Female Researchers from the Global South at the 14th EADI General Conference - Responsible Development in a Polycentric World

The project aims to facilitate the participation at the 14th EADI General Conference ´Responsible Development in a Polycentric World: Inequality, Citizenship and the Middle Classes´ of seventeen female scientists from the South working in the development field. The EADI General Conference is a major European event which attracts every three years more than 400 researchers active in development research and global change issues. It is a forum for academic exchange, reflection and debate. This year´s to pic allows researchers to present, discuss and evaluate their newest insights into the changing global scenery that has been established since the beginning of the new millennium. While some developing countries can be considered ´rising stars´ others are being left behind, economically marginalized and politically dispersed. A specific aspect of the rising middle-income countries is the development of a middle class of several hundred million Chinese, Indians, Brazilians and others who are aspiring to life-styles of affluent consumers in more developed countries (the so-called ´new´ middle classes). In a finite world, there are common and conflicting interests between the old and the new middle classes in this polycentric world. It is politically, ec onomically and environmentally relevant to discover these diverging interests between old industrial and newly emerging countries. It is essential to venture a sober look at the role of the middle classes and their power in steering their countries. Seve nteen female scientists from Pakistan, Indonesia, Palestine, Nigeria, Egypt, the Philippines, Ecuador, India, Cameroon, the DRC are to receive travel grants to take part in these important discussions. Inequality, citizenship and the middle class are the world´s major development challenges and the conference will look at these issues with a focus on those groups in society who can potentially contribute effectively to responsible development in a polycentric world.