Top 5 Organizations Working to Reduce Gender Inequality

 

SDG 10: Reduced inequalities

 

5. Plan International

Plan International is a human rights organization working for child rights and equality for girls. It challenges discrimination against women, gender norms, stereotypes, and unlevelled power relations between genders. The organization runs on the principle of inclusion.

 

4. Centre for Reproductive Rights

The Centre for Reproductive Rights was established in 1992. Their aim is to use law to promote reproductive rights as fundamental human rights. It works to provide access to quality reproductive healthcare and allows women to make important decision in a coercion free environment.

 

3. Womankind Worldwide

Womankind Worldwide is an international organization that works in partnership with women rights organizations and movements with an aim to transform women’s lives and have their rights respected and realized. The organization works actively in Ethiopia, Kenya, Nepal, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

 

2. Association for Women’s Rights in Development

AWID is an international organization with the vision of “a world where feminist realities flourish, where resources and power are shared in ways that enable everyone, and future generations, to thrive and realize their full potential with dignity, love and respect, and where Earth nurtures life in all its diversity”. Placed amid a unique ecosystem of feminist movements AWID works closely with activists and policymakers.

 

1. UN Women

United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women is the official UN agency catered to promote women’s rights and help member states meet global standards of Gender Equality. Focusing on women leadership, economic autonomy, cases of violence and building resilience it works closely with social organizations and governments.

 

Top 5 Largest and Most Impactful Global Infrastructure Projects

 

SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

 

1. International Space Station

 

 

ISS is a manmade habitable satellite and mankind’s largest infrastructure in space. It has been occupied by astronauts since 2000 and is being planned for expansion to enable its use as a potential human habitat in space.

(Source: ABC News)

 

2.  South-North Water Transfer Project, China

China’s topography has demanded this humongous infrastructure project aimed at transferring water to the north which has 50% population and only 20% water resources. The project is estimated to continue for 48 years and will involve the building of 3 canals.

(Source: Global Times)

3. Jubail II, Saudi Arabia

As the world’s largest civil engineering project, it is seeking to build a multibillion-dollar industrial city from scratch. The city will include industrial plants, railways, highways, roads, a water desalination plant and an oil refinery.

(Source: Bechtel)

4. The Great Man-Made River Project, Libya

The GMR project, that largest irrigation project in the world begun in 1985, it is a pipeline system that will irrigate African cities. (Source: BOINK.SK).

 

5. The California High-Speed Railway, California, USA

The American speed rail project is currently under construction and aims to connect 8 of the largest cities in United States. The bullet train system set to complete by 2030, will be powered by renewable energy.

(Source: NY Times)

These infrastructure projects are the biggest initiatives honoring the spirit of SDG 9, that is, building resilient and sustainable infrastructure, all the while fostering innovation.

 

 

Top 5 “Waste-to-Energy” Technologies

 

With the unprecedented pace of growing population implicating the growing rates of trash generation. In the year 2012, the world generated 1.3 billion tons of solid waste. According to a report of the World Bank, waste is set to hit 3.4 billion tons by 2050. [1] Instead, landfills that are not sustainable have harmful environmental consequences due to substantial emission of greenhouse gas such as methane and production of leachates (liquid pollution, containing many toxins and pathogens that are formed when water seeps through waste piles). [2] The need of the hour is ‘Waste-to-Energy’ technologies that process non-renewable waste which would serve two purposes: waste management and energy production. Major technologies used worldwide are: 

5. Pyrolysis/Gasification (alternative technologies): It is the process of degassing waste under oxygen-controlled conditions, during which pyrolysis gas and a solid coke are formed. It can substitute incineration and is more pollution-free. Pyrolysis could be an option for the treatment of specific waste such as contaminated soil, clinical waste, or mono hazardous industrial/commercial waste. However, it is not recommended for either heterogeneous solid municipal waste. Moreover, Dendro Liquid Energy (DLE), is a zero-waste technology from Germany in which all kinds of mixed waste, including plastics and wooden logs, are treated in a reactor to produce carbon monoxide and hydrogen further generating electric power. Syngas – This method leverages the process of gasification. It converts solid and liquid waste into a gas called Syngaswhich is then used to generate energy or heat. Gasification is seen as upcoming prominent technology to be used worldwide.  

