Advice from Youth: Meet the Essay Contest Winners, Part 3
Posted by Molly Brister| September 28, 2012
Recently, CIPE announced the launch of the 2012 CIPE Youth Essay Competition. As we look forward to reading a new batch of essays from young leaders around the world, winners from last year’s youth essay competition have advice for their peers.
Tackling issues of democratic governance, corruption, and sustainable development in their own essays, when interviewed about what they would like to see in the 2012 contest the 2011 winners emphasized the importance of local solutions, gender equality, freedom of press, and political pluralism.
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Loading ...Liberation Technology
Posted by Jon Custer| September 27, 2012
We live in a connected world: social media platforms that did not exist a decade ago now boast hundreds of millions of users and mobile phones are commonplace in even the poorest and most remote regions. Are these technologies, which have reshaped daily life for millions, a catalyst for democratic reform, or part of a new digital panopticon through which governments can spy on and control their citizens?
In 2007, when Larry Diamond coined the term “liberation technology,” these questions were largely academic – and were discussed at length in a collection of articles in the Journal of Democracy, recently updated and re-released in a book of the same name. But when democratic revolutions swept the Arab world four years later, spurred on by Facebook and watched around the world in real time on Twitter and YouTube, it seemed that the Internet had finally emerged as a force for positive political change in even the most repressive regimes.
At the same time, authoritarian governments are learning how to fight back, with some of the same tools. In many countries, the Internet has itself become an electronic battleground where repressive regimes are employing increasingly sophisticated strategies for repression and manipulation.
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(2 votes) Loading ...A Changing Leadership Approach in Business Associations
Posted by Majid Shabbir| September 26, 2012
In Pakistan there are about 45 Chambers and more than 100 sectorial associations. The operations of these business associations are regulated by Ministry of Commerce and Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan through Trade Organizations Ordinance and under Securities Exchange Commission regulations.
According to the Trade Ordinance, Presidents and Chairmen of Chambers and Associations are elected for a period of one year through election process. The elected leadership, being the representative of the business community, comes from the trade, industry, or services sectors. But to represent oneself as a leader of the business community from the platform of a chamber or an association for a short period is very challenging because the business dynamics of Chambers and Associations are entirely different from their own business setups.
In the last few years, business associations have been undergoing many positive changes. The elder leadership is proactive in its approach and is encouraging youth to join business associations. The young businessmen and businesswomen becoming part of the elected governing boards and managing committees are contributing a great deal in initiating new and innovative programs. With the blend of experienced business people and qualified youth, chambers and associations are performing well.
Read the rest of this post... 63 views (no votes) Loading ...Tell Us Your Story about Democracy and Entrepreneurship
Posted by Maiko Nakagaki| September 25, 2012
What better way to celebrate International Democracy Day than to tell us your story about democracy and entrepreneurship! From Liberia to India, stories about how entrepreneurship is helping build democratic societies are appearing from many parts of the world. CIPE wants to hear opinions of youth (aged 18 – 30) on this topic. The categories [...]
Read the rest of this post... 38 views (no votes) Loading ...Youth Take on Democratic Transitions
Posted by Julia Kindle| September 21, 2012
If you’ve been following CIPE’s activities centered around Democracy Day, you’ve seen a lot of young people making their opinions heard. Indeed, young people are more engaged now than ever, thanks to social media platforms that unite and amplify their voices. Democracy is, by its very nature, a hopeful political system; it presupposes the beliefs [...]
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The CIPE Development Blog provides coverage of CIPE and its partner network at work -- highlighting successes, drawing out lessons from failure, and exploring the broader issues of political and economic development. For more information visit the CIPE homepage.
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