Nongovernment Organizations and Civil Society

1.  ADB Adopts New Medium-Term Strategy and Names Advisory Panel

ADB has approved a Medium-Term Strategy II for 2006-2008. It cites five priorities: catalyzing investment, strengthening inclusiveness, promoting regional cooperation and integration, managing the environment, and improving governance and preventing corruption. ADB has also named a six-member panel of eminent persons to advise on key trends and development challenges ahead in the region, and on ADB's long-term direction. For more information on the MTS-II, contact Sudipto Mundle, Advisor, Strategy and Policy Department, at smundle@adb.org. For queries about the eminent persons panel, contact Chris MacCormac, Director, Strategic Planning, Policy, and Interagency Relations, at cmaccormac@adb.org.

http://www.adb.org/media/Articles/2006/10047-poverty-assistance/
http://www.adb.org/Media/Articles/2006/10145-ADB-long-term-strategy/

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2.  Funding Made Available to CSOs Combating Corruption

ADB has approved a $150,000 technical assistance project providing small grants to civil society organizations (CSOs) promoting accountability and transparency in Mongolia, Pakistan, and the Philippines. The Partnership for Transparency Fund, an international anticorruption CSO, will implement the project. Organizations in these countries may submit requests for grants, each between $5,000 and $25,000. For more information, contact Jennifer Francis, NGO/Civil Society Specialist, Regional and Sustainable Development Department (RSDD), at jfrancis@adb.org.

http://www.adb.org/NGOs/small-grants-civilsociety.asp

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3.  ADB Seeks Proposals from CSOs Tackling HIV/AIDS

In June, ADB launched a package of 11 grant projects to step up the fight against HIV/AIDS. One project commits $1.5 million in small grants for CSOs active in HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment. CSOs working in ADB’s developing member countries and meeting the project’s other criteria are eligible for funding of up to $50,000. For more information, contact Jennifer Francis, NGO/Civil Society Specialist, RSDD, at jfrancis@adb.org.

http://www.adb.org/NGOs/Grants/hiv-aids-grant.asp

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4.  Report Sets Forth ADB’s Approach to Capacity Development

In 2004, ADB adopted capacity development as a thematic priority. By doing so, ADB acknowledged that improved country capacity is not only a means to achieving public sector performance, but also a goal in its own right. A capacity development working group was established to develop an operational medium-term framework and action plan for enhancing the effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of ADB-supported capacity development interventions. The working group’s draft final report has been made available for public comment on ADB’s website (see link below). Send comments on the report to Claudia Buentjen, Senior Capacity Development Specialist, RSDD, at cbuentjen@adb.org.

http://www.adb.org/Documents/Policies/Integrating-Capacity-Development/default.asp

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5.  Conference Promotes CSO Participation in Local Budgeting in Pakistan

ADB and the Asia Foundation held a conference on Institutionalizing Civil Society Participation in Local Budgets in Islamabad, Pakistan on 18 July. The conference included a presentation on an ADB-financed project to strengthen civil society participation in local budgeting in Jehlum and Kasur tehsils (counties). The project supported trainings on budget analysis for representatives of 72 CSOs, and local council members. For more information, contact Raza Ahmad, Governance Specialist, RSDD, at rahmad@adb.org.

http://www.adb.org/NGOs/Press-Release-Budget-Conference.pdf [ PDF ]

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6.  Pilot Project Develops Small-Pipe Water Networks in Urban Areas

ADB has initiated a regional pilot project in the Philippines to ensure speedy delivery of fresh water to urban areas using small-pipe water networks. The project, established under a regional technical assistance grant benefiting three countries –India, Philippines, and Viet Nam -- aims to show that selected urban residents can connect to piped water supply in less than a year. The Philippine project will provide new household connections at 12 pesos (about $0.23) per cubic meter of water, giving households a saving of more than 40 pesos (about $0.76) per cubic meter of water. For more information, contact K.E. Seetharam, Principal Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist, RSDD, at kseetharam@adb.org.

http://www.adb.org/Media/Articles/2006/10235-Philippines-piped-water/

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7.  Grant Reinforces ADB Efforts to Promote Water for All

