OU launches Centre for the Study of Global Development

Posted on 23 March 2022 • Education, languages and health

The Open University (OU) has launched a new centre, which will aim to advance human wellbeing through global development research. The Centre for the Study of Global Development (CSGD) will support researchers, practitioners, thought leaders and policy makers to share knowledge and research evidence.

The centre will have five hubs – health and wellbeing; language and society; learners and learning; professional learning and technology; and youth and transitions. Within these hubs there will be several research projects that will aim to improve the lives of disadvantaged and marginalised groups across the world.

SAGE (Supporting Adolescent Girls’ Education), for instance, works with a group of young women, who attend a community learning programme for out-of-school girls in Zimbabwe. Using storytelling, girl-to-girl conversations and other participatory techniques, the project aims to better understand their experiences of education and their aspirations for the future. SAGE also explores the professional development of the community educators, who support the girls’ learning.

Whereas, ACCESS (Approaches in Complex and Challenging Environments to Sustainable SRHR) looks to leverage a consortium of experts to research, design and test innovative solutions to enable the most marginalised and under-served populations to access comprehensive, evidence-based sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Working in partnership with grassroots Ugandan organisations, the project aims to develop new approaches and thinking.

Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, commented:

“The Centre for the Study of Global Development will help promote the sustainable development goals through sound research and by pursuing quality education for all, that leaves no one behind. I encourage other institutions to follow suit.

“Only by building our knowledge, can we make informed decisions. Only by sharing that knowledge can we tackle the greatest challenges of our time, together. Congratulations to all those involved in the launch of this important centre. Let’s continue to work together to keep the promise of the CSDG, for people and for the planet.”

CSGD Director and Professor of International Education and Development, Kwame Akyeampong, added:

“CSGD’s vision is based on The Open University’s Open Learning philosophy – using knowledge from research to democratize education, health, and wellbeing and builds on The Open University’s commitment to openness, inclusion, diversification of ideas and ways of working.

“CSGD will invest in the nurturing of early career researchers focusing on global development. We believe that strong and equitable research partnerships are the key to finding effective solutions to global development challenges.”

Find out more

About the Centre for the Study of Global Development, please visit: https://wels.open.ac.uk/research/centre-study-global-development

About the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies, please visit: https://wels.open.ac.uk

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