The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

Programme for 2015

During spring semester 2015 we have had the pleasure of having the following speakers in the seminar series.

April 29th 2015, 15:30 Världen

Ms. Shivani Khanna, Development and Disaster Risk Reduction Consultant, India/USA

Title of presentation: Why all development practitioners need to be at the forefront of climate and disaster risks?

Disasters, including climate-related events, are increasing both in frequency and severity. They impacted communities in both developed and developing nations, undoing past development gains and challenging sustainable development opportunities. It is often the poor, children, elderly and women suffer the most. This session will focus on the power individual development practitioners have to either reduce or build disaster risk, through (in)action. Shivani Khanna will give practical examples on the opportunities to integrate the climate and disaster risk reduction in sustainable development. She will also share her own 'logical, yet unplanned' professional journey from an entry-level social worker to an international disaster risk reduction consultant.

Shivani has over 14 years of experience in community participation, programme management, and capacity development in disaster risk reduction. Shivani holds a MA in social work and a MSc in disaster management. She has worked in urban and rural contexts in Asia, Africa, Arab states and North America. Among the partners are UN agencies (OCHA, UNICEF, UNDP, CADRI, UNV, ECLAC), World Bank, Sida, MSB, IFRC, ProVention Consortium and the Sphere Project.

 

April 17th 2015

Dr Kathleen Cravero-Kristoffersson & Dr Ulf Kristoffersson, Geneva

Title of presentation: The UN and International Development

Kathleen and Ulf will speak about the UN's mandate, its field structure and responsibilities for international development. They will share their personal perspectives through case studies about the new threats, challenges and opportunities for the UN to address a range of security, socio-economic and humanitarian issues.

Kathleen is currently the President of Oak Foundation, a Geneva-based grant maker that is committed to addressing global social and environmental issues. Kathleen has worked for over two decades with various UN agencies (UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNDP and WHO). Her last assignments with the UN included the Director of the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery with UNDP and Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS.

Ulf is the chair of the Maitri Foundation, a New Delhi-based NGO that is committed to facilitating every individual's human rights. Ulf has held high-level positions in various UN agencies (UNAIDS, UNHCR, UNICEF) and responded to humanitarian emergencies from Southeast Asia to Central Africa. Ulf is a visiting lecturer at George Washington University. He has recently launched a new book called Blue Grit: A Life on the Front Lines of Humanitarian Action with the United Nations.

 

April 7th 2015

Mr Abdihakim Ainte, Diaspora Affairs Policy Advisor in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Somalia

Working title of presentation: The role of diaspora in state building, development and business

The seminar will focus on the fast re-emergence of diaspora in Somalia and the optimism this presents for Somali's post-conflict social, economic and political development. Abdihakim will talk about the challenges and opportunities facing the Somali government in devising a policy framework to embrace this new migration-development nexus.

Abdihakim Ainte currently works as policy advisor for the Office of Diaspora Affairs (ODA) in Somalia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to that, he has advised and worked with numerous international organisations in Somalia. He has conducted various studies commissioned by the World Bank, UN, and African Union on a wide range of subjects, including governance, peace and security, humanitarian development, diaspora and education. He holds a degree in Political Science and International Relations. He has published widely on Somalia and is a regular contributor to Royal African Society's multiblogging site, Africa Arguments Online.

 

March 23rd 2015

Mr. Engel Tally, Researcher at FLACSO, Guatemala

Title of Presentation: Qualitative Development Research in Practice: Methods, Tools and Perspectives

Engel will talk about the uniqueness and the importance of qualitative research in development practice. Referring to his personal experience in conducting a project evaluation for ChildFund Guatemala's community development projects, Engel will share practical insights into how qualitative and mixed methods could be applied in participatory manners. He will also illustrate how the use of software, NVivo10, could address the challenges of anlaysing large data sets, generating and presenting evidence-based results.

