Say NO to Violence against Women

UN WOMEN AUSTRALIA

UN Women (formerly UNIFEM) established National Committees in 18 of its donor countries, including Australia, to ensure that the organisation had a strong presence ability to mobilise resources.

Our role is to:

• Ensure that the Australian Government is prioritising gender in its aid and development program as well as in domestic policy
• Challenge attitudes which perpetuate inequality here in Australia
• Raise funds for UN Women projects which empower women

UN Women Australia plays a very active role in Australian civil society through our participation in the Equality Rights Alliance and the Gender Equity Working Group.  The organisation plays an active role in all UN related activities and sends an annual delegation to the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).

Who we are

© UNICEF/HQ92-0017/Charton

A Kyrgyz nomad girl from the north west province of Xinjiang, China.

 

UNICEF is the driving force that helps build a world where the rights of every child are realized. We have the global authority to influence decision-makers, and the variety of partners at grassroots level to turn the most innovative ideas into reality.  That makes us unique among world organizations, and unique among those working with the young.

We believe that nurturing and caring for children are the cornerstones of human progress.  UNICEF was created with this purpose in mind – to work with others to overcome the obstacles that poverty, violence, disease and discrimination place in a child’s path.  We believe that we can, together, advance the cause of humanity.

We advocate for measures to give children the best start in life, because proper care at the youngest age forms the strongest foundation for a person’s future.

We promote girls’ education – ensuring that they complete primary education as a minimum – because it benefits all children, both girls and boys. Girls who are educated grow up to become better thinkers, better citizens, and better parents to their own children.

We act so that all children are immunized against common childhood diseases, and are well nourished, because it is wrong for a child to suffer or die from a preventable illness.

We work to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS among young people because it is right to keep them from harm and enable them to protect others. We help children and families affected by HIV/AIDS to live their lives with dignity.

We involve everyone in creating protective environments for children. We are present to relieve suffering during emergencies, and wherever children are threatened, because no child should be exposed to violence, abuse or exploitation.

UNICEF upholds the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  We work to assure equality for those who are discriminated against, girls and women in particular. We work for the Millennium Development Goals and for the progress promised in the United Nations Charter. We strive for peace and security. We work to hold everyone accountable to the promises made for children.

We are part of the Global Movement for Children – a broad coalition dedicated to improving the life of every child.  Through this movement, and events such as the United Nations Special Session on Children, we encourage young people to speak out and participate in the decisions that affect their lives. 

We work in 190 countries through country programmes and National Committees. We are UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund. 

Mission Statement

Artists for Peace and Justice, established in early 2009, is a fundraising effort founded by Paul Haggis and friends that encourages peace and social justice and addresses issues of poverty and enfranchisement in communities around the world. The organization’s immediate goal is to build schools to serve the poorest areas of Haiti, providing an education, hot meals, clean drinking water and regular medical treatments to the children living in the slums.

 

About Father Rick Frechette

For the past 22 years Father Rick Frechette has worked in the slums of Haiti. He came to the country as a priest and soon saw that what they needed more was a doctor. He began studying for his degree and continued working in the slums of Port-au-Prince on the weekends. APJ is committed to supporting the community outreach programs led by Father Rick in the poorest country in the western hemisphere.

 

A letter from Paul Haggis

It was on a trip to Haiti that I first met Father Rick Frechette, an American doctor and community organizer who'd been working in the slums of Port-au-Prince for over two decades. He and his small team have built an orphanage, medical clinics, street schools, and a pediatric hospital and the only free hospital serving the children of one of the largest slums in the western hemisphere. They have done all this with little support and a lot of imagination, succeeding where many bigger and better-funded organizations have failed, largely by empowering the people with whom they work.

Thanks to their efforts, families in the slums have clean water to drink, children can look forward to a meal every day, and people in one of the poorest countries in the world have the opportunity to become self-sufficient.

Artists for Peace and Justice is dedicated to helping them achieve their goals. We give grants for specific projects, where every penny has an impact, and every dollar goes to the help the children of Haiti.

Paul Haggis
for the Board of Artists for Peace and Justice

The Cinema for Peace Foundation (CFPF)

The Cinema for Peace Foundation (CFPF) was initiated in 2008 by Jaka Bizilj to further develop the goals and activities of the established Cinema for Peace Initiative throughout the entire year, expanding the role of Cinema for Peace in raising public awareness of social inequality and injustice in the world through the medium of film.

Per its charter, the Cinema for Peace Foundation endeavors to further peace and understanding worldwide through the support of cinematographic works. CFPF’s main purpose is the involvement in the production and dissemination of films about the prevention of disease (e.g. AIDS), violence, ecocide, war, poverty and violation of human rights. In order to do so, such films are supported and made accessible through the foundation as widely as possible in an effort to raise awareness about these issues worldwide, both in the first world countries as well as in the afflicted countries. The foundation pursues this goal directly, or by supporting third parties in doing so.

