Rainbowbuilders - Where our media erect walls, we build bridges

We work on improving mutual understanding across cultures and social classes, based on solid data, within a framework of human rights and conflict mediation.

Latest: Bringing mountain biking to Tibet

Development across the world

Does your government care about babies?

Since neither the media nor the academic world ever hold governments accountable with regards to the right to health, here is what you need to take things into your own hands.

Never leave a cowboy in charge of the nursery, or 12,000 babies will die each year

Whenever a cowboy sees babies in the eyes of a young lady, he escapes riding into the sunset. So, if you elect one into the White House...

Life expectancy statistics: Russia from gloom to boom, the USA in a gloomy boom

The evolution of life expectancy gives us a lot of interesting information about historical events from a human point of view.

... and much more.

China's socio-economic development

China's Mao-Deng development model

The combination of Maoism centered on social progress followed by a very slow liberalization under Deng Xiaoping is an extremely efficient for both social and economic development.

Hong Kong – An extreme example of parasitic development

Most of Hong Kong's prosperity was achieved not by the efforts of the Hongkongers, but through parasitic exploitation of mainland China.

The Chinese community-based development model

Much of China's development has been achieved through a very flexible system of local governance where collective management plays an important role.

To what extent can a revaluation of the Chinese currency influence the US foreign trade deficit?

US trade deficit would decrease very little (~3%) in case of a substantial RMB revaluation, global effect on the US might even be negative.

Europe and China – two opposed traumas

Europe and China have been traumatized by radically opposed events in the past: Europe by totalitarian dictatorships, China by a breakdown of the state and quite often sheer chaos during a whole century.

Zhang Weiwei on Al Jazeera: pushing Westerners to despise China

Because of a lack of research in the mechanisms of development, the talkshow was a disaster for the image of China abroad.

Life on the Tibetan plateau

Tibetan society

Women in Tibetan society

Many Western specialists and even Chinese intellectuals praise the Tibetan society for its tradition of granting equal rights to women. However, the reality on the ground is generally quite different.

Development in the Tibetan areas

Have Tibetans benefited from recent economic development?

Even though development was initially driven mainly by Han and Hui Chinese, Tibetans are more and more active in setting up businesses.

The educational system and development in Tibet

The Tibetan monasteries play an important role not only in economic development, but also in education. The complementarity between the public and monastic schools is certainly a major asset.

Writing Tibetan on computers and smart phones

Even though Tibetan keyboards are available on most (but not all) systems, the problem of computer literacy in Tibetan is far from being solved.

... and much more.

Chinese society, environment, politics

Environment and pollution in China

Pollution causes 470'000 premature deaths in China every year – too high a price to pay for development?

The cost in lives of pollution must be seen in relation to the number of lives saved by industrialization.

The Chinese way of environment protection

China is often described as the World's worst polluter. Many aspects of environment protection are systematically ignored with such sweeping statements.

Chinese society

On the rubble of old Chinese cities

For several years, the Western media have sharply criticized China for destroying traditional residential quarters. However, no media report ever cares about what ordinary Chinese think about this problem.

Homosexualität in China

Nachdem Homosexualität in China lange ein Tabu war, kam in den letzten Jahren Bewegung in die Sache. Dieser Artikel erforscht die Einstellung der chinesischen Studenten zur Homosexualität.

China und seine Studenten

An analysis of the situation of the students in China.

Chinese politics

The CPC, a hydra with 70 million heads?

In the Western media, the Chinese communist party is often described as a monolithic being with its own feelings and fears. This cliché only prevents us from understanding what is going on in China.

... and much more.

Human rights, a framework for the world

Human rights – fundamental considerations

The silent amputation of human rights in Europe

Since the birth of the modern human rights concept in 1948, Europe has been busy amputating the human rights of an important part, i.e. the economic, social and cultural rights.

Industrialisation and human rights

What is the relation between industrialization and human rights? It is probably closer than you think...

Right to health

Holding governments accountable for the right to health

Because many governments don't care about providing their population with access to health care, millions of babies die every year; but our media will never call this what it is: a human rights violation.

Nelson Mandela – responsible for the death of 95,000 babies?

Nelson Mandela must be credited with putting an end to apartheid, but also with a disastrous health policy.

Right to education

Nobel Peace Prize for Malala Yousafzai – A Disaster for the Right to Education

Malala should get our support for her projects, but awarding her the Nobel Peace Prize sends a totally wrong signal

... and much more.

Photo galleries

Tibet as seen by a monk

Novices in Tibetan monasteries

According to the tradition, each family sends one of its children to the monastery. The children live and get the whole education in the monastery, but this does not necessarily make them angels and saints...

Tibetan Yerpa monastery close to Lhasa

The Drak Yerpa Monastery with its meditation caves is one of the oldest monasteries of Tibetan Buddhism; it was founded in the 7th century.

Mountains in Tibet

Not all the Tibetan mountains are forbidding like the Himalaya summits. Most are accessible to average trekkers, but the unique environment of the Tibetan plateau give them a surreal beauty.

Tibetan high plateau

The Tibetan landscape is upside down: the higher regions are often huge plains surrounded by soft hills, whereas the lower regions are steep valleys with more rocks than grass and trees.

Tibet in the snow

In winter it gets freezing cold in the Tibetan Amdo area, but because of the dry weather, it never snows much.

Tibet in the rain

The rain reveals an aspect of the Tibetan landscape which is definitely worth spending some time on.

Bolivia photo gallery

La Paz (Bolivia) in the setting sun

If you want to take the most astonishing pictures of La Paz, ask some local people to take you to the places from which the setting sun is most splendid.

La Paz (Bolivia) after sunset

La Paz becomes the most beautiful city in the world after the sun has set behind the altiplano.