Still4Hill

Hillary teamed up in New York City today with former colleague USAID administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah to inaugurate the U.S. Global Development Lab intended to end extreme poverty by the year 2030.

USAID launches Global Development Lab

Posted by Impact Blog Team on Thursday, April 3rd 2014

Today in New York, we launched our Global Development Lab, the new arm of our Agency that will foster science and technology-based solutions to help end extreme poverty by 2030.

Modeled on some of the most innovative and technologically advanced centers for discovery across the country, The ‘Lab’ as we are calling it, brings together a diverse set of partners to help us develop, test, and scale groundbreaking solutions to the greatest challenges known to man. Our goal is to reach over 200 million people through a new Lab-supported global marketplace of innovations in the next five years alone.

To focus the efforts of this talented community, we have outlined nine core areas where science, technology, and innovation can dramatically accelerate progress—from improving child literacy to advancing human rights to expanding financial inclusion through digital services.

And to help build the ranks of a next generation of talented development leaders, we also announced the first-ever class of 62 USAID Research and Innovation Fellows, who will deploy to more than 50 institutions across the world and examine everything from climate data in the Sahel to the impact of pathogens on child nutrition in South Africa.

But we can’t do it alone. If you are excited about the Lab’s vision and want to be part of this bold new approach to development, we want to hear from you!

An unrelated story about a “Cuban Twitter” platform prompted this response from USAID.

Statement in reference to the Associated Press article on “Cuban Twitter” on April 3, 2014

For Immediate Release

Thursday, April 3, 2014

USAID Press Office

202-712-4320 | Email: USAIDPressOfficers@usaid.gov

In reference to the Associated Press article on “Cuban Twitter” on April 3, 2014, USAID Spokesperson Matt Herrick issues the following statement:

 

“It is longstanding U.S. policy to help Cubans increase their ability to communicate with each other and with the outside world. Working with resources provided by Congress for exactly this purpose, USAID is proud of its work in Cuba to provide basic humanitarian assistance, promote human rights and universal freedoms, and to help information flow more freely to the Cuban people.  All of our work in Cuba, including this project, was reviewed in detail in 2013 by the Government Accountability Office and found to be consistent with U.S. law and appropriate under oversight controls.

It is also no secret that in hostile environments, governments take steps to protect the partners we are working with on the ground.  The purpose of the Zunzuneo project was to create a platform for Cubans to speak freely among themselves, period.  At the initial stages, the grantee sent tech news, sports scores, weather, and trivia to build interest and engage Cubans.  After that, Cubans were able to talk among themselves, and we are proud of that. USAID is a development agency and we work all over the world to help people exercise their universal rights and freedoms.”