Background

Using the most common measure, over one billion of the world's population live in poverty and exist on less than US$1.25 a day (and nearly 3 billion live on less than US$2 a day). More than one billion people around the globe do not have access to safe water, 115 million children do not attend primary school and 10 million children die each year of preventable illness. For those living in these circumstances, life is characterised by premature death, preventable illnesses, limited access to clean water and sanitation, economic insecurity, and illiteracy. This conference will consider the 'Australian Approach to Development'. It will consider how development is understood by Australian aid agencies, how it is practiced by Australian agencies, and it will consider the Australian policies that drive it. The conference also allows space for conference participants to discuss different regions (Pacific, Asia, and Africa), sectors (gender, WASH, and children), disaster management and responses, as well as larger questions of the conception of poverty. Perhaps most importantly, this conference also invites people from outside of Australia to provide a critical reflection on what Australian aid agencies are doing!