· May, 2011

Stories about Development from May, 2011

Haiti: A Different View of Cite Soleil

  31 May 2011

“We want to showcase local talents, and change the image of the youth in Cite Soleil. We want to get people planting again and eating Haitian food”: Throwing Down the Water profiles “a neighborhood committee called ‘La Difference’ [which] formed a movement to clean up their few blocks” and is...

Puerto Rico: Video on the Gas Pipeline Route

  29 May 2011

Historian and blogger Ivonne Acosta posts the video of a reportage on the beautiful route [es] through which a proposed gas pipeline will run through. Environmentalists and community activists are opposing the state-sponsored project.

Kenya: Taking care of orphaned monkey

  26 May 2011

Taking care of an orphaned monkey in Kenya : “We currently have a baby genet at the Colobus Trust which was found a few weeks ago being played with by a troop of vervet monkeys at the Diani Reef Hotel. The genet was weak and exhausted and showed signs of...

Brazil: New Forestry Code Approved in Chamber of Deputies

  26 May 2011

The Brazilian Chamber of Deputies approved the controversial new Forestry Code with 410 votes against 63 in an open session. As citizens knew each deputy's choice [pt], they used Twitter to regret the support for the ruralist project, as well as to mourn the murder of the forest defender Zé...

Africa: Africa Day Celebrated on Twitter

  25 May 2011

Happy Africa Day! Africa Day is the annual commemoration on May 25 of the 1963 founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). In 2002 the OAU established its own successor, the African Union. The name and date of Africa Day has been retained as a celebration of African unity.

Azerbaijan: Bloggers Divided Over Eurovision Win

Last weekend, Azerbaijan was shaking, with thousands of people flooding onto the streets of Baku, the capital, celebrating their country's win in the Eurovision Song Contest held a few hours earlier. However, not everyone was euphoric about the victory in the international music competition.

Chad: How Communities Are Rebuilding Lives

  21 May 2011

Paul O'Brien discusses his trip to Chad and how communities are rebuilding their lives: “The biggest challenge facing mothers in Chad is to feed their children and keep them healthy. The country has one of the highest rates of child deaths in the world. In the villages in which Concern...

Africa: Will Land Grab Help Africa?

  20 May 2011

Ken argues that the latest land grab in Africa might help the continent: “This latest land grab on the continent maybe the catalyst of an African green revolution. Most African governments gave up on non cash-crop agriculture in the 1970s. Some, like Nigeria, abandoned agriculture wholesale and quickly became a...

Brazil: Future of Forests at Stake

  20 May 2011

Across the past few weeks, the Brazilian National Congress has been abuzz with the pressure to vote on a new Forestry Code. The project based on proposed changes of the existing Code is backed by a coalition of Deputies of the so-called “Ruralist Front”. Environmentalists have mobilized against the new Code, and scientists demand more time to analyze the project.

Azerbaijan: Eurovision-induced sexual revolution?

Turkhan's blog [AZ] posts video and photos of a woman celebrating Azerbaijan's Eurovision victory in a less than expected way considering the otherwise traditional and patriarchal nature of local society. Stripping to her waist in the center of the capital, Baku, the blog wonders about the likelihood of a sexual...

Egypt: I Unfollowed Ghonim Because …

Egyptian cyber activist Wael Ghonim, who shot to international fame after being arrested at the beginning of the Egyptian revolution, is facing criticism from the very same Egyptians who earlier championed for his release. In a series of tweets today, Ghonim urged the protesters to put their country's economic prosperity ahead of their revolutionary agenda, sparking a flurry of reactions on Twitter.

El Salvador: Government Program Seeks to Improve Lives of Low-Income Women

  17 May 2011

Tim's El Salvador Blog comments and shares information on ‘Ciudad Mujer,’ a government program “creating a series of regional centers which to address specific needs of poor women […] Violence against women is a serious problem which the country is only starting to address. Discrimination against women in employment is common according...

East Timor: Cartoons on Development and Everyday Life

  13 May 2011

The website Sapo.TL features a photo album from an exhibition [pt] in Lisbon with a selection of illustrations from the portuguese architect and cartoonist João Baptista. Baptista created the blog Timor Cartoon, five years ago, and has published since then dozens of cartoons about the development and everyday life of...

Italy: How technology can help manage emergencies

  12 May 2011

In a crisis, how can Web 2.0 be of use to social movements and what practical help can it offer to facilitate collective action? In reality, there is no shortage of platforms which, established on a voluntary basis, using free software, harness the internet and mobile phones to gather and share information, sourced...

East Timor: An Alternative Reading of the Human Development Report

  10 May 2011

Following the launch of the United Nations “Human Development Report 2011 – Timor Leste” [pdf], the portuguese economist Almeida Serra, from the blog É a economia, estúpido! (It's the economy, stupid!) [pt], makes an alternative analysis. Serra claims that a significative share of the oil revenues have no impact in...