Peace Lily Champions Artisans

 Peace Lily Gifts, a UK based start-up that provides sustainable luxury gifts to both consumers and businesses says that artisans are the forgotten heroes of Christmas.

“We think that artisans provide a breath of fresh air in an era of automation and sameness,” said Dele Kehn-Alafun, founder and CEO of Peace Lily. “Artisans invest their creativity and individuality into each product they make but often feel stifled by the internet’s tendency to favour a small number of mainstream suppliers.”

Peace Lily Gifts specialises in high quality gift hampers made up predominantly of individually crafted items – often with sustainably sourced materials – each exuding a sense of uniqueness.

She explains: “Finding artisans and celebrating their distinctiveness is what we do, a mission we believe that matters. Our raison d’etre is to fuel connections and relationships throughout the UK with unique, bespoke gifts from top artisans. In doing so, we combat the ever-present issue of dull, generic gifts and reduce waste from these unwanted gifts, while also supporting diverse small businesses and preserving the environment. And celebrating the individuality of each artisan and their exceptional creations is how we do it.”

Peace Lily Gifts is proud to announce its new catalogue, which showcases the works of amazing artisans and makers. This holiday season, the company encourages everyone to consider the unique, made-in-UK, and meaningful gifts that artisans have to offer.

About Peace Lily Gifts
Peace Lily Gifts based in London and Gloucestershire helps people and businesses find, choose, and give the perfect gift every time. Working with some of the UK’s most talented artisans, they provide stunningly crafted, sustainable gifts and distinctive hampers complete with gorgeous packaging and free delivery.

Peace Lily Gifts
Lily Group
+44 7460 918 700
www.peacelilygifts.com

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  • Gifts & Collectibles

New youth champions trained to fight racism and discrimination

UNESCO recently welcomed a new batch of youth champions from around the world to fight racism and discrimination through a change in mindsets. More than 1500 students and teachers completed the 17th edition of the UNESCO Master Class against Racism and Discriminations held on 21 March 2022 on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

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Students from high schools and universities from Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States of America participated in-person at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Students also connected online from Argentina, Austria, Egypt, France, Italy, Kenya, Lebanon, Mongolia, Philippines, Spain, Sweden, Thailand and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.


Gabriela Ramos, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences, opened the Master Class with a powerful call to action:


“Despite progress made, racism and discrimination remain a reality. The fight is not over! It requires the involvement of us all. As young people have the means to reverse racism and discrimination, including hate speech, intolerance and violence, we need your help, your heart, and your voices to deliver!”


Professor Evelyne Heyer of the Musée de l’Homme and Professor Helena Alviar of Sciences Politique delivered lectures on the processes of categorization and hierarchization to better understand racism. They explored questions on discrimination based on gender, race and class. City officials from UNESCO’s International Coalition of Inclusive and Sustainable Cities – ICCAR and the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia shared their experiences to combat racism and discrimination at local level. Students from IES Profesor Domingo Ortiz school from Azuqueca de Henares in Spain projected an inspiring video which encapsulated all the activities undertaken since they attended the Master Class in March 2021.


Olivier Rousteing, Balmain’s Creative Director, won the young students’ hearts as he inspired them to push for their freedom. He told them to be proud of who they are, regardless of their origins, background, gender and color. Sharing his personal experiences of growing up and facing racism himself, he encouraged the young women and men to take action to fight racism and discrimination.


“If you do not have love around you, try to find the strength in yourself to fight for your own freedom. Prove to the world that they are wrong. The world is changing, I feel it is still slow, but we need to keep believing. We have to fight for freedom, for who we are or who we want to be. Fight for yourself without any discrimination.” – Olivier RousteingBalmain’s Creative Director


Participants were also invited to take part in 8 intensive workshops on the topics of hate speech, antisemitism, negative perceptions of migrants and refugees, LGBTQ+ rights, systemic racism, the role of youth, intercultural competencies, and antiracism efforts in cities.


As part of the Master Class methodology, students are asked to formulate their own commitments on what they will do as new antiracism champions in their schools and communities. Inspired by the immersive discussions throughout the day, the students committed to teaching their peers and communities about understanding otherness and interculturality. They came up with ideas to apply in their own environments, such as producing school journals with articles about discrimination that occur in their school, celebrating International Days and conducting social media campaigns. UNESCO will engage in a continuous dialogue with the participating schools to keep track of the inspiring activities that they will implement.


The Master Class also included artistic performances:

  • a dancer from the École de cinéma Kourtrajmé, and
  • a student-led choir from Nancy (France), Karlsruhe (Germany), Liège (Belgium) and Newcastle (United Kingdom) who sang an original composition that spoke of hope and solidarity.


