Development: What Next?

March 3-20, 2008
Gustavo Esteva, Vandana Shiva, Daleep Mukarji & Clare Short

A choice of weeks is available – see details of the timetable below. Can be taken as a one, two or three week course.

The course will provide participants with an in-depth understanding of where the development project now stands, and how it is viewed in different parts of the world. They will go away with ideas for ways forward which can ensure that poverty and environmental degradation are effectively addressed.

Course Overview

The world has had over half a century of “development” and now has more people living in poverty, more inequality and more ecosystem destruction than it did before the process began. What went wrong?

The two core teachers on this course, Gustavo Esteva from Mexico and Vandana Shiva from India, will tackle this question, explaining why they don’t believe solutions can be thought of in terms of more aid, however well directed, and outlining their alternatives of social empowerment and economic restructuring. Participants will also hear from representatives of the development community in the UK about the ways NGOs and government are attempting to change the way aid is delivered to answer criticisms from the South.

This course is intended for development professionals (from NGOs and governmental), academics, researchers and concerned individuals from all over the world who want to explore effective ways forward for the development community.

Teachers

Gustavo Esteva is an independent writer, a grassroots activist and a “deprofessionalized intellectual”. He was invited by the Zapatistas in Mexico to be their adviser in 1996. Since then, he has been very active in what today is called Zapatismo.

Vandana Shiva is a physicist, environmental activist, feminist, and author of many books. She established Navdanya, a movement for biodiversity conservation and farmers’ rights, and directs the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resource Policy.

Daleep Mukarji is Director of Christian Aid, a major UK development NGO. He previously founded and ran a health and development project in India.

Clare Short MP is a UK backbench Labour MP, having resigned from the Government over the Iraq war. She was UK Secretary of State for International Development from 1997 to May 2003.

Timetable/Course content

Week 1: March 3-7

Monday
Arrival by 1 pm. Introduction to each other and College; Gaia theory and Schumacher philosophy.

Tuesday-Friday
Beyond Development and “Progress”
Gustavo Esteva: If we try to think beyond the concepts of development and progress, where do we end up? Gustavo Esteva will reflect on this, from his very personal perspective. The course will include a general explanation about “what went wrong” and an argument against development and aid, and will then move on to look at alternative technologies and practices which illustrate a different notion of the good life, beyond development, and social movements explicitly advancing towards the creation of a different kind of society (like Zapatismo, the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca, etc.): “I want to share what I have been observing at the grassroots, in villages and barrios. The people resisted centuries of colonization and decades of development encroaching their lands and cultures. For many years they struggled to be included in the spaces, opportunities and services presented to them as ideals of life, from which they were continually marginalized. I want to show how resistance is now being transformed into autonomous initiatives, which leave behind old illusions and explore new territories. But I can only tell that story though a detour: conventional language undermines my purpose. Many words in use, like needs, technology, participation, resources or environment, become unusable, because their meaning has become so embedded in a the existing system: they are like the buoys of a net which captures everything within the space it covers and prevents it being open to the ocean. I will try to compose some images, putting myself in the wings of the imagination of others. As Illich once said, through arguments you can only get conclusions; only stories make sense.”

Week 2: March 10-14

Monday-Friday
What is Development?
Vananda Shiva: In biology, development refers to self-organised, self directed evolution of an organism or a system. In economics, it has often been the externally imposed, transformation of societies through World Bank / IMF loan conditionalities. In international politics, it has become the code word for equality and overcoming the North South divide. During this week of the course, Vandana will explore the diverse meanings or expressions of “development”.”

Week 3: March 17-20

Monday & Tuesday
A paradigm shift from relief to advocacy and empowerment
Daleep Mukarji will present the perspective of Christian Aid, a British faith-based NGO which is at the forefront of new initiatives in development. Development issues, particularly for NGOs and for the aid debate, have moved a lot in the 21st Century. Daleep will focus particularly on two aspects: the kind of work Christian Aid does with partners in the 50 or so countries where it works; and the work it does with supporters, churches and networks in the Global North in its education, advocacy and campaigning work. These are complementary issues – more so since the Jubilee 2000 and Make Poverty History campaigns.

Wednesday
What aid can and cannot do
Clare Short was UK Secretary of State for International Development from 1997 to 2003, and has a unique insight into the politics of aid, its limitations and achievements. She will discuss her experiences whilst in office and reflect on where the aid project should direct its energies in the future.

Thurdsay
Action plans
On the final morning, participants will work with the course facilitator to reflect on the insights and understanding they have gained, and how this can translate into effective action within their workplace or community.

Departure around 2 pm.

Can be taken as a one, two or three week course.
Masters credits available subject to University approval.

Course Fees

For businesses: One week £1,100 Two weeks £1,700 Three weeks £2100
For individuals, NGOs & Educators: One week £900 Two weeks £1,400 Three weeks £1,800
These include accommodation, food, field trips and all teaching sessions.

How to make an application – click here

For further information about Schumacher College please see About the College

New feature – reserve your place now

To provisionally reserve a place for 5 days, email us your contact details and the name of the course admin@schumachercollege.org.uk

We will hold the place for five working days for reservations – three weeks before a course or earlier. After five days we will automatically offer your place to someone else if we have not received your application.

Schumacher College is part of the Dartington Hall Trust, a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and as a charity (company no. 1485560, charity no. 279756). Registered office: The Elmhirst Centre, Dartington Hall, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6EL, UK.