Comments on: The Wonderful African Oz http://appfrica.net/blog/2009/01/28/the-wonderful-african-oz/#utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-wonderful-african-oz Ideas, Development, Data and Design Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:45:29 +0000 hourly 1 By: Steve Song http://appfrica.net/blog/2009/01/28/the-wonderful-african-oz/comment-page-1/#comment-799 Steve Song Mon, 09 Feb 2009 09:40:58 +0000 http://appfrica.net/blog/archives/1414#comment-799 Great post. Reminds me of a quotation of Henry Thoreau, "If I knew for a certainty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life". I think a good contrast for your Wizard of Oz analogy is Ethan Zuckerman's post on <a href-"http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2008/12/05/bridgeblogger-and-xenophile-a-tale-of-two-bloggers/">Bridgebloggers and Xenophiles</a>. Things are more complex now I think. Partly globalisation, partly more opportunity for pro-poor enterprise, partly more social/global consciousness that we are all responsible for each other. Having said that, there is something broken about "development assistance" but to date no one has quite come up a better alternative yet. I think part of the answer may lie somewhere in the realm of <a href="http://manypossibilities.net/2008/10/the-risky-philanthropist/" target="_blank">high-risk venture capitalism</a>. Making sure both sides have "skin in the game" in terms of realising an outcome is key. Great post. Reminds me of a quotation of Henry Thoreau, "If I knew for a certainty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life". I think a good contrast for your Wizard of Oz analogy is Ethan Zuckerman's post on <a href-"http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2008/12/05/bridgeblogger-and-xenophile-a-tale-of-two-bloggers/">Bridgebloggers and Xenophiles. Things are more complex now I think. Partly globalisation, partly more opportunity for pro-poor enterprise, partly more social/global consciousness that we are all responsible for each other. Having said that, there is something broken about "development assistance" but to date no one has quite come up a better alternative yet. I think part of the answer may lie somewhere in the realm of high-risk venture capitalism. Making sure both sides have "skin in the game" in terms of realising an outcome is key.

]]> By: Emmanuel Okyere http://appfrica.net/blog/2009/01/28/the-wonderful-african-oz/comment-page-1/#comment-742 Emmanuel Okyere Sat, 31 Jan 2009 07:54:51 +0000 http://appfrica.net/blog/archives/1414#comment-742 insightful! insightful!

]]> By: Inari http://appfrica.net/blog/2009/01/28/the-wonderful-african-oz/comment-page-1/#comment-734 Inari Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:36:59 +0000 http://appfrica.net/blog/archives/1414#comment-734 While I agree with the broad points made about foreigners who want to help but who are not fully aware of the facts on the ground, where is the accountability on the part of Africans - the munchkins, if you will? We have our witches and wizards, we also have personal responsibility for the mess we have managed to get into. The Westerners left long ago; I'm getting bored of people blaming past colonialism for today's ills. Unlike the munchkins, our Dorothy could very well come from within our ranks. We don't need a tornado to import her, or ruby slippers to send her away. And as an aside, I much prefer "The Wiz," with Diana Ross and a still-brown Michael Jackson. Judy Garland be damned! While I agree with the broad points made about foreigners who want to help but who are not fully aware of the facts on the ground, where is the accountability on the part of Africans – the munchkins, if you will?

We have our witches and wizards, we also have personal responsibility for the mess we have managed to get into. The Westerners left long ago; I’m getting bored of people blaming past colonialism for today’s ills. Unlike the munchkins, our Dorothy could very well come from within our ranks. We don’t need a tornado to import her, or ruby slippers to send her away.

And as an aside, I much prefer “The Wiz,” with Diana Ross and a still-brown Michael Jackson. Judy Garland be damned!

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