The week in review

It has been a very eventful week in the world of progress and we have a lot more to look forward to in the coming weeks. See below our collection of highlights from the week that was.

On development

World leaders call for new vision to reverse profound poverty (Xinhuanet 10.05.2011)

The Fourth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) was hosted in Istanbul this week. One of the key topics discussed was poverty elevation in the world’s 48 LDCs. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon recognised the potential presented by these nations, and said that investing in poor countries should be seen as an opportunity, not as charity.  

See video on the conference and a full round up of media coverage in the community portal.

On gender equality

For girls, learning is a matter of life and death (Education for All 10.05.2011)

By teaching girls in Bangladesh how to read – the under 5yrs mortality rate is cut in half. This blog reports on the linking between education for girls and mortality rates in a handful of countries, finding that literate girls have a significantly higher chance of survival.

See more on education for all

On child wellbeing

The reason mothers work – and Tories try to stop them (The Guardian 12.05.2011)

Figures released at the beginning of the week by Save the Children and Daycare Trust show that childcare has increased every year over the last decade. The OECD released a report last month giving a sober warning about child poverty in the UK. This article shows the facts and figures and looks at what impact the rising cost of childcare has on families.

See more on Babies and Bosses

On happiness
Life Satisfaction and State Intervention Go Hand in Hand, Baylor Researcher Finds (News University of Baylor)
Researchers at Baylor University have put together a study based on data from the 2005 World Values Survey to find that countries with governments that have a greater number of social services also report a better life satisfaction.

See more on civic engagement

Coming up…

The International Society for Child Indicators is holding a conference at the University of York on Children's Well-Being: The Research & Policy Challenges. For full details see the conference website.

That’s all from us for this week. To see the full media review of news articles and blogs on progress, have a look at our community portal. As always, we encourage you to edit, discuss and create articles on Wikiprogress. We hope to see you this time next week.

Yours in progress,

Philippa Lysaght