Recently, nearly 200 scientists, researchers and officials from the space industry participated in the Symposium on Space International Cooperation, promoting the economic and social development of the developing world. The symposium, held in November, in Beijing, was a joint effort put together by the International Academy of Astronautics and the China International Exchange Center for Astronautical Science and Technology.
During the symposium, Hiroki Matsuo, Vice-President of the International Academy of Astronautics confirmed China’s commitment to collaborating with developing countries in the areas of space-based navigation, manned and robotic space flights and data applications—namely with Pakistan and Venezuela. Matsuo declared, “Preparation work for the Venezuela Remote Sensing Satellite II project is proceeding according to schedule.” He also verified that a similar remote sensing satellite, to be used by Pakistan, would be finished in 2018.
Remote sensing satellites are dedicated to accumulating data about the earth’s surface and can help survey resources on land, monitor nearby oceans and forecast weather — something essential to crop planning and resiliency in the aftermath of natural disasters.
Both the Venezuelan and Pakistani remote sensing satellites are being developed by the China Academy of Space Technology. The company is also dedicated to expanding its services to other countries in the developing world, especially to countries in the Middle East that are new to the space market. To date, 11 satellites, developed in China, have been completed and exported to nine different countries, including Laos, Nigeria and Bolivia. The successes of the China Academy of Space Technology in working with the developing world can be attributed to their commitment to providing more than just the design and manufacturing of remote sensing satellites. They also incorporated launch, operations and training services into their business model.
Hu Zhongmin, the Director of the International Cooperation Department at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the parent company of the China Academy of Space Technology, is excited about further collaborations between China and other countries. Zhongmin and his company understand that multi-national exchanges of space technology can greatly benefit the developing world.
When it comes to manufacturing and launching satellites, China has had a long-running relationship with Venezuela. In fact, the Venezuelan Remote Sensing Satellite II, to be completed later this year, is the third collaborative effort between the two countries. The first was a communication satellite, launched in 2008 and the second was the Venezuelan Remote Sensing Satellite I, which was launched in 2012.
Pakistan is also a veteran to the world of space technology, establishing the Space Sciences Research Wing to the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission in 1961. The original project from the program, Rehbar-I, was launched in 1962 and became only the tenth of its kind in the world. Data from this original Pakistan Space Sciences Research project helped officials study weather, cyclones and cloud formations above the Arabian Sea.
– Ashley Henyan
Photo: Flickr
Education in Serbia
Since Serbia transitioned to democracy in 2000, its education system has faced challenges in regard to access, equity, quality and financing. However, in recent years the country has made major efforts to rebuild and improve its education system.
Access
The distribution of schools in Serbia does not correspond to its population. Although the gross enrollment rate (GER) for preschool education is 98% overall, the GER is as low as seven percent of children in rural areas. These children sometimes have to walk between three to 10 km on way to school.
Serbia adopted the Law on Foundations of the Education System in 2009 to address this issue. This law was meant to provide opportunities for the marginalized, economically disadvantaged and internally displaced students in Serbia.
Equity
A major inequity gap exists for children with special needs. According to a 2010 statistic, only 1% of children with disabilities have access to pre-primary education. These children are also more likely than non-disabled peers to drop out of school. Resources are particularly scarce for students with physical impediments.
In 2008, UNICEF signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy to address inequity. The goals in the Memorandum were to establish a foster care system for children with disabilities as well as establish new standards for accountability and protection of child rights.
Quality
Serbia’s learning outcomes are below the region’s international average. This low performance is due in part to the school system’s failure to address the psychosocial needs of children emerging from conflict. School safety, drinking water and restroom sanitation also need improvement.
A “School without Violence” (SwV) initiative has been implemented across the nation to improve school quality and yield safer school environments. It includes the development of plans for crisis situations, a parent’s manual and the promotion of fair play in sports.
