Interested in discussions around the decolonization of aid?!

You wouldn’t want to miss this galvanizing episode of the podcast with Charles Kojo Vandyck.

Charles is a true visionary and catalyst for change who's been reimagining civil society for some years now. Through his ongoing work at the West Africa Civil Society Institute, where he heads the #capacitydevelopment unit, or the RINGO initiative, Charles is contributing to rewriting the rules for civil society: Developing strategies to strengthen the financial sustainability of civil society, tapping into local philanthropy, championing indigenous leadership, untying aid to northern CSOs or utilizing AI technology to address key barriers to system change.

🃏The cards drawn to guide our conversation were Historical context, Budgets, Sustainability, and Diversity. 

They allowed us to discuss so many aspects of the donor, INGOs, and local CSO triangle including:

🎯 The evolution, strength, and recognition of civil society in the Global South despite the many challenges they face.
🎯The shifting of power & efforts to reimagine the role of INGOs
🎯 Holistic sustainability through a new funding paradigm and landscape

To close our convo I asked him the one piece of advice he’d give to a local CSO in the global south. 

💡STOP RUNNING AFTER DONORS! Focus on being relevant, on #identity and value add, on designing qualitative & innovative programming, and on streamlining processes and systems… the money will make its way to you! 💰

And sprinkled throughout our discussion, his advice to global north INGOs.

💡RETHINK YOUR ROLE! Look at how you can become brokers or enablers of social change, so you can stay relevant.

Reach out to Charles on Linkedin @charleskojovandyck to learn more about his work in Africa and beyond; and be sure to listen to his very own podcast @AlternativeConvos where his guests share insights and experience at the intersection of social cohesion and social change.

Hope you’ll find this episode interesting. 

#decolonizingaid #socialchange #westafrica #ghana #UKAID #INGOs #CSOs #aidfunding #civilsociety #diversity #history #globalsouth #decolonization #capacitydevelopment #identity #brand #valueadd #internationaldevelopment #WACSI #alternativeconvos #civicparticipation