Unpacking the UN HDR for 90+ Post-Grad Students
One of the privileges of today's technology is that it allows you to be in virtually two places at once...
While I have called Dar es Salaam home for the past four months and counting, I've had many opportunities to share with family, friends and colleagues around the world stories, experiences and many lessons learned during my recent stay here in Tanzania.
On Thursday, September 26th I took it one step further. Being connected to past colleagues and professors at the Humber College Business School, particularly in the International Development Management Post-Graduate Program, I knew early after my arrival to Tanzania that I would like to carry on my annual tradition of being brought back to my "old stomping grounds" to speak about my work experience since graduating...this time from the global south and as a UNA Canada / UNDP Tanzania JPC.
While I had much "real-world" experience to share with the class of over 90 Post-Graduate students, I challenged myself to connect my work experience and exposure to the very curriculum that the students were learning in their International Development course. This happened to coincide with a discussion about Human Development Indicators and the Human Development Index (HDI). For those who don't know, the Human Development Index is the one value that economists Manbub uh Haq and Amartya Sen coined in 1990, used to rank countries in their levels of human development based on a composition of life expectancy at birth, education, health and income. While this formula later evolved to factor inequality margins into the equation, it has remained the focus of the annual United Nations Human Development Report, which has been published since 1990.
The 2013 Report is titled "The Rise of the South: Human Progress in a Diverse World", therefore my presentation focused on the relationship between political participation and economic growth. The major finding that was discussed, is that in countries with lower HDI values, the gains that can be made from boosting political participation are significantly higher than in highly developed countries, where smaller gains in human development can be made. The purpose of this talk was to demonstrate that establishing an enabling environment for political participation is a necessary conduit to any significant economic gains that could be made in the global south. This is incentive for governments and development partners to invest in building stable and responsive political systems before attracting foreign investment into other sectors.
I would not have had such an intimate connection to this topic had I not had the opportunity to come to Tanzania and work with the UNDP, who's National Implementation Modality ensures that the Central Government directly takes ownership over every project we support. Capacity development of the National Government is key to ensuring participatory processes with local / regional governments and village councils are carried out to ensure accurate information, data collection and inclusive negotiation. UNA Canada has provided me with this excellent practical experience, which is more than a "window" into the world of the United Nations, but a seat at the table, and sometimes even in the driver-seat of critical, high-level projects that can impact the lives of Tanzanians for generations to come.
For this I am thankful.
I would not have had such an intimate connection to this topic had I not had the opportunity to come to Tanzania and work with the UNDP, who's National Implementation Modality ensures that the Central Government directly takes ownership over every project we support. Capacity development of the National Government is key to ensuring participatory processes with local / regional governments and village councils are carried out to ensure accurate information, data collection and inclusive negotiation. UNA Canada has provided me with this excellent practical experience, which is more than a "window" into the world of the United Nations, but a seat at the table, and sometimes even in the driver-seat of critical, high-level projects that can impact the lives of Tanzanians for generations to come.
For this I am thankful.
