“Our societies, while deploring the crisis in representative democracy, are still finding it difficult to devise true citizen debating processes and even more difficult to admit that the revival of democracy requires new methods, which require time and money”. My blog has remained silent since last May. Some were even… Read More
“If I hadn’t joined a youth group, I myself may have joined al-Shabaab,” explained Noor Dahir, the charismatic Director of a Lamu Island-based youth group Kiunga Youth Bunge Initiative. Lamu Island, known for its pristine beaches, laid-back atmosphere, and UNESCO world heritage town has until recently been spared much of the instability that… Read More
Since 2008, over half of the global population lives in cities. In Europe and North America this number is closer to 80 percent. If we look at economic activity from both a global and transatlantic perspective, such thresholds were surpassed decades ago, without any acknowledgement or realisation by policymakers of… Read More
Individual giving has power. Consider the huge outpouring of donations to organisations such as the American Civil Liberties Union that followed Donald Trump’s executive ban on seven Muslim-majority countries in January 2017. Millions of dollars were raised by donations from hundreds of thousand individuals within hours of the ban, the… Read More
Over a few months in 2012, a question came up among Christian Aid’s staff in Africa reflecting on the impact of the ‘Arab Springs’: Will a summer or a winter follow the spring? ‘Summer’ means democratisation spreading and deepening; ‘winter’, on the other hand, means repression retaliating with a vengeance, leading… Read More
This post originally appeared on the Webb Memorial Trust website The title of this book, Rethinking Poverty – What makes a good society?, promises a theoretical treatise on the elimination, or reframing, of poverty and destitution in the UK. It turns out, however,… Read More
This post originally appeared on the Barrow Cadbury Trust website The Barrow Cadbury Trust was set up by husband and wife, Barrow and Geraldine Cadbury, almost 100 years ago. We consider ourselves to be part of, as well as funders of, civil society and… Read More
Is there a one-size-fits-all solution for foundations conducting due diligence on prospective grantees? Are there standard techniques or formats that one could borrow and apply? To a certain extent, yes. But it’s also true to say that due diligence is an art because the paint brush lies ultimately in your… Read More
Wellbeing is at the heart of what we do at the Carnegie UK Trust. Our Trust Deed, written by Andrew Carnegie, was far ahead of its time in charging us with the duty to “improve wellbeing”. At that time, 100 years ago, wellbeing was not a common form of words… Read More
In communities globally, feminist groups led by women, girls, and trans and intersex[1] people are collectively organising to make the world more peaceful, democratic and fair. At the same time, a rise in fascist ideologies, authoritarianism, and populist agendas in many parts of the world threatens their work for… Read More