitants. Looking into this small NGO can also help understanding how this type of organisations works in a more general way. The most striking things when entering the office of the NGO situated in Miraflores, the business centre of Lima linked to Villa El Salvador by the only subway line in the country, are the small team and workings space. A...

In 2008, the charity Tribute to Liberty is created in Ottawa, aiming to build a memorial to the victims of communism. Seven years later, while the construction should start soon, the monument raises multiple controversies. Many people, for many reasons, express their opposition to this project. Kayla Carman, member of the movement Move The Memorial, wants to gather this opposition, and explain here why she considers it as a democratic stance. In 2012 a land located between The Library and...

Intensive whaling still takes place in three countries: Norway, Iceland and Japan. These nations have continued to attack the cetacean for reasons quite vague, even though this practice is anchored in local traditions. This is a hunt carried out to the detriment of ecology. Whales are an endangered species and they play an essential part in the development of the oceans. At the beginning of July, Iceland launched its new summer season of whaling. After stopping the hunt for 14 years, the...

Tuvalu and the Kiribati islands, two countries in Oceania, could disappear from the map because of the rise of the oceans caused by climate change. The leader of the State of Tuvalu recently asked Europe, during his visit to Brussels, to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. In Oceania, the entire continent must mobilize to face these unprecedented consequences. Is Atlantis a myth? The legend has been perpetuated through centuries and through generations. But the islands the collapsed under the...

Moscow, the city of a thousand riches, which, since the fall of Communism, seems fixed in time. Daunting architecture, stagnant politics, yet Moscow remains the port of entry to Russia. Immersion in the capital stuck in 1945. When one enters Moscow, the first impression is of the overwhelming gigantism. Remarkable and immense buildings illustrate the glory of Russia’s past. In the midst of these concrete giants, soulless marks of communism, are architectural wonders. The Kremlin and Red Square...