Renewable Energy Policy Advisor, Kevin Johnstone, outlines some of the educational benefits of solar study lamp campaigns, and their potential to achieve much more. The cost of night studies Sometimes Bintu’s family couldn’t afford batteries for home lighting, and on those nights, she couldn’t complete her school work. Bintu’s mother explained that if “you don’t have batteries, your children will …
Standing up for women’s rights and local leadership in Uganda
Elizabeth Stevens describes how a small, local NGO has had an outsized impact on Uganda’s refugee response. Heart, guts, big ideas, and an investor. If you are launching a tiny women’s organization into the rough-and-tumble world of humanitarian response, you had better have all four. That’s what I concluded from my time with African Women and Youth Action for Development …
What does it mean to be a responsible evaluator? Five key reflections from the 13th EES Biennial Conference
In this blog, Marta Arranz, Andrea Azevedo and Alexia Pretari share their reflections from the 13th European Evaluation Society (EES) Biennial Conference, commenting on some of the emerging debates, and inviting other evaluators to join in and share their views. It was our first EES conference and we were approaching it with curiosity and excitement. Three intense days ahead. A …
Land is where it all begins
When land rights are jeopardised, so are the livelihoods of the people who depend on it. As Oxfam launches a new land rights website, Barbara Codispoti highlights some of the key things we have learned. Land is so much more than just a means for production. Securing rights to land allows people greater political power, community representation, and economic security. …
Investing in women’s entrepreneurship is not enough
Ahead of the Gender Smart Investing Summit, Caroline Ashley, Miranda Morgan, Thalia Kidder and Fabian Llinares set out Oxfam’s top tips for gender-smart investing. So you want to invest in women and girls. You want to improve lives and tackle deep-seated problems. But will you be practical and ambitious, tokenistic or transformational? We think some of what we have learnt from years …
What I learned at CaLP’s Cash and Gender Event
Steph Roberson reflects back on CaLP’s recent cash week in London, and particularly on their gender and cash event. I recently attended CaLP’s Gender and Cash event in London. And it turns out there is quite a lot we don’t know about gender and cash transfer programming. CaLP have collected a range of technical papers on gender and cash, and …
#TechWomenAfrica: Connected women and youth-bridging the digital divide
Muthoni Maingi, Head of Digital Campaigns at Oxfam International, reflects on the challenges for gender equality in online spaces and her recent visit to the #TechWomenAfrica conference. Earlier this month I had the privilege of attending the #TechWomenAfrica conference held in Accra, Ghana. The meeting convened over 250 women and girls from across the continent to discuss solutions for unlocking …
Beyond a phone in your pocket: feminist analysis of the digital age
Amy O’Donnell, a specialist on digital technologies at Oxfam and Board member of anti-harassment charity Hollaback!, outlines the Gender & Development Journal’s new ICTs issue and two launch events. Having a phone in your pocket isn’t necessarily as empowering and life-changing as it’s cracked up to be. Development actors are having a passionate moment with ICTs right now, and certainly digital offers …
Sampling strategies for gendered impact evaluations
How can evaluators ensure that gendered power dimensions are accounted for in impact evaluations? Alexia Pretari reflects on the relative merits of two approaches. Oxfam’s approach to building resilience involves bringing about changes ‘in the very structures that cause and maintain poverty and injustice’ (transformative capacity), and building active citizenship involves addressing power imbalances, including building power within. While working …
Introducing the new Gender Handbook for Humanitarian Action
For World Humanitarian Day Tess Dico-Young reflects on the process of producing the new, improved, IASC Gender Handbook for Humanitarian Action. Huge shifts have occurred in the humanitarian sector and humanitarian programme cycles over the past twelve years, including in standards and expectations for the integration of gender equality. Which is why, under the leadership of UN Women, and with …