POPULARITY
International NGOs are boycotting an expanded Israeli offensive in Gaza. Syrian leader Ahmad Al Shara is set to meet French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Wednesday. The Israeli military says it has attacked Houthi targets in Yemen, including the airport in Sanaa and several major power stations in the area, a day after it hit the port of Hodeidah. On today's episode of Trending Middle East: Latest: Aid groups refuse to be complicit in 'dangerous' plan for Gaza Syria's Al Shara to meet Macron in France on first European trip Israel strikes Sanaa airport in response to Houthi attack on Ben Gurion airport This episode features Senior Foreign Reporter Nada AlTaher and Europe Correspondent Sunniva Rose.
Check out ExpensePlus and sign up for a month's free trial and 10% off your first year's subscription, using my referral link http://expenseplus.co.uk/r/AI-BANCIn this episode, Aishat discusses her experience at the Problem Solving for Painful Payments Roundtable, focusing on key accounting challenges faced by international charities.She does a dive into a common financial challenge faced by international NGOs - managing multiple exchange rates when handling expenses and donor funds and shares a practical solution that can simplify reporting and reconciliation: the Weighted Average Exchange Rate (WAER).KEY TAKEAWAYExchange rate fluctuations can complicate accountingWAER helps standardize conversions, making financial reporting and reconciliation easier.WAER is particularly useful in two key scenarios:When field staff convert currency at different rates during trips, creating multiple exchange rates for expenses.When donor funds are received in multiple tranches at varying exchange rates, impacting financial reporting.WAER simplifies accounting by averaging exchange rates – Instead of tracking every individual conversion, organizations can use a single calculated rate for consistency.Exceptions exist – Some donors may require a fixed exchange rate, in which case WAER may not be applicable.EPISODE RESOURCESEbury: https://ebury.com/ABOUT YOUR HOSTAishat operates her own bookkeeping and accounting services practice – BAnC Services which focuses primarily on serving non-profits. Before founding her practice, she dedicated over two decades to the non-profit sector.With her podcast, Aishat shares practical insights and expertise to streamline financial management for non-profits; and shines a light on the often unseen & unheard efforts that uphold the delivery of a non-profit's mission.Beyond her professional endeavours with non-profits, Aishat is deeply committed to supporting single mothers with navigating financial management challenges and is the author of "Money Solutions for Single Mums". She also champions financial literacy among young black adults and thrives in discussions about money management.Work with Aishat: www.bancservices.co.ukCONNECTInstagramTikTok
Welcome to The Doers Nepal Podcast – Nepal's No.1 Business Podcast, where we explore the stories of leaders who are shaping industries and driving positive change. In this episode, we sit down with SP Kalaunee, Chairperson of the Association of International NGOs in Nepal, to discuss the funding challenges INGOs face. We dive deep into where INGOs get their funds, why long-term sustainability is difficult, and the social justification issues these organizations encounter. SP shares valuable insights on navigating these challenges while maintaining impactful operations. Tune in to learn about the complexities behind INGO funding and how these organizations strive for long-term success in Nepal and beyond. Get Inspired, Be a Doer.
In this episode, I sit down with Dan Goodwin an International Payments solutions specialist. We discuss the basics of international money transfer, the impact of exchange rates, and the negotiation of cost-effective transfers with MSPs.The conversation covers a range of topics related to international money transfers for non-profits, including negotiating with payment partners, navigating banking regulations and understanding KYC processes. The discussion also emphasizes the importance of finding a partner, not just a provider, for international payments.Dan Goodwin shares valuable insights and tips amassed over more than a decade of experience in the non-profit international payments sphere. This is for all International NGOs and Charities, and any non-profit that makes payments globally.KEY TAKEAWAYSNegotiating with payment partners is essential for non-profits to find win-win solutions.Navigating banking regulations requires leaning on partners or banks for guidance.Understanding KYC processes and compliance is crucial for successful international money transfers.Finding a partner, not just a provider, is key for effective international payments for non-profits.BEST MOMENTS"… people just assume that because they can send money to each other on an app, that it's actually dead easy to move money, regardless of where you are around the world.""Don't be afraid to negotiate. If you need a partner and, you know, if you've got a money service business, you're prepared to be a partner rather than a provider."EPISODE RESOURCESConnect with Dan https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-goodwin-3248a6103/BOND: https://www.bond.org.uk/Charity Finance Group: https://www.cfg.org.uk/aboutABOUT YOUR HOSTAishat operates her own bookkeeping and accounting services practice – BAnC Services which focuses primarily on serving non-profits. Before founding her practice, she dedicated over two decades to the non-profit sector.With her podcast, Aishat shares practical insights and expertise to streamline financial management for non-profits; and shines a light on the often unseen & unheard efforts that uphold the delivery of a non-profit's mission.Beyond her professional endeavours with non-profits, Aishat is deeply committed to supporting single mothers with navigating financial management challenges and is the author of "Money Solutions for Single Mums". She also champions financial literacy among young black adults and thrives in discussions about money management.Work with Aishat: www.bancservices.co.ukCONNECTInstagramTikTok
In this episode, I sit down with Dan Goodwin an International Payments solutions specialist. We discuss the basics of international money transfer, the impact of exchange rates, and the negotiation of cost-effective transfers with MSPs. The conversation covers a range of topics related to international money transfers for non-profits, including negotiating with payment partners, navigating banking regulations and understanding KYC processes. The discussion also emphasizes the importance of finding a partner, not just a provider, for international payments. Dan Goodwin shares valuable insights and tips amassed over more than a decade of experience in the non-profit international payments sphere. This is for all International NGOs and Charities, and any non-profit that makes payments globally.KEY TAKEAWAYSNegotiating with payment partners is essential for non-profits to find win-win solutions.Navigating banking regulations requires leaning on partners or banks for guidance.Understanding KYC processes and compliance is crucial for successful international money transfers.Finding a partner, not just a provider, is key for effective international payments for non-profits.BEST MOMENTS"… people just assume that because they can send money to each other on an app, that it's actually dead easy to move money, regardless of where you are around the world.""Don't be afraid to negotiate. If you need a partner and, you know, if you've got a money service business, you're prepared to be a partner rather than a provider."EPISODE RESOURCESConnect with Dan https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-goodwin-3248a6103/BOND: https://www.bond.org.uk/Charity Finance Group: https://www.cfg.org.uk/aboutABOUT YOUR HOSTAishat operates her own bookkeeping and accounting services practice – BAnC Services which focuses primarily on serving non-profits. Before founding her practice, she dedicated over two decades to the non-profit sector.With her podcast, Aishat shares practical insights and expertise to streamline financial management for non-profits; and shines a light on the often unseen & unheard efforts that uphold the delivery of a non-profit's mission.Beyond her professional endeavours with non-profits, Aishat is deeply committed to supporting single mothers with navigating financial management challenges and is the author of "Money Solutions for Single Mums". She also champions financial literacy among young black adults and thrives in discussions about money management.Work with Aishat: www.bancservices.co.ukCONNECTInstagramTikTok
Does privacy exist anymore? Or are humans just sets of data to be traded and sold?Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Her latest book is We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age."One of the things that we need to remember is that we are data stakeholders and not data subjects. We're often called data subjects if you look at the way legislation is written and tech companies talk about the users of their technology as data subjects.Being a subject casts this sort of 'you can't help but have this happen to you' effect. But we're actually data stakeholders for the reason that data cannot be created without us. If companies were incentivized to follow data minimization for example, where they only collect the data they need, that would change the way we interact with digital technologies."www.wendyhwong.comhttps://mitpress.mit.edu/author/wendy-h-wong-38397www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast
"One of the things that we need to remember is that we are data stakeholders and not data subjects. We're often called data subjects if you look at the way legislation is written and tech companies talk about the users of their technology as data subjects.Being a subject casts this sort of 'you can't help but have this happen to you' effect. But we're actually data stakeholders for the reason that data cannot be created without us. If companies were incentivized to follow data minimization for example, where they only collect the data they need, that would change the way we interact with digital technologies."Does privacy exist anymore? Or are humans just sets of data to be traded and sold?Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Her latest book is We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age.www.wendyhwong.comhttps://mitpress.mit.edu/author/wendy-h-wong-38397www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast
Does privacy exist anymore? Or are humans just sets of data to be traded and sold?Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Her latest book is We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age."I do think that the environment is a place where having more data will help us create better models for thinking about how climate change is going to affect life on Earth. And I agree with you, I think that we should be thinking about the now and life on Earth today and not doing harm going forward because I think it's important to live now and not in this projected future with regard to AI with the 'killer robots' but also with climate change with some of the horrible projections that people have put out there that might happen if we don't mitigate carbon production.So let's focus on creating solutions for today. Like, how are we going to get to net zero by 2050, for example, right? And so in some ways, data minimization as a standard or as a norm is really in my mind. And so when we think about other fields, if we think about climate science, for example, I don't know if I'd follow a data minimization model because I think we have a lot of data.Earlier this year, there was a lake in Ontario where they were able to pull some really important soil samples out to think about the dawn of the Anthropocene. And I think that's really important. That's a great discovery for thinking about the effects of human-driven climate change, but also it creates lots of data, more data for us to understand the process."www.wendyhwong.comhttps://mitpress.mit.edu/author/wendy-h-wong-38397www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast
"I do think that the environment is a place where having more data will help us create better models for thinking about how climate change is going to affect life on Earth. And I agree with you, I think that we should be thinking about the now and life on Earth today and not doing harm going forward because I think it's important to live now and not in this projected future with regard to AI with the 'killer robots' but also with climate change with some of the horrible projections that people have put out there that might happen if we don't mitigate carbon production.So let's focus on creating solutions for today. Like, how are we going to get to net zero by 2050, for example, right? And so in some ways, data minimization as a standard or as a norm is really in my mind. And so when we think about other fields, if we think about climate science, for example, I don't know if I'd follow a data minimization model because I think we have a lot of data.Earlier this year, there was a lake in Ontario where they were able to pull some really important soil samples out to think about the dawn of the Anthropocene. And I think that's really important. That's a great discovery for thinking about the effects of human-driven climate change, but also it creates lots of data, more data for us to understand the process."Does privacy exist anymore? Or are humans just sets of data to be traded and sold?Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Her latest book is We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age.www.wendyhwong.comhttps://mitpress.mit.edu/author/wendy-h-wong-38397www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast
Does privacy exist anymore? Or are humans just sets of data to be traded and sold?Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Her latest book is We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age."One of the things that we need to remember is that we are data stakeholders and not data subjects. We're often called data subjects if you look at the way legislation is written and tech companies talk about the users of their technology as data subjects.Being a subject casts this sort of 'you can't help but have this happen to you' effect. But we're actually data stakeholders for the reason that data cannot be created without us. If companies were incentivized to follow data minimization for example, where they only collect the data they need, that would change the way we interact with digital technologies."www.wendyhwong.comhttps://mitpress.mit.edu/author/wendy-h-wong-38397www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast
