What is the value of being there? Before I came to Ghana, I knew for myself and for the field of development economics that the value of actually living and working in a developing country is absolutely necessary to the subsequent policymaking aspect of any career in international development. Without actually having been to the developing world, I don't think it would be possible to make sound policy decisions. I believed that before I arrived in Ghana and I now believe it even more so.
Thus far, I have learned so much just through my 7 weeks here that I never realized before. Some of those facts include: cultural differences and relevant development policies, the definition of development for certain countries, the goals of the population sometimes don't reflect the will of the developers, the importance of self-esteem and the idea that things can be better, the systemic barriers to change...etc. I really did not understand the extent of these issues until I'd arrived.
Now I realize that as a policymaker, one cannot witness all situations and be privvy to all necessary knowledge first hand. But what I have learned tells me a few things:
One: Spend at least some time in the area you make policies for because you learn very much about a place just by being there a little while
Two: Try to read more firsthand accounts of the area you make policies for as this will inform your decisions along with the theories you learn as well
Three: Don't assume all situations in an area are the same. Always make sure of the uniqueness of culture and the norms and values the population holds because each ethnic and regional group is different.
A recent article by CNN encapsulates some of these ideas as soldiers express the need for politicians to experience the situation firsthand to better inform policy decisions:
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