Whether they’re lifelong philanthropists or newcomers, the following public figures have all captured the media spotlight at one point or another, drawing attention to humanitarian causes in unique and exceptional ways. Here are the top five most viral humanitarians.
1. Casey Neistat
Despite being one of the newest faces in advocacy, filmmaker Casey Neistat has a well-established fan base of YouTube followers. He also has an eclectic filmography including work for HBO, The New York Times, Nike and Mercedes. Casey’s most recent hit was a December 2013 viral video titled “What Would You Do with $25,000?”
Twentieth Century Fox offered Neistat $25,000 to produce a promotional video for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, but instead he used the funds for a typhoon relief mission in the Philippines. In the short six minute video, he documented his trip every single step of the way—from his arrival, to buying provisions, to renting a bus to transport goods to typhoon victims. The relief effort and the video were a huge success, garnering close to three million views.
2. Romeo Dallaire
Romeo Dallaire is a retired Lieutenant-General of the Canadian Army and current Senator from Quebec who was at the frontline of the Rwandan Genocide in the early 1990s. As the Force Commander for the UNAMIR peacekeeping operation in Rwanda, Dallaire saw the nation descend into genocide between the Tutsi and Hutu ethnic groups. Accompanied by a minimal peacekeeping group with few resources (as well as direct orders to stay put and not to engage) Dallaire’s reports of the escalating violence were lost amidst the bureaucracy of United Nations leaders and U.S. government officials.
His 2003 memoir, Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, brought the issue to light for the whole world and was later accompanied by both a documentary in 2004 and a feature drama in 2007 of the same name. Since then, Dallaire has developed the Will to Intervene (W2I) Project for the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies at Concordia University.
The project provides governments, journalists and NGOs with policy recommendations for dealing with future potential crises. Dallaire has kept up appearances through annual university tours across Canada. He was played by Nick Nolte in Terry George’s Hotel Rwanda, which deals with the genocide from the perspective of local hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina.
3. Bill Nye
Most of us know William Sanford Nye as “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” the adorably goofy yet informative character from Disney and PBS’s television show. The show, which aired for five seasons from 1993-1998, is still viewed today in grade school classrooms throughout the country. Essentially, Bill Nye is like the Mr. Rogers of science, and perhaps the only celebrity to hold both a list of Emmy Awards and Honorary PhDs.
Bill Nye’s 2005 project The Eyes of New targeted an older audience and went beyond the actuarial sciences to tackle issues such as population growth, nuclear energy, race, and climate change. His wide range of media appearances include stints on “Dancing with the Stars,” “Larry King Live,” “N3mbers,” and a highly anticipated debate with Ken Ham—not to mention last year’s very viral death hoax, and this year’s presidential selfie.
Recently, he brought his brand of “edutainment” to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with a short video dispelling popular poverty myths as part of the #StopTheMyth movement. Nye’s mix of fact-based research and humor has made him one of the most talked about scientists of today and a true viral humanitarian.
4. Jason Russell
Jason Russell’s Kony 2012 campaign is what happens when a video goes too viral too fast—as well as how easily a personal incident can bring scrutiny upon a humanitarian effort. Invisible Children is an organization founded by Jason Russell in 2004 to raise awareness about Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, a group that has since become synonymous with child soldiers and war crimes.
The Kony 2012 short film, dedicated to bringing Joseph Kony to the International Criminal Court, was met with widespread, unprecedented support from social media networks and young people across the globe.
First posted on March 5, 2012, the video currently holds almost a 100 million views. But amidst all the criticism, financial scrutiny, stone-throwing, and lampooning, what few people realize is that Russell’s efforts were overwhelmingly successful at bringing Joseph Kony to the forefront of media attention.
Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) all participated in a bipartisan resolution to place a bounty on Kony just weeks after the video’s release. A year later, the U.S. put up an additional $5 million bounty as part of the War Crimes Rewards Program, just as the AU and Uganda called off their own search efforts. Moreover, the film brought a surge of interest into U.S. foreign policy toward Africa and the workings of the International Criminal Court.
