Wikipedia:WikiProject International Development

This project contains suggestions and tools for improving articles related to international development. It is hoped that this project will help to focus the efforts of Wikipedians, and people new to editing Wikipedia. If you would like to help, either jump right in (see Jumping off points, below - but don't forget to come back and visit here), browse this page, or check the talk page.

If you're interested in this area, please consider joining, below.

Scope
The vision is to develop a comprehensive, detailed, and accessible guide to International development, covering technical, economic and social issues.

The ultimate goal is to have a powerful, practical and empowering resource which people everywhere can use to improve their own lives. Other people can also improve their understanding, whether they are involved in aid and development, or in politics, or in the broader public, thus raising awareness and understanding of the issues.

Through Wikipedia's inter-language work, this resource can be translated into other languages, greatly increasing the reach.

...and it will benefit you, too:
 * You learn as you research and edit.
 * You get the satisfaction of contributing to international development, even if you're unable to go into the field.
 * If you do work in the field, you'll have a better toolbox of ideas.

Jumping off points

 * Help expand a stub article: see Category:International development stubs
 * Edit one of the other articles, according to your interest and/or knowledge. (If you have interest but not knowledge, be sure to do your research!)
 * Check the to-do list on the talk page
 * Wondering where to find info? Check the Resources section on this page.
 * Promote the project - don't be pushy, just let people know. Some things to consider:
 * People who work (paid or volunteer) in the development field;
 * People who are into permaculture or sustainability are often into appropriate technology and concerned about international development, so tell them about this project.
 * Politically active people. Many people across the political landscape are concerned about these issues. And they often have email lists or newsletters that you can post a brief notice on.
 * Inside Wikipedia: Paste on relevant talk pages. If a topic is only marginally related, then just put a note, telling people about it. (Use WikiProject International development to link to the project page.

New to Wikipedia?
You might want to check this introduction (simple) or How to edit a page (more detailed). Or just click the edit tab at the top of the page you want to edit and figure it out as you go.

A few key things to remember:
 * Wikipedia uses the neutral point-of-view
 * no original research. If you have unpublished research, writeups of projects or small groups, personal experience or ideas that you want to share, then please check out Appropedia. (Appropedia is open to anything related to sustainability development, includig appropriate technology, but any other subject as well.)
 * No user on Wikipedia 'owns' any of its pages. Your assistance in improving a page is always welcome.

Advanced editing tools

 * If you're doing WikiGnome work (repetitive work such as adding the WikiProject International development template to all talk pages in a certain category) then you may find AutoWikiBrowser useful.
 * To check the latest changes to all articles in a category, view the category and use the "Related changes" link. Or you can link it from your userpage, by adding Special:Recentchangeslinked/ to the wikilink - e.g. Special:Recentchangeslinked/Category:Appropriate technology.

Structure
There is no special format that has to be followed (apart from general Wikipedia guidelines - if you're not sure, then just do your best).

For articles about specific appropriate technologies, there should be information on:
 * History (or background)
 * Usage
 * Operation
 * Effectiveness
 * Advantages and disadvantages
 * Cost
 * How to build or where to buy (detailed instructions might be found via a link to another site, especially if they are very long).

Projects
This section is for organizing group projects. Some WikiProjects have a Collaboration of the week. You are free to suggest that here, although remember that some prefer to work at their own pace - everything on Wikipedia is a collaboration, anyway.

An alternative is to "adopt" an article, meaning that you personally focus on improving a particular article. Of course, others can still edit it, too.

Userbox
See the members section, below.

Infoboxes
An infobox on Wikipedia is a consistently-formatted table which is present in articles with a common subject. See List of infoboxes. There are currently no infoboxes on International development.

Navbox?
Priority: Low or Medium TimClicks (talk) 22:50, 2 August 2008 (UTC)
 * The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement now has a navbox for all of its related organisations:

Project banner
Use this code:  to place the following box on article talk pages:

Articles
Articles are found in the International development categories and its subcategories, laid out below.

Main category: Development

Concepts, theory, academia:
 * Country classifications - e.g. Developing country
 * Development specialists
 * Development studies

Economic & finance issues:
 * Debt
 * Fair trade
 * Microfinance
 * Category:Tax and Development

Institutional topics:
 * Development charities
 * Foreign aid by country
 * International development agencies
 * International development multilaterals
 * Make Poverty History
 * Supranational banks - includes World Bank. Would this category be more useful if changed to Category:Development banks? Discuss.

