JUBA, 12 May 2008 (IRIN) - For years, Lole Laila Lole had to drink, cook with, and bathe in the dirty, contaminated water he fetched from the River Nile. "There was no other way," he told...
From 2005 to 2007, good friend Francisco Lupiáñez took part in a Manuel Castells’s project entitled Technological Modernisation, Organisational Change and Service Delivery in the Catalan Public Health System (aka PIC Salut).
His main findings in the Public Health system related with the adoption of ICTs are really similar to the ones I pointed at — there related to the Educational system — in my conference Opening Session: Digital Citizens vs. Analogue Institutions (indeed partly based on data from a brother project, L’Escola a la Societat Xarxa: Internet a l’Educació Primària i Secundària (Volum I), also led by Castells and belonging both of them to a framework project about ICT adoption in Catalonia, Spain).
These findings can be summarized as follows:
ICTs are...
In
web 2.0,
manuel castells,
Participation, Engagement, Use, Activism,
e-Government, e-Administration,
e-health,
francisco lupiañez,
health 2.0,
PIC Salut
The British Council’s International Climate Champions youth representatives want to put together a youth statement on climate change. So far they have drafted 3 statements, one of which will be presented to the environment ministers at the G8 Summit in Kobe next month. Only one Challenge will be presented. You can be part of making a difference by selecting which one it should be. Which challenge do you want the champions to take forward to Kobe?1 - Climate change is the problem and our generation is changing to become the solution.2 - This generation will empower individuals to act on climate change for a sustainable future.3 - To tackle climate change, we must recognise the challenge, accept responsibility and respond with integrity. Vote now...
From the home, to coffee shops, to large universities, wireless access points and routers have made Wi-Fi available in practically every type of environment.With this widespread availability, Wi-Fi is being embedded into many types of consumer electronic (CE) devices. Some categories, such as handheld gaming devices have flourished, while other devices have been slower to catch on, according to a market assessment by In-Stat.Portable CE devices showed the strongest growth of embedded Wi-Fi. Presently, handheld gaming devices are the largest category, with market leaders Nintendo and Sony shipping over a combined forty million units in 2007. Online and multi-player games are driving the inclusion of Wi-Fi in these devices.In-Stat expects the attachment rate of Wi-Fi in cellular handsets to...
My colleague Barry tells me that his kid Akiva loves the Dino5: Hiphop for Babies CD that I got him for his second birthday. Here's Akiva throwing his hand in the air, like he just don't care.
Such a dope CD. Get it for the freshest b-boy / b-girl in your...
Here's some not-very-clear video of my friends David "ShortyDave" Jacoby and Kim Frey during their beautiful wedding dance. They were wedded in a lovely multi-cultural ceremony this past Friday in Manhattan. I'm so honored I got to share this special moment with them. I love all the little moments in their dancing when their individual personalities come out.
The band is the amazing Paul Tillotson Love Trio performing "You Are My...
KABUL, 12 May 2008 (IRIN) - The government's ongoing battle to eliminate opium production has had partial success in 2008 in that there are now about 20 provinces in the north, east and northeast of the country which are poppy-free, up from 16 in 2007, according to the Afghan Ministry of Counter-Narcotics...
Geneva/Khartoum (ICRC) – In response to fighting over the past two days in Omdurman, part of greater Khartoum, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delivered medical supplies to the main hospital there on Sunday....
Oxfam Australia will be watching tomorrow night's delivery of the Federal Budget to see if the government delivers on indigenous health, climate change and aid.
Oxfam Australia - For a just world without poverty....
Short note: WorldWideHelp have got the NargisHelp Wiki up and running, packed with information goodness....
The UN International Fund for Agriculture (IFAD) has approved a grant to expand and support a knowledge network to connect development partners working on initiatives to reduce rural poverty in Western, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa. The network known FIDAfrique-IFADAfrica, which has operated since 1999, will allow members to share lessons learned, experiences and ideas for development....
from the BBC Almost three-quarters of people with mental health problems run out of money at the end of each week, a study says.The charity Mind said its poll of 1,800 people showed half had gone without food because of money worries.And virtually all those questioned - 91% - said debt had made their health problems worse.Mind called on banks and other creditors not to hound those with mental health problems and to find ways to help them.People with mental health problems are three times more likely to be in debt than the general population.Two-thirds of those surveyed by Mind had felt unable to tell creditors about any mental health problems.But of the remainder who did, 83% had been harassed about debt repayments despite the organisation knowing of their issues.Mind says the issue is...
