January 2009

Hi everyone and welcome to Youthink! I'm excited to be part of the Youthink! blog, which I hope will be a wonderful way for all of us to share our ideas of how we see, and hopefully can shape, the world around us. I’ve been blogging on international politics, economics, and development on my personal site (http://blog.zzzeitgei.st/) with young scholars for some time. With my training in anthropology and development, much of my work and research is focused on issues facing young people throughout the world. My time living throughout Asia has shaped my beliefs on the importance of local and community efforts in spurring development and shaping our own shared future.

In all of my time in Asia (pretty much everywhere minus Afghanistan), I was most struck by how even the most mundane aspects of daily life in the developing world are shaped by decisions and policies made all over the world. We may not always see how or think this is the case, but prying a little deeper into how our world operates can show just how truly connected our lives are.