Stories written by Miren Gutierrez
Miren Gutierrez is chief editor of IPS

SPAIN: Renewable Energy a Remedy for Economic Crisis

One of the causes of Spain's deep economic crisis is the country's limited ability to export goods with high added value. But the pioneering renewable energy sector has the potential to fill that gap.

Field of photovoltaic solar panels. - Public domain

Renewable Energy a Remedy for Economic Crisis

Spain is one of the world's leading producers of photovoltaic energy, with installed potential of 3,200 megawatts.

 Francisco Etxeberria: The case against Garzón is "a setback" in the freedoms won in Spain.  Credit: Íñigo Royo/IPS

Q&A: The Man Who Unearthed 200 Mass Graves in Spain

Francisco Etxeberria's work causes blisters and earns him animosity as well as admiration. He and his team of forensic experts, anthropologists, archaeologists and others have unearthed 200 mass graves, exhuming the remains of 4,800 people in Spain since 2000.

GENDER/LANGUAGE: Rejecting the Derogatory ‘Feminine’

What happens to language and the way women are addressed when they start to occupy positions of responsibility? Well, it depends on the language.

Q&A: Africa – High On Political Empowerment, Low On Education

"It is clear that there are huge discrepancies within Sub-Saharan Africa, but overall the region is doing extremely well in terms of political empowerment," says Saadia Zahidi, head of the Women Leaders and Gender Parity Programme at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in a telephone interview from Geneva.

'This is our time. We can avoid repeating mistakes and learn from other's experiences' Credit: Victor Sokolowicz/ IPS

GENDER-SOUTH AFRICA: ‘There Is A Sense Of Vindication’

Born in a squatter camp in Orlando East and raised by a single mother; working in a factory while completing secondary school by correspondence; arrested and banned by the apartheid government: South Africa's ambassador to Italy is an example of the long road her country has travelled.

Robert Dijksterhuis, Jac SM Kee, Monia Azzalini,Paula Fray, Thenjiwe Mtintso and Laila Al-Shaik. Credit: Miren Gutierrez/IPS

MEDIA: The Untold Stories of Violence Against Women

"You don’t need to go far, it is all around us," said Robert Dijksterhuis, head of the gender division in the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to a room mostly full of women. "Up to one in three women around the world has been abused in some way - most often by someone she knows," he added, quoting UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) numbers.

Louise Doughty signing her book at the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2008.  Credit: Tim Duncan

LITERATURE/WOMEN: “When a Woman Wins, It is Still a Story”

The Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded 102 times to 106 Nobel laureates between 1901 and 2009. Only 10 of those winners were women. Meanwhile, the Man Booker Prize has been awarded to 15 women in 40 years.

Security Council debates protection of civilians - and women - in armed conflict. Credit: U.N.

GENDER: “Truly Exciting If the U.S. Could Ratify CEDAW” – Part 2

CEDAW or the U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence Against Women (CEDAW) was adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 1979.

Inés Alberdi: "CEDAW is the means by which governments (can) advance gender equality" Credit: U.N.

GENDER: Laws, Budgets and Pigeonholes – Part 1

The fight for women's rights came about hand in hand with the struggle for democracy, civil rights and national liberation in different countries and periods, says Inés Alberdi, executive director of UNIFEM.

Q&A: Italian Women At A Loss

On the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), Italy is far from attaining gender equality.

An internally displaced person in Congo carries rations distributed by the World Food Programme. Credit: U.N.

DEVELOPMENT: Plenty On the Plate – Part 2

"From a current 6.5 billion population, a billion don't get enough to eat right now. Extrapolate that to 2020, and you begin to recognise why this is not just a moral problem, it is a national security problem that has much more to do with civil strife, warfare, terrorism, immigration... This goes far beyond food."

A farmer harvests sorghum seeds in Sudan. The price of the seeds has doubled over the last two years. Credit: U.N.

DEVELOPMENT: Rome, Food Capital of the World – Part 1

It was once true that all roads led to this ancient capital. Today it is the furrows of maize, wheat and rice fields that take you to Rome, where the biggest global food organisations are headquartered, and the World Summit on Food Security (Nov. 16-18) is being organised.

There are only four women in Berlusconi's cabinet. Credit: Italian government

POLITICS-ITALY: Don't Even Speak of Equality! – Part 2

Angelica Mucchi-Faina, psychology professor at the Perugia University, thinks that "in Italy you cannot even talk about equal opportunities for women in politics."

Luisa Capelli: Italian feminism "has been marginalised" Credit: Oriana Boselli/IPS

POLITICS-ITALY: Where Are the Women? – Part 1

Four ministers out of 21; 193 parliamentarians out of 952 (upper and lower houses); no party leaders. Why are there so few women in Italian politics?

Hazel Henderson Credit:

Q&A: ‘Stiglitz-Sen Moving in the Right Direction, but Slowly’

Hazel Henderson is a futurist, an economic iconoclast, founder of Ethical Markets Media, and author of the books Building A Win-Win World, Beyond Globalization, Planetary Citizenship, and Ethical Markets: Growing the Green Economy. Her main focus is exploring the "blind spots" in conventional economic theory.

A poster of the film. Credit:

Q&A: Women Are Not Wallpaper

Something new is appearing on the Italian screen. About time, some may say.

Paolo di Croce Credit: Miren Gutiérrez/IPS

Q&A: About Peas in a Pod

Slow Food, obviously, is the opposite of fast food. And it's a movement now with more than 100,000 members in 132 countries. But what does "slow food" mean in practical terms?

Paolo di Croce - Miren Gutiérrez/IPS

A Slow Revolution at the Dinner Table

"The day we all decide to eat fresh and local, to eat less meat... we will have a revolution," says Paolo di Croce, secretary-general of Slow Food International.

Ahmed Djoghlaf Credit:

Q&A: The Threatened Have Some Friends

Declining amphibian populations, dwindling fish stocks, waning ocean biodiversity, loss of forests...All scientists acknowledge that the rate of species loss is greater now than at any time in human history.

Elisa Munoz Credit: International Women's Media Foundation

WOMEN-MEDIA: Who Is the Editor?

For the first time in 15 years, an organisation, the International Women's Media Foundation (IWMF), is attempting to measure the progress, or lack of progress, of women in media organisations globally.

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