"One of the things that we need to remember is that we are data stakeholders and not data subjects. We're often called data subjects if you look at the way legislation is written and tech companies talk about the users of their technology as data subjects.Being a subject casts this sort of 'you can't help but have this happen to you' effect. But we're actually data stakeholders for the reason that data cannot be created without us. If companies were incentivized to follow data minimization for example, where they only collect the data they need, that would change the way we interact with digital technologies."Does privacy exist anymore? Or are humans just sets of data to be traded and sold?Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Her latest book is We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age.www.wendyhwong.comhttps://mitpress.mit.edu/author/wendy-h-wong-38397www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast
"I do think that the environment is a place where having more data will help us create better models for thinking about how climate change is going to affect life on Earth. And I agree with you, I think that we should be thinking about the now and life on Earth today and not doing harm going forward because I think it's important to live now and not in this projected future with regard to AI with the 'killer robots' but also with climate change with some of the horrible projections that people have put out there that might happen if we don't mitigate carbon production.So let's focus on creating solutions for today. Like, how are we going to get to net zero by 2050, for example, right? And so in some ways, data minimization as a standard or as a norm is really in my mind. And so when we think about other fields, if we think about climate science, for example, I don't know if I'd follow a data minimization model because I think we have a lot of data.Earlier this year, there was a lake in Ontario where they were able to pull some really important soil samples out to think about the dawn of the Anthropocene. And I think that's really important. That's a great discovery for thinking about the effects of human-driven climate change, but also it creates lots of data, more data for us to understand the process."Does privacy exist anymore? Or are humans just sets of data to be traded and sold?Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Her latest book is We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age.www.wendyhwong.comhttps://mitpress.mit.edu/author/wendy-h-wong-38397www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast
Does privacy exist anymore? Or are humans just sets of data to be traded and sold?Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Her latest book is We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age."I do think that the environment is a place where having more data will help us create better models for thinking about how climate change is going to affect life on Earth. And I agree with you, I think that we should be thinking about the now and life on Earth today and not doing harm going forward because I think it's important to live now and not in this projected future with regard to AI with the 'killer robots' but also with climate change with some of the horrible projections that people have put out there that might happen if we don't mitigate carbon production.So let's focus on creating solutions for today. Like, how are we going to get to net zero by 2050, for example, right? And so in some ways, data minimization as a standard or as a norm is really in my mind. And so when we think about other fields, if we think about climate science, for example, I don't know if I'd follow a data minimization model because I think we have a lot of data.Earlier this year, there was a lake in Ontario where they were able to pull some really important soil samples out to think about the dawn of the Anthropocene. And I think that's really important. That's a great discovery for thinking about the effects of human-driven climate change, but also it creates lots of data, more data for us to understand the process."www.wendyhwong.comhttps://mitpress.mit.edu/author/wendy-h-wong-38397www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast
"One of the things that we need to remember is that we are data stakeholders and not data subjects. We're often called data subjects if you look at the way legislation is written and tech companies talk about the users of their technology as data subjects.Being a subject casts this sort of 'you can't help but have this happen to you' effect. But we're actually data stakeholders for the reason that data cannot be created without us. If companies were incentivized to follow data minimization for example, where they only collect the data they need, that would change the way we interact with digital technologies."Does privacy exist anymore? Or are humans just sets of data to be traded and sold?Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Her latest book is We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age.www.wendyhwong.comhttps://mitpress.mit.edu/author/wendy-h-wong-38397www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast
Does privacy exist anymore? Or are humans just sets of data to be traded and sold?Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Her latest book is We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age."One of the things that we need to remember is that we are data stakeholders and not data subjects. We're often called data subjects if you look at the way legislation is written and tech companies talk about the users of their technology as data subjects.Being a subject casts this sort of 'you can't help but have this happen to you' effect. But we're actually data stakeholders for the reason that data cannot be created without us. If companies were incentivized to follow data minimization for example, where they only collect the data they need, that would change the way we interact with digital technologies."www.wendyhwong.comhttps://mitpress.mit.edu/author/wendy-h-wong-38397www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast
"Meta reaches between three and four billion people every day through their platforms, right? That's way more people than any government legitimately can claim to govern. And yet this one company with four major platforms that many of us use is able to reach so many people and make decisions about content and access that have real consequences. It's been shown they fueled genocide in multiple places like in Ethiopia and Myanmar. And I think that's exactly why human rights matter because human rights are obligations that states have signed on for, and they're supposed to protect human values. And I think from a human rights perspective, it's important to argue that we shouldn't be collecting certain types of data because it's excessive. It's violating autonomy. It starts violating dignity. And when you start violating autonomy and dignity through the collection of data, you can't just go back and fix that by making it private.”Does privacy exist anymore? Or are humans just sets of data to be traded and sold?Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Her latest book is We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age.www.wendyhwong.comhttps://mitpress.mit.edu/author/wendy-h-wong-38397www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast
Does privacy exist anymore? Or are humans just sets of data to be traded and sold?Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Her latest book is We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age."Meta reaches between three and four billion people every day through their platforms, right? That's way more people than any government legitimately can claim to govern. And yet this one company with four major platforms that many of us use is able to reach so many people and make decisions about content and access that have real consequences. It's been shown they fueled genocide in multiple places like in Ethiopia and Myanmar. And I think that's exactly why human rights matter because human rights are obligations that states have signed on for, and they're supposed to protect human values. And I think from a human rights perspective, it's important to argue that we shouldn't be collecting certain types of data because it's excessive. It's violating autonomy. It starts violating dignity. And when you start violating autonomy and dignity through the collection of data, you can't just go back and fix that by making it private.”www.wendyhwong.comhttps://mitpress.mit.edu/author/wendy-h-wong-38397www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast
Does privacy exist anymore? Or are humans just sets of data to be traded and sold?Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Her latest book is We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age."There are also other technologies out there that actually don't really require any sort of personal connection in life to resurrect someone, so to speak, using data they generated throughout their life. And you can sort of bring them back in ways that they may not have agreed with. And also how we treat human beings with dignity, as though we're beings with worth. And so if we can take the data that describe our activities in life and use them to create digital alternatives or digital resurrections, what does that really mean about how we think about what that person did in life and how we can treat that person once they're gone? So there's a lot of different questions here."www.wendyhwong.comhttps://mitpress.mit.edu/author/wendy-h-wong-38397www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast
The Creative Process in 10 minutes or less · Arts, Culture & Society
"One of the things that we need to remember is that we are data stakeholders and not data subjects. We're often called data subjects if you look at the way legislation is written and tech companies talk about the users of their technology as data subjects.Being a subject casts this sort of 'you can't help but have this happen to you' effect. But we're actually data stakeholders for the reason that data cannot be created without us. If companies were incentivized to follow data minimization for example, where they only collect the data they need, that would change the way we interact with digital technologies."Does privacy exist anymore? Or are humans just sets of data to be traded and sold?Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Her latest book is We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age.www.wendyhwong.comhttps://mitpress.mit.edu/author/wendy-h-wong-38397www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast
"Meta reaches between three and four billion people every day through their platforms, right? That's way more people than any government legitimately can claim to govern. And yet this one company with four major platforms that many of us use is able to reach so many people and make decisions about content and access that have real consequences. It's been shown they fueled genocide in multiple places like in Ethiopia and Myanmar. And I think that's exactly why human rights matter because human rights are obligations that states have signed on for, and they're supposed to protect human values. And I think from a human rights perspective, it's important to argue that we shouldn't be collecting certain types of data because it's excessive. It's violating autonomy. It starts violating dignity. And when you start violating autonomy and dignity through the collection of data, you can't just go back and fix that by making it private.”Does privacy exist anymore? Or are humans just sets of data to be traded and sold?Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Her latest book is We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age.www.wendyhwong.comhttps://mitpress.mit.edu/author/wendy-h-wong-38397www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.orgIG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast
Does privacy exist anymore? Or are humans just sets of data to be traded and sold?Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Her latest book is We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age."Meta reaches between three and four billion people every day through their platforms, right? That's way more people than any government legitimately can claim to govern. And yet this one company with four major platforms that many of us use is able to reach so many people and make decisions about content and access that have real consequences. It's been shown they fueled genocide in multiple places like in Ethiopia and Myanmar. And I think that's exactly why human rights matter because human rights are obligations that states have signed on for, and they're supposed to protect human values. And I think from a human rights perspective, it's important to argue that we shouldn't be collecting certain types of data because it's excessive. It's violating autonomy. It starts violating dignity. And when you start violating autonomy and dignity through the collection of data, you can't just go back and fix that by making it private.”www.wendyhwong.comhttps://mitpress.mit.edu/author/wendy-h-wong-38397www.creativeprocess.info www.oneplanetpodcast.org IG www.instagram.com/creativeprocesspodcast
Our data-intensive world is here to stay, but does that come at the cost of our humanity in terms of autonomy, community, dignity, and equality? In We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age (MIT Press, 2023), Wendy H. Wong argues that we cannot allow that to happen. Exploring the pervasiveness of data collection and tracking, Wong reminds us that we are all stakeholders in this digital world, who are currently being left out of the most pressing conversations around technology, ethics, and policy. This book clarifies the nature of datafication and calls for an extension of human rights to recognize how data complicate what it means to safeguard and encourage human potential. Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Lamis Abdelaaty is an associate professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. She is the author of Discrimination and Delegation: Explaining State Responses to Refugees (Oxford University Press, 2021). Email her comments at labdelaa@syr.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science
Our data-intensive world is here to stay, but does that come at the cost of our humanity in terms of autonomy, community, dignity, and equality? In We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age (MIT Press, 2023), Wendy H. Wong argues that we cannot allow that to happen. Exploring the pervasiveness of data collection and tracking, Wong reminds us that we are all stakeholders in this digital world, who are currently being left out of the most pressing conversations around technology, ethics, and policy. This book clarifies the nature of datafication and calls for an extension of human rights to recognize how data complicate what it means to safeguard and encourage human potential. Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Lamis Abdelaaty is an associate professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. She is the author of Discrimination and Delegation: Explaining State Responses to Refugees (Oxford University Press, 2021). Email her comments at labdelaa@syr.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/public-policy
