Disrupt & Innovate

This page is part of a series of COVID-19 resource pages that we are creating to help civil society actors.

Click here to view all available pages.

Click here for our latest events news.

On this page, you will find links to readings, podcasts and videos related to the latest COVID-19 news and analysis. If you have a recommendation or a suggestion, let us know.

The sections are:

Staying up-to-date: Links to sites that will keep you abreast of important developments related to our sector and the latest news.

Strategic: We look at the impact and responses to COVID-19 in a general and intersectional way (i.e. impacts on human rights, climate change, etc).

Policy: Civil society’s policies that respond to challenges posed by COVID-19.

Operational: A list of what your organisation can do now to navigate these unprecedented times.

    1. Staying up-to-Date

This page is part of a series of COVID-19 resource pages that we are creating to help civil society actors.

Click here to view all available pages.

Click here for our latest events news.

On this page, you will find links to readings, podcasts and videos related to the latest COVID-19 news and analysis. If you have a recommendation or a suggestion, let us know. Many thanks to our volunteer researcher Ineke Stemmet.

The sections are:

Staying up-to-date: Links to sites that will keep you abreast of important developments related to our sector and the latest news.

Strategic: We look at the impact and responses to COVID-19 in a general and intersectional way (i.e. impacts on human rights, climate change, etc).

Policy: Civil society’s policies that respond to challenges posed by COVID-19.

Operational: A list of what your organisation can do now to navigate these unprecedented times.

    1. Staying up-to-Date

• A Better World Ahead Means Shaping Emerging Narratives Now (SSIR)
  The groups that set the narratives about what happened during the COVID-19 crisis, what to do now, and what’s next will have outsized influence on who we hold responsible, who gets help, and what we do moving forward.
• Adaptive Context Analysis during Covid-19 – Listening to Local Voices During a Pandemic (Global Policy – World Vision blog)
  With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic two key tenets for humanitarian aid that often go together, context analysis and travel, are now in tension. World Vision’s Johan Eldebo shows how they’ve sought to overcome it by balancing the necessity for remote management with the ongoing need for the locally informed analysis.
• Challenging the “‘White Gaze’ of Development” during COVID-19 (Podcast) (Oxford Society for International Development)
  Liberian academic, activist and author Robtel Neajai Pailey, uses race as a lens of analysis to interrogate assumptions that Western whiteness and modernity are the primary signifiers of progress and expertise. In exploring the pitfalls of adopting a “colour blind” outlook on development, it considers how scholars, policymakers and practitioners can challenge the ‘white gaze’ by imagining “a better world beyond flattened curves”.
• COVID-19: Human development on course to decline this year for the first time since 1990 (UNDP)
  The United Nations Development Program predicts a decline in global human development – education, health, and living standards – for the first time in 30 years.
• Embracing Innovation in Government Global Trends 2020: Innovative COVID-19 Solutions (OECD Observatory of Public Sector Innovation)
  OPSI has identified five key themes driving public sector innovation efforts during the crisis: 1. Rapid acceleration of digital innovation and transformation, 2. Seeking bottom-up solutions and insights, 3. Social solidarity and caring, 4. Reducing the spread through virus tracking and adaptive action, and 5. Forging a path to recovery.
• How are Civil Society Organizations adapting in the pandemic? (From Poverty to Power FP2P)
  Diverse stories on the roles of civil society and civic agency during the pandemic. While many actions focus on the basic and immediate needs that an emergency response requires, many others hint at gradual shifts and emerging areas of the agency.
