Group items tagged

"People are living longer. On average, people aged 55 today will live to their mid-to-late 80s. Around 1 in 10 men and 1 in 5 women this age will live to 100 - and receive their telegram from The Queen."

"WHAT EXACTLY IS THE GIRL EFFECT? The girl effect is a movement. It's about leveraging the unique potential of adolescent girls to end poverty for themselves, their families, their communities, their countries and the world. It's about making girls visible and changing their social and economic dynamics by providing them with specific, powerful and relevant resources. Created by the Nike Foundation in collaboration with the NoVo Foundation, United Nations Foundation and Coalition for Adolescent Girls, the girl effect is fuelled by hundreds of thousands of girl champions who recognise the untapped potential of adolescent girls living in poverty."

"Human Development Index HDI is advanced as being a better indicator than "GDP per capita" in measuring the progress of Nations. HDI is calculated by UNDP from indicators for health, education and living standard (income/person). The methodology is quite complicated but it well documented http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/hdi/ BUT look at a plot of the correlation between HDI and GDP/capita or all countries in Gapminder World www.bit.ly/XxQw0B "

"In only a few years, logging and agribusiness have cut Indonesia's vast rainforest by half. The government has renewed a moratorium on deforestation but it may already be too late for the endangered animals -and for the people whose lives lie in ruin"

"SOMETIME in 2013 Lagos will overtake Cairo to become Africa's largest city. This is confirmation of a decisive shift away from the ends of the continent and towards its tropical middle. Within a decade Lagos will have 16m people; Kinshasa, in Congo, will have 15m. The standard view of cities as generators of wealth, diversity and ideas will be challenged in Africa. To become liveable, cities will have to improve public transport, address rising violent crime and generate opportunities for young Africans. In 2013, over half of all city-dwellers will be under 18 and every African election will be decided, statistically at least, by first-time voters. What is certain is that African cities will be the most informal economies in the world in 2013. Some 70% of workers will live on their wits, relying on day labour to make enough to eat, pay rent and send their children to school. That will make cities dynamic and mobile, but also combustible. See full article."

The rise of megacities - interactive By 2025, the developing world, as we understand it now, will be home to 29 megacities. We explore the latest UN estimates and forecasts on the growth of these 'cities on steroids', and take a look at the challenges and opportunities megacities present for the tens of millions living in Lagos, Mexico City and Dhaka

"Home News by technology Apple faces fresh labor abuse allegations Apple faces fresh labor abuse allegations Apple's in hot water once more By Lily Prasuethsut  September 6th 0 COMMENTS Trouble for the big Apple Related stories iPhone 5S release date set for Sept. 20? T-Mobile workers' holiday plans shelved Double dates? New iPhones may go on sale Sept. 20 and Sept. 27 Was the iPhone 5C caught running iOS 7 on camera? Though the bubbly invitations have been sent for Apple's Sept. 10 Cupertino event where we might finally see the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C, recent reports once again, show a darker side of Apple. China Labor Watch released a statement today about the conditions of Jabil Green Point, a U.S. owned factory in Wuxi, China purportedly producing the cheap iPhone. Apple has already been in hot water earlier this summer when the Watch reported labor violations at Pegatron facilities. Poor working and living conditions, and the use of underage employees at Pegatron, were similar to previous investigations of Apple's other major supplier, Foxconn."

"What is known about the laws and policies that shape children's lives globally? Previously, few global maps showcased children's rights in countries around the world. The Children's Chances website allows you to view maps of key policies for children's healthy development, and answer pressing questions such as: Can children in your country go to school? How many countries protect children from child labor? In which countries is child marriage legal? Does your country prioritize child health? Can parents in your country meet the needs of their children? How do the unemployed or underemployed fare across different countries? In which countries do children of different genders, religions or ethnicities have equal rights? Which countries support the education and inclusion of children with disabilities?"

"The richest, most powerful generation that ever lived is embarking on a comfortable retirement. But why does it feel like they've pulled up the ladder with them?"

"Here, we look at two cities where, against the odds, efforts to promote sustainable living are emerging. The first is Iqaluit, a remote indigenous community in the Canadian Arctic that is entirely reliant on imported diesel for power yet at the same time is seeing climate patterns impact its traditional ways of life. The second is Johannesburg in South Africa, where efforts to promote alternatives to private car ownership are slowly bearing fruit. "

OECD interasctive graphs

Interesting graphics - even they they are american based

"Throughout the 20th century, and continuing into the 21st century, governments have tried to develop the world's poor countries. Development efforts have sought to increase national income, lift poor people out of poverty and improve their quality of living. However, people have had different ideas about how to best develop poor countries.  This resource considers six of those approaches."