1st Edition
Dear Development Practitioner Advice for the Next Generation
In this book, influential development practitioners reflect on their careers by writing letters of advice to their younger selves. Sharing their successes and failures, the challenges and barriers they have encountered, and the changes and continuities within their work, these deeply personal accounts provide an invaluable window into the world of development practice.
The authors come from nearly 20 countries. They have held a rich mix of jobs across a range of sectors and organisational types, bringing a long-term perspective to the sector’s contemporary challenges. The distinguished list includes a Nobel Peace Prize winner, senior figures in government and international organisations, those working at the frontline of humanitarian aid and civil society organisations, and those who might not even have thought of themselves as "development professionals", such as technologists and social entrepreneurs. Despite the differences, common themes emerge: the pursuit of meaningful change, the navigation of barriers, and the ongoing sense of hope.
This book will inspire those about to embark on their professional careers and remind new entrants and current development practitioners alike how much there remains to be done.
Introduction to the collection
Simon Milligan and Lee Wilson
Section 1: Civil society and advocacy
Chapter 1: Different is good
Anna Bwana
Chapter 2: Don't go. There is a place where you belong
Cara Yar Khan
Chapter 3: Education, education, education
Harpinder Collacott
Chapter 4: Learning to be the platform, not the app
Ingrid Srinath
Chapter 5: Fly forward to new horizons!
Lysa John
Chapter 6: Whose reality counts? Finding the North Star and learning to make decisions the right way
Mark Goldring
Chapter 7: Challenging power and discrimination
Salmah Eva-Lina Lawrence
Section 2: Human rights
Chapter 8: The challenge of being true to yourself
Bahey eldin Hassan
Chapter 9: Keep an eye on the ball
Morten Kjærum
Chapter 10: In your footsteps, my brave little girl
Tawakkol Karman
Section 3: Public service
Chapter 11: And it breaks my heart
Admiral Ncube
Chapter 12: In search of a blueprint
Adrian Schlaepfer
Chapter 13: Be true to yourself – take risks
Brian Atwood
Chapter 14: Insist and persist
Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu
Chapter 15: Who should be allowed to work in international development?
Fernando Damazio dos Santos
Chapter 16: Charting a course for change
Hannah Birdsey
Chapter 17: Pushing for change
Irina Schoulgin-Nyoni
Chapter 18: Be what is needed, not what is expected
Jeffrey O’Malley
Chapter 19: Don’t listen too carefully
Johannes Oljelund
Chapter 20: Driving forces in an international development career: what's the X factor?
Suresh Nanwani
Section 4: Social entrepreneurship and change making
Chapter 21: From Cold War to a warming Cold War?
Arthur Wood
Chapter 22: Everyone a changemaker
Bill Drayton
Chapter 23: Finding solid ground
Dias Rahwidiati
Chapter 24: What an elephant can teach a girl about physics
Frannie Léautier
Chapter 25: Nothing changes your field of work like doing fieldwork
Indrani Medhi Thies
Chapter 26: Be kind to yourself and others
Julie Mundy
Chapter 27: Follow your own path, forge your own route
Ken Banks
Chapter 28: Trust yourself
Petra Karetji
Section 5: Researching development practice
Chapter 29: Ask why?
Deepa Narayan
Chapter 30: My development decades
Gabriele Köhler
Chapter 31: Transforming opportunities and challenges into a career in gender and international development
Leith Dunn
Chapter 32: Start where you stand
Lina AbiRafeh
Chapter 33: Learning to work in Lesotho
Mark Moran
Afterword: Dear next generation
Lina AbiRafeh
Biography
Simon Milligan is an Independent Advisor with more than 20 years of professional experience in development cooperation. As a consultant and "critical friend", he has been engaged by various governments, multilateral agencies, inter-governmental organisations, and non-governmental organisations. He has a particular interest in evaluative thinking, partnership-based approaches, and mentorship. He has a PhD in Geography from the University of Sussex, UK. Simon is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the University of Lund and teaches on Lund’s Masters in International Development. He lives in The Hague, Netherlands.
Lee Wilson is an organisational anthropologist who has spent the best part of the last two decades striving to understand and drive change in a diverse range of institutional settings and cultural contexts. A particular focus of his work has been on innovative approaches to capacity building and culture change. When asked what he does professionally, he will probably tell you rather glibly that he works "to put the people back in to strategy". He has worked as an advisor to national and regional government agencies, international organisations, non-governmental organisations, research centres, arts organisations, and law enforcement agencies in Australia, Asia, the Pacific, and Europe. Lee has a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Cambridge and is an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Policy Futures, University of Queensland, Australia. He is currently based in Geneva, Switzerland.
"This volume is a labour of love. The authors’ commitment to, and experiences in, aid and development are charted with honesty and openness. They have in the process come to understand themselves and their motivations better. We, the readers, can benefit similarly by reading these thoroughly enjoyable, stimulating and often very moving accounts."
Sir Myles Wickstead, Visiting Professor of International Relations, King’s College London, UK and coordinator of the 1997 UK Government White Paper, Eliminating World Poverty: A Challenge for the 21st Century
"A welcome volume masterfully edited and brilliantly and thoughtfully written by development practitioners from nearly 20 countries of their struggles and victories in their journey of development practice. The eye-opening and reflective work is a must-read for anyone interested in development issues."
Ashok Swain, Professor of Peace and Conflict Research & UNESCO Chair on International Water Cooperation, Uppsala University, Sweden
