|
1. Thirteen CSOs Receive Funding to Prevent HIV/AIDS
ADB has approved grants to 13 civil society organizations (CSOs) to prevent HIV/AIDS. The grants are being provided through ADB's Cooperation Fund for Fighting HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, financed by the Government of Sweden. ADB reviewed over 500 project proposals before selecting the winning proposals in close cooperation with UNAIDS. The CSOs will deliver services in the following countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, People's Republic of China, Fiji Islands, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Philippines, Tajikistan, Thailand, and Viet Nam. For more information, contact Jennifer Francis, NGO and Civil Society Specialist, NGO and Civil Society Center (NGOC).
 Top
2. Project Supports Civil Society Role in Addressing Corruption
The Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF), a not-for-profit corporation, and ADB are implementing a technical assistance project to strengthen the role of civil society in the fight against corruption in Pakistan, Philippines, and Mongolia. Grants have been awarded to five CSOs: one from Pakistan, two from the Philippines, and two from Mongolia. A description of each project appears at the web link below. For more information, contact Jennifer Francis, NGO and Civil Society Specialist, NGOC.
Top
3. Consultations on Safeguard Policy Update Postponed
Consultation workshops organized as part of ADB's Safeguard Policy Update (SPU) have been postponed to allow ADB to finalize a draft of the Safeguard Policy Statement that can serve as an adequate basis for consultation with stakeholders in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. The workshops, originally scheduled for March, are now expected to begin late in the second quarter of 2007. Details will be made available on the SPU website. For more information, contact Socorro Feliciano, Lead Facilitator for SPU Consultations.
Top
4. Feedback Sought on ADB's Public Information Dissemination System
ADB is conducting a review of how well its public information dissemination system meets the needs of stakeholders, including CSOs in developing countries. Please participate in the review about how your organization accesses information from ADB. Complete the online survey*.
Top
5. Registration Begins for ADB Annual Meeting
ADB will hold the 40th Annual Meeting of its Board of Governors from 4 to 7 May at the Kyoto International Conference Center in Kyoto, Japan. Accredited CSOs are invited to attend the event, which features several seminars for all delegates, and panel discussions and briefings tailored to the particular interests of participating CSOs. For more information, including details about accreditation, contact Suzanne Nazal, Civil Society Cooperation Officer, NGOC.
Top
6. Winning Student Essayists Prepare for Regional Youth Forum
Twenty-five university students from 15 ADB member economies will participate in the Asian and Pacific Youth Forum on Sustainable Development, which will take place in Kyoto, Japan on 17 March. The students submitted winning essays to a region-wide essay competition on sustainable development held between September and November 2006. The competition generated more than 600 essay submissions, and was sponsored by ADB and ROAD, a network of Japanese university students concerned about development issues, through ADB's Japan Special Fund, financed by the Government of Japan.
Top
7. ADB Director General Highlights Energy's Role in Poverty Reduction
Providing access to energy is a prerequisite for reducing poverty in the region, Bindu N. Lohani, RSDD Director General, told the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit on 23 January. Speaking on the panel on Energy for Sustainable Development, Mr. Lohani said, "Asian economies need to make large investments in energy conservation, energy efficiency, alternative energy sources, clean technology, and energy for the poor." He also noted that lack of access to energy is severely affecting the productivity and health of the poor.
Top
8. Major Program to Boost Financial Services for Poor Farmers in India
ADB is lending $1 billion to improve the quality of life of India's rural poor by providing affordable financial services. The program will undertake comprehensive reforms of the cooperative credit structure to improve access to credit for farmers in five states. The program will revitalize the cooperative credit structure, part of the mostly state-run rural finance system, to more effectively reach out to small farmers. For more information, contact R.M. Limjoco, Lead Financial Sector Specialist, Governance, Finance, and Trade Division, South Asia Department.
Top
9. NGO-Government Partnerships Break New Ground in the PRC
On 23 January, ADB Vice President (Operations 2) C. Lawrence Greenwood Jr. hailed a pioneering project to harness NGOs in state-funded poverty reduction work at the grassroots level as a new era for the People's Republic of China (PRC). He spoke at a forum in Beijing to assess the progress and prospects for NGO-Government cooperation in reducing poverty in the country. The Vice President noted experience showing that such cooperation can provide a "win-win" outcome, "bringing to bear each partner's strengths." For more information, contact Christopher Spohr, Social Sector Economist, PRC Resident Mission.
