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From the discussions and comments I've seen, there's been a general consensus we should be focusing on Africa, but I haven't seen a lot as to which country in Africa we should focus on, if any.  I think it would make sense, as focusing our efforts should make it easier to accomplish our goals.  Here are my candidates for countries, but feel free to post your own, in Africa or elsewhere.

Liberia
For the Americans on EVOKE, we have a special connection to the nation of Liberia.  Founded as a colony for freed slaves, the nation is now trying to pull itself out of 20 years of civil war.  I think efforts here would go a long way to help stabilize the nation and region, and the relatively small population might give us an advantage on a "per capita" basis.  Also, Ellen Johnson-Surleaf is arguably one of the most competent leaders in Africa at the moment, so we might find an ally at the top that we might not in other nations.

Botswana
A very sparsely populated country, Botswana has benefited greatly from the diamond industry and the fact that the country has had a stable, democratic government since independence in 1966 has made it one of the few success stories in Africa.  Despite this, Botswana still has high levels of unemployment and one of the highest HIV/AIDS infection rates in the world.  EVOKE involvement here could help rescue, or even amplify, this rare glimmer of hope.

Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa
While certainly all different in their own rights, I've grouped these together since they are "popular" destinations for NGOs, which gives us an advantage in helping existing efforts, although perhaps at the expense of more desperate situations.  These countries also have had, recently at least, stable governments (perhaps with the exception of Kenya) and, especially in the case of South Africa, a considerable amount of human capital compared to the rest of the continent.

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I vote for Liberia. After watching the doc**entary - Pray the Devil Back to Hell - I was so impressed by the women's struggle to bring peace to their country. I believe that the people already are in the activist mode, and are very open to working to continue with their journey toward creating a stronger nation. But then I could vote for South Africa, as well, because it has come such a long way, and has so many issues to deal with.
I think we should not restrict this to Africa.......... We need social innovation in all the developing countries so Asia specially South Asia must be included in the discussions.....
What do you suggest?
Thank you Liza and Nangar for replying, you both make good points! I suppose we should rephrase the question a bit, since it's certainly not meant as "which country deserves our attention most?" Clearly, there are many countries, from South and Central Asia to Africa to South America that all need the attention of social innovation and who, just as importantly, deserve it.

Perhaps the question should be, first, if there is a benefit to focusing our efforts for a collaborative project on a single country, and second, which country, given the EVOKE network's skill set, knowledge set and manpower availability, would complement us the best.

I hope that makes some sense and I look forward to hearing back from you guys!
Thats right David. So now what is in your mind? How to move forward?

David Perner said:
Thank you Liza and Nangar for replying, you both make good points! I suppose we should rephrase the question a bit, since it's certainly not meant as "which country deserves our attention most?" Clearly, there are many countries, from South and Central Asia to Africa to South America that all need the attention of social innovation and who, just as importantly, deserve it.

Perhaps the question should be, first, if there is a benefit to focusing our efforts for a collaborative project on a single country, and second, which country, given the EVOKE network's skill set, knowledge set and manpower availability, would complement us the best.

I hope that makes some sense and I look forward to hearing back from you guys!
I think for this to work we'd have to involve more people that are actively brainstorming solutions for the developing world. Right now, even if we reach a decision on the topic, there's not enough people involved to implement it. Perhaps then we should keep on the look out for groups doing serious work and direct them to this post. That way we can have a wider discussion with the most engaged people. What are your thoughts on this?

NANGAR SOOMRO said:
Thats right David. So now what is in your mind? How to move forward?

David Perner said:
Thank you Liza and Nangar for replying, you both make good points! I suppose we should rephrase the question a bit, since it's certainly not meant as "which country deserves our attention most?" Clearly, there are many countries, from South and Central Asia to Africa to South America that all need the attention of social innovation and who, just as importantly, deserve it.

Perhaps the question should be, first, if there is a benefit to focusing our efforts for a collaborative project on a single country, and second, which country, given the EVOKE network's skill set, knowledge set and manpower availability, would complement us the best.

