Connect4Climate’s New Video Challenge

The Connect4Climate team at the World Bank is interested in moving the needle in new directions when it comes to development communication.  Not content with the standard fare of public service announcements and dry top-down communication, the bank’s innovation for 2013 is asking the world’s youth to speak out about environmentalism and climate change.

Two Tracks for the Egyptian Opposition

 By Nagwa Abdallah

It is clear that it is difficult for the opposition forces in Egypt to give up fighting for freedom and democracy. Opposition forces like the Kefaya movement and The Independent Trend are calling for massive protests on 25 January 2013 not only to celebrate the second anniversary of the 2011 revolution but to fight again for people’s human, political and economic rights.  Such a call is seen by some as a resistance to the continuous attempt by the Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi and his group, the Muslim Brotherhood, to impose their version of power control in the country.

The opposition groups consider the most provocative step made by Morsi to fully grab power is the draft of a new constitution that increases the president’s authority and makes him immune from being questioned. Not to mention that the new constitution overlooks the rights of minorities and different genders. At this point, the confrontation has increased between the opposition and Muslim Brotherhood; especially when Morsi neglected the nationwide opposition to it and went on conducting a referendum on the draft constitution. The outcome of the referendum shows 63 percent of Egyptians voted for the draft constitution out of 33 percent of the total voters who took part in the referendum, while millions boycotted the vote, among them were people of no political affiliation and the revolutionary and opposition forces.

British Media Under Fire

By Katie Wallace

At a time when the U.K. media is under ever-increasing scrutiny with the ongoing Leveson Inquiry probing  the phone hacking actions of News Corp., the British Broadcasting Corporation (BCC) finds itself awash in scandal with ethical inquisitions coming from both the public and private sectors. The BBC came under fire earlier this year when Miles Goslett, a freelance reporter, broke the story of the sexual abuse of hundreds of teenagers perpetrated by BBC children’s host Jimmy Savile.  The allegations claim that some of the abuse may have taken place on BBC property.  The story, which intensified when a rival television station aired an expose in October, says BBC host Savile preyed on young girls throughout his career in spite of persistent rumors denoting his lascivious behavior.

Haiti Holds First Fashion Week

By Erin Powell

Model Naomi Campbell walks down the runway at the 2010 Fashion for Relief in Haiti benefit show in New York City. Haiti held its own fashion week event Nov. 8 to 11 in Port-au-Prince, readying the country to compete in the big leagues of the fashion industry.

Haiti isn’t typically seen as a source of high-end fashion, but it may be on a path to success down that avenue in the future. Almost three dozen designers showcased their creations at a four-day “Haiti Fashion Week 2012” event held in the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, from Nov. 8 to 11. The event was a significant accomplishment for the country in light of its recovery from the 2010 earthquake and political instability. Is this finally a step to higher ground for Haiti?

Absolutely. While the county continues to gradually rebuild from the earthquake and the most recent devastation from Hurricane Sandy, the event provided an opportunity for the international community to view Haiti as not just an impoverished nation but as a center of influential fashion cultivation. Socrates McKinney, a designer from the Dominican Republic, said Haiti has “a very strong culture, and that in some sense has to be reflected in the fashion.”

In order to aid the country’s reconstruction efforts, organizers of the show hoped it would help revitalize the nation’s fashion and apparel industry while bringing in revenue from international buyers. According to the International Business Times, some of the buyer markets include those in the United States, France, England, Japan, Switzerland, Argentina, and Barbados.

Saudi Arabian Ambassador Creates Close Ties with U.S.

By Abdullah Kadasa

It is clear that Adel Al-Jubeir, the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States,  was on a fast track to a successful political career from the start.  He explained in a recent interview that after a short childhood in Saudi Arabia, Al-Jubeir began attending schools around the world in Germany, Yemen, Lebanon, and the United States. In 1982, he received a degree in political science and economics with honors from the University of North Texas. After that, he earned his master’s degree in international relations from Georgetown University in 1984 thus beginning his political career in Saudi Arabia, which would lead to him becoming the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States.

Ambassador Adel Al-Jubeir between King Abdullah Al-Saud and former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates

In 1987, Adel Al-Jubeir became the special assistant to then Saudi Arabian Ambassador Prince Bandar bin Sultan at the Royal Embassy in Washington, D.C. He did this for four years until the Gulf War started, and Al-Jubeir became the world spokesman for the Saudi government. This important moment was Al-Jubeir’s first media appearance to the world as a representative of the Saudi Arabian government.