The Commonwealth Secretariat has been a pioneer in promoting women’s rights and gender equality since the 1976–85 UN Decade for Women, and of gender mainstreaming since the UN 4th World Conference on Women, to which our 1995 Plan of Action on Gender and Development was a Commonwealth contribution. This publication brings together case studies prepared in connection with the end-of-term review of the 2005–15 Commonwealth Plan of Action for Gender Equality. The case studies are based on submissions and interviews with government representatives, gender specialists and other stakeholders, including civil society organisations, from 20 countries representing all regions of the Commonwealth. The examples were selected to demonstrate a range of strategies that can be employed to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment. Together they help to show what perpetuates gender inequality and offer approaches that can be adopted to help end unjust discrimination.

Recent advances in information and communication technologies have enhanced the standards of metropolitan planning and development. These innovations have led to new opportunities in this evolving profession. Emerging Issues, Challenges, and Opportunities in Urban E-Planning brings together the efficiency of web-based tools and digital technologies with the practice of spatial planning. Focusing on the utilization of geographic information systems, computer-assisted design, visualization concepts, and database management systems, this book is a pivotal reference source for planners, policymakers, researchers, and graduate students interested in how recent technological advancements are enhancing the traditional practices in urban planning.

In August 2008, Heads of State of the Southern African Development Community adopted the ground-breaking SADC Protocol on Gender and Development. This followed a concerted campaign by NGOs under the umbrella of the Southern Africa Gender Protocol Alliance. By the 2013 Heads of State summit, 13 countries had signed and 12 countries had ratified the SADC Gender Protocol. The Protocol is now in force. With one year to go, time is ticking to 2015, when governments need to have achieved 28 targets for the attainment of gender equality. In keeping with the Alliance slogan: Yes we must! this 2014 Barometer provides a wealth of updated data against which progress will be measure by all those who cherish democracy in the region. The world, and SADC, is also looking to the future with the post 2015 agenda. Now is the time to strengthen resolve, reconsider, reposition, and re-strategise for 2030.

For over 70 years, the United Nations has worked to advance human conditions globally through its historic agenda for a more peaceful, prosperous, and just world. Through the work of the General Assembly and other programs like the UNESCO World Conferences on Adult Education, the organization has taken a leading role in bringing world leaders together to dialogue on world issues and to set agendas for advancing social and economic justice among and within the regions of the world. The underlying themes of the United Nations’ agenda over the years have been world peace, economic justice, addressing the needs of the world’s most vulnerable populations, and protecting the environment. We draw from the two last two declarations from which the Millennium Development Goals (September 2000) and the Sustainable Development Goals (September 2015) were adopted by world leaders with a focus on addressing the needs of the most vulnerable populations. In this declaration, world leaders committed to uphold the long-standing principles of the organization and to combat extreme poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination and violence against women. The overall objective of the book is to highlight the conditions of vulnerable populations from various contexts globally, and the role adult and higher education can play (and is playing) in advancing the United Nations agenda of social and economic justice and environmental sustainability. Adult education, through research, teaching, and service engagements is contributing to this ongoing effort but as many scholars have noted, our work remains invisible and undocumented. Therefore, this book highlights adult education’s critical partnership in addressing these global issues. It will also begin to fill the void that exists in adult education literature on internationalization of the field.

Concepts of corporate social responsibility (CSR) are widely used by businesses, professional bodies and academics, but are also widely contested. CSR is usually described as comprising three elements: environmental, economic and social, though there is no serious consensus on how to go about translating ideas into practice. This research handbook addresses some key areas of contention, theory and practice within CSR in order to address, challenge and inform debate in academia and practice. The collaborative text extends understanding of CSR through articulating current thinking on each facet of a vital subject. Each theme is represented by inter-disciplinary discussion of key questions on CSR by researchers and practitioners in the field. In doing so, the book: Explores and critiques CSR goals, and national, organizational and managerial strategies Reviews the distinctive role and importance of CSR to academics, professionals and practitioners and identifies appropriate bridging strategies Evaluates the nature, direction and applicability of selected theoretical dimensions which inform the understanding of CSR Assesses the opportunities for theory building, to support further understanding of the complexities of CSR and the sustainability and long term value of CSR practice to corporations and civil society This timely and significant contribution to the theory and practice of CSR will prove to be vital reading for students, researchers and practitioners involved with the field. It will also become a key reference for anyone with an interest in business and society.

The Urgency of Climate Change addresses a pivotal challenge for the sustainability of our planet. This topic was selected for the inaugural conference in 2015 of an annual series on the Integrity of Creation. The essays in this collection were selected in a peer-reviewed manner and appeal to a general audience. The chapters move from general to more specific points of view, with a discussion at the end of each section addressing the global impact of climate change. The first section sets the Context for the discussion, explaining that the climate is an indispensable common good. The part on Science emphasises that empirical reality must guide any analysis of the climate as a matter of basic knowledge and comprehension. A crucial implication is whether the climate is sufficiently robust for the Earth to flourish for millennia ahead, as discussed in the part on Sustainability. In turn, these sections raise pivotal questions, regarding Ethics about social obligations for the planet to flourish and regarding Religion to foster global stewardship. Finally, this alignment of Ethics and Religion around the problems related to Science and Sustainability leads to the final section on Law that considers policy possibilities to effectively engage Climate Change.