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April 30, 2016
International Jazz Day: Global Concert 2016 at the White House
Photo: Jazz. Artchipel Orchestra, Torino, Italy. Photo Credit: Torino Jazz Festival 2016, Italy.
Each year, the All-Star Global Concert brings together internationally acclaimed artists from around the world who represent jazz and other musical genres for a performance spanning styles, cultures and languages. In the spirit of International Jazz Day, the All-Star Global Concert takes place in a landmark venue with rich historical significance.
This year, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are hosting the International Jazz Day 2016 All-Star Global Concert at the White House, with artists performing throughout the White House and on the South Lawn. The concert is being broadcast across the United States on April 30th - International Jazz Day - as an ABC network television special and streamed around the world by the United Nations and UNESCO.
The 2016 All-Star Global Concert is featuring a cast of internationally renowned jazz artists including —
Pianists: Joey Alexander, John Beasley (Music Director), Kris Bowers, Chick Corea, Robert Glasper, Herbie Hancock, Danilo Pérez and Chucho Valdés;
Trumpeters: Terence Blanchard, Till Bronner, Hugh Masekela and James Morrison;
Vocalists: Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jamie Cullum, Kurt Elling, Aretha Franklin, Al Jarreau, Diana Krall, Dianne Reeves and Sting;
Saxophonists: Eli Degibri, David Sánchez, Wayne Shorter and Bobby Watson;
Bassists: Christian McBride, Marcus Miller, Esperanza Spalding and Ben Williams;
Guitarists: Buddy Guy, Lionel Loueke, Pat Metheny and Lee Ritenour;
Drummers: Brian Blade, Terri Lyne Carrington and Kendrick Scott;
Percussionist: Tabla Maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain;
Trombone player: Trombone Shorty; and the
Rebirth Brass Band.
Washington, D.C. is the birthplace of the great jazz pianist and bandleader Duke Ellington, and the city has enjoyed a thriving jazz scene for the past century. On April 30, 2016, Washington, D.C. is joining with towns, cities and villages in over 190 countries to observe International Jazz Day through thousands of performances and programs.
In India, International Jazz Day is being celebrated at Cocktails & Dreams, Speakeasy, Sector 15, Gurgaon; Mopin Ground, Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh; Park Hotel, Goa; Blue Frog, Lower Parel, Mumbai; The Bandra Base, Bandra West, Mumbai; The Piano Man Jazz Club, Safdarjung Enclave Market, New Delhi; and many other venues.
|GlobalGiants.Com|
Edited & Posted by the Editor | 1:42 PM | View the original post
April 29, 2016
UN Secretary-General appoints 12 new members to UN University Council
Photo: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, where he addressed the “Global Colloquium of University Presidents” on the topic “Preservation of Cultural Heritage: Challenges and Strategies”. 12 April 2016. New Haven, United States. UN Photo/Mark Garten.
Photo: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (centre right) with Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, during a ceremony where he received an honorary degree of Doctor of Law from the University of Cambridge in recognition of his humanitarian work, support for women’s rights, and achievements in pursuit of global peace and security. 03 February 2016. Cambridge, United Kingdom. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe.
28 April 2016 - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Director-General Irina Bokova of the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have appointed 12 new members to the governing UN University (UNU) Council.
The new appointees, who will take office as of 3 May, replace the outgoing 2010-2016 cohort of UNU Council members and will serve for terms of either three or six years.
The main functions of the Council are to formulate the principles and policies of the UNU, govern its operations, and consider and approve its biennial budget and work programme.
Appointed members of the UNU Council serve in their individual capacity - not as representatives of their country’s Government - and are selected with the aim of achieving a geographic and gender balance, with due regard for major academic, scientific, educational and cultural trends, as well as each member’s fields of expertise.
The new members of the UNU Council are:
- Ernest Aryeetey (Ghana), Vice-Chancellor, University of Ghana
- Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz (Brazil), Scientific Director, Sao Paulo Research Foundation, and Professor, Gleb Wataghin Physics Institute, State University of Campinas
- Simon Chesterman (Australia), Dean, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore
- Elizabeth Cousens (USA), Deputy Chief Executive Officer, United Nations Foundation
- Isabel Guerrero Pulgar (Chile), Director, IMAGO Global Grassroots, and lecturer at Harvard and MIT
- Angela Kane (Germany), Senior Fellow, Vienna Centre for Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, and Professor, SciencesPo, Paris
- Segenet Kelemu (Ethiopia), Director General and CEO, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology
- Bassma Kodmani (Syria), Executive Director, Arab Reform Initiative
- Radha Kumar (India), Director General, Delhi Policy Group
- Irena Lipowicz (Poland), Professor, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University (Warsaw)
- Tsuneo Nishida (Japan), Director, Institute for Peace Science, Hiroshima University, and Director, Toho Zinc Co., Ltd.
