Events, seminars, and workshops in Health Policy Consulting at Ariel Consulting International, Inc.

Dr. Ariel King Represents Germany at International Conference On Kangaroo Care in Quebec Canada, June 2010

Dr. Ariel King presented cutting edge research from Germany at the 8th International Conference on Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC). The Conference took place in Quebec City, Canada during June 2010. It brought together 125 researchers from 36 countries who are practitioners from a wide range of disciplines such as pediatrics, nursing, neuroscience, psychology, social work, occupational therapy and physiotherapy, are interested in clinical and basic aspects of KMC. Dr. King developed the research proposal and design for the first set of research projects carried out by staff and management team at the Premature Baby Center, Bayreuth Klinikum Hospital in Germany. The research was on health professionals’ knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of kangaroo care in a tertiary referral hospital in Germany. A King (Ariel Consulting and Ariel Foundation, International), T Rupprecht, W Pohl, I Wittal, R Himmelmann, and A Aub (Klinikum Bayreuth GmbH, Klinik für Kinder und Jugendliche, Bayreuth, Germany), A-M Bergh and E van Rooyen (MRC Unit for Maternal and Infant Health Care Strategies, University of Pretoria, South Africa).

Dr. Ariel King Speaks at the 4th Festival of the NGOs Genevoise 2010 - May 29, 2010

The Swiss Village NGOs organized against the background of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the 2010 World Cup festivities, will be celebrating the 4th Geneva NGOs to be held May 29, 2010. This event is supported by the Mission of Haiti to the United Nations. Saturday, May 29, 2010. Click here to see presentation.

THE ARIEL FOUNDATION BRING HOLIDAY HAPPINESS TO AIDS ORPHANS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Dr. Ariel King made a surprise visit to an orphanage in South Africa that the foundation has helped support. Most of the children were orphaned by the loss of their parents to AIDS. Their happy faces show the happiness that Dr. King brought to them this holiday season.

UN HUMAN RIGHTS DAY DECEMBER 2009

The world delegates met in Geneva on December 10, 2009 for a conference on Human Rights. Ariel Foundation International was there, participating through its President, Dr. Ariel King. Awards were given out as well.

COJEP International www.cojep.com

COJEP International is an international NGO based in Strasbourg, France. COJEP is also operated in 15 countries. The main activity areas of COJEP International are: Human Rights, Democracy, Youth, struggle against racism and discrimination, Active Citizenship, Living Together and Intercultural Dialogues. COJEP International is a member of the INGO Conference of Council of Europe, has ECOSOC Status in United Nations, is admitted for Operational Relations with UNESCO and is a key partner of ODIHR/OSCE.

COPJEP 3rd Human Rights Awards Ceremony, 9 December 2009 at Restaurant Vieux Bois, Geneva

AWARD WINNERS:

About 100 people gathered for the awards ceremony was held at Restaurant Vieux Bois, right next to the Palias du Nations (United Nations, Geneva) with Cecil Yilmaz, the Secretary General of COJEP International officiating and with closing remarks by Ambassador Eishad ISKANDAROV – ICYC-DC. After the ceremony a Buffet and social was enjoyed by everyone.

The award winners are:

MICHELINE CALMY-REY - Special Award
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland

M. JEAN-MARIE HEYDT - Civil Society Award
INGO Conference of Council of Europe’ Chair of the Conference

MUNIRA SUBASIC - Struggle Racism and Discrimination Award
Association Mothers of Srebrenica Bosnia-Herzegovina

MIREILLE FANON MENDES FRANCE - Human Rights Award
French Jewish Union for Peace

M. CLAUDE BIRRAUX – Citizenship Award
French Parliamentary of “Haute Savoie” Circumscription

M. MURAT ERDONGAN - Intercultural Dialogue Award
University of Hacettepe/Ankara – Department of Political Science

COJEP INTERNATIONAL, HUMAN RIGHTS DAY
10th December 2009, United Nations, Geneva (Photos in next email)

COLLOQUIUM , HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES IN GLOBAL WORLD
(Wars and Conflicts – Situations of Civilians in the frame of Human Rights,

Mrs Navenethem PILLAY,
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Video Message for Human Rgiths Day

M. Doudou DIENE,
Former UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary forms of racism, racial
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance 2002-2008

FIFTH SAHARA 2009 CONFERENCE

Social Aspects of HIV AIDS Research Alliance (SAHARA)'s 4-day conference from 30 November - 3 December 2009 at Gallagher Estate in Midrand, Gauteng province, South Africa went off like a well-oiled machine. The conference was held in collaboration with major partners including the HSRC, the UNFPA, UNAIDS, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CDC PEPFAR and UNDP. The 2007 SAHARA conference held in Kisumu, Kenya highlighted the fact that there are vastly different opinions on issues such as male circumcision and homosexuality. The 2009 conference thus had the theme “socio-cultural responses to HIV” in order to explore these controversies.

The SAHARA network succeeded in drawing over 400 conference goers despite competing with the many World AIDS Day commemorations all over the country. Participants came from countries as far as India, Pakistan, the USA, Germany, and Australia, and from 26 African countries, including Uganda, Togo, Ghana, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Gambia, Ethiopia and Kenya. The conference was chaired by Prof. Geoffrey Setswe, of the SAHARA research programme at the HSRC.

