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Juani, the flower man by Carolina Hidalgo-McCabe (A23)

by heatherbarry
Juani, the flower man by Carolina Hidalgo-McCabe (A23) Mar 20

I peered over the side of the balcony, and below me, on the corner, I see an elderly man with a cart of sunflowers and gladiolus. He’s not yelling out to let people know he’s selling flowers, just standing calmly.

I quickly descend the stairs to go speak to this man, but as I arrive, he’s no longer there. I almost head back up to the balcony of our Airbnb but decide to take a loop. Sure enough, there he is on the next corner.

“No hay alegria aca” (there’s no joy here), these words flow out of Juani’s lips, as he holds a cart filled with flowers.

Mar 14

Greetings from Doha! by Sibi Nyaoga (A23)

by heatherbarry

It has been a whirlwind of a week for us. Despite being sleep-deprived and jet-lagged, we were buzzing with excitement. The UN LDC 5 Conference is being hosted at Qatar National Convention Center – a huge space serving as a boma (meeting place) for policy leaders, presidents, and NGOs.

Mar 13

Reflections on The 5th UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries by Grace Spalding-Fecher (A23)

by heatherbarry

 As I sit at Hamad International airport waiting for my flight back to Boston, I reflect back on our time in Doha, Qatar for the 5th UN conference for the Least Developed Countries.

Mar 07

Boston to Doha: On the Second Day of the UN LDC5 Conference by Ran Guo (A23)

by heatherbarry

It is the morning of the second conference day, and my mind is still echoing with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call for a “new Bretton Woods moment” yesterday.

Mar 07

Day Two: Reframing the Challenges by Saffiyah Coker (A24)

by heatherbarry

My favorite session of the U.N. LDC Conference day #2 was the session “Blending the Public and Private Sectors for Results in LDCs”. During day one of the conference, I attended a passionate Civil Society Forum that addressed the many shortcomings and disadvantages of the privatization of economies in LDCs.