Mortgage or Aid? – a Seminar by F. Gleumann

On the 6^th of January, Wittenborg University students - including Zoleka Skweyiya, who reported about the seminar by writing this summary - attended the seminar “Mortgage or aid?”. The lecturer Mr. F. Gleumann started the seminar with the screening of four short movie clips showing an impoverished community, the mission of the World Bank, the side effects of aid, and a conflicting opinion to the benefits of aid.

This gave a powerful impression that despite the billions of Euros going to developing countries in an effort to improve living standards in Third World countries, poverty has grown. The seminar then covered the history of aid from the Bretton Woods conference at the end of World War II to the present decade’s glamour aid involving rock stars and other A-list celebrities. The students gained a deeper understanding of the different types of aid and the conditions that are often attached to aid which keeps many Third World countries trapped in a cycle of poverty. The sad reality of aid flows is that approximately only fifteen cents of a euro reaches its intended purpose. While getting in-depth knowledge about the growth of microfinance in developing countries, the students were shown how some organisations (e.g. the Solid House Foundation) facilitate sustainable development by mobilising people to improve themselves.

The seminar also covered the history of mortgages from the simple early 20^th century products to today’s saturated market with more complex types of mortgages. Using the Netherlands as a case study, the seminar focused on market conditions, legislation, and other environmental influences that impact the mortgage market.

Towards the end of the seminar, the students were asked to use their diverse backgrounds and experience to describe their home country housing market and micro mortgage market in relation to the general economic situation and legislation.   

On the overall, the seminar was very informative, interactive, and discussed a subject which really makes you think about Third World poverty.