Anyone comparing countries can quickly conclude there isn’t a direct fixed relationship between economic growth and quality public services. Per capita income can be terrible while total national income is high. Economic growth can be high yet maintain widespread inequality. This is not a sustainable way to run a country, yet this is how things are and have always been done in Brazil, the last country in the Americas to abolish slavery and today the world’s 7th largest economy where 21% of the population is still under the poverty line. Brazil today is 106th in GDP per capita. We also rank among the worst in inequality, at number 17, although this is a significant improvement over the 1st place position we occupied two decades ago. Read more.
Submitted by Catalytic Communities — Thu, 06/20/2013 – 11:08
For over two decades, Brazil has been actively working to eradicate child labor, especially through legislation and by implementing effective interventions. A key step forward was the approval of the Child and Adolescent Statute in 1990, which sets out the rights of children and adolescents, and the Constitutional Amendment from 1998, which explicitly prohibits work by anyone who is 16 years or younger. Work conducted by a teenager aged 14 to 16 can only be training-related and should ensure the individual’s education, health, and overall wellbeing. Read more or join the discussion.
Submitted by Catalina Gomez — Mon, 06/10/2013 – 00:00
O Brasil vem trabalhando ativamente na erradicação do trabalho infantil, especialmente na formulação da legislação requerida e da execução de programas eficientes. Os primeiros avanços incluem a aprovação do Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente de 1990 que resume os principais direitos desta população e da Emenda Constitucional de 1998 que aumenta a idade mínima para a entrada no mercado de trabalho. Com ela passou a ser proibido qualquer tipo de trabalho até os 16 anos. Entre 14 e 16 anos os jovens só podem exercer trabalhos remunerados na condição de aprendiz e sempre garantindo a proteção integral desta população, especialmente a frequência à escola. Leia mais ou discutir.
For over two decades, Brazil has been actively working to eradicate child labor, especially through legislation and by implementing effective interventions. A key step forward was the approval of the Child and Adolescent Statute in 1990, which sets out the rights of children and adolescents, and the Constitutional Amendment from 1998, which explicitly prohibits work by anyone who is 16 years or younger. Work conducted by a teenager aged 14 to 16 can only be training-related and should ensure the individual’s education, health, and overall wellbeing. Read more or join the discussion.
Submitted by Catalina Gomez — Mon, 06/10/2013 – 00:00
According to UNICEF, roughly 15 million children under the age of 14 were employed in Nigeria’s semi-formal and informal sectors in 2006. The most common forms of employment include street vendors, beggars, shoe shiners, mechanics, bus conductors, and domestic servants. This high incidence of child labor follows Nigeria’s high poverty rate: these children’s labour sometimes serves as the only source of income not only for themselves, but also for their families. Child labour has become an avenue for impoverished families in Lagos to provide basic needs for themselves, at the expense of the child. Read more or join the discussion.
Submitted by Wura — Mon, 06/10/2013 – 00:00
Shubbo, an eleven-year-old boy from Dhaka, welds car parts for a living. Too young and skinny to carry parts, Shubbo carries out one of the most risky and demanding tasks while his boss sips tea. He works from morning until late at night, and earns less than a dollar a day. Read more or join the discussion.
Submitted by Editor — Mon, 06/10/2013 – 00:00
The second day of the New Cities Summit hosted several interesting and thought-provoking discussions. The day started with a panel on participation; highlights included Porto Alegre’s Mayor José Fortunati talking about the city’s renowned participative budgeting exercise which has been in place for 23 years. He attributed the city’s excellent scores on the Human Development Index to the great levels of active and sustained citizen participation in key development issues. Read more.
Submitted by Catalina Gomez — Thu, 06/06/2013 – 14:24
Influential policy makers, academics, innovators, entrepreneurs, and social and urban development practitioners are currently gathered in São Paulo for a two-day summit organized by the New Cities Foundation. The event focuses on the current challenges that cities face becoming more just and inclusive. Read more.
Submitted by Catalina Gomez — Wed, 06/05/2013 – 11:58
Slums are mostly viewed from the outside as alienated environments in which people languish in abject poverty, barely managing to scrape by. Although there has been some progress toward debunking the stereotype of slum dwellers as lazy, criminal, and somewhat ignorant, there is still an overall perception that people who live in informal settlements are different, not like the rest of society and hence not quite able to get ahead in life. Read more or join the discussion.
Submitted by Katy Fentress — Mon, 04/29/2013 – 00:00
On the 4th of March this year, the day Kenyans went to the polls to elect their fourth president, a large part of the mainstream media covering the elections was stationed in Kibera slum, ready to capture any violence that might erupt. At the end of the day, the general impression was that reporters had been disappointed that Kiberans had patiently spent hours on end in long winding queues as they waited for their turn to vote. “I had so many calls just before the election,” Josh Owino, a coordinator for Kibera News Network (KNN), tells us. “International journalists contacted me because they wanted to do stories on how Kiberans were migrating out of the slums to avoid violence; they also wanted me to track down perpetrators from the 2008 post-election violence so they could get direct testimonies from them.” Read more or join the discussion.
Submitted by Katy Fentress — Mon, 04/15/2013 – 00:00
There are 25 million extreme poor in Bangladesh, a significant proportion of whom live in Dhaka city. However, there has been no comprehensive study of their individual needs. The narrative of the poor is often stereotyped and misrepresented; it is therefore vital that the voice of the poor be heard. The buzzword in poverty eradication must change from “intervention” to “cooperation.” Read more or join the discussion.
Submitted by Editor — Mon, 04/15/2013 – 00:00