Bart Cope highlights the difficulties in striking the right work-friendship balance while filming events with the residents of Lovat Fields, for the BBC/OU series Silverville

The way forests around the world are managed is undergoing radical change. In the UK, local communities are buying forested land, to preserve forests for the greater benefit of society. In the developing world, forestry commissions are actively empowering villagers to engage in forest management and conservation. The video tracks on this album use case studies in the UK and in India to illustrate ways in which forest management is changing, and how such changes can be implemented. To complete the album, Open University academic Giles Mohan explains why the case studies were selected and unpicks some of the issues that emerge. This material is taken from The Open University course TU870 Capacities for managing development.

Do you take your access to water for granted? The Peruvian and Tanzanian communities featured in this album certainly don’t. This album examines how development agencies can empower communities to help themselves by introducing simple technologies, and facilitate the sharing of ideas through education. In the Andean mountains, scarce supplies of water and agricultural challenges give rise to conflict; but the changes engineered by development agencies can start to show a way out of poverty. Meanwhile, Tanzanian rural schoolchildren are instrumental in bringing about positive long-term change within their communities. However, development in practice is very complex and sometimes controversial. The audio tracks delve into the dilemma of how to deal with the different values systems of impoverished communities and the development agencies. They also show how development is linked to issues of identity, urbanisation, politics, economics, social relations and gender.In the bonus material Dr Helen Yanacopulos, Senior Lecturer in International Politics and Development at The Open University, provides insight into the educational value of the audio-visual material and explains the course structure.
This material is taken from The Open University Course U213 International development: challenges for a world in transition.

As part of a review of content, this course will be deleted from OpenLearn on Friday 1st May 2020. This free course, Fishing: can it be sustainably managed? aims to explore the ways in which fishing, an economic activity, can also
be understood as an environmental problem. Video, charts, tables and activities will introduce the UK commercial fishing industry and how management techniques are applied in a quest to achieve sustainable fish stocks. The interplay of historical, economic,
social, political and geographical factors that shape the UK fishing industry are also considered.

How can Darwin be used to inspire the scientists of tomorrow? What is the best way to communicate his theories to a modern audience? And what events have been taking place all over the world to commemorate him? Sheila Ochugboju from the African Technology Policy Studies Network, Janice Asnine from the OU and Roberta Kacowicz from The British Council in Brazil, discuss the various initiatives that they have been involved in all over the world to promote Darwin. Their work shows that he can still be both relevant and exciting, and that diverse methods can be used to introduce young people and a variety of modern communities to Darwin’s theories and the fundamentals of his scientific approach. The tracks on this album were produced by The Open University in collaboration with the British Council. They form part of Darwin Now, a global initiative celebrating the life and work of Charles Darwin and the impact his ideas about evolution continue to have on today’s world. © British Council 2009.

When you switch on a light or turn the heating on in your home, do you think about where that power has come from? In most of the world, we’re still burning harmful fossil fuels to create energy. However, throughout Europe a growing number of householders have decided to put the environment first, by switching to a “green tariff” with energy suppliers who can guarantee renewable, fossil fuel-free energy. This album explores the various ways in which innovative technologies - such as wind-farms, heat exchangers, photovoltaic panels and combined heat and power plants - provide the opportunity to revolutionise energy markets and turn whole communities and districts green. One town in Holland is a good example of a “suburban energy island”, where the solar-panelled buildings act as energy providers back to the main grid when they generate extra to spare. Altogether the tracks in the album inspire a new way of looking at designing modern living using a mix of technologies to ensure a socially, economically and environmentally sustainable future. You can find out more about innovation in design by exploring the albums "Design and Sustainability" and "Sustainable Communities". This material is taken from The Open University course T307 Innovation: designing for a sustainable future.

Have you ever been the victim of crime? Are you fearful of rising crime rates? Crime is one of contemporary society's most pressing social problems - how should we respond to it? This album visits various communities in the UK to explore issues of criminal justice and the introduction of possibly controversial crime control initiatives such as restorative justice, which involves offenders meeting their victims. It also looks at schemes tackling problems of racial violence and other anti-social behaviours. This material forms part of The Open University course D315 Crime, order and social control.

The positive hype around the Commonwealth Games may give you the impression it’s all smiles and success in Glasgow at present, but are the social and economic effects beneficial to the Glaswegians?

How are young designers in Kenya using the web to fight poverty? We asked the web team