Brock is one of only a handful of universities in Canada to be distinctly situated within a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
Next Thursday, the University will raise a United Nations flag at its main campus as a symbol of its commitment to innovative and sustainable research, teaching and service.
The ceremony is being co-ordinated by the newly established Environmental Sustainability Research Centre (ESRC) and takes place at 11 a.m. at the flagpoles in front of Schmon Tower.
The event will be followed by the ESRC’s second annual seminar series at Rodman Hall in St. Catharines from 1 to 4 p.m.
This year’s seminar will focus on themes of water. It will include presentations by centre researchers looking at issues such as the changing landscape of water governance in Canada and the Niagara region, and the politics of water in irrigation economies.
The session will also include an update on an ESRC initiative known as the Niagara Migrant Children’s Educational Award. The award is a community-based partnership among Niagara’s agricultural workers, the City of St. Catharines, Brock University, Niagara College and the Niagara Community Foundation.
These events are free and open to the public. Everyone is welcome to attend.
I am absolutely appalled that the university in which I have attended for the past 4 years is raising the UN flag to show its “commitment” towards the policies of the United Nations. The United Nations is a corrupt organization which serves as a global governing body for the financial elite of our planet. The so-called ‘benefits’ of every policy the United Nations pushes can ultimately traced back to the idea of the elimination of national sovereignty under a one-world government through a consolidation of power for the ultra-wealthy and ultra-powerful global elite – a global dictatorship. These are the facts which can be found by simply doing the research for yourself. I challenge anyone who reads this to do the research for yourself. Start your Google search with: “Agenda 21”. Apparently, this institution that I have paid tuition to (this being my 5th year) is more interested in attracting investors and their dollars (and lots of them) rather than providing the truth about what the United Nations is all about.
The united nations is only as corrupt as the nations that form it and the political reforms and agendas of those countries. The united nations does do a lot of humanitarian aid and maybe they don’t act as they should a lot of the time but good is done by them. The united nations is currently the best way for all nations to represent themselves to the world and work with other nations for the better of humanity. Even if it is flawed now and does not work at least there is a structure set up so we can all work together in the future if the people and their respective governements can come together. Its easier to see bad than good and i can still see a lot of good in the united nations.
What have you done to try and improve the united nations? You’re upset with them what would you have them do and examine how you would go about doing that in todays society as perhaps a leader of a country? Unfortunatly youre going to reach a lot of problems that are gonna limit you and what you can do and possibly most youre going to need a lot of money because though people want human rights theyre not willing to go outside of their comfort bubble for people they dont know and will never see. How do you get money? Capitalism. The rich get richer and more powerful and the world becomes more of a dictatorship.
In short the problem isn’t the united nations it us.
As a sociologist of childhood and scholar who has researched, taught and published on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child for 16 years, I took up the challenge in your polemic today and investigated a bit further having previously noticed Agenda 21 and the global conference in Rio with which it is associated later this year.
While I could ask you to critically reflect just a bit on the historic and ongoing role of the UN’s World Health Organization (see also Hans Rosling’s talk – ttp://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen.html), related work of UNICEF, the many peace-keeping missions that have succeeded since the 1940s (far outweighing their odious failures), and the various human rights treaties that allow you and I the freedom of the press we are exercising so resolutely here, I am much more curious exactly what is the point you are trying to make against the goals of Agenda 21?
I’ve tried but just couldn’t get it in your first post.
Respectfully Yours,
A Brock Prof (and in the interests of transparency an ESRC core faculty)
Dear “Brock Prof”,
It’s hard to understand your point from all the way down here. Bottom line, Mr. Treeman’s argument is pretty clear, the institution (your employer) is a “sellout”.
Sincerely,
J. Jammers
Thanks Mr. Jammers for letting me in on that – whoa. The way I read the first post it seemed as though Agenda 21 and the UN’s sustainability program was taking over the world. Now I get it. My ’employer’ sold out by putting up that flag. I’m still really unclear on how we get UNESCO’s money though. Maybe you can enlighten me on that too?
Sincerely Prof. Mitchell
If we are talking about Human Rights here, there are far more failures then accomplishments, because after all the human rights laws cannot be enforced in a country who does not want to obey them. Anyone here of the ‘acts of Genocide’ in Rwanda? And then many more failures, then let us go to the recent Iraq war where the UN turned the notion down and the US who can veto any decision made sitll went to war, and as if the UN which is on American soil will enforce anything against their largest fiscal contributor. This Hobbseian organization has lest funding and power then many third world countries, sure they can spread new ‘ideas’ about policies and laws, but they really have no say or influence on anything. Why would Brock support a incompetent organization, follow the money!!!
Happy to see a healthy exchange of ideas at the school I attended for 4 years and the organization I am currenly employed by. I chose to leave a private sector job to join an organization that like any other is not perfect, but still strives to bring together ideas, people, problems to the table. The UN as it stands now is far from perfect, but show me a better forum to bring together people, ideas and issues including all nations – no matter how small they may be.
When Marc makes the comment about Genocide in Rwanda, he forgets so many explicit and implicit conflicts which have been avoided throughout the UN’s history.
As for the weakness of the organization, it’s there because of how the organizaiton has been set up. If anyone of us feels so strongly about this, let them come and make a difference.