بكين، 14 أكتوبر 2021 / بي ار نيوزواير/ – يُعتبر احترام كبار السن ورعايتهم، وتحديداً الوالدين، إرثاً تناقلته الأجيال على مدار 5000 عام من الحضارة الصينية. يعود مفهوم بر الوالدين إلى عام 400 قبل الميلاد عندما تم ذكره في الأعمال القديمة التي كتبها الفلاسفة القدامى المشهورين.
يتم الاحتفال بتشونغيانغ، أو المهرجان التاسع المزدوج، في اليوم التاسع من الشهر التاسع على التقويم الصيني القمري، والذي يصادف يوم 14 أكتوبر من هذا العام. لطالما كان هذا اليوم يومًا للصينيين لإظهار الرعاية والحب لكبار السن.
يقضي الأبناء المشغلون بالأعمال هذا اليوم في المنزل للتسامر مع أقاربهم الأكبر سنًا، تحت رعاية الرئيس الصيني شي جين بينغ.
“شي” الابن البار بوالديه
على الرغم من جدول أعماله المزدحم، كان “شي” بذهب للتنزه برفقة والدته، ممسكًا بيديها، كلما كان لديه وقت.
وفقًا لـ لإذاعة صوت الصين (تشاينا ميديا جروب)، يمتلك “شي” صورتان على رف الكتب الخاص بع: إحداهما وهو يمشي بجوار والده على كرسي متحرك وأفراد آخرين من عائلته، وأخرى له يسير مع والدته.
أصبح احترام كبار السن إحدى سمات “شي”، وليس فقط للمسنين في عائلته، بل وللمجتمع بأسره.
“شي” يدعو إلى تبجيل المحاربون القدامى
في عام 1984، كتب “شي”، الذي كان يعمل حينها سكرتير لجنة الحزب الشيوعي الصيني في مقاطعة تشنغدينغ بمقاطعة خبي بشمال الصين، في مقال مفاده أن “يجب على المسؤولين الشباب ومتوسطي العمر أن يحترموا المحاربين القدامى لبناء علاقة صادقة قائمة على التعاون، وبالتالي العمل جنباً إلى جنب ودفع تقدم الحزب إلى الأمام “.
في هذه الأثناء، دعا “شي” إلى مزيد من تولية الاهتمام لكبار السن. وقد أفرغ غرفة اجتماعات وحولها إلى مساحة ترفيهية لكبار السن. بالإضافة إلى ذلك، أعطى الأولوية لعلاجهم بالمستشفى كما ذلل العديد من الصعوبات لكبار السن.
طوال حياته السياسية، دافع الرئيس الصيني دائمًا عن قضية رعاية كبار السن. تحظى اللحظات التي تظهر فيها رعايته واحترامه لكبار السن بشعبية كبيرة.
منذ المؤتمر الوطني الثامن عشر للحزب الشيوعي الصيني في عام 2012، أصدر “شي” سلسلة من التعليمات واعتمد الخطط والترتيبات ذات الصلة لتطوير خدمات رعاية كبار السن ونظام المعاشات التقاعدية في البلاد.
خلال عمليات التفتيش المحلية، كان “شي” يزور بانتظام مرافق رعاية المسنين للتحقق مما إذا كانت سياسات الدعم قد تم تنفيذها بشكل جيد وأن قاطنيها يتلقون الرعاية المناسبة.
تم تضمين تطوير نظام رعاية المسنين في الخطة الخمسية الثالثة عشرة وتم رصد 13.4 مليار يوان (ما يقرب من 2 مليار دولار) من الميزانية المركزية بين عامي 2015 و2020.
خلال الخطة الخمسية الرابعة عشرة (2021-2025)، ستعمل الصين على تحسين البنية التحتية التي تساعد في دعم خدمات رعاية المسنين وتحسين جودتها. ووفقًا للخطة، ستصل تغطية التأمين الأساسي للمسنين في البلاد إلى 95٪ بحلول عام 2025، بعد أن كانت 90٪ في عام 2020.
ووفقا للتعداد السكاني السابع الذي صدر حديثا في الصين، يبلغ عدد سكان البلاد 264 مليون شخص تبلغ أعمارهم 60 عاما وما فوق و191 مليونا تبلغ أعمارهم 65 وما فوق، وهم بذلك يمثلون 18.7% و 13.5% من إجمالي السكان، على التوالي..
