Development Has Got A Face

Exposure and Dialogue Programmes (EDP) are advanced training and dialogue offers on sustainable and responsible action for decision-makers from the sectors of politics, business, faiths and civil society. They learn about the root causes of injustice, disadvantages and human rights violations, specifically concerning economic, social and cultural rights. At the same time, EDP participants learn about the potential and the requirements of how to overcome injustices, from an unusual perspective.

The participants live and work for some days with the persons affected by poverty and marginalisation. To immerse themselves into the reality of people's lives is an unique opportunity to become conscious of the hosts' ideas of happiness and quality of life based on specific biographies and ways of life.

Such unusual change of perspective becomes possible through face-to-face relationships that expands and sharpens abstract views on poverty and injustice by personal human experience and direct inter-action. It inspires to question one's own value patterns and re-adjust them. This is the way by which "Development is given a Face".

In conjunction with an intensive dialogue with executives and leaders at the end of their stay in the host country, that change of perspective will give the participants a new orientation for decisions and actions in international contexts.

Exposure and Dialogue is effective if:

• executives and leaders base their decisions on their own personal experiences;
• they contribute to developing an awareness for the possibility of changing global social injustices in their own environment and keep this awake
• they question personal and institutional actions in view of contexts relevant to global poverty and marginalisation;
• they elaborate their own contributions to overcome such injustices.