A B-Side BY Armin

Hunchworks

Just established by the United Nations’ Global Pulse initiative, Hunchworks’ mission is to help find solutions for some of the world’s biggest problems, a platform that connects experts from around the world and enables them to collaborate and solve problems on a global scale. The name comes from its process by delving deep into “hunches” that may lead to positive results. The identity has been designed by Brooklyn, NY-based Hyperakt. More images and application shots here. Love that the icon looks like a transistor circuit thingie.

Opinion BY Armin

The Pulse Felt Around the World

In July of 2009 Ban Ki-moon, secretary general of the United Nations, announced plans to launch the Global Impact and Vulnerability Alert System (GIVAS), in order to “mobilize our full strength for better real-time data on the impact of the economic crisis on the poorest nations.” In June, almost a year later, GIVAS changed its name to Global Pulse, citing that the acronym was hard to pronounce, the name too long to remember, and it signified a top-down rather than a bottom-up approach. Global Pulse’s vision is to “Close the information gap between the onset of a global crisis and the availability of actionable information for decision makers” and its mission to “Harness innovation to protect the vulnerable.” To accompany the launch of the new name, New York-based Zago created a new identity.

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Opinion BY Armin

Globally Speeching

On February 2010, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted resolution 64/134: “Proclamation of 2010 as the International Year of Youth: Dialogue and Mutual Understanding.” The International Year of Youth (IYY) will begin on August 12, 2010, launching a global initiative to engage the kidz and not just to get them off their Playstations but to “harness the energy, imagination and initiative of the world’s youth in overcoming the challenges facing humankind, from enhancing peace to boosting economic development.” Not an easy task, but one with a deadline of August 11, 2011 so there is plenty of time. The logo for IYY was introduced last month.

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