Top
10. Book Documents Participatory Budgeting in Three Countries
ADB has released a book that documents pilot testing of participatory budgeting at the local level in three countries-Indonesia, Marshall Islands, and Pakistan. The pilot tests, carried out under an ADB grant project and documented in Fostering Public Participation in Budget-making, examined the challenges of involving the public in the budget process and highlighted the need for an active and articulate civil society. For more information, contact Raza Ahmad, Governance and Capacity Development Specialist, Capacity Development and Governance Division, RSDD.
Top
11. Publication Highlights Activities of Women's NGOs
ADB has published a collection of case studies of projects financed under an ADB regional technical assistance project on gender and development initiatives. The project highlighted that women's nongovernment organizations (NGOs) have a well-grounded understanding of poor and marginalized women's lives and needs. For more information, contact Francesco Tornieri, Social Development Specialist (Gender and Development), RSDD.
Top
12. Survey of NGO Legislation Published by ADB Institute
The Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) has published NGO Law and Governance, a concise survey of the main issues and principles that affect most internationally operating NGOs. The publication also addresses the improvement of governance in local and development-focused NGOs that work primarily in their home countries. The book, available free of charge on the ADBI website, describes international and domestic laws, as well as generally accepted governance principles impacting the operation of the civil society.
Top
13. CSO Visitor: World Neighbors
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.
World Neighbors is a not-for-profit international development organization that works with some of the most remote and marginalized communities in ecologically fragile areas of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. It supports the transformation of communities by helping people address hunger, poverty, disease, and other challenges that undermine their livelihoods, and by inspiring lasting leadership and collective action for change.
World Neighbors helps people develop, manage, and sustain their own programs. Most programs begin using locally available resources and simple, low-cost technologies. As people gain skills and confidence, local leaders and organizations emerge to carry on the work, multiply results, and participate in coalitions advocating for wider change. World Neighbors' role is to strengthen these basic human and organization resources for long-term development.
The organization does not give away food or material aid. Instead, World Neighbors trains people to develop their skills and leadership to work together for change. The result is self-reliance rather than dependence on external aid. World Neighbors does not determine the focus of the program, but asks people to set their own agenda. Programs include food security, farming, literacy, community and reproductive health, water and sanitation, environmental conservation, savings and credit, non-formal education, and income-generation activities.
World Neighbors works with rural communities in remote areas, often with minority or lower-caste people who are excluded from the mainstream of economic development and decision-making. Often in such areas, the land and forests are degraded, roads are few, clean water or electricity is not accessible, and services such as health care and schools are limited. Infant and maternal death rates in some program areas are among the highest in the world.
Since 1951, World Neighbors has helped more than 25 million people in 45 nations. Today, World Neighbors works with partner organizations in 64 programs in 16 countries, including India, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines, and Timor-Leste. The organization is supported primarily through private donations. Gifts from individuals and charitable foundations represent the largest sources of income. The remainder is provided by income from endowments, donations from churches and civic organizations, and grants from development assistance organizations.
A team of 41 staff members based in the United States provides support to 140 field staff members, more than 50 local partner organizations, and thousands of rural community-level volunteers throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Most World Neighbors' international program staff members are citizens of the countries where they work. They assist rural people living in what are often remote and ecologically fragile geographic areas.
Top
14. Upcoming Events
A listing in this section does not imply ADB endorsement or availability of financing for participants.
- Online training course for Non-Profit/NGO Leaders: "Strategic Frameworks for Nonprofit/NGO Organizations*," March-June (10 weeks), Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. Contact: Nina Zoppi, Program Coordinator, Kennedy School; tel: +1 617 496 0484; fax: +1 617 495 3090.
- Training course on "Managing Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation," 5-9 March, Oxford, United Kingdom. Contact: INTRAC; tel: +44 (0) 1865 263 040.
- Training course on "NGO Leadership Development and Social Change*," 16 April-4 May, Silang, Cavite, Philippines. Contact: Education and Training, IIRR; tel: +632 886 4385; fax: +63 46 414 2420.
- Training course on "Participatory Approaches to Development Management*," 7-25 May, Silang, Cavite, Philippines. Contact: Education and Training, IIRR; tel: +632 886 4385; fax: +63 46 414 2420.
|
Topics 
