RENATE’s General Assembly which will take place in Fatima, Portugal, 7 – 13 November, 2021, has as its Assembly Theme ‘’Towards 2030,’’ with a focus on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as they pertain to Human Trafficking and Exploitation.

The yearly report of the UN Secretary-General on progress towards the 17 SDGs has been released ahead of the 2020 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). The report draws on the latest available data on the indicators contained in the global SDG indicator framework as of April 2020. It also highlights implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on each SDG.

The 2020 SDG Progress Report finds “continued unevenness of progress” and identifies areas where significant improvement is required. Areas of progress until the end of 2019 included declining global poverty, falling rates of maternal and child mortality, access to electricity for more people, and the development of more national sustainable development policies and signing of international agreements for environmental protection. At the same time, progress was stalled or reversed on the number of people suffering from hunger, the rate of climate change, and increasing inequalities.

More at: http://sdg.iisd.org/news/un-secretary-general-releases-2020-sdg-progress-report/

UNDERSTANDING AND COUNTERACTING TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS – A TRAINING COURSE FOR HELPERS- free online course from Le Collège Universitaire Henry Dunant (CUHD) .

Our friends at the ARISE Foundation (http://www.arisefdn.org/ ) share the link below to a free, online course that is designed to cater for every level of capacity regarding Human Trafficking and Exploitation- from those who wish to learn more about the phenomenon of Human Trafficking through to those who are actively engaged and dedicated to its prevention and end.

Comprising seven Chapters or stages, beginning with ‘’Setting the stage’’ and progressing through to the final ‘’Burnout’’ Chapter, this course is designed for multiple audiences.

To register: https://www.cuhd.org/online-courses/?lang=en

Pope Francis announced a special Laudato si’ Year and a special prayer dedicated to the Laudato si’ Year, he encourages everyone to pray it.

Loving God,
Creator of Heaven, Earth, and all therein contained.
Open our minds and touch our hearts,
so that we can be part of Creation, your gift.

Be present to those in need in these difficult times,
especially the poorest and most vulnerable.
Help us to show creative solidarity
as we confront the consequences of the global pandemic.
Make us courageous in embracing
the changes required to seek the common good.
Now more than ever, may we all feel interconnected and interdependent.

Enable us to succeed in listening and responding
to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor.
May their current sufferings become the birth-pangs
of a more fraternal and sustainable world.

We pray through Christ our Lord,
under the loving gaze of Mary Help of Christians,

Amen.

(A Vatican News English translation).

In the wake of the COVID-19 Crisis UNANIMA International are organizing an action on the social media Twitter: a “Twitterstorm” to promote the issue of Family Homelessness in the context of the pandemic through our COVID-19 Statement and our hashtags #HiddenFacesofHomelessness and #MakingAHome4Everyone.

It is scheduled for Friday, May 1^st from 1300hrs to 1400hrs (GMT) and we would like to invite you to join us with your Twitter account. The official hashtag is hashtags #HiddenFacesofHomelessness, #MakingAHome4Everyone and #HiddenHomelessness&COVID19, the UNANIMA International Twitter account is @UNANIMAIntl.

Please feel free to contact us if you need any further information or have any questions.

Best regards

UNANIMA Internationa