5. Bill and Melinda Gates
Bill and Melinda Gates are very savvy with the internet—which shouldn’t be surprising considering Gates’ Microsoft helped make online culture into what it is today. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, founded in 1997, is an expansive organization that focuses on global health, agricultural development, family planning, vaccines and disease.
Recently, the philanthrocapitalist duo released their annual letter addressing “3 Myths That Block Progress for the Poor”. A summarized version of the letter was published by BuzzFeed last month as “9 Reasons The World is Better Than Ever”. From their #StopTheMyth hash-tagging project to their clever GIF demonstrations, the two show impressive diligence in informing the millennial internet culture.
What’s important to note is how the above figures draw attention to causes in very new and unconventional ways. The philanthropists of yesterday used the power of Hollywood and the prestige of the music industry to advocate their causes. Today, they fight for the support of internet communities and social media users rather than viewers and listeners. Whether it’s Jason Russell’s aggressive viral sharing, Gates’ Reddit AMA’s, or Neistat’s hands-on charity work, they’ve reached new crowds with new media, making significant change along the way.
– Dmitriy Synkov
Sources: Casey Neistat, Parliament of Canada, W2I, Bill Nye CV, Invisible Children, Politico, Gates Foundation
Photo: Glass Door
Combating Malnutrition in Zambia
Malnutrition in Zambia runs rampant among children younger than 5 years old. Stunted growth as a result of chronic malnutrition affects one million of those young children. Chronic malnutrition is the result of a combination of insufficient food, poor health and inadequate health practices. Projects and initiatives have been started and continue to address the problem of malnutrition in Zambia.
Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN)
Through the National Food and Nutrition Commission (NFNC), the SUN initiative has been able to implement policies aimed at strengthening agricultural development in Zambia as well as increasing food insecurity. The SUN initiative focuses on the first 1,000 days of a child’s life from the time of conception, a period of time that is critical to human development.
Realigning Agriculture to Improve Nutrition (RAIN)
The RAIN project aims to reduce stunting in children through integrated agriculture, health and nutrition initiatives during the period from conception until 24 months of age. The project is a partnership between Concern Worldwide, which implemented the project, and the International Food Policy Research Institute. The Institute leads the monitoring, education and evaluation components during the five-year span of the project, from 2011 until 2015. The project is located in the Mumbwa district in the Central Province of Zambia, where the prevalence of malnutrition is 59 percent of children who are less than 5 years old.
Purchase for Progress (P4P)
A World Food Programme (WFP) global pilot project called Purchase for Progress helps smallholder farmers improve their opportunities and access to lucrative markets. WFP supports the Zambian government in assisting poor households to overcome malnutrition. The P4P project brings food supplies from smallholder farmers to school nutrition programs. Other activities through the project include the empowerment of women through animal traction, increasing market access and promoting sustainable agriculture methods.
Mobile Delivery and Trucking (MDT)
The MDT project is unique to Zambia and it has transitioned from an electronic food voucher distributor to a service that provides technical support to national agriculture, education, health and social programs. The program engages the private sector for the distribution of affordable, acceptable and accessible nutritious food products.
Those are just a few of the organizations that work on combating malnutrition in Zambia. Poor nutrition in children has been shown to affect mental health as well as physical health. With improvements in nutrition come more opportunities for children to advance in school and eventually be the intellectual force that drives Zambia’s economy.
– Haley Sklut
Sources: Scaling Up Nutrition, World Food Programme, All Africa
Photo: Spark Ventures
Education in Cambodia Grows with Foreign Aid
Cambodia is making strides to enhance the standard of its education system. In an attempt to do so, Cambodia’s Education, Youth and Sports Minister, Dr. Hang Chuon Naron, has reached out to Malaysia and the United States in an attempt to improve their ties and promote a relationship based on education in Cambodia.
Naron recently met with Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to come to an understanding on the importance of education.
