Uncertain Steps: Power-sharing deal signed today in Zimbabwe

Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of Zimbabwe’s opposition party MDC, announced today that he will join President Mugabe in a power-sharing deal drafted in September. This comes after months of deadlock, and while there is much celebration, many are worried that the deal was signed too hastily without sufficient certainty in its terms. An AllAfrica article [...]

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Elections Postponed in Afghanistan

A post on The Daily Beast today highlights the decision made by Afghan officials to postpone elections for another four months to allow thousands of incoming US troops to improve security beforehand. The elections are now scheduled for August 20, 2009 – but could be pushed back even further, seeing as “the electoral commission [...]

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Voices from Liberia

A beautiful recording of a Liberian a cappella group singing a song about the struggles of conflict, and its resolution. The song is called “Kuro” (The Devil is a Liar).  The group sings to raise the profile of the West African Children Support Network.

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GPF Social Entrepreneur in the news: Heidi Kuhn

Roots of Peace, founded by Heidi Kuhn, is an organization that works to unearth dangerous landmines in war-torn countries, and then to build sustainable crops on the land once too dangerous to traverse. In so doing, they empower the local communities scarred by these inhumane weapons, and “transform the scars of conflict into the [...]

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Bill Gates urges increased foundation spending in first annual letter

Bill Gates, Co-Chair and Trustee of The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, released a 20 page letter today pledging that though his foundation’s endowment fell by 20% in 2008, they will increase their spending to $3.8 billion in 2009 – up $0.5 billion from last year – holding true to the speech he gave in [...]

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36th Anniversary of Roe vs Wade

Today marks the 36th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision to legalize abortion in the landmark case, Roe vs Wade.  Thousands of protesters marched in Washington DC today, hoping to bring attention to the issue and to influence President Obama’s firm pro-choice stance, according to a Washington Post article this afternoon.  The organizers of the [...]

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Being the change – Annie Lennox & Obama

In his inaugural speech yesterday, President Obama renewed the atmosphere of service surrounding this election. He drew on a familiar theme from his campaign, that we each have a role to play in shaping the changes we wish to see in the world: “What is required of us now is a new era [...]

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Inauguration Day

On this historic day, many of us across the country and around the world are full of reflection and hope. Such was the mood here among staff, as we followed the proceedings live from our auditorium.
Much of President Obama’s long-anticipated inauguration speech rang true with the mission and spirit of our organization, particularly in the [...]

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On Women: an open letter to President-Elect Obama

The Huffington Post on Tuesday published a letter written by V-Day Founder Eve Ensler, Global Fund for Women President Kavita Ramdas, and Women for Women International Founder Zainab Salbi, among others. They’ve written an open letter to President-Elect Obama calling on him to lead by example in promoting equal women’s involvement in government, and [...]

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A Day of Service for America

President-Elect Obama has called for a National Day of Service this Monday, January 19, because “each of us, as Americans, has a responsibility to do what we can for our communities and fellow citizens.  We are one nation,”he is quoted as saying on the website, USAService.org.
There’s a great series of posts right now on the [...]

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Dr. Mukwege named “African of the Year”

Today the BBC news site highlighted the work of Dr. Denis Mukwege for his devotion to improving the situation of women in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.  He was named “African of the Year” today by a Nigerian newspaper, and awarded $20,000 which he will use to fund a center to help rape victims rejoin [...]

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Obama, Bernanke, and the Economic Crisis

On Monday, at Obama’s urging, President Bush called for Congress to release the second half of the $700 billion financial system bailout.  A NY Times article this morning quotes Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke saying that while the bailout and Obama’s stimulus plan will certainly help, much more is needed.  “Fiscal actions are unlikely to [...]

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