As part of IDB Cultural Center’s Caribbean focus, we present an exhibit of art from the region dealing with the impact of popular visual culture and creativity in its economy. It has long been held that art was not an economically sound activity. Today many make a living of making art, whether selling graffiti paintings on canvas or tattooing rich and famous … [Read more...] about What is ‘flow’?
Do we learn more when we make mistakes?
In 2013 the Inter-American Development Bank financed 168 projects for a total of 14 billion dollars. Every day we ask ourselves if our projects are contributing to the well-being of the people in the region. If our projects failed or succeeded or if the information and methods with which we try to measure the gains or losses are rigorous and, of course, accurate. These are … [Read more...] about Do we learn more when we make mistakes?
Searching for Gold, Finding…Malaria?
By Maria Fernanda Garcia and Ian Ho-A-Shu The hunt for buried treasure has long and infamously yielded fortune and misfortune in the same fell swoop. From Jason and the Argonauts’ haunting search for the Golden Fleece, to the 49ers’ mad rush to a then far-off and forbidding California, the search for gold continues to prove simultaneously fruitful and hazardous for those … [Read more...] about Searching for Gold, Finding…Malaria?
Haiti’s Hidden Treasures
When I tell people I work as an environmental specialist on projects in Haiti, I get some confused reactions. Surely – I am asked – a country that it is focused on rebuilding houses and schools, tackling the challenges of health and education, and creating new economic opportunities and jobs, is not thinking about protecting mangrove forests and coral reefs. Photo by Natasha … [Read more...] about Haiti’s Hidden Treasures
Fruitful dialogue with The Caribbean Civil Society
More than 30 Civil Society Organizations from The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad Tobago, Haiti and Suriname met on May 20 – 21, in Paramaribo, for the IV Caribbean Civil Society Meeting hosted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). For the first time in the history of these fora, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) that are not members of the … [Read more...] about Fruitful dialogue with The Caribbean Civil Society