Our data-intensive world is here to stay, but does that come at the cost of our humanity in terms of autonomy, community, dignity, and equality? In We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age (MIT Press, 2023), Wendy H. Wong argues that we cannot allow that to happen. Exploring the pervasiveness of data collection and tracking, Wong reminds us that we are all stakeholders in this digital world, who are currently being left out of the most pressing conversations around technology, ethics, and policy. This book clarifies the nature of datafication and calls for an extension of human rights to recognize how data complicate what it means to safeguard and encourage human potential. Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Lamis Abdelaaty is an associate professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. She is the author of Discrimination and Delegation: Explaining State Responses to Refugees (Oxford University Press, 2021). Email her comments at labdelaa@syr.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-technology-and-society
Our data-intensive world is here to stay, but does that come at the cost of our humanity in terms of autonomy, community, dignity, and equality? In We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age (MIT Press, 2023), Wendy H. Wong argues that we cannot allow that to happen. Exploring the pervasiveness of data collection and tracking, Wong reminds us that we are all stakeholders in this digital world, who are currently being left out of the most pressing conversations around technology, ethics, and policy. This book clarifies the nature of datafication and calls for an extension of human rights to recognize how data complicate what it means to safeguard and encourage human potential. Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Lamis Abdelaaty is an associate professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. She is the author of Discrimination and Delegation: Explaining State Responses to Refugees (Oxford University Press, 2021). Email her comments at labdelaa@syr.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law
Our data-intensive world is here to stay, but does that come at the cost of our humanity in terms of autonomy, community, dignity, and equality? In We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age (MIT Press, 2023), Wendy H. Wong argues that we cannot allow that to happen. Exploring the pervasiveness of data collection and tracking, Wong reminds us that we are all stakeholders in this digital world, who are currently being left out of the most pressing conversations around technology, ethics, and policy. This book clarifies the nature of datafication and calls for an extension of human rights to recognize how data complicate what it means to safeguard and encourage human potential. Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Lamis Abdelaaty is an associate professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. She is the author of Discrimination and Delegation: Explaining State Responses to Refugees (Oxford University Press, 2021). Email her comments at labdelaa@syr.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/technology
Our data-intensive world is here to stay, but does that come at the cost of our humanity in terms of autonomy, community, dignity, and equality? In We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age (MIT Press, 2023), Wendy H. Wong argues that we cannot allow that to happen. Exploring the pervasiveness of data collection and tracking, Wong reminds us that we are all stakeholders in this digital world, who are currently being left out of the most pressing conversations around technology, ethics, and policy. This book clarifies the nature of datafication and calls for an extension of human rights to recognize how data complicate what it means to safeguard and encourage human potential. Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Lamis Abdelaaty is an associate professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. She is the author of Discrimination and Delegation: Explaining State Responses to Refugees (Oxford University Press, 2021). Email her comments at labdelaa@syr.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Our data-intensive world is here to stay, but does that come at the cost of our humanity in terms of autonomy, community, dignity, and equality? In We, the Data: Human Rights in the Digital Age (MIT Press, 2023), Wendy H. Wong argues that we cannot allow that to happen. Exploring the pervasiveness of data collection and tracking, Wong reminds us that we are all stakeholders in this digital world, who are currently being left out of the most pressing conversations around technology, ethics, and policy. This book clarifies the nature of datafication and calls for an extension of human rights to recognize how data complicate what it means to safeguard and encourage human potential. Wendy H. Wong is Professor of Political Science and Principal's Research Chair at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan. She is the author of two award-winning books: Internal Affairs: How the Structure of NGOs Transforms Human Rights and (with Sarah S. Stroup) The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs. Lamis Abdelaaty is an associate professor of political science at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University. She is the author of Discrimination and Delegation: Explaining State Responses to Refugees (Oxford University Press, 2021). Email her comments at labdelaa@syr.edu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/book-of-the-day
Humanitarians Sound Alarm On Conflict & Atrocities In Sudan While Donors Fall Short Aid groups and international organizations are increasingly sounding the alarm on the humanitarian cost of conflict as Sudan's civil war rages on. On April 15th, 2023, fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary organization. These two entities were united as part of an anti-democracy regime that came to power during the 2021 coup—but ruptures have emerged—with civil war, violence, and ethnic cleansing threatening humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan. International donors have fallen short, pledging just half of the $3 billion the United Nations estimates is needed in aid. International NGOs have warned about severe obstacles to providing aid including safety concerns, lack of bureaucratic cooperation, and severely limited humanitarian entry points. Analysts call for international NGOs to instead refocus efforts on providing localized aid to community-based organizations. While the Save Darfur Coalition's highly publicized campaign in the mid-2000s generated significant and sustained international awareness, Google Trends highlights how digital engagement with news of the current conflict returned to its baseline almost immediately after news of the fighting in April—despite the ongoing increase in need. Read more ➝ Summary Alix Dorsainvil: What we know about the American nurse kidnapped with her child in Haiti | CNN Bernie Sanders endorses plan to create nonprofit electric utility in Maine | Maine Public Twitter threatens to sue nonprofit that documented rise in hateful tweets; founder decries 'unprecedented escalation' | 13newsnow.com WVEC
Humanitarians Sound Alarm On Conflict & Atrocities In Sudan While Donors Fall Short Aid groups and international organizations are increasingly sounding the alarm on the humanitarian cost of conflict as Sudan's civil war rages on. On April 15th, 2023, fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary organization. These two entities were united as part of an anti-democracy regime that came to power during the 2021 coup—but ruptures have emerged—with civil war, violence, and ethnic cleansing threatening humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan. International donors have fallen short, pledging just half of the $3 billion the United Nations estimates is needed in aid. International NGOs have warned about severe obstacles to providing aid including safety concerns, lack of bureaucratic cooperation, and severely limited humanitarian entry points. Analysts call for international NGOs to instead refocus efforts on providing localized aid to community-based organizations. While the Save Darfur Coalition's highly publicized campaign in the mid-2000s generated significant and sustained international awareness, Google Trends highlights how digital engagement with news of the current conflict returned to its baseline almost immediately after news of the fighting in April—despite the ongoing increase in need. Read more ➝ Summary Alix Dorsainvil: What we know about the American nurse kidnapped with her child in Haiti | CNN Bernie Sanders endorses plan to create nonprofit electric utility in Maine | Maine Public Twitter threatens to sue nonprofit that documented rise in hateful tweets; founder decries 'unprecedented escalation' | 13newsnow.com WVEC
Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: Trans Rescue's operations in Uganda: high impact giving opportunity, published by David D on April 11, 2023 on The Effective Altruism Forum. Synopsis: Trans Rescue uses their existing experience and infrastructure for moving African trans people to safety to help LGBTQ+ people of all sorts escape genocide in Uganda, costing an estimated €150 to move a person to safety outside the country and €1257 in housing costs and other support to help them become financially self sufficient in their new location. You might have heard about Uganda's new laws and crackdown targeting LGBTQ+ people, which began in March. “Homosexual activity” has been illegal in Uganda for a long time, but under this bill, people who even say that they are LGBT+ or “promote homosexuality” (such as advocating for LGBTQ+ people's rights, or writing a positive or neutral article about homosexuality) face criminal charges and imprisonment. Renting living space to a gay person or conducting a same-sex marriage ceremony would also be criminalized with prison sentences of up to 10 years. The president of Uganda has not yet signed the bill, but the homophobic fervor around it is already wreaking havoc in LGBTQ+ Ugandans' lives. Many of Trans Rescue's passengers were evicted by their landlords without any warning or opportunity to retrieve their things. In one particularly violent example, a landlord was convinced by a local preacher that his two trans tenants were evil and set fire to their belongings while they weren't home, burning down his building in the process. Existing shelters for LGBTQ+ people also face eviction. Violence and sexual assault is becoming more frequent (cw violence, rape, police brutality: source). International NGOs have been slow to respond. In an article on Trans Writes, Trans Rescue treasurer Jenny List writes that their passengers haven't seen any other international organizations working to protect or evacuate LGBTQ+ Ugandans, though some organizations say they have plans in the works. “Of course, we've asked around to find out what's being done by those organisations, and the answer has come back from several quarters that things are in motion, but under the radar. We're told that too public a move might cause them to be accused by the Ugandan government of being colonialist, and we understand that. We're happy to hear that so much is being done, we really are.” “Unfortunately, the fact remains that the people on the ground aren't seeing it. Things they can't see are of little use to them, when what they need is to escape an angry mob or a police manhunt.” Trans Rescue was unusually well positioned to help. They've been helping trans people escape danger, especially in Africa and the Middle East, since 2021, and several of their board members did similar work in the organization's previous incarnation as Trans Emigrate. In addition to their experience planning travel for people who face extra scrutiny due to their country of origin, they operate a trans safe haven in neighboring Kenya called Eden House. In light of the danger that queer Ugandans of all sorts are facing right now, they are providing transportation and shelter for LGBTQ+ people of all sorts fleeing Uganda. Effective Altruists often avoid donating to acute crisis that make the news. Newsworthy events are often relatively less underfunded, especially when they occur in the western world. The difficult logistics of providing aid for events like natural disasters can also be an obstacle. Uganda's proposed LGBTQ+ bill has received some media coverage, but the people who have the ability to donate and would consider the people affected “one of us” - LGBTQ+ people in wealthier nations - are focused on the rise in transphobia in the US and UK right now. Trans Rescue already has a presence in the region in Eden House, the...
May Farid and Hui Li drop by the podcast to talk about INGOs, or international non-governmental organizations, and specifically how their relationship with China is shifting as China goes global. The conversation focuses on their article "International NGOs as intermediaries in China's 'going out' strategy." May Farid is a political scientist studying civil society, policy and development in contemporary China and beyond. She is a visiting scholar at Stanford University's Center on China's Economy and Institutions and a Lecturer at the University of Hong Kong. She holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford and has worked extensively in the NGO sector in China, as well as a researcher with China's leading policy think tank.Hui Li is an Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong. Her research focuses on public and nonprofit management, organization theory, and civic engagement. In collaboration with a team of researchers, she studies NGOs and environmental governance in authoritarian China. In addition, she works closely with colleagues from the Civic Engagement Initiative at USC and studies neighborhood councils and civic engagement in Los Angeles.Recommendations:Hui: Activists beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics by Margaret E. Keck and Kathryn Sikkink May:Principled instrumentalism: a theory of transnational NGO behaviour by George E. Mitchell and Hans Peter SchmitzBeyond the Boomerang: From Transnational Advocacy Networks to Transcalar Advocacy in International Politics edited by Christopher L. Pallas and Elizabeth A. Bloodgood Leutert, Wendy, Elizabeth Plantan and Austin Strange. "Puzzling Partnerships: Overseas Infrastructure Development by Chinese State-Owned Enterprises and Humanitarian Organizations". 2022.Erik:Two albums by Lingua IgnotaSinner Get Ready CaligulaRRR film Juliet:Follow Yige Dong, assistant professor of global gender and sexuality studies at the University at BuffaloDong, Yige. The Dilemma of Foxconn Moms: Social Reproduction and the Rise of 'Gig Manufacturing' in China. 2022.
