Aidnography

This is a re-post from our ComDev portal . I think it makes a nice addition to the Student advice section of the blog. As the autumn term was coming to an end, I had a discussion with a student about development work, career paths and the changing organizational landscape of the global aid industry. But it was actually on my bike ride home that I started to think more about my encounters with one particular, and often criticized, type of them: Large, traditional, bureaucratic organizations. I am talking UN system and international organizations, well-known INGOs or traditional bilateral donor agencies and national ministries. I have encountered them for almost twenty years. As early as a pre-university internship, throughout my research and professional work in the past 10-14 years and, even though it is not a development organization per se , through my academic employment at a Swedish university with more than 1,600 staff members . In the current climate of ‘Do-It-Yourself aid’, (

Hi all, As I was complaining on facebook about all-male panels I have to admit that my virtual panel of development commentators is also highly imbalanced this week :(. Nonetheless, there are some great pieces on the complexities of aid charities, the limitations of M&E as a learning tool, a concise debunk of voluntourism myths, an interesting case study on the limits of mainstream reporting when it comes to aid worker casualties and reflections on 'Europeople' that ring true for any expat worth their R&R! Our digital lives looks at NFL 'brand building' 'sham' to tackle domestic violence, reflections on the quantified self, and a reminder that venture capitalists threaten the established contract between states, citizens and 'the market'. Is there a good way for academic field trips? Why should you read more widely outside your academic bubble? Plus an author interview-cum-book review on Western health discourses in Nepal, round off the Academia

I largely disagree with Paul Currion’s post The invisible lesson of Invisible Children at IRIN News-even though I like their new approach to add more critical commentary to their very informative site. In some ways, ‘Invisible Children held a mirror up to the aid industry’ he writes, but the industry ’s response has been more critical, nuanced and broader in both quality and quantity than Paul wants to give an aid industry seemingly looking for the next viral fundraising phenomenon credit to. My response focuses on three areas: First, the moment Kony 2012 went viral, there was an almost equally viral wave of critical responses-mainly driven by online social media; second, Invisible Children/Kony 2012 have been driven by a North American philanthropic and cultural industry that certainly deserves more critical attention and, third, humanitarian organizations and their communication for development efforts are more than just intermediaries between global Northern donors and Southern re

Hi all, No long introductions this week...a packed link review, featuring Development News on 'grit' and survival in humanitarian aid work; the data 'revolution' goes buzzword mainstream; how to be 'less shiny' in ICT4D; reflections on the Rusty Radiator Award; Norway sends teenage fashion bloggers to Cambodian sweatshops; the pitfalls of 'trickle-down community engagement'; thoughts on the future of development; is 'development' a toxic term? A long-read by a female, pregnant war photographer & a couple of interesting new UN reports. Our digital lives wasted networking; digital nomads; trolling and community journalism & why teachers are not 'makers';  Academia features an open access book on debates around 'openness' in academia. Enjoy! New from aidnography A journey to the dark heart of nameless unspeakable evil (book review) I don’t usually review bad books, but reading 'A journey to the dark heart of nameles

This is one of the strangest books I have come across so far reading and reviewing expat-written accounts on work and live ‘ in development ’ in the broadest sense. Unfortunately, by ‘ strange' I don ’ t mean ‘ strangely entertaining ’ , I mean ‘ not good ’ . “contractors” usually means builders out here in Britain. I genuinely thought Blackwater was a firm of painter-decorators. That’s rotten. You go out there to rebuild some schools and someone does that (being dragged to the streets of Fallujah) to you. Maybe they painted over the light switches. Remind me never to get Blackwater to decorate my house (p.37).  As difficult and almost physical pain-inducing as typing this quote already is, it is necessary to get at least a vague idea of the world of words of celebrity-turned- Sunday-Times -journalist Jane Bussmann. In a forthcoming blog post I mention that I don’t usually review bad books, but reading A journey to the dark heart of nameless unspeakable evil-Charities, Holl

Hi all, A new semester just started and by-way of welcoming our new students, I am sharing a fresh link list with a lot of food for thought relevant for our ComDev program . Development news on how aid for Haiti only traveled to beltway bank accounts; a better model of how extractive industries can be involved in development; Tony Blair still lacks a moral compass; how to engage with fragile cities; selected listicles on 2015 debates; new excellent aid work(er) career advice; Our digital lives with fantastic critiques on the Humans of New York hype, tech firms & teenagers and data-driven humanism. In Academia , a great review essay on ethnography, international courts and 'transitional justice' & reflections on how bibliometrics damage science publishing. Enjoy! New from aidnography Chasing Misery (book review) Chasing Misery is a mature, well-written and –edited anthology that represents many of the aspects that make aid work(er) literature important and powerfu