OPINION

Act Now to Transform Education into 21st Century Learning

Viewpoint by Dr Randa Grob-Zakhary

The author is the Founder and CEO of Education.org

ZURICH (IDN) — At the recent Transforming Education Summit in New York, 130 countries pledged to reboot their education systems and accelerate action to tackle the global learning crisis. Fifty foundations pledged to support those ambitions.

As UN Secretary-General António Guterres outlined, COVID-19 has “dealt a hammer blow” to education systems worldwide. But this has come on top of a much longer term crisis. Too often, education systems “don’t make the grade,” the Secretary-General said, as they are “dependent upon outdated and narrow curricula, under-trained and underpaid teachers, and rote learning”.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Quality Education; 24 September 2022

Image: Cover of the book, 'Lessons Learnt'.

A Conversation About Life Love and Career

A Review by Nandi Jasentuliyana

The writer is the former Deputy Director-General of the United Nations.

LOS ANGELES, USA (IDN) — Love, heartache, and euphoria wrapped in a treasure trove of the author's life experiences narrated within these pages depict the lonely abyss and the dizzy heights of glory that people experience.

In 'Lessons Learnt', Pramuk Manchanayaka 'has brought forth a wonderfully written, captivating publication that affirms the depth of humanity's relationship.

: Opinion Editor; ARTS & CULTURE; 23 September 2022

Photo: Thousands of demonstrators join Fridays for Future’s global day of action to stand with Ukraine by walking down Willy-Brandt-Strasse, a main thoroughfare in Hamburg, Germany. (Photo: Daniel Reinhardt/dpa/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Ukraine War: Still a Cuban Missile Crisis in Slow Motion

Viewpoint by Joseph Gerson

This article was first published by CommonDreams.org

NEW YORK (IDN) — During the first days of the Ukraine war, former Senator Sam Nunn warned that the Ukraine War was a Cuban Missile Crisis in slow motion. That warning was recently reiterated by senior analysts in Moscow during an off-the-record conversation.

The war is about Ukraine and much more: power, privileges, the security disorder in Europe; the future of Putin’s rule; and Biden/Blinken efforts to reinforce U.S. hegemony in the face of pressures for a bipolar or multi-polar world disorder.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 22 September 2022

Photo: Subhash Chandra Bose on a 1964 stamp of India. Wikimedia Commons.

India: Misrepresenting Subhash Chandra Bose's Philosophy

Viewpoint by Dr Ram Puniyani

This article is the 23rd in a series of joint productions of South Asian Outlook and IDN-InDepthNews, the flagship of the International Press Syndicate. The writer is a former professor of biomedical engineering and former senior medical officer affiliated with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (now Mumbai) and, meanwhile, a social activist and commentator.

: Suresh Jaura; OPINION; 22 September 2022

Image: Mitchell Squire/Private Media. Source: Crickey

Democracy: Room for Some Sptimism Despite Setbacks

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — In the year 2000, George W. Bush became the victor of an imperfect presidential election. The less than straightforward way that Bush won and, in particular, how obvious it became that the US Supreme Court had become a political creature, raised the profound worry that this would rub off on many parts of the world.

One can’t prove it, but I suggest that that, together with later shenanigans surrounding the presidency of Donald Trump, including his refusal to accept the election result and the riot of January 6, when his supporters stormed the Capitol, there is some correlation between these events and the decline of democracy in many parts of the world.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 20 September 2022

Photo: Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev speaking at the closing ceremony of the Seventh Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions on September 15 in the Kazakh capital. Credit: Akorda press service.

Kazakhstan: A Bridge Between West and East

By Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kazakhstan

As Kazakhstan hosted on September 14-15 the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, an influential US magazine National Interest published an article by the Kazakhstan President where he dwells on the significance of the two-day congress amid rising global tensions. The following text was re-published by The Astana Times newspaper.

BERLIN | NUR-SULTAN (IDN) — At times like this, we need to build bridges, not walls.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 16 September 2022

Pakistan and the Fight for Climate Justice

Viewpoint by Jeffrey D. Sachs

This article was published in Project Syndicate and is being republished with the author's permission.

NEW YORK (IDN) — Around the world, 2022 has been a year of climate catastrophes, including droughts, floods, mega-fires, typhoons, and more. Among the hardest-hit countries is Pakistan. With torrential monsoon rainfall almost 190% above its 30-year average, extraordinary flooding has submerged one-third of the country and killed 1,400 people so far. But make no mistake: this is not only a “natural disaster”; rather, it is also the result of malfeasance for which high-income countries must bear major financial responsibility.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 16 September 2022

Photo: Acting Costa Rican President José “Don Pepe” Figueres Ferrer takes a sledgehammer to the Cuartel Bellavista military barracks, 1948. Source: World Beyond War.ORG

A World Without Armies? Sri Lanka Should Take the Lead

Viewpoint by P. Soma Palan

COLOMBO (IDN) — I am a free thinker and not a qualified celebrity in any field or a public figure of sorts. When the nation is gasping for its very survival due to a chain of unprecedented crises in its history, the President of the Nation seems to be preoccupied with the task of training the Sri Lankan Military in modern warfare. He has got his priorities wrong.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 16 September 2022

Photo: William, Kate, Harry and Meghan make surprise appearance at Windsor. Source: The Guardian video

How Meghan, 'the Witch of Windsor', Killed the Queen

Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene

The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria.

ABUJA (IDN) — The only thing that compares in recent tweet villainy with the post of US-based Nigerian professor Uju Anya on Queen Elizabeth II, was perhaps the visit of the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, to the Windsor Castle. Yet, after her ordeal even Anya is back, recuperating from the injury inflicted by the hounds and five days in Twitter jail.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 15 September 2022

Photo: Former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milošević addressing the crowd at Gazimestan, Kosovo, 28 June 1989. Source: View East

Looking Back at Yugoslavia with a Critical Eye

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Serbia and Kosovo are at it again. The fragmentation of ex-Yugoslavia appears to be a story without end. Serbia is rejecting US and EU demands to recognize the independence of Kosovo. Belgrade argues that historically Kosovo is a province of Serbia. The ethnic Albanian citizens insist on Kosovo being independent, walking in the footsteps of Bosnia, Macedonia, Slovenia and Croatia.