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Why the world should keep an eye on Djibouti Baobab WITH  the world's Africa-watchers distracted by bloody events in Libya and C ô te d'Ivoire, and elections in giant and chaotic Nigeria, it's easy to forget about a presidential election in Djibouti. The tiny state in the Horn of Africa, wedged between Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, has only 860,000 inhabitants. But Djibouti's importance is underscored by the presence of 5,000 or so French and American troops, a legacy of its status as a former French colony (it won independence in 1977) and a current western ally in the wars against terror and piracy. Results from the election on April 8 th  were swift and predictable:  President Ismail Guelleh of the People's Rally for Progress, who has ruled since 1999 (when he took over from his uncle), was re-elected by a landslide. According to Djibouti's electoral commission, around 80% of the votes were cast for Mr Guelleh, slightly down on the 10...

Thinking Small SSIR Opinion & Analysis This is spring conference season in philanthropy, filled with such events as Skoll World Forum, the Council on Foundations annual conference and the Global Philanthropy Forum (streaming live). At all of these conferences, there will be an invocation to dream big, to think big, to set audacious goals, and to reach for the stars—to believe in the power of social entrepreneurs, or foundations, or grassroots communities, or individuals to change the world. Grand plans and expansive visions will be the order of the day. I think we'd get a lot more value from these conferences if they encouraged people to think small. Recently I've been reading bits and pieces of Jane Jacobs' classic, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, and I stumbled across this: "The trouble with paternalists is that they want to make impossibly profound changes, and they choose impossibly superficial means for doing so....

Knapen respecteert wens vanuit Eerste Kamer Vice Versa - vakblad over ontwikkelingssamenwerking Staatssecretaris Knapen van Buitenlandse Zaken zal zich in 2012 over de begroting buigen om te kijken wat er mogelijk is voor MFS-II. Deze toezegging deed hij gisteravond tijdens het Algemeen Overleg over de Wereldbank en het IMF. Eerder die dag was er door de Eerste Kamer een motie aangenomen waarin de staatssecretaris opgroepen wordt de 50 miljoen euro bezuinigingen op MFS-II ongedaan te maken. Knapen liet tijdens het Algemeen Overleg weten de wensen die er in beide Kamers bestaan, te respecteren. Het Algemeen Overleg vond plaats aan de vooravond van de jaarlijkse s pring meetings van het IMF en de Wereldbank in Washington op 16 en 17 april, waar de ministers (of in het geval van Nederland de staatssecretarissen) van Financiën en Buitenlandse Zaken bij elkaar komen. Tijdens deze vergadering wordt onder meer overlegd over de zestiende middelenaanvulling...

Landenselectie Knapen: willekeur troef? Vice Versa - vakblad over ontwikkelingssamenwerking Op vrijdag 18 maart vond er een, voorlopig stille, revolutie plaats binnen het Nederlandse OS-beleid: de reductie van het aantal partnerlanden van de Nederlandse bilaterale ontwikkelingssamenwerking van 33 naar 15. De formele selectiecriteria gebruiken we hier als uitgangspunt voor een vergelijking tussen de 15 geselecteerde en 18 niet-geselecteerde landen. Op deze manier hopen wij een bijdrage te kunnen leveren aan de te voeren discussie over dit cruciale onderdeel van de Nederlandse OS. Door: Lau Schulpen, Rik Habraken en Luuk van Kempen (CIDIN) Landen vergeleken In de selectie van de landen spelen zes (groepen van) criteria een cruciale rol (zie bijlage 1 Focusbrief). Vijf van deze hebben betrekking op het ontwikkelingsland zelf terwijl het zesde verwijst naar het economische of (regio-nale) veiligheidsbelang van het land. Anders gezegd: de eerste vijf verwijzen na...

Has NGO advertising gone too far? Aid Watch by Alanna Shaikh . Alanna is a global health professional who blogs at UN Dispatch and Blood and Milk . Over the last couple of years, we have seen a lot of criticism of how international NGOs advertise and fundraise. There's a new term – "poverty porn" – and a new emphasis on thinking seriously about the true impact of advertising. I've heard three main arguments against oversimplified NGO advertising: These ads make donors stupid by convincing them that development problems have quick and easy answers. They also portray development itself as a rapid, simple process. This encourages donors to choose dumb projects that offer speedy, photogenic, solutions that are unlikely to have any real impact. A classic example is the over-funding of orphanages and fishing boats after the 2004 tsunami. NGO marketing demeans the individuals who benefit from aid efforts. It makes them look like passive victims inste...

Four Steps to a New Online Fundraising Strategy SSIR Opinion & Analysis Like millions of nonprofit organizations around the world, Global Press Institute (GPI), relies on generous individuals to give to our mission and programs. In the five-year history of GPI, a not-for-profit media organization that has trained and employed more than 110 women in 23 countries across the developing world to be professional journalists, small individual contributions have been a key ingredient to our life-support cocktail. We pride ourselves on a low-cost, high-impact model—our budget last year was less than $100,000. For years, we sported the standard "donate" button on the top-right corner of our website. But it produced meager and unreliable results, as socially conscious netizens tire of seeing them and eventually ignore them. In search of a new model, we ruled out social media, which requires copious time and money. Our organization publishes high-qualit...

People are not property: Please stop saying that countries "steal" doctors from Africa Chris Blattman This GUEST POST is written by Michael Clemens This week, Professor Jonathan Wolff has warned the world that the United States "steals doctors from poorer countries" because it "simply does not train enough doctors to meet its voracious appetite for medical attention." This is a strong accusation. Professor Wolff, a philosopher, should reconsider several dubious assumptions that his strong claim requires. First, it is illegitimate to assume that it is possible for anyone to "steal" a human being. The very concept of such an act requires it to be possible for human beings to be owned by others. The notion that health workers may be owned—while presumably Professor Wolff would be offended if any person or group claimed ownership of him—is offensive. It is also illegal where Professor Wolff resides: the United Kingdom outlaw...

Advice for Donating to Japan Disaster Relief Ken's Commentary To assist donors in making wise charitable giving choices in helping with the relief efforts in Japan, we, at Charity Navigator , offer these five main tips: Avoid newly formed charities: The disaster in Japan is of epic proportions. It will be a challenge for even long-established charities with years of experience to provide assistance and help rebuild. There is little chance that a brand new charity, even one with the best of intentions, will be efficient and effective. Send money, not supplies: In a disaster situation, to help victims quickly and effectively, cash is King. So many of us want to do something tangible. Our impulse is to box up used clothing or buy new supplies and ship it to the victims. But, even if you could mail such items, it is unlikely at best that there is someone waiting in Japan to receive your goods or direct them to those in need. This was evident during Haiti when ...