ADB is expanding its activities to address water issues in the Asia and Pacific region through a $3.2 million grant package. Activities funded by the grant will include the building of water partnerships, upgrading skills of targeted agencies, producing and distributing information, and disseminating good practices and new approaches. ADB will support water initiatives by CSOs, and national and subregional water partnerships. For more information, contact Robert Hood, Water Fund Manager, RSDD, at rhood@adb.org.

http://www.adb.org/Media/Articles/2006/10337-regional-water/default.asp

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8.  Tsunami-Affected Fishing Villages in India Receive Support

A $5 million grant from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction will set up a fully serviced fishing village in India that will help about 1,000 people and serve as a model for replication in districts affected by the tsunami of December 2004. The fishing village will support a range of fishing-related activities, such as fish curing, vending, marketing, trading, and ice protection supply. The government, NGOs, and beneficiaries will contribute $700,000 equivalent to the project. For more information, contact Alex Jorgensen, Principal Urban Specialist, India Resident Mission, at ajorgensen@adb.org.

http://www.adb.org/Media/Articles/2006/10243-India-livelihood/

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9.  ADB and Viet Nam Sign Pact to Prevent HIV/AIDS Among Youth

ADB and the Government of Viet Nam signed an agreement on 24 July for $20 million grant to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS among the youth of Viet Nam. The project will support government efforts to bring about widespread behavior change among youth. It will also support NGOs in 15 provinces undertaking a related program of province-based, youth-focused activities, including community-based advocacy, peer education, life skills training, and improved access to harm reduction services. For more information, contact Lisa Studdert, Health Specialist, Viet Nam Resident Mission, at lstuddert@adb.org.

http://www.adb.org/Media/Articles/2006/9775-regional-anticorruption/default.asp

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10.  Transparency International Publishes Corruption Fighters’ Toolkit

Transparency International (TI) has produced the Corruption Fighters’ Toolkit, a compendium of practical civil society anticorruption experiences described in concrete and accessible language. It presents innovative anticorruption tools developed and implemented by T.I. national chapters and other CSOs from around the world. The Toolkit highlights the potential of civil society to create mechanisms for monitoring public institutions and to demand and promote accountable and responsive public administration. It is available at:

http://www.transparency.org/tools/e_toolkit*

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11.  Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society Offers Fellowships for 2007

The Emerging Leaders International Fellows Program of the New York-based Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (CPCS) provides leadership training through applied research and professional mentorships for young scholar-practitioners in the nonprofit sector. The program is open to scholars and practitioners interested in building civil society capacity in the United States and overseas. Each fellowship includes the tuition cost and a stipend to cover living expenses. For information, contact Kathleen McCarthy of CPCS at cpcs@gc.cuny.edu.

http://www.philanthropy.org/programs/intnl_fellows_program.html*

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12.  ADB Review Reports on Accountability at ADB

The latest issue of ADB’s bimonthly newsmagazine, ADB Review, features a series of articles on accountability at ADB. The publication includes articles by the Bank Information Center, Humanitarian Accountability Partnership International, and One World Trust on how ADB and other development agencies should improve accountability to disadvantaged groups and project-affected persons. Contributions by ADB staff highlight initiatives to address project complaints, disclose information, empower communities, improve independent evaluation, and strengthen project performance.

http://www.adb.org/Documents/Periodicals/ADB_Review/default.asp

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13.  CSO Visitors: Verité

This regular feature spotlights one of the many CSOs whose representatives have recently met with ADB staff at the institution’s headquarters in the Philippines.

Verité is an independent, nonprofit social auditing and research organization established in 1995. Its mission is to ensure that people worldwide work under safe, fair and legal working conditions. Where Verité auditors identify exploitation of workers or health and safety violations in the workplace, it develops concrete steps to correct them through a combination of trainings for management and workers, education programs and remediation programs.

The organization's global expertise stems from knowledge of regional labor regulations and industries, extensive field networks, experience with local languages, cultures and socioeconomic issues, enabling Verité and its NGO partners to accurately assess and improve factory conditions. Verité has pioneered a new model of working directly with companies and local NGOs to address human rights and labor abuses in supplier factories around the world. Its constructive approach engages corporations in the design and implementation of training and remediation programs both at the company level and in the factories where products are manufactured.

