“After three months in the field, you think you understand it all. After one year, it’s quite clear that you don’t understand anything.” – Chris Dolan

The closing panel discussion late Tuesday morning addressed issues of the rest of the world’s involvement in development activities in Africa. Nathaniel Whittemore and Susanna Cunningham of Northwestern University’s Center for Global Engagement, and Chris Dolan of Refugee Law Project, talked to the participants about long-term engagement in development work. After spending almost three weeks studying the conflict in northern Uganda, many participants are wondering “what’s next?”

The ensuing discussion focused on sustainability issues, impunity, challenges of assessment, the importance of horizontal networking and shifting to an asset-based perspective of development. Whittemore provided a suggested reading list for participants:

A Bed for the Night: Humanitarianism in Crisis (David Reiff)
To Hell with Good Intentions (speech by Ivan Illich)
Are These the New Colonialists? (Guardian article)
Putting the Last First (Robert Chambers)
Emma’s War (Deborah Scroggins)
A Guide for Self Reliant Participatory Rural Development (Stan Burkey)
Leaving Microsoft to Change the World (John Wood)
Acts of Faith (Eboo Patel)