Given the long weekend just past this is a day late. We apologize if you came looking yesterday, last week was just one of those weeks when time ran out.
This blog post will be the first in the series on International Development. We will start with definitions just as we did with the poverty series.
So what is international development…
It is a concept that lacks a universal definition but is generally accepted to have arisen post WWII. It speaks to a number of areas most generally:
1. focuses on the improvement of the quality of life for humans which means that it includes: foreign aid, governance, healthcare, education, gender equality, disaster preparedness, infrastructure, economics, human rights, environment
2. is about poverty alleviation in developing world
One must keep in mind that foreign or international aid is different that what is called humanitarian aid or disaster relief. The difference being that international aid seeks “to implement long-term solutions to problems by helping developing countries create the necessary capacity needed to provide such sustainable solutions to their problems. A truly sustainable development project is one which will be able to carry on indefinitely with no further international involvement or support, whether it be financial or otherwise.”
“International development projects may consist of a single, transformative project to address a specific problem or a series of projects targeted at several aspects of society. Promoted projects are ones which involve problem solving that reflects the unique culture, politics, geography, and economy of a region. More recently, the focus in this field has been projects that aim towards empowering women, building local economies, and caring for the environment.” Both paragraphs above are taken from www.idex.org (International Development Exchange)
This last paragraph speaks to the most current methodology for international development work. It is a capacity building approach with the people using their strengths, local customs and knowledge to help them arrive at a long term made-in-their-community solution to local issues. The downside of this approach is it takes time, alot of time to build relationships, trust and understanding all of which needs to be in place prior to getting a project underway. The huge benefit of this approach is the long term effects, for the funds always run out eventually. This way, when this happens it is not a catastrophe rather it is just a phase in the process of moving toward a better, more sustainable future. It is that old saying give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach a man to fish… feed him for a lifetime.
There are a number of concepts common to international development. These concepts often form either the basis of or a major reason for the work to be undertaken. These are: inequality; poverty; dignity; participation, appropriateness, sustainability;and capacity building. There are also a number of sectors in international development work, such as : health, water and sanitation, education, shelter, human rights, livelihoods (such as farming) and finance (UEnd call this economy).
For more information on any of these just Google the word and international development and you will be sent to a number of good sites.
Some starter links for more information are:
World Bank
International Development Fund
United Nations
Millenium Development Goals
Canadian International Development Agency
That is enough for now, tune in next week when the second of the International Development Series posts goes up Monday afternoon.