Many Cambodian students study in Malaysia, where education is a “number one” priority, according to Muhyiddin. Their mission is to raise the quality of life in both Cambodia and Malaysia by focusing on education; after the meeting, both Muhyiddin and Naron signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreeing to work together.
Muhyiddin stated, “I hope that the MoU…would spell out more areas that Malaysia and Cambodia could work together in the education sector as well as increase the number of Cambodian students studying in our country.”
The MoU will further the growing ties between Malaysia and Cambodia and aims to raise the quality of education in Cambodia, starting at a pre-school level and extending to both private and public schools.
On February 15, Cambodia also hosted an education exhibition consisting of over 30 U.S. universities and colleges in Phnom Penh to encourage Cambodian students to further their education. Cambodian students were able to discuss degree opportunities, scholarships and what they needed to do to apply to U.S. colleges and universities, with college admissions representatives.
A U.S. embassy press statement stated, “The fair highlights U.S. government support for efforts to enhance the quality of education and expand educational and career opportunities for Cambodians.”
So far, Cambodia has approximately 100,000 high school graduates who are interested in applying to college.
– Rebecca Felcon
Sources: National News Agency of Malaysia, Shanghai Daily
Photo: Cambodia Mathematics Curriculum Development Project
Artists for Peace and Justice
Art has been used to express emotion and ideas since the beginning of time. An organization called Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ) tries to remove obstacles keeping youth in Haiti from living rewarding and successful lives. The founder, Paul Haggis, has won Oscars as a writer and director in Hollywood, and many of his film industry friends (such as Olivia Wilde and Charlize Theron) support APJ.
The APJ website cites the inability to attend school as a main factor behind severe poverty in Haiti. Uneducated children grow into adults with extremely limited job opportunities and almost no resources available to them to increase their income. Such low incomes for such large numbers of people leads to incompetence in terms of medical care, nutrition, health and overall well-being. People sink deeper into poverty with no way to climb out, and more and more children are born into the cycle that APJ is trying to end.
Statistics given by the APJ claim that 70% of residents in Haiti are unemployed. This number is huge– and hugely unacceptable. Other daunting numbers describe a deficit in clean water, lack of access to advanced medical services, healthy food and clean living environments.
APJ has implemented the Academy for Peace and Justice, where every student’s education is fully paid for. Membership is increasing by the hundreds ever year. This will close the gap of the 80% of students who leave school because of lack of sufficient finances. There is also an Artists Institute that teaches film and audio engineering for free to college age students, giving them real world opportunities as well as the ability to tell their stories in a business oriented world.
APJ also contributes to the funding and operation of St. Luke’s Hospital, providing citizens of Haiti with modern medical care, qualified doctors and affordable services. Improving community leadership by educating community residents is another way the organization helps from within the society.
Artists for Peace and Justice believes that the Haitian people have so much potential and that they can help themselves rise out of poverty with the right support. APJ does not just provide funding and walk away– they integrate themselves into the daily lives of the residents in Haiti and give them the tools to help themselves.
– Kaitlin Sutherby
Sources: Artists for Peace and Justice, Los Angeles Times, InStyle Fashion
Thailand Deports Rohingya Muslims Back to Myanmar
Rohingya Muslims are a stateless people.
Their homeland is in dispute; some argue that it is Bangladesh and others argue that it is Myanmar. The sitting government in Myanmar’s organized persecution of the Rohingya has caused hundreds of thousands to flee to other countries in any means that they are able.
A great number have fled to nearby Thailand assuming that they would be safe from deportation back to a state that does not recognize or want them; however, they were wrong.
The situation in Thailand for the Rohingya is not a welcome one. Since the early 2000s, the Rohingya have been fleeing persecution in Myanmar to any country that is close at hand. However, Thailand is not the sanctuary that it used to be for the Rohingya, according to Abdul Kalam, a Rohingya who has lived in Thailand after escaping forced labor in his home.
