www.asianngo.org issue #2 | JULY-August 2013
Funds | Partnerships | Learning
Featured Grant
USAID seeks to strengthen Pakistan health care system
The United States Agency for International Development in Pakistan calls for applications from international and local non-governmental organisations, non-profit or voluntary organisations for the Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) component of a large Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Cont. page 15
News Feature
Featured organisation
Coca-Cola Company and the United Nations Development Programme initiated the Every Drop Matters (EDM) project in 2006 to provide community seed-funds and innovate solutions to water problems across the region. Since its inception, the initiative has expanded to 62 projects testing various methods of protecting
In societies where the trauma of falling victim to human trafficking is not so easily shed off as the fear of being stigmatised lingers, very few dare to brave the odds. And in countries where the issue is rife, the battle is never easy. But International Justice
EDM, Coke, UNDP project as seed-funders for development
Cont. page 13
Beyond rescuing young victims of human trafficking: International Justice Mission
Cont. page 4
Lost generation’s search for work:
where to start?
Asia-Pacific’s youth population of the 16-24 age group currently stands at 650 million. As it is, that’s already two-thirds of the global total, expected to surpass the 700M mark by 2030. Every year, 40M of them graduate from universities, ready to take on the real world they have so eagerly waited to face. Yet with rapidly growing economies and thus an ever-expanding job market, the region also has 36.4 M unemployed young professionals, the highest globally. Cont. page 8
R E C E N T E VE N T
N E W S F EATURE
Technology at its UNICEF calls for end on child most personal: malnutrition Microsoft’s Apps In a recent report of the UNICEF one in four children suffer from chronic For Asia undernutrition, which is found to have devastating long-term consequences both for [them] and the economic well-being of their communities. Published in April of this year, the report "Improving Child Nutrition: The achievable imperative for global progress" reveals high prevalence of stunting in children under 5; and outlines opportunities to reduce and possibly eliminate the problem.
Myanmar and Cambodia are two Southeast Asian countries with troubled histories and among the poorest in the region. Being largely agrarian countries with over 70 percent of the population living in rural areas, developing the agricultural sector is key to reducing poverty in these two countries. Despite progress in recent years, poor access to knowledge and limited adoption of technology has resulted in low productivity of farmers. Cont. page 13
Muhammad Yunus speaks at Impact Forum page 3 Feeding the poor in a rich city page 4
Chelsea Clinton writes of an inspiring visit to Asia page 6 Country Feature: Vietnam and its young leaders page 9 India’s billionaire daughter lends to the poor page 11 SE Asia's solar success page 11
Cont. page 4
Improving competitiveness of vegetable farmers in Myanmar and Cambodia
T op S t or i es
Holcim’s waste management project in Sri Lanka page 12 Microsoft and Asian Development Bank gathered fifteen independent software vendors, business startups and software developers to the 46th Annual Meeting of the ADB’s Board of Governors in New Delhi last May to exhibit applications that address social needs and issues across Asia. The Apps for Asia initiative directly aligned with the summit’s theme of Development through Empowerment, enabling developers to create sustainable solutions for the economic and social benefits of governments, civil society, and businesses in the region. Cont. page 13
Qatar Airways backs Educate-aChild initiative page 14 The Green Leaders Summit 2013 in Sydney page 15 See more about available grants across the region page 15
Editorial Editorial
Sustaining the brain gain in Asia
Mike Saycon mike@asianngo.org
Brain drain from Asia has become phenomenal largely because young professionals have access to higher education abroad and, later, better work opportunities there. Although some may return, others choose to stay for good because their country’s condition may not afford them the same opportunities. Brain drain impedes long-term development and creates a dent in its potentials, particularly transition economies. Emigration of skilled labour to developed nations due to the desire for better opportunities or to flee political instability is a cycle of problem that Asia faces.
More recently, however, a reverse trend has become apparent: brain gain—the transfer of skilled labour and human capital from developed nations to emerging economies, with the global IT industry being most significantly affected by this trend. Between 2000 and 2008, evidence of reverse brain drain had surfaced; despite immigrants making ever more important contributions to the development of American high technology. This is highly attributed to the rise of high-technology industries in Asia, and better prospects in booming nations like India and China. In addition, economic problems persisting in Western nations and the increasing number of skilled migrant workers have caused talents from developed nations to make their way to Asia. But to sustain this brain gain and avert another exodus, the corporate and non-profit sectors must come up with ways like CSR initiatives and social enterprises to strengthen countries’ job creation capabilities, innovate business models and increase employability of the youth at home.
Where do NGOs come in? NPO-driven summits supported by international foundations, such as the WISE Qatar (World Innovation Summit for Education) of the Qatar Foundation, have created multi-sectoral platforms to enable creative thinking, an active debate and action-driven innovation to keep up with the changing demands in the education and labour sectors. Through an annual summit and series of programmes, the WISE also calls for collaboration with institutions, recruitment firms and corporations to take up the issue of youth unemployment together, starting them young. Entries to WISE, for example—ranging from farming schools in rural South America to corporate-backed micro-financing cooperatives for students in the Nordic region—have yielded proofs of success. (For more information on WISE, see their showcase at www.wise-qatar.org). Programmes like those showcased in WISE need only be replicated across Asia—in collaboration with local and multi-national corporate giants
Commentary
Empowering the youth for development
Yatheender Potnam yatheender@asianngo.org
In a world that is constantly in flux and where growth numbers are often overshadowed by inflation, it is imperative for developed as well as developing countries to look beyond regular budgetary spending and invest in something more. The ‘something more’ has been a debate for close to a decade now, and the channeling of resources to various sectors still remains an open topic of discussion. Investing in primary and secondary education is a necessity, but does the buck stop there? What seems to be lacking is the empowerment of youth; hence enabling them to take decisions and chart out the course of a corporation or—even to a greater extent—a nation. It is time for seasoned professionalism to make way for youth-inspired leadership. The developmental sector is no different with more and more youngsters joining NGOs, NPOs and CSOs to make a difference in the lives of less fortunate people.
It is heartening to know that the number of youngsters between the ages of 18 and 30 years joining such organisations has doubled in the last couple years. These youngsters have felt the need to address issues on hand such as poverty, human rights, women empowerment, infrastructure needs, education, hunger, among others—with the Indian sub-continent and Southeast Asia having seen the sharpest increase in such enterprises. With economies in the US and Euro region contracting rapidly, the massive population of Asia has enabled NGOs and NPOs to take advantage of economies of scale and provide better services at a lower cost. The reason for mentioning the word ‘cost’ in this case is to emphasise the severity of lack in funding available. Corporations, banks, governments and individuals tend to think it is better to divert funds into ‘profit making’ ventures as compared to CSOs; hence, it is necessary to offer maximum services with minimum cost for an impact to be seen. On the other hand, the amount of funding available for social enterprises has risen dramatically. JP Morgan has estimated the total amount of money available through various developmentfocused sources totals to approximately USD 9 billion; which will be valued at $500 B by 2022 considering the various project returns in the social enterprise sector. Numbers may not seem
significant, but over 60 per cent of these social enterprises have been started by youngsters in the 18-30 age group. One leading company which taps this potential is The Youth Social Innovation Capital Fund, which helps connect young social entrepreneurs and impact investors to drive the creation of sustainable social and environmental value. It enables youngsters without any credible credit history, assets and business experience to face the challenges in getting the necessary funding for their ventures. More and more youth—from all over the globe—are also now experimenting with organisations like AIESEC, which provide volunteering opportunities across all sectors in many countries. The Asian Development Bank’s annual youth forum is another platform that engages youth from diverse local and international backgrounds to understand development issues from their perspective—even offer solutions that are most relevant to their and their communities’ situation. It is through these platforms that the youth today are able to make a marked difference to the society they live in, given the increasing availability of channels in which they are able to harness their ideas to fruition. The question for a lot of people now is on the relative imbalance between the funds available and the number of projects
who would be eager to innovate these models further. The brain gain that Asia currently enjoys will then provide a more lasting solution to the region’s employment gap, even while they are still studying. Finally, education still is the most crucial start; and poverty is never an excuse. In Malaysia for example, a strategy to keep their citizens from going abroad to study is to bring Western education to the country. Australia's Monash University was the first to set up, followed by Britain's Nottingham University, in 2000. In March the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) teamed up with a Malaysian government agency to create Asia's first Institute for Supply-Chain Innovation. With many education-focused NGOs in Asia, a dynamic CSR environment and abundance of opportunities for social enterprises, there is no other way for brain gain to go but up. Partnerships between aid agencies and local NGOs, such as that of ASSIST Asia, TÜV Nord and local universities in Indonesia for example, build capacities among young energy management professionals to enhance skills in mitigating climate change in the country. Professionals thus gain higher desirability in their field and have less need to seek greener pastures across the world. The lure of the West is wearing off thanks in large part to the rapid pace of development in Asia that has managed to do well despite the recession. But beyond monetary considerations for the ongoing brain gain is the need to sustain this progress. ■ underway—largely perceived to be that of the former having less than the latter. One argument is the possible ‘lack of a single platform solution’ available for these budding young entrepreneurs, who are still under the impression that they have to run from ‘pillar to post’ to get to that elusive goal. Such is not the case anymore, with more and more comprehensively packaged initiatives flooding the world wide web hence helping these rising leaders achieve what they have set out to do. For our part here at AsianNGO, it is my pleasure to present one such comprehensive social venture, which we envision to empower the youth to not just start their own social enterprises and open them up to opportunities that can later take on; but also for them and NGOs alike to achieve optimum impact on sustainable work like never before, at the least time possible. AsianNGO hopes to push the boundaries of social innovation and social enterprise to make this world a better, younger and smarter place. After all, these rising young leaders will need to be armed with as much tools as they can get for them to take full advantage of what technology has to offer. ■
The Asian Youth Forum at this year’s Annual Meeting of the ADB’s Board of Governors in New Delhi featured breakout sessions that provided an interface between the 300+ youth delegates from across the region and NPO and social enterprise leaders. Naturally, the most discussed issue was the link between the youth’s role in development and the opportunities that the non-profit sector can provide through active entrepreneurial collaborations with social enterprise initiatives—all empowered by a coherent relationship between local NGOs, the private sector and government agencies.
EDITORIAL TEAM Sreenivas Narayanan CEO & Publisher
Mike Saycon Editor-in-Chief
Karthikeyan Subburaman Senior Editor
Yatheender PM Managing Editor
Robert Ferguson Development Director
Alexandra Kidner Partnerships Manager
2
Web Administrator
Edward Rey
Research Associates
Marivic Barsaga Chona Montecillo Edsel Nufable Ghea Sinajon Layout Artist
Kelvin Tee
Creative Team
V. Selvanarayanan Karolina Trofiniak Erwin Ancheta Marion Aron Osal Kendrick Bautista
For Sponsorships & Advertising: advertise@asianngo.org
AsianNGO is a publication of Asian Development Media, with address in 21B, Kwong Fat Hong Bldg No.1, Ramsey St. Central, Hong Kong 1226. The print edition of AsianNGO is released on a bi-monthly basis. Opinions expressed in this magazine are solely those of the writers and not necessarily endorsed by Asian Development Media.
