It was a great surprise and pleasure to discover APAD at the conference in 2013. What struck me then and still strikes me now is that there really is no equivalent space in North America: one in which anthropology is put to work in the empirical study of development, young scholars are enabled and encouraged, and there are vibrant collaborations that cross North/South boundaries. The mailings I receive from APAD are a treasure trove of news, announcements and invitations, many of which I forward to students and colleagues in other parts of the globe. I also appreciate APAD’s commitment to engagement with policy makers and development practitioners. This is rare in North America where there is less respect for academic research in general, and little sense that anthropology has important insights to offer. If development agencies turn to academia at all, it is more likely to be to the disciplines of economics or political science. APAD and its affiliated groups have carved out an important space for anthropology in the field of development policy and practice which has been sustained over several decades. I applaud this achievement and I’am very happy to be included in the fold. I am also grateful for the work APAD has done to make my work available to Francophone readers, notably through the translation of The Will to Improve, published by Karthala and APAD under the title Agir pour les autres (2020).