Last week saw Antananarivo enter the dirtiest cities in the world Hall of Fame, right after Dhaka and Baku.
Yikes !
No. 3: Antananarivo, Madagascar
Mercer Health and Sanitation Index Score: 30.1
Madagascar, located off of the southeastern coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean, makes this year’s list with its capital city, Antananarivo. Well known for its variety of unique flora and fauna, Madagascar has often been referred to as the world’s eighth continent, but the effects of the human population are quickly leaving their footprint.
We can all grumble about it and lament it. We can also expand our horizons and get positive. And creative. And practical. And win $5000 or $1000 for our ideas.That is if you want to participate in this “Shaping the City of Your Dreams” essay competition and are eligible.
Shaping the City of Your Dreams
In 2007, for the first time in human history, the majority of people in the world, particularly in developing countries, will be living in urban areas. Life in the city is often associated with more opportunities, better access to employment, education, health and other services. Cities are often called engines of economic growth, contributing disproportionately to the national gross domestic product (GDP). They are also centers of innovation, entrepreneurship and investment. But many cities also have a large part of their population living in slums, without essential services such as water, sanitation and energy, and threatened by environmental hazards, violence and social exclusion. As more and more people move from the countryside to the city, and as city populations grow, there is a growing need for solutions to the issues of urban poverty, environment, and urban infrastructure (housing, roads, water, energy etc.).
What can you do to shape the city of your dreams?Please answer all three questions below:
1) Think about the city you live in. What are the biggest opportunities and challenges for people living there?
2) What needs to be done to transform your city into the city of your dreams?
3) What could be your role, working together with your peers, in shaping the city of your dreams? Please focus on one or two points you mentioned in question 2).
You may use some of the points below to structure your answer:
If you have been personally involved in concrete initiatives, write specifically about your experience:
Who have you worked with? Who have you helped? What have you accomplished? In what way would you consider this work to be innovative? How have you measured the results of your work?
Looking ahead:
How would you expand or improve the impact of your work? How can other youth replicate your experience?If you don’t have practical experience, write specifically about your ideas:
How would you work with your peers to shape the city of your dreams?
Hurry up ! Deadline is March 23. If you win you will also be invited to the City of my Dreams (aka CapeTown).
One word:
Tel-Aviv.
why are you snobbing our experts conversations with liria if you have so great ideas?
I don’t get royalty (inside joke lasa mivadika joke banal)
I heard about this competition let’s give this one to one of our FBC guyz when is the deadline again?
tssssssss
damage control dray ré ry lanitra ô!
Un peu hors-sujet mais pas trop
Chronique de VANF:
“si La Réunion juste à côté, la France en particulier et l’Occident en général, paraissent un eldorado, c’est que la réalité malgache n’a jamais cessé de se détériorer depuis quarante-huit ans d’indépendance retrouvée…”
http://www.lexpressmada.com/index.php?p=chronique%20de%20Vanf