Sherpa Times

The Sherpa is the place for the global advocacy community to go for news of the new reports and the industry's perspective on the key issues and events. It provides information on  what NGOs are working on in global advocacy and their focus at global events like the G8, G20 and BRICS.

 

The Sherpa blends news, insights and intelligence with perspective. Think of it as though it was Variety meets the IMF World Economic Outlook.

 

In addition to the website, The Sherpa promotes collaboration, coordination and shared intelligence for the advocacy community. It provided breifings as well as was a central place to get the latest information on the activities and plans of the advocacy industry.

By giving new perspectives on events, new publications, and lobbying activities, The Sherpa is a handy source of news for any global advocacy professional.The Sherpa also puts out a regular(ish) e-newsletter and up-dates on Twitter.

 

The Sherpa derived its name from the governmental negotiators at global summits. The word Sherpa was borrowed from the hard-working and famous Nepalese porters by the global community sometime during the 1960s - to describe the civil servants who prepared the head of state for the Summit (G8, European Union etc) and the name stuck.

The Sherpa was established in 2008 by Kel Currah, the founder and managing editor (twitter: @kelcurrah) and is based in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It is wholly owned by What World Strategies Ltd.

 

 

The Sherpa

Kel Currah runs the Sherpa as part of his consultancy, What World Strategies. He established What World Strategies in early 2009 to utilise his deep experience in global campaigning, advocacy and cross-sectoral coalition building to support NGOs advocating at the global level. What World Strategies works with NGOs, foundation, and coalitions on advocacy strategies and stakeholder mapping and excels in building collaboration between groups and sectors to deliver policy outcomes.

 

Kel has over 12 years experience in advocacy including lobbying and campaigning at the global level. He has worked extensively on the G8 since 2004 and the G20 since 2009. He was a member of the UK’s Make Poverty Coordinating Committee in 2005 and was a member of the council overseeing the Global Call to Action Against Poverty, the largest anti-poverty campaign in the world from 2004 to 2006. From 2005 to 2011, Kel chaired the G8 & G20 Global Working Group, an informal coalition of some 400 NGOS, think tanks, multilateral organizations working on delivering G8 commitments on poverty and climate change. More recently he worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation focusing on international advocacy and the Foundation's work at the G20.

 

Previsouly, Kel worked for World Vision International, beginning as Policy Officer for the UK office in 1998 and finally as the Associate Director for Policy and Advocacy at the international office. In this role, Kel undertook designing and implementing lobbying and campaigning strategies on key development issues as well as representing the organization at multilateral institutions such as the World Bank, IMF, UN and engaging other global organizations like the World Economic Forum.

 

Prior to his international work, Kel worked as Senior Research for the London based think tank, the New Economics Foundation as well as Parliamentary Researcher to a member of the UK Parliament. Kel began is career in marketing in the automotive industry. He has an undergraduate degree in History from the University of Manchester and a Masters in International Relations (European Union) from the University of Durham. Kel resides in Canada.

 

 

Note:

The Sherpa prints information based on press releases and press articles on NGO activities. The views and opinions expressed by independent authors and contributors on this site are provided in the writer's personal capacities or that of their organisations and are their sole responsibility. Their publication does not imply that they represent the views or opinions of What World Strategies Ltd and must neither be regarded as constituting advice on any matter whatsoever, nor be interpreted as such. What World Strategies is from time to time hired as a consultant to organisations highlighted here.

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