Oxfam announces that up to 1.5 million lives are at risk in of disease if clean water and sanitation are not provided immediately to the survivors of cyclone Nargis in Myanmar.
Oxfam Australia - For a just world without poverty....
Trio Craft "...produces a line of handwoven, handknit and crocheted products using organically grown cotton. Trio’s looms are much wider than most, enabling them to custom weave curtains, tablecloths and carpets, and offer a broad array of beautifully textured products for the home. Trio was established to create employment and preserve artisanal skills, to bring Ethiopian textile art to the...
Bill McKibben [search] writes in "Civilization's last chance" [ark] the best summing up of the known threats facing humanity now from climate change if major emission cuts are not pursued immediately. His latest campaign efforts highlight the number 350, which he calls "the most important number on Earth" because of scientific understanding that if carbon emissions are not stablized at 350 ppm, it will not be possible "to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed."
It has been noted here that at 383 ppm we are already well past this threshold, and thus achieving 350 ppm will require gargantuan efforts if we are to survive much less prosper. The piece is a clarion call that long predicted limits to growth have arrived and the fate of civilization depends upon...
A fascinating tale of the changes that have been taking place in Peru in recent years. The most importaqnt, for a poor country, is of course this (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120994762674566399.html):
Peru has been experiencing fast growth – better than 6% annually – for almost seven years,
Given that poverty is the absence of wealth, you can't solve poverty without creating wealth. So that creation is of course the first necessary step. But what is more heartening is that this growth has come from rejecting the earlier policy of infant industry development, that policy that so many wish to impose upon Africa:
The key reform...
BANGKOK, 11 May 2008 (IRIN) - The Burmese government has invited three organisations World Vision, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to serve as 'partners' in the relief effort, according to a statement by World...
BEIRUT, 11 May 2008 (IRIN) - Lebanon's worst sectarian violence since its civil war ended in 1990 has spread from Beirut to the Druze heartlands of Mount Lebanon and on to the second city of Tripoli in the north as Hezbollah and its opposition allies continued their military takeover of the...
from Inside Costa Rica World crisis on rising in food prices that, like all calamities, hardest hits poor people, came into the agenda of coming Euro-Latin American Summit Eurolat during recent hours.The addition of that topic to the agenda of the fifth Summit of Latin America and the Caribbean or European Union (ALC-UE) was announced by Foreign Minister Jose Gracia Belaunde on Friday, in the middle of much international concern on the rising food crisis.The topic is to be tackled as main in the summit, despite not appearing in the official agenda, which only considers the fight against poverty, social inclusion, climatic change and energy problems, the Minister indicated.It is a subject that has acquired particular seriousness in the last months, "Garcia Belaunde indicated in a visit...
from Chain LeaderBy Evan Osnos and Laurie Goering, Tribune correspondents Evan Osnos reported from Beijing, and Laurie Goering reported from New Delhi. -- Chicago Tribune, May 11, 2008 Sunday Chicagoland Final EditionNothing about the lunch rush at a McDonald's in China would feel out of place in America: Students huddled around video games and fries; a computer salesman scarfing a chicken sandwich; a teacher lingering over a hamburger and coffee. And in that all-American scene lies the next great challenge to the world's food supply."It was impossible for my parents' generation to have meat all the time," said 42-year-old teacher Xue Wei, polishing off a piece of pie. "Now, we can eat meat every day."The roots of today's food crisis span the globe, from sky-high oil prices in the Middle...
12:21 Went to a 'boun heuan', ceremony giving merit to a friend's four deceased relatives, this morning. Returned home to work. Typical Sunday.Automatically shipped by...
As incredible as it may sound, the world's oceans are running out of fish [ark]. Terribly wasteful and unsustainable industrial harvest of natural, wild fisheries [search] has led to much of humanity's swollen population eating ever smaller fish from inexorably shrinking populations. "Ninety years of industrial-scale exploitation of fish has... led to 'ecological meltdown'. Whole biological food chains have been destroyed."
