Archive: 2015

Reflections on Harvard’s National ID Conference 2015

by Justin Hughes “…we still remain far less cynical about the motives of the private sector than we do our (usually) elected officials.” I recently had the privilege of attending the National ID Conference at Harvard University. Over the…

Integrated Education in Europe: Privilege or Right?

by Margareta Matache “A worldwide recognized right has progressively been recast into something those with only privileged status can enjoy.” “I am proud that my son is graduating from high school this year. There are few Roma…

Investing in Children at the Margins

On November 3 Center instructor and Roma rights specialist Margareta Matache spoke at an Institute of Medicine  convening, the Forum on Investing in Young Children Globally. On the panel Reaching and Investing in Children at the Margins, Matache…

Benefits, Concerns Around National ID Systems

by Amy Roeder This article originally appeared on the website of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. November 24, 2015. Across the globe, legal identification is required for essential tasks such as opening a bank account, accessing…

Modern Slavery and Public Health

By Krista Oehlke It has been estimated that 80 million people – millions of them children – are enslaved, in varying forms, around the world. Its imprint is all around us. For example, a seminal 2014 Harvard FXB Center report…

A Brief History of National ID Cards

“ID card adoption is more likely following economic or political shocks” by Connor T. Jerzak National ID cards can provoke diverse reactions. In some countries, identity cards are seen as uncontroversial, even boring, documents. In…
Woman with blue headscarf holding up national ID card and smiling.

From Community to Emergency Room

On October 30 Director Jennifer Leaning delivered a keynote at the Annual Conference on Disaster Preparedness and Response 2015: From Community to Emergency Room in Hong Kong. The conference was the culmination of the first year of Harvard FXB Center’s…

A Global Biometrics Project for Our Times

by Justin Hughes and Andrew Hopkins photo: UNHCR creative commons Preserving and protecting the identity of refugees has never been more critical. As hundreds of thousands continue to flee conflict and persecution across the world, the lack of a…

Where's the Sex in MNCH?

October 23, 2015. Harvard FXB Center’s Policy Director Alicia Yamin addressed the final plenary session of the Global Maternal Newborn Health Conference on October 21, 2015. While health is essential to the self-realization of all people, Yamin…