PLA 57: Immersions: learning about poverty face-to-face

The theme for this special issue centres on experiences of face-to-face learning, often referred to as immersions – opportunities for development professionals to spend a period of time living with and learning from a poor family.

This issue is a timely reflection of an emerging trend in development practice, drawing together the richness of immersion experience. It explores both the limitations and potentials of immersions by:

• bringing together diverse experiences, identifying their challenges and opportunities, and exploring their impacts; ~• encouraging readers to talk about immersions, share their experience, and recognise that there are many sorts of immersion; ~• inspiring people to have them, and help make immersions a regular practice for development professionals; and ~• enabling readers to reflect, get/stay in touch, and follow up.