As school wraps up and kids retreat to virtual worlds, parents fear their children are hunkered down in the basement, slaying aliens. What if they were solving real-world problems? Could video games be the antidote to apathy? The question seems odd, since we think of video games as an escape from reality. But we grew up in an age of solitary teens playing Mortal Kombat. Maybe it's time to reconsider the social impact of virtual reality. The video game Evoke sparked a worldwide movement. Its first round saw 19,000 players collaborate to increase food security and access to clean water, and fight poverty in 130 countries. What if the 'can-do' attitude kids learn from video games manifested in their daily actions?
Imagine building 5,357 schools in 12 states in 19 years. Now imagine that these schools weren't just four walls and a roof, but innovative facilities. Now remember this took place in a time where 17 states still mandated school populations be segregated.
America's wealthy funnel the vast majority of their charitable dollars into institutions that simply don't address society's most urgent needs. That may pass the muster when we're all doing well, but it doesn't work in times like these.
With the WNBA, the destination for the greatest women's basketball players in the world, I hope to provide young girls with new hope, inspiration and someone to look up to.
Abundant marine, animal and plant life in the Philippines support a rapidly growing population of 90 million. The nation's wealth in natural resources also serves as profitable products in the global market.
Nearly 8 years of video are uploaded to YouTube every day. This mass of video reflects the deep desire of people to reach out, connect and share their experiences with the world in the hope of finding an audience.
There is nothing better for the soul than a big, honking dose of puppy love.
It's no surprise that GDP is no longer the first place economists, policymakers, and individuals go to answer the question "how are people really doing?"
Let's all give thanks to the men and women who stand in harm's way so we can enjoy holidays like the Fourth of July.
If you oversee investments for a non-profit, you must ensure that your organization's invested money is safe. Here are some questions you should discuss with your current or prospective money manager.
Why does it matter if a mother's prenatal visits are 10 minutes long or last more than an hour? Why does it matter if the care provider at her birth is someone she has built a trusting relationship with over 9 months or a stranger-on-call?
Special needs teens and adults live everyday in a world where they don't "fit in" not because of anything that they are doing, but because of our own discomfort with being different. But we are the ones with the disability, the inability to express ourselves authentically in our life
Far more women in the United States are victims of domestic violence than are injured in car accidents each year. In fact, the two aren't even close -- battering outstrips crashes roughly two to one.
Literacy is the human rights issue of our time. Let us advocate for each other to seek the power of words to change worlds.
Elizabeth Blackney is on her 38th day of a hunger strike to get President Barack Obama to pay attention to the plight of the women of the Congo. So far, the White House hasn't noticed.
President Obama has called education the civil rights issue of our time. Now is the time for the next transforming freedom moment and movement -- to set our children free from illiteracy, low expectations, and jobless, hopeless futures.
We have to make sacrifices to stop the crimes that are ultimately being committed in our names. In different ways, we have to risk the consequences of being where we need to be when we need to be there.
How is it possible after all the steps we've taken that a massive dignity deficit still remains for people with disabilities? The bitter truth is that subtle but persistent discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities remains rampant around the world.
Acid violence is a form of vengeance for other types of social conflicts like disputes over land. In most cases the women, young and adolescent girls and girl children are the victims.
Kristen Lewis, 2011.06.29
Melanie Lundquist, 2011.06.29
