Founded in February 2005, Librarians Without Borders (LWB) addresses the vast information resource inequity existing between different regions of the world. The group’s vision is to build sustainable libraries and support the librarians who keep these institutions running.
LWB is a nonprofit organization that endeavors to improve access to information resources notwithstanding language, geopolitics or religion by forming connections with area industries in developing regions.
Information Freedom and Literacy
Information literacy connects a library and its users. To that end, the Academy be designed to help users navigate the resources, services, and space, Librarians Without Boundaries it is incumbent upon the LWB to enhance information literacy skills in the region by devising curricula for trainees and by providing practical materials for educators for student application. LWB is creating a framework and presenting practical ideas, beyond basic literacy that is embedded in the Asturias curriculum.
Librarians serve an essential position as champions of intellectual freedom. They must grant equitable means to approach information. Access to information is vital in supporting learning and literacy, reducing poverty, empowering citizens, and building healthy, active communities.
Open access is critical in supporting education and literacy, reducing poverty, empowering citizens, and building healthy, vibrant communities. Librarians Without Boundaries does not draw cultural or linguistic boundaries; LWB embraces diversity; The organization will work with our partners in their cultural context and their languages.
Programming
One of LWB’s partners in Guatemala is the Miguel Angel Asturias Academy.
Through an association formed in 2009, LWB and Asturias act in tandem to promote literacy and learning by focusing on development and operation of a school and community library. By creating a community library in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala
Every Spring since 2010, Librarians Without Boundaries travels to the Miguel Angel Asturias Academy in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala to accomplish remote work on the ground, to discuss emerging needs with LWB partners, and to reconnect with the students and school staff.
Lending of Library Materials
LWB is working to implement a library loan system for local students and staff. The program is a significant milestone for the Academy since many students do not have books at home. By implementing specialized software to track and guide to the borrowing of materials a uniform library cataloging model is instituted and training library staff to use and maintain the library loan systems and equipment.
Implementing a borrowing system extends access to information resources not only for students and families but also the community-at-large. Increased borrowing privileges create opportunities for students and their families to engage in reading activities at home and during after school hours. LWB fosters strong literacy skills and a love of books in the community.
The 2017 Service Trip
The most recent program occurred this year from April 22 to May 12. LWB members performed such duties as:
- Cataloging, processing, and supplementing the library’s collection with new materials.
- Programming targets all students and levels through multi-day library events.
- Professional development workshops for teachers promoting library integration into the curriculum.
The 2017 spring’s commitment at the Academy included ongoing collection development activities. LWB works with Miguel Angel Asturias Academy to provide opportunities for volunteers to engage in activities that will help nurture a thorough understanding of libraries, education and culture in Guatemala. The 2017 Miguel Angel Asturias Librarians Without Borders team brought with them to Guatemala over 200 books in their luggage!
Librarians Without Borders has thus made a massive difference in this community. Providing materials and education for libraries provides students with a more well-rounded education, and the communities most definitely prosper.
– Heather Hopkins
Photo: Flickr
Conflict in Myanmar and Gender Equality
An impressively free election in 2015 gave power to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi of the National League for Democracy (NLD). The foremost goal of the administration is to end the decades of ethnic conflict, but the complexity of these issues does not allow for easy solutions.
The Alliance for Gender Inclusion in the Peace Process works to promote women’s rights and gender equality as a method to end Myanmar’s ethnic conflict.
Obstacles to women entering decision-making roles include the prevalence of gender violence and entrenched societal expectations that women must play supporting roles in society. Myanmar’s constitution condones discrimination, with section 352 stating “nothing…shall prevent the appointment of men to the positions that are suitable for men only.” Women are frequently characterized as “decorative.”
The conflict affects women, men and children differently since they occupy different roles in society. Men are susceptible to combat-related injuries, while women bear the burden of sexual violence, damage to property, and mental trauma. Despite these obstacles, women take an active role in mitigating the damage done by the conflict in Myanmar.
Women have convinced conflicting groups to fight in locations farther from villages. They have also protected men and children by sending them away or hiding them and stepped up to keep the village functioning as their men fled for safety. Excluding women from the peace process prevents the perspective and experiences of 52 percent of the population.
Women better understand the impact of conflict on women, children, the disabled and the elderly. The role of men in these conflicts effectively prevents them from being able to effectively represent large portions of society in negotiating solutions.
International research has shown that women tend to best represent marginalized groups. According to a study by the United Nations, women participating in the decision-making process is a crucial element for achieving sustainable peace.
