A changing world poses new challenges, and opens up new opportunities, for Oxfam’s work to end poverty, inequality, and injustice. Steve Price Thomas, Oxfam International’s Director of Advocacy and Campaigns explains why Oxfam has adopted a ‘world-wide influencing’ approach, as part of a series on influencing for change. Our world faces seismic shifts—is Oxfam prepared to deal with them? More …
Putting gender at the heart of national budgeting
Having an accountable system for public spending is central to the democratic relationship between citizens and the state. What if gender inequality was taken into account in the budget process? Poe Ei Phyu and Jasmine Burnley share key findings from Oxfam in Myanmar’s research into gender responsive budgeting. A country’s budget can be the most powerful tool a government has …
Influencing for social justice: nudge, shove, show or shout?
What do, closed door talks with civil servants about climate change, street theatre about the impacts of domestic violence, and anti-tax haven marches have in common? Answer: They’re all about influencing for a fairer, safer, greener world. Sally Golding and Ruth Mayne introduce the what, how and why of ‘influencing’ in the first of a new series of blog posts. …
Does knowledge matter in setting the development agenda?
Are marginalised people being overlooked in decision making processes around development and adaptation? Daniel Morchain reflects on the relationship between knowledge and power to influence outcomes. The more I think about development challenges, and the more I see and hear people talking about them, the more I think they come down to a struggle between knowledge and power. Knowledge in the …
How programme learning in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) led to piloting a new approach to governance and protection
As we publish a new research report, Protection and Governance: Linking good practice in protection and governance programmes in the DRC, Annabel Morrissey reflects on what Oxfam has learnt about the cross over between governance and protection and how this learning is being used. hen, for the first time ever in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), people refused to …
Sexual harassment and victimization of women on public transport
It is estimated 35% of women globally have experience sexual violence, with many more reporting sexual harassment. In the rise of urban living, how does this affect gender equality in today’s world? Yasemin Irvin-Erickson and Annie Gurvis from the Justice Policy Center examine how this can be tackled. The past 40 years have seen dramatic changes in the policy, practice, and research on …
Nothing for us without us: Participatory processes and the New Urban Agenda
Half the world’s population live in cities, and urban informal workers make important economic, social, and environmental contributions to city life. Rhonda Douglas from WIEGO argues that the New Urban Agenda must include all urban stakeholders, including the working poor, to ensure it doesn’t leave anyone behind. More than 50% of the non-agricultural work force in most developing countries is …
The new urban agenda: Rights and transformative change
Richard Friend explores The New Urban Agenda in the SDGs and assesses issues around governance in the context of urban development. The New Urban Agenda with its call for “a shared vision of cities for all” appears to offer much in setting development objectives for the coming decades, but it is undermined by a combination of its inability to draw on history …
New series launch on urban development
Hashim Zaidi, Global Urban Work Lead, introduces a new blog series on urban development and why it is important to Oxfam. Cities today are home to 3.9 billion people accounting for 54% of the total world’s population. UN-Habitat estimates that an additional 2.5 billion people will live in cities by 2050 with almost 90% of this increase happening in Asia and Africa. …
Matthew Spencer vlogs on his recent trip to the DRC
Our Director of Campaigns, Policy and Influencing, reflects on how Oxfam is working with communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Cholera treatments and civil rights.