My World 2015

Faisal Azim's award-winning depiction of poverty in Bangladesh reminds us - this IS our world!

As the UN works to rethink the post 2015 Millennium Development Goals, please click here to vote for the world you want to see. 

What's Next For Girls' Education

Since 1990 the percentage of girls enrolled in primary school has increased dramatically. On June 17th The Brookings Center for Universal Education hosted
Celebrating Progress and Asking What's Next for Girls' Education.

The live webcast featured:
- Julia Gillard, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Brookings Center for Universal Education
- Catherine M. Russell, Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues, U.S. Department of State
- Rebecca Winthrop, Director, Brookings Center for Universal Education


Click here for a recap of the event.

Education Reform & Teacher Tenure

I hear my teacher can now be sacked.

On Tuesday a monumental ruling in CA that teacher tenure deprives students of their constitutional right to a quality education, has now made education reform an urgent issue.

Click here to learn more.

Teachers in CA received tenure after less than two years on the job. But due to a stunning victory in a lawsuit brought by Students Matter, this may now change.

In the case, brought against five state laws governing the hiring and firing of teachers, education reformers used a new tactic: framing their case as a defense of children’s civil rights, not an attack on teachers.

Click here to learn more.

Understanding Poverty

Is this child destined to a life of poverty?

Research suggests that pivotal and permanent brain development occurs from birth to three-years, when signals from the environment add  “epigenetic marks” onto DNA during sensitive periods of early brain development. To learn more about the “Biological embedding of early childhood adversity: Toxic stress and the vicious cycle of poverty in South Africa”  Click here. .

Regardless of the causes, understanding the perceptions of those living in poverty and chronic hunger is essential to developing effective solutions. A new IDS/Oxfam report, " Help Yourself" examines how the poor understand their right to food.  Click here to learn more.