• How the Coronavirus Tests European Democracy (Carnegie Endowment Europe)
  The Coronavirus pandemic is prompting contrasting trends in European democracy. While the crisis is aggravating many stresses that afflict democracy in Europe, it is also propelling democratic efforts in a number of areas. Several articles including: Coronavirus and European Civil Society, Technocracy and Populism After the Coronavirus, Digital Divides and the Coronavirus.
• Humanitarian Financing Is Failing the COVID-19 Frontlines  (Center for Global Development)
  Longstanding weaknesses in the humanitarian business model are undermining the COVID-19 response in fragile and conflict-affected states. Extensive delays, poor mechanisms for tracking disbursement of funds from intermediaries to implementers, and persistent obstacles to financing local actors are preventing funds from reaching organizations on the frontlines of the COVID-19 fight.
• In many countries, the coronavirus pandemic is accelerating, not slowing (The Conversation)
  Around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating. While some countries such as Australia and New Zealand have managed to flatten the curve, in many other parts of the world the number of cases has continued to reach new highs.
• Latin America sees the largest decline in peacefulness as COVID-19 poses a further threat (Devex)
  South America is the region of the world where peace deteriorated most last year, followed by Central America and the Caribbean, according to the “Global Peace Index 2020” report, with peacefulness expected to drop globally as a result of COVID-19.
• New UNESCO report shows COVID-19 leaving vulnerable children behind (Devex)
  The “2020 Global Education Monitoring Report” from UNESCO shows progress is slowing on the global out-of-school rate for primary and secondary school-age children, and COVID-19 will only make it worse.
• Sector boundaries are blurring, says CARE secretary-general (Devex)
  COVID-19 has “deeply transformed” the humanitarian and development sectors, potentially blurring the boundaries for good, according to the new secretary-general of CARE International.
• Sierra Leone faces coronavirus as rainy season hits – local disaster planning will be key (The Conversation)
  Overlapping disasters of COVID-19 and flooding could be a serious threat for Sierra Leone’s capital Freetown.
• The Global Economic Outlook During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Changed World (World Bank)
  The pandemic is expected to plunge most countries into recession in 2020, with per capita income contracting in the largest fraction of countries globally since 1870.
• The view from space: See how dramatically COVID-19 changed the world (Fast Company)
  A new dashboard from three space agencies shows the startling impact of the coronavirus pandemic on everything from air quality to asparagus farming.
• What kind of research should inform COVID responses? (From Poverty to Power FP2P)
  If we agree that evidence-informed policy and practice are good things, we need to think about what kind of research gets commissioned. We are fast reaching the end of the road for COVID expert opinion based on what was happening in last data rounds before COVID, and need to shift gears to investing in new data.
• When the West Falls Into Crisis (Webinar) (The New Humanitarian)
  An important conversation on rethinking humanitarianism in the midst of #BlackLivesMatter and COVID-19. The globalisation of vulnerability – made clear by the Coronavirus pandemic and a global anti-racism movement – is putting into question traditional conceptions of humanitarian aid, too. Will this historic moment force a rethink of international solidarity? Is the international nature of aid inherently problematic? TNH Director Heba Aly posed these questions to panellists from across the aid sector.
• World Bank has ‘stretched’ its capacity in coronavirus response, Malpass says (Devex)
  The World Bank has reached the limit of support it can provide to low- and middle-income countries recovering from the pandemic, even while acknowledging those nations require more resources than are currently available, the institution’s president says.

