6 April 2012 Week in Review

Spotlight: UN High Level Meeting on Happiness and Wellbeing

On Monday, the United Nations hosted a High level meeting on Happiness and Well Being Defining a New Economic Paradigm and put happiness on the global agenda.
Speaking at the meeting, Bhutan’s Prime Minister Jigmi Y. Thinley  said:"The GDP-lead development model that compels boundless growth on a planet with limited resources no longer makes economic sense. It is the cause of our irresponsible, immoral and self-destructive actions. The purpose of development must be to create enabling conditions through public policy for the pursuit of the ultimate goal of happiness by all citizens."
See more and contribute to the Wikiprogress article on Happiness

Where Art, Sport and Development Meet (All Africa 03.04.2012)
Rwanda has seen phenomenal growth over the last 18 years according to a variety of indicators. An interesting measure, not normally considered in this blog, is the growth of music and sport. According to this article, there have been more musical compositions created over the last ten years than in all the previous forty.
See more and contribute to the Wikiprogress article on progress in Rwanda


On human development
In Singapore, taxi diver earns $3000 a month (The Nation 03.04.2012)
Singapore gained independence around the same time as Nigeria, however the two countries are poles apart on the Human Development Index. This article details the many different ways in which Singapore has progressed and questions has the country developed with equality.
See more and contribute to the Wikiprogress article on progress in Singapore


On different kinds of progress in Aceh
A return to Aceh admits hope for peace and prosperity (World Bank Blog 02.04.2012)
Aceh is recognised internationally for the devastating Tsunami that tragically swept through the town leaving a behind a path of destruction. This article looks at the violence and poverty that plagued Aceh long before the Tsunami and the positive developments over the last five years.
See more and contribute to the Wikiprogres article on progress in Indonesia


On gender equality
Two thirds Young Arab Women remain Out of Workforce (Gallup 03.04.2012)
There is a consistent gender gap across the 22 Arab countries and territories, according to Gallup’s labour force participation data. About 1 in 3 young Arab Women between the ages of 23 and 29 participate in their national labor force compared to 8 in 10 young Arab men.
Contribute to the topic by creating a new article in Wikigender on Women's Access to Employment in the MENA Region