For General Enquiry info@asianngo.org
For contributions, please get in contact with the editorial team at info@asianngo.org.
PHOTO CREDITS CORBIS www.corbisimages.com PHOTO STOCK EXCHANGE www.sxc.hu iSTOCK PHOTOS www.istockphoto.com
For more of AsianNGO and its database of grants, partners and events, visit www.asianngo.org.
For Subscriptions: subscribe@asianngo.org For Partnerships: partner@asianngo.org
www.asianngo.org
recent events
Muhammad Yunus speaks at Reporting for sustainable development Impact Forum On 22-24 May, 1,600 delegates from over 30 sectors gathered sustainability reporting. in Amsterdam for the 2013 Global Reporting Initiative’s Re-thinking capitalism for Conference on Sustainability and Reporting. Members of the “Companies and governments face the same challenges in terms academe, financial services sector, business leaders, civil society of sustainability. We both need to define what is material for us; inclusive growth groups, think-tanks, government officials, industry associations, and provide more transparent information to the society,” noted inter-governmental agencies, labour organisations, NGOs and other non-profit organisations discussed advancing sustainability reporting and into sustainable economies.
Sustainability reporting in developing countries was assessed with examining connections between reporting and sustainable development, poverty alleviation, and progress on matters such as gender equality, governance, and resource conservation. Hans Egler, the Swiss Head of Trade Promotion, said “it is important for companies to have the right, sustainably-produced products across their value chains; and that it’s important for them to collaborate in developing countries that want to be part of these global value chains.” Broken out to plenaries and 42 different sessions, 171 speakers and panelists shared insights on the Academic Track, Policy Track and Trends in Reporting Track and discussed issues that emphasised the human values that underpin reporting and business activity itself. At a policy level, panelists posited the importance of regulation, governance, and rule of law; while other focus areas included global value chains, the need for flexible frameworks, and the importance of relevant, comparable (L-R) Durreen Shahnaz, founder and chair IIX Asia and founder and sustainability data. managing director of Shujog; Mr. Yunus; and Wayne Silby, chair of the Calvert Foundation at “The Next 10 Years: Possibilities of Asia’s Capital The conference called on policy-makers, governments and stock Markets” session following Mr. Yunus’ keynote address. exchanges to step up and be part of the solution; mainstreaming
This year’s annual Impact Forum, hosted in Singapore last 1314 June by Impact Investing Exchange (IIX) Asia and Shujog, brought Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus to speak of social ventures as a new way of re-thinking capitalism. The forum gathered professionals from across the globe with a thrust to use capital markets and the financial sector to bring about social and environmental good.
sustainability further to address the urgent challenge of global sustainability, and promoting a culture of transparency and accountability, in order to complement and support voluntary
José Manuel de la Sota, Governor of the Province of Cordoba in Argentina. The conference also marked the launch of the G4 Guidelines on Sustainability Reporting, which has special emphasis on supporting organisations to report the sustainability information; encouraging them to provide only disclosures that are material on the basis of a dialogue with stakeholders. “We need Guidelines that focus on the sustainability impacts that really matter—and where they matter,” says the GRI’s Nelmara Arbex, adding how the G4’s content and structure meet the fundamental need of the right balance between required disclosures and common-sense decision-making. The G4 offers a globally harmonised system for non-financial reporting that allows flexible disclosure in different report formats, be they stand-alone sustainability reports, integrated reports or annual reports. “Despite the different backgrounds of participants and panelists, possibly the most striking constant throughout the Conference was the degree of consensus on the big issues: support for a global reporting language; an understanding that huge progress has been made, but that ‘change one company at a time’ is not fast enough; and a call for policy-makers to take action so that all large companies report material sustainability information,” said Ernst Ligteringen, GRI’s CEO. For more information on the G4 Guidelines and this year’s conference, see their website at www.globalreporting.org. ■
Now on its fifth year and themed ‘Investing in Inclusion,’ the Impact Forum brought together investors, innovators, social entrepreneurs and leaders from civil societies, public and the private sectors. Mr. Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank and the Grameen Foundation, delivered the keynote address at the event. “A social stock exchange must emphasise on social enterprises that generate funds and impact investment to solve issues like poverty and lack of opportunities for the poor. The fact that an increasing number of business schools like the HEC Paris, European Business School and Glasgow University are following the trend of setting up social business centres, there is a clear need and opportunities for stronger collaborations in the region,” Yunus said in his speech. Yunus retraced his journey when developing micro-credit financing and social businesses; and harked on the importance of setting similar business up in the fight against poverty. Overall, the forum sought a shift in public attitude around creating equal opportunities for under-accessed markets; where communities can move from the ‘base of the pyramid’ to the core of the pyramid; and in the process re-shape the landscape of impact investment. The organisers, Asia IIX and Shujog, also wanted to “push boundaries in how the government, business and social sectors must re-think their strategies and work together towards inclusive growth.” Other speakers included Piyush Gupta, CEO and director of the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) Group; Durreen Shahnaz, founder and chair IIX Asia and founder and managing director of Shujog; Marina Mahathir, writer, activist and TV producer; and Wayne Silby, founding chair of the Calvert Fund.
ADVERTISEMENT 2col X 9.5233 in
Notable sessions at the forum centred on exploring financial innovations that deliver greater investment opportunities that create access for the poor; private sector intervention in the health care sector and understanding how social enterprises (SE) can provide essential balance of financial sustainability and socially beneficial services; and the best-practices for investors and SEs in the broader renewable energy sectors. Shujog capacitates social enterprises, investors and stakeholders with tools creating organisational and fiscal accountability, transparency and insights on impact-investing across the AsiaPacific. It assesses SEs’ performances and identifies gaps in organisation health and mission realisation; and equips them with the tools to measure their works and multiply their impact on sustainability. IIX, meanwhile, promotes inclusive sustainable growth by facilitating in the development, expansion and funding of SEs in Asia and Africa through its investment platforms. It organises sessions where investment-ready SEs patch live with professionals of accredited investors interested in SE initiatives. Both the investors and SEs then engage in face-to-face meetings that accelerate decision-making. ■ www.asianngo.org
3
f e at u r e s from page 1
Beyond rescuing young victims of human trafficking: International Justice Mission Apart from all the legal and investigative work
it does, IJM’s Manila office also collaborates with two local social enterprise groups to help survivors through skills training and eventual employment in their respective initiatives. Both organisations compliment IJM’s pre- and postrescue legal work by integrating these young adults back to a functioning society; training them in from as basic as office administration and management to as complex as accounting.
An IJM social worker prepares a client before a court hearing
The Paper Project, a social enterprise producing hand-made greeting cards and other paperbased products for export to the United States, has employed over 20 survivors of human trafficking, mostly females. Meanwhile, Liberty Street Clothing, a local manufacturer of business clothing line, also employs some of IJM’s clients. One of the many red-light districts in Manila that IJM and local police have put undersurveilance.
Mission, a global human rights agency that rescues victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression, not only investigates cases for litigation but also provides aftercare to victims. IJM works to ensure greater and more sustainable transformation of public justice systems by collaborating with government and law enforcement agencies to comprehensively bolster systems against sex trafficking and
child sexual abuse. For instance, it trains law enforcement units in handling and responding to instances of trafficking. Prior to the rescue, IJM investigators assist local and national law enforcement units in gathering and documenting evidence of trafficking and sexual exploitation. A majority of the survivors, now aged 1735, came from the provinces when they were rescued. IJM-Manila attorney Lawrence Aritao points out that they were even younger when rescued and put to shelters pending their court cases and trials. “It can be a heavy and long process, and takes the toll on the emotional health of our clients,” he says. From the rescue operation itself to eventual re-integration to normal living and working conditions, the process could take three years or longer.
Tanya Aritao, Director for Social Partnerships of the Paper Project, says that their staff that were among those that IJM had rescued, are all not necessarily educated or trained, hence “we also have to start with teaching them the work ethics and the discipline. In the process we also teach them a sense of dedication to improve, first, their personal outlook of their jobs and, equally important, quality control of the products they make.” Re-integration does not stop at employment. While working with groups like the Paper Project and Liberty, IJM continues to provide the survivors continual counselling with its social
After the rescue operations, IJM then activates its lawyers to represent clients in court proceedings; and collaborates with public prosecutors and local authorities to secure convictions against perpetrators. While proceedings can take some time, IJM’s social workers and partners in the government provide shelter centres to counsel and house the victims An IJM lawyer and social worker exit the courtroom with An MPD police training IJM facilitated on trafficking in and survivors. young clients after a successful conviction in a case against persons investigations.
Members of DOLE and IJM at the closing of an illegal establishment
workers. This ensures the survivors’ rehabilitative process is not strained by the occasional workrelated stresses that may trigger the trauma from their previous ordeals. Joe Lacanilao, President of Liberty, speaks highly of their full-time staff’s drive to acquire even more skills other than what they have been taught at the onset. “We work with our manufacturers and suppliers to train our staff and teach them the processes and technicalities of the job; so eventually, when they return to us, they can cascade their learnings to their peers,” Lacanilao says. But while not exclusive to survivors IJM has rescued, both Paper Project and Liberty also take [survivors] referred by the Department of Social Welfare (DSWD) and other social workers coordinating with NGOs with the same mission: to keep children and women from being trafficked in the country and in the region, or beyond. With IJM rigorously working to convict traffickers and aiding national authorities put a curb on slavery, prostitution and child abuse, its initiatives compliment local policing authorities’ works to ensure that the public justice systems —the police, courts and laws—are able to effectively protect the poor. ■
their trafficker
from page 1
UNICEF calls for end on child malnutrition Feeding the poor in a rich city Stunting, defined as children aged 0-59 months with a height-for-age below the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards, reflects chronic undernutrition during the most crucial periods of growth and development in early life. A stunted child enters adulthood with a greater chance of developing obesity and chronic diseases. An estimated 80 per cent of the world’s 165 million stunted children live in only 14 countries mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Such disproportion indicates the issue is closely tied to equitable and sustainable poverty reduction. “The most significant way to deal with the problem is to intervene early on in life; during pregnancy and the child’s first two years. With undernutrition closely linked to progress towards poverty reduction, people should be placed on the right track in life to be able to tackle stunting and poverty,” said UNICEF Chief of Nutrition Werner Schultink of the report.
the importance of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months; ensuring the child is immunised and has clean drinking water; and knows simple disease prevention measures such as hand-washing with soap. There has been an increase of interest in nutrition globally. Due to recurrent food shortages and rising food prices, investments in nutrition are viewed as key development priority to benefit global welfare. For G8 countries they have put nutrition high on its development agenda, while the UN SecretaryGeneral’s Zero Hunger Challenge includes the elimination of stunting as a goal.
