• The future we want?

    The future we want?0

    Resolution A/RES/66/288 of the United Nations, better known as The Future We Want, is an ambitious document published in 2012 to end the World’s major problems through the sustainable development goals. With the post-2015 development agenda soon to take off, and the climate summit in Paris in foresight, The Future We Want is back in the limelight – if ever gone to begin with. The future will be sustainable. Because that is what we want. Is its essential underpinning, globalization, also the future we want? Jaap Rozema guesses not.

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  • What does the internet mean?

    What does the internet mean?3

    The United Nations’ (UN)  2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development declares seeking “to bridge the digital divide”, including as its 9th goal the aim to “[…] significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries by 2020”. The op-ed is focused on one particular aspect of the current debate on Net Neutrality, namely zero-rating, and its implications for internet users around the world.

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  • Women in Afghanistan: a story of hope and despair

    Women in Afghanistan: a story of hope and despair1

    Despite many achievements in women’s rights during the past 14 years, most Afghan women remain suppressed by and excluded from the society. While the Millennium Development Goals’ (MDGs) contribution to their advancement were notable, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are expected to preserve and further enhance them.

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  • The hidden power of open government data in the EU

    The hidden power of open government data in the EU0

    We increasingly hear about data revolution, open governments or digital strategies, but how do they exactly impact our relationships with the government and government agencies? Here is how open government data relates to Sustainable development goals and how it can help improve the transparency, inclusiveness and accountability of the decision-making process.

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  • Modern slavery in the Irish fishing industry: a labor or migration question?

    Modern slavery in the Irish fishing industry: a labor or migration question?0

    Recently the British newspaper The Guardian has released an exclusive story on the plight of migrant workers in the fishing industry in Ireland, who were subjected to deplorable conditions of work aboard the country’s vessels. According to the daily’s investigation, African and Asian fishermen undergo different kinds of abuses onboard, such as suffering sleep deprivation, having no days off, working long and unpaid overtime, arbitrary retention of salaries and passports, constraint of freedom of movement, verbal and physical abuses, among others.

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  • What’s in a name? Beyond the forcibly disappeared in international jargon

    What’s in a name? Beyond the forcibly disappeared in international jargon0

    Enforced disappearances are a widespread phenomenon in many countries around the world, but these are not the sole reason explaining the millions of people being missed today. Accounting for the missing from all involuntary reasons is the paradigm that international community should shift toward.

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