25 July 2016 — Day 12
Blog post by Courtney Flathers, Oregon State University, USA
ICRPS 2016 is quickly coming to a close. Today four students who are leaving us early presented their final projects. It’s been a great experience to work alongside students from across the globe for nearly two weeks, sharing stories, learning from one another and being challenged to consider new ideas. The final projects are our opportunity to combine our personal interests with lessons we’ve learned about the North. As we cheer our classmates over the finish line, I find myself reflecting on the unique community we’ve built over the past 10 days. Many connections and friendships have been made here in Fairbanks that I’m sure will continue long into the future.
After student presentations, today’s lectures focused on poverty and economic development. Particularly engaging were activities that asked students to consider different ways to define poverty and inequality and the implications these definitions have for rural communities. We also had the opportunity to look comparatively at the different policies countries have implemented to address poverty and inequality. The final session addressed regional collaboration and economic development. We had fascinating discussions about the importance of considering how lines are drawn in society and to what end before adjourning for one final night of project preparation.