Aidnography

Hi all, I'm on my way to Copenhagen for two great events with David 'socialmedia4D' Girling and Olivier van Beemen's talk on his book Heineken in Africa . Development news: 'More Than Me' founder steps down; ICT4Bad playbook for Sudan; climate change inequalities; corporate water sustainability goals BS; UN scandals & bureaucratic culture; the WTF of 'immersive poverty experiences'; the complexity of private education; the missing billions of African gold revenue; NGO language barriers in Lebanon; is 'Volungearing' sustainable? Netflix all-female comic superheroes; decolonizing the return of ancestors from British museums. Our digital lives: Solutions journalism; TED-tech-industrial complex; inside China's live streaming culture. Publications: Core funding is great! Enjoy! New from aidnography Cross-Border (book review) I am basically repeating my previous praise for J’s writing. Cross-border is an entertaining read during your next...

I was looking for a way to introduce J.’s latest aid worker novel Cross-Border without sounding like a middle-aged academic, but it is hard to avoid some tropes about his writing endeavors, e.g. ‘how I followed his career’, ‘how a new book was long overdue’ or how the world, development and aid worker writing have changed over time. But as with most tropes, there is usually a grain of truth to them. My reviews of J.’s first novel Disastrous Passion appeared on Aidnography in 2012. Missionary, Mercenary, Mystic, Misfit followed in 2013 and his first non-fiction reflections about the aid industry, Letters Left Unsent in 2014. His science fiction novel Human was published in 2016. Now back with his latest novel, three broad themes quickly emerge that as always say a lot about the current state of affair of ‘our industry’: Borders have become a key part of the ‘infrastructure’ that governs humanitarian and development work. The novel (finally!) moves away from ‘the field’ to US he...

Hi all, Many readers will enjoy a long Easter weekend and I will contribute some food for thought with my latest link review! Development news: Food crisis in Zimbabwe ; the failure of development communication tropes; the conflict in Northern Nigeria is not 'empowering' victims; Charity Water hearts capitalism; US concerned over UNAIDS spending; the tragedy of contaminated water in Bangladesh ; will AI kill growth in developing countries (and is it really a bad thing)? Expat vs. local aid worker: Somali UN staff edition; how UN consultants struggle in Geneva ; pay transparency at Open Humanitarian Street Map; social media & emergencies; Melinda Gates likes taxes; 'solutions privilege' ; new book project on Rwanda . Our digital lives: 30 African communicators to follow. Academia: Does #highered internationalization produce global taxi drivers? Is academia a Multi-Level Marketing scheme/scam? Enjoy! New from aidnography Bavarian Prime Minister Markus ...

Hi all, We were saving the best for last this week and enjoyed Kate Wright's keynote on Who's reporting Africa now? today! Development news: UNHCR & asylum for sale in Kenya; the never-ending crisis in Western Sahara; donating beer; cheap antibiotics in Kenya; everyday sexism on Nigeria's street markets; learning from DRC's mining deals; Botswana's Heavy Metal Queens; career in the humanitarian sector; Syria-8 years into the conflict; Caribou Digital turns 5, ictworks turns 10!   Our digital lives: Facebook's AI maps Africa; AI monitoring staff in UK companies. Publications: Australia is serious about banning orphanage tourism & exploitation; local response to Indonesia's earthquake; mental health in Syria. Academia: Huge fine for predatory publisher; the case for decolonized anthropology; the trouble with teaching evaluations. Enjoy! Development news Asylum for sale: Refugees say some U.N. workers demand bribes for resettlement Many refu...

Hi all, I had a great short trip to Moldova-hence a slightly belated link review without much of an introduction, but a nice pic of a quaint little church in Balti! Enjoy! New from aidnography Heineken in Africa (book review) Heineken in Africa is an excellent book, one that underlines the importance of taking a long-term, historical perspective when assessing corporate engagement in Africa and highlighting the nuances of how multinational companies operate in what is all too often labelled as a ‘difficult’ environment. Van Beemen’s particularly strength lies in the fact that he not vilifying a company or making blanket claims about the ‘evils of capitalism’ and yet provides ample of food for thought for assessing the private sector’s role for ‘sustainable development’. Development news Why Has The World Forgotten Haiti? Humanitarian conditions in Haiti have significantly worsened over the past year, the U.N.’s Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Ursula Muelle...