With
a long-standing interest in politics and international
affairs, the latter stimulated further by world
music-inspired travel, I decided that I wanted
to work in the voluntary sector in an "international
development" focused organisation after leaving
a long career in local government. I came to
RISC through a voluntary placement to work on
the business plan for the Global Cafe and have
been involved ever since both in a Trustee and
wider voluntary capacity.
Through both this and my studies for an MSc
in Development Studies I have since come to
realise that the most important work in the
field of "international development" is not
in charitable aid and development project work,
but in education for understanding the relationships
between rich and poor in the world, particularly
the impacts of the former on the latter in pursuance
of our unsustainable lifestyles, and in campaigning
for fundamental change in those relationships,
politically and economically. My contribution
to RISC is in pursuit of the first and my paid
job at the World
Development Movement is in support of the
latter
.