    2. Strategic

Biodiversity and Climate Change

• Climate change makes COVID-19 politics look easy (Lowy Institute)
  The coronavirus pandemic has led to all kinds of novel political calculations. Climate change needs even better ones.
• Opportunity in Crisis: Making Green Energy the New Normal (Asia Foundation)
  Some of the most indelible images of the pandemic have been the brilliant skies that emerged from the smog as the world stayed home and fossil-fuel use plunged. With renewables now cheaper than coal, we must summon the political will to build a green new normal.

Cities and Urbanisation

• Six experts on how we’ll live, work and play in cities after COVID-19 (Fast Company)
  Architects and urban planners from Gensler, Harvard, and Bloomberg Associates explain the changes coming to our shared spaces.

Data and Digital

• Artificial Intelligence and the Fight Against COVID-19 (Nesta)
  AI could play a powerful role in tackling the pandemic, from helping to discover new drugs and vaccines to testing and predicting the spread of infection. But new Nesta analysis of the quality of AI research has found some significant limitations in how it is currently being applied.

Futures

• A post-pandemic world is unlikely to focus on meeting need over human greed (The Conversation)
  Political and economic power-holders will strive for a return to pre-pandemic ‘normality’.
• Exploring the impact of COVID-19 in Africa: A scenario analysis to 2030 (Institute of Security Studies)
  This new study assesses the likely impact of COVID-19 on Africa over the next decade. Comparing three scenarios on growth and mortality with the continent’s pre-pandemic development projections, it examines impacts on average incomes, poverty levels and SDG targets, and how to reduce vulnerability and strengthen resilience.
• Martin Wolf – The World After the Pandemic (Podcast) (How To Academy)
  The world after 2020 will be very different from the world we left. But how? Will the pandemic lead to the greatest upheaval in the social contract since the second world war, the end of globalisation, the beginning of the Asian century? Will it lead to tax rises, inflation, further austerity? Hear from the world’s preeminent financial journalist.
• Navigating the transition to sustainability amidst new forces, positive and negative (Forum for the Future)
  Caroline Ashley, Global Director of System Change Programmes at Forum for the Future, examines the emergent positive and negative forces actively shaping the post-COVID-19 reality and reasserts the need for a just transition.
• Optimistic or pessimistic about Covid-19? No need to choose (From Poverty to Power FP2P)
  Jordi Vaquer, Director for Global Foresight and Analysis at the Open Society Foundations, argues this is a time when defenders of open society can neither afford to sit comfortably upon the vindication of their analysis by events, nor to simply spring into action following their mood, their gut and their time-tested handbook. It is the moment to be bold, imaginative and thorough in our thinking about the future.
• Rethink: The edge of change (Podcast) (BBC World Service)
  How the coronavirus pandemic has created new opportunities to change our world.
• The Long Shadow Of The Future (Noema)
  The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed how valuable it is for governments to have operational expertise, plan for the long-term and socialise certain risks.

Multilateralism and international cooperation

• Humanitarian Financing Is Failing the COVID-19 Frontlines (Centre for Global Development)
  Longstanding weaknesses in the humanitarian business model are undermining the COVID-19 response in fragile and conflict affected states.Now should be an opportunity for international NGOs to rethink their role in humanitarian delivery entering into subcontracting relationship for operational delivery.

Pandemic Specific Consequences and Responses (economic, health & social impacts)

• Let the learning begin — a WHO open-access platform could transform COVID-19 response (Devex)
  Information is only as good as our ability to find, understand, and use it. Hence, WHO should convene an independent panel to verify information and decide what to include into a global information portal for health authorities, journalists, academic experts, and civil society.

     3. Policy

• And now some questions for China’s TikTok (EU Observer)
  The EU named China as responsible for targeted influence operations and disinformation campaigns around COVID-19. Given the questions about the extent to which TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, propagates censorship, TikTok’s membership in the EU Code of Practice risks prematurely legitimising the platform as a responsible information space actor.
• Can the AU protect citizens against COVID-19 abuses? (Institute for Security Studies)
  The African Peer Review Mechanism’s pandemic governance guidelines are useful, but do they go far enough?
• COVID-19 & the Risks to Children in Urban Contexts (Policy Brief) (World Vision)
  Residents of urban slums, informal settlements and low-income neighbourhoods endure living conditions that make it challenging to protect against COVID-19. This policy brief looks at how World Vision is responding to anticipate and experience the impacts in urban areas and assess the needs of the most vulnerable. It provides recommendations for what governments, the UN and other NGOs can do to lessen their suffering.
• Left out & Unaccounted for: How COVID-19 is exposing inequalities in cities (World Vision)
  At World Vision, we are responding to COVID-19 in over 253 cities across all regions in both stable and fragile contexts. COVID-19 is currently a trending global challenge, but for urban hotspots, it is one of many. Now more than ever, the international community must amplify its voice in calling for accelerated actions to alleviate poverty and inequality in urban areas, making cities “inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” (SDG 11).
• Survey: Advocacy in the Time of COVID-19 (Africa) (Advocacy Accelerator )
  The Advocacy Accelerator is keen to take the pulse of how change-makers within the advocacy ecosystem in Africa are being impacted by and responding to the current global pandemic COVID-19. The results of this survey will be shared with all who participate (organised by country) in order to inform your advocacy programme planning.

     4. Operational

• The Safe People + Data Initiative (Dobility)
  This new initiative provides methodologies and resources for safer data collection, in response to COVID-19 and the growing need for safety-focused innovation. It offers tools and insights to support safer methods of in-person data collection and alternative methods of reducing in-person interactions and collecting data remotely.
  
