Category Archives: Extreme poverty

A second life

Philip Rosedale created a virtual world called Second Life beginning in 1998. ”I’m not building a game. I’m building a new continent” is what he says describing the initiative which seeks to create a virtual economy inside a virtual society. At … Continue reading

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Starting to make poverty history?

What few people, including Bob Geldof, saw coming was the global financial crisis. As we draw close to the end of 2010, I was looking back on what people had to say about poverty in Africa in 2005. Bob Geldof for … Continue reading

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Why a bridge?

The bridge is an important metaphor for joining people, institutions, conversations, ideas, communities and places together. The bridge is a universal metaphor. Everyone understands the purpose of a bridge is and how it is used. A bridge has multiple functions, … Continue reading

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Why more aid is not the starting point to solve poverty.

Alan Kay is a genius. Here in this video he is speaking on “Why does computer-based teaching fail?” Does this have anything to do with poverty? Not directly, but the idea is relevant. In fact, I would argue that through … Continue reading

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10 Steps to Social Alchemy

One of the outcomes for the 10 City Bridge Run is to “determine 10 meaningful actions anyone can engage in without needing to spend money which will make a difference over the next five years to positively influence extreme poverty.” It … Continue reading

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What Can I Do?

Jacqueline Novogratz of the Acumen Fund in closing a conference at The Aspen Institute asks perhaps the most important question in influencing extreme poverty: What Can I Do? She observes the most important thing is our human connectedness. Participation. Collaboration. Bridge … Continue reading

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Charity Doesn’t Solve Anything

Can we criticise Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim (the Mexican billionaire listed by Forbes as the world’s richest man) for his perspective on what makes change happen: The only way to fight poverty is with employment. Trillions of dollars have been given to … Continue reading

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What are people saying about the G20?

Looking ahead toward Seoul, what did people have to say about what took place in Toronto last June? Here are a few observations from the blog Sherpa from a range of NGO speaking on the broad topic of ‘development’: The Global … Continue reading

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Millennium Development Goals- Gap Too Wide for 2015?

Among the 64 countries with high child mortality rates (defined as 40 or more deaths per 1,000 live births), only 9 are on track to meet the MDG target on child survival. The highest rates of child mortality continue to … Continue reading

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Out of Reach? City of Sydney talks MDG

I am still working through the irony of hundred of people flying to New York to spend great sums of money on accommodation and the life’s littles luxuries like coffee to talk about poverty… Was anything achieved other than a … Continue reading

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