Thread by @David_McNair

I just spoke (and listened) at #DevEngage2023 conference.

A gathering of bright, thoughtful people grappling with the big questions:

#justice

#fairness

And how to build bonds of #trust between the public in rich and poor countries..

Here are five things I learnt.

A 🧵

1️⃣ THE RIGHT THING ✅

👉🏿Talking to the public about supporting aid and development only really works when they feed it’s the right thing to do.

👉🏿Making a foreign policy or a trade argument doesn’t.

#DevEngage2023

2️⃣ TRUST ⛓

👉🏿The public don’t often believe that institutions are going to be able to change things.

👉🏿A charity mindset of helping people isn’t empowering. Better to build bonds of solidarity and learning between people.

#DevEngage2023

3️⃣ EYE BALLS 👀

👉🏿The average person sees 10,000 adverts a day.

👉🏿We are in a cut throat race with everyone for what might be the most valuable commodity of all: people’s attention.

👉🏿We need to start with what people care about and build bonds of solidarity.

#DevEngage2023

4️⃣ THEATRES OF CONTINUITY

#Church used to be a place of continuity.

Prayers for the local and the global in one breath.

In a secular society how do we find those spaces?

And how do we engage with young people who are more open than adults?

#DevEngage2023

5️⃣ GATEWAY DRUG

#Aid is so often the start and the end of the public conversation.

How can it become a gateway drug to deeper reforms that are about a fair coexistence of people and planet.

#DevEngage2023