About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about local and global strategies for development, focusing in particular on: (i) four understandings of poverty, as per the 2006 publication Poverty in Focus by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), being the monetary, capability, social exclusion and participatory approaches; (ii) the monetary approach, which recognises poverty as being centred around income and material possessions, in which the focus on solving poverty is on increasing incomes; (iii) the capability approach, which recognises poverty as being centred around capability deprivation and freedom; (iv) the social exclusion approach, which recognises poverty as being centred around a multi-dimensional view of deprivation including social constructs; (v) some key findings from the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) 2023; (vi) findings in poverty research around inadequate access to sanitation, malnourished household members and gaps in schooling; (vii) the participatory approach, which recognises poverty as being defined by those living in it; (viii) understanding sustainable development to be focused on improving the present without compromising the future, with its three pillars being economic, social equity and environmental protection; (ix) the existence and role of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and their links to human rights; (x) SDG 5 being the most focused on gender, with targets 5.1 and 5.2 seeking to end discrimination and violence against women and girls; (xi) issues with quantitative measures of development, including in data collection and limitations of applicability; (xii) key criticism of the paradigms of Women in Development (WID) and Gender and Development (GAD); (xiii) the work of the Queen Mothers of Ghana as a local strategy for gender-related development, including through the African Queens and Women Cultural Leaders Network (AQWCLN); (xiv) the key role of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in local development strategies.

About the lecturer

Dr Fanny Froehlich is a senior research associate in gender and development in the School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies at the University of Bristol. Dr Froehlich’s research interests are in lived experiences and feminist voices in the Global South. Some of Dr Froehlich’s recent publications include ‘Gender and social transformation’ (2024) and ‘Young people’s involvement in migration research: Opportunities for reshaping priorities and practices’ (2023).