Latest news
Welcome new student members from Kings College London and UCL's Development Planning Unit!
September 19, 2017
A big welcome to our new student members!
All postgraduate students at Kings College London Department of International Development and UCL’s Development Planning Unit are now able to become LIDC members for the duration of their studies!
They will be able to enjoy the same benefits as student members of our member colleges including:
- LIDC communications internship
- Bursaries and funding available for LIDC led courses
- Free entry to all LIDC events
- Access to the wealth of development-related knowledge and expertise of our members: finding project partners, finding experts on a particular area, etc.
To become an LIDC student member sign up here!
Upcoming LIDC activities
LIDC and The Guardian Development Debates: Does Short-term Volunteering Abroad do More Harm than Good? (11th October 6pm-8pm)
Each year thousands of young people volunteer overseas on short-term development projects, but are they doing more harm than good?
From gap year placements and ‘voluntourism’ to the DFID funded International Citizen Service (ICS) scheme and corporate team building trips, in recent years there has been a rise in the number of people volunteering overseas.
On the one hand, volunteering abroad promotes a sense of global citizenship, allowing people to explore other cultures and get involved in poverty reducing projects, whilst gaining new skills useful to their CV.
On the other hand, short-term projects abroad have been dubbed ‘neo-colonial’ and potentially damaging to host communities as they can create dependencies on volunteer help, encourage a charity mentality, take jobs away from locals, and often involve untrained and unqualified young people being placed with vulnerable people.
Many have also questioned the motives behind volunteering itself, arguing that short term volunteering in developing countries serves to enhance a volunteer’s employability rather than helping those most in need.
So does short term volunteering abroad do more harm than good? Who really benefits from the projects, and what do they contribute to long-term sustainable development objectives?
