News

The latest news, blogs and opinions from across the international development and humanitarian sectors.

Taking Action on Decolonisation: A Toolkit for Practice (Week 3)

Over the last 5 years in particular, SWIDN has been working to tackle coloniality and colonialism in international development. Like most, we are on a journey of continuous learning around what decolonisation is and what it means for us and our members. Some of our members have recently requested that we continue our focus on…

Taking Action on Decolonisation: A Toolkit for Practice (Week 2)

Over the last 5 years in particular, SWIDN has been working to tackle coloniality and colonialism in international development. Like most, we are on a journey of continuous learning around what decolonisation is and what it means for us and our members. Some of our members have recently requested that we continue our focus on…

Taking Action on Decolonisation: A Toolkit for Practice (Week 1)

Over the last 5 years in particular, SWIDN has been working to tackle coloniality and colonialism in international development. Like most, we are on a journey of continuous learning around what decolonisation is and what it means for us and our members. Some of our members have recently requested that we continue our focus on…

Insights from the SWIDN Network: Stories, reflections and realities of decolonising international development

In March 2026, SWIDN invited our members and wider community to share their thoughts, experiences and challenges around decolonisation in practice. Through our survey, we wanted to better understand how people define ‘decolonisation’, what actions organisations are already taking to embed it in their work, and where progress may be stalling. We also asked participants…

Spotlight on STAND: A conversation with Phil Tunstall about Transforming Lives and Tackling Waste.

Phil Tunstall is the Director of STAND, a UK-based charity dedicated to repurposing prosthetic limbs to improve lives across Sub-Saharan Africa. From humble beginnings with just a few volunteers, Phil has helped grow STAND into a fully-fledged organisation with teams in the UK, Gambia, and Ghana, creating sustainable opportunities and tangible impact for communities. “I’ve…

Meet Megha Kashyap: Feminist Campaigner, Researcher and Decolonising Fellow

For more than a decade, SWIDN friend Megha Kashyap has been doing the kind of work that doesn’t make headlines but quietly shifts the ground beneath institutions. As a feminist campaigner, researcher and trainer working across the Global South, she brings decolonial, anti-racist and feminist ways of working into the everyday machinery of organisations —…

A Conversation with Jon Garrard: Leading Programs with Purpose at Just a Drop

Jon Garrard is the Head of Programmes at Just a Drop, a valued SWIDN member and UK-based organisation dedicated to transforming water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) systems around the world. From their offices in London and Dorset, Jon and his team support partners in seven countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America – Uganda, Kenya,…

“Stories Are the Key”: A Conversation with Writer, Poet and Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Consultant Louisa Adjoa Parker

SWIDN associate, Louisa Adjoa Parker is a writer, poet, and equality, diversity and inclusion consultant based in the South West of England. We sat down with her to talk about her creative journey, the challenges facing artists today, and why storytelling might be the most powerful tool we have for building empathy. Finding Her Voice…

Defy, Don’t Despair: How Systems Thinking Is Building a Fairer World

Valued SWIDN Member, Ian Roderick is the voluntary director of The Schumacher Institute for Sustainable Systems, a Bristol-based think tank that applies systems thinking to the world’s most pressing sustainability challenges. We spoke with him about the institute’s work, the projects keeping him busy, and why, even in a time of global crisis, he believes…