Blog.
Arms, ‘consensus’ and human development
Source: IMG_5419 by controlarms, Flickr I don’t know about yours but my dictionary suggests that the word consensus means ‘general agreement’ or ‘majority opinion’. The reason I raise the issue is that over the past month, negotiators from some 170 countries have been discussing a UN arms treaty, which needed
Who we’re watching for London 2012
Everyone has their favourites they tune in for during the Olympics, whether it’s the Olympic giants such as the infamous Usain Bolt, the immense Michael Phelps or their own national hero. However, as Ros Wynne-Jones of The Guardian puts it: ‘All competitors are, by definition, Olympian, but there are those
A ‘V sign’ for the world’s poor
Image: Cayman Islands 2005 084 (2006) by Salvatore.Fren, Flickr. A useful dictum to remember when trying to understand and analyse global inequality is ‘study the rich and powerful, not the poor and powerless’. We have become used to forensic studies focused on whether the poor are slightly less or more
To be saved from or saved by the International AIDS Conference?
The 19th International AIDS Conference (IAC) is being held this week in Washington, bringing together the world’s HIV and AIDS stakeholders in order to try to shape the global response to the epidemic. The world needs effective action and leadership to ‘Turn the Tide Together’ against HIV and AIDS, according
Fighting back against industries of desire
Artist – Robert Montgomerry (UK) // install in Bristol The central message to UK outfit ‘Brandalism’ who exploded onto the British scene in the past few days was in bringing their motto ‘taking the piss with a point’ to billboards up and down the country using guerrilla-style subervtising. 25 artists
Our newest nation at a glance: South Sudan, one year on…
Source: South Sudan: Independence Celebration by babasteve, Flickr On the 9th of July 2011, after decades of civil war which resulted in the deaths of up to 2 million people and a referendum passed by 98% of voters, South Sudan became an independent country. Presented below is a brief progress
Development choices: pizza and water politics
Water is part of any production process. We need it to grow apples, as well as produce a packet of crisps. The amount of water needed in this process depends where we are because climate and agricultural practices will be the most important players. The theme at the centre of
5 myths about the world’s population
Image: Crowd by James Cridland, Flickr The world’s population reached 7 billion people in October last year, according to United Nations estimates. Debates surrounding overpopulation, the environment, distribution of resources and assumptions that more-people-means-more-poverty have unfortunately crept back into development discussions around topics like scarcity, growth and the planning techniques
Is Africa’s negative image justified? Eleven viewpoints
There is much debate about the image of the continent of Africa and how is portrayed, particularly in the media.One recent article by Femi Adewunmi in the business publication ‘How we made it in Africa’ reports on a BBC Africa Debate held in Kampala, Uganda debating the theme: Africa‘s international
The Art of Listening
Source: Joe Villion (as published in the New York Times) This article was written by Henning Mankell – better known as creator of Swedish detective Inspector Kurt Wallander – who divides his time between Moçambique and Sweden. Writing on topical issues such as HIV and AIDS, Henning is a pro-Palestinian