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Jemstone -- social development pioneers PDF Print E-mail
While our main focus remains media consultancy and training, in the last few years we have been increasingly involved in community development work.  See; wadirumtours.com

This shift requires an explanation.  It began with several projects involving the MDGs, the Millennium Development Goals, inititally communicating them and then assessing and reporting on progress towards achieving them, including a ground-breaking study on the state of education in Jordan.

We became increasingly disillusioned that much development work (as with media development work) was operating to a US agenda, which saw progress and development as being synonymous with unrestrained market capitalism.  While we have no problem at all with mixed economy models, we fervently believe that without rules and responsibility capitalism leads inevitably to excess, damage to the fabric of society and little or no regard for the environment, the old, disabled people or important social goods.

The time out that I spent on a master's degree a few years ago, was a re-politicising experience, and some of this was conveyed in my dissertation.  I also encountered the concept of 'participatory development' -- which we have tried to put into practice with a micro-project in sustainable tourist development in Wadi Rum.  Our approach also makes use of a concept from the Media Development Loan Fund, which championed the idea of investing in champions!  In practice this means choosing carefully who you work with!

The result has been a wonderfully successful development intervention in Wadi Rum.  We have learned as much as any other participant in the project and continue to regard it as one of our most important achievements of the last few years.

As you can hear I remain excited and committed to this whole approach to development, learning from the people you're working with.  And we are extremely keen to find suitable opportunities for replication.  So please get in touch if you have thoughts.

Meanwhile enjoy a visit to:    WWW.WADIRUMTOURS.COM 

 

 
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