Universities as ‘Global Citizens’: Reflections and Learning …
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emergencies only 0.2% of the overall funding response goes to local actors, even
though these are the people who are inevitably the first on the scene (Roepstorff
2019).
A university acting as a ‘global citizen’ might be expected to model an ethical
approach to funding of its activities in relation to its obligations to both ODA and to
its core purpose for public good. This could translate into a critical view of not only
what research is funded, but also on the ethics of the power relationships and the
uncritical use of Western paradigms of knowledge that are inevitably self-reproducing
(Dawson 2020). In practice that might mean that the university as an organisation,
“promotes critical understanding of how we can think and act without prejudice in
our diverse and interconnected world” (Mansouri et al. 2017: 5).
These issues frame the reflections of three researchers from a UK institution who
devised and conducted a research project funded by the UK DfID via the Global
Challenges Research Fund.
2 Project Background
2.1 Project on Sustainable Development and Women’s
Leadership
The research project was funded by GCRF and carried out in Colombia, one of the
ODA countries. Women leaders belonging to fisher associations were selected by the
regional federation (Federacion de Pescadores, acuicultores y Agricultores del Canal
del Dique-FEPASACADI) via a meritocratic selection process to allocate 24 places
for a residency, representing more than 30 associations. During the residency, the
researchers gave a general background on concepts related to participatory research,
biodiversity and sustainability (e.g. tragedy of the commons), sustainable development goals (SDG) and Aichi targets, followed by activities that allowed researchers to
gain feedback on participants’ perspectives on these topics. The women leaders and
researchers explored together the meaning of female empowerment and networking.
They also explored how they could use their strengths as women leaders in the area
to promote innovative projects and entrepreneurship in their areas of interest. The
women leaders acknowledged that they benefited from the project in the way they
wanted to benefit, dependent on their level of participation. Researchers reflected on
their teaching, learning, and research experience during the planning, execution and
analysis of the project. The researchers also encouraged women leaders to reflect on
their journey from the beginning to the end of the residency.
One key idea that the researchers kept in mind was that although ‘development’ is
typically predicated on a one way flow of knowledge and values from the ‘developed’
to the ‘less developed’ nations, (Stein et al. 2019) this can lead to the reproduction
of epistemic and economic dominance even within higher education partnerships
designed to address this.
93
emergencies only 0.2% of the overall funding response goes to local actors, even
though these are the people who are inevitably the first on the scene (Roepstorff
2019).
A university acting as a ‘global citizen’ might be expected to model an ethical
approach to funding of its activities in relation to its obligations to both ODA and to
its core purpose for public good. This could translate into a critical view of not only
what research is funded, but also on the ethics of the power relationships and the
uncritical use of Western paradigms of knowledge that are inevitably self-reproducing
(Dawson 2020). In practice that might mean that the university as an organisation,
“promotes critical understanding of how we can think and act without prejudice in
our diverse and interconnected world” (Mansouri et al. 2017: 5).
These issues frame the reflections of three researchers from a UK institution who
devised and conducted a research project funded by the UK DfID via the Global
Challenges Research Fund.
2 Project Background
2.1 Project on Sustainable Development and Women’s
Leadership
The research project was funded by GCRF and carried out in Colombia, one of the
ODA countries. Women leaders belonging to fisher associations were selected by the
regional federation (Federacion de Pescadores, acuicultores y Agricultores del Canal
del Dique-FEPASACADI) via a meritocratic selection process to allocate 24 places
for a residency, representing more than 30 associations. During the residency, the
researchers gave a general background on concepts related to participatory research,
biodiversity and sustainability (e.g. tragedy of the commons), sustainable development goals (SDG) and Aichi targets, followed by activities that allowed researchers to
gain feedback on participants’ perspectives on these topics. The women leaders and
researchers explored together the meaning of female empowerment and networking.
They also explored how they could use their strengths as women leaders in the area
to promote innovative projects and entrepreneurship in their areas of interest. The
women leaders acknowledged that they benefited from the project in the way they
wanted to benefit, dependent on their level of participation. Researchers reflected on
their teaching, learning, and research experience during the planning, execution and
analysis of the project. The researchers also encouraged women leaders to reflect on
their journey from the beginning to the end of the residency.
One key idea that the researchers kept in mind was that although ‘development’ is
typically predicated on a one way flow of knowledge and values from the ‘developed’
to the ‘less developed’ nations, (Stein et al. 2019) this can lead to the reproduction
of epistemic and economic dominance even within higher education partnerships
designed to address this.