I was so pleased to join the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in July to speak at their conference on the New Frontiers in Funding, Philanthropy and Investment. In this panel, and indeed throughout the conference, we discussed the ways in which traditional philanthropy has perpetuated White supremacy, neocolonialism, Global North imperialism, racism, and inequitable systems that … Continue reading
Filed under International Development …
Philanthropisms: Shifting Power & Supporting Communities
I had the opportunity to join Rhodri Davies for his podcast Philanthropisms to funding systems change, supporting grassroots communities and shifting power dynamics within philanthropy. We covered questions including the distinction between charity and justice, the impact of the “funder ego” or a “saviour mindset” on philanthropy, and how to design impact measures that are … Continue reading
Philanthropy Circuit: Community-driven System Change, a Catalyst for Sustainable Development
“The fundamental takeaway for me from this finding is that for lasting impact and change to be achieved, the community must be at the center of it. It must be owned and driven by the community and those changes must address underlying systems and root causes. We can’t keep focusing on reacting to symptoms. Globally, there … Continue reading
Community-driven systems change: A practical way to shift power in global development and philanthropy
“Traditional global development practices aren’t working. Despite substantial investments in development efforts over many years, many large projects initiated by traditional, top-down Global North philanthropic funders, international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) and others have not resulted in meaningful and lasting change in communities. In some cases, there has even been unintentional harm done because of the disruption of … Continue reading
Conceptualizing early schooling in Pakistan: Perspectives from teachers and parents
As I was completing my doctoral dissertation on ready schools in Pakistan a couple of years ago, I was intrigued by the in-depth conversations I had with so many parents and teachers about what education and knowledge meant to them, and how it fit within their values and worldviews. So, I was thrilled when I … Continue reading
Last Mile Funding: Improving Philanthropic Funding of Community Action on AIDS
As we know from our work, communities are at the heart of the global HIV and AIDS response and without community involvement we could not hope to achieve innovation or progress on the ground. I was pleased to join moderator Kate Harrison and my fellow panelists Caterina Gironda, Matt Greenall, and Moses Zulu for this … Continue reading
Why I use the term ‘Majority world’ instead of ‘developing countries’ or ‘Third world’
Edit [August 2019] – I want clarify that I did not come up with the term ‘Majority World’. From what I understand, the term was coined and introduced by Shahidul Alam, and I would like to acknowledge and appreciate him for bringing this term into the discourse over a decade ago. You can read more … Continue reading
Learning about learning: What affects children’s learning in Sindh, Pakistan?
Recently, the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) released a publication summarizing and reflecting upon major research studies carried out alongside AKF’s education initiatives in ten countries (Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, and Portugal). For each study, the publication provides a brief introduction to the programme, an overview of the study design, and a summary of … Continue reading
Research ethics: Respecting cultural values while trying to ‘do no harm’ in Pakistan
I was invited to contribute an ethics case study for the “Ethical Research Involving Children: International Charter and Guidelines”. [UPDATE Oct. 30, 2013: The charter has now been published and can be found with additional resources at this website: Ethical Research Involving Children.] In my previous post I described the background context and ethical challenge. Here is … Continue reading
Research ethics: Implementing international guidelines in complex local realities
Many of us who engage in research with children, especially in diverse contexts of the world, often struggle with ethical concerns. In response to this, a group of international researchers has been developing an international set of guidelines and considerations for ethical research with children. The document “Ethical Research Involving Children: International Charter and Guidelines” … Continue reading
Sadaf Shallwani 