As an Order of Canada recipient, international aid worker, founder of War Child Canada and the author of Damned Nations: Greed, Guns, Armies and Aid, leadership is something Samantha Nutt knows a thing or two about.
Dr. Nutt delivered the keynote address of International Development Week at Dal earlier this month, organized by the International Development Education and Awareness Society (IDEAS). In her inspiring talk, Dr. Nutt shared four key lessons learned through her extensive career in international development.听
Lesson 1:听 Just because it hasn鈥檛 been done, doesn鈥檛 mean it can鈥檛 be
Dr. Nutt believes that a big problem in international development is that conflicts on other continents fail to resonate with citizens of developed nations. 鈥淭he problems seem too complex, and like we are so far removed.鈥�
This problem is often compounded by a lack of visible success. Aid efforts are often seen as "Band-Aid" solutions, too little too late, and lose what little resonance they may have had when conflicts continue to rage on.
What is needed, according to Dr. Nutt, are 鈥渁pproaches that sustain and support communities in the long term.鈥� So how do we get there?
Dr. Nutt鈥檚 answer is simple: leadership. 鈥淟eadership in ID [international development] is defiance in the face of injustice: leadership that, at its core, is about humanity confronting inhumanity.鈥� For today鈥檚 students, this means leadership towards, 鈥渇inding a response that does more than simply plug the gaps.鈥澨�
Lesson 2:听 The more you learn, the less you know
Dr. Nutt鈥檚 second lesson started with a confession: 鈥淚 will never be as smart as I thought I was at 24.鈥�
Dr. Nutt encourages students pursuing a career in international development to remember that constant 鈥渟elf-reflection and being unafraid to ask the hard questions of ourselves and others鈥� is how change is created. 鈥淲e need to be prepared to be uncomfortable.鈥澨� 听
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This is a message that hit home with the crowd, especially Melissa Le Geyt, Dal student and organizer with IDEAS. Le Geyt says she is pursuing international development because 鈥渁 lot of the world is pretty unfair and international development is a way to understand the injustices to work towards changing them.鈥�
Lesson 3:听 Failure is an essential part of leadership
International development is a complex field, with political, ideological and economic forces influencing many of the decisions made by its major players. In this context, 鈥渢he biggest wins are about courage and conviction in leadership.鈥�
Failure, according to Dr. Nutt, is an essential part of creating change. When we are unafraid to fail, we have 鈥渢he confidence to speak our minds utterly unencumbered by greatness,鈥� she explained.
Though success is not possible in every endeavour, Dr. Nutt implored her audience to, 鈥渒eep your wits about you, keep asking questions and 鈥� never lose sight of your 鈥榳hy.'鈥�
Lesson 4: Ignore the blowhards
With her final lesson, Dr. Nutt encouraged students to pursue their aspirations in the face of any nay-sayers.
鈥淵ou will be told that international development is a great thing to do when you鈥檙e young, but one day you鈥檙e going to want to settle down and have kids, and running off to war-torn Somalia just isn鈥檛 practical,鈥� Dr. Nutt advised the young crowd. 鈥淲ell, 20 years and one seven-year-old son later, I鈥檓 still stubbornly unwilling to settle.鈥�
Dr. Nutt ended her talk by placing a signed copy of her speaking notes and 50 cents on the lectern. The quarters were symbolic of her first job with an air organization 鈥� the upfront half of the value of a contract, necessary to allow the aid organization she was working for to rescue her from Somalia in an emergency. 听
鈥淢y journey began 20 years ago with 50 cents,鈥� Dr. Nutt explained. 鈥淚f this lecture has inspired you, and you feel your career in international development is beginning tonight, feel free come down and get them.鈥� 听