Engel holds a master's degree in Philosophy from Universidad Rafael Landivar in Guatemala. In 2011, he obtained his second master's degree from the LUMID programme. He has been a research consultant on projects related to social programmes, indigenous peoples and natural resources funded by the EU, the Inter American Development Bank, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFFRI), Sida, GIZ, Transparency International, Population Council, ChildFund International and Agronomist and Veterinaries Without Borders.

Engel will also hold a workshop on Mar 24th on NVivo - qualitative data analysis (QDA) computer software package.

 

March 9th 2015

Ms. Kim Sundström, Regional HIV/AIDS policy adviser & programme manager for Africa, Sida/Swedish Embassy, Zambia

Title of Presentation: Field Reality vs Policy - Results, Ethical Dilemmas & Challenges

Kim will discuss the challenges that surround field realities versus policies and the need to generate and disseminate results with examples from different developing contexts. She will speak about her experiences as a policy advisor within the UN system, in Afghanistan and New York. She will also share some insightful perspectives on the role of a programme manager in addressing ethical dilemmas and risk management challenges, and in navigating in the different worlds of international development.

Kim Sundström has 16 years of experience in international development and has worked in numerous countries across the world. She is currently based in Zambia. Her technical expertise lies mainly in sexual and reproductive health and rights. She has worked for NGOs, and on policy levels with the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs, DFID and various UN organisations (UNFPA,UNICEF, UNDP, UN Women, UNOPS, etc). Kim holds a master's degree in social anthropology and has studied pedagogy and development, cultural science and philosophy.

 

Feb 23rd 2015

Mr. Joshua Odhiambo Nyamori, Director at Abila Consultants, Kenya

Title of presentation: Development Governance and Citizen Participation

Joshua Nyamori will talk about the emerging innovations on governance and citizen's participation in the democratization of the developing world. Joshua is based in Nairobi and has over 15 years of experience in working with governmental and non-governmental development programmes in Kenya. He has a broad range of specializations inlcuding governance, advocacy and lobby, resource mobilization and organisation development.

The presentation will focus on a range of emerging institutional arrangements in Kenya, how these arrangements interface with traditional state-centred forms of development policy-making, how this has re-articulated in Kenya’s new constitution, the meaning and space of citizenship and, consequently, the nature of democracy in Kenya’s development policy making framework.

Joshua also held a workshop on Feb 24th on 'Community Participation and Social Mobilization' at the Graduate School.

 

Feb 9th 2015

Ms. Malin Oud, Managing Director Tracktwo, Sweden

Title of Presentation: Business and Human Rights: global trends and recent developments in China.

Malin will discuss top issues and recent development in relation to business and human rights with examples of state and company action in the Chinese context. She will speak about the difference between a human rights-based approach and traditional CSR, and how businesses act when governments abdicate their role or when international human rights standards contradict with the local laws.

Malin Oud has 15 years of experience with international policy dialogue and development cooperation on human rights. She has worked for Sida, UNDP and OHCHR, and headed the China office of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law in 2001-2009. Since 2011, she is the Managing Director of Tracktwo, a consulting firm specialised in responsible business and sustainable development. Malin has a M.A. in international development, studied Chinese language, international human rights law, Chinese law and social anthropology. She is an Associate of The Global Business Initiative on Human Rights and a Senior Advisor to the Institute of Human Rights and Business.

 

Jan 26th 2015

Mr. Roderick Besseling, Open Data Coordinator at Cordaid, Netherlands

Title of Presentation: Open Data for International Development.

Roderick Besseling will talk about the need of more transparency and accountability in the international development sector and how Open Data and the International Aid Transparency Initiative have given the impetus for this change. He will share insights on the importance of working with a range of stakeholders when trying to solve complex problems. Roderick will also speak about what skills will be in demand in International Development 3.0.

Roderick has a background in humanitarianism, development and peace building. He has coordinated international donors and partners and has worked in several post-conflict and fragile-state environments. Roderick is seen as part of the new generation of creative and dynamic project managers who are keen to exploit technology to promote development and social change.