Kalam is the head of the Thailand’s Rohingya national organization. The plight of the Rohingya in Thailand is not widely known save for a brief international spotlight in 2009, when media captured boatloads of Rohingya refugees being towed back out to see by Thai naval ships.
The Rohingya are trapped in vicious circle.
Thailand is one of the few countries in the world that has indefinite imprisonment terms and due to this unusual fact, this is often the fate of those being detained by Thai authorities. A group of reporters filmed the appalling conditions that many Rohingya face while being indefinitely detained in Thailand.
The conditions that the Rohingya were found in are deplorable and it is a travesty that such treatment of human beings is still occurring. The cells that were being used as holding areas were designed to house just 15 men each, yet Thai authorities had placed 276 Rohingya men in them. The Thai government should be aiding the Rohingya in their escape from persecution; however, Thailand does not recognize the Rohingya as refugees.
The troubling news for the Rohingya in Thailand is compounded by the fact that reports document how the Thai government has been secretly selling Rohingya to human trafficking camps deep within the Thai jungle. Reuters found evidence of these camps and reported on the plight of the Rohingya trapped in them. Reuters presented one of Thailand’s highest police officials with the evidence that was uncovered about the camps and when asked, police Major-General Chatchawal Suksomjit, Deputy Commissioner General of the Thai Royal Police gave the startling reply that he indeed knew about the camps, but called them “holding cells.”
The plight of the Rohingya is known to the world, but little is being done by the United Nations or any other international aid group. The persecution that the Rohingya face at every turn in their struggle to cement their lives somewhere should be considered one of the most flagrant abuses of human rights in the 21st century.
There are many pressing issues occurring around the world every day, but people can exist in a world free of persecution for any peoples regardless of ethnic or religious status.
– Arthur Fuller
Sources: BBC, Fox, Time, CNN, Reuters, IRIN, Human Rights Watch
Photo: Press TV
The World’s Largest Election
On April 7, the world’s largest democracy begins what is being hailed as the world’s largest election. India, a country of various cultural and geographic distinctions, plans to continue a tradition of free, fair and incredibly large elections. Eight hundred and fourteen million eligible voters make decisions on the 543 members of the Lower House of Parliament.
The election is too large, however, to occur in one fell swoop. The process will consist of nine phases. In all, the elections will cover 543 constituencies, four main political parties in addition to dozens of marginalized ones, and thousands upon thousands of candidates.
The size of the country and the corresponding number of candidates necessitates the lengthy election, slated to conclude on May 12 in time for winners to be announced on May 16. Due to an exponentially growing Indian population, 97 million voters have been added to the list of those eligible since the 2009 general elections. That means almost 12% of those capable of voting between April and May will experience this enormous process for the first time.
The Election Commission, in charge of the entire process, has taken on a lofty challenge in organizing what is to be the most important and largest election since 1977. While individual candidates are permitted to spend no more than an equivalent $120,000 in Indian rupees, the Commission is expected to spend almost $600 million supervising the event.
Because they have determined that no person should have to travel more than two kilometers to cast a vote, the Commission will be setting up 930,000 polling stations across India’s vast territory. Everywhere from Rajasthan in the desert to the heights of the Himalayas, voters will have convenient access to polling stations.
In 2009, an isolated temple caretaker in Gujarat got his own voting booth.
India prides itself on free and fair elections, and regularly has a high turnout among the country’s poor. This year in particular, two parties have run on platforms catering to this demographic. The Bharatya Janata Party campaigns on good governance and national development, and the Aam Aadmi Party campaigns with an emphasis on anti-corruption.
These positions have rendered fervent support among those less privileged and should contribute to a continuation of a high voter turnout for the world’s largest election.
– Jaclyn Stutz
Sources: Forbes, New York Times, Wall Street Journal
Photo: NVO News
Top 5 Most Viral Humanitarians
Whether they’re lifelong philanthropists or newcomers, the following public figures have all captured the media spotlight at one point or another, drawing attention to humanitarian causes in unique and exceptional ways. Here are the top five most viral humanitarians.
