The Armenians have gotten creative. It’s no secret that many post-communist countries suffer from high rates of tax evasion. How can a government promote tax compliance without being too heavy-handed with small businesses? The answer: print lottery numbers for a state-sponsored lottery on the back of store receipts. That way consumers demand receipts and merchants are obliged to print them (conveniently leaving a paper trail for the tax office). From Notes from Hairenik:

On the back of each check is an eight-digit number which ends with an Armenian letter. Apparently at some time in the near future these numbers will be called, like in a lottery, and if the number called matches the one on your receipt you can win money–up to $16,000 if you’re lucky enough… I am not ashamed to admit that I am indeed saving all the receipts that I receive, in case I happen to win enough cash to put down towards the payment of an apartment. You never know…What’s the excuse of thousands of citizens who make money but refuse to pay [taxes]?

(Hat tip: Global Voices Online)

[From A lottery to beat all lotteries]

You can visit their website at: http://www.doingbusiness.org/

The following is stated on their website:

“The world is approaching crisis point. Run-away climate change and theglobal food crisis will continue to be exacerbated as population expands to over 9 billion people by the year 2050. A global financial crisis is reshaping the way the world’s economy works. Epidemics of infectious diseases are spreading throughout the world and fresh water supplies are under threat. Slow change is no longer acceptable, urgent action is needed.

OxFID 2009 aims to investigate fully the impact of all these factors on developing nations and to bring together some of the world’s leading academics, creative thinkers, NGOs to encourage debate and precipitate solutions.”

Highlights of the Forum include:

• Lord Chris Patten, Chancellor of Oxford University, “What next? Surviving the 21st Century”
• Sam Brickersworth, Head of policy at Oxfam, “Solving the Food Crisis”
• Robert Annibale, Global Director of Citigroup micro-finance, “Effects of the financial crisis on micro-finance”
• Lord Robert May, former chief scientific advisor to DFID, “If you had $50 billion to help save the world”
• Aubrey Meyer, New Statesmans’ top 10 people to save the planet, “Climate Change: Problems and Solutions”

You can learn more and book your ticket at: http://oxfordhub.org/oxfid

Comic relief hopes that this become a new trend and spills over to other occupations, reaching through the masses as the new development fad. It will be interesting to see how this progresses.

SAB Miller is an excellent example of “new CSR”; they are seeking to make a difference through their value chain by creating sustainable economic opportunities for small entrepreneurs. According to their latest enterprise development report, 10,000 jobs for farmers working in disadvantaged regions in Africa and India have been created or improved in 2007/2008 as a result of their CSR intiatives.

A report developed by PWC state that SAB Miller have obtained business benefits which appear to exceed, and sometimes even significantly exceed the cost of the programs. Indicating that not only are there social benefits to CSR, but substantial business benefits from carefully planned and strategically implemented initiatives.

It will be interesting to see how CSR develops in the future, I really think that socially responsible initiatives can be a mean for companies to obtain a competitive advantage.

If you think that more than 50% of the world’s population is living on less than $2 (in purchasing power parity terms) it is quite humbling to know that it is almost like flipping a coin on the day you were born.

Check out the UYDO animation at http://www.uydo.org/campaigns/whereareyouborn

What is exiting about this news is that it is a fantastic example of the beauty of market powers. While American cars have been going on with their normal business, the Chinese have seen and grasped an opportunity to gain competitive advantage by focusing on the environment. If you ask me, this is the only way we can combat climate change, by companies using the environment as an opportunity to differentiate themselves from the competitors and gain an advantage. This is what Michale Porter, business strategist and lecturer at Harvard Business school would call a differentiation strategy. Lets wait and see if it works.

Source: Dagbladet.no

The dictionary tells us that development is the process of being developed; or using other words, it is progress from one state to a different, better and improved state. Thus youth-led development focuses on improving the situation underprivileged youth might find themselves in. Another important aspect is that youth-led development is primarily driven by young people and sees them as an asset and key component in achieving positive change.

I have attached a video with Deborah from Voluntary Services Overseas talking a little bit about youth-led development.

A good example of an youth-led development organisation is UYDO, check it out at: www.uydo.org

I was at the LSE during the inauguration and the university was buzzing with anticipation, every TV and computer at the university was tuned in to either the BCC or CNN, and the LSE pubs were packed with people wanting to get a glimpse of this historic moment. The atmosphere was fantastic and people seemed exceptionally hopeful. I personally think that people have too high of an expectation to Obama and what he can do, especially abroad, and that America is not run by one man, or the relatively small team within the Whitehouse, but it is run by its people, and that any drastic change will unlikely to happen.

But I am excited for what Obama represents, and I think that he can be the inspiration for many people in the world, and a symbol that the American dream is truly alive!

Only time will tell if Obama will make the changes he has promised, but in the meantime we can enjoy this video:

According to the United Nations estimates, one in five people are between the ages of 15 and 25 and 85% of them live in developing countries. So, it is evident that young people are vital components if you want to make change for the better. Inspired by the great enthusiasm shown by dedicated young people from Universities from all over the world we decided to create an organization that focus on creating platform for young people to lift themselves out of the poverty trap through employment, Being in poverty is an awful experience, and being able to get yourself a job and take yourself out of poverty, without the help of others (we actually lend people money, not give), is an incredible empowering situation. The money that people can help improve their living standards, purchase vital medicine, but also help to pay for an education.

We do not only focus on young people in what we refer to as the global south, but we also believe that young people in the global north is an asset in achieving our goals and ambitions, that is why UYDO is managed by a youth executive committee who runs the day-to-day operations. We have managed to get a highly experienced Board of trustees together and we are currently working on creating an advisory board consisting of experienced professionals and academics who can provide with their advise on an adhoc basis.

UYDO is still young but we have already had more than 2500 visitors from 55 different nations, and currently growing more than 30%.

If you want to get involved in UYDO, either as a young person, donor, or professional, then please send us an email and we will get in touch.