Mohammad Shehzad
John Davidson, 64, is an expert in
Partnership Development. He has been awarded two honorary doctorates in
recognition of his innovative work in community development. Twenty years ago,
Partnership Development was a new concept. In Pakistan it is a
well-established concept that has developed to a point that it may have
different meaning. John specializes in a triangle partnership between
citizens, local government and businesses.
John is
the co-founder of Groundwork—a federation of Trusts in England, Wales and
Northern Ireland, each working with their partners in poor areas to improve
the quality of the local environment, the lives of local people and the
success of local businesses.
Groundwork
works closely with the government and devolved assemblies, local authorities,
regional development agencies and businesses. The first Groundwork Trust was
established on Merseyside in 1981. There are now nearly 50 Trusts in the UK
and a number of Groundwork projects in Eastern Europe. The Groundwork approach
has also been adopted in Japan and the USA where the National Park Service is
supporting a growing number of Trusts.
John is a recipient of Order of British
Empire [OBE]. He has degrees in geography, ecology and town planning. He is
currently visiting Pakistan to study various modules of community development
and partnerships. The News conducted this exclusive interview with him in the
context of sustainable communities. Abridged excerpts:
What is your vision of a sustainable
community?
We have a serious problem of ‘excessive’
consumption in some parts of Britain. In other parts, we are facing
‘unemployment’ and low levels of economic activities. In the areas of greater
poverty, we are encouraging the growth of jobs that protect the whole
environment of the local people. As far as the rich parts of the country are
concerned, we have introduced programs that persuade people to think
differently about their ‘lifestyle’ and change their ways. They consume
resources. In other words, we are working for a fair distribution of the
national wealth. This could be done by two ways: one, by demonstrating that it
could be done by practical projects; second, by making sure that young people
through the education system think differently compared to their parents.
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Some social scientists believe that such
disparity is a natural phenomenon…
We can make small steps. We can’t reform
the entire world. I am a great believer that communities should be at least
assisted for what they have potential of doing.
What South Asia could learn from
Groundwork?
We have brought the conflicting parts of
the society to work together. Before Groundwork, the business community, the
local government and the people were not comfortable. We created conditions
that brought them together and they started working with each other. This is
something that South Asia could learn from us.
What is the most important issue of
sustainable development?
It is education! It is not the question of
educating the children. It is the question of educating the society. What we
are looking for is, a learning society that is capable of— throughout the life
of individual—moving from one set of issues to another. At Groundwork, we put
the emphasis on the practical work to change in a measurable way people’s
living conditions. All that was done was really intended to influence other
people’s actions. In other words, you use a good project to try and achieve
similar things but by persuading others. The methods of teaching and contexts
have to change. It is very important to relate to the curriculum—i.e. the
basic skills that one is seeking to teach: mathematical, reading and writing
skills—to the lives of the people. And that’s not have been happening in the
past. We have to bring these changes so that people could relate the education
to their daily life.
So, what do you propose for integrating
sustainable development studies in our curriculum?
You can’t add them to the curriculum. Every
subject has to think about sustainable development—particularly about its
global dimensions. We are training teachers in every subject: mathematics,
science, history, religion, etc. We are training them to think about their
contribution in making the world sustainable. A teacher can still teach the
basic skills of mathematics but in Kenya—where we are working—a math teacher
worked out why women in his village had to walk 5-miles to collect water when
he knows from his mathematical knowledge that enough rain falls on his village
in the course of the year. He got the children to work out the solution with
simple mathematical calculations. The conclusion was, if the village were to
invest in simple technologies e.g. collecting flowing water from the roofs and
storing it in covered ponds, the problem could be solved. There are many such
examples. A teacher teaching religious studies could be a focused teacher on
conflict resolution within the family and between various tribal groups. The
most damaging thing to sustainable development is conflict. That destroys
anything you achieve by other means. Peace is one thing you have to strive for
in order to make the world more sustainable. Every subject that is taught in
the schools should have a sustainable development contents. History is another
example. If you look through the history, you could find all kinds of mistakes
that man has made that we have to live up.
Does ‘prosperity’ have a relationship with
sustainable development?
This relationship is more evident in your
country. When people are poor, they are so desperate to meet their basic
needs—water, food—that they have no time left to look after their environment.
They unwittingly damage it because they are so under pressure from their basic
needs. And that’s true—you have to meet your requirements before environment
is protected properly. Within the lifetime of people who are still alive, a
great deal of environmental deterioration has taken place. Somehow, we will
have to try and reverse it. That means, helping those who have a very severely
disadvantage by poverty—helping them regain the control their lives.
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