Hasta La Gadget!

In just under one month children at the Ecole Ruban Vert – an international school I founded in my home country of Gabon – will depart for the summer holidays.

It will be the end of our second year as a complete school on our new campus which covers seven green hectares with over one thousand species of flora and fauna right in the heart of Gabon’s capital Libreville.

But as the children take a well-deserved break, our work is only just beginning. Gabon is at a turning point. It has embarked on a bold strategy to become an emerging and diversified economy by 2025. This growth will be based away from oil, towards higher value sectors such as sustainable forestry, agriculture, plus mining and extraction industries.

All of this requires a new kind of education that will create a generation that has the skills to lead Gabon.

While the national education reform is underway, the purpose of Ecole Ruban Vert was to test new ideas. Unfortunately, in the last 50 years, the educational systems in most sub-Saharan countries have been a mix of hybrid curricula copied on a Eurocentric approach not adapted to the realities of the indigenous pupils, their strengths and their weaknesses.

Ecole Ruban Vert was founded to create this new standard of education for Gabon; an education tied to international standards to create the types of leaders that fit with the vision of the country.

Crucially, and in keeping with this vision, we decided to become the first school in the region to create a generation whose education was based on sustainability.

A central pillar of the government’s vision for the future of Gabon is and building a green Gabon and this requires a generation of leaders who see sustainable development as central to the country’s future growth.

Our students learn about environmental protection and preservation, climate change, energy, recycling and upcycling, green business practice and acting responsibly; this guides and develops them into environmentally aware and active leaders. We focus on local ideas and examples, using Gabon as our inspiration, but we consider our community action in a global context, making positive changes for our school and our local area.

My hope is that one day Ecole Ruban Vert can inspire other nations to adopt similar approaches and create a generation of sustainably minded leaders. For too long education in Africa has been viewed as needing to ‘catch-up’ with the West, but through projects like this we can show how Africa can lead as well.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Entrepreneurs and successful business people are by far the busiest people out there. In fact, between running a company, speaking at industry conferences, and moving out and about the city it becomes difficult when we live in a world where cars dominate our lifestyle.

Everyone loves to own a car, and there is no doubt about that, especially in today’s generation while not everyone out there is able to afford one because of the high oil price. However, the number of cars on the roads did increase in 2015 due to a significant drop in the oil price, making driving more affordable than ever.

A study by Boston Globe said that approximately 16 million cars crossed Maine Tolls in June and July 2015, which is the greatest number of cars MTA (Maine Turnpike Authority) has ever witnessed crossing the toll booths. Meanwhile, such a large number of cars on the roads resulted in a considerable increase in the number of car accidents, which correspondingly led to a sudden drop in the underwriting income of various insurance companies in the entire nation. This became the one amongst the prime reasons behind increasing insurance prices in the coming months, turning the rest of the year rough for even the nation’s biggest insurers.

GEICO, a leading provider of car insurance based out of Maryland, U.S., reported performing poorly in the recent earning report by Allstate and Berkshire Hathaway. Allstate registered an underwriting loss of $13 million in its auto insurance business line, compared to previous year’s underwriting income of $539 million. The company also reported a pre-tax net underwriting income of $471 million, compared to last year’s $1.01 billion.

Tom Wilson, CEO Allstate, attributed the decrease in company’s revenue with respect to a significant increase in the frequency of accidents, driven by a significant increase in the number of people driving on the roads. The company, to increase its margins, took a step forward to increase its insurance pricing, which affected the three major brands of the company – Allstate by 3.4%, Encompass by 7.4%, and Esurance by 4.1%, which most auto insurance companies do to recover from the poor performance at the end of a financial year. Below are the things consumers can do to mitigate the increasing insurance prices:

• It has often seen that consumers accept policies with whatever benefits they offer, including coverage and deductibles, which is because they do not want to spend extra time on customization of plans. They need to figure out and create a list of requirements and coverage needed, and then find the most appropriate plan for them, keeping affordability and primary points of coverage in mind.
• Try not to decrease the coverage offered by the policy unless the insurer does it, as it may turn out costly in the unfortunate event of an accident. Opt for the best coverage, keeping in mind affordability and your level of comfort.
• You can get a significant discount on your insurance price by taking a driving course while the actual discount may vary from one state to another. Thus, the price will be affected accordingly. For instance, you can avail 10% discount on your insurance price if you take a defensive driving course in New Jersey.
• Bundling a plan can save you money. For instance, if you have multiple policies from different insurers, then you can switch from all other insurers to a single one, which might get you an additional discount on your insurance price.
• It is highly recommended to shop around and see how much you can get the most out of the efforts you put in. When you need to renew insurance, make sure you explore available plans thoroughly, and then find out the best possible deal. If your policy price is getting up at the time of renewal with your current insurer, you should consider choosing a plan with another insurer. It is, in fact, not unheard of that some policyholders who have poor driving record pay 300%-400% more in premiums as compared to the lowest rates reserved for the best drivers.