1. Casey Neistat
Despite being one of the newest faces in advocacy, filmmaker Casey Neistat has a well-established fan base of YouTube followers. He also has an eclectic filmography including work for HBO, The New York Times, Nike and Mercedes. Casey’s most recent hit was a December 2013 viral video titled “What Would You Do with $25,000?”
Twentieth Century Fox offered Neistat $25,000 to produce a promotional video for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, but instead he used the funds for a typhoon relief mission in the Philippines. In the short six minute video, he documented his trip every single step of the way—from his arrival, to buying provisions, to renting a bus to transport goods to typhoon victims. The relief effort and the video were a huge success, garnering close to three million views.
2. Romeo Dallaire
Romeo Dallaire is a retired Lieutenant-General of the Canadian Army and current Senator from Quebec who was at the frontline of the Rwandan Genocide in the early 1990s. As the Force Commander for the UNAMIR peacekeeping operation in Rwanda, Dallaire saw the nation descend into genocide between the Tutsi and Hutu ethnic groups. Accompanied by a minimal peacekeeping group with few resources (as well as direct orders to stay put and not to engage) Dallaire’s reports of the escalating violence were lost amidst the bureaucracy of United Nations leaders and U.S. government officials.
His 2003 memoir, Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, brought the issue to light for the whole world and was later accompanied by both a documentary in 2004 and a feature drama in 2007 of the same name. Since then, Dallaire has developed the Will to Intervene (W2I) Project for the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies at Concordia University.
The project provides governments, journalists and NGOs with policy recommendations for dealing with future potential crises. Dallaire has kept up appearances through annual university tours across Canada. He was played by Nick Nolte in Terry George’s Hotel Rwanda, which deals with the genocide from the perspective of local hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina.
3. Bill Nye
Most of us know William Sanford Nye as “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” the adorably goofy yet informative character from Disney and PBS’s television show. The show, which aired for five seasons from 1993-1998, is still viewed today in grade school classrooms throughout the country. Essentially, Bill Nye is like the Mr. Rogers of science, and perhaps the only celebrity to hold both a list of Emmy Awards and Honorary PhDs.
Bill Nye’s 2005 project The Eyes of New targeted an older audience and went beyond the actuarial sciences to tackle issues such as population growth, nuclear energy, race, and climate change. His wide range of media appearances include stints on “Dancing with the Stars,” “Larry King Live,” “N3mbers,” and a highly anticipated debate with Ken Ham—not to mention last year’s very viral death hoax, and this year’s presidential selfie.
Recently, he brought his brand of “edutainment” to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with a short video dispelling popular poverty myths as part of the #StopTheMyth movement. Nye’s mix of fact-based research and humor has made him one of the most talked about scientists of today and a true viral humanitarian.
4. Jason Russell
Jason Russell’s Kony 2012 campaign is what happens when a video goes too viral too fast—as well as how easily a personal incident can bring scrutiny upon a humanitarian effort. Invisible Children is an organization founded by Jason Russell in 2004 to raise awareness about Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda, a group that has since become synonymous with child soldiers and war crimes.
The Kony 2012 short film, dedicated to bringing Joseph Kony to the International Criminal Court, was met with widespread, unprecedented support from social media networks and young people across the globe.
First posted on March 5, 2012, the video currently holds almost a 100 million views. But amidst all the criticism, financial scrutiny, stone-throwing, and lampooning, what few people realize is that Russell’s efforts were overwhelmingly successful at bringing Joseph Kony to the forefront of media attention.
Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) all participated in a bipartisan resolution to place a bounty on Kony just weeks after the video’s release. A year later, the U.S. put up an additional $5 million bounty as part of the War Crimes Rewards Program, just as the AU and Uganda called off their own search efforts. Moreover, the film brought a surge of interest into U.S. foreign policy toward Africa and the workings of the International Criminal Court.
