Apr 11
A couple of years ago, celebrities like Bono and highly respected individuals like Nelson Mandela brought our attention to the importance of debt relief and what such relief might mean to developing countries. Ironically, at the same time, many countries began to understand the importance of having a secondary market for debt especially when dealing …
Apr 04
Microsoft’s Bing Japan Earthquake Tweet That was the tweet that got people asking: Was Microsoft Wrong to Use the Japanese Earthquake for Marketing? It all started with what some people consider the age old scratch my back and I’ll scratch your back concept i.e. to donate $100,000 and at the same time use that effort …
Mar 22
In my last post, I spoke about the problems that arose through debt burdens, and why countries find it so difficult to rid themselves of that obstacle. Countries that are freed from their debts end up accumulating more debts because of failed promises for development assistance. Whatever the reason, the international community needs to come …
Mar 16
Over the past couple of years, developing countries have been trying to repay billions of dollars in loans. Many of these loans had been accumulated under corrupt Cold War regimes, and have now become a serious obstacle to overcoming poverty and acting as a hindrance to economic development. Governments of developing countries have been taking …
Mar 15
Since 2003, the conflict in Darfur has been in and out of the international public’s awareness. Over the years, governments all around the world have hesitated to label the loss of life happening on the ground as a genocide, since that would have certain ramifications that could involve military intervention and technically breaching Sudan’s sovereignty. …
Mar 08
A week before the Egyptian revolution began last month, Asmaa Mahfouz, an Egyptian activist, released a vlog that quickly went viral and is widely credited with sparking the protests that eventually ended the thirty-year reign of dictator Hosni Mubarak. In the vlog, Mahfouz challenged any men who did not think women should be protesting to …
Mar 04
The City of God’s Peace Police Most people living in a developing country usually welcome a high growth rate. The standard of living improves, unemployment falls down and people are removed from the depths of poverty. But unfortunately, not everyone gets to reap the benefits of a country surging forward. There are always small pockets …
Jan 18
So last week, we asked Social Entrepreneurs to Dig Deeper and to make sure that they had all the information they needed to start their venture. Our next commandment, Thou Shalt Avoid Using Band-Aids So you have a great idea, and now (since you dug a little deeper) you know that you have all the …
Jan 12
It would seem that to address social problems around the globe requires celebrities and western donor nations. When the earthquake hit Haiti in January of 2010, it appeared as though nothing would happen unless you donated to a big American charity. For of course, Haitians would be unable to do anything without us. In the …
