De-colonising development is both personal and political

A guest post by Grace Labeodan

As a student of International Development policy and practice, I often try to put myself in situations and conversations that enable me to think broadly and deeply about global development and how it is currently practiced, who its policies serve or seek to serve, and consider the types of question that should be asked in this space.

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending an event where hard questions could be asked about global development and how to (if it is at all possible) decolonise the way development currently works, from donors to I/NGOS to think tanks and even government institutions. This event titled ‘Decolonising Development’ provided a space to delve into the colonised nature of international development and what it would look like for those who are in the field to actively decolonise it.

My intention for attended the event, was both personal and political. Personal because as a child of immigrant Nigerian parents, I am in effect a result of colonialism, right down to the language I speak fluently. Political because I am aware that my experience of international development would be radically different to my white counterpart due to the larger social and political power struggles at play. I am aware that to be African is to be seen or perceived by many as in need of ‘saving’. Maybe not me personally, because I have had the privilege of being educated in the west, of living and working in the west. Therefore global development can in many ways be theoretical for me, because I am not a direct ‘beneficiary’. But for a woman who looks just like me in rural Nigeria, development is very much practical.

Throughout the course of the evening, I had the opportunity to speak with a number of global development professionals, many who were enthusiastic about their work and proud to be making a difference yet, deeply concerned about just how deeply entrenched colonialism is in global development practice. Decolonising development is a complex process, both at the intellectual level and the institutional level. It invites us to consider how we as development students and experts perpetuate colonial practices in our everyday work, and whether we do enough to challenge these methods of learning, working and doing.

A key take away for me personally was just how powerful and political language is in global development discourse. Language frames not only our thoughts about development, but our actions and inevitably shapes the policies and programmes that are implemented globally. The words used to describe the ‘poor’ can either render them powerless or portray them in a manner which leads to often incorrect assumptions about their development and how that should come about. There is room therefore, for a deeper consideration of use (and a range) of language, who language can benefit, and who it can empower.

***

Grace Labeodan is a masters student in International Development, passionate about global development practice with a keen interest in social policy. Through academia, she is learning and un-learning how to do development, asking necessary questions of global development practitioners, and challenging herself to think more broadly and deeply about the work of development. 

***

Click here to read Marion Osieyo’s reflections on how she structured the “Decolonising Development” dialogue.

***

Related Posts

When the fox guards the hen house

My conflicted relationship to “expertise”

On whose shoulders?

Demonstrated: The demand for new narratives in international development communications

What advice would you give to new global development students?

3 Comments

  1. Paula Ochiel

    Hi Grace,

    This is a great reflection on the conversation around decolonizing development. Thank you for sharing. I liked that you talked about how powerful language is in the discourse on global development. That language frames our thoughts and actions about the poor, thus affecting how we perceive/portray the poor and our actions ( perhaps on poverty reduction) is a fitting summary of the reality of development action. As an African student also privileged to have studied in the west, I totally understand your statement that development can seem theoretical, especially with regard to the view of Africans as a people in need of saving. I was wondering what your thoughts are on how to deal with the day-to-day realities of being in the west and in a profession with a complex legacy of colonialism, and your experience as an African development practitioner whose ideas on development has been shaped by those legacies.

  2. Grace

    Dear Paula,

    Thank you so much for reading my post and for being gracious enough to leave such a well thought out comment. Your question is a loaded one and i am afraid it is one I haven’t quite found an answer to. I am still at what we would call ‘entry level’ and still figuring out how to deal with the complexity of working in the global dev space.
    Personally, I am constantly questioning and challenging myself and my peers with different backgrounds and experiences to mine to think deeper I guess about how we do / why we do our work.
    Being in the West has exposed me to one side of a very complex history and legacy which is why I strongly believe in partnership, collaboration and knowledge sharing and challenging the status quo. I accept that how things are done from a western perspective may be one way, but it certainly isn’t the only way, neither is it even the best way. So I try best as I can to be actively listening to my peers and colleagues in the global south and considering how best to serve however I can, all the while acknowledging my positionality and what that may mean in some context.

    I don’t know if that answered your question but I hope it gave some clarity to what I am afraid is quite a murky area.

    I look forward to engaging more with you and your work. Let’s connect, if you’re on Twitter my handle is @gracelabby

  3. Pingback: LAUNCH: The ethics of studying Africa | Democracy in Africa

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.