Afleveringen
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In this week’s episode, Tija speaks to us about oral traditions, reparative justice, the violence of colonisation, and how that generates intergenerational harms. We talk about the erasure of culture, the loss of language, and the role of storytelling, song, and intergenerational love and joy as part of the healing process. Tija emphasises the role of culture in addressing mental health and the intergenerational trauma of colonisation. We discuss the importance of storytelling to sustain oral history and keep the languages of colonised countries alive. Tija offers us a hopeful way forward for collective healing from the intergenerational harms of colonisation.
Tija Andriamananjara is a trauma informed senior social worker from Madagascar joining us from St Paul, Minnesota (US). Her experience and background include education, child development, mental health and human services. She was a visiting educator in Madagascar at a local NGO helping children and women facing domestic violence. Her graduate studies focused on social justice and reconciliation. Her graduate practicum included working with a 3-aged group of Native American kids, youth and women. Tija published 2 children’s books with songs solely in Malagasy in late 2023 and lastly in October of this year to promote her mother tongue and familial connections through reading at home.
If you’re interested to find out more about Tija’s work, take a look here:
LinkedInSoaSoa LinkedInRecent work:
"Mahaliana ny Mianatra" {In Awe of Learning}"Kintana Mamiratra" {StarShine}Podcast episode about traumaRecommended resources:
Decolonizing Therapy - Jennifer Mullan PsyDMy Grandmother's hands - Resmaa MenakemHealing the Soul Wound - Eduardo DuranMitaraina ny tany - Andry Andraina, 1979Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence - Judith Herman, 1992 The Ancestor Syndrome - Anne Ancelin Schutzenberger, 1998The Myth of Normal - Gabor Maté, September 2022The Wild Edge of Sorrow - Francis Weller, September 2015Healing Collective Trauma - Thomas Hübl and Julie Jordan Avritt, November 2020Nonviolent Communication - Marshall Rosenberg , 2003 -
In this week’s episode, we speak to Silvester Kasozi from Light for the World Uganda about the systemic approach they have implemented to decolonise the way they work.
Silvester speaks about the importance of involving all departments of the organisation in their approach to decolonisation, especially driving the change locally from their country offices. We discuss the challenges in putting a system in place that responds to the needs of the organisation as a whole.
We talk about putting a strategy in place to approach decolonisation in multilayered ways and interrogate the issue from different perspectives. Silvester speaks of a vision for the development and humanitarian space which is founded on respect, equity, and the decentering of knowledge, where knowledge is valued regardless of its origin.
Silvester Kasozi is a humanitarian and development practitioner, a sociologist by training, and currently the country director of Light for the World Uganda, an organisation that works to spark lasting change for disability rights and eye health in sub Saharan Africa. He's also the co chair for the organisation's Decolonisation Working Group and disability inclusion enthusiast.
Light for the World FacebookLight for the World Twitter / XLight for the World YouTubeLight for the World LinkedIn
If you’re interested to find out more about Silvester's work, take a look here:Recommended resources:
Organisational Decolonisation Action Plan | VIDEAACFID - Wielding and Yielding Power ToolkitMSF video on Anti-RacismAfrica is not a country -
Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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In this week’s episode, we talk to Dr Romina Istratii, who tells us about the DLDL project, which takes an interdisciplinary approach to looking at domestic violence and religious communities.
We speak about co-created research which then feeds back into knowledge production and good practices in the West. This challenges Eurocentric norms around knowledge production by reversing the knowledge transfer as a way to shift power.
Romina centres the importance of identity and positionality in situating decolonisation efforts, and points at humility and reflexivity as key principles of co-created and community-grounded research.
Dr Romina Istratii is UKRI Future Leaders Fellow at the School of History, Religions and Philosophies at SOAS University of London. She is an interdisciplinary researcher, scholar and practitioner working across international development, gender studies, religion and theology, psychology and anthropology to address societal challenges with gender dimensions. She currently leads and manage a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship of £1.2 million in Ethiopia and the UK that responds to domestic violence in religious communities working through an interdisciplinary, decolonial and innovative partnerships model with government, NGOs and grassroots groups. For the past 13 years, she has worked in development-oriented research to promote epistemological reflexivity, ethical research practices and healthy partnerships and collaboration models. She have led numerous initiatives within and beyond the university, having initialised the Decolonising Research Initiative under the aegis of the SOAS Research Directorate and in 2020, and co-founded Decolonial Subversions in 2020. She is the author of the monograph Adapting Gender and Development to Local Religious Contexts: A Decolonial Approach to Domestic Violence in Ethiopia (Routledge, 2020).
