Shifting power and practicing greater mutuality: Examples from several projects

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

International development work is often plagued by what one columnist has described as “the lingering tendrils of white supremacy and colonialism” (Igoe, 2023). While the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is taking new strides to transform the international development field and promote locally led development, long-standing norms of who designs and implements development programs, and who benefits from them, remain rooted in colonialism and hinder progress (see Weisenfeld, 2023 for an expanded argument of this point).

Few would argue that the investments being made in international development are uniquely misguided or unhelpful. Impacts of such development can have and are having profound impacts on the quality and longevity of individual lives, social systems, and even countries—from combatting disease and promoting advances in healthcare to preserving wildlife and environmental ecosystems. How this development is done, however, is the focus of much discourse. Who all benefits from this development? Is development a modern-day equivalent of flag-planting, carving out areas of influence to keep out other, competing, influences? Who is involved in setting the agendas for and crafting the language used in (Kertman, 2021) international development? And who and what are left behind once development investment ends? These are critical questions that are driving many institutions and organizations to rethink how they approach development work, and in doing so how they reshape ways of engaging with stakeholders in the countries in which they work in an effort to decolonize their work and erase the lingering vestiges of power imbalance and bias.

Each of the presentations proposed for this panel represents efforts being taken to decolonize approaches to international development. Individually, they share approaches to applying a critical lens to international development, from ways of shifting power to and practicing greater mutuality and reciprocity with local groups; ways of building true partnerships, where local groups lead their own development and international non-governmental groups can tap into the expertise and capabilities of global organizations; and ways of developing and investing in more long-term partnerships for deeper local relationships. Collectively, as a panel, they offer an opportunity to showcase lessons learned and being learned and ways to break down barriers to new, more inclusive approaches to development.

Sub Unit

• Cultural Contexts of Education and Human Potential SIG

Chair

• Nell O'Donnell O'Donnell Weber, RTI, Inc.

Individual Presentations

• Reflections on promoting Nurturing Care as a cultural outsider - Nell O'Donnell O'Donnell Weber, RTI, Inc.

• Philippine local governments using local solutions to tackle literacy and numeracy through the Education Sector Mechanism - Javi Benitez; Krisel Lagman