· February, 2013

Stories about Development from February, 2013

Brazil: Cable Car Goes Up, Houses Come Down for World Cup

  27 February 2013

The construction of a cable car for tourists in preparation for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in the Morro da Providência favela in Rio de Janeiro is kicking residents out. Demolished houses are being traded for a stipend of 400 reais (200 US dollars), and many families have been unable find a place to live.

Is Mexico Really “Back in the Game”?

  26 February 2013

In his latest column, renowned New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman argues that Mexico “will become the more dominant economic power in the 21st century.” Twitter immediately reacted to his piece, and journalist David Agren aggregated some of these positive and negative reactions posted on the microblogging site.

MDG Consultations Held in Tajikistan

  23 February 2013

Blogger Teocrat calls [ru] on Tajikistan's young people to contribute to public consultations on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The aim of the consultations is to review progress towards the MDGs and hear from people what they think should come after 2015, the deadline set for achieving the Goals. Many users...

The Worst Companies of the Year

  22 February 2013

Here were the nominees for the Public Eye Awards, a contest listing the worst companies of the year, was published by the website Public Eye. Organized by the Berne Declaration and Pro Natura, since 2000, the awards is a counter-summit critique of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum...

SenseCamp Berlin: a Social Entrepreneurship Gathering

  22 February 2013

Berlin held its second SenseCamp on February 8 and 9, 2013, a barcamp dedicated to social entrepreneurship. The program included workshops, meetings and conferences, to raise the impact of social entrepreneurial start-ups. Creative types, entrepreneurs and those who were interested, were invited to register in order to participate in this...

Crowdmapping Ukraine's Wheelchair Accessibility

  11 February 2013

At BiggggIdea.com (uk; “Velyka Ideya” – “a platform where people present their projects, and the community funds them”), Oleksandr Telyuk draws attention [uk] to Wheelmap.org, a crowdmapping project that allows users to evaluate and mark wheelchair accessibility of various locations worldwide. Telyuk notes that 96 percent of public places in...

The Idleness of African Leadership in Mali

  11 February 2013

Ousmane Gueye on the site Mondoblog writes [fr] about the slow deployment of African troops in northern Mali : If we were to judge the impact of the intervention in Mali by the jubilant euphoria of liberated populations, then it should be obvious that by deploying so slowly, African countries failed Mali...

India: Not-for-profit vs. For-profit Ventures

  4 February 2013

In India it is easier to find funding for a not-for-profit handicraft venture than for for-profit. And these funds are sometimes used to keep alive trades that are inefficient and thus give the artisans a false impression that demand actually exists for their produce. Pertinent Observations finds the entire ecosystem...

Malaysia's Green Issues in 2013

  4 February 2013

An increasingly discerning electorate coupled with growing environmental awareness means that governments and corporations can no longer get away with sloppy environmental management. Instead of being defensive, the best way forward for the state and businesses is to engage the public proactively and be transparent about the details of the...