Coloniality and Ethics in Development Research: Whose Reality Counts?
The case of Refugee Youth Volunteering Uganda (RYVU) collaborative research project
Speaker: Dr Moses Okech (Uganda Martyrs University)
Moderator: Dr Sarah Peck (Northumbria University)
Date: Wednesday, 9 June 2021
This event was held in English only.
Dr Moses Okech will be discussing aspects of Refugee Youth Volunteering Uganda (RYVU), a collaborative research project between two Universities in the Global North (Loughborough and Northumbria Universities) and two in the Global South (Uganda Martyrs University and Mbarara University of Science and Technology). The study explores the extent to which volunteering could be a potential pathway for skills acquisition and employability for young, displaced persons in Uganda. Moses will be critically examining the RYVU approach to decolonizing participatory methodologies in working with young refugees and other stakeholders. His discussion will call for a reconsideration of the notions of ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ volunteering and the place for ‘African volunteering’ in development literature and practice. The presentation looks at opening room for further debate on institutional research policies, funding models and the inclusivity of the research agenda.
About the presentation (that was followed by participatory discussion):
About the Speaker:
Dr Moses Okech is an International Development professional with over 15 years’ experience in Research, Lecturing and Livelihoods Programming. He has recently worked on refugee livelihoods as the Technical Coordinator for Economic Recovery and Development at the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Uganda. He has conducted a number of development consultancies for reputable organizations including The World Bank, Overseas Development Institute, GIZ, CRS and Bank of Uganda, among others. His professional background includes working on financial inclusion with Equity Bank, CARE International and lecturing at Leeds Beckett University in the United Kingdom. Moses holds a PhD in Political Economy of Development from Leeds Beckett University (UK), Masters in International Development Management from the University of Bradford (UK), a Postgraduate Diploma in Project Planning and Management from Uganda Management Institute and a BA Hons. (Social Sciences) from Makerere University. Dr. Moses Okech is an Associate Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy. Currently, Dr. Moses Okech is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow with Northumbria University (UK) in partnership with Uganda Martyrs University (Uganda).
Dr Sarah Peck is an Leverhulme Early Career Research fellow in the Centre for International Development at Northumbria University. Her research interests are: 1) critical geographies of migration, development, race and belonging. 2) civil society, everyday activism and transnational solidarities. 3) The philosophies and culture of aid, development and reparative justice. She occasionally tweets @s_g_peck.
About the Moderator:
Additional relevant links/materials:
