Aidnography

As it often happens with my book reviews for the blog there is an element of chance and surprise involved when discovering a great book for review. Fiona Dunkley’s Psychosocial Support for Humanitarian Aid Workers: A Roadmap of Trauma and Critical Incident Care is no exception-it probably popped up in my Twitter feed or in a post in the 50 Shades of Aid Facebook group. In light of the #AidToo developments and longer-term discussion in the industry about staff care, well-being and psychological support this is obviously an important and timely book. Simply put, the book pretty much exactly delivers what Dunkley summarizes in her conclusion: This book has taken you on a journey of understanding trauma, highlighting the psychological risk to aid workers, explaining the physiology of trauma, sharing in-depth case studies to explore therapeutic trauma models, exploring coping strategies, managing critical incidents, highlighting pathways to care throughout deployments, and discussin

Hi all, Happy Midsummer from Sweden! Your weekly mix of news, views, tweets & more is here! Development news: MSF & #AidToo; Oxfam cuts; USA leaving UN Human Rights Council; aid organizations need to be careful to link migration objectives to their projects; FEMA's troubles in Puerto Rico; excluding women on Jordan; UNHCR's innovation metrics. Our digital lives: A special section on how to organize panels & events well. Publications: Organization after Social Media; the rise of impact evaluations; why government's political orientation matters little for immigration policy-making. Academia: Anthropology coming to terms with the challenges of truly decolonizing the discipline. Enjoy! New from aidnography In response to Duncan Green: My 9 development trends and their implications for tomorrow’s aid jobs Generally speaking, I don’t like the word ‘trend’ and I genuinely believe that over the next 2-5 years many parameters will pretty much stay the same. I don’

Duncan Green just proposed 9 trends and their impact on employment in the aid industry -particularly for fresh graduates or those freshly entering the sector. As a critical reader and friend of his blog I think that Duncan has done a great job outlining his 9 trends and starting this important discussion. But that he did not get everything right and in fact overlooked a few important trends as I am going to argue in my response. So without further delay, here are my 9 trends and their implications for how to enter the sector and find meaningful engagement and employment. Each of my points actually deserves their own post-which maybe a project for the autumn…And while I believe these are emerging trends I also don’t judge them as simply ‘good’ or ‘bad’, hence the academic in me wants to add more nuances. 1. There are no trends: A lot of things will remain the same Generally speaking, I don’t like the word ‘trend’ and I genuinely believe that over the next 2-5 years many parameters w

Hi all, Welcome to this Friday's review! So many great, interesting, powerful & enraging stories from & about women which hopefully indicate the lasting impact of #AidToo! Development news: Special section on black women sharing their experiences in the aid industry; the EU's military-industrial-border complex; Education, electricity & tax is what Africa needs; doctor drain in Nigeria; stories of UNICEF innovation; new humor & satire in Africa; TedX meets the refugee camp; special section on volunteering/tourism/connecting. Our digital lives: Topless protest in Iceland; respect & awful meetings; social change tipping points; the place most CVs go to die... Academia: Landmark study on sexual harassment in US academia; decolonization in IR; an anthropological publishing project implodes. Enjoy! New from aidnography Does Malcolm Gladwell want rural Indian women to buy Chevys? A few reflections on DevEx World As much as moving away from the ‘beneficiary’ l

In 2014 I shared some reflections on DevEx’s career forum ( The future of expats in a globalized development industry ). This week I followed DevEx World social media coverage and Michael Igoe ’s summary really sparked my urge to share a few reflections. The positive potential of the private sector, the power of innovative, data-driven initiatives as well as a discursive change in moving from ‘beneficiaries’ to ‘consumers’ featured quite heavily. Given DevEx’s focus on the aid industry, a range of sponsors, including Cargill, Pfizer, Chemonics and the Exxon Mobil Foundation, that may deserve more critical discussion and its embeddedness in the DC political development circles this may not be entirely surprising. Healthy, empowered consumers through data science innovations It does not take long before ‘behavioral psychologists, data scientists, and machine learning experts’ appear in Igoe’s summary post. I found it quite fascinating that of all automotive metaphors Malcolm Gladw

Hi all, We are in the process of examining 20+ MA projects at the moment-so without much of an introduction enjoy this week's link review from sunny Sweden! Development news: Was the answer to #OxfamScandal out of proportion? Worsening situation in Central African Republic; do the SDGs undermine democracy? Poverty porn-Ellen DeGeneres edition; ICT4D bullshit Bingo-Accenture edition; learning from slum dwellers in Ghana; ultra-rich kids in Nigeria; Uganda through the lens of a young photographer ; failed missionaries; new books. Our digital lives: YouTube producers burning out; healthy travel should be an employer's concern, too. Enjoy! New from aidnography A Destiny in the Making (book review) I really enjoyed reading Mohr’s memoir precisely because of his insights into regular UNICEF work that keeps the organization going. Partly because of his extensive diary keeping he manages to go back to small details and daily routines within the bigger picture of UNICEF under J