CID Weekly: WFP wins Nobel Prize, elections, new jobs, and more

+ World Food Programme wins Nobel Peace Prize

The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). The agency was given the prize for its efforts to combat hunger and improve conditions for peace.

The WFP are the 101st winner of a prize, with 107 organisations and 211 individuals being nominated for the award this year.

The agency was recognised "for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict”, said Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. 

The United Nations World Food Programme is “deeply humbled” by the announcement it had won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, Executive Director David Beasley said on Friday. “This is an incredible recognition of the dedication of the WFP family, working to end hunger everyday in 80+ countries,” he wrote on Twitter.

CID, along with many within our membership, congratulates the World Food Programme on this award.

+ Aid policies of political parties - election coverage

Oxfam's Jo Spratt has done a useful analysis of all the political parties and their different policy approaches to aid and development (or if they even have an international development policy!)

You can read it here. 

Jo's summary:

Labour: No policy found
National: No policy found
NZ First: Will continue their focus on the Pacific and aim to be “a reliable neighbour in our region”
Act: Agree with the primary focus on the Pacific 
Greens: The most comprehensive policy (across a number of policy documents), with a commitment to rapidly increase aid to achieve the global target of 0.7 percent of GNI, and  improve aid quality with a focus on inequality and poverty, and people who experience exclusion and discrimination, such as persons with disabilities, women and girls.
The Opportunities Party: No policy found
Maori party: No policy found, but reference to supporting 'Pacific whanaunga'
The New Conservatives: Want to reduce New Zealand's aid and our responses to humanitarian crises 

+ Third Edition of Lowy Pacific Aid Map

The Lowy Institute has released the third iteration of their Pacific Aid Map. This covers 64 donors, 38,000 projects and activities, and more than $20 billion in spending.

Designed to improve aid effectiveness in the Pacific through enhanced transparency, the Lowy Institute consider this one of the largest and most comprehensive databases of aid information ever assembled for the Pacific.
 
The 2020 update includes comprehensive data of every aid project in the Pacific from 2010 to 2018. As at October 2020, data for 2019 and 2020 is incomplete, and not representative of all aid flows to the region.

+ Mental health of 1 in 2 people affected by COVID-19

A seven-country survey administered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) found that 51% of respondents conveyed that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected their mental health.

In the new report – 'The greatest need was to be listened to: The importance of mental health and psychosocial support during COVID-19' – the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement demonstrates how the pandemic is adding intense stress and suffering in communities around the world.

The outbreak is impacting existing mental health conditions, triggering new ones, and making access to mental health services even more scarce. It calls for urgent and increased funding for mental health and psychosocial support within humanitarian responses.

The report also highlights the urgent mental health needs of those who have been on the frontline of the pandemic, from medical staff to volunteers, community workers, social workers, dead body collectors, community leaders, and many others.

Nearly three in four respondents to the ICRC survey – 73% – said that frontline health workers and first responders have more need for mental health support than the average person. These workers are often directly exposed to COVID-19, work long hours, and are invariably subject to stressful events and stigma when supporting disaster-affected communities. 

+ Advice to Boards post COVID - watch here

JB Were have hosted a lecture with Professor Kash Rangan (Social Enterprise Initiative, Harvard Business School) and Professor Kristy Muir (Centre for Social Impact, University of New South Wales), who present a framework for how boards might lift their gaze beyond traditional governance, and lead their organisations in a post-pandemic environment.

How best to re-imagine and work towards systems change and a 'better normal'. 
 
Led by Professor Kash Rangan this lecture includes new content from consultations with for-purpose board directors and CEOs over the last six months and is relevant to the challenges boards are facing in delivering their purpose during the COVID era.
 
The lecture is available here, with thanks to our partners at JB Were.

+ Podcasts for cultivating caring and compassionate organisations

The Core Humanitarian Standards (CHS) Alliance looks at the intersections between mental health, people management and organisational culture using the lens of care and compassion. It builds on the CHS Organisational Responsibility 8.9 – “policies are in place for the security and the well-being of staff”.

They have created a podcast series for people who’ve dedicated their careers to helping others – particularly for those that have realised that they need help themselves; Embodying Change: Cultivating Caring and Compassionate Organisations. In this series you will find conversations about promoting care and compassion in humanitarian and development settings and sharing what we are learning about promoting and supporting aid worker well-being. Recent topics include:

• The Vulnerable Humanitarian with Gemma Houldey – October 2020
• Mental Health in Aid with Imogen Wall – June 2020
• Duty of Care at IRC with Lana Baqaeen – June 2020

+ Come and work with us at CID

Are you a passionate, well-organised, international development specialist, wanting to contribute to strengthening the sector and its impact from a New Zealand base?

Council for International Development (CID) is seeking a strategic player to join the small team and get things done.

With a focus on leadership as the sector adapts to COVID, we’re looking for someone who can engage strategically with members, design and help us deliver events, training and workshops to strengthen capacity and impact. We also want your leadership to expand networks across sectors, find new members and diversify funds.

Could the breadth of activities that come with this role be the change you are looking for?

If you are an international development specialist, preferably with public and private sector experience, can plan ahead and think methodically, are able to communicate with a wide range of stakeholders, are strategic, logical and confident in problem solving techniques, and thrive in a small constructive team, we want to hear from you.

