The many uses of Second Life via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
Summer Latin Film Festival August 2008 via Horizons of Friendship
Horizons of Friendship’s Summer Latin Film Festival offers an Exciting Film Experience
Four controversial films show the passion and resolution of marginalized groups in Latin America rising up against state-based oppression. Hosted by Horizons of Friendship, the Summer Latin Film Festival offers an alternative film experience and will take place every Thursday evening in August from 7- 9 pm at the Cobourg Public Library. Exploring the histories of Latin America and its current realities, the themes of cross-border corruption, state violence, globalization, violence against women, and human rights will be explored through these must-see films. Selected films will be followed by discussions lead by guest speakers.
On August 7, in homage to World Indigenous Day, the Festival... G8 via Skype via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
Given the amount of resources expended on the G8 - think of the jet fuel, huge dinners, and 20,000 police officers mobilized for security - many bloggers have happily pointed to the irony of world leaders discussing the food crisis and global warming. But one blogger in Japan going by the name of fookpaktsuen offered a novel proposal: run the G8 meetings via Skype (Hat tip: Global Voices Online). Here's what he had to say (translation courtesy of Global Voices Online):Over 20,000 police officers were mobilized from Shikoku and Kyushu…and global warming is the main agenda, while the fact is that holding this summit is itself “earth-unfriendly”...If terrorist attacks are considered a threat, then instead of all state leaders getting together, it's better to have the meeting over... The G8 on Africa and development via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
Africa SMME awards via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
The Africagrowth Institute has announced a conference to be held in October 2008 in Cape Town that will recognize outstanding small, medium, and micro (SMME) African enterprises. The conference website describes what kind of businesses they're looking for:The Africa SMME Awards are presented to businesses that strive for excellence in order to be competitive in national, regional, and international markets. These businesses are well established, in good financial shape and enjoy a reputation for quality, integrity and service. Furthermore, they act in a socially responsible manner and create a work environment in which their employees can learn and grow.The Africagrowth Institute is looking for nominees until the end of July, so you still have time to make a submission. If you want some... Letter from Tällberg: 350? Well, Poo via WorldChanging
The former President of Costa Rica, Jose Maria Figueres, has just congratulated another Latin American leader (a government minister in Equador -- her name is not in the program) who was recounting a success story that had lifted farmers in her country from one dollar per day to $3.50 per day in income.
"Your farmers," says Figueres, "have just surpassed the income of a European cow. They earn roughly $3.00 per day, in subsidies from the European Union."
Routinely, it is quips like this, pointing out the absurdity and intensity of inequality in the world, that gets applause here at Tällberg, much more than global visions or calls to limit atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million. Disclosure: I am a signer on the call for 350 that was initiated by Tällberg... Letter from Tällberg: Let’s Talk about Transformation via WorldChanging
"Let's talk about transformation for a couple of minutes" says the moderator, John Kao (a San Francisco-based consultant who also plays a mean jazz piano). Apparently, that's all the time they have.
At the moment, three business leaders are on the stage, representing a major car company, a big bank, and a smaller, socially responsible bank. We've heard some good stories, and some good marketing messages of course, the highlight of which was the origin of the Carbon Principles: one big bank actually listened to Jim Hansen, and put a chokehold on new funding for coal-fired power plants in the United States.
But now we're into the dialogue. Kao remembers, as a young medical student, seeing a patient smoking Lucky Strikes through the brand new tracheotomy hole in his throat.... Int’l Youth Conference Tells G8 To Stop Messing Around via It's Getting Hot In Here
The World Youth Forum in advance of the G8 Summit has just concluded; it was an amazing weekend for sharing best practices, planning for future campaigns and taking action on the spot. Organized by the Japan Youth G8 Project, A SEED Japan, and the Japanese Youth Ecology League, the summit brought together close to 250 youth - over 200 from across Japan and about 20 from overseas.
The conference was held in order to provide youth input into the upcoming G8 Meeting on climate change. The negotiations are anticipated to reinforce false solutions of CCS and all together ignore the need for mid-term targets, so the young people here felt it was essential to make our voices heard and encourage bold leadership. The statement adopted at the conference included calls of banning construction... The World Bank Wants You! via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
Making Finance Work for Africa - Part II via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
Making Finance Work for Africa via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
“When have you ever seen something this big come from a book?” Moses Thompson, our facilitator, is taking a friendly jab at Thorsten Beck, the co-author (with Patrick Honohan) of the now well-known research report, Making Finance Work for Africa (pictured). Looking down and waving his hands as if to push back all the fanfare, Thorsten can’t hide from the 300-some central bankers, regulators, donors, financiers and press who rise to give him a standing ovation. We gathered at the Partnership Forum on Making Finance Work for Africa in its second day in Accra. We’re amazed, too, that a research report grew into regional dialogues last spring, and then donor negotiations, and then a donor partnership, and a pool of funds, and a movement across the continent to expand access to... PUSH Conference: Day One via WorldChanging
By Jessica Chapman
1 p.m.
The PUSH conference kicked off this morning at the Walker Art Museum in downtown Minneapolis, with short presentations by Chandran Nair, founder of the Global Institute for Tomorrow (GIFT) and Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of Good Magazine and co-founder of Ethos Water (and Worldchanging contributor and friend).
