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Last week, Fast Company published an article on the importance of investing in post-conflict zones to kick-start the local economy, foster entrepreneurship, and reduce the chances of a relapse. As the article states: "The global cost of conflicts is $100 billion; dishing charity cash and sleeping...

Earlier this month I sat down with Dr. Craig Zelizer, Associate Director of the Conflict Resolution MA Program at Georgetown University and TechChange Advisor, to talk about the online professional network that he created in 2008 called the Peace and Collaborative Development Network (PCDN). PCDN...

Last month I taught the first ever course on “Technology and Peace” at the UN-mandated University for Peace (UPEACE) in Costa Rica. The course drew 16 participants from 11 countries, representing a number of distinguished organizations including Ashoka, the Council on Foreign Relations and George...

I came across this statement in a recent Op-Ed piece in The New York Times by Bob Herbert. How can this mentality be possible? Bob Herbert looked to Ashoka Fellow Gary Slutkin to learn more: “These violent behaviors are learned,” said Dr. Slutkin. “They are largely formed by modeling, the almost...

Ashoka Fellow Bart Weetjens' organization, APOPO, trains HeroRats (giant pouched rats) to detect land mines in Africa. Bart is also employing their superb noses to detect tuberculosis. Bart and APOPO were just featured in CNN, and you can read the article here: Be sure check it out and see how you...

I am often asked to explain the importance of the Ashoka Fellowship as community. Is there actually a sense of common purpose and mutual support, or is it merely a collection of talented individuals? Recently I spent a week in Hong Kong with the Asian Human Rights Commission, a citizen organization...

While the crucial role of women as agents of change in developing communities is well acknowledged, the role of women as change-makers in the US social sector is less well explored. Nick Kristof’s great piece in this weekend’s New York Times Magazine shines a spotlight on the latter. The article, “D...

Obama honors an Ashoka Fellow: In 2010, US Fellow JB Schramm and College Summit were chosen by U.S. President Barack Obama to recieve $125,000 of his $1.4 milion Nobel Prize. College Summit is a national non-profit organization that partners with high schools to strengthen college-going culture and...

The maternal health community has been buzzing this week about a report on maternal health released by the Lancet and featured in the New York Times. The report uses new and improved maternal health data to evidence significant declines in maternal mortality worldwide between 1980 and 2008. Why is...