• Dynamic Accountability and COVID-19 (Global Standard for CSO Accountability)
  Due to the COVID-19 crisis, many countries have imposed restrictive measures to ensure that the spread of the disease can be contained. In this new reality, Dynamic Accountability is taking a different shape. This post suggests some key takeaways and tips for organisations who wish to practice dynamic accountability during this difficult time.
• What does Accountability Look Like During Times of Disruption? (Restless Development)
  The disruption caused by COVID19 is a chance to forge new ways of working, that put accountability practices and decentralised organisation at their heart, says Katie Fuhs.

Robert Vysoudil

Communications Student Assistant

International Civil Society

Recent developments have rightly brought back old calls for structural change in the aid sector, and for taking anti-racist action individually and as organisations. CARE International’s Andres Gomez de la Torre Barrera makes a compelling personal case that we can either remain tone deaf (again) to these calls or take the opportunity to listen, reflect and act with a renewed sense of urgency.

The pandemic is exposing deep inequalities in our world, and our sector is not immune

It’s difficult to sum up how I’ve felt in the last few weeks. I’ve gone from frustration to excitement, sadness to hope and, at points, rage. It’s been heart-breaking to witness people in my home country, Peru, dying due to COVID-19. But even more than the virus itself, the real killers are years of oppression, inequality, corruption and gender-based violence, underpinned by structural racism, indifference and patriarchy. All around the world, the pandemic is exposing the deep inequalities in our world in the most brutal way.

Protests and reactions around the world are also refocusing attention to how racism is structural and embedded into all aspects of our society. It’s inevitable the aid sector is also deeply marked by it, despite the ideals it embraces of humanity, equality and empathy. Nearly everyone has a story, as highlighted in this recent Bond blog, “from overt experiences of racial discrimination, to everyday micro-aggressions and unsafe workplace cultures”. Passionate and thought-provoking statements from within seem to be finally shaking our sector, particularly (but not exclusively) from Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC), despite these same voices (and others before them) having already tried for so hard and for so long to prompt change.

A new opportunity to challenge ourselves and make our sector more equal and inclusive

We have an opportunity, with a renewed sense of urgency, to go as deep as we can and face the real underlying issue: we need to decolonise the aid sector. The level of change needed is so significant, that we can’t waste time in accelerating actions to tackle racism and colonialism in aid. It’s a call for all of us, because no one is immune – individually or as an organisation, by action or inaction – to structural racism. We need to see this as an opportunity to reflect on how racism – subtle or open – shows up inside our organisations, shaping the way we conceptualize our work, our behaviors and ways of working.

Anti-racism means learning and listening as individuals

White supremacy culture, with roots in colonialism, designed and constructed the aid system we work in and – by action or omission – we have supported this dominant power and narrative. As Stephanie Kimou, Founder of PopWorks Africa, said during last week’s #AntiRacistInAid webinar, “You don’t need to be racist or a white supremacist to support white supremacy culture.” If we feel called out, fragile, guilty or uncomfortable with this discussion, there are plenty of resources and voices that we can use to educate ourselves. They can help us start reflecting on our own privileges and how we have engaged with racism and the systems that embed them in our own lives.

Listening to inspirational and fearless leaders will challenge the way we see the world and the aid sector, while helping us to reflect on our own assumptions and privileges. I’ve been particularly drawn to Stephanie Kimou and Degan Ali, Executive Director of ADESO, in the two superb and inspirational webinars that took place last week, #AntiRacistInAid and #RethinkingHumanitarianism.

Essential reading is this fantastic piece by Vu Le on Have nonprofit and philanthropy become the “white moderate” that Dr. King warned us about? and Jennifer Lentfer’s ‘Professional do-gooders, here’s 14 ways to be in action against anti-Black racism’. And if you enjoy audio, listen to Challenging the “‘White Gaze’ of Development” during COVID-19 with Liberian academic, activist and author Robtel Neajai Pailey.

Anti-racism means taking active stands, engaging in difficult conversations as leaders

If we’re in a position of leadership within an ICSO, it is key to listen, learn fast, and reflect on the role and responsibility we hold, and bring attention to the need for change. Tweeting supportive messages or publishing solidarity statements mean very little if not accompanied by reflection and concrete commitments, including taking an active anti-racist stand in our own organisations. As Degan Ali says, we need a “radical reckoning” else #BlackLivesMatter might become a trend in our sector, if structural issues are not addressed.