The DeSantis ban on diversity programs in Florida's State colleges and universities, African American studies advance placement courses and attacks on “Critical Race Theory,” accompanied by book bans tell us a lot about who the GOP sees as its voters. Is this 21 st Century version of Nixon's Southern Strategy tailored to break Democratic lock on minority vote? It has already been successful in Florida, which despite its large Hispanic and African American population, re-elected DeSantis by a record margin. Is a dog whistle in political culture wars that is pushing buttons to win an election or a full-blooded embrace of reactionary racism?– Marcela Berland, CEO of Latin Insights, experts on opinion polling, women's issues and DE&I expert, will draw on their research to talk about the drivers behind DeSantis's actions and what they can tell us about national trends, where minority voters increasingly vote for a party that marginalizes them. Berland's clients have included Michael Bloomberg, Fortune 500 firms, nonprofits and International NGOs. She is a 2022 Forbes 1,000 awardee. -- This briefing is made possible by the Foreign Press Foundation. Donate at foreignpressassociation.org/ways-to-support.html Become a member of the Foreign Press Association at foreignpressassociation.org/join-the-association1.html Follow us on social media: twitter.com/fpanewsusa facebook.com/fpanewyork instagram.com/fpanewyork youtube.com/c/foreignpressassociationusa linkedin.com/in/fpausa/
Qatar World Cup Centers International Human Rights Issues, Corruption, And Sportswashing The 2022 FIFA World Cup is underway in Qatar in a climate marred by years of controversies related to human rights issues, corruption, and influence peddling. While this is the first time the games will be held in an Arab country, Qatar's bid was a remote possibility until it shockingly won the bid back in 2010. FIFA, the international governing body of football, is considered one of the most openly corrupt institutions in sports, where bribery, corruption, and influence campaigns are rampant. Since winning the bid, Qatar has faced sustained criticism for labor rights abuses since the country began luring low-income workers (largely from Asia) to work on construction projects in what international human rights groups have labeled dangerous and exploitative conditions. The country has faced renewed criticism of its internal human rights issues, particularly around women's rights and LGBTQ+ rights since fans have started to arrive. International NGOs have been long calling for accountability over the games' human cost, and teams have been put in the awkward position of navigating complex disagreements between the Qatari government, FIFA, and the general public. Read more ➝ Summary Meta Spending $7 Million To Stoke Recurring Donations | The NonProfit Times Jeff Bezos plans to give away most of his fortune: Why 'it's a big deal,' from a philanthropy expert | CNBC When 10M meals aren't enough: Childhood hunger nonprofit struggling to meet demand | kare11.com Survey: Nearly 1 in 4 American Donors Increased Giving Due to Rising Inflation | NonProfit PRO Rough Transcript [00:00:00] This week on the nonprofit news feed, well we're talking about a little thing called the World Cup and unfortunately, how it is mired in a number of issues of human rights and corruptions, so we'll get to that in just a bit. I'm back from Hawaii, uh, on a trip with my family. It was fun. Lot of sand everywhere. [00:00:49] Kids love the beach. Uh, but it's, it's, uh, much appreciated. Nick, that you and Matt handled last week, I, uh, I was a little jealous. I did wanna share a few words on the FTX collapse, but we'll, we'll get to that in the future. Something tells me those dominoes are not done falling. Yeah. George, I'm sure, I'm sure that story will be making a comeback as we talk about crypto philanthropy and the fallout from that. [00:01:16] To your point this week we wanted to talk about QAR and the 2022 FIFA World Cup. So the World Cup began this weekend in Qatar in a climate marred by, let's say, years of controversy related to human rights issues, corruption in. FIFA and influence paddling across the board. So this is the first time that the World Cup is being held in a Arab country, but Qatar's bid was considered just a remote possibility until it somehow shockingly won the bid back in 2010. [00:01:55] And fifa, the international governing body of football. Is widely considered to be one of the most openly corrupt institutions in sports, uh, accusations of bribery up and down the whole chain. It's essentially assumed Qatar bought this bid. Um, but now this is coming full circle because since the bid was awarded to guitar, the country has consistently faced criticism for pretty egregious labor rights abuses. [00:02:26] Uh, human rights issues, uh, workers working in extreme and deplorable conditions on the massive construction projects. And now that the World Cup itself is underway, a focus not only on the labor issues, but of just human rights issues more broadly in the country related to women's rights, um, LGBTQ plus rights, and the country's facing. [00:02:51] Criticism from international NGOs calling for accountability and the whole thing's kind of a mess. But it's a complex situation. So, George, what, what are your thoughts on this one? This brought to you by the public service announcement that not all nonprofits are good. And I'll remind that FIFA actually is a, is a nonprofit, uh, that, that is running this. [00:03:19] And I think, you know, you mentioned that you wrote a paper about this when you were in college back in 2010, about the human rights abuses, the, you know, the modern day misuse of labor there. Estimated deaths, which can't be accounted for. But Amnesty International and I have seen others quote in the, uh, 6,000 or more potentially that have actually just died, you know, issues of taking someone's passport once they come in and forcing them to work. [00:03:49] Uh, you know, that it's, uh, it's an unfortunate thing to be happening in, you know, this age of , this agent of like modern globalization. When you bring the Globe's spotlight in, I think we have to be careful also about pushing Western ideals on other cultures. It's hard, you have to balance this like absolutism that we have the perfect moral compass here. [00:04:21] So, you know, put a pin in that perfect moral compass here, baked in our western ideologies of, of, of rights and equality, and you really have to. It's hard to remove that because I do think there's some objective truth to like allowing certain freedoms of frankly, people to love each other, uh, to have providence over their own bodies. [00:04:47] Uh, I, I, I want to believe in something like that, but also you just have to note when you're, when you're speaking with that, you know, absolutism to just be careful. The fact that they're, they're doing this. They couldn't even have it in the, the summer. They had to have it in November because it's not a climate that, uh, accommodates life in the summer. [00:05:10] Like, no joke, 120 degrees. Like you can't take a ball in that temperature. I think the ball just sort of evaporates. It makes no ecological sense whatsoever, uh, to have done this and made this level of investment. And I really hope a touch more. Frankly, discretion and intelligence of just because they can pay doesn't mean we should do it this way from fifa, frankly from the Olympics, from these large institution, large institutions that, you know, do pull the world together. [00:05:43] I, I think there's something very beautiful about the World Cup and I, and I hope it doesn't get lost because yes we can, we can focus here, but the truth is 5 billion people are most likely going to watch. 5 billion people are going to agree that one team beat another team. Do you know how hard it is to get 5 billion people to agree on a thing, to watch the same thing? [00:06:07] There's just, I think, something beautiful about this, that despite all of this and the sports washing involved, like it is, uh, it is something that I'm glad everyone is still participating in and, and not simply boycotting because it's. It's easier to destroy than to create. It's harder to, frankly, some of these captains wanted to wear arm bands in support of issues of LGBTQ and human rights. [00:06:35] They wanted to take a stand. Some are kneeling, some are showing it, but they're still participating. I'm more nervous when we stop participating collectively. And so, you know, uh, that's, that's how I'm viewing these games. I'm gonna watch. And we'll, we'll watch the news and we'll see that. And, uh, it's hard for mold to grow in the sunlight and there's a lot of sunlight right now on guitar. [00:07:02] Yeah, George, I couldn't agree more with that, that characterization. And I wanted to give a shout out to some of the, the nonprofits that have been doing, uh, really great reporting on this. And I've been flagging it very early. And as you alluded to, I wrote a paper on. Years ago in college because the issues were, were still salient then. [00:07:24] But Amnesty International in particular has done really great research from the beginning on workers and yeah, it's, it's really challenging. Um, and, and really actually sad, I mean, workers are essentially being lured, uh, Poor workers from Asia into this country, they're having their visas confiscated. [00:07:47] It's not a good situation. Um, but I think to your point, the World's Cup is an opportunity to shine light on these issues, right? And I do not think we should be giving Qatar Pass. But that being said, uh, the chance to come together, Is, is really important, especially in a time of division. So yeah, I agree with that. [00:08:15] But let's just fire everyone at fifa. I have no . I Oh yeah, let's get of those. Let's cleans. Oh my gosh. [00:08:23] I think, I think 5 billion of people could possibly agree to that, that it's, it's really funny to see an institution solo, but an event so, Yeah. Um, , if you, if you're really into this, like do a deep dive on the bid, it's like the most outrageous thing. There was like a plane of the US delegation that flew to wherever it was, like Finland, Sweden or something for the bid process. [00:08:52] It was like, Mid-level State Department people, a couple of us soccer people, the United States activated Morgan Freeman took him on this plane, but it was clear like Morgan Freeman didn't prepare anything for this speech. It was like this like kind of incoherent jumble of like why the, it's the whole story's wild. [00:09:12] If you're into it, just read about it. Uh, but, but anyway, we'll leave that. [00:09:17] Uh, yeah. Moving into the summary, I'll, I'll jump through this quickly. Meta, formally known as Facebook, the artist , formally known as Facebook Me, is gonna spend, uh, 7 million to stoke reoccurring donations around Giving Tuesday. Which is great. We'll, hope you're all getting ready for your Giving Tuesday to, to make what you can of the kickoff to Giving season, not the end, but the kickoff to Giving season. [00:09:41] We have a bunch of those resources. Hope you find them. And, uh, another one here. Uh, Nick, do you wanna talk about what Bezos is announcing? Yeah, George. So Jeff Bezos, uh, formerly CEO of Amazon is, has announced, was giving away most of his 122 billion fortune. Uh, but this article from cnbc.com says, leaves many questions unanswered. [00:10:10] Uh, It says that Bezos, thus far has resisted developing a public philanthropic identity, unlike that of his ex-wife Mackenzie Scott. But I don't know what's your take here is, is, is Bezos having a, I don't know, a conscious time? Time to do. Good moment. What's this about? I'm gonna say the following phrase, and I'm excited because I'm gonna say it so many times that people are gonna be sick. [00:10:40] And here it is. Pledges are pr. That's it. I'm gonna say that every single time I see that, those of you listening, every time you see something like this, every time you see a post like this, I just want it ring in your head. Pledges are just pr. Cause if you were doing it, we would see the check and we saw that with Sam Bankman. [00:11:07] Getting all that ink across all those papers about how altruistic you was going to be in the future. Right about me now for things I haven't done. It's called P, so Bezos can shove it until we see a check. That's what I think. [00:11:25] I agree. See? See it Hit the books then we'll. We'll talk again, uh, remains to be seen. He's got some, some rockets to fund as well. So yeah, God bless him. Get it done. All right. This next one comes from care.com out of, uh, Richfield, Minnesota, and this is actually a follow up on a story we've talked about, but, uh, there was a 250 million fraud investigation to Feeding Our Future, which has fractured trust and efforts to feed hungry children across Minnesota. [00:12:02] Um, and it's really affecting, uh, this nonprofit and a time when it's, quote, quietly delivered 10 million meals to hungry kids and counting. So, Yikes. It seems that you just have a perfect storm of kind of bad scenarios. Here. You have 10 million meals to hungry kids. Uh, being that's a gap, like that's a gap in our safe, our social safety net, in my opinion that is being filled by this nonprofit. [00:12:32] Also at the center of a quarter of a billion dollar fraud