The South African Civil Society Information Service
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
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To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Lichtgrenze (The Border of Lights) an extraordinary light installation will be produced, following the former route of the so-called Berliner Mauer. From the 7th - 9th of November 2014, the 15.3 kilometer frontier that once divided the city center will be re-imagined in light by thousands of illuminated balloons. Running through the center of Berlin, from Bornholmer Straße to the Oberbaumbrücke, the...
We can see the power of distributed, crowd-sourced business models every day — witness Uber, Kickstarter, Airbnb. But veteran online activist Jeremy Heimans argues these businesses are vested in a "new power" model, which he explains as, “The deployment of mass participation and peer coordination to create change and shift outcomes. The distinguishing factors are “mass participation” and “peer co-ordination”. This is what makes "new...
Sweden's new centre-left government announced this week that it has recognised the Palestinian state, making it the first EU country to do so. Sweden's foreign minister, Margot Wallstrom, told Al Jazeera that recognising Palestine will put each party on a level playing field and help move peace talks forward. She said that Sweden is hoping that this new development will inject some new dynamics into the now-suspended peace talks by making the parties less unequal. Wallstrom also said she...
Mass person-to-person collaboration has the potential to upend the fundamental power structure of the world as we know it. Not just hyperbole, but a process already taking place across the UK and the world. "Us Now" follows the fate of Ebbsfleet United, a football club owned and managed by 30,000 of its online fans; Zopa, a bank in which everyone is the CEO, and CouchSurfing, a vast online network whose members share their homes with strangers. The founding principles of these...
In March 2001, the Taliban destroyed the Buddhas of Bamiyan, 6th century statues carved into the rock in Afghanistan. Today the war in Syria is putting valuable cultural artefacts under threat. Lisa Ackerman, Executive Vice President of The World Monuments Fund, talks about how the current Syrian civil crisis has caused catastrophic destruction to the old city Aleppo and left its antiquities in the hands of looters. Most tragically, basalt relief sculptures unearthed in the Temple of the...
Technology allows us to give cash directly to the poorest people on the planet. Should we do it? In this thought-provoking TED talk, veteran aid worker Joy Sun talks about unconditional cash transfers highlighting an innovative project that makes once off cash donations to poor individuals with no strings attached. Watch this talk to learn what difference a thousand dollar direct cash transfer can make to the life of a poor person who is able to spend the money as he or she pleases. The...