Dr Romina Istratii | LinkedInDr Romina Istratii | SOAS
If you’re interested to find out more about Romina's work, take a look here:Recent work:
Istratii, R. and Laamann, L., eds (2024) Orthodox Churches and War Politics in Ethiopia and Ukraine: Historical, Ecclesial and Theological Reflections. Studies in World Christianity. Vol. 30, no.2.Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Our multilingual website: Home - Project dldl/ድልድልOur Outputs, listed under Research, Engagement & Intergration, and Knowledge Exchange: Outputs - Project dldl/ድልድልAll our webinars and conferences on Vimeo: Project dldl/ድልድል (vimeo.com)Our theologically-grounded training manual used in workshops with Ethiopian Orthodox clergy, a programme co-created and co-delivered with EOTC DICAC: Booklet_final_English—PDF.pdf (projectdldl.org)A recent policy brief on working with religious leaders and clerics internationally to respond to DVA/GBV: Polcy Brief Template.indd (projectdldl.org)Conference proceedings from our 2022 conference in Ethiopia: Conference-Proceedings_FINAL.pdf (projectdldl.org)Trailers to our film Tidar on YouTube (which we just launched yesterday):
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In this week’s episode, we talk to Shilpa Alva about Surge for Water’s model of partnership with community led organisations to address the global water crisis. Shilpa speaks about the importance of building trust and elevating the voice of community led organisations.
Shilpa tells us about centering the social context and cultural norms of the communities they partner with to establish long term relationships. We also talk about maintaining an open dialogue with local partners and creating a flexible space for partnerships to change driven by the local partners’ vision.
We speak about partnership models that make space for a responsible exit strategy that generates long-term revenue for local organisations.
Shilpa is the founder and Executive Director of Surge for Water, a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing the cycle of poverty through access to safe water and sanitation solutions. Since its founding 15 years ago, Surge has impacted hundreds of thousands of lives across 12 countries. Shilpa’s journey didn’t start in the International Development World. After graduating from Johns Hopkins University with a Chemical Engineering degree, she joined the corporate world and earned her MBA from the University of Minnesota. After a successful corporate career, she made the choice to transition to running Surge full time.
Surge for Water websiteSurge for Water LinkedInSurge for Water InstagramSurge for Water TwitterShilpa Alva LinkedIn
If you’re interested to find out more about Shilpa’s work, take a look here: -
In this week’s episode, we talk to Leslie Mudimu, a participant from Cohort 2 of our Skill Share Programme on Decolonising Development. We discuss what Afrocentric development could look like, and how decolonisation and localisation is perceived and understood in the African academic context.
Leslie speaks about her experience as a Zimbabwean academic studying in South Africa, and the mobilisation that occurred around the Rhodes Must Fall movement. We speak about how the decolonising call for transformation has been taken up in the African continent, and how the localisation agenda can be implemented.
LinkedInEmail: [email protected]
Driven by a passion to understand and find solutions to Africa's developmental issues, Leslie is a Development and Systems Change Consultant. She has a multi-disciplinary background in the Humanities, particularly the Social Sciences, which enables her understanding of complex social problems. Her academic research was on the inclusion of women in transitional processes and governance in Zimbabwe. Her expertise is aligned with decolonisation and transformation efforts and the representation and inclusion of women. Beyond working in the international development space, Leslie is a Founder of a mentorship network for Humanities students in Zimbabwe and South Africa.
If you’re interested to find out more about Leslie’s work, take a look here:Recent work:
Decolonising Development conversation with Dr PZJ BimhaMentorship Network WebsiteRelevant resources:
Australian Council for International Development (2023) Yielding and Wielding Power Toolkit. -
In this week’s episode, we speak to Kim Kucinskas and Dr. Ishbel McWha-Hermann about equity in compensation and fair reward in international development organisations. We talk about the Equitable Compensation Playbook, which organisations can use as a benchmark to reflect on their approaches to compensation, as well as Project Fair.
Project FairIshbel McWha Hermann LinkedInProject Fair LinkedInKim Kucinskas LinkedInHumentum | LinkedInHumentum (@humentum_org)
Kim and Ishbel tell us about equitable compensation as being rooted in challenging Western ideologies around pay. The discourse around decolonisation and shifting power is also being integrated into conversations around compensation and power and value.
