9 Affirmations for World AIDS Day 2009

(ref: United Nations, http://www.un.org/en/events/aidsday/2009/ )

The United Nations established December 1st as World AIDS Day in 1988 following the lead of the World Health Organization that also established this day of remembrance and action that same year. The theme for 2009 is “Universal Access and Human Rights“. Understanding HIV and AIDS from a human rights perspective can be difficult.  Human rights are often misunderstood – and can sometimes be seen as abstract ideals with not much practical relevance for real people.

26 Interesting Things to Know About Pakistan

(ref: P is for Pakistan, by Shazia Razzak and Prodeepta Das)

Pakistan is a country that was born in 1947. Jasmine is its national flower, Islamabad is the capital city, and there are many bustling towns and quiet villages as well as beautiful mountains, lakes, rivers, and deserts. Here are 26 things you may not already know about Pakistan.

40 Ways to Build a Global Community

(ref: How to Build Global Community poster)

1. Think of no one as “them”
2. Don’t confuse your comfort with your safety
3. Talk to strangers
4. Imagine other cultures through their art, poetry, and novels
5. Listen to music you don’t understand – Dance to it!
6. Act locally
7. Notice the workings of power and privilege in your culture
8. Question consumption
9. Know how your lettuce and coffee are grown: wake up and smell the exploitation
10. Look for fair trade and union labels
11. Help build economies from the bottom up
12. Acquire few needs
13. Learn a second (or third) language
14. Visit people, places, and cultures — not tourist attractions
15. Learn people’s history
16. Re-define progress
17. Know physical and political geography
18. Play games from other cultures
19. Watch films with subtitles
20. Know your heritage
21. Honor everyone’s holidays
22. Look at the moon and imagine someone else, somewhere else, looking at it too
23. Read the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights
24. Understand the global economy in terms of people, land, and water
25. Know where your bank banks
26. Never believe you have a right to anyone else’s resources
27. Refuse to wear corporate logos: defy corporate domination
28. Question military/corporate connections
29. Don’t confuse money with wealth, or time with money
30. Have a pen/email pal
31. Honor indigenous cultures
32. Judge governance by how well it meets all people’s needs
33. Be skeptical about what you read
34. Eat adventurously — Enjoy vegetables, beans, and grains in your diet
35. Choose curiosity over certainty
36. Know where your water comes from and where your wastes go
37. Pledge allegiance to the earth: question nationalism
38. Think South, Central, and North — there are many Americans
39. Assume that many others share your dream
40. Know that no one is silent though many are not heard – WORK TO CHANGE THIS!

You can get a poster with this list of How to Build Global Community at Reach and Teach.

Also check out the Take One World poster.