International day of Peacekeepers 29th May 2018

29th May is UN International Day of Peacekeepers. on the 70th anniversary view a list of those who died in 2017
and explore our other free resources.
The main UN peacekeeping website describes the role and where peacekeepers are currently operating.
It includes data on deployment, personnel and fatalities.
Year in review publications from 2004 onwards plus maps and reports from current peacekeeping missions.

Research on the role and importance of UN peacekeepers
There have been a number of recent initiatives to examine and review UN peacekeeping
In December 2017 Lieutenant General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz on peacekeeping fatalities and injuries published a report on

Improving Security of United Nations

Peacekeepers: We need to change the way we are doing business 

A series of articles from the IPI global Observatory has provided a response to these.

WILPF - International League for Womens Peace and Freedom campaigns for womens involvement in peacemaking -

The Institute for Economics and Peace is the world’s leading think tank dedicated to developing metrics to analyse peace and to quantify its economic value. Global Peace Index 2017. It includes reviews of trends in peacekeeping and economic assessments

US think tank Rand has also conducted some reviews of UN effectiveness in peacekeeping and nation building.

Brookings Institution.

United Nations Association UK discusses the role of Britain and the UN

Code Blue campaigns against sexual abuse by blue helmets personnel. Its website provides links to UN and its own reports and factsheets on allegations.

Ireland Abortion Referendum- academic resources.

This week a referendum on abortion will take place in Ireland. User these resources to get some academic facts -

the Irish parliament has the full text of the bill.
Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018- Bill 29 of 2018)
it also includes links to the associated parliamentary debates

Official information on the Referendum from the Referendum Commission.
it includes news and an independent guide
the results will be posted on the returning officer page

University College Dublin has a great resource for votes and students on understanding the background to the referendum with links to key arguments and websites.it includes an argument roadmap.


News coverage.
Journal.ie- coverage of 8th Amendment
Irish Examiner
Irish Times

campaign /Interest groups
Vote no 
Anglican Communion statement
Catholic bishops of Ireland - pastoral letter. 
they also have a choose life website
LoveBoth No campaign 
Get the Truth out facebook campaign
Save the 8th Amendment
Protect the 8th
Disability Voices for Life

 Vote Yes
Artists campaign to repeal the 8th Amendment
Coalition to Repeal the 8th Amendment.
Amnesty International Its time campaign 
Together for Yes- National Civil Society Campaign
Midwives for Choice
  Psychological Society of Ireland evidence papers.
Workers Party

Research projects
Transparent Referendum Initative  is building a database of all political ads targeting Irish Facebook users ahead of the referendum on the 8th amendment. We are publishing a list of these ads below, so they are open to scrutiny by journalists, fact checkers and anyone wishing to understand the campaigns
Facebook statement on referendum advertisements.

Thursday 17th May is Global Accessibility Awareness day - here are some resources

Thursday 17th May is Global AccessibilityAwareness day

it seeks to encourage discussion on the the design, development, usability of technology to enable the inclusion of users with disabilities.

The official website provides background on the day and links to resources from other days.

JISC Accesible organisations blog provides spoecialiust postings to support HE organisations in the UK in providing inclusive learning environbments

LexDis is a resource to show the ingenuity and skills that students have shown in the way they have used technologies to support their studies.It includes guides and links to courses plus reviews of how technology may be used.

The Aspire Project is encouragfing publishers to create accessibility statement and audit their ebook packages.

Iran Nuclear treaty get some facts from our academic sources

As Iran pulls out of the nuclear deal
use these resouerces to find out more.

What is the Iran treaty?
On July 14, 2015, the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States), the European Union (EU), and Iran reached a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to ensure that Iran’s nuclear program will be exclusively peaceful . The Department of state website has the text of the agreement
IAEA is conducting the verification programme see its statements and reports.

Reaction.

Joint statement from Prime Minister May, Chancellor Merkel and President Macron following President Trump’s statement on Iran 

EU statement

Guardian website stored updates of live reaction.

Islamic Republic news agency reaction.

TASS Russian news agency

IAEA Agency reaction

Think tanks

The Impact of the Iran agreement - Council on Foreign relations.

Nuclear Threat Initiative has a file on Iran last updated in October 2017

The Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues has some references to books and websites on the history of the topic.

200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx

5th May is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Karl Marx.


You can read his classic works, letters and writings free from the Marxist Internet Archive. Which also provides free access to a wealth of other primary resource materials on later Marxist writers worldwide.

British Library has a digital copy of the original manifesto - only 26 are believed to have survived worldwide.

The library website also has an image of Marx’s original British Library readers ticket

Historical Materialism: Research in Critical Marxist Theory is a Marxist journal, appearing four times a year, based in London. Founded in 1997,

Its website provides free access to a blog, some book reviews, free online research guides and essays.

International Institute Social History

Based in the Netherlands, Has an extensive online collection of political posters, online exhibitions. The later include some materials for May day.

Special Marx 200 collection

this website has numerous links and articles.

Marx Memorial library is a london based organisation get information about its special collections.

ND dossier - in German

Spiegel column

World Press Freedom day is celebrated annually on the 3rd May

World Press Freedom day is celebrated annually on the 3^rd May

2018 is the 25^th anniversary and the focus is upon the rule of law . Find out more about the events on the UNESCO official website

These include a book on press freedom and the safety of journalists and other resolutions, papers and resources

The United nations website has links to related resolutions, reports and committee websites  

Why is this day important?

Find out which country has the most free press according to the annual barometer complied by RSF . The methodology used is displayed on the website

According to the analyses ‘hatred of journalists is growing and is threatening democracy’ . The UK is now ranked 40 out of 180

An Alternative freedom of the Press ranking is compiled annually by Freedom House . In 2017 it declared that press freedom had declined to its lowest level for 13 years.

Other well known indexes are:

IREX's Media Sustainability Index (MSI) which provides in-depth analyses of the conditions for independent media in 80 countries across the world.It specialises in conditions fro change in transition developing nations.

Media development Indicators - UNESCO

priority areas of the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) are : promotion of freedom of expression and media pluralism; development of community media; and human resource development (capacity building of media professionals and institutional capacity building).

The African Media Barometer was  developed by fesmedia Africa, the Media Project of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) in Africa, and the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) in 2004.

Every two to three years a panel of 10 to 12 local experts, consisting of at least five media practitioners and media expert and five representatives from civil society, meet to assess the media situation in their own country. A report is then compiled  by expert panellists based on 39 criteria,

European Centre for Press and Media Freedom has a resource section on its website with useful research reports and papers on trends in media pluralism and threats to media freedom in the region.