Technical issues:
 * Appropriate technology
 * Appropriate technology advocates
 * Appropriate technology organizations
 * ICT and development

Some articles in these categories may be relevant:
 * Waterborne diseases
 * Public health
 * Water treatment
 * Sewage treatment
 * Sustainability
 * Rural community development
 * Water supply and sanitation by country

Last updated: 21 March 2006 (UTC)

Statistics
For more information about Version 1.0 assessments, see WP:1.0 and WP:WVWP.

Articles needing attention
 A cleanup listing for this project is available alphabetically – by category – historical counter. See also the tool's wiki page and the index of WikiProjects. To be created, or particularly needing work (please add below):
 * Anything in Category:International development stubs needs to be expanded.
 * Global apartheid in political theory and international development. Possible sources:
 * Community-led total sanitation
 * Appropriate technology - especially Some appropriate technologies section. It could be filled out by reference to Category:Appropriate technology. At a later stage it could also be rewritten as a paragraph on each area (e.g. a paragraph on water supply, a paragraph on energy...) --Chriswaterguy 04:53, 1 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Development aid/ Foreign aid articles are all a mess. They need to be properly merged or at least cleaned up, and criticisms of foreign/developmental aid should be expanded on.
 * Human development (humanity) is terribly written.
 * Institute of Development Studies

New articles & "Did you know" nominations
Please feel free to list your new International development-related articles here (newer articles at the top, please). Listing the articles often gets other editors to help improve and expand a new article.


 * Orality
 * Public participation - I started this article and it has a section on Participatory Development, which really deserves its own main article (see section for inspiration)

Any new articles that have an interesting or unusual fact in them should be suggested for the Did you know? box on the Main Wikipedia page. DYN has a 72 hr. time limit from the creation of the article.

Translation
Translation can be done on any article, but it's probably most efficient to do it when articles have reached a certain level of quality and stability (to save constant updates of the translation).

Showing sources
The English Wikipedia article should be shown as the source for the article in the target language (and perhaps a mention that the sources for that are in English - at least then people know where the information is from, and have an idea of what's involved in tracking down the sources - and if they do have some understanding of English, knowing where to find the sources makes it much easier than having to do all the research themselves). If there are equivalent links in the target language, all the better.

Articles suitable for translating
Please add suitable articles below:
 * Sustainable biofuel

Articles nearly of a suitable standard for translation
Please add suitable articles below:
 * Malian peanut sheller

Resources
Search engines: more specific and scholarly search engines are available:
 * Public Domain Search - finds mostly public domain content. Once confirmed as public domain, it can be used freely in Appropedia. This searches many US federal government sites, some of which have extensive content about development and sustainability.
 * Eldis - the "gateway to development information" - a searchable database of summaries of reports and links to full reports, articles, etc., on development which are available freely on the internet. This has sections on each sub-theme (education, health, gender, etc.).
 * ScienceDirect - "the search engine for science"
 * PubMed (more than just Medline, covers many things that impact on public health, such as water issues.
 * Google Scholar A bit hit and miss - some very useful stuff, but also some very obscure, esoteric stuff. Sometimes it's only the title, sometimes it's an abstract, but they can suggest further directions for research.
 * Wikibook Wikibooks-logo.svg Development Cooperation Handbook
 * Google Books Lots of info here. It's difficult to read large amounts, but you can always go and find the book if you really want it.
 * A good book on the topic - perhaps from a university library (for the very keen)
 * Explore the External links heading at the end of key articles such as Appropriate technology or International development.

If you're looking for general info that might inspire a new article, these sites are worth a look:

Technical (appropriate technology) sites

 * Practical Action (formerly ITDG) A vast resource of appropriate technology including research, technical briefs, strategies and more covering almost every area of international development. They also have a physical library in Rugby, Warwickshire, United Kingdom.
 * Source Water and Sanitation News Service
 * HowStuffWorks - covers a wide range of topics.
 * Rolex Awards & Rolex Awards 2004 - graphics heavy. Best with broadband.
 * If you're running out of ideas, then search blogs. Obviously the blog itself doesn't qualify as a source for an article, but it can give links and inspire research.
 * Appropedia A wiki focused on sustainability, poverty reduction and appropriate technology, for content that is not "encyclopedic".
 * Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) - the Sustainable Sanitation Alliance covers all topics surrounding sanitation in developing countries (website with library and case studies, discussion forum)

Sister Project Searches

 * developmentia&go=Go WikiBooks search
 * development Google WikiBooks search
 * development&go=Go WikiQuote search
 * development} Google WikiQuote search
 * development&go=Go WikiSource search
 * development Google WikiSource search

Members
If you want to participate in this project... you don't have to add your name or put the userbox on your userpage, but it would cool if you did. If you're not registered, then register first - that makes it much easier to discuss articles, ask questions about edits etc. Just add yourself to the list below and add this template to your userpage. If you don't like userboxes, then just add to your user page.