- Lan Xue (China), Dean, School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University, and Director, China Institute for S&T Policy
|GlobalGiants.Com|
“Education is the leading of human souls to what is best, and making what is best out of them.”
“The first duty of government is to see that people have food, fuel, and clothes. The second, that they have means of moral and intellectual education.”
“Modern education has devoted itself to the teaching of impudence, and then we complain that we can no longer control our mobs.”
— JOHN RUSKIN.
Edited & Posted by the Editor | 5:21 AM | View the original post
April 25, 2016
Coke Debuts One-Brand Packaging: Red Disc Features Prominently on All Trademark Coca-Cola Products in Mexico
Coke’s new “One-Brand” marketing strategy is officially making its way to store shelves and beverage coolers, starting in Mexico.
Executives unveiled a series of new graphics, which put a contemporary spin on a classic icon by prominently featuring the Coca-Cola Red Disc on bottles and cans of all four Trademark Coke brands - Coca-Cola, Coke Zero, Diet Coke/Coca-Cola Light and Coca-Cola Life - tonight at an event in Mexico City.
“Packaging is our most visible and valuable asset,” said Chief Marketing Officer Marcos de Quinto, who presented the new packaging within the context of the “One-Brand” strategy and supporting “Taste the Feeling” creative campaign. “By applying the Coca-Cola Red Disc to our packaging in such a bold way, we are taking the next step towards full adoption of the ‘One-Brand’ strategy, uniting the Coca-Cola family under one visual identity and making it even easier for consumers to choose their Coca-Cola with or without calories, with or without caffeine.”
The new designs will help consumers make informed choices, de Quinto explained, by identifying each Coca-Cola product with its signature color - black for Coke Zero, silver for Coca-Cola Light/Diet Coke and green for Coca-Cola Life - and including the product’s unique name and benefits.
The new packaging will be available in Mexico the first week of May. Like the staggered rollout of the “Taste the Feeling” campaign, similar versions of the Red Disc graphics will reach additional countries throughout 2016 and into 2017.
In North America, however, Coca-Cola will not make any changes to packaging this year due to an already packed marketing and promotional calendar.
#TasteTheFeeling is the new 2016 #CocaCola #AdCampaign https://t.co/CueADb3F6P
— Global Giants (@GlobalGiants) April 25, 2016
|GlobalGiants.Com|
Edited & Posted by the Editor | 6:47 AM | View the original post
April 24, 2016
OMEGA’S MASTER CHRONOMETER REVOLUTION CONTINUES AT BASELWORLD 2016
Photo: OMEGA Speedmaster Moonphase on show at BASELWORLD 2016. Image provided by & copyright © OMEGA S.A.
Photo: OMEGA Seamaster Planet Ocean 43.5mm Auto on show at BASELWORLD 2016. Image provided by & copyright © OMEGA S.A.
|GlobalGiants.Com|
Edited & Posted by the Editor | 4:14 AM | View the original post
April 22, 2016
United Nations Headquarters: Signing Ceremony for Agreement on Climate Change
Photo: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hosted a signing ceremony for the Paris Agreement on Climate Change on 22 April at the United Nations. More than 165 Member States are attending the signing ceremony, including an estimated 60 Heads of State and Heads of Government.
Mr. Ban poses for a group photo with three of the speakers who addressed the opening segment of the signature ceremony. From left: Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim (from Chad), civil society representative; UN Messenger of Peace Leonardo DiCaprio; Getrude Clement, 16-year-old radio reporter from Tanzania and youth representative and climate advocate with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). 22 April 2016. United Nations, New York. UN Photo/Mark Garten.
Photo: A wide view of the General Assembly at the opening of today’s signing ceremony for the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. More than 165 Member States are attending the signing ceremony, including an estimated 60 Heads of States and Heads of Governments, setting a new record for countries signing an international agreement on a single day. 22 April 2016. United Nations, New York. UN Photo/Mark Garten.
Photo: Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change of India, signs the Paris Agreement. 22 April 2016. United Nations, New York. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas.
Photo: United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, with grand-daughter in tow, signs the Paris Agreement. 22 April 2016. United Nations, New York. UN Photo/Amanda Voisard.
|GlobalGiants.Com|
Edited & Posted by the Editor | 3:48 PM | View the original post
April 13, 2016
United Nations begins informal briefings to select next Secretary-General
Photo: Mogens Lykketoft, President of the seventieth session of the UN General Assembly, briefs journalists on the selection process for the next Secretary-General of the UN. The Assembly is holding informal dialogues with eight candidates for the position on 12-14 April. 12 April 2016. United Nations, New York. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe.
