Aidnography

Hi all, Yesterday and today about 50 of our students in 11 groups presented the results of their 8 week-long #globaldev blogging projects so I'm still a bit dizzy from all the great content that they shared and we discussed. I still managed to compile my own weekly post, and even though I usually avoid content with explicit trigger warnings, the story about child marriage from Afghanistan is an incredibly difficult, heart-breaking read. Stories from Nigeria, Ireland, Egypt & Syria are also not very encouraging about the state of the world; MSF Sweden steps up with an interesting story of how they communicate looming famines & both Human Rights Watch & Nature tackle the issue of racism. I'm not losing hope, seeing how passionately students communicate #globaldev issues & thinking about the prospects of how this will influence their work, actions & dedication to a better future. I will be in Berlin next week for board meetings with great organizations so the ...

Hi all, What a week, eh? But while the UK is descending into a Benny Hill-esque tragic-comedic state, it also means more bad news for #globaldev-in the UK, but now also in Sweden which seems to join countries that have declared a more or less open culture war on #globaldev...but there are other critical stories this week from Syria, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, Pakistan & Sri Lanka, but also reflections from Oxfam, the recent AIDS/HIV conference & the future of philanthropy-and a story close to my nerdy #globaldev history heart: The launch of the new legacy collection of documents at IDS Sussex... My quotes of the week All three of these challenges come against a global context that our founders might well recognise: one of squeezed space for progressive action, of war in Europe, of the rise of nationalism, of people deprived of lifesaving medical care, and an accumulation of wealth by elites even as much of the globe languishes in poverty. As well as the new challenges therefore, we ...

Hi all, This week's #globaldev review is a bit like a wedding outfit: We have something serious (crises in Sudan & Ethiopia), something old (10 years of conflict in the Sahel), something new (refugee begging on TikTok), something funny (WFP's resilience matrix), something OMG (Kor's fashion goes WFP) & a few more other topics as well! My quotes of the week In terms of what we found, throughout our research, no strong relationship between digital identity in the refugee context and one’s (self) “identity” was recognized. Therefore, we could not draw a decisive conclusion that digital identity does or does not have influence on an affected person’s identity. It varies by context, circumstance and person. (What does a Digital ID mean to a refugee’s self-identity?) Featuring bright, bold and eye-catching designs, all proceeds from these covetable new pieces will go to the World Food Programme, the world's largest humanitarian organisation focused on hunger and food...

Hi all, Hope most of you also had a normal week this week...enjoy this week's #globaldev review on COP27, the IDB, UK, Germany, Australia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Greenland & a few other spaces and non-places... My quotes of the week ‘There are ‘truths’ about development that are best conveyed in popular mediums. These include the importance of power and representation, and the unequal relationships and ‘disjunctures’ between developers and developed, rich and poor, and West and non-West….. Biting political critique, satire, and advocacy can be conveyed musically in ways that might otherwise be regarded as seditious or treasonous, even as music can be used to construct and perpetuate patronizing stereotypes.’ (Book Review: ‘New Mediums, Better Messages?’) But the team lacked institutional support for the kind of monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) system this would require. Instead, the team principally drew on the individual knowledge of frontline staff and coordin...

Hi all, I have to start this week's post similar to last week's one -thanking Monica Mukerjee , Tara Todras-Whitehill & Ben Chesterton for taking the time to talk at our students again, discussing Decolonizing MSF, medical ethics in humanitarian situations & digital storytelling with us! A really interesting, passionate panel + discussion! We are also looking at Myanmar, the UK, Haiti & Congo as well as multilateralism, hunger, feminism & EU-Global South relations; new research on IOM & colonial continuities & participatory visual methods in Mali wrap up the #globaldev section. Plus, bad academic presentations continue online & offline and mining bitcoins is pretty bad for the environment...  My quotes of the week “I do believe we need a new deal on how to articulate international, national, local, in a different way, and that local actors need a bigger say – and need a different say – in articulating what needs are. And what they expect is obvious....