People in leadership positions in our sector – predominantly white men – should not run away from difficult conversations because of their political nature. The international aid system is political, as everything in it is about power relations and hierarchies. As compellingly argued by Vu Le, if sector leaders do not publicly call out white supremacy or nationalism when protesters are risking their lives in a pandemic, or ‘think it’s too political or uncomfortable to say that Black lives matter and act/fund accordingly, then…you are part of the problem.”

Leaders should promote spaces for staff to discuss racism, inclusion, gender inequality and privilege, without forcing our presence in what might need to be safe spaces. We need to support these as important and necessary ongoing investments in our staff well-being and organisational development. Our own Leadership Teams must learn and reflect about these issues, listen to the lived experience of others, and be prepared for uncomfortable conversations, at least at the beginning. If these are not making you feel uncomfortable, then you’re probably not having the right conversation.

Anti-racism means reflecting the diversity of our communities in our own people

Our leadership and teams should better reflect the diversity of our own communities. Significant changes are needed in the way we approach our own people and what we value the most – recruitment and promotion, equal pay for equal jobs, expat salaries and benefits, investment in training and support – and the promotion of an organisational culture that truly embraces gender equality and inclusion. Women, and particularly Black, Indigenous and Women of Colour must be fully represented in the most senior leadership, executive and board roles in our organisations.

Finally, and irrespective of the position we hold in our organisations, we should all reflect on our privilege and, from this point, engage in discussions with a different perspective. We should be able to recognise if (or how) we are beneficiaries of a system that discriminates BIPOC, and engage with more empathy, acting and seeking fairer practices and, why not, taking a step aside.

Anti-racism means being serious about localisation in our operating models and behaviours

All the #AntiRacistInAid panellists agreed, “we can’t be truly anti-racist in this sector if we are not serious about true localisation”, although tokenistic localisation itself is coming under question as another construct of the same system we’re trying to change. We must start by asking what is needed and who is best placed to meet that need, rather than articulating what we – as ICSOs- can offer or bring (“our expertise”). We need to properly engage with demands from national actors for a paradigm shift whereby we support and not compete with them. And we need to stop trying to justify why this is not possible yet, and instead make it happen. “As national as possible and as international as needed” is regaining momentum as a clear vision, and “leading from behind” or “speaking on behalf of the voiceless” finally starting to lose ground.

This also means taking actions to ensure we are: investing more in locally-led actions, engaging in more equitable partnerships – which recognise power imbalances but genuinely embrace the added value of each partner brings, being fully transparent on how much of the money we raise actually reaches local communities, questioning who makes the decisions on the use of the funding, and having effective exit strategies which avoid perpetuating our presence and/or harmful dependency. Everything we do must aim at complementing existing local capacities – which were there way before we arrived and will be way after we depart.

Anti-racism means rethinking our knowledge, communications and language

The aid sector has basically been built on the transfer of knowledge and resources from “givers” to “recipients”, reinforced by all actors in the system. From donors reinforcing paternalistic needs for “capacity building’ to those at the ‘receiving end’ embracing the model – for multiple reasons – white supremacy practices are not exclusively by White people or those from “the global north”. Most examples of driving progress, innovation or “out of the box thinking” seem to be “exported” by the same suspects. Communications focus should be on rethinking who is telling the stories and getting the credit for the work done, and constantly reflecting if we are behaving like “white saviours”. Simply asking for permission for photos “we take” and use in “our channels” or trying to portray communities in a dignified way is not good enough.

Last but definitively not least, language is both power and political too. Let’s start just by getting rid of all these terms I still hear: “beneficiaries”, “capacity building”, “first” and “third world”, “going on a mission” or “travelling to the field”. My colleague Tessy Cherono Maritim really gets us thinking on this: “Going to ‘the field’ is the same as saying ‘third world’ and fuels this racist and white saviour fantasy of ‘exploring in the wild’ or going somewhere dangerous to rescue people with no autonomy or initiative. We never refer to European or North American offices as ‘the field’. The term perpetuates this idea of a powerful centre and places outside this as the ‘other’. If we believe in the notion of a networked, multi-polar world, where ideas, capacities, money, power, exist in contexts outside the West/North, we should stop reference to this term. Changing language is a simple way to communicate our commitment to anti-racism.” The responsibility for changing white supremacy language is on those who constructed it.

