瑞典三德贝得伊斯佳学校举办“中国日”活动

北欧绿色邮报网报道(记者陈雪霏)——8月28日乌普兰维斯比市三德贝得伊斯佳学校(瑞典文是Sandbergska Competens)一到九年级的全体师生300多人举办了丰富多彩的“中国日”活动。

早上8点30分,所有学生都在操场集合。操场郁郁葱葱,周围有森林覆盖。

DSC_1894DSC_1887首先校长爱娃.斯万松宣布中国日开始。第一个节目是舞狮子。学生们站在周围,饶有兴致地看着表演,时不时迸发出笑声。两个瑞典舞者表演得非常好。他们的汉语也说得非常好。他们舞完狮子,还表演了一段京剧独白,用汉语说,加上武功动作,惟妙惟肖。学生们看得非常高兴。

DSC_1901然后,他们又教那些自愿上前的学生来练习踢腿和弓步等动作。

DSC_1936DSC_1937

DSC_1960斯万松校长在接受记者采访时说,三德贝得伊斯佳学校已经成立六年了,是一所私立学校,他们有300名学生,11个班,每班24人。有35名教师。

2011年他们与杭州文澜中学建立了友好学校关系,他们觉得中国的发展越来越好,让学生们多接触中国语言文化对学生们的未来很有好处。因此,他们决定举办中国日,中国日期间除了舞狮子,还有手工艺活动和汉字书写等活动。

DSC_1956  (左图)中国日的主要策划者孙凯和索非亚与两位舞狮演员合影。

学生们很快进到各自的教室。班主任老师和科任老师一起帮助学生做手工。9年级的学生也来辅导低年级的学生做风筝。学生们分好多组。每个组都有资料,他们的任务是根据图纸,制作中国龙,做风筝,做毽子,写汉字和图画颜色等等。

 

DSC_1981

DSC_1988有的同学在教室里,有的同学干脆在走廊里做龙。

同学们先是根据给出的汉字,抄写汉字,然后剪成圆形,然后再拼到一起。

经过两个小时的努力,一条汉字组成的汉字龙已经成型。到午饭时间,龙已做完,贴到了墙上。

DSC_1993

  DSC_2006

中文策划老师孙凯非常自豪地说,瑞典的学生非常聪明,你只要给他们一个方案,一个理念和原材料。经过一段时间,他们就会给你出一个作品。

DSC_2025 DSC_2082 DSC_2090 DSC_2098

学校董事长海伦.斯波尔斯也接受了绿色邮报记者的采访。她说,她和另外两名学生家长一起创办了这所学校。

“因为我们都是学生家长,所以我们希望办一所好学校。我们学校也却是在本地区最好的学校。在这里,每个学生都有一个电脑或者一个Ipad。” 她说,他们也从中国学习了一点纪律严明的方面,让学生稍微注意一下纪律,同时也保持瑞典的风格,结果,中瑞结合的效果很不错。

DSC_2112 DSC_2116 DSC_2127

“中国日”的另一个节目是吃中餐。他们从外面请来厨师,在操场旁边支起大锅,厨师当时就给做炒面。然后装到盒子里。每人一盒儿。可以用筷子吃,也可以用叉子。学生们出去吃饭要穿安全服。孙凯说,因为附近有很多公司,所以,他们对安全格外注意,孩子们出去,都要穿颜色鲜艳带反光的安全服。

DSC_2072  DSC_2070吃完午饭,学生们又返回到教室,继续做他们的手工艺品。

DSC_2151

下午一点钟,所有的老师和同学们又返回操场,一起放风筝。二十几个同学拿着同学们自己亲手制作的风筝排成一排,索非亚老师一声令下,大家一起向前奔跑,风筝随即在天空中飞翔。

DSC_2176 DSC_2177一个小姑娘拿着风筝在操场奔跑一圈,到头了,她对记者说,真好玩儿!

学生们就是这样在一种很有趣的中国日游戏中了解中国文化,受中国文化的熏陶。

在瑞典,不管是公立还是私立学校都是一样由政府根据学生人数拨款。好学校自然有更多的学生,经费自然充足。录取不到足够学生的学校,有可能倒闭。政府引入私利学校主要目的是引入竞争,提高质量。(部分图片由丹妮拍摄)

 

 

我从来没有感觉这么孤独过

北欧绿色邮报网报道(记者陈雪霏)--今天晚上,7岁的女儿突然跟我说,妈妈我想给你看,这都是我自己做的。原来,她用手机设计盖了一撞非常豪华的房子。有床,漂亮的阳台,水滑梯,很多窗户和门,花坛,她还居然画了一个十字架,是耶稣的墓地。红绿粉黄各种颜色搭配非常优美。她整天用的这个软件叫Minecraft, 是个非常好玩儿的游戏软件。

上午老公给我看晚报娱乐版上的一张照片。一个男子,络腮胡子,胖乎乎的脸,戴个礼帽。其实他只有36岁。这个人就是Minecraft的发明人马尔库斯.佩尔松(Marcus Notch Persson)。他把这个游戏软件卖给了微软,卖了18亿克朗。他自己净赚10亿克朗。

他和朋友同事到西班牙小岛IBIZA大大地庆祝一番。高潮过后是寂寞。他在推特上表示,现在感觉想干什么就能干什么,但是,却感觉从未有过的孤独。

此前,他在福布斯采访中说,微软买断以后,并没有对员工好好安置。这让他很失望。当初卖的时候,优先考虑的就是员工问题。现在他们都恨我。

他在推特中说,其实突然成功以后对生活的冲击很大。“我现在想干什么就能干什么,但是我从来没有感到如此寂寞。”问题出在没有动力再去继续努力并与其他人融合,由于这种不平衡,导致和别人接触很难。”他的很多粉丝都在追问他的成功秘诀,也想知道他成为亿万富翁以后的感受是什么。

期盼朋友

据晚报报道,佩尔松也写了在瑞典家中的感觉。“在瑞典,我坐在家里等待那些有工作有家庭的朋友能有时间和我一起,同时我在反思。“

他坦承,对新的生活方式有点很难适应。他写到:那些突然成功的人士对我说,这很正常,而且这种感觉很快会过去。明白了就好。我想我还是先去洗个澡吧!

