Accessible, development-critical media

November 8, 2014 9:11 AM

I'm looking for engaging videos (or websites, or accessible articles) that are critical of international development practices like voluntourism, etc. Humor is a bonus.

I'm a graduate student and I instruct one undergraduate section of a large lecture class that focuses on international development, touching largely on HIV/AIDs, agricultural, and family planning interventions. I teach the regular topics of the class, but also I'm looking for engaging, probably non-academic resources (articles are okay, but video is best) that are critical of kneejerk/bad development practice and thinking (for example, thinking of Africa as one big problem country, gender essentialism in intervention design, voluntourism, etc.). Basically, I'm looking for engaging videos that address some of the problems with development practice. This is one example that would fit in this category; do you have others?

posted by c'mon sea legs to Education (4 answers total)

Well, this is more about British charity practices than development per se and it's funnier if you know about the London theatre scene (it features some famous actors), but I love this script-flipping sketch from Armando Iannucci's old show.

More recently, and on similar lines, there's Africa for Norway.
posted by col_pogo at 9:37 AM on November 8, 2014 [2 favorites]

The Samaritans
posted by pretentious illiterate at 11:02 AM on November 8, 2014 [1 favorite]

Stuff Expat Aid Workers Like
posted by kimdog at 12:00 PM on November 8, 2014 [3 favorites]

#GlobalPOV project has accessible videos. Africa's a Country also has a lot of good posts on this, including the Million Tshirt project and Invisible Children, that may or may not include video.
posted by spamandkimchi at 4:50 PM on November 8, 2014 [1 favorite]