The Earth Institute, Columbia University is pleased to announce 12 research assistant opportunities for undergraduate students during the spring 2012 semester. Undergraduates from Columbia and Barnard will be able to serve as research assistants on exciting research projects related to sustainable development and the environment, and engage with distinguished faculty and researchers at the cutting [...]
Category: Gender Equality
Gates Gift to Work Toward Millennium Development Goals
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation recently renewed its support for science and policy innovation to help impoverished countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals with a $15,000,000 multi-year grant.
Addressing Gender Inequality Through Agriculture
It has been well-documented that increasing women’s financial power is one of the most effective ways to develop a country (see: World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development). Mali is no exception, but due to laws that limit the amount of land women can hold, Malian women work mainly on small plots as horticulture [...]
How You Can Help Earth Cope with 7 Billion
Earth’s population has more than doubled in the last 50 years to 7 billion. The numbers represent big challenges—feeding and providing for additional people on a planet already stressed by environmental damage and climate change. What can ordinary individuals do?
7 Billion on 10/31: The Numbers Can Be Scary
You can now watch the tape of “The World at 7 Billion: Sustaining Our Future,” the Earth Institute’s panel discussion held at Columbia Oct. 17 and featuring the presentation by Professor Joel E. Cohen on the “good and bad news” behind the growing world population.
Join a Conversation About 7 Billion People
The world’s population will reach 7 billion this year, and the UN estimates continued growth, primarily in less-developed regions. What will this steep population growth mean for our environmental, economic and social systems? Join the conversation on Oct. 17.
“Standing Up for Girls” – and their Right to the Education they Deserve
For many in the developing world, education isn’t taken for granted. Around 35 million girls are out of school, the World Bank says, almost half of them in sub-Saharan Africa. In support of girls’ education, MCI joined the literacy organization LitWorld and other partners, including Connect To Learn, Asia Initiatives and the Children of Kibera Foundation, for a “Stand Up for Girls” rally to celebrate the International Day of the Girl on September 22.
Community Health Workers: Spokes of Change
Three years ago, Irene Gaundi was living with her parents in the Millennium Village of Bonsaaso, in Ghana. She had completed her last year of secondary school, moved home, and was helping her mother sell second hand clothes. Each day, Irene and her mother walked along the rust-colored roads, beneath the hot sun, balancing clothes [...]
Where Poverty is Extreme, but Where Girls’ Clubs Have Taught Participants the World Has Possibility
The following is a guest blog, authored by Pam Allyn, Executive Director and Founder of LitWorld, a global organization advocating for children’s rights as readers, writers and learners, and an MCI partner. This account is based on Pam’s travels to the Millennium City of Kisumu, Kenya, to spend time with four Girls’ Clubs, which foster literacy while building self-esteem.
Professor Jeffrey Sachs Extends Term as Director of the Earth Institute
The Earth Institute, Columbia University announced that Professor Jeffrey Sachs has agreed to extend his term as its director. Since his tenure began in 2002, Sachs has led the Earth Institute to become a leading scientific authority on sustainable development while simultaneously expanding its reach worldwide. Through his guidance, the Earth Institute and its scientists and researchers have consistently been at the forefront of efforts to help solve some the greatest challenges our world faces today in climate change, global poverty, energy, health, food and water security, natural hazards and economic crises.
