Women in the Global South know exactly how to support their own communities – so why don’t we get behind them?

Halima BegumGender, Innovation, Power Shifts

What does it mean for international NGOs to truly shift power? At Oxfam, we think our fund for grassroots women’s rights organisations, which is founded on the principle that our partners should decide what to spend money on, holds some of the answers. Oxfam GB CEO Dr Halima Begum writes here about a project that has just won two 2025 Charity Awards. 

‘We fall, we rebuild, we dance again’: repression and resilience in queer Beirut

Ghiwa Abi HaidarRights

If you want to understand the progress of LGBTQIA+ liberation in Lebanon’s capital, our nightlife is a great place to start, says Ghiwa Abi Haidar. In a blog for Pride month, she looks back at a scene that has suffered bouts of brutal violence and censorship but where queer people are today once again finding rare freedom and radical joy on the dancefloor.

Water security is not just an engineering problem: it’s about power

Jo TrevorParticipation and Leadership, Power Shifts, Water

How to finance real water justice around the globe? Jo Trevor on four insights from a thought-provoking workshop at the recent Marmalade Festival in Oxford.

No logframe, no indicators and no workplan: what can we learn from a malnutrition project that is truly community-led?

Stephanie BuellFood security, Innovation, Research

What happens when you support communities unconditionally to act as they see fit to tackle malnutrition? You get initiatives that seem, on the face of it, a long way from typical malnutrition interventions, whether that’s making soap, refurbishing a health centre or starting a poultry farm. Stephanie Buell of Action Contre la Faim on the “Boolo Xeex Xibon” project in Senegal – and how it actually put the community at the centre of the fight against malnutrition.

‘We can use our power, and create our own narratives’: a new era for Oxfam Indonesia

Oxfam International Confederation Development TeamGovernance, Innovation, Power Shifts

Oxfam Indonesia’s country office is stepping back to make way for local organisation the Penabulu Foundation, which is now on the path to joining 22 other member organisations, as a full Oxfam affiliate. What will this mean? We talk to outgoing country director Maria Lauranti, who has played a pivotal role in the change.

‘It feels like a more innocent time for Oxfam and for our belief in progress’: looking back on Make Poverty History 

Dominic VickersAid, Debt, Influencing

Twenty years after he watched Nelson Mandela’s rousing launch speech in Trafalgar Square, Dominic Vickers reflects on the impact of the landmark Make Poverty History campaign for trade justice, debt relief and better aid – and wonders if a new generation can take up the cause again. 

No English? No French? No job: why NGOs need to rethink their insistence on colonial languages

Abbas KigoziParticipation and Leadership, Power Shifts

You could speak three languages and still not count as ‘bilingual’ to many development sector recruiters – and that needs to change, says Oxfam in Africa’s Abbas Kigozi.

Guest speakers are not enough: this Black History Month, we need to ask where NGOs go from here on racial justice 

Rhaea Russell-CartwrightPower Shifts, Racial justice, Rights

Oxfam GB racial justice lead Rhaea Russell-Cartwright reflects on how far Oxfam and similar UK-based organisations have come and what they should think about next to deliver on racial justice – including the implications of racist riots in Britain, the need for solidarity across borders and ensuring that celebrations of this month centre the experiences of our Black staff.  It’s …