In the beginning

Back in 2009, when I joined a meeting of the International Land Coalition, the Land Portal was on the agenda, and they were looking for people to be part of the steering committee in order to give shape to the future of the Land Portal. One of my two focus areas in research is land and property in general. The other focal is family law, by the way. I was interested in doing something internationally, and I wanted to explore the possibilities regarding research related land on an international level. I joined the committee together with the representatives of other organizations. From that moment on, I got interested in the work of the Land Portal, I got to know how it functions, and past initiatives on land information and data.

The Land Portal Foundation, in partnership with Transparency International, hosted the webinar titled "Breaking New Ground: Insights and Stories on the Impact of Land Corruption on Discriminated Groups in Africa." The webinar brought together a panel of distinguished experts to delve into the challenges and complexities of corruption intertwined with discrimination in land rights and governance. This session provided crucial insights through detailed case studies and expert analyses, offering pathways towards more equitable land management practices.

We appreciated all of the people who took the time to leave comments, write emails, and take the poll. We heard you, and based on what we heard, we won’t be making any wholesale changes right now in how we refer to countries and regions that have historically been left out of economic and industrialized development. We are particularly sensitive to the idea that the term Majority World could, as Rafael wrote, “perpetuate a notion that could undermine the importance of minority groups. It appears to replicate the very idea that the worth or relevance of a group is tied to its size, which is a concept many of us are striving to move away from, especially those of us engaged in addressing the vulnerabilities of minority populations.” 

Under the umbrella of the Land Dialogues series, the first webinar of this year’s series “Leading the Way : How Indigenous Youth Combat Climate Change Through Land Rights” took place on April 11th, 2024. The webinar drew in a little over 200 participants and featured young  Indigenous  and local community leaders from around the world. The series is organized by a consortium of organizations, including the Land Portal Foundation, the Ford Foundation and the Tenure Facility and this particular webinar was organized by organization YILAA and TINTA.