We dive into the specifics of operationalising change in equitable compensation and pay in INGOs in the development and humanitarian sectors.
Kim Kucinskas is the Technical Director, Organizational Transformation at Humentum, a global nonprofit that unlocks the strategic power of operating models for social good organizations. She helps individuals and organizations who are on a journey towards greater equity identify, understand, and operationalize transformation. Kim’s priority is to support individuals to be more effective in their work and organizations to be prepared for the future. To achieve results, she creates connections between strategy and practical operations by building networks, facilitates co-creation, and supports organizations through consultancies. This is the case with the TIME (Transforming INGO Models for Equity) initiative, a case study in action of power shift where Kim acts as Project Director. In another example of connecting the dots between strategy and practical solutions, Kim led an 18-months long compensation working group of nonprofit compensation practitioners, which resulted in the co-created Equitable Compensation Playbook.
Dr. Ishbel McWha-Hermann is an Associate Professor in international HRM at the University of Edinburgh Business School, Scotland. She uses psychological research to enhance social justice and fair reward in organisations, particularly in international work contexts. Ishbel is Founder and Director of Project Fair, which brings together HR and reward managers from INGOs, to develop research based pathways to fairer reward policies and practices. She has undertaken consultancy and provided expert advice to numerous international organisations, including the United Nations.
If you’re interested to find out more about their work, take a look here:Relevant resources:
Equitable Compensation Playbook | HumentumCompensation is a visible manifestation of (in)equality. So, how do we do it? | Humentum -
In this week’s episode, we talk to Kate Moger and Sidhee Patel from Adeso’s Pledge for Change initiative. The three pledges focus on equitable partnerships, authentic storytelling, and influencing wider change. The Pledge consists of a community of 13 INGOs who commit to working towards the shared objectives.
They talk about the importance of making public commitments to change both individually as leaders and collectively on behalf of organisations.
We discuss the abundance mindset when it comes to situating new initiatives and projects in the international development space, and the importance of contributing resources and knowledge.
Kate Moger is Global Director of Pledge for Change. Prior to joining Adeso in July 2023, Kate spent over two decades working in humanitarian contexts, most recently as IRC’s Regional Vice President for the Great Lakes and Central Africa, supporting Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania. Previously she was IRC’s Deputy Regional Director for West and Central Africa and Country Director in Mali. Between 2003 and 2013, Kate held a variety of leadership roles with Save the Children in South Sudan, DRC, and Cote d’Ivoire, having begun her humanitarian work in protection services with refugee and asylum-seeking children in the UK. She gained development and peacebuilding experience with Sense International and International Alert, before which she taught English in Japan, and established a start-up travel agency in Russia.
Sidhee Patel works as a Program Officer for the Pledge for Change 2030 Initiative. She previously worked in administrative support, but she is now actively learning and navigating the humanitarian and development program sector. Sidhee has a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and has recently completed the 1st cohort of the Development Hub's Skill Share Program: Decolonizing Development and Humanitarian Action. She is dedicated to social justice and empowering the Global South community in the development and humanitarian aid ecosystem.
Kate Moger LinkedIn Sidhee Patel LinkedInAdeso Africa
If you’re interested to find out more about Kate’s or Sidhee’s work, take a look here:Recent work:
PLEDGE FOR CHANGE 2024 ANNUAL RETREAT REPORT Toward a Decolonised International Cooperation DeclarationRelevant resources:
Rethinking Humanitarianism Podcast#OnWhatMatters l Degan Ali and Martín AbregúEdgy IdeasRethinking aid system narratives | The CentreColoniality and the inadequacy of colonisationIt’s time for funders to step up, stand with, and support those seeding change - Alliance magazine -
In this week’s episode, we talk to Jessica Oddy, founder and director of Design for Social Impact Lab (DFSI) about applying an equity-centred intersectional lens to social impact projects. We talk about the importance of co-design centred around care and solidarity throughout the entire project cycle.
Jess talks about having a systems thinking approach which engages with a community’s history and context in order to develop a project. A systems thinking approach facilitates mutual learning, where all actors stand to gain knowledge and insight from a project.
We talk about re-centering research around the people who have lived experience of structural inequity, and ensuring they are centred as experts.
