Stories about Development from June, 2023
A brief overview of AI use in West Asia and North Africa
In general, using Artificial Intelligence technologies almost always allows for greater surveillance of individuals, and therefore, is especially concerning in authoritarian regimes.
Can Hong Kong afford its planned artificial island construction project?
In addition to the irreversible damage to Hong Kong's marine life and sea beds, the city’s fiscal reserves may be completely drained in a decade or so thanks to the pricy project.
Award winning environmentalist empowers women cotton pickers in Pakistan
Global Voices interviewed environmentalist Javed Hussain who received the prestigious ‘Gender Just Climate Solution Award’ for his work to secure the rights for women cotton pickers in Pakistan.
Sri Lanka's LGBTQ+ community holds Pride events demanding an end to discrimination
Civil society and LGBTQ+ activists in Sri Lanka arranged a series of vibrant and empowering Pride events advocating for equality and demanding an end to discrimination.
Ukrainian businesses from destroyed cities are fighting for survival — and winning
Some entrepreneurs have lost everything twice, in 2014 and in 2022, but managed to restore their businesses again.
Togo and China: Half a century of fruitful cooperation, but also of rejection of any form of criticism
After a presence since 1972, China celebrates 51 years of cooperation with Togo in 2023. While Lomé and Beijing publicize an ideal relationship, the reality on the ground is more complicated.
President Erdoğan's obsession with childbirth expands past Turkey's borders
Independent economists say under existing economic conditions and salaries, it is nearly impossible to support five children in Azerbaijan.
Punjabi Wikipedia for 21 years: Celebrating 50,000 articles and looking ahead
The entire volunteer community came together for Mission 50,000, a call-for-action to reach 50k articles, in order to celebrate the 21st birthday of Punjabi Wikipedia.
Little Mariupol in exile in Dnipro, Ukraine
The hope of those from occupied Ukrainian lands lies in the people who are ready to rebuild everything — even if it means starting a humanitarian center in another city.
After a decade of constrictions, how are NGOs operating in Azerbaijan?
Amid the Azerbaijani government's strict rules on NGO funding and leadership, most NGOs have been forced to cut down on services and develop self-sustaining mechanisms to continue operating.
Taiwan and Burkina Faso: A tumultuous history of cooperation and estrangement
While Taiwan was present in Western Africa in the 1960s, there is little memory left of this period, as Taiwan-based Burkinabe scholar Dramane Thiombiano explains to Global Voices.
Negotiations for Moldova's accession to the EU could commence this year
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, made an impactful statement suggesting that Moldova could potentially become an EU member despite the unresolved Transnistria conflict.
Arvin, California: Lost futures, past hopes, deferred promises
“Owners no longer worked on the farms. They forgot the land, the smell, the feel of it, remembered only that they owned it, what they gained and lost by it.”