At last count there were 57 members. (12:24, 23 January 2015 (UTC))

Introductions:
 * 1) Amirah
 * 2) Avo92, Rice University student interested in special needs in an international context
 * 3) Mctilghman, University Student & Rice University in Houston
 * 4) Chriswaterguy, Water & sanitation engineer, particularly interested in appropriate technology. - 05:21, 14 March 2006 (UTC)
 * 5) Rxnd, natural hazards and disaster management in the international development context - 13:21, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
 * 6) Enzomartinelli, general issues on international development, specialising in microfinance, international trade, fair trade, human rights, disability, environment - -- Enzomartinelli 20:44, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
 * 7) Waitak 07:29, 2 April 2006 (UTC), Appropriate engineering, alternative agriculture, alternative and local economy
 * 8) Yshander1 13:02, 21 April 2006 (UTC), general international development, Health, Microcredit, Education, . Also interested in conflict resolution in Africa.
 * 9)  Kieran T  ( talk  21:10, 24 July 2006 (UTC) Humanitarian aid worker – happy to help, especially with rooting out point-of-view politics in articles.
 * 10) Schi 20:15, 9 August 2006 (UTC), environment, microfinance, fair trade, sustainable development, digital divide, food security
 * 11) APB-CMX 08:15, 19 September 2006 (UTC) Category:Rural community development, Farmer Field School, agricultural extension, participatory rural appraisal, participatory technology development
 * 12) Kahuzi 13:10, 10 October 2006 (UTC) - Sustainable development, economy, population growth / environmental impact of human populations / nutrition and food security, World systems
 * 13) Siri We - Interested in international development, international organizations and particularly in topics related to aid.
 * 14) Tkn20 01:23, 8 January 2007 (UTC) Civil & Structural Engineer, trustee of an international development charity
 * 15) Crocodile Punter 14:52, 11 February 2007 (UTC)
 * 16) Smmurphy(Talk) 05:25, 26 February 2007 (UTC) - Development economics.
 * 17) Brett_epic, community banker interested in microfinance, rural community development, institutional development and oral culture, July 2007
 * 18) Edward Mokurai Cherlin, serial non-profit founder and sustainable MBA student
 * 19) gamblingbear - general issues in international development, particularly interested in discussions of power inequalities, discourse analysis, microfinance, China-Africa relations, discussions of hegemony, October 2007
 * 20) wanderingatlarge - I'm interested in improving poverty, my work deals with issues of political development and governance in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Pacific Island Countries
 * 21) Twer-el-lel (talk) 23:01, 7 January 2008 (UTC) - Engineering student, member of Engineers Without Borders UK (http://www.ewb-uk.org/)
 * 22) KVDP - focus on practical articles/matters e.g. low-cost construction, ropework, food production, ...
 * 23) Roccasecca (talk) 20:50, 28 February 2008 (UTC) - Engineering Student - interest in Appropriate technology
 * 24)  Isles CapeTalk 15:07, 14 April 2008 (UTC) - International social and economic sustainable development.
 * 25) JenLouise (talk) 08:38, 7 September 2008 (UTC) - International development theory
 * 26) Johnfos (talk) 10:14, 19 January 2009 (UTC) -- Renewable energy commercialization
 * 27) SADADS (talk) 14:18, 2 July 2009 (UTC) International democratic initiatives
 * 28) Humanisticmystic (talk)  9:20, 6 January 2010 (UTC) - Microfinance,
 * 29) Emily mdg (talk) 04:56, 24 November 2010 (UTC) Student interested in adding to MDG
 * 30) Valerie.H.Le (talk) 22:22, 21 March 2011 (UTC)
 * 31) FrancescaSchley(talk) 18:43, 28 March 2011 (UTC) Student interested in adding to - Microfinance Poverty
 * 32) Foxhound66-International Organisations, Official Development Assistance, Economics, Human Development.
 * 33) Charbono Interested in adding to MDGs, Sustainable development, Poverty, environment Charbono (talk) 12:31, 18 May 2011 (UTC)
 * 34) cibwins2885-International Organisations, Official Development Assistance, Human Development.
 * 35) Yakushima (talk) 10:38, 10 August 2011 (UTC)
 * 36) Romanfall (talk) 18:54, 8 January 2012 (UTC)
 * 37) Nadhika99- student at Rice University
 * 38) J.D. Hooijberg (talk) 01:32, 8 February 2012 (UTC) - Interested in appropriate technologies, in particularrenewable energy technologies.
 * 39) Hmccann
 * 40) Teashias
 * 41)   John Shandy`   • talk 04:24, 30 July 2012 (UTC) - Heavy interests in development economics, related issues such as water, sanitation, epidemiological issues, other aspects of extreme poverty, microfinance, development banks and international financial institutions, science education, international finance, trade finance, etc.
 * 42) Mjs15- Student at Rice University, interested in health policy and development.
 * 43) Allisonshields (talk) 04:59, 3 October 2012 (UTC) Student at Rice University; Interested in specific fair trade commodities and how fair trade promotes fair labor practices and sustainability
 * 44) Kayceeho Rice University student. Interested in editing Diseases of poverty and specifically the Obstetric fistula pages
 * 45) Stefano board member of Kautilya Society for Intercultural Dialogue.
 * 46) User:Paula Stockman board member of Sahayog Foundation in Chhattisgarh, India, Doctoral student at the University of Utah.
 * 47) laurenpedia, Rice University Student
 * 48) jpoles1, Rice University student interested in Healthcare in Developing Regions
 * 49) Bwl5, Rice University student, working on education and development
 * 50) DStrassmann, Faculty,Rice University, Director of Program in Poverty, Justice, and Human Capabilities and Editor of the journal, Feminist Economics.
 * 51) Alixos
 * 52) Meurig Gallagher, PhD Student Applied Mathematics University of Birmingham and IT-Team member Engineers Without Borders UK.
 * 53) Allisonshields (talk) - I am an undergraduate at Rice University. I am studying Psychology and I am interested in autism in developing nations.
 * 54) Adriaan Joubert, trainee actuary based in Cape Town, interested in solutions to inequality. Adriaan Joubert (talk) 12:24, 23 January 2015 (UTC)
 * 55) Discott, I did my master's degree in International Development so I suppose I should sign up for this.  A good project for me to get involved in.  Located in Cape Town, South Africa.  Focus of my masters course was on Chinese economic development policy and I did my thesis on the efficiency of Overseas Development Assistance.--Discott (talk) 10:41, 26 January 2015 (UTC)
 * 56) Mountaincirque, I hold an MSc in international development and have worked in this field since 2005, I contribute to articles on Free school meals and School health and nutrition services and created the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization page.
 * 57) RemembertoForget I have an MA in International Development from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver in 2008 and am working on my dissertation to receive a PhD in Political Science (Majoring in comparative politics and minoring in international relations and agricultural economics) which I should complete in 2018.
 * 58) Sixdown I have an MSc in International Development from the University of Birmingham in the UK with specialisation in governance.
 * 59) BlueD954 I have deep passion for international developmment.
 * 60) Trimton took development courses at uni
 * 61)  11:41:01, 17 July 2024 (UTC)