5. Bill and Melinda Gates
Bill and Melinda Gates are very savvy with the internet—which shouldn’t be surprising considering Gates’ Microsoft helped make online culture into what it is today. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, founded in 1997, is an expansive organization that focuses on global health, agricultural development, family planning, vaccines and disease.
Recently, the philanthrocapitalist duo released their annual letter addressing “3 Myths That Block Progress for the Poor”. A summarized version of the letter was published by BuzzFeed last month as “9 Reasons The World is Better Than Ever”. From their #StopTheMyth hash-tagging project to their clever GIF demonstrations, the two show impressive diligence in informing the millennial internet culture.
What’s important to note is how the above figures draw attention to causes in very new and unconventional ways. The philanthropists of yesterday used the power of Hollywood and the prestige of the music industry to advocate their causes. Today, they fight for the support of internet communities and social media users rather than viewers and listeners. Whether it’s Jason Russell’s aggressive viral sharing, Gates’ Reddit AMA’s, or Neistat’s hands-on charity work, they’ve reached new crowds with new media, making significant change along the way.
– Dmitriy Synkov
Sources: Casey Neistat, Parliament of Canada, W2I, Bill Nye CV, Invisible Children, Politico, Gates Foundation
Photo: Glass Door
Ending the Practice of Female Genital Mutilation
Female genital mutilation (FGM) or female circumcision, has been occurring for hundreds of years in mostly sub-Saharan and northeast African regions. The term “female genital mutilation” encompasses every procedure where partial or total removal of the external female genitalia occurs, as well as any general injury to those organs without a distinct medical purpose.
The practice of FGM is internationally seen as a violation of human rights for women and young girls because it emulates the inequality between genders and represents extreme discrimination against women. On top of this, the following rights are also violated: the right to security, physical integrity, health, freedom from torture and from inhumane treatment–especially when the procedure can result in death.
There are four general classifications of FGM: clitoridectomy, excision, infibulation and an “other” category. Clitoridectomy entails the removal of part of or the entire clitoris and is one of the most common types. Excision is where they remove part of or the entire clitoris and labia minora, and this can be with or without cutting the labia majora. Infibulation includes the reduction of the vaginal opening by cutting and repositioning the labia majora to make a covering, with or without removing the clitoris. The “other” category classifies any other harmful procedures to a woman’s reproductive organs in a non-medical way.
FGM is in no way beneficial to a woman’s health, and in fact, it is harmful in several ways. Short-term effects include hemorrhage, severe pain, tetanus and urine retention. Long-term effects include cysts, recurrent urinary tract and bladder infections, infertility, childbirth complications and newborn deaths. This kind of procedure is mostly done to newborns or girls around 15 years of age that are going through puberty. Today, over 125 million women and girls in the Middle East and Northern Africa have been circumcised. By 2030, it is estimated that a further 86 million young women around the world will experience this procedure as well.
Many officials at UNICEF disagree with the practice of FGM and state it is not necessary in Islamic countries. They say it is a very old practice, traced back to the Egyptian pharaohs, and that the Koran says how humans were created in the perfect way, so changing them is not justified by religion.
Fahma Mohamed, a 17-year-old student that leads the Guardian’s campaign to end FGM, has acquired over 212,000 signatures in her petition against the issue. She has even gotten recognition from the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, who has made it a priority to end FGM because of how it threatens the empowerment of women.
There have been progressive signs in the worldwide campaign to end the practice of female genital mutilation with multiple countries like Kenya, Uganda and Guinea-Bissau adopting laws against it. The girls themselves understand the risks of being circumcised, and mothers who have dealt with the ordeal are fighting more and more to protect their daughters from the same fate. Schools can be directed to address the issue so that the people in these countries can learn about the issue and how to shield their young women from it.
– Kenneth W. Kliesner
Sources: The Guardian (1), The Guardian (2), World Health Organization
Photo: Girls’ Globe
What Can the U.S. Learn From Foreign Education System?
The U.S. public education system focuses on a century-old model that was originally designed to educate factory workers. While American public education has made many reforms throughout the years, student performance has remained stagnant.
