Community Media Fund in East, West and Southern Africa The role of media and journalism is not confined to news organisations, broadcasting companies or governments—within Africa, a large and growing community media sector is linked to enterprises, civil society, educational institutions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that focus on issues of transparency, accountability and governance. The […]
John Kiwagalo’s Slow Food story John Kiwagalo is a staunch supporter of change in the field of food production and consumption—in essence, how people grow and eat food. As Project Coordinator for Slow Food Youth Network (SFYN) Uganda, a Hivos partner, John works tirelessly to make Ugandan youth, farmers and citizens familiar with the philosophy that all […]
Hivos Project Officer for Open Contracting This year, I had an amazing opportunity of experiencing first hand reflections on the path to sustainable development in Africa. This experience cut across two fronts: drafting the civil society report to the Tanzania National Voluntary Review report and participating in the fifth session of the Africa Regional Forum […]
Corruption scandals in Kenya have continued to emerge almost on a daily basis with the lingering looting of public funds. Every time Kenyans become accustomed to the constant news of their taxes ending up in the hands of a few; another graft scandal emerges. While the corruption chain in Kenya is intertwined with a narrative […]
Global gatherings are always full of inspiration, new ideas and intense experiences. They are the “reset” button and eye opener every change maker needs. The Open Government Partnership Summit (OGP) 2019 in Ottawa, Canada, held all this and more for those working in transparency, public accountability, innovation and citizen engagement. This summit brought together active […]
Procurement is one of the biggest opportunities for socio-economic transformation in a country. According to statistics by Chatham House, procurement budgets account for one fifth of the global gross domestic product (GDP). This statistic offers a glimpse to the magnitude of government spending in the public sector with procurement receiving the biggest allocation at 70 […]
Call for applications: Hivos announces second edition of African Crossroads Are you living or working in Africa and interested in exploring the continent’s cutting-edge trends in art, technology, design, and entrepreneurship? Would you like to join a community of Africans working to positively shape the future of African cities? Apply before June 23 to attend […]
‘The numbers’ and World Environment Day This year’s World Environment Day theme: air pollution is quite timely with the climate change phenomenon and its close interlink with footprints on the environment. With an estimated 3.2 million premature deaths linked to air pollution globally, intensive lifestyle choices are beginning to make a mark too on global […]
You have probably seen the modern construction of the fireplace that has replaced the traditional three stones. It’s now a single hole big enough to accommodate the firewood. In addition, various options of improved clean cooking stoves – those that use charcoal – are also now readily available at supermarkets and hardware shops. The World […]
Makueni County ‘s adoption of the open contracting approach in 2018 signaled its commitment to improve efficiency, participation and openness in public procurement. Today, the county has made a step closer in transforming its public procurement processes by joining a movement of local governments and municipalities globally from Phillipines, Indonesia, Argentina, Ghana, Mexico, Columbia, Bolivia, […]
Session: storytelling for public contracting reforms Delivery of quality goods and services is paramount to attaining social transformation in any country. Proper roads, hospitals, schools, electricity, food, medicine among others are the cogs that are necessary to enhance the quality of life of citizens. This year’s theme at the Open Government Partnership: participation, inclusion and […]
Today’s High Court ruling against the petitions seeking to decriminalize Section 162 (A, C) and 165 of the Kenyan Penal Code is a huge step backwards from the fulfilment of human rights for all. These sections – remnants of Kenya’s colonial-era laws – consider homosexual acts a felony punishable by up to 14 years of […]