The global nutrition community is also united in support of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement, which backs nationally driven processes to reduce stunting and other forms of malnutrition. Countries like Ethiopia, Nepal and Peru have so far been successful in their respective programmes, and UNICEF has called on stronger collaborations The report also notes that in reducing stunting and involvement of stakeholders—NGOs, and other forms of undernutrition, one governments, the private sector and civil key aspect in this fight is education. Good society—to push for a similar success across nutrition cannot be established by food alone. Asia and Africa. (UNICEF) It also involves educating mothers about
4
On some days, bakeries close shop with hundreds of unsold rolls and face with the predicament to clear their shelves for the next morning’s delivery. Feeding Hong Kong, a non-profit organisation set up in 2009, make sure that food—still good for consumption— do not end up in rubbish bins and, instead, are pooled to be donated to people in need of something to eat. FHK now distributes more than 15,000 meals per month through 39 partner NGOs to shelters for the homeless, refugee centres, migrant workers’ groups, senior citizen centres, orphanages and other similar nonprofit programmes that have a similar thrust. Surprising as this may sound, but there are many such groups in Hong Kong, too. For a highly developed and urbanised cosmopolitan hub like Hong Kong it is generally unexpected to paint this picture of a faction of the population. “Our scope of work covers four groups: underprivileged families who cannot afford high-quality, nutritious food; charities who benefit from regular deliveries of food, allowing them to cut costs while serving
more beneficiaries; food companies who, through our collaboration with them, are able to attain sustainable ways to redirect their food surplus; and finally, the Hong Kong community as a whole by making the best use of ecological and sustainable ways to ensure that food is not wasted,” said Gabrielle Kristein, FHK’s executive director. With a mission to fight hunger in Hong Kong, FHK’s thrust is to raise awareness on poverty, food insecurity and food waste in the city; promoting nutritional education to Hong Kong’s vulnerable groups. Every day, its staff and volunteers collect surplus edible and nutritious food from shops, producers and distributors and deliver them to their partner charities. In turn they collaborate in distributing their bounty to grassroots feeding programmes. FHK is accredited with the Global Food Banking Network, an international organisation whose thrust is to create and strengthen national food banks and networks. To make your donation or know more about how to collaborate with Feeding Hong Kong or its partners, visit www.feedinghk.org. ■
www.asianngo.org
f e at u r e s
ADVERTISEMENT 2col X 9.5233 in
www.asianngo.org
5
Guest writer
Chelsea Clinton
What I learned in Southeast Asia… and why I left inspired
Over the last week of May I travelled across Southeast Asia, delivering clean water as part of Procter & Gamble’s partnership with the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) in Myanmar; attending the Women Deliver conference in Kuala Lumpur and ending my trip in Cambodia, where I saw how the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) is working with the government to fight HIV/ AIDS and improve health care delivery at the national level through better supply chain management and at the local level in different hospital and clinic settings.
percent drop in ARV prices in the developing world since 2002 when CHAI began. Cambodia is one of the first countries in the world to achieve universal access to ARV treatment for both adults and children and one of the first to meet its Millennium Development Goal (MDGs) targets for maternal and child health—truly a leader.
Chelsea Clinton meets Basil at the Maryknoll Orphanage in Cambodia. Basil was one of the first HIV-positive children in Cambodia to receive ARV treatment through the Clinton Health Access Initiative's work with the government of Cambodia and National Centre for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology, and STDs to increase access to pediatric HIV/AIDS treatment.
Now, Cambodia is uniquely placed to be one of the first countries to eliminate new pediatric HIV infections and through collaborative partnerships, I have no doubt Cambodia will be In Myanmar, I helped Naw Phaw Si Hser and her family turn able to reach its goal. In that visit I joined the National Center dirty, unsafe water into clean, drinkable water. (P&G) first came for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STDs (NCHADS) where to the village in March and the families, particularly the mothers, they announced, in partnership with CHAI and the government all said their children no longer get sick from the water—and of Cambodia, the Cambodia Strategy 3.0, which aims to reduce that the water tastes better now, too! The litre of water that Naw HIV transmission between mothers and children to less than Phaw Si Hser and her family received marked the six billionth five per cent by 2015 and less than two per cent by 2020; while litre of clean water from P&G’s CGI commitment. Through simultaneously reducing HIV-related mortality among children. their CGI commitment, P&G aims to save one life every hour, The three ultimate goals of Cambodia Strategy 3.0 are no HIV/ every day, every week, every year by delivering over two billion AIDS deaths, no new infections, and no stigma. Goals we all can litres of clean drinking water every year by 2020, preventing and should get behind. cholera, diarrhea and other water-borne illnesses that still too One of the children at the New Hope for Cambodian Children orphanage in often bring disease and death around the world. Phnom Penh who receive ARV treatment through the Clinton Health Access While I was in Myanmar, P&G announced a new partnership with USAID to improve maternal and child health in Myanmar and provide 200 million more litres of clean drinking water over the next two years, furthering its CGI commitment. It is these types of innovations and partnerships that will continue to save millions of lives and fundamentally change health care in developing countries. After Myanmar, and a trip to Kuala Lumpur for the Women Deliver conference where I joined leaders and experts to discuss the health of women and girls, my last stop was in Cambodia—a remarkable country and a model in the fight against HIV/AIDS. CHAI began working in the country in 2005, at a time when only 6,000 patients, including 400 children, were receiving treatment and care. Today, there is close to universal access for antiretroviral (ARV) treatments for adults and children with HIV/AIDS; and I am proud that CHAI has been part of drastically changing the treatment equation in Cambodia. CHAI works in part by helping countries like Cambodia access ARVs at affordable prices, because CHAI and its partners have worked with the pharmaceutical industry to increase supply, and with governments to guarantee demand, which has led to over 90
Chelsea Clinton participates in a panel discussion with Dr. Mean Chhi Vun, director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology, and STDs (NCHADS). The CHAI has been working with the NCHADS in Cambodia since 2005 and today, Cambodia is one of the first countries to achieve universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment. 6
"When corporations, NGOs, governments and people work together, incredible strides can be made to challenges that were once thought intractable."
In Phnom Penh, I met with women and children who have benefited from the country’s Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) programs, and saw first-hand how the country’s health system has transformed their lives. I saw the technologies, treatment, and direct impact that CHAI is having in this community and communities across the country. Outside Phnom Penh, I met Basil, a little boy my father first met in 2006 when he was a baby and his body was ravaged by AIDS and tuberculosis. Today, he is healthy, in school and as rambunctious as any child should be. I am grateful and proud that CHAI can play a part in the Cambodian government’s efforts to ensure there will be more children with stories like Basil’s in Cambodia’s future.
Chelsea Clinton recognises the six billionth litre of clean drinking water from P&G as part of its 2010 Clinton Global Initiative commitment to save one life every hour by the year 2020.
Initiative. The CHAI has been working with the government of Cambodia, NGOs and other partners to provide children ARV treatment since 2005.
From reducing the prevalence of HIV/AIDS to providing clean drinking water to rural communities, these programs are examples of how, when corporations, NGOs, governments, and people work together, incredible strides can be made to challenges that were once thought intractable. These achievements give me hope that other countries will be able to replicate these models and provide similar health care access to individuals—and that, in my lifetime, we’ll achieve an AIDS-free generation and eliminate mortality caused by unclean water. ■
About the Author:
Chelsea Clinton works to drive the vision and work of the Clinton Foundation. Over the past 11 years, the Foundation has built innovative partnerships among governments, businesses, NGOs, and civil society groups to strengthen health systems in developing countries, fight climate change, expand economic opportunity in Africa, Latin America, and the United States, and help Americans live healthier lives. She focuses especially on the Foundation's health programs, including the Clinton Health Access Initiative, which strengthens health care and access to lifesaving services in the developing world; the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, which fights childhood obesity in the United States; and the Clinton Health Matters Initiative, which addresses preventable disease in the United States. In addition to her Foundation work, Chelsea is a special correspondent for NBC News; and had previously worked at McKinsey & Company and Avenue Capital. She serves on the boards of the Clinton Foundation, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, the School of American Ballet, Common Sense Media and the Weill Cornell Medical College. Chelsea holds a B.A. from Stanford University, a MPhil from Oxford University and a MPH from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Currently she is pursuing a doctorate at Oxford University. This story first appeared as her blog piece on the Clinton Foundation website (www. clintonfoundation.org). All images courtesy of the Clinton Foundation.
www.asianngo.org
e x c l u s i v e i n t e r v i ew
Making a living making friends In 1999, she co-founded Venture for Fund-Raising so small NGOs could learn fund-raising and development practitioners raise the resources they need to achieve their mission. Venture also addressed the need to have data for Asia on giving motivations among individuals. Now as Vice-President for Institutional Advancement of the Asian Institute of Management, Marianne Quebral lets us in on how fund-raising is so much more than just about the money. Please give our readers a lowdown of the basic but very important skills and capacities that a fund-raiser must possess. First of all, I look at fund raising as not being JUST about money. It is about making friends – friends who will provide resources to support your cause. So as a fund raiser, one needs to be comfortable making friends and must be detailoriented. Raising funds also require that you safeguard the funds and ensure that you spend it only for the purpose that you received it for. What are the most commonly used and effective avenues for fundraising in the region particularly for developing countries? Funds for non-profits come in three categories: grants, gifts and earned income. Grants are funds that are provided by institutional funding institutions such as multi-laterals and private funding agencies. Gifts are funds raised through direct mail and solicitation letters, coin cans and special events from individuals or groups earned income is raised by selling products or services for a cause. Face-to-face solicitation is still the most effective way in Asia given our nature of giving to people we trust. People would give money to someone they trust even if they do not know the organisation. In a survey that Venture conducted across the region (Thailand, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Indonesia), we found that majority of Asians donate out of compassion. In the same countries, giving is very much linked to religion.
one is to increase the number of times as a gift is made which is called “frequency” and the other part is to increase the gift size. We already know that Filipinos and Asians in general, are generous and compassionate in nature. We only have to ask. Then we also need to make it easier for our donors to give—which is why we put systems in place that allow people to donate without leaving the comforts of their living rooms. This is when collaboration with banks and credit card companies can be very strategic. Over 40% of donations in the Philippines use credit cards. Even international NGOs like UNICEF or WWF now outsource fund-raising to thirdparty service providers. Is it a good trend or has it diminished the capacities of in-house NGO fundraisers? We cannot stop NGOs from using the business models that are prevailing worldwide. Outsourcing is often a cheaper alternative. Having said that, I feel strongly that the best person to talk about the “product” is somebody who uses it and believes in it. Because fundraising is an important sustainability activity of NGOs, they have to invest time and resources in making sure it is part of their operations and strategies. We have to be mindful of cost-efficiency of our campaigns so that more will go to benefit communities we are assisting. Bottom line is always to be able to raise money effectively and efficiently.