评论:我对未来感觉充满恐惧。孩子们现在都迷上了这种游戏,而不识人间烟火,是否孩子总玩儿游戏就难与人打交道呢?对于新技术,我感觉望洋兴叹,无能为力。是否已经完全被淘汰?到底我们有没有未来?

Swedish King issues award to Rajendra Singh

瑞典国王为斯德哥尔摩水奖得主辛格颁奖

北欧绿色邮报网报道(记者陈雪霏)--瑞典国王卡尔十六世.古斯塔夫26日在斯德哥尔摩市政厅为斯德哥尔摩水奖得主印度节水工作先驱拉延德拉.辛格颁奖。

DSC_1696 隆重的颁奖仪式和往年一样在斯德哥尔摩市政厅举行。陈雪霏拍摄

在一系列精彩音乐演奏之后,水奖评奖委员会负责人上台讲话。评委认为,辛格四十年如一日,带领家乡人收集雨水,节约用水,重视男女平等,终于改变了家乡的面貌。

DSC_1712他本来是个医生毕业生。到了农村,村里人说他们不要医生,他们要水。于是,他们告诉他怎样搞水利。他就带领村民劳动,经过四年的努力,很多村子都积极行动起来了。经过四十年的努力,他们建造了7条河流,使1200多个村庄和社区受益。

村庄本来是有很多年轻人都背井离乡到城里去了。但是,当家乡环境改变以后,他们都回来了,而且种植蔬菜,人人劳动,生活幸福。

IMG_0282辛格说,他所在的印度地区是非常干旱的,但是通过收集雨水,等多种办法,改变了地方的小气候,因此他说,气候变化是全球的,但改变环境的办法却是要因地制宜。

辛格说,他觉得在农村和大自然打交道非常好。他爱大自然。他给年轻人的建议是要尊重自然,爱护环境,真心爱护环境。

中国环保部发布环保技术国际智汇平台吸引环保技术

北欧绿色邮报网信息:中国环保部代表团日前在此间召开的国际水周上发布环保技术国际智汇平台吸引环保技术公司参加技术比赛。

详细内容如下:

Dear Distinguished Partner/Counterpart/Expert/Resource Person,

 

FIRST 3IPET TOP 100 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

TECHNOLOGIES CONTEST

CALL FOR SUBMISSION OF APPLICABLE TECHNOLOGIES

 

As part of efforts to protect the environment and address the challenges of air, water and soil pollution through appropriate prevention and control strategies, the Foreign Economic Cooperation Office (FECO), with the support of the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) of China, established the Integrated, Intelligent, and International Platform for Environmental Technology (3iPET). 3iPET aims at taking advantages of the technologies and cooperation network of governments, companies, and private organizations in China and other countries to provide both online and offline services to showcase and promote Chinese and foreign environmental technologies to solve the environmental problems locally and globally.

FECO is organizing the first ever 3iPET contest to select the top 100 environmental protection technologies in each of the areas of air, water and soil (including solid waste) pollution prevention and control. The contest will be organized between August and October 2015, and the best 100 adjudged technologies in each of the three categories will be published in the “Top 100 technologies for 3iPET” for Air, Water and Soil (including solid waste) pollution prevention and control. The selected technologies will be promoted through the 3iPET platform.

In recognition of the expertise and active involvement of your organization in the promotion of environmentally sound technologies (ESTs) and the global network of your programmes and activities we hereby solicit for your support and assistance in disseminating the information about the contest within and outside China to environmental technology suppliers and promoters. Please find attached information materials and guidelines on the contest. The electronic copies of the information materials and guidelines can be downloaded from the official FECO website atwww.mepfeco.gov.cn

It will be appreciated if you can kindly assist in publicizing the contest by disseminating the attached information and materials. Please revert in case you need additional information or further clarifications.

We thank you for your support and cooperation.

(signed)

Chen Liang

Director General

Foreign Economic Cooperation Office

Ministry of Environmental Protection of China

 

To whom it may concern:

Call for Participation in 3iPET Cooperation Hubs

In order to advance environmental protection in China, the development and adoption of advanced and practical environmental technologies are an important means to improve environmental quality. At the same time, China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” promotes the continuing trend for Chinese environmental technologies and industries to “go out” to promote clean development globally. To support China’s efforts in the “three battles” of preventing and controlling water, air and soil pollution, and its implementation of the “Belt and Road Initiative”, the Foreign Economic Cooperation Office of Ministry of Environment Cooperation (MEP/FECO) developed the International, Intelligent and Integrated Platform for Environmental Technologies (3iPET), relying on its advantages in international cooperation in environmental protection. 3iPET was officially launched in June 8th, 2015.

 

3iPET relies on the Internet and powerful database, and combines online and offline service. Its functions include integration and exhibition, evaluation and screening, matchmaking and promotion of environmental technologies, technology services, which serves as an exchange and communication platform. Its goals include promoting domestic and foreign exchange and cooperation with respect to environmental technologies, facilitating import and export of environmental technologies, and providing technical support for China’s efforts in pollution control. The organizational structure of 3iPET includes a steering committee, strategic partners, technology service alliances, a domestic and international cooperation hub platform, and expert consultancy teams. For further information, please visit http://3ipet.mepfeco.org.cn.

