Barbara Stocking: Trials and Tribulations of Changing the World

If there is anyone who knows about the difficulties involved in fighting poverty, eradicating inequality and tackling humanitarian crises, it is Dame Barbara Stocking – a former CEO of Oxfam, who also had a successful career working for the World Health Organisation and the NHS. Speaking at the Warwick Economics Summit 2018 she shared her stories and opinions on ‘changing the world’.

Moral Dilemmas

Working at Oxfam since 2001, Barbara Stocking became a crucial contributor dealing with the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the South-Asian tsunami and the Pakistan earthquake. In her speech she shared anecdotes and insights from work in the field. Stocking pointed towards the most crucial difficulty connected to her job – the need to constantly ask yourself: what is the right thing to do?

According to the Dame, ‘everything at Oxfam was a moral question’…

According to the Dame, “everything at Oxfam was a moral question”. She described her work in Sudan which collided with the International Criminal Court’s investigation on the Sudanese president – Omar al-Bashir – charged for a campaign of mass killing, rape, and pillage against civilians in Darfur. Ultimately, the open opposition to the genocide cost Oxfam, and about 50 other NGOs, the permission to stay in the country.

Controversial Questions

Oxfam’s former CEO was not spared the most controversial questions concerning the NGO’s work. Asked about the organisation’s ‘Corbynite’ partisan approach that could alienate potential donors, Stocking pointed towards Oxfam’s efforts to keep a distance from politics. She underlined the NGO “has to say what the truth is about inequalities”- this is not wrong, as long as a necessary distance from politics is kept.

The NGO “has to say what the truth is about inequalities”- this is not wrong, as long as a necessary distance from politics is kept…

Asked whether the attention to inequality is counterproductive to effectively improving living standards across the world, she stayed true to Oxfam’s values and evaluated the negative effects of divisions within societies.

Despite discussing the challenges connected with her job, Barbara Stocking stated she could not imagine a better career and encouraged the audience to strive to ensure a decent life of all people around the world.

There is a need to tackle the most pressing contemporary issues – climate change and the rising number of young, unemployed individuals, especially those living in developing countries. Stocking emphasised the need for more engagement to create jobs that can provide the less fortunate with money, status and a meaningful life.

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