Chronicle on TEDxIDS: not only build back better, but build forward differently!

by Clara Calabuig Martínez The past Friday 16th October the first-ever TEDxIDS conference finally took place in an online collaborative space, open to the public through a live YouTube stream. This student-led event brought together the director of the Institute of Development Studies, Dr Melissa Leach, four selected speakers, and more than two hundred participants

Is Universal Basic Income a Panacea to Crises like Covid-19 and Beyond?

By Zahid Pervez. The Covid-19 pandemic that surfaced during December 2019 in Chinese city of Wuhan has engulfed entire world. Countries have seen daily life disrupted, businesses shut and people scrambling to adjust to ‘new normal’ way of life as the virus continues to batter societies and economies across width and breadth of the world.

The education gap: is technology helping?

By Shirish Bhattarai and Keir Macdonald. There has always been debate regarding the effectiveness of Edtech, which has often been praised as being able to make education more accessible and engaging than ever, but also criticised for being implemented in many cases with disregard for the needs and capabilities of students and teachers. Regardless, we

Historic Trauma, Inequality, and Pandemics: The Coronavirus and Native Americans

By Kolbi Monasmith. The coronavirus pandemic has illustrated the strengths and weaknesses of many countries across the world.These range from the strength of national healthcare systems or the weakness of economies to global health crises. The US, with a third of the world’s coronavirus cases, has come under intense scrutiny in how it manages the

Authoritarian Regimes & COVID19

By Shilpita Das. It may be early to say if the post COVID19 crisis will see a shift of countries to autocracy. The majority of countries have imposed lockdowns to contain the spread of infection, and snooping has become the new norm in democratic countries and non-democratic ones. It is understandable that to respond to

The Hidden Face of Volunteerism

By Elisa Vallette. Have you ever been bothered about a photo of a proud white volunteer among brown impoverished children? Why would these well-intentioned volunteers irritate you? Referred to as “development tourists” or “voluntourists” willing to help out and experience the developing world during a short period of time, they might actually worsen the situation

Is HIV programming marginalising vulnerable transgender communities?

By Isabelle Tickel. ‘I think one thing that I would love to see is an organization for the specific reason of empowering transgender people. I think that makes a whole community really care more about informing ourselves about the spread of HIV’ Transgender sex worker  Despite 35 years of the global response to the Human

Is the Populist Discourse a Lie in Modern Democracies?

Populism and its rhetoric is a phenomenon that is gaining popularity in world politics. Examples of its spread can be found around the world, in different periods of time, to a greater or lesser extent, and from different political positions. However, how valid is it to speak and create public policy, actions and projects, in the voice of “the people”?

Does Feminism Have an Image Problem?

By Valeria Raggi. This article analyses the origins and history of feminism and its related theory as essential factors in order to comprehend its problems and clarify what it means today. As protests around the globe challenge patriarchal norms, as the #MeToo and Time’s Up mAs protests around the globe challenge patriarchal norms, as the

The Origins of the Venezuelan Humanitarian Crisis

By Rafael Felipe Pigna Ramirez. This article analyzes the Humanitarian Crisis in Venezuela, looking at the origins of the overarching humanitarian crisis as well as the origins of two specific sub-crises, a crisis of health crisis and a crisis of security. Since 1999, the state of democracy, as well as that of the economy in