Weaving Conversations on the Road to Bogotá
Over the course of 2023, a number of events and discussions were organized on the “road to Bogotá.”
These aimed to make new connections, to “warm up” participants in advance of the Summit, and to inform the content of the Summit programme. Various participants offered their reflections on these discussions - and what they mean for our collective work to #ShiftThePower. Read below for a taste!
Galvanizing Malawian civil society around shifting the power (Lilongwe, Malawi, 22–23 March)
In March 2023, the Tilitonse Foundation in Malawi in collaboration with the Global Fund for Community Foundations, convened individuals from diverse backgrounds and perspectives to discuss and explore ways to translate #ShiftThePower into practical actions and practices on the ground. This gathering took place only a month after the devastating tropical cyclone Freddy that left more than 600 Malawians dead, over 500 missing and many more homeless. The morning after the cyclone, Malawians living closest to the locations that had been hit were the first responders to this humanitarian crisis. In the days that followed, other Malawians also made cash and in-kind contributions to respond to the crisis. Read more here
The urgent need for Malawian CSOs to #ShiftThePower
By: Chimwemwe Kayange, Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation
From unicorn to zebra: The transformation of ZGF
By: Barbara Nöst, Zambian Governance Foundation
I recently came across an article about venture capital structures and how they interact and work with start-ups. The article argued that the venture capital structure is broken because it favours “quantity over quality, consumption over creation, quick exits over sustainable growth, and shareholder profit over shared prosperity.” In short, venture capital is always on the look-out for “unicorns” rather than “zebras.” Why? Well, unicorns are graceful, glamorous, and alone…. Of course, unicorns only exist in fairy tales. Zebras, on the other hand, are real: they are numerous, they live in herds, they are indigenous, the product of their environment and – apart from their wonderful stripes – they are rather unremarkable. Read more here
Grappling with the present, looking ahead to the future – A regional dialogue on #ShiftThePower (Bucharest, Romania, 16 May)
As we’re building the momentum for the #ShiftThePower transformation it’s also a prerequisite to explore the context of progressive social movements and to recognize multiple urgencies this context generates. Among the numerous atrocities we’re currently facing is climate catastrophe, constant political turmoil across all regions, glaring injustice, over-consumption, unauthorized rule of transnational corporations, along with massive exploitation of animals, beings and the planet. As Joanna Macy puts it, indeed we’re living in times of despair. The unjust system of intersecting oppressions (namely patriarchy, racism, ableism, heteronormativity etc.) is utterly flawed. Read more here
Inspired by the many discussions that took place at the recent #ShiftThePower regional meeting in Bucharest, I decided to share some experiences and reflections from our organization. The Academy has been nurturing the growth of philanthropy to support local communities, working with socially involved companies and running various grantmaking programmes for the last 25 years. In Bucharest, many valuable ideas and proposals emerged, ranging from simplifying grantmaking procedures, supporting social goals while strengthening local philanthropic organizations and local funds, growing support to informal initiatives, as well as rethinking outdated reporting procedures. Read more here
The extraordinary role of local actors in responding to multiple crises, and why the time to support them is now
By: Paweł Łukasiak, Chair of the Board, Academy for the Development of Philanthropy in Poland
The hashtag #ShiftThePower first emerged in the lead-up to the Global Summit on Community Philanthropy in 2016. At the time, the Summit represented a “coming out” of community foundations and community philanthropy organizations as a largely hidden or unknown section of civil society. Our work with these kinds of organizations over the previous decade had helped us to understand that they are not just financial intermediaries but that they also play important roles creating new spaces for people to participate in civic life and have their voices heard. Read more here
Grappling with the present, looking ahead to the future
An interview with Jenny Hodgson,
Global Fund for Community Foundations conducted by the Federation of Romanian Community Foundations
Community philanthropy and #ShiftThePower (Kathmandu, Nepal, 30 May–1 June)
Amidst the limitations of traditional aid, beacons of hope emerge
By: Michael Vincent Mercado, Center for Disaster Preparedness
In a powerful gathering of Abot-Kamay Community Solidarity Fund partners held in the vibrant Quezon City, Philippines, an unsettling truth came to light: an undercurrent of mistrust towards local and national NGOs from community-based organizations. This is largely fuelled by NGOs’ pressure to emulate the practices of INGOs. This revelation hit many in the room hard, piercing through our collective consciousness. For the Center for Disaster Preparedness, it served as an important wake-up call. For some of us, this was a known fact. For others, it has further compelled us to reflect on the way we work with peoples’ organizations and community-based organizations, and how we fundamentally relate to our partners. Read more here
Unveiling the philanthropic landscape: A reflective journey
By: Meiska Irena Pramudhita, Indonesia for Humanity
