Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Marcela Valente BUENOS AIRES, Apr 11, 2011 (IPS) – Argentina’s president is a woman, Cristina Fernández, and the country has one of the highest percentages of women lawmakers in the world. But women also have other leadership roles, outside the political system. Natalia Garabano, the coordinator of [...]
New Yorkers Rage Against the Cuts
March 26, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Kanya D’Almeida NEW YORK, Mar 25, 2011 (IPS) – In the shadow of towering colonial-style office buildings of the world’s most powerful financial district, a crowd over 5,000-strong amassed outside Manhattan’s City Hall Thursday, chanting "The people united will never be defeated!" As the contagious effects of [...]
MOZAMBIQUE: Educator in the Foothills of Her Political Career
March 21, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Charles Maraia NAMPULA PROVINCE, Mozambique, Mar 21, 2011 (IPS) – If women like Judith Mussacula realise their aspirations to become the next generation of Mozambican politicians, the country’s future will be in safe hands. Give a book to a woman and you will educate an entire nation. [...]
"Yes I Can" Say Illiterate Adults in Guatemala
March 10, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Danilo Valladares GUATEMALA CITY, Mar 10, 2011 (IPS) – Concepción González, 42, never went to school. She remembers with frustration having to stamp her fingerprint because she couldn’t sign official documents, and having to respond "I don’t know" to her children’s homework questions. But the Guatemalan mother [...]
PHILIPPINES: Building Schools From Soda Bottles
February 28, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Kara Santos MANILA, Feb 28, 2011 (IPS) – It takes roughly three to five centuries for the average plastic bottle to biodegrade. But some environmentalists have found new uses for it, turning it into durable material for building classrooms. "What used to be a problem in the [...]
VENEZUELA: Government Yields to Student Hunger Strikers
February 23, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Humberto Márquez CARACAS, Feb 22, 2011 (IPS) – For the first time in over 20 years, a Venezuelan government gave in Tuesday to the demands of students, more than 60 of whom were on hunger strike, and released or promised better conditions for members of the opposition [...]
PAKISTAN: Mullahs Fight Math in Madrassas
February 22, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Ashfaq Yusufzai PESHAWAR, Feb 22, 2011 (IPS) – The government has launched a programme to modernize religious schools so that students get a basic education in such subjects as math, English and even computers. Sardar Hussain Babak, education minister for the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said the [...]
MEXICO: China Is Hiring; Only Professionals Need Apply
February 19, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Emilio Godoy MEXICO CITY, Feb 19, 2011 (IPS) – Mexican pilot Armando Arauz is preparing the thick pile of documents and exams he needs to work for an airline in China. "The Chinese are very exacting and demanding," the 41-year-old pilot, who worked for the private Mexicana [...]
EDUCATION-CUBA: The Sharp Edge of Change
February 11, 2011 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Ivet González HAVANA, Feb 11, 2011 (IPS) – Tougher entrance exams for higher education, to be applied in the next academic year in Cuba, are worrying families who see getting into university as a major achievement for their children. "These young people have been raised with the [...]
No Sex Education Please, We’re Arab
November 22, 2010 By
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy / IPS By Cam McGrath CAIRO, Nov 22, 2010 (IPS) – Civil society has warned of adverse social and health consequences after the Egyptian government ordered the removal of content related to male and female anatomy, reproductive health and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) from the school curriculum. "We know most [...]