Involving women in political processes is also an effective strategy for countering extremism. Extreme religions tend to restrict women’s rights, but funding and supporting women weakens the influence of extremists.
In Myanmar, women have crucial roles in dealing with and responding to conflict, and the efforts supported by the Alliance for Gender Inclusion in the Peace Process are a promising step in the right direction to ending decades of conflict in Myanmar.
– Kristen Nixon
Photo: Google
On the Overseas Private Investment Corporation
As a result, a slew of arguments for and against the Overseas Private Investment Corporation have been published in recent months. This article is an attempt to provide clarity about the role of OPIC and suggest that its overall benefits outweigh its costs.
Established by President Nixon in 1971, OPIC provides loans and political risk insurance to private American companies seeking to invest in developing countries. Developmental financing was conceived as a complement to governmental aid insofar as it facilitated the transference of private capital to developing economies.
Critics of OPIC often argue that, as a public institution, the agency crowds out private banks that should, in theory, be more efficient financiers of international development.
The truth is that, although a robust private market for developmental finance exists, private capital oftentimes averts especially risky and poor countries due to the inevitably high premiums and interest rates.
OPIC, on the other hand, is in a unique position to support investments in these countries.
With the backing of the U.S. government, OPIC has been able to recover over 90 percent of its political risk claims. This fact has allowed the agency to offer affordable loans and political risk insurance in countries deemed too risky by private finance institutions.
Other critics of OPIC claim that it represents a form of “corporate welfare,” citing the fact that the agency gives loans to some of the largest U.S. firms, like J.P. Morgan, Citibank, and Wells Fargo.
Although all American firms are welcome to apply for financing, year after year, more than half of OPIC’s commitments go to small- and medium-sized businesses.
Even if one remains unconvinced about the benefits of OPIC, it is important to recognize that the agency imposes virtually no cost on the U.S. government. While OPIC does require federal backing to insure its $20 billion worth of outstanding loans, the agency has been self-sustaining for almost four decades. In fact, it has used its interest receipts to contribute nearly $4 billion to U.S. deficit reduction.
In the end, while there are many arguments for and against the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the truth is that the agency has a net positive effect on American firms and developing economies alike.
– Nathaniel Sher
Photo: Flickr
Universal Basic Income in Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir’s State Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu proclaims that a UBI will prevent wastage of monetary funds. In a January 2017 budget presentation, Drabu announced that the J&K would use direct benefit transfers. This means that the government deposits money directly into individual bank accounts.
Economic experts have for long endorsed a UBI. According to Pranab Bardhan, emeritus professor of economics at the University of California at Berkeley, Below the Poverty Line (BPL) lists in most Indian states exclude persons legally designated as poor, while numerous well-off families succeed in bribing their way onto the lists.
In Jammu and Kashmir, where geopolitical turmoil wreaks havoc on the economy and the public’s standard of living, UBI systems could tackle poverty. The J&K has a poverty rate of 21.63 percent. Additionally, the unemployment rate among young people is an alarming 24.6 percent.
In 2011, the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), in a project funded by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), launched pilot studies of the effectiveness of such UBI grants in India. Several results stood out:
The SEWA/UNICEF trial yielded greater benefits for working class families, women, and persons with disabilities. Universal Basic Income helps reduce debt and renders less likely the need to go into more significant debt. Individuals reduced the need to borrow money for short-term purposes.
UBI will replace several current welfare schemes, compelling cooperation between the central Indian government and Jammu and Kashmir. Aside from lowering the cost of delivering social programs, Drabu declares UBI plans will deter leakages that plague many current social programs. Existing policies have left over 350 million people mired in poverty, even after two decades of high economic growth.
Universal Basic Income in Jammu and Kashmir will replace several current welfare schemes, necessitating cooperation between the central Indian government and J&K. In addition to reducing the expense of delivering the social projects, Drabu maintains UBI will deter leakages that plague many current social programs.
– Heather Hopkins
Photo: Flickr
The Fallacy of the Brain Drain in India
In 1990, as the American IT sector began to boom, Congress passed the H-1B program, granting visas to thousands of foreign nationals in “specialty occupations.”
A recent article published in India’s The Quint claims, “[the brain drain in India] adversely affects the quality and quantity of human capital formation, which is the bedrock of modern economic development.”
Although this is a common contention, it is far from correct.
