All around the world, and in the countries and provinces and neighborhoods held captive by some of the most entrenched and toughest to battle poverty, women and men turn to business to feed their families.
Consumer-facing, peer-to-peer commerce start-ups are hot, but how many tie-sharing services does the country really need? (Yes, there is hot competition in this space.) Ideas like these are attractive because they are easy to act on quickly.
Keith R. Krueger, 02.06.2013
CEO of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN)
Technology plays an integral part in all aspects of school life: From its use to engage students, to a vehicle to connect teachers from across the district, to streamline administrative tasks such as payroll, to conduct assessment testing, and as an efficient way to communicate with parents and the community.
Suzie Boss, 01.29.2013
Education Journalist
According to the just-released Gallup-HOPE index for 2012, developing a world-changing invention is an aspiration shared by 42 percent of youth in grades 5-12. That's good news.
Carlos Dominguez, 01.30.2013
Senior Vice President, Cisco
Change doesn't have to be intimidating. Success is all about finding your passion and then collaborating with others to put that passion to work.
I don't know the pain of a refugee -- I tried to express it on The Walking Dead, but it was all make-believe. I do know what sexual violence feels like, I know the seeds of fear that root in the marrow of one's bones, I know the horror of powerlessness.
When Jordanian entrepreneur Nermin Fawzi Saad was looking for a handful of female engineers to join her new company, she put an ad in the newspaper, hoping to find a few interested candidates. She received more than 700 resumes.
Innovation is born out of both individual and collective design and requires both public and private sector attention. The country that best harnesses innovation, at home or abroad, wins more than leadership status -- it earns its return on investment.
With some success as a racer under his belt Brian branched out and started an apparel brand called Metal Mulisha that helped define the rider lifestyle for him and millions of fans.
Staci Sarkin is now closing in on 500,000 signatures (nearly the population of Wyoming), and is preparing to take the petition to Washington.
Tae Yoo, 01.24.2013
Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs, Cisco
Considering the great benefits of broadband connectivity to individuals and businesses alike, it is crucial for developing countries to help build out broadband infrastructure.
Every literacy teacher I know has a story about the day a certain student really came alive in their classroom -- the day they found a book that they really connected with.
I'm setting six New Year's resolutions that celebrate help, hope and humor. We can all use a little more of these qualities for 2013.
Carlos Dominguez, 01.29.2013
Senior Vice President, Cisco
The government isn't always pointed to as a source of innovation; Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, a former businessman and two-term mayor of Denver, is one elected official who's using a very innovative approach to changing the way the government operates.
John Connell, 02.20.2013
Education expert and strategist
Whatever our own standpoint might be, we should accept that one voice is often missing from this unruly discourse: that of young people, the very group most often affected by the decisions of education leaders. Just as they are absent from educational debates generally, so youthful voices are too often muted when the topic is the leadership of the social good that is utterly central to their futures: their education.
Chuck Slaughter, 02.17.2013
Founder and CEO, Living Goods
The unprecedented increase in mobile connectivity across emerging markets is captivating the world, and for good reason.
We wait all year for this season of kindness and giving, and many of us literally wait until the clock runs out on December 31 to support the causes close to our hearts (and get that tax credit). Here are 3 ways you can give back.
Blair Christie, 12.25.2012
Chief marketing officer for Global Marketing, Corporate Communications and Governments Affairs groups at Cisco
Through the magic of Cisco's video collaboration technologies, children virtually connect to the "North Pole" and are able to share their holiday wishes and Christmas lists with Santa directly.
Technology can be a great catalyst of change, but it cannot be considered a silver bullet to the world's myriad of complex problems. We must involve the creative and cultural industries with the technical.
Nokwanda Ramatheko, 02.06.2013
Cisco Scholar at the African Leadership Academy
Although some may say I have made it, I feel like I'm still hunting the pieces of my puzzle. When I feel that I have found all the pieces of complete self-discovery, prosperity, effective leadership and influence, I will sit down and put them together. I will look in the mirror again, and this time I will be greeted by the smile of feeling content with myself.