About Us

The International Red Cross is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering, without any discrimination based on nationality, race, sex, religious beliefs, class or political opinions.

The movement consists of several distinct organizations that are legally independent from each other, but are united within the movement through common basic principles, objectives, symbols, statutes and governing organs. The movement's parts are:

• The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a private humanitarian institution founded in 1863 in Geneva, Switzerland, by Henry Dunant. Its 25-member committee has a unique authority under international humanitarian law to protect the life and dignity of the victims of international and internal armed conflicts. The ICRC was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on three occasions (in 1917, 1944 and 1963).
• The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was founded in 1919 and today it coordinates activities between the 186 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies within the Movement. On an international level, the Federation leads and organizes, in close cooperation with the National Societies, relief assistance missions responding to large-scale emergencies. The International Federation Secretariat is based in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1963, the Federation (then known as the League of Red Cross Societies) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with the ICRC.
• National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies exist in nearly every country in the world. Currently 186 National Societies are recognized by the ICRC and admitted as full members of the Federation. Each entity works in its home country according to the principles of international humanitarian law and the statutes of the international Movement. Depending on their specific circumstances and capacities, National Societies can take on additional humanitarian tasks that are not directly defined by international humanitarian law or the mandates of the international Movement. In many countries, they are tightly linked to the respective national health care system by providing emergency medical services.

Who We Are

When a child is diagnosed with a serious illness, the day-to-day joys of childhood take a back seat to the rigors of treatment and hospitalization. For more than 25 years, Starlight Children’s Foundation has been dedicated to improving the quality of life for children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses and life-altering injuries by providing entertainment, education and family activities that help them cope with the pain, fear and isolation of prolonged illness.

We understand what families go through when a child is sick, and how important it is to find relief from constant worry and isolation. Our programs have been proven to distract children from their pain, help them better understand and manage their illnesses, and connect families with others facing similar challenges so that no one feels alone.

Unlike any other charity, Starlight offers a comprehensive menu of outpatient, hospital-based and Web offerings that enable us to provide ongoing support for children and families — from diagnosis through the entire course of medical treatment. Programs include:

Family activities and outings that give families a chance to have fun together away from the hospital so they can relax, regroup and return home with a renewed sense of strength and hope. The events also forge important connections between families struggling with similar issues to combat feelings of isolation.

In-hospital entertainment technology that helps kids fill hours in hospitals or treatment centers with therapeutic fun; find distraction during long or painful medical procedures; access Starlight’s online educational programs and communities; and stay connected with the outside world and keep up with school work during extended hospitalizations. 

Online communities and interactive websites that help seriously ill teens connect with each other and find tips and strategies for coping with their medical conditions.

In-hospital playrooms, kid-friendly treatment rooms and special events that help ease the loneliness, fear and boredom that accompany hospital stays.

Educational programming — delivered via online interactive games, ezines, webisodes, a comic book and websites — to help sick children understand common hospital procedures and manage illnesses and injuries such as cancer, sickle cell, cystic fibrosis, asthma, Crohn’s and colitis, severe burns and kidney disease.

Research studies have found that Starlight’s programs help reduce children’s pain while helping them to better deal with, understand and manage their illnesses. In addition, Starlight programs help the child, parents and siblings experience less depression, anxiety, pain and isolation and bond as a family.

The way we see it, while researchers look for cures and doctors work to restore a child's health, Starlight works to restore the entire family's spirits.

We invite you to be a part of the growing Starlight network of supporters who are making a difference in the lives of children and families suffering through childhood illness.

Click here to learn how you can get involved.

Click here to review a report on Starlight's organizational goals, capacity and performance evaluation measures.

Who are we?

Whatever It Takes is a unique artwork campaign launched by 21st Century Leaders Foundation, charity reg. no. 1061376.

We have gathered 660 leaders: royalty, Nobel Peace Prize laureates, business leaders, actors, musicians, artists, fashion designers, sportsmen and sportswomen and writers.

Many of the world's most celebrated public figures have put their names to our projects. By becoming 21st Century Leaders, these public figures are pledging to do ‘whatever it takes’ to address issues of the 21st Century.

We work with our leaders to assist and encourage a generation of influencers to take ownership, engage in positive action, raise awareness among their communities, and champion the solutions to poverty and environmental degradation.


Whatever It Takes

We are proud to introduce you to the Whatever It Takes collection, featuring ‘symbols of hope for the 21st Century’ drawn by leaders in the worlds of fashion, film, television, music and sport.

The signed artwork donated by each Leader is his or her original work, and has been donated for the exclusive use of the Whatever It Takes campaign which has so far raised over $3,000,000 for charitable projects worldwide.

Whatever It Takes supports 21st Century Leaders Foundation in its work for key global development causes including poverty alleviation, environmental conservation and the protection of children.

If you’d like to learn more about what we do, take a look at our causes.