Both Nair and Greenblatt are professed optimists--no easy task when simultaneously displaying images detailing global water shortages and abject poverty. Both see glints of light amid broken shards. Both deliver messages of hope. Both see a real possibility of pushing boundaries while still working well within them.
"What matters is, can you create a movement. Can you inspire and engage your consumers," said Greenblatt, in reference to the... PUSH Conference Kicks Off in Minneapolis via WorldChanging
By Jessica Chapman
This is the first entry of a series of daily blogs from Jessica Chapman, who is reporting live for Worldchanging from this year's PUSH conference.
The PUSH conference taking place this week in Minneapolis bills itself as the most fun you'll have had since college. It's a bold statement, but one that past conference attendees unabashedly endorse. Previous conference-goers enthusiastically describe this Midwestern meeting of minds as an "unconference" and a "mini-Davos."
Now in its sixth year, PUSH carries on its annual tradition of uniting creative thinkers from a variety of fields--business, politics, publishing and education to name a few--around issues of professional innovation and opportunities for the future. Organizers say this year's program, called... Ringing in Reforms via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
My colleagues over at the Doing Business Blog report on the second annual Reformers??? Club awards, which took place last week in New York. In attendance were representatives of the top ten reformer countries: Egypt, Croatia, Ghana, FYR Macedonia, Georgia, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, China, and Bulgaria. And what was the prize for all their hard work? They got to ring the bell of the New York Stock Exchange! Not to mention favorable press coverage in many of the recipient countries ??? here are a few examples:
Bulgaria in Doing Business Top 10 Survey
Hrvatska u New Yorku primila nagradu Svjetske banke za reforme (if you want to practice your Croatian)
Colombia recibe el ???Reformers Club Top Ten Reformer Award???
IFC: Nation a top business reformer Of all the countries, Egypt... Ringing in Reforms via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
My colleagues over at the Doing Business Blog report on the second annual Reformers??? Club awards, which took place last week in New York. In attendance were representatives of the top ten reformer countries: Egypt, Croatia, Ghana, FYR Macedonia, Georgia, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, China, and Bulgaria. And what was the prize for all their hard work? They got to ring the bell of the New York Stock Exchange! Not to mention favorable press coverage in many of the recipient countries ??? here are a few examples:
Bulgaria in Doing Business Top 10 Survey
Hrvatska u New Yorku primila nagradu Svjetske banke za reforme (if you want to practice your Croatian)
Colombia recibe el ???Reformers Club Top Ten Reformer Award???
IFC: Nation a top business reformer Of all the countries, Egypt... Property rights for all! via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
The Legal Empowerment of the Poor (Hat tip: CIPE Development Blog)
The Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor, co-chaired by Madeleine Albright and Hernando de Soto, just released this report on Tuesday. The report looks at creating property rights at the bottom of the economic ladder. From the executive summary:
???[I]t is not the absence of assets or lack of work that holds [the poor] back, but the fact that the assets and work are insecure, unprotected, and far less productive than they might be???In too many countries, the laws, institutions, and policies governing economic, social, and political affairs deny a large part of society the chance to participate on equal terms.
Petrostate: Putin, Power, and the New Russia (Hat tip: Johnson???s Russia List)
On a...
Plastic Junk to Sail the Pacific via WorldChanging
Several months ago, I returned from a life-changing month at sea with the Algalita Marine Research Foundation. We were a crew of six, aboard a 50-foot research vessel, and our mission was to survey quantities of plastic junk in the North Pacific.
Thousands of miles from land, our ocean is slowly, steadily turning into a massive bowl of plastic soup. By our estimates, roughly 3.5 million tons of plastic debris foul the North Pacific alone. And we are only now beginning to understand the devastating impacts this plastic debris has on marine wildlife, as well as on seafood eaters.
Enormous quantities of plastic trash enter our oceans daily through watersheds, rivers, storm drains and more. We estimate approximately 10,000 pounds of plastic a day flow into the Pacific from Los... Small Business Finance - What Works, What Doesn’t? via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
May 5 and 6 saw an interesting research conference here in DC on Small Business Finance, looking at which banking practices and government interventions help foster small businesses' access to external finance. Twelve interesting papers and a stimulating panel discussion addressed an array of issues, ranging from banks' lending techniques over competition, government policies to informal and trade credit. Many papers and speakers questioned conventional wisdom on what we know and what policies are helpful.Bank-level surveys show that banks engage more with SMEs than commonly thought, and beyond just offering credit services. Interestingly, differences in banking practices, such as collateral requirements, appraisal techniques and interest rates are more pronounced between developed and... Small Business Finance - What Works, What Doesn’t? via PSD Blog - World Bank Group
May 5 and 6 will see an interesting conference on small business finance here in Washington DC, covering topics from lending techniques, innovations, the impact of market structure, government interventions and alternatives to bank finance....
The (little) Kids are Alright via It's Getting Hot In Here
I recently had the pleasure of shepherding a group of elementary school children around a Water Festival. The day’s myriad events focused on everything from salmon habitats to sea kayaking lessons. It was great to watch little kids get excited about nature in its most basic forms. I think it’s something that I, and maybe others, forget when we’re working on globe spanning issues like climate change. Remember that we were once little kids too, our minds being blown by the simplest joys nature could offer. To watch a room full of a hundred kids all imitating the sounds of a Killer Whale is pretty awesome.
The day made me realize/remember how important it is to reach kids at this young age when a love of nature is still embedded deep within their inherent nature. Kids...