Photo: A cross-section view of the Trusteeship Council Chamber of the UN General Assembly, as Irina Bokova (Bulgaria), current Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), delivers her presentation to Member States regarding her candidacy for the Next UN Secretary-General. The UN General Assembly is holding informal dialogues on 12-14 April with the eight candidates for the position of the next Secretary-General of the United Nations. 12 April 2016. United Nations, New York. UN Photo/Manuel Elias.
United Nations, New York, 12 April 2016: Kicking off what he has called a “new and transparent process,” UN General Assembly President Mogens Lykketoft today opened informal dialogues with candidates for the next United Nations Secretary-General.
“We are sailing into uncharted waters here,” said Mr. Lykketoft addressing the press ahead of the start of the informal dialogues.
Calling the process a “potential game-changing exercise,” he said the informal briefings were part of a “very transparent, very interesting discussion about the future of the United Nations.”
Over the course of the next three days, the official candidates - currently eight of them - will answer questions related to promoting sustainable development, how to improve efforts to create peace, how to protect human rights, how to deal with huge humanitarian catastrophes, and how to resolve challenges defined by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
At the end of the process, Mr. Lykketoft said, expressing his personal view, one single candidate could emerge, making it difficult for the Security Council - which is tasked with making the official selection, as stated in the UN Charter - to choose another candidate.
Defining some of the qualities in who would be the “best person” for the job, Mr. Lykketoft stressed independence, strong moral authority, great political and diplomatic skills, and some experience in being at the head of a huge administration.
As part of the informal dialogues, each candidate will have a televised and webcast two-hour timeslot, starting with a short oral presentation. Representatives from Member States will then ask questions, followed by the President of the General Assembly, who will ask a few of the more than 1,000 questions submitted by the general public on social media under the hashtag #UNSGcandidates.
Opening the dialogues, Mr. Lykketoft underscored that as the UN grapples with multiple crises and deals with “fundamental questions regarding its own role and performance,” finding the best candidate to succeed Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is “absolutely crucial.”
“Much of what we are embarking on today is without precedent at the UN,” he stressed.
|GlobalGiants.Com|
“The heaven for height, and the earth for depth, and the heart of kings is unsearchable.”
— Proverbs of Solomon 25:3.
“The earth has a limit,
The mountains, the sea;
The deep thoughts of kings are
Without boundary.”— The Panchatantra.
Edited & Posted by the Editor | 12:14 PM | View the original post
April 8, 2016
New York Times International Luxury Conference explores Current Trends in the Luxury Industry
Photo: Signage at The New York Times International Luxury Conference on April 5, 2016 in Versailles, France. (Photo © Dominique Charriau/Getty Images for The New York Times International Luxury Conference).
Photo: President of The New York Times Company, Stephen Dunbar-Johnson, speaks on stage during the Welcome Remarks at The New York Times International Luxury Conference on April 5, 2016 in Versailles, France. (Photo © Julien M. Hekimian/Getty Images for The New York Times International Luxury Conference).
Photo: Eric Liedtke, Executive Board Member, Global Brands, Adidas Group, speaks during the Strategic Sustainability conference at The New York Times International Luxury Conference on April 5, 2016 in Versailles, France. (Photo © Julien M. Hekimian/Getty Images for The New York Times International Luxury Conference).
Photo: Dasha Zhukova, Founder of Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, attends the “Stepping into the Culture Gap” conference at The New York Times International Luxury Conference on April 5, 2016 in Versailles, France. (Photo © Julien M. Hekimian/Getty Images for The New York Times International Luxury Conference).
Photo: Director of Dance at The Paris Opera, Benjamin Millepied, attends The New York Times International Luxury Conference on April 6, 2016 in Versailles, France. (Photo © Julien M. Hekimian/Getty Images for The New York Times International Luxury Conference).
Photo: Matt Jacobson, Head of Market Development, Facebook and Instagram, attends The New York Times International Luxury Conference on April 6, 2016 in Versailles, France. (Photo © Dominique Charriau/Getty Images for the The New York Times International Luxury Conference).
Innovators and leaders from across the luxury industry and beyond joined New York Times fashion director Vanessa Friedman and NYT journalists at The New York Times International Luxury Conference in Versailles, France on April 5-6, 2016.