Is it the same case across the region? If you look at Asia, you can observe that international organisations see the region as a When you start focusing on area for fundraising probably because money, when you just count the prime of its novelty and the overall high level of the dollars or the cents and forget compassion among Asians. You will also find that in many areas in Asia, “survival” causes to realise that these funds come such as children, health care and water are from human beings; that’s when able to raise money more easily as opposed to “developmental” causes such climate change the problem starts. issues; presumably because many of the countries What would be one story you like to tell about in Asia have very pressing “survival” concerns. your work as a fund-raiser? When I was with UNICEF, I managed a large Why should NGOs maintain an active culture direct mail campaign. During one of our mail of fundraising internally? outs, I got a call from a woman who said she Fund raising is an organisation’s lifeline. It is would like to make a donation. She said she did important that NGOs maintain a fund-raising not have a credit card or a checking account. resource. More than that, fund-raising is an She also said that she would like to bring it to important test of relevance. People will not give UNICEF herself. As I was giving her driving to a cause that they can not relate to. directions, she said that she did not have a car and requested for commuting instructions. This If we rate the response to fundraising exchange made me very interested in meeting initiatives, how do Asian counties fare? her. I learned she was a public school teacher The Philippines and Thailand have shown very and donated PHP500.00 (USD12). I asked good fund-raising results. In the Philippines, her why she decided to give to UNICEF. Her 99.9% of total households have given in the past answer humbled me. She brought out UNICEF’s 12 months as seen in a survey commissioned by [solicitation] letter, which was one of the Venture for Fund Raising a few years back. The hundreds we sent out, and said: “I received a beauty of fund-raising is that it is both a science letter from UNICEF asking for my help.” and an art. There is much room for creativity while also being highly measurable. The results of a campaign will reflect how donors feel about How do you keep up with your targets as a your programme and the way you have asked fund-raiser? A good fund raising strategy looks at two angles: them for a gift. ■
About the Interviewee
Author of The Fund Raiser's Guide to Fund Raising and pioneer fund-raiser with training at The Fund Raising School in Indiana, U.S.A., Marianne “Mayan” G. Quebral managed the largest nonprofit direct mail campaign in the Philippines with over one million letters sent annually, raising more than PHP85 million (USD2 M) for UNICEF in less than four years. Mayan is Vice-President for Institutional Advancement of the Asian Institute of Management. Mayan co-founded Venture for Fund Raising 14 years ago as a non-profit dedicated to teaching the joy of giving. Venture for Fund Raising worked with over 1,000 organisations in 24 countries. She also serves as Trustee of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards Foundation, Children’s Hour, De la Salle University Health Science Institute, De La Salle University Dasmariñas, Salt and Light Ventures, Inc. and Let’s Save the Brain Foundation.
www.asianngo.org
7
cover story from page 1
Lost generation’s search for work: where to start?
Young professionals on the rise with their new careers as expatriates in multi-ethnic working environments across the region are on the rise—particularly in cities like Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Manila and Ho Chi Minh.
Even more troubling, 152 M working youth across middle- and low-income countries in the region make less than USD1.25 daily, forcing them to vulnerable conditions. In just a decade, if the trend is not reversed, over a billion university graduates will compete for only 300 M jobs waiting for them—sending what is already tagged as The Lost Generation to the edge.
But in a region where competition is steep and the workforce population is growing by the day, a university degree is often not a guarantee for a job. The right skills for the right job, coupled with the advantage of practical experience, still weigh more. Why? Because employers, following the trauma of 2008 and the
This is where new models of education-plus-work experience come in. For example, a Farm School in Paraguay has A child performs on a tight rope with her mother in front of the museum in revolutionised a market-driven and self-sufficient model. They Mumbai. The money she earns is the main source of income for her family. train low-income students in customer service, merchandising, Her mother plays a drum as she performs. Sights like this is common in fiscal management, food processing, retail packaging and Southeast Asia, especially tourist destinations, where children work as street peddlers, performers or beggars. production processes. In Cerrito town, Fundación Paraguaya (FP) developed a farm school in 2003 that has since transformed on its own, as there is a web of political, economic and social young farmers into financially successful entrepreneurs through issues that needs an equally complex web of solution touchthe integrated teaching of traditional high-school subjects with points. Do we keep chasing governments to provide better the work in small-scale, on-campus rural enterprises. facilities? Shall we press the private sector to invest more funds into educational institutions or hire more at the expense of Relevant across multiple sectors and valuable throughout flagging their own fiscal issues? Do we ask private schools to raise different careers, these enterprises generate enough revenues their price tag to ensure quality of education? to fully sustain the school’s operating costs. All graduates are engaged within four months of graduation, and it was so Despite statistics, the region is seeing so much potential. Overall, successful that in 2009 the UNESCO cited the school’s model one billion unemployed working-age population in emerging as “best practice in youth policies and programmes.” By 2010 this “education that pays for itself ” model was replicated by over markets; countries that are expected to emerge from poverty in less than a decade. With a generation that’s even more ambitious 50 organisations across 27 countries. and socially aware, has stronger sense of independence, very dynamic and has wider access to innovations in technologies, Non-profit organisations have been busy keeping their hands addressing the gaps must start in their formative years. Because on the programme across the globe, to name just a few key the value of good education is tested when it translates to one’s players: Avina Foundation, Nike Foundation, the La Bastilla Coffee Company, Skoll Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, route to success and break the vicious cycle of poverty across generations. CARE, Peery Foundation, Opportunity International, FAMA, ORSA Paper Company, Christian Children’s Fund and several With a paradox of growth that breeds even more challenges civil society and community-based organisations across South and stiff competition, what awaits the youth is not a battle America, the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa. they can win with competence and credentials alone; economic and political empowerment from across the public and private Another model is in the United Kingdom, an economic powerhouse that’s been battling with its own employment woes. sectors are equally crucial. To top it off, now more than ever, innovative ideas from the development sector are needed; with The Studio Schools are independently-run public schools that the latter as the glue that binds the government and corporations integrate teaching, enterprise projects and real work. These schools, with students aged 14-19, actually do about 80% of the together. teaching outside the classroom. An education that is closely in touch with problems we simply Just half a decade old—coincidentally timed when the recession can’t throw money at, one that respects and keeps up with was just eating the world up—these Studio Schools work closely each individual society’s issues, is only half of the solution. We can no longer ignore the changing of the times. The other half with local and national employers from the UK’s government agencies to educational institutions on a range of qualifications; is still what obviously has been lacking all these years: a real collaboration between governments, the private sector and aid and with recruitment firms. In effect, graduates already earn agencies that enables our youth to be ready in the workforce, more ‘employability’ even while they are still in the learning be successful on their own and even help create jobs for their process. generation. But all this still points back to the quality of education that the Only then can we finally tell our children that the future belongs youth, especially in developing nations, are getting access to these days. This is not easily an issue that one sector can address to them. ■
A painful by-product of the 2008 recession: businesses closing down is equivalent to job losses, notwithstanding the millions of university graduates who enter—or at least try to—the workforce.
While many social enterprises and CSR initiatives have provided work opportunities for grassroots communities, out-of-school youth and those in between jobs (left photo); some high-school and college graduates choose to do small-scale factory work or stay in their family businesses in rural areas largely for the lack of opportunity or stiff competition for corporate work in the urban centres (right photo).
At this year’s Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank in New Delhi, a two-day Asian Youth Forum hosted over 300 delegates from across the region to discuss the role of and opportunities of the youth in development. As if by coincidence, the most glaring issue was (un-) employment—despite the hopes for opportunities brought about by the rise of countries like China, Indonesia, Vietnam and India. Delegates put forward some solutions: access to better education and opportunities for vocational training to enable them to better identify, develop and pursue their talents. But it’s not as simple that. They also contend that a shift in mindset is also needed to ensure the dignity of their labour while guaranteeing adequate implementation of existing policies, especially in educational systems and the corporate sector. “Young people have the potential to be catalysts of innovation by being entrepreneurs and young leaders with a voice. Marketrelevant and skills-based competencies create meaningful jobs for young people; and thus have to be put squarely on the development agenda,” said Ponce Samaniego, one of the youth leaders from the Philippine delegation. He added that young people should not only seize opportunities but also create them, be enabled to do so and stimulated to take up an active role in society. Even at the Annual Meeting itself, the challenge of matching the right jobs with young professionals was key issue. Experts from the academe, the public sector, international organisations and industry leaders in the private sector analysed the recent trends and discussed policies and steps so countries can generate productive and well-paying jobs. Some stand-out points were how new technologies have re-shaped the job market across various sectors; what economic policies would give way to creating more and better jobs; and how skills development and social protection have to evolve to meet the challenges of increasingly competitive markets.
8
aftermath of the recession’s effect on job cuts, have the luxury of choosing who has more experience over who will cost even more to still train about the trade.
www.asianngo.org
C o u n t r y f e at u r e
Testing the Vietnamese young intellectuals’ leadership Nguyen Van Quan was born in 1984 in Thach That, Hanoi. After graduating from Hanoi University of Pedagogy, instead of looking for a job in big cities, Quan decided to move to Sin Thau Commune, Muong Nhe District of Dien Bien. It is a mountainous province in the northwest of Vietnam, where he served the Vice-Chairman of People’s Committee. Sin Thau is a poor commune of 245 households, of which 97 per cent are Ha Nhi ethnic minority.
voice of local populations and other civil society organisations working in the developmental field is needed.
“600 Young Vice-Chairmen for Poor Communes” Quan is one of the 600 intellectuals under age 30 selected in a pilot government programme that aims to enhance leadership quality in 62 poor districts in five provinces in Vietnam. It is an initiative by Vietnam’s Youth Union that was approved by Vietnam’s Prime Minister in January 2011. Under this programme, young professionals who have university qualifications, extensive community engagement experience and good moral records are selected and appointed by local government authorities to be vice-executives of the people’s committees in these poor communes for a five-year tenure. They are tasked with taking a lead role in surveying poor households and monitoring their progress, promoting universal education and developing and disseminating advanced models of productive rural areas.
The other project is the Secondary Education Sector Development Program that starts in July 2013 with the main purpose of developing training materials on theory and practice of ICT applications in teaching; and aiding the evaluation committee to revise training materials if necessary. Similarly, the United States Agency for International Development launched last year a USD2.5 million grant with the aim to strengthen human and institutional capacity of the country’s higher education institutions to develop and deliver training and research programmes that underpin economic growth.
