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Since the 1970s, the quest for finding the origins of domesticated sorghum in Africa has remained elusive despite the fact that sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. sensu stricto) is one of the world’s most important cereals.
Via Dorian Q Fuller, rita roberts 
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Illustration by Davide Bonazzi. Emma Dabiri: “It is far easier to continue the centuries-old trope of African barbarity, or at best incompetence” During a recent appearance on Irish television, controversy ensued after I suggested that we don’t need any more “white saviours” in Africa. Via Kent College History
Kent College History's curator insight,
June 27, 2017 2:06 PM
'The transatlantic slave trade, colonial domination and the ‘scramble for Africa’ all had a profound impact on the continent’s economic, political, social and cultural structures. But what is their legacy today? In the latest issue of BBC World Histories magazine, six historians share their opinions on how Africa’s past has shaped what are often arbitrarily designated modern nations ...'
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In April 1994, South Africa held its first democratic elections and all races went to the polls to bury apartheid for good. But hopes of a new dawn have been tarnished by fraud and corruption at the highest levels.
tyrone perry's curator insight,
April 5, 2018 2:07 PM
South Africa went through years of apartheid many fought to end it. Nelson Mandela’s struggle to bring equality to South Africa almost looks nonexistent with the turn of the ANC. They once fought for equality and now they are as courrpt as the people they were fighting, All them years. It’s evident seeing the presidents property and how he lives and seeing how the poor people of South Africa lives.
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SUBSCRIBE to this Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEqrr1Gv33_P9NiJKt3lqrA Via Kent College History
Kent College History's curator insight,
December 24, 2016 3:46 PM
An excellent, short biography of the Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin.
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"Childlessness affects millions of women and couples around the world. Infertility in the man or woman is sometimes the cause, as can be the presence of a medical condition or untreated illness. Women across Africa report that not having a child is often frowned upon, and sometimes carries a stigma. Market-goers in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, share their views with BBC Africa's Bola Mosuro."
Kelsey McIntosh's curator insight,
March 31, 2018 5:08 PM
This recording from BBC describes the negative attitude that comes from being childless. She explains that it is frowned upon to not have kids. Women will be rejected and questioned even though it may not be her choice to be childless. The woman being interviewed explains that in the eyes of the in laws, a woman is not a real woman until she has had a child. She goes on to explain the significance of having a child in African culture. She says that it is important to have someone, specifically a son, to carry out the legacy of the family name and inheritance.
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"Life imitated art in early 1980 when South African school children, fed up with an inferior apartheid-era education system, took to chanting the lyrics of Pink Floyd‘s 'Another Brick in the Wall.' The song, with its memorable line stating, “We don’t need no education,” had held the top spot on the local charts for almost three months, a total of seven weeks longer than it did in America. By May 2, 1980, the South African government had issued a ban on 'Another Brick in the Wall,' creating international headlines."
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An American used drones to capture the color lines still stark in South African cities. Via Mike Busarello's Digital Storybooks
Richard Aitchison's curator insight,
March 9, 2018 10:13 AM
"I agree with you, I think that the images are chilling. And they communicate so well what is otherwise a very complicated and nuanced issue to discuss—separation, segregation, history, disenfranchisement. But the images cut right to the heart of the matter, which is that these separations are not right" This is a quote in the article from the man that took the pictures (Johnny Miller). These photos show us the lines of segregation that continues even in a post Apartheid South Africa. These are amazing images and really quite unbelievable. We think of different segregation here in America, but what these photos show are unlike anything that I have personally seen. As stated in the article the author hopes to create conversations about these separations. We see planned spatial separations that we created by city planners and we must used these as lessons going forward and as jumping off points to discuss. These shocking images can help inform us as a society that we must improve our social issues and if we don't we will continue to see issues like this grow both here in South Africa and around the world. One can see while tensions would be so high as a clear divide in living standards can rightfully cause anger. Eventually this anger leads to hate and this hate leads to an up rise in the people.
