Social Impact Internship Feature: Octavio Vega, NeedsList
Octavio Vega (’22, Course 8) is a Crisis Relief Intern with NeedsList through the PKG Social Impact Internships program. NeedsList is an organization that builds solutions for a new era of global crises, solutions that are locally-powered, collaborative, tech-enabled, and grounded in dignity.
Check out Octavio’s recently published blog post on humanitarian localization and read an excerpt below!
Link to full article: https://medium.com/needslist/why-is-humanitarian-localization-failing-19f340969734
“Unlike domestic issues, humanitarian situations exist on such enormous scales that, by definition, they are somewhat exempt from the locality that most focal points provide in media coverage and research. When academics diagnose the failures of robust humanitarian innovation policy goals, the mode of presentation is — more frequently than not — via formal report. Academic reports provide credible and well-organized theories and data, but they do not capture public attention in demanding action.
It is true that there exist several general remedies to the systematic roadblocks to localization in the international humanitarian network. These include greater capacity building, collaborative goal setting, transparent and accessible fund allocation, and many more. However, the mistake is in appealing to the venue of academic communities as opposed to the public upon which many organizations depend for their support. Furthermore, commentary on a broad framework is necessary but not efficient to sway the masses towards advocacy for real change in NGOs.
In parallel with the wide analysis of macroscopic tendencies across INGOs, to advocate for localization equally demands that public appeal be localized. Instead of referencing academic papers, the humanitarian sector should instead seek to tell stories.”
Link to full article: https://medium.com/needslist/why-is-humanitarian-localization-failing-19f340969734
Interested in learning more about PKG Social Impact Internships? Visit our web page and learn about IAP ELO opportunities for undergraduate MIT students!
Tags: NeedsList, Social Impact Internships, Social Impact Internships Fall 2020, Tech for Good