The role of NGOs in advancing the cause In matters of prospects for sustainability, this is also where nongovernment organisations and international aid agencies may be involved. for instance, the Asian Development Bank has teamed up with Vietnam in a partnership strategy fully aligned with the country's socio-economic development plan through two recent Many villages of the commune are remote with no paved roads projects. One is the Upper Secondary-Professional Teacher to the commune’s centre. It is always a big challenge for the Development project, commencing in June of this year and is local people, let alone a young city man like Quan, to commute aimed at improving access to and quality of upper-secondary between the village and town centre, especially during the rainy (US) and professional-secondary (PS) education by developing season. Besides, he also faced huge linguistic barrier as he did not and enhancing the quality of teachers and educational institution speak the language of Ha Nhi. managers. Street peddlers in Ho Chi Minh City. Many of them are parents who chose to continue their enterprise on the streets and, through time, because of the lack of opportunity or the stiff competition in Vietnam’s newly booming workforce, some youngsters follow in their parents’ footsteps.
Vietnam, being a rising star in the boom across Asia what with the advances it has made in the last decade, will not solely rely on the hard cash that comes with development. As a response of the Vietnamese government to rising unemployment, training young leaders in local community leadership roles not only provides a clear-cut solution (albeit temporary); it also harnesses the young leaders’ progressive thinking and forward-looking Both the ADB’s and the USAid’s projects very well compliment attitudes to drive policy-making; grooming future leaders that the Vietnamese government’s programmes such as the 600 truly understand the shifting needs of the region: from mainly Young Vice-Chairmen for Poor Communes by improving the labour to becoming a knowledge hub. Ultimately, the key tool competencies of prospective community leaders. As knowledge is to re-enforce is education and the country’s youth its pillar passed on from one generation of future leaders to the next wave in sustaining this aim for progress. (With reports from Mike of graduates, the momentum is sustained. Saycon and Do Thanh Hai) ■
A young professional trying his luck to hail a taxi on the streets of Hanoi, during the morning rush-hour.
The programme could be a deliberate response to bad governance and poor performance in terms of socio-economic development in many remote, mountainous localities across the country and widespread brain drain from these areas to the main economic hubs and cities. It is expected that university degrees would improve leadership qualities and performance in these difficult areas. In fact, most of the local youth who went to big cities for university qualifications decided to stay on to look for a job after graduation. This results in the shortage of qualified leaders in the public service in poor areas. Also, it can take a long time for young people to climb up the political and bureaucratic ladders, even at the grassroots level. Consequently, the programme does only remove bureaucratic barriers but also creates incentives for young intellectuals to engage more extensively with their poor communes. For the government at all levels, the project is designed as a medium to empower the young intelligentsia and groom potential leaders in the public sector and train them in a hands-on approach.
ADVERTISEMENT 2col X 9.5233 in
Initial successes but uncertain long-term impacts The programme is now under review after two years of implementation. Some successes have been reported; and Quan is an example. He reportedly conducted an extensive needs survey and advised the commune’s leadership on a project to build one out of five kindergartens in the commune. One of his peers, Vu Thi Chien, was praised for her efforts to introduce corn plantation to Giao Thien, a poor commune in Lang Chanh, Thanh Hoa province. Corn has brought additional supply of crop that saved a village in Giao Thien from food shortage. Some other successes were reported in the website of Vietnam’s Youth Union while failures have been rare. Despite initial successes it is too premature to foresee the sustainability of the program. Three key challenges can be noted. First, good qualification might not make a competent executive leader. To be ready to take on their new roles, these young leaders must have a deep understanding of the localities and sufficient practical experience. Second, the process of selection and appointment of these vice-chairmen may create conflicts in terms of legitimacy, responsibility and accountability. Finally, as the whole project was based on its outcomes, the regular monitoring and reviews of the higher authorities against the performance of these young leaders are not sufficient to understand the effectiveness of the program. In this situation, the www.asianngo.org
9
C Co ou un nttrryy ffeea attu urree N E WS F ROM V IETNAM
ROUND-UPS
World Bank signs credit agreements for economic and educational reforms
German Red Cross commits continued humanitarian support
The World Bank and the State Bank of Vietnam have signed credit agreements of USD400 million to help the country improve economic management for greater productivity and competitiveness; and support Higher Education Reform Agenda and to increase school readiness for 5-year old children. First of a series of three, the Economic Management and Competitiveness Credit for Vietnam (EMCC 1), provides USD250 M concessional financing to back reforms in the financial sector, fiscal policy, public administration and accountability; state enterprise management, public investment management; business environment efficiency;
and equity of the business environment. The second credit, worth USD50 M is intended for the Higher Education Development Policy Operation 3, which supports the implementation of the higher education reform programme to strengthen governance, financing and higher education quality. Both projects are expected to be completed by June 2014. The third, the School Readiness Promotion Project (SRPP) and has a total worth of USD100 M, aims to increase the readiness of children entering primary education, particularly those most vulnerable to not succeeding in a school environment. It is expected to conclude in June 2017.
UNESCO to back Vietnam’s sustainable development
EU commits €743 M in development assistance to Vietnam
United Nations Educational Scientific and Culture Organisation (UNESCO) Director General Irina Bokova has assured the organisation will aid Vietnam in the transfer of experience and expertise for sustainable development. Bokova made the announcement at a meeting last month with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in Hanoi, to attend a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the 2003 Convention on protecting world intangible cultural heritages.
The European Union has committed EUR743 million in official development assistance for Vietnam in 2013, making EU the country’s largest aid donor. The fund will also support the country’s integration into the region, offer direct help to civil society groups and increase cooperation in areas like energy, tourism, climate change, and the environment.
Bokova highly commended Vietnam for its preservation and protection of its heritages and its progress in education development and coping with climate change; adding that she hopes Vietnam will back UNESCO in the prompt signing of a cooperation deal with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
“The EU assistance will help Vietnam accelerate reforms in legislation, public finance management, and health care,” said Franz Jessen, the EU ambassador to Vietnam, during a ceremony in Hanoi in June to release the EU’s Green Paper 2013, he added. The Green Paper looks into the challenges faced by Vietnam in becoming a middle-income nation in the context of the slow global economic recovery and increased inequality; and explores options to overcome these challenges.
For his part, PM Dung said his country will continue promoting relations with UNESCO and support its cooperation with the ASEAN, including cooperation deals. He also hopes for UNESCO’s support for Vietnam’s dossiers seeking world heritage status, including the Trang An scenic landscape complex in northern Ninh Binh province, Cat Ba tourism complex in northern Hai Phong city, southern amateur singing and Nghe Tinh folk singing.
Jessen said EU grants, including non-refundable aid, will complement socio-economic development strategies and economic restructuring efforts of Vietnam. The fund is intended for priority areas of development to optimise the consistency between the government’s policies and development programmes, and contribute to sustainable development, poverty reduction and global economic integration.
UNDP, AusAid project started in Vietnam The UN Development Programme (UNDP) has launched phase 2 of the project "Institutional Capacity Building for Disaster Risk Management in Vietnam,” with special focus to risks related to climate change. Supported by UNDP in Vietnam and the AusAID, the project will be done in four years (2013-2016) with a total cost of USD5 million to support the Ministry of Agriculture, Industrial and Rural Development in collaboration with the Red Cross and the Vietnam Women's Union. The project seeks to strengthen institutional capacity in the management of catastrophe risk; and support the works related to provincial planning, implementing and monitoring of effective and efficient risk management program based on community disaster, strengthening institutional capacities and strategic framework for disaster risk reduction.
New Zealand envoy promises greater ties with Vietnam
Vietnam hosts US global health security centre The United States government will set up a global health security centre in Vietnam to combat new epidemics, announced was made by Vietnamese Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien at a ceremony where she signed an agreement with the US Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. Sebelius was on a two-day visit to Vietnam in June.
At a meeting between New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam Haike Manning and Vietnamese Deputy Minister of National Defence Senior Lt. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh, Mr. Manning vowed to strengthen cooperation between the two countries during his term. Manning also noted that cooperation opportunities for both countries have been influenced by defence Tien said the country's success is curbing the SARS epidemic in 2003 and having lower rate of bird flu fatalities compared cooperation mechanisms reached at the ASEAN Defence with other Asian countries are factors that influenced the US Ministerial Plus Meeting (ADMM+) in Hanoi in 2010. government’s decision to choose Vietnam for the health center. Vinh shared the effective Vietnam-New Zealand defence cooperation in the exchange of delegations, training, maritime Vietnam has been one of the 15 countries to receive aid from the US Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief since June 2004. The police, naval forces and experience on joining the UN funding accounted for a majority of Vietnam’s budget dedicated peacekeeping missions. Aside from bilateral cooperations, the to fighting and preventing HIV/AIDS with approximately two countries actively partnered at multi-lateral fora such as USD93 million for the programme already sent to local the ADMM+ and the ASEAN Regional Forum, he added. government agencies in the country. The US has also provided He also expressed hope Manning will contribute his efforts to support to Vietnam in preventive health, including production military and people-to-people cooperation between the two of flu vaccines in preparation for epidemics. nations.
10
Since 2008 the German Red Cross (GRC) has helped carry out humanitarian programmes in Vietnam worth over EUR7.7 million in funds. Doan Van Thai, Vice Chair and General Secretary of the Vietnam Red Cross Society (VRCS)’s Central Committee, revealed during a recent signing ceremony of a bi-lateral cooperation for 2013-2015 between the two groups last May. Both parties’ traditional cooperation is highly valued by Thai, particularly humanitarian activities conducted by the GRC. GRC Head for International Services and National Relief Division Richert Johannes affirmed that “his organisation will not stop giving the needed support for Vietnam’s humanitarian activities; and that for the 2013-2015 period the bi-lateral cooperation programme will focus on environment, climate change prevention and enhancement of VRCS’s staff capacity.
Singapore firm launches overseas water treatment plant Vietnam’s first overseas water treatment plant has been launched in Duc Hoa in Long An province, a result of a SGD300,000 investment made by Singapore-based New Asia Investments through a joint venture between Nanyang Technological University's start-up De.Mem and Vietnam firm GD Wasser. The NTU says “the plant requires only one person to operate, making it unique and first of its kind in Southeast Asia. The remotemonitored plant will supply cleaner and cheaper potable water at only two-thirds of current prices in the province. Through a wireless link via an NTU-designed network, the daily operations of the plant will be managed at the Singapore office.
More ODA from JICA needed for Vietnam’s agricultural sector Deputy Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu has said Vietnam hopes to receive more support from Japan to help modernise its agricultural sector, ensuring food security and adapting to climate change. At a review of the agricultural cooperation between the two countries, jointly held by MARD and JICA in Hanoi last May, Thu noted that 30 projects are already being funded by Japan to support Vietnam’s agricultural sector while offering the sector non-refundable and emergency aid of USD150 million. JICA has also provided loans amounting to almost $500 M for irrigation and forestry projects sought to improve the sector’s infrastructure system; and developing agricultural and rural areas in a sustainable way. JICA Vietnam Chief Tsuno Motonori affirmed that Japan’s assistance in the future will be focused on improving its international competitiveness through infrastructure projects, narrowing urban-and-rural development gap and enhancing public servants' management capacity. He added that agricultural and rural development is a key sector that will receive more official development assistance (ODA) from the Japanese government.
