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Cultivating a solution to climate change
When most people think about the causes of climate change, they imagine cars, smokestacks, factories spewing out all manner of greenhouse gases (GHGs). In fact, between a third and a quarter of global GHG emissions …
Forming new coalitions to build resilience
Structural deficiencies in the development landscape mean that private capital is not having the impact it could on boosting sustainable development. Some intermediation functions, not unlike those played by investment banks in commercial markets, are …
Investing in insurance: reducing vulnerability and risk
We instinctively donate for the relief of disasters, but while relief reduces suffering and helps recovery, it seldom reduces the risks faced by vulnerable communities. In fact, a growing emphasis on relief diverts attention from …
Investing in democracy: the private sector’s role
The revolutions that have taken place and continue to take place in the Arab region can be viewed as a caution to the world that systems lacking accountability, transparency and social justice are losing ground. …
Time for US foundations to engage with the Arab region
A study conducted in early 2010[1] identified 17 US-based foundations funding in the Arab region. These foundations are funding at varying degrees, in specific countries, and on different issues. Although they do not share a …
The role of European foundations in the Arab region
Poonam Joshi and James Logan talk about Sigrid Rausing Trust’s and Oak Foundation’s involvement in the Arab region prior to the Arab Spring and how recent events have affected their approach, while Massimo Lanza of …
Civil society holds key to future of Arab Spring states
Although the uprisings that shook regimes across the Arab region were spontaneous, reflecting a breaking point in people’s tolerance of the system, organized civil society now has a crucial role to play in ensuring that …
Oiling the springs of democracy
Natural resources provide the greatest potential for financing development in some of the world’s poorest countries, far outweighing other sources of funding. In 2008, for example, the value of exports of oil and minerals for …
The hope of Arab Africa – a perspective from the South
The uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East have taken the world by storm, if not by surprise. Palestine and Lebanon have always lived out their volatility in the open, but the long-term governments …
Approach analogies with caution
When confronted with startling political events, we naturally grasp at ways to make sense of them. Historical analogies promise to demystify a disorienting present through insights from the past. As political change roiled the Arab …