1. First up today, The Association for Quality Education & Training Online (Aqueduto) is offering a webinar this Thursday, 12^th December, at 14:00 UK time, Practical strategies for designing and delivering courses using messaging apps with Anne Lennon & Philippa Davies. More info and registration here https://aqueduto.com/community-events/events/webinar-practical-strategies-for-designing-and-delivering-courses-using-messaging-apps/

As mobile technology becomes increasingly ubiquitous, messaging apps have emerged as powerful tools for delivering educational content. This presentation will offer practical advice on designing and delivering effective courses through popular messaging apps, based on the lessons we learnt from the design and implementation of a course for teachers on WhatsApp and Telegram. Participants will hear about the project and come away with practical tips on course design, delivery and encouraging participant engagement.

2. Some radical thinking on development aid on the Danish Development Research Network (DDRN) blog from Arne Wangel, ‘Why not give all the money to the poor?’ https://ddrn.dk/16790/ PDF below.

With a particular focus on Sub-Saharan Africa, this paper explores the radical and potentially game-changing idea of allocating most Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) to social cash transfers. It concludes that financially it would be possible to reach many or even most of the poorest households with meaningful amounts on an annual basis. This would have a considerable socio-economic impact. As a side-effect, governments that are now at the receiving end of current ODA would face a funding gap, as funds are shifted to social cash transfers paid directly to their citizens. Governments would need to compensate for this through increased taxation. In some countries, but not all, this is theoretically likely to lead to positive governance effects as governments become more accountable to their tax-paying citizens and are incentivised to improve the performance of revenue and adjacent government services.

3. Here’s a recording of the informative and entertaining Ipsos Review of the Year for 2024 https://vimeo.com/ipsosuk/review/1036042422/ec9938a52c Low-resolution video below, experimentally (on the website only).

4. A review by John Kampfner of Angela Merkel’s autobiography, ‘Freedom’, a book in which he feels she doesn’t do herself justice, What is it about her? Merkel spectacularly fails to make her case; maybe I could do it for her https://johnkampfner.substack.com/

 5. And, finally, courtesy of The ELT Buzz Digest, a NYT video about primary education in Japan, What Japan Teaches Its Kids, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRW0auOiqm4