Category: Lessons Learned from…

Best Practices and ideas from experienced individuals and groups working on the ground.

A Culture of Violent Masculinity: Part Two

Searching For Answers in the Aurora, Colorado Shooting When something like the Aurora movie theatre massacre happens, the first question is always “why?”. Why did this happen? The brutal act of violence seems so senseless, so inexplicable. It’s hard to make sense of it all. However, the problem lays in our follow-up question- “how do …

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North African Migrants and The Peril at Sea

The topic of Libyan refugees is one that is so large, so broad and so important that I haven’t known where exactly to begin with it even though it’s something that is important to talk about. We’re talking about hundreds of thousands of Libyans have fled the country since the start of the conflict in …

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Redefining Beauty: It’s Time for a Change. It’s Time for a New Standard of Beauty.

Did you know that 80% of ten-year-old children are afraid of becoming fat? And that around 90% of 15-17 year-old girls want to change at least one aspect of their appearance? Or that girls are three times more likely than boys to have a negative body image? What’s the reason behind these startling statistics? The …

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Simply Divine: The Sweeter Side of the Chocolate Industry

  While chocolate might taste sweet, it’s history is anything but. There is a long history of exploitation and unethical practices surrounding the West African cocoa beans used by “Big Chocolate” corporations such as Hershey, Kraft (which recently bought Cadbury), Nestle, and Mars. There are news reports of unfair pricing. Poor working conditions. There are …

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The Sahel Crisis: Social Media vs. News Media in a Refugee Crisis

Have you seen much news media coverage about the crisis in the Sahel? I haven’t. Not much at all, actually. The first I heard of the Sahel food and refugee crisis ravaging Africa’s Sahel region was in a tweet. There has actually been a lot of social media coverage on what’s happening thanks to an …

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World Environment Day 2012: What does it mean to you?

Did you know that June 5th is World Environment Day? Yeah, me either. That is until I noticed a tweet a few days ago that alerted me to this fact. If you’re into all things environmental you probably already know about this. If you’re not, you’re probably asking yourself “Wait, what is she talking about?” …

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Human Smugglers: The Real Immigration Issue

The United States has a massive immigrant population,  approximately 11 million of whom are here undocumented. Individuals without documentation are often at the center of law enforcement efforts, the focus of all research concerning immigration, and the focus of people’s anger and problems with immigration in this country. But why is that the case? What …

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Don’t Give Up Hope: Women’s Groups Do Make a Difference

When I started writing my blog last week about the battle surrounding women’s health in Texas I was struck by what a powerful group Don’t Mess with Texas Women had become in just one year. But I was still a little skeptical that they or other groups could impact the system enough to protect their …

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Gender & Media: Behind the Weight Loss Craze

“Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels.” ~ Kate Moss, 2009 Or at least that’s Kate Moss’ take on things. In 2009, Kate Moss was highly criticized for publicizing such a dangerous, and detrimental motto. Mainstream media and bloggers alike slammed her for setting such a poor example when it came to the body image …

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What Happens When the Islands Sink?

Islands around the world are starting to disappear, or “sink”, and the lack of attention to this issue is disturbing. Islands in the South Pacific, Indian Ocean and even the United States are starting to witness continuous rising water levels and stronger storm and tidal surges that threaten to extinct islands and have devastating effects …

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