Conflict-Free in the Congo
In response to over a decade of brutal violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Intel announced in January that it will produce the world’s first “conflict free” processors.[1] Though there have been attempts to publicize the atrocities occurring over the control of the mineral rich land in the DRC, this is the […]
Justice Albie Sachs: Reflections of Social Transformation
*This piece was original posted in the Social Enterprise Institute Newsletter.* To say the social transformations occurring in South Africa are sweeping would be an understatement. Only 19 years ago, the beautiful country was plagued with laws that incarcerated progressive leaders and suppressed any notion of majority rule in every industry. Today, new-found harmony amongst […]
Kenya’s 2013 Presidential Election: Recurring Violence or a Peaceful Transition?
Between 2002 and 2007, Kenya was an African leader. In one of the most hostile areas of the world, where Islamists had taken control of neighboring Somalia, Sudan faced constant ethnic conflict, and rebel groups were attacking civilians in nearby Uganda and eastern Congo, Kenya managed to flourish. The economy grew at an average of […]
Somali Piracy: When Short-term Solutions Turn to Long-term Problems
Kidnappings and hijackings off the coast of Somalia have been the topic of sensationalist media attention over the last few years. When Americans Jean and Scott Adam, Phyllis Macay, and Bob Riggle were killed this past February in a Somali hijacking, most saw a one-dimensional report of a crime committed by a barbaric people.[i] The […]
Bitter Sweets: The Problem of Child Labor in the Cocoa Industry
Ten-year-old Madi, whose family cannot afford to send him to school, spends his days hacking away at cocoa pods with a machete. Such conditions are common in the Ivory Coast’s farms where 43% of the world’s chocolate is produced. Although United States chocolate companies passed a protocol to get rid of “the worst forms of […]