Latest news with #ActNow
Scoop
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Smurf Your Voice: Global Campaign Urges Everyone To Speak Up For A Better Future
12 July 2025 Launched in June, the eight-week digital campaign draws on the enduring popularity of the beloved Smurfs to encourage young people – along with their parents and caregivers – to raise their voices on issues that matter to them. The initiative is part of the UN's ActNow effort for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and aims to empower individuals, especially children, to speak out and take action in their communities. Voices for change Featuring Rihanna, Hannah Waddingham, Billie Lourd and Amy Sedaris – who voice various characters in an upcoming Smurfs film – the campaign includes vibrant public service announcements (PSAs) and colourful social media cards. ' The Smurfs know the importance of speaking up and speaking out because everyone, every child, has the right to be heard,' said Hannah Waddingham, who voices Jezebeth in the movie. ' The power to create change is already inside you. You just have to act,' added Billie Lourd (Worry Smurf). Amy Sedaris (Jaunty) summed it up simply: ' It's easy if you follow the Smurfs' blueprint. Small actions can add up to make a big difference. ' The videos, produced in multiple formats, direct viewers to a dedicated ' Speak Up with the Smurfs ' section on the ActNow platform, which offers child-friendly tools and resources. Join the Smurfs and speak up for a better world! | UN ActNow and UNICEF Smurfing it up To smurf things up a bit – campaign invites everyone to 'smurf their voice' and help smurf a brighter future, one action at a time. Whether you're five or fifty-five, there's always a way to smurf positive change. In Smurf-speak, 'smurf' can mean just about anything – noun, verb, or adjective – but the message here is clear: smurf your voice, smurf your rights, smurf the future. UNICEF 's involvement centres on ensuring the message reaches children everywhere – and that they are equipped to participate meaningfully in decisions affecting their lives. Global rollout The campaign is being promoted across Paramount Global's platforms – including CBS, MTV, Nickelodeon, BET, Comedy Central, streaming services like Paramount+ and Pluto TV, and the free-to-air network Net 10 in Australia. Smurf-themed content will also light up Times Square in New York City and appear in markets across Europe, Latin America and Asia. Content is available in over a dozen languages, including Arabic, French, Spanish, Hindi, Kiswahili, and Japanese, to ensure broad accessibility. About the Smurfs First introduced in 1958, the Smurfs are small blue fictional characters known for their teamwork, mischief, and unique way of speaking. Generations of children (like this author and his little ones) have followed their adventures, and their continued appeal has made them ideal messengers for values like cooperation, kindness and now, global citizenship.
ABC News
03-07-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
NGO pours cold water on Marape's logging announcement
The non-government organisation Act Now has poured cold water on Prime Minister James Marape's announcement that no more forestry licences will be approved in Papua New Guinea after September 16th, the 50th anniversary of the country's independence. Mr Marape issued his statement during a meeting of the Green Climate Fund board in Port Moresby, where he urged the international community to work together to save the world's oceans and rainforests. However successive governments have been promising to stop logging in PNG since 2010, but none has delivered, leading Act Now's Campaign Manager, Eddie Tanago, to suggest that the Prime Minister's proclammation is likely to go the same way.
Scotsman
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
Be part of the thousands gathering in Westminster for the Act Now, Change Forever mass lobby
People from across the UK are being urged to take part in Act Now, Change Forever, a major mass lobby happening in Westminster on 9 July 2025. The event will bring together thousands of people demanding urgent political action on climate change, nature loss, and a fairer future. Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The lobby offers a unique opportunity for constituents to meet their MPs and call for leadership that protects communities, restores nature, cuts energy bills, and supports green jobs. Those who want to take part are encouraged to find out more and register at There is assistance available towards travel costs. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Helen Meech, Executive Director of The Climate Coalition said: The Big Ben and Palace of Westminster under a clear blue London sky. 'This is a critical moment for our country and our planet. By joining together thousands of people in Westminster, we send a clear message that tackling climate change and nature loss cannot wait. Everyone has a role to play in shaping a safer, healthier future, and this lobby is a powerful way to make our voices heard.