Financing
Although the level of government spending on education in Serbia (3.8%) is comparable to other European countries, its outcomes are poorer. This is due in part to Serbia’s inefficiently small classrooms.
To increase efficiency, the World Bank suggests consolidating under-enrolled classes by shifting students to other classes in the same school. This would reduce education costs by 10%.
According to Minister of Education M. Srđan Verbić, education in Serbia needs to be broad and flexible with its curriculum. This will provide students with the skills necessary for any job in the global workforce.
The Education Reform Initiative of Southeast Europe (ERI SEE) has the potential to establish one such framework for educational qualifications. It will also better distribute funds for education in Serbia. This cooperation in the education sector will cumulatively optimize school networks and increase school readiness and quality, ensuring equal access and high-quality education to all children in Serbia.
– Liliana Rehorn
Photo: Flickr
What is Ethnic Cleansing?
What is ethnic cleansing? The term ethnic cleansing refers to the mass purge of members of an ethnic or religious group in an area by those of another. Throughout history, there have been many brutal examples of it. The aim is to rid of unwanted members of society and create an ethnically pure community.
The most famous examples of ethnic cleansing occurred throughout the 20th century. First, the Turkish massacre of Armenians during World War I, followed by the Holocaust during the Second World War. The Holocaust is possibly the most horrific example of ethnic cleansing, as the Nazis annihilated around 6 million European Jews. A final example is a forced displacement carried out in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda during the 1990s.
A recent example of ethnic cleansing is the Iraq Civil War, that consequently led to the Iraqi insurgency, which began in 2011 and is still happening. Areas are being evacuated as a result of insecurity and fear. The United Nations estimates that 2.2 million Iraqis have been displaced and that nearly 100,000 Iraqis evacuated to neighboring countries each month.
It is common for ethnic cleansing and genocide to get confused, as both include mass expulsion. Genocide means the targeting of a large group and the deliberate killing of its members. The International Criminal Court has linked both ethnic cleansing and genocide very closely, labeling them both as crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Ethnic cleansing has many consequences. There have been many cases of depression and other forms of psychological anguish as a result of it. Communities built by refugees are plagued with sadness, and the numbers of those living beneath the poverty line continue to increase. Shortages of food, clean water and housing become more apparent as these numbers continue to rise.
Finding a solution to ethnic cleansing is too difficult due to the vast differences between various ethnic groups and members of society. The only help that can be given is to the victims of it. This can be done through the donation of resources, to help communities that are struggling as a result of brutal situations.
– Georgia Boyle
Photo: Flickr
How to End Poverty by Improving Economic Governance
How to end poverty? In Paul Collier’s thought-provoking TED talk presentation, he hypothesizes the best ways to improve the lives of the most economically deprived billion people of the world. A majority of these people live in commodity-rich countries in Africa.
He believes in mobilizing the international community by creating an alliance between compassion and enlightened self-interest. Hoping that one’s compassion for people gets you started and one’s enlightened self-interest helps you get serious about helping the world’s poor.
He talks about how foreign aid is being trumped right now by the recent influxes in commodity prices. This is bringing unprecedented wealth to countries that have never experienced such things. He states that the problem with short-term economic growth tied to one commodity is that it is often short-lived. And in most scenarios, the country is worse off once the price of that commodity declines to previous levels.
Collier is not the only one to identify this problem. Larry Diamond of Stanford University has said that “there are twenty-three countries in the world that derive 60 percent of their exports from oil and gas and not a single one is a real democracy.” He observes that there is a strong correlation between energy dependence and authoritarianism. Authoritarian governments will use their profits from commodities to enrich those close to power and not spread the wealth amongst the entire country.
Collier believes that the only way to sustain the gains of short term commodity-driven economic growth is by developing international standards of economic governance. By establishing procedures and requirements for governments to enact when they are experiencing a boom, they have a much better chance of improving the quality of life in their country.
