Catalog

Conference on NGO Capacity Building

By Gordon Wilkinson (gwilkinson@adb.org)
Senior Social Development Specialist for NGO Coordination

Representatives from nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and the donor community met in October 2000 at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) headquarters in Manila for the Asia-Pacific Regional Conference of the International Forum on Capacity Building (IFCB).

The IFCB is an international multistakeholder initiative launched in 1998 to create opportunities for developing country NGOs to interact with other actors in development—multilateral and bilateral official funding agencies, developed country NGOs, and private foundations—to address strengthening NGO capacity in development. The IFCB discussions focus on innovative approaches for NGO capacity building in critical development areas such as poverty reduction, social exclusion, and sustainable development.

The conference was organized cooperatively with the international IFCB secretariat and the Manila-based Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development. Regional IFCB conferences have also been held for Africa and Latin America.

In a video address to the conference, ADB President Tadao Chino reiterated ADB’s recognition of the important role NGOs play in development.

The conference identified central themes for NGO capacity building: developing and strengthening cooperation and alliances among stakeholders in development; developing among NGOs the analytical, organizational, leadership, and coordination skills needed to address development issues; and building capacity in management of diversity and conflict, and in mobilizing and managing financial resources.

The Asia-Pacific IFCB conference is a part of an international process leading to a global NGO capacity-building conference planned for May 2001 in Washington, DC.

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