Vision Lent 2020

DEAR READERS
Lent term has seen us explore the topic of ‘Practicing Development: What Can We Do?’, with the aim of
understanding how we can make an impact ourselves both during our time at Cambridge and in the future.
Events have ranged from the impacts of voluntourism schemes that students may undertake during
their studies, to the story of a Cambridge technology start-up attempting to tackle water poverty at
the grassroots level. In addition, we were extremely lucky to have Baroness Brown of Cambridge and
Daniel Zeichner MP debate tackling the climate crisis from a UK political viewpoint, following on from
last term’s theme of ‘The Climate of Development’’.
I would like to thank all our guest speakers for taking their time to tell their stories, and for the events
team for organising such a great set of events. Similarly, I would like to thank the Vision team for once
again producing such an amazing magazine in such a short space of time, and the rest of the committee
for making all of this possible.
Whilst unfortunately CUiD’s events for this academic year now draw to a close, this brings the great opportunity
for you to become more involved with the society. Applications for the 2020/21 Committee will
open at the start of Easter term, and I couldn’t encourage you more to apply!
I hope you enjoy reading this copy of Vision, and if you have any questions about CUiD then please do get
in touch via email at president@cuid.org.
William Green
CUiD President, 2019 –20
As university students, we are often faced with the frustrating reality that although inequality and other
developmental problems are rife, there is little we are able to do to work against these issues. In this
edition of Vision, we hope to explore some of the ways by which we can help, at present and in the future.
Our writers draw on experiences of academics and students working in development as well as
on theoretical debates and current events.
It is bittersweet to announce the final edition of Vision this year. I want to thank the commendable editorial
team, who have provided comprehensive feedback on a very tight schedule – all while balancing a
Cambridge workload. Our artistic director, Katherine, has brought the work of our writers to life through
her incredible designs. Throughout the year, the CUID committee has worked hard to organize events
and a magazine tackling the question – ‘what can we do?’. While we don’t claim to have answers, we do
hope that we have been able to engage with this question and encourage you to consider contributing to
development efforts around the world. If you are interested in our work, do consider applying for a committee
position in the coming academic year.
With love,
Munira Rajkotwalla