Hi {{ first_name | friend}},
My last email ended with "see you next Tuesday." That was in July. So this is another late one, but a lot happened in between, and two things in here are time-sensitive.
I defended my thesis
On Wednesday I defended my master's thesis.
It's called A Tale of Two Localizations, and it looks at power, partnership, and funding in the humanitarian response in Türkiye after the 2023 earthquakes. Local and national organizations did much of the work in that response. They were fast, they spoke the language, and communities trusted them. My question was whether authority followed the work.
One number stayed with me. The UN Flash Appeal received US$653 million. Local and national non-state actors were recorded as direct recipients of US$4.3 million, or 0.66%. The Grand Bargain target is 25%.
The test I ended up with is simple: what stays with the local organization after the grant ends. People, relationships, knowledge, systems, and the ability to decide what happens next.
That closes my NOHA Master's in International Humanitarian Action at Ruhr-Universität Bochum and IFHV. Thank you to everyone who gave me an interview, to my supervisor and examiner, and to my family for carrying a lot of this with me. A PhD might come later. For now, I'm resting a little.
What actually got it written
Daily writing helped more than I expected.
At the end of August I started two writing programs on the same day, by coincidence: Buffer's daily writing challenge and a 5-day sprint inside AI Writing Skool, Dickie Bush and Nicolas Cole's community. Publishing something small every day made it much easier to sit down with a thesis chapter. The blank page stopped being an event.
AI Writing Skool is where Ship 30 for 30 lives now, the program where I first learned to write online and made my first money from writing. It pairs the daily habit with AI prompts and workflows, used to support your thinking instead of replacing it.
Last call: the October cohort starts on Monday, and enrollment closes tomorrow, Sunday, October 4. As a member, I can give you 30 days free. It's normally $99 a month, and the free month only works through a member invite.
My first half marathon in Germany
In September I registered at the last minute for a half marathon in my city and finished 21.1 km in 2 hours and 7 minutes.
The 10K was the sensible option. I hadn't trained for it, and I had a night shift that evening. I chose the half anyway. The course was four laps, and somewhere around 10K I remember thinking "Okay, halfway," followed by "Why are there still 11 kilometres left?"
I made a decision during that race: two half marathons a year, one in spring and one in autumn. Partly to have something on the calendar. Partly because I want my daughters to grow up seeing that taking care of yourself is normal.
Check this post for a bit more details!
Tuesday: AI in safeguarding investigations
This one is close to my humanitarian work. On Tuesday, October 6, 10:00 to 11:30 (Berlin time), I'm co-hosting a free 90-minute webinar with SafePath on the responsible use of AI in safeguarding and PSEA investigations.
Investigations involve sensitive information, confidentiality, data protection, and people who may already be in vulnerable situations. We'll look at where AI can genuinely help investigators, where the risks are, and what should never be handed to AI.
If you work in safeguarding, protection, HR, or investigations, I'd love to see you there.gister for the webi
LinkedIn tools I'm using right now
I've been testing a lot of LinkedIn tools lately. A few updates:
Talktohumans: I switched from Kondo to Talktohumans for managing my LinkedIn messages and contacts.
Postiv: I'm testing Postiv for drafting and scheduling posts, and it's been excellent for creating images and carousels. Their free LinkedIn Profile Optimizer scores every section of your profile and gives you actual rewrite options instead of vague tips.
A few smaller things
My younger daughter started first grade. My older one is already in fourth. They held the welcome ceremony outside in the rain and nobody moved inside.
I passed the theory exam for converting my driving licence in Germany. I turned my instructor's messy vocabulary PDF into flashcards with ChatGPT and Quizlet, which is my favorite kind of boring AI use.
Most of these started as LinkedIn posts. If you want the longer versions, you can read them all here.
That's the catch-up. If you're joining the writing cohort or the webinar on Tuesday, reply and tell me. I read everything.
Selim (Let's connect on LinkedIn)
P.S. If you want to start a newsletter for your business or just for yourself, I'm happy to help. Reply to this email and let's talk.
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