Neil Sorensen joined the Land Portal as its Communications Specialist in October 2015. He has extensive experience leading communications for international organizations and developing relationships with civil society, donors, intergovernmental agencies, the media and the private sector. Previously, Neil worked for the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) as a Governing Bodies Officer and Strategic Adviser to the Secretary of IFAD. He has also led communications for three international organizations, including the International Land Coalition, the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). He holds a Master’s degree in Global Diplomacy from the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) as well as a Bachelor’s degree with a double major in German and Sociology from St. Cloud State University.
Details
Location
India Land And Development Conference, 2017
Land Governance for Accelerated and Inclusive Development
5-6 April, 2017, New Delhi, India
Summer School on Land Relations in the Mekong Region, 24-28 July 2017
The Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development and the Mekong Land Research Forum will run a week-long intensive summer school on land research in the Mekong Region. The purpose of the summer school is to equip early-career academic and advocacy-oriented researchers with key concepts, access to existing research outputs, and knowledge of current land issues across the region in order to strengthen individual and networked research that is geared towards secure access to land amongst the region’s rural and urban poor.
Why Secure Land Rights Matter
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Only 30% of the world’s population has a legally registered title to their land.
- As discussed at the Land and Poverty Conference 2017, secure land rights are important for reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity at the country, community, and family levels.
- The World Bank supports countries to secure land rights for their populations, especially women, Indigenous Peoples, and other vulnerable groups.
Summary Report: Recognition of Customary Tenure in the Mekong Region
This dialogue provided a way for the land community to collaboratively explore challenges and opportunities related to the recognition of indigenous, ethnic minority and customary tenure rights in the Mekong region in order to:
Land Information Ecosystem Declaration
On March 20, 2017, a group of individuals from a broad range of institutions and organizations that focus on improving land governance around the world hereby commit to promote and bolster data-sharing efforts within the land sector, with the hope that such action will catalyze positive changes in the area of land governance and lead to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These individuals agreed on the following declaration:
Open Call for Proposals: Data Journalism and Property Rights Grants
The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a grant-giving non-profit organization that supports independent global journalism, is seeking applications for data-driven journalism projects related to land rights and property rights.
We are eager to see proposals that use open data to reveal new perspectives on property rights issues related to land tenure, indigenous land rights, transparency in land transactions and concessions, resource rights, or overlapping land use rights—just to name a few.
Open Data and Land Governance: Moving Towards an Information Ecosystem
Background
There are many sources of information about land, but their visibility, accessibility, consistency and completeness vary enormously.
The Land Portal Foundation and the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) Launch Thematic Portfolio on Land & Investments
Over the past decade, international investments in land have come to the forefront of public debate. Some argue that investments in land, including by foreign entities, is a critical component of achieving food security. Others argue that large scale land acquisitions, or what some refer to as ‘land grabbing,’ on the contrary, undermines efforts to overcome poverty and hunger by further marginalizing already vulnerable groups, including indigenous peoples and smallholder farmers.
International Women's Day - 7 women who refuse to wait for their rights
By Rachel Crome, Digital editor at Amnesty International
If there’s one thing we learned from January’s historic Women’s March, it’s that women are fed up of waiting. More than 3 million people – of all genders – marched worldwide for women’s rights, spurred on by US President Donald Trump’s misogynistic remarks and the growing backlash against women’s human rights around the world.
Six Southeast Asian women recognized for advocating for human rights
As the world marks International Women's Day on Wednesday, six women from different countries in Southeast Asia received recognition from advocacy group Amnesty International for their "heroism" in standing up for human rights despite the criminalization and violence they have faced.
The group recognizes the six women, who have long fought against injustice in each respective country, as figures that "inspire many in the region and whose contributions to society should be commended; not condemned".