The Issues

The factors effecting global development can be frighteningly diverse, but many of the world's problems share common causes and common consequences. AIDemocracy supports progressive solutions and economic justice for the historically disempowered, beginning with US policy change.

This is a unique time for development work. In the wake of an economic crisis that shook the foundations of the modern economic system, voters and politicians alike are reevaluating US economic policies. This is an excellent opportunity to learn from the failures of the past and build more effective and sustainable policy approaches to more equitable forms of development.

Trade

Trade offers an incredible opportunity for development, but current world trade policies only seem to be exacerbating inequality between countries. The operating free trade model threatens the rights of workers, indigenous peoples, the Earth and the ability of sovereign governments to protect them. Unfair subsidies and strict intellectual property rights protections benefit corporations and threaten the lives and livelihoods of the world's poor.

Encouraging economic justice through US trade policy promotes countless positives, including labor rights, environmental sustainability, equitable economic growth, access to affordable medicines, corporate responsibility, indigenous rights, and the increased ability of communities pursue their visions of development.

Foreign Assistance

Foreign assistance, which includes military aid, emergency humanitarian aid, food aid, loans and technology sharing, would seem an effective way to combat global poverty. The last half-century has shown, however, that the act of giving foreign aid is not as simple as it sounds. Current US foreign assistance policy is not only outdated, but it’s under-funded, cluttered with Congressional earmarks and drastically ineffective.

In order to eradicate poverty and empower communities and governments to meet their own needs, we must invest in sustainable development solutions that empower workers, women, and communities, while removing other political and economic barriers that hinder this process (ie. illegitimate debt, mandatory market liberalization, monetization of food aid).

Reforming US foreign assistance policy encompasses campaigns related to debt relief, international climate adaptation aid, food sovereignty, country ownership, participatory democracy, and empowering USAID to pursue long-term development priorities set by the communities they work with. Keeping your eye on domestic social movements for economic justice and alternative development models is a great way to find out where US foreign policy—assistance and otherwise—stand to improve.

Students, Take Action!

As students, we are connected to our campus communities, to other academic environments across the country, and to the political systems that affect our lives and the lives of those in the Global South, from our university administrations to the U.S. Congress. Raising awareness and pushing for policy change is easier than you think. AIDemocracy offers resources and assistance so you can organize:

* Film screenings on topics you care about (check out our film library!)
* Classroom presentations that break the issue down for your peers, highlighting problems and solutions
* Panel discussions and speaker events featuring officials and activists in the AIDemocracy network
* Citizen lobby days guided by AIDemocracy training resources
* Inter-campus projects aided by AIDemocracy Regional Coordinators, Program Directors, and student network (become a fan of Americans for Informed Democracy on Facebook!)
* Media outreach through press releases, editorials, blogging, and interviews
* Campaigning for change at the university, city, or national level, utilizing the above approaches, AIDemocracy mini-grants, and your own creativity!

Let us, as youth, work together across the country and across borders—using our personal experiences, diverse connections, technology, and zeal—to construct a more equitable, sustainable world.