Oxford Society for International Development – Details, episodes & analysis

Zahra Hankir, a Lebanese British journalist and the editor of Our Women on the Ground, writes about the intersection of politics, culture, and society, particularly in the broader Middle East. Her work has appeared in publications including Condé Nast Traveler, The Observer Magazine, The Times Literary Supplement, BBC News, Al Jazeera English, Bloomberg Businessweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The Rumpus. She was awarded a Jack R. Howard Fellowship in International Journalism to attend the Columbia Journalism School and holds degrees in politics and Middle Eastern studies.

Rana Mitter is Professor of the History and Politics of Modern China at Oxford University, and will shortly become S.T. Lee Professor of U.S.-Asia Relations at the Harvard Kennedy School. He is a celebrated British historian, a published author, and a regular presenter for BBC Radio 3. In this episode, he shares his view on how China's relationship with and effect on the rest of the world is likely to change (or not change) and opens up about his personal career journey.

Is Democracy under threat? In this episode, Esther, our Europe Events Officer, speaks with Niheer Dasandi, a senior lecturer in Politics and Development at Birmingham University and author of ‘Is Democracy Failing?’

Throughout the interview, they talk about the challenges that contemporary democracy is facing as well as recent trends. There are discussions about populism, social media, the European Union, covid-19 and climate change. Key considerations include the efficacy of democracy and its future.

Podcast by Esther Coomber. Music by Lorcan Cudlip Cook. Find out more about the Oxford Society for International Development at oxsid.org

On this podcast, our Events Director, Zilun, speaks to Prof. Julien-François Gerber about the viability of degrowth for developing countries. They discuss in depth how changing the way we measure and understand development beyond measures of economic growth can help tackle important issues developing countries face.

Podcast by Zilun Lin. Music by Lorcan Cudlip Cook. Discover more about the Oxford Society for International Development at oxsid.org

This week, our Co-President, Helena, speaks with Steve Killelea about the topic of his latest book, Peace in the Age of Chaos. The book is available at a 40% discount to OxSID members. Send us a message to receive the discount code!

Expect discussion of the application of systems thinking to sustainable development; the relationship between peace, conflict and prosperity; the pandemic’s effects on terrorism; and how we can create more resilient societies in an age of unprecedented global change.

A Luxembourg Peace Prize winner and two-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Steve is the creator of the Global Peace Index, the world's leading measure of peace that ranks 163 countries by their relative levels of peacefulness each year and provides data-driven insights into the state of global peacefulness and its economic value.

Podcast by Helena Holter. Music by Lorcan Cudlip Cook. Find out more about the Oxford Society for International Development at oxsid.org

In this week’s podcast, our event director, Zilun, talk about ‘degrowth’, the radical idea which tries to understand development beyond economic growth. Instead, degrowth focuses on sustainability, equality, fairness and justices alongside simple measures of economic prosperity. To supporters of degrowth, it is the way to understand development holistically and with a sharper focus on well-being - all of which are currently overlooked by economic growth. Zilun is joined by Dr. Giacomo D’Alisa, one of the founding members of the Degrowth movement to discuss the implications and feasibility in our modern day world.

Podcast by Zilun Lin. Music by Lorcan Cudlip Cook. Find out more about the Oxford Society for International Development at oxsid.org

How can people be empowered through community-led development? In this episode, Esther, our Europe Events Officer, speaks with Naomi Muando, the regional manager of ACET Uganda in Mbale.

During the interview, they talk about ACET as an organisation and Naomi’s role there. There is a discussion about the community-led initiatives designed to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDs and reduce stigma around the disease through education. Naomi talks about the rise in teenage pregnancies following the effects of covid-19 lockdowns and how her work seeks to empower women in a very conservative and patriarchal society.

Interviewed by Esther Coomber. Music by Lorcan Cudlip Cook. Find out more about the Oxford Society for International Development at oxsid.org

We need to look deeper into the coverage of COVID-19 in Africa. From vaccination rates to incentivising policies, is there a disconnect between the coverage and what is happening on the ground? Even for journalists working within Africa, there is a delicate balance between maintaining the integrity of news and taking into account the impact of news on people’s decisions.

On this podcast, Samuel Ajakaiye (Africa Events Officer) interviews Peter Mwai, Deputy Editor and Senior Africa Correspondent for the BBC. He is a journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya who focuses especially on fact-checking and African current affairs. Tune in to the final part of the ‘1 year, 9% vaccinated’ series for a deep dive into the relationship between news and COVID-19 in Africa.

Interview by Samuel Ajakaiye. Music by Lorcan Cudlip Cook. Learn more about the Oxford Society for International Development at oxsid.org

Why is sustainable development important? How can business mentoring and entrepreneurship be used to support refugees from post-conflict regions? In this episode, our Europe Events Officer, Esther, speaks with Zufi Deo, the co-founder of BizGees.

Throughout the interview, they talk about Zufi’s motivation behind setting-up BizGees and how his background in business strategy and mentoring informs his work. There is a discussion about the BizGees business model and how this targets sustainable development.

Interview by Esther Coomber. Music by Lorcan Cudlip Cook. Learn more about the Oxford Society for International Development at oxsid.org

How does change happen? In this episode, one of our events officers, Marnie, speaks with Dr Duncan Green, a strategic advisor to Oxfam GB on the topic of “What’s wrong with aid and other topics of debate in International Development?”

Throughout the interview, they talk about how following a linear pattern is not the best way to go about approaching aid and how understanding the complexity of a situation and through focusing on what is already going right in an area, we can achieve the best outcomes. They will discuss how harnessing an agent’s creative power, and knowing how to go about enacting aid projects whilst being sensitive to different viewpoints is crucial in doing this. The two also chat about how aid organisations can help protest movements and on the subject of developments in recent feminist work in the sector.