 

We now sincerely call for your joining 3iPET as an international cooperation hub. The international cooperation hubs will conduct information exchange with 3iPET. Through 3iPET, international hubs can obtain information about domestic and international environmental protection policies, global environmental technologies, domestic and international projects, and industrial cooperation opportunities, and will be responsible for providing information about international environmental protection policies, advanced abroad environmental technologies providers, international technological mergers & acquisitions and related projects abroad on a regular basis. Additionally, 3iPET will cooperate with hubs to support technology matchmaking, technology promotion, industrial incubation, project demonstration, financial and business combination opportunities, and policy dissemination.

 

If you are interested, please complete the information form of 3iPET International Cooperation Hub in the attached Annex, and send it via email to FECO by August 31st, 2015. My colleagues Ms. Tang Lu and Ms. Li Haoting will be at your disposal if you have any question, and you can reach them through:

Tel: 010-82268877, 010-82268880

Fax: 010-82200586

E-mail: tang.lu@mepfeco.org.cn, li.haoting@mepfeco.org.cn

Annex: Information Form for 3iPET International Cooperation Hub

 

We warmly welcome your participation and contribution. It is our sincere hope that we could achieve win-win cooperation through 3iPET cooperation hubs.

 

Chen Liang

Director General

Foreign Economic Cooperation Center

Ministry of Environment Cooperation of China

 

Attachment: Information Form for 3iPET International Cooperation Hub

 

 

Attachment

Information Form for 3iPET International Cooperation Hub

Name:
Address:
Contact person: Telephone:
Fax: E-mai:
Introduction: 

 

 

 

 

 

China calls for submission of applicable technologies for contest

Stockholm, Aug.26 (Greenpost)–China is calling for submission of applicable technologies for technologies contest in environmental protection.

The news was released by the delegation from Ministry of Environment Protection of China  during the ongoing  World Water Week in Stockholm during Aug. 23-28, 2015.

The details is as the following:

Dear Distinguished Partner/Counterpart/Expert/Resource Person,

 

FIRST 3IPET TOP 100 ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

TECHNOLOGIES CONTEST

CALL FOR SUBMISSION OF APPLICABLE TECHNOLOGIES

 

As part of efforts to protect the environment and address the challenges of air, water and soil pollution through appropriate prevention and control strategies, the Foreign Economic Cooperation Office (FECO), with the support of the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) of China, established the Integrated, Intelligent, and International Platform for Environmental Technology (3iPET). 3iPET aims at taking advantages of the technologies and cooperation network of governments, companies, and private organizations in China and other countries to provide both online and offline services to showcase and promote Chinese and foreign environmental technologies to solve the environmental problems locally and globally.

FECO is organizing the first ever 3iPET contest to select the top 100 environmental protection technologies in each of the areas of air, water and soil (including solid waste) pollution prevention and control. The contest will be organized between August and October 2015, and the best 100 adjudged technologies in each of the three categories will be published in the “Top 100 technologies for 3iPET” for Air, Water and Soil (including solid waste) pollution prevention and control. The selected technologies will be promoted through the 3iPET platform.

In recognition of the expertise and active involvement of your organization in the promotion of environmentally sound technologies (ESTs) and the global network of your programmes and activities we hereby solicit for your support and assistance in disseminating the information about the contest within and outside China to environmental technology suppliers and promoters. Please find attached information materials and guidelines on the contest. The electronic copies of the information materials and guidelines can be downloaded from the official FECO website at www.mepfeco.gov.cn

It will be appreciated if you can kindly assist in publicizing the contest by disseminating the attached information and materials. Please revert in case you need additional information or further clarifications.

We thank you for your support and cooperation.

(signed)

Chen Liang

Director General

Foreign Economic Cooperation Office

Ministry of Environmental Protection of China

 

To whom it may concern:

Call for Participation in 3iPET Cooperation Hubs

In order to advance environmental protection in China, the development and adoption of advanced and practical environmental technologies are an important means to improve environmental quality. At the same time, China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” promotes the continuing trend for Chinese environmental technologies and industries to “go out” to promote clean development globally. To support China’s efforts in the “three battles” of preventing and controlling water, air and soil pollution, and its implementation of the “Belt and Road Initiative”, the Foreign Economic Cooperation Office of Ministry of Environment Cooperation (MEP/FECO) developed the International, Intelligent and Integrated Platform for Environmental Technologies (3iPET), relying on its advantages in international cooperation in environmental protection. 3iPET was officially launched in June 8th, 2015.

 

3iPET relies on the Internet and powerful database, and combines online and offline service. Its functions include integration and exhibition, evaluation and screening, matchmaking and promotion of environmental technologies, technology services, which serves as an exchange and communication platform. Its goals include promoting domestic and foreign exchange and cooperation with respect to environmental technologies, facilitating import and export of environmental technologies, and providing technical support for China’s efforts in pollution control. The organizational structure of 3iPET includes a steering committee, strategic partners, technology service alliances, a domestic and international cooperation hub platform, and expert consultancy teams. For further information, please visit http://3ipet.mepfeco.org.cn.

 

We now sincerely call for your joining 3iPET as an international cooperation hub. The international cooperation hubs will conduct information exchange with 3iPET. Through 3iPET, international hubs can obtain information about domestic and international environmental protection policies, global environmental technologies, domestic and international projects, and industrial cooperation opportunities, and will be responsible for providing information about international environmental protection policies, advanced abroad environmental technologies providers, international technological mergers & acquisitions and related projects abroad on a regular basis. Additionally, 3iPET will cooperate with hubs to support technology matchmaking, technology promotion, industrial incubation, project demonstration, financial and business combination opportunities, and policy dissemination.