investigation. Yikes. It's sad to see. Hopefully it doesn't erode confidence in giving locally to food banks that you know are serving your area. The, the larger groups have have a trust gap to fill. I'd say the ones that are, you know, chapter based and working out there. [00:12:57] The on the onus is on communication and transparency, but please don't let that hopefully be a barrier to giving locally, supporting, uh, supporting your. Food banks and nonprofits. We, we spoke and had that podcast recently with Move for Hunger when, you know, please go back and listen to that if you haven't. [00:13:17] Uh, because I think Adam Lloyd does a top shelf job of explaining how the need is year round and there's ways to support that. Yeah, George. Absolutely. And this actually takes us into our next article for nonprofit pro.com, which says that on behalf of a poll conducted on behalf of Vanguard Charitable conducted by interviewing 2000 US adults. [00:13:42] Uh, it found that 60% of American donors with a charit giving budget, say rising inflation had no impact on their giving or caused them to increase their giving over the past 12 months, the nearly 24% saying they increased their giving. So we were talking about how critical time this is. Food pantries and nonprofits like that. [00:14:06] Um, but it seems that the, the giving public is aware of that need, not stopping, giving potentially increase in giving e even in light of inflation. The survey size is a little small, 2000 adults, but. I think that's really optimistic news that the public is still committed broadly to charitable giving despite, uh, what's now kind of record setting inflation. [00:14:37] It's a positive signal, one that we hope is, uh, is accurate as far as polls go. Giving Tuesday coming up, we're predicting that over 3 billion will be donated, uh, in and around the day, and hopefully is a, is a strong end of. Giving cycle. You know, sadly, we might as well just root for the markets to go up because that is another predictor of, uh, of giving. [00:15:00] You know, we're past midterms, so now, uh, it's time for nonprofits to get their narratives out there. [00:15:06] Absolutely. All right. How about a feel good story, George? What do you got? All right. This comes from the venerable ks LTV five.com and Salt Lake City, Utah. And it's estimated that Americans will throw out more than 200 million pounds of perfectly good Turkey meat this year, uh, most of it after Thanksgiving. [00:15:32] But this woman. Uh, Dana Williamson founded the nonprofit Waste Less Solutions, which tries to rescue unused food and donate it to community organizations that need it. And we talk about food waste a lot on this podcast. And there's a couple, quite a, a number of organizations working in this space now, but great to see, uh, local Utah resident, uh, bringing it close to home and helping out the communities in Salt Lake. [00:16:02] Any, any percent or stats on what percent of those, uh, pounds of Turkey are actually dry because he definitely left it in the oven too long. No stats on that. Nothing there. No stats on that. We gotta call the the Butterball hotline. I love projects like this because food waste needs to be solved locally. [00:16:21] It's a last mile problem. We have enough food, we don't have enough food in the right places. Um, going back to Adam Low conversation in our, in our previous podcast, to end on a lighter note and because he made it to the end. Hey Nick, I got a, a question for you. How, how do you organize a Giving Tuesday fundraiser to help the earth? [00:16:42] I don't know. How does one organize such a thing? George, you plan it. [00:16:51] That was good. That, that's, that's, that's your, that's your, that was good. The best one. All right. On that note, uh, leave a rating if you feel like it, if you feel like giving. Um, and we hope you have a wonderful holiday.
“School doesn't prepare you for the real-life of business ownership,” says Coach Servola Frazier in this episode of I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY. With over 20 years of training and coaching individuals in communication, business leadership, and organizational development, Servola has identified four key factors that cause businesses to fall apart: poor leadership, poor communication, poor cultural engagement, and poor performance. Through her business consulting firm, Motivate Enterprises, she guides entrepreneurs as they navigate leveraging their strengths and mitigating gaps so they can level up, scale and thrive. “I believe that to have strong and thriving communities, we need to have strong and thriving businesses that exist within those communities,” she states. Having worked with DoD agencies, federal contractors, major hotel chains, International NGOs, public and private school systems, and more, helping clients to save and generate millions, she seamlessly taps into her business acumen to help entrepreneurs create strategic plans to launch and/or grow their businesses. As one of my instructors at the Center for Micro-Entrepreneurial Training (I was a student in the first cohort this year), I was blown away by the concepts and learnings she imparted. We discuss the practicality and applicability of defining your “Best Client Ever” to hyper-focus on building relationships of trust that yield consistent and meaningful outcomes with regard to revenue and experience. “It's a two-way relationship. As an entrepreneur, go and look at those people that you are already working with and identify the key things that you love about working with them, and find more people that meet those characteristics. These are your “Best Clients Ever” because they become part of your tribe, and you need to find more of them.” And she instructs us on how to do that…take a listen! Thank you Coach Servola!
This special podcast episode is being recorded in honor of International HIV/AIDS Awareness Month. You'll hear from accomplished RPCVs who have worked in the field of HIV/AIDS over the years, within diverse organizations and sectors, both domestically and internationally. Featured guests will discuss their experiences in the HIV/AIDS sector, how the field has changed in recent years, and provide feedback for RPCVs interested in pursuing a career in public health. FEATURED GUESTS:Lauren Erickson-Mamane, is a seasoned public health professional with over 20 years of international development experience. Most recently, Lauren serves as the Special Initiatives Branch Chief for CDC's Division of Global HIV & TB where she leads the Division's FBO engagement and oversaw multi-functional cross-cutting special initiatives. Lauren is a RPCV from Niger (1997-2000).Kim Seifert-Ahanda, went from Johns Hopkins University/Center for Communication Programs back to Cameroon where she served as APCD and Director of Programming and Training, Kim eventually landed in the Office of HIV/AIDS at USAID. She is currently the Health Office Director for USAID in Cote d'Ivoire supporting HIV/AIDS programming as well as malaria, global health security agenda, maternal and child health and family planning programs.Jasmine Buttolph, is a Global health professional with more than 16 years of experience working in Local and Federal Government, Academia, International NGOs, and UN organizations. She currently serves as Deputy Division Chief of the Strategic Information, Evaluation, and Informatics Division in the Office of HIV/AIDS in USAID.
Dr. Aboubacar Kampo, MD, MPH is the Director of Health Programs at UNICEF (UN Headquarters) where he provides strategic leadership, management support and overall direction to UNICEF's global health program. UNICEF, also known as the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund, is a United Nations agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide. The agency is among the most widespread and recognizable social welfare organizations in the world, with a presence in 192 countries and territories. UNICEF's activities include providing immunizations and disease prevention, administering treatment for children and mothers with HIV, enhancing childhood and maternal nutrition, improving sanitation, promoting education, and providing emergency relief in response to disasters. With over 20 years of experience in development aid and humanitarian assistance, Dr. Kampo has worked as a physician/surgeon in hospitals and clinics in rural and urban areas in Africa and Asia and has over 14 years' experience in senior management position as Country Director, Senior Global Health Advisor, and Chief of Health and Nutrition with International NGOs and United Nations' Agencies. Dr. Kampo is a Medical Doctor and Public Health Specialist, passionate about using innovations to address real life community challenges and bridge the gap between communities and stakeholders. Dr. Kampo had his Medical degree from University of Mali, an MPH (Epidemilogy and Complex Emergency) at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and is certified in Health Economics from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, U. of London.
Apakah kamu sering melihat berita konservasi di luar negeri? Tapi rasanya kok jarang banget ya muncul berita konservasi yang dilakukan di Indonesia? Eits ternyata Indonesia juga sudah dan sedang melakukan berbagai upaya untuk konservasi satwa liar loh! Kira-kira gimana sih perkembangan konservasi satwa liar di negara kita? Di episode 8 season 3 ini, kita akan berdiskusi tentang konservasi satwa liar di Indonesia bersama Ibu Sri Mariati atau yang akrab disapa Cici. Lulusan studi Doktoral di Ilmu Lingkungan Universitas Indonesia ini merupakan Direktur Eksekutif Belantara Foundation. Belantara Foundation adalah sebuah lembaga nirlaba (non-profit organization) yang didirikan pada 11 September 2014 dengan tujuan untuk mendukung upaya pemerintah dalam melakukan upaya konservasi dalam skala luas sambil meningkatkan kesejahteraan masyarakat. Dia memiliki pengalaman kerja hampir 25 tahun, termasuk di International NGOs di Conservation International Indonesia sebagai Direktur Terrestrial, dan di WWF Indonesia selama 12 tahun. Yuk langsung saja kita dengarkan! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/motion-for-nature/message
Brendan Bannon is a photographer and teacher based between New York and Nairobi, Kenya. We talk about the work his students are showing at the JKC Gallery as part of The Mark and the Memory show curated by Ryann Casey. The work comes from a workshop taught by Brendan and Julian Chinana called Odyssey that is offered to combat veterans to help them process their experiences through the use of the camera. We talk about how Brendan suffered from depression while taking care of his mother who was suffering from MS and how photography helped him to stop time when he needed it to and also allowed him to re-engage with the world. We also talk about Brendan's many other projects working with refugee children, children with AIDS, and the many NGO's that he has worked with over the years. https://www.mostimportantpicture.org https://www.ginnyrosestewart.com https://jkcgallery.online This episode is sponsored by the Charcoal Book Club, a monthly subscription service for photobook enthusiasts. Working with the most respected names in contemporary photography, Charcoal selects and delivers essential photobooks to a worldwide community of collectors. Each month, members receive a signed, first-edition monograph and an exclusive print to add to their collections. www.charcoalbookclub.com Brendan Bannon is a photographer and teacher based between New York and Nairobi, Kenya. Bannon's work has appeared in The New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, The Daily Telegraph, the Independent, the Guardian, Monocle Magazine, KWANI?, and other international publications. His projects have been exhibited internationally at UN headquarters in New York, at Chautauqua Institution's VACI galleries, The Burchfield Penney Museum and the Quick Center for the Arts. His educational projects include Daily Dispatches an innovative daily journalism and public art project made collaboratively with colleges in the USA. Dispatches featured a story a day from Nairobi beamed across the world, printed and shared in public space on American college campuses. Another project, Do You See What I See? is an arts education initiative conducted through UNHCR for children in refugee camps, giving them voice and an opportunity to share stories through their own photography and writing. Brendan Bannon's interest in photography was sparked by his mother, an amateur photographer with a darkroom in the bathroom, and his father, who placed him at age 10 in front of drawers of antique photographs and asked him to select the interesting ones for an exhibition on the history of photography. During his 20's Bannon ran a house painting business and took care of his mother who had multiple sclerosis, an experience he credits with informing his approach to photography. "I don't shy away from difficult stories. The experience of taking care of my mother showed me clearly that behind every moment of perceived suffering there is a profound victory over circumstances. I look at people's lives as being full of meaningful relationships, striving against the odds and achieving small victories." Bannon also works regularly for International NGOs including Medecins Sans Frontieres, UNHCR, UNICEF and CARE International.