Why this conference? The SAHARA conference has a very specific focus, the social aspects of HIV – that is the social and cultural aspects of the epidemic (as opposed to the bio-medical ones). An important feature of the conference is its strong Africa focus. So often, Africa is analysed and spoken about by people outside the continent. A real effort is made to provide a forum for African voices, and for local responses to be highlighted.

The networking opportunities at this conference are thus unique in that it provides a platform for African scholars to interact.

Highlights: Highlights of the conference followed up on some of the burning issues raised for the first time at previous SAHARA conferences, namely male circumcision. Barely two years later, several countries have started rolling out a programme of male circumcision as part of a package of preventative measures. Other highlights were presentations on the conflict between scientific discourse and cultural traditions and the need to identify cultural practices that might be beneficial o HIV prevention. Prof. Cheick Niang of Senegal pointed out that the cultural interpretation of HIV was more complicated than generally assumed as culture plays an important role.

The Governance of SAHARA met during the conference. Dr. Ariel King, President, Ariel Foundation International and Ariel Consulting International was elected as the new CHAIR of SAHARA Continental Advisory Board.

Madagascar Presidential Physicians
Practice, Policy and Partnership Medical Tour

Contact: JW Arnold or Dr. Ariel King PRDC & Ariel Foundation International Press information Email: arking@arielconsult.com

International Square Center 1875 Eye St., NW Suit 500 Washington, DC 20006 RSVP: Embassy of the Kingdom of Lesotho, 202-797-5533

The Embassy of the Kingdom of Lesotho, Ambassador Molelekeng Rapolaki and the Ariel Foundation International, Dr. Ariel R. King will be hosting a hand-made quilt auction made by USA grandparent caregivers to help with micro-loans to the Lesotho grandparent caregivers on World AIDS Day. The event will be held on Saturday, 1 December at Africare’s Africa House (440 R Street, NW Washington, DC) from 5:30 to 8:30pm. The event will include presentations by H.E. Ambassador Rapolaki, of the Lesotho Embassy, President of Africare, Dr. Julius Coles, Chair of the Ariel Foundation International, Ambassador Joseph Huggins, and the founder of the National Grandparents Association, Ms. Shirley Smith. The evening will include presentation on the Kingdom of Lesotho, Music from Lesotho, an Auction of the hand-made quilts and a reception honoring the Grandparents and caregivers.

Through the Embassy of the Kingdom of Lesotho, The Ariel Foundation International and The National Association of Grandparents and other Caregivers, the North Carolina women are building an international bridge of support to other grandparents and caregivers through the auction of their handmade quilts, for the benefit of grandparents and caregivers in the Kingdom of Lesotho, in Southern Africa.

The number of children being raised by relatives has grown exponentially. This increasing trend has been termed “kinship care”. Kinship care has been defined as “any living arrangement in which a relative or someone else emotionally close to a child (such as friends, neighbors, and godparents) takes primary responsibility for rearing that child. The largest groups of children in kinship or family care are those being raised by grandparents. Currently, in the United States there are more than 5 million children living in households headed by grandparents. Grandparents are responsible for most of the basic needs of their grandchildren, in more than 2.4 million homes. The number of grandparents raising grandchildren in Africa is even larger than the number in the United States. Dr. Campbell, of WSSU said, “What an incredible service these grandparents are providing …by taking care of children with their own resources. We owe them a huge debt. They not only care about their own plight but about others around the world.”

The Kingdom of Lesotho has one of the third highest HIV/AIDS infections in the world and the largest number of orphans in the world. Thus grandparents are raising their children. The partnerships forged between these grandparents from two different countries with some of the same challenges are the best way to address these stark HIV/AIDS statistics. (More Information...)

DarynKagan.com interviews Archbishop Desmond Tutu as he sails the high seas. The Nobel Peace Prize winner spent 100 days with the students of Semester at Sea.

Ten Zambian young adults were in D.C. from July 1st through 6th of 2007 through their participation in the Youth Information Technology Micro-enterprise Project-Zambia (YouthIT-Zambia), a project designed to support job skills training, employment and entrepreneurship development for Zambian youth. They are the winners of a competitive business plan competition. The overall project was sponsored by the Rotary Club International.

Through a business plan competition representatives of nine “plans” have been selected for travel to the U.S. from June 30th to July 14th. The first week was in Washington, DC from (1st-6th, July) and the second week will be in Los Angeles, California (7-13 July). The Ariel Foundation International and Ariel Consulting International helped organize the project, and co-hosted the reception for the Zambian winners on July 6, 2007.

Students and faculty at Winston-Salem State University set out for Africa to help serve a country where an estimated 28.9 percent of the population has HIV/AIDS. The Lesotho Experience Through Service program, sponsored by the Ariel Foundation International, organized the trip as part of the foundation's work in international health and public policy.

"There are about 35 people going - 10 of which are students, and the largest group is from WSSU," said Ariel King, president of the Ariel Consulting International Inc., and director of the LETS program.

"The Ariel Foundation specifically looks at developing countries, as well as children and youth - but mostly our focus is children and youth."

Date: Thursday, February 26, 2004
Time: 10:00 to 1:00
Location: South Washington, DC