Disrupt Development – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Twasiima Bigirwa in collaboration with Disrupt Development present to you, The ebyeshongoro Series.

The series is inspired and drawn from Twasiima’s debut collection of poems titled ebyeshongoro bya Debra (songs of Debra). ebyeshongoro bya Debra is a collection of poems written in runyankore and english that chronicle the times we find ourselves in, the state of the world and the feelings of our hearts. Using humour, wit, and honest recollections, Twasiima looks at the ways our histories continue to influence our current times and makes demands of us to sit with both the contradictions and un-comfortabilities that emerge from current events and geopolitical shapings. As she writes Twasiima intends to inspire others who read to sit with the truths of our world and societies and from there imagine something new and liberatory.

The poems speak to some of the pressing development challenges of our time; from the crises in Sudan and Palestine, the ways in which media and narratives continue to perpetuate harm, questions of systemic remedy with reparations and so on, and so forth. The collection is a total of forty-four poems and in this series, Twasiima reads and reflects on nine poems.

Twasiima Bigirwa is an African writer, interested in the ways history has been shaped and altered, and dedicated to the work of conjuring into existence new worlds. Her work is founded on undoing and reconstructing from the colonial imaginations and focuses on exploring paths towards liberation. Twasiima has several years of experience working within the development sector and works to support organisations and individuals that are looking to review and invest in new ways to include a decolonial praxis to international development. She has extended experience serving as a community mobiliser and organiser and believes deeply that the work of movements that exist on the peripheries of society are crucial to our collective liberation. Twasiima has an LL.B. from Makerere University and an LL.M. from Georgetown University – Law
Center.

Twasiima Bigirwa in collaboration with Disrupt Development present to you, The ebyeshongoro Series.

The series is inspired and drawn from Twasiima’s debut collection of poems titled ebyeshongoro bya Debra (songs of Debra). ebyeshongoro bya Debra is a collection of poems written in runyankore and english that chronicle the times we find ourselves in, the state of the world and the feelings of our hearts. Using humour, wit, and honest recollections, Twasiima looks at the ways our histories continue to influence our current times and makes demands of us to sit with both the contradictions and un-comfortabilities that emerge from current events and geopolitical shapings. As she writes Twasiima intends to inspire others who read to sit with the truths of our world and societies and from there imagine something new and liberatory.

The poems speak to some of the pressing development challenges of our time; from the crises in Sudan and Palestine, the ways in which media and narratives continue to perpetuate harm, questions of systemic remedy with reparations and so on, and so forth. The collection is a total of forty-four poems and in this series, Twasiima reads and reflects on nine poems.

Twasiima Bigirwa is an African writer, interested in the ways history has been shaped and altered, and dedicated to the work of conjuring into existence new worlds. Her work is founded on undoing and reconstructing from the colonial imaginations and focuses on exploring paths towards liberation. Twasiima has several years of experience working within the development sector and works to support organisations and individuals that are looking to review and invest in new ways to include a decolonial praxis to international development. She has extended experience serving as a community mobiliser and organiser and believes deeply that the work of movements that exist on the peripheries of society are crucial to our collective liberation. Twasiima has an LL.B. from Makerere University and an LL.M. from Georgetown University – Law
Center.

Despite various strides made by the global development sector in reforming its communication, humanitarian campaigns still (too) often contain racial stereotypes, dehumanizing images, and colonial narratives. In our Beyond Poverty Porn series, which we make together with Emiel Martens and Wouter Oomen from the Expertise Centre Humanitarian Communication (HuCom), we open up the conversation about ethical, respectful, and inclusive communication in and on global development. 

In short episodes of about 15 minutes each, Martens and Oomen will take a critical look at trending genres within the field of humanitarian communication. Following their general critique on the 'new' approach of hope-based communications in the previous storycast, they now zoom in on the challenges of celebrity humanitarianism - i.e. celebrity involvement in humanitarian issues and the media coverage that this creates. They do so by first discussing the colonial tradition of white saviorism and then by approaching the celebrity humanitarian as a white savior who unavoidably but problematically takes center stage in stories of the suffering of global Others.


Music credit: Shapes in the Clouds on Hooksounds

The world has changed since INGOs became prominent actors on the global stage. The current model for INGOs seems no longer fit for purpose. The Ringo Social Lab - Re-imagining the International NGO - brings together a group of influencers, thinkers, leaders, and disruptors from across civil society around the world in the quest to re-imagine the role of INGOs and global civil society. In this series, we explore the future of global civil society through the lens of the Ringo social lab.