Jess is the founder and director of Design for Social Impact Lab (DFSI), a social enterprise that supports organisations and practitioners design equity-centred programmes, policies, research and learning through training and coaching. Jess started her career as a teacher, before spending 13 years as an education in emergencies practitioner. She recently completed her PhD, focusing on colonial legacies in youth education. She is a guest lecturer at the University of East London's MA Social Research for Social Action, where she teaches critical participatory research approaches and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Bristol, focusing on anti-racism in education.
LinkedinWebsiteAcademic researchResearch Design for Social Impact course launches 24th of May. Click here to sign up. We offer purchase parity payment/location based pricing, so please use the location-based code if needed.Design for Social Impact mission and values Free Guide to embedding Anti-Oppressive principles in your research design for social impact
If you’re interested to find out more about Jess’ work, take a look here:Relevant resources:
Marchais, G., Bazuzi, P., & Amani Lameke, A. (2020). ‘The data is gold, and we are the gold-diggers’: whiteness, race and contemporary academic research in eastern DRC. Critical African Studies, 12(3), 372–394. Anti-Racist Scholar Activism by Remi Joseph Salisbury and Laura Connelly -
In this week’s episode, we talk to Faye Ekong about management approaches to leadership which are rooted in African experience. Faye tells us about the absence of African approaches represented in mainstream management and leadership.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/faye-ekong/Faye Ekong – Ravelworks Africa Ravelworks Africa
Faye Ekong introduces us to African Humanism, which embodies dignity, social harmony, coexistence and community. We talk about the importance of understanding historical, social, and cultural contexts within organisational policy, instead of importing a prescriptive Western model.
We also discuss the discriminatory assumptions around compensation and legitimacy for service providers from the Majority World (or Global South).
Faye highlights approaches which are grounded in humility, inquiry before judgement, and courage over comfort.
Faye is the managing director of RWA. She has over 15 years’ experience in human resource management, organisational design, learning and development, coaching and employee engagement programs including at the executive level. She has worked with a range of global stakeholders such as government agencies, private sector corporations, and non-profit entities in Africa, Europe, Asia and North America. She is certified by the Society of Human Resource Management as a Senior Certified Professional (SHRM - SCP)
Motto: “Growth begins at the end of our comfort zone!”
If you’re interested to find out more about Faye Ekong’s work, take a look here:Recent work:
Embracing Ubuntu Leadership: Insights From Africa’s Informal Sector | HumentumRelevant resources:
Mungi Ngomane (2019) Everyday Ubuntu, Transworld Digital.GLOBE Project - The GLOBE researchers developed the Culturally Endorsed Leadership Theory (CLT) that posits the importance of leadership being anchored in the social and cultural markers and nuances of a given context.Johann Broodryk (2005) Ubuntu Management Philosophy, Knowres Pub.Lerutla, M. and Steyn, R. (2021) ‘African Business Leadership: Perspectives from aspiring young leaders’, SA Journal of Human Resource Management, 19. doi:10.4102/sajhrm.v19i0.1467. -
In this week’s episode, we talk to Jonathan Glennie, co-founder of Global Nation, about the insufficiency of global aid as a response to current global affairs.
Jonathan introduces the idea of ‘global public investment’ in order to address aid reliance through a new form of accountability. We also talk about circular cooperation as a system in which all entities involved respond to the possibility of learning from each other.
Jonathan speaks about the importance of dignity, listening, and ownership in aid projects, which are often overlooked in favour of material impact and development indicators. He advocates for “development with dignity”.
Jonathan Glennie is a writer, researcher, campaigner and consultant on sustainable development, inequality and poverty. He recently co-founded a new thinktank, Global Nation, which recently published a report on global solidarity. His work examines the changing nature of international cooperation, as dominant paradigms and global economic relationships evolve.
Jonathan has held senior positions in several international organisations, including Ipsos, Save the Children, ODI and Christian Aid and helped set up The Guardian‘s Global Development website, for which he was a regular columnist. As a consultant, he has worked with governments, international agencies and civil society organisations as they renew their strategies for a new era. Jonathan’s latest book, The Future of Aid: Global Public Investment, was published by Routledge in 2021. He lives with his family in Colombia.