The #ShiftThePower peer-learning event held at the Tewa Center in Kathmandu in May 2023 was a diverse assembly of philanthropic actors hailing from various corners of the world. Unbeknownst to me, as I stepped into this dynamic space, it ignited a profound odyssey of introspection and rigorous scrutiny of power dynamics within the realm of philanthropy. The event’s discussion and insights proved to be a thought-provoking experience, stimulating me to re-evaluate my preconceived notions regarding the significance of an organization such as mine Indonesia untuk Kemanusiaan (IKa for short, and in English Indonesia for Humanity) – in our capacity as a civil society resource organization. Read more here
Reflections on rooting collective care in systems change
By: Ese Emerhi, Global Fund for Community Foundations
I ended 2022 with a health scare and I have spent the majority of 2023 so far preoccupied with the notion of collective care and solidarity in movement building. As part of my exploration, I have been reading “"Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto”" by Tricia Hersey where she argues that rest should be a form of radical political resistance and that “To uplift rest from a community care ethic is to interrupt the dominant culture while giving power back to the people where it belongs.” While Hersey’s message is specifically targeted to black communities in the United States and rejects society’s hustle-grind culture, it resonates with me on the need for a cultural mindset shift in the philanthropic and international development fields. Read more here
Measuring What Matters on the road to Bogotá: Bridging scholarship and practice (online, 27 September)
How closely do the interests of scholars align with those of activists and change-makers when it comes to the measurement of social impact? This webinar - hosted by the Global Fund for Community Foundations and Comuá Network - explored this question with community philanthropy peers and with academics who recently published an article examining the scholarship on social impact evaluation and proposing a research programme to advance theory and practice. Watch the recording of the session below.
Dignity in development (online, 10 October)
Hosted by IDInsight, Global Nation and Philanthropy for Social Justice and Peace, two online sessions set out to brainstorm and ideate on how the concept of dignity could transform international development endeavours. Some key themes that emerged were:
The importance of dignity to everyone, as individuals and in relationship with one another.
The ways in which the processes of aid and development can generate disrespect for people’s dignity. This applies to funding, programme design, and the everyday practices of international development across many different sectors.
Dignity’s intertwining with power imbalances, and how to respond to that.
The challenge and the urgency of finding practical solutions to these issues.
How is the climate crisis affecting communities? People are suffering the effects of flooding, landslides, drought, wildfires and more gradual changes such as rising sea levels and decreased agricultural production. These events are becoming more and more prevalent. People are losing their livelihoods, getting caught in conflicts, and forced to migrate. The greatest impacts are falling disproportionately on those who are already most vulnerable.
What can civil society organizations do to prepare for and respond to the potential and actual impacts of the climate emergency? What, if anything, is preventing local organizations from seeing themselves as actors in this space and as advocates for climate justice? And, most importantly, what will it take to mobilize a vibrant, joined-up ecosystem of grassroots groups, civil society organizations, networks and alliances – that are supported and owned by the communities they serve and are part of – to be better positioned, resourced and networked to respond to climate and other challenges at the local level?
Watch the recording of this session - organized by Alianza Socioambiental Fondos del Sur, Fondo Acción Solidaria A.C., Fundo Tindzila, Global Fund for Community Foundations, Global Greengrants Fund and the Monteverde Community Fund - which delved into these topics and more!
Connecting climate justice and community philanthropy on the road to Bogotá (online, 25 October)
This online session - hosted by the Global Fund for Community Foundations, Re-Imagining the INGO (RINGO) and West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) - provided an opportunity to revisit the roots of the #ShiftThePower movement and Manifesto for Change, in order to gain a deeper understanding of what #ShiftThePower means in today’s civil society. Speakers from the Kenya Community Development Foundation, Zambian Governance Foundation, Pledge for Change / Adeso and a #ShiftThePower Fellow shared their experiences and knowledge of what this transformative agenda can look like in practice.
What does #ShiftThePower mean to you? (online, 26 October)
Laboratorios de Diálogo (Cauca, Colombia, 26 October)
Reflections from Cauca, Colombia on grassroots transformation
By: Viviana Marcela Cuchillo Morea, Adapt Peacebuilding
In our conversations, we mainly explored the concept of power in human relations in our daily lives and in our territories. To frame our dialogue, we draw on three key #ShiftThePower principles: language; local resources; and, international cooperation. We immersed ourselves in conversations based on our own experiences, all of which illustrated the work of people in communities to strengthen collaborative, autonomous and grassroots-led processes. What emerged was an inspiring story: of a diverse group of people in Cauca who face situations of violence and conflict. But despite this backdrop, they desire a different system and seek ways to transform what exists. Read more here.
