Of: Christine Von Sydow
The fact that the majority of Sweden's 61 largest companies withhold tax information that should actually be public means that we currently do not know whether companies hinder or contribute to development and justice in the countries in which they are active. As the responsibility for fair taxation lies not only with companies, but also with the Swedish government, Sweden within the OECD and at EU level should work to make it mandatory for companies to report tax at country level and account for actual ownership. That is the opinion of Christine von Sydow, Secretary General of ActionAid
December 9, 2013, Debate
Of: Henrik Sundbom
Swedish education assistance is channeled through UN agencies, which assume that private entrepreneurs are not part of the solution to poor countries' failed education systems. It is high time that the success and competence of the private and for-profit low-cost schools is recognized and managed within Swedish development assistance. That is the opinion of Henrik Sundbom, project manager for the think tank Frivärld.
November 19, 2013, Debate
Of: Jan Cedergren
The developing countries' promise of $ 100 billion a year from 2020 for climate action will not be possible to achieve with just government subsidies. An important debate in the future is about what incentives and conditions are reasonable for mobilizing the private sector. That is the opinion of Jan Cedergren, board member of the Green Climate Fund.
November 18, 2013, Debate
Of: Petra Flaum
Since 2008, the government has been violating the Vienna Declaration on the Indivisibility of Human Rights by prioritizing civil and political rights over social, economic and cultural rights in the "new PGU". The same priority can be discerned in the new development assistance policy objective that the government is now proposing. The message of domestic and development policy is that it is the duty of individuals to meet their needs for health, education and work - not the government's. It is time to discuss PGU seriously, says policy and development strategist Petra Flaum, current with a new book about PGU,
November 14, 2013, Debate
Of: Angelika Kahlo
Now that Burma is opening up to the outside world, tour operators, the media and the tourists themselves are closing their eyes to the backs of the top-governed country's socially and ecologically unsustainable tourism industry. In the long run, tourism can play an important role in Burma's economic development, but tourists should refrain from traveling to Burma until human rights are respected and a truly civilian, democratic government rules in parliament. It writes Angelika Kahlos, S-Studenternas Burmautskott.
November 1, 2013, Debate
Of: Erik Svanberg
The growing trend of financing refugee reception with aid can contribute to a dangerous change of attitude, where immigration is not seen as a natural phenomenon that deserves a stable place in a country's domestic policy but instead becomes associated with aid, philanthropy and generosity. That is the opinion of Erik Svanberg, writer and student at the University of St Andrews and Renmin University of China.
October 28, 2013, Debate
Of: Matthias Wengelin
Safe Waters Foundation Africa has been fighting for ten years to create a financially sustainable sea rescue organization for Lake Victoria in Africa, but lacks an arena for social entrepreneurship. Mattias Wengelin, head of operations, is now calling for venture capital, preferably with a claim for repayment, but without a claim for a refund and profit maximization.
October 25, 2013, Debate
Of: Peter Winai
Bad, populist posts like Elisebeth Höglund's steal attention from important issues that are not usually debated. That is the opinion of Peter Winai, researcher and author
October 23, 2013, Debate
Of: Joachim Beijmo
As editor-in-chief, how have you reasoned about columnist Elisabet Höglund's claims that poor countries have received "billions" in aid, that Africa has "boundless poverty and misery" and that it stands still in countries that are actually moving in the right direction? Sida's communications manager Joachim Beijmo asks that question in an open letter to Aftonbladet's editor-in-chief Jan Helin.
October 22, 2013, Debate
Of: By Byman
The concept of fundraising galas is not without its problems and it may seem strange to arrange a glamorous event focusing on other people's misery, but tonight's gala "Children of the World" is a tool for fundraising and education. The purpose is not to convey an image that "we" are before "them" or to arouse feelings of guilt by portraying helpless children, writes Radio Aid's general secretary Per Byman in a reply.
October 11, 2013, Debate
