Culture

Two actors in the a new video that satirizes assumptions that Africans are destitute. (Video still by Africa for Norway.)

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Save a Norwegian child today! Mail her your radiator

Sure, hunger is bad. But frostbite kills too. Africa for Norway aims to help freezing Norwegians survive the winter, one radiator at a time.

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Soft power, Gangnam style

PSY's single could hit a billion YouTube views.

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Afghanistan's superhero: mobile phones fight crime, liberate women and enrich the poor

As Afghanistan’s leading telecommunications provider, Roshan’s mobile phone service is transforming security, information sharing and entrepreneurship in the world’s second most corrupt country.

Gisele Bundchen and Masai warrior Keseme Ole Parsapaet in Amercan Express (RED) advert. Photo: <a href="http://www.newint.org/features/2006/11/01/productred/">American Express</a>

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All the sinners saints? Why Bono's (RED) can't redeem Western consumers

Product (RED) is a flawed market-based poverty solution that distracts from the need for genuine innovation in corporate business models, argue Brand Aid authors Lisa Richey and Stefano Ponte.

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Tinker, tailor, programmer: Entrepreneurship is subverting gender in Afghanistan

In southern Afghanistan, the promise of a well-paid urban career is luring women to keyboards and men to needlework.

Women can help drive economic success. So why aren't we using them? Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldbank/6081164334/sizes/m/in/photostream/">World Bank (Flickr)</a>

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Are women the key to economic success?

An economy can’t thrive if half its population is ignored.

Is Islamic finance a viable alternative to our present model? Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/askpang/2423632175/sizes/m/in/photostream/">Alex Pang (Flickr)</a>

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The Islamic financial system's ancient, interesting idea: Banning interest

As the Islamic finance sector booms, sharia-compliant systems present opportunities for growth as well as reflection on western economic models.

<a href="http://www.mercycorps.org/photoessay/landownershipyieldsstrongerhealthiercommunities">View the full Guatemala photo essay. By Jamie Grant for Mercy Corps.</a>

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More than an argument, land conflicts stall economic growth

As battles over land rights increase and intensify, development stalls.

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Quick Link: a look into the business of doing good

Amy Costello reports on the Toms Shoes “buy one give one” model for Tiny Spark, a new podcast on the business of doing good.

Local publishing can increase readership and boost economies. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/prathambooks/3291764099/sizes/m/in/photostream/">Photo: Pratham Books (Flickr)</a>

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Why native publishers, not foreign donors, are the cure for illiteracy

Between the pages of a book, people in developing countries can find knowledge and business opportunity.

Post-independence affirmative action policies to redress the class imbalance in India include reserved spots at schools for lower castes. Photo: Thatcher Cook for Mercy Corps.

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Fighting the caste system with capitalism in India

Few Indians make it across the divide between poor and rich. But some so-called “untouchables” who have crossed it see only one way to bring fellow Dalits across: employ them themselves.

More consumers are choosing products that are both hip and support a cause. Photo:<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/27055329@N06/5770536860/">mariahfleming (Flickr)</a>

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Tom's Shoes succeeds at marketing, but Warby Parker wins for a better anti-poverty model

This article was republished in The Christian Science Monitor.

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The sOccket: A Soccer Ball that Generates Electricity

A flourishing economy has enabled many Chinese citizens to climb the socio-economic ranks. Photo:<a href="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3054/2928911826_e8754e82e2_s.jpg">xiaming (flickr)</a>

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As China's middle class rises, so does social discontent

The spirit of 1989’s Tiananmen Square is alive in China, except the swarm of charged students has been replaced by a disgruntled, expanding middle class.

Inadvertently, an economic boom has resounded with cries for change.

Calls to make changes to our international financial system are being heard. Will they be listened to? Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/itspaulkelly/3052867848/">itspaulkelly (Flickr)</a>

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The global financial crisis examined: A Global Envision mini-series

Mass unemployment, an overwhelming sense of unfairness and a loss of hope need no translation. Even without written demands, the sentiments of Occupy Wall Street have been interpreted through similar protests in 941 cities in 82 countries - and counting.