Anti-racism means us joining together to shake the system we’re part of.

While this is obvious, sometimes it seems like we don’t want to see it: ICSOs are just one set of actors within a much broader and complex aid architecture. But we have both a right and responsibility to shake the system from within, “unlearning” from being in it for so long, and getting our act to work together in solidarity to bring about this much-needed change.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of CARE International.

Resources

1. The organisers of #AntiRacistInAid made available some free resources they are happy for us to share. Take a look.

• Taking this implicit bias test may be helpful in unpacking your own unconscious biases.
• This reading list on anti-racism specifically for aid workers, put together by the Fifty Shades of Aid community.
• A compilation of resources on anti-racism in general.

2. A good collection of articles, reflections and suggestions by Nadine El-Nabli and Anna Myer. It includes useful resources and suggested practical commitments on several areas. (link).

Andres Gomez De La Torre

Head of Organisational Development

Care International

Andres Gomez de la Torre Barrera is the Director of Confederation Development & Governance (Interim) at CARE International. Originally from Peru, Andres works at the CARE International Secretariat on issues such as confederation development and diversification, operating models, governance, policy and strategy. Previously, he worked for a range of organisations, including global alliances (Family for EveryChild), international INGOs (CAFOD and WomanKind) and national CSOs, government and private sector firms.  

This year´s development definitely caught us all by surprise. The reality of Coronavirus translated into very real restrictions on our freedom to move around, meet-up or simply to sit at the office together. This woke up many of us and made even more obvious the path that is no longer a choice, but a necessity: to act together in building inclusive communities for us all. In this article, we invite you on a journey towards inclusion, which is the topic and the long-term goal of the virtual conference Global Perspectives 2020.

Inclusion has many layers and aspects, relating to race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, economic status and many more. We can argue about the success of our communities towards it, but many marginalised groups not only in the developing world, but also in cosmopolitan cities, such as Berlin, remain neglected. We still have a lot to do, especially if we truly hope to achieve at least some of the ambitious 17 SDGs[1] during the last decade for their implementation.

The urgency and the importance of the topic put it on top of the International Civil Society Centre´s agenda. We decided to offer safe space for interaction and exchange on inclusion within the community we host. At our biggest platform for exchange, Global Perspectives, participants from around the world will explore new ideas and strategies together on how to make inclusion a fundamental part of our work towards achieving the goals, outlined in the Agenda 2030.

Our aim is to open discussions on:

• Including civil society in political processes;
• Empowering inclusion in CSO programmes;
• Creating and maintaining CSOs as diverse and inclusive organisations.

Global Perspectives is a dynamic place to be, with a diverse group of participants – civil society leaders, academics, social entrepreneurs, journalists and many more. The common theme between them all is their passion to co-create, connect and collaborate to tackle the world’s most pressing problems.

Furthermore, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Global Perspectives will be entirely a virtual experience. We will provide both the award-winning conference mobile application Whova and an interactive software to open up the possibility to dive deep into the virtual networking. With shorter sessions scheduled to accommodate different time zones, we will enable high-levels of creativity, proactive engagement and fully inclusive discussions with participants from all over the globe.

This experience sounds exciting? It truly is, and we want to invite you to be part of it! There are many possibilities for collaboration, sponsorship and tailored support. Don´t hesitate to and discover the most suitable one.

We welcome you to support our effort for sustainable inclusion now!

[1]  https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld

Anna Simitchieva

Fundraising Officer

International Civil Society Centre

Anna joined the Centre as Fundraising Officer in November 2019. From Bulgaria, Anna has studied and worked in Germany, Spain, Colombia and Armenia. She gained previous fundraising experience at SODI e.V. in Berlin and in the Caucasus, when she was sent to Armenia by Bread for the World to support Women for Development as Communication for Development and Fundraising Officer for two years. Before entering the nonprofit sector, Anna worked for different (inter-)national TV stations for live news productions in Berlin for more than 5 years, among them RBB and Deutsche Welle. Anna holds a MA in Intercultural Communication Studies from the European University Viadrina in Frankurt Oder and a BA in Journalism and Communication Studies and Spanish from the Free University Berlin.