LinkedInTwitterGlobal Nation
If you’re interested to find out more about Jonathan’s work, take a look here:Recent work:
Global Nation (2023) Global Solidarity Report 2023.Global Public Investment Network (2023) Time for Global Public Investment.Glennie, J. (2020) The Future of Aid, Routledge.Glennie, J. (2010) The Trouble with Aid, Zed Books.Relevant links:
Damluji, H. (2021) The Responsible Globalist, Penguin Books.Sen, A. (2000) Development as Freedom, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.Shift the Power Global SummitAnderson, Mary B., Dayna Brown, and Isabella Jean (2012) Time to Listen: Hearing People on the Receiving End of International Aid. Cambridge, MA: CDA Collaborative Learning Projects.ID Insight (2021) The Dignity Report. -
In this week’s episode, we speak to Yacine Ait Larbi about the critique he and Sarah Edgcumbe present in a two-part blog on paid-for development research. They outline the competing expectations of consulting companies who often value quick and relevant research outputs over research that is in-depth, reliable, well-grounded and ethical, due - in part - to time and resource pressures.
We speak about development research being interest-driven rather than values-driven, and the consequences this has on ‘local’ research teams, the communities in which research is conducted and the way in which research findings are disseminated.
Yacine talks about the clash of cultures between donor research agendas and community needs, where donor research often reproduces power dynamics and enacts epistemic violence.
Yacine Ait Larbi is a Ph.D. Candidate and a member of the Political Sociology program group at the AISSR of the University of Amsterdam. With over five years of experience in migration research, he has collaborated with international organisations like IOM and engaged in short consultancies. His research spans return and reintegration, forced displacement, and labour migration in various regions including France, North Africa, and the East and Horn of Africa. Yacine is passionate about discussions on decolonization, post-colonial migration, and social transformation. Additionally, Yacine provides part-time operational and logistical support for project management at ODI. Over the past year and a half, he has contributed to projects totaling £3.9 million in funding by organisations such as SIDA Mali, AFD, GIZ, and the African Development Bank.
Yacine’s research profileTwitterLinkedIn
Find out more about Yacine’s work, here:Relevant resources:
Larbi, Y., and Edgcumbe, S. (2023a) Development for profit: The commercialisation of research? Blog. New Thinking. Larbi, Y., and Edgcumbe, S. (2023b) Development for Profit: Rethinking Research Practice. Blog. New Thinking. -
In this week’s episode, Ajoy Datta talks to us about organisational change, leadership development, and policy, advocacy and influencing. Ajoy tells us about promoting change within an organisation with a focus on difference and diversity. He focuses on an “unconventional” approach which highlights the complexity in working relationships and makes space for emotions.
Working alongside people to unlock their knowledge and transform their conversations is part of the action learning approach for organisational change that Ajoy speaks about. When thinking about decoloniality, this approach means interrogating the ways in which coloniality is being reproduced in daily life.
Ajoy is a freelance consultant specialising in two areas:
The first is organisational change and leadership development: Here he works with leaders, teams, organisations and networks taking an approach which combines psychodynamics, systems and complexity.
The second is policy advocacy or influencing. Here he informs, designs and evaluates work to influence policy and practice drawing on studies of the policy process, political economy approaches and outcome mapping.
If you’re interested to find out more about Ajoy’s work, take a look here:
Personal website: www.ajoydatta.com (soon to be updated)Linkedin and TwitterShorter articles about organisations, policy influencing, partnerships can be found on the following platforms:Substack | Medium | OTT Longer form publications can be found on ResearchgateRelevant resources:
Chris Mowles has blogs on medium and wordpressUniversity of Hertfordshire's Complexity and Management CentreVideo showing a murmuration of starlings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dedVszDI9aE Doing DevelopmentDifferently and Thinking and Working PoliticallyTheory as Liberatory practice by Bell Hooks: https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/yjfem4&div=6&id=&page= Systems psychodynamics thinking: https://tavistockconsulting.co.uk/approach-systems-psychodynamic-thinking/Rewire: a book by Chris Yates and Pooja Sachdev about tackling diversity: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rewire-Approach-Tackling-Diversity-Difference/dp/1472913981 -
In this week’s episode, we speak to Nancy Kankam Kusi from West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) about their focus on advocacy, influencing, and facilitating an enabling environment for civil society organisations across West Africa and beyond.
Nancy Kankam Kusi LinkedInYou can connect and join the Decolonising Advisory Community Platform hereWatch the launch of the Decolonising Advisory Community platform hereGet to know about the work of WACSI hereConnect with her via email on [email protected] and on all social media handle Read more about RINGO hereRINGO innovationRINGO Funders action podRINGO INGO board action pod
Nancy talks to us about the importance of knowledge sharing on issues of decolonisation and localisation, and how WACSI facilitates spaces for fruitful discussions across the sector. The Decolonising Advisory Community at WACSI provides support to organisations in the Global South in decolonising their practice. They focus on community building and shared learning in order to come up with collective strategies to reimagine the role of INGOs and influence policy in the long term.