New research highlights a chronic lack of finance that will leave billions of people in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia without electricity or clean cooking by 2030
Urgent action to accelerate investment in clean energy for developing countries is needed from global leaders assembling at COP26 to ensure a just energy transition
VIENNA, Austria, Oct. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — This year’s Energizing Finance research series – developed by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) in partnership with Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) and Dalberg Advisors – shows the world is falling perilously short of the investment required to achieve energy access for all by 2030 for the seventh consecutive year.
In fact, tracked finance for electricity in the 20 countries that make up 80 percent of the world’s population without electricity – the high-impact countries – declined by 27 percent in 2019, the year before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The economic strain caused by Covid-19 is expected to have caused even further reductions in energy access investment in 2020 and 2021.
Energizing Finance: Understanding the Landscape 2021, one of two reports released under the series, finds committed finance for residential electricity access fell to USD 12.9 billion in 2019 (from USD 16.1 billion in 2018) in the 20 countries. This is less than one-third of the USD 41 billion estimated annual investment needed globally to attain universal electricity access from 2019 to 2030.
Meanwhile, there is an abysmal amount of finance for clean cooking. Despite polluting cooking fuels causing millions of premature deaths each year and being the second largest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide, only USD 133.5 million in finance for clean cooking solutions was tracked in 2019. This is nowhere near the estimated USD 4.5 billion in annual investment required to achieve universal access to clean cooking (accounting only for clean cookstove costs).
These findings have been released just ahead of COP26 in Glasgow, where global leaders will focus on how to spark meaningful progress on fighting climate change. As part of this, they will need to consider how to reduce global emissions from the energy sector while also increasing energy access in developing countries to support their economic development.
“We are at a critical moment in the energy-climate conversation,” said Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy. “What is clear is that the path to net zero can only happen with a just and equitable energy transition that provides access to clean and affordable energy to the 759 million people who have no electricity access and 2.6 billion people who lack access to clean cooking solutions. This requires resources to mitigate climate change and create new opportunities to drive economic development and enable people everywhere to thrive. Energizing Finance provides an evidence base of current energy finance commitments and the finance countries require to meet SDG7 energy targets.”
In 2018, 50 percent of total electricity finance flowed to grid-connected fossil fuels in the high-impact countries compared to 25 percent in 2019. While this is a positive trend for the climate, tracked investment in off-grid and mini-grid technology also declined and represented only 0.9 percent of finance tracked to electricity.
Dr. Barbara Buchner, Global Managing Director at CPI, who partnered with SEforALL on Energizing Finance: Understanding the Landscape 2021, said: “Achieving both the Paris Agreement and universal energy access requires far greater investment in grid-connected renewables and off-grid and mini-grid solutions than what has been tracked in Energizing Finance. These solutions are essential to helping high-impact countries develop their economies without a reliance on fossil fuels.”
To better illuminate the challenges high-impact countries face, the second publication in the series, Energizing Finance: Taking the Pulse 2021, offers a detailed look at the estimated volume and type of finance needed by enterprises and customers to achieve universal energy access for both electricity and clean cooking by 2030 in Mozambique, Ghana and Vietnam. Importantly, it illustrates the energy affordability challenges people face in these countries and the need for financial support for consumers, such as subsidies.
The report finds that providing access to clean fuels and technologies, i.e. modern energy cooking solutions, in Ghana, Mozambique and Vietnam will cost a total of USD 37-48 billion by 2030; 70 percent of which will be for fuels (e.g., LPG, ethanol and electricity). A more achievable scenario would be for all three countries to deliver universal access to improved cookstoves at a total cost of USD 1.05 billion by 2030.
“Ghana, Mozambique and Vietnam each have unique challenges to achieving universal access to electricity and clean cooking,” said Aly-Khan Jamal, Partner at Dalberg Advisors, who partnered with SEforALL on Energizing Finance: Taking the Pulse 2021. “This research digs deep into these national contexts to identify solutions that can make Sustainable Development Goal 7 a reality.”
Providing results-based financing for energy project developers and exploring policies that facilitate demand-side subsidy support and reduce taxes on solar home systems are among several policy recommendations presented for Ghana, Mozambique and Vietnam.
