Shahidul Alam

Photographer, writer, human rights activist. Time Magazine Person of the Year 2018.

The development lens has largely focused on basic needs. On the availability of material things. For our life to have meaning, we need more than merely the ability to survive. We need freedom, dignity and hope. We need to be able to plan for the future. Knowledge helps us attain material needs, but equally importantly, it gains us respect and an insight into our own destiny. It allows us to make informed choices, to choose the right path. It allows the governed to have a say in the process of governance. In a divided world, access to knowledge, provides a path to equality, the ultimate development goal.