A new blog sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) called Conversations for a Better World [1]has commissioned Global Voices bloggers to help them highlight online conversations about population and development around the world.
At least a dozen Global Voices bloggers will be sharing stories [2] from their blogospheres about environment and climate change, youth and sexuality, motherhood, reproductive rights, and more, over the next six months on Conversations for a Better World.
Every month there is a new subject [3] and two new bloggers will take the reins. Ayesha Saldanha [4] (Bahrain) and Rezwan [5] (Bangladesh) co-edited the stories in August, and they will be followed by Ndesanjo Macha [6] (Tanzania) and Njeri Wangari [7] (Kenya) in September.
So far, we've heard from HIV-positive bloggers in Africa and Asia [8], attitudes to AIDS in the Middle East [9], and Indian bloggers on farmers facing extreme poverty committing suicide [10].
This is a great opportunity for us to reach non-governmental organizations and a UN audience, and for Global Voices as whole it is also a very welcome alternative source of income [11]. We are cross-posting the Global Voices entries from Conversations for a Better World on a special coverage page [2] on this website, and sending back links to all the translated versions from Lingua websites [12].
Conversations for a Better World is still growing and looking for more volunteer contributors. We're encouraging our own community to take part by submitting their stories, and it's easy for anyone else to register [13] and share articles or comments too.
We still have much work to do in chipping away at barriers to development caused by ignorance or lack of awareness. By reading and speaking more openly about many of the things bloggers around the world see in their daily lives we can all help make a small difference.