DPI/NGO CONFERENCE CONSIDERS NEW APPROACHES TO OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES
Press Release
NGO/299
PI/1032
DPI/NGO CONFERENCE CONSIDERS NEW APPROACHES TO OPERATIONAL ACTIVITIES
19970912 Constant turnover of staff in international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) limited the success and sustainability of partnerships between NGOs and local peoples, participants in the fiftieth annual Department of Public Information (DPI)/NGO Conference were told this morning.Conrad Kottak, Chair of the Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, said local peoples' ideas of social change must be solicited by development workers, because some NGOs believed that other actors had better ideas about what was good for communities. He was a panellist in a Conference discussion about models for new partnerships. A second panel discussion concerned NGOs' new approaches to operational activities. The theme of the Conference is "Building Partnerships".
Dianne Otto, Lecturer in International and Criminal Law, University of Melbourne, Australia, said partnerships between NGOs should be promoted, particularly between those of the North and the South. Non-governmental organizations should develop a common language, aimed at ensuring that partnerships were inclusive, empowering and committed to diversity.
The Conference will meet again at 3 p.m. today to conclude its deliberations.
Models for New Partnerships
The panel's moderator was DIANNE OTTO, Lecturer in International and Criminal Law, University of Melbourne, Australia, and currently Visiting Scholar at Columbia University's School of Law. Models of partnerships were as varied as NGOs themselves, she said. Building partnerships was an incredibly creative and challenging process.
Partnerships between NGOs should be emphasized, particularly between those of the North and the South, she said. Also worthy of particular attention was the issue of developing a common language between groups, aimed at ensuring that partnerships were inclusive, empowering and committed to diversity. The increasingly professional roles and huge budgets of NGOs were in tension with the need to keep NGOs closely connected with the grassroots. Non-governmental organizations commonly identified themselves with the peoples of the world, but in practical terms, what was the meaning of that association? she asked.
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SUSAN BERRESFORD, President, Ford Foundation, said the word "partnership" signalled not only a structural arrangement, but also a common purpose. One definition of "partner", which she particularly liked, was "a heavy post on a ship's deck that holds the mast". Each member in any collaboration contributed unique elements to the arrangement. It was naive to say that one party held more power and that, therefore, true partnership was not possible.
Inequalities were a feature of human life, she continued. The structure of partnerships had to take into account such inevitable inequalities. The Ford Foundation had been exploring innovative ways of meeting with grantees. In one model, the Foundation met with grantees as a group. In those meetings, grantees outnumbered the Foundation, candour was encouraged, and, often, grantees were allowed to set the agenda. Reviewing other models of innovative Ford Foundation meetings with grantees, she said the central message was experimentation with the conditions of partnerships.
More interactive, global forums were becoming the norm, she continued. Non-hierarchy was a popular issue in today's world, yet little was known about how to make such relationships work. Arrangements and structures were needed.
ANDREA CARMEN, Executive Director, International Indian Treaty Council, said the Council had been founded in 1974 to create a channel of access to the United Nations for indigenous peoples whose human and civil rights had been abused. But it was not enough merely to denounce abuses: indigenous peoples' civil and human rights had to be recognized on an international level. The Council had been active in many United Nations efforts to recognize indigenous peoples' rights.
Partnership had become a buzzword in the establishment of many indigenous peoples' movements, she said. Agenda 21, adopted by the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), urged peoples to address development in partnerships. That partnership had not become a reality, but the concept had entered into international dialogue. The foundation for partnership was a free, mutually agreeable relationship among actors. The United Nations Charter had recognized peoples' rights to self-determination and development. Development should be sustainable. The most serious abuses of development failed to recognize indigenous peoples' right to self- determination. In discussing the draft declaration for the rights of indigenous peoples, Member States had talked about partnerships, but ironically opposed indigenous peoples' right to self-determination.
MILANA TOLINS, Project Officer, Farmer-to-Farmer, Land O' Lakes International Development Division, said Land O' Lakes united about 300,000 dairy farmers in business in the mid-west United States. In 1981, the company initiated its international development programme, and now worked with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) around the world,
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to pre-create conditions for investment linkages. It worked with business people in south-eastern Mexico, including Chiapas State. In establishing the latter relationship, Land O' Lakes formed an initiative with the International Indian Treaty Council.
The Farmer-to-Farmer programme worked with indigenous populations to understand the latter's needs, she said. Agricultural specialists were then deployed to those populations on a volunteer basis. Specialists were chosen with the expectation that a long-term relationship would be established with local peoples. Land O' Lakes provided logistical support to farmers, while the Council laid groundwork for good relations with the host country. It was often difficult to approach people in a different culture, thus the Council's contribution was crucial. Such partnerships were valuable to Land O' Lakes as well, with lessons about how to work in a global economy. More businesses should endeavour such work.