 

If you are interested, please complete the information form of 3iPET International Cooperation Hub in the attached Annex, and send it via email to FECO by August 31st, 2015. My colleagues Ms. Tang Lu and Ms. Li Haoting will be at your disposal if you have any question, and you can reach them through:

Tel: 010-82268877, 010-82268880

Fax: 010-82200586

E-mail: tang.lu@mepfeco.org.cn, li.haoting@mepfeco.org.cn

Annex: Information Form for 3iPET International Cooperation Hub

 

We warmly welcome your participation and contribution. It is our sincere hope that we could achieve win-win cooperation through 3iPET cooperation hubs.

 

Chen Liang

Director General

Foreign Economic Cooperation Center

Ministry of Environment Cooperation of China

 

Attachment: Information Form for 3iPET International Cooperation Hub

 

 

Attachment

Information Form for 3iPET International Cooperation Hub

Name:
Address:
Contact person: Telephone:
Fax: E-mai:
Introduction:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

中国大厨走进北欧 走向世界

北欧绿色邮报报道(记者陈雪霏)——应瑞典华人总会邀请,以中国烹饪协会副会长李万民为首的中国烹饪艺术代表团昨晚在斯德哥尔摩老城的宝岛饭店为瑞典各界人士进行了成都川菜品尝之夜活动。

photo (61) 瑞典华人餐饮协会会长吴俊博在开幕式上致欢迎词说,去年,他受国侨办方面邀请到四川接受厨师培训,才有了今天国际厨艺大师李万民大师一行的到访。

中国驻瑞典大使馆领事部主任郭延航和领事付涛也出席了川菜品鉴会。郭领事对代表团的到来表示欢迎。

photo (60)兼任四川省烹饪协会会长的李万民先生表示,他们此前已经在芬兰,丹麦进行了厨艺表演,每次都有三百人参加。

他说,他们来访的目的就是要把中国的正宗川菜带到北欧,他此前已经访问过世界很多国家,正宗中国川菜一直非常受欢迎。

他说,他们的川菜,原材料在当地采购,但关键调料都是从国内带来的。因此,有变化也有创新。

例如,这剁椒活鱼,烤鸭姜片,麻婆豆腐,宫保鸡丁等都是正宗川菜。

photo (48) photo (49) photo (51) photo (52) photo (53) photo (54) photo (55)

中国驻瑞典大使馆领事部主任郭延航和领事付涛也出席了川菜品鉴会。郭领事对代表团的到来表示欢迎。

photo (59)photo (58)在昨天的川菜品尝期间,成都的艺术家们还表演了茶艺,变脸等文艺节目。

代表团一行有22人,包括7厨师,艺术家和成都市商务委文峰副主任,四川省的官员董云帆和赵刚等。

photo (62)瑞典25 Måltid董事长,特级厨师,美食家Johan Åkersberga出席并致辞。

photo (50)另外,受邀嘉宾还有瑞典华人总会执行会长叶沛群,瑞京华人协会会长柳少会,瑞典华人总会副会长伍王令,瑞典维京论坛主席刘晨,华总秘书长唐兵,瑞典中华医学会会长段茂利,青田同乡会秘书长甘建广,瑞典华人高尔夫协会会长蒋宏斌,瑞典武医协会会长曾庆宗,熊猫饭店董事长黄炳旺,以及人民日报北欧记者刘仲华,人民网记者李枚忆,瑞典的美食编辑Jimmy Forsman,大约30人出席品尝会。尤其是瑞典朋友兴致勃勃地观看表演。

photo (56)photo (57)据不完全统计,这是近10年来首次在瑞典接待中国大陆烹饪代表团来访。当然,中国厨师也几乎遍及世界各地,但国内厨师组团出访到瑞典在近10年来,尚属首次。

(部分照片由万涓提供)

Zurich invests USD 10million to drive innovation in flood resilience

Stockholm, August 25(Greenpost)– Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) has joined efforts with the Global Resilience Partnership to launch the Global Resilience Challenge Water Window.

  The Water Window is a grant-based competition focused on building resilience to different water challenges, including floods. 

Zurich is the first private sector member of the Resilience Partnership and provides a USD 10 million investment to fund solutions to build flood resilience. The Global Resilience Partnership and Zurich call on other corporations to join them so that all can better realize a resilience dividend.

 Zurich will invest USD 10 million as part of its long-term commitment to the Global Resilience Partnership (the Resilience Partnership), convened by The Rockefeller Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). The Resilience Partnership is driving a shared global resilience agenda, where humanitarian and development planning is better aligned, deploying precious resources to support innovations, which will build stronger communities that are able to overcome chronic stresses and better handle inevitable shocks.

 The Global Resilience Challenge Water Window (the Water Window) invites submissions that will build resilience to different water challenges and which stand to benefit of millions of people. The Water Window will seek to support innovative solutions – or to scale up those that are already working – that fall within one or more focus areas of the Resilience Partnership overall:   technology; innovative financing, including risk transfer mechanisms; measurement & diagnostics (e.g.  tools that enable better understanding problems and risk caused by water); policy; and learning & innovation (including   community practices that enhance awareness, education, engagement, female empowerment, and action orientation).  Zurich will look specifically for innovations aimed at enhancing flood resilience in line with its global flood resilience program launched in 2013. The funding is provided by the Z Zurich Foundation.

 The Water Window’s goal is to identify and realize strong solutions that will be shared through an open learning platform. Zurich and other corporations joining the Water Window will be part of the challenge’s assessment, selection and development processes. KPMG East Africa Limited, the implementing partner of the first Global Resilience Challenge, will also be the implementing partner of the Water Window, handling all administrative and operational issues.

