There are several countries that often come up when people talk about international development and the global economy, countries that need not be listed because you can probably already name them. Indonesia is not usually among them, but as these five facts show, there is a lot at stake in this large and incredibly diverse…
Why are science, technology, and innovation essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals? How can we make proven solutions more readily available to those who need them most? To highlight promising innovations at the frontlines of global development challenges, the United Nations Economic and Social Council is convening the first annual Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Science,…
Indonesia Program Representasi (ProRep) was a five-year initiative that supported a number of civil society organizations, think tanks, and the DPR (House of Representatives) to better research and understand, articulate, and respond to citizen needs and improve public policies. Beginning in 2014, ProRep initiated a new “policy community” phase, supporting civil society, research, and government…
USAID’s Changes for Justice Project (C4J) consisted of three components within Indonesia: 1) sustaining and broadening reforms in the Supreme Court; 2) sustaining and broadening reforms in the Attorney General’s Office; and 3) special initiatives, which entail the installation of public information desks, creation of Version 1 of a new case tracking system (CTS) in…
With more than 20,000 species of plants and animals native to the country, the Philippines is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. Much of this biodiversity is contained in natural forest areas, but these once-lush forests and their biodiversity are degrading at an alarming rate. Over time, the country has lost approximately…
Education is a fundamental building block for human development and a vital precursor for a country’s overall growth and advancement. When countries prioritize the provision of high-quality primary education, they experience long-term positive correlations in workforce development, economic growth, life expectancy, and democracy and governance processes. USAID’s Education Strategy reflects this fact through a strong…
Phonics teaches kids the most basic building blocks of literacy: how to read and pronounce the letters, letter groups, and syllables that come together to create meaning. But phonics-based education for children can and should be more than learning to recognize words. When coupled with interactive exercises, learning to read can unlock children’s imaginations and…
Comprehensive reading programs equip students with the ability to learn to read, while also providing opportunities for authentic learning to take place through methods such as interactive read-alouds. With interactive read-alouds, teachers can highlight new themes and structure opportunities for learning. By watching teachers and listening to them, young children acquire foundational skills related to…
What are the goals and responsibilities of the field of international education? How can best practices be shared and scaled across countries with very different contexts? The 2016 Annual Conference of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES), which takes place March 6 – 10 in Vancouver, tackles these questions that span the topics of education, governance,…
Statistics for many regions around the world show that although women make up a significant percentage of undergraduate student enrollment, they hold only 10 percent of leadership positions in higher education. Globally, men outnumber women in higher education management, at about 5 to 1 in middle management and 20 to 1 at senior management levels.…
The success of Kenya’s mobile money system, M-PESA, over the past few years has opened many people’s eyes to the potential of digital solutions to expand access to finance. In recent years, global markets have also taken notice in the lucrative opportunity posed by digital financial services or “fintech” (shorthand for the financial technology space).…
Last year was a busy one for international trade and development actors. We observed major progress in the renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act, continued global ratification of the World Trade Organization Trade Facilitation Agreement, proposal of the Tripartite Free Trade Area in Africa, and announcement of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, all of which…