CLIFFORD DOCHTERMAN, Chairman, The Rotary Foundation Trustees, said he would focus on a successful programme, based on partnerships, called "PolioPlus", which was working to eradicate the disease poliomyelitis. Rotary Clubs were devoted to building a better society through service. Formed by a small group of businessmen in 1905, they now had a membership of over 1.2 million in 165 nations. In 1978, Rotary had launched its first programme in massive polio immunization in the Philippines. Rotary International purchased the vaccine, and the Philippine branch mobilized the nation in cooperation with the national Ministry of Health. Six million children were immunized from that effort.
That success led to a goal of eliminating polio worldwide by the year 2005, he continued. To accomplish that goal, 500 million children would have to be immunized. A massive fund-raising effort collected $247 million for the endeavour. While the professional health community was sceptical at first, Rotary's funds, international membership, and dedication to the cause had led to the organization eventually becoming a full partner with dozens of national health ministries, the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). The programme linked health professionals, governments, community groups and other actors. It approached the problem from several angles. To date, over a billion children had been immunized.
The programme was an example of successful private-public partnerships, he said. Today, 155 nations had been declared "polio-free", compared with only 85, 10 years ago. The 28,000 Rotary Clubs had created massive networks for mobilizing communities, working in multisectoral relationships. There was still much to be done. In Africa, for example, 120 million children required immunization. Worldwide, many countries had limited health infrastructures.
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PEDRO HUERTA, President of the International Association for Students Interested in Economics and Business (AIESEC International), talked about the importance of changing oneself as a first step to changing the world. In 1948, seven students had formed the organization; its membership now numbered some 50,000 in 87 countries. The organization's goal was for its members to become business leaders with a strong commitment to international cooperation and social responsibility.
AIESEC's student exchange programme forged respect for different cultures, he said. Exposure to social and environmental problems was just as important for training business students as the development of corporate skills. The AIESEC wanted to broaden the scope of its partnerships from emphasizing corporate networks to forging relations with NGOs. Different sectors of society shared common interests and common social responsibilities. Combining corporate experience and knowledge of social and humanitarian issues, AIESEC sought to link efficiency and responsibility.
CONRAD KOTTAK, Professor and Chair, Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Consultant to the World Bank, said that his initial interest in social change among local peoples was academic, but he had later decided to undertake applied anthropology, to affect change in an appropriate way. Anthropologists involved in such work should respect peoples' social hierarchies. Local leaders must always be consulted, as well as established governmental institutions, and national and international NGOs. Academics' partnerships with host country colleagues were necessary on a series of levels.
The instability and constant shifting of personnel in international NGOs limited the success and sustainability of partnerships, he said. Anthropologists' work with local peoples must include solicitation of the latter's ideas of social change. Some NGOs believed other actors had better ideas about what was good for communities. Socially relevant diversity within communities must also be observed. There had been increased attention to women's roles and status in societies, but little attention to male gender roles, or to age-related diversity. Adolescent men were ignored in particular; the economic constraints they faced, and their consequent criminal activity, made their study crucial.
Asked if work with indigenous peoples influenced corporate structures, Ms. TOLINS said partnerships with local peoples benefited the business community, which must learn about cultural structures. Ms. CARMEN noted that indigenous peoples had been active in the formation of many environmental treaties, but not in important trade agreements. Asked about indigenous peoples' land rights, she said those rights must be recognized. If the State was the ultimate arbiter of land rights agreements, they were not just. The Convention on Biological Diversity did not include indigenous peoples' rights to biological resources.
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Responding to a question on the matter, Mr. DOCHTERMAN said the Rotary did not have a programme to help Member States pay their dues to the Organization. It was not permitted to do lobbying work, being chartered in the United States and existing in other countries.
Regarding a question on saving children from disease while arms threatened the existence of the planet, he said he had confidence in the future of the world. Every NGO needed confidence in the future. Children's problems were the problems of today; world strife was the problem of the ages.
To a question about whether the PolioPlus programme could be replicated to address the scourge of tuberculosis, Mr. DOCHTERMAN said that the international health community did not have a global health plan on addressing that disease. In the absence of such, Rotary had a number of programmes dealing with the disease.
Finally, he told the NGO representatives to contact local Rotary Clubs in their communities. In 28,000 communities worldwide, there were Rotary Clubs which could partner with NGOs.
Ms. BERRESFORD said that institutions had to be enlisted in humanitarian and health efforts. A demand force needed to exert pressure on institutions. Also, the leaders of institutions must hear about successes and needs. The Ford Foundation had tried to implement programmes worldwide. As people witnessed successes and learned about the difference such programmes had made, support would be built. Colleges, universities and corporations must be challenged and asked about their role in development.
