Capacity4dev’s objective is to connect the development community. But while a lot of the activity on our platform happens in groups and communities of practice, did you know that we also have our very own magazine?
Each week, the journalists from our Voices & Views section publish articles featuring development and humanitarian actors from across the world. From multi-perspective long forms to short Q&As, these articles weave even the most complex topics into engaging and informative narratives.
What works, what doesn’t, and why? Our aim is to share the insights and lessons learned, highlighting the key challenges and good practices, with the goal of improving the quality of aid, capacity development and policy.
In 2018, we published 39 Voices & Views articles, doing our best to focus on the most relevant themes for development practitioners. Below is just a small selection of some of our most popular stories.
Gender
Gender sensitivity has never been higher on the development agenda. One of our most-widely read pieces looked at how the Islamic Relief Worldwide uses an intersectionality framework in its programming to better understand gender identities, their social positions and immediate and strategic impacts.
In Mozambique, we spoke to the Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to find out what is being done to assist women impacted by the mining industry. An EU-funded project there has developed 38 women’s and peasants’ associations, bringing together women and girls to learn about their legal rights, share their concerns and build leadership skills.
One in three women is estimated to have experienced physical or sexual violence during their lifetime – a fact often hidden, and too high to be ignored. In May, we talked to the EU Delegations to Guatemala and Mexico about the countries’ selection for the Spotlight Initiative, and the programme’s role in a region deemed the world’s most violent for women.
Digitalisation
Over the last 20 years, digital technologies have reshaped the scope of international development. From the Internet of things and open data to artificial intelligence and robotics, emerging technologies have presented unprecedented opportunities for social and economic transformation across the world. But their implementation is riddled with many challenges, as we found out in this Q&A from February.
The humanitarian community lags behind in its use of digital technology. In September, we spoke to the lead at the Humanitarian Data Exchange platform about the reasons why humanitarian data isn’t always easily accessible. The article was part of our special series on digitalisation in humanitarian assistance.
Environment
Protecting the natural environment must go hand in hand with empowering the communities that depend on it. That’s the credo Jane Goodall – arguably the world’s best-known primatologist – lives by every day. Early last year, Goodall told us why she stopped working in the field to focus on environmental activism.
Home to rare and endangered species, the Congo’s national parks are also sites of human conflict. Without addressing the material drivers behind ecological degradation, conservation risks a losing battle. For Virunga, tackling socio-economic challenges facing local populations has become a necessity in preserving its natural heritage, as you can find out in our interview with the park’s director, Emmanuel de Merode.
What to expect
This year, you’ll notice quite a few changes in how we produce our content. In the coming months, we plan on publishing more thematic packages, in lieu of stand-alone weekly articles. These will touch on issues like education, gender mainstreaming, culture, local authorities, climate change and more, providing a plethora of perspectives and insights on the most pressing issues in our everyday development work.
We’ll be using more innovative storytelling techniques, like animations and infographics. There will also be podcast series, to follow up on the one we piloted last year. So, stay tuned, and, as always, contact us with story ideas on development heroes, projects and programmes.
Wishing you all the best in 2019,
the Capacity4dev Editorial Team
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