Efforts to emphasize higher education's role in development have grown in recent years, but important questions remain about the motivations and effects of these initiatives. In this paper, we employ the concept of a 'modern/colonial global imaginary' to consider the impact of the enduring power relations and uneven politics of knowledge in the…

This theme issue includes eight articles that discuss the information age, the impact of information technology, and the role of libraries. Highlights include libraries in Brazil, Indonesia, and Nigeria; the Universal Availability of Publications (UAP) program; community literacy; database development in Malawi; and the Regional Energy Resources…

Varied development projects in several countries are described in this newsletter, which also provides current reviews of development books, and publications available from the Non-Formal Education Information Center at Michigan State University and ERIC. The following articles are included: (1) "From Oral Traditions to Elementary Textbooks:…

This paper argues that the goal of community development should be to provide more than material gains such as fast economic growth. The paper provides two case studies from Ethiopia which demonstrate how proper implementation of community development processes and principles might lead to successful attainment of tangible and intangible…

Case studies and seminar reports are provided that were presented at an international seminar to examine field experiences in using a culture-based approach to nonformal education. Part I, containing an introductory paper and nine case studies, focuses on indigenous institutions and processes in health, family planning, agriculture, basic…

Servol (Service Volunteered for All) is a voluntary organization in Trinidad and Tobago with a staff of some 90 people engaged in a wide range of activities grouped in seven Life Centers and a periphery of 13 nursery schools, as well as family farm units in a rural area. From a modest start in late 1970, Servol has grown steadily during its first…

The Fundacion Social, a grassroots organization in Colombia, uses profits from its 14 companies to fund community self-help initiatives aimed at eliminating poverty. Social programs focus on community integration, microbusinesses, recycling, education, and communication. The organization seeks to eliminate structural poverty and is currently…

An operational seminar is an in-the-field demonstration for those involved in the process of change that all community development projects require. It does not require previous theoretical exposure of any kind. On the basis of the analysis of a specific milieu, the seminar participants put together a program of activities, choosing appropriate…

Intended for community development professionals and volunteers who work with preliterate communities, this illustrated handbook accompanies a library of visual aids that allow rural people to formulate their own projects. (The curriculum, called Pictorial Apprenticeship, transfers the process of project design into visual forms that literate and…

This manual contains materials for a 2-week workshop to train extension staff and community leaders working at the village level in the Solomon Islands. The aim of the course is to improve participants' skills so they are better able to help communities and community groups design and manage community projects. An introduction addresses the team…

This manual, the Spanish translation of a separately available English handbook on program design, is intended to assist volunteers and staff of volunteer organizations in the systematic design of projects in various health, community, and social service areas. The first section of the manual is a guidebook that addresses such aspects of the…

This manual is intended to assist volunteers and staff of volunteer organizations in the design of projects in various community and social service areas. The first section of the manual is a guidebook that addresses such aspects of the planning, implementation, and evaluation process as situational analysis, needs assessment, task-oriented…