the Iceberg Collection The Iceberg collection is a series of nine books that shine a light on the progress that has been made on global issues. These are stories that often go untold by popular media outlets, and they show people and organizations working together to find solutions to the problems that so many face on a daily basis.
ICEBERG STORIES THAT SHOULD MAKE HEADLINES
The Iceberg book series was inspired by the Perception Change Project’s Iceberg Infographic, a visual demonstration of what media chooses to broadcast when reporting on the United Nations in light of global challenges, versus what the reality is. The production of this book has been made possible thanks to the financial support from Fondation pour Genève. A special thanks goes to the Division of Conference Management at UN Geneva for editing, translating and printing the books, and to Union University in Jackson Tennessee for illustrating the books. Printed at the United Nations Printing Section at UN Geneva, 2018. Written by: Kirsten Deall Edited by: Daniel Sanderson Illustrated by: Hannah Barr
ICEBERG STORIES THAT SHOULD MAKE HEADLINES
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the Iceberg Collection Iceberg Education Poverty Youth Climate Change Gender Health Rights Peace The series is created by the Perception Change Project team in the Office of the Director-General at UN Geneva.
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“Amid the terrible situations many face around the world, amazing work is being done to help impoverished people. There are so many stories of compassion, creativity and invention. If we don’t write about them in books, blogs, and newspapers, or show them on TV, or talk about them on the radio or share the stories on social media, society will not know about it. It is our responsibility, as the United Nations, to inform the world about the solutions to global problems so that everyone will know how we can all be part of the change.”
Michael Møller Director-General of the UN Geneva
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What do an
iceberg
and all of the world’s problems have to do with each other?
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An iceberg is a big block of ice that has a funny shape. The little bit at the top, above the sea level, makes you think the iceberg is small.
But we never really know
how far down the iceberg goes, or how wide it is.
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Well, that’s exactly the way society views the world’s problems. We see people desperately trying to cross the sea in search of a better life. We see people dying in wars. We see people starving in remote communities. We see all the millions of children who receive no education. We see countless people who have to walk miles every day to get safe drinking water. There are so many shocking things happening around us every day and these are the things that we Needs revision keep hearing about in*Spread the3 :news.
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But if we only see the tip of the iceberg,
How far down does the part under water go?
And what exactly are we not seeing?
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We don’t see
the people who are taking food to
places where there is fighting and violence.
*Spread 5: Needs revision
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We don’t see the people standing up for girls when they are not able or not allowed to go
to school. We don’t see the people who are protecting endangered species. We don’t see the people who are standing up for peace in areas of conflict.
We don’t see the people who are building
homes that are environmentally friendly, or the people who are designing public transport to lessen the number of cars on the road, or the people who are changing the way foods are packaged to reduce the amount of plastic that gets dumped into the oceans. We definitely don’t see the
ordinary people
like you and me who pick up litter that would otherwise be washed into the sea, or the increasing number of people who take public
transport to work as something they can do to reduce carbon emissions.
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The
iceberg of positive actions
already stretches far and wide, but how are the Sustainable Development Goals adding to it? Seventeen goals have been adopted to transform our world, including Goal 6, on clean water and sanitation, Goal 10, on reducing inequalities, and Goal 13, on taking climate action. The 17 goals have a total of 169 targets and more than 300 indicators so we can measure our progress. Most significantly, 193 countries are using these goals to bring peace, rights and wellbeing to their populations. As with all goals, there is a deadline, and for the 17 Sustainable Development Goals it is the year 2030.
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If so much is being done
beneath the surface of the
water, why are we not hearing about it in the news?
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Media outlets often look at bad news as translating into good readership figures, and so focus on problems, using dramatic headlines to pull in audiences. But with bad news, there is rarely, if ever, an angle on the
solutions to problems.
A leading voice in constructive journalism, Ulrik Haagerup, says that it is not about producing news reports that are naïve, blind to the world’s problems or uncritical, it’s about bringing perspective. When something negative is highlighted, we need to hear something positive to avoid having an unbalanced view. Statistics show that in terms of mortality, hunger, peace, disease, and more, the world is a better place than ever, and yet people believe the world is getting worse and worse. We need to hear more of the inspiring stories. We need constructive news.
