Northern Lights
Maybe I am just too idealistic. Perhaps principles that I think are important just get in the way. It might be time to return to the good old days! Or maybe I am naive and failing to recognise "what it takes" to "get things done".
I am going to make this anonymous because I am sure that what I am about to describe happens all of the time and I am sure that those of us from the North (New Zealand is, I guess, a Northern country!) have all done what I am about to describe (mea culpa!).
Recently I was introduced to details of a private meeting related to the communication and media for development field.
That meeting will attempt to sort out, as described to me, overall funding priorities (both allocation of existing resources and attraction of new resources) for our field.
A number of important funders will be present.
The rest of the participation is almost exclusively people from major Northern NGOs.
The venue is a European city.
There are three days of meeting with an agenda.
A major focus will be Africa and South Asia.
Every session (with maybe one exception) will be led by a North American or European (UK included).
It looks like 90% of the panellists are European and North American.
I have not seen a participants’ list but it is a small meeting, and most people will contribute in some way it seems, so I have a good feel for who will be there.
In this day and age, with all that we know about effective development practice, and the principles of Southern leadership being so important, is there not something wrong here?
Perhaps we have not moved as far as we all think from the days of a kind of development process in which those in the rich countries tried to figure out how to "fix" Africa and other "developing" countries.
Or maybe I am just hopelessly naive - or worse - hypocritical.
But seeing the details of this meeting - on paper - in black and white (metaphor intended) sure is jarring.
It certainly makes you think.
What do you think?
Comments
hopelessley naive/hypocritical
the point you have brought up is one that few people dare to address, and i think it is time for people to begin thinking about such things...taking time to think critically/to notice such details.
northern lights
Ok, good point, well made, but i am going to venture a guess: you were shown this agenda because you were invited. So, did you a) refuse to attend because a northern meeting about southern issues should be an anachronism in the 21st century, b) suggest your seat be given to a southern-based expert on communication issues; c) nominate such experts, taking care that the list included folks under 50, non-white representatives, non-male representatives, etc???
Never invited
Hi - good point - one we all have to be aware of and take appropriate responses in relation to...but...no...I was never invited - found out through others - meeting ws ket pretty quiet and probably I was not invited because I hold these views. Were In invited I like to think I would have done what you outlined
Northern Lights
Ownership is the most important element of sustainability. Engagement and involvement is essential for ownership so you raise a very important point.
ThankYou
I have followed your writings for some time and always find them mind-extending. My work is not international development (although that would be a career dream!); I work for a very local US health organization. However, I relate to this when I think about our "cultural competence" committee, made up of white middle-class heterosexual Christian nurses....
Thank you for sharing. Someday I would really like to meet you in person.
Thats i guess where the
Thats i guess where the problem starts where policies and strategies are made by people from another world sitting in 5 star rooms.No one can fix anyone else you can just help them in the process the problem is when THEM plan for US and we are just the implementors.
"There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure." ~ Paulo Coelho
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