By Professor Ruard Ganzevoort and Dr. Claire Hallewas
For a small country, the Netherlands has always played an impressive international role. Not only in international trade, but also – and related to it – in science. The world would have been different without the law of the sea of Hugo Grotius and the humanism of Erasmus. In the field of diplomacy and development, the country has also for many years been willing to contribute to stable and mutually beneficial international relations. The constitution of the Netherlands makes this responsibility explicit in art 90: The Government shall promote the development of the international legal order. That is why there has been much support to develop The Hague into the international city of peace and justice. It has also led to strong commitment to international development cooperation.
As diplomats from the global south will know, many young people from the global south have made their way to study in the Netherlands or another European country. Some of our educational institutions are even specifically tailored to the needs and interests of students from the global south. Many mid-career professionals attended training programs under the rubric of ‘capacity building’. Whether it is in agriculture and food security, water or energy technology, or management and social sciences, global south education has become an important part of knowledge diplomacy since the 1950s. We might even call this the ‘development decades’. In returning to their home countries, the alumni have proven to become important connectors between the two countries. Many of them build mutually fruitful collaborations over decades.
But times are changing. European governments, including the Dutch, are cutting down on scholarships for the global south. They put restrictions on the number of foreign students generally. They focus more on internal issues than on international collaboration, especially with the global south. And they are more interested in securitization and defence than in development and conflict prevention.
The crucial challenges today – climate change, international stability, food security, and more – require more collaboration, not less. Diplomats, as well as international NGOs and knowledge institutions are tirelessly trying to build and maintain that collaboration. Against the Zeitgeist, they hammer home the message that we need to work together because we only have one planet, and our common future depends on keeping that planet a viable place to live.
There are many beautiful stories to tell about these collaborations. European cities learn from counterparts in Africa and Asia how to cope with heatwaves. Countries like the Netherlands and Bangladesh share experiences of being river deltas. Multicultural societies are all navigating diversities and a search for identity. The economic and ecological challenges around fossil resources are discussed around the globe. Researchers, NGOs and grassroots organisations share their insights. Together they inform policymakers and politicians. Students bring experiences from their home country to Europe and return with new knowledge and possibilities. Diplomats build bridges to make all these stories known and to forge connections. As important as these collaborations were in the past, they are even more relevant today.
Fortunately, the changing attitude of western governments is not the end of the story. Since the development decades, many countries have evolved from low-income countries to middle-income countries or even better. Parallel to that, they developed from aid recipients to trade partners. And internally, they often started to invest significantly in education, health care, and technology. That does not mean that collaboration for global south education has become irrelevant. Instead, it means that this collaboration is becoming truly mutual. We are learning that knowledge from the north and the south complement each other and colleagues from north and south increasingly work together on common challenges.
As economic possibilities and traditional differences in political power are still there, countries in the north still have a responsibility to contribute financially to this cooperation. The common good of humanity and of the planet requires continuing our investments in global south education. Diplomats from the south should not hesitate to urge countries like the Netherlands to maintain the effective scholarship programs for global south students as well as funding for joint research. But they should also urge their home countries to expand or start their own scholarship and research funding programs. Jointly investing in education and science will continue to be the key driver to flourishing people, societies, and international relations, as well as addressing the global challenges we jointly face.
About the authors:
Ruard Ganzevoort is rector of the International Institute of Social Studies (Erasmus University Rotterdam) and chair of the network of Dutch development institutes SAIL.
Claire Hallewas is managing director of the TU Delft | Global Initiative (Delft University of Technology) and chair of the Dutch Platform for International Education (PIE).