This episode is also available as a blog post: http://donnyferguson.com/2017/06/29/kurdistan-jcc-meets-with-international-ngos/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/donny-ferguson/message
Lat month after Palestinian terror groups launched rockets from Gaza at Israeli cities, Israel responded with a week long air campaign targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad throughout Gaza. International NGOs condemned Israel and the UN launched another Commission of Inquiry. How should militaries deal with these challenges? Could Israel have done anything differently to comply with the laws of war? Join our host Yona Schiffmiller and Col. Richard Kemp as they discuss the laws of war and the specific claims recently brought by NGOs and the UN against Israel. Notes: 2021 Gaza ConflictGaza Cease-Fire RecommendationsSupport the show (https://www.ngo-monitor.org/donate/)
Tai-Ex opening Vehicles to be Fined for Excessive Noise Online Guide Posted for International NGOs to Set Up Offices US Pentagon Official Overseeing Counter-IS Effort Forced Out EU Drug Agency Aims for 4 Weeks to Approve COVID19 Vaccine Poland Zoo Films Mouse-deer Birth
The Better World Challenge: Stories to Inspire Change Agents for the Future
In this episode, Shelly Galvin shares her perspective on why she thinks now is actually a great time for humanity. We also dive into her experience with working with International NGOs, global peace, and her Heart-Led leadership. You're not going to...
Many have highlighted the need for equity and justice in the field of foreign aid and humanitarian assistance. Local civil society organizations (CSOs) or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are the frontline workers, risking their lives to access areas that well-funded international NGOs or even UN agencies cannot access. However, critics of the current system claim that the local NGO is often the sub-contractor and not a real partner that is allowed to contribute to the design of the project. If something goes wrong in the process, that local NGO is blacklisted, not the UN agency or the international NGO that received the funding. There are also other concerns. For example, the local NGO rarely receives a decent overhead rate or adequate funds to cover operational expenses. Local NGO staff are also often poached by multilateral institutions and international NGOs. All of this, some claim, results in a serious and systematic erosion of capacity in the Global South. And local knowledge and organizational capacity are often undervalued.Degan Ali has for long spoken out against systematic racism – the systemic structure of power, money, and decision-making that goes into the design of the international humanitarian and aid architectures. She has campaigned for a more just and dignified aid system that allows recipient countries to take back power. In a recent op-ed, she argued that “Talking about racism is not enough” and that “We can’t afford another 50 years of apathy in the international system.”Degan Ali is the Executive Director of Adeso, an organization that has been a leader globally and in Somalia for its work on cash transfers and environmental justice. She has been a passionate advocate at the global level on the mainstreaming of cash as the primary response mechanism to humanitarian crisesResources"'We are demanding change': the Somali woman taking on international NGOs", The Guardian, March 2016"Is it finally time for the localization agenda to take off?", Devex, June 2020"Opinion: 'Accelerate your commitments' during COVID-19— an open letter to donors", Devex, April 2020YOUTUBE VIDEO: Imagining and creating a decolonized world with racial and economic justice at its core, webinar hosted by Intersectional Feminist Foreign Policy(IFFP) and AdesoNetwork for Empowered Aid Response (NEAR)Degan Ali on TwitterDan Banik on TwitterIn Pursuit of Development podcast on TwitterQuestions, comments and suggestions: InPursuitOfDevelopment@gmail.com
Links I Liked; Aid, Development & Racism; The DFID-FCO merger; Transforming Oxfam and International NGOs; Civil Society Organizations and the Pandemic
Danny Sriskandarajah, Oxfam GB's CEO, discusses the organization's current upheaval, the eventual transformation he seeks, and the wider challenges facing International NGOs.
Laura and Crystaline got curious about how much photographers are actually being paid by International NGOs so we sent out a survey in 2018 to gather more information. We were surprised by some of the answers we received and wanted to have a candid discussion about them in this episode. You can find the podcast with full transcript on our website. If you'd like to see more of this kind of podcast leave us a comment below or send a note to hello@ngostorytelling.com.
Last week was Universal Children's Day, a day to promote the rights of children around the globe. But are human rights groups actually protecting the rights of all children? Why is the Swedish government sponsoring a project with an Islamic Jihad-run kindergarten? On this week's episode, our host Yona Schiffmiller and expert Shaun Sacks uncover the abuse of children by NGOs active in the Arab-Israeli conflict.Notes:Season 1 Episode 8: Teaching Kids to Hate: Incitement in Palestinian Textbooks:https://www.ngo-monitor.org/episode-8-teaching-kids-to-hate-incitement-in-palestinian-textbooks/Islamic Jihad kindergarten- An Internationally Funded Palestinian Kindergarten Indoctrinates Children with Simulated Violence: https://www.ngo-monitor.org/reports/an-internationally-funded-palestinian-kindergarten-indoctrinates-children-with-simulated-violence/Al-Bustan- French Government Supports Youth Project Involving Convicted PFLP member - Update: https://www.ngo-monitor.org/reports/french-government-supports-youth-project-involving-convicted-pflp-member/Dalal Mughrabi- European Secretariat Freezes Funding to Radical Palestinian Organization: https://www.ngo-monitor.org/press-releases/european-secretariat-freezes-funding-radical-palestinian-organization/Support the show (https://www.ngo-monitor.org/donate/)
For the past ten years skateboarders have watched in wonder as the stoke has been spread from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. A whole new skate charity ‘sector’ has emerged, but what does this mean for local populations? In this panel, we hear from local skaters about their experiences working with International NGOs, and find out how skate scenes can be developed in a sustainable way with the communities’ needs at heart. Panel: Ayanda Mnyandu (Skateistan, South Africa), Aram Sabbah (SkatePal, Palestine), Atita Verghese (Girl Skate India), Leyla Garboza (Concrete Jungle Foundation, Peru) Chairs: Will Ascott & Ruby Mateja (Free Movement Skateboarding) This panel discussion was sponsored by The Skateroom
NGOs have been central to efforts to improve the humanitarian system. Yet international NGOs are often criticised for a lack of coordination, destructive competition and unnecessary duplication – especially in ‘crowded’ and highly fragile contexts. Some have called for consolidation – reducing the number of international NGOs to increase efficiency and empower local and national organisations, particularly in protracted crises. This proposition warrants attention. Yet it is both complex and potentially controversial. Aid effectiveness: Would consolidation of international NGOs increase efficiency and effectiveness, or would it create larger organisations with the same persistent challenges? Localisation of aid: Would mergers create space for the localisation of aid and empowerment of smaller organisations, or would it lead to the increased dominance of a few ‘mega-agencies’? Trust: Would consolidation demonstrate that international NGOs are sincere about increasing value for money and impact, or be seen as an attempt to grow market share? Relationship with the public: Would mergers threaten the affinity people have with particular organisations and brands, or present an opportunity for a new narrative and new understanding? This high-level debate on the benefits and risks of consolidating international NGOs is co-hosted by ODI and Mercy Corps.
This week on Democracy That Delivers, host Ken Jaques and guest host Marc Schleifer are joined by two guests known for their thought leadership in Impact Investing for a discussion on a recently published report developed in partnership with CIPE. Stephanie Marienau Turpin, Associate Director of Strategic Partnerships at FHI360, and Tom Dente, President and CEO of Humentum, bring in their expertise to highlight the influence INGOs have through the emerging practice of Impact Investing, a new form of investment with the goal of yielding social return in addition to financial. Following the first innovative Amplify report, the recently published second iteration, titled Amplifyii: The Next Mile of Impact Investing for INGOs: expands on the role and influence that INGOs have had in Impact Investing. Turpin and Dente also discuss the emerging involvement of the global market in this unique investing model, thinking differently about driving long-term impact, and how this practice may be the most viable solution to reach the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Amplifyii is a joint effort of more than 55 international nongovernmental organizations working together to bring the scale, skills, and resources of the international social sector to amplify the impact of impact investing.
