In 2000, all United Nations Member States, aiming at combating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, and discrimination against women, adopted the eight Millennium Development Goals. The established framework had a clear deadline: 2015. Yet despite important progress in several countries, there is still a great deal to be done. […]

Basilicata is a region in the south of Italy, bordering on three other regions – Campania, Puglia and Calabria- and two seas – the Tyrrhenian and Ionian. In many ways it represents a typical Italian paradox. Basilicata is my region and I love it. Basilicata – or Lucania if you […]

This post was produced for the Global Economic Symposium 2013 to accompany a session on “Innovation, Dynamism, and Entrepreneurship.” Read more at http://blog.global-economic-symposium.org/. What are the ingredients required for a sustainably innovative, entrepreneurial, and growth-oriented environment? Australia was recently named among the top quartile of G20 countries in which to be an […]

There is one very striking difference between traveling through villages in Hungary and Bavaria, Germany. In Bavaria, almost all the rooftops are covered by solar panels; in Hungarian villages none are. At first glance it would seem that Germany has found its way to clean, sustainable energy. However, this view […]

Global scrutiny of the substandard working conditions of textile workers in Bangladesh’s garment factories intensified significantly following the collapse of the Rana Plaza textile factory, which is now considered to be one of the world’s worst industrial accidents. Much discussion has centred upon the industry’s exploitative practices that particularly impact […]