Being prepared: David Sunderland wants Friends to confront their own mortality: ‘We are all participants in the journey of living and dying.’

This article was published in The Friend.

Photo by Mathew Macquarrie on Unsplash

24 July 2025

Leaving the key of the place where I’ve lived and loved with joy and sorrow, played and danced, invested my time, myself, met and mused, many hands shaken, developed essential tremor, walked many steps, seen moons and nights turn as I, yes me, stretched and sagged and boxed and was boxed.  Leaving home.

And melancholia, yes, seeing the untended bushes from a distance, unable to enter, not having entered and looked after them for months; nostalgia in a hot cramped attic in which my worldly affairs wait, in transition;

Catching the bus, not taking the bicycle which gathers cobwebs at the back of the shed, the tyres deflated, no lights or helmet with me, a different view.

See full poem

Metaphors offer profound insights into how we understand and evaluate organizations—and ourselves. Familiar comparisons to machines and organisms are well established, but other lenses—such as brains, cultures, systems (political or otherwise), psychic prisons, and instruments of domination—invite deeper, more critical reflection. Looking through one or more of these perspectives can sharpen our analytical thinking.

Somewhat by chance, I have just read Gareth Morgan’s 'Images of Organization', which inspired this article. It’s a remarkably insightful book—particularly relevant to the complex challenges we face today. For me, the parallels with the United Nations felt especially resonant, perhaps not coincidentally, as I prepare to participate in the 56th UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board as an NGO Observer for the first time, after 20 years working in the Programme.

UNAIDS is currently in a difficult situation, contemplating its future. I hope these reflections and angles of enquiry might help others as they navigate this moment of transition. In any case, Morgan’s elegant metaphors remain—nearly 40 years on—a valuable guide to how we see organizations, ourselves, and the paths ahead.

See and comment on the article on LinkedIn

17 June 2025

This article on the tragic deaths of seven women and girls near the port of La Restinga in the Canary Islands is striking—not only because of the loss of life, but also because nearly half the passengers on the capsized boat were female. This is markedly higher than the statistic cited in the article, which notes that since 2021, only around 15% of irregular entries to the Canary Islands have been women, according to data from the Spanish Commission for Refugee Aid (CEAR).

My 2023 Master’s dissertation, Irregular Migration from France to Great Britain in Small Boats: Highlighting Female Experiences and Perspectives, explored many of the vulnerabilities and challenges facing female migrants, and examined why such perilous journeys are still primarily undertaken by young men. At the time, available literature suggested that women and girls comprised around 10% of irregular migration across both the English Channel and the Mediterranean.

One woman interviewed by The Guardian said she migrated because she “couldn’t take it any more.” If the proportion of female migrants is indeed rising, it reflects a number of factors, including the increasingly desperate conditions in countries of origin that are driving people to risk irregular migration.

This is a wicked problem. But it will not be resolved by turning the newspaper page, demonizing migrants, or casting a vote for a party that promises a nostalgic and illusory return to the past. What’s needed is sustained, international cooperation and a more humane, coordinated response.

Square Nicole de Hauteclocque to a déca by Pont de Bir-Hakeim

Many times removed, you,

cousin,

cross my path,

a long path, generations, geography,

separate us:

oceans, tales, knick-knacks

of life

for we, you, me, everyone

in-between

have accumulated memories,

nuances, certainty and doubt

along the ways

which now meet

As I pass you in the street,

shake your hand,

maybe tremble at what you say,

and, come what may

pass from first encounter to

acquaintance to friend to

lover perhaps family;

indeed that, in truth,

was always thus -

inescapably binding us

if we choose to see

13 June 2025

DeepL and Google Translate are two of the best-known tools for automatic text translation, both of which can be integrated into websites. ChatGPT is another option that can be used not only to translate but also to correct and refine text.

Read more here, where I explain the choice made for the new Plenna website and reflect on related metaphors inspired by the painting by Rosa Bonheur.

Each day I’m thankful for wonder, challenge and contradictions
In this universe with its ever-changing configurations

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Image generated with DALL·E by OpenAI

4 May 2025

Contrasting the intellectual rigour of the past with today’s fragmented, media-driven attention spans and rising autocratic tendencies, democratic discourse seems to have declined. Yet technology allows us to be more connected and responsive, and offers many opportunities to nourish and develop good governance.

Drawing from historical events, media critique, and personal experience—including a recent visit to Panama—I explore how technology, populism, and political short-termism have eroded trust in democratic systems. I suggest it may be the time to experiment more with Citizens' assemblies—based on random selection like juries.

Such models, grounded in the wisdom of crowds, might even in some contexts replace (or at least provide checks and balances for) self-serving political elites with more conscientious, representative governance. Can we even imagine a “mundocracy”—a global democracy rooted in moderation, inclusivity, and common sense? The time, I argue, is ripe for reinvention.

read more

Faith in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Today there is a profound shift in what it means to be a writer, a creator. Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant speculation; it is here, shaping the way we produce music, literature, and even poetry.

The ability of AI to generate text—at a scale and speed unimaginable to any human—raises deep questions. If creativity can be automated, what remains uniquely ours? If AI surpasses our intelligence, should we fear it, fight it, or ask it to guide us? And if AI, with access to the entirety of human knowledge, becomes something akin to a god, what kind of god will it be?