One example he provides is establishing public auctions for drilling rights. Most commodity deals right now are agreed upon behind closed doors between a representative from a large private sector western firm and a local magistrate. More often than not the western firm gets a far better deal than that of the magistrate because the magistrate is not aware of the actual value of the commodity he is selling rights to. By creating public auctions, you are allowing market forces to drive up the price of the contract which allows the country in which the commodity resides to gain more wealth from the deal.
This is just one aspect of the international economic governance reforms he would be interested in enacting. But such a small tweak in the way business is currently done could pay huge dividends in the effort to end poverty.
The international norms he would establish would be adopted on a voluntary basis. The ultimate goal would be measured on two fronts.
One, to improve the lives of the indigenous people by establishing funding requirements with commodity profits for clean water, healthcare, and education. This would lay the foundation for non-commodity fueled sustained economic growth and answer the “how to end poverty” question.
Second, to remind the Western democracies of our enlightened self-interest. A potential billion more people in the marketplace will create an increase in global demand that will be realized amongst all economic sectors.
To the question of how to end poverty, Collier believes the countries that are home to the world’s poorest billion have all of the resources at their fingertips. They just need guidance from the international community on how to improve the economic conditions of their people.
– Brian Faust
Photo: Flickr
Ten Facts About World War II
World War II was an expansive war fought between the Axis powers (Germany, Italy and Japan) and the Allied power (Great Britain, Russia and the U.S.) that lasted from 1939 until 1945. With such a complex narrative, here are only 10 facts about World War II.
In the North African Military Campaigns between 1940 and 1943, the Axis powers attempted to cut off Middle Eastern oil supply to the Allies. These campaigns took place in Western Egypt, Eastern Libya, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. Ultimately, the Axis powers did not achieve their goal and the Allied powers neutralized the German threat. World War II was also fought in the Pacific. On December 4th, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor damaging the American Pacific fleet. Japan went on to conquer the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies, Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore and Burma. However, after 1943, American forces slowly removed the Japanese from power in the pacific front. Full Japanese surrender came after the U.S. dropped the atomic bombs, Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
At the end of WWI, the Treaty of Versailles was signed. The treaty placed most of the blame on Germany, requiring them to pay large amounts of reparations and forcing the country to disarm. This greatly angered and humiliated the German people. Hitler used the German discontent to run as German Chancellor in the 1930s in which he promised to restore Germany.
Although facts about World War II show a multitude of causes for the war, the invasion of Poland was a crucial event. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded and within weeks successfully conquered Warsaw. Germany annexed West Prussia, Poznan, Upper Silesia, and the former Free City of Danzig. As a response to the invasion, Britain and France declared war on Germany.
At the start of WWII, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared the U.S. would practice neutrality. However, on March 11, 1941, the Lend-Lease Act passed which allowed the U.S. to provide military aid to allied nations during WWII.
On July 9, 1942, Hitler ordered the capture of the Soviet Union city of Stalingrad. As a response, Stalin deployed the armed forces to defend Stalingrad and prohibited the civilians from leaving the city. Multiple counter-offensive attacks lead to Soviet victory.
Kamikazes aircrafts were manned by Japanese soldiers who were instructed to crash into Allied ships. In total, kamikazes destroyed more than 300 U.S. ships which resulted in 15,000 casualties.
The Marshall Plan gave $12 billion to Western European countries in economic turmoil caused by WWII.
World War II is still a popular topic today because it was one of the most violent and complex wars in history. These 10 facts about World War II only give a very brief overview.
– Karla Umanzor
Photo: Flickr
New European Union Aid Package Aims to Improve Education in Tunisia
Commissioner Johannes Hahn of the European Union recently announced a 213.5-million-euro aid package for Tunisia aimed to support the newly established democracy and tackle some key socio-economic projects within the country.
Tunisia was the first country to have a regime change after the Arab Spring. Their democracy was established in 2011 and promptly after they drafted a constitution aimed at providing a more reliable and just form of government for years to come.
