NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Power Can Challenge Poverty ? And That Makes Universal Energy Access a Must

Earlier this week, decision makers came together in Oslo to launch Energy +, the international energy and climate initiative. It promises to be a landmark contribution towards securing sustainable energy for all by 2030. The need for such progress is clear, given that half the world’s population live without modern energy, the majority of people cook on an open fire, and two out of t...

Source

Guardian.co.uk (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Education

Green Growth

THE enrichment of previously poor countries is the most inspiring development of our time. It is also worrying. The environment is already under strain. What will happen when the global population rises from 7 billion today to 9.3 billion in 2050, as demographers expect, and a growing proportion of these people can afford goods that were once reserved for the elite? Can the planet support so much economic activity? Many policymakers adopt a top-down and Western-centric approach to such ...

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The Economist (link opens in a new window)

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Education, Health Care

Cambodia: A Place for Pioneer Investors

Phnom Penh, Cambodia (CNN) - The most common image of Cambodia is the land of ancient temples and budget travelers. There’s now something else putting Cambodia on the map: foreign investors. Cambodia’s devastating recent history set the country back a generation. From 1975-78, the Communist Khmer Rouge killed intellectuals, destroyed the education system and pushed for an agrarian society that required families to be uprooted and separated. By the end of t...

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CNN (link opens in a new window)

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Education

Region

Asia Pacific

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...

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AfricaNews.com (link opens in a new window)

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Education

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Bringing Light to the Poor, One Liter at a Time [Video]

A bottled liter of water with a few teaspoons of bleach is proving to be a successful recipe for dwellers in the light-deprived slums of the Philippines. The simple technology is spreading sunlight in places where it has never been, and saving residents money at the same time. Gemma Haines reports. ...

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Reuters (link opens in a new window)

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Education

Region

Asia Pacific

Inc. 5000 Applicant of the Week: World Centric

As we process applications for the 2011 Inc. 500 5000, we thought it would be worthwhile to shine a spotlight on some of the companies that are vying to appear on our ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States . One that caught our eye was Palo Alto , California

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Inc. (link opens in a new window)

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Education

Will Indian IT Companies’ Business Model Become Stagnant?

BANGALORE: Indian IT companies, which rode the outsourcing wave to become large corporations, may lag a bit while becoming sustainable corporations that create fortune "with" the bottom of the pyramid, says management guru Stuart L Hart . The American academic who was in town recently, says: "From what I can see, there is a little bit of self-satisfaction and comfort with the current model. Maybe they are getting stuck in the outsourcing model like that is the endgame. But it is...

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The Economic Times (link opens in a new window)

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Education

Region

South Asia

Archbishop Desmond Tutu to Give Keynote Address at Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship

OXFORD, England, March 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Skoll World Forum is the leading international platform for accelerating entrepreneurial approaches and innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing social issues. The theme for the 2011 Forum is ’Large Scale Change - ecosystems, networks and collaborative action.’ The programme covers a wide variety of complex global issues such as water, energy, food security, climate change, peace and security, social equity and eme...

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Sys-Con Media (link opens in a new window)

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Education

Region

Europe & Eurasia