An open-minded dialogue on international development
In a thought-provoking panel discussion held on November 14th in The Hague, people shared their knowledge on the intricacies of foreign aid and its positive and negative unintended consequences and spillovers. The event, centred around Prof. Dr. Dirk-Jan Koch's book on the subject, brought together diverse voices from Burundi, Bangladesh, Iraq and Nuffic to exchange the complexities of initiatives.
During the event, we welcomed Professor Dr Dirk-Jan Koch, Chief Science Officer at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who shared his insights with us through his book Foreign Aid and its Unintended Consequences. The panel discussion was guided by Ms Lindy van Vliet as we exchanged thoughts with Dirk-Jan Koch, H.E. Ambassador Mr Riaz Hamidullah (Embassy of Bangladesh in the Netherlands), Mr Jean Claude NYAMWERU (University of Burundi), Dr Karrar Mahdi (Wageningen University & Research) and Dr Ine Cottyn, PhD (Nuffic).
The interactive session highlighted the importance of acknowledging agile learning from the effects of foreign aid, as well as the necessity to integrate complex thinking into the design of interventions. The participants urged for sustained conversations about the challenges and successes in approaches underlining the significance of adopting long-term perspectives, mutual respect, and a commitment to positive, transformative impact in the realm of international development.
Nuffic & international development
Together with our extensive network of partners, we develop and manage programmes for strengthening quality education and capacity building across the globe. The programmes that we manage – mostly funded by the Dutch government - are designed to match our government's goals for development aid and education. Good examples of these programmes are the Orange Knowledge Programme, the MENA Scholarship Programme, and the EU-funded EDU-SYRIA programme in which we work together with partner organisations to strengthen Syrian refugees.
More on our activities abroad
