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Baghdad, 27 June 2022 - The United Nations set aside 27 June to annually celebrate the role that micro, small and medium enterprises play in the global economy, poverty reduction and the attainment of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

This year, UN agencies in Iraq share a statement to recognize MSMEs at the heart of any resilient recovery from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts, and climate crisis. They contribute to the structural transformation of economies through decent jobs creation and income generation, particularly for vulnerable population, hence addressing the root causes of irregular migration.

Following the economic shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and in view of the current food insecurity, MSMEs can be effective agents of change to help advance in rebuilding and recovery efforts said UN Resident Coordinator in Iraq, Irena Vojkov-Sollorano, adding: They also have the potential to adopt actions in their business practices to contribute to building back better, in adapting to and mitigating climate change. MSMEs and start-ups need assistance to be the driving forces behind relevant innovations and take up new environmentally-friendly opportunities, as well as to improve their resilience to future shocks. Empowering MSMEs can thus contribute to a transition towards environmentally sustainable economies and societies for all and to building greater stability and resilience.

In Iraq, MSMEs represent a large share of the private sector. Supporting Iraqi MSMEs is instrumental for economic diversification, women and youth empowerment and ensuring sustainable peacebuilding efforts. Furthermore, supporting MSMEs comprises assisting young people as the upcoming employers and employees, leveraging on Iraqs demographic dividend. The White Paper for Economic Reform outlines the Government of Iraqs goals of attracting investment, inclusive development, introducing e-governance systems and fostering local production. By building on this impetus for reform and supporting MSMEs, the United Nations can help improve the overall business environment for MSMEs, increase their capacity to compete and assist the Iraqi government in achieving the goals set out in the Iraqs White Paper.

The UN in Iraq is working collaboratively to support MSMEs, particularly in high potential sectors for economic diversification and job creation, such as agriculture and agri-food value chains and the culture and creative industries. Improving MSMEs competitiveness and value chain upgrading opportunities is extremely needed nowadays in Iraq to boost the local economy and create sustainable livelihood opportunities. Well-defined strategies with mutually reinforcing interventions, fostering productive alliances, building bridges between the public and private sector and enhancing human and social capital, with a focus on young people, are crucial.

MSMEs need coordinated action and targeted support to untap their potential for sustainable and inclusive growth and decent work creation. We will continue to join our efforts to support MSMEs in Iraq to ensure they have the capacity and resources to leverage a green transition, increase their productivity and competitiveness and foster employment. The time to act is now.

Irena Vojkov-Sollorano, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq

Eric Buchot, Head of Country Programme, International Trade Centre

Dr. Salah ElHajjHassan, FAO Representative, Iraq

Ally Raza Qureshi, WFP Representative, Iraq

Maha Kattaa, ILO Country Coordinator, Iraq

George Gigauri, IOM Chief of Mission, Iraq

Erik Willems, Regional coordinator, UNCTAD

Zena Ali Ahmad, Resident Representative, UNDP Iraq

Paolo Fontani, Director and Representative to Iraq, UNESCO

Jean-Nicolas Beuze, UNHCR Representative, Iraq

Mads Oyen, OiC Representative, UNICEF

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On Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSME) Day, the UN calls for support to MSMEs as effective agents of change to help advance in...

More News28 Jun 2022 | 10:10 AM

Washington, June 28 (UNI) At least 46 people were found dead in a semi-truck in Texas' San Antonio, according to authorities.

Washington, June 28 (UNI/Sputnik) At least 40 bodies of migrants without documents were found dead in a tractor-trailer in San Antonio, the US state of Texas, Fox News reported citing sources.

United Nations, June 28 (UNI/Sputnik) The United Nations Security Council is going to meet on Ukraine on Tuesday at 3 pm EST (7:00 pm GMT), according to the council's program.

Kuala Lumpur, June 28 (UNI/Xinhua) Malaysia recorded 1,894 new Covid-19 infections as of midnight Monday, bringing the total tally to 4,558,558, according to the Health Ministry.

