Future of Good launches new global aid and cooperation reporting beat led by journalist Jahanzeb Hussain
Why It Matters
Canada’s aid and international cooperation system is at a crossroads, with little nuanced coverage on developments, solutions and transformations that are shaping the next decade of work.
There is enormous innovation and transformation in Canada’s aid and international cooperation system.
On one hand, Canada’s global leadership has the potential to flourish in several areas, including feminist foreign policy, climate finance, Indigenous reconciliation, maternal health, and Agenda 2030.
On the other hand, civil society organizations working in aid and global cooperation are and have been stretched for many years due to inconsistent funding, ineffective grants and contributions processes, pressures to address systemic racism and localization, and more.
At the heart of this is that trust is at a turning point. Building a trust framework within the aid and development ecosystem of stakeholders is becoming critical for more impactful global leadership for Canada.
With the global climate crisis, new multi-polar world order, a slew of humanitarian responses, gender-based violence, a growing debt crisis, and global refugee crisis, and COVID’s reminder that our wellbeing is intimately connected with that of everyone else in the world, what will global leadership look like for Canada?
To offer nuanced insights into the developments, solutions, and transformations shaping the next decade, Future of Good is launching a new reporting beat led by internationally acclaimed trilingual journalist Jahanzeb Hussain, focused on Canada’s international aid and cooperation.
“The purpose of this solutions journalism is to inform civil society organizations, policymakers, funders, private sector and other stakeholders in order to realize a better aid and development system for all. The intent is to help build bridges between ideas, perspectives, lived experiences and solutions,” said Vinod Rajasekaran, Future of Good’s CEO and editor-in-chief.
Future of Good launched this reporting beat with the commitment and support of leading aid and development organizations such as Cooperation Canada, IDRF, Canadian Red Cross, WUSC, CARE Canada, Mastercard Foundation, MEDA, CeCI, Plan International Canada, World Vision Canada, and Save The Children Canada.
“Two years ago, I finished a research master’s in anthropology where I looked at fishing communities of the Arabian Sea to understand their relationship with the water in the face of relentless urbanization that was destroying the sea’s natural balance,” said Hussain.
“I got a first-class degree, but the main takeaway was this life lesson: helplessness is a privilege of the rich. The poor don’t have the luxury to give up.
“For this journalism fellowship, I want to report on aid and development initiatives that are making an impact. While there are challenges in the world that may seem insurmountable, there are also communities, often poor and small, that remain resilient. I want to report with journalistic and ethical integrity, and my hope is that the stories I tell will educate and inspire. “
Domestic and international NGOs, the federal government, country partners overseas, philanthropic organizations, corporate actors, academia and communities may benefit from Jahanzeb’s nuanced journalistic coverage, cross-pollination of insights and analysis — from lived experiences to expertise and on-the-ground perspectives from the Global South — in order to maximize opportunities that the next decade offer for reimagining the aid and international cooperation system as well as address pressing global challenges.
If you have an idea for a story, email Jahanzeb Hussain.
In case you missed it, read Jahanzeb’s first story highlighting how cash-based aid solutions on the ground are making a significant difference in Sudan and Gaza.
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