Entitled “Luxury Beyond Product”, the fifteenth edition of this invitation-only event explored the dramatic ways the luxury industry is changing in its quest for the hearts and minds of consumers around the world.
|GlobalGiants.Com|
Edited & Posted by the Editor | 6:46 AM | View the original post
April 4, 2016
India's Union Human Resource Development Ministry Ranks Universities of India for the First Time
Photo: India’s Minister for Human Resource Development, Smriti Irani, addressing the gathering at the release of the India Ranking Report 2016, in New Delhi, on April 04, 2016. India Rankings 2016 is a first-of-its-kind indigenous survey of India’s higher educational institutions commissioned by the Union Human Resource Development Ministry. Image provided by the Press Information Bureau, Government of India.
Photo: India’s Minister for Human Resource Development, Smriti Irani, releasing the India Rankings 2016, at a function, in New Delhi, on April 04, 2016. India Rankings 2016 is a first-of-its-kind indigenous survey of India’s higher educational institutions commissioned by the Union Human Resource Development Ministry. Image provided by the Press Information Bureau, Government of India.
Indian Union Minister of Human Resource Development, Smriti Zubin Irani, released the India Rankings 2016 and dedicated India’s first ranking to the nation in New Delhi today. While releasing the India Rankings 2016 she said that history has been made as National Institutional Ranking framework (NIRF) is the first of its kind. She said that one of the biggest challenges in the higher education sector have been that citizens who engage with these institutions feel that there is no level playing field in terms of transparency and the data that they need from these institutions with regard to the choices they, specially the students, need to make. The Ministry of HRD, she said, has been able to spearhead many a changes in the field of education sector and slowly and steadily the steps taken by the Ministry are bearing fruits.
The Minister said this kind of ranking would empower citizens as it would endow them with the power as to how they observe the institutions to be. Some 60000 observers gave their views about how our present institutions are. She added that these rankings would also help in reaching benchmark of international excellence. The rankings will also help students make informed choices about the institutions they want to join. The Minister added that to ensure a third party validation of the data that we have received and analyzed, the agency like Elsevier was engaged.
India Rankings 2016 is the country’s first exercise to rank the higher educational institutions in the country based on objective, identifiable parameters. This follows the launch of National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) on 29th September, 2015.
The rankings are arrived at after detailed analysis and validation of the data submitted by more than 3,600 higher educational institutions in the country classified in 6 categories. These ranking follow an Indian approach, where academic institute will be assessed on parameters, including teaching-learning; research; collaborative practice and professional performance; graduate outcomes; placements; outreach and inclusive action and peer group perception. Each of these has been further subdivided into nearly 20 sub criteria to comprehensively assess an institution.
The rankings are a step towards bringing the Indian institutes on a global platform.
#IndiaRankings2016 Top Ten Institutions - Indian Rankings 2016 - University https://t.co/C3jRy3fVXS
— Global Giants (@GlobalGiants) April 4, 2016
Top Ten Institutions
- Indian Institute of Science Banglore
- Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai,
- Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi
- University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad
- Tezpur University, Tezpur, Assam.
- University of Delhi, Delhi.
- Banaras Hindu University, Uttar Pradesh
- Indian Institute of Space Science And Technology, Kerala.
- Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, Rajasthan
- Aligarh Muslim University
|GlobalGiants.Com|
Edited & Posted by the Editor | 5:47 AM | View the original post
April 3, 2016
Nuclear Security Summit 2016, Washington, DC
Photo: The 2016 Nuclear Security Summit provided a forum for heads of state and foreign ministers to reinforce the commitment to secure nuclear material. Washington, DC. April 1, 2016. Image Credit: Ben Solomon/U.S. Department of State. Copyright © NSS 2016.
Photo: Progress on Nuclear Security Since 2009. Image Credit & Copyright © NSS 2016.
Photo: A wide view of the opening session of the Nuclear Security Summit hosted by the United States. 01 April 2016. Washington, DC, United States. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe.
Photo: A cross section of world leaders, including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (centre, third row), pose for a group photo during the Nuclear Security Summit, hosted by the United States in Washington, D.C. 01 April 2016. Washington, DC, United States. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe.
Photo: Prime Minister Modi, head of delegation from India, with President Obama at the White House for Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C., on March 31, 2016. Image Credit: Ben Solomon/U.S. Department of State. Copyright © NSS 2016.
On March 31 and April 1, President Obama hosted the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, DC. This was the fourth and final in a series of Summits that have brought together leaders from more than fifty countries and four international organizations to highlight accomplishments and make new commitments towards reducing the threat of nuclear terrorism.
Through the Summit Process, the international community has strengthened the international organizations, institutions and multilateral legal instruments that make up the nuclear security architecture, and improved coordination among them.
|GlobalGiants.Com|
“I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”
— Albert Einstein
“And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more…”
“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.”
— Isaiah 2:4, 11:6
Edited & Posted by the Editor | 4:18 AM | View the original post
