Development Archives - From Aid to Maturity

What Do You Want Your Country to Look Like in the Future?

06/12/2017 by sissel Leave a Comment

What should your country ideally look like in 10, 30 or 50 years time?

Following the news or listening to conversations , it is very seldom you come across anything about how people vision the future of their country. And that is the case in any of the countries I have visited or lived in. People may have some visions related to specific issues, such as a fossil free society, or less poverty. However very few, if any, say anything about what an equal and just society would actually look like. Painting vivid pictures, that makes others think : “I want to go there!”

We Need Visions

Visions give people hope and purpose, and can give rise to mass movements. Therein lied the greatness of leaders such as Gandhi and Mandela. They articulated dreams of a better and brighter future. Dreams that so many shared; and subsequently became an irresistible force the old regimes could not resist. [Read more…]

The Cure for Ending Harassment: the Emancipation of Men

19/11/2017 by sissel Leave a Comment

The Emancipation of Man by Olof Palme. Copyright: Olof Palme’s family.

The issue of woman’s emancipation is actually about man’s emancipation.

In this video, Jan Eliasson ( the previous Deputy-Secretary General of the United Nations), talks about how Olof Palme, a former Swedish prime minister, explained this to him:

http://sustainability.thomsonreuters.com/women/jan-eliasson-full-interview/

In a nearly fifty year old paper ,“The Emancipation of Man”, Olof Palme, elaborates the matter and highlights the disadvantages of men’s traditional roles. In many parts of the world this paper is still highly topical. In other countries, Palme’s ideas would be regarded as ridiculous. I, as a woman, could even be arrested for posting this blog. [Read more…]

Amazing Elderly Women and a Remarkable NGO in Nepal

07/08/2017 by sissel Leave a Comment

This is a feel-good story from Nepal. It is about a national NGO called Ageing Nepal and their “Basic Literacy Class for Older Persons” that ran for six months in 2016. Among all the bad news about “end of aid” and funding cuts, we do need some good stories. It is also about a remarkable NGO; showing a profound care and respect for the participants in the project.

[Read more…]

“I am a Man and I am Primitive”

25/04/2017 by sissel Leave a Comment

Gender stereotypes play a large part in persistent gender inequality. Women are still expected to be humble and withdrawn, or, in many cultures, submissive.

Men are still excused, by other men and many women, for their sexist or even violent behaviour. Because they are, apparently, “not able to control themselves.”

It is easy to find stories about poor girls and women being forced to marry their rapists. What is even worse is that religious and political leaders often support these decisions. “Woman tempted man. He, of course, could not help himself.” I can only try to imagine the fear and horror these women have to go through.

Primitive and Powerful

But this archaic behaviour does not only occur in certain cultures. Sexual harassment and misconduct still seem to be widespread even in countries where men and women are relatively equal. [Read more…]

Sunk Cost Bias. What Is That?

24/04/2017 by sissel Leave a Comment

Burn money. Credit: http://taxrebate.org.uk/

Sunk cost bias is one the concepts presented in the World Development Report 2015: Mind, Society and Behaviour. Since I assume many of you do not have the time or the energy to read that report, I will try to give you an apprehensible explanation; and some reasons for why you should know.

In an aid context, sunk cost is when you persist with a project, despite its obvious flaws or absence of results. You, your office or your organization have invested so much money and effort into it that is hard to admit your failures. And the more you have invested, and the more you have lost, the more likely you are to head on; despite knowing that the project is beyond rescue.

Waste Aversion

Why do we humans do such a thing? Looking at it from the outside it seems rather stupid, to say the least. Especially if we claim ourselves to be well educated and “rational”? [Read more…]

Traffic Behaviour: A Parameter for Development?

08/04/2017 by sissel Leave a Comment

Traffic can be a daunting experience in many countries. And much more so in lesser developed countries. Several times (read: many) I have showed other drivers what I feel about their behaviour.

Not very commendable, despite lambasting them from inside a car, in my own language. And of course, to no avail.

In order to calm my nerves, when stuck in a traffic jam, I started to reflect on the link between traffic behaviour and level of development. And came to the conclusion, there must be a connection.

Examples

The first day in my own car, in the traffic in Vientiane, Laos I experienced several heart attacks and nervous breakdowns. A motorbike, suddenly making a U-turn in front of me, or a lorry, deciding to park there and then, in the middle of the street. [Read more…]

‘It Is the Behaviour, Stupid’

07/02/2017 by sissel Leave a Comment

Many aid and development programmes focus merely on technology and knowledge transfer or on providing services. That is the reason why many of them do not achieve their intended results. Because the heart of the matter: mindset and behaviour, is not addressed.

A good example is the recent Ebola epidemic in West Africa, described by many as a behaviour-driven crisis. Traditional burial practices together with distrust in government and health authorities were the main drivers behind the epidemic. [Read more…]