In 1960s Britain it was common for travelling salesmen (hardly ever women) to go from door to door selling subscriptions to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Twenty-four volumes whose cost could be spread over monthly repayments. Parents who could afford it, and even those who couldn’t, coveted Britannica...
Over the past few years, climate change has become a lighting rod issue in many countries of the Global North. Populist right-wing figures like Donald Trump (USA), Nigel Farage (UK), Alice Weidel (Germany) and Santiago Abascal (Spain) have either denied climate change, sought to undermine its...
In recent years, a lot has been said about the “extractivist” nature of today’s digital information ecosystem. While there has been some focus on the environmental impact of digital devices, the extractivism accusation has been directed primarily at the economic model of Big Tech, which...
The Internet is the world’s digital lifeline. For the approximately 5.6 billion people connected to the Internet (some 70% of the global population), access is essential. The entire Internet cannot be switched off, but governments and other actors can temporarily disrupt or restrict access by shutting...
A Beijing+30 reflection Exactly 30 years ago today, hope for a new dawn for women and girls was palpable. Governments and civil society that had gathered in Beijing for the Fourth UN World Conference on Women were united on a roadmap to end gender-based discrimination and achieve...
Have you ever read through the agenda of a United Nations General Assembly? The 80th regular session of the General Assembly opens tomorrow, 9 September. Under the theme, “Better Together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights,” the provisional agenda has 174 main...
Visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum is harrowing. It records, in photos, artifacts, quotes, and stories, the days and months following the dropping of the first atomic bomb on 6 August 1945. Intellectually, we all know the death and destruction was horrific. Coming face-to-face with eyewitness...
[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text css=""]The current Israeli regime is responsible for carrying out genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. This is the opinion of a United Nations Special Committee, Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières, B’Tselem, and Physicians for Human...
The US government just announced it will withdraw from UNESCO (again) effective December 31, 2026, stating that “[c]ontinued involvement in UNESCO is not in the national interest of the United States.” UNESCO'S statement in response was a diplomatic shrug, underlining that they were prepared anyway for...
Advancing digital rights, connecting billions, and democratizing data will cost money. After the last week’s World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)+20 High Level Event it is clear: if we want to achieve digital justice and inclusion, we need to discuss how this process will...