Disrupting colonial legacies of philanthropy in Africa (online, 27 October)
Hosted by Liberation Alliance Africa, this webinar explored how Africa as a continent continues to grapple with the effects of colonization and its accompanying imperialist structural adjustment programmes imposed to “rebuild underdeveloped economies” of countries saddled with high levels of debt and weak governance systems. The webinar held space for reflections on approaches led by African feminists to decolonize philanthropy. Watch the recording below.
#ShiftThePower: What does Global Public Investment mean for communities? (online, 2 November)
Hosted by the Global Public Investment Network, Global Nation and the Global Fund for Community Foundations, this online session aimed to build a bridge between #ShiftThePower in the international cooperation system and local and community action with dignity at its centre, highlighting the importance of community engagement in shaping Global Public Investment. Watch the full session below, or check out just the highlights!
¿Deberíamos cambiar la forma en la que se financia hoy el desarrollo? (Bogotá, Colombia, 8 November)
Among the reasons for creating TerritoriA was to help understand the needs of the ecosystem in Colombia and to propose new ways to address them. One of our areas of concern has always been how to contribute to transforming the way in which development has been funded. Therefore, we decided to convene actors in the financing sector working to make social change and asked them the following question: Should we change the way development is being funded today?. Read more here in English and here in Spanish.
More leg work, less desk work - reflections from a dialogue with funders
By: Felipe Bogotá, TerritoriA
Decolonizing International Cooperation: What does this mean and where does #ShiftThePower fit in? (online, 13 November)
These two conversations brought together practitioners and activists from across the globe who are engaging at regional, national and multi-national levels to decolonize development, aid, philanthropy and “systems” that perpetuate colonialism and extraction. The multiple ways and perspectives on how decolonization and reimagining work is unfolding in different contexts were discussed - alongside what opportunities, challenges, and questions are emerging. Speakers from Adeso, CivSource Africa, Comuá Network, Decolonizing Wealth Project, Global Fund for Community Foundations, Indonedia for Humanity, Liberation Alliance Africa, Neelan Tiruchelvam Trust and Peace Direct offered their views.
Que signifie #ShiftThePower pour l'Afrique francophone? / What does #ShiftThePower mean for Francophone Africa? (online, 16 November)
Hosted by the Association Burkinabè de Fundraising, EPIC Africa, Global Fund for Community Foundations and West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), on the road to Bogotá we stopped in Francophone Africa. The session discussed #ShiftThePower’s relevance and potential in the context of broader conversations about reforming and transforming international development in the region, and shone a light on new and alternative practices and ways of working that are emerging. Watch the recording here!
Organisé par Association Burkinabè de Fundraising, EPIC Africa, Global Fund for Community Foundations et West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) nous sommes arrêtés en Afrique francophone. Dans le contexte de conversations sur la réforme et la transformation du développement international dans la région, nous discuté de la pertinence et du potentiel de #ShiftThePower en mettant en lumière des pratiques alternatives et des nouvelles méthodes de travail. Regardez l'enregistrement ici!
To bring to the fore emerging changes in philanthropic practices in other parts of the resistance, and to raise critical consciousness on key issues around power and agency in philanthropic practices in West Africa, Liberation Alliance Africa held a space for transnational experience sharing and weaving of feminist, resistance and liberation efforts to decolonize philanthropy. Contributions were offered from Akina Mama Wa Afrika, CivSource Africa, Decolonizing Wealth Project, Indonesia for Humanity and Purposeful.
Decolonization efforts in philanthropy: Experience weaving (online, 22 November)
#ShiftThePower for peace! How does peacebuilding fit into the #ShiftThePower movement? (23 November, online)
These conversations brought together peacebuilders as well as those working in conflict affected contexts from across the globe, who were keen to explore the intersections between peacebuilding and the #ShiftThePower movement. The sessions addressed the challenges of building sustainable peace in communities around the world and examined the differences and similarities experienced by local peacebuilders and community development actors as they negotiate funding, access to support and recognition for their work. Participants further discussed the opportunities for building a system of international cooperation which recognizes the agency and power of local communities and peacebuilders. The conversations featured contributions from the Global Fund for Community Foundations, Humanity United, Peace Direct, Reconstruction Women’s Fund and Robert Bosch Foundation. Watch the recordings below!