Aidnography

Hello all! This week's collection of links turned out to be dominated by the 'storytelling' theme: We are a 'storytelling animal' as new book confirms; a video diary of a war reporter, poetic reflections on 'dating a girl who travels', a personal account of a professor on his struggles with academia and alcohol in the quest to become 'bulletproof' and an article on mining and local resistance in Ecuador are all great stories and examples of how beautiful, violent, poetic and contradictory dealing with development and academic professionalism can sometimes be. There's more for you to explore and enjoy, of course, e.g. on taxes in Africa and on the deficiencies of NGOs' stress management. Make stories part of your lifestyle ;)!   New on aidnography ‘Crucial days’ for Nepal. Still? Again? And for how long? Reading some of the recent articles on Nepal, I was faced with an almost philosophical question: What if the ‘transition’ from the ‘old’

New book and WWF's legal threats instigate new debate in Germany As strange as it may sound in a globalised world, but there is currently an interesting development-related debate going on and the chances are high that you haven’t heard about it. The problem is that the discussions around the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) have been almost exclusively taking place in Germany and German media. Almost a year ago I wrote a post on a documentary ( The WWF and the industry-What role for environmental organisations in the age of multinationals and biofuels? ) that caused quite a debate in Germany over the role of the WWF, particularly WWF's relationships with multinational companies and the risk of 'greenwashing' their logging and agricultural endeavours. Although this documentary is now available in English and even nominated for an award, except for a short note on the author’s website The silence of the Pandas- What the WWF isn´t saying" has been nominated i

Reading some of the recent articles on Nepal, I was faced with an almost philosophical question: What if the ‘transition’ from the ‘old’ to a ‘new’ Nepal wasn’t really a process, but a convenient discursive construction to keep people motivated and hide the fact that many of the Kathmandu-based elite still don’t have a ‘vision’ for Nepal? Or maybe there is no ‘vision’ at all in the 21 st century if your country is lodged between India and China and exposed to global development models? I have come across three articles recently that capture the current challenges quite well in their different ways. Seymon Brown and Vanda Felbab-Brown wrote a piece for the NYT ( Nepal, on the Brink ofCollapse ) and according to most observers gave a somewhat accurate description of the current situation, even if some claims about the risks of a ‘failed state’ may be a bit alarmist. Sara Shneiderman and Mark Turin’s letter to the NYT was a helpful qualification and addition: ‘ Still, Nepal has m

Hello all! Quite a busy week link-wise...the core topic is Western perceptions of 'development' and how the discourse often clashes with the realities...Akhila's post on 'westernized' social entrepreneurism, campaigns against working conditions at DHL and T-Mobile and two long essays about the 'missionary work' of Bill Gates and the 'militarisation of poverty' in Africa all show the links between capitalism, underdevelopment and development discourses...luckily, there are also a few lighter readings sprinkled in...try out the 'Philantrophy Jargon Generator', treat yourself to new good books or enjoy a hopeful commencement speech for the 'Generation DIY'! Enjoy! Development The westernized nature of the #socent industry, by Akhila Kolisetty Most social entrepreneurs and non-profit leaders today who are granted awards by prestigious foundations, who are praised for their work by news outlets, who market their organizations effecti

Hello all! I'm back from Germany and although this week's links collection is still a bit off schedule, regular blogging has resumed. Most of the links are 'new', but I feature a few slightly older articles that still seem worth reading! Enjoy! New on aidnography The Non-Linearity of Peace Processes-Peacebuilding theory and the challenges of the self-help discourse The book, based on a project at the Berghof Foundation, outlines many interesting facets of constructivist theory around systemic thinking, complexity theory and action-research in the context of international conflict transformation work. It is a powerful confirmation (if one is still really needed) of the value of qualitative approaches to better understand conflict and peace processes, aiming for more reflexivity when it comes to analyse ‘our’ role in peace negotiations and peacebuilding. However, as I will outline more in detail in my review, the book also raises important questions about contemporary dis

The book, based on a project at the Berghof Foundation , outlines many interesting facets of constructivist theory around systemic thinking, complexity theory and action-research in the context of international conflict transformation work. It is a powerful confirmation (if one is still really needed) of the value of qualitative approaches to better understand conflict and peace processes, aiming for more reflexivity when it comes to analyse ‘our’ role in peace negotiations and peacebuilding. However, as I will outline more in detail in my review, the book also raises important questions about contemporary discourses of peace research, peacebuilding theory and the globalised modernisation agenda. I will focus on three interlinked issues in my review: First, the examples in the book rely heavily on workshop-based-scenarios and I was missing a more generic critical appraisal of this tool to reflect on how the peacebuilding community may be ‘over-workshopped’ . Second, some of the con

Hello all! In the end, quite a bit of interesting material assembled in my Inbox this week...From aidworker reflections from Haiti, university teaching insights from Mali, to travel tips for international moms and the challenges of internships, this week's link collection turned out to be a bit of a career issue...and if you are interested in international adoption I recommend my latest book review. Take care! New on aidnography Finding Fernanda – A compassionate story about the adoption industry in Guatemala highlights core development dilemmas Development First NOVAFRICA Conference on Economic Development in Africa KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS: Paul Collier, Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford and Director of the Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE) Dean Karlan, Professor of Economics at Yale University and Founder of Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) Roger Myerson, Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago and Economics Nobel Prize Winner 200