About this blog
Last year I wrote a critique of the top-down approach adopted in Tony Blair’s Africa Commission and the Gleneagles G8 commitment to aid. Basically the message was: if you want to know how to support development in Africa, ask the women. Well, nothing has happened in the meantime, except an increase in conflict, poverty and HIV/AIDS.
So, this year openDemocracy will be covering the G8 process from a women’s perspective. We have invited some of our authors to lead the debate in an openSummit on key issues such as aid, globalisation, climate change and health.
In order to increase participation we are also running this blog as a platform for women activists, academics and journalists from a variety of organisations worldwide. A summary of these voices will be published at the end of the month (men, in the spirit of ubuntu are also invited to contribute).
With openDemocracy we have the technology to address G8 and challenge their views. We should take full advantage of this. As part of the struggle to reform the world, we can also help to reshape the news.
Patricia Daniel is senior lecturer in social development at the Centre for International Development and Training, University of Wolverhampton, England. She is currently involved in a study on gender, peace and stability in Mali, in collaboration with the University of Bamako and the Centre for Democracy and Development in Lagos. She is an openDemocracy columnist.