Katie Kershaw's curator insight,
March 31, 2018 4:23 PM
South Africa is one of the few countries that has a similar history in regards to racial segregation as America. What makes their case unique is that the African population was there first and the English came in and created a system in which they were superior. Although they have been officially desegregated for almost 20 years, these photos show that there are still underlying issues that exist. These photos reveal that on one side of a particular area, the homes look like a typical suburban area where right across from that there are areas that resemble slums. The areas that are more developed and wealthy have a majority white population and the poorer, less developed areas have large black populations. The affects of segregation are long lasting and not solved overnight. Just because government policies say that discrimination on a racial basis is illegal, doesn’t mean that society will neatly reorganize itself. I think that the craziest part of this for me was that even the landscaping is vastly different despite the closeness of the two areas. The wealthier part has lush green and the poorer parts have dirt and sand. This an example of physical geography providing evidence for a societal separation.
David Stiger's curator insight,
November 10, 2018 6:22 PM
Just because a formal social construct - an idea in the human mind - changes, does not mean that change, or desire to alter course, is reflected in the real world. While the idea of apartheid in South Africa came to an end, the real world in the form of urban geography has yet to catch up. The urban planning under apartheid still carries the legacy of color codes and demarcated boundaries between "races" in order to cement socioeconomic inequity. This situation in South Africa is similar to the United States after the Civil Rights movement ended the era of Jim Crow. Even though laws were passed, the geography remained largely untouched. Black neighborhoods remained socially and economically segregated - the only difference being that the law did not mandate this. The law never stipulated geographic changes or economic prescriptions like wealth redistribution. It turns out that human geography and philosophical principles can be at odds with each other, as demonstrated by the aerial photographs of South African cities.
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In Madagascar, the booming charcoal business is contributing to deforestation and may exacerbate the effects of global warming.
Alex Smiga's curator insight,
August 9, 2017 9:41 AM
If we know that furthering education and economic opportunities will help alleviate the problems present here, why aren't we as a planet seeing that they are implemented?
brielle blais's curator insight,
May 1, 2018 10:23 PM
Charcoal has become the unlikely hero of the informal economy of Africa. This is a positive for the economy. However, this is not a positive for the environment. Deforestation has become a large issue since the boom of more people using charcoal. This will speed up the issue of climate change. This post shows the negative and positives a product can have involving geography.
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After years of teaching, speaking and publishing in an effort to convey the breadth and nuance of Africa’s thousands of cultural groups, earlier today, two weary professors gave up the fight to convince Americans that Africa is not, in fact, a country.
Skuuppilehdet's insight:
This was the best of the April Fool's Day articles. And no, will we never concede and we will fight on, because that's what teachers do.
Ivan Ius's curator insight,
April 3, 2016 11:57 AM
This was the best of the April Fool's Day articles. And no, will we never concede and we will fight on, because that's what teachers do. 
James Piccolino's curator insight,
March 24, 2018 10:26 AM
I may not have a large amount to say as far as analysis goes, I have to admit I'm glad to see some humor sprinkled in here in what is normally a sea of posts about sadness, economic depression and death.
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"Amid calls for a three-day weekend in Ghana to allow residents to attend more funeral parties (with the emphasis on party), here's a look at some of the country's famous customized coffins." Via Mike Busarello's Digital Storybooks
Benjamin Jackson's curator insight,
December 13, 2015 5:18 PM
the idea that funerals should be festive is an idea with a large history. it is also, i think, a very good idea. many people already get together after a funeral and drink and talk about the good times they had with the dead person, and it helps with a sort of closure. 
Sarah Cannon's curator insight,
December 16, 2015 5:24 PM
I've never heard of this type of burial traditions. The typical burial that I hear about and experience are the old, wake and funeral the day after the wake. I've also heard of funerals that are held in New Orleans, when someone died the people of New Orleans paraded down the street singing and playing happy music. This was a celebration of there life. Wakes and funerals that I'm used to are always sad and depressing and held at a church and funeral home then the deceased are to be buried at a cemetery. In this article, caskets are designed differently, as you can see in the photo above. Some caskets are in the shape of a shoe, fish, car, or even a camera. Interesting way to celebrate the deceased.
