From Development Aid to International Co-Creation: Tracing the Path

I will explain the trends in aid leading to international co-creation, along with keywords such as development aid, international cooperation, and international collaboration.

Post-World War II: Development Aid 1.0:

The 'War on Poverty' strategy by U.S. President Truman. It focused on economic development and adopted a top-down strategy.
The nation-state was the target. Against the backdrop of the Cold War, it was an era of aid competition between the capitalist and communist blocs.

Development Aid 2.0:

Following the Vietnam War in the 1960s and an era of pollution and complex contamination, the period from the 1970s to the 1980s shifted toward 'social development.'
The target was not just economic development, but also the development of social infrastructure necessary for human survival, represented by Basic Human Needs (BHN).
The target regions were downsized from nations to local areas and communities.

Development Aid 3.0:

After the era of Basic Human Needs, development aid moved into the era of structural adjustment. The international community began to intervene not only in the hardware development carried out through economic and social development but also in software aspects such as national systems.

Development Aid 4.0 / International Cooperation 1.0:

The era of 'human security,' represented by Amartya Sen and Sadako Ogata, as seen in the UNDP's 'Human Development Report' of the 1990s.
The term 'international cooperation' existed before this. However, with the combination of economic development, social development, and human development, the field of international cooperation expanded significantly.

Development Aid 5.0 / International Cooperation 2.0 / International Collaboration 1.0:

Around 2000, the era of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) began, aiming to halve absolute poverty. Concepts like BOP and the term 'social entrepreneur' began to appear here and there.

International Cooperation 3.0 / International Collaboration 2.0:

Following the experience of the MDGs, the era of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (SDGs) began around 2015.
Finally, moving away from development aid from developed countries to developing countries, at least in principle, developed and developing countries began to act as equal partners to create a sustainable society for the entire planet.

International Cooperation 4.0 / International Collaboration 3.0 / International Co-Creation 1.0:

The society we are aiming for from here on. It is difficult to express it with terms like development aid or international cooperation.
In other words, it is a world of collaboration where 'ordinary people' around the world work together on social issues across borders, with the same perspective and a consciousness as fellow citizens of the Earth.

It is an upgraded version of international collaboration, but I would like the content to be worthy of being called international co-creation.

In the first place, the definitions above are ones I have created myself.
However, now that the SDGs are in their final stages (June 21, 2026), I hope that the term 'international co-creation' will become commonplace.

Why don't we think about what that entails together?

* This article from March 9, 2019, has been revised and expanded.