Please send your CV and cover letter to office@cid.org.nz outlining why you are interested in the role. Please apply before 5pm 27 October 2020.

Job description is here. 
 

+ Good luck, not good-bye to Jacqueline Parisi

We are very sad to see Jacqueline Parisi take up an exciting new role after two years at CID. She has helped us transform CID into a highly accountable and focused organisation, not just committed to increasing its impact and its value to members and partners, but also confidently able to deliver, thanks to Jacq’s work. 
 
Jacq is going on to a fantastic new job, as CEO of the Wellington Sexual Abuse Help Foundation, where we know her leadership skills will be put to good use. 

That means we're looking for someone new to come and join the small CID team (see above!)

 

+ Humanitarian Advisory Group - Humanitarian Horizons 2021-2024

Humanitarian Advisory Group (HAG) is currently undertaking the design of their next 3-year research program, Humanitarian Horizons 2021-2024. The Humanitarian Horizons Research Program was first launched in 2017, supported by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and seeks to generate new evidence and create conversations for change across the sector.

Your perspectives and insights are invaluable. HAG is excited to invite you to help shape the next phase of their research by participating in this short survey. 

This is your chance to offer your views on key emerging issues and trends that will shape the sector in the coming years.HAG wants to ensure that research through Humanitarian Horizons is valuable to you and your work, and answers the most pressing questions that you want answered.

The survey is available in  English, Arabic, French, Spanish, Bahasa, Bangla, Urdu, Pashto and Hindi and should only take 5 minutes to complete. 

+ Angelina Jolie: How COVID is hurting women

Actress and activist Angelina Jolie has written a powerful essay for Time Magazine in response to United Nations concerns that "gains on gender equality risk being reversed by decades" due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on domestic violence and women in the workplace. 

"The numbers paint a stark picture of a possible 2 million additional cases of female genital mutilation globally by 2030, 13 million additional child marriages, an additional 15 million women and girls subjected to gender-based violence for every 3 months of lockdown, and a further 47 million women forced into extreme poverty," Jolie, a Special Envoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, wrote, calling the possibility of regression "intolerable."

+ Virtual Regional Conference 27-30 Oct - Registrations open

+ Register for CID Annual Dinner (and AGM) @ The Beehive

All staff, friends of CIDs and colleagues across sectors are warmly welcomed to come together for a pre-Xmas dinner and get together after a difficult year.

The CID AGM and dinner event will be held in Wellington in the Grand Hall at the Beehive on 5 November, starting after lunch and going into the evening.

There will be a keynote speech (we hope from the incoming minister), a panel discussion, the annual Photo Competition and Collaboration Award, and entertainment.

Please join us for a pre-Xmas celebration after a difficult year. 

Register here. 

+ Nominations: Annual Collaboration Award & Photo Competition

Celebrate the creative and collaborative skills of the sector. 

The impact of COVID has made this year particularly challenging, but many of these challenges have been mitigated through innovation, collaboration and the awesome creativity of the sector.

Please see the information below on the CID Collaboration Award and the CID Photo Competition for 2020. Winners will be announced at the Annual Dinner taking place on 5 November.

CID Collaboration Award 2020
We want to hear from CID Members and Associate Members that have successfully worked together on a project with a mix of organisations and individuals – for example, each other, local entrepreneurs or partners, governments, funders, private sector, consultants, academics or researchers. Applications must be submitted by 15 October, and will be judged on the following criteria:

• The narrative - how compellingly you tell the project's story
• The scope - who and how many people were reached
• The impact - what is the likelihood of impact and sustainability
• The collaboration - how the collaboration led to the successes or results of this project.

• For Amateur Photographers:
  • Development
  • Humanitarian Aid | Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) 
• For NZ-based Professional Photographers:
  • Humanitarian and Development .

+ Save the Date: MFAT Virtual NGO Hui on 10 December

MFAT’s Pacific and Development Group are pleased to announce the annual NGO Hui – this year held virtually on Thursday 10 December.
 
Details to come

+ Contribute to Research: Digital Access in the Pacific

An invitation to contribute to research on 'Digital Access Across Cultures'.

COVID has shifted how humanitarian, development and aid programmes are funded and delivered. In-country delivery and engagement by international actors is increasingly challenged across the Pacific.
 
Pacific communities and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have identified digital connectivity and affordable internet access as a critical enabler post COVID.
 
Unfortunately Pacific nations’ internet penetration is low.
 
Increasing digital access would open development pathways, empower local actors and enable the development of knowledge economies.

As an integral component to enabling localisation, the potential exists for it to see New Zealand doctors ‘sit over the shoulder’ of doctors and surgeons in the Pacific; enable schools in isolated islands to keep learning; and support communities to pivot from tourism to primary produce, source markets and become digital exporters. 

• What opportunities does the localisation agenda provide?
• What does digital connectivity in the Pacific, implemented through a ‘Pacific lens’ look like to you?

Darrin Brinsden, MBA Candidate, from University of Otago is conducting research in October with the support of CID. He is seeking volunteers to be interviewed on this topic.

The research will be published before Christmas so there is a quick turnaround. Interviews will be tailored to your timetable and location.

Please contact Darrin at brida274@student.otago.ac.nz or call / text on +64 21 400 998 to book an interview time. Thank you!