"For when the guests come"

International languages of management, therapy,
marketing and advertising have their own jargon,
specialized terminology and global standard phrases.
In the development discourse, "sustainability",
"rights based", "participatory" are some frequently
used terms.
The "right for children to participate" is among the
development concepts that travel from an NGO in a
Western country, to (in this case) youth and project
workers in rural Ethiopia, and back to the donor
seemingly unaffected by the many local adaptations
that the concept has undergone on the way. In the
daily lives of village youth, "children s
participation" is not an abstract universal right but
a concrete strategy for managing their individual
lives. The reports from the field to head office do
not capture these local practices, but repeats the
idealized, timeless and depersonalized versions of
the concept.
This book looks into some reasons for how and why
this might happen. It provides insight to those
interested in the complexities of development work.
It also explores some aspects of transnational
communication in an Ethiopian/Amhara context.

Autorentext

Kjersti Berre, master of social anthropology / cand polit.degree. Studied social anthropology and languages at OsloUniversity. Has worked in various organisations in thedevelopment field since 1984, in program administration,management, monitoring and evaluation. Currently working inNorwegian People's Aid.

Klappentext

International languages of management, therapy,marketing and advertising have their own jargon,specialized terminology and global standard phrases. In the development discourse, "sustainability","rights based", "participatory" are some frequentlyused terms.The "right for children to participate" is among thedevelopment concepts that travel from an NGO in aWestern country, to (in this case) youth and projectworkers in rural Ethiopia, and back to the donor -seemingly unaffected by the many local adaptationsthat the concept has undergone on the way. In thedaily lives of village youth, "children'sparticipation" is not an abstract universal right buta concrete strategy for managing their individuallives. The reports from the field to head office donot capture these local practices, but repeats theidealized, timeless and depersonalized versions ofthe concept. This book looks into some reasons for how and whythis might happen. It provides insight to thoseinterested in the complexities of development work.It also explores some aspects of transnationalcommunication in an Ethiopian/Amhara context.