There can be no band-aid solutions to reversing the insidious and perverse nature of coloniality. For those of us in the Global South, decolonization is a reassertion of self-determination and agency. It is redistribution of wealth and capital, access, and space.
The fifth annual Global Health 50/50 report highlighted that 75% of the 2,000 governing board seats are held by high-income countries (HICs), of which 51% are from two countries (USA and UK), while a mere 2.5% are held by people from low-income countries (LICs). Given this evidence, it is imperative to mentor early-career and mid-career global health professionals from low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) as leaders to improve diversity of boards at the global level.
When I first got the request to write this piece after a webinar on the challenges to #ShiftThePower I was hesitant… I was tempted to take the backseat in this discussion due to fear of saying the wrong things or taking up someone else’s space in this crucial debate.
In 2021, Ugandan civil society was being beaten on multiple fronts. As the pandemic forced lock-downs, the country faced simultaneous crises in health, general elections, and the economy.
When we think capital or resources (I will use those terms inter-changeably) we often tend to automatically think money, finances, cash, funds. Yes, of course it is one kind of resource. But is it the only kind that makes things happen
If we want to shift from the “system we have”, to “the system we want”, what needs to change? What will the new system look like? What will it take to move from where we are to where we want to be?
The six-month Fellowship is an experimental approach aimed at strengthening the collective “weave” between change-makers around the world and, by doing so, at deepening and expanding the #ShiftThePower movement.
In Zambia, [which, as a middle-income country, is starting to see international donor funding drop off], discussions around civil society sustainability have recently gained new momentum thanks to the efforts for the Zambian Governance Foundation (ZGF).
In this interview we speak with Kees de Jong, Director of Wilde Ganzen in the Netherlands. Wilde Ganzen supports community-based organizations in the Global South, and their Dutch fundraising partners, in joint efforts aimed at achieving a better future, based on the belief that communities should have control over their own development.
In this Q&A Ese Emerhi, Global Network Weaver at the GFCF, reflects on the emergence of community philanthropy as a new paradigm for development, and how the Giving for Change programme can take the field to the next level. She considers the role of donors and INGOs in a redefined architecture for aid – and reflects on some of the mind-set shifts (including her own!) that will be required to make this a reality.