$404 M investment to boost industrial sector The government of Vietnam is investing VND8.5 trillion to develop the country’s industrial sector during the 2013-2020 period, as proposed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The state fund, 10 times over the 2007-2012 investment, is intended to develop both large- and small-scale industrial sectors. Of the total amount, VND5 T will be allocated for programmes to stimulate industrial production; while VND3.5 T will be for building national and local industry promotion centres. Aside from boosting the industrial sector, the new National Industry Production Stimulation Plan will encourage enterprises to apply clean production technology to protect the environment. Polluting enterprises will be given financial support to relocate to industrial zones and complexes. In addition, the investment targets 300,000 employment opportunities at rural industry establishments, and the construction of waste water treatment systems for 215 industrial complexes. (Vietnam News)
www.asianngo.org
AA cc rr oo s s saa ss i ai a
Billionaire daughter lends to the poor Indian billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla has been one of the most revered business tycoons in and outside of India. After taking over his late father’s USD2 billion company at age 28 he turned it into a conglomerate worth a staggering $40 B that spans across 36 countries. Now, his eldest teenage daughter seems to be following his footsteps. Ananyashree Birla, 18 and has just entered undergraduate college this year, is lending to the poor through her Svantantra Microfin Pvt., offering credit to women in villages in Maharashtra state to buy sewing machines and to start businesses making papadum. The young Birla said the company, which charges 20 per cent interest on the loans—the “lowest” in the country—plans to expand operations to neighbouring states.
AusAid to give direct development aid to Myanmar For the past two decades Myanmar has been receiving development aid from Australia only through multi-lateral groups like the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and non-government organisations. But in a recent Senate hearing, AusAID director-general Peter Baxter announced plans to work directly with the Myanmar government. "We have not moved away from our current methodology of delivering our program through trusted multi-lateral and NGO partners," Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said. Carr believes there is willingness from partners to increase levels of
assistance in the country, but how to do it should be carefully planned. One certainty he sees though is “the need to train people within government to deal with its relevant issues as it continues its reform process.” For 2013 Australian aid to Myanmar is estimated at AUD64.2 million, set to rise to $82.8 M in the next year. But future aid could be jeopardised by ethnic violence. Carr expressed concerns about ethnic violence in the Rakhine state that has killed 192 people and left 140,000 homeless. This July, Carr is travelling to Myanmar for bilateral discussions with President Thein Sein. ■
Japan writes off Myanmar’s JICA helps Tamil Nadu with power transmission upgrade loans; pledges $500 B
“We’ll enter one more state by the end of this calendar year, possibly Gujarat,” she said in her office in Mumbai. “West Bengal too is on the radar and of course, we have our vision of going nationwide,” she said without specifying dates.
Japan, key donor to Myanmar, has announced new loans to the country while calling off the latter’s pending debt as part of Tokyo’s means of boosting economic ties. This occurred during the visit of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Myanmar last May— the first visit by a Japanese prime minister since 1977.
The venture is also seen as a significant factor that may escalate the chances for the Aditya Birla Group in its quest for a banking permit. India’s central bank, which now allows companies to set up banks for the first time in a decade, demands for new lenders to open a quarter of their branches in villages while allocating 40 per cent of their loans to farmers and small companies.
In a meeting with Myanmar President Thein Sein on strengthening the good relations between the two countries, Abe pledged a USD500 million and wrote off $1.74 B of Myanmar’s debt. The new loans are intended to cover infrastructure development projects and power station maintenance. Just last year Japan also cancelled $3.4 B worth of Myanmar’s loans.
Shinjini Kumar, director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, which advises companies in ways to set up banks, said that the “Svantantra In this trip, Abe visited the site of a proposed port and business scheme creates customer touch points that can serve as a source of information for the massive Birla Corporation in terms of lending in park which will be jointly developed by both governments; and rural area. A conglomerate seeking a banking permit can leverage its also met with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. (BBC) microfinance venture in achieving the priority sector lending targets and setting up distribution channels.”
The Japan International Co-operation Agency is funding a project to improve power transmission in Tamil Nadu, according to [Tamil Nadu] Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. At the Chief Minister's meeting with JICA led by its president Akihiko Tanaka, she requested for a credit line for viability gap funding and private parties in infrastructure projects; and informed them that a 6,000 MW fresh power generation capacity is expected to be commissioned within the next year or two, which could greatly benefit from the project that will help strengthen the transmission network in the state. Jayalalithaa said JICA's assistance in Tamil Nadu's ongoing projects “includes the Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Project being implemented at a total cost of INR345 crore; the Tamil Nadu Biodiversity Conservation and Greening Project costing INR700 crore; and the Chennai Metro Rail Project for which JICA loan is at INR8,646 crore. ■
Svantantra received a license for the microfinance business from the Reserve Bank in February and has been lending a total of INR4 million (USD67,200) to 400 customers so far. Birla said the company now focuses primarily on employing more people and “controlling bad debts.” “I can relate to other entrepreneurs who want to start or expand their businesses. I’m an entrepreneur myself,” the younger Birla concluded. (Bloomberg)
SE Asia’s solar success
Thailand’s Natural Energy Development (NED) solar plant, one of the world’s largest solar farms, has relieved the country of its reliance on imported fossil fuels; and has now increased labour and education opportunities. A joint venture between Hong Kong’s CLP Renewables, Diamond Generating Asia of Mitsubishi, and Thailand’s Electricity Generating Public Company, NED was launched in December 2011 and was completed in May last year. The 224-hectare project was co-financed by the Asian Development Bank, the KASIKORNBANK, Bangkok Bank and Siam Commercial Bank with Sharp supplying 540,000 solar panels to the plant. “Thailand is the leader in Southeast Asia in solar energy, and many countries in the region would like to replicate its success,” says Manila-based Daniel Wiedmer, head of the ADB’s renewable projects in Thailand and Malaysia. The plant has signed a long-term power purchasing agreements to supply 55 megawatts to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand and 5 megawatts to the provincial Electricity Authority at a fixed rate of THB 8.00 (USD0.25) per kWh in addition to the wholesale tariff for the first 10 years of operations. Apart from its positive contribution on energy efficiency measures of the country, the plant has also been actively giving back to the local communities through social responsibility programs. NED has supplied equipment and machinery to help farmers in land cultivation and has donated educational materials to schools. (ADB) www.asianngo.org
11
C oA uc nrt o ry s sf e aa s ti au r e
UNICEF and EU fight child, maternal malnutrition in Pakistan
Nepal and Bhutan gears up for efficient tourism, agro industries The GIZ, Austria Recycling, Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and the EU’s SWITCH Asia office in Nepal is collaborating with ASSIST Asia to transfer bestpractices, technology and sustainable consumption and production (SCP) approaches in Nepal and Bhutan’s tourism and agriculture sectors. Dubbed SEID (Sustainable and Efficient Industrial Development), the project seeks to reduce costs from pollution and improve the health and safety performances in both sectors; capacitate national anchor associations and service providers to promote sustainable practices to supply chain members; provide technical support and build strategic partnerships to support small- and medium-scale enterprises; and sustain a dialogue among all sectors and stakeholders. “Over the last half-decade we have seen a surge in international tourist arrivals in both countries. This is a major, positive development for their local economies. But we also have to keep in mind the possible environmental impact that this inflow can create. SEID is our answer to this; and at the same time giving both countries capacities for better, more sustainable approaches,” said Sreenivas Narayanan, CEO and Managing Director of ASSIST Asia, one of the project collaborators.
With the increasing threat of malnutrition aggravated by natural disasters, the rising cost of food and poor living conditions, children in Pakistan continuously battle for their health and their future. Since the 2011 floods there has been tremendous loss of food stock, potable water and basic hygiene services; creating a cycle of malnutrition that threatens the lives of very young Pakistanis. In response, the UNICEF, along with the European Union humanitarian aid department (ECHO), scaled up health and nutrition services in communities across Punjab and Sindh provinces. UNICEF also mobilized local community groups to reach even the smallest, most isolated villages. These teams raise awareness among villagers, stressing the importance of good nutrition and a balanced diet particularly
for woman who are pregnant, lactating or of child-bearing age. They also provide supplies of ready-to-use therapeutic food and medicines, as well as reinforcing the habits of breastfeeding, basic nutrition and good hygiene. “I would have lost Fazal if his nutritional situation was not managed fast and effectively. Now I know it can be done at home,” said Nightat Bibi after her 4-year-old son’s health deteriorated from bouts of diarrhoea. In an environment where a doctor’s expertise and hospital accommodation can be costly, innovative nutrition programmes that include community components such as the ECHO can be an efficient solution to the problem. These programmes teach simple, effective household behaviours that help prevent the recurrence of malnutrition and diseases. (UNICEF)
Tourism and agro-based industries are important growth sectors in both Nepal and Bhutan, contributing significantly to their GDPs and generating employment and foreign exchange earnings. But the rise in tourist arrivals puts a pressure to develop more infrastructure and even contributes to environmental degradation, waste generation and pollution. Launched in February 2012, the project runs for 40 months and is expected to culminate in May 2015. The project reaches out to MSMEs from both sectors, local experts and consulting firms, industry associations, the academe, local press, government agencies and policy-makers. Apart from the core project implementation, it also comprises of a training-of-trainers programme, awareness campaigns. ■
Holcim aims for sustainable waste disposal in Sri Lanka Sustainable vegetable,
fruit farming systems in India
With over two decades of cement manufacturing experience, Holcim (Lanka) Inc. has been a key corporate citizen and supporter of the Sri Lankan economy; with the company using its network and collaborate with local partners for the expansion of its waste co-processing capacity to provide environmentally responsible waste disposal solution. Its waste management arm Geocycle steps into municipal solid waste (MSW) management after being in the industrial waste management for 10 years, to serve as model for national waste management programme.
Bayer Material Science, the German Development Bank (DEGKfW) and ASSIST Asia have teamed up and launched a project to significantly reduce agricultural waste in the fruit and vegetable farms in India, while at the same time increasing job opportunities for the farmers. Dubbed Project SUSTAIN, DEG, Bayer and ASSIST seek to implement systems that will increase the shelf life of harvested fruits and vegetables, thus increasing their value and promoting more efficient retailing that includes introduction of cold storage and solar-powered drying technologies. Launched last April, the project is sent to be completed in September 2014.
Sri Lanka generates 6,700 tonnes of waste daily; and only about 2,800 tonnes of which is collected. Waste management practices in the country have not been well organised, posing health threats to the people. Key challenge is to dispose unsorted MSW in an organised way by setting up waste management centres. Stakeholders and the government also need to adopt eco-friendly disposal methods and public awareness campaigns referring to the health risks of inadequate waste disposal. Geocycle thus addresses the issue with the MSW small-scale plant setup, to be established as a model plant for MSW in Sri Lanka and realised through a private-public partnership (PPP) concept. In this project, the urban councils of Katunayake and Seeduwa will partner with Geocycle for the establishment of the said plant. Whole waste collection mechanism shall be streamlined through the proposed project together with training and knowledge sharing of the community on continuous basis. The project seeks to capacitate local stakeholders in Sri Lanka with proper waste management and recycling technologies; keep the soil and water in the adjoining areas clean and safe for use and proper conservation techniques; and produce products out of recycled materials that can be applied to a range of manufacturing goods. Also, by collecting the waste properly, habitat for infectious rodents and insects will be eliminated; and burning of the waste material dumped on open grounds can be eliminated, averting air pollution. The whole process is foreseen to create job opportunities in the area.