James Piccolino's curator insight,
February 8, 2018 6:44 AM
I have actually seen this before, in the travel documentary "The Moaning Of Life", star Karl Pilkington (also star of previous travel documentary "An Idiot Abroad") travels the world to explore other cultures to see how they deal with issues differently than the rest of the world. In episode 5 "Death" he travels here and even gets his own custom coffin made, a double coffin for him and his long time girlfriend in the shape of a Twix bar package. This cultural attitude is an interesting one to say the least, especially compared to the way others interpret death.
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"E-Waste is a growing problem in our consumer-based society. The geography of e-waste is an ‘out of sight out of mind’ problem that we rarely think about but need to due to the ecological impacts of our collective consumption." http://wp.me/P2dv5Z-1LT
Tags: pollution, sustainability, environment, resources, Ghana, Africa. Via Mike Busarello's Digital Storybooks
Jeremy Hansen's curator insight,
November 10, 2015 11:37 AM
Maybe getting that new iPhone isn't such a good idea, eh?
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"Over one million people in sub-Saharan Africa will contract malaria this year because they live near a large dam, according to a new study which, for the first time, has correlated the location of large dams with the incidence of malaria and quantified impacts across the region. The study finds that construction of an expected 78 major new dams in sub-Saharan Africa over the next few years will lead to an additional 56,000 malaria cases annually." Via GTANSW & ACT
Tanya Townsend's curator insight,
November 16, 2015 10:39 PM
This is a great article on the side affects of man made infrastructure. While dams can be used in positive ways they can also have negative effects like this that probably were not even considered. 
Nicole Canova's curator insight,
March 24, 2018 10:09 PM
Dams are often built to provide hydroelectric power or to prevent flooding, which makes them beneficial. But in some parts of the world, they cause more problems than they solve. Dams lead to stagnant water, which can mean disaster in tropical and subtropical climates such as most of sub-Saharan Africa. These climates, combined with huge amounts of stagnant water, mean an explosion of mosquitoes, which carry such diseases as malaria.
brielle blais's curator insight,
May 1, 2018 10:35 PM
Physical geographies can affect a lot of things. Areas close to dams draw in mosquitos that pass malaria to bitten people. While the dams are built to help the development of Africa, helping economic growth, maintaining agriculture, etc, the development won't be sustained if the population can't be sustained because everyone is dying from malaria.
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"When tourists visit sub-Saharan Africa, they often wonder 'Why there are no historical buildings or monuments?' The reason is simple. Europeans destroyed most of them. We only have a few drawings and descriptions by travelers who visited the places before their destruction. In some places, ruins are still visible. Many cities were abandoned when Europeans brought exotic diseases (smallpox and influenza) which started spreading and killing people. Most of those cities lie hidden. In fact the biggest part of Africa history is still under the ground." Via Mike Busarello's Digital Storybooks
Chris Costa's curator insight,
October 27, 2015 4:27 PM
The issues with poverty and hunger that grip certain parts of Africa- particularly the sub-Sahara- find their roots in the utter subversion and destruction of African societies and states during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the subsequent colonization of Africa. European traders placed significant strain of existing African states during the 14th and 15th centuries, as the emergence of "slave states" and the extent of the trade completely changed the demographics of much of Africa. Labor shortages lead to technological shortfalls as well as the dissolution of many African states, as predatory states continued to destroy many civilizations and cultures. By the time that the majority of the West had banned the trade in the 19th century, the damage had already been done; many of the great civilizations of Africa had regressed or been entirely wiped out under the pressure of Europe's demand for slaves. The subsequent colonization of the continent only worsened matters for the Africans, as major hubs of civilization were captured, raided, and destroyed. Traditional societies were subjected to European influences and religion and eventually lost, and yet Europeans looked at the destruction and the lack of economic and political progress their actions had caused and blamed it on the inferiority of the Africans themselves. History has not been kind to Africa, and it is important to remember that that is not her fault. Many civilizations, cities, and states were lost as a direct result of contact with Europeans during the slave trade and the subsequent colonization of the continent. 
Mark Hathaway's curator insight,
October 30, 2015 6:34 AM
Before European contact, Africa had a number of great urban cities. European arrival foresaw the destruction of those once grand cities. The Europeans brought diseases such as smallpox and influenza to the African continent. Those diseases would hamper the previously unexposed African population. Slavery also drained Africa of millions of people as well. Great African civilizations were brought down by these various calamities. European arrival was the death knell of the great African civilizations. Africa is still living with this legacy of destruction. Africa is the most rural region in the world, because of this legacy. 
