Green Charcoal: Could Research at Gulu University Ignite a Biomass Energy Revolution in Uganda?
On a quiet Friday evening in March, Miriam Ajak, 23, stoops over the traditional three-stone stove in front of her hut in Lawiyeadul village, Laliya Parish, on the outskirts of Gulu City in northern Uganda, to prepare dinner for her extended family. As she pushes in the firewood, smoke slowly rises above the sooty stones and pans to shroud her entire body. Some of it enters her eyes. She grimaces in pain, picks up a makeshift fun and flaps it up and down to add more pressure to the fire. But the wood can hardly burn because it is highly moist. The more smoke it spews, the more she breathers into her lungs.
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The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) research capacity programs
The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is an independent organisation of German higher education institutions and their student bodies, devoted to internationalising the academic system. Its guiding principle is “Change by Exchange” which not only refers to the students taking part in the programs, but also to strengthen the international community regarding global knowledge exchange. In an interview with Dr. Christian Hülshörster, who is the divisional director of the department for Global South programs, and Christiane Schmeken, who is the director of the department for strategy, I asked about DAAD’s current approaches
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COVID19 impacts and opportunities for biodiversity research in India
With the COVID19 pandemic gripping the whole world, it has changed the way we learn, work, and socialize. As we get used to living in this new normal, as we call it, there had been a noticeable shift in the focus of research from some of the most pressing biodiversity issues to solely COVID19.
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Leaving so many behind in the Covid-19 crisis
The Group of Seven (G7) - consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States - recently announced steps to globally facilitate “affordable access to vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics” to minimize the risk of Covid-19...
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El resurgimiento de las “ollas comunes” en Chile: solidaridad en tiempos de pandemia
Durante 2020, debido al avance del COVID-19, personas de barrios populares de Chile han estado organizando “ollas comunes” como una forma de asegurar alimentación a su comunidad. Vecinos, amigos, familias del mismo barrio que sufren por el desempleo y la precariedad laboral debido a la pandemia, han fortalecido este sistema de distribución de alimentos para asegurar una comida diaria a miles de familias en todo el país.
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Noise in the houses: Missing women and girls in Peru
The consequences of the coronavirus in Peru go far beyond health and the economy. Female disappearances in the Latin American country have reached 11,828 in 2020, the year of the pandemic. Many are victims of sexist violence. The case of Joys Stefani tells about the agony of those who lose track of a loved one.
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The resurgence of “Ollas Comunes” in Chile: Solidarity in times of pandemic
During 2020, due to the advance of COVID-19, people from popular neighborhoods in Chile have been organizing “Ollas Comunes” or “Soup Kitchen” as a way to provide meals to the community. Neighbors, friends, families from the same area who suffer from unemployment and sickness due to the pandemic, get organized and start again this historic food distribution system to ensure daily meals to thousands of families across the country.
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Learning from one of the marginalised sectors in society – the Higaonon tribe of Bukidnon, Philippines
While we fight for the last grain to survive, the Higaonon tribe – a group of indigenous peoples in the remote mountain villages of Bukidnon, Philippines – have lived for centuries utilising the plant resources in their ancestral land. These resources play an essential role in the resilience of the Higaonon tribal community.
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The MUCED experience: New teaching methods in Malaysia
One of the elements in MUCED was introducing Malaysian lecturers and students to new teaching methods. This introduction to group work and Problem Based Learning (PBL) had both direct and indirect benefits in the Malaysian higher education system, participants says.
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Mbete Youth Football Project sets the ball rolling in rural Zambia
African footballers have always enthralled the English Premier League fans, but have you ever thought of the hardships that they had to endure to reach up to that stage. Football is not just a sport for the youth in Africa but a way for them to escape poverty. As the founder of the Mbete Youth Football Project, Buster Emil Kirchner shares his experience coaching the rural youth in Mbete, Zambia.
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