I hope that makes some sense and I look forward to hearing back from you guys!
The EVOKE network has its origins in Africa (as seen in the graphic novel for ep1) and the game developers have worked hard to bring African players to the game. But my suggestion is to focus on the social innovation needs that inspire you and call out to you, no matter where in the world they may be. Your particular blend of passion, skills and experience, in combination with those of other agents you choose to work with, will guide you. Play the game, let the game play you, and see what emerges.
If we are, indeed, supposed to be focusing on a particular country in Africa, I believe we should turn our gaze to the Congo area, where genocides were and probably still are going on in Rwanda. Hitler killed six million Jews, and the Hutus tried to wipe out the Tutsis. The death count? 800,000. Not to mention Darfur genocide in Sudan.
LUANDA is the capital of ANGOLA and Luanda was one of the most expensive cities in the world in 2008 and 2009, yet most of the population are poor.
Rwanda does have a couple things going for it. It's relatively small, already has a large number of NGOs on the ground, and has several ongoing development initiatives we could work with. And definitely, while Darfur is in desperate need of help, I'm not sure it's best for a first effort only because it's a highly unstable region with an antagonistic government. Maybe I'm being naive though, let me know your thoughts.

Shelby Wesley said:
If we are, indeed, supposed to be focusing on a particular country in Africa, I believe we should turn our gaze to the Congo area, where genocides were and probably still are going on in Rwanda. Hitler killed six million Jews, and the Hutus tried to wipe out the Tutsis. The death count? 800,000. Not to mention Darfur genocide in Sudan.
No, I think I was the naive one on this one. I believe that if we weren't able to pervent the genocide of Jew during Holocaust or the genocide in Rwanda, we can't do much to help Darfur. :(

David Perner said:
Rwanda does have a couple things going for it. It's relatively small, already has a large number of NGOs on the ground, and has several ongoing development initiatives we could work with. And definitely, while Darfur is in desperate need of help, I'm not sure it's best for a first effort only because it's a highly unstable region with an antagonistic government. Maybe I'm being naive though, let me know your thoughts.

Shelby Wesley said:
If we are, indeed, supposed to be focusing on a particular country in Africa, I believe we should turn our gaze to the Congo area, where genocides were and probably still are going on in Rwanda. Hitler killed six million Jews, and the Hutus tried to wipe out the Tutsis. The death count? 800,000. Not to mention Darfur genocide in Sudan.
Don't get me wrong though, if there's a good plan we can make up for Darfur, I'd be very interested. It just might be my own limited imagination that's attracting me more to other countries/regions, at least for an initial effort for the EVOKE network.

Shelby Wesley said:
No, I think I was the naive one on this one. I believe that if we weren't able to pervent the genocide of Jew during Holocaust or the genocide in Rwanda, we can't do much to help Darfur. :(

David Perner said:
Rwanda does have a couple things going for it. It's relatively small, already has a large number of NGOs on the ground, and has several ongoing development initiatives we could work with. And definitely, while Darfur is in desperate need of help, I'm not sure it's best for a first effort only because it's a highly unstable region with an antagonistic government. Maybe I'm being naive though, let me know your thoughts.

Shelby Wesley said:
If we are, indeed, supposed to be focusing on a particular country in Africa, I believe we should turn our gaze to the Congo area, where genocides were and probably still are going on in Rwanda. Hitler killed six million Jews, and the Hutus tried to wipe out the Tutsis. The death count? 800,000. Not to mention Darfur genocide in Sudan.
I hear you, since America is the superpower, we are kinda obliged to help out our allies to the best of our abilities.

David Perner said:
Don't get me wrong though, if there's a good plan we can make up for Darfur, I'd be very interested. It just might be my own limited imagination that's attracting me more to other countries/regions, at least for an initial effort for the EVOKE network.

Shelby Wesley said:
No, I think I was the naive one on this one. I believe that if we weren't able to pervent the genocide of Jew during Holocaust or the genocide in Rwanda, we can't do much to help Darfur. :(

David Perner said:
Rwanda does have a couple things going for it. It's relatively small, already has a large number of NGOs on the ground, and has several ongoing development initiatives we could work with. And definitely, while Darfur is in desperate need of help, I'm not sure it's best for a first effort only because it's a highly unstable region with an antagonistic government. Maybe I'm being naive though, let me know your thoughts.

Shelby Wesley said:
If we are, indeed, supposed to be focusing on a particular country in Africa, I believe we should turn our gaze to the Congo area, where genocides were and probably still are going on in Rwanda. Hitler killed six million Jews, and the Hutus tried to wipe out the Tutsis. The death count? 800,000. Not to mention Darfur genocide in Sudan.

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