Monthly Archives: November 2011

The Making and Questioning of a Development Professional: Alfredo Ortiz

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Alfred Ortiz, Professor at Monterey Institute of International Studies of Nonprofit Finance and Organizational Sustainability as well as a Phd Candidate shares a deep contemplation about development work, development philosophy and the direction of development. He elaborates on some of his past experiences with social entrepreneurship, indigenous amazonian people and capacity building, his work with PACT Ecuador, teachings and trends. In this interview with Policy Pace producer Paula LeRoy, Professor Ortiz previews his PhD findings to challenge typical beliefs about development. He asks the hard questions. If we just strengthen this organization will it increase the impact? How valuable is training? Does training produce results? Are there too many promises? How can development agencies better understand the complexities of the project environment? Is visioning helpful or harmful? Can we work on the micro level and the macro level? Do agencies ask themselves the hard questions about their impact?

Click here to download the interview.

Questions, comments or request for an interview can be sent to policypace@live.com

Why Write Stories about Women? by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

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“If you don’t speak for her, who else will?”  “You have a seat at the table, and if you give it up, no one else will speak for her, because she can’t!”   Gayle Tzemach Lemmon , speaks for under represented women, and encourages us too.  She is the author of The Dressmaker of Kahir Kahan, a true story of a woman entrepreneur in Afghanistan during the Taliban era. Gayle’s convincing presentation tasks us with voting by what we read. “The news is all bad, because we let it be,” she instructs us and continues on, not only to tell the compelling story of Kamala, a teacher turned dressmaker entrepreneur, but to motivate us to be the voice for women who do not have a seat at the table.  Taped and introduced by Paula LeRoy for Policy Pace, this 44 minute talk is a true treat.

Click here to download the presentation. It will download to your itunes or multimedia player, from which you can chose to download it to your ipod or mp3 player for mobile listening.

We encourage you to enjoy other speakers and interviews from the Dining for Women conference, found on Policy Pace at sites.middlebury.edu/informed.  Erika Keaveney of Lotus Outreach, Marsha Wallace-cofounder of Dining for Women, Ursula Daniels and Denise Woods on Gender Politics and Power are posted.

Syrian Roots of Radicalism: an experience

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English Language professor Mike Garnett, of Monterey Institute of International Studies describes the roots of radicalism he witnessed in his four years of living and teaching in Syria. Through vignettes about ethnic and cultural issues, WASA, the value of justice, and class organization we can understand the boiling point. Parental, western, and educational influences on youth deepen the picture.  Mike denotes important aspects Syrian history, ambivalence about the Bushard presidency and the dangers of involvement. This is an important perspective on the vibrant Arab Spring movement that has cost thousands of Syrian’s their lives, and caused Syria, a founding member to be dismissed from the Organization of Arab States. Policy Pace producer Paula LeRoy treasures this spontaneous interview as a symbol of how much you can learn from the person sitting next to you, if you ask them a few simple questions.

Click here to download interview.

What’s Your Status? Malawi’s Progress in HIV, Malaria and Development

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Returning peace corp volunteer Ben Nebo, MPA 2011 at MIIS, describes in detail the very successful “one love”  and “bed nets for pregnant mothers” campaigns in Malawi intertwined with narrative about Malawi’s  historical context. The overlay of his development studies on the reality of Malawi’s challenges and successes makes a very interesting analysis. There will be second interview with Ben Nebo about his water and sanitation work in Malawi, as part of Policy Pace‘s effort to bring cutting edge, front line information to assist development workers, students and policy makers to better inform practice.

Click here to download the interview to your itunes or multimedia player.

Comments and suggestions for Policy Pace are encouraged.

Afghanistan: Progress and Inadequacies of US Involvement: COIN expert Terry Tucker

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Lessons learned COIN expert Dr. Terry Tucker, expands the breadth of knowledge commonly available about US presence in Afghanistan. In this interview with Policy Pace, he details counterinsurgency pitfalls, challenges, ethics, and successes.  Other topics include hard power vs. soft power, rule of law, intricacies of training the Afghan police and military, proliferation of small arms, forming the new government, development  changes in gender based approaches, pacing and inclusion. Former Commander, Tucker also instructs us about the technical military structures that dictate the principles, constraints, mandates, and counterinsurgency techniques.

