#PowerShifts Resources: Care in a Time of Corona

April 2, 2020
I’m on my 16th day of official Coronavirus lockdown. Since day 1, I’ve been seeing a welcome revival of all sorts of virtual conversations, resources and inspiring quotes about care. But here’s the thing: most of them focus on self-care rituals, yoga, mindfulness, and exercise regimes –  the ‘well-being complex’ and ‘wellness industry’ at our rescue. Before you leave thinking
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Across Africa, COVID-19 heightens tension between faith and science

March 27, 2020
In times of crisis, faith can be a source of huge personal comfort and community resilience. But as Covid-19 arrives in Africa, some faith leaders are making things worse. This is an edited version of a piece by Amanda Lichtenstein, Rosemary Ajayi and Nwachukwu Egbunike that went up on Global Voices yesterday. Leaders in Africa are grappling with faith in their
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How to stop Coronavirus Lockdown Leading to an Upsurge in Violence Against Women

March 25, 2020
Guest post from Mwanahamisi Singano, a feminist activist  Member of FEMNET The world is witnessing an unprecedent health pandemic.  With more than 440,318 confirmed cases of COVID19 across the world, and almost 20,000 deaths (at the time of publication), the world is shutting down. Everyone is being asked to stay home and be safe, but one thing that everyone has forgotten is that homes are not
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‘The Saviour of the Mothers’ in times of Covid-19: A Brief History of Hand-Washing

March 24, 2020
Guest post by Vanita Suneja of WaterAid Covid-19 is currently   occupying our collective mind space.  Apart from avoiding mass gatherings, the foremost message given through public media and health advisories across the world is on hand hygiene. We are being been advised to clean our hands regularly and thoroughly with soap and water or with alcohol-based sanitizer. Hand washing is
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Singapore: the politics of taking sand to make land

March 12, 2020
Madhumitha Ardhanari is a 2019-20 Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Equity at the International Inequalities Institute, London School of Economics. She has worked as a sustainability strategist and futures researcher at Forum for the Future, and has five years of experience coaching businesses and organisations to adapt to long-term sustainability challenges. Until six months ago, I didn’t care much
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After 30 years of negotiations, where next on the climate crisis? In conversation with Saleemul Huq.

March 5, 2020
I sat down recently with Saleemul Huq, a scientist and activist who has attended every single global negotiation on climate change since 1992. Saleem is Director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) in Bangladesh and Senior Fellow at the International Institute for Environment & Development (IIED) in London. We discussed the evolving climate debate and ended
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Confessions of a gender advisor: Why I avoid the word “empowerment”

February 27, 2020
Sabine Garbarino is an independent gender and inclusion consultant specialising in economic development programming. I have a confession: I’ve recently banned colleagues at a private sector development programme in Liberia from using the term empowerment or women’s economic empowerment or WEE.  Here is why (and it’s not just my personal dislike of an unfortunate abbreviation):  Language matters Over the last years, I’ve noticed
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Against fascism in India: in solidarity, through care

February 26, 2020
Enda Verde and Chandan Kumar write about how women are leading the resistance against the unconstitutional Citizenship Amendment Act in India. Enda Verde is a Ph.D. candidate working in both Europe and India. Chandan Kumar is a labor rights activist based in Pune, India, and part of a citizen’s movement against the Citizenship Amendment Act called “Hum Bharat Ke Log.”
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Islamophobia and ‘Whiteness’ as two sides of the same coin

February 20, 2020
‘Whiteness’ is often claimed through distancing oneself from what is not considered ‘white’. NGOs in Kosovo, a Muslim majority country, for instance aspire to ‘Whiteness’ by denying Muslimness. Adem Ferizaj is a Balkan essayist writing about the region’s political and cultural issues. The Balkan region is often left out when it comes to debates about ‘development’ or ‘aid’, even though
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Women in Kenya rebuild resilience amidst an eco-cultural crisis

February 18, 2020
Wangũi wa Kamonji is an independent researcher, dancer, writer and facilitator centering Africa, ancestrality and the Earth in her work. She is based in Kenya and is a fellow at the Climate and Environmental Justice Media program with FRIDA – The Young Feminist Fund in partnership with OpenGlobalRights. This piece was published as part of this partnership, by OpenGlobalRights. Sabella Kaguna
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How to Decolonize Academia. Interview with Prof. Akosua Adomako Ampofo

February 14, 2020
I recently sat down with Akosua Adomako Ampofo, President of the African Studies Association of Africa to discuss her life, decolonization (including my own) and the research system. It’s 40 minutes, really interesting, and follows nicely from yesterday’s much-talked about post by Teni Tayo, but here’s some highlights for the non podcast community. Personal Background: My mother is German, my
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Africa as the World’s Problem Child and how I feel about it as an African

February 13, 2020
By Teniola Tayo Before I came to study for a Masters in International Development at the London School of Economics in September 2019, I had never been to Europe – or to any part of the Western world for that matter. The “Global North”, if you like. However, I never thought that the fact that I had lived the entire
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