Nonprofits

Academics, donors and some aid agencies have begun measuring what works. Development is becoming a science

I knew I was going to love this job here,” says Anthony Lake, Unicef’s executive director, pointing at his heart beneath his suit jacket. “But,” he points to his head, “it is fascinating here too. There are no boring bits.”

Co-ops offer democratic alternative to shareholder-owned businesses.

The United Nations has designated 2012 as the International Year of Cooperatives, providing a great opportunity to raise the profile of an important organizational tool for spreading human rights and equality worldwide. Membership in co-operative businesses has grown to 1 billion people across 96 countries, according to new research published by the Worldwatch Institute for its Vital Signs Online publication.

The country is torn by conflict. The people are hungry.

Our natural response is to send food, but in practice that can be problematic. For decades, aid workers, journalists and others have documented cases where food aid has been misappropriated by armed groups who use it to feed their soldiers and buy weapons. Convoy trucks and other equipment are often captured.

Pinker says the world is becoming more peaceful

Steven Pinker wants you to know that violence has declined.

Despite civil wars in Africa and the Mideast, ongoing strife in Afghanistan, and the barrage of local and national crimes reported on the nightly news, people are living in a much more peaceful era than they might think.

Katerva, a new nonprofit set up to recognize and support stand-out sustainability efforts around the world, has just announced the winner of an award competition it hopes will be like a Nobel prize in the broad and somewhat amorphous field of sustainability: Sanergy, a company that builds low-cost toilets in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya and converts the waste into fuel and fertilizer.

For the full story in Forbes go to: 

On the ten-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, many Americans are wondering whether the risk of a terrorist attack against America has been reduced. The picture is mixed. With the death of Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda is weaker.

Important discussions lie ahead on the road to Rio + 20 for the global investment community - UNEP FI Global Roundtable 2011, and GLOBE 2012.   

Banking and investment organizations worldwide are monitoring developments in the international financial markets preparatory to the Rio + 20 Earth Summit taking place in Rio de Janeiro, in June 2012.

To global search giant, Google, Africa is the next Internet hotspot. Globally, there are 94 domains registered per 10 000 users. However, in Africa, there is only one domain per 10 000 users. As such, there is tremendous potential for growth on the continent in the web space.