Gene Gagne's curator insight,
November 4, 2015 4:07 PM
Just another way to eliminate any African culture or customs. |
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Part I: The story of Somalia's decline from stability to chaos and the problems facing its people at home and abroad. Part II: The ongoing civil war has caused serious damage to Somalia's infrastructure and economy. Thousands of Somalis have either left as economic migrants or fled as refugees. Within Somali, more than a million people are internally displaced.
Tags: devolution, political, states, unit 4 political, migration, refugees, Somalia, Africa.
David Stiger's curator insight,
November 10, 2018 5:50 PM
Somali's unique geographic position, an intersection of Africa and Asia, designated it as a prime target of European colonialism during the 19th century. By controlling the Horn of Africa, European powers (the Italians, English, and French) could control the flow of spices, natural resources, and trade between Africa and Asia. The colonial order is what initially set up Somalia to fail in the long-run. The European powers carved up the land, giving Somalia culturally and ethnically inaccurate and illogical borders - convenient artificial borders that divided the tribes. When Somalia was finally granted its independence in 1960, Europe left the fledgling nation with problematic borders. After political turmoil in the form of an assassination and a military coup in 1969, the general Siad Barre ruled through dictatorship for 20 years. Desiring to correct historical injustices, Barre invaded Ethiopia in 1977 to reclaim the rightful area of Somalia. Barre's army defeated, the country lost its sense of nationalism leading to a rise in tribal factions and warlords. The country spiraled into civil war and the national government collapsed in 1991. Since then, portions of the country have been stuck in a constant state of civil war and turmoil, while other parts of the country are doing well. What is so tragic is that this all goes back to the poorly drawn borders of European colonialism.
Neo-colonialism, primarily in the form of third party exploitation, now wreaks havoc on Somalia's economy. European, Indian, and Chinese fishing ships have been illegally fishing in Somalia's waters (another geographic asset) prompting young men to raid and attack the foreign vessels. The original goal of the "pirates" was to scare off and drive away the foreign fishing boats which had taken over the waters. The foreigners merely paid off the young Somalis who boarded their ships. In a country with limited economic opportunity, this inspired young men to raid with the hope of being paid off. The news media made it seem like these "pirates" were simply lazy and went out of their way to raid innocent foreign vessels. There was little blame attributed to the illegal foreign activities.
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From
www
Hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled the civil war in South Sudan and resettled in Uganda. This 12-minute documentary shows the daily struggle to get water.
Kimmy Jay's curator insight,
May 10, 2017 3:51 PM
This would be good to show during 6th grade lesson on refugees
Matt Richardson's curator insight,
May 10, 2017 6:43 PM
The multiple catastrophes occurring in Central Africa at the moment are among the worst in recorded history. These traumatized people need to be heard, understood, and helped.
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Hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled South Sudan to escape the civil war. When they arrive in Uganda, water is what they need most. Without it, they will die. Via GTANSW & ACT
Ivan Ius's curator insight,
April 8, 2017 11:49 PM
Geographic Thinking Concepts: Interrelationships; Geographic Perspective;
Seth Dixon's curator insight,
June 5, 2017 12:15 PM
Next to nothing in this video will make you happy about the way things operate for refugees in Northern Uganda who have fled from South Sudan. We all know the about the dire conditions that refugees face, but knowing about the specifics, and hearing stories from the refugees about their lives and living conditions is powerful. A huge influx of refugees can tax local resources, especially water. Food can be shipped in, but water a much more locally variable resource. The UN refugee camps recommend at least 15 liters of water per person be made available each day, but often it is more like 4-8 liters in these camps. Dedicated wells (or boreholes) are more effective, but costly. Trucking in water from the Nile River is the preferred method to simply keep these drowning people’s heads above water.
Questions to Ponder: Consider how much water you drink, use for cooking, bathing, etc. per day in your household. How difficult would it be to live on 4 liters of water a day? What about your lifestyle would be changed?
Tags: Africa, development, Uganda, South Sudan, migration, refugees, environment, water, environment depend, sustainability, resources.
