Jennifer Lentfer

I’m quickly writing this post before the 100-mile wide Hurricane Sandy, which has already killed 65 people in the Caribbean, takes the power out in Washington, D.C., where I live.

At a pre-conference meeting, I made a presentation on the nexus of storytelling and M&E, which begged the question – if program people could understand the key elements of a good story (i.e., protagonist with which we identify, obstacle, overcoming of obstacle and resolution), how would we represent the value of our programs?

Many of us have trouble claiming our “expertise” in any one area, let alone claiming our voice, our space, or our rights. But do you know who doesn’t? It shouldn’t surprise you. Most of the “expert” voices we hear in the media are from an extremely narrow group—mostly western, white, privileged, Christian, and overwhelmingly male. This certainly happens in the fields of international development and global health as well.