By Sheila Mulli, Regional Program Manager – Voice Kenya & Tanzania Money is always a tough conversation to have in any relationship, whether personal or professional. In my short time as a grant maker, I’ve come to realize that money conversations will never be easy, and they definitely play a large part in the power […]
By Mendi Njonjo, Regional Director, Hivos East Africa As the rest of the world continued with information exchanges online, a wall of silence fell on citizens of Nigeria on Friday, June 4, 2021. The federal government announced a ban on Twitter, leading to a full blackout affecting millions of users that is now entering its […]
2021 marks 40 years since the first case of AIDS was reported in the world, signalling the rise of an epidemic that is not a respecter of geographic location, gender, race, ethnicity or age. In fact, low income countries have been worst hit with extreme impact on vulnerable populations such as women and the youth. […]
By Churchill Ongere, Anthony Wafula and Sally Akinyi The digital era has come of age and now influences or affects multiple aspects of our lives. Most would characterize it as an information explosion that has made knowledge – once the prestigious perk of elite groups – a widely-accessible tool for human development. News production is […]
The 10th anniversary edition of RightsCon is taking place next week. The (online) event brings together business leaders, human rights defenders, government representatives, technologists, and journalists from around the world to tackle the most pressing issues at the intersection of human rights and technology. Issues that are also high on Hivos’ change agenda. This year, Hivos […]
By Conrad Zellmann, Impact Lead for Civic Rights in a Digital Age Societies everywhere find themselves amidst a storm of challenges. Inequality and discrimination, weak defenses against corruption, and widespread disinformation undermine our ability to confront the global Covid-19 pandemic and the climate crisis. This week we celebrated Open Government Week. The values that are […]
By Sally Akinyi and Mumbi Mugo The Covid-19 pandemic continues to have far-reaching consequences globally. Countries have been ravaged socially and economically, with public health systems on the brink of collapse and job losses rivaling the Great Depression. While governments have been swift to cushion citizens with medical responses, lockdowns and economic stimulus packages, too […]
For the second time, we celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia during the Covid-19 pandemic. As we reflected last year, the LGBTIQ+ community has been disproportionately impacted. Limited access to economic support programs and redirection of funds means that the longer this pandemic lasts, the harder it will be for the LGBTIQ+ […]
The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted people’s lives socially and economically in a global challenge the likes of which we haven’t seen in decades. While many governments were swift to implement economic stimulus packages, lockdowns and curfews, marginalized groups such as LGBTIQ+ persons, women and sex workers found themselves at the margins of these responses and […]
“Decolonizing the development sector” started as a radical idea to rethink power structures in the social justice debate. It has now become an uncomfortable reality that many international NGOs and the philanthropy world have to grapple with. The term “decolonizing”, which also evokes historical struggles for independence, calls for structural change in more than just […]
By Diana Monissen, Chair of Hivos’ Supervisory Council The world’s social problems have increased significantly in the last several decades. It’s quite a litany when you think about it. Poverty, corruption, climate change, power imbalances, forced migration, shrinking civic space, human rights defenders under duress, and growing inequalities faced by marginalized groups. This is why […]
What a time to celebrate open data day! The open data day finds itself uniquely placed this year. Not only is it International Women’s Day and Women’s history Month within March 2021, but the world is going through a pandemic where open data has been considered a major life saver. The coronavirus pandemic has exposed […]