When writing about Africa we are told: Among your characters you must always include The Starving African, who wanders the refugee camp nearly naked, and waits for the benevolence of the West. Her children have flies on their eyelids and pot bellies, and her breasts are flat and empty. She
‘Sensationalised poverty media’ has usually been referenced as ‘poverty porn’ in discussions on development issues, but I have purposefully decided to not use this term as I find it a sensationalised term which distracts from the debate. Furthermore, it may be unsuitable for some readers of this blog. When I
There has been marked progress on reducing poverty over the past decades. The world attained the first Millennium Development Goal target – to cut the 1990 poverty rate in half by 2015 – five years ahead of schedule, in 2010.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/uWSxzjyMNpU Source: www.therules.org Worldwide: The richest 1% of adults in the world own 40 per cent of the planet’s wealth. The ‘super-rich’ are generally those in the financial and internet service sectors Europe, the US and some Asia Pacific nations account for most of the extremely wealthy with more than
A summary of Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Philip Alston’s key points and arguments in his final report in June 2020 on the state of poverty eradication work and the perils of the international poverty line
This section includes a number of pieces that discuss and debate the MDGs per se and also other related issues: Do ‘Global Goals’ ever make a difference? – this piece from the UNDP Human Development Report for 2003 discusses the question and offers a number of examples of previous goals,
This learning unit supports teachers who want to explore the global development issues that affect our world with their students. It will help students develop the skills necessary to affect positive change in their own lives and also to see their actions as part of a wider change for a more just world.
A quick guide to the Sustainable Development Goals…in 5 minutes
“People don’t ignore starving people so why should we ignore cold people? Frostbite kills too.” Excerpt from the official campaign Christmas video Imagine if every person in Africa saw the “Africa for Norway” video and this was the only information they ever got about Norway. What would they think about
Overseas aid (to the Developing World) has always been the subject of intense debate and disagreement. Why do we give aid and does it achieve its objectives. Aid does not get to those it is intended for or gets eaten up in administrative costs
The role of women in developing countries, as explored throughout this module, has been recognised as the single most important factor when it comes to bringing about and sustaining long term social change.
The loss of human life [due to hunger] is as great as if an atomic bomb – similar to the one that destroyed Hiroshima during the Second World War – were dropped on a densely populated area every three days Womenaid Press release on Hunger – www.womenaid.org Photo © George Chelebiev Hunger:
In 2000 the UN Millennium Declaration was adopted at the largest ever meeting of heads of state and committed those countries – rich and poor – to doing all they could to eradicate poverty. Promote human dignity and equality and achieve peace, democracy and environmental sustainability. World leaders agreed to
This week marks the 100th post since we launched the developmenteducation.ie blog just over a year ago. Thanks to all our readers and contributors for the lively discussions and debates. Sparks did fly. Disagreement was had. Long may it continue! To mark the occasion we have launched an exciting quarterly
Those interested in good quality lectures, music and humour (and much else!) will already be familiar with TED – https://www.ted.com/ – in 2009, TED posted a talk by Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Adichie (Purple Hibiscus 2003 and Half a Yellow Sun 2006) on the dangers of presenting overlapping dimensions of a
In the second part of the series, John Dornan and Suzanne Bunniss explore what the value of religion or faith might be in addressing the major issues, challenges and stories we face in the 21st century?
The resource is in five main sections. Each section describes the aims, concepts, attitudes, knowledge and skills involved in the particular section and recommends certain activities. It is not expected that a teacher will work through the resource with their students from beginning to end, although it is possible to
Learning Outcomes Access & analyse information on H.I.V and A.I.D.S. Develop an understanding of the stigma of H.I.V and A.I.D.S. Examine the pattern and history of eradication of TB infection in Ireland and its relevance to the present H.I.V and A.I.D.S pandemic. Develop empathy with those affected by diseases of
No Poverty – Educational resource for teachers and facilitators features information, statistics and activities to address the issue of poverty in the world. Activities introduce the concept of needs, wants as well as the impact of poverty on the lives of people globally. Key learning outcomes: Know what poverty is
In this second part of our series Living Between Trains and Drains, we explore the daily struggles and global realities of informal settlement living, with a focus on life in Namuwongo ‘slum’ in the city of Kampala in Uganda.
There are still large numbers of people sleeping outside, in the cold struggling to find any way to simply stay warm. Ethan Kudler, a final-seven finalist in the 2018 Trinity College Dublin and developmenteducation.ie Development Issues series, believes ending poverty means ending poverty everywhere, both near and far. As I
Photo credit © XXXXXXX Continuing debates on global inequality have developed a new edge and immediacy as a result of the current financial and economic crises affecting the West and, in particular the Eurozone with the accompanying ‘austerity’ measures they have generated. The rise of the ‘Occupy’ movements in 2011 challenged
“The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt With Christmas only just days behind us, we are in what is called the ‘Season
This section presents a number of case studies exploring key issues and case studies in human rights: Human trafficking in Tajikistan Citizen Action, Networks and Global Change – fishing and the environment Changing the face of human rights reporting in Ghana Upholding Human Rights: What’s the UN Doing Wrong? Trees
By Roger Bate, Published 01/04/2005 As more aid pours in for the unfortunate victims of the Asian tsunami, there has been much hand-wringing that nations, notably the Untied States, have not done enough. But while the highly paid UN staff whips up, and the media avidly reports, big government aid
Is it really possible to end extreme poverty within a generation? ‘What The Fact?’ investigates the underlying assumptions of the international poverty line
On 17 October 1987, Joseph Wresinski, founder of the International Movement All Together in Dignity – ATD, unveiled a Commemorative Stone on the Trocadero Human Rights Plaza in Paris. In 1992, the UN declared the 17th October as the “International Day for the Eradication of Poverty”. In Ireland, on the
As you log out of ‘Hotmail’ you are redirected to MSN news homepage. I don’t often take much notice of the contents of the page, however, on this occasion the new Forbes listing of the richest people on the planet caught my eye. Turns out, it was very interesting!
This lesson pack will help you get your class thinking about their role as global citizens and how they can be part of the changes needed to help end poverty. The four classes cover: Lesson 1 – The roots of poverty: finding the problem. Lesson 2 – A taxing issue:
What does it mean to be hungry? The Food and Agriculture Organisation defines ‘chronic hunger’ as: People who are chronically hungry are undernourished. They don’t eat enough to get the energy they need to lead active lives. Their undernourishment makes it hard to study, work or otherwise perform physical activities.
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