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 21, 2024
By Karl Weyrauch, Founder, Pygmy Survival Alliance
Bwiza Hillside 2009. Photo: K. Weyrauch
To most people in Rwanda, Bwiza Village was a place unseen, and to the outside world, it was less than that. It was both unseen, unheard of, and mostly unimaginable. Yet, the name “Bwiza” in Kinyarwanda, the national language of Rwanda, translates as “something good” and a place named “Bwiza” would essentially mean “a good place”. Clinging to the eastern slope of an unnamed hillside in Gasabo District, in the eastern-most part of the city of Kigali, Bwiza in 2009, was home to about 30 Batwa families who lived in a couple dozen stick and thatch huts scattered like buckshot across two ravines splitting the ridge like cracks in a loaf of crusty peasant bread.
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Posted on October 16, 2024
By Joel Putnam, Global Partnerships
Photo: Nilus
Global Partnerships is a GlobalWA member and a nonprofit impact-first investment fund manager dedicated to expanding opportunity for people living in poverty. We’re sharing their most-recently published Impact Brief below:
The Challenge
The number of people facing hunger has been rising for nearly a decade. Close to 30 percent of the global population now faces moderate to severe food insecurity, with households living in poverty or conflict zones at especially high risk.[1]
There are two key factors constraining access to healthy food: availability and affordability.
- Availability challenges often appear in two forms, particularly in urban areas: food deserts, where there are few or no places to buy food; and food swamps, where stores only sell unhealthy junk food.
- Affordability encompasses the absolute cost of food and the cost of a healthy diet relative to household income. In Latin America and the Caribbean, approximately 23 percent of the population cannot afford a healthy diet, and in sub-Saharan Africa that rate rises to a staggering 84 percent.[2]
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Posted on October 8, 2024
October 9, 2024, Seattle
Global Washington (GlobalWA), the premiere West Coast global development association, is pleased to announce an exciting new chapter. Elizabeth Stokely has been appointed as Executive Director and will play a pivotal role in leading the organization forward.
Elizabeth joins GlobalWA from Accion International, bringing over 16 years of global development experience across a variety of sectors and countries. Her extensive background in program design, strategy development and execution, and fundraising positions her as an invaluable asset to the organization. Elizabeth has a strong reputation for innovative thinking, transparent leadership, and a deep understanding of the industry landscape.
“I am honored to join Global Washington, an organization that has been instrumental in fostering collaboration and driving interdisciplinary approaches to addressing complex global problems. I look forward to working with our dedicated members to build partnerships, spark innovation, and continue strengthening Washington State’s role in creating a more prosperous world for all.”
In her role as Executive Director, Elizabeth will lead GlobalWA’s program development, member partnerships, and working groups, while ensuring financial sustainability, continued member support, and sound operations. Jane Meseck, who has been leading Global WA since June of 2024, will continue as Strategic Advisor, working one day a week to support Elizabeth’s transition into the ED role.
Sara Rogge, board chair of GlobalWA, said, “On behalf of the entire GlobalWA board, I am delighted to welcome Elizabeth as the new Executive Director. Elizabeth’s experience working in global development and her leadership experience working with diverse partners and geographies will serve her well as GlobalWA’s next leader. I also want to thank Jane Meseck for her leadership and support as the interim ED over the past 4 months and for her ongoing service to GlobalWA as Strategic Advisor.”
Background on Elizabeth Stokely
At Accion, Elizabeth led a diverse portfolio of global partners, securing investments in and shaping initiatives focused on financial inclusion and women’s economic empowerment with Mastercard, USAID, and many others. Her experiences founding a social impact consulting firm, leading projects on the ground with the Peace Corps and Fulbright, and engaging and convening global leaders at the Inter-American Dialogue, have provided her with the opportunity to lead diverse teams and facilitate collective action. She holds an MBA from USC’s Marshall School of Business and is fluent in Spanish.
Please contact Joel Meyers, Director of Communications, GlobalWA, at comms@globalwa.org with any questions.