Harvard International Development Conference

Last weekend I was in Boston with several of my classmates for the International Development Conference at Harvard.  Of course the events of that Monday have dominated the news around the world for the last week.   Friends of mine have expressed their thoughts on the bombings on their own blogs, so if you are interested, check out these two posts.  I will only be sharing about my weekend and the conference.

ParadoxUganda: Not Quite at Home

Kriegers Living on Grace: Boston

As a budget traveler, I am so thankful for the hospitality of my friends in cities around the world.  Boston was no exception.  I was welcomed into the apartment of a dear childhood friend late on Thursday night.

Friday was a gloomy cold day, but I was determined to see some of Boston.  So despite the rain, I walked a most of the Freedom Trail.  It was a great way to get a sense for the city and see some historic sites. 

*St. Francis of Assisi statue that was part of the Old North Church*

The conference started Friday night and continued all day on Saturday.  I had the opportunity to hear many influential voices share their thoughts on the future of the development industry, local ownership, climate, the role of government, etc.   I was really thankful for the opportunity to consider a different perspective, since many of the speakers came from bilateral or multilateral agencies (IMF, USAID, World Bank, UNDP, etc.) or have been advisors to presidents of countries around the world whereas many of the students and professors at Eastern University are more involved in grassroots ministries, local churches, and NGOs.  

The conference had several interactive workshops and two case competitions.  I had the opportunity to participate in the case competition on South Sudan, and my team won!  As they were presenting the awards, one of the judges quipped that we had 3 minutes to present an intervention that we had developed in only 30 minutes to address a problem created over more than 30 years of conflict.  Of course our hastily composed intervention developed by graduate students from all over the world (but none from South Sudan) in the halls of Harvard, worlds away from the streets of Juba, is not the way to go.  But it was a fun exercise, and I got a certificate and free water bottle and flash drive out of it.  

My two main thoughts at the end of the conference were:

1. I understood most of what the speakers were discussing which means I have learned a lot of the last year.

2. I am thankful that God brought me to Eastern University.  It is the right program for me.