Links of Interest to ISFGW Members

Esperanto is a remarkably easy to learn language spoken on every inhabited continent by an estimated two million people. Contrary to a common misconception, it was never intended to be a magic road to peace but only a politically neutral, quick to learn medium of communication for people of different cultures and nationalities. Originally a “planned” language, Esperanto has long since become a naturally evolving tongue with its own lively literature and culture and a large selection of books, magazines, web sites, and international broadcasts from countries in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. For more than a century it has been associated with a spirit of friendliness in keeping with the goals of ISFGW, which uses Esperanto in addition to English as its official working languages.

For more information on Esperanto in many languages, see http://esperanto.net. Excellent free Esperanto courses can be found at http://lernu.net.

In 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the first world-wide declaration of the rights that all human beings should be able to enjoy. Based on the U.S. Bill of Rights, the French Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen, and other national declarations, it was authored largely by John Peters Humphrey of Canada under the auspices of the Commission on Human Rights, chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, widow of the American president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose speech on the Four Freedoms helped to inspire the Declaration. For more information, including the Declaration in 337 languages, see http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/.