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"In a meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council, commission chief Yasmin Sooka reported murder and rape on an 'epic' scale. 'We are running out of adjectives to describe the horror,' she said." Via Mike Busarello's Digital Storybooks
David G Tibbs's curator insight,
April 5, 2018 12:44 PM
Atrocities have been happening in this region since the 60s when the Western powers left the continent. Following the "ethic" cleansing of Rwanda, many other countries have started to face the same thing. One of those countries is South Sudan, over political issues. Much like Rwanda the country is split between two tribes that hold a good amount of power over the country. To make matters worst some countries like Australia have excluded people fleeing the country from their programs. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/anger-as-south-sudan-iran-somalia-excluded-from-an-australian-refugee-program The west has historically helped those in need when the people face danger, the West needs to find a way either economically or diplomatically to intervene.
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Workers, including children, labor in harsh and dangerous conditions to meet the world’s soaring demand for cobalt, a mineral essential to powering electric vehicles, laptops, and smartphones, according to an investigation by The Washington Post. Via GTANSW & ACT
David G Tibbs's curator insight,
March 29, 2018 3:36 PM
We take the luxuries that we have for granite and forget where it comes from, or who pays the physical price for us to have them. One example is electronics and the Congo. The Congo is a country filled with Colbolt which is critical to lithium batteries which powers majority of products that are rechargeable. The price they pay is unsafe mining conditions, indecent wages, and environmental hazards to local communities. 60 percent of the cobalt used today comes from the Congo, and while some companies track it to make sure its "clean" some companies do not check its origins. In 2010 there was a push to add cobalt to a list of resources that come from the Congo to be from a militia free mine. Individual companies have started to be stricter about where they get their Cobalt it's still not mandatory under international law. However with the demand for cobalt is increasing due to more electric power styling for vehicles and other products. In order to meet these demands the cobalt will continue to come from abused people until companies or international law limits and outlines how to deal with the cobalt question. 2 
Douglas Vance's curator insight,
April 21, 2018 2:10 PM
Given the absurd amount of minerals present in the country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo should be basking in immeasurable wealth. However, as shown by this inetractive and enormously in-depth piece by the Washington Post, the country constantly struggles with child labor, water pollution, and widespread dangerous working condition because of the global demand for minerals like cobalt and copper.
David Stiger's curator insight,
November 10, 2018 4:05 PM
The Congo, like Venezuela, is another example of a post-colonial country rich in valuable natural resources whose people, ironically, live in abject poverty. The Congo is a victim of its own geographical blessings as the industrialized world's bottomless need for Congo's cobalt, copper, and other minerals has put this former colony of Belgium on the map. The Congo reportedly supplies half of the world's cobalt. With few other options for mineral sources, lithium-ion battery manufacturers turn a blind eye as Congolese "diggers" endure inhumane, dangerous, and unfair conditions to produce cheap cobalt. Companies have not reacted to this injustice because of a desire to maximize their profits. With Western consumers acting as indirect accomplices, China leads the pack of this neo-colonial process of exploiting the Congo for its valuable underground minerals. The Chinese companies offer so little money for the cobalt that workers are forced to put up with hazardous conditions and unbelievably low pay for their labor.
The problem lacks an easy solution because it is highly complicated by the forces of globalization and geographical factors. Congolese diggers obtain the raw materials, who sell it to Asian middlemen, who then sell it to big Chinese manufacturers. These manufactures produce rechargeable batteries to sell to Western companies like Apple and Samsung. These products are then sold all over the world. The long supply chain makes it difficult for consumers to feel and see how their actions are impacting the lives of other people. The companies who should be held accountable justify their business decisions because there are not sources of cobalt to turn to. If there were other sources, companies like Huayou Cobalt could turn to other sources that treat their workers better, forcing Congolese suppliers to raise their labor standards. A short-term remedy, it seems, would be to classify Congolese-based cobalt as a conflict mineral. Western countries should fine and punish companies that are linked to the unjust cobalt trade, forcing these companies to raise their standards.
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Three police officers and 14 civilians die in Kinshasa, capital of DR Congo, during protests calling for President Joseph Kabila to step down.