Nancy Kankam Kusi is Program Officer of Knowledge Management at the West African Civil Society Institute in Ghana. Nancy also leads a diverse team of civil society actors to initiate and implement international development programs that promote community philanthropy, shifting power and resources to the grassroots, localising and decolonising development initiatives in the Global South. She's also a member of the RINGO Project and the initiator of the Decolonising Advisory Community.
If you’re interested to find out more about Nancy’s work, take a look here:Relevant resources:
Pledge for Change (Adeso)Participatory Grant-Making: Transform Trade in Alliance MagazineUganda National NGO ForumA Red Cross Red Crescent guide to community engagement and accountabilityGlobal Fund for Community FoundationsDecolonisation of aid in francophone sub-SaharanLocalisation agenda -
In this week’s episode, Alba Murcia and Kate Bird (The Development Hub) explore the findings from their research paper on feminist organising and decolonial initiatives. We talk about the work that feminist organising has developed in terms of understanding power and positionality, adopting an intersectional approach, and embracing diverse knowledges and value systems.
Alba Murcia LinkedInKate Bird LinkedInThe Development Hub LinkedInThe Development Hub
The paper features thematic case studies which focus on bodily autonomy, land rights, and territorial integrity across the Majority World. We also highlight feminist organisations which are engaging in anti-racist and decolonial strategies, such as Womankind Worldwide, CREA and IWRAW AP.
We discuss the importance of valuing diverse voices, questioning whose voice is in the room, and working at the community level to articulate power.
Alba Murcia is a Consultant at the Development Hub. She is interested in the intersection of decolonial feminism and resistance in Latin America, with a particular focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights and LGBTQ+ rights.
Kate Bird is Director of The Development Hub, Professor of Practice at the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Surrey, Senior Research Associate with ODI and Associate with the Chronic Poverty Advisory Network. She brings over 25 years experience to her work designing and leading multidisciplinary research, training and advisory work.
If you’re interested to find out more about their work, take a look here:Recent work:
The Development Hub (2023) Challenging global power asymmetries: Insights from feminist organising for decolonisation initiatives -
In this week’s episode, Nompilo Ndlovu and Kate Bird, co-conveners of The Development Hub’s Skill Share Programme, reflect on their journeys so far within The Development Hub.
We discuss the lessons learned from the 5-day immersion programme, and highlight the depth of discussions and diversity of shared experiences throughout the sessions. We also reflect on the reasons behind the majority of participants being women from the minority world, and how to address this disparity for future programmes.
We talk about the launch of the Skill Share Programme, which begins next Monday February 19th, and will provide participants with 6 weeks of structured content on personal transformation, working together across international teams, partnerships and organisational change, and finally, ecosystem transformation. Stay tuned for the following run of the programme!
Kate Bird is Director of The Development Hub, Professor of Practice at the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Surrey, Senior Research Associate with ODI and Associate with the Chronic Poverty Advisory Network. She brings over 25 years experience to her work designing and leading multidisciplinary research, training and advisory work.
Kate Bird LinkedInNompilo Ndlovu LinkedInThe Development Hub LinkedInThe Development HubSkill Share Programme
Dr. Nompilo Ndlovu is a Senior Associate at The Development Hub. She is a gender expert and specialist in marginalisation, exclusion and intersecting inequalities. She is an oral historian with over 10 years’ experience applying gender frameworks to her work with communities in South Africa, and elsewhere in Africa. Her Ph.D. (Historical Studies) focused on mass violence, memory and local transitional justice initiatives in post-colonial Zimbabwe. Her wider research interests include socio-economic-political relations (with a focus on exclusion and marginalisation), conflict, peace, trauma, restorative justice and leadership.
If you’re interested to find out more about their work, take a look here:Recent work:
Challenging global power asymmetries: Insights from feminist organising for decolonisation initiatives -
In this week’s episode, we talk to Kate Newman, INTRAC CEO, about the organisation’s shift in order to respond to the changes happening in the international development sector. She talks of realising that rather than exclusively responding to each organisation’s needs, they realised they could be more impactful by taking on an ecosystem approach.
