Guest editorials

01.09.2004 Powerful corporations are busy patenting software as a way of entrenching their dominance in the global information economy, says David Heath; unless we stop new laws being pushed through in Europe.

18.08.2004 Education is one of the highest priorities expressed by crisis-affected communities in all but the most severe humanitarian emergencies, writes Graham Wood, and it shows major benefits when introduced in the early stages of an emergency. A great deal is lost when, as often happens, “donor-driven humanitarianism” ignores this need.

04.08.2004 Speculation over whether Russia will ratify the Kyoto Protocol has fuelled questions about alternative approaches to tackling climate change. Aubrey Meyer of the Global Commons Institute explains why the “Contraction and Convergence” model gives us our best chance to avoid “climate disaster by international bluff and blackmail”.

21.07.2004 Every child’s death – whether in Palestine/Israel or in Honduras - is a crime that leaves us all a little less human, write Bruce Harris and Esteban Castro of Covenant House/Casa Alianza. Yet few people know about the continuing Honduran urban murder of innocents.

09.07.2004 Partnerships between companies, governments and civil society organisations can help communities take charge of their own development needs, argue Rory Sullivan and Michael Warner, both in “traditional” development and in such areas as conflict prevention, regional development and micro-enterprise.

01.07.2004 The consumer movement has always been a struggle for rights, says Julian Edwards of Consumers International, and it still has a key role in the fight against free market fundamentalism and poverty.

21.06.2004 With Palestine’s children living lives of despair and hopelessness, only an end to the violence and the adoption of civil protest will see their people’s cause gain international recognition, writes Catherine Hunter, consultant to the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers.

11.06.2004 In the face of decades of repression, coups, and foreign intervention, and most recently the flash floods that have killed thousands, the people of Haiti still show extraordinary resilience, write Kevin Murray and Jake Miller.

02.06.2004 Following the launch of the Eat Less Meat campaign,

Free range pigs (c) Compassion in World Farming

Joyce D’Silva of Compassion in World Farming argues that less Western-style meat consumption would benefit poor people’s food security, the environment and human health.

20.05.2004 Maggie Black wrote the report Opening Minds, Opening Up Opportunities for the International Save the Children Alliance. Here she reflects on the empowering impact of children's participation in action for working children.