Roundup: The media and the temple, human rights award, asylum seekers, sustainability, the Pope, ethical communication

UNESCO meeting urges further research on ethical communication

Freedom of expression, media pluralism, cultural diversity and gender equality perspectives are central to the future of knowledge societies, according to a UNESCO meeting in Paris.

‘Forbidden Voices’ wins WACC-SIGNIS Human Rights Award

The WACC-SIGNIS Human Rights Award for 2012 has been given to the documentary film Forbidden Voices, directed by Barbara Miller.

Honest questions about the Argentine Pope

Just days after being elected pontiff, Francis is discovering what other leaders discover: Their past eventually catches up with them.

Asylum seekers file most claims in decade, UNHCR says

Nearly half a million people sought asylum in the developed world last year, a 10-year high, with the sharpest rise in requests from Syrians fleeing war and persecution, the United Nations has said.

Put sustainability at the heart of development, says Progressio

The UK-based agency Progressio wants to see sustainability and stewardship of scarce natural resources placed at the heart of a future vision for development, when the High Level Panel (HLP) on the Post-2015 Development Agenda meet next week in Bali.

The media, the temple and learning to turn the tables

Real change never has its origins at the centre of power but always at the edges. This is why national news agencies can rarely move the debate beyond narrow parameters. Those who wish to be agents of change must begin by changing themselves. Or as Gandhi put it, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

All this resistance to the domination system begins and ends with listening to and supporting local change. If you have read the gospels through, you may have noticed that Jesus listens to and stands alongside a whole spectrum of people: whether tax collector, beggar, army officer, or imperial ruler, Jesus engages with each individual and starts with where that person is, not where he wishes they were.