HDialogue

Counting what counts in development

25 September 2017 | Selim Jahan, Director of the Human Development Report Office, UNDP
To most people, “development” is best measured by the quantity of change – like gains in average income, life expectancy, or years spent in school. The Human Development Index (HDI), a composite measure...Read more

Mental health: A fundamental component of human development

24 September 2017 | Christina Lengfelder, Research Analyst at the Human Development Report Office, UNDP
Mental health issues are a serious concern, and an area that is enormously underrecognized. Globally at least 800,000 people commit suicide each year: one suicide every 40...Read more

The changing face of civil participation in the digital age

15 September 2017 | Christelle Cazabat, Research Analyst at the Human Development Report Office, UNDP
This year’s International Day of Democracy calls for more inclusive institutions and civic participation to promote peace and stability. This focus is very much aligned with the 2016 Human Development...Read more

Rapid urbanisation: opportunities and challenges to improve the well-being of societies

06 September 2017 | Thangavel Palanivel, Deputy Director of the Human Development Report Office, UNDP
Throughout history, cities have been the main centres of learning, culture and innovation. It is not surprising that the world's most urban countries tend to be the richest and have the highest human development. Ongoing rapid urbanisation...Read more

Human Development that "cares"

01 August 2017 | Sofia Garcia Garcia (Representative to the United Nations) and Claudia Arisi (Advocacy Advisor), SOS Children’s Villages International
In a recent dialogue, members of civil society and governments explored the practical and political steps to leave no one behind through the experiences of those who are excluded. Sarah, a 16-year-old from Chicago, USA, asked the decision...Read more

Human development and behavioural insights: Learning from each other

25 July 2017 | Shivani Nayyar, Research Specialist at the Human Development Report Office, UNDP
Spent time lately working on your long-term financial plan? Thought strategically about your career, the skills you need to learn and the contacts you need to make? No? You are not alone. To procrastinate, even ignoring important life matters, is...Read more

Women’s reproductive rights are human rights

11 July 2017 | Tanni Mukhopadhyay, Policy Specialist and Senior Researcher at the Human Development Report Office, UNDP
The human development approach has long emphasized the importance of good health as a constitutive element that is both of intrinsic and instrumental value for an individual’s ability to thrive. Today, on the UN’s World Population Day, as global...Read more

The Sustainable Development Goals—shared vision, collective responsibilities

07 July 2017 | Dr. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany
Human dignity is inviolable. This principle has not changed since 1948 when it was formulated by the United Nations in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It does not stop at national borders and applies to everyone regardless of age, gender or...Read more

Predictably irrational—helping advance human development in a less than rational world

03 July 2017 | HDRO. Interview with Dan Ariely, James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University
How did you get into studying how individuals make decisions or choices? Was this a rational decision? I got into this following my experience of being in hospital for a very long time. I was badly injured when young. While in...Read more

Peace in Colombia is also Peace for the World

27 June 2017 | Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia and 2016 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
In Colombia we are more determined than ever to end the longest running and only remaining internal armed conflict in the Americas. Colombians were divided over the agreement that was negotiated between the Government and the FARC guerrillas....Read more
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