Welcome to Snakes & Ladders!

Hello Reader, welcome to our blog, a space that, we hope, can answer some questions and open some interesting debates.

While there are several blogs addressing international development issues from a more academic or political point of view, we look to create a space where this topic could be treated in a more attractive, easy and  relatable way. We believe that development is not a topic that belongs to a group of experts, neither is restricted to policymakers or politicians. Is a process that touches all of us and therefore, we have the right and the duty to be involved in its analysis and discussion. This is the prime motivation for our blog, and we invite you to be part of it. The more the merrier!

Please do not expect total expertise, we are not academics, but we recently finished an exhausting but really interesting year studying different aspects of global and international development. This preparation gave us the tools to bring some crucial topics to the discussion arena. However, we are pretty sure that our strongest asset is our professional experience and personal backgrounds. You cannot be born and raised in a “global south” country and not be in touch with most of the developmental issues. In this context, our purpose is to discuss development in everyday context based on realities of what is happening economically, politically and socially around the world. To this end, we will not only present with our blogs our ideas but also ground them in reality and local perspectives.

Why is this a subject we think we all should be involved in? Development has explicit and implicit consequences that most of us can easily identify, but often we are not aware of the forces shaping and bringing about the development. In this sense, it is important that all of us not only recognize development and all its aspects but understand its processes, to be able to  promote and support policies and interventions that seek higher level of welfare and quality of life, to critically assess the words of leaders and to analyze the impact of different types of actions.

Today, more than ever, this process of understanding and discussing development is key for generating critical thinking, as we are living in a global and highly interconnected world that requires people observing and proposing new and better solutions. Our paradigms, ideas and actions as individuals and society decide the development trajectory for the future. We hope you will enjoy the blog, subscribe to our latest articles and updates and also leave with enriched with thought-provoking ideas.

If you would like to contribute or have ideas for the blog please contact the team at snakesladdersteam@gmail.com.