Small-scale farmers in China in the face of modernisation and globalisation

The development of China as a global economic power is one of the most dramatic stories of recent decades. China’s economy has been the fastest growing in the world since 1980. Rapid growth has occurred in all sectors, including agriculture, accompanied by rapid poverty reduction. In the past 30 years, based on China’s official povertyline, the absolute level of rural poverty fell from 260 million (36 per cent of rural population) in 1978 to 26.9 million (2.8 per cent of rural population) in...

Syria’s Electoral Reforms: Myths and Facts

The Syrian people need to reject the new constitution because it  comes from the point of lost political and moral legitimacy, it comes  under continuous violence, and it does not fit Syria's future.

Video: Global Learning Network at Work 3rd Meeting - Indonesia

"You are aware that The Global Learning Network of Hivos–IIED knowledge programme on ‘Small producers’ agency in globalised markets’ held its third and last meeting in Bandung between 13-17 February. It was hosted and organized by Dr. Ronnie S. Natawidjaja, Chairman, Master of Agricultural Economics Program Faculty of Agriculture Padjadjaran University (UNPAD). 16 learning network members from Africa, Latin America and Asia came together to share their insights, challenge each other and...

A New Quota System for Syria

The different quotas introduced in this analysis are meant to provide a  more stable, progressive, and efficient future for Syria.

The Relevance of a Presidential Electoral System in Syria

Based on the political needs of Syria, a Presidential system is still the best for the future of the country. That said, people’s demands can best be met with a customized Presidential system.

An Anatomy of the Onset of Syria's Popular Uprising

The Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs held a lecture series as part of the AUB Arab Uprisings Research Initiative that was launched under the aegis of the AUB Provost's office in December 2011. This open-ended, multi-sectoral initiative  harnesses  AUB's research, analysis and convening resources to engage   constructively with the historic changes taking place across the Arab World. The lecture entitled: "An Anatomy of the Onset of Syr...

Stories of Freedom

Read this interesting personal account of Amjad Baiazy, the Syrian human rights and civil society activist, who was imprisoned by the Syrian authorities on May 12, 2011 and released on June 30, 2011. While in prison, Amajd Baiazy engaged in discussions with inmates on the myths and realities surrounding the Syrian revolution. In this personal account and analysis, Amjad Baiazy addresses the topics of sectarianism, start of the revolution in Daraa, role of Islamists and ‘conspiracy theories’....

New research may hold key to Indonesia’s church-building controversy

The  tensions around of Yasmin Church in Bogor are troubling, but not representative of the status of churches across the country. Research by the Pluralism Knowledge Programme illustrates what is needed to overcome religious tensions in communities.

Managing militarization in Syria

The most prominent and most troubling of the trends that have shaped the Syrian uprising over the past year is the militarization of the uprising and its transformation from a largely peaceful protest movement to a low-level insurgency dominated not by citizen activists but by a dangerous and uncoordinated array of armed opposition fighters. Dealing with this trend is the most urgent task facing the United States, the Arab League, the European Union, Turkey and the rest of the "Friends o...

The Third Global Learning Network Meeting

02/03/2012 Reshaping the debate on small-scale farmers looking into the future; news from Indonesia, a country of millions of very small-scale producers.The Global Learning Network of Hivos – IIED knowledge programme on ‘Small producers’ agency in globalised markets’ held his third and last meeting in Bandung between 13-17 February. It was hosted and organized by Dr. Ronnie S. Natawidjaja, Chairman, Master of Agricultural Economics Program Faculty of Agriculture Padjadjaran University (UNPAD). 16 learni...

Transparency and Accountability vs. Privacy

“Big data” projects generally, and biometric schemes in particular, have faced intense scrutiny and opposition the world over. Apart from posing fairly obvious threats to civil liberties and constitutional freedoms, they are prone to more practical errors around reliability, security, accuracy and access. India is one example of a country on the cusp of a radical shift towards increasing digitisation and e-governance, seemingly without much thought being given to the potential dangers of such...