 Beyond the Water Window, Zurich will play an active role in the Resilience Partnership by contributing its market-leading resilience measurement expertise, engaging on finding optimal financing solutions, or supporting the development and implementation of public policy.

 Chief Executive Officer Martin Senn said: “Water is one of the most critical development challenges we face today. Tens of millions of people struggle to gain access to clean drinking water every day; a shortage of water is limiting economic growth in many countries, while flooding affects more people each year than any other form of natural disaster. At Zurich, we believe we have a responsibility to use our expertise in insurance and risk management to help communities and households build resilience against such globally interconnected risks. With the commitment of USD 10 million we will build on the progress of our flood resilience program. We invite other companies to join us in the water resilience challenge, where there are a host of issues to focus on beyond floods.”

 “Crisis is the new normal, and with so much of the world’s population living on or near water, flooding is often the source of crises,” said Dr. Judith Rodin, president of The Rockefeller Foundation.

“The Global Resilience Partnership is leading the charge to build resilience across the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and South and Southeast Asia, and Zurich is an excellent addition because of the expertise they can lend to spur innovation in building resilience to flooding. We look forward to welcoming other corporations to the Resilience Partnership, because when communities are resilient, so too are businesses. That’s part of the dividend of investing in resilience.”

 P.S.

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Zurich Insurance Group (Zurich) is a leading multi-line insurer that serves its customers in global and local markets. With more than 55,000 employees, it provides a wide range of general insurance and life insurance products and services. Zurich’s customers include individuals, small businesses, and mid-sized and large companies, including multinational corporations, in more than 170 countries. The Group is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1872. The holding company, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd (ZURN), is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and has a level I American Depositary Receipt (ZURVY) program, which is traded over-the-counter on OTCQX. Further information about Zurich is available at www.zurich.com.

Corporate responsibility is a key part of Zurich’s strategy and supports its mission to help its customers understand and protect themselves from risk.  Zurich is focusing on its strengths as a business, and on key enablers of success – actions it needs to take to achieve its strategic objectives. Zurich thinks about corporate responsibility in the same way, focusing on seven areas that either make use of its insurance, risk management and investment expertise, or are enablers of Zurich’s success. They are:

• Enhancing community flood resilience (see more on Zurich’s global flood resilience program)

• Investing our Group assets responsibly [Zurich is a signatory of the Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI)]

• Working with Zurich corporate customers to help them understand and manage their corporate responsibility risks

• Community investment locally and through the Z Zurich Foundation

• Environmental performance, and health and safety management in its office buildings

• Diversity and inclusion in its workforce

• Responsible supply chain management

Zurich participates in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI), FTSE4Good and CDP.

Zurich has been a signatory of the UN Global Compact since 2011 and is committed to making the Global Compact and its principles part of Zurich’s strategy, culture and day-to-day operations.

 

Managing Water Resources for Green Growth and Equity

STOCKHOLM, Aug. 25 (Greenpost)– The workshop  “Managing Water Resources for Green Growth and Equity” was held on Tuesday at the ongoing World Water Week in Stockholm.

Director-General of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), Ms. Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, delivered a keynote speech on green growth and equity.

Practitioners and analysts have given the distinctive development trajectories of countries and regions, the pathways through which water can contribute to green growth and equity.

Dr. Akissa Bahri (African Development Bank), Mr. Dhesigen Naidoo (Water Research Commission, RSA), Ms. Sofia Ahlroth (World Bank Group), Mr. Dammika Sirinesa (National Development Bank PLC) and Dr. Casey Brown (University of Massachusetts) have been the panelists.

今日头条— 瑞典首相勒夫文:我们有一个共同点--没有水我们都不能活

北欧绿色邮报网报道(记者陈雪霏)--世界水周24日在瑞典首都斯德哥尔摩市中心城市会议中心隆重开幕。

photo (44) 瑞典首相斯蒂芬.勒夫文致开幕词时强调人类有很多不同点,但是我们有一个共同点,那就是,没有水我们都不能活。

勒夫文说,水和发展问题紧密相连,因此,要发展,必须搞好水的问题。瑞典在1861年就建立了第一个水厂,大大提高饮用水的质量。到1930年建立了第一个污水处理厂。早在1927年的时候,瑞典曾因为水污染而取消一次重大游泳比赛。但是,50年代后,瑞典开始积极治理水污染,现在瑞典的水都是可以游泳,可以钓鱼的。

勒夫文说,瑞典依然承诺对发展中国家1%国民生产总值的援助承诺,赢得了热烈掌声。

瑞典的优美的水环境令人羡慕,但是,太多的水也是问题。马绍尔群岛总统罗艾亚克也在开幕式上致开幕词。

photo (42)他语气沉重地说,也约旦相反,马绍尔群岛面临着被淹没的危险,过去10个月中,发生越来越频繁的台风,暴雨等问题,海水离他的人民越来越近。根据科学家们的建议,如果全球气候增加两度,世界三分之二的地区都将被海水淹没。

因此,他的国家在积极采取措施,例如100%使用太阳能。他们也有专家帮助他们进行污水处理等。

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与马绍尔群岛相反,约旦总理阿布杜拉.恩绍尔表达了他对瑞典有那么多湖的羡慕。

他说,约旦是世界上最缺水的国家,世界人均年用水量是1000立方米的话,约旦人只有100多立方米。而约旦的水紧张主要是因为周边国家的战争和冲突造成很多难民到约旦引起的。约旦人口700多万,但是难民几乎占一半,他们来自伊拉克和巴勒斯坦等周边国家。

