In this week’s episode, we interview Kenza Ben Azouz, gender expert trained in feminist research and anthropology from Tunisia, and the newest addition to the Dev Hub team. Kenza tells us about feminist culture of care and the importance of rest in order to be able to reflect and act differently. Kenza draws on Black feminism and Global South feminist scholars to contextualise the complexities of intersectional identities. We also discuss imposter syndrome and how it manifests in racialised b...

In this week’s episode, we talk to Rachel Kiddell-Monroe, founder of the SeeChange initiative, which seeks to take a stand in the humanitarian sector and centre communities in a decolonised approach.Rachel tells us about taking a community-centred approach to humanitarian work which is built around connection, engagement, co-design, and reflection. They have developed practical, open-source frameworks to incorporate the needs of the communities they work with.Rachel emphasises the importance ...

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...

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...

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 situa...

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 ...

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 ...

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.Kim and Ishbel tell us about equitable compensation as being rooted in challenging Western ideologies around pay. The discourse around decolonisation and shifting ...

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 ...

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, wh...

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.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 prescript...

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 owner...

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 consequence...

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 approa...

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 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...

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.The paper features thematic case studies which focus on bodily autonomy, land rights, and territorial integrity across t...

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 ...

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 strengt...

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.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 loc...

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.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 l...