Most development policies and interventions are based on an assumption that ''modernisation'' in the Western sense is the ultimate goal of human societies. Culture is therefore regarded either as an impediment to progress or as something outside the economic and political spheres and consigned to areas of religion and ritual. This collection of papers, published in association with World Faiths Development Dialogue and written by a range of aid practitioners and scholars, shows the need not merely to view culture as an important dimension of development but to see development itself as a cultural expression and culture as the basis upon which societies can develop through self-renewal and growth.

Most development policies and interventions are based on an assumption that ''modernisation'' in the Western sense is the ultimate goal of human societies. Culture is therefore regarded either as an impediment to progress or as something outside the economic and political spheres and consigned to areas of religion and ritual. This collection of papers, published in association with World Faiths Development Dialogue and written by a range of aid practitioners and scholars, shows the need not merely to view culture as an important dimension of development but to see development itself as a cultural expression and culture as the basis upon which societies can develop through self-renewal and growth.

Most development policies and interventions are based on an assumption that ''modernisation'' in the Western sense is the ultimate goal of human societies. Culture is therefore regarded either as an impediment to progress or as something outside the economic and political spheres and consigned to areas of religion and ritual. This collection of papers, published in association with World Faiths Development Dialogue and written by a range of aid practitioners and scholars, shows the need not merely to view culture as an important dimension of development but to see development itself as a cultural expression and culture as the basis upon which societies can develop through self-renewal and growth.