Debate: How Can We Do the Most Good?

The world indeed has many problems and we can't seem to solve them all... not even close. So what do we do?

Danish academic, Bjorn Lomborg, argues that we need to prioritize and figure out where can we get "the most bang for our buck." In May 2004, he gathered some of the world's top economists in Copenhagen to come up with a list of spending priorities for the international community. The result? The economists concluded that money should be spent in the following four areas first:

• HIV/AIDS prevention (especially in sub-Saharan Africa)
• Micronutrients - fight hunger and malnutrition (especially iron-deficiency) by providing food supplements
• Trade reform - increase free trade
• Malaria - control and treat malaria

The panel also recommended that we should spend less money on other problems, and this is where things get tricky. Low on their priority list are issues such as climate change.

Is Lomborg right? Should we rank the world's problems using a cost-benefit analysis?

By the way, there was a separate youth forum at the Copenhagen Consensus and they came up with completely different list:

• Malnutrition and Hunger
  
• Communicable Disease
• Governance and Corruption
• Education

Hear Bjorn Lomborg make his case in this radio interview with the CBC program, The Current.

What do you think our priorities are? Discuss in the forum. Discuss.

News: Iraq poll 'a victory over terror'

The voting has ended and the counting has begun. Iraq now turns to the task of determining the victors of Sunday's election and figuring out who will form the next government.

Insurgents had promised to wash the streets with "voters' blood," and indeed, dozens of attacks on Sunday left at least 29 people dead.

Still, Iraq's interim prime minister calls the election a success and urges all Iraqis to stand side by side as they build a new future.

Watch BBC report
BBC: Iraq poll 'a victory over terror'

DVD: Promises

Now on DVD (and available in an educational package), Promises follows seven Israeli and Palestinian children through the complicated landscape of Middle East politics.

Though they live within 20 minutes of one another, the seven children (ages 9-12 at time of filming) live in polarizing worlds. A few of them dared to cross the geographical and emotional divide between the two groups and reach out in ways even their parents hadn't.

Promises offers a rare glimpse into a story that most of us only know through headlines.

It's one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. Watch it if you can find or order a copy.

Watch Trailer
Official Site

Game: Steer Madness

If your idea of a fun video game doesn't involve stealing cars, robbing people, or committing mass slaughter, then... why play at all? :)

Perhaps non-violent, animal-friendly games are your specialty? Then you might want to give Steer Madness a try.

Created by Veggie Games of Vancouver, Steer Madness just won the annual Proggy Award for the Best Animal-Friendly Video Game. In this 3D action-adventure game, you're a cow on a mission. You just escaped the slaughterhouse and you go on missions to rescue animals from labs, deliver soymilk, and protest against fur... everything cows would do if only they had their way.

DVD: Lost Boys of Sudan

This is to alert everyone that the documentary Lost Boys of Sudan is now available on DVD. It follows the journeys of two Sudanese refugees who had the chance to move to the U.S. to start a new life.

They were part of a U.S. government program that moved nearly 4,000 youth from refugee camps in Eastern Africa to 40 communities all across the U.S. As the film shows, the results can be mixed.

Safe from physical harm, the boys have to make a new life for themselves in a completely different culture and society. Some were more successful than others.

Watch the trailer
Official Site

UN praises tsunami relief effort

UN's chief emergency coordinator, Jan Egeland, praises the global response to the tsunami disaster.

UN praises tsunami relief effort

However, this does not mean that reconstruction efforts, which will take years to complete, will reach all the victims or in a timely manner.

That's why our Tsunami Relief campaign is still vital. We will know in a few months what devastated areas may need our support. Keep an eye out for possible projects to adopt.

Website Status

We are moving ever closer to full functionality of our website. Please bear with us.

In the meantime, you should be able to...

• register as a member
• participate in the forum
• have your sponsor create your chapter

We will soon post detailed step by step instructions on how everything works.

For now, enjoy the content and the forum!

Welcome to GlobalTribe

We can't tell you how excited we are to launch this test phase of GlobalTribe and we welcome all of you who are joining us from the US, Canada, UK, and Kenya. (A special thanks to all the Canadians who've already signed up!)

Over the next 5 or 6 months, your feedback and your pioneering efforts as the FIRST EVER GlobalTribe members will be critical to our future development. We look forward to hearing from each and everyone of you.

Never hesitate to post a comment either here or in the forum.