13 thoughts for aid in 2013
As I was sitting in a year-end retreat, I started jotting down this list of things that the development aid world could use more of in 2013. I offer it as some food for thought for the year ahead.
As I was sitting in a year-end retreat, I started jotting down this list of things that the development aid world could use more of in 2013. I offer it as some food for thought for the year ahead.
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” ~Fred Rogers
When I first picked up and started reading The Barefoot Guide to Working with Organisations and Social Change almost four years ago, it was one of those strike-you-through-the-heart moments. Finally someone was talking about my role in aid.
The Social Impact Media Awards 2013 is an international documentary and video competition for independent filmmakers and those engaged in aid to champion the stories of grassroots change-makers that too often remain overlooked.
To be a thought leader, you must do great work; communicate clearly, concisely and powerfully; and build a solid network of people ready and willing to hear what you have to say.
You tell the voters/donors what they want to hear. You’re happy (though thoroughly exhausted) when the campaign is over/proposal is submitted, but the hard work is yet to come.
As we wait for Hurricane Sandy, not knowing exactly what’s coming, vulnerability has been on my mind—namely my own. What does this mean in our aid, philanthropy and social entrepreneurship worlds?
A colleague told me recently, “Working for an NGO, it’s like family. I can bad-mouth my mother, but you can’t.” A discussion of Tori Hogan’s new book, Beyond Good Intentions: A Journey Into the Realities of International Aid.
…And that’s why it’s vital to have a trusted network of peers who can say to you frankly, “Hey, shut it. There may be another viewpoint you are not seeing.”
Help shape the “How Matters Hub” concept, a way for people to include and initiate dialogue on important, though often overlooked, issues in international aid.
“You pick an instrument and you learn how to play. Sure you can get lessons from music teachers or books, but don’t ignore what a good jam session can do for you.” A guest post by Oscar Abello.
Navigating the development sector’s inherent complexities is exactly the kind of work that does not lend itself to this dualistic thinking—A review of Inside the Everyday Lives of Development Workers: The Challenges and Futures of Aidland, edited by Anne-Meike Fechter and Heather Hindman.
“Having learned from previous failures, we’d developed tools to alleviate these problems, but they didn’t work this time.” A guest post by Mary Fifield, founder and former executive director of Amazon Partnerships Foundation.