Blog posts by related to Development & Prosperity

Zoom in on Change Photo & Images Contest

Posted on Apr 16, 2012 by Tsega Belachew

What does change look like in action? Show us—share your images in our #ZoomChange contest. 

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Growing to the Next Level of Change

Posted on Jan 22, 2012 by Ben Wald

 

Editor's note: This post was written by Ashoka Changemakers chief executive partner Ben Wald.

I am excited to let you know that Changemakers.com is about to get a new look.

Starting next week, the action opportunities for all who visit Changemakers are expanding from finding new innovations (through collaborative competitions, where Changemakers pioneered the open source method for recognizing and refining the best solutions to the world’s most critical issues) to connecting with a network that directs resources to the most promising solutions so they can grow.

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Texas: Doing Something Right

Posted on Sep 29, 2011 by Kristie Wang

Transforming inmates into entrepreneurs in Texas — and saving millions of tax dollars

Texas has been the center of a swirl of controversy lately in two very different arenas: the state’s enthusiastic embrace of the death penalty, and Republican frontrunner Rick Perry’s touted track record of job creation. Perry’s history of job creation has come under fire from numerous critics, as well as a new study revealing that Texas’s poverty levels rank the second highest in the nation.

But deep in the heart of Texas, there’s a promising light for real job creation — and for bringing positive change to the criminal justice system.

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Supporting the Free Press

Posted on Sep 22, 2011 by Kristie Wang

Photo from a Citizens for Democracy letter signing campaign in Pakistan, covered by Global Voices blogger, Sana Saleem
 
Is journalism getting better or worse in the new media landscape? And what does that mean for democracy? During the Arab Spring earlier this year, new media seemed to not only generate unusually multi-faceted news coverage, but also play a role catalyzing the revolutions themselves.
 
Still, reactions to the state of news today continue to fluctuate between anxiety and elation. On the one hand, the digital age blesses us with access to more information than ever. On the other, the ability of the news infrastructure to serve the public interest seems to be threatened on all sides. 
 
The free press has been long recognized as the life-blood of democracy; informed citizens are necessary for a just and functioning democratic state. But commercial networks are influenced (some would say enslaved) by market interests, and public media is vulnerable to political meddling and funding cuts. The new media is generative, iterative, disruptive, democratizing, and fragmenting all at once. 
 
What’s the average American citizen to do? Where do we put our focus, energy, and money? How do we ensure that we get both the information we want and the information we need to be smart citizens? 

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Sweat Equity and Soccer for Community Development

Posted on May 26, 2011 by Kristie Wang


Drew Chafetz (center), co-founder of love.fútbol, at the 2010 inauguration event in Guatemala.

When love.fútbol approached the town of San Antonio Palopó, Guatemala last year to build a safe soccer field for its children, the organization was surprised to receive a lukewarm response. Community members were initially reluctant to agree to the project’s sweat equity requirement.

love.fútbol, which works with impoverished communities to build inexpensive, durable soccer pitches for kids, supplies raw materials and guidance, but partner communities are expected to contribute all labor and take ownership of the construction process.

“In our effort to provide the right to play, core belief is that we do not provide a gift of a soccer field,” said Drew Chafetz, co-founder of love.fútbol. “We provide an opportunity for a community partnership and an experience for a community that will lead to long term change.”

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Join @AshokaTweets & @NextBillion for tomorrow's #SocEntChat on #SustainableUrbanHousing (Apr 27, 3-5pm EDT)!

Posted on Apr 26, 2011 by Changemakers Blogger

Are you intrigued by the emergence of collaboration between social entrepreneurs and government? Interested in hearing about current ways in which social entrepreneurs are working with public policy? Have ideas of the types of collaborations between companies and entrepreneurs on sustainable and affordable housing? Join the conversation in tomorrow's today's #SocEntChat!

On Wednesday, April 27th from 3-5pm EST, Ashoka will join forces with Next Billion to co-host the monthly #SocEntChat, a real-time Twitter-based discussion on social entrepreneurship which is based around a specific theme each month.
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Water Changes Everything: Visualizing the Global Water Crisis

Posted on Apr 25, 2011 by John Converse Townsend

What do you know about water? Specifically, what do you know about the global water crisis? (Video after the jump.)

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BucketFeet: Buy One, Give Some

Posted on Apr 20, 2011 by John Converse Townsend

Charity is a basic constituent of today’s economy. Citizen consumers and cultural capitalists are demanding corporate social responsibility and won’t hesitate to punish companies who don’t deliver. So if the money is where the “warm and fuzzy” is, it makes sense that that’s where new businesses continue to emerge.

BucketFeet is the latest in this new wave of businesses blending social purpose with profit. The Chicago-based shoe company, launched just two months ago, operates under the motto, “Buy a Shoe, Build a Community.”

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Goldman Sachs Foundation Offering Scholarships to Indian New Media Startups

Posted on Apr 20, 2011 by John Converse Townsend

Attention all new media changemakers on the Indian subcontinent! If you're using digital media to deliver news in innovative ways, here's an opportunity you need to know about. (Ladies, read on; guys, forward this post to your female friends, please.)

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Saving the City of God: An Interview with Terra Nova

Posted on Apr 19, 2011 by Evagelia Emily Tavoulareas

[Editor's note: Terra Nova, along with the two other winners in our Property Rights competition, are at a World Bank event today to share the innovative work that distinguished them from a pool of more than 210 entries from around the world.]

Brazil. Land Rights. Poverty. 

What picture do these words bring to mind?

For many, it conjures up City of God-like images of crowded violent favelas and communities living in chaos. With over 12 million Brazilians living in 3.2 million informal dwellings without access to public services, that dark visualization wouldn’t be far from the truth.

Yet to Andre Albuquerque, founder of Terra Nova and winner of the Property Rights: Identity, Dignity & Opportunity for All competition, it means much more – it means hope.   
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