Blog

Invitation to meet John Dada in London - November 25th

Submitted by Pamela on 5 November 2013 - 3:35pm

John Dada is very seldom in the UK, but on November 25th he will be in London. If you have an interest in the work that John does at Fantsuam Foundation and the work we do together as Dadamac then you are welcome to come and join us. Details here - please note that you will not need to be a fully paid up member of the GlobalNet21 group to attend this single meeting - but you will need to register as we have to give names to reception in advance. If you have any problems registering please contact me...

Response to - Please Stop Using the Term “Beneficiaries” in ICT4D

Submitted by Pamela on 2 November 2013 - 1:20pm

ICT4D guru Wayan Vota writes 'We do it every day. We refer to the people we are working with as “beneficiaries”. For years, I used this term as well, but I’ve stopped. I’d like you to stop too. ..... In technology solution design, it is a standard business practice to work with the clients and customers. In international development we are (or should be) working with people to find ways to accelerate social and economic development. So the term “beneficiaries” should never be used'. (See Please Stop Using the Term “Beneficiaries” in ICT4D ) Agreement I agree totally. "Development" projects...

The Guardian and Dadamac: "From development goals to global targets?"

Submitted by Pamela on 27 October 2013 - 9:00pm

Andy Wales' article on "From development goals to global targets?" in Guardian Professional has overlap with work in Dadamac, I was interested in what he wrote about 'post 2015' goals, "getting a good job" and "education" because everything I do has some relationship to 21st century lifestyles, life-long-learning, and livelihoods, Andy Wales wrote: At the recent Africa Economic Summit in Cape Town, one of the themes .. was the 'post 2015' goals... when the existing Millennium Development Goals expire in 2015. I spoke at an event ... where the audience seemed divided ...(some favoured) an emphasis on economic growth –...

Age Demands Action in Kafanchan

Submitted by Frances on 26 October 2013 - 4:31pm

A message to His Excellency the Governor of Kaduna State, through the elders in Kafanchan: Age Demands Action (ADA) fights for the rights of older people On October 03 rd , 2013, elders in Kafanchan celebrated the International Day of Older Persons as part of the Age Demands Action, ADA program. Age Demands Action (ADA) was launched in 2007 in 27 countries and it has rapidly grown in 62 countries where it helps to challenge age discrimination and fight for the rights of older people. Older people are at the heart of ADA since they are best suited to become...

Agile, FOSS, people and the zone of turbulence in #LandscapeOfChange

Submitted by Pamela on 18 October 2013 - 11:52pm

Last weekend I was at Lime Wharf for Neo-Nomadism and the Lifestyle Hackers (BTW the link includes twitter handles for some people I admire). The five minute talks were mind-stirring, The afternoon workshops moved my thinking forward. I want to remind myself of the ideas that connected - hence this quick blog. It's not a clear explanation, more of a list. The dots These are some of "the dots that joined up in my mind": Developing software - agile versus waterfall Collaboration - horizontal information flows in informal emergent networks and organisations versus top down (and possibly bottom up) flows...

Dadamac - the Internet-enabled alternative to top-down development

Submitted by Pamela on 17 October 2013 - 9:11pm

This post was previously published on September 27, 2010, on posterous. (It's reproduced here because posterous no longer exists.) Why Dadamac? Dadamac - the Internet-enabled alternative to top-down development. John Dada and I set up at Dadamac because we saw a need for easier and more effective collaboration between "outsiders" and the grass-roots. The problem We observed many projects and interventions where people in “the developed world” were doing something “in Africa”. Despite being well resourced many projects seemed poorly rooted in reality, and thus of dubious relevance and minimal long term benefit. Despite lots of websites and talk about...

Human wrongs and #BAD2013, #OCT16, #Humanrights, #BlogActionDay

Submitted by Pamela on 16 October 2013 - 6:14pm

Thanks to Blog Action Day I've been thinking about "Human Rights" and their opposite "Human Wrongs". The "Human Wrong" most on my heart at present is the waste of human potential that happens when people are unable to find appropriate work. Lack of work can be actively destructive. It is far more disabling than a simple lack of money. It can eat away at hope, purpose, self-confidence and sense of identity. It seems to me that we are like coals in a fire. When the coals are close enough the fire stays "alive", with the coals "helping each other" to...

Shared concerns - Dadamac and Transeuropa Festival

Submitted by Pamela on 11 October 2013 - 10:29pm

Tomorrow I plan to be at the event Neo-Nomadism and the Lifestyle Hackers which is part of the Transeuropa Festival European Alternatives Not quite my age range Given its emphasis on youth I did have some doubts about attending, but I signed up, adding this note to the organisers: Hope its okay to join in this despite not being the target age range, but these are issues very dear to my heart. I need to come and learn all the good ideas people have at present. Anything to do with "21st century lifestyles, life-long-learning, or livelihoods" is central to my...

Hoping for good news about the Fantsuam rural health centre

Submitted by Frances on 10 October 2013 - 9:17pm

John writes from Nigeria: Outstanding volunteers Fantsuam Foundation has hosted over 50 international volunteers but there are two in recent memory whose continued commitment and friendship has been outstanding. Laurie Ellis and Dori Villa are two volunteers Fantsuam will not forget in a long, long time. It was Laurie that took Fantsuam through the organizational development process that led to the development of its 2009-2014 Strategic Plan and a robust internal structure. That structure was put to a severe test in the aftermath of the violent post election crisis in 2011. It is a testament to the relevance and cohesion...

Guest Blog: by Filo Boko - John Dada's PA at Fantsuam Foundation

Submitted by Pamela on 9 October 2013 - 10:08pm

I asked Filo to share her impressions of her first months at Fantsuam. She captures perfectly the atmosphere that I remember from my visits. Enjoy! Sometime in February I walked into Fantsuam foundation bayan loco for the first time and was greeted with more than just a warm handshake and a father-friendly grin, then I thought oh I know this man, “No” that was me feeling I have known John Dada all along, such a warm-friendly encounter, with a type of simplicity one can look for with lantern in broad daylight. Not quite what I expected. I was taken round...

Blog

Pages