Event

International development is not neutral — it’s built on systems shaped by colonisation, racial hierarchy, and white dominance. Many UK-based INGOs continue to operate within these structures, often unconsciously upholding practices rooted in historical injustice. Others are increasingly aware of the faults in our system but struggle to know how to dismantle the harms persisting in our work.

This 2-hour workshop offers a critical space to examine systems of power within international development. Participants will actively engage with key concepts like antiracism, anticolonisation, and whiteness — not as passive recipients of information, but as co-investigators in unpacking how power shows up in our sector.

This is not a training or lecture. You won’t be taught; you’ll be asked to look closely, take risks, and engage to learn. Through structured activities, reflection prompts, and shared learning, we’ll examine how INGOs benefit from racialised systems — and explore our roles within them. We’ll also unpack how whiteness functions collectively, and reflect on our own complicity without slipping into guilt or defensiveness, recognising the problems in the system we are all working within.

We won’t map pathways for change just yet. Instead, we’ll begin with truth-telling, discomfort, and clarity — because meaningful disruption starts with understanding what we’re part of. The session won’t offer easy solutions, but will ask urgent questions. Come with curiosity, courage, and openness — this is a space for truth and journeying.

Spaces are limited at this event. Please get in touch with Hannah via hannah@swidn.org.uk if you would like to attend. All places are fully funded but a refundable deposit may be required.