Featured image for “A (tough) love letter to the Open Movement”

A (tough) love letter to the Open Movement

March 27, 2024
Guest post from Warren Krafchik and Peter Evans The ‘Open Movement’ is 20 years old. This reflection is written with love – one of us was deeply involved from the start, the other a fellow traveller looking from the sidelines. Tough love from firm friends, if you will. As we wrote, the think piece got bouncier and longer as it
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Featured image for “GELI Stories – How a Critical Juncture unlocked the path to reform on duty of care within the aid sector”

GELI Stories – How a Critical Juncture unlocked the path to reform on duty of care within the aid sector

March 25, 2024
In the latest of this series of podcasts with UN and other aid leaders making change happen on the frontline, I talked to Federico Dessi of Humanity & Inclusion, about a breakthrough in the treatment of national staff in humanitarian settings. Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa · GELI Stories – Federico Dessi on how INGO advocacy won better protection for
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Featured image for “Unequal: Why India Lags Behind its Neighbours (Book Review)”

Unequal: Why India Lags Behind its Neighbours (Book Review)

March 22, 2024
If you’re in the development world, you may have seen passing reference to the apparent anomaly that India, the giant of South Asia, has been overtaken in terms of social progress by Bangladesh, its poorer and slower-growing neighbour. You may vaguely put it down to religion, or (lack of) caste, or Bangladesh’s vibrant NGO scene. Unequal: Why India Lags Behind
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Featured image for “Shifting power through Power Funding”

Shifting power through Power Funding

March 21, 2024
Andreas Ulfsax works for IM (www.imsweden.org/en). IM is a Swedish member-based development organization supporting civil society organizations in 10 countries. As a Change Developer, he focuses on getting everyone to experiment more. For contacts andreas.ulfsax@imsweden.org This blog post describes how IM experimented with Power Funding, a new funding modality, and the surprising results. Can we fund better than Core/Institutional funding?
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Featured image for “Could Activists Do Better at Resisting Backlash?”

Could Activists Do Better at Resisting Backlash?

March 15, 2024
Been having a series of conversations on the general theme of ‘backlash’. Some thoughts: Background: a lot of activist thinking is predicated on being on the front foot – this is a law, policy, spending commitment or social norm that we want to change. Lots of case studies, toolkits and experience on how to do that – problem and power
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Featured image for “GELI Stories – Taking Risks as a Leader to protect child rights in Syria”

GELI Stories – Taking Risks as a Leader to protect child rights in Syria

March 13, 2024
In the fifth of this series of podcasts with UN and other aid leaders making change happen on the frontline, I talked to Panos Moumtzis, who now leads the GELI programme, about some top influencing he did in a previous job as UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa · GELI Stories – Panos Moumtzis on how
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Featured image for “RIP Father Frans von Hoff – the co-founder of the Fairtrade Movement”

RIP Father Frans von Hoff – the co-founder of the Fairtrade Movement

March 11, 2024
Guest post from Kelly Hawrylyshyn, Head of Global Resource Mobilization at Fairtrade International; and Harriet Lamb (CEO WRAP, former CEO of Fairtrade International & Fairtrade Foundation UK) On February 13th, the Fair Trade movement mourned the passing away of the liberation-theology worker-priest,  Father Frans von der Hoff,  the co-founder of a global movement that now generates over €8 billion in
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Featured image for “How the pregnancy penalty supercharges global inequality”

How the pregnancy penalty supercharges global inequality

March 7, 2024
In a blog for International Women’s Day, new parent Anthony Kamande reflects on the heavy cost his partner and family have paid for the simple act of having a baby. In one of the proudest moments of our lives, my wife and I became parents on Valentine’s Day. But for us, as for millions of others having babies across the
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Featured image for “GELI Stories – How to get Early Childhood Development into the SDGs (with a bit of help from Shakira)”

GELI Stories – How to get Early Childhood Development into the SDGs (with a bit of help from Shakira)

March 6, 2024
In the fourth of this series of podcasts with UN and other aid leaders making change happen on the frontline, I talked to UNICEF’s Pia Britto about how she and a group of colleagues managed to include Early Childhood Development in the SDGs.  Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa · GELI Stories – Pia Brito on getting Early Childhood Development into
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Featured image for “Thirty Years of Anti-Corruption: A Personal Reflection”

Thirty Years of Anti-Corruption: A Personal Reflection

March 5, 2024
Journalist, activist and anti-corruption legend John Githongo reflects on the shifting story of anti-corruption in Africa, from Western models to new agendas. This is an edited-down version of a piece published in The Elephant. Corruption, however you define it, is so integral to the way human commercial and political affairs play out that all major global developments in its regard
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Featured image for “Development Nutshell, (30m). Audio roundup of February blogs on From Poverty to Power”

Development Nutshell, (30m). Audio roundup of February blogs on From Poverty to Power

March 2, 2024
GELI Stories: –          Building Coalitions between UN Agencies and Government Ministries in Eswatini –          Working in closed and informal political spaces like Eritrea  4 posts on future of UK Aid under Labour: –          Two from Andy Sumner of Kings –          Options for UK Aid: DFID survivor
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Featured image for “GELI Stories – How to influence in closed Political Systems like Eritrea”

GELI Stories – How to influence in closed Political Systems like Eritrea

March 1, 2024
In the third of this series of podcasts with UN and other aid leaders making change happen on the frontline, I talked to OCHA’s Vincent Omuga about the challenges of working in closed and informal political spaces like Eritrea (although I think his experiences are probably much more widely applicable) Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa · GELI Stories – Vincent
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