WASHINGTON, June 28 (Sputnik) - At least 40 bodies of migrants without documents were found dead in a tractor-trailer in San Antonio, the US state of Texas, Fox News reported citing sources.

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Iraq finds remains of 47 victims of 1980s' war with Iran - United News of India

When Kurdish refugee Bewar Esmat fled to Solihull after losing everything, little did he know his art would be showcased in the town's main venue for all to see. A gifted and trained artist, Iraqi Kurd Bewar was forced to flee the troubles of his homeland.

He arrived in Solihull in October 2021. Like many in his situation, he came to the UK with nothing, leaving behind a family and life that was once full of opportunity.

Holed up in a Solihull hotel with hundreds of refugees, Bewar lives in limbo while he waits for his Home Office interview. When most would crumble in the uncertainty, he has created a collection of stunning paintings.

READ MORE: Our stroll around BBC Back in Time neighbourhood found a community revelling in the limelight

His creations paint a vivid picture of the things he has seen. The white cliffs of Dover as he arrived on a boat, dark skies punctured by bright colours. His work is abstract, and created with the few resources he has.

Speaking to BirminghamLive through a translator, Bewar said: "I had this idea of what I wanted to do when I arrived. I had a certificate from an art academy in Iraq. I was an art teacher in Iraq, working for 13 years. I went to college."

And on where his ideas come from, he said: "I get ideas, [one picture] is from Dover, when I saw Dover, I was very happy."

Walk through Bewar's art exhibition in the video at the top of this article.

31-year-old Bewar is from Duhok, the capital city of the Kurdistan region in Iraq. Duhok itself is home to a huge refugee camp that first opened to host internally displaced Iraqis from the ISIS war in Iraq.

The UNHCR has reported that Iraq itself has a displacement crisis. Duhok camp has hosted displaced Iraqis, including Yazidis, Christians, Shabak, Kakai, Armenian and Turkmen minorities - some of whom have endured repeated displacement.

As a result of that, and other factors like religious and cultural persecution, people from that region have fled to claim asylum.

Bewar trained at a top art academy in Iraq, and was supported by his friends, who also live in temporary accommodation at the Solihull hotel, to display his impressive work. We have removed the identity of the hotel Bewar is staying at for security reasons.

More than 15 of Bewar's friends turned up to Solihull Council's refugee week event, at the Core Theatre on June 22, to support his first art show. Elliot Williams teaches Bewar and all of the refugees at the hotel English every week. He has got to know them well, and is clearly trusted by the group.

He said: "It's quite incredible, there's visible progression. From not knowing a word of English, they can now have basic conversations. I believe in them.

"English is fundamental" he added. The 26-year-old volunteers as a teacher but works with Entraide, a small charity dedicated to supporting refugees, asylum seekers and migrant workers living in Solihull.

Those who reside in the hotels are considered by law to be asylum seekers whilst their applications for refugee status are considered by the Home Office. People housed in Solihull hotels are not necessarily destined to stay here, and could later be housed anywhere in the country.

Earlier this year, the Government came under fire for how much they spend on housing asylum seekers in hotels, with Home Secretary Priti Patel saying at the time: "We do not want people in hotels. We should not be housing people in hotels.

Communities boss at Solihull Council Alison Mc Grory said they are making a change to how the borough supports refugees.

"We supported a major exercise at Birmingham Airport last year when [refugees] came from Afghanistan, that was our first major work with refugees," she told BirminghamLive.

"We didn't have a formal resettlement service, now we do." She added: "We've started this year's [refugee week event] little. It's not just about the week, it's about what we do."

On what life is like living in temporary accomodation, Bewar said: "We need help, for art materials, for painting." And asked how he felt about being in Solihull, he replied: "I am happy, very happy."

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Refugee who fled to Solihull from Iraq produces stunning art from his temporary accommodation - Birmingham Live

The Great School Wars that the educational historian and educational policy analyst Diane Ravitch wrote about in 1974 have returned with a vengeance.

Older battlesover tracking, community control, public funding for religious schools, multicultural education and even busingonce thought laid to rest, have resurfaced, while a host of new flashpoints, over critical race theory, school choice, charter schools, publicly funded tuition vouchers, equity, standardized testing, teacher accountability, transgender students rights and sex education, have exploded.

