DevNet Conference 2008

The 2008 DevNet conference was held between the 3rd and 5th of December 2008 at Victoria University of Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. Over 200 people attended. A big thank you goes out to all participants, speakers, organisers - especially the volunteers - and others involved. To obtain some of the proceedings please see below.

There were over 100 papers, special sessions and keynote addresses. You can find the programme here [pdf]; for the abstracts file click here [pdf].

By adopting the theme ‘Peripheral Vision’ the Conference captured different ways of thinking about and practicing development. It discussed development of and from the ‘periphery’ – whether defined as the antipodes (Aotearoa and the South Pacific region), or those people who are often excluded from mainstream development. It also sought to encourage discussion of different visions and expressions of development. Critical thought about development which occurs, or could occur, outside the often narrow view of conventional institutions and practices were promoted.

Human rights
Issues of power
Gender and development
New generation of Pacific leaders
African perspectives
It’s not easy being green: sustainable development
Mäori development

Disability, disadvantage and development

Land

Dance, art and globalisation

Students' work in progress

Day one: Keynote Jan Pronk, opens with a compelling"10 points for Development" address		Day two: Keynote Iati Iati presents on Samoan land reform issues
Day three: NZAid's Don Clarke speaks on the sorts of challenges facing NZAid and international development		Theory and practice: "Bridging the divide: strengthening the links between research and practice in development"; Thomas Banda and Debbie Snelson (VSA), Gerald Prinsen (Massey University), Terence Wood (NZAid), Regina Scheyvens (Massey University), Alice Beban-France and Peter Hardstaff (Development Resource Centre).
Gerald Prinsen and Regina Scheyvens

ConFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

Fourteen presentations from the Conference are now available

• 
  • Controversial Land Legislation in Samoa: It's not just about the land by keynote speaker Iati Iati
• • Exploring an Unconventional Movement: projecthonduras.com by Sharon Joy McLennan
• • Informal Settlers, Security of Land Tenure, Livelihoods and Intervention: A Case Study from Urban Fiji (Working Title) by Luke Kiddle
• • Learning in action for social change: What Pakeha Treaty workers can learn from Kenyan sugar cane farmers by Jen Margaret
  • The Capabilities Approach and Appraising Community Development Programmes in Christchurch by Dr John Schischka
• • Energy and Development: Climate Change as a Development Challenge to Asian Development Bank’s Operations in Southeast Asia by Laurence Delina
  • The Image Dilemma by Rachel Tallon
  • The Nam Theun 2 Hydro Project: A better kind of dam? By Rob Laking
• • Researching the Practice of the Public Budget by Gerard Prinsen

• Impact of Agricultural Trade Liberalisation in Bangladesh on Rural Livelihoods by Dayal Talukder and Kenneth Jackson

• Living on a crowded island: Urban transformation in the Maldives by Mohamed Faisal

• • Female Representations as Symbols of Ethical Revival by Mahrukh Khan
• • An African Success Story: Civil Society and the ‘Mozambican Miracle’ by Aaron J Reibel
• • Siho Mai – Listening and responding to the voices of Rural Women by Alice Pollard

• The Emergence of Private Higher Education and the Issue of Quality Assurance in Ghana, the Role of National Accreditation Board (NAB) by Godwin Utuka

DVD

• Building Social Enterprises in the Philippines: Strategies for Local Development - a video presented by Professor Katherine Gibson:

This 50 minute DVD is narrated and written by Professor Katherine Gibson, a human geographer from the Australian National University and Ms Maria Angela Villalba, Executive Director of Unlad Kabayan Migrant Services Foundation Inc. and Philippines Social Entrepreneur of the 2007 (awarded by Ernst and Young and the Schwab Foundation). It looks at how some social entrepreneurs and social enterprises are pursuing new development pathways in the Philippines provinces of Surigao del Norte, Bukidnon, Bohol and Lanao del Norte. It features: Matin-ao Rice Center, FAM-Dev Farm, Laca Ginger Tea Community Enterprise, Jagna Nata de Coco Enterprise, Jagna Porters’ Multi-Purpose Cooperative, Dressmakers of Malbog, Jagna, Linamon Creative Hands of Women, Linamon Virgin Coconut Oil Enterprise, Social Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development Services (SEEDS) Lanao. The DVD is ideal for teaching or training as it can be shown in short segments or in full.

This DVD was filmed and produced by Katherine Gibson, Ann Hill and Paul Maclay and funded by the Australian Research Council, AusAID, Australian National University, Unlad Kabayan Migrant Services Foundation Inc.

- Those interested in obtaining a copy of this DVD please email sandra.davenport@anu.edu.au

Further conference papers will be available soon. We apologise for the delay as we await permission from individual presenters. If you were a presenter, you can assist by contacting info@devnet.org

Keynote SpeakerS

Jan Pronk

Professor of Theory and Practice of International Development, Institute of Social Studies, the Hague
Professor Pronk was Minister for Development Cooperation as a Member of Parliament in the Netherlands in the 1970s and 90s, was Deputy Secretary General of UNCTAD in Geneva in the mid- 80s and has recently served as a Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General in Sudan.
http://www.janpronk.nl

Katherine Gibson

Professor and head of Department of Human Geography, Australian National University, Canberra 

Katherine’s work is centred in the Asia-Pacific region (PNG, Philippines, Indonesia).

As an economic geographer, she works on rethinking economic concepts in the light of feminist, poststructuralist and class process theory. Her research interests include diverse economies and alternative regional economic development, international contract migration and community economic activism and poststructuralist feminist critiques and reformulations of economic and geographic theory.

http://rspas.anu.edu.au/

Don Clarke

Global Group Director, NZAID, Wellington

Don is experienced in the non-governmental organisation (NGO) sector, in the area of international aid and development. He has was executive director of the Council for International Development (CID) in the early 90s and deputy director of the Commonwealth Foundation (London) in the later 90s. Don has also been involved in journalism and publishing.

http://www.nzaid.govt.nz

Dr Iati Iati

Research Associate at the Macmillian Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, University of Canterbury, Christchurch

Intriguing Land Legislation in the Pacific's Shining Star: Critical issues surrounding Samoa's 2008 Land and Titles Registration Act

Dr Iati received his PhD in political science from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa in 2007. In 2008 he was awarded the PCF/NUS Samoa Treaty of Friendship Fellowship to undertake research into civil society engagement in strengthening political accountability in Samoa. Dr Iati's dissertation explores civil society in Samoa and its ability to improve governance within what is a peculiar socio-political environment. His research interests are civil society and governance in the Pacific, with a particular focus on the tensions between traditional and modernity in relation to these.

Controversial Land Legislation in Samoa: It's not just about the land by keynote speaker Iati Iati

Pacific participants' keynote addresses

Hon. Ralph Regenvanu

MP of Vanuatu, Director of the Vanuatu National Cultural Council and Executive Board Member of the PIMA

The promotion of the traditional economy in Vanuatu: Background and future

Ralph Regenvanu is the Pacific keynote speaker

Alice Aruhe'eta Pollard

Roko Women’s Association, Solomon Islands

Siho Mai – Listening and Responding to the Hearts of Rural Women

Alice Pollard is known in the Solomon Islands for her considerable work with the Roko Women’s Association – a village and community-based empowerment initiative involving savings and village development. Mrs Pollard has a high level of experience in women’s issues in Melanesia. Her work has helped women save money; women who are not used to having cash in hand.

Benedicta Tikilam Mellam

University of Papua New Guinea

Audit Delays in Government Departments in Papua New Guinea: A Study Exploring the Causes and Consequences as Experienced by the Auditor General's Office

Benedicta Mellam was a member of an Oceania Development Network (ODN) funded research project from the 2006/07 competition entitled ‘A survey of current status and agenda of environmental accounting and disclosure in Papua New Guinea’. Mrs Mellam is currently involved in a research project on Antiretroviral Therapy in PNG.

Vanessa Lolohea

CEO: Tongan National Youth Congress.

Vanessa Lolohea's presentation is on 'Youth and Gender Development in Tonga'. As CEO of Tongan National Youth, Lolohea will discuss what her organisation does and the challenges that they face.

Dr Tamarisi Yabaki

Lecturer in the Department of Geography USP Laucala Campus, Suva, Fiji

Her presentation is entitled "Women's life in a Fijian Village''.

Convention hosts

School of Geography, Environment & Earth Sciences
Te Kura Tatai Aro Whenua
PO Box 600
Aotearoa New Zealand

Conference organisers:
Alexa Funnell and Gayna Vetter

For more information or to make suggestions, email DevNet08@vuw.ac.nz

The 2008 DevNet Conference, held at Victoria University of Wellington, is funded by NZAID: