Respecting communities in International Development: languages and cultural understanding

Library Seminar Room 4 - The Open University, Walton Hall

Abstract: This paper will discuss the results of a three year AHRC-funded project on the role of languages and cultural knowledge in development programmes. Using semi-structured interviews with INGO and DFID personnel, and interviews and discussions with INGO and SNGO staff in Kyrgyzstan, Malawi and Peru, the paper will outline some of the key findings of the research and the proposed recommendations to INGOs, donors and HE.

Bio: Hilary Footitt is Professor and Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Modern Languages and European Studies at the University of Reading, UK. She has written widely on the role of languages in conflict and post-conflict situations. She is currently PI for the AHRC project, 'The Listening Zones of NGOs: languages and cultural knowledge in development programmes' (www.reading.ac.uk/listening-zones-ngos).