Aug 13
Last week, the SISGI group’s Alliance for Positive Youth Development hosted its 2012 Best Practices for Youth Conference from August 6th to August 10th, 2012. Many youth development professionals, educators, and young people attended this virtual conference to discuss issues that are important to youth today. All key issues such as girls and society, youth …
Aug 10
I was already thinking of doing a piece on breastfeeding when I learned that August 1st to 7th is apparently World Breastfeeding Week 2012. There is literally a day established to represent anything and everything, isn’t there? All kidding aside, it’s great that there is a day to bring recognition to and celebrate the gift …
Aug 07
To be honest with you, none of these statistics look promising. However, one statistic shocked me even more than the rest. Research shows that girls’ self esteem peaks at age nine. Just nine. What does that mean for us? It means that we are creating a generation of girls, whose self confidence peaks before they …
Jul 25
The SISGI Group’s Alliance for Positive Youth Development is hosting the 2012 Best Practices for Youth Conference August 6-10, 2012. This great online professional development opportunity leverages technology and social media to share and connect with youth development professionals, educators and young people working on youth issues around the country. As a participant in this unique …
Jul 17
Take a close look at the following numbers: 85% of murders. 90% of violent, physical assaults. 95% of domestic violence. 95% of dating violence. 95% of child sexual abuse cases. 99.8% of those in prison convicted for rape. What do all of these statistics have in common? They’re all committed by men. For too long, …
Jul 02
Remember the last time you went to the pharmacy to pick up your prescription? You probably have seen signs in your local pharmacy offering flu shots or blood pressure tests. Now the next time you go into your local pharmacy, you may see signs advertising a new health service: free rapid HIV testing. The Center …
Jun 29
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 …
Jun 26
Did you know water was declared a human right in 2010 by the United Nations? Yet, 884 million people are still without access to safe drinking water and, more than 2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. These statistics are pretty shocking to me because despite many advances, we are facing this problem in …
Jun 21
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 …
Jun 20
Have you noticed lately that Brazil has been in the international spotlight… a lot? It seems like every week I see some new headline about Brazil in relation to:1) a major international convention, 2) a major international sports event or 3) an issue involving development in the Amazon. The attention is good, bad and/ or …
