Better Sustainable Development for the Future

A United Nations Volunteer from India (right) assisting a farmer in Bhutan. Photo | UN Photo

What should a student be taught if he or she is going to be in charge of billions of aid dollars or plot the course of an entire country’s development?

For many years, students who wanted to be leaders in humanitarian development typically focused their studies on economics and management. The belief was that sustainable development could be achieved by efficiently coordinating the flow of aid dollars and resources. Last year, the International Commission on Education for Sustainable Development Practice concluded that while economics and management are important, future leaders of development need a broader base of knowledge.

The commission’s final report states that “extreme poverty in much of the world is rooted in a complex set of causes including poor agricultural productivity, the stress of climate change, the burden of tropical disease and the absence of basic infrastructure.” As a result, it recommends that professionals striving to eliminate poverty train in the fields of public health, agronomy, engineering and environmental science alongside economics.

The MacArthur Foundation, in response to this report, has provided grants to nine universities throughout the world in order to help them establish a Master of Development Practice (MDP) program that incorporates these different studies. The foundation hopes that these programs will allow future leaders—such as ministers of finance, managers of aid organizations and heads of international financial institutions—to better address complex development issues in a more sustainable manner.

NEED staff visit the UAE

This month I had the opportunity to travel with Stephanie Kinnunen, NEED magazine’s editor in chief, to Dubai in the United Arab of Emirates. NEED had been asked to be a media sponsor for the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development conference (DIHAD).

We gladly agreed to support the cause and packed our bags. Two long flights and many cups of coffee later, we touched down in the Dubai International Airport. After a few days of wandering through souks and enjoying some delicious Middle Eastern food, it was time for the conference.

The DIHAD conference turned out to be great. The three-day event was full of knowledgeable speakers who touched on relevant development and disaster relief issues. DIHAD’s theme this year was “Empowering Communities between disaster and development,” and topics such as the reconstruction plan for Gaza strip, food crisis and global economic downturn were discussed.

Soccer star Clarence Seedorf, who started the organization Champions for Children to empower children through sports activities, gave an interesting speech about the importance of charity work in his life.