The National Center on Education and the Economy suggests that the U.S. should look abroad for inspiration to fuel education reforms, including expanding national standards for curriculum, administering smarter and fewer tests and improving teacher quality and salaries.
U.S. Ranks Low in Test Scores
Students from the U.S., China, South Korea, Finland, Australia and many other countries took the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) to measure their skills in reading, math and science. The test is administered to 15-year-olds every three years by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Among the 65 participating countries, the U.S. ranked 15th in reading, 23rd in science and 31st in math.
The U.S. average scores in the three testing sections have not changed much from previous testing years. On the other hand, Shanghai, for example, has turned itself into an education powerhouse in three decades. The biggest focus in Shanghai and other top education performing countries is the quality of teaching.
Finland and Shanghai Inspire Higher Standards
The country with the most rigorous standards for teachers is Finland, closely followed by Shanghai. In Finland, one in ten applicants for teacher training programs are accepted. The training programs take five or more years to complete, and you must have a master’s degree to be considered for the program. In Shanghai, teachers must have a degree in the field they wish to teach, even at an elementary school level.
Teachers in Shanghai are mentored from the beginning of their career, by a master teacher. Throughout their career, teachers continue to meet with their mentors to improve their professional development.
Teacher Quality
While it is important for students to learn in a structured environment, it is equally important for teachers to have a structured environment in which to improve their teaching. Teachers in Shanghai can expect to be observed 20-30 times each year – a facet of teacher training that may seem daunting to teachers in the West.
The education system in Shanghai does not succeed based on any of the sole factors, but rather by a combination of all of these factors. The system still has its drawbacks, but the U.S. can learn a lot from the Shanghai education system.
If the U.S. puts as much money into teacher training as it does into reducing class size and creating charter schools, the country will improve its scores and be among European and Asian students who are currently outperforming U.S. students.
A sample of the PISA test is available here.
– Haley Sklut
Sources: San Jose Mercury News, Parenting, National Center for Education Statistics, Forbes
Photo: The Week
Monsanto Mishap: Herbicide and Kidney Epidemic
Since the mid-1990s, a mysterious fatal kidney disease has been afflicting rural farmers across the globe. Its impact ranges from Nicaragua, El Salvador and Costa Rica to India and northern Sri Lanka. The disease has come to be known as chronic kidney disease of unknown origin, or CKDu.
In a recent study, published by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, the onset of the epidemic of CKDu has been linked to the use of the popular herbicide “Roundup,” or glyphosate. This herbicide is sold by Monsanto, an American chemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation.
Glyphosate is an herbicide that inhibits the growth of plants and is used in poor farming regions around the world including, but not limited to, those mentioned above.
The link between glyphosate and CKDu arose when scientists discovered that those who were at risk of contracting the disease lived in certain geographical regions and represented a specific socioeconomic class.
In the study, researchers hypothesized that while glyphosate is toxic, it is not capable of destroying kidney tissue to the extent that is seen with CKDu. Thus, they proposed that when mixed with heavy metals often found in ‘hard’ groundwater, such as arsenic, cadmium and magnesium, glyphosate becomes extremely toxic to the kidneys.
A strong association was found between areas with a high consumption of ‘hard’ groundwater and the occurrence of CKDu. In Sri Lanka alone, 96% of CKDu patients had consumed ‘hard’ groundwater for at least five years prior to their diagnosis.
Biological components alone are not enough to explain why this disease has been confined to certain geographical areas. Its manifestation is both historically deep and socioeconomically relevant.
CKDu began to appear two decades ago in farming regions in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, India and Sri Lanka, where glyphosate was widely used.
Sri Lanka, for example, began undergoing serious agricultural changes beginning in 1977. Monsanto began importing chemicals like glyphosate, which introduced the nation to years of cumulative exposure to toxic compounds. The bioaccumulation of glyphosate within the body and the surrounding environment is likely to have caused the sudden appearance of CKDu in the 90’s.