Regional Perspectives on the ‘Dignity Revolutions

This policy paper provides unique perspectives from Middle Eastern   activists who are part of popular protests across the region. The   recommendations are based on their perspectives and addressed to the EU   at large European Commission, the Dutch government and  Non-Governmental  Organisations in order for them to best support the  democratic  transitions in the region.These perspectives were the subject of lively and inspiring debates at...

Beyond Philanthropy

In 2007, Hivos, an international non-governmental organisation inspired by humanist values, formed a partnership with Logica, a global IT company, and the Mamidipudi Venkatarangaiua Foundation (MVF), an Indian organisation working to abolish child labour. This NGO–business partnership, lasting four years, engaged highly skilled Logica consultants from the Netherlands and India to work with MVF to develop a management information system (MIS) and child monitoring system (CMS). This partnership...

BlueCoat: US technology surveilling Syrian citizens online

In the context of repression in the Middle East and North Africa,  surveillance technology has played a key role in providing authoritarian  regimes with the tools necessary to track citizens online. Among these  companies, BlueCoat has proved to be the most efficient in helping the Syrian regime control every movement of Syrians on the Internet.

Regional Perspectives on the ‘Dignity Revolutions

This policy paper provides unique perspectives from Middle Eastern  activists who are part of popular protests across the region. The  recommendations are based on their perspectives and addressed to the EU  at large European Commission, the Dutch government and Non-Governmental  Organisations in order for them to best support the democratic  transitions in the region.

Syria's crisis: A 'war of attrition' and a 'marathon', experts say

Read the interesting article of Ahram Online on the conference Emerging Spheres of Civil Engagement in Syria organised by Hivos, Arab Forum for Alternatives and University of Amsterdam on 24-25 October 2011 in Cairo.

The Syrian Uprising and the Power of Stories

On  a daily basis scores of Syrian activists upload their YouTube footage  of protests and the regime’s atrocities, hoping that someone will watch  them, become outraged, and act in ways to support the uprising. Given  the regime’s information blackout, a lot can be learned from these video  snapshots. Yet otherwise the eerie silence from Syria has been deafening. Rarely  are Syrian activists given a voice to express their grievances, wishes,  desires, aspir...

Making a difference, online and offline

A new collection examines how technology and issues of connectivity are shaping the lives of ‘digital natives’—and how the Net can influence social change. The Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore, and The Hague, Netherlands-based Hivos Knowledge Programme recently launched a four- book collection, Digital AlterNatives with a Cause?, edited by Nishant Shah and Fieke Jansen. Jansen is the knowledge officer for the Digital AlterNatives with a Cause? Programme at Hivos. In the book, resear...

Pluralism, Civil Society and Subaltern Counterpublics

This new Pluralism Working Paper reflects on the concerns of pluralism in India, from the vantage point of the ‘new’ subaltern counterpublics. It presents a case for civil society organizations (CSOs) that might facilitate a reconsideration of their conceptual frames and strategies for intervention in the light of recent developments.

What Support for the Protest Movement?

If the creeping massacre of the Syrian population is to be stopped,  now is the time to send out an unambiguous message, warns Volker  Perthes, expert on the Near East and director of the German Institute  for International and Security Affairs

The Arab Spring: Common Roots, Common Challenges

Ongoing revolutions in the Arab world signify another iteration of a  process the world has witnessed before in various regions, including  Southern and Eastern Europe, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa.  Observers were wondering why the cloud of democracy passed over the Arab  World without raining. This question led analysts to believe in what  was called “Arab exceptionalism,” or the alleged incompatibility of the  societies of the region with democratic de...

Hivos Advices The Netherlands Advisory Council On International Affairs on Support to Democratic Reforms in the Middle East

As a reaction to popular uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa, The Dutch Advisory Council On International Affairs (AIV) requested Hivos and other Dutch NGOs on 21st of April to advice it on how the Dutch government could support reforms, democratization processes and rule of law in the region. Today the 28th of June the Dutch parliament debates about the AIV advise entitled Reforms in the Arab Region: Opportunities for Democracy and Rule of Law (Dutch translation) as well as the res...

The Arab revolutions: an end to dogma

The popular uprisings in the Arab world are a great disaster for a radical camp led by Syria-Iran and long indulged by media such as al-Jazeera. A great opportunity follows, says Hazem Saghieh.