A recent study published by the Center for Global Development suggests, “better-paid jobs [in the U.S.] incentivize [Indian] students to choose certain majors and supply a highly-educated workforce to Indian firms.” Thus, at the same time as thousands of high-skilled Indians emigrate to the U.S. every year, thousands more acquire STEM degrees in India and never leave. As for those that do find higher-paying jobs abroad, many eventually return to India when their visas expire.
Because of this, between 1998 and 2012, the Indian IT sector grew from 1.2 percent of GDP to over 7.5 percent. By the mid-2000s, India had surpassed the U.S. as the largest exporter of software.
Far from producing a brain drain in India, Gaurav Khanna and Nicolas Morales’ study finds that the American H-1B program not only correlated with the birth of India’s IT sector but also caused a “reverse brain drain” in India.
While some have wrongly criticized the H-1B program for hurting developing economies, others have argued that free movement of labor has imposed downward pressure on American workers’ wages.
A recent article in the Huffington Post suggests that H-1B visas only benefit American tech companies that “want to hire cheap, immobile labor—i.e. foreign workers.”
Although high-skilled migration has certainly led to wage stagnation for certain occupations in the U.S., Khanna and Morales find that the influx of Indian workers has simultaneously motivated many American students to attain even more specialized degrees that lead to even higher paying jobs.
In the end, the new study released by the Center for Global development offers much-needed clarity about the complicated subject of labor migration. Overall, it finds that high-skilled migration is something to be encouraged rather than banned. Indeed, the free movement skilled labor has been proven to bring mutual benefits to both the American and Indian economies.
– Nathaniel Sher
Photo: Google
Kenya’s Plastic Bag Ban: Improving the Environment and Lives
On Monday, August 28th, Kenya’s plastic bag ban officially came into effect. The ban targets those who make, sell and import plastic bags. Anyone caught engaging in these activities could face up to four years in jail and up to $38,000 in fines.
While other African countries, like Botswana and Rwanda, have also instituted rules surrounding plastic bags, such as taxes and prohibited use, Kenya’s ban is the most rigid. Kenya’s plastic bag ban is so strict because of the extremely detrimental effects plastic bags have on the environment and Kenyans.
Plastic waste affects the globe as a whole, with eight million tons of plastic seeping into the ocean every year alone. The plastic debris in the ocean can injure or poison marine life. Plastic buried in landfills and littered across the land can also leak into groundwater, creating hazardous drinking water for human beings and wildlife.
In Kenya, plastic waste is a major pollutant, with piles of bags littering streets. Agricultural animals, such as cows, often end up grazing on these bags and are commonly found to have multiple plastic bags in their systems when being prepared for human consumption. Chemicals in the plastics contaminate the meat, potentially making it dangerous for those eating it.
Plastic bags littered over agricultural lands seep chemicals into the soil, reducing the fertility and productivity of the soil. Bad soil equates to lower agricultural production, which economically affects impoverished people the most. About 61 percent of the population works in agriculture, so lower soil fertility can equate to decreased income and even greater poverty.
With plastic bags taking over their streets and adversely affecting agricultural and human health and growth, the Kenyan government made the positive decision to clean up this pollutant. Some, however, who use plastic bags for basic daily needs, worry about the immediate effects upon their lives resulting from the ban.
Impoverished Kenyans, in particular, use plastic bags often. For example, plastic bags are used for basic daily functions, such as a place to put bodily waste due to the lack of a proper sewage system. Many also use plastic bags for transporting shopping goods, rather than investing in reusable bags.
In order to fully eliminate plastic bags and truly improve the lives of Kenyans, the Kenyan government must provide its people with basic needs, such as a proper sewage system. The government also encourages people to use paper and cloth bags, but it should provide these reusable alternatives to its poorest citizens, for whom purchasing reusable bags is not as accessible. Kenya’s plastic bag ban is an important step toward improving the environment and hopefully toward improving Kenya’s 43 percent poverty rate, but the Kenyan government can still act further to improve its infrastructure and services for its impoverished people.
– Mary Kate Luft
Photo: Flickr
Librarians Without Borders in Guatemala
LWB is a nonprofit organization that endeavors to improve access to information resources notwithstanding language, geopolitics or religion by forming connections with area industries in developing regions.
Information Freedom and Literacy
Information literacy connects a library and its users. To that end, the Academy be designed to help users navigate the resources, services, and space, Librarians Without Boundaries it is incumbent upon the LWB to enhance information literacy skills in the region by devising curricula for trainees and by providing practical materials for educators for student application. LWB is creating a framework and presenting practical ideas, beyond basic literacy that is embedded in the Asturias curriculum.
