Sunday, July 17, 2005

Quote of the day I often muse about 'what enables change.' So I was heartened to find this quote from Paul Tiliich (via Integral Institute): What we call the 'Renaissance' was participated in by about one thousand people. 3:10:49 PM    comment []  trackback []

Africa's not an issue [RConversation]: My friend and colleague Ethan Zuckerman, reports Rebecca MacKinnon, has written a beautiful post in response to criticism of his recent posts about Live8. Excerpt from Ethan: Africa's not an issue. It's not a cause or a problem. It's a continent - a complicated, confusing, beautiful continent, with wealth and poverty, peace and strife, success and tragedy. When Africa becomes a cause, we tend to see only one side of the continent - a helpless, dependent, starving side that 'needs our help'. To actually accomplish the goal of Live 8 - the elimination of poverty in Africa - Americans and Europeans have to get a great deal smarter about this other Africa. This Africa needs investment and trade, rather than just aid and debt forgiveness. This Africa is open for business. This Africa is as important and as real as the Africa that needs help. Aid dollars don't eliminate poverty - integration into a global economy does. Well said, though I don't agree that integration into a global economy is the only way. Locally focused, self-reliant development - a la Grameeen - is an equally important piece of the puzzle. 2:49:14 PM    comment []  trackback []

In Case of Emergency A good idea from WorldChanging.com It's a simple idea, but a good one: the East Anglian Ambulance service in the UK has launched a campaign for people to add an entry to their mobile phone contacts In Case of Emergency. First responders may have a hard time getting contact information from you if you're in shock, unconscious, or otherwise unable to respond. The ICE idea attempts to standardize a place for responders to look, if the awful should occur. Simply type ICE plus a contact name and number into your mobile and help us to help you. I did it as soon as I read about this campaign -- and the more of us who do it (and talk about it), the more the idea will be recognized. 2:30:02 PM    comment []  trackback []