Your driving history has a proportional effect on your car insurance premium. This means that if you have a bad driving history, then you will have to pay a larger price to renew the insurance, whereas a decent driving history requires you to pay the nominal amount. Thus, maintain a decent driving history to save on policy renewal.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

TOP STORIES

I’m heading off to Madagascar for a reporting trip, so Eliot Nelson and Jeffrey Young will be taking over The Morning Email through June 6th!

DONALD TRUMP’S TOP ADVISER: ‘THIS IS NOT A HARD RACE’ Howard Fineman sits down with Paul Manafort to talk the wall, the potential ban on Muslims, Trump’s governing style and his election chances. Spoiler alert — Manafort thinks this is in the bag. [Howard Fineman, HuffPost]

THE U.S. GOVERNMENT IS SPENDING SO MUCH MONEY On the upkeep of outdated computer systems. The nuclear program runs on floppy disks. [AP]

‘WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING ZIKA’ A look at Congress’s inability to properly fund a Zika response as the U.S. local transmission threat grows with the climbing temperatures. [Michael McAuliff, HuffPost]

STATE DEPARTMENT INSPECTOR GENERAL SLAMS CLINTON IN EMAIL REPORT The new report continues to chip away at Hillary Clinton’s weakness: “Voters just don’t trust her.” [Reuters]

‘AMERICAN SNIPER’ EXAGGERATED MILITARY AWARDS In his book, Chris Kyle reported receiving two Silver Stars and five Bronze Stars, whereas military records show he received one Silver Star and three Bronze Stars. [The Intercept]

AFTER TWO DAUGHTERS LEAVE FOR ISIS, A MOTHER STRUGGLES TO SAVE THE OTHER TWO “In a small box in her bedroom, Oulfa Hamrounni keeps the photo she treasures most. It shows one of her daughters, brown hair flowing, a smile on her round face. The photo was taken before the girl and her sister left home to join the Islamic State’s affiliate in Libya.” [WaPo]

WHAT’S BREWING

THIS IS A VIDEO OF A 6-MONTH-OLD ON WATER SKIS Yeah, take a minute to let that sink in. [Deadspin]

UNDERSTANDING THE DISTRIBUTION OF ALL THAT VENTURE CAPITAL FUNDING Basically, who gets all the cash. [Bloomberg]

A COUNTRY ON ‘THE BRINK’ A look at the disintegration of Venezuela, in pictures. [WaPo]

YOU KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD IS IMPORTANT Turns out your block may be even more so. [The Atlantic]

JOHNNY DEPP AND AMBER HEARD HAVE CALLED IT QUITS The two were married for a 15 months. [HuffPost]

IT ISN’T THE WHITE HOUSE But this mansion will do for the Obamas post presidency. [CNN]

For more from The Huffington Post, download our app for iOS or Android.

WHAT’S WORKING

LOVE IN A CAT CAFE “And what many casual cat lovers may not realize is that cat cafes can also be an invaluable tool to help shelter cats find homes — especially cats who might be freaked out by being stuck in a kennel.” [HuffPost]

For more, sign up for the What’s Working newsletter.

BEFORE YOU GO

~ The danger of the lethality of Mexico’s armed forces.

~ Trump agreed to debate Bernie Sanders for charity. Can someone make this happen?

~ Could Alzheimer’s “stem from the toxic remnants of the brain’s attempt to fight off infection?“

~ Three journalists have disappeared in Colombia in the past few days.

~ Sounds like there won’t be a “True Detective” season three, and we’re probably the only people who agree with Vulture’s Sean Collins that that’s a shame.

~ Throw a party: we’ll have two more seasons of “The Americans.” And if you’re not watching it already, start.

~ The names Emma and William have a bit of a monopoly on the most popular baby names per state this year.

~ We are zero percent happy about this potential miserable “Game of Thrones” plot twist. Just no.

~ Grade A trolling by Clinton’s camp with this customized snapchat filter they geotagged to a Trump event.

~ We apologize for not recognizing National Wine Day yesterday. For penance, here are wine ice cream recipes. You’re welcome.

Send tips/quips/quotes/stories/photos/events/scoops to Lauren Weber at lauren.weber@huffingtonpost.com. Follow us on Twitter @LaurenWeberHP. And like what you’re reading? Sign up here to get The Morning Email delivered to you.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

I suppose we should’ve seen this coming.

Read more…

If you still haven’t picked up Audio-Technica’s coveted ATH-M50x headphones, Amazon will sell you a pair for $90 today, as long as you don’t mind buying a refurb. That’s the best cash price we’ve ever seen, so if you’ve had these on your wishlist for awhile, this is the day to buy them.

Read more…