Networking and capacity development in developing countries: Reflections after the Annual Conference of the European Association for International Education

Experience of international development cooperation has shown that local institutional and personnel capacities are crucial in order to achieve sustainable development and poverty reduction. On a global level, however, the gap between industrial and developing countries in terms of technological and scientific capacities tends to widen rather than to narrow. Consequently, capacity development has become a central focus of international development and educational cooperation. Networking between academic institutions is considered to be an efficient instrument for the creation of high quality scientific institutions in the South. These and other related issues were addressed during a recent panel discussion on "Networking and Capacity Development in Developing Countries" held last September during the Annual Conference of the European Association for International Education in Vienna.1 The present article draws on the discussion and tries to give an overview of lessons learnt from Austrian and international experience. It furthermore sets out the broader context of education for development on a global level.