Andrea Thiis-Evensen talks to Dr Eleanor Gordon, who has worked with peace and security for 10 years, making a huge difference to the lives of hundreds of women. Her work has included building state security and justice institutions, working with demobilised guerrilla groups, addressing war crimes and human rights violations, promoting gender equality and inclusive approaches to peacebuilding, and addressing issues related to organised crime and terrorism. EPISODE TRANSCRIPT [Introduction audio] Andrea Thiis-Evensen: Hey, my name is Andrea Thiis-Evensen. Welcome back to Peace and Gender. In this podcast I'm trying to highlight the issues around gendered inequalities by meeting the people who are actually seeking solutions. I'm trying to get to know not only their research, but also their personal story. In this episode I'm going to be talking to Eleanor Gordon, who worked for the UN with Peace and Security for 10 years. Eleanor Gordon: A large group of women wanted to return to Srebrenica. They didn't have any homes. The homes had been completely destroyed. Their husbands and their children had been killed. Andrea Thiis-Evensen: Eleanor is, in many ways, a living proof that you can make a difference if you just put your mind to it. Eleanor has worked with building state security and justice institutions. She's worked with demobilising guerrilla groups, addressing war crimes and human right violations, promoting gender equality and inclusive approaches to peacebuilding and she's addressed issues relating to organised crime and terrorism. This is Eleanor's story. Eleanor Gordon: Whilst I was writing up my PhD I decided to do some voluntary work for a peacekeeping training centre because I felt that I had exposure to lots of aspects of what I was interested in and where I wanted to work. All bar the military and I felt that that was a gap in my knowledge and understanding so I decided to do some voluntary work. I was an intern at the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre in Canada for eight months and I completed my doctorate while I was there and it happened also to coincide with an opportunity with UNHCR. There was a UN volunteer's position within UNHCR in Bosnia that I found out about and I was recommended for it. Andrea Thiis-Evensen: Eleanor was working for the UNHCR, which is the UN refugee agency. She was head of a small satellite office in eastern Republic Srpska, part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. One of her responsibilities was to facilitate the return of displaced people. Eleanor Gordon: So basically Bosniaks returning to their pre-war homes who had been forcibly displaced. I was responsible for facilitating the first return, minority return to Srebrenica. Yeah that experience probably has - yeah, has framed the way I've seen my subsequent engagement. Andrea Thiis-Evensen: When Eleanor was working in Bosnia she wasn't just sitting around in an office. Eleanor Gordon: If you're right down at the municipal level you're generally working in the field and that's the most - for me, that's the most enjoyable work, when you're in direct contact with the people that you're ostensibly there to help. So yeah we would have an office but every day we would be out. Andrea Thiis-Evensen: I wanted to know if there was a particular moment in Eleanor's career that still stays with her today. Eleanor was working for the UN in Srebrenica. In 1995 Serbian forces separated the Bosnian civilians at Srebrenica, putting women and girls on buses sending them to Bosnian-held territory. The men and boys who were left behind were murdered and it has been estimated that over 7000 Bosniaks were killed. Eleanor Gordon: I was reflecting on this and I just couldn't get away from this particular event, so I found it really difficult to - because it, yeah it's quite a long time ago and my memory is failing. So when I was head of the UNHCR satellite office covering Srebrenica, I was responsible for facilitating the first minority return to Srebrenica and as you probably know there was a genocide committed in Srebrenica during the war. Thousands of men and boys, particularly, were killed. So when I was working there with my colleagues in the international community and principally my colleague who was head of the Higher Representative satellite office in Srebrenica, we coordinated and facilitated their return. I guess it stays with me for many reasons, firstly, the amazing courage that people who have suffered such trauma, beyond what you can imagine. When people are talking about conflict and war, often times we might reflect upon how you become desensitised to violence or how you can be very traumatised and that leads to a cycle of conflict happening. But we rarely talk about those who have the courage to continue with their lives, those who have the courage to fight peacefully against what they believe is wrong. So these - predominately women, a large group of women, wanted to return to Srebrenica, they didn't have any homes, their homes had been completely destroyed, their husbands and their children had been killed. They wanted to return, even though they knew they'd be sleeping under sheeting, there were no schools, there was no water, electricity, because it was their homes. They wanted - that was where, where they felt was home. But they also wanted to reclaim that - not accept what has happened. So there was a strength behind their decision to wanting to return, even though at that stage those who were responsible for the crimes, the horrific war crimes that had happened in Srebrenica were still in positions of power in the municipality. They were exposing themselves to serious threat and there had been a number of returns in my area of responsibility to that stage - until that stage, that had gone wrong. There had been security incidents, and one in particular in the neighbouring municipality and a teenager had lost their leg because the day before they were going to return home, someone had placed a landmine in the villages. During the time that I was there, eighteen months, thousands of people were returned to their pre-war homes. They were often completely destroyed and they would put up sheeting. UNHCR would be able to help with basic sheeting and basic essentials, nothing else. Then we would facilitate the response of the NGOs and other organisations, and to respond to their other needs, but of course there wasn't sufficient resources to respond to everyone's needs. We would also ensure that the responsible authorities and the local authority, the police, and the municipal authorities, responded to their security needs. We would work alongside [S4] which was NATO, NATO forces who would address the security side of things. So I was saying why Srebrenica stood out, many people believed that people wouldn't want to return to Srebrenica after everything that had happened to them. They were returning to a village that was very remote, as I said, there were no houses, they were completely destroyed. There were still people who had - we believed, had been responsible for the crimes in positions of authority, so there were many people who didn't think that these returns would be sustainable, that people would stay there because UNHCR had a mandate to facilitate the safe and sustainable return of refugees and displaced people. If you didn't think it was going to be sustainable it wasn't our responsibility as UNHCR to facilitate that return. My gut knew that - and so did, fortunately I also had a colleague, as I said, in the Office of the Higher Representative. We knew that we were there to respond to the needs of those who wanted to return home, we weren't there to cause an obstruction to it, and my gut knew this was the right thing for me to do. At the time I was a UN volunteer I was relatively young and relatively new to the job. I had all my supervisors at headquarters and it went to New York, many people saying this - you're exposing these people to security threats, you're not being responsible, you need to stop this now. I knew it was and - I'm pretty stubborn anyway but sometimes when you know things are right you have to stick to that, and we facilitated their return, it went very well. They didn't overnight but that was not the intention and eventually they have returned, that - it's a sustainable return, NGOs have responded to the education needs, providing hospitals and building the houses and roads, water, infrastructure and so on. It just - taught me a lot that when you know something is right you have to stick to it, even if you've got everyone, a thousand people, saying this can't happen. If you know something can happen and it should happen, it's your responsibility, you have to reflect upon why you're working in these environments. It's not to get a pay check, get a promotion, be a yes man, it's to respond to those who have suffered. Andrea Thiis-Evensen: Did it make any difference that you were saying no it is and I want to - you know what I mean, or was it you and a lot of other people, just to kind of understand your role in the whole thing? Eleanor Gordon: Yeah, because UNHCR was the lead agency responsible for facilitating the return of refugees and displaced people, our organisation could make those decisions. So my role, even though I was a volunteer, was pretty significant because I was head of the satellite office of UNHCR, however, elsewhere in UNHCR and other organisations - so those on the ground knew differently. We were quite near the border with the Federation, those across the Federation I think in many - conflicts, post-conflict environments; there are many sides to a conflict. You can have neighbours who have very different perspectives, so those in the Federation that only - that rarely travelled to the Republic of Srpska would consider that it was much too dangerous to set foot in and that anyone who expects people to return there's got to be crazy. So I would get a lot of - particularly from my most senior boss, my direct supervisor, a lot of criticism that I was exposing these people to danger, I was being irresponsible. But he could not, in order for him to stop what I was facilitating, he would need to take quite a bold step in stopping the return of refugees and displaced people to their pre-war homes. In Srebrenica, because it was Srebrenica in the first return it had global attention so any move that anyone made would have - would've generated a lot of publicity, but it - so they were in a difficult position in that they couldn't stop the return but because I could've done, and I could've postponed it. With the colleagues that I was working with, so with NATO and with the Office of the Higher Representative, there were other UN representatives there in - who also didn't agree that this return was sustainable, they thought it was politicised, they thought it was dangerous. So it - the pressure got quite significant and on the actual day we were travelling up the hill and I - I and I think some of my colleagues were really worried thinking shit. Have we done the right thing? We knew we had, we'd gone - we'd - you have to, in those circumstances, there is always a security risk and you have to plan, prepare and just make sure you've addressed every potential outcome. Andrea Thiis-Evensen: When did you know you'd made the right choice? You said you were like travelling up the hill and you were worried? Eleanor Gordon: Yeah, when they got to the top and none of the cars had crashed or fallen off the cliff. It was a long way. It was a - the return was longer than that because there could've been attacks, at a later stage. But it - there were no roads and you were in trucks - I can't even recall how long the journey took, but a long time. Up the edge of a really steep, I wouldn't call it a hill, like a mountain] so - little bit nerve-wracking. Andrea Thiis-Evensen: After spending five years in Bosnia, Eleanor moved to Kosovo. She was the political advisor to the Kosovo Protection Corps coordinator, reporting to the United Nations. Eleanor Gordon: The Kosovo Protection Corps, they are - they no longer exist, they were comprised primarily of demobilised Kosovo Liberation Army personnel. They were basically the guerrilla fighters during the conflict. They were a civil emergency organisation as the Kosovo Protection Corps, with aspirations to be the future army of Kosovo and now exist - the Kosovo Security Force. So my role as political advisor was to liaise with prospective donors, the media, to address gender issues, ethnic minority issues. To facilitate the further development of the Kosovo Protection Corps as it aspired to further professionalise and develop into the Kosovo Security Force. But the two are quite different organisations for political reasons, but it's a complicated history. There was a mandate, the UN had a mandate to facilitate the implementation of the peace agreement, and part of that peace agreement was to insure that the establishment of the Kosovo Protection Corps and it's further development. The UN was obliged to insure that this organisation adhered to various standards, that it recruited a number of ethnic minorities, that it responded to the needs of everyone on its territory. That it was transparent and accountable, and there were policies developed and practices developed that enabled its further professionalization. Depending on who you spoke with, that was to lead the way to it becoming a future defence force, and at least that's how the Kosovo Protection Corps saw it and some external actors as well. But it was a civilian emergency organisation and when you have any conflict you have to demobilise the combatants. You can't simply take away their guns and get rid of their internal structures, you have to find a way in which they can coexist with those they might've been fighting against. There needs to be some reintegration program. Oftentimes, you might have a program whereby former combatants of non-state armed groups would be recruited or join the army, the state armed forces. Or there might be other programs that will enable them to socially, economically, politically participate and address their psychosocial needs. Unless you do that, there is always a risk that you're going to return to conflict because you have a large number of former combatants whose grievances might not have been addressed, who don't have any jobs, don't have any income to support their families. These are the people that you need to attend to if you don't want further conflict. I would argue that you also need to attend to those who don't pose a threat to peace. Those who are - those are often ignored. Andrea Thiis-Evensen: Who are these