Aidnography

Hi all, Last week I included a Tweet about MSF using blockchain for patient data in my review ; after a message from MSF ('Hi Tobias, just to let you know that MSF is NOT putting patient info on Blockchain') I deleted the Tweet from my review on Monday. Even though I am quite careful about my sources, mistakes like this can happen-so please get in touch if you see a link, story or resource that doesn't meet the high quality standards you should expect from the blog! Otherwise, you can stimulate your mind with a new round of  free readings-no Black Friday discount, no judgement from your family that you are into #globaldev, no pressure ;)! Enjoy! My quotes of the week Within the charity ecosystem, the critical friend sits on the margins, often in a smaller or more precarious organisation. The critical friend has less power (of course: otherwise they would be taking the advice and making the decisions). It is often the lone lived experience ‘voice’ in a room full of commiss...

Hi all, Happy Friday, weekend & reading! From India's farmers to Beijing Olympics, unequal partnerships between 'North' & 'South' and Singapore's surveillance state we have another week of looking at an unequal planet, trying not to lose hope... My quotes of the week Chinese aid increases GDP growth, household consumption, and employment in recipient countries. So, contrary to conventional wisdom, the benefits of Chinese foreign aid spill over to ordinary citizens. (The Case for Chinese Foreign Aid) Despite these positive signs, some local activists and practitioners are worried. They argue that this is all smoke and mirrors; that we have seen all of this before and it came to nothing. Others are concerned that the definition of ‘local’ will be distorted to encompass international organisations registered in-country in order to maintain the status quo. (Dear USAID; let’s make sure that "local" really means "local") Development news I...

Hi all, This week's review features insights from Uganda, Madagascar, North Africa, Afghanistan, Mexico, India, Brazil, Australia, UK, the UN system & the World Bank! So enjoy your critical #globaldev readings! My quotes of the week Hunger is everywhere in southern Madagascar. Those who have livestock or land will sell it to buy food but they are taken advantage of because they are so desperate. Then there are others who have nothing. They eat cactus leaves mixed with ashes, just to not be hungry, to get rid of that empty feeling.  ( Madagascar is drying out – there’s no harvest, only hunger) It’s also important to take into account that the line that divides government and organized crime is often nonexistent. This needs to inform the discussion about whether it’s wise to create a centralized database of all people in Mexico with biometrics, where that information can be weaponized against its citizens. Because, obviously, the Mexican institutions are infiltrated by organized ...

I first heard about InteRoots' work in Uganda through recent articles that featured their work in connection with decolonizing philanthropy and ethical storytelling , so I happily agreed to share their guest post on how they work with/in communities! By The InteRoots Initiative The Tat Sat Community Academy Project (TaSCA) is underway in Kasasa, Uganda, and while it seeks to improve the livelihoods of all community members, there is a particular emphasis on uplifting women and girls. Mrs. Namayega Agnes, a TaSCA community board member, says the project is a “generational quest to turn around our livelihoods – and by livelihoods, I am referring to our social norms and values, and our communal ways of life – letting our social communal abilities blossom for a happier Kasasa.” In Uganda, access to secondary education is extremely limited, with only 19.7% of children attending secondary school (4.9% for Uganda’s poorest girls). Agnes says many girls in the community get married at a...

Hi all, I will keep it short & sweet today-so happy #globaldev reading from/about  Taliban, Tanzania, Libya, Yemen, Germany, China & more! My quotes of the week The carbon footprints of the richest 1 percent of people on Earth is set to be 30 times greater than the level compatible with the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement in 2030 (Carbon emissions of richest 1% set to be 30 times the 1.5°C limit in 2030) Informed analysis has been hard to come by in the Yemen humanitarian response, which is marred by a willingness to tolerate partial data that is often biased, usually out of date and lacks nuance, all of which has made it easy to manipulate or ignore to suit priorities. An inflexible security framework, which prevents aid workers from engaging in the fieldwork needed to gain a true understanding of the operational environment, assess needs and determine what is required to resolve them, has allowed this flawed data to stand. (When Aid Goes Awry: How the International Hum...

Hi all, More than 40 of our students presented 10 group blogging projects today & yesterday and it's always amazing to see the breadth of topics & approaches that emerges around ICT4D & #globaldev-from podcasts to Clubhouse chats, to posts about contemporary issues including decolonizing aid, reflective practice & Matt Hancock's spectacularly short career as UN envoy...if you are teaching: I can't recommend (group) blogs highly enough as tools for collaboration, reflecting on digital practices & #globaldev theories, case studies & complexities! There's a special COP26 section this week & all sorts of other intellectual, sometimes scary (Melania Trump returns...), treats for holiday reading! Happy Halloween! My quotes of the week In 2019 Trump picked Malpass to run the World Bank, where he was mostly silent on climate before delivering a plan that watchdog groups denounced as a failure due to its refusal to phase out support for fossil fuels. ...