SEATTLE–When one thinks about millennials and technology, people glued to the screens of their smartphones playing Pokémon GO or sending Snapchats to one another come to mind. However, a new survey of young people between the ages of 18 and 35 shows that many millennials care deeply about current global issues and recognize the importance of technology in creating jobs and alleviating poverty. This year, the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Annual Survey featured responses from 26,000 millennials from 181 countries. When asked about the most pressing issues that the world faces right now, 45 percent pointed to climate change. The…
Author: Philip Katz
Philip Katz
Philip is from Taipei, Taiwan but currently lives in Middletown, CT. He fell in love with planes as a child and hopes to get his pilot's license.
LONDON — Even as the U.K. continues to reel from the results of the June 2016 Referendum, also known as “Brexit”, Theresa May, the new British prime minister, told U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that she would honor former PM David Cameron’s pledge of spending 0.7 percent of the country’s GDP on foreign aid. There will be no cuts to the U.K. foreign aid budget, which currently stands at 11 billion pounds ($14.6 billion). Instead, the government will use the money and the access to foreign heads of state that it provides for negotiating new trade agreements, according to Conservative Party…
SEATTLE — People who migrated from the developing world have played a major role in lifting their home countries out of poverty. Recent stories from Rwanda and Zimbabwe highlight new ways in which people from developing countries living abroad are giving back through diaspora-driven development. Victoria Ruzvidzo, the managing editor of Zimbabwe’s The Herald, penned an opinion piece in which she explores how the Zimbabwean government can encourage the country’s 2 million diasporans to invest back home. Zimbabwe has been a longtime beneficiary of diaspora remittances. From 2014 to 2015, foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country dropped from $545 million…
SEATTLE — At first glance, East Timor, formally known as Timor-Leste, appears to be rife with problems. According to the Asian Development Bank, the Portuguese-speaking Southeast-Asian nation, which occupies half of the island of Timor and became independent from Indonesia in 2002, had a 49.9 percent poverty rate in 2014. The unemployment rate among East Timorese citizens ages 15 and above was a staggering 59.8 percent. In reality, the country has made great strides towards developing its economy, and the international community is helping to reduce poverty in East Timor in a number of ways. Among the signs of an…
WASHINGTON — On July 20, 2016, diplomats, business leaders, development experts and others gathered at The White House Summit on Global Development, hosted by President Obama. The event looked back on the achievements of the Obama administration in the area of global development and secured support for future aid efforts. President Obama has faced many challenges as he sought to expand and improve upon the Bush administration development efforts. John Norris of the Center for American Progress explains these challenges in an article he penned for global development media platform Devex. President Obama faced the Great Recession at the start of his presidency.…
SEATTLE — Uber and farming are not two things that usually go together, but a startup wants to combine the two in an effort to boost the productivity of agriculture in India. In 2014, the father-son pair Rohtash and Adwitiya Mal founded EM3 AgriServices. The company operates on a pay-per-use business model, also referred to as farming-as-a-service (FAAS). Rather than having to buy farm equipment, farmers can rent them from EM3, which also supplies trained personnel to operate the machinery on site. The concept of EM3 is similar to Uber’s ridesharing, which Rohtash said was his inspiration. By “Uberizing” the…
SEATTLE—In a time when national budgets are shrinking and the international NGO (INGO) sector is losing its vitality, innovative finance has emerged as a new way of addressing the complex challenges of the developing world. In the process, it has led to a number of success stories. As the name implies, innovative finance is an umbrella term for unconventional methods of raising aid money. Traditionally, taxpayer dollars and charity organizations have raised the majority of foreign aid. However, innovative finance involves private companies partnering with governments and NGOs. They then use financial tools to unlock additional sources of funding. Innovative finance is…
SEATTLE — Most of us know that waste recycling helps the environment by reducing pollution, but few are aware of its economic benefits. New waste management initiatives in Africa and Southeast Asia also represent innovative ways of reducing poverty. The leader of one such initiative, Jean-Bosco Nzeyimana, took part in a panel discussion at the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Summit at Stanford University. Among those present were US President Barack Obama and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Nzeyimana is the head of Habona Limited, which he founded in 2014. Based in Nyamagabe district, Rwanda, the company produces clean energy by turning environmental…
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On June 21, 2016, the House Foreign Affairs Committee introduces the H.R. 5537, Digital Global Access Policy Act of 2016, which aims to improve global internet access, especially in developing countries. The Digital GAP Act proposes to provide first-time internet access for at least 1.5 billion people by 2020. The bill also promotes the use of the internet as a tool for trade and recommends the removal of various restrictions on global internet access. Committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., and Ranking Member Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., believe that the internet and the opportunities it provides can increase economic growth, bridge…