去年,约旦已经和以色列和巴勒斯坦就水问题进行合作的协议。约旦的母亲河死海每年以下降一米的速度水位在下降,用不了几年,他恐怕死海就会真的完全干涸了。

难民问题不光是水问题,还有教育,卫生,健康和犯罪,发展等问题。因为难民来了大部分要长期住下来,因此,如何解决难民问题,第一次来瑞典的恩绍尔希望能向瑞典学习,因为瑞典是人均接受难民最多的国家,约旦位居第二。

斯德哥尔摩市市长卡琳.万够德说,世界上每一个孩子都应该有纯净水喝,而这需要集体努力。她引用社民党前党首瑞典首相帕尔默的话,没有个人的未来,要解决水问题,需要有关各方各国积极合作,共同努力才能解决问题。

瑞典国际水研究所所长霍尔格林说,SIWI每年组织水周,今年是25周年。在解决各种水问题的过程中,缺水还是最难的。因此,在水缺乏的地区,需要每个人都要节约用水。他希望与会者在未来一周积极探索各种解决水问题的办法。

photo (45)印度斯德哥尔摩水奖获得者辛格给人巨大鼓舞,经过三十年的努力,这个曾经学习医学的医生却带领当地人民创建了7条河,1200多个小溪和蓄水地带,当地人民生活福祉极大提高。他的秘诀是,水问题是全球的,但解决问题的办法一定是地方的,因地制宜的。

斯德哥尔摩世界水周汇聚了来自世界100多个国家的两千多政府官员,企业代表和水问题专家及相关国际组织和个人。连媒体也有一个研讨会讨论媒体在水问题中发挥什么样的作用。

大会于23日开始,今天是全体会议,28日将是闭幕全体会议。在这一周里,北欧绿色邮报网将跟踪报道有意义的会议以飨读者。

chenxuefei7@hotmail.com

今日头条:世界水周讨论城市化过程中的水和能源安全

北欧绿色邮报网报道(记者陈雪霏)——由世界资源研究所,中国全球水伙伴和世界自然基金会中国代表处联合举办的关于如何在快速城市化过程中保障水和能源安全的研讨会23日在世界水周第一天成为首场研讨会之一。

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研讨会由世界资源研究所中国区所长李来来博士主持。她说,众所周知,中国正在进行轰轰烈烈的城市化进程之中,在这个过程中,人们对水和能源的需求也在迅速增加,因此,如何满足人们对水和能源的需求是本次研讨会的主要议题。世界研究所中国区对这个问题提出了一个解决方案,那就是建立可持续发展城市,要实现污水处理,在这个过程中,既通过回收利用节省了水资源,也节省了能源,因为如果海水淡化也需要很多能源的。因此也实现了资源垃圾和回收再利用的循环,这是一个很好的解决水和能源的双赢办法。

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世界资源研究所的钟丽锦说,中国面临各种水问题的挑战,例如,有的地方干旱,有的地方洪涝,有的地方水面临污染,在很多城市,又面临城市雨水成河的尴尬局面。因此,水的问题,必须和能源和气候变化问题一起综合解决。例如青岛就是一个极其缺水的城市。于是当地政府想利用海水淡化来解决地下水不能满足需求的问题,但是,计算下来,海水淡化需要很多能源,成本非常高。综合考虑还不如多搞污水处理,回收利用。

全球水伙伴高级网络官克劳森女士讲述了非洲城市水资源综合管理的经验案例。

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世界自然基金会中国区的王蕾博士讲述了水电开发的两难局面。她说,中国要发展,没有能源不行,因此计划建很多大坝。例如在长江上的三峡大坝,上游的雅砻江,金沙江等很多江上都要筑坝。但是,根据世界自然基金会从2006年开始的调查研究,长江水系面临巨大挑战。作为中华民族的母亲河,它是两岸人民乃至大半个中国的食品鱼类的来源,但是大坝的修建对上下游的鱼类,生物多样性,自然环境,地质都有很大影响。因此,在筑坝的时候一定要计算一下到底获得能源的利和对环境生态的破坏的弊到底哪个大,要好好衡量,尽量最小化环境影响。世界自然基金会的原则是,尽量不要筑坝,如果筑坝也必须要做好环境影响评价找到最合适的位置。象云南和内蒙等地因为筑坝和修水库造成下游沙漠化的行为是很不划算的,属短视行为。

世界资源研究所的袁敏就污水处理过程中污泥废渣的处理提了一些问题和建议。

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北京大学水资源研究所副教授刘洁博士从政策改革的角度提出了与水有关的部门应该合作协调的建议。例如,应该由发改委牵头,环保部,国土资源部,农业部,商业部和水资源部一起制定标准和概览,在污水处理,能源利用效率等方面协调标准,在规划,审批,执行和运营过程中都要协调好。中国的污水处理标准和能源利用效率方面都有改善的余地。

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中国农业部长江流域渔业监督管理办公室环境与资源部主任赵益民在讨论过程中说,中国水问题十分严重,面临各种挑战,其实关于水电站的问题,他本人并不认为水电是绿色能源,因为水电站对渔业造成很大破坏,因为水电站造成水温上升,因此很多鱼苗面临死亡甚至已经死亡。因此,如何解决水和能源的冲突,他希望能在水周期间多学一些好的经验,找到一些好的办法。

全球水伙伴中国秘书长和协调员郑如刚说,中国在50年代就提出了水土保持,治理大江大河的规划,到目前,专门有水资源部,北京有水当局专门解决各类水问题,这都是从制度上和可持续发展的角度进行改善。

IMG_0154

斯德哥尔摩环境研究所的韩国义博士也参加了讨论。近百人参加了本次研讨会

世界水周将在24日举行全体会议开幕式,届时,瑞典首相勒夫文将致开幕词。

来自世界各国的水官员,企业家和水专家两千多人将参加世界水周。水周将就水与能源的主题讨论一周,在28日闭幕。此外还将在斯德哥尔摩进行自选的实地考察。

 

Sweden strives for gender equality in film industry

Stockholm, Aug. 22(Greenpost)– Sweden is striving for gender equality in film industry as voices are getting louder in the global film industry regarding gender inequality.