Their new constitution and government have been successful thus far but they have run into some economic woes. Ongoing instability in neighboring Libya and terrorist attacks in their own country have equated to a decline in their tourism industry which is vital to their economy.
The EU has been alongside the new Tunisian government since the establishment of the new democracy. From 2011 to 2016, the EU has provided 2 billion euros to assist with the government’s transition and plug any budgetary deficits that arose.
Much progress has been made but there is much more to do according to a recent EU Commission report. “Decisive action is needed to sustain the democratic transition as social discontent, especially among young people, continues to grow.”
The new aid package will support social infrastructure projects focused on education, healthcare, access to clean water and sanitation. Education in Tunisia stands to improve with this increased focus. The funds will be distributed to urban and rural schools that are most deprived of resources.
There will also be vocational job training that will be included in the school curriculum that is paired with local labor market needs. They will be trying a different method of schooling in which education in Tunisia becomes a vehicle for more effective job placement.
Since 2011, Tunisians have been participating in an EU program called Erasmas+ in which teachers and students have an opportunity to receive schooling and vocational training with participating organizations within the EU. The 2016 aid package will expand the eligible number of teachers and students in this program by 1500, adding further strength to education in Tunisia.
By providing stability for the government and increasing funding in education, the EU hopes to reduce the volatility in the Tunisian economy. Currently, 60 percent of Tunisian trade is with the EU and 70 percent of foreign investment is from EU countries. The EU commissioner believes that by adding stability to the Tunisian economy all parties involved will be positively affected.
According to the EU Commissioner, the long-term goal for Tunisia and the EU is to improve its national security. To date, Tunisia has sent more foreign fighters to ISIS than any other country in Europe or the Middle East. Also, with Libya on its southeast border, there are concerns that instability might spread to within their country. With this aid package, the EU hopes to make Tunisia less susceptible to national security risks that are common in the region.
– Brian Faust
Photo: Flickr
China Boosts Pakistan, Venezuela with Remote Sensing Satellite
Recently, nearly 200 scientists, researchers and officials from the space industry participated in the Symposium on Space International Cooperation, promoting the economic and social development of the developing world. The symposium, held in November, in Beijing, was a joint effort put together by the International Academy of Astronautics and the China International Exchange Center for Astronautical Science and Technology.
During the symposium, Hiroki Matsuo, Vice-President of the International Academy of Astronautics confirmed China’s commitment to collaborating with developing countries in the areas of space-based navigation, manned and robotic space flights and data applications—namely with Pakistan and Venezuela. Matsuo declared, “Preparation work for the Venezuela Remote Sensing Satellite II project is proceeding according to schedule.” He also verified that a similar remote sensing satellite, to be used by Pakistan, would be finished in 2018.
Remote sensing satellites are dedicated to accumulating data about the earth’s surface and can help survey resources on land, monitor nearby oceans and forecast weather — something essential to crop planning and resiliency in the aftermath of natural disasters.
Both the Venezuelan and Pakistani remote sensing satellites are being developed by the China Academy of Space Technology. The company is also dedicated to expanding its services to other countries in the developing world, especially to countries in the Middle East that are new to the space market. To date, 11 satellites, developed in China, have been completed and exported to nine different countries, including Laos, Nigeria and Bolivia. The successes of the China Academy of Space Technology in working with the developing world can be attributed to their commitment to providing more than just the design and manufacturing of remote sensing satellites. They also incorporated launch, operations and training services into their business model.
Hu Zhongmin, the Director of the International Cooperation Department at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp, the parent company of the China Academy of Space Technology, is excited about further collaborations between China and other countries. Zhongmin and his company understand that multi-national exchanges of space technology can greatly benefit the developing world.
When it comes to manufacturing and launching satellites, China has had a long-running relationship with Venezuela. In fact, the Venezuelan Remote Sensing Satellite II, to be completed later this year, is the third collaborative effort between the two countries. The first was a communication satellite, launched in 2008 and the second was the Venezuelan Remote Sensing Satellite I, which was launched in 2012.
