When I explain to people that I am doing a global internship in Morocco this summer and they ask what I do I respond “sustainable development” to which I am met with either a blank stare or some confusion. I myself was unsure what to expect coming into working at the High Atlas Foundation and my perception of sustainable development has significantly altered since my time here. I, alongside my peers, have come to see sustainable development not as a fixed model or theory, but as a dynamic and context-dependent process that is circular. This article will explore what myself and other fellow interns at HAF expected sustainable development to be and how the work they have seen has held up to those expectations.

Huma Khalid (4th year History and Global Security and Justice student)

What did you think participatory/ sustainable development was?

Prior to starting my internship at HAF I had taken a couple classes about development and humanitarianism which shaped my perception of it to be an effort to address global inequality by supporting communities that are struggling. I viewed smaller efforts like building schools and creating jobs as all contributing towards a broader effort to address larger global problems of poverty. 

How has your expectation held up with the work you’ve seen at HAF thus far?

Working at HAF and seeing the on the ground work HAF does has changed my perception of sustainable development greatly. Everything is not neat and organized but rather much more nuanced than I expected. I found that the efforts are more case by case basis and community driven than I had anticipated.  It is much more people and communication based than I previously perceived it to be. I now see how hard it is for an NGO alone to make much of a dent within larger structural inequality but by seeing the people HAF positively impacts on a daily basis I have a greater appreciation for smaller efforts towards sustainable development. 

How will you promote your new vision of sustainable development in the future?

Myself being interested in working in the humanitarian or development field after graduation, I am grateful that I was able to get an early perspective of development work. It has prepared me with the patience and understanding necessary to work in this field. I hope to work in development through Peace Corp or volunteer work. 

Natalie Boucher (3rd year Anthropology and Environmental Thought and Practice  student) 

What did you think participatory/ sustainable development was?

“Originally I thought that it would mean consulting a mix of community members and experts to determine the best overarching solutions for larger regions.”

How has your expectation held up with the work you’ve seen at HAF thus far?

“I have come to see that sustainable and participatory development is on a very case by case basis and hands on. I appreciate that it's different and unique to each community; however, I question how sustainable change can be on a systemic scale if it's so decentralized.”

How will you promote your new vision of sustainable development in the future?

“I think keeping in mind that focus on the local level can be just as effective as a focus on state or national levels can be just as impactful through a trickle up effect. I now fully understand the importance of grassroots advocacy as opposed to larger political careers at the federal level.”

Kamina Mentore (3rd year Global Development and International Relations student) 

What did you think participatory/ sustainable development was?

“I thought it would be initiatives working alongside and for communities to better their overall quality of life and enact their visions for long term change or whatever they vision to be progress.”

How has your expectation held up with the work you’ve seen at HAF thus far?

“The participatory aspect has lived up to what she expected but the limitations were surprising and this program has exposed a lot of the larger systems of inequality and power structures at play. It's frustrating to realize that there’s only so much you can do in various fields—both in terms of HAF as an organization and myself as an intern. As a GDS major and taking community led development classes I’ve read and learned about different methodologies that have shaped development as a discipline but actually being able to do the work has highlighted a lot of the nuances and hindrances in the field.”

How will you promote your new vision of sustainable development in the future?

“I am going to implement it into my academic work as a Global Development Studies major as well as carry it forward in a career in humanitarianism or development. I think that this experience has been extremely helpful and beneficial because it has prepared me for the challenges that exist in the development work. It motivates me to bridge the gap between the limitations of development work.”

Griffin Franzese (3rd year Systems Engineering student)

What did you think participatory/ sustainable development was?

“I didn't know what it was but assumed that sustainable development was simply making development models more lasting.”

How has your expectation held up with the work you’ve seen at HAF thus far?

“I think participatory development goes beyond sustainable development because just sustainable development doesn’t have people in mind, it's just about making a system last. Participatory development is a way to go about development but is also an inventive structure for sustainability because it relies on people buying in. 

How will you promote your new vision of sustainable development in the future?

“I think the perspective that I have taken to a lot of problem-solving thus far has at least been top down, or trying to figure out the overall objective of a system while disregarding lesser/individual components. I think going forward I have new appreciation for, if not grassroots movement, more bottom up approaches that actually do have success and can show real social or systemic change.”

Lina Aniss (4th year Economics and Biology student) 

What did you think participatory/ sustainable development was?

“I thought it was about researching people's needs and doing your best to allocate resources to benefit people in need and improve the quality of life in disadvantaged areas.” 

How has your expectation held up with the work you’ve seen at HAF thus far?

“I still agree with the purpose but I think working with HAF has shown me that it's more of a reciprocal relationship where you don't just identify needs based on preconceived ideas but rather by working with community members to figure out their needs and finding a common ground between both.”

How will you promote your new vision of sustainable development in the future?

“In the future, I hope to continue humanitarian work through NGOs like Doctors Without Borders (MSF). Working with HAF has shown me the importance of international humanitarian work, as well as the value of language in connecting with communities and cultures. It also showed me how neglected cultural connection can be in humanitarian work, and has made me want to complement my linguistic abilities with my academic goals to make a change in humanitarian work internationally.”

Across the experiences of all these HAF intern perspectives, an appreciation for the reality of the development world that has been shown through the internship is apparent. Working directly in the fields of sustainable and participatory development have shown us the importance of the grassroot pieces that contribute to larger systemic change. It has forced us to challenge our mental models taught in the classroom and shown us development led by community members themselves. This highlights the importance of an immersive study abroad and global internship experience for students who seek to work in the development or humanitarian world. Only so much can be taught through textbooks—to truly learn about sustainable  and participatory development, one must branch out and learn from communities themselves. 

Despite the common themes, the differences amongst the perspectives of HAF interns reflects deeper debates within the development world. Grassroots movements are effective but as Natlie questioned, will they ever be effective enough to truly alter the system? The tension between recognizing progress from smaller localized efforts while still recognizing the persistence of larger systemic inequality is frustrating and a source of confusion for all in the field. While the development field has significantly improved over time from concerning itself solely on economic factors to now largely centering around communities itself, it is essential for young professionals in the field to continue picking out problems that persist and doing their best to bridge gaps. The emphasis on sustainable development as to support communities enough until they can sustain themselves is the current effort to combat larger global inequality through grassroots activism. Such an approach addresses the tension to create more coordination amongst local efforts towards larger, systemic change.