people who are ignored? Eleanor Gordon: Generally speaking, those who aren't seen as what is called a spoiler to the peace process. Those who aren't seen as potentially destabilising, those who might not take up arms. Those who might not challenge the legitimacy of the government, who might protest or disrupt what those who are trying to establish a sustainable peace are trying to do. Often there's quite a narrow interpretation of what a spoiler is, who they are, and people generally assume that spoilers are simply those who might take up arms and cause an escalation or an outbreak of conflict. But of course if you have the majority of the population who don't accept the legitimacy of the government, or who don't have faith or confidence in the police process. You're not going to have a sustainable or meaningful peace, even though they might not take up arms. So you do need to respond to the needs of those who have been marginalised, those who continue to be marginalised and - ignored ethnic minorities, women, disabled people, young people, children, elderly people, they're often ignored. It tends to be young, fit men, stereotype who are considered to be those who might be potential spoilers. Their agency isn't recognised and it's not that people might consider that young, fit men, to stereotype and generalise, need to be fixed, but they need to either be controlled or prevented from destabilising a fragile peace. Former combatants, those who have access to arms, those who've been fighting and are trained, and those who may have grievances, those who may not have attachments or who have been desensitised to violence or traumatised they are likely - more likely than others to take up arms again so you need to address that threat. I'm generalising quite a lot so of course there are many organisations that do attend to the needs of women and children and marginalised groups, and this is going from experience 10 years ago so things have moved on. Even if you do stop armed conflict, if you're not addressing the security and justice needs of women, of children, of the marginalised groups for whatever reason, you can't consider that the security and justice is meaningful, that peace is being enjoyed by everyone. Therefore, in my opinion, there's no meaningful peace, if only a small minority are able to enjoy the dividends of peace. Andrea Thiis-Evensen: As I said in the beginning of this podcast, Eleanor is in many ways, a living example of how we can actually make a difference in the world. But what began her journey to work with social justice issues? Eleanor Gordon: I guess when I was younger, what began my interest or passion in social justice issues and - it's something that drives many people inside and there may not have been an incident that ignited that desire to respond to what you see as injustices. But I remember being very young and wanting to do something positive. I lived in a bit of a rubbish town, you were lucky if you got out, a lot of drug and drink problems. A lot of people, even in the school, would say don't be silly you can't change anything, who do you think are. It's just never - I think it's important for students to know that you can change things, just the way we treat each other on a day-to-day basis, you change people's lives. If people say no, do not ever let it stop you, you can make a positive difference. We have a responsibility if we're lucky enough to have a good life we have a responsibility to respond to those who haven't been as fortunate. It could just as easily be us who is in a conflict affected environment, who've been forced to leave that country, who've become an asylum seeker, who are living in conflict or living in a household and suffering violence or insecurity. We can do something about it, and we know these things are going on and we can change things for the better. If we're told no, just - we know that we can do things. Andrea Thiis-Evensen: Eleanor has spent eighteen years working in the field of international development, after leaving the UN Eleanor's worked with a number of universities and she's now a lecturer at Monash University. So the last years Eleanor has used her past experience in her academic work. Eleanor Gordon: My research - I decided to reflect upon my experience in order to inform my research and hopefully use my experience to potentially inform policy and thereby practice. Because I saw that there was a significant disconnect between those engaged at the state level in peace building and those engaged at the ground level. International NGOs tended to focus on communities, I'm generalising greatly but in the security and justice sector, that's my experience. International organisations focused on building institutions, policies, processes and structures. My research was looking at ways in which to build sustainable peace, focusing particularly on the security and justice sector. By bridging those two endeavours so that the people who are affected by conflict, people at the ground level, were able to inform the security and justice structures and policies and legislation that was being developed at the state level. Too often, what happened was, you would build a state security institution or draft a piece of legislation or policy and thereafter you might consult with the people who the institution was there to respond to their needs. Or you might tell them about it, but there wasn't comprehensive engagement by local communities at the early stages of the reform process. So my research was looking at ways in which this could be done, ways in which the two approaches to building security and justice after peace could be integrated. As part of that, it's led on to further research which is looking at ways in which peacebuilding in the security and justice sector can be more inclusive. Ways in which it can involve women, ways in which poor people tend to be marginalised and why they need to - their needs need to be addressed. Andrea Thiis-Evensen: That was Eleanor, thank you so much for listening to this episode of Peace and Gender. My name is Andrea Thiis-Evensen and this podcast was produced for Monash Gender Peace and Security, and MOJO news. Music: "Solitude" by Broke for free – Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License Artwork: Shayla Rance
Basten Gokkon wrote a great article on Mongabay News that was an interview with one of the plenary speakers at the International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC5) in Kuching, Malaysia. the presenter is named John Aini, who founded the Ailan Awareness in Papua New Guinea. The subject of the plenary and interview that John gave was about decolonizing conservation, which means conservation needs to work towards conserving the marine environment that line up with the needs of the local or indigenous community. Here is a link to the article/interview: https://news.mongabay.com/2018/07/decolonizing-conservation-qa-with-png-marine-activist-john-aini/ In this episode, I reiterate the need for conservation to address the local community rather than the agenda of International NGOs. Sponsor: Solid Sun Logistics specializes in skin care and UV protection for outdoor enthusiasts like you and me. Solid offers a complete 3-step skin care system to keep you on the water all day, day in and day out. Use any of the products individually, or get the Essentials Kit for the complete sun protection and skin rehabilitation experience. Solid donates 5% of the revenue of the sale to Ocean Conservation Organizations that you can select. Add SUFB15 at checkout for an extra 15% off of your order. Enjoy the Podcast!!! Donate to the Jairo Mora Sandoval Bravery Award to Fund 5 more brave Marine Conservationists Become par to the Speak Up For Blue Nation by joining our Patreon Campaign. I would love to hear your opinion on this episode. Join the Facebook Group to chime in. Do you know we launched more Ocean Related Podcasts? Subscribe to Marine Conservation Happy Hour and ConCiencia Azul
Your hosts, Lynn, Levon, Marie-Claude, Marc (Video of show at bottom) ListenEN_Interview_2-20180608-WIE20 Ontario provincial election: Doug Ford of the provincial Progressive Conservative party, has won a majority in Ontario's election. Photo: Nathan Denette Canadian Press Canada's most populous province has a new government and a new leader. After 15 years governing Ontario, Kathleen Wynne's Liberal party was soundly defeated, so much so that with only seven seats it no longer even rates official party status. In it's stead comes the provincial Progressive Conservative party under populist Doug Ford. The change has big implications for other provinces and for Justin Trudeau federally who has lost an ally. Lynn speaks with Jordan Press, parliamentary reporter with the news wire service The Canadian Press. Cannabis; projected as a $7 billion industry in 2019 The Senate voted on an amended legalised cannabis bill on Thursday passing it with a vote of 50 to 36 with one abstention. Photo: Jim Young/ REUTERS A new study shows that with legalisation which could happen later this summer or early fall, could end up being a major industry in Canada. The study says once recreational use in legal in Canada, the industry could be worth up to $7 billion. However, it says legalisation will not totally eliminate the black market and criminal elements. Marc spoke with professor Emeritus Bill Bogart of the Faculty of Law, University of Windsor author of the book "Off The Street: Legalizing Drugs" Humanitarian agencies call for Canada to spend millions to educate girls. Afghan schoolgirls hold hands and walk towards their tent classrooms on the outskirts of Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016. (AP Photo) One of the Trudeau government's election pledges was to empower women. Now a group of Canadian humanitarian agencies is calling on the Prime Minister to back up that promise with action..and money. Trudeau has also indicated that investing in girl's education, especially in crisis situations, is important in achieving gender equality and will be one his priorities at the G7. The Canadian aid groups want Trudeau to contribute $500 million over the next three years towards setting up a global fund dedicated to education programs for girls. International NGOs hope to raise $1.3 billion US over the next three years to support education for 3.7 million children in crisis, with a special emphasis on educating girls/ Levon spoke with David Morley, president and CEO of UNICEF Canada. Watch The Link Images of the week window.jQuery || document.write('
International NGOs hope to raise $1.3 billion US over the next three years to support education for 3.7 million children in crisis, with a special emphasis on educating girls, said David Morley, president and CEO of UNICEF Canada.
In The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs (Cornell University Press, 2017), Sarah S. Stroup and Wendy H. Wong argue that a small set of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) have acquired an unusually large amount of authority. These are the leading INGOs that have become household names across the world, such as Amnesty International or Oxfam. Yet, Stroup and Wong make the case for the tenuous nature of this position as leaders: in order to hold on to the position, INGOs avoid radical opinions in favor of more incremental approaches to global social change. Leading INGOs are in many ways trapped. Using detailed case studies and hundreds of interviews, Stroup and Wong show that INGOs must temper their behavior to maintain a delicate equilibrium and preserve their status. (Note: during the interview, the organization Wendy Wong mentions is called Forest Stewardship Council, or FSC.) Stroup is Associate Professor of Political Science at Middlebury College and Wong is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs (Cornell University Press, 2017), Sarah S. Stroup and Wendy H. Wong argue that a small set of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) have acquired an unusually large amount of authority. These are the leading INGOs that have become household names across the world, such as Amnesty International or Oxfam. Yet, Stroup and Wong make the case for the tenuous nature of this position as leaders: in order to hold on to the position, INGOs avoid radical opinions in favor of more incremental approaches to global social change. Leading INGOs are in many ways trapped. Using detailed case studies and hundreds of interviews, Stroup and Wong show that INGOs must temper their behavior to maintain a delicate equilibrium and preserve their status. (Note: during the interview, the organization Wendy Wong mentions is called Forest Stewardship Council, or FSC.) Stroup is Associate Professor of Political Science at Middlebury College and Wong is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In The Authority Trap: Strategic Choices of International NGOs (Cornell University Press, 2017), Sarah S. Stroup and Wendy H. Wong argue that a small set of international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) have acquired an unusually large amount of authority. These are the leading INGOs that have become household names across the world, such as Amnesty International or Oxfam. Yet, Stroup and Wong make the case for the tenuous nature of this position as leaders: in order to hold on to the position, INGOs avoid radical opinions in favor of more incremental approaches to global social change. Leading INGOs are in many ways trapped. Using detailed case studies and hundreds of interviews, Stroup and Wong show that INGOs must temper their behavior to maintain a delicate equilibrium and preserve their status. (Note: during the interview, the organization Wendy Wong mentions is called Forest Stewardship Council, or FSC.) Stroup is Associate Professor of Political Science at Middlebury College and Wong is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
26 May 2016 Many non-governmental organisations are concerned about a new Chinese law that imposes tighter controls on international non-profit groups working in China. The law is seen as an attempt to further squeeze the space of civil society. It could affect not just NGOs but also cultural exchanges and business associations. But a lot of details are still unclear, says Shawn Shieh, deputy director of China Labour Bulletin, an NGO based in Hongkong. How draconian the law is going to be depends largely on its implementation – in China that is often a rather patchy process.
Dr. Anthony Ware, Lecturer in International & Community Development, discusses his new book on the development of Myanmar, international NGOs and how outside countries can help