Latest news with #GlobalChallenges
Zawya
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
14th International Government Communication Forum to kick off on 10 September under the theme 'Communication for Quality of Life'
Tariq Saeed Allay: Quality of life is a collective responsibility requiring smart and impactful communication tools Sharjah, Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, the Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB) will host the 14th edition of the International Government Communication Forum (IGCF) on 10-11 September at Expo Centre Sharjah under the theme 'Communication for Quality of Life.' This annual event serves as a global intellectual platform to discuss the future of government communication and highlight its critical roles in addressing global challenges. It will bring together distinguished leaders, experts, and officials from around the world. The upcoming edition will focus on five main pillars, exploring food security, education, public health, environmental transformation, and the green economy as essential foundations for enhancing quality of life. His Excellency Tariq Saeed Allay, Director General of the SGMB, emphasised the forum's commitment to selecting topics based on a comprehensive developmental vision that places people at the centre of communication policies. He noted that 'quality of life is a collective responsibility that demands smart, effective communication tools to raise awareness and support decision-making.' He added that the forum, which has become one of the most important international platforms for discussing communication issues, seeks in its latest edition to exchange ideas and proposals that lead to practical programmes that direct collective action toward inclusive and equitable development goals. This aligns with Sharjah's ongoing efforts to embed quality of life within its government communication initiatives as the main driver of achievement and success. Allay also pointed out that the forum continues, in its 14th edition, to attract leading thinkers, researchers, and practitioners from various parts of the world. He highlighted that the diversity of expertise, specialisations, and perspectives creates a rich dialogue and gives the forum both its human and professional dimensions. The upcoming edition will explore the role of government communication in driving positive change by enhancing awareness of sustainable food practices, encouraging innovation in agriculture, and supporting communities in confronting environmental and social crises. It will also examine the impact of education as a long-term communication tool that builds generations capable of understanding and adapting to change, equipping them with skills to develop realistic solutions to the challenges impacting their food security, health, and environment. IGCF 2025 will highlight how media and government messages shape individual behaviours, motivating people and institutions to adopt more conscious and responsible lifestyles. It will also discuss opportunities within the green economy to create new jobs and promote environmental justice, alongside the role of communication in building partnerships that strengthen trust between governments and societies.
Rudaw Net
12-07-2025
- General
- Rudaw Net
Kurdish student in Finland turns coffee waste into clean energy
Also in World From refugee to educator: A Kurd's mission to empower children in Germany Author uses literature to document Kurdish tragedies US reiterates support for SDF integration Ukraine: Three years of Devastating war A+ A- ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Kurdish environmental engineering student is working to turn used coffee grounds into clean energy as part of a university project promoting zero-waste solutions. 'We want to collect that coffee and give it another life,' Bahez Kareem, a Finland resident originally from Sulaimani, said during Rudaw's Diaspora program that aired on Friday. 'Instead of it becoming a burden on the environment, we turn it into a clean energy source that is a good alternative to traditional fuels.' According to scientific research, the coffee industry generates over eight million tonnes of waste coffee grounds annually. This waste emits methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and produces toxic leachates that can harm aquatic ecosystems, said a study published in Global Challenges. 'At university, we were asked to prepare a project for creating a 'model city' - a city where no type of garbage or waste is thrown away and all materials are reused,' said Kareem. 'During our research, we discovered that in Finland, which has only 5.5 million inhabitants, an enormous amount of coffee is consumed and most of its waste goes to waste,' he added. His project is named "T Seven Percent Coffee Waste and Biodegradable Ingredients." Hoping their project will attract attention and be successful, Kareem said, 'This is just the beginning, and in the future you will hear more news about us.' Turning waste into clean energy helps reduce the volume of trash thrown into landfills, cuts methane emissions, and supports climate goals by promoting resource efficiency and advancing the circular economy. Kareem, originally from the Sharbazher area and born in Sulaimani, said he moved abroad to pursue his education. 'Initially, I was in Germany for a year, then I was accepted at a university in Finland. And now I have been settled here for nearly six years,' he said.
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Scientists Discover a Simple Method to Reduce Mercury Levels in Tuna
The benefits of getting fish in your diet are well known (it's in the Mediterranean diet, for example), but mercury poisoning remains a concern. Now, scientists have figured out how to cut levels of mercury in fish by up to 35 percent with a tweak to how it's packaged. A team from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Chalmers University of Technology experimented with adding the amino acid cysteine to canned tuna – one of the types that can have the most mercury in it. When tuna is immersed in water containing cysteine, the novel solution removed 25 to 35 percent of the mercury from the fish, according to lab tests. The more fish flesh that was in contact with the solution, the more mercury was taken out into the liquid. Cysteine was picked for the solution because of the way mercury strongly binds to it – which is how it's able to build up in fish in the first place – and following on from a previous study into mercury removal by the same researchers. "We believed this would allow some of the mercury to be drawn out and instead bind to the solution and be discarded," says chemist Przemysław Strachowski, from Chalmers University of Technology. "Further research is needed to take care of the removed mercury." If you've been eating fish without any knowledge of any potential mercury contamination, don't worry: you're unlikely to be consuming enough of it for there to be a danger, though it's recommended that pregnant women and young children only eat a limited amount. In most cases, the health benefits of eating fish outweigh the potential health risks – though finding a way to reduce mercury levels in fish through the way the food is packaged would certainly reduce those risks even further. "The beauty of this type of packaging is that it is active while the product is on the shelf," says Strachowski. "No additional production steps would be needed if a method like this were used industrially." "The application of our results could increase the safety margin for fish consumption." There were no noticeable changes in the appearance or smell of the fish samples treated with cysteine in the study, and mercury removal continued for up to two weeks. No extra additives were required for the solution to work. It's going to take further research to turn this into a practical option for fish storage, but the early signs are promising – and the team thinks the methods outlined could be improved in the future. "Our study shows that there are alternative approaches to addressing mercury contamination in tuna, rather than just limiting consumption," says food scientist Mehdi Abdollahi, from Chalmers University of Technology. "Our goal is to improve food safety and contribute to enhanced human health, as well as to better utilize food that is currently under certain restrictions." The research has been published in Global Challenges. Dying Cells Play a Vital, Unexpected Role in Healing, Study Shows Does Added Protein Really Enhance The Nutrition of Your Food? A Week of Swimming in Cold Water Can Change You on a Cellular Level
