Category: Values

ibelong

A few weeks ago, one of these pieces featured the issue of being stateless, a problem that tends to be neglected and ignored. Now a potential solution stands a chance to alleviate the suffering of so many and I feel duty bound to mention it. UNHCR, the UN agency for refugees is launching a campaign to help end statelessness. UN Special Envoy Angelina Jolie along with some 30 other celebrities and world leaders wrote a letter launching the ibelong campaign which initiates the process whereby it is hoped that 10 million people will sign the online petition. The campaign is a joint effort between UNHCR and the United Colors of Benetton which is providing the creative ideas. Currently at least 10 million (hence the number of sought signatures) or more are stateless in various parts of the world and a baby is born stateless every 10 minutes. If signing the petition matters to you, and I hope it does, or to read the letter, go to http://ibelong.unhcr.org

Hope After All

I just read about the consolidation of hospitals and medical practices, placing health care in fewer hands. Of course Comcast is set to take over Time Warner Cable, and we hear a lot about Amazon getting too big and throwing its weight around. Housing prices are above what the average earner can afford; it is becoming harder for average workers to qualify for loans or save for a down payment, so many houses that might otherwise be bought by those aspiring to be middle class now go to a variety of entrepreneurs and speculators who can afford them and do with them what they will. In politics money is more and more at the center of campaigns, and that in great part fueled by recent Supreme Court decisions. It seems that in any number of fields, we keep moving into perilous territory, one where only those at the top of the economic ladder can prosper. Here and there, there are signs the trend is being noticed, but too often talk of remedies centers around hot button issues like the 1% or the agenda of the extremes of the political parties mouthing whatever they think will gain attention. Politicians speak of helping the middle class, although helping the middle class may not be possible without addressing the concentration of financial power. Just as I was feeling no one was addressing the problem as a whole, I read an article about capitalism being in crisis and talking about the new buzzword “inclusion.” In the world’s convention centers and auditoriums where bankers and politicians gathers, inclusion refers to what Western industrialized nations seem to be losing, the ability to allow as many as possible to benefit economically as well as participate in political life.

Looks like there’s hope after all.

Data–Raising The Bar

We collect lots of data, but we don’t always collect the data we need. We, for example, don’t know how many children with disabilities are out of school in the world, nor do we know how many women die in childbirth in the poorest countries. We estimate, but often that is not good enough to make the right decision or design good programs. What is being called a high level group has been appointed by UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon to not only fill in the blanks in the data we need but also to ensure that data can have quality and usability. The group is to come up with ideas of how to make this happen and is bringing together academics, activists, those who manage data for governments and those who put together global numbers. The idea is to bridge the old and new worlds of data, that means linking government statisticians with Silicon Valley developers. In some quarters this is being thought of as a data revolution. All the groups involved have something to contribute to increase the quantity of data so that the holes where data is needed and is not now being collected can be filled, as well as forge the sought after quality and usability so that in the end the data can be put to work to improve people’s lives.

Good ideas don’t always live up to their potential, let’s hope this one does.