Amazing news for @freedomfund.bsky.social from my friend @nickgrono.bsky.social! Wonderful to see this recognition of their important work and the impact they make. 🙌

Global Governance Reimagined

As World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings begin, the need for reform is urgent.

A new @ForeignPolicy brief on Global Governance Reimagined from @FordFoundation tackles this critical issue.

I was honored to contribute w others like Rebeca Grynspan. Read it here: globalgovernancereimagined.com

The UN’s grim future Going rogue, decay or Trumpification

Does the UN have a future?

I talked to @economist.com alongside @minhthu.bsky.social (who is more hopeful than me!).

www.economist.com/internationa...

The Compromiso de Sevilla Marks a New Path for Development Finance With the United States dropping out of negotiations, the rest of the world signed on to an agreement that shifts voice and influence toward the Global South.

Compromiso de #Sevilla marks a new path for development finance. With U.S. out, the rest of the world agreed to shift voice & influence to the Global South.

My piece @CarnegieEndow on what #FFD4 means for dev finance, Global South, multilateralism—plus key outcomes.

👉🏼 tinyurl.com/a4wfsce8

What is Financing for Development 4 and why is it a big deal? As the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development approaches, Seville could define the next decade of development finance — with critical debates on debt, tax, trade, and aid on the ...

My interview with @Devex: What is Financing for Development 4 and why is it a big deal? www.devex.com/news/what-is...

📣The Starling's Call May newsletter is out covering:
▪️#UN reform at 80: It's my birthday, I'll cry if I want to🎂
▪️Pandemic accord
▪️Financing for Development #FfD
▪️Our update
▪️Must reads, key dates & more
Read👉http://rb.gy/1h119n
Subscribe👉https://www.projectstarling.org/subscribe

Great stuff in our most recent update, including recommended readings from Adriana Abdenur, @crisisgroup.org @thantmyintu.bsky.social Degan Ali, Zainab Usman, and Norway and Mexico missions to the UN leading on multilateral cooperation.

📢 Our second issue of Starling's Call monthly newsletter is out, covering multilateral disruption, US-UN ambassador, pandemic agreement negotiations, budget crunches, events, and more. Read it here👉 tinyurl.com/2xkpfkka

Subscribe here 👉 www.projectstarling.org/subscribe

#handsoff NYC

flippers up

This feels like a moment for reading, not only for current affairs analysis but for getting water from the deeper wells. Here’s two I am on now. Please share your recommendations.

I am often asked about my sincere belief in others & how that gives me hope.

Today @booker.senate.gov gave me hope. He was heroic. He is a helper.

As I say in my book Find The Helpers, what matters more than the moment is what we do next. Corey Booker just showed the way for what to do next.

Marco Rubio Warns Venezuela Against Attacking Guyana Over ExxonMobil Deal As ExxonMobil produces oil offshore in Guyana, Venezuela has asserted claims to a large region of the country, recently sending a naval vessel into the waters.

This is the predictable result of Trump's threats against Greenland, Canada, Gaza, and Panama: Dictators elsewhere feel licensed to do the same.

Eroding the foundational principle of the international legal order has consequences--and everyone will pay the price.

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/27/w...

10 steps to avoid learned helplessness:

1-Get out & protest;
2-Support those who fight, not those who fold;
3-Lobby the media;
4-Cancel bad media;
5-Reward good media;
6-Call congresspeople;
7-Support legal fights;
8-Boycott bad actors;
9-Don’t let state borders limit your activism; &
10-Stay loud.

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

—Theodore Roosevelt

Small acts in the right direction can shift the entire system.

💯Don’t underestimate the power of connection. Recently, I organized a gathering in the flesh to connect former leaders who are overwhelmed by the assault on global norms, institutions, & U.S. leadership in the world. It was soul-nourishing and substantively inspiring. Connect, plan & act.

Can’t emphasize this enough: if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the debased assault on our country, the antidote is connecting with other people in the flesh who are feeling the same way. There are millions of us.

If the rise of the far right is fueled by a crisis of meaning and legitimation, and not just adverse material outcomes, then the solution cannot be found at the level of policy. It can only be found in a politics of values, purpose, and history.

🔥The moment calls for collective intelligence & action. Recent events underscore the need to build community and share knowledge & ideas so we can act together. Project Starling has launched the Starling's Call newsletter as a start. Read, subscribe & let's figure it out together.🕊️
bit.ly/3FI6lxr

🔥Truth👇🏼

If Russia wants peace, they should end the invasion.

Worst. Episode. EVER.

Shameful. The U.S. has sided with Russia, North Korea, Hungary, and Belarus to vote against a resolution condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

Thanks, Ben. You were brilliant.

Ben Phillips on LinkedIn: It was a privilege to be asked to speak at the convening on building a new… It was a privilege to be asked to speak at the convening on building a new narrative on ODA and beyond, alongside inspirational fellow panellists Attiya Waris,…

Privileged to speak on a new narrative on ODA & beyond, alongside Attiya Waris, Mahmoud Mohieldin, Ida McDonnell & Kate Higgins, hosted by Project Starling’s @minhthu.bsky.social Worth watching all at:
www.projectstarling.org/events/oda

Sharing my remarks below:

www.linkedin.com/posts/ben-ph...

Good advice ⬇️

This is a picture of the summit

This weekend, at the Planetary Summit of the Berggruen Institute & I got to hear from @minhthu.bsky.social on what we can learn from current multilateral systems dealing with planetary issues!

& from Pascal Lamy on how it fails to deliver.

As I’m seeking to challenge opaque UN systems, this is 🔥

Thanks! I’m Minh-Thu Pham