Global Youth Innovation Network (GYIN) participants. Credit: IPS

Young IPS reporters joined young entrepreneurs from around the world in Cotonou, Benin, in October to share knowledge and mark the launch of the Global Youth Innovation Network (GYIN).

IPS Africa, with support of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), provided reporters with multimedia skills to promote innovative coverage of agriculture targeted at the youth. Read more »

IPS held its 2011 annual meetings in Helsinki, Finland from the 13th – 16th October.

A public seminar on the theme of “Migration and Communication: Re-balancing information flows and dialogue”, jointly organised with the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), took place on the morning of October 13th.

Latest estimates from IOM suggest that international migrants could number 405 million by 2050 if migration continues to grow at the same pace as during the last 20 years. In the context of these projections much of the public discourse around the issue has been negative. Read more »

Alternative journalism. Public journalism. Counter-journalism.Whatever one calls it, there is just good and bad journalism. But what makes good, critical journalism that digs out the ‘other’ story in a media world that is skewed toward the big, powerful and famous?

Likewise, how does one make space for diverse views in an increasingly commercial media? What skills does the relevant journalist need amid today’s information overload, the Internet and round-the-clock connectivity? Read more »

World Water Day was celebrated on March 22 to focus attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. This year’s conference focused on “Water and Urbanisation”.

As the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) joined UN-HABITAT and UN-Water in co-organizing World Water Day 2011 in South Africa, SADCs Water Division commissioned IPS a special newsletter to highlight the management of urban water challenges in the region “Water for Cities: Responding to the Urban Challenge“. Read more »

As people power in the streets and squares of North Africa and the Middle East topples the established order, IPS news agency is in Dakar, Senegal to report from the World Social Forum, the annual global gathering of social movements dedicated to building alternatives. Hundreds of thousands of activists and thinkers from around the world are expected in Dakar from 6 – 11 February. Daily reporting and podcasts from the event will be gathered at the IPS TerraViva WSF 2011 news site, with content in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. Read more »