Distrust in how best to strategize global development aid works in both directions. Engaging faith-based organizations has historically been met with skepticism from secular aid organizations. [...] “Inter-religious organizations and leaders can help donors overcome these challenges by active engagement as cultural brokers and guides.”

We should demystify democracy. Democracy is not a western plot, it is a universal value. Virtually all countries have aspects of democratic culture in place to some degree, and absolutely every country has room to strengthen the quality of their democracy.

We cannot forget that international development is also in the best interests of EU citizens. A number of issues such as illegal migration, climate change and terrorism can be best tackled at the root with international aid and support on the ground.

A beacon of hope shines from the East River: Following a year and a half on a journey replete with bumps in the road and many twists and turns, member states of the United Nations completed a proposal for sustainable development goals, the set of global priorities to steer the international development agenda, once the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) expire at the end of 2015.

On 12 July, Malala will be joined by hundreds of students from more than 80 countries in a unique Youth Assembly, where diplomats will take a back seat as young people take over the UN. They will gather to issue a global call for quality education for all. Education is a fundamental right, a Millennium Development Goal (MDG) and crucial to mutual understanding and global citizenship. Many of us did not have to learn this lesson from a book. We lived it.

People in developed countries turn on a water tap a dozen times a day without a thought about how that flow contributes to their life, but in international development, water access is a fundamental premise: Give a community clean water, and you improve quality of life and expand opportunity.

The prestigious ACE recognizes the important role of U.S. businesses in advancing good corporate governance and democratic principles worldwide. The award honors exemplary business practices, corporate social responsibility, and innovation in a company’s overseas operations.