Global Development
In an increasingly globalized world, international development efforts aim to improve living conditions, equity, and human rights around the world. Our global development section tracks this globalization and reports on specific equitable and sustainable development initiatives.
Competition aims to find solutions to training the post-pandemic workforce
The pandemic has radically altered the employment landscape. Most jobs will be very different when regular work resumes and many jobs will not come back at all. In order to induct a large workforce into new roles, effective and rapid training techniques will need to happen across all sectors. A new Read More...
Thought Leader Series: Rethinking the virus and the future
Millions of species on Earth, from tiny microorganisms to the blue whale, all work together to maintain a stable biodiverse ecosystem everywhere on the planet. However, somewhere along the line, humans developed a humans-as-supreme, not life-as-supreme, attitude about our role in nature. In Read More...
Why the coronavirus recovery is the perfect opportunity to enact change
As cities reopen even while global COVID-19 cases continue to grow, most people are wondering when things will truly get back to normal. In a TED2020 talk on Monday, economist Mariana Mazzucato said that it’s the wrong question to ask. “Really, my view is that we need to do everything we Read More...
This nonprofit teaches former felons digital media to boost job prospects
Each year, around 8,500 people in New York City are released from prison, more than half of which are rearrested within three years. Of those who have jobs a year after release, the recidivism rate drops to 31 percent. The problem, however, is that for someone who’s just gotten out of prison, Read More...
New agreement significantly lowers the cost of pneumonia vaccine
Pneumonia is the single biggest killer of children under five worldwide, but a new agreement hopes to change this by making the vaccine for the disease much more affordable. A new agreement between UNICEF and the Serum Institute of India will drop the price of the lifesaving drug from $3.50 to Read More...
Spain is implementing a universal minimum income. What is that?
In April, we shared a story about the Spanish government’s plans to introduce a basic income program—though it wasn’t clear whether it would be implemented on a country-wide scale. This week we got to know that Spain has decided to implement what it’s calling a national minimum income, Read More...
The Optimist View: Cultivating a Circular Economy
“There is a great need for the introduction of new values in our society, where bigger is not necessarily better, where slower can be faster, and where less can be more.” – Gaylord Nelson On one of our regular family Zoom calls, my aunt asked me “what habits have you adopted during Read More...
India’s post office is helping frontline workers during the lockdown
Three weeks ago, India put into effect what is the largest pandemic lockdown the world has ever seen. The decision has led to all businesses — apart from essential services — to shut down their activities, leaving numerous supply chains stock-still. And because the pause button has been hit Read More...
This Santa Cruz farm is helping the homeless gain stable employment
After spending a night in Santa Cruz’s first homeless shelter, local philanthropist Paul Lee realized residents were deprived of an environment that allowed them to dream of a better future. That’s why he founded the Homeless Garden Project in 1990, a project that gives homeless people the Read More...
PETA is donating old fur coats to Afghan communities in need
With the growing awareness around animal cruelty in recent years, shoppers have increasingly turned away from fur products. But as people across the country continue to abandon the use of fur, what happens to the products that already exist? Every year, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Read More...