12
The project comprises of various stages of an awareness campaign to the beneficiary communities; a series of multi-stakeholder forum involving farming communities; installing the solar dryers and cold storage facilities; training-of-trainers workshops to ensure technical skills and knowledge are cascaded to the farmers; and market linkages for retailing and farm management.
Total project cost is LKR 144 million (USD1.1 M) for site development, construction of separation units, storage for sorted materials and on-site equipment handling; shredding, compacting and transporting materials to final disposal/recycling points. Holcim Lanka is investing LKR 86 M ($658,500), while the Urban Council provides the existing land and the waste collection operation. The investment commences this year and a full two-year operation starts in 2014. Successful operation of the above complex would enable the project to extend its activities to implementation of RDF (refuse derived fuel) generation facility as the second phase of the project. ■
“With constant increase in domestic and international demand for nutritional high value food, including fruits and vegetables, supply has been unable to meet the demand. This project will thus enable farmers to increase their revenue and profit and at the same time generate more jobs out of the farming and newly introduced technologies to increase their produce,” said Isaac Emmanuel, Bayer’s head of business development and social initiatives. India is the world’s largest producer of fruits and second largest producer of vegetables, with its total production accounting for 10.4 per cent of all fruits and nearly 40 per cent of all tropical fruits globally. About 40 per cent of the total volume—an equivalent of 59 million tonnes—of fruits and vegetables are wasted annually due to a fragmented supply chain, inefficient harvesting facilities and the lack of adequate post-harvest facilities. ■
CSR CORN A c r o Es R s asia from page 1
Improving competitiveness of vegetable farmers in Myanmar, Cambodia
East-West agriculturists providing group lectures to farmers in a rural farm village in Cambodia where they have set up CSR projects. East-West not only provides the seedlings for the farmers’ lots; they also give continuous coaching on the latest farming technologies and harvesting techniques.
from page 1
Technology at its most personal: Apps For Asia The Apps For Asia program kicked off with a series of national developer events in Korea, the Philippines, Malaysia, Australia and India last year. From hundreds of submissions, the ADB and Microsoft flew in three winners from each country to India to exhibit their respective applications at the Annual Meeting. Frank McCosker, Microsoft’s general manager for its international organisations and public sector initiatives, says of this year’s delegation to India: “These apps have very personal stories to tell; and their rationales involve so much grassroots creativity. They all involve direct personal experiences as to why and how they came up with these applications. In the end, these developers and innovators really help build their communities and enable an innovative approach to project management.” Among the apps showcased were BlueClover (Australia), a diabetes management app that records nutrition data for food and drink consumed each day, allowing users to share them with doctors; Blood Donors Network (Philippines) builds a community of blood donors linked with hospitals and blood banks; Gnowledge (Malaysia), a public portal that allows users to publish and take school tests and assignments; TOTS (India) ensures TB patients follow treatment regimen by managing records and mapping routes to nearby treatment centres; and Mapi (South Korea) provides users real-time and easy navigation system to track the best routes around the city.
Australia; EPIC Hope and Blood R2 System from Malaysia; Filament from South Korea; and Pathfinder, Jeevan Pani and Help-Me from India. Apps For Asia is an example of programmes implemented under the ADB-Microsoft partnership to apply ICT to support regional development mandates and foster innovation to help improve the lives of people across the region. Claudia Toth, Microsoft’s marketing-communications director says Apps For Asia “demonstrates how technology can be a fundamental driver in empowering underserved communities and taking positive steps toward a better tomorrow. The Apps For Asia is a continuous process, gathering developers in a series of hackathons supported by both the ADB and Microsoft. Developers and proponents devise their apps according to the pressing needs of their communities, across the region, with the question of relevance as their key element. Licensing is their [developers] prerogative; as is their choice to work with local companies to scale up their app for a larger usage.
In Myanmar, vegetables are produced throughout the year in both lowland and mountainous areas. Over the last decade there has been a significant increase in the cultivated area. But with the greater part of production under traditional practices, qualities of vegetables in the market remain poor. In Cambodia, average yields Other apps at the Annual Meeting exhibit were LeanAsset and are low and the majority of vegetables are imported from Vietnam. Codetoki both from the Philippines; xMeaning and Idex from
“Is it relevant? Is it usable by a large number of users? Will the current market situation take it? We do not even limit the programme from, say, countries that have armed conflict; we have cloud technology for that. So even if the app was designed and operated in one country, it can still be made us of elsewhere, wherever it is relevant,” both McCosker and Toth noted. ■
In both countries, there is plenty of room to improve the competitiveness of the vegetable sector, and excellent opportunities from page 1 exist for farmers to diversify their incomes. The experience of a private vegetable seed company has shown the advantages of adopting a demand-driven approach to strengthen market integration of vegetable farmers and promote sustainability in the fresh vegetable sector of Myanmar and Cambodia.
Puma, ASSIST, DEG launches project in Indonesia
EDM, Coke, UNDP project as seed-funders for development and replenishing water resources in Asia and beyond. To date, the project has enabled some 350,000 people gain better access to water and sanitation in the region.
An East-West agriculturist giving a farmer tips for his lot’s crops outside his home.
The EDM’s funding policy of its pilot projects intends to finance identified problems either by winning additional funds to expand a project's scope, or by providing the needed proof for governments and donors to fund a project's replication into larger scales. For this type of seed-funding work, Coke has partnered with the UNDP to and customise the initiatives firmly to their individual business strategy for each market and to help maintain internal support for development projects. With Coke as partner, water is thus a key business issue and is critical to its production and global vision. Bringing together different points of view, resources and expertise has been a major advantage for EDM. While the UNDP is expert on water governance and collaboration with national and local governments, Coke takes charge of outreach, communications and innovation in designing projects; not to mention its financial contribution of USD2 million every year. ■
Puma, leading shoe and apparel brand, collaborates with ASSIST Asia and the DEG (KfW bankgroup) on another public-private partnership (PPP) project in Indonesia. Dubbed SAVE (Sustainable Action & Vision for a Better Environment), it was launched in Jakarta in March this year to create environmentally friendly production sites for Puma’s supply and production chain across Asia. The project is geared at Puma’s manufacturing sites in Indonesia, Cambodia, Bangladesh and China to reduce energy and water usage and manage waste and greenhouse gas emissions by 25% from its 2011-baseline. SAVE will run for nearly two years. Puma’s Project Sustainability Manager Adam Brennan and Indonesia Brand Manager Josh Muller; ASSIST Asia Regional Director Aru David and Partnerships and Networks Director Kamesh Ganeson launched the project. The launch event in March will be followed by a 10-day training and a series of on-site assessments across the country this July. ■
Educate-a-Child, Qatar Airways team up for 61M kids Cambodian farmers show off their harvest for the season, ready for transporting to the central markets as well as to their community market.
East-West Seed was one of the pioneering companies that introduced hybrid vegetable seeds in Asia. Since its founding in the Philippines in the 80s, it has focused on variety development, seed production and the distribution channel. It realised early on that high quality seed alone does not ensure higher income and productivity for the farmer. Thus, in addition to good seeds, it also focused on equipping farmers with technical and managerial capability for vegetable cultivation under a tropical climate. Its extension services offer knowledge to small-scale farmers on cultivation techniques and practices that increase income and productivity; including soil analysis, natural pest control, crop nutrition, and the advantages of hybrid seeds. In Cambodia, East-West Seed works with farmers in Siem Reap in coordination with the agriculture ministry and with technical support from the GIZ. It has trained over 5,500 farmers, more than 80% of whom doubled their income. Since 2008, farmers have switched from poor quality seeds to improved openpollinated and hybrid seeds. In Myanmar, East-West Seed will start a public-private partnership with Swisscontact (The Swiss Foundation for Technical Cooperation) to implement technology transfer activities in Southern Shan and the Nay Pyi Taw area. ■ www.asianngo.org
Educate-a-Child (EAC) initiative has recently collaborated with Qatar Airways in its works to ensure every child in the world has access to quality education. Launched in November 2012 by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser of Qatar, the programme aims to help about 61 million out-of-school children cross the world who have no access to quality primary education. Partnering with numerous non-government organisations, EAC seeks out new and innovative ways of providing education to children. HH Sheikha Moza founded the initiative from her mandate as UNESCO’s Special Envoy on Basic and Higher Education, as UN-Millennium Development Goals Advocate and as Steering Committee member of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon's Global Education First initiative.
Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.(Photo courtesy of the Office of HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, State of Qatar)
EAC and QA signed the memorandum of understanding last May at a High-level Strategic Meeting in Doha to discuss accelerating the progress in attaining the second MDG of universal primary education before the end of 2015. The meetings and plenary session were attended by government ministers associated with education, charitable foundations, non-profit organisations and industry leaders in the private sector from across the globe. Qatar Foundation Endowment executive committee member and EAC special envoy Dr. Tidu Maini chaired the plenary session.
For Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al-Baker, their network “helps bridge communities and spur support similar causes across the globe.” Added to its flight services, QA will use its communication platforms to reach the airline's global passenger base by showcasing the initiative through its inflight entertainment, magazines and social media channels. "We believe global aviation can bridge communities and people to galvanise support for causes that affect individuals across every continent,” Al-Baker concluded. ■ 13
uCpocuonmt irnygf e v te s ae tn ur
Responsible growth, inclusive development: The 7th CSR Asia Summit 2013 engaging a forward-looking approach on emerging issues like urban poverty, sufficiency economy and addressing the wealth gap. “By joining the CSR Asia Summit we gain knowledge and benefit from sharing experiences among companies. This is a real value,” says Danone Corporate Communications Director Tony Pantow, a delegate from last year’s event.
Taking place on 17-18 September at the Central Plaza Ladprao in Bangkok, Thailand, this year’s summit will engage corporations and stakeholders across various sectors to identify vital challenges and devise solutions for integrating CSR into businesses; build relationships among partners while ensuring brand identity and protection; and create strategies that contribute to addressing social and environmental issues to steer Asia to a sustainable and equitable future.
“Over the last two decades many countries in Asia have had accelerated growth driven by businesses across all industries—in turn alleviating hundreds of millions from poverty across the region. To continue grow responsibly, ensure inclusive economic development and make basic services and goods accessible to more people, there is a need to consider effective CSR strategies” says Richard Welford, the chairman of CSR Asia.
