Global - Al Kags — Strategist, Social Entrepreneur, Writer

January 31, 2026

Imagination, Power, and the Price of Being Legible

Listen to this article. I read David McNair's article, calling for "imagination to update the purposes, structures, and systems of outmoded institutions to make them fit for today’s world", with much interest. In fact, I sat with this article for several days. By the end, I ...

August 1, 2024

Why I decline to speak at International Youth Day events

I have been honoured to receive invitations to deliver keynote speeches at three events celebrating the upcoming International Youth Day on August 12, 2024. Despite the prestige and potential impact of these opportunities, I have chosen to decline them. My decision stems from several reasons ...

May 22, 2024

Micro-Concessioning – An Idea to Revitalising Public Facilities

The Future of Public Services: Embracing Concessioning for Effective Delivery #LongRead Governments face immense pressure to deliver top-notch public services in today's fast-paced world. Yet, many public facilities—such as healthcare centres and police stations—struggle with underfunding, poor maintenance, and outdated infrastructure. This results in a significant gap ...

September 27, 2023

Part Three: Citizen-Generated Data must be kept true to its essence – the role of National Statistical Organisations

In response to my last two blog posts (this one and this one), I have been asked what role I think National Statistical Organisations play in citizen-generated data. Here goes. In the dynamic world of data, where each number and statistic carries a narrative, it is ...

September 25, 2023

Part Two: Citizen-Generated Data must be kept true to its essence – and be kept in its definition.

The Nuance of "Citizen-Generated Data": Why It's More Than Just "Citizen Contributions to Data" and "Citizen Data" In my last post, I argued that Citizen-Generated Data should be kept true to its essence that it is by Citizens and for Citizens. I have read some discussions ...

September 15, 2023

Citizen-Generated Data must be kept true to its essence: for citizens by citizens

In an ever-evolving world, the dynamic between citizens and governments is taking new forms. One such development is citizen-generated data, a concept becoming pivotal in the socio-political space. It's essential to think about its true essence. While it has gained traction with the established structures, ...

October 25, 2022

Nostalgia, technology and other thoughts

Today, I listened to my friend David Sasaki talk on his substack about technology and nostalgia. He sent me down a nostalgic path of memories of how I engaged with media and technology from my youth and the impact that had on me. For the ...

August 23, 2021

Thinking about Hewlett Foundation’s Strategy and Decolonising Philanthropy

In this blogpost, I decided to be a bit presumptive - to pronounce myself on the idea of decolonising development (and by extension, philanthropy) and to make comments on Hewlett Foundation's Transparency Participation and Accountability Strategy for the coming five years. First, A Short story "What do ...

September 23, 2020

Me on Entrepreneurship

As featured on the Talk Africa Podcast I had the good fortune of being featured recently on Entrepreneurs' Talk Africa podcast, in which I was interviewed by Jason Delorie. I had the opportunity to reflect on the challenges of entrepreneurs' dealings with government and how I ...

March 28, 2020

A new normal is in the offing: are we ready?

Originally published in The Standard, March 27, 2020 As the world continues to combat the novel Coronavirus, Covid-19, it is becoming clear that a new way of life is in the making. As whole populations are stuck at home, having to discover new ways of working ...

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