The results are in for the most shared and read blogs on developmenteducation.ie over 
the course of the last year. As expected, they present a wide snapshot of issues that readers were interested in most.
Some readers may be surprised by the blogs that made it into the top 10 considering the range of global development trends that emerged such as the Ebola crisis in west Africa, the responses to Band Aid and the many front line reports blogs in our Notes from series.
The challenges in 2014 that we blogged about were overshadowed by three reoccurring themes in the top 10: sustainable development, the Israel-Gaza crisis and women’s rights (particularly health & education).
As we move into 2015 the expectations on the governments of the world to deliver an agenda that progressively realises what the Millennium Development Goals started fifteen years ago is hugely ambitious. The top 10 blogs over the past year reflect many of the challenges ahead.
Here’s the rundown for 2014’s top 10 blogs.
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1. 7.1 Japans – getting ready for overshoot 2014 by Colm Regan | 20th April 2014 | how many China’s does it take to support China? Learning about earth overshoot day and sustainable development.
2. ‘Redrawing and re-writing’ World War I by Colm Regan | 9th June 2014 | graphically illustrating the human realities of World War I and highlight some of its less well-known dimensions such as African rebel Pastor John Chilembwe’s story and the ‘role of the colonies’.
3. “I am constantly amazed by man’s inhumanity to man” by Omar Grech | 23rd July 2014 | the Israel-Gaza conflict in the summer of 2014 and the challenge it presents at the heart of the international human rights movement.
4. What’s so scary about smart girls? by Ciara Regan | 27th May 2014 | following the mass kidnappings of hundreds of girls from schools in Nigeria Ciara asked why are girls terrorized, injured, kidnapped, or killed just because they want to go to school?
5. Top 10 videos from 2013 by Ciara Regan | 10th January 2014 | roundup of author’s video choices online from 2013.
6. Wildlife trafficking: putting ‘the nexus’ in global development by Tom Roche | 27th March 2014 | on the international trade in wildlife parts and combating wildlife trafficking.
7. 10 ongoing bad news stories from 2013 by Tony Daly and Colm Regan | 31st January | more popular with readers than our top 10 good news trends from 2013, by one place.
8. My top 10 life changing ‘good news’ trends from 2013 by Colm Regan | 3rd January 2014 | remembering the strides, successes and improvements in human development in 2013.
9. Palestinians are not statistics (nor are Israelis!) by Colm Regan | 18th July 2014 | humanising the crisis in Gaza over the summer of 2014 beyond the daily headline statistics.
10. The meaning of development from “The Menstrual Man” by Toni Pyke | 15th May 2014 | Arunachalam Muruganantham, a self-made entrepreneur and businessman, leading the women’s health revolution in rural India.
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If you’d like to contribute a blog in 2015 get in touch or to make suggestions for our bloggers to focus on.