When I found a year ago that I had a lymphoma, which if untreated was fatal, I was forced to have a big rethink.

I looked up '2006 year of' on the internet and discovered that, according to various authorities, this is the Year of Deserts and Desertification, of Rembrandt (born in 1606) and of Mozart (born in 1756).

Young people are flocking to Asia for leadership training. Laura Boobbyer went too.

Actress Julia Varley uses theatre to empower. She talks to Andrea Cabrera Luna. by JULIA VARLEY

Having laid down his guns, Joseph Wong is working for a corruption-free logging industry in the Solomon Islands. John Bond tells his story.

We will not win the war on terrorism unless we do something to win the war on poverty. It is in our enlightened self-interest to enhance trade, to build a safer world, to decrease the displacement that people feel.

Keeping Peace Alive promotes dialogue between teenagers from different backgrounds in Cape Town, South Africa. KPA leaders come from different backgrounds themselves; Cassim and Moosa are Muslim and Hasson is Jewish.

Elsa Vogel tells Paul Williams why those who have suffered have so much to give.

It would be hard to conclude that the world is safer than it has been, that there has actually been a decline in the number of wars, genocides and human rights abuses over the past decade - yet two prestigious research organisations, 3,000 miles apart, have independently come to that conclusion.

Will Jenkins travels across the US with an international team of young people.

Edward Peters accompanies Rajmohan and Usha Gandhi on a speaking tour of Britain.

For many, Africa is a place of mystery-a breeding ground for corrupt leadership, autocratic heads of states, mismanaged economies and riddled with the unfortunate realities of colonisation and the slave trade. Howard, however, spoke of an Africa rising above its troubles and bringing new meaning to unity and brotherhood.

Peter Thwaites reads a book charting the change of heart which led to the end of the Soviet Union.

CHIEF RABBI Sir Jonathan Sacks' new book is called To Heal a Fractured World (Schocken, 2005). The sub-title-The ethics of responsibility- attracted me, as it cuts across the culture of the West which holds 'my rights', consumerism and 'the market' to be all-important.

The 2000 Sydney Olympics were dubbed 'the collaborative games', because of the way government, labour and management worked together. Can South Africa build on this great lesson?