Ideas for Development is an international Blog meant to stimulate debate on development issues. It brings together a set of senior professionals engaged in this sphere through their careers and personal convictions. This Blog aims at offering a new forum for open discussion and interaction between scholars, students, professionals of various backgrounds and the public at large. Together, they can share information, viewpoints and visions for the future with the common goal of advancing the cause of development.

 

What is our philosophy?

As all blogs, Ideas for development is a community. This community brings together the contributors of the blog - CEOs of major international organizations but also NGOs, scholars, students and all those interested in the issues of development. The members of this community have different backgrounds and speak different languages. But they share the wish to exchange information and debate freely on a major stake for tomorrow: development.

 

Our ambition is to foster a genuine and informed debate between the contributors on the one hand, and between the contributors and the public on the other. Given their variety of their experiences, contributors have come to foster different visions of development. The debates held on the blog, which aim to be wide-ranging and free, are expected to contrast with expert discussions, too often held in small circles.

 

The contributions explore the stakes of development, those of today and those of tomorrow. In order to combine quality and reactivity of the posts, the blog will host two types of texts: thematic contributions, which aim for in-depth analysis, and more spontaneous reactions to current events affecting international development.

 

Who are the actors of the blog?

Ideas for Development is based on the principle of collective management. The blog does not belong to any organization or personality, and will remain independent.

 

Several personalities contribute to this blog: Abdou Diouf (Organisation de la Francophonie), António Guterres (UNHCR), Donald Kaberuka (African Development Bank), Pascal Lamy (WTO), Dr. R.K. Pachauri (IPCC), Supachai Panitchpakdi (UNCTAD), Nemat (Minouche) Shafik (DFID), Josette Sheeran (World Food Programme), and Achim Steiner (UNEP).

 

These personalities are currently at the head of international organizations involved in various fields of development. They represent, through their professional and personal backgrounds, different approaches of development. They are committed to contribute to the blog on a regular basis and to answer, as much as possible, the comments made on their contributions.

 

Bloggers’ contributions can be commented by all readers. ‘Experts’ and 'Guest bloggers' are NGOs, Universities, Research centres and individuals renowned for their expertise in development, who bring to the blog the lessons of their own experience, sometimes shedding a different light on their areas of expertise. The different perspectives of the actors of the blog, whether they oppose or complement each other, will guarantee a rich debate.