INTRAC’s goal is to build a network of ethical values-driven consultants, where local context and lived experience is prioritised. This strengthens civil society and promotes locally-led development, as well as empowering consultants within their work. Kate also speaks about understanding decolonisation as a verb, as well as a commitment to processes of critical reflection, learning and unlearning.
Kate has worked in international development for over 25 years, as part of local civil society in Mexico, for large international NGOs (ActionAid and Christian Aid), as an independent consultant and an academic; she joined INTRAC as CEO in April 2022. Throughout all these roles she has championed the importance of participatory and rights-based approaches; focused on understanding and shifting power, listening to, and learning from the knowledge, insights, perspectives and aspirations of people living in poverty, collaborating to ensure these knowledges are influential for development policy and practice. She describes herself as a feminist and anti-racist and works to ensure her leadership approach builds from these commitments.
FacebookTwitter / XINTRAC LinkedInKate’s LinkedIn
If you’re interested to find out more about Kate’s work, take a look here:Relevant resources:
Kate’s INTRAC staff profileA reflection on 2023 from the Chief ExecutiveDecolonising consultancy: framing the discussionBlog on ethical and values driven consultancyDecolonising consultancy – panel event -
In this week’s episode, we talk to Allan Moolman, a South Africa-based staff member of a leading INGO, who tells us about his organisation's development of a decolonial partnership strategy. We focus on the power relations present in language, resource allocation, and local decision-making.
LinkedInX (Twitter)
The decolonial partnership strategy questions the internal power structures present within its organisational structure and procedures, as well as externally looks at relationships with the partners who locally deliver projects.
Allan Moolman understands decolonial practice as “a way of being in the world”, rather than a goal to complete and move on. He emphasises the importance of community, building space to engage new ideas, and questioning language hierarchies in development projects.
Allan is currently the Interim Head of Partnerships for Oxfam GB with the responsibility for the implementation of the Oxfam GB decolonial Partnerships Strategy. He has worked for Oxfam since 2007 in a number of roles including that of Country Director in South Africa (his country of origin) and as Head of Programme is Tanzania. Prior to joining Oxfam, Allan worked in a number of local non-governmental and community based organisations in South Africa. Allan’s work in programme design, management and strategy has always included a strong emphasis on power and the need to transform power relations at the interpersonal, organisational and sectoral level. He holds no formal qualifications in development.
If you’re interested to find out more about Allan’s work, take a look here:Relevant resources:
Duvisac, S. (2022) Decolonize! what does it mean?, Oxfam.Green, D. (2020) How to decolonise International Development: some practical suggestions, Oxfam: From Poverty to Power.Oxfam GB (2023) Inclusive Language Guide, Oxfam Policy & Practice.MST Brazil (Landless Worker’s Movements): https://www.mstbrazil.org/content/what-mst -
In this week’s episode, Asif Saleh speaks about BRAC as an INGO based in Bangladesh, which delves into understanding the underlying structural causes of poverty. Their work has focused on addressing the most pressing issues in a way that generates long-term stability.
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Asif talks about circular learning and flows of knowledge which disrupt Global South/Global North dynamics. BRAC emphasises the scalability of models so that they can be applied to a variety of contexts focused on keeping costs low and engaging the community. We discuss the need to build capacity of Southern-based organisations, especially for climate change adaptation.
Asif Saleh is the Executive Director of BRAC. He brings a multi-sectoral experience in senior leadership roles in private, public, and non-government arenas, with a proven track record of effectively managing development programming, operational and financial sustainability, and building effective partnerships. Prior to joining BRAC, he was a policy specialist for the Prime Minister’s Office’s Access to Information (A2i) programme. He spent 12 years in Goldman Sachs in different fin-tech roles and institutional client sales in New York and London, ending his term there as an Executive Director. He has also worked in Glaxo Wellcome, IBM and Nortel. He is a non-resident fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington, D.C. Mr Saleh chairs BRAC IT Services Limited, co-chairs BRAC Net, and is on the Board of BRAC Bank, bKash and edotco Bangladesh Ltd. He was recognised for his work by Asia Society’s Asia 21 programme in 2008, the Bangladeshi American Foundation in 2007, and was selected as an Asia 21 Fellow in 2012. He was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2013. Mr Saleh holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and an MBA from the Stern School of Business, New York University.
