Latest Blog Entries

Last month G8 leaders met at the exclusive Lough Erne golf resort in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. Yet, what were the practical implications for those living in extreme poverty around the world or – for that matter – the 99 percent of people living in the G8 countries? Were concrete actions taken?

Before the summit, I wrote a piece about measurable actions the G8 should take that would bring meaningful change to people around the world. So, how did they do?

"Young people in development are both a project of reform and agents of change. This population is not static. They engage on multiple levels.” – Dr .Loubna Skalli-Hanna, Author, Editor and Professor at American University, School of International Service

Today, NGOs scored a major legal victory when the Supreme Court ruled 6-2 that a USAID policy requirement infringed upon Americans’ right to free speech. The case, USAID v AOSI, challenges a 2003 law that requires all groups receiving U.S government funds for international HIV and AIDS work to have a policy explicitly opposing prostitution.

What would you take if you had to flee? In Rakhine state, western Myanmar, everyone I asked said the same thing: Family. Many saw their homes burnt down in the communal riots of June and October 2012. They were so surprised by the attacks that they herded everyone out without stopping to take a single thing.