In the video above, we hear Dr. Lara J. Nettelfield’s views on various relevant issues. Dr. Lara Nettelfield has been a lecturer on international relations, international justice and political science at Exeter University (UK), Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals (Spain) and Columbia University (US). She did her Doctorate from Columbia. She has a lot of experience in these fields. She has worked hands on in Bosnia & Herzegovina in agencies like International Commission on Missing Persons, NATO Parliamentary Assembly and OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe).

 

Nettelfield is currently writing her new book "Srebrenica in the Aftermath of Genocide." She has written much-acclaimed Courting Democracy in Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Hague Tribunal's Impact in a Postwar State. The Book won the 2011 Marshall Shulman Book Prize of the Association of Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES).

 

Here she shares her views on the role played by education in war-torn economies like Afghanistan based on her own experiences in Bosnia. She sees that in Bosnia there are multiple divisions not only within the society but in the schooling system as well. This division tends to drag down development. She sees that education plays a large role in the development and prosperity of such economies and helps them in charting a courageous course to economic and cultural development. She also agrees that internet has transformed lives in a major way. In war-torn countries like Bosnia, she has seen that people have taken to internet in a big way. As a source of information, internet has helped them develop specific skillsets all within the walls of their own homes. Internet has also fueled social interaction and community creation globally via social media tools. This ensures increased contact irrespective of geographical barriers and a free exchange of information which is very crucial especially for emerging economies. Online opportunities for work can also be utilized.

 

Educating women is of utmost importance in taking a country forward and also for creating economic parity. She says that even in developed economies like the United States where in some Universities, women might constitute more than 60% strength, that still does not translate into the same strength in positions of power, policy making or boardrooms. Thus the disparity is there everywhere. It is even more pronounced in developing economies. As an educator, she recognizes this disparity and works towards improving it. It has been inspiring to hear her views. Do watch the entire video above.

Do read all my posts on Afghanistan on my web channel.