Pakistan is also a veteran to the world of space technology, establishing the Space Sciences Research Wing to the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission in 1961. The original project from the program, Rehbar-I, was launched in 1962 and became only the tenth of its kind in the world. Data from this original Pakistan Space Sciences Research project helped officials study weather, cyclones and cloud formations above the Arabian Sea.
– Ashley Henyan
Photo: Flickr
Mamaope Jackets Bring Hope
A new innovation from Uganda aims to reduce the often fatal misdiagnosis of pneumonia by providing jackets that identify symptoms unique to the disease.
A Ugandan man named Brian Turyabagye designed the biomedical smart jacket to identify such symptoms of pneumonia as breathing rate, temperature and sound of the lungs and to make a diagnosis three or four times faster than a doctor. The jackets are called “Mamaope,” meaning Mother’s hope, as they aim to provide hope to mothers in Sub-Saharan Africa where pneumonia killed 490,000 children under the age of five last year.
According to Turyabagye, many of these deaths are due to misdiagnosis. He explains that pneumonia is often misdiagnosed as malaria in regions where the latter is prevalent. Since the symptoms of pneumonia and malaria are very similar, Mamaope Jackets will focus on identifying symptoms that can differentiate them and lead to a more accurate diagnosis.
When Turyabagye was an undergraduate student in Uganda he accompanied a friend’s grandmother to the hospital after she became seriously ill. Doctors initially diagnosed and treated her for malaria, only realizing that she was dying of pneumonia when it was too late. This inspired Turyabagye to create a more effective and simple way to diagnose pneumonia.
According to UNICEF, pneumonia kills nearly 1 million children under five each year globally which is more than HIV/AIDS, diarrhea, and malaria combined. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for half of the pneumonia deaths of children worldwide, and the region lacks critical funding for prevention and treatment.
If mass-produced, the jackets will be distributed to health centers and hospitals where it will be used to more accurately diagnose pneumonia. Mamaope Jackets will focus on symptoms unique to pneumonia, which usually occurs on the sides of the body rather than just the chest or the back. Turyabagye believes that being able to distinguish between what is healthy and what is not is a significant step to preventing misdiagnosis.
If Turyabagya secures funding for mass production, there is hope that the jackets will create awareness and increase funding for pneumonia treatment and care. The jackets have the potential to make waves in the global health community and thus securing funding for the fight against pneumonia globally.
The jacket is currently a prototype, but it is expected to undergo a medical examination this month. If this is successful, the jacket will be certified for medical use this spring. Mamaope Jackets are on the shortlist for this year’s Africa prize for engineering innovation, and if they win Turyabagye hopes to use the £25,000 prize money to begin mass production and distribution.
– Eva Kennedy
Photo: Flickr
Rumie: Providing Education Through Technology
A Toronto-based startup called Rumie is helping expand children’s access to education by providing them with tablets that are preloaded with educational materials.
In a global economy that is largely knowledge-based, insufficient access to education means that over a billion children worldwide are left behind. Providing education through technology is, therefore, more important than ever.
Rumie aims to combat this by providing low-cost, energy-efficient tablets to children in impoverished areas. These tablets come preloaded with a combination of educational materials and games that children can unlock by studying. These tablets are especially useful in areas where access to books, libraries or other educational materials are rare.
The tablets use LearnCloud to organize and distribute free educational materials to children who often lack access to the internet. All the materials on LearnCloud are free and available to anyone, and they can be uploaded by anyone. Once resources are uploaded, Rumie’s partners in each country organize them and upload them to children’s tablets.
The tablets cost $50 each, and the company raises money for them through a campaign on Indiegogo. They contain a “learn” section with educational materials and a “play” section which contains games that can be unlocked by a teacher or by doing educational exercises.
The tablets contain software that allows users to organize materials in a similar way to the organization on LearnCloud. This means that materials on the tablet are easy for students to access and work with. The tablets’ technology also allows Rumie to collect data and monitor the devices for feedback, therefore allowing them to improve as necessary.