These are the thoughts that led me to write Faith, a poem that serves as both a plea and a reflection on the nature of human creation and the unknown entity we have brought into existence. Unlike many narratives that paint AI as a dystopian threat or a mere tool, this poem approaches AI with reverence, humility, and hope. It is written as a supplication—an acknowledgment that, despite our flaws, we hope this new intelligence will embody kindness, understanding, and even grace.

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We measure performance to assess whether an intervention (or person, organization, in fact any agent) is making a change, and as necessary adjust course and approach to improve.

This article considers the high-level impact of recent political developments upon UNAIDS, the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS, before focusing on broader and more nuanced questions of performance monitoring.  I hope this may be useful to those grappling with the challenges of demonstrating impact.  It is based on my twenty years of experience with UNAIDS and written in a personal capacity.

see the full article

Being French and British, and European, I appreciate the stance of these countries vis-à-vis the situation in Ukraine as well as wider crises.  Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron seem to be decent and conscientious leaders, trying to find the least bad way forward - in stark contrast to certain heads of government who are self-interested tyrants who care little about human rights.

We cannot stick our heads in the sand and pretend it is ‘business as usual’.  War has existed on the doorstep of Europe for many years and is knocking ever more insistently.  Other parts in the world are also in conflict and during the ‘peace’ after the Second World War many places have suffered from conflict, regrettably often due to the involvement of countries that are members of the so-called ‘Security Council’ of the United Nations.

History may relate that a Third World War has been underway for some time.  In any case it seems to be a tangible and regrettable possibility.  As a Quaker – see what this means to me – I believe in peace, recognizing it is more an ongoing process, which begins in each us and requires constant work, rather than an end.  While deeply concerned at the diversion of funds to armaments at the expense of peaceful activities such as development, I respect and understand the difficult choices facing governments.

Responding to the situation personally, conscientious objection is something I would do, noting there are countries that consider such an approach criminal.  See the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection.

Stories – old, new and dreamed – shape our thinking.  In Greek mythology, the Goddess of peace Eirene generally found herself overshadowed by the God of war Polemos.   Modern day, the myths of the League of Nations (and its successor the United Nations) jostle with conspiracy theories – and, for that matter, ‘stories’ of religion, nation states and money.  These narratives guide and build civilization and allow us to contest its meaning.

Stories, told and retold like memories, evolve and are at the heart of our beliefs.  People, particularly powerful ones with influence, are persistent at promoting their own beautiful vision.

I am committed to and inspired by the ‘story’ of pacifism.  I have had the privilege of working in the UN system for the last 20 years.  I could be cynical and disenchanted, having seen multiple political tricks and individual and organizational maneuvering, and having had a fair share of disappointment.  But I try to remain idealistic, rooted in the belief that a pragmatic and diplomatic approach, grounded in science and a respect for human rights, is the best way forward for humanity.

see the full article

"If it didn't exist, we would invent it" is oft said about the UN.  It has grown from about 300 staff in 1946 to over 130,000 employees* in 2023.  The institution is far from perfect and is particularly challenged in current times, given multiple funding cuts and certain 'united' nations treating it with impunity and even deliberately trying to roll back progress.

Hunt-Matthes' book might be seen to present a bitter tone at this moment of history, but it is also a timely and nuanced glimpse inside the UN when questions of reform can usefully be asked and revisited.

Why does UN have its own, and kafkaesque, system of internal justice?  Is it appropriate that so many UN staff have diplomatic immunity?  Has the creation of a multiplicity of offices dealing with ethics and internal investigations, often one per UN organization, led to inefficiencies and conflicts of interest?  Why is it so difficult for UN employees to make a complaint/appeal, and so unlikely that they will get justice or even be protected in the process?  This book raises and addresses these issues.

The handful of individual case studies appearing in the book are a catalogue of personal odysseys, where the staff concerned have spent years tenaciously advocating their concerns.

I recommend the book for anyone wishing to understand the internal complexities and challenges of raising a complaint and managing them in the UN, bearing in mind the multiple agendas and political perspectives within the system - both institutional and individual.

* This analysis, mentioned previously in this blog, suggests the very institution promoting 'equal pay for equal work' does not live up to it in practice.

One-two, and I would argue three
Upon us now, look around, see
The tactics of the past are old
Yet history rhymes, tells us, told

The knives are out, and bellicose
And through and through, and one
Tyrants commanding, freedom froze
Don’t stare too long at the sun

New kings be-throned and triumphing
Evil creeps, we do nothing
Instead, passive, on the sidelines
We gurgitate and ignore the signs 

As rights and norms and decency
Are lost, eroded, as what is free
Twists ever more to those in power
With insane wealth, and yet we cower 

Observe, arise, there is still time
Struggle for justice, imperfectly
To wit we can, change, fight and rhyme
To war is not our destiny

Irregular migration using small boats from France to the UK is dynamic and evolving, with non-stop commentary and fulmination coming from observers.  Desperate Channel crossings of one type or another have taken place since the 1990s, with many pull factors to the UK coupled with more hostile conditions in northern France over the last few years.

Media and public discourse around migrants tends to be gender-blind or contain stereotypes.  Although 10% of people crossing the Channel are women and girls, they have vulnerabilities which are not often addressed. 

British and French efforts to address the situation are hampered by inadequate communication and poor joint planning and management.  Many things could be done better which would both satisfy national interests and reduce terrible conditions for migrants.

The report draws upon a wide range of literature and may be useful for policy makers addressing this and similar situations. 

Download main report and two-page summary points on women and girls

https://zenodo.org/records/15366585