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Why is this so important? Because receiving only negative news has a
drastic effect on our perspective of society. If we view people, places or problems with anxiety, sadness, anger or fear, this will shape the way we think, interact with people and relate to social issues. We might start to ask ourselves questions, like what’s the point of helping one person when thousands are dying every day from war, natural disasters or hunger?
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*Spread 10 : Needs revision
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We cannot change the fact that there will be bad news in our world, but we can change how we report on the world’s problems. Updates on the world’s issues need to
shift our focus from what the problem is, to how to fix the problem.
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The Iceberg series is about telling the whole narrative. It shows the good and the bad. It allows readers to get to know some individual personalities who are woven into today’s global issues, and is designed to inspire people to be part of the solutions. Iceberg aims to be a spark to a media revolution. It’s time for fuller and more balanced news coverage.
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International Geneva Geneva occupies a small area of land in Switzerland, yet boasts some of Switzerland’s most recognized qualities. Recreational beauty captures first time visitors, a competitive financial center attracts diversity of cultures, quality of life embraces all residents, but more than this, Geneva is a city that hosts the highest number of international organizations. From this, the term “International Geneva” was coined. It all started in 1863 when Red Cross was founded in Geneva with the aim to protect the lives of people wounded and suffering from armed conflicts. Today this city not only addresses humanitarian needs, but peace, health, science, human rights, migration, climate change and more. International Geneva unites international organizations, academic institutions, an international business community, many NonGovernmental Organizations and the permanent representative of 178 member states of the United Nations. The lives being impacted by International Geneva extend much further than Geneva itself and the lighthouse that guides her work is the 2030 Agenda. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals are the way that International Geneva, together with her many partners across the world, fight against poverty, prevent violence, protect the planet, and more. Geneva may be small in size, but it is great in reach. It is the biggest small city in the world. It is the city of peace where the world crafts solutions.
Sustainable Development Goals In an era when we are bombarded with negative news, it is easy to feel discouraged and unequipped to improve the world we live in. Thankfully, to address the many problems, world leaders have adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: a set of 17 goals that are humanity’s road map for transforming our planet into a better place. The goals reach everyone, they leave no one behind, they are all interconnected and they are everyone’s responsibility. We have everything we need to help everyone thrive and reach their full potential. Together, let’s create a world where peace, rights and well-being become a reality. 26
Perception Change Project Time and again, when people hear about the United Nations for the first time, their eyes light up. Especially children. The comfort and reassurance we feel knowing that there is an organization that brings the entire world together, for peace, rights and well-being, is unparalleled. We don’t need to explain why there is a need for such an organization. We all get it. It’s there, for all of us. And it’s in International Geneva. At the same time, this feeling of awe and security fades away quickly because we live in tumultuous times and of course, reality is different. We have ups and downs and we are also constantly adapting to address new challenges. News stories often focus on the negative, while we all take the positive for granted. It’s been part of our nature to put the spotlight on issues that need to be fixed rather than celebrate what we are good at. But the mission and underlying impact of the work of the United Nations and its partners remains the same, and we don’t always realize it in our day to day living. The good news is that this constellation of organizations that makes up International Geneva is still there, carrying out its noble mission. And it belongs to all of us. For it to thrive, we all need to recognize its value, its impact and make sure it can do what it was designed to do. This is what the Perception Change Project has set out to do and it succeeds every time eyes light up when they hear about the United Nations, just like they did the first time.
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The Iceberg book series was inspired by the Perception Change Project’s Iceberg Infographic, a visual demonstration of what media chooses to broadcast when reporting on the United Nations in light of global challenges, versus what the reality is. The production of this book has been made possible thanks to the financial support from Fondation pour Genève. A special thanks goes to the Division of Conference Management at UN Geneva for editing, translating and printing the books, and to Union University in Jackson Tennessee for illustrating the books. Printed at the United Nations Printing Section at UN Geneva, 2018. Written by: Kirsten Deall Edited by: Daniel Sanderson Illustrated by: Hannah Barr
the Iceberg Collection The Iceberg collection is a series of nine books that shine a light on the progress that has been made on global issues. These are stories that often go untold by popular media outlets, and they show people and organizations working together to find solutions to the problems that so many face on a daily basis.
ICEBERG STORIES THAT SHOULD MAKE HEADLINES