The A Spot

So tomorrow I leave for an extended trip to Kiev, Ukraine and Prishtina, Kosovo. Both places I have been to before but I still get a little antsy just before a long trip. The kids are prepared, excited about Mommy taking an airplane ride, and have asked me to bring them back a train. Not sure what that is about but I will do my best.

I am excited about the trip as it gives me a great opportunity to see some of our work in action and contribute a bit. In Ukraine we are tackling an interesting issue - how to get government officials and citizens talking to each other more effectively, constructively and authentically. In a small pilot we are working with a new consultant, Bill Edwards, from Gov3 Consulting, a UK based firm to run a workshop with NGO leaders and government officials. It has been a steep learning curve as I learn the ins and outs of working with government ministries.

Now Kosovo on the other hand is an entirely fly by the seat of my pants kind of trip. As usual. We are making changes to IPKO Institute and rethinking what we have to contribute to the development of Kosovo now that it is an independent country. I get to spend some time with Akan Ismaili who is the CEO of IPKOnet and co founder of IPKO. We are cooking up all sorts of great ideas and hopefully I can blog about them soon!

The run up to this trip has me thinking alot about foreign assistance and US foreign assistance in particular. I know, I know, I am not much fun at a dinner party. But there is a great video circulating from the Center for Global Development which popularizes an idea that is long overdue - the US needs a new foreign assistance act. Take a gander at their video on You Tube.

More from the road.