Monday, November 22, 2010

The Global South and Poverty Solutions

There is an expo currently taking place in Geneva, in which over 40 countries are meeting to discuss solutions to poverty that have worked in developing countries. The purpose of this expo is for developing countries along with their developing partners, such as donor organizations, the U.N. and the private sector to demonstrate the development programs and projects that have proven to be successful in their respective countries, and thus, could be adapted in other developing countries as well. The expo is focusing on six areas of development: Social Protection and Decent Work, Food Security, Climate Change and Environment, HIV/AIDS, Global Health, and Education. There have been several countries in the Global South that have achieved major successes in terms of their development goals. Therefore, these countries can share their knowledge with other countries that are struggling and help them to find solutions and meet their goals.

This article reminded me of the participatory model of development communication, which focuses on empowering the people and seeking social justice and equity. The people in the developing world know what they need, therefore, the Global North should not be going into these countries and imposing the changes they see fit, without even having consulted with the local population. This expo is demonstrating that developing countries don't need to depend on the western world to solve their problems. They are creating and implementing development solutions themselves.

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