Blog
Contributor Guidelines
Submitting guest blogs is open to Global Washington’s members of the Atlas level and above. We value a diversity of opinions on a broad range of subjects of interest to the global health and development community.
Blog article submissions should be 500-1500 words. Photos, graphs, videos, and other art that supports the main themes are strongly encouraged.
You may not be the best writer, and that’s okay. We can help you shape and edit your contribution. The most important thing is that it furthers an important conversation in your field, and that it is relatively jargon-free. Anyone without a background in global development should still be able to engage with your ideas.
If you include statistics or reference current research, please hyperlink your sources in the text, wherever possible.
Have an idea of what you’d like to write about? Let’s continue the conversation! Email comms@globalWA.org and put “Blog Idea” in the subject line.
Posted on October 13, 2014
By Alex Blair, Extractive Industries Press Officer, Oxfam America, a GlobalWA member
When Ghana discovered oil in 2007, it was hoped that the resource would help transform the country’s economy. Ghana was once known as the Gold Coast, so it’s quite familiar with the risk of the “resource curse” – when countries rich in oil, gas and minerals don’t see the full benefits of that wealth. Gold hasn’t translated into development; in fact, the industry caused years of human rights and environmental problems. With oil expected to bring $1 billion to the government each year for the next 20 years, Ghana hopes to better manage these revenues in order to reduce poverty and fuel sustainable development. Continue Reading
Posted on October 6, 2014
By Liv Froehlich
On September 21 at Westlake Park in downtown Seattle, thousands congregated as part of a global movement called the People’s Climate March – the largest example of climate activism the world has ever seen, and an effort to build on the momentum generated by the UN Climate Summit which took place in New York in late September.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon hosted the UN Climate Summit in an effort to encourage world leaders to engage in climate action and end the gridlock that has been surrounding climate dialogue for decades. While the active participation of global leaders at the Climate Summit was critical, it was the narratives that came out of the marches that gave a face to many of the issues being discussed in New York. The People’s Climate March was organized by the group 350.org, a grassroots climate organization, alongside more than 1,000 additional participating organizations.
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Posted on September 29, 2014
By Kristen Holway, Senior Manager of Ethnography and Learning, Philanthropy Northwest
Small foundations and family funds are increasingly providing essential investments to small organizations based in developing countries. These funders tend to be nimble, tolerate risk and understand the need for both seed funding and general operating grants. However, it can be challenging to evaluate small, international investments. Evaluations are sometimes more costly than the value of the grant. Small organizations may be resource constrained and not have the capacity to conduct a robust analysis. Data can be unreliable or unavailable. And differences in race, ethnicity, power and culture can thwart meaningful relationship development and trust.
So, how can a small foundation engaged in international philanthropy right-size their evaluation expectations and practices?
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