Seminar Summary
On 2 May 2018, more than 130 representatives of civil society organizations (CSOs) from ADB’s member countries, joined the consultation workshop on ADB’s new strategy. Participants shared optimism in relation to ADB’s emphasis on addressing climate change, and flexible country-specific strategies. They shared concrete suggestions to promote accountability and transparency, especially on projects involving the private sector. The discussions likewise put emphasis on food security and rural development, as well as the role of youth as an active contributor to development.
ADB Vice President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development Bambang Susantono welcomed the participants. ADB’s Tomoyuki Kimura and Valerie Hill, from the Strategy and Policy Department, presented the key directions of Strategy 2030 based on the latest draft shared with stakeholders. Presenters also highlighted key inputs provided by CSOs in earlier consultations and how these were reflected in the draft strategy.
Selected panelists from civil society shared specific areas on governance, gender, agricultural development, youth, environment and inclusive development. The consultation workshop was the first event of the Civil Society Program of the 51st ADB Annual Meeting in Manila, the Philippines. The purpose of the consultation was to seek comments and feedback from CSOs to further refine the draft new strategy before its finalization this year. ADB started extensive stakeholder consultations and background work in preparing the Strategy 2030 in 2015.
Speakers
Bambang Susantono
Bambang Susantono is the vice president for knowledge management and sustainable development of ADB, responsible for the Departments of Sustainable Development and Climate Change, Economic Research and Regional Cooperation, and External Relations. He was vice-minister of Indonesia’s Ministry of Transportation and deputy minister for infrastructure and regional development. He holds a PhD in infrastructure planning and master’s degrees in transportation engineering as well as city and regional planning from the University of California, Berkeley, United States, and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia.
Christopher I. Morris
Chris Morris heads ADB’s NGO and Civil Society Center, and oversees the planning, implementation, and monitoring of ADB’s overall engagement with civil society organizations, as well as the design and implementation of the CSO program at the ADB Annual Meetings. Before joining ADB, Chris was vice president within the water division of global engineering firm Black and Veatch.
Presenters
Valerie Hill
Ms. Valerie Hill is director of the Strategy, Policy, and Business Process Division of ADB's Strategy and Policy and Review Department. She has worked in various capacities within ADB since 2000. Ms. Hill has more than 20 years of professional experience working mostly in Asia and Africa on development issues. Before joining ADB, she worked as an economist at the International Monetary Fund, USA. She also previously worked for the World Bank in Washington, DC, USA where she performed research and various consultancy assignments. She holds doctorate and master’s degrees in economics from George Washington University, USA, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Monmouth College, USA.
Tomoyuki Kimura
Tomoyuki Kimura has more than 30 years of work experience in corporate and development finance. He joined ADB in 2000 as energy sector specialist. Prior to joining the Strategy, Policy and Review Department, he served as country director for Viet Nam and advisor for work force planning and human resource policy development. Mr. Kimura holds a master’s degree in business administration from the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management in Northwestern University, USA and a bachelor of law in Kyoto University, Japan.
Panelists
Vinay Bhargava
Vinay Bhargava is currently chief technical advisor and a board member at the international NGO Partnership for Transparency Fund, which supports CSOs in promoting citizen engagement for promoting government transparency, accountability, and freedom from corruption. He is a former country director and director of international affairs at the World Bank. He is currently adjunct faculty at Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, Washington DC, USA and is a visiting professor at the Hiroshima and Kobe Universities in Japan, delivering courses on international development and foreign aid management. Mr. Bhargava is passionate about governance and anti-corruption, international development policy and practice, and Asian affairs. He pursues these interests as a volunteer, professor, consultant, and author.
Devon Ronald Dublin
Devon Ronald Dublin is the project coordinator of the Global Environment Facility-Satoyama Project for Conservation International, Japan and has held the position since 2015. Prior to his work in Conservation International, Mr. Dublin received his doctorate in environmental science development from Hokkaido University Japan. Throughout Mr. Dublin's academic career, he held several teaching assistant positions and post-doctoral fellowships at Hokkaido University, specializing in the fields of environmental science, culture, regionalism and sustainability sciences. Mr. Dublin previously served at the Ministry of Agriculture in Guyana as a veterinary officer in 2007.
Emeline Siale Ilolahia
Emeline Siale Ilolahia is deputy executive director of PIANGO, a major regional NGO network with membership from 23 countries and territories of the Pacific Islands. She also worked as executive director of the Civil Society Forum of Tonga, which aims to provide a common voice for CSOs in Tonga to advocate and influence policy direction. She helped to develop an accountability mechanism to guide CSO work and ensure that their accounts are regularly audited, and strategic plans, operational policies and constitutions are in order. She has been lobbying and advocating for CSO representation in national and international conferences and on national committees, and for recognition of CSO contribution to national development. Ms. Ilolahia also supported the development of the CSO Engagement Framework with cluster/coalition approach to facilitate engagement and partnership with governments and key stakeholders.
Abdelrahman Ayman Ibrahim Mohamed
Mr. Abdelrahman is the current president of AIESEC International where he leads the AIESEC International Headquarters staff in Rotterdam, Netherlands as well as youth volunteers and AIESEC members from over 126 countries. Abdelrahman served as the director of the Middle East and Africa AIESEC contingency before he took office in September 2017. Abdelrahman’s experience with AIESEC also include leading AIESEC Egypt as country director and national director of organizational development respectively. Abdelrahman received his bachelor’s in pharmaceutical sciences and clinical pharmacy from Cairo University in 2012.
Marlene Ramirez
Marlene D. Ramirez is secretary general of Asian Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (AsiaDHRRA), where she has been helping organize a regional farmers' alliance, now an autonomous body called Asian Farmers' Association (AFA) serving millions of farmers in Asia. She sits on the board of AgriCord global alliance of agri-agencies, providing direct financing and advice to farmers/fishers' organizations, and represents AgriCord in the Joint Steering Committee of European Union-International Fund for Agricultural Development ASEAN Farmers' Organization Support Program (AFOSP 2015-2019). From 2010 to date, she serves as interlocuter for civil society engagement with the Food and Agriculture Organization Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, and sits in the Civil Society Governance Council of Grow Asia. As an ASEAN follower, she represents AsiaDHRRA in the Coordinating Conference on the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, has led the drafting of ASEAN Rural Development and Poverty Eradication Framework Action Plan 2011-2015 and the external Mid-term Review of the ASEAN Socio Cultural Community Blueprint in 2013.
Hemantha Withanage
Moderator
Sreeni Narayanan
Sreeni Narayanan is the founder and group managing director of the Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation (ASSIST), an innovative capacity-building international non-government organization (NGO) that promotes sustainable practices to partner development organizations. A chemical engineer by profession with an MBA from the Asian Institute of Management, Mr. Narayanan has led ASSIST in managing projects in over 20 countries across Asia and maintaining offices in four: the Philippines (its headquarters), India, Viet Nam, and Cambodia. Mr. Narayanan is also behind ASSIST’s other social ventures, which include Impact Magazine (formerly AsianNGO Magazine), a first-of-its-kind mixed media magazine that aims to provide NGOs opportunities to find funds, partners, and relevant learning resources for better organizational and program management.