In Which Zadie Smith Advocates for Doing Development Differently
Zadie Smith takes up the cause of reformist development experts by illustrating the importance of local context and constant adaptation.
[Development] Focusing on Metrics and Not People
Whew. I just published the third and final part of my “New Era of Media Development” series over at Idea Lab. I’m glad to have that out of the way. I know I’ve been whining quite a bit lately about the funding community, but that’s...The New Era of Media Development
Update: I’ve decided to publish this one over at Idea Lab instead. Below is a teaser. Media development as a field within international development has existed for at least 30 years. Broadly speaking, media development organizations provide financial support,...
The Chapters of Cities
This is an especially American perspective of looking at the development of cities, but I think that the same basic evolution is generally true for cities around the world, even if they haven’t yet reached some of the later chapters. Chapter 1: Make-shift Slums...[Video] TauTona Gold Mine
Another video from our bloggers’ trip to South Africa. In March 1886, nearly forty years after the California Gold Rush, legend has it that Australian gold miner George Harrison stumbled across a rocky outcrop of gold in what was then the Zuid Afrikaanse...The South Africa Bloggers Roadshow and the Trade Versus Aid Hypothesis
Greetings from Cape Town, South Africa. I am here thanks to a blog post by Matthew Buckland, a comment left by Mohamed Nanabhay, and the kind invitation of Simon Barber of the International Marketing Council of South Africa. Starting on November 30 I will be part of a...
Monrovia
She had the silent solemnity of those who are either insistently spoiled or have suffered greatly. I felt badly for having taken her seat – I was sure, but wrong, that the Accra to Monrovia leg of the flight would be less crowded. But she waved me back down with...
Rebuilding Liberia's Media
How do you rebuild a country from scratch? First you need a government. Liberia, so far, has that under the leadership of President Ellen “Irony Lady” Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female head of state. Second, especially in the case of a...Bangladesh
It’s difficult to believe that it’s that time again. Looking around my hotel room, all my stuff strewn about, and knowing that somehow, someway, it will all fit back into my little suitcase. Early tomorrow morning I will head back to the one place that has...Big Banks Crush Mobile Innovation in Bangladesh
In addition to struggling through Amartya Sen’s The Argumentative Indian, I’m also reading Lawrence Lessig’s Free Culture. I first encountered Lessig in an international political economy class in college. This was before I was blogging and before...Latest Photos
