In early April I visited Nairobi for a four-day exchange visit to the African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), as part of a project on Transformative Pathways to Sustainability funded by the World Social Science Council (ISSC). The project explores different sustainability challenges in 6 countries (Kenya, China, UK, Mexico, Argentina and India). The China…
Learning across continents on sustainable transformations: a visit from China to Africa
Exploring the social impacts of green transformations in China
A transformation lab (T-Lab) focused on China’s green transformation policy and its impacts was held in Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province on October 22, 2016. The T-lab intended to identify problems created through the implementation of local “green transformation” policies and sustainable pathways for the future. It was entitled “Transformative pathways to sustainability: Exploring the social…
Winners and losers of China’s green transformation
The willow trees and pagodas lining the shore of the canal in a newly-built park in Jishuitan, Beijing are all meant to evoke the sights and smells of the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China for over three centuries. A park placard quotes a poem written during the reign of Emperor Qianlong, which evokes the fragrant…
Seeking sustainable transformations around the world
The new ‘Pathways’ Network, which explores transformations to sustainability in 6 cases around the world, had its opening workshop in Buenos Aires on 24-27 April 2016. At the workshop, participants from Sweden, South Africa, and ‘hubs’ in Kenya, the UK, Argentina, USA/Mexico, India and China discussed research questions and how best to share learning.
What can development learn from China’s approach to reform?
By Lewis Husain and Adrian Ely At the launch of the STEPS China hub in Beijing this year, there was much talk of learning from China’s development experiences. A key question was how the Chinese government has been able to manage such massive change at a national level, whilst at the same time catering for…
China Daily covers launch of China Sustainability Hub
Mutual learning across continents is one of the key imperatives behind the launch of our China Sustainability Hub and the focus of a China Daily article about the Hub, which is coordinated by Beijing Normal University School of Social Development and Public Policy (BNU-SSDPP) In Research hub helps China’s sustainable development Cecily Liu today reports…
South-South Cooperation: Voices from Africa and Latin America resonate in China
By Sandra Pointel The launch of the STEPS Centre China Sustainability Hub in Beijing last week provided a useful platform for participants at the Pathways to Sustainability in a Changing China conference and its associated Masterclass to engage with current activities at the soon-to-be-launched Latin America and Africa regional hubs of the emerging Pathways to…
Between ‘greenization’ and ‘citizenization’: Welcome to China’s New Normal
By Sandra Pointel A group of researchers from China, Africa, Latin America and Europe met last week in Beijing to launch the new China Sustainability Hub, in collaboration with the STEPS Centre’s long-term partner Beijing Normal University (BNU) and other institutions. Hosted at BNU School of Social Development and Public Policy (SSDP), the launch was…
Made in China? Mutual learning in a global development era
This week marks the 60th anniversary of the Bandung conference when Asian and African countries gathered in Indonesia to discuss independence, peace and prosperity. The conference resulted in 10 principles based on friendship, solidarity and cooperation in this newly post-colonial era for many of the states involved, prefiguring what many now term ‘South-South’ cooperation in…
Sustainability in a Changing China
The STEPS Centre is delighted to be working with partners in China to launch a Sustainability Hub for collaborative, interdisciplinary research and learning, launched today at an international conference on Pathways to Sustainability in a Changing China. Beijing Normal University School of Social Development and Public Policy (BNU-SSDPP) and the STEPS Centre are working together…