If you’re interested to find out more about Asif’s work, take a look here:
BRAC:Asif Saleh:
FacebookLinkedInXRelevant work:
BRAC Ultra Poor Graduation InitiativeHow are people adapting to survive at the climate frontlines? | On the ground with Asif Saleh | BRACRecommended resources:
Development needs to change. Bangladesh can show us how | World Economic Forum“There was always that hunger and craving that I wanted to do something that was good for the soul.” | Common Purpose“We are not just dreaming of a better world – we are building it” Asif Saleh on BRAC’s 50th | The Good FeedWe Need to Think Differently About Responding to Displacement | Centre for Global DevelopmentShifting the power: why development dynamics need to change | Philanthropy Age/The Impact Room -
In this week’s episode, Edgar Villanueva tells us about his book Decolonising Wealth, which was written in an effort to disrupt the flow of capital and to liberate resources for marginalised communities.
https://decolonizingwealth.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edgarv/Twitter: @villanuevaedgar & @decolonizwealth
Edgar tells us about how indigenous worldviews can contribute to community healing and to repairing the harms caused by the philanthropic sector. We also talk about a framework called Repair to Philanthropy, where money reparations work to re-dress the harms inflicted on communities.
Edgar links the indigenous and Black struggles for racial and economic justice, and includes them in his approach to healing and reparations.
Edgar Villanueva (Lumbee) is an award-winning author, activist, and expert on issues of race, wealth, and philanthropy. Villanueva is the CEO of Decolonizing Wealth Project and Liberated Capital and author of the bestselling book Decolonizing Wealth (2018, 2021). He advises a range of organizations including national and global philanthropies, Fortune 500 companies, and entertainment groups on social impact strategies to advance racial equity from within and through their investment strategies.
Villanueva holds a BSPH and MHA from the Gillings Global School of Public Health at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is an enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe and resides in New York City. Publications including the New York Times, NPR, Teen Vogue, Vox, and Forbes magazine have featured Edgar and his work. Edgar has contributed to the Washington Post, the Advocate, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and more; he also shares more thoughts on racial justice, decolonization, and healing on his Medium page.
If you’re interested to find out more about Edgar’s work, take a look here:Recent work:
Reparations campaigns get boost from new philanthropic funding, AP NewsRelevant resources:
Decolonizing Wealth Toolkit: https://decolonizingwealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/DWP_Toolkit_fnl2.pdf -
In this week’s episode, Fredrick Ouko and Mary Ann Clements discuss ADD International’s organisational structure, especially their roles as co-CEOs and how representation matters. They tell us about modelling the team leadership in line with the lived experiences they want to represent and advocate for.
Through participatory grantmaking, they challenge the “colonisation of resources”, through which international funding goes mainly towards INGOs, rather than organisations of people with disabilities.
Fredrick and Mary Ann reflect on their personal roles as co-CEOs of ADD, and how their particular identities affect their working relationship. They also tell us about being conscious of ADD’s role as a ‘facilitator’ of participatory grant-making, rather than an ‘implementer’ of programs.
Fredrick Ouko is the Co-Chief Executive & Transformation Officer at ADD International. He is co-leading their work to become a participatory grant maker. Fredrick has worked to advance disability rights for the Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa, and Light for the World Netherlands. He founded Action Network for the Disabled, a national disabled people’s organization in Kenya, and Riziki Source, a social enterprise using tech to improve employment access for disabled people. He is an Atlantic Fellow, was elected an Ashoka Fellow in 2012, and was shortlisted in 2016/2017 for the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovations.
Mary Ann Clements is the Co-Chief Executive & Transformation Officer at ADD International. She is a Feminist Writer, Facilitator, Activist & Coach committed to building a better world together without replicating patterns of injustice. Mary Ann co-convenes the Healing Solidarity, and her Embodying Change Coaching practice which centres a genuine solidarity that is focused on healing injustice.Previously, Mary Ann has worked as Executive Director at Able Child Africa, Regional Representative Basic Needs (East Africa), Chair of Lambeth Women’s Aid, and Assessor at Comic Relief.
If you’re interested to find out more about ADD’s work, take a look here:
ADD websiteADD information about becoming a participatory grant-makerTwitter: @maryannmhina, @FredrickOuko1Mary Ann LinkedInFredrick LinkedInRecent work:
Fredrick's blogMary Ann websiteRelevant resources:
Participatory GrantmakersFund 101: Intro to Participatory Grant-MakingShifting Power through Transformation - ADDFunding Disability Movement - ADDRINGO Re-Imagining the INGO - Laat meer zien
