Posts by Zenda Ofir
We Have to Rethink Human Rights, Part 2
Beyond One Universal Model In Part 1 of this two-post series I argued that the current dominant narratives about human rights, and the way human rights assessments are made, have very often not served humanity well – despite the inspiring, much more balanced content of the ‘Universal’ Declaration of Human Rights. Yet the current…
Read MoreWe Have to Rethink Human Rights, Part 1
How would you react if I told you that ‘universal human rights’ are not actually universal at all, but rather a cleverly packaged Western export that has often done more harm than good? And that embracing multiple, even different frameworks could actually strengthen human dignity worldwide? We know we have to shift our mindsets…
Read MoreArendalsuka: Democracy in 2,000 sessions, 180 venues, 5 days, 190,000 participants …
Imagine a beautiful Norwegian coastal town where, over five days, more than 2,000 discussions, debates and cultural sessions cram 180 venues — beyond formal halls, in cafés, wharfs, stalls, tents, and even boats! Government ministers, leaders and representatives of agencies, political parties and social movements, CEOs, academics, activists, NGOs and ordinary citizens — all…
Read MoreTitbits and Snippets 3. Modernising on Our Own Terms
It sticks in my mind. The AU official who asked me whether “Made in Africa Evaluation” (MAE) might mean we will be moving backward rather than forward. Ken Opalo’s brilliant-as-usual recent post about Ethiopia’s lagging development since the 1900s reminded me again of this incident, which happened when I was facilitating a series of sessions…
Read MoreGuest Post: How can evaluation step up to the transformational challenge?
This guest post by Sam Buckton gives us a brief insight into what I consider to be a pioneering paper recently published as a result of his PhD work. It provides an excellent overview, based on a large number of carefully selected papers, of how evaluation-focused transformation is unfolding; this can guide all who are…
Read MoreGuest Post: Principles for Transforming Economics
This is a very important guest post by three eminent transformation specialists whom I greatly appreciate as people and as professionals — Sandra Waddock (Boston College Carroll School of Management), Steve Waddell (Bounce Beyond, Boston) and Jasper Kenter (Aberystwyth Business School, Aberystwyth University, Wales, UK). The post is important, first because it demonstrates the type…
Read MoreTitbits and Snippets 2. Words have Weight
Why do we still tolerate the terminology of “Developed” and “Developing” countries? Words have weight. They create images and dominant narratives that often insidiously infect our minds and what we believe. Think of the difference in feeling when you hear “Governments” and “Regimes” – the latter always used for governments that Western powers do not…
Read MoreEvaluation’s Journey towards the Future, Part 7. A Collective Navigation System for this time of Polycrisis
In this second last post in this series I, like others, argue that it is not enough that the field evaluation simply keeps on evolving. Instead, we need to reframe and reposition evaluation for this exceptional time in humanity’s history. We find ourselves today in a liminal space – the space between what was and…
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