That UNICEF report... oof.

It's here, the 400th issue! To mark the occasion, I was preparing an announcement for all of you, but unfortunately, I fell really sick last week. Shall we pretend that next week's issue is also a nice, round number? I'll tell you then.

This issue is about the winners of the 'other Nobel' prize, a new UNICEF report on sexual violence against children and the declining state of press freedom in Kyrgyzstan. Plus, a banned Kurdish film in Turkey, the wonders of 3D technology and what it can do for Indonesia, a status update on the mpox vaccination campaign in DRC, the movies that got everyone talking at last week's Bisan International Film Festival, why you should make time for a visit to the Otsuka Museum in Naruto, a very personal piece on a Sudanese nurse trainee and how she's surviving her regular kidney dialysis amidst war, a rapping pregnant lady criticizing body-shaming and a LinkedIn post for the ages. Plus, so much more.

Here are the winners of the 2024 Right Livelihood Award

What happened:
The winners of the 2024 Right Livelihood Award have been announced.

Why this matters:
I'm not a fan of awards and prizes (my closest friends know this about me; they add a weirdness to collective solidarity), but the Right Livelihood Award has consistently put a number of individuals and groups in the spotlight that I hadn't heard of before, and this newsletter has been a grateful recipient of those picks.

Tell me more:
The Right Livelihood Award was created in 1980 by Jakob von Uexkull, a Swedish-German philanthropist. Jakob, who was both a journalist and a stamp expert, thought the Nobel Prizes were missing the mark by focusing too much on industrialized countries and not addressing the big issues humanity was facing. So, he set up this award to shine a light on those overlooked efforts. Since then, it's been given to 198 laureates from 77 different countries.

Fun fact:
Some media also call this award the 'Alternative Nobel'.

Who are the 2024 winners?
Here are this year's winners:

Issa Amro and "Youth Against Settlements"

• The Who and What: Issa Amro, a 44-year-old Palestinian from Hebron, and his organization Youth Against Settlements (YAS) are being recognized for their non-violent resistance to the Israeli occupation. YAS documents human rights abuses and organizes peaceful protests to empower Palestinians. Their approach has inspired other cities to embrace non-violent resistance as well.
• What's life like in the West Bank after October 7? Issa Amro tells Right Livelihood that the city was already under stress before but has become much worse due to the Israeli military actions and settler violence. He emphasizes that both civilians in Gazaand the West Bank are paying the price of the escalating conflict between Israel and Palestinian armed groups. He also talks about how Hebron is under curfew due to the Israeli holiday of Rosh Hashanah, meaning checkpoints are closed, preventing Palestinians from leaving their homes. Streets, schools, and public places are shut down for Palestinians. It's almost like a total lockdown, with military checkpoints blocking access even for essential services like ambulances and electricians. Listen to the interview in full here.

Anabela Lemos and "Justiça Ambiental!"

• The Who and What: Anabela Lemos, a 71-year-old environmental activist from Mozambique, and her group Justiça Ambiental! (JA!) are being honored for their fight against mega-projects threatening local communities and ecosystems. Their work, especially opposing the Mozambique LNG project, has drawn international attention to environmental and human rights abuses, empowering local communities to resist exploitation.
• What does "projects threatening local communities and ecosystems" really mean? I got pictures for you. Gregor Zielke, a German photojournalist, documented the relocations of 700 families in Mozambique's Tete province because a large coalmine had been constructed.

Forensic Architecture (FA)

• The Who and What: This research group from Goldsmiths College, London, uses cutting-edge tech like data modeling and spatial analysis to investigate environmental and human rights violations. Their work has been used in court cases around the world, from the Grenfell Tower fire in the UK, the racist attack on February 19, 2020 in Hanau, Germany to documenting the genocide in Namibia. They're being recognized for pioneering digital forensics to ensure justice for victims of human and environmental abuses.
• If this is the first time you've heard of this group (I've had the pleasure of interviewing them for some of my journalistic podcast productions in the past), I suggest listening to some interviews with Eyal Weizmann, the guy behind the idea of FA. He's exceptionally clear in his messaging and very passionate about how FA can help deliver justice in ways we hadn't thought of doing in a very long time. You could perhaps start here.

Joan Carling

• The Who and the What: Joan Carling, a 61-year-old Filipino activist, is recognized for her decades-long fight for indigenous rights. Starting in the Philippines, she has become a global advocate, particularly in pushing for indigenous voices in green transformation projects. Carling's work has not only stopped harmful projects but also influenced UN guidelines on indigenous women's rights.
• Why are Indigenous voices important for a so-called green transformation? I found this interview of hers from five years ago to be helpful in answering that question. Here, she explains how the world can re-learn important values from indigenous people in the way they interact with the planet; for example, like harvesting fruits only when necessary, sharing with neighbors, building houses with trees cut only for that purpose, etc.

In other news, the Nobel Peace Prize was also awarded last week.
The winner? Japanese atomic bomb survivors group Nihon Hidankyo for "its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again".

• Terumi Tanaka, co-chair of the group, said to NHK (Japanese public broadcaster): "I think that the reason (we received the prize) is that the international situation today has made it so. With the war between Russia and Ukraine, and the war in the Middle East, I think the risk of nuclear weapons being used has increased greatly, and I personally have a premonition that a nuclear war will break out in the not-too-distant future."
• Toshiyuki Mimaki, another co-chair, was pushing back tears when he talked about his worries for children in Gaza and Israel.

One in eight girls sexually assaulted or raped before turning 18, says UNICEF

What happened:
Right now, over 370 million women and girls -- nearly 1 in 8 -- have experienced rape or sexual assault before they turned 18. A new report from UNICEF calls this level of violence against children "overwhelming," saying survivors carry the trauma into adulthood. The scale of the issue is described as "abhorrent."

Why this matters:
This is the first-ever global estimate of how big the problem of sexual violence against children really is.

Tell me more:
The report is based on surveys done between 2010 and 2022 across 120 countries. It also includes data on boys, men, and non-contact sexual violence using various sources and methods. Unicef says it's been tough to get a clear picture because of stigma, difficulties in measuring the problem, and a lack of investment...