(Video:    http://mediaroom.sweden.se/)

A growing body of research and statistics points to what many have been arguing for decades: women are not represented equally behind or in front of the camera.

The Swedish film industry has certainly been no different. Back to 2012, with only 32 percent of Swedish state-funded features produced by women, and women directors and screenwriters underrepresented, Anna Serner, CEO of the Swedish Film Institute (SFI), decided that something needed to be done.

Serner explains, “When I started three and a half years ago, we had an assignment to aim for a 40/60 average of long feature films, in the key positions of director, screenwriter and producer. Of course this always means 40 percent women, but I would say that you should always aim for 50/50 over time”.

Serner has become a bit of a rock-star figure internationally in championing gender equality in the film industry. Her proactive, no-nonsense approach with its proven results has gained worldwide attention from the film industry and media alike.

“What I did was to be very clear in the goal and made an action plan for reaching the goal by the end of 2015. And it took us (only) two and a half years, to reach the goal”.

With four out of five Swedish feature film receiving funding from SFI, their “Towards Gender Equality in Film Production ” action plan naturally had a major effect on what films have been made. Being  expected with any shake-up to the existing system, arguments and criticism ensued from both the creative and the business sides of the industry. Even neighboring Scandinavian countries with a similar film funding system questioned the need for such an aggressive program.

Serner’s views have remained steady. “One very common argument is that you shouldn’t do this because it limits the creativity, the freedom of speech and the quality of the artistic level of films. I would say exactly the opposite, actually, that you need gender equality and you need to get the underrepresented voices… to get quality”.

Who gets to make films is one important aspect of equality in the film industry, how women are represented in front of the camera is another.

Sweden also attracted an unexpected amount of worldwide attention for an initiative by a small art house movie theatre in Stockholm.

Ellen Tejle, Director of Bio Rio, explains,

“Back in 2013, we read that only 30% of women in film had speaking roles, and it got us thinking, ‘We need to do something ourselves! But we don’t produce films, we are just showing them’”.

What the theatre did was to develop the world’s first film classification, “A-rate”, to show if a film passes The Bechdel Test. The Bechdel Test was inspired by American animator Alison Bechdel’s idea from 30 years ago, a basic measure to see if women are fairly represented in a film.

For a film to pass The Bechdel Test, the movie must • have at least two female characters • they must both have names • they must talk to each other about something other than a man. As simple as it was, the “A-rate” campaign sent a shock wave through the industry and media from over eighty countries picked up the story.

The Bechdel Test was used in a number of analyses that followed including the oft-quoted analysis in 2014 by New York based FiveThirtyEight, showing that, of Hollywood films produced since 1990, those which passed the Bechdel test actually had a better return on investment.

Tejle cautions, “We realize that the Bechdel Test is only one tool to evaluate film, and it is not a guarantee of quality or equality, but it gets people talking about women’s representation. I know that, since A-Rate, people have been changing their scripts and changing the casting, and that’s amazing!”.

If Serner has anything to say about it, Sweden will continue to push the gender quality question forward .

“Women tell stories with a new perspective, and that’s what feels new, original, and unique. “ She adds with a smile, “There are a lot of countries that talk about things, but we are the only country that actually does things! You can criticize and you can have opposition, but that is a way of making progress”.

Sweden’s view of the new climate agreement

Stockholm, Aug. 21(Greenpost)–From 30 November to 11 December, the world’s leaders will gather in Paris for the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The session is particularly important since the countries are to agree on a new global climate agreement that will apply from 2020.

The Government wants to see a global, fair and legally binding climate agreement that will help keep global warming as far below two degrees Celsius as possible. The agreement must allow countries to take ever more ambitious emission reduction measures over time.

Sweden wants to see legally binding emissions limitation commitments for all countries. All countries should contribute according to their responsibilities and respective capabilities. Sweden also wants the agreement to cover support to low-income countries’ implementation of measures for both emission reductions and adaptation. Support should cover financing, technology diffusion and capacity-building. In particular, support is needed to strengthen efforts in the poorest and most vulnerable countries.

Being able to measure, report and verify countries’ emissions is a prerequisite for stronger commitments over time. The agreement must therefore contain fundamental principles for a common regulatory framework for transparency and monitoring of countries’ commitments and implementation.

All countries should present their contributions to the new agreement in good time before the Paris session. The EU’s decision to reduce emissions by at least 40 per cent by 2030 is an important step, but a higher level of ambition is needed from both the EU and other parties that have submitted their bids.

The Government considers that a higher level of ambition prior to 2020 is important, both to close the gap between what countries are doing and necessary emission reductions, and to build confidence in the negotiations.

Much work remains before a new agreement can be put into place

Many difficult issues remain to be solved before and during the session in Paris, including what parts of the new agreement should be legally binding, how adaptation and emission reductions can be given equal political importance in the agreement, how climate financing can increase and which countries should contribute.

Reaching a global climate agreement in Paris is expected to be a major challenge, and even if an agreement is reached it will not provide a complete solution to the problem of climate change. The new agreement is needed to create a platform for more ambitious climate commitments and enhanced global action in the years ahead. However, a number of political and technical issues will remain after Paris, for example the detailed reporting regulations and market mechanisms under the new agreement.

