New civil society initiative aims to ‘green’ China-Brazil agriculture trade

Yan Tian Baxter Chinese NGO GEI aims to equip food producing regions in Brazil with good practices to bring about broader changes in agricultural trade ince 2003, when China first became a net food importer, the gap between its imports and exports has continued to widen. By 2019, it had become the world’s largest importer of… Continue reading New civil society initiative aims to ‘green’ China-Brazil agriculture trade

Power dynamics-global north givers and global south receivers

Tasneem Balasinorwala and Diya Deb Project funding decisions are primarily influenced by international commitments, national level commitments, donor country policies or development cooperation policies followed by stakeholder discussion deliberation and finally local needs. ‘We stopped applying for funding calls from Germany’ was more or less the tone of the conversations that we were hearing when we spoke… Continue reading Power dynamics-global north givers and global south receivers

Book Review: Aid’s implementariat: national and invisible

Gordon Peake The book’s subtitle ‘The Invisible Labor of International Development’ has a dual meaning. It both reflects that this class of workers is rarely seen and also that much of their work is itself unnoticed and underappreciated. Donor officials are prominent in the performative ‘front-stage’ of aid, cutting ribbons at school openings, launching corporate… Continue reading Book Review: Aid’s implementariat: national and invisible

Brazilian government taken to Court over deforestation and human rights abuses

Hotspot next to a deforested area registered by Prodes (Brazilian Amazon Satellite Monitoring Project), in Nova Maringá, Mato Grosso state. Every year, Greenpeace Brazil flies over the Amazon to monitor deforestation build up and forest fires. In July, 2020, flights were made over points with Deter (Real Time Deforestation Detection System) and fire warnings, made by Inpe (National Institute for Space Research), in Pará and Mato Grosso states. Focos de calor próximos a área com registro de desmatamento Prodes, em Nova Maringá (MT). Todos os anos, o Greenpeace Brasil realiza uma série de sobrevoos de monitoramento para registrar o avanço do desmatamento e das queimadas na Amazônia. Em julho de 2020, monitoramos pontos com alertas do Deter e de pontos de calor, do Inpe, nos estados do Pará e Mato Grosso.

A coalition of non-governmental organisations brought the Brazilian government to the Federal Supreme Court for its active negligence to protect the Amazon and the people of Brazil. The rates of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon have recently reached historical numbers, resulting in a 34% increase from 2018 to 2019.  The coalition is formed by Artigo… Continue reading Brazilian government taken to Court over deforestation and human rights abuses

The news – good, bad and uncertain – on NGO donations in Australia

Terence Wood Most Australian development NGOs actually did quite well with donations amid the very difficult year that was 2019 with stagnant domestic economy, droughts and bush fires. In one way, 2019 was a good year for Australia’s Development NGOs. The Development Policy Centre analyses financial data, collected annually by the Australian Council for International… Continue reading The news – good, bad and uncertain – on NGO donations in Australia

What’s killing us in international NGOs?

Ann Hendrix-Jenkins The dark side of international development needs to be dismantled, and then transformed by developing different systems that are humane and restorative. To do so we have to face up to our own responsibilities, call out wrongdoing when we see it, and foster a new generation of INGOs of which we can be… Continue reading What’s killing us in international NGOs?

Reforms key to NGOs weathering Coronavirus financial crisis

Casey Kelso True internal change will be tested soon as NGOs face potential massive layoffs. Well-managed NGOs are more likely to survive, while those distrusted by staff and donors alike risk going under. The coronavirus pandemic has meant a downturn in fundraising events and corporate donations for charities, with Oxfam announcing layoffs of almost 1,500 staff and… Continue reading Reforms key to NGOs weathering Coronavirus financial crisis

Oxfam Australia’s woes: a sign of the times?

Stephen Howes & Sherman Surandiran Recently, public donations to Australian development NGOs have been falling since 2015. Oxfam has not escaped this general trend; to the contrary, it has been experiencing an extreme version of it. Oxfam Australia is a very important part of this country’s international development sector. It is one of Australia’s oldest development… Continue reading Oxfam Australia’s woes: a sign of the times?

Discrimination vs Diversity: trying to work for an NGO or government agency in Germany

Germany has a significant number of highly skilled and professional migrants in the social sector but they face employment barriers in German NGOs and CSOs.  I’m a German citizen. I am also a migrant – maybe not one that’s in high demand but certainly one with the right skill-sets, professional experience, energy and outlook, that… Continue reading Discrimination vs Diversity: trying to work for an NGO or government agency in Germany