Aidnography

As I briefly mentioned in the 500th anniversary post at the beginning of December, my weekly Links I Liked post will take a break in the new year. I will briefly discuss some of the personal, content-related and digital challenges that led me to this decision. Maintaining regular blogging during the pandemic was a small writing strategy to maintain important routines, connections and to focus on topics other than Covid-19. But like many of my readers, I am just tired right now. The developments on social media, a key resource to learn about new content, are another factor linked to this fatigue (what Cory Doctorow describes as “enshittification” ). I don’t have to discuss the state of affairs at the platform formerly known as Twitter and even though I enjoy Bluesky it’s not the same and perhaps never will be for global development and humanitarian content. At the end of the day I just want to spend less time on social media in 2024 and not feel guilty that I haven’t collected enough...

Hi all, 500, eh? In the spirit of my curated link review this will not be a special weekly feature of interesting readings-and then again it will be...as the year is coming to her usual hectic end, I decided that I will pause my weekly link review after a holiday break. 500 is such a nice, round number... I am working on a longer post for next Friday that will explain some of the reasons behind my decision, but frankly, I am just a bit tired and need more distance from social media and 'the Internet' in the year new. In the meantime, enjoy this week's readings! My aim has always been to highlight at least one news article, blog post or academic reading that you find relevant for your work, can share with a colleague or friend or bookmark for weekend reading. This week we are looking at Mexico, New Zealand, Virgin Islands, Myanmar, Central America, historical Guinea-Bissau, humanitarianism, black women leadership, visual art from Ghana & Yemen, plus open access article, ...

Hi all, Capitalism suggests that today is Black Friday in connection with another holiday in the US, so why not treat yourself to some free readings instead :) ?!? News from inside #globaldev organizations, from the Amazon rainforest to the Congo basin, from Puerto Rico to India plus beautiful essays, book reviews & more! Enjoy! My quotes of the week Life has accelerated, attention spans have shortened. Awareness of the limitations of top-down development has grown. I haven’t read any of those big docs for years. So the arrival of the first UK Government ‘White Paper on International Development’ since 2009, launched on Monday, had a distinctly retro feel. ( What to read on the new UK White Paper on International Development?) Here are five ideas for improvement: 1. Brand your building, vehicles, or team uniforms — not the supplies or gifts. 2. Use a unique identifier like a barcode if you need tracking or traceability. 3. Communicate stories — not just pictures of logos — to donor...

Hi all, A truly global set of readings from Canada, Brazil, South Africa, Tuvalu, Myanmar, India, Kenya, on topics such as influencer well-building to long term effects of baby formula, youth job search & much more! Enjoy your weekend! My quotes of the week By October, Ms. Stafford and a friend with whom she had dodged dogs and brothels took charge of more than a dozen toddlers. She expects to earn 500 rand, or $26, a month — below minimum wage, but coupled with the welfare she receives for her son, it will nearly double her income. Ms. Stafford is already planning to open her own child care center. It isn’t what she dreamed of or trained for, but it’s her first reliable paycheck since graduating from high school nearly two years ago. As she cleaned up the bowls of watery sorghum porridge she had fed the toddlers, she was feeling overwhelmed but, after long last, hopeful. (One Year in the Infuriating and Humiliating Search for a Job in South Africa) Currently, Canada’s foreign aid...

Hi all, Glad to be back with a fresh curation of #globaldev links! USAID with little impact, climate refugees in Tuvalu, the challenges of growing megacities like Mexico-City & Lagos, pracademics, internships, AI & much more! Happy reading! My quotes of the week After eight years and billions of dollars, there is little independent evidence that USAID, Chemonics, and its partners have actually strengthened a global supply chain that millions rely on for lifesaving medical supplies. ('Too big to fail': How USAID's $9.5B supply chain vision unraveled) a colleague working in the area of participation, inclusion and social change asked “What does it mean if we no longer ‘swim’ in the data?” As evaluators and researchers we live it, breathe it, dream it, and ponder it endlessly. We feel a kind of emotion or connection with data when we are “in it.” Do we want to hand that over to a machine to spit out some conclusions? (What’s next for Emerging AI in Evaluation? Takeaw...