How to raise people over the poverty line. University of Economics/ Prague, Czech Republic
• Example: Build a sugar company- so there is no need to import sugar anymore, to educate people so that they are able to lead a sugar company by themselves
• Build a shoe factory based on rubout (lots of rubber trees) – this was tried and stopped by a military unit
• Companies of international trade
• ”not to give fish to hungry people – teach them to fish the fish”
• Provide them with tractors – teach them how to use them
• Why is there poverty? Gold and diamonds exported away from Ghana
• Exchange to colonies – negative factor – compulsory schools
• ”economy was working for people before colonists started to rule there”
Is it efficient to focus on children? Bucerius Law School/ Hamburg, Germany.
• Help is taking place on the micro-level and possible to get it to a larger scale.
• Create long-term perspective for grown ups – for opportunity eg fair-trade – aid going into working structure that creates jobs
• Hard to change adults – easier to influence kids, give them a mission to not become criminals
• Is World Trade good for Africa?
• How do you pursue dreams if they aren’t possible? (Dancing, jobs, company building, capital funds)
• Everyone can contribute to an economical trade, but the structure is not possible
• If we want to help, where do we want the help to go?
• An efficient development close to what we have in Western society?
• Here, everyone has a job, house, but no community, not happy
• There 90% of pop. not wealthy. I can still be happy without the nicest car. It doesn’t mean I can’t aspire to it.
• Rituals, singing together. Same at a house party – in Africa they sing on the streets.
• ”empower people from within themselves”
The compulsory aspect of conversion / practice in distributing Aid. GWU/ Washington D.C
• Religion is often a source of hope in times of crisis.
• An NGO should never enforce a new religion on the local community unless aspects of that religion are already present, and in that case the religion should be integrated with local culture and traditions.
How do you make the best use of limited resources over time? GWU/ Washington D.C
• Invest in improving one’s own life?
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Be a part of the community?
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Should you take a macro or micro approach
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¬ Need to build political will
• Scalability
• Making sure you measure the impact you want to have
• Respect for culture
• Holistic
• Practicality (mixed with inspiration)
• A monitoring and evaluation plan
Does aid foster dependency? LSE/ London, UK
• “microfinance. – women accountability”
• ”one generation will suffer – sacrifice. civil war.”
• ”dependency in 3 levels, micro – individuals, governments – receiving, governments – giving.”
• ”facilitates laziness, not goal-oriented.”
• ”we are anti-hand out, governments giving aid need to ask for more accountability.”
• ”more direct communication.”
• ”how do we ween african governments off taking aid and western governments from giving it?”
The Hand Out Mentality. University of St. Gallen, Switzerland
• hand-out mentality
• bottom-up
• community as the common denominator
• faith spreads
• societies develop in life cycles
• create the right incentives
• evolutionary
• social appreciation,
• kickstarters.
• self dynamism
• ownership: …
• oil spill: barber shops that would give out free hair cuts, because the hair sucks well oil and then they drive down the coast and used it for sucking oils (Lilly Bussmann)
• self dynamism
• ownership: …
How do we solve the issue of handouts? Yale/ New Haven, CT
2 solutions
1. Always, from the start, people must work before they get any kind of aid resources at all. Jobs create by the NGO, like in the US New Deal/great Depression program
2. Overlap initial aid, free handouts, very quickly with development. Give enough food/resources that people can focus on not just living but on improving their lives. Then focus on prevention for the future, to continue positive development.
Aid/ NGO effectiveness. Brown/ Providence, Rhode Island
• “Charity doesn’t use money efficiently”, “microfinance breed more effective results”, “we feel disillusioned by the NGOs,” ”education should be applied to Africa not based off the modern model.”
Can NGOs connect with governments – is it more efficient to work with governments? Bucerius Law School/ Hamburg, Germany.
• local government funding small scale local projects
• bottom-up change – co-operation with ‘top’ government
• corruption – is it a barrier?
• NGOs funded by those from a Western value system – demand their value system to be enforced
• culture clash?
• How to create incentives for governments to do good?
• ”The World Cup wasn’t any good for South Africa”
• Psychological bubble of prejudice surrounding Africa
• Internet a human right?
• MIT – laptop scheme, cheap technology – learning to read and write through a laptop
• Internet is self-propelling education
• Basic education is needed to use the Internet? Evaluative and analytical skills are needed
• ”Give people a water pump and put a computer next to it – how do they use it?”
• How to give people passion / How to channel people’s passion?
• ”Passion is as important as knowledge”
• Lack of rights for Africans emigrating to South Africa.
• Future prospects lacking for young people – introduction of drugs and drink. rape still a large problem
• High unemployment makes this the case?
• Increase security and laws?
Should the western world give aid to a government or an NGO? LSE/ London, UK.
• How many NGOs in Africa?
• Problem of Africa: education, diseases, health care, poverty, employment, infrastructure, corruption, wars, lack of technology, human rights, internet, cell phones
• connecting people – government and people – mediate
• lack of “how to live” education / useable education – what is the ‘proper’ way to live?
• root of orphan problems – not so easy
• Don’t care about a future. they live in today
• we, from here, do not know what the right education is for Africa
• government corruption – replace through networking
• mentality is not to be a part of government but to steal money
• poverty is a symptom – it’s basically wrong to try to cure it
• give money directly to people, not to governments
Motivations behind NGOS in Africa. University of Economics/ Prague, Czech Republic
• white people – in black people’s opinion more powerful?
• what do they want to arch in their lives?
• values – marriage, money..?
• people are generous even through they own few
• Africans want to live in safety, peace
• Africa consists of 53 countries!!! Nothing is universal
• ”Here in Europe we are individualists, in Africa they share everything”
• Problem of mining cultures – losing traditions
• Globalization – nothing is black and white
• idea of great western life.
Do NGOs address root of problem or symptoms? University of Economics/ Prague, Czech Republic
• How many NGOs in Africa?
• Problem of Africa: education, diseases, health care, poverty, employment, infrastructure, corruption, wars, lack of technology, human rights, internet, cell phones
• connecting people – government and people – mediate
• lack of “how to live” education / useable education – what is the ‘proper’ way to live?
• root of orphan problems – not so easy
• Don’t care about a future. they live in today
• we, from here, do not know what the right education is for Africa
• government corruption – replace through networking
• mentality is not to be a part of government but to steal money
• poverty is a symptom – it’s basically wrong to try to cure it
• give money directly to people, not to governments
Who determines aid, society or donor? Bucerius Law School/ Hamburg, Germany.
• A significantly greater amount of money is transferred through Western Union annually than through any government development programme. Is the solution free movement of people, goods, and capital?
• ”There are some natural problems”
• ”are some problems that are really beyond the capacity of the people”
• ”quality of life, quality of education” – how to measure these?
• ”the future is urbanisation”
• In Europe you have to pay for everything
