Reimagining Development

Howard Stein is a Professor in the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies (DAAS) and the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Michigan.  In this episode, he discusses how debt, neoliberalism and a dependence on commodities has compromised the capacity of African states to steer their own path toward development.  Professor Stein also reflects on the implications of China’s intervention as a development actor in Africa and how this contrasts with the Bretton Woods model led by the World Bank and IMF.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the podcast series are the speakers’ own and do not necessarily represent those of the Centre for Global Education.

Helen Yaffe lectures in Economic and Social History in the University of Glasgow.  Since 1995, she has spent time living and researching in Cuba.  Her doctoral thesis, undertaken at the London School of Economics, was adapted for publication as Che Guevara: The Economics of Revolution by Palgrave Macmillan in 2009.  She discusses Cuba’s model of development which has achieved stunning indicators of human wellbeing despite being subjected to a United States economic blockade for more than sixty years.  She explains how Cuba’s revolution has survived US aggression to carve out a unique approach to development.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the podcast series are the speakers’ own and do not necessarily represent those of the Centre for Global Education.

Colm Regan is the former head of global / development education in the Irish development agency Trócaire and founder of the NGO, 80:20: Educating & Acting for a Better World. He has extensive experience of policy, advocacy, campaigning and education for social justice in the global North and South. Colm regards global education as explicitly political and rooted in social change.  He discusses his “boots on the ground” approach to global education based on decades of activism.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the podcast series are the speakers’ own and do not necessarily represent those of the Centre for Global Education.

Caroline Murphy is the CEO of Comhlámh, the Irish Association of International Development Workers and Volunteers. She has considerable experience of the Irish international development and global education sectors having previously worked with Financial Justice Ireland, Children in Crossfire and the Centre for Global Education.  With work experience on both sides of the Irish border in different capacities – research, strategic planning, and policy development – Caroline brings real insight to the question of how we can work effectively in global education on a cross-border basis.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the podcast series are the speakers’ own and do not necessarily represent those of the Centre for Global Education.

Dr Eilish Dillon is Assistant Professor at the Maynooth University Department of International Development. She has been actively engaged in global education in Ireland for over thirty years.  In this episode she discusses her career in education that has combined teaching in higher education with collaboration and practice with civil society organisations. Eilish discusses the need for critical education and systems thinking as essential components of effective global learning.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the podcast series are the speakers’ own and do not necessarily represent those of the Centre for Global Education.

Professor Douglas Bourn, Professor of Development Education and Co-Director of the Development Education Research Centre at University College London, reflects on how the policy and practice of global education has moved from the margins to the mainstream over the past thirty years.