The event: The Development Conference, Austria’s largest event on development policy, offers space for debate and reflection on current challenges: Here you will find committed science, dialogue between science and practice, reflection on current issues of development policy, networking of policy fields and political education in the broader sense. At the development conferences, we want to initiate a dialogue at eye level, following the pedagogy of Paulo Freire, instead of presenting a conference monopolised by prominent figures from above. We pursue the idea of a double dialogue, between committed science and critical civil society on the one hand, and between global North and South on the other.
We cordially invite you to be part of these exciting debates!
Time: Fri., 11. Nov. 17:00 to Sun., 13. Nov. 2022 13:00.
Venue: Johannes Kepler University Linz, Altenberger Straße 69, 4040 Linz, Austria.
The topic: Global inequalities. Ever since development has been discussed and debated, poverty, i.e. global income inequality, has been a very important point of reference. With the COVID19 pandemic, existing imbalances have worsened: the very richest became even richer, while many people living in precarious situations lost their jobs and incomes and were and continue to be unprotected against the consequences of the pandemic. The climate catastrophe and current conflicts such as the war in Ukraine also have an impact on a global level and reinforce existing inequalities here.
> What can and what must be done against global inequality?
> What role does development cooperation play in this?
> Can inequality reduction serve to prevent violence and conflict?
> What scope for action do the SDGs or alternative approaches open up?
> More on the topic and more questions about it…
The Challenge: The COVID-19 Pandemic. Corona is and remains a great challenge for everyone, for us as well as for other organisers, including the development conference. We currently consider it very likely that larger events can also take place in Presence in the autumn. Further developments will show whether and which speakers from the Global South will be able to come to Austria in November. We expect to be able to bring some of the speakers from the South as hybrid participants. In any case, we are planning to hold the conference in presence: our venue will remain the Johannes Kepler University Linz.
Organisational information on the Development Conference will gradually be found on this website. Thank you for your interest! To make sure you don’t miss anything, feel free to sign up for our newsletter! We are confident because, as Paulo Freire said:
„We need to believe in each other’s ability to know something, to create something, to develop and revive something.“
(Freire, P. (1981): Der Lehrer ist Politiker und Künstler. Neue Texte zur befreienden Bildungsarbeit. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt. p. 129.)