Energizing Finance also advocates for increased innovation in financial instruments to reach the scale of finance needed for universal clean cooking access; for integration of electricity access, cooking access and climate change strategies; and for national governments, bilateral donors, philanthropies, and DFIs to all increase their efforts to mobilize commercial capital to Sub-Saharan African countries.
More of the reports’ key findings and recommendations are available here.
Notes to editors
Contact
For further details on the reports or any interview requests, please contact: Sherry Kennedy, Sustainable Energy for All: Sherry.Kennedy@SEforALL.org / media@seforall.org or +43 676 846 727 237
About Sustainable Energy for All
Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) is an international organization that works in partnership with the United Nations and leaders in government, the private sector, financial institutions, civil society and philanthropies to drive faster action towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) – access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all by 2030 – in line with the Paris Agreement on climate. SEforALL works to ensure a clean energy transition that leaves no one behind and brings new opportunities for everyone to fulfill their potential.
SEforALL is led by Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN-Energy. Follow her on Twitter @DamilolaSDG7. For more information, follow @SEforALLorg.
LONDON and CAIRO, Oct. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Globeleq, the leading independent power company in Africa, has completed the acquisition of the ARC for Renewable Energy S.A.E (ARC) 66 MWp solar PV plant located at the Benban Solar Park near Aswan, Egypt.
The ARC plant was developed by the SECI Energia, Enerray and Desert Technologies consortium as part of the second round of the Egyptian government’s feed-in-tariff program. It achieved commercial operation on 4 November 2019 and provides clean electricity to the Egyptian Electricity and Transmission Company (EETC) under a 25-year power purchase agreement. The project was financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Globeleq’s shareholder, CDC Group (CDC), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Europe Arab Bank and Finance in Motion.
Globeleq will also provide ARC with asset management services and oversee the operation and maintenance contractor, GILA Al Tawakol. During the acquisition process, Globeleq supported the original developers and lenders to achieve the final take over certificate under the EPC contracts and ensure the project performs optimally. ARC will be connected to Globeleq’s remote monitoring centre in Cape Town, South Africa, and will benefit from the extensive experience of its African based operations team and complemented by a talented team based in Cairo and Aswan. The local team will be led by Ghada Darwish as Country Manager.
Egypt is one of the largest markets for renewable energy projects in Africa and aims to have 42% of renewable generation by 2035. The country is as a key target market for Globeleq and this acquisition provides a platform to support further investments in the country, including in solar PV, wind, battery energy storage and, in the longer-term, water desalination and green hydrogen projects.
Mike Scholey, CEO of Globeleq indicated: “This transaction is an excellent opportunity to acquire an operational asset with an established team. The Egyptian government has set ambitious renewable energy targets and, as one of the largest investors in renewable power in Africa, we are pleased to support Egypt to deploy more renewable energy projects.”
The British Ambassador to Egypt, Gareth Bayley OBE, said: “I am pleased to see Globeleq’s commitment to the Egyptian renewable energy market. As the UK prepares to host, in just two weeks, the landmark COP26 Climate Change Conference, investments like this shine a light on clean growth, at the heart of the UK’s trade agenda. We will continue our support for Egypt’s ambitious sustainable energy strategy. Congratulations to Globeleq on this important milestone, and I look forward to seeing many more high-value and high-profile UK investments in Egypt’s renewable energy sector in future.”
Bertrand de La Borde, Global Head Energy & Mining at IFC commented: “As a long-term strategic investor with excellent operational performance in renewable energy, we are fully supportive of Globeleq’s acquisition. The company continues to create sustainable energy businesses, which support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, through investment in affordable, renewable generation.”
Holger Rothenbusch, Managing Director and Head Infrastructure and Climate, CDC Group said: “Globeleq’s commitment to increasing the supply of renewable energy across Africa is vital and we are proud to be on this journey together. The acquisition of ARC ensured the plant reached completion, achieved optimal performance and benefits from the presence of a long-term strategic investor with extensive track record in Africa.
Globeleq is playing a key role in unlocking Africa’s huge renewable potential. The company has invested in the sector since 2002, and since 2014, has operated some of the very first large-scale solar and wind plants in South Africa. Globeleq continues to expand and currently majority owns and operates nine solar PV and wind projects across the continent. It is nearing completion of its 52MWp Malindi solar plant in Kenya and recently broke ground on a 19MWp solar plus 2MW (7MWh) battery energy storage project in Mozambique, where it also prequalified for a solar tender and is developing two new wind projects.
The company also celebrated new production milestone of its R290-powered products
FOSHAN, China, Oct. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — On Oct.11th , Midea (000333.SZ), the world’s No.1 air treatment brand, hosted a conference themed “Green Vision, Blue Future”, which united industry gurus as well as leaders in trade and climate policies under the same roof to witness the launch of Midea’s latest “Green House” smart home solution designed to help the globe achieve NZEC (Near Zero Energy Consumption) emissions and the company’s milestones to support the world’s targets to enhance energy efficiency and curb global warming.
Mr. Zhang Jianyu, Executive Director of BRI Green Development institute, noted that Chinese businesses are encouraged to integrate green development throughout the whole process of overseas investment and cooperation, which is an excellent step to accelerate green development both in China and internationally. He also complimented Chinese manufacturers like Midea on marching into the low carbon field and launching its own initiative proactively to combat climate change.
Midea’s “Green House” is a seamless integration of three smart and interoperable systems that encompass power generation, energy management and home management. The surplus energy can be transmitted to a storage system which not only can be used as a primary power source at night or in unfavorable weather conditions but can also help the entire neighborhood by sending electricity to other households.
With Midea’s advanced algorithms, a smart energy management system intelligently deploys and coordinates solar power generation, energy storage, charging and discharging, which can work in tandem with the MSmartLife system to power all smart home appliances in the house, including air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines and kitchen appliances. The result is an energy-independent home that leverages a whole set of Midea’s state-of-the-art technologies to achieve NZEC and maximize energy utilization, in line with the company’s ambition to fully cut carbon from households.
A ceremony was also held during the event to mark the production of the 2,100,000th Midea R290 air conditioner (AC), the first AC unit ever granted with Germany’s Blue Angel ecolabel.
Mr. Kristian Mao-Chang Wilkening, Project Director of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) expressed his appreciation for the company’s efforts and contribution to low-carbon development. He said, “For R290, Midea was the first manufacturer to obtain the Blue Angel certificate. This proves that Midea meets the highest environmental standards. Rolling off 2,100,000th units is impressive.”
Awarded by United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) for its exceptional contribution to fighting against climate change, Midea has been spearheading a decade-long project to develop a mass-producible, efficient and reliable solution by replacing HCFC-22 with propane (R-290). Statistics from UNIDO in 2020 showed that Midea’s R-290-powered products have helped eliminate ozone-depleting potential and curtailed the equivalent of over 970,000 tons of CO2 annually.
– ستُبث السلسلة على المنصة في 70 دولة خلال الفترة من 17من أكتوبر حتى 14 من نوفمبر
أتلانتا، 14 أكتوبر 2021 /PRNewswire/ – أعلنت YuppTV، منصة OTT الرائدة في العالم في تقديم المحتوى في جنوب آسيا، حصولها على حقوق البث الحصرية لبطولة كأس العالم للمجلس الدولي للكريكيت للرجال T20 لعام 2021. 45 مباراة T20 خلال السلسلة التي تُقام في دولتين، حيث سيتم بثها على الهواء للمستخدمين في 70 دولة بداية من 17 منأكتوبر إلى 14من نوفمبر. يعلق عدي ريدي، المؤسس والرئيس التنفيذي لشركة YuppTV على هذا التطور -قائلاً “مع وجود قاعدة المشجعين والجنون بلعبة لكريكيت، تعد بطولة كأس العالم T20 للرجال الخاصة بالمجلس الدولي للكريكيت واحدة من أكثر الأحداث الرياضية المُرتقبة على مستوى العالم. ترنو YuppTV إلى تقديم هذا الحدث إلى جميع مشجعي لعبة الكريكيت وتلتزم بذلك تحت مسؤوليتنا، إلى جانب المساهمة في زيادة أعداد مشاهدي ومشجعي لعبة الكريكيت. كمّا سيساعدنا هذا الحدث أيضًا في زيادة نسبة المشاهدة عبر البلدان في مناطق مختلفة”.
“يسعدنا مواصلة علاقتنا طويلة الأمد مع YuppTV لزيادة المشاركة والشعبية في بطولة كأس العالم T20 للرجال الخاصة بالمجلس الدولي للكريكيت. حيث توفر المنصة وصولاً عالميًا رائعًا، ونأمل أن تلبي احتياجات جميع عشاق لعبة الكريكيت من خلال توفير تغطية عالمية المستوى وتجارب مشاهدة رائعة في جميع المناطق “. جاء ذلك على سلان هاري جريفيث، رئيس النقابة، شبكة تلفزيون النجوم.
ستُبث مباريات T20 المقرر إقامتها في دبي والشارقة وأبو ظبي وعمان، في 70 دولة في مناطق متعددة- قارة أوروبا وجنوب شرق آسيا (باستثناء سنغافورة وماليزيا*).
من خلال عرض واحدة من أكثر سلاسل الكريكيت التي تنتظرها الجماهير في شتى أنحاء البلدان، ستزيد YuppTV من أعداد المشاهدين إلى منصتها، مما يمنحهم أفضل تجربة للمباريات مع شعورهم وكأنهم يشاهدون الملعب من منازلهم.
نبذة عن YuppTV تُعد YuppTV واحدة من أكبر مزودي خدمة التلفاز حسب الطلب عبر الإنترنت في العالم وتبث محتواها في جنوب آسيا، حيث تبث أكثر من 250 قناة تلفزيونية، وأكثر من 3000 فيلمًا وأكثر من 100 برنامجًا تلفزيونيًا بـ 14 لغة. تلقت YuppTV مؤخرًا تمويلًا من Emerald Media، وهي منصة لعموم آسيا أسستها شركة الاستثمار العالمية الرائدة KKR للاستثمار في قطاع الإعلام والترفيه، حيث استحوذت Emerald Media على حصة الأقلية الملحوظة في الشركة مقابل 50 مليون دولارًا أمريكيًا. تحتل YuppTV حاليًا المرتبة الأولى في تصنيف منصات تلفاز الإنترنت المدفوعة للهنود الذين يعيشون في الخارج.
JOSEPH, Ore., Oct. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Millions of children and adults around the world cope with Irlen Syndrome – the inability of the brain to process certain light waves, or colors. The condition falls on a spectrum from mild to severe with symptoms that can include difficulty with reading and math, sensitivity to light, headaches, stomachaches, dizziness, inability to focus, clumsiness and poor sports performance. While approximately half of those with this condition acquire it genetically, it can also be caused by brain injuries, high fevers, and viruses.
The Word Gobblers, a handbook for parents and teachers working with children who struggle to read, addresses these problems and offers simple and immediate modifications to ease or overcome them, plus long term-solutions. The book contains a questionnaire concerning symptoms and behaviors, and uses interactive exercises on a variety of colored paper to help a parent or teacher discover if a child might have this condition.
Children who are poor readers or poor in sports are often teased or bullied, resulting in feelings of shame or low self-worth. The Word Gobblers explains the medically-based reason why some children and adults struggle to read and write, or display inappropriate behaviors, and compares the inability of the body to digest certain foods such as strawberries or peanuts with the inability of the brain to interpret certain wavelengths of light.
Beautifully illustrated by Joan Gilbert, The Word Gobblers shows children, through the images of mischievous Gobblers who munch, crunch, and scrunch numbers, letters and words that they are not at fault. Images of smiley faces in green and orange help children see they are not alone by showing that 1 in 6, 10 in 60, and 100 in 600 have this same condition.
In the Forward, Founder and Director of the Irlen Institute, Helen L. Irlen, explains the discovery of Irlen Syndrome and the progress made in treating it. The Irlen Method for treating this condition has received national and international media attention.
The Library Journal review concludes: “VERDICT: A helpful volume for parents, caregivers, and teachers of children who struggle with reading.”
Recently, Betsy Wurzel of Passionate Worldwide Talk Radio interviewed Matthias for her blog “Talking with Betsy”: https://bit.ly/3C5EDnl.
Author Catherine Matthias is a Certified Irlen Syndrome Screener and published author of six early reader picture books.