Librarians serve an essential position as champions of intellectual freedom. They must grant equitable means to approach information. Access to information is vital in supporting learning and literacy, reducing poverty, empowering citizens, and building healthy, active communities.
Open access is critical in supporting education and literacy, reducing poverty, empowering citizens, and building healthy, vibrant communities. Librarians Without Boundaries does not draw cultural or linguistic boundaries; LWB embraces diversity; The organization will work with our partners in their cultural context and their languages.
Programming
One of LWB’s partners in Guatemala is the Miguel Angel Asturias Academy.
Through an association formed in 2009, LWB and Asturias act in tandem to promote literacy and learning by focusing on development and operation of a school and community library. By creating a community library in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala
Every Spring since 2010, Librarians Without Boundaries travels to the Miguel Angel Asturias Academy in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala to accomplish remote work on the ground, to discuss emerging needs with LWB partners, and to reconnect with the students and school staff.
Lending of Library Materials
LWB is working to implement a library loan system for local students and staff. The program is a significant milestone for the Academy since many students do not have books at home. By implementing specialized software to track and guide to the borrowing of materials a uniform library cataloging model is instituted and training library staff to use and maintain the library loan systems and equipment.
Implementing a borrowing system extends access to information resources not only for students and families but also the community-at-large. Increased borrowing privileges create opportunities for students and their families to engage in reading activities at home and during after school hours. LWB fosters strong literacy skills and a love of books in the community.
The 2017 Service Trip
The most recent program occurred this year from April 22 to May 12. LWB members performed such duties as:
The 2017 spring’s commitment at the Academy included ongoing collection development activities. LWB works with Miguel Angel Asturias Academy to provide opportunities for volunteers to engage in activities that will help nurture a thorough understanding of libraries, education and culture in Guatemala. The 2017 Miguel Angel Asturias Librarians Without Borders team brought with them to Guatemala over 200 books in their luggage!
Librarians Without Borders has thus made a massive difference in this community. Providing materials and education for libraries provides students with a more well-rounded education, and the communities most definitely prosper.
– Heather Hopkins
Photo: Flickr
Economic Causes of Poverty in Taiwan
After the Chinese Civil War, Taiwan’s economy flourished. Taiwan’s middle class rose as a result of economic and social investment: the government was investing in its quality of education, availability of infrastructure projects, and small and medium-sized enterprise support to jumpstart new local businesses. Be that as it may, politics and big business are now significantly associated with one another and this intermingling is one of the causes of poverty in Taiwan.
Taiwanese social institutions remain biased for investors, no longer functioning with its people’s best interests in mind. Wages have been stagnant for 16 years; stagnant wages, high property rates and corporate welfare perpetuate poverty despite the growth of technological and scientific development. People living above the poverty line are also struggling to a similar extent.
If someone falls ill or loses their job they become vulnerable to poverty, domestic violence and alcoholism to name a few. In 2011, 357,000 people depended on welfare and at least 700,000 people were making less than the minimum wage. Presidential candidate Eric Chu suggested that the causes of poverty in Taiwan could be combated by gradually raising the minimum wage over four years.
To help struggling children and families, the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families is currently filling the gap by providing necessities such as money, oil, rice and milk to those without the means to access them.
Taiwan’s economy once prevailed because of its export-centered industry. Unfortunately, since 2001, most factories moved from Taiwan to China or Southeast Asia. It is evident that poverty is perpetuated by the government of Taiwan’s inability to invest in its own people, creating a cycle that disallows Taiwan’s locals to invest in their own country.
– Tiffany Santos
Photo: Pixabay
How to Become a Politician
Politicians must represent the political, financial, administrative, economic, educational and other interests of their constituents. Most politicians strive to get elected to office in order to participate in creating legislation that supports those interests and eventually move their way up tot the state or national level.
But how does one actually become a politician? The following are important steps to answer the question of how to become a politician:
Step 1: Learn the Essentials
There are a few critical characteristics and steps to achieve before even considering the logistics of how to become a politician. First, one must understand politics. As simple as it sounds, the political landscape is vast and ever-changing, and it requires a certain finesse to navigate. Developing strong communication skills is another important necessity.
In order to convince constituents of one’s trustworthiness and effectively communicate their interests, one must be an exemplary and effective communicator. Finally, politics is not for the faint-hearted. There are significant risks involved with running for office, including risks to financial security and permanent reputation. Also, politicians often receive harsh criticism, so potential politicians have to have thick skin.
