Course on "Growth and Development"
University "La Sapienza", Rome, February - May 2012
ERP has organized a course entitled "Growth and Development" whose topic was the Millennium goals, with a particular emphasis on Food Security in Agriculture and Rural Development.
Link
The course was held at the Department of Communication and Social Research of the University "La Sapienza" of Rome, in the second semester from February to May 2012.
The course was designed for students of Sciences of Development and International Cooperation.
The texts chosen for examination were:
1) the book on "Education for Rural People. The role of education, training and capacity development in poverty reduction and food security" by D. Acker and L. Gasperini, Rome 2009
2) A text to be chosen between the following:
a) Euclides Andre'Mance, Zero Hunger, The Contribution of Economic Solidarity, Emi 2006
b) Dag Hammarskjöld, Walking Tracks, Mondadori, 1997
The course aimed at training professionals that will work to promote and support cooperation among people for food security, poverty reduction and sustainable development, within the UN agencies and other International Organizations, governmental agencies, national and decentralized cooperation and civil society, including NGOs, consulting firms and the private sector, as well as in the research and teaching sectors.
Various experts from various United Nations agencies, and other stakeholders, have been invited to present their experience.
During the course the students have acquired specialized skills to operate in development cooperation in international organizations, non governmental organizations (NGOs), bilateral agencies, universities and research institutes, local authorities and agencies of decentralized cooperation, companies involved in activities in countries with low human development index, and in the diplomatic service.
Students also learned how to use specific tools to understand and analyze the problems associated with poverty reduction, food security and sustainable development in different work situations and in different socio-economic and political environments
Course Evaluation
Alessandro Vani :"It was undoubtedly the most interesting course in which I have participated: I refer to the Prof. explanations, the interventions and presentations of the international guests, and the visit at FAO and FAO library in Rome. I understood how all the subjects need to be closely interconnected to address the serious problem of world hunger. This has certainly helped open my mind on another topic of fundamental importance: communication. This is a fundamental subject for all people, in order to contribute to a mutual complementarity. I thank all teachers who attended the course. At the beginning I thought the course would have been monotonous, but class after class, I found it very interesting and engaging.
"Marta Fedi:"The contribution of this course to my education was important, starting from the contents that I believe were essential for this type of studies. I particularly appreciated the teaching methods which focused on interpersonal dialogue between the students, the faculty and the invited experts. Through this approach we got an understanding of different areas of expertise, thus reaching this educational achievement thanks to knowledge sharing. I thank the commitment of all those who have collaborated to this course.
"Nunzia Festante:" This interesting and practical course on growth and development gave me reading tools of great interest and has motivated me to go further. Acquiring additional knowledge helped me build an adequate capacity for constructive criticism, even towards international bodies. The theme of development is often affected by adverse criticism, overlooking the complexity and good practices. I would like to thank our Professor for her ability to make me reflect on how the action is sometimes the result of a commitment of great spiritual and social values such as the ones that inspired the UN Secretary Dag Hammarskjold. Thanks "
