Mangroves are increasingly recognized as one of the most powerful nature-based solutions we have for combatting climate change and reversing biodiversity loss. These coastal ecosystems protect shorelines from devastating storm surges, store massive amounts of carbon, and act as a crucial link between land and ocean. During a catastrophic 2013 typhoon in the Philippines, … Read more
With the launch of the new South-North Commission at #HSC26, Germany is attempting to reopen the conversation on global development beyond 2030. Co-chaired by Olaf Scholz and Laura Chinchilla, the independent Commission explicitly evokes the legacy of the Brandt Commission of 1980. Its success will depend not on the prestige of its members, but on its … Read more
I’m heading to the Hamburg Sustainability Conference 2026 — and I’m not going there to nod along. Hamburg, 29 June 2026. Around 1,600 participants from 115 countries are descending on the Hanseatic city this weekend for the third Hamburg Sustainability Conference. German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will open proceedings, flanked by 22 ministers, 13 heads … Read more
EU’s new Evaluation Policy for External Action doubles down on accountability, learning and impact – including for Global Gateway investments. Clearer roles, stronger use of evidence and strategic evaluations will make it easier to track what really works in partner countries and why, so Global Gateway can deliver measurable, sustainable connectivity and development impact. The … Read more
(tl;dr) EU–Kenya Digital Partnership boosts connectivity, skills and innovation, linking youth, schools and SMEs to affordable high-speed internet, AI collaboration and new digital jobs for sustainable, shared growth. Kenya has become the first African country to establish a formal Digital Dialogue with the European Union, a milestone reached in March 2026 that positions this East … Read more
Report from the EU Food Justice Forum, Brussels, 9 June 2026 In a world where multinational agribusinesses increasingly treat food systems as financial markets, smallholder farmers from Zimbabwe, rice breeders from the Philippines and EU parliamentarians gathered in a Brussels conference centre on 9 June 2026. The civil society-organised EU Food Justice Forum placed one … Read more
(TL;DR) This issue paper by the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) argues that the 2025 USAID stop-work order was not merely an external shock but the predictable consequence of deeply entrenched dependency mindsets within West African civil society organisations (CSOs). The paper diagnoses five limiting thought patterns that hinder resource mobilisation and long-term sustainability, … Read more
An EADI webinar shows that a genuinely green economy in rural Africa depends on three things working together: locally affordable climate-smart practices for smallholders, coherent national and regional policies that connect research with practice, and climate finance that explicitly supports a just transition with strong community agency. It highlights how programmes like the Great Green … Read more
(TL;DR) On 6 May 2026, the DC dVET kicked off its anniversary BarCamp webinar series with “Skills on the Move: How Migration Intersects with Dual VET”. Keynote speaker Helen Dempster (CGD Europe) argued that TVET investments and labour mobility pathways must be designed together from the start, not treated as separate tracks. A panel covered … Read more
Series Evaluation Insights for Policy and Programming ReACT4UA / EU4Business — Central Project Evaluation GIZ, Commissioned by BMZ | Co-financed by the EU and Norad | Ukraine | 2020–2025 Context Ukraine’s path toward EU accession has unfolded against the backdrop of one of the most severe crises in contemporary European history. The ReACT4UA / EU4Business … Read more
Europe’s latest Foreign Affairs Council in its Development configuration on 18 May 2026 marks a quiet but significant shift: EU development cooperation is being recast as a geopolitical tool, with Kaja Kallas openly calling for aid, trade and security partnerships to be more tightly aligned with Europe’s strategic interests. A development council in a new … Read more
Series Evaluation Insights for Policy and Programming Evaluation Report: Program Evaluation of the KVP of the Deutsche Sparkassenstiftung für internationale Kooperation (DSIK) Evaluator: Madiba Consult GmbH, Bonn Commissioned by: Deutsche Sparkassenstiftung für internationale Kooperation (DSIK) Funded by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Overall Rating: 86/100 — Successful (Level 2, OECD-DAC Scale) … Read more