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Via Clairelouise, Mike Busarello's Digital Storybooks
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"Violence and insecurity are so bad that other war-torn countries have become sites of refuge."
In 2015, nearly 100,000 Ethiopians and Somalis traveled by boat to Yemen, one of the world's most dangerous countries. Last year, nearly 5,000 citizens of Congo, which is fighting powerful rebel groups, were seeking refuge in the Central African Republic, itself torn apart by civil war. And yet 10,000 Burundians have fled their country's own growing civil unrest for Congo. Thousands of Nigerians escaping the extremist Islamist group Boko Haram have gone to Chad, where different strains of that same insurgency conduct frequent deadly attacks.
Developing countries have long taken in a disproportionate number of the world's refugees — roughly 80 percent, according to the United Nations. But even for migration experts and relief workers, the willingness of refugees to leave one war for another is shocking. It's also proving an enormous challenge for humanitarian agencies, which are already overstretched and often not equipped to welcome refugees in countries that are still racked by conflict.
Tags: refugees, Africa, migration, conflict, political, war. Via Jane Ellingson, Mike Busarello's Digital Storybooks
Richard Aitchison's curator insight,
March 9, 2018 11:23 AM
When we hear of migration or refugee issues we tend to think towards Europe and many of the current day issues with Syria. Most date proves that as well, as listed in the article roughly 80% of refugee movement comes in the developed world. Now we get to the more shocking part of the article that we are seeing a refugee crisis in Africa. First off this is the first time for myself hearing this and probably because its not major national news and is buried way below the more "important" problems of the developed world in Europe. However, yes this is a problem and many people who study migration are shocked by it. People are leaving one war zone and immediately move to a possible more unstable land into more war. Why and how does this make sense? People have fled there own countries to find worst situations and have gone to governments that can not support them and an outside world that while trying to help support some of these current countries can not help support refugee as well. This will be a continuing problem until Africa can become more stabilized and we stop seeing genocide and other authoritarian government policies. The study of why people move is always very captivating as we often tend to think we know exactly why people move to and from areas. However, as the article shows until you are put in a desire situation one can not truly know what you would do, such as move your family to a war torn country because just maybe its better than your war torn country. We need to continue to assess this area and try to not just fund the area, but try to find ways in which we can stabilize an area. The major importance of this article is that we realize there is a problem first, with out articles like this the focus would continue to stay on Europe and more developed areas.
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Do you speak African? Well, neither do the 1 billion people on the continent.Africa is home to 54 different nations, more than 2,000 languages and four of the world's 10 fastest growing economies, but is often painted with a sweeping stroke of doom and gloom. In this week's Reality Check, Mehdi Hasan exposes popular misconceptions about the African continent. Via Mike Busarello's Digital Storybooks
Skuuppilehdet's insight:
This short video is full of with examples and statistics that show that many of the 'doom and gloom' perspectives and ways of thinking about Africa are outdated (at best). Here are some good facts to update how we talk about Africa.
Tags: Africa, perspective.
Denise Klaves Stewardson's curator insight,
March 21, 2016 3:07 PM
This short video is full of with examples and statistics that show that many of the 'doom and gloom' perspectives and ways of thinking about Africa are outdated (at best). Here are some good facts to update how we talk about Africa.
Tags: Africa, perspective. 
Taylor Doonan's curator insight,
March 24, 2018 5:12 PM
This video combats many misunderstandings about Africa, the biggest one being that many people view Africa as one nation instead of 54 unique nations. It also talks about how some African countries are on the rise and that women have a large role in many governments in Africa. The video aims to take away the stigma of war and poverty that goes along with Africa.
