Alliance announced the names of the judges who will review the shortlist and select a final winner of the 5th Olga Alexeeva Memorial Prize. Amitabh Behar – National Foundation for India Andre Degenszajn – GIFE Atallah Kuttab – SAANED. Janet Mawiyoo – Kenya Community Development Foundation Natalya Kaminarskaya – Director of Blagosfera Center All five judges possess…
By Debra Ladner SDG 16 recognizes that peace, justice, and accountable institutions are critical to sustainable, transformative, and inclusive development. It sets out ambitious targets on a range of issues from reducing violence and corruption, to combatting trafficking and organized crime, to ensuring legal identity for all. In doing so, SDG 16 provides a long-awaited…
Much has been written about the history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, but one story remains untold: that of the grassroots activism that maintained local communities in the face of violence. Community Action in a Contested Society: The Story of Northern Ireland, by Avila Kilmurray published in 2017 available now from Peter Lang Publishers, speaks through the voices of the activists themselves, drawn from both sides of a divided society.
By Barry Knight In 2012, I conducted research for the European Foundation Centre into foundations and their attitude to risk. The main finding was that foundations are confused about risk. They commonly hold two opposing ideas in their minds. On the one hand 94% of our respondents agreed with the statement that ‘foundations have a…
By Avila Kilmurray A recent study of community activism in Northern Ireland highlights resilience as a key outcome of the contribution of community action during times of both violence and tentative peacebuilding. In situations of protracted conflict, where abnormality becomes the norm, community-based organisation can create the necessary space for activists to articulate concerns and…
By Sarah Bahn and Manuel Montes In the 1980s and 1990s, the pressure on developing countries to embrace economic liberalization was overwhelming. They were bullied by global aid and trade organizations, such as the World Bank, into adopting reforms whose benefits were questionable and many argue hurt the poorest. Through its International Economic…
By Sarah Bahn and Stephen Pittam Five years ago the term ‘stranded assets’ was unknown; now it is central to financial markets thinking about the value of fossil fuel holdings. This is due to the work of the Carbon Tracker Initiative, funded in its early stages by grants from a handful of…
“The economic and financial cost of conflict and violence in 2014 has been estimated to be US$14.3 trillion, or 13.4% of the global economy. Yet it is the human cost that is most devastating, rendering conflict the biggest obstacle to human development. . .Every day in 2014 conflicts and violence forced approximately 42,500 people to…
By Sarah Bahn and Atallah Kuttab Mission drives foundation work, and it can often point towards grassroots efforts. We know that local leadership is key to these efforts, but it can be challenging to navigate alignment of foundation practices with the execution of a local agenda from a distance. Fikra, a Brussels-based foundation created…
Never before have I attended a philanthropy gathering of this scale where the conversations have been so open and honest about things that are wrong with mainstream philanthropy and ODA. The Global Summit for Community Philanthropy is a truly remarkable event that has moved the needle on the our understanding of philanthropy’s role in society…