4. Landfill Gas (LFG):  It is an essential component to partially mitigate negative ecological impacts from the operation of sanitary landfills. Sanitary landfilling is widely used to treat and store the collected waste in a controlled manner. Although it is an improvement on unregulated and open dumping, it still has negative long-term environmental impacts like emission of greenhouse gas methane in landfill gas into the atmosphere. The methane is formed by the anaerobic digestion of organic matter in the landfill body. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions from landfill sites into the atmosphere, trapping methane gas becomes crucial. This is possible through LFG capture. But some losses occur during the start-up phase before the methane capturing system is installed and in operation. However, it is not possible to capture all of the gas emitted by the landfill even amidst operation. Over 200 LFG collection projects were successfully realized under the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto protocol for mitigation of climate gas emissions [3]

3. Anaerobic Digestion for Biogas Production: It is the process of decomposition of organic matter through microorganisms in the absence of oxygen. Anaerobic digestion occurs naturally under oxygen-deprived conditions but can be used under controlled conditions to produce biogas. For this, a gas-tight reactor, an anaerobic digester, provides favorable conditions for microorganisms to turn organic matter into biogas and a solid-liquid residue called digestate which can be utilized as an organic fertilizer. 

Biogas is a mixture of different gases which can be converted into thermal or electrical energy. The flammable gas methane (CH4) is the main component in biogas and its content ranges between 50 – 75% depending on feedstock and operational conditions [4]. Due to its lower methane content, the calorific (heating) value of biogas is about two-thirds that of natural gas. This method uses small-scale digesters in developing countries for a long time for biogas or ‘gobar gas’ (as called in India) in rural areas. The primary input is from agriculture, especially animal manure, which is relatively easy to operate and can be well applied at small scales. At the municipal level, it is seen as a viable option for energy recovery from waste in urban areas.  A major challenge to this process is to guarantee a consistently well-separated organic waste fraction because Organic waste is often mixed with inorganic matter such as plastics, metals, and other contaminants which often hampers the successful operation of Anaerobic digestion. However small-scale biogas plants are a viable and economical option for developing countries. 

2. Co-processing:  It is the use of waste-derived materials to replace natural mineral resources, fossil fuels such as coal, fuel oil, and natural gas through different pre-treatment processes waste can be transformed into so-called refuse-derived fuel in industrial processes. It is used worldwide mainly in the cement industry and thermal power plants; also, in the steel and lime industry. In thermal plants where only energy recovery takes place, this is called co-incineration. In the European cement industry, the thermal substitution rate of traditional fuels by waste could be up to 80%, while the average substitution rate across the EU amounts to about 39%. [5] The share of Municipal solid waste used in co-processing is still low compared to waste such as used tires, hazardous industrial waste, contaminated soil, biomass residues, or sludge from wastewater treatment plants.

1. Incineration/combustion: this is the major technology used for handling especially plastic waste in many countries. Example Japan and Singapore have been incinerating their municipal solid waste since 2017 and 2015, respectively.[6] Even in China, incineration has been vastly used since 2017. Sweden began importing waste from other European countries in 2016 for its waste-to-energy operations. The calorific value is 7 Megajoules per kg of waste using this technology. 

 

References 

1. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/17388
2. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0734242X16675683
3. UNFCCC, “United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change,” [Online]. Available: https://cdm.unfccc.int/Projects/projsearch.html
4. A. Wellinger, J. D. Murphy and D. Baxter, The Biogas Handbook. Science, Production and Applications, Cambridge: Woodhead Publishing, 2013.
5. CEMBUREAU, “Activity Report 2015,” The European Cement Association, Brussel, 2015.
6. https://www.unep.org/ietc/resources/publication/waste-energy-considerations-informed-decision-making

 

Other references :

https://www.prescouter.com/2017/10/waste-to-energy-technologies-available/

https://www.unep.org/ietc/resources/publication/waste-energy-considerations-informed-decision-making

 Waste-to-Energy Options in Municipal Solid Waste Management,Published by: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH

Top 4 pillars for Decent work

 

Sustainable development goal 8 believes in “Promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all”.                                                                                                                   

According to the United Nations, Decent work implies “opportunities for everyone to get work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for families, better prospects for personal development and social integration.” They emphasize providing gender-based equality in work opportunities.