Mr. KOTTACK said that international NGOs from the North frequently received disproportionate funding, while local and national NGOs did not receive their fair share of resources. He recognized that differential power relations were a problem within the NGO community. Also, he said there was a tendency to ignore youth groups or downplay their impact. However, development institutions must draw on existing groups for social change, instead of attempting to form new groups. The challenge was to discover existing organizations and harness them for social change.
Mr. HUERTA, responding to questions about his organization's methodology, said preparation was key. Those participating in exchanges must be prepared culturally and in business skills. AIESEC's local chapters were of great impact in that regard.
Working with NGOs: New Approaches to Operational Activities
The Panel's Chair was LEONA FORMAN, Chief, NGO Section, DPI.
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JOHN CLARK, Chief, NGO Unit, World Bank, said that NGOs had become an important factor in development. One study indicated that in 18 countries, NGOs contributed 2 to 6 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). The World Bank's history with NGOs comprised four phases. The first lasted until 1980, during which NGOs were not on the Bank's "radar bank". Later, the Bank made an effort to utilize NGOs' ability to reach out to the grass-roots level in countries hosting Bank projects. In the late 1980s, during popular campaigns against Bank projects, NGOs were seen as the enemy. Most recently, many Bank officials sought a different relationship with NGOs, to again utilize their skills at the ground level. Non-governmental organizations were making tremendous contributions to Bank projects, not only because of their cost- effectiveness, but for their ability to build local capacity and to mobilize local opinion. The most important aspect of the partnership was NGOs' "social proximity" to projects.
Today, 58 per cent of Bank projects involved NGOs, he said. Non- governmental organizations were now involved at project design and analysis stages. Indigenous NGOs were solicited, as well. The appointment of NGO specialists to Bank residence missions was an important development; 32 appointments had so far been made. Operational collaboration with NGOs was important, as was policy dialogue. In countries unable to promote civil society, governments often listened to NGOs, which could positively profile Bank work. Non-governmental organizations also contributed to popular support for development assistance.
Top-down approaches to development were problematic, he said. Local populations were not ignorant and passive. There was a shift from the supply side of development to the demand side. Non-governmental organizations were critical in that regard; they acted as interlocutors between the Bank and local actors. Non-governmental organizations were able to rank local peoples' priorities, by employing important research, analysis and network skills. James Wolfenshon, the current Bank President, recognized the contributions of NGOs to development.
SONAM YANGCHEN, Manager, Civil Society Organization and Participation Programme, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said the organization's increasing openness was due to both the contributions of NGOs and the democratization process by which civil society interactions were being given more weight by governments. The UNDP focused on sustainable human development. Poverty eradication had been identified as top priority. Putting people first was an underlying theme of the Programme's work. Today, positive global agreements required action at the country level for implementation.
The UNDP had helped to place civil society issues on par with other critical society issues, she continued. Experts on such issues were in all substantive departments, and there were NGO representatives worldwide.
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Alliances with civil society partners were being solidified. The UNDP sought to widen civil society's interactions with government policy-makers. In promoting human development, the UNDP had fostered skills in advocacy, research and strategic planning. In addition, the UNDP had worked to improve its institutional capacity for effective work with NGOs and civil society -- in part, by simplifying its mechanisms.
Based on lessons learned, a number of positive improvements had been made in UNDP's work with civil society, Ms. Yangchen said. Civil society concerns were now "mainstreamed" into all projects. The UNDP programmes now involved civil society actors. Improvements in partnerships were needed in policy advocacy, substantive expertise and operation collaboration. Local, national and global efforts were needed. Successes to date were fragile and uneven. Another issue of concern to the UNDP was that proliferation and diversification within the civil society community slowed the process of identifying the best partners.
To a question about NGOs' involvement in World Bank projects, Mr. CLARK said the Bank had been created to lend money specifically to governments for assistance, and encouraged governments to work with NGOs. Large infrastructural projects undertaken by the Bank, such as dam constructions, were often extremely controversial, and required close consultation with local peoples. Non-governmental organizations were helpful in promoting such consultation. Asked about potential modifications to structural adjustment programmes, he said some changes had already been made. Adjustment programmes now addressed social issues. But "that was not good enough"; adjustment programmes "must unleash the full productive capacity of poor people". A new participatory initiative had been started by the Bank, to understand the impact and lessons of structural adjustment. As to governments' reaction to expanded Bank-NGO relations, he said many governments thought the Bank had gone too far in listening to NGOs.
In response to a participant's question about whether the UNDP could contribute to continuing the work of the UNDP's July conference on good governance, and to the proposed "Peoples' Assembly" for the year 2000, Ms. YANGCHEN said efforts to that end were under way.
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