March/April 2004
Research and Training

Developing people in the developing world

International organisations working to improve the poverty-stricken lives of people in the developing world gathered for a high-level meeting at the University.

Representatives from the UK Government's Department for International Development (DFID) joined delegates from the US Agency for International Development and others from across Europe and Africa. Organisations including Oxfam and the Food and Agriculture Organisation also sent representatives.

(left to right) Faustin Kamuzora from Mzumbe University in Tanzania and Maggie Ibrahim from the Institute of Development Studies with Anna Toner and Tom Franks from the University's Bradford Centre for International Development at the high-level meeting at the University to discuss the future of Sustainable Livelihood Approaches (SLA).

Delegates discussed the future of Sustainable Livelihood Approaches (SLA). These are anti-poverty strategies that take a "bottom-up" approach by investing in the poorest people so they can better help themselves.

Lecturer in the University's Bradford Centre for International Development (BCID) Anna Toner said: "These approaches build on people's strengths so that they are in control of their own development.

"We also talked about getting governmental institutions organised in a way that they can then respond to the needs of the poorest people."

Anna has just completed a three-year research project on SLAs, co-ordinated by BCID senior lecturer Tom Franks and funded by the Government.

The two-day meeting was held in partnership between the University, the DFID and Livelihoods Connect (www.livelihoods.org external link, will openin a new browser window) - a Government-backed website which draws together information and research for people working in international development.

Workshops were also held to look at how effective SLA has been and how organisations might need to be managed in order for them to work.

Discussions were also held with a view to creating an active global network of people working in the field of international development.

16 April 2004

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