International development Meetups
I'm keen to meet people with similar interests, in Meetups, one-on-one, or visiting projects. Currently in Central America (San Salvador, and in coming weeks in Nicaragua, Guatemala and then Mexico. Then California for a few weeks, and then returning to Taiwan, where I'll be staying for some months, and probably using as a base.

I'm a water & sanitation engineer with a strong interest in appropriate technology and sustainable solutions (and am co-founder of Appropedia) and would be glad to help when I'm able. --Chriswaterguy updated 19:16, 8 March 2009 (UTC)

Related Wikis and WikiProjects
Similar WikiProjects are:
 * (covers renewable energy)
 * - could be considered a parent of this WikiProject. Some overlap in issues of international trade, labor issues...
 * (covers renewable energy)
 * - could be considered a parent of this WikiProject. Some overlap in issues of international trade, labor issues...
 * - could be considered a parent of this WikiProject. Some overlap in issues of international trade, labor issues...

Collaborations outside Wikipedia:
 * Aid Workers Network - "Practical Advice for aid workers, by Aid Workers". A knowledge sharing initiative - works by using a discussion forum, newsletters and distilled advice pages. Drupal based.
 * Appropedia (wiki site) "a living library of appropriate technology." Also deals with broader development and sustainability issues, and is suitable for material which does not belong on Wikipedia, for material which is not suitable for Wikipedia (e.g. how-tos and project write-ups).
 * Nabuur.com - "The global neighbour network." Helping specific villages, rather than building an information resource.

Tools

 * Main tool page: toolserver.org


 * Reflinks - Edits bare references - adds title/dates etc. to bare references
 * Checklinks - Edit and repair external links
 * Dab solver - Quickly resolve ambiguous links.
 * Peer reviewer - Provides hints and suggestion to improving articles.