The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has been selected by the international fashion retailer H&M as one of the contribution recipients of its 2009 Fashion Against AIDS campaign (FAA2). As part of a recently-established partnership, H&M will present 25 percent of the FAA2 campaign donations to UNFPA to support HIV prevention projects in four countries: Bahrain, Egypt, Oman and Turkey. The projects will be undertaken with Y-PEER—a groundbreaking youth-to-youth initiative pioneered by UNFPA.
Young people are at the centre of the global HIV epidemic, with an estimated 5.4 million youth living with the virus. UNFPA plays a leading role in programs that provide young people with access to the information and services that would protect them against sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
H&M has launched the FAA2 campaign with the charitable organization Designers Against AIDS. The campaign, according to H&M, aims to raise awareness on HIV and AIDS among youth through H&M’s celebrity-designed clothing and by sending positive safe sex messages.
For more information, please contact Omar Gharzeddine, UNFPA.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and LG Electronics (LGE), a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, agreed to be partners in the recognition of outstanding global environmental leaders through UNEP's Champions of the Earth Awards.
The agreement was signed by Angela Cropper, Deputy Executive Director of UNEP and Young Kee Kim, Executive Vice President of LGE, at a ceremony held in Seoul, Korea. Under the three-year partnership, LGE will contribute KRW 0.7 billion (approximately USD 560,000) per year to support the Champions of the Earth. A total of USD 200,000 in prize money will be awarded yearly to winners, starting in 2010, with the contribution from LGE.
Established in 2004, the Champions of the Earth is the flagship global award presented each year by UNEP to outstanding environmental leaders. This year the award has been revamped to distinguish environmental heroes not just in the field of Policy Leadership, as was the case in the previous years, but also in the areas of Science and Innovation, Entrepreneurial Vision, and Inspiration and Action.
The 2009 winners are: Policy Leadership co-winners - Norwegian Environment Minister Erik Solheim; tropical forest and climate campaigner Kevin Conrad; Inspiration and Action winner - photographic and public awareness pioneer Yann Arthus-Bertrand; Entrepreneurial Vision co-winners - wind power entrepreneur Tulsi Tanti and recycling innovator Ron Gonen; Science and Innovation winner - biomimicry specialist Janine Benyus; and special category winner (Next Generation Champions - youth-empowering Ethiopian organization Tena Kebena.
All seven laureates gathered in Paris on Earth Day, 22 April 2009, to receive their trophies at a gala event attended by more than 200 personalities from business, politics and civil society. The award ceremony was held in conjunction with the annual Business for Environment Global Summit (B4E), the world's leading international conference for dialogue and business-driven action for the environment held by UNEP and the United Nations Global Compact.
About UNEP Champions of the Earth Awards
The UNEP Champions of the Earth is an international environment award established in 2004 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The annual prize rewards individuals from around the globe who have made a significant and recognized contribution globally, regionally and beyond in the categories of Policy Leadership, Science and Innovation, Entrepreneurial Vision, and Inspiration and Action. Candidates are judged by a senior UNEP panel with input from UNEP's regional offices. (www.unep.org/champions)
For more information on this partnership, please click here.
For more information on the Champions of the Earth program, please click here.
Starting in June 2009, for every SUNNAN solar powered lamp sold in IKEA stores worldwide, one lamp will be given to UNICEF to light up the life of a child.
The first shipments are destined for Pakistan, helping children in camps for people who had to flee their homes, and remote villages in Balochistan and the North West Frontier province.
IKEA has made an especially sturdy SUNNAN for the developing world, designed to resist the wear and tear of difficult living situations, including a battery capable of withstanding high temperatures. This unit will enable children to play, read, write and study at night, even if their homes have no electricity.
For more information, please click here.
