I very much agree with your post Alma, I think that the goal of development should be skills transference -- meaning specifically that those with knowledge/skills should pass them on to allow those in the country who desire them to make change in their own country (and I emphasize that development needs to be demanded, not just supplied).

I absolutely agree that development should be driven by those who it will effect directly. When aid agencies just decide they will have a program/project somewhere without true needs assessment and local demand, vast amounts of money is wasted. The acknowledgement of the failures of previous systems is needed but this statement troubles me: "Redefining development will require us to acknowledge that historical, political and economic contexts created poverty and inequality in the first place." It is important to realize what went wrong and try to make change, but focusing on the past runs the risk of preoccupation with the past, which is unhelpful. At a certain point, people (on the individual and collective levels) need to take responsibility for their own lives and their own situations and make the change they desire, not just point the finger and blame. I realize that Eliana is not saying that finger-pointing is useful, but it is a caution that I wanted to raise.