Text by Carlo Manalansan and Tom Weerachat Photos by Carlo Manalansan After a year of virtual meetings and learning, the International Accountability Project (IAP) organized a week-long meeting with the Global Advocacy Team (GAT) on Community-led Development Planning in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We witnessed the power when GAT members and…

by Anggita Indari Read the article in French. “Climate change brings serious impacts to our food security and rights to a healthy environment,” said Paul Edex, beginning his story. Paul Edex is one of the Global Advocacy Team (GAT) members from Haiti who has been conducting community-led research with Centre…

Text and Photos by Vaishnavi Varadarajan Read the article in Lepcha. “When I look at the Teesta River, I see it dancing as it flows. This beautiful river is sacred to us, no one should be allowed to restrict its flow,” says Mayalmit Lepcha standing next to the gushing, glacial…

This article is also available in English. “Madamo sang mga ginatawag nga programa kag proyekto pangkauswagan apang wala sini ginpasanyog ang kabuhi sang mga pumuluyo ilabi na ang komunidad sang mga mangingisda.” — Roque Cris Chavez, Secretary-General, PAMANGGAS Humalin sa pagtakop tubtob sa pagbutlak sang adlaw, ginapuno sang mga mangingisda…

Photos and texts by Carlo Manalansan “There are a number of so-called development programs and projects but they have never uplifted the lives of the people especially fisherfolk communities,” — Roque Cris Chavez, Secretary-general, PAMANGGAS This article is also available in Hiligaynon. Fisherfolk spend their daily grind in the middle…

By Moon Nay Li — Moon Nay Li is a member of the Kachin ethnic group and a women’s rights activist. She is a member of the Global Advocacy Team, an 8-person group convened by the International Accountability Project, to conduct local research on development and make recommendations to improve World Bank policy on development…

Build a People’s Plan By Jessica Amon Jessica Amon is an organiser at the Community Organizers Multiversity (COM) in Manila, Philippines. She is a member of the Global Advocacy Team, an 8-person group convened by the International Accountability Project, to conduct local research on development and make recommendations to improve World Bank policy on development finance. …

by Anggita Indari Baca artikel ini dalam Bahasa Inggris. Terletak 30 menit hingga satu jam perjalanan laut dari Ambon, Ibukota Provinsi Maluku, Indonesia, Pulau Haruku bisa dibilang jauh dari hiruk-pikuk perkotaan. Tidak ada gedung mentereng dan lautan manusia memenuhi pusat perbelanjaan. Di pulau ini, siapapun dapat dengan mudah menjumpai masyarakat…

by Anggita Indari *This article is also available in Bahasa Indonesia. It takes a 30-minute boat ride from Ambon, the capital of Maluku Province, Indonesia, to reach Haruku Island. Upon arriving at the dock of Haruku, local people can easily be discovered selling sea catches and vegetables or fruits at…

by Tom Weerachat Starting in March through May 2022, around breakfast time in Haiti and Paraguay, the second cup of afternoon tea in Zimbabwe and Kenya, when people are wrapping up their work in Armenia, and right after dinner time in Indonesia and the Philippines, the new cohort of the…

An update from the Global Advocacy Team Initiative “We are all from different continents, with different cultures, contexts and languages, however we have a common struggle around social injustice, therefore coming together is important for us. …

An update on IAP’s Global Advocacy Team — our plans for 2021–2023 — For every development initiative, people should be at the center as active participants and beneficiaries of the right to development. …

By Tom Hurst — Contemporary development paradigms are broken. They do not facilitate the fulfillment of human rights, environmental wellbeing is sacrificed in the name of economic growth, and the concerns of affected communities are rarely prioritized. Projects that are funded without the consent, or even consultation, of affected stakeholders, cannot be considered ‘development’. …

The next steps for the Global Advocacy Team — “People were not necessarily against the relocation…they were against any action that took place without their consent or consultation,” says Rowena ‘Jessica’ Amon, an organizer for Community Organizers Multiversity , a coalition of riverside communities in Manila, Philippines. Communities along the Pasig River in Metro Manila experience frequent flooding. To…

Thien Hoang — In a village in Northeast Thailand, a large crowd gathered around a truck on an otherwise sleepy country road. It was a hot and humid summer afternoon, with a light breeze coming in from the Mun river. My friends and I were walking down the street and were surprised to…

by Ryan Schlief Out of +1400 nominations, the International Accountability Project (IAP) and its Global Advocacy Team were finalists for the Equator Prize. Sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme and more than a dozen other global partners, the Equator Prize is awarded to 20 outstanding local and indigenous community…

Moon Nay Li — My name is Moon Nay Li. I am the General Secretary of the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand where I have worked for 14 years with Kachin women and communities in Burma and Thailand to respond to social and economic issues and be able to participate in decision making at all…

Moon Nay Li — Mi nombre es Moon Nay Li y soy la Secretaria General de Kachin Women’s Association Thailand. Como parte de esta organización llevo 14 años trabajando con mujeres y comunidades Kachin en Birmania y Tailandia para que puedan responder a cuestiones sociales y económicas y participar en la toma de decisiones…

By Sukhgerel Dugersuren — Sukhgerel Dugersuren is a development specialist based in Mongolia. She founded OT Watch to monitor the Oyu Tolgoi mine. She is a member of the Global Advocacy Team, an 8-person group convened by the International Accountability Project, to conduct local research on development and make recommendations to improve World Bank…

as its own Development Project By Mohamed Abdl Azim Mohamed Abdl Azim is a human rights lawyer working with the Egyptian Center for Civil and Legislative Reform. He is a member of the Global Advocacy Team, an 8-person group convened by the International Accountability Project, to conduct local research on development and make recommendations to improve World Bank policy…