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This blog is a global conversation among young people on poverty and other development-related issues. It's maintained by the World Bank's Youthink! team

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Education

Of Literacy and Lying...

Submitted by Saadia Iqbal on September 8, 2009 - 11:36

Have you ever felt you're not learning much in school? I certainly had that problem, although I have to admit that was mostly because of an unfortunate tendency to daydream...the one thing I did learn was how to lie, but that's only because I went to a really strict school where you had to be quick with excuses for things like why you were late, or weren't wearing your school blazer and other such terrible misdemeanors.

Blueprint for Green Schools

Submitted by Saadia Iqbal on August 10, 2009 - 10:57

If you were intrigued by Saptarshi's blog post about the "green" ideas of Sophie Bathurst, you'll be happy to know she has been blogging in more detail about them on the World Bank's Climate Change blog. Sophie is the winner of this year's World Bank Essay Competition, and she has some innovative ideas about tackling climate change through youth-led solutions. Check it out!

Learning about different partners in the fight against poverty

Submitted by Saadia Iqbal on August 6, 2009 - 10:19

I'm still here at the Youth Assembly, and learning of different organizations and amazing projects all the time. One such organization is Roots and Shoots -- a project founded by Dr. Jane Goodall, that aims to empower youth to make a difference in their own communities. The two presenters from Roots and Shoots asked the audience to think about these questions:

- What kinds of air/water/land pollution do you see in your community?
- Do you know of any endangered plant species in your community?
- Do you know of any endangered animal species in your community?

“So… what happens after I graduate?”

Submitted by María Rodríguez on July 1, 2009 - 00:00

I think this is one of the most common questions among the world’s youth. Graduation, from high school or university, is one of those moments when we are faced with making decisions about where our life should go or what we should do from that moment onward. In fact, those decisions are a fundamental part of how our societies and economies work, but in general we don’t pay much attention to their importance for development. I bet even you haven’t really thought about it!

Youth - Greening the NOW and the NEXT Generation

Submitted by Saptarshi Pal on June 9, 2009 - 11:41

Highlights of the essay by Sunviana Sunaryo Suni (Indonesia) who is one of the eight finalists of The World Bank Essay Competition 2009.

“Growing thoughts in a kid’s mind is the same as growing plants. We have to be patient in planting the right thoughts in their mind and keeping the thoughts away from bad factors, until the thoughts grow and become a mature tree. A right, strong, and mature thought will lead to the actions supporting the thoughts. This will be the time when kids are not kids anymore but youth. The problem we are facing now is that: Have the right thoughts been planted in our kids yet?”

Sunvi’s essay focuses on ideas on how to build a green awareness in both the NOW and NEXT generation –the youth and the kids.

 

Blueprint for Green Schools

Submitted by Saptarshi Pal on June 2, 2009 - 11:32

Based on the essay by Sophie Bathurst (Australia/Germany) who is one of the eight finalists of The World Bank Essay Competition 2009.

In schools across the globe students are made to realize the importance of walking to school, as it is not only a very healthy form of exercise but also as it reduces our carbon footprint. However, parents are often reluctant to implement it as they are mostly too busy to accompany their kids and can’t allow them go alone on the dangerous city streets. The idea of a Walking School Bus, as suggested by Sophie, is one of the most innovative and effective ideas that I’ve come across in a long time. She also suggests that we should have Walking School Bus drivers to ensure the safety of the primary school students on the streets and even designated Walking School Bus Stops! I feel the sight of primary schools students walking in a group to school will certainly inspire older generations.

Development: Opportunities vs. Challenges paradox

Submitted by María Rodríguez on May 27, 2009 - 11:07

I spent the 8 first days of May traveling around Valle del Cauca, western Colombia, as part of the project I am coordinating right now at the consulting firm I work for. This project aims to support the Ministry of Education of Colombia to follow up on 45 projects that are being undertaken by universities around the country with two ultimate objectives: to strengthen Colombia’s higher education retention rates and to connect our higher education programs with the real and ongoing needs of the country.

Mindanao

Submitted by Stacy Alcantara on April 7, 2009 - 09:39

Mindanao, the third major island group in the Philippines, strikes most of us as a culturally diverse region—along with many Muslims and Christians, its population is also made up of many local ethnic groups. This cultural diversity, in as much as it accounts for Mindanao’s uniqueness, has also been the root of the ongoing war which is taking its toll mostly in the regions of Sulu, Jolo, and some parts of Cotabato.

No cell phones in school?

Submitted by Nicholas Lembo on March 18, 2009 - 09:22

Cell phones get a bad rap in most parts of America. Self-help gurus promise serenity if we turn off our Blackberries, planes ban their use, and public conversation is largely frowned upon in crowded places. This is a marked difference from most parts of the developing world. Why? In America, mobile devices have come to epitomize convenience but are underutilized for valuable information sharing. In the developing world mobiles are obviously still used for conversation and staying in touch, but they also provide an outlet for cheap and long-distance transfer of information that was previously impossible. However, despite their ubiquity, some people are still ignorant of their usefulness.

Boys looking at cellphone

World Youth in Action

Submitted by María Rodríguez on March 10, 2009 - 18:10

Hello to all readers and followers of the Youthink! blog. My journey as a social entrepreneur started in 2003 while I was pursuing my studies in Business Administration (yes, I am a Business Administrator AND my passion is social impact… that can really happen). As a result of a class assignment, a couple of classmates and I decided to teach people from an underprivileged community how to use a computer and, to do that, we used the computer lab of a public school located in their neighborhood.

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