Many African countries have received billons of dollars in revenues from oil and other natural resources over the last 25 years.  Yet, the per capita income of most of these countries remains at less than $3 a day.

In many cases, the lack of accountability and transparency in the management of revenue exacerbates poor governance and often fuels cycles of corruption, conflict and poverty.

Two days before January's swearing-in of Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf – Africa’s first female head of state – more than 250 women met in Monrovia to discuss the role of women in African politics, business and economics.

When Palestinians went to the polls in January, nearly every one of the 1,008 polling stations in the West Bank and Gaza had been mapped using Global Positioning System satellite technology. Thanks to a pilot Geographic Information Systems (GIS) project conducted over the past year, NDI created a "smart map" of the West Bank and Gaza that allows users to search, edit and analyze observation information and election results at polling stations throughout the Palestinian territories.