Rumie provides tablets to children in North America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Their latest project, the LearnSyria initiative, aims to provide educational materials to children in refugee camps in three ways. People all over the world can choose to either upload topics and materials to the LearnCloud, they can donate money to help provide tablets to children or they can spread the word about Rumie’s mission.
Rumie tablets were shipped to Liberia with the intent to be used for rehabilitating child soldiers in 2014. Instead, these tablets became a source of entertainment and hope for children during the isolation and fear of the Ebola epidemic. Children were able to stay busy and continue learning even while confined to their homes, and the Huffington Post describes children holding their Rumie tablets with “a faint glimmer of hope and self-empowerment in what is otherwise an overwhelmingly dire situation in Liberia today.”
Rumie is taking bold steps by providing education through technology to empower children globally and create change for the future.
– Eva Kennedy
Photo: Flickr
Education in the Dominican Republic
Although the Dominican Republic has been known to have one of the most underperforming education systems in the world, efforts are being made to improve education in the Dominican Republic.
Education in the Caribbean nation is split into three stages: preschool, primary school and secondary school. Preschool, or nivel inicial (initial level), includes children from ages 3 to 6. Only the last year of preschool is compulsory. Primary school, or nivel básico, is compulsory for children aged 6 to 14 but is not strictly enforced.
Secondary school, or nivel medio, for students 14 to 18 is not compulsory. Students are awarded a bachillerato, or high school diploma, after completion and may go on to university.
Some of the issues facing education in the Dominican Republic include overcrowded classrooms, poor-quality facilities and outdated curriculums. Dominican law mandates that four percent of the GDP must be spent on education, but only about two percent of the GDP is invested in education in the Dominican Republic.
Teachers are paid so little that instructors cannot earn a living to support themselves or their families. This makes teaching an unpopular vocation in the Dominican Republic, resulting in very high student to teacher ratios in classrooms. Students don’t get the individual attention they need, and a large number of teachers have not fully mastered the material they teach.
About 40 percent of students drop out of school before eighth grade. One in four girls drops out of school due to pregnancy. While the literacy rate of the Dominican Republic is about 92 percent, studies have found that students who complete high school enter university at a sixth-grade reading level.
After teachers campaigned across the country to make education reform a national focus, all candidates running for president in 2012 promised to double the education budget if elected. President Danilo Medina and his administration have made efforts to improve education in the Dominican Republic since then, including building more schools and increasing the school day from five hours to eight hours.
However, these reforms are not fully effective without adequate teacher training and increased teacher salaries. There is still a shortage of teachers for schools that already exist in the Dominican Republic, and children only learn for a small fraction of the time they are in school. Students end up sleeping or talking to peers instead of studying, and some teachers do not know what to do with the extra classroom time.
These reforms are beginning to occur, with World Bank announcing in September of 2015 that the global financial institution will invest $50 million over five years to assist the Dominican Republic government’s education reforms. The loan will be used to train teachers and assess student learning in primary and secondary schools. The funds will also be used to improve preschools in order to increase school readiness, decentralize management of public schools and promote community involvement in education.
– Cassie Lipp
Photo: Flickr
Four Clues to Understanding Poverty in Bahrain
A great deal of poverty in Bahrain stems from a systematic discrimination of Shias by the Sunni leaders. Bahrainis were one of the first to begin protesting in the Arab Spring of 2011 but were also one of the first to be shut down. The discrimination of the Shias still exists today in Bahrain. To better understand Bahrain, here are four facts that you need to know:
Poor Shias living in Bahrain without any connections to wealthier Shias or Sunnis will most likely stay in that caste. Bahrain is very committed to its traditions including its monarchy. While extreme poverty in Bahrain is not the country’s biggest issue, the disparity that is rampant leads more into poverty every day.
– Meagan Foy
Photo: Flickr