Good Governance, Citizenship and Human Rights

The concepts of good governance, participation and democracy have gained enormous prominence in the discourse and practice of cooperation over the last two decades (Doornbos 2001). Regardless of the definitional difficulties they present, there is a consensus on their importance for development – either as a means to development or as an end in itself to development. 

At international level, the promotion of good governance, participation and democracy (BGPD) is an increasingly central element in the discourse and practice of cooperation. This is reflected in particular in the Millennium Declaration, where development and poverty eradication objectives are explicitly regarded as dependent on “good governance in each country” and “good governance at international level”; and where democracy is an end in itself, with the Declaration stating that “we will spare no effort to promote democracy.” It should also be emphasised in this context the importance attached to participation as a democratic mechanism, with the Declaration highlighting, among others, the purpose of “Working collectively to achieve more comprehensive political processes, so as to allow the effective participation of all citizens, in all countries.”

In this way, international development cooperation takes on a new dimension: the empowerment of States to solve governance problems resulting from joint processes of democratisation and liberalisation of the economy.

At the basis of this formative action is the need for a greater level of knowledge about the processes of democratisation, good governance and the protection of human rights in the current context of economic and financial globalisation.

The themes to be addressed will focus on cooperation relations between Portugal and third countries, particularly bilateral relations with PALOP and Timor-Leste, in the framework of the European Union’s cooperation policies.

The creation of this course thus aims to respond to the need for training in International Cooperation of technicians from various scientific areas, whether in Portugal or in the countries that speak Portuguese and that has bilateral relations of cooperation with Portugal, the non-profit private sector, the lucrative private sector with social responsibility activities and public sector employees of all entities active in International Cooperation. Co-operation is a labour market for graduates or masters at Portuguese Universities in different areas, whether in the country, the European Union or in the beneficiary countries of international aid, mainly Portuguese and European.

The course of good governance, democracy and human rights in development cooperation is part of the objectives of the University of Aveiro within the scope of its internationalisation in general; strengthening its affirmation in the area of international cooperation; and to ensure spillovers of their competences in the area of governance and public policies. The course thus provides a complementary academic offer adapted to the needs of an audience that can have an intense practice but has an enormous lack of theoretical framework capable of being articulated with the practical experiences in the field of development.

UNAVE will provide the necessary infrastructure for the operation of the Course in conjunction with the Department of Social Sciences, Politics and the Territory. Instituto Camões, ICL will disseminate the course on its website, as it already does for courses on Portuguese language and literature.

Objectives

The objectives include the analysis of key concepts, theories and instruments related to good governance, democracy and human rights in the context of development cooperation; and the acquisition of skills needed for an analysis of policy areas, priorities and constraints in cooperation for good governance, democracy and human rights. The aim is as follows:

Development of self-training and self-learning capacities in the search, interpretation and use of information for cooperation in the area of good governance, democracy and human rights.

Acquisition of tools to analyse the different contexts of cooperation.

Ability to identify intervention priorities appropriate to the cooperation contexts.

Recipients

Candidates with a minimum bachelor’s degree qualification or significant practical experience are admitted. The recipients are people, from any area of knowledge and from any country, who want to become involved in International Cooperation and acquire a more complete knowledge about it from what Portuguese cooperation does. It is not indispensable for the degree, but it is taken for granted that the trainees are able to study in Portuguese and English, and less important supporting texts can also be in Spanish or French.

Maximum number of trainees to be admitted:

The minimum number of vacancies shall be 25 and a maximum of 35.

Duration

35 teaching hours + 10.5 tutorial hours + 110 autonomous working hours

Tuition Fee

EUR 300. In the case of teachers from the network of Portuguese teaching abroad and co-operation agents from Camões, I.P. the cost of the course is 270 €.

Organization

By addressing the state of the art and reference bibliography, the course allows to know and analyse the main concepts, theories and instruments related to cooperation for good governance, democracy and human rights. The articulation between the various programmatic contents enables critical reflection on these areas and the role of cooperation, both in relation to the contexts where it operates and with regard to global challenges. The programmatic contents thus allow the development of self-training and self-learning capacities in the search, interpretation and use of information for cooperation in the area of good governance, democracy and human rights.

They also present the tools for analysing the different contexts of cooperation, allowing understanding and reflection on the intervention priorities appropriate to the contexts of cooperation.

Teaching and Assessment Methodologies

The teaching activities will take place exclusively in the online environment (on the Moodle platform).

Classes will take place in videoconference format, with recording. These will be complemented by weekly tutorial sessions, in two blocks of 45 minutes.

The basic bibliographical reference base of the area will be provided as much as possible also by digital means.

Assessment:

• Cooperation Assessment Report on cooperation on good governance, democracy and human rights in a partner country (50%).
• Development work or written examination (50%).

A qualitative and quantitative classification will be used, according to the new wording given to Article 13(3) of the RJFCP, obtained by the trainee, according to the following scale of classifications from 1 to 10 values, duly weighted:

• EXCELLENT: from 9 to 10
• VERY GOOD: from 8 to 8,9
• GOOD: from 6,5 to 7,9
• REGULAR: from 5 to 6,4
• INSUFFICIENT: from 1 to 4,9

Approved trainees with a minimum rating of 5 values (REGULAR) will be allocated the number of credits foreseen for the training course attended.

Teaching methodologies favour autonomous work and academic debate. In this context, one of the teaching strategies consists of the presentation and discussion of the texts indicated in the classes by videoconference, with this debate to be further deepened in the tutorships. This is clearly consistent with the objectives of the course in terms of developing self-training capacities and self-learning in the search, interpretation and use of information for cooperation in the area of good governance, democracy and human rights.

Similarly, the teaching and evaluation methodologies advocate a critical reflection that refers to the theoretical and methodological frameworks and the state of the art of the discipline, accompanied by the analytical systematisation of the relevant dimensions by the teacher. These methodologies thus help to analyse key concepts, theories and instruments related to good governance, democracy and human rights in the context of development cooperation.

One of the elements of the teaching and evaluation of the curricular unit consists of an exercise in the preparation of a Cooperation Assessment Report. This exercise thus contributes to the implementation of the tools for analysing the different cooperation contexts and to developing the capacity to identify intervention priorities appropriate to the cooperation contexts.

Thus, from a global perspective, it can be observed the clear articulation between the teaching and evaluation methodologies with the objectives of the curricular unit.

Certification

The approval of all modules is certified by issuing a Certificate of Frequency or a Certificate of Use depending on whether or not the trainee submits the assessmen.

Crediting

The attendance and approval allow the obtaining of 6 creditable ECTS, that is, they can be credited to the courses leading to the degree of the University of Aveiro when the candidate has accessed some of the legally provided avenues and is registered there.