What do I mean by ‘Development’?
My view of Development is very much in line with that of nobel prize winner Amartya Sen. Sen argues that Development is the process of expanding the real freedoms that people enjoy: education and health care, political and civil rights, public and social facilities and effective institutions that allow people’s participation and initiative.
What is Sustainable Development?
Development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This has a variety of implications for both the natural and the social realms, which make up the world in which we live in. Sustainable Development is about securing biodiversity, addressing the challenges of climate change, production and consumption of energy, goods, food and services, as well as promoting well-being, justice, equal opportunities, diversity and creativity to people, in the long run.
Why Research and Policy for Sustainable Development?
Development entails a range of conditions and activities that interconnect with each other over time and space. In my view, Development is deeply contextual. At a given time, each context presents itself with a particular architecture of people, institutions, natural, geographical and economic resources, labour, education and health indicators, cultural, historical, social and political conditions. We therefore need to carefully analyse the complex architecture of a given situation. Research and Policy for Development are the toolboxes through which one can achieve adequate analysis and propose ‘tailor made’ instrumental policies into action to help achieve sustainability.
Within Research and Policy 4 Development, my current work can be defined in four large allied areas:
Globalization and Transnational phenomena
Technology and New Media
North-South relations
Sustainable Tourism Development or Geotourism
Sonia Melo 