Even a glance at the news headlines reveals the depth and intensity of the deep cultural divides surrounding K-12 education. Here are a few examples:

San Francisco has become a touchstone in this educational Kulturkampf, whether the issue involves the names of public schools, the display of an allegedly racially insensitive mural by a 1930s Communist, the use of the word chief as part of administrative titles, or the districts math curriculum, which professors from Berkeley, Harvard, Stanford and UCLA claim will leave students, especially those from lower-income backgrounds, less prepared for postsecondary STEM education.

I recently spoke with a reporter who had been asked by her editor to write about the relationship between education and democracy. This is, of course, a fraught, extraordinarily complicated topic.

Theres the Dewey-esque notion of education as the bedrock of democracy: as the instrument for producing informed, reflective, independently minded citizens, rather than passive, compliant drones.

John Deweys civic-minded vision has, of course, inspired generations of educators, who aspire to transform their classrooms into models of democracy in action, cultivating students who can think critically, question established beliefs, undertake independent, in-depth research and engage in various forms of active learning.

Then theres how education actually functions in todays democracy:

As I spoke with the reporter, I thought quite a bit about what it means for the educational system itself to be democratic.

I think its fair to say that the history of primary and secondary education in the United States is, in fact, a series of ongoing controversies over education and democracy. Although the areas of contention have shifted over time, whats at stake is nothing less than these questions:

Those of us who teach at colleges should not assume that we are largely invulnerable to the kinds of cultural conflicts raging across the K-12 landscape. Nor should those who teach in California or New York be sanguine that the kinds of controversies raging in Texas and Florida over tenure or guns on campus have nothing to do with their states.

Faculty even in the bluest of blue states need to recognize that institutional autonomy is ebbing and that their legislatures are becoming much more intrusive in matters of admissions, curricular requirements, credit transfer, remedial education and institutional spending priorities.

Also, one-shot infusions of funds into public colleges and universities should not blind faculty to a host of worrisome long-term trends, for example in demographics and student preparation and interests, that will inevitably disrupt higher education.

Democracy is not simply a matter of free elections and voting rights. Its about empowerment. Its about conflicting interest groups and lobbies, each asserting their own values and priorities.

Today, more and more campus stakeholders believe that they should have a greater voice in institutional functioning. The most striking examples can be found in growth of graduate student unions and the emergence of the first undergraduate unions, It has come as a shock to many faculty members to discover that in campus decision making, theirs is only one voice among many, and not necessarily the loudest or more influential.

Democracy is messy and doesnt necessarily produce the optimal outcomes. Academic politics is especially acrimonious, not because (in words usually attributed to Henry Kissinger) the stakes are so low, but because the battles are never simply contests over power or struggles for dominance or assertions of self-interest. These contests are ultimately about values, vision, mission and institutional priorities with a larger goal of consensus building.

At their best, colleges and universities and their departments function according to a distinctive form of shared governance, which combines the best of two distinctive conceptions of democracy: deliberative democracy and participatory democracy. In consequence, the political process and representation within that process are as important as the resulting decisions.

If campus politics isnt ultimately about mission and a broad sense of the collective good, then the academy really is nothing more than yet another corporate entity in todays callous, unfeeling bureaucratic society.

Steven Mintz is professor of history at the University of Texas at Austin.

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Democracy and Education | Higher Ed Gamma - Inside Higher Ed

Aryaa Vyas has won the 2022 Paul Bangiola Good Citizen Award, a $250 prize granted annually by the Morris Plains Democratic Committee for an essay by a Borough School 8th grader extolling some aspect of good citizenship.

This years question: What does freedom in a democracy mean to you?

Here is Vyas essay.

Freedom. Liberty. Choice. These words are strongly associated with the United States. They are the foundation on which our founding fathers developed the nation. But what do they truly mean?

To me, freedom in a democracy means a variety of things, from being able to make a difference in the government and how it governs, to having equality for all, regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender, or any other characteristic.

