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African Forest Policies Crowned Best in World
The prize is awarded annually by the World Future Council, a foundation that brings the interests of future generations to the centre of policy making. The jury which decided on the winning policies was composed of experts on sustainability and forests from all five continents. Runners-up were forest policies from Bhutan, Nepal and Switzerland. The US Lacey Act’s 2008 amendment, which bans the import of illegally harvested wood, received the second Silver Award. Rw...
- Categories
- Education
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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NextThought Monday: Creative Ways to Boost Youth Entrepreneurship
The risks of investing in young entrepreneurs are well known: inexperienced managers, murky business plans, overly optimistic views of the market, etc., etc. Youth Business International (YBI) recently issued Closing the Gap, a report that pulled together several case studies showing how the finance gap can be bridged for young entrepreneurs.
- Tags
- youth
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SOCAP11: Gleaning Insights in Design Thinking
Design used to be about making artifacts, but now the experience is the commodity. At SOCAP11, the Design for Social Innovation track exposed us to some powerful design thinking techniques from Hot Studio and :: CRONAN ::, two firms with household name corporate and socially known clients. In design, the age of the lone rock star is long gone.
- Categories
- Education, Impact Assessment
- Tags
- product design
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Mozambikes Pedals to Promote Development Via Low-Cost Bicycles
Lauren Thomas is working hard to get more Mozambicans on two wheels. Thomas, a former investment banker who traded New York for Maputo, is the co-founder of Mozambikes, a fledgling business that aims to provide high-quality bicycles at affordable prices through an innovative business model.
- Categories
- Education, Transportation
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Mixing Oil and Water in SME Development
Like oil and water, many would argue major energy companies don’t mix with advancing social impact. However, in an industry better known for oil spills and fat profits, the Shell Foundation is shattering stereotypes by providing financing for energy and infrastructure organizations too small for commercial funding and too large for microfinance.
- Categories
- Education, Impact Assessment
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Milaap Providing Vocational Training to Rural Students Via Microlending
It’s estimated that about 423 million of India’s working-age population will be unemployed or unable to participate in the job market by 2030. Milaap, a microlender and microfranchising hub, has partnered with with GRAVITY to enable anyone to lend money to help students get vocational training through Milaap’s online platform.
- Categories
- Education
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Making Education Relevant Where You Least Expect It
I recently visited a school in Maharashtra with rural education social enterprise Lend-A-Hand India. The principal says the Introduction to Basic Technology program implemented there has yielded phenomenal results: "When we find these kids, they don’t even have clothes on their back. Now, they are thinking about starting their own businesses."
- Categories
- Education
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Updated: The Ugly Truth About Famines
The drought, which spurred the UN to declare a famine for the first time since 1984, has affected the entire Horn of Africa, including much of Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. And yet the only areas where the UN has officially declared a "famine" are two pockets of southern Somalia controlled by the al-Shabab militia.
- Categories
- Education, Health Care
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