Verité has experience in numerous industry sectors, including apparel, footwear, agriculture, food processing, electronics, call/support centers, printing, and toys. Since its establishment, the organization has completed over 1,300 comprehensive factory evaluations in 65 countries. It has also conducted 32 factory-based trainings for management and workers in Asia, the Caribbean, and Middle East. Verité has touched the lives of 150,000 workers by improving working conditions in factories, reducing overtime hours, and delivering legally-owed back wages and benefits to workers.

Verité’s management team is comprised of individuals based overseas with backgrounds in organizations such as Oxfam, Save the Children, and Amnesty International. Its Board of Directors comes from the Social Venture Network, and international development and social research communities.

Verite representatives, Ms. Marie Apostol, Southeast Asia Director, and Ms. Claudette Urmeneta, Training Manager, met with staff of ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department on 22 June to discuss labor and social issues in development projects. For more information on Verite, visit its website at http://www.verite.org.*

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14.  Upcoming Events

A listing in this section does not imply ADB endorsement or availability of financing for participants.

• Course on NGO Leadership, Development and Social Change, 18 August-15 September, Silang, Cavite, Philippines. Contact: Education and Training, International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR); e-mail: education&training@iirr.org; tel: +632 886 4385; fax: +63 46 414 2420; website: http://www.iirr.org.*
• Course on Civil Society Strengthening, 11-15 September, Oxford, United Kingdom. Contact: INTRAC; e-mail: training@intrac.org; tel: +44 (0)1865 263 040; fax: +44 (0)1865 201 852; website: http://www.intrac.org/training.php?id=52.*
• YES Kenya (global youth employment summit), 13-16 September, Nairobi, Kenya. Contact: Youth Employment Summit Campaign; e-mail: pk@yesweb.org; website: http://www.yesweb.org/2006.*
• International Peoples Forum (coinciding with the International Monetary Fund-World Bank meetings), 15-17 September, Batam, Indonesia. Contact: International Peoples Forum Secretariat; e-mail: IPFSecretariat@gmail.com; website: http://www.eurodad.org/articles/.*
• Course on NGO Leadership, Development and Social Change, 9-27 October, Silang, Cavite, Philippines. Contact: Education and Training, IIRR; e-mail: education&training@iirr.org; tel: +632 886 4385; fax: +63 46 414 2420; website: http://www.iirr.org.*
• Forum for a Responsible Globalization, 25-28 October, Lyon, France. Contact: Karina Gleich, Fondation Scientifique de Lyon; e-mail: karina.gleich@fslse.org; website: http://www.global-economic-and-social-forum.com.*
• India Social Forum, 9-13 November, Delhi, India. Contact: WSF-India; e-mail: www.wsfindia@vsnl.net; tel: +91 11 2667 4123; website: http://www.wsfindia.org.*

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15.   Latest Documents Available from ADB

ADB makes hundreds of documents publicly available each year on its web site http://www.adb.org, and through a growing network of 170 depository libraries around the world. The extensive online Publications Catalog allows users to browse through a list of over 4,000 titles. These include country economic reviews, project completion reports (PCRs), project performance evaluation report (PPER), reports and recommendations of the President (RRPs), technical assistance reports (TARs), and technical assistance completion reports (TACRs).

Examples of recently published documents include the Compliance Review Panel Annual Monitoring Report 2005-2006: Southern Transport Development Project (Sri Lanka); Special Evaluation Study: Pathways Out of Rural Poverty and the Effectiveness of Poverty Targeting - Management Response and Development Effectiveness Committee Discussion; Climate Change Adaptation Program for the Pacific TACR; Cordillera Highland Agricultural Resource Management PPER (Philippines); and Economic and Social Inclusion of the Disadvantaged Poor through Livelihood Enhancement with Micro-Irrigation TAR (Nepal).

http://www.adb.org/Publications/

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*The ADB website provides links to external websites that are not under its control. ADB is not responsible for the content of these sites.