It means having those unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It also means that the government is held accountable for its actions, that no one is above the law, and that no one person or group of people can have ultimate power over the people.

One example of freedom in a democracy is being able to facilitate an idea if it has enough support. One should be able to think, I can change this, and no one can hinder me. Bills can be proposed to change or add government regulations or organizations actions, or anything in between. People can generate enough support for or against a policy, and achieve their goal through peaceful protest or by voting for candidates who hold a particular belief.

Our senators and representatives work for the people, and so they must do what they can to uphold the interests of their citizens. People have a choice to have a say in their government and how they are being governed. They can speak their opinions on the government and make their voice heard, because, like President Kennedy said, Without debate, without criticism, no administration and no country can succeedand no republic can survive

The freedom of having a say in the government holds a special place in my heart, as it was something my mother was never able to experience. She grew up in the East African country of Kenya, a democracy only by name.

It only ever had one political party until very recently, and people feared speaking out against those in power. When they did speak, they faced dire consequences. My mothers neighbor was one person who did such. He made his views on the president and the Kenyan government public. When he gained support from others, he was murdered at his home.

Elections also were very aggressiveriots and protests broke out. Cars were burnt so people could not vote for the opposing parties. Roadblocks were put in place. For those reasons, many families, including my mothers, did not ever vote. This means that the government is not held responsible for its actions, essentially gaining ultimate power once its sworn into office.

The regulations officials create are not always in the interests of the citizens, but instead, for themselves, their cronies, and sycophants.

Having freedom in a democracy also means having equality for all, and havingno persecution of specific groups of people. Our Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Yet throughout the course of American history, we know this never always held true. For instance, in the early 1900s, segregation and the Jim Crow Laws were developed. Or during World War II, thousands of Japanese Americans were incarcerated in internment camps.

And for the majority of our young countrys life, women were not allowed to do the same things as men, like voting, owning property, or getting specific jobs. Even now, there is still an imbalance between women and mens rights.

Though the Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence were written by men who owned slaves, hypocritical to what those documents proclaim, these laws of the land make it possible for those facing injustice to fight to improve their lives and create justness in society.

As we progress, we aim to slowly lessen the discrimination in the United States and achieve the vision of our founding fathers.

Furthermore, freedom in a democracy means that no one is above the law. Those in office, whether federal, state, or local, have the same rights and limitations as a common citizen. Just as a citizen can be tried in court, so can a member of the government.

For instance, in 1972, President Nixon was compelled by the Supreme Court to provide recordings of conversations, and he faced impeachment by Congress due to his role in the Watergate scandal.

Countless senators and representatives under nearly every presidency have also been brought before courts for a variety of charges, from tax evasion to bribery. Most recently in 2019 and 2021, President Trump faced impeachment twice for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and incitement of the Jan. 6 insurrection, respectively.

I believe that freedom in a democracy involves exercising the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution, providing input to the government, and being treated fairly, regardless of someones characteristics or personality.

It means being able to be yourself, saying what you want, voicing your concerns or anything else, which makes the United States as close to a pure democracy as possible.

Other countries, like Canada and the United Kingdom, allow free speech. But there are restrictions, like not being allowed to speak hatefully against a person or group of people, which the United States allows. The White House Correspondents Dinner is one representation of the above.

Trevor Noah, a South African comedian, said at the 2022 dinner, In America, you have the right to seek the truth and speak the truth even if it makes people in power uncomfortable, even if it makes your viewers or your readers uncomfortableI stood here tonight and I made fun of the president of the United States, and Im going to be fine.

Aryaa Vyas, 14, lives in Morristown with her parents and older brother. She has also lived in England and New Mexico. Aryaa loves to travel, swim, run and read. She also loves animals, especially whales and dolphins. She enjoys walking around Morristown and visiting the Morristown & Morris Township Library, and volunteers at The Seeing Eye Inc., an organization that trains puppies to become guide dogs for the visually impaired. Aryaa is a rising freshman at Morristown High School, where she has joined the Marching Colonials as a flute player.

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The meaning of democracy hits close to home for this Morris Plains essay winner - Morristown Green