The information shared today is based on 51 months in Afghanistan training the Afghan police and national guard, interfacing with NGO’s and civilian leaders as well as  two years of employment with Army Lessons Learned as a policy analyst.  Presently, part of Dr. Tucker’s duties include interviewing returning troops and training deploying troops during which he stresses cultural and linguistic understanding, soft power skills, and the transmission of lessons learned.

Interview available at soundcloud.com/policypace/counterinsurgency-in

Afghani views of progress in Afghanistan

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Nasrullah Aman and Miryam Johari, two Afghanistan natives and Fullbright scholars studying at Monterey Institute of International Studies, discuss their work in Afghanistan, progress, politics, and sterotypes about Afghanistan. Education, government corruption, decentralization and improvement of the civil service, issues of US presence, the Taliban, al Queda, and promises for Afghanistan. This 56 minute interview presents a very different perspective than heard in mainstream media. A goal of Policy Pace, produced by Paula LeRoy,  is to bring fresh views and expertise to students, the public and policy makers.

Click here to download the interview. It will download to your itunes or multimedia program in MP3 formant, which can then be downloaded to your ipod or mp3 player for mobile listening. Enjoy!

Comments are appreciated.

Ivory Coast: A Civil War Challenged

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This is the second part of the analysis of the Ivory Coast civil war with Dadie Loh, MA 2011, Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies. Paula LeRoy, MA 2011, producer of Policy Pace, probes the Human Rights Watch reports of wide scale human rights abuses and the less known aspects of the civil war/rebel movement. During parts one and two, Mr. Loh describes the use of religion to cause tension, the rise and fall Ghagbo’s presidency, the 1999 military coup, the amnesty of former President Gai, the importance of cocoa, deforestation, guns for diamonds, french influence and the disputed election/

The purpose of Policy Pace is to provide in depth information to students and policy makers from knowledgeable people who may not receive a voice in mainstream media.

If you would like to be interviewed for Policy Pace or conduct an interview of a colleague for Policy Pace, please contact us at policypace@live.com

Click here to download the interview. It will download to your itunes of multimedia player in MP3 format which can then be downloaded to your ipod or mp3 player for liesurely listening.

Ivory Coast: Who are the Rebels? An analysis by Dadie Loh

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The conflict in Ivory Coast, is rarely in the mainstream news anymore, after journalists decided that the conflict was a reaction to a dictator who wanted to stay in power to long. Dadie Loh, MA 2011 in Non Proliferation and Terrorism Studies, at Monterey Institute of International Studies, educates us about the subtleties of the conflict in his home country. Paula LeRoy, MA 2011 in IPS Security and Development leads the interview through its economic, regional, factional, security, and journalistic facets. Part 1 of 2.

Click here to download the interview. It will download to your itunes or multimedia player in MP3 format.

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Journalism and Women’s Needs: Q & A with Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

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“How can women be a majority of the population and a ‘special interest’ group?” is the lead question in this question and answer time at the Dining for Women Conference. Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, a well known journalist and author of the Dressmaker of Kahir Kahan, a true story about courageous women entrepreneurs during the Taliban era in Afghanistan, challenges assumptions about what is news worthy. Her interesting and passionate answers compel us to rethink the concept of ‘women’s issues.’ She has to advocate constantly  for ‘women’s issues’ to be part of the main news flow. Paula LeRoy, MA 2011, Security and Development at Monterey Institute of International Studies brings you this presentation as part of Policy Pace, a radio show aimed at bringing deeper news, less famous voices, and expertise to students and policy makers.

Click here to download the interview. It will open up in your iTunes or Multimedia Music Player as a MP3 file. It can be further downloaded to your ipod or mp3 player for mobile listening.

The Enigma: Power, Gender and Politics with Ursula Daniels and Denise Woods

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Ursula Daniels, founder of PAXWORKS and Denise Woods, a consultant for NGO’s in DC, share their views and expertise on Gender, Power and Poverty, using a nested model, case studies in Nicaragua and Nepal and depth of exploration into this nexus. The women co-chair a chapter of Dining for Women in DC, and bring their experience to bear on many of the causes supported by DFW. Paula LeRoy interviews these fascinating women in October of 2011. the interview includes discussions of water issues, land grants, capitalism, shortages, violence, the presence of absence, journey head to heart, a free competent press and collaborative invasions.

Click here to download the interview. It will download to your itunes or multimedia player in an MP3 format, which you may then transfer to your ipod or mp3 player of leisurely listening.

Feel free to  share this interview with colleagues and friends.