This Wired blog post is a couple weeks old now, but interesting if you didn't see it. The article discusses a presentation given by Joel Selanikio of the non-profit tech consultancy Datadyne. He makes a convincing argument that cell phone based text messaging are a more important and powerful tool for development than the internet. […]
The British Department For International Development is partnering with the Guardian to sponsor a journalism competition on international development and reducing global poverty. Only UK residents are eligible, and they have separate categories for true amateurs and freelance writers. The finalists get their articles published and some computer equipment. This one essay contest isn't going […]
This might only be amusing to me, but today my google alerts inbox had articles with African leaders stating completely opposite views on foreign aid. Gaddafi warned against imperialist powers using their foreign aid to buy influence in Africa. Meanwhile, the new leaders of the new coalition government in Kenya were asking Western diplomats to […]
The UK government has decided to set aside 13 million pounds to encourage public servants (doctors, nurses, teachers, and police) to volunteer in the developing world. As I understand it, the program will pay into the pension funds for volunteers while they are away from their primary duties in Britain. As always, a lot depends […]
The astoundingly influential economist and development guru Jeffrey Sachs has a new book coming out next week. It is called Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet, and has laudatory blurbs by both Al Gore and Kofi Annan. Sachs is a great writer, and although I sometimes disagree with him (among other issues I disagree […]
Tired of all the other reasons to give to charity, how about avoiding eternal damnation?
There's a nice series of comments in today's Guardian from farmers in Costa Rica, Kenya, and Mali praising Fairtrade, and identifying it as a positive force in their lives.
Global philanthropy is about the positive impact that people in one place can have on the lives of others around the world. Unfortunately, it's just as easy – probably easier – to have a negative impact on the rest of the world. This weekend the Guardian published several articles discussing the impact of British cocaine […]
Donorschoose.org is a domestic charity that allows people to fund projects designed by US public school teachers. It is a great initiative, started by teachers but expanded with funding from several successful internet entrepreneurs, and offers donors a lot of information before they give as well as information on project implemention. The format is a […]
I would like to thank the New York Times Magzine for giving me what is sure to be a week's worth of entries by dedicating an issue to philanthropy. Today I’d like to comment on David Leonhardt's article “What Makes People Give?”. The article discusses some interesting behavioral economics research that suggests that the reasons […]
The website www.onphilanthropy.com has already published the first two segments in a five part series on philanthropy outside the US. The first went up last month, and discusses the importance of foreign-based philanthropy in a world where a great number of poor countries are experiencing high levels of economic growth. Today's installment discusses philanthropy in […]
The proliferation of social networking websites is accompanied by a lot of excitement. The possibilities of the format seem limitless. Many people (OK, maybe it is just me, but I don't think I’m all alone) find that after taking the work to put together a Facebook profile they are left with a a big, sad […]
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