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A Destiny in the Making (book review)

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Even if you are only a semi-regular visitor or reader of Aidnography you have probably noticed at some point that reading and reviewing aid worker memoirs or biographies is one of my pet projects. One of my small luxuries of being a full-time employee at a Swedish university is that I have time and space to follow this fairly impact-free small research project. Writing about careers inside the UN system is a particularly fruitful sub-genre. Boudewijn Mohr’s A Destiny in the making: From Wall Street to UNICEF in Africa features some of the core ingredients of a good memoir as a mid-level manager reflects on almost three decades of UNICEF work starting in 1985. Mohr’s unique contribution to the genre lies in the fact that he was neither a senior executive of the organization nor did he work in particularly dangerous environments-being the country representative for Sao Tome & Principe has never been exactly a hardship post. But Mohr’s reflections, as mundane as they sometimes mu

Links & Contents I Liked 284

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Hi all, This week's review has a strong humanitarian focus and lots of great people & initiatives are sharing new work! But there are also donkeys, fancy data visualizations & snarky tweets! Development news: UNHRC corruption in Sudan; Burundi not happy about donkeys; inside the Central African Republic; ODI, CGD, HHI on the future of the humanitarian enterprise; inside Save The Children UK; rescuing 'safeguarding' from becoming a buzzword; a mass facial recognition project for Zimbabwe; randomistas to the rescue! How to conference better. Our digital lives: Taking down philanthrocapitalists & neoliberal feminism; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's fame. Academia: Medical education under fire; social media & harassment & more! Enjoy! Development news Since the publication of my investigation into corruption in UNHCR Sudan on May 15, I've been contacted by numerous other refugees, as well as current & former UN staff, all backing it up. Really h

Links & Contents I Liked 283

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Hi all, Another great, sunny Friday! So keep the readings for the weekend and enjoy the start of your weekend outside :) ! Development news: Gender Equality Top 100; Opioid crisis in Nigeria; Addis' light rail project; the conflict in Yemen explained through humanitarian logistics; Syrian refugees in Jordan; Red Nose Day & shallow consumerism; how not to photograph Nigerian women; a female WOC encounters an 'important' white man; U.S. environmental organizations are very white; the challenges of localization for human rights NGOs Our digital lives: Sexpat journalists in Asia; Google & the military-industrial complex; the missing workplace data discussion; the oxygen of amplification; new Barbara Ehrenreich book. Publications: The false equivalent of academic freedom & free speech; how digital interventions influence girls' offline interactions. Academia: MOOCs have failed-at least in India; the Pamir region & the anthropology of Muslim humanitarianis

Links & Contents I Liked 282

Hi all, Welcome to this week's link review! Development news: Crack-down on war-zone child abuse; MSF & #AidToo; how can aid sector communicate ethical dilemmas? AI hacks humanitarian jargon; how development graduate education should change; value for money in UK aid; Germany's colonial past in Namibia; police, violence & vengeance in Africa; can aid organizations support social movements? Memory, violence & peacebuilding in Sri Lanka; the liminal space for foreigners in Vietnam. Our digital lives: UK's growth of the 'digital compassionate industry'; clay jocks are a thing on Insta; digital PTSD is real. Publications: The limits of participatory M&E; the limits of for-profit initiatives in the humanitarian sector; the limits of crowdsourcing accountability in Uganda. Academia: Small ways to support your female colleagues. Enjoy! New on aidnography Of lofty ideals, dual careers & long-distance motherhood - guest post by Milasoa Chérel-Robson