Author Archive
 

 

We’re All Journalists Now: Press freedom, internet freedom, and the line between the two

Today is World Press Freedom Day.  As the IPF exists to provide a platform for free speech, it is an important occasion for us; we recognise the role that a free press continues to play in exposing corruption, keeping people i...
by Richard Scott-Jones
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WATCH: Putting Water Back in Public Hands

Defenders of privatisation argue that by opening a market to multiple suppliers who then compete to attract customers, you can reduce prices and improve product quality. But as any business student knows, markets don’t always...
by Richard Scott-Jones
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WATCH: Global Sanitation – Let’s Talk Crap

In this TED talk, British journalist and author Rose George discusses – with enjoyable and necessary humour – diarrhoea and global sanitation. She offers some sobering statistics: 2.5 billion people – 40% of the world’s...
by Richard Scott-Jones
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International Political Forum

Politicians: Delegates or Representatives?

For those readers fortunate enough to live in a representative democracy, a question: do you believe your elected politicians (Congressmen, MPs, Deputies, whatever) should act as your delegates and only vote the way you tell th...
by Richard Scott-Jones
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WATCH: Charity – Who Cares what the Overhead is if These Problems Are Getting Solved?

In a fascinating TED Talk, activist and fundraiser Dan Pallotta dissects the problems faced by the non-profit sector in the USA – many of which apply elsewhere in the West. His goal is to change our thinking about charitable ...
by Richard Scott-Jones
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WATCH: Ordinary Lives Displaced by Land Grabs

“In My Place” is a five-minute film from Oxfam, starring ordinary people from around the world, intended to raise awareness of the disruption and injustice of land deals between governments, banks and private investors. Res...
by Richard Scott-Jones
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Radical or Conservative: Pope Francis and the future of the Catholic Church

On the rare occasion of a newly-anointed Pope, it seems appropriate to take a look at where the Catholic Church is today, and what steps Pope Francis could take to make it a more effective force for good in the world. What are ...
by Richard Scott-Jones
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WATCH: Ingenuity, Film and Social Media Combine to Save Lives from Landmines

Massoud Hassani grew up on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan, near a desert filled with unexploded mines left by foreign armies. As a child he would build cheap wind-powered toys and race them across the desert with his frien...
by Richard Scott-Jones
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WATCH: The NO Project

“Now You Know” is the latest film for the NO Project, an initiative that taps the artistic skills of young people to raise awareness about human trafficking, with the goal of changing the behaviour that supports it. The fi...
by Richard Scott-Jones
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