Newsletter Issue 3: Understanding-Not Appropriating- Arab Revolutions

Read issue 3 of the newsletter of Knowledge Programme Civil Society in West Asia dedicated to Arab revolutions.   

Who the Hack?

One of the most sullied words that have pervaded public discourse, with the rise of the internet, is “hacker”. The word conjures up images of a silent, menacing, technology-savvy young man, who, with his almost magical control over the digital realm, manipulates systems, changes the laws, rewrites the rules and takes complete control. A hacker is defined by his ability to play around with the basic elements of a system and perform actions, sometimes for social good, but often, for fun and to explore the digital world’s frontiers. They are not the evil spirits that we often imagine them to be.

Old Wine, New Bottles? How the NeXt generation prepares for a take over

“Old Wine should become better as it ages”,

“Is New Wine good when it comes in plastic bottles?”

“I’m Old Wine, so what I am going to say might be a bit acid”

The proverb ‘Old wine in new bottles’ was tweaked and reformulated frequently on 24 March, when the Institute of Social Studies held the third and last debate in its Target 2020 series. Following the 2010 ISS debate series on the WRR report on development cooperation, this series discussed the way forward towards the year 2020, by looking to development cooperation from three different angles: new economic powers, new (philanthropic) financial resources, and the new generation.

Investing in the Immaterial

The heart of civil society work lies beyond what meets the eye, in the less visible qualitative dimensions of process, values and relationships. Yet, all over the world, practitioners find it increasingly difficult to secure the resources to honour the immaterial essence of development practice. ‘Investing in the immaterial’  is the central theme of CDRA’s first practice digest, a new platform for reflections on the practice of development. 

Food for Thought // Knowledge Lunchbox #1

This box will provide you find Food for Thought via links we have gathered for you in our first "Knowledge Lunchbox". The aim of the Lunchbox is to quickly inform you about the latest online discussions and publications related to the fields of civil society, theories of change and development effectiveness. Topics range from people to politics, and from power to.. poop. It is up to you what you would like to digest, dislike, or discuss. More to follow in the next Knowledge Lunchbox.

The End or the And?

Can civil society organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa succesfully advocate, lobby and mobilize to fight poverty and corruption, and to bring development and democracy? Have citizens’ organizations in the new roles of policy making and participation in service delivery been able to realize the high hopes and aspirations surrounding their explosive growth. And how has international assistance promoted or hindered their struggle to catalyze social change and pro-poor development? To answer these questions, Ria Brouwers, researcher and lecturer at ISS has assembled four studies that were conducted by ISS MA-students in our Civil Society Building Knowledge Programme.

Theory of Change

The Theory of Change approach applied to social change processes represents a thinking-action alternative to other more rigid planning approaches and logics. When living in complex and conflictive times, we need to count with more flexible instruments that allow us to plan and monitor our actions in uncertain, emergent, and complex contexts from a flexible and non-rigid logic. As known, this thinking-action approach is also applied to institutional coaching processes and to the design of social development and change programs. This Guide synthesizes the core of the methodological contents and steps that are developed in a Theory of Change design workshop.

20: So Many Similarities: Linking Domestic Dissent to Foreign Threat in Iran

This paper offers an analysis of Iran’s hardline narrative about the 2009 events in general and the Green Movement in particular. This narrative dismisses domestic challenges to the regime as a product of Western interference. The paper shows that this narrative is a product not of simple paranoia, but an inherently consistent and thought through narrative based in existing understanding of Western meddling. 

The regime not only tries to defuse opposition by connecting it to a foreign threat, but also aims to justify the violence used against journalists, reformers and Green Movement activists by branding them as ‘agents of the West’. Whether the regime succeeds in selling their message to a broader Iranian public remains the question, and may partly rely on the availability of a counter-narrative from the side of the Greens. 

Provocation Seminar Series: Pro-poor business, development and smallholder empowerment

The fifth in a series of six seminars on markets and small-scale farmers will take place in Brussels, Belgium on 22 June 2011, 10.30-13.30 in the European Parliament, Room A3H-1. 

Why this provocation? As interest in ‘markets that work for the poor’ grows, the private sector is changing how it works to be more inclusive of the rural poor. Approaches such as fair trade, corporate social responsibility and inclusive business models claim to meet commercial objectives while also reducing poverty, securing livelihoods and empowering small-scale producers. But to what extent do they actually deliver on their promises? Find out more at: www.iied.org/provocation5 

Rise of religion in public space not a problem

The Indonesian team of the Pluralism Knowledge Programme recently discussed its concept of civic pluralism with experts from academia, civil society, government and media. The Jakarta Post published the following article.

Stretching a Human Rights Approach in Search of Social Justice

Rights based strategies for obtaining social justice tend to focus on claiming legal rights at the level of the nation state. Drawing on findings from the Hivos knowledge programme in India, South Africa and Uganda, we argue that such a ‘purist’ rights based approach may overlook the potential of ´culture´ as a complementary source of inspiration for civic action.

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