Obligations of the Global North to the Global South

Stream Outline:
The globe is recognised as being split by a socio-economic and political dividing line between the North and the South.
This stream will ask: As a more affluent partner, does the Global North have any obligations towards the Global South? What examples are there of current cooperation between institutions and groups in these regions? How often is the motivation for international aid purely altruistic, and has the Global north historically imposed its own brand of values on the South via its intervention? The complexities of this topic are many. We hope this stream will offer clarification. 



Harpinder Collacott-

Harpinder Collacott is the current Executive Director of Development Initiatives, a Bristol-based organisation focussed on alleviating poverty and investing in sustainable development. She has a wide range of expertise in the development field, working on the War Crimes tribunal for Sierra Leone, as well as with multiple international human rights organisations, and has functioned as a researcher for the European parliament and US and UK think tanks. She received her MA in International Relations from LSE after completing a History degree at Cambridge.



Dr Adrian Flint-

Dr Adrian Flint, after completing his PhD at the University of Dundee, joined the University of Bristol as a senior lecturer in Development Politics. His research interests lie in the politics of development and North-South relations, in particular the interface between poverty, sustainable development, disease and political economy. He is currently working on the politics of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, especially with respect to matters of international political economy, governance and policymaking.



Vanessa Haarhoff -
Vanessa spent the better part of 27 years in Zimbabwe where she grew up, as well as South Africa and Zambia where she studied and worked as a journalist as an Africa Correspondent for a business technology online magazine based in Johannesburg.

​After relocating to the UK, Vanessa completed an MSc in International Development at the University of Bristol and continued to work as a researcher and policy influencer for an NGO called Action on Disability and Development which facilitates disabled people’s organisations in Asia and Africa to engender positive change. Here she helped develop projects that mitigate gender-based violence towards people with disabilities. Whilst working here Vanessa became a board member and advocate for the non-profit Uhambo who have a diverse development strategy towards disability and development in Southern Africa, especially the manufacturing of bespoke wheelchairs in rural terrains by local manufacturers.