Stock Market on Aug. 20

Stockholm, Aug 20(Greenpost)–Stock Market crashed again in Stockholm.

The American fund decreased almost tow percentage points to 1.33 percent from 3.2 percent standing at 651.98 kr yesterday.

Asian fund decrease to minus 11 with a loss of 5564.

Handelsbanken China fund decreased most to 14279 by  16.23 percent. The price decreased to 126 from 152.

Handelsbanken Hållbergenergi decreased by almost 14 percent with a loss of 3398.

Both the European fund and Multiasset are decreasing by over 1000 kr.

In total, the funds ran at a loss of almost 30 thousand kronor. Now only the American fund is in positive while all the others ran at a loss.

 

瑞典爱护水资源是怎样从娃娃抓起的?

北欧绿色邮报网杂文(作者陈雪霏)--昨晚,我7岁的女儿命令他爸爸立即帮她写假期作业,因为她已经答应老师今天必须交上去。

什么假期作业呢?那就是拿个瓶子在假期在你认为合适的地方带一瓶水回来,然后,给老师和同学们讲水的来历的故事。你还要写出来。

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家长只能帮助组织语言,但是不能替写,因此,这中间也有斗争,妈妈不能看她写了什么,爸爸说得不对也不行。总之,最后还是她自己歪歪扭扭地写出了水是我们假期去马尔默的时候带回来的。从马尔默她还去了哥本哈根的提屋里儿童乐园,在那里吃了半米长的棉花糖。

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其实这种作业早在她三岁上幼儿园的时候就有了。孩子从一上幼儿园就开始体会各种物质,水,木头,石头都是他们的作业内容。一次是水,那时还允许家长帮忙,我在附近的海域灌了一瓶水,然后,告诉他们在哪儿灌的,结果,幼儿园老师和同学们就带领所有的小伙伴去哪里。到了那里,先是安妮讲述,然后同学评论,有同学发现,这水在海里(其实这里就象一条河,很狭窄了,两边都是房子,中间可以行船因此河水看着有些黑幽幽)是黑的,但是放在瓶子里其实是很干净,无色透明的。这俨然是一个重大发现。老师都记录在案。

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这样一学期下来,他们访问好多地方,什么瓦特的姥姥家,乌勒的爷爷家等等。孩子们在游戏中学习。

还有一次是带木头或树枝到学校,同样道理。另一次是带石头,学生要讲述石头和树枝在哪里拣来的,有什么作用,为什么在那里捡来的。

上小学二年级了,还是这个主题,而且这次是要自己写出来。我想这样的童年就象我一年级时捡羊粪蛋儿给生产队,帮生产队拾棉花是一个道理,一辈子都不会忘记。对水的感情至少也就从那时开始了。

在瑞典,从80年代开始每年都有一个国际水周,在这一周里人们讨论所有关于水的问题。他们有水学校,水奖,个人,青少年和企业,上到国王,下到百姓都谈论水,甚至关注全世界的水资源动向。瑞典是个水上国家,工业化后期,水也有污染,但是,经过严厉的措施和大规模的宣传运动,使得瑞典的水可以拧开龙头就喝,这和总体水源质量比较好有很大关系。

 

China Focus: Economists confident of medium-term 7-percent growth

BEIJING, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) — Economists have high hopes China can keep GDP growth above 7 percent over the next five years, as leading officials prepare to discuss 2016-2020 development at a key political meeting.
Economic growth is high on the agenda of October’s plenary session of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, which will cover the 13th Five-year Plan (2016-2020).
These five years are critical if Chinese leaders are to realize their goals of doubling 2010 GDP and per capita income and completing the building of a moderately prosperous society by 2020.
“China’s potential growth can exceed 7 percent,” said Tsinghua University economist Hu Angang, using the technical term for the maximum pace an economy can sustain over the medium to long term without stoking inflation.
“China set a growth target of 7 percent for the 2011-2015 period, but the de facto annual growth was 7.8 percent on average. Potential growth will be lower in the 2016-2020 period, but it should be above 7 percent. I expect the de facto annual growth to be around 7.5 percent,” Hu said.
Fan Gang, an advisor to the central bank monetary policy committee, said he was confident of 7-percent growth in the long run and that more pessimistic analysts “had not taken cyclical factors such as overcapacity into account.” He believes the problem of overproduction by China’s industries will ease sooner rather than later.
“China is still in a relatively high growth range. The growth rate of 7 percent or above could last till 2023 backed by the three state strategies [the Belt and Road regional infrastructure and trade network, greater integration of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province, and the Yangtze River Economic Belt], deepening reform, industrial upgrading and urbanization,” said Liu Wei, deputy president of Peking University.
Wang Yiming, deputy director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, predicted the economy will resist looming downward pressure thanks to emerging favorable conditions.
These include industrialization and urbanization, openings for Chinese enterprises during global economic adjustment, and increasing consumption, according to Wang.
Enormous investment opportunities lie in areas including poverty reduction, environmental protection, water conservation and urban renovation, he added.
Economists also believe official campaigns to integrate technology such as cloud computing, robots and new materials with traditional industries, and to develop the country’s central and western regions will also aid growth.
However, as policymakers have accepted China entering a period of plateauing but more stable economic growth, and one of great strategic opportunities but also complicated challenges, Wang advised them to perfect macro regulation by improving fiscal and monetary policies and to be on the lookout for risks to prevent economic volatility.
The government should back reforms to create growth momentum, and stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship in high-tech industries, he added.
Ba Shusong, chief economist at the China Banking Association, pointed to various issues hampering growth. As the criteria used to evaluate officials’ performance change, local officials might be less motivated in wooing investment, Ba said, also citing rising labor costs as a problem.  Enditem