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
IRRI Identifies 44 Climate Change Resilient Rice Varieties
In order to address the threat of climate change on global food security, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has released 44 varieties of rice that are resilient to some of the effects of climate change. Currently, around half of the entire global population is dependent upon rice as the staple of its meals.
Meanwhile, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report on the adaptations necessary due to climate change impacts and states, “starvation, poverty, flooding, heat waves, droughts, war and disease [are] likely to worsen as the world warms from man-made climate change.” The effects of climate change on agriculture, food security and poverty are particularly distressing; billions of people may face an extreme threat to their food and water security by the year 2050.
Because of the dangers that climate change poses on agriculture, the establishment of climate resilient agricultural sectors is a necessary for nations such as Ghana, where food security is diminishing and poverty is increasing. The rice variations introduced by the IRRI can account for some of the environmental concerns placed upon rice production in many nations that are facing impacts of climate change. The 44 types of rice released include “nine salt-tolerant varieties in the Philippines, three flood-tolerant varieties in South Asia, and six in sub-Saharan Africa.”
Although genetically modified crops, such as the climate resilient rice variations introduced by the IRRI, have faced backlash in developed nations, they are beginning to become a necessity in developing nations. Climate change impacts are expected to worsen, as the global environment is a complex system where much can be left unconsidered. Therefore, resiliency in crops is a necessary avenue for research and development in the very near future.
The 44 rice varieties are expected to bolster the agricultural sectors of nations within Africa and Asia including the Philippines, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nigeria, Tanzania, India, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar and Rwanda. With the global population on a steep rise and mass cases of socio-economic ascension from poverty to the middle class, food demand is significantly high. Currently, the IRRI is working on a tripartite rice variation that is resilient to droughts, floods and saltiness, all of which are staples of climate change impacts on the agriculture sector.
– Jugal Patel
Sources: Interaksyon, Think Progress
Photo: Golden Diamond
More Than Safaris: Kenya’s Rise to Power
Thus far, Kenya’s economy depends largely on tourism, specifically safari tours. Travelers often spend the night in Nairobi, the region’s gateway to business, before their safari adventure. Kenya also benefits from pineapple production–a top five producer worldwide–through exporting both canned pineapple and juice concentrates. But there is much more to the booming country than tourism and agriculture. So what else is special about this east African nation?
Kenya is Young and Friendly
Youths serve as optimists for the future and in Nairobi, they keep the economy going. More than 60% of the population is less than 25 years old. Kenyans tend to be warm-hearted and welcoming to foreigners. While the national language in Swahili, many Kenyans speak English at a high level and are willing to converse with tourists about Kenyan culture.
While Kenya is sophisticated compared to its East African neighbors, the country still suffers from unemployment and poor infrastructure. Many of Kenya’s young cannot get jobs due to a lack of skills and opportunities.
The Diaspora Returns
Waiting an hour and a half for a pizza in Nairobi? Rotesh Doshi would rather not. After studying at the London School of Economics, he pursued work opportunities abroad. When he had the chance to bring United States-based franchise, Naked Pizza, to Nairobi, he took it and ran with it.
Although it is his hometown, Doshi found many challenges to setting up a business in Nairobi, including poor infrastructure, government bureaucracy and a short supply of skilled human labor. “You often ask yourself ‘is it worth it’ when a lot more things go wrong than right,” Doshi said. “But there is nothing else that I would rather be doing right now, especially being part of that growth story in my own country.”
Promising Entertainment Industry
Lupita Nyong’o’s Oscar win for her supporting performance in 12 Years a Slave gives Kenya’s entertainment industry a ray of hope. With 40% of Kenya’s workforce unemployed, and 70% of those being less than 35 years old, successes like Nyong’o’s show young people that they can, in fact, make it in the entertainment sector, which can then boost the economy.
The government hopes to do this through establishing a film school and promoting the entertainment industry as a legitimate avenue for job creation. Kenya looks to Nigeria for inspiration. Nigeria’s film industry, referred to as “Nollywood,” produces about 50 films per week–many more than Hollywood and second only to India’s Bollywood.
Attracting New Businesses
Food processing giant Del Monte set up a Kenyan branch called Cirio Del Monte Kenya to take advantage of the region’s high-yielding pineapple production. In the technology sector, Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung announced plans for a new assembly plant in Nairobi, positioning the city as the East African center of operation.
With businesses like Proctor & Gamble, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and IBM opening regional hubs in Nairobi comes the opportunity for more employment for the country’s youth. Foreign businesses that are setting up their African headquarters in centrally located Nairobi also benefit local businesses, like Kenya Airways.
– Haley Sklut
Sources: BBC, How We Made It In Africa, All Africa, US Embassy, Career Nation
Photo: Sida
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
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
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