The decision of the Australian government to alter and delay vital tax transparency legislation last month was influenced by pressure from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) - states the FACT Coalition, and in this article “urges the Australian government to swiftly finalize this important legislation without any further changes”.
At the end of June, the International Sustainability Standards Board unveiled new sustainability and climate disclosure standards.
Why fighting corruption is good for conservation? There is a need to bring more transparency to resource extraction and trade. Public access to logging, licensing, or exploration contracts raises the accountability of those who sign such deals, limiting corruption as well as natural resource overuse.
Economists and economic justice campaigners are criticizing the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for putting tax conditionalities on debt deals - for example, telling Sri Lanka to hold off from a new digital services tax.
Louisa Loveluck and Mustafa Salim warn about how a building boom fueled by corruption is changing the face of Baghdad. It is a lucrative time for Iraqi developers, hailed by politicians as a sign of Baghdad’s revival. But the real estate market is also a magnet for dirty money.
What can politicians do to build trust? James Weinberg’s new article offers some answers.
World Bank's newly-appointed President, Ajay Banga, must guide the organization to complete transparency. Increased trust would encourage shareholders to consider capital increases. Trust-based engagement with the private sector and other development institutions would generate scale and momentum - among others toward just transition.
INFOGRAPHIC OF THE WEEK!
Seven in 10 Africans (71%) say that ordinary citizens risk retaliation or other negative consequences if they report corruption to the authorities. Only one in four (26%) believe they can speak up without fear. Don´t miss this infographic from Afrobarometer timed for Africa Anticorruption Day.
OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS: Civil society fosters strong connections with communities that could most benefit from the Global Goals’ efforts to expand peace and prosperity. Yet, the space for civil society is shrinking, writes Kizito Byenkya, Director of Campaigns and Chanu Peiris, Special Assistant to the Global Director for Advocacy at Open Society Foundations.
LUMINATE: In 2021, the Foundation launched a programme to provide executive coaching to non-profit leaders. Former Atlas Corps Fellow Lorna Kanyuga wrote about the common challenges these leaders faced and ways in which they hoped coaching could help them to overcome them.
HEWLETT FOUNDATION: Last year, Hewlett Foundation launched an updated Women's Economic Empowerment Strategy. Program Officers Althea Dellaura Anderson and Sarah Iqbal share how increased collaboration across the field is making progress toward economic systems that are responsive to women’s needs and aspirations.
MACARTHUR FOUNDATION: A group of philanthropy organizations, including the MacArthur Foundation and the Knight Foundation are considering whether to increase funding to improve local news.
ESSENTIAL WATCHING
Naylor Nikki and other philanthropists discuss philanthropy’s role in resourcing long-term movements in this YouTube video.
WINGS launched the Philanthropy Transformation Initiative Report. The report serves as a crucial tool for philanthropy actors, particularly foundations and those that support them, looking to create transformative change within their organization and beyond. TAI contributed to the first chapter on transparency and accountability and co-created this “Guide on Transparency and Accountability for Philanthropic Organisations”. Stay tuned for the interactive version of this Guide coming very soon.
“We must be continuously strengthening the ecosystem of African philanthropy”. This Alliance Magazine's one-of-a-kind ten-part interview series continues with social impact infrastructure insight from Jackie Asiimwe, CEO at CivSource Africa. CivSource experiments with a wide range of ways of grantmaking.
Explore some innovative philanthropy models: “big bet” philanthropy, no-strings-attached cash transfers, trust-based giving designed to boost localization, blended finance, and effective altruism are among those models.
How to adopt systems thinking? Some of the tips include: convening the stakeholders, particularly those most affected; mapping and assessing leverage points; applying humility, agility, and diversity. Read the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors’ new article, Decoding Systems Change: Actionable Insights and Recommendations, contributed by Carne Ross through the Shifting Systems Initiative.
ESSENTIAL LISTENING
How do we address climate change, reduce poverty, and boost shared prosperity on a livable planet? Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time, and no country is immune. On this episode of The Development Podcast, voices across Africa speak about the experience of climate change and how it intersects with poverty.
Latest from LATAM
This publication, co-authored by the Center for Social and Economic Rights, CESR and Asociacion Civil Por la Igualdad y Justicia, ACIJ (with Oxfam's support) takes a look at fiscal rules in Latin America through a human rights lens. This document broadens the regional debate on fiscal rules, seeking to complement ECLAC’s suggestions for reform, following the Principles for Human Rights in Fiscal Justice.
The debt of poorer countries and the need to reform the current financial system is still a matter of large concern in Latin America. The recent Summit in Paris brings to the table the issue of – a direct descendant of the postwar world order.
ARTICLE 19, in collaboration with other freedom of expression organizations in Latin America, held a public hearing on strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) in Latin America before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the Commission) and the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression. The public hearing is the first time that the Commission hears about the threat that SLAPPs present to journalists and media in the region.
An analysis by OCCRP's Latin America team and its partners shows how alleged money launderers, politicians accused of corruption and other suspicious figures of Latin American origin bought properties in Paris and the rest of the country (in Spanish).
HOW SATISFIED ARE YOU WITH THE WAY DEMOCRACY WORKS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION?
Read insights and reflections from the Philea Forum 2023 Opening Plenary. Also, check the letter Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on environmental defenders under the Aarhus Convention submitted with recommendations on how EU Member States can become pioneers in combating strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) around the world.
JOBS LISTINGS
Mining Advocacy Coordinator, -Transparency International’s Accountable Mining Programme.
Impact Investment positions, Common Future
Good Governance Call for Experts and Proposals, Counterpart International
Program Officer, Civil Society and Leadership- David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Head of U.S., Open Contracting Partnership
CALLS / OPPORTUNITIES
World Bank and IMF Civil Society Policy Forum Call for Proposals for the next Annual Meetings in Marrakech, Deadline July 31, 2023
Next Generation Investigative Journalism Fellowship in Ghana. Deadline July 25
Nominations for the WINGS 2023 board are open. Deadline August 4, 2023
Civic Innovation Fund 2023-2024 (guestoo.de). Deadline September 1, 2023
Local Media for Democracy offers grants in Europe. Deadline September 28, 2023
Apply for OGP Local for 2024
The Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society calls for a Global Fellow and a Scholar-in-Residence. Rolling applications.
CALENDAR
Webinar “Risks of Lithium and Uranium Exploitation in Peru: National, Regional and International Perspectives”. July 20, 2023. 2:00 PM ( Peru); 3:00 PM (Bolivia, Chile, USA)
Tax Justice Series 2023: Early sightings of a new tax justice era. First Webinar, July 25th, 3:00 – 15:30 BST (GMT+1)
Lifting the Southern Voice with Hispanics in Philanthropy - July 27, 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET
2023 SDG Summit, 18-19 September 2023 in New York.
2023 Global Investigative Journalism Conference- 19-22 September 2023, Gothenburg, Sweden
WINGS Forum 2023, October 3-5, 2023, Nairobi
EDGE Funders Annual Conference “Funding Boldly: Systemic Change and Alternatives,” 18-20 October 2023
Festival de Datos, 7–9 November, 2023 | Punta del Este, Uruguay
2023 #ShiftThePower Summit, Bogota, Colombia, December 2023