It is vital for reducing poverty and for achieving sustainable, equitable and inclusive economic growth. International Labor Organization (ILO) provides the framework for such policies to the nations. It convened an international Tripartite Meeting of Experts (TME) on the Measurement of Decent Work in 2008 for experts’ views and recommendations on the conceptual framework proposed by the ILO.  Later, the ILO Governing Body and the 18th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) adopted the proposed recommendations and incorporated the framework of Decent Work Indicators covering ten crucial elements and four strategic pillars of Decent work. These are: 

 

        4.  Standards and rights at work: the governments are to be held responsible for ensuring rights at work and to frame stringent labor laws to safeguard the interests of workers and their dignity in particular the poor disadvantaged laborers whose voice gets muffled.  

 

        3.  Employment creation and enterprise development: We need to build such an economy that has the potential to generate opportunities for investment, entrepreneurship, skills development, job creation and better working conditions aiming for full and productive employment. Sustainable enterprises and efficient economies are requisite for taking the country out of poverty. 

 

        2.  Social protection: countries should promote inclusivity and productivity simultaneously. They need to ensure that both men and women have safe workplaces, get equal wages for equal work, flexible working hours, good work-life balance, provisions for healthcare, medical leave and so on. 

 

        1.  Social dialogue: there is a need for promoting strong and independent workers’ and employers' organizations as they are crucial for augmenting productivity, avoiding and resolving conflicts at work, and building cohesive societies and a cooperative work environment. Further strengthening ‘Tripartism’ i.e. “the economic system of corporatism based on mixed economy and tripartite contracts between employers' organizations, trade unions, and the government of a country”. 

Sustainable Cities and Communities

 

1.      FIVE TRAITS OF A SUSTAINABLE CITY

 

a) Add EV charging stations

Whereas conventional fuel-driven vehicles generate an average of 4.6 metric tons per year, hybrids can cut that in half, and electric vehicles produce zero. Cities aiming for carbon neutrality must include EV charging stations in their sustainable city planning. Urban areas can incentivize the construction of these stations, and planners can team up with developers to map out appropriate locations for charging stations. Key benefits include:

·         Lower transportation costs

·         Reduced strain on traffic management infrastructure

·         Massive reduction of carbon emissions

·         Cleaner air

b) Provide access to public resources and green spaces

Access to nature and walking/biking paths are key elements of a sustainable city. Resources like parks, nature preserves and recreational areas get people out of cars. And studies have shown that green spaces help improve mental health. Infrastructure designs and urban landscaping can go a long way toward enhancing public resources and making cities more vibrant. Some of the benefits of this feature include:

·         More livable urban centers

·         Improved urban mobility

·         Support for a diverse ecosystem, including birds, bees and butterflies

·         Mental health for residents.

c) Improve water conservation and wastewater management

Technology to monitor water systems and provide leak detection is key, along with incentives for citizens and businesses to save water. Likewise, waste disposal processes can shift toward a circular economy model, and sustainable city waste management. Programs to minimize waste by recycling, composting, and repurposing materials are some proven ways cities can be more sustainable with waste management.
 The benefits are many:

·         Fewer water shortages

·         Enhanced availability of water for recreational purposes

·         Reduced waste, and the energy used to manage it

·         Less environmental pollution

d) Support urban farming

Food is second to energy as the most in-demand city resource. Urban farming enhances food production, reduces food insecurity and mitigates the environmental effects of food transportation. And growing food locally reduces the distance from farm to consumer. Urban farming practices include vertical gardens, rooftop farming, community gardens, and encouraging schools and restaurants to grow food. 
There are several great benefits:

