Yesterday evening I was talking to a room full of bright young things – students (mostly) at Oxford and members of the Oxford University Conservation Society.
I talked about large and small NGOs (because that’s what they asked me to do) and said that NGOs were like people. None was wholly good and none was wholly bad, and size wasn’t a particularly reliable way to separate the good from the bad or the sheep from the goats.
I think one could take the analogy quite a lot further too – one’s favourite NGO, like one’s best friend, is likely to share one’s values, be reliable and have an engaging personality. And the personality that engages one person will not be the same as that which engages another.
One of the other speakers, Michele Sanders from Synchronicity Earth, spoke really well about the way that NGOs run and the problems they face and the tricks they play. I hadn’t met Michele before, and I have to admit I’d never heard of Synchronicity Earth either, but if all their staff are as good as she then they are a pretty good outfit.
I stayed the night in Wadham College (pictured below). When I left just before 9am the rush hour was underway – a rush hour of students trying to get to their 9 o’clock lectures on time, by bike or foot. It’s a long time since I was doing that (in another place).
It was nice to be somewhere where the traffic was mainly bicycles. I hadn’t gone far when I popped into Blackwells where I bought a couple of books and wandered around fairly familiar parts of town until catching the train back to London.
They are a fairly unsophisticated bunch in Oxford, aren’t they? I passed a shop selling whisky called The Whisky Shop, and a bit further down Turl St there is a shop selling leather goods called The Leather Shop just before I came to The High Street where I noticed The Bookshop (selling…? Go on… you can get it if you think really hard) and The Varsity Shop.
I enjoyed the evening and it’s nice to hear from bright young people (very few of whom admitted to being on Twitter interestingly enough). Thank you to the OUCS for inviting me and looking after me so kindly.
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I had a wander around Oxford today and bought two books; The Red Canary by Tim Birkhead and What Has Nature Ever Done For Us by Tony Juniper. I wonder what you bought!
There is another shop with an unambiguous name in Oxford; The Private Shop, I’ve never been inside so couldn’t possibly guess what they sell (the windows are blacked out)!
Interesting to hear of your second visit to Oxon in a week. I’ve never heard of Synchronicity Earth but found it’s website and blog very interesting. I wonder how many NGOs knew that 3rd of March was the UN World Wildlife Day and that there was a major conference attended by organisations from all over the world. I haven’t seen it mentioned by any of the groups I belong to!