Step 2: Raise Money
Assuming that an individual possesses the aforementioned qualities, he or she needs to secure finances as quickly as possible. Money is arguably the best predictor for the outcome of an election. In fact, even the very best candidate will fail miserably without proper funding.
Running for office is a job in itself and often requires that the candidate take time off his or her work, which may cost his or her a year or more’s worth of salary. Money is especially critical for those seeking to serve at the state or national level.
Step 3: Gain Experience
When considering how to become a politician, a good way for complete beginners to enter into the political world is to volunteer or work at another politician’s office who is in their chosen party. This experience will expose the future politician to the job and allow him or her to build connections and work experience. As time goes on, he or she may even be promoted and considered by the party for a nomination. After that, the most important task is to connect with and advocate for one’s constituents.
These are important steps, but certainly not the only ones one must consider when wondering how to become a politician. The profession is complex, demanding, and requires a great deal of responsibility, yet can be incredibly rewarding.
– Lauren Mcbride
Photo: Flickr
Causes of Poverty in Slovakia
One of the suggested causes of poverty in Slovakia is its prolonged dependence on factories. During its time as Czechoslovakia during World War II, the country served the Nazi regime by supporting the war machine with supplies and troops and by aiding its efforts to ethnically cleanse Europe.
After World War II, Czechoslovakia came under the control of the Soviet Union and focused on industries such as coal mining, producing steel and machinery. When the Cold War ended and the Soviet Union collapsed, the demand for these industries decreased, leaving many workers out of a job.
The industries of Slovakia are still focused on heavy machinery production, mostly the production of cars. This, combined with the fact that the industries of Slovakia lack any competition among one another, is one of the main causes of poverty in Slovakia. It should be noted that stronger product market competition could assist in alleviating this cause.
Furthermore, Slovakia ranks low on the list of European Union countries in terms of innovation. Within the European Union, Slovakia ranked next to last in knowledge-creation and ranked last for innovation and entrepreneurship. Slovakia also lacks investment in education and the application of information technology.
Ethnic poverty is very prevalent among the population of Slovakia, particularly within the Roma population. Roma are considered some of the poorest and most marginalized group in the entire country. The Roms became marginalized during WWII, and many who survived fled the country. Those currently living in Slovakia today live in shanty towns or ghettos.
Despite the hardships that Slovakia has endured, there is positive news about the economic situation in the country. According to The Slovak Spectator, “the labor market surpassed several milestones: 1) the number of jobs in the economy rose to an all-time high; 2) the number of jobless declined to pre-crisis levels; 3) the unemployment rate declined below the eurozone’s, for the first time ever.” Though there are sure to be challenges ahead, the country seems to be on the right path to solving the causes of poverty of Slovakia.
– Derrick Chariker
Photo: Flickr
How Virtual Reality Is Fighting Global Poverty
One of the first major forays into using virtual reality to fight global poverty when the U.N. showed a film called “Clouds Over Sidra” which puts the viewer in a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan. The viewer is given a tour by a twelve-year-old girl named Sidra, who explains what her life is like at the camp.
The U.N. has shown this film and others through virtual reality headsets to potential donors at humanitarian fundraising events. These films have seemingly become a hit. At a March humanitarian pledging conference where donors viewed “Clouds Over Sidra,” $3.8 billion was donated to aiding Syrian refugees, well beyond the conference’s goal of $2.3 billion. In New Zealand, one out of six people who saw the film chose to donate, which was twice the normal donation rate.
A major reason why virtual reality is fighting global poverty so effectively is its ability to elicit empathy from viewers. In a 2013 experiment from Stanford University and the University of Georgia, two groups did a color-matching exercise in virtual reality, where one group pretended to be colorblind and the other group was forced into colorblindness through a filter. The study found that the second group spent twice as much time helping colorblind people than the first group. Similar experiments found that people who saw 65-year-old virtual avatars of themselves were more likely to save for retirement, and people who cut down a tree in a simulator used fewer napkins than people who read a description of what happens when a tree is cut down.
The intense, empathetic reactions to VR films have not been lost on VR film producers such as Robert Holzer, CEO of Matter Unlimited. “I’ve never experienced such a visceral reaction to any form of media,” says Holzer. “People are left with something closer to what a memory is, versus what they are left with when it is something that they just watched, and that to me is the wild difference of VR.”
The apparent success of virtual reality has caused other global development nonprofits, such as Amnesty International and Trickle Up, to invest in virtual reality films. It seems that virtual reality isn’t just for video games; it also has the potential to be a significant driver of development funding.
– Carson Hughes
Photo: Flickr