World AIDS Day (WAD), observed each year on December 1, is a moment to stand still and reflect on the impact of HIV/AIDS over the last number of decades. WAD was first celebrated in 1988 with the theme “Join the Worldwide Effort,” therefore making 2019 the 31st year of creating awareness and showcasing awareness. The theme for WAD 2019 is...

Those you see, and those you don’t 

by Mary Stange, AWC Bogotá

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is one of the most common and dangerous forms of violence against women and includes physical, sexual and emotional abuse and controlling behaviors by an intimate partner (WHO). The UN estimates that nearly one third of women worldwide will experience violence from an intimate...

What Time is it?

by Stephanie Biery, AWC Berlin

I love to travel. I also love a good night’s rest. How do you combine these two experiences? According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), jet lag occurs when our biological clock is disrupted. The NSF believes our bodies work on circadian rhythms, our internal 24-hour clock. Our sleep-wake cycles...

by Suzi Tart, AAWE Paris

When talking about oceans and the environment, the first image that often comes to mind is that of plastic bags and other debris that has ended up there. But even though we can’t see it, the oceans are silently being degraded by the climate. 

In a few days the world’s attention will be on Spain,

by Valerie Garforth, FAUSA

Humankind has always generated household waste. Archeologists learn a great deal about ancient – and not so ancient – populations by investigating their middens. Future archeologists will probably have a lot to say about us when they investigate our landfills and the great garbage patches in the oceans, and it is not likely to be very complimentary! According...

Stayin’ Alive

by Danielle Kuznetsov, AWO Moscow

Out of sight, out of mind. Isn’t that how much of life works, when the issue is not a quick fix? You will be reading this in October, after National Suicide Prevention Month in the United States has ended. September 10 was Worldwide Suicide Prevention Day, so for a brief moment this year, a...