As of 2008, women accounted for only 18.4% of parliamentarians worldwide, and only thirteen countries has a woman at the head of their government.1 While these numbers strongly differ between regions such as the Nordic countries and the Middle East, for instance, around the world countries need to participate in ways to involve more females … Continue reading Can Exposure to Female Leaders Reduce Gender Bias?
Due to the successes the Saemaul Undong (SMU) Movement saw in the Republic of Korea (ROK) in the 1970s, the government of ROK began to expand their practices into Africa, Asia, and Latin America. ROK demonstrated unprecedented growth, introducing what the World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim described as “an economic and social revolution … Continue reading Saemaul Undong – The Republic of Korea’s New Village Movement, part 2
Before 1960 the Republic of Korea (ROK) was a war-torn nation with a GDP per capita of $70 - equivalent to that of Ghana.1 The government was weak, and did not have the financial capabilities to invest in large-scale rural development projects.2 With this in mind, South Korean President Park Chung-Hee implemented the Saemaul Undong … Continue reading Saemaul Undong – the Republic of Korea’s New Village Movement, part 1
The Overseas Development Institute, one of the UK’s leading think tanks, recently released a working paper titled Gender and Resilience: from Theory to Practice. The paper is a synthesis of four different case studies, documenting how gender equality can be strengthened through resilience projects. It draws on the experiences of the project Building Resilience and … Continue reading Gender & Resilience – A BRACED Working Paper
Oxfam America has recently released a report, Righting the Wrong: Strengthening Local Humanitarian Leadership to Save Lives and Strengthen Communities, addressing the shortfalls of humanitarian assistance, and offering solutions to this complex issue. In 2014, humanitarian assistance hit a record high of $24.5 billion. Within the last 70 years, aid workers have made massive strides … Continue reading Righting the Wrong: Oxfam America’s Report on Strengthening Local Humanitarian Leadership
Spark Microgrants works in impoverished communities in Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, with 116 community partners across the three countries. Using an in-country fellowship program, Spark trains and employs recently-graduated university students to serve as project facilitators. These facilitators reach out to villages with particularly poor infrastructure, in order to involve them in a six-month planning process of … Continue reading Methodology at Spark MicroGrants
Nuru International applies an integrated methodology of community-led development called The Leadership Program, which seeks "to foster an environment of co-creation in which local servant leaders recognize and develop their ability to critically analyze and successfully develop poverty solutions in constantly changing environments." Nuru aims to remove psychological and physical barriers, so that these new … Continue reading Nuru International Methodology