Among other countries like El Salvador, CKDu is the second leading cause of death among men. In Nicaragua, it has accounted for roughly half of all male deaths in the last ten years. In both of these countries, the disease has killed more people than diabetes, AIDS and leukemia combined over the past five years. One tiny village in Nicaragua has now come to be known as “La Isla de Viudas,” translated as “The Island of Widows.”
These statistics certainly don’t bode well for Monsanto’s future credibility.
Monsanto is currently the leading producer of genetically engineered seeds and the herbicide glyphosate. The corporation was founded in 1901 and has since left a slew of controversy in its wake.
Included among the chemicals that Monsanto has previously manufactured are DDT, PCBs and the notorious Agent Orange. All of them have proved to be highly toxic and known to cause severe health problems.
It seems as if Monsanto is back again, with glyphosate as its new chemical of choice.
– Mollie O’Brien
Sources: Natural Blaze, Politix, Nation of Change
Photo: Occupy Melbourne
Facebook Offers Online Education in Rwanda
Facebook plans to bridge the digital divide by connecting the remaining two-thirds of the world without Internet to the growing web of information. As a leader in this “knowledge economy,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg partnered with other industry giants to provide access to those who cannot afford it.
He continues to collaborate with leading companies in the technology field: Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm and Samsung. These prominent members formed Internet.org to offer connectivity to more than five billion people. In developing countries, his Internet.org initiative aims provide the following:
More affordable access
Collaborative efforts between industry titans, such as Samsung and Nokia, will expand mobile access. To decrease the cost of delivering data, companies seek to develop low-cost smartphones and partner with internet providers to broaden the reach.
More efficient use of data
Global partners also plan to invest in products to limit the necessary amount of data. Along with “data compression tools,” these products may offer the enhancement of network capabilities and mobile frameworks designed to reduce the data use of applications.
Assist businesses in increasing access
These companies plan to incentivize the development and manufacturing of affordable devices for developing countries. The partnerships also aim to “localize services,” offering more languages on mobile devices.
Education Online: SocialEDU
Internet access alone cannot address underlying issues in developing nations. Zuckerberg, as a result, will apply Internet.org to education inequities.
Referred to as SocialEDU, this program offers open online courses to students through a mobile application integrated with Facebook.
With a Facebook account, young Rwandans could learn from professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard. Facebook prepares to combat the digital and educational barriers these students face and expand online education in Rwanda.
This social media platform partnered with “the Rwandan government, a telecom company, a device manufacturer and an educational content provider.” Such collaboration allows the for the following:
For one year, Airtel plans to provide the education content at no cost to participants.
Christian de Faria, the CEO of Airtel Africa, understands education drives social and economic growth. As a local carrier, Airtel will fuel this growth by offering a data subsidy.
Nokia has also joined this corporate collaboration, offering affordable smartphones to the region. This improves access to the Internet, enabling more students to join the open online classes.
The Nokia Vice President of Mobile Phones, Timo Toikkanen notes, “Our affordable smartphones help people make the transition from simple mobility to more sophisticated experiences. Playing a role in helping students get access to these experiences, such as social education through the SocialEDU initiative, is truly an honor.”
To promote further corporate innovation, the Rwandan government offers:
In support of corporate social responsibility, the government plans to expand its Smart Kigali program. This offers free wi-fi on college campuses and as a result, more students can access the multi-media SocialEDU content. The government will further support this initiative by adapting course materials to the needs of local students.
These educational apps require a large amount of bandwidth. To combat this, Facebook promises to provide technical assistance and support the app in a low-bandwidth region. Partnering with Ericsson, the company must test the app capabilities in a 2G environment.
Tailoring services to meet the needs of regions across the globe is but one part of the equation. Through such innovation and corporate cooperation, the digital divide gradually closes. With the expansion of online education in Rwanda, Facebook and its global partners will propel the country into a knowledge-based economy.
– Ellery Spahr
Sources: The Verge
Photo: PCI Podium