Remaining high quality fish stocks are being stolen by rich nations from developing countries, and neither politicians nor consumers have invested much in developing a sustainable wild fish industry. Solutions including marine reserves [search] and greatly diminished harvests, including bans on some species as they recover, are possible and needed immediately. If not...
from The Greeley TribuneChris Casey, (Bio) ccasey@greeleytrib.comThe four Somalis moved into the apartment last August, six floors up in a downtown Greeley building. The living room is furnished with only a metal folding chair and small table covered in papers and a laptop computer. A Somali flag, a white star against light blue, is the only wall hanging, draped behind the table.A 25-year-old man identifying himself as Mohamed Mohamed sits on the floor helping Nafiso Mohamed Abdi, 20, fill out a rental application form for another Greeley apartment complex.It's noon on Wednesday, and in three hours they will be working along with scores of Somalis at the JBS Swift & Co. meatpacking plant.Mohamed, who speaks English, is a trainer for new employees, making $12.10 an hour, while Abdi, in...
from The Detroit Free Press Government help up 53% since '03BY CHRIS CHRISTOFFMike Remenar never thought he'd rely on food stamps and Medicaid to help support his family in comfortable Grosse Pointe Woods.He hasn't found suitable work since losing his job 10 months ago as an auto parts designer. He depleted his unemployment benefits and savings, struggles under a $1,400 monthly mortgage, and the travel agency he and his wife operate at home won't pay the bills."In the past 10 years, I've been laid off a number of times, but never this long," said Remenar, 60. "Especially living in this community, to be in this position is a bit awkward."Remenar's unexpected dive into public assistance is a testament to the depth of stagnation for Michigan's economy. A record number of Michiganders are...
from Zimbabwe News Harare - Hunger is giving a brutal edge to the alleged work of militias implementing Operation Mavhoterapapi (Who did you vote for?), a campaign launched by President Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF government in the wake of the ruling party's loss of its parliamentary majority for the first time since independence in 1980. The post-election crackdown, allegedly orchestrated by police, soldiers and veterans of the liberation war, has led to widespread reports of torture, the razing of houses and killing of livestock, perpetrated mainly against people in rural areas suspected of voting for the opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change.Sergeant Mungofa (not his real name), 44, was previously stationed at the army headquarters in the capital, Harare, but within days of...
BANGKOK, 11 May 2008 (IRIN) - An estimated 1.5 million people in Myanmar are on the brink of a "massive public health catastrophe," the British charity Oxfam warned this weekend, as reports say desperate survivors of cyclone Nargis pour out of the Irrawaddy Delta into regional towns in search of water, food and other forms of...
SANAA, 11 May 2008 (IRIN) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Yemen said on 10 May that about 100,000 people have been directly affected by clashes between government forces and Shia rebels in Saada province, northern...
BAGHDAD, 11 May 2008 (IRIN) - Aid organisations and residents of Baghdad's mainly Shia district of Sadr City welcomed on 11 May a truce between Shia militiamen loyal to radical leader Moqtada al-Sadr and US-backed government forces, ending seven weeks of clashes that left daily life almost paralysed since 25...
Last time I was in Hue, my colleague Van and I had a task to complete that ranks up there as among the most difficult things we've had to do.We wanted to interview Chau, the 17 year old boy who is dying of cancer in his family home by the beach. Chau had been taken to Ho Chi Minh City to work in a garment factory in appalling conditions at the age of 14. He started to get ill a year later, and without any medical attention he was eventually far too sick to work any more. The boss sent him home, which is when we met him and found that he had advanced cancer. I've written about Chau here and here if you want more of the story.Time is dwindling away now; pain management is all that's left for this boy and his family. After talking to his parents, Van and I decided to interview Chau on video...
As I walked into Desmond Tutu Center in New York on Thursday night, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the social networking event hosted by Good Capital. Good Capital is an investment fund aiming to accelerate the flows of capital to social enterprises, and they successfully convened an incredible group of colleagues, investors, and friends.
Just to give you a sense of the event, my first conversation was with two women from Scojo Foundation, an Acumen Fund investee that reduces poverty and generates opportunity through the sale of affordable reading glasses. I then had the pleasure of talking with Tim Freundlich, a partner at Good Capital, who - among other things - told me of the upcoming conference they are hosting in San Francisco in October. This was followed by a...