14th August, 2015
The UN is urging people to donate their social media stream to allow stories from people affected by humanitarian crises in countries such as Syria, South Sudan and Afghanistan to draw the world’s attention to human suffering across the globe in the lead-up to World Humanitarian Day on 19th August.
The initiative, which runs under the hashtag #ShareHumanity, was kicked off this week by a range of celebrities including Australian singer Cody Simpson, Chinese martial artist Jet Li, British media mogul Richard Branson and Brazilian footballer Kak√°.
Stephen O”Brien, UN humanitarian chief, called on “the young and digitally-connected to help us push out these compelling stories and give a voice to the voiceless”.
“Young people often ask me what they can do to help and I believe we have a shared responsibility to raise awareness and help to inspire humanity on these global issues.”
The UN says the world’s current humanitarian needs are “far outstripping” the aid community”s capacity to help, noting that they and partner organisations aim to reach nearly 80 million people with life-saving emergency assistance this year – a figure nearly double that of 10 years ago.
~ www.worldhumanitarianday.org
– DAVID ADAMS