·         Meeting the growing demand for local food

·         Boosting the local economy

·         Transforming under-utilized spaces into vibrant and edible landscapes

·         Reducing the environmental impact of agriculture supply chain.

e) Implement green architecture

When we talk about sustainable development and cities, green architecture is a key component. Green architects are discovering innovative ways to reduce resource use and lower greenhouse gas emissions — from using natural building materials and solar panels, to improving ventilation and insulation, planting more shade trees and installing smart HVAC systems. Green buildings can meet certain requirements to get LEED-certified, which is increasingly desirable for tenants. Benefits include:

·         Energy savings

·         Reduced greenhouse emissions

·         Improved air quality

·         Better health

2. FOUR UNESCO CULTURAL HERITAGE SITES IN INDIA

·         Agra Fort: Near the gardens of the Taj Mahal stands the important 16^th Century Mughal monument known as the Red Fort of Agra. This powerful fortress of red sandstone encompasses, within its 2.5 km long enclosure walls.

·         Ajanta caves: The first Buddhist cave monument at Ajanta date from the 2^nd and 1^st Centuries B.C. During the Gupta period many more richly decorated caves were added to the original group.  

·         Ellora Caves: It illustrates the spirit of tolerance that was characteristic of ancient India. These 34 monasteries and temples, extending over more than 2km.  

·         Taj Mahal: An immense mausoleum of white marble, built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife. 

 

3.                  TOP THREE CITIES IN THE WORLD WITH POOR AIR QUALITY INDEX, WHICH SHOWS ADVERSE PER CAPITA ENVIRONMNETAL IMPACT

 

·         Kolkata, India: Air Quality Index, the PM2.5, the air is currently 24 times above the WHO annual air quality guideline value

·         Dhaka, Bangladesh: Air is currently 21.5 times above the WHO annual air quality guideline value 

·         Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina: The air quality is 16 times above the issued guidelines.

 

4.                  TWO CONFERENCES TO BE HELD ON SUSTAINABLE CITIESS

 

·         World Urban Forum, which aims at transforming our cities for a better Urban Future is the premier global conference to be held in the Polish City of Katowice from 26-30 June 2022.

·         International Conference on Sustainable Cities and Regions, July 28-29, 2022 in Zurich, Switzerland: It aims to bring together leading academic scientists, researchers and research scholars to exchange and share their experiences a research results on all aspects of Sustainable Cities and Regions. 

 

5.                  ONE OBJECTIVE 

 

The UN special rapporteur on adequate housing defined the human right to adequate housing as “The right of every woman, man, youth and child to gain and sustain a safe and secure home and community in which to live in peace and dignity”. 

 

Technology Integration For Children With Learning Disabilities

1.     Brief of Technology Integration: 

We need technology in every classroom and in every student and teacher’s hand, because it is the pen and paper of our time, and it is the lens through which we experience much of our world. With time and evolvement within the technology there's a change inside the education system. We have distinctive modes of education i.e. the classic education, distance finding out along with the on the internet courses.

A one-to-one interaction amongst the teacher plus the student. It is easy to deliver points to the ones sitting in front of you and also uncomplicated to get for the students to know in a better way.

Education and technology has allowed students to have a substantial amount of resources to e-textbooks, software materials, online meetings for classes, and more. Education online has allowed students to receive the same information given in a traditional classroom setting, right in the comfort of their own home.

2.     Children with Learning Disabilities: 

Learning Disability is not a disorder or a syndrome. Some of them catch and learn quickly, some go slow. All of them have different learning skills, techniques, capabilities, it is all matter of time. However, with technology integration, students are running along with it advancing new skills, enhancing and improvising knowledge with the sources they have. 

We need to focus on students with learning disabilities i.e., all the help they need. Here is a wish list of what is currently needed by people with learning disabilities, how to help children learn and make capable of contributing to society. What is needed is proper guidance from educators and an education system that helps them to achieve their full potential. 

