I just wanted to add that this not an Omidyar Network project - just a personal idea.

Hmmm! Interesting, food for thought. thanks.

May be there is one thing to think about, most of all maps don't show real proportions (for several reasons). To get an idea you can see this map http://www.flickr.com/photos/34579722@N00/309556116/ . The United States are much smaller than on your map (the more if you only take North America) and Africa is the most huge continent of all.

I don't know if this makes any sense or different to you'r project, just a hint.

That's an amazing map, Thanks.

Reminds me of the West Wing episode where a group wants all global maps to be turned upside down so that the southern hemisphere is more predominate.

I did this map once for one of my client "Deutsche Welthungerhilfe". Be in charge of between 1998 and 2002. So if you need more info for this map I can try to figure out.

Yea, that is great, it would be bad if all 50 states of the rich industrialised Nation of USA take one country each of Africa to exchange ideas and visits for each to learn as to how they came to where they are now. Starting from the poorest nations of Africa leaving the remaining comparatively rich 11 countries. It is my dream and hope one day I will wake up to see it happening. Thanks again.

There's one demographic detail that always used to make me sit up and take notice and that's life expectancy.

When I was living in Sierra Leone I had my 34th birthday which at the time was the average life expectancy for a Sierrra Leoneon women... ever since then I've been feeling I've been living on borrowed time!

I would suggest it be included in any comparisons - imagine the loss of productivity in the West if life expectancy was roughly half what it is now

Thanks for the notes - I've also posted this out in the blog universe in case you'd like to http://abolition2.blogspot.com/ check out the pictures.

Very cool idea Haney, and I'll send some folks your way on this....

I'm interested in maps too, as well as twinning processes. The most known of twinning seems to be between cities but yes couldnt it be great if US states twinned with an african country?

I am wondering if theere is some first way of jumping on the latest pbs "roots programme". I understood from Charlie Rose interview last night that a series of where stars roots came form like Oprah Winfrey is starting; perhaps one map is simply where do American stars either have roots or want to support (eg Winkfrey's recent opening of a school for girls in S. Africa)

Even with cities , I don't know much about how cities chose twins. Does it start with historical emigrations or with common business or other interests or..?

And whether the way this works could be changed now that the internet is flattening the world.

Haney: Have you worked out yet which african country oklahoma could most naturally twin with? It would also be great if you or any other host of an Africa thread could drop by and add a few lines on who you wnat to join in the conversation over at http://www.omidyar.net/group/economics/news/27/

I am trying to catlaogue connections between 2 different African dilaogues: those actively going on at onet threads those going on at Africa's biggest meetings in 007 including the World Social Forum this week.

Let's sure we have enough networking info overlap so that walk and talk come together all over Africa in 007

I've been fascinated with maps my entire life. In our home, we have a 9x14 foot National Geographic map mounted on the wall of our family room. It is so fun to watch kids as they touch, point and discover places they are learning about in school.

The neatest maps I've seen in a while are "Heat Maps" developed by SmartDataVision, a subsidiary of Smart Money, which is owned by Dow Jones. You can find samples at:

http://www.smartdatavision.com

By the way, as an Oklahoman who is spending more and more time in Africa, there are several options to consider: 1) Nigeria (oil production), 2) South Africa (farming, ranching and country music!) :)

Thanks - I think the way that twinning used to happened was that some powerful individual in one city would fall in love with some city in another country.

I haven't done the work of figuring out a match for Oklahoma.

chris macrae said:

I'm interested in maps too, as well as twinning processes. The most known of twinning seems to be between cities but yes couldnt it be great if US states twineed with an african country?

Even with cities , I don't know much about how cities chose twins. Does it start with historical emigrations or with common business or other interests or..?

And whether the way this works could be changed now that the internet is flattening the world. Have you worked out yet which african country

oklahoma could most naturally twin with?

Rather than choose oil - which doesn't do much good in the world (there is a lot of discussion going on now about how Nigeria's oil makes its people poorer rather than richer) how about crops?

Cotton for example. The subsidies that US cotton farmers are given mean that African cotton farmers can't sell their cotton on the world market at a fair price. If cotton growing areas were twinned maybe the US farmers would get to realise and feel the damage their protected status was doing and help lobby for change

It would work for other crops too - cattle, rice, sorghum, maize... may not fit neatly on to a political map but twinning agricultural areas could have greater social benefit

Those are great ideas, thanks. I can imagine having much empathy for someone who is growing the same crops so I think it's a good idea. Since the US production is so mechanized, I expect this is not a very large number of people and I'm not sure if they would ever lobby against their own subsidies but it's possible. Perhaps there would be other points of connection such as helping out in a particularly bad growing season.