Blogs

A Few Thoughts on Egypt

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Posted Jan 28, 2011 2:20pm
EmilyTav

Eleven months ago, to the day, I found myself at the American University of Sharjah (UAE) facilitating the Women’s Leadership and Technology Conference: Advancing Social Media for Community Engagement.

The ultimate goal of the conference? To explore how technology can improve civic engagement and build a robust civil society. 

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Join us Monday, January 31st for a #SocEntChat on Sustainable Urban Housing

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Posted Jan 28, 2011 10:55am
cmblog

On Monday, January 31st, Ashoka Changemakers will bring together entrepreneurs, innovators and changemakers from around the world to discuss the importance of affordable, inclusive, and sustainable urban housing that respects local cultures and the environment.

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Sustainable, Obtainable, Attainable

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Posted Jan 28, 2011 9:39am
cmblog

[Editor's note: This is a guest post by Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy and was originally featured on the American Planning Association's blog. Stewart Sarkozy-Banoczy is the Director, Philanthropic Research & Initiatives, Office for International and Philanthropic Innovation, Policy Development and Research Office at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C.]

As I pondered the early-entry winners in our Sustainable Urban Housing Competition and the many other efforts we come into contact with during our work, I was also remembering some of my experiences in “sustainable” community development before coming to HUD.

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Redefining housing innovation to build tomorrow's greatest cities

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Posted Jan 27, 2011 4:29pm
cmblog

[Editor's note: This post is authored by Diedre Schmidt, Executive Director at the Affordable Housing Institute (AHI). AHI is a non-profit consultancy that works around the world, and particularly in the global South, with pro-poor affordable housing finance entities – what they call Mission Entrepreneurial Entities, MEEs – to help them create, develop, and implement affordable housing financial products and business lines, as well as by positively influencing the policy and economic ecosystem to enable them to grow.]

The word innovation, when used in conjunction with housing, usually conjures ideas of new building products or technologies that are successful because they are cheaper, lighter, stronger or easier to use. But our collective challenge isn't simply to create high quality new homes that are affordable – a problem which lends itself to purely technological solutions.

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We need YOU to identify innovative sustainable urban housing initiatives from around the world!

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Posted Jan 27, 2011 1:39pm
cmblog

With just 15 eight (8) days left to enter the Changemakers Sustainable Urban Housing: Collaborating for Liveable and Inclusive Cities competition, we are launching a #SocEntNom Twitter campaign and would really appreciate your support!

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Helping non-profits and the needy win their just desserts: GetMilkshake

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Posted Jan 27, 2011 10:15am
cmblog

In November (just over nine weeks ago), Pam Caffray and Amy Jurkowitz launched Milkshake, a daily email chock-a-block with pretty, delicious, and entertaining items that can be ordered or simply ogled. Sounds fairly familiar, perhaps, what with all those spammy "best bets" and "fresh finds" popping up in people's inboxes like so many e-weeds. But Milkshake is different. You won't find any random baubles whose purchases line the pockets of highfalutin designers or brand-name behemoths - everything advertised in this newser aims to do one thing: give back to those who need help most.

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Win $25k to Change Digital Media: The PitchIt! Challenge

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Posted Jan 26, 2011 1:49pm
John Converse Townsend

It was just two short years ago that Ashoka Changemakers and We Media joined forces to launch a community challenge to source innovative approaches for inspiring a better world through media and technology. People from all around the world entered their ideas - from very early stage projects to more established but never-before-seen innovations - for harnessing the power of media for social good.

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Bjarke Ingels Has BIG Plans for the Big Apple

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Posted Jan 25, 2011 10:35am
cmblog

[Editor's note: This article was written by Kim Derby and was originally featured on EcoSalon.com.]

The 36-year-old Danish architect Bjarke Ingels is the hottest topic on the tip of every avant-garde’s tongue. I’m glad he’s here, mostly because he uses words like symbiosis and spontaneous interaction; hybrid typology and harvest resources. There’s nothing sexier than a voracious vocabulary. And an architect.

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Join @changemakers Wednesday, January 26th for a Multilingual #SocEntChat on Geotourism

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Posted Jan 24, 2011 1:02pm
John Converse Townsend

Geotourism Challenge: Places on the Edge
Saving Coastal & Freshwater Destinations

On Wednesday, January 26th, Ashoka Changemakers will bring together entrepreneurs, innovators, and competition finalists from around the world to discuss geotourism – an alternative tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place. Geoutorism is a means of developing coastal, waterway, and island destinations without destroying the land, the water, or the lifestyles of the local people by creatively mobilizing resources including technology and other tools.

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