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Welcome to the Giving Thought Podcast, a bi-weekly exploration of trends in global philanthropy and civil society from the Charities Aid Foundation’s in-house think-tank, Giving Thought.

In each episode your host Rhodri Davies (formerly with co-host Adam Pickering) explores a big issue, theme or trend and analyses what it means for philanthropy and civil society around the world.

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  2. Danny Sriskandarajah - Philanthropy, Inequality & Power in Global Civil Society

Danny Sriskandarajah - Philanthropy, Inequality & Power in Global Civil Society

Mar 17, 2020

In episode 68 we talk to Danny Sriskandarajah, Chief Executive of Oxfam GB about philanthropy, inequality and power in global civil society. Including:

 

Philanthropy & Inequality

  • What is the core role of philanthropy within society which differentiates it from either state or market provision?
  • What should we make of arguments that philanthropy is a distraction from the need to focus on ensuring that the world’s elites are taxed appropriately, and may therefore be holding back efforts to address global inequality?
  • Is there a danger that models of philanthropy are paternalistic, and too often about decisions being made about communities rather than by them?
  • Are some philanthropist willing to challenge & seek change to the systems that made them wealthy in the first place?

 

Power & Structure

  • There is a lot of focus in global philanthropy and civil society at the moment on “shifting power” ─ from funders to recipients, from the global north to the global south etc. –  by supporting grassroots orgs or using participatory approaches. How is this informing Oxfam’s work?
  • Are there practical challenges when it comes to shifting power? E.g. in the relationship between formal organisations and movements, and the dangers of “movement capture”?
  • We are seeing more focus on the idea of decentralised or non-hierarchical governance models for social change movements - do you think this will filter into wider civil society? What opportunities and challenges might this bring?
  • Is declining trust is an issue for civil society? If so, is this merely part of a wider decline in trust in traditional institutions, or do charities and CSOs face particular challenges? And how can they reverse this trend?

 

The Climate Emergency

  • Does Oxfam view the global climate emergency as primarily an environmental issue or a social justice issue? What bearing, if any, does that have on the approach you take to addressing it?
  • Is there sometimes a tension between taking the action necessary to address environmental challenges (climate change, biodiversity loss etc.) and respecting the rights and freedoms of local communities around the world? How does a major funder like Oxfam navigate that tension?

 

Technology

  • Do you generally take an optimistic or pessimistic view of the impact of technology on civil society?
  • Do you worry that CSOs and funders are not getting to grips with either the challenges or opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution?

 

 

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