Management of Development

Through the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, governments around the world have committed themselves to a global partnership to fight poverty.
However, poverty can only be eradicated once marginalised individuals and groups experience equality, regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, disabilities or age. That is why the term social inclusion is frequently used today in discussions on sustainable development and reversing poverty.

But what exactly does social inclusion refer to and how can development organisations and government agencies contribute to inclusive transformation processes that will improve circumstances for all people to take part in society? Such transformation processes are important for ensuring that marginalised individuals and groups can influence decisions affecting their lives and that they can enjoy equal access to markets, social services and various political, social and physical spaces. These changes may in turn increase people's security over their livelihoods.

In this programme, global and local food security issues are discussed, preparing you for a variety of problems you might have to solve at your future work place.
Food security exists when everybody has access to sufficient, nutritious and safe food at all times. Idealistic as the principle may sound, it presents various challenges in different parts of the world. These may include unpredictable changes in climate (i.e. rising/falling temperatures, droughts and floods, diseases and pests), market tendencies, inadequate access to food for households, unequal distribution of resources and opportunities, as well as insufficient food distribution channels. Despite the fact that the world currently produces enough food for everyone, as a result of losses and waste, not everybody has access to this food. That may be due to post-harvest losses, resulting in less optimal yields, or it may be because (locally) produced foods are used for other purposes, such as animal feed or biofuel.

In this programme, which will benefit development organisations, governments and the private sector alike to improve food security in developing countries, various global and local food security issues are discussed, preparing students for a variety of problems they may face in their workplace.

Central to the DRM specialisation is the focus on reducing the negative impacts of disasters and conflict on peoples' lives and to build people's resilience to disasters, crises and conflict.
One of the key development challenges of our time is the increasing number of people placed at risk of crises and disasters; people's vulnerability increases due to shocks and trends as a result of natural and man-made hazards.

The number, complexity and impact of disasters are increasing which heightens the need for better disaster management. Disaster Risk Management (DRM) has become one of the cornerstones of international development: there is urgency to reduce disaster losses and a need to minimize the impact of disasters on sustainable development.
Disasters are, in essence, the result of poorly managed risk and human failure to introduce appropriate risk reduction measures. Effective crises and disaster responses therefore demand a shift away from reactive Emergency Relief to pro-active Disaster Risk Reduction. Disaster Risk Management therefore combines the concept of response and recovery (in the post-disaster phase) with the concept of prevention, mitigation and preparedness (the pre-disaster phase).