A basket of languages
And two ways to shine a light
There are two ways to “shine a light”. There is shining a light on stories and facts that have to be revealed. And there is shining a light in dark places - the glimmers of humanity that are present even in the hardest circumstances.
In the intro to this newsletter, I said that the content will be “global but US-skewed given that that’s where I live, and human rights start close to home.” I also said that I will aim to balance the exposure of problems with elevating solutions, a “40:60 ratio or thereabouts”. I’ll stick to that goal, recognizing that both kinds of shining a light are more important than ever.
Throughout, of course, there’ll be the continued angle of the ways in which place - directly, indirectly - shapes our experiences of the world.
Here are five things from which I’ve drawn insights and inspiration over the past couple of weeks.
On the role of universities…
In a beautiful short Monocle podcast on the Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV) in Caracas, Camille Rodriguez Montilla says that:
“...buildings are more than bricks and mortar. They are vessels for ideas, emotions, and aspirations.
Even after the biggest crises of Venezuela's recent history, [UCV] stands as a beacon of what architecture can achieve when it is guided by purpose and creativity."
This came out at a time when universities in the US navigate real and threatened federal funding cuts - bringing to the fore tensions between their roles as places of ideas, creativity, protest and debate while their existence is dependent on public and private flows of money.
Under growing physical and psychological constraints and closing civic space, what new spaces for organizing and for learning are going to emerge around the edges?
And development aid…
Speaking of cuts in federal funding, the almost-elimination of USAID has prompted thinking about the power dynamics inherent in bilateral aid.
In reporting on Malawi, The Economist highlighted two different paths of dependency that have become entrenched. In simple terms they can be characterized as support from the US, Europe and others channelled to meeting urgent health and food needs for refugees and the wider population, while China’s aid has involved the build-out of politician-prioritized infrastructure.
This means that capital, Lilongwe, is now characterized by Chinese-built infrastructure like a football stadium, university, federal buildings and roads, while the “streets are stuffed with aid agencies, NGOs and government offices. The only people who live in the houses in the city are the super rich and aid workers…”.
While devastating in short-term human terms, development aid cuts must lead to more creative thinking about what gets built (literally and figuratively) for and by people who live in a country and for its future trajectory.
The book of radical love
Over the weekend I read the short “Book of Radical Love”, a campaigning guide written by the CHP opposition party in Turkey - just as the CHP leading candidate and Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu has been imprisoned, leading to mass protests on the streets.
The book sets out a timeless vision for building connection with citizens. It also includes a clear set of things to avoid, including: “hubris, sarcasm, high politics and haste”.
Eyes to the future
During the “Young Voices” closing session of the 2025 “Women Who Future(s)” gathering, young women from several countries shared their thoughts on how imagining futures can begin generating change in the present. One participant, Maria Antonia Cardeal Ascenção, said that we “need a basket of languages” to talk about futures.
Also check out the 15 “Stories from the Future” compiled by Plan International - stories set in 2055 written by adolescent girls.
And electrification insights from Nepal
As climate action scales back in the US and elsewhere, Bibek Kaj Kandel has written a great piece on “why, in a world still searching for grounded alternatives”, Nepal deserves a second look. He describes the country’s electrification process that has “quietly electrified most of its villages”. And without shying from challenges, he emphasizes the importance of building forward from what already exists:
“Nepal’s rural electrification didn’t begin with a state planning or a rush of international finance. It started with people. With necessity. With grit…
Geography, necessity, and a mix of local metal workers, villagers, masons and engineers came together to build something unique…
As climate risks grow and energy systems evolve, Nepal must begin to lead with its own priorities rooted in long-term resilience, local realities, and the transformative potential of what has already been built.”
