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Big Society, Big Idea?

If government isn’t the answer to all society’s ills, how can citizens take control and find real solutions to problems as diverse as loneliness and youth crime? Well, the Big Society Network that launched in London on Thursday thinks it has the answer – half public awareness campaign, half social networking site, half thinktank, half old-fashioned mutual society, […]

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Not just the new should have prizes

They are getting used to making acceptance speeches at Pratham, India’s largest nonprofit working to help the 200 million children in the country who cannot read. In the past twelve months Pratham has picked up the Gold EMPI-Indian Express Indian Innovation Award and was made CNN-IBN Indian of the year in 2009, and now it […]

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Inducing Obama

At first glance, the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama is absurdly premature. Beyond his fine words, it is hard to demonstrate conclusively that President Obama has yet added a net ounce of peace to the world, and although hopefully he will ultimately do so, the record of past US presidents, including […]