Dec 05
In my post last week about Busan, I laid out what goals I wished to see accomplished at the Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness. I stated earlier that I would like to see emerging economies start to play a greater role in international aid. Also I wish to see a greater recognition of the …
Dec 01
The Republic of Myanmar (commonly known as Burma) is not the most tourist-friendly place. That may change soon, however, as the government seeks to capitalize on the benefits of 50 years of heavy tourist restrictions and isolation: beautiful, unspoiled landscapes and culture. For decades the country has faced heavy sanctions because of the oppressive regime …
Nov 29
To begin with, today Tuesday the 29th, the Fourth High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness opens in Busan, South Korea. The goal of this Forum is to focus on developing efficient ways of giving international aid while working to build stronger partnerships between donor and recipient governments. This is the first time the forum is being …
Nov 23
Evelyn Beatrice Hall, a writer who published a biography on philosopher Voltaire in 1906, concisely summarized Voltaire’s beliefs with the now widely recognized phrase “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” The Founding Fathers of the United States also seemed to take Voltaire’s teachings …
Nov 22
This last week, I had the honor to attend the Festival of Thinkers conference in Abu Dhabi. In what turned out to be essentially a whirlwind trip, I was chosen to represent NYU over a weekend, and by the following Wednesday I was on an airplane to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Now …
Nov 22
Read this post in English Durante los últimos años en los países del sur se está experimentando un aumento de la inversión extranjera directa en tierras agrícolas. Motivados en parte por la crisis alimentaria, los inversores públicos y privados están comprando millones de hectáreas de tierras agrícolas en África, Asia y América Latina. Sin embargo, muchas inversiones …
Nov 18
Two weeks ago the Syrian government agreed to ends its crackdown on anti-government demonstrators, a development I was skeptical of. I hoped that the Syrian government was legitimately ready to end the violence, but worried that President al-Assad’s history of broken peace agreements was a sign that he was not going to commit to a …
Nov 15
Read this post in English ¿La nueva revolución verde sucederá en las ciudades? Existen dos principales razones para explicar el creciente interés en la agricultura urbana. Una de ellas es la creciente preocupación que muchos individuos sienten sobre los impactos en la salud y en el medio ambiente de la agricultura industrial. La agricultura urbana …
Nov 11
Is the next “green revolution” going to happen in cities? There are two main reasons that explain the increased interest in urban agriculture in the recent years. One of them is the increasing concerns about health and environmental impacts of large-scale industrial agriculture. On the other hand, urban agriculture is growing because it is becoming …
Nov 11
Read this Post in English ¿Sabe dónde está hecha su ropa? Que manos recogieron los tomates que usted come? ¿Cómo los cosas que usa a diario se fabricaron? Su respuesta probablemente es no, y la verdad es que la mayoría de nosotros no tomamos el tiempo para averiguarlo. Podemos leer la etiqueta cosida en nuestra …