Listening comprehension: individuals with dyslexia have a tendency to be better listeners than readers. Child could experience difficulty following what the teacher is saying in a loud classroom. Sitting close to the teacher can reduce diversions.

Memory: children with dyslexia can take a long time to read a sentence that they may not recall the sentence that came before it. Listening to an audio version or using other kinds of assistive technology can help.

Navigation: children with dyslexia may struggle with spatial ideas, for example “left” and “right”. This can lead to fears about getting lost in school hallways, auditoriums and other familiar places. 

Time management: dyslexia can make it difficult to tell time or stick to a schedule. A phone alarm, picture schedule and other different prompts can keep children on track. Help children early intervention is superior to ignoring them: it’s very important to identify the children with learning disabilities. It is critical to find dyslexia children early. 

Parents and teachers can better assist these students when detection is made early. Skills and hands-on training is preferable to improve academic skills

Sensitivity to dyslexia students: if parents and teachers discover a learning disability early and provide the appropriate help, it can give the child or adult a chance to develop skills required to lead a successful and productive life. Teachers should give extra time during exams, at least thirty minutes for dyslexia students. This may greatly help students with learning difficulties to acquire better grades in exams. Teachers must also learn how to deal with these students. 

Government funding is necessary and should never end: government funding greatly supports the teaching students with unique needs. The government money available for extracurricular activities like music classes, speech and occupational therapy, and physiotherapy can help improve their social and academic performance. Organizing special travels requires money, too. Ideally, there should be one teacher for every five students. 

There are many college students with learning disabilities who are intelligent, talented, and creative. Typically, they have developed many different strategies to hide or compensate for their learning disabilities.

Slow reading speed or problem in modifying reading speed may be a problem. 

Difficulties with reading comprehension and retention. Difficulty identifying important issue, point and themes 

Misunderstanding of similar words, difficulty learning new vocabulary

Skips words or sentences. Difficulty reading for long periods of time. 

3.  Way Out to Aid Learning Disabilities:

• Pictography, Word Art, criticality thinking can help children. It also makes students learn with fun and enjoyment and doesn’t make boring or any diversion. It helps them to remember with logic. 

• Help them Socialize in school with other students. Introvert and Extrovert children differ with their learning tactics
• Do not make teaching as Closed wall activity. Explore it to outside of classroom.  
• Some usually are hyper sensitive and hyper active. Some have sensitive disorder. Criticality thinking varies in them. Make them flexible and be sure there are no such crossroads taking place. 
• Teach them with puzzle solving techniques, go for paper-less teaching, interest the lessons by graphics/animation/sculpture, children attract quickly, learning access becomes ease. 
• Non-verbal communication lessons, interesting stories through skits, video graphic lessons, conceptual notes making. 
• Give students different topics and make them Elocute on topics, debate with each other, consequently learn pros and cons. 
• Some have podium fear, score-less in exams, some have fear to mathematics (numeric), science (diagrams), inability to speak confidently. 
• Do not differentiate children/students from any disorder among other children. Those differentiation makes them feel awkward, they also feel they cannot move freely or learn like others. It makes them suffer mentally. Some have autistic disorders. Parents and teachers shall notice signs accordingly.

4.      Conclusion:

Learning and teaching can be established beyond the formal classroom. If you want to teach, then help those around you to better understand their environments and the subjects not seen as significant in schools. 

If you want to learn, help yourself and others to question all that you see around you (you may not have all of the answers, but that just means that you will always have something to learn). Make the younger generation into system of “practice of freedom” by which men and women deal with reality and discover how to participate. 

People deserve respect and equal opportunities to expand their knowledge and human potential, regardless of how easy the subjects are for them to learn. Individuals have their own learning styles. Not everyone learns the same way. Students are taught to memorize and regurgitate information, and those who cannot conform to this structure do not fit in. 

Teachers are forced to follow set guidelines that allow little-to-no room for creativity. But the reality is that students and teachers are made up of individuals with differing personalities, learning habits, tendencies, and needs. There needs to be room for disabilities, identities, and there needs to be room for acceptance for all.