See also

  • Programme in English or French
  • Learn more on the Master Class Series
  • More on UNESCO’s Social and Human Sciences Programme


Institutional partners of this global edition include the

  • Musée de l’Homme,
  • Permanent Delegation of Canada,
  • Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia,
  • Mongolian National Commission,
  • French National Commission,
  • Gwangju International Center,
  • Cities of Atlanta, Bologna, Bordeaux, Cordoba, Heidelberg, Helsingborg, Karlsruhe, Lausanne, Liège, Montevideo, Montpellier, Nancy, Newcastle and Saint Etienne,
  • ETC Graz,
  • ASPNet,
  • International Institute of Human Rights and Peace,
  • Sciences Po,
  • Thorbeke Academy (Leeuwarden – Netherlands),
  • MAG Jeunes LGBTI+,
  • Center for Engaged Foresight,
  • Maison Balmain and
  • École Kourtrajmé.


The Master Class Series is part of the Roadmap against Racism that UNESCO is developing as part of its Global Call against Racism, which is contained in a decision adopted by Member States in December 2020. This Roadmap will strengthen UNESCO’s contribution to the fight against racism and discrimination across its field of competence, providing a strategic and operational framework to guide UNESCO’s action in this important area, especially in the critical post-crisis period.

Hidden Champions among Chengdu’s Technology Companies

From February 23rd to the 25th, the 9th Mobile World Congress (MWC) was held in Shanghai, China. A number of technology enterprises from Chengdu showed up with their innovative achievements and cutting-edge technologies. These companies are lesser-known companies – relatively unknown, small or midsize, and worldwide leaders in their markets.

You may see them grow slowly, compete in stable markets, and prefer to shun publicity to avoid attracting competition. They also concentrate on developing their own specialties, avoiding such currently popular management practices as diversification, strategic alliances, and outsourcing. Though not well known to the general public, in their fields of expertise, they are known as the “hidden champions.”

XpowerIt Tech: Pioneer of the “All-Wireless Era”

At the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in February this year, OPPO showed a scroll concept phone that can achieve complete wireless “remote charging.” The phone uses a high-frequency magnetic resonance wireless charging technology solution, which comes from XpowerIt Tech, an enterprise from the Chengdu High-tech Industrial Development Zone.

Yu Yiqiang, founder and Chairman of XpowerIt Tech, introduced the technical framework of this high-frequency magnetic resonance coupling technology. The company then launched a new generation of magnetic resonance wireless charging technology – “RiCharge,” which is the world’s first wireless charging technology solution with the possibility of mass production and matches both international and domestic safety standards.

It also marks the transformation from wired charging and contact charging to the current medium- and long-range remote charging, truly realizing charging methods in an “all-wireless era.” In the past 6 years, XpowerIt Tech has grown into a leader in the field of wireless charging in China.

Coxsat: New Power in 5G Era

As new infrastructure construction develops, the 5G era is accelerating like never before. In stadiums, large factories, stations, and other people-intensive places, which need large-capacity and large-bandwidth network, 5G millimeter-wave (MMW) small base station shows its great advantage. As one of the rare manufacturers in the world that can provide co-aperture dual-polarization MMW small base station, Coxsat unveiled a series of products, including 5G MMW small base station and MMW phased array antenna.

From unknown to famous, Coxsat has experienced 7 years of extreme dedication. As the first bid winner of China Mobile’s 5G MMW base stations in China, Coxsat has cooperated with many large domestic equipment manufacturers. In 2021, Gexie will focus on the commercialization of 5G MMW and satellite communication phased array antenna products, providing full support for 5G networks to enable various industries.

Chengdu NTS: More than a Behind-the-Scenes Hero

Based on years of experience in the development of RF communication products, Chengdu NTS has launched 5G open base station products and solutions and formed strategic cooperative relations with many domestic and international operators.

With the advent of 5G era, Chengdu NTS adopts self-developed DPD algorithms and high-efficiency technologies to take the lead in launching 5G white-box RRU and has achieved interconnection with a number of mainstream BBU manufacturers around the world to jointly launch 5G open base station products and solutions.

From relying on a large enterprise to assisting 5G to enable various industries, Chengdu NTS has been widely deployed in the global operator market and has accumulated rich experience in the development and industrialization of RF products, which has demonstrated its technological innovation for decades.

Why Are These “Hidden Champions” Born in Chengdu?

The “Chengdu Paradigm” of technology innovation revolves around their innovation platform, talent policy, financial support, and so on.

Talents are the primary resource. The “Talent New Policy” has attracted more than 410,000 young talents to the city, making the city the winner of the “Top 10 Most Attractive Cities for Talent in China” award continuously. As a result, Chengdu ranked 47th in the Global Innovation Index in 2020.

Universities are important platforms for basic research. By establishing a collaborative innovation mechanism of “Urban Development Partnership” between universities, institutions, enterprises, and local government, the city has signed strategic cooperation agreements with 18 well-known universities such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, bringing a number of innovative projects into practice.

In addition, Chengdu has vigorously implemented the program for supporting new and high-tech enterprises. In 2020, the city encouraged enterprises to invest 10.46 billion CNY in R&D through incremental awards and subsidies for research and development, up by 3.608 billion CNY.

There are many other steadily developing high-tech enterprises which are constantly overcoming technological hurdles in Chengdu since innovation-driven development has always been the choice and consensus of this city aiming at future development.