The international development buzzword of 2012

In international development, buzzwords are no mere jargon. They are rallying cries, encapsulating, in just a short slogan, an idea, a process or a trend.

And the biggest international development buzzword of the year had to have been resilience. It came to the fore after last year’s drought and ensuing - and ongoing - refugee crisis in the Horn of Africa. By the time the Sahel region, half a continent away, descended into crisis a few months later, aid officials said they had learned their lesson.

The lesson: If you can’t prevent civil unrest or weather-related emergencies, you can at least help communities prepare for the inevitable - in essence, make them more resilient against disasters.

So what are the biggest global development buzzwords of 2012? We asked you on Facebook; here’s a countdown of your 10 favorites:

10. Convergence

9. Social enterprise

8. Smallholder

7. Capacity building

6. Public-private partnership

5. Inclusive growth

4. Post-2015

3. Supply chains

2. Sustainability

1. Resilience

Now we’d like to ask: What do those terms mean to you? Tell us your answers on Facebook or the comment box below, and we’ll feature the most creative, fun and insightful responses here on Devex.com and our social media channels.

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