The following article was published on The Essential Edge and The Essential Field Guide to Afghanistan and the Region. The author looks forward to any comments on how we can improve the…

The editors of the 4th Essential Field Guide to Afghanistan and the Region have just published their new information portal www.efgafghan.com that will not only help update future editions of the Afghan handbook - to be published later this year - but also to serve as an critical internet magazine. Portions of the 4th edition of the EFGA are already online, but we're also seeking insightful and well-written…

Here's a thought provoking blog post from Migration4Development.org's Jo Irvine to coincide with World Humanitarian Day.  

Enjoy!

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World Humanitarian Day: Diasporas for peace-building…

by Deepa Panchang

June 29, 2012

“Where you stand,” goes an old Haitian proverb, “depends on where you sit.” This article, the second in a series, will examine aid workers’ stereotypes and prejudices about residents of displacement camps in post-earthquake Haiti, stemming from acute disconnect between NGOs…

By Deepa Panchang

May 31, 2012

“Cholera is something they sent,” says graffiti on Port-au-Prince walls, “to finish killing off the rest of us.”

Scientists have shown that the cholera pathogen came to Haiti with foreign UN troops who carried the bacteria in their bodies, and…

Sharing a link to my storify-ed livetweets from last night's panel discussion on foreign policy and humanitarian aid efforts in Uganda and the Congo in response to the international media attention garnered by Invisible Children’s KONY 2012 campaign. Panelists included Maurice Carney of Friends of the Congo, Milton Allimadi of …

Here's an article I wrote in response to the argument of needing to fight fire with fire in Syria, Uganda, etc. Appealing as firepower may be, history shows that approach fails to ease civilian suffering most of the time.... often causing greater violence, prolonged instability and lessening chances for democracy.…

There’s still time to apply to the 2012 Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI). Come take from one to four courses in development, humanitarian assistance,…

• I ask readers interested in peace and conflict to join the Peace and Collaborative Development Network and donate to help keep them alive, if possible. The network is a great place to meet others working in the field, browse job openings, read great blog entries and learn where to find other conflict resources.
• The International Centre on Nonviolent Conflict is…

• Fatima Bensouda was formally elected as chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court on Monday. Bensouda was the only candidate running for the election and will take over from Luis Moreno-Ocampo in June.
• The UNDP has released its 2011 Human Development Report. This report projects a…

I'm recruiting nominations for the 2012 Global Innovation Award. Please note: the $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Sustainability has been renamed the $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Global Innovation as of the 2012 award season.

Innovation for the Developing World

The $100,000 Lemelson-MIT Award for Global Innovation recognizes individuals whose technological innovations improve the lives of impoverished people in the developing world.  The award also…

The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is a relatively new international security and human rights norm to address international community's failure to prevent and stop genocides, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against…

September 2, 2011

Jan Oberg, dr.hc., peace researcher


Director of TFF, The Transnational Foundation in Sweden


www.transnational.org

Manuscript finished on August 15, i.e. a few days before the Libyan rebels moved into Tripoli

Part II - What Should Have Been Done Before the NATO/US Decision to Bomb? 

The following is…

www.augp.webs.com

His Eminence Most Rev. Dr. Madhu Krishan The Founder & Chairman...…

Richard Moore describes himself as “just a guy who wanted to help.”

This is somehow funny coming from a man whom the Dalai Lama refers to as “my hero.”

Well known to the residents of Derry, Ireland, where we met last month, Richard Moore was shot at the age of 10 by a British solider on his way home from school. Taking a rubber bullet on the bridge of his nose, Richard lost…

I give lots of thought to what makes community-based organizations the lowest common denominator in development aid. Readers of how-matters.org may already be familiar with previous arguments I’ve offered for the increased inclusion of and investment in community-based organizations (CBOs). As an ardent proponent of CBOs’ comparative advantages, I believe they have a better chance of being driven by “the…

Hello readers! I returned from Ireland in the beginning of July and have been bursting with stories to tell. Here are a few highlights of the wonderful people I was able to connect with in Ireland, all due to this amazing tool we call the internet.



Alessandra Pigni, Founder of Mindfulness for NGOs…

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Good evening from the suburbs west of Manila!

Japan has begun to go back to normal life weeks after the catastrophe of quake-tsunami-nuke crash triad slammed Honshu and broke the hearts of Amaterasu’s scions. Amid the colossal maelstrom and seemingly ceaseless damages wrought, we observed the calm and sobriety displayed by the Japanese, a behavior that was exemplary to say the least.

We outsider-sympathizers…

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Too many expatriate workers are helping to build the Libyan economy and society to bring it closer to modernity. They comprise over 1/3 of the Libyan population of 6 Million+, and they include thousands of my fellow Filipinos. With the conflict between pro and anti-Kadhafy forces escalating, expats were so badly displaced along the way.

I hope I could have been interviewed by Kadhafy himself before the turmoil started. For…