Overview
Towards Epistemic Sovereignty: (Re)-Thinking Development in a Changing Global Political Economy
8th Sustainability International Conference
Jointly organised by WASD and the University of West Indies
St Lucia, Caribbean
22-24 November 2010
The aim of this multi-disciplinary conference is to encourage a critical examination of the neoliberal approach to development and all that it connotes. More importantly, however, the conference seeks to encourage participants to consider alternative explanations for the Third World problematique of underdevelopment, as a precursor to “constructing a way forward”.
The world is reeling under the pressures of the current ‘Financial Crisis’, desperately seeking answers to some rather troubling questions. Raging debates about the merits and demerits of modern day capitalism abound. In fact, doubts are being raised about the relevance and adequacy of neoliberalism as the philosophical lynchpin of the global economy.
Arguably, capitalism has failed those trapped on the margins of the global political economy, who have long struggled to find a way out of underdevelopment. Much of what is now being experienced in the North, with respect to unemployment, economic hardship and desperation are the ‘staple’ of Third World existence. These realities have now come to haunt those in the ‘Core’ who are forced to re-examine that which free market economics has come to symbolise. This crisis is perhaps the result of ‘rampant excesses’ and ‘maldistribution’ of global wealth. A corrective is urgently needed and is the focus of all who care to deliberate on the problem and ultimately fix it.
Third World scholars have struggled to find an appropriate lexicon to adequately reflect these realities and how they affect ordinary people. The contention is that the very lexicon itself is imprisoning. Can scholars escape the seemingly fixed contours of a Eurocentric and ethnocentric discourse on development, which at best is insufficient if not restrictive? In an attempt to liberate peoples of the world from the ‘costs’ of capitalism, how far can thinkers and practitioners go in defining and resolving the ‘problematique of underdevelopment’? Moreover, how best can countries (re)-position themselves in the global political economy, to ensure that they reap whatever benefits are associated with the current forms of exchange and interaction.
Diaspora
The collaboration between the Diaspora and those working within the country of origin offers several opportunities and contributes to increase productivity towards sustainable and inclusive knowledge-based growth. Building constructive relationships between the Diasporas and countries of origin require that Diasporas be treated not as a mere resource, but as partners and investors with mutual benefits.
It has long been argued that Diasporas will be most interested in contributing to SD efforts when they have a sense of belonging in relation to their country of origin. Therefore, it is very important to establish trust between Diasporas and governments in the country of origin. In doing so, governments need to invest in identifying their Diasporas abroad and in understanding their skills and interests.
Many sustainability problems can only be tackled by connecting the diaspora with those working within the country of origin, for example combating the results of climate change, diseases such as malaria, reservation of natural resources, fighting land degradation or limiting the loss of biodiversity and many other problems. Moreover, knowledge or evidence-based policymaking is indispensable if gaps in living standards are to be narrowed. Therefore, building capacity in country of origin is necessary for competing in the global arena and there it is critical to turn the diaspora into a positive tool for SD as well as serving as role models for the youth in the country of origin.
Location
Roxborough, St. Paul, Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago
