Reflecting Forewords is an unashamedly ambitious book. Full of lessons from the past that are relevant for the future, it is a compilation of inspiring forewords from books written by Robert Chambers; one of the most influential and prolific scholars to write about participation, poverty, and knowledge in development studies.

Tessa Lewin, Robert’s colleague and an experienced practitioner and researcher, has worked with Robert to weave together the forewords alongside a series of reflections from other practitioners and scholars in the field.

Armed with a university degree, the Boy Scout’s solemn oath and a snakebite kit which he left on the plane, Ian Smillie set out more than 50 years ago to confront ignorance, want and war. He taught at a remote school in Sierra Leone, was an aid administrator in Nigeria during the Biafran War and for a time he knew more about cement than anyone else in Bangladesh.

This is a memoir about development: personal development, the development of ideas and understanding, rights and justice, war and peace, poverty and prosperity. It’s about one of the greatest imperatives of our time: the drive to end global poverty and why, despite exaggerated claims to the contrary, it isn’t working.

­This book is inspired by the dedication of people across

global contexts who have worked with children in

communities to improve their lives. In its chapters, they

share a vision where conditions are improved to attain

child and youth rights and intergenerational justice.

­This book is inspired by the dedication of people across global contexts who have worked with children in communities to improve their lives. In its chapters, they share a vision where conditions are improved to attain child and youth rights and intergenerational justice.