In this episode, Keith Slack -Director of Strategy and Campaigns at EarthRights International-, will be sharing his perspective on the international development field through the lens of human rights and environmental issues. Keith coins the term 'foreign aid industrial complex' to raise the critical question of whether or not development professionals are trying to work themselves out of a job. He poses the challenging question: are we willing to fundamentally challenge the powers that be, to produce meaningful change that is uncomfortable and possibly threatening to some people? 

About Keith Slack: Keith is EarthRights International’s Director of Strategy and Campaigns. Prior to joining EarthRights in May 2018, Keith spent nearly two decades building and directing Oxfam America’s Extractive Industries Global Program. In that role, he led campaigns and advocacy to promote greater transparency and respect for the human rights of affected communities.

Interested to learn more about Ringo: https://rightscolab.org/ringo/
Interested to learn more about Disrupt Development: https://www.disruptdevelopment.org/

In 2021 development and humanitarian campaigns still show harmful stereotypes, negative framing and traces of white saviorism. Yet we also see alternative frames in communication that question the status quo.

In this Beyond Poverty Porn series, we open up the conversation about ethical, respectful, and inclusive communication in global development,  together with the Expertise Centre Humanitarian Communication. In this and upcoming episodes,  Emiel Martens and Wouter Oomen will take a critical dive into trending genres and topics within the field of communications.

In this episode, they dive into hope-based communications and provide some strong critiques of this currently very trendy approach of communicating in international development.


Music credit: Shapes in the Clouds on Hooksounds

Each year the Dutch Development Cooperation Association Partos organises a call for innovation to showcase and promote recent innovative and inspiring initiatives in the development sector. This year, the “Collaborative Innovations Award” recognises and celebrates innovative collaborations in international civil society partnerships that developed creative solutions to deal with complex, volatile and uncertain scenarios in development cooperation.

In this third and final episode we introduce the 'Virtual Innovation Labs': creative spaces where participants work together to design innovative solutions for social problems with a design thinking methodology. We talk with Victoria Rodríguez Costi and Cristina Ordóñez from Innovation for Change. 

Each year the Dutch Development Cooperation Association Partos organises a call for innovation to showcase and promote recent innovative and inspiring initiatives in the development sector. This year, the “Collaborative Innovations Award” recognises and celebrates innovative collaborations in international civil society partnerships that developed creative solutions to deal with complex, volatile and uncertain scenarios in development cooperation.

In this second episode we introduce VOICE +. An activist digital hub connecting networks of people living with HIV from across the globe through applications, in order to access accurate information related to HIV, share learning and raise advocacy issues.  We talk with the project lead Nomtika Mjwana from the Global Network of People Living with HIV. 

The world has changed since INGOs became prominent actors on the global stage. The current model for INGOs seems no longer fit for purpose. The Ringo Social Lab - Re-imagining the International NGO - brings together a group of influencers, thinkers, leaders, and disruptors from across civil society around the world in the quest to re-imagine the role of INGOs and global civil society. In this series, we explore the future of global civil society through the lens of the Ringo social lab.

Exploring leadership from the global south in the development sector with an emphasis on the impact of the sector on women leaders. The moving ‘closer to the ground’ policy means there are more branches or offices of INGOs in the global south headed by nationals. However, how do these organisations deal with cultural notions of what leadership should look like and the challenges women leaders, especially women of colour, face in delivering on the promise of a better world within their organisations and in the communities they serve?

About Osai Ojigho: Osai is a feminist, human rights expert, gender equality advocate, civil society leader, and the Country Director of Amnesty International Nigeria. She is well-traveled and widely published, contributing to various publications. Find her on Twitter and Instagram: @livingtruely

Interested to learn more about Ringo: https://rightscolab.org/ringo/
Interested to learn more about Disrupt Development: https://www.disruptdevelopment.org/

Each year the Dutch Development Cooperation Association Partos organises a call for innovation to showcase and promote recent innovative and inspiring initiatives in the development sector. This year, the “Collaborative Innovations Award” recognises and celebrates innovative collaborations in international civil society partnerships that developed creative solutions to deal with complex, volatile and uncertain scenarios in development cooperation. 

In this first episode we introduce a project of CNV international - Making facts work for workers. We talk with the director of CNV International Elles van Ark and project manager Olivia Bwalya. 

We live in volatile, uncertain, and complex times. So, how do we navigate an age of uncertainty and complexity in global development? In this series, we explore the Future of Partos - the Dutch Development Cooperation Association that brings together nearly 110 Dutch Development NGOs.

In this final podcast episode Bart Romijn and Merel van der Woude reflect on the Partos Future Exploration and share their main insights. What has Partos learned from the Future Exploration, what topics have received priority and how will the outcomes benefit Dutch Development Cooperation?

Bart Romijn is the director of Partos.  Merel van der Woude is creative director at Butterfly Works, the social design studio that facilitated the Partos Future Exploration.