CGHR Practitioner Series: Working in Human Rights, Peacebuilding, Humanitarian Aid and Development

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• Ken Banks, Founder: kiwanja.net | FrontlineSMS | Means of Exchange
• Wednesday 15 January 2014, 17:00-18:30
• ARC Cafe, Ground Floor, Alison Richard Building, Sidgwick Site, 7 West Rd, CB3 9DT.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Gabriela Martinez.

The Centre of Governance and Human Rights (CGHR) has launched a practitioner seminar series, partnering with expert speakers from key organisations to delve into the gritty realities of what working in fields like human rights and international development really involves.

Ken Banks, Founder of kiwanja.net and FrontlineSMS, will be the first speaker of the Series this year. Ken devotes himself to the application of mobile technology for positive social and environmental change in the developing world. He has worked at the intersection of technology, anthropology, conservation and development for the past twenty years and, during that time, has lived and worked across the African continent. He is a PopTech Fellow, a Tech Awards Laureate, an Ashoka Fellow and a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, and has been internationally recognised for his technology-based work. Ken is also a published author, with his first edited book, “The Rise of the Reluctant Innovator”, released in late 2013. His latest project, Means of Exchange, looks at how everyday technologies can be used to democratise opportunities for economic self-sufficiency, rebuild local community and promote a return to local resource use.

About the Lent 2014 series:

The sphere of work known variously as the ‘Third Sector’, ‘Development and Humanitarian Aid’ or simply – doing good in tough places – is notoriously impenetrable, and frustratingly difficult to navigate for the uninitiated. For somebody hoping to pursue a career within this field, the range of agencies and institutions, initiatives and centres is at the very least bewildering. Most areas intersect, and organisations work with an array of crosscutting issues and contexts. Yet what at first glance can appear to be a morass of very similar organisations doing generally related things, is in fact often sharply delineated, with different sectors requiring surprisingly different competencies and operating under quite specific mandates. Working as an international human rights advocate would demand a different skill set and working environment from a project officer of a first phase emergency response – and both would have different routes to entry. Furthermore, a Master’s degree isn’t always the best option. Cambridge University educates and trains many of the best young minds in the country and provides a critical insight into the issues surrounding international politics, security, development and humanitarianism. But with little clarity around what is involved in working in this sector, attempting to translate this theoretical knowledge into a meaningful start to a career can be a minefield.

With this in mind, the CGHR series will allow students to listen and speak to a selection of high-level experts working in these fields, and address key issues and questions. There will be four one-and-a-half hour seminars throughout Lent 2014, designed to equip students with an in-depth and critical look at what each area involves; the type of work carried out, contingent challenges and essential competencies. The first hour will introduce the speaker, chaired by a discussant from CGHR , and will open up to the audience in the second portion of the evening to provide the opportunity for students to engage with the topics discussed. The event will be followed by a drinks reception.

This talk is part of the Centre of Governance and Human Rights Events series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• ARC Cafe, Ground Floor, Alison Richard Building, Sidgwick Site, 7 West Rd, CB3 9DT
• Africa Research Forum
• All POLIS Department Seminars and Events
• Cambridge talks
• Centre of African Studies Lent Seminar Series
• Centre of African Studies Michaelmas Seminars
• Centre of African Studies Occasional Talks
• Centre of Governance and Human Rights Events
• Economics and Philosophy
• Gem's List
• The Audrey Richards Annual Lecture in African Studies
• The Smuts Memorial Fund Lecture
• Trust & Technology Initiative - interesting events
• hc446
• jer64's list
• mas270

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