Chicago Tribune
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Heidi Stevens: Shutting down hotline services for LGBTQ+ youth is malice by Trump administration
There's cost-cutting, and then there's cruelty. President Donald Trump's administration appears determined to blur that line to the point of indistinction, using the former, over and over, to justify the latter. The decision to abruptly shut down the LGBTQ+ portion of a youth suicide and crisis hotline — a service that has no doubt saved countless lives — is the latest example. The Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ youth, received a stop work order, effective July 17, for the crisis services it provides to the national 988 suicide and crisis hotline. Since 2022, the group has provided crisis services to LGBTQ+ youth who contact the 988 Lifeline by offering them the option of being connected to counselors trained specifically in mental health for individuals who identify as LGBTQ+. After July 17, the 988 Lifeline will remain in place, but will no longer provide specialized LGBTQ+ crisis counseling. A White House spokesman told the New York Times that the specialized portion of the hotline had 'run out of congressionally directed funding,' and continuing to fund it would jeopardize the entire operation. 'This is devastating, to say the least,' the Trevor Project wrote in a statement. 'Suicide prevention is about people, not politics. The administration's decision to remove a bipartisan, evidence-based service that has effectively supported a high-risk group of young people through their darkest moments is incomprehensible.' Trevor Project counselors helped about 500,000 people in 2024, 231,000 of whom came through the 988 line, Zach Eisenstein, a spokesman for the organization, told The New York Times. Trevor Project is encouraging people to visit to help fight the decision, which Congress could, in theory, reverse. It's unconscionable that it's come to this. It's unconscionable that the physical, mental and emotional health of young people is on the chopping block because of who they are and who they love. It's unconscionable that our leaders, elected to serve and protect us, are instead finding new ways, daily, to degrade our humanity. I called my friend and former podcast partner John Duffy, a clinical therapist who specializes in adolescent mental health, to get his take on the hotline shutdown. I wanted to hear from someone whose funding isn't being cut, but who is nonetheless on the front lines of suicide prevention. I trust Duffy like no other on this topic — for his wise and enormous heart, for his evidence-based approach to helping young people and because he lost his own brother to suicide in 2001. He is, in a word, heartbroken. 'By the time a kid feels inclined to call a hotline,' Duffy said, 'they are hopeless and they don't feel understood. If you are in the LGBTQ community and you feel hopeless and misunderstood, you don't have the luxury of shopping around. You need someone on that line who understands you now.' LGBTQ+ youth often face family rejection, cultural rejection, discrimination, fear of personal violence, losing their civil rights — issues that call for an intentional, specified approach to care, Duffy said. 'Their mental health is a very delicate space,' he said. 'They need and deserve people who can handle that space with care. And to take that away when they're in a crisis state? It's lethal.' Duffy said he began hearing from his clients as soon as the order made headlines. 'It feels to them like things are just going to get worse,' he said. 'They feel like they're being targeted directly. They feel like they're not going to have the support they need. They feel hated by massive groups of people just by virtue of who they are.' Often, he said, his LGBTQ+ clients are struggling to accept themselves even as they're struggling for acceptance from the people they know and love. 'Many of them aren't comfortable with the idea of being L, G, B, T or Q,' he said. 'It's confusing and perplexing to them, even as they're trying to make other people comfortable with it. And the chance that they reach out in crisis and they hang up feeling unheard and misunderstood? The chance that their suicidal ideation remains, or they make a move to take their lives? That all just increased exponentially.' There is zero defense for this. Zero. Straight kids are impacted by the decision as well, Duffy said. They worry about their LGBTQ+ friends. They wonder what kind of world they're graduating into, growing into, and maybe, one day, bringing their own kids into. Hope feels hard for them to come by, he said. 'It's another indication of the depletion of the humanity of our systems,' he said. And for what? For cost-cutting? I don't buy it. The cruelty is the point. And it's costing us dearly.
Edinburgh Reporter
28-05-2025
- Health
- Edinburgh Reporter
Act Now Age Better campaign
Age Scotland's Act Now, Age Better campaign urges older people think about how to increase their chances of a healthy later life. Lifestyle medicine doctor, personal trainer and health coach Dr Hussian Al-Zubaidi said: 'We can all take meaningful steps towards leading a longer, healthier, and more fulfilling life.' New research released by Age Scotland has found that more than half of people in Scotland aged between 50 and 65 don't do enough or any physical activity to stay healthy as they age. When asked how physically active they are, 53% of respondents to a poll said they didn't do enough or any physical exercise. The research also found that three quarters of people in Scotland in that age group worried about staying healthy in later life, and 64% were concerned about losing their independence as they age. The figures have been published as part of a new Act Now, Age Better campaign from Age Scotland and their partners Age UK, which hopes to start a national conversation about how becoming more physically active in our 50s and 60s can improve the chances of a happier, healthier and more independent later life. While many over 50s are taking positive steps to age better, misconceptions and barriers to participation in physical activities are holding others back, threatening long-term health outcomes. Another finding showed that over half of adults aged 50-65 substantially underestimated the recommended weekly guidelines for physical activity which include at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise, aiming to combine this with muscle-strengthening activities twice a week. The charity believes that this lack of awareness could lead to missed opportunities for preventative health benefits, such as reducing the risk of chronic diseases, improving mobility, and fostering good mental health. With an ageing population, people are living longer but not necessarily living longer in good health. With the right choices in midlife, we can help ourselves to maintain a healthier later life. Simple steps in our 50s and 60s can lead to major benefits down the road. Katherine Crawford, chief executive of Age Scotland, said: 'We know that staying physically active as we start to age is one of the best things we can do to maintain our physical health and mental wellbeing in later life. Yet as the research shows, it can be extremely challenging to do enough or any exercise, despite knowing the benefits. 'Health issues, feeling unfit, fear of injury, lack of time, cost concerns, embarrassment and intimidation have all been cited as barriers to people undertaking exercise. Some even, wrongly, believe that they are too old to start exercising when in truth it is never too late. 'The Act Now, Age Better campaign shows that even a small amount of movement can make a big difference. Making regular physical activity a key part of our routine is one of the best ways to stay well and therefore sustain our health, wellbeing and independence in later life.' Lifestyle medicine doctor, personal trainer and health coach Dr Hussian Al-Zubaidi has worked with the campaign to create a new leaflet outlining some simple, effective ways to add more activity to our lives. Dr Al-Zubaidi said: 'Physical activity is the cornerstone of healthy ageing – it strengthens our bodies, sharpens our minds, and deepens our community connections. There is no other intervention with better evidence to support longevity. By embracing movement every day, we build the resilience needed to enjoy a fuller, more vibrant later life. 'As a Lifestyle GP and personal trainer, I have seen first-hand the impact physical activity can have when improving your health and, as a result, I'm proud to support the Act Now, Age Better campaign to encourage everyone to tap into this power of movement. We can all take meaningful steps towards leading a longer, healthier, and more fulfilling life.' Like this: Like Related