David Stiger's curator insight,
November 10, 2018 4:43 PM
This video mentions that the Western world's negative, doom and gloom perception of Africa are "lazy" and this is important. Westerners may have become so accustomed to the colonial and post-colonial problems in Africa, that there is an outside attitude of "what good could possibly come from Africa - they are doomed and deserve our pity and charity." In reality, as this video points out, Africa is not just one single entity and its different players are on the rise. It is a continent of 54 separate countries containing 1 billion people who speak from a range of 2,000 languages. The video mentions that nearly one third of Africa is part of the middle class. With that said, in our geographic mental maps, it is time to start looking at Africa like the 'Tiger Countries of Asia', like South Korea, who blossomed into economic powerhouses. This is a fair comparison as Africa now has the ten fastest growing economies in the world, outpacing the West. With this line of thinking, Africa is a continent full of opportunity containing a lot of promising potential if given the chance. Interestingly, if white-Americans and white-Europeans improved their attitudes about the 54 countries of Africa (and saw them as capable societies) this would humanize non-white people in general and probably reduce racist, bigoted attitudes.
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"SOMALILAND, a slim slice of Somali-inhabited territory on the southern shore of the Gulf of Aden, ticks almost all the boxes of statehood. It has its own currency, a reasonably effective bureaucracy and a trained army and police force. But it has yet to receive official recognition from a single foreign government in the years since it declared independence in 1991. To the outside world, it is an autonomous region of Somalia, subject to the Somali Federal Government (SFG) in Mogadishu. Why is it not a state? Throughout the post-independence era, geopolitics in Africa has tended to respect 'colonial borders', i.e. the borders laid down by European colonial powers in the 19th century. Across the continent, there have been only two significant alterations to the colonial map since the 1960s: the division of Eritrea from Ethiopia, in 1993; and South Sudan from Sudan, in 2011." Via Mike Busarello's Digital Storybooks
Raymond Dolloff's curator insight,
December 14, 2015 11:55 PM
Like many new developing countries, it is hard to overcome the hardships to prove that you deserve to be recognized as a new nation. Being recognized as a true nation means that there is political and economic stability within a country. The area where Somaliland is located is very unstable. Its parent nation, Somalia is very unstable. For example, in Somalia, there are pirates who hijack mariners and take them and the vessel hostage. Stability within a country is a major aspect for the international community to look at to recognize new countries.
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The world is increasingly going hi-tech. Many people in our high consumption society want the latest and the greatest; last year’s much anticipated laptops and cell phones are miles behind the newest models that are coming out. So what happens with the old models? Even thrift stores are politely not accepting them as donations. Even some workable machines that were highly valuable 10 years ago are now functionally trash in our society. We can’t put it to the curb to end up in the landfill because of the lead, mercury, and other hazardous materials that can leak into the environment. This type of trash is what we call e-waste. The geography of e-waste is an ‘out of sight out of mind’ problem that we rarely think about but need to due to the ecological impacts of our collective consumption. Tags: pollution, sustainability, environment, resources, Ghana, Africa.
GTANSW & ACT's curator insight,
November 6, 2015 5:22 PM
Areas of proaction and consumption / glean connections between places
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Here are 10 facts about poverty in Africa that demonstrate the widespread consequences of poverty that affect education, health, food consumption and more.
Jose Soto's curator insight,
August 5, 2015 9:48 PM
Poverty happens all over the world, in the United States, in Africa, South America, you name a region and there is poverty in that area. There are many myths about poverty though, and myths about regions where poverty defines the region in many people's eyes. African economies are on the rise, but there is still many struggles ahead.
Tags: Africa, development, statistics, economic, globalization, poverty.
Chris Costa's curator insight,
October 27, 2015 4:15 PM
The issues outlined by Western media concerning Africa are serious problems that the continent will continue to face over the course of the next century. However, Western media has a tendency to focus only on the troubles faced by Africa rather than its successes. We grow up hearing of starving children in Ethiopia, government instability, and the need for the West to donate and help their "less fortunate" kin. Africa has, in fact, made serious strives in terms of economic development, with serious foreign investment- particularly from the Chinese- and the growth of Africa's own industrial base contributing to rapid improvements in standards of living and infrastructure. The West continues to paint the picture of Africa that fits the narrative it has painted for the past century- an underdeveloped continent reliant on Western aid. However, despite the issues outlined in this article remaining serious issues, it cannot be denied that Africa has enjoyed serious progress over the past two decades. The political instability that plagued the continent for much of the second half of the 20th century has diminished, and will only continue to improve. Africa is turning into a major economic force on the world stage, no matter what the media is telling us- it will be interesting to see how much longer this false image of Africa can continue to be portrayed to the public. |
