Knowledge & Change Spotlight: Michael Edwards

Keynote speaker

The ‘spotlight session’ provides a daily preview of key events of our upcoming Knowledge Dialogue. Today we wish to highlight Michael Edwards, writer on the global role of philanthropy and civil society, who will give the opening address to our conference on September 29^th.

Michael Edwards will provide the audience with his own perspective on academic-practitioner collaboration and the relationship between knowledge and social and economic change. Edwards – who describes himself as both a researcher and an activist – has an extensive background with several donor organizations and NGOs. From 1999 to 2008 he was the Director of the Ford Foundation's Governance and Civil Society Program in New York. Before he has worked for the World Bank, Oxfam-GB, Save the Children-UK and other NGOs in Washington DC, London, Colombia, Zambia, Malawi, and India.

Similarly as our Civil Society Building Knowledge Programme, Edwards is raising the question as to which role civil society can play in bringing about social transformation and which effect external involvement has.

See for instance one of his articles on ´Have NGO´s made a difference?´, his books or his whereabouts just a couple of days ago or come to the opening of the Hivos Knowledge & Change Dialogue on September 29^th in The Hague.

Time: Wednesday 29 September, 9.45-11.00. To participate in the Knowledge Dialogue, you can register here