Week in Review

Hi All,

In putting together this Week in Review, almost the last for the year, I came across a very well presented year in review from the United Nations. Other highlights from this week include big data, rethinking climate change and unemployment. 

Big Data’s International Influence (The Atlantic 10.12.2012)
Can simple text messages alert a team halfway around the world that there may be a disease outbreak in the remote Sub-Saharan region? Could mobile payments help predict a possible coming food shortage? The short answer is yes, the technology has been available for years, only recently has it been developed to harness big data and used to develop early warning systems. 

Youth Call for ‘Change of Course’ to Solve Climate Crisis (All Africa 12.12.2012)
As talks on climate change wrapped up in Doha last week, new voices are calling for a change in mindset, in the global response to climate change. Rethinking climate change is not just about the environment, it’s about also about the entire economic system. We need a global paradigm shift. 


Number Crunch:
200 million people worldwide are unemployed, and another 1.5 billion – or half the global working population – are in vulnerable or insecure jobs. SourceThat’s all for this week. We look forward to you joining us next week for the last week of review in 2012.


Yours in Progress,
Philippa