IRRI and the quest for tech-inspired rice stability
World leaders meet on green revolution
The Green Leaders’ Summit will gather the world’s sustainability leaders on 9-12 September in Sydney, Australia to tackle current sustainability challenges, solution and The next big push in technology to address innovations. Over 30 speakers are expected the rice shortage issues in the region is to offer their insights to keynote speeches slated for 24-25 August 2013 in Los Baños and breakout sessions. Most of them, as in the Philippines, as the International well as the delegates, are international Rice Research Institute brings the sustainability industry leaders and experts, Bigas2Hack. This is the sequel to last director-level business leaders and corporate year's BigAs Hackathon, a gathering of decision-makers, executives in the finance, ‘hacktivists’ and programming aficionados commerce and technology sectors; who use their skills for the research works investments executives, clean technology and of institutions like the IRRI. renewable energy executives, government representatives, members of the press and the The hackathon brings together young IT academe, NGOs and civil society groups. professionals and hobbyists to develop ITbased solutions to rice research questions. Co-organised by Smart Communications, Inc. and Smart DevNet, Bigas2Hack this year is part of the activities lined-up by the IRRI to celebrate the National Year of 15 - 16 July 2013 Rice. “We see this event as an opportunity International Conference on Women's for IT students to use their skills to help Studies our farming communities,” said Katie Nelson and Nicola Wunderlich, both part Sri Lanka of the organising team at IRRI. This year's event allows participants to incubate ideas longer, even before the event itself; and take it further by developing prototypes. Hackers interested to work on problems within 48 hours of the event will be provided with data that can be plugged in relatively easily to complete their product. Those interested to work on problems that require time before the event are provided with a detailed pre-event background. Last year’s event involved 57 from the Philippines. PhilRobotics, the winning team in 2012, came up with Envilog, a portable device that can take readings of temperature, rainfall, wind speed, wind direction, amount of sunlight, atmospheric pressure, humidity, and water height in rice fields. "Bigas2Hack will be an opportunity for the hacker community to have a dip or do a deep dive into the world of ICT in agriculture," said IRRI Chief Information Officer Marco van den Berg. Prizes range from the latest gadgets, internship, and gift certificates for the winning teams. Products developed out of Bigas2Hack will be worked into a prototype. For more information, go to http://bigas2hack.eventbrite.com. This is a free event with no admission, but registration is required and has been open since 1 June. A free bus ride from Makati will be provided to interested hackathoners. ■ 14
The CSR Asia Summit tackles four key challenges across the region: harnessing opportunities for responsible growth and maximising companies’ bottom line while minimising costs to the environment or human rights; looking at the role of business in equitable development, mindful of leadership, impact investment and shared value issues; discussing case studies and best practices to equip industry leaders and managers with the CSR tools relevant to their organisations; and
“This event is an opportunity for global leaders, solution innovators, corporations and organisations to meet and exchange ideas for international collaboration,” says Sein-Way Tan, Chairman and CEO of Green World City. In particular, the summit will be a venue to discuss the challenges faced today and the ways in which governments and organisations can work together to achieve sustainability; smart and green cities and the rise of green building technologies; the contribution of leading educational institutions, innovations in agriculture, urban farming and sustainable food production; innovative and sustainable financial structures and co-financing schemes, public-
Expected to attend are industry leaders, company heads, social enterprises and NGOs, investors, media practitioners and representatives of governments from across Asia. Welford noted that from last year’s 455 delegates to the summit in China, mainly from Asia-Pacific including the ASEAN nations, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan and India, they anticipate a 93% return-rate to this year’s event. Interested parties are invited to register by 13 July and avail of a 15% early-bird discount. For more information on the summit, venue and other registration deadlines, visit their website at www.csr-asia.com/summit2013. ■
partnership partnership (PPP) works; the use of social media and green marketing; and issues such as politics, women’s rights in the developing world, religion and interests playing a role on how we face these issues. Likewise, it will present sustainability innovation best-practices from the United States and Europe; and the rise of green revolution along with the boom in China and its impact to the environment. Finally, as part of the programme, delegates will be treated to networking opportunities with green city think tanks, VIP networking cocktails, a green building projects tour and a green technology tours. For more information or to register for the event, visit www.greenleaderssummit.com. ■
Ca l endar of events
9 - 12 September 2013 Green Leaders Summit Australia
11 - 13 September 2013
25 - 27 September 2013 Shanghai Intelligent Building Technology (SIBT 2013) China Shanghai
ICT & ERP Trade Exhibition
27 - 28 July 2013
International Academic Conference on Social Sciences
Malaysia
17 September 2013
Turkey
12 - 28 August 2013
Global Launch of MDG Report 20122013: "Post-2015 Development Agenda in Asia-Pacific: Regional Perspectives"
Reproductive Health and HIV Institute: Research Methods
USA
South Africa
17 - 18 September 2013 CSR Asia Summit 2013
22 - 23 August 2013
Symposium Towards a Learning Society: Supporting teaching and learning quality in Vietnam
Thailand
1 - 4 October 2013
4th World Congress of United Cities and Local Governments Morocco
9 - 11 October 2013
ASEAN International Exhibition for Educational Materials and Professional Training Thailand
21 - 22 September 2013
21 - 25 October 2013
International Conference on Latest Trends in Environment, Civil and Structural Engineering - ECS 2013
Ninth Meeting of the Rotterdam Convention Chemical Review Committee
Indonesia
Italy
23 September 2013
28 - 30 October 2013
Germany
China
21st IUHPE World Conference on Health Promotion
24 - 26 September 2013
30 October 2013
Thailand
China
Singapore
Vietnam
24 - 25 August 2013
2013 The 3rd World Conference on Science and Engineering - WCSE 2013 Singapore
25 - 30 August 2013
Social Business Collaboration Conference
Vaccine World China 2013
2013 AsiaSolar Concentrating Solar Power Technology and Equipment
World Entrepreneurship Forum 2013
For further information and more events, visit www.asianngo.org www.asianngo.org
t o o lA s carnods sr easso i au r c e s available grants EIDHR Country Based Support Scheme (CBSS)
Donor: Europe Aid Country: Nepal Grant Value: EUR 600,000 Area(s) of Interest: Human Rights Deadline for Application: 22 July 2013
Support to the education sector
Donor: Europe Aid Country: Kyrgyzstan Grant Value: EUR 1,600,000 Area(s) of Interest: Education Deadline for Application: 23 July 2013
STEP 2013 “From Idea to Market Competition” Donor: CRDF Global Country: Armenia Grant Value: USD15,000 Area(s) of Interest: Education Deadline for Application: 29 July 2013
Stars in Global Health Round 6, Phase I
Donor: Grand Challenges Canada Countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, East Timor (Timor-Leste), Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen Grant Value: not specified Area(s) of Interest: Health, Capacity Building, Research Deadline for Application: 20 July 2013
Support for Tertiary Education
Donor: AusAID Country: Indonesia Grant Value: AUD 110,000,000 Area(s) of Interest: Education Deadline for Application: 31 July 2013
Cultural Activities 2013
Donor: Europe Aid Country: Lebanon Grant Value: EUR 100,000 Area(s) of Interest: Social and Cultural Development Deadline for Application: 5 Aug 2013
2013 Asian Elephant IN SITU Conservation
Donor: International Elephant Foundation Country: Malaysia Grant Value: USD 10,000 Area(s) of Interest: Animal Welfare Deadline for Application: 26 Aug 2013
Enhancing Participation in Trade and Investment Policy Donor: Europe Aid Country: Vietnam Grant Value: EUR 2,500,000 Area(s) of Interest: Industry and Trade Deadline for Application: 26 Aug 2013
Vietnam Business Challenge Fund Donor: Department for International Development Country: Vietnam Grant Value: USD 800,000 Area(s) of Interest: Capacity Building, Livelihood Deadline for Application: 30 Aug 2013
Civil Society Facility Media Freedom and Accountability Programme
Donor: Europe Aid Country: Turkey Grant Value: EUR 1,500,000 Area(s) of Interest: Civil Society Deadline for Application: 2 Sep 2013
Individual Projects South
Donor: Austrian Development Cooperation Countries: Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestinian Territory Grant Value: EUR 100,000 Area(s) of Interest: Capacity Building Deadline for Application: 20 Sep 2013
from page 1
USAID seeks to strengthen Pakistan health care system programme. This APS provides prospective applicants with a fair opportunity to submit applications to USAID-Pakistan for a range of activities to build and strengthen the underlying health systems that are the backbone of equitable and quality MCH services. The cooperative agreement has an estimated cost of USD21.9 million. To apply for this grant, registration must be completed at www.grants.gov. Registration can take from three business days to a week. Deadline for the submission of bidding document will be on 9 October 2013. ■
Improving the Tajikistan-Uzbekistan border road The Ministry of Transport of Republic of Tajikistan intends to use a USD 35 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to rehabilitate and upgrade the 62-km section of M41 Highway by the Dushanbe-Uzbekistan border, which is a part of the Regional project (CAREC Corridor 3). The proposed project has a total estimated cost of USD 191 million. Tendering for the above civil works contracts has begun in the second quarter of 2013. Contracts to be financed with the proceeds of a loan from the EBRD will be subject to the its Procurement Policies and Rules; and will be open to firms from any country. Deadline for the submission of bidding document will be on 9 October 2013. Interested suppliers, contractors and consultants may contact the Project Implementation Unit for Road Rehabilitation of the Ministry of Transport of Tajikistan at piurr@tojikiston.com. ■
Rehabilitating water systems in Tajikistan SUE “Khojagii Manziliyu Kommunali” intends to use a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a grant from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and a grant from the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) towards improving North Tajik’s water supply and wastewater systems in the cities of Chkalovsk, Khorog, Gafurov, Isfara, Kairakkum, Kanibadam and Taboshar. The proposed investment programme, which has a total estimated cost of USD 22.72 million, started tendering for the above contracts in the fourth quarter of 2012. Deadline for the submission of bidding document will be on 14 October 2013. Interested suppliers and contractors can register their interest by fax only to Mr. Muso Z. Gafurov, Deputy General Director of KMK at +992 37 221 77 98; or inquire by e-mail at mussogafurov@mail.ru. ■
Health System Strengthening Project
Donor: USAID Country: Pakistan Grant Value: Not specified. Area(s) of Interest: Health, Human Rights, Public Sector Management and Governance Deadline for Application: 23 Oct 2013
For further information and more grants, visit www.asianngo.org
EBRD to improve Turkey bus system The City of Gaziantep in Turkey is co-operating with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on a project to improve its public transport system. The GAZIANTEP CNG Bus project will enable further public transport integration through the development of a new master plan, a revision of the existing route scheme, a tariff reform and integration of remaining operators into the ticketing system. A tender is already underway for the acquisition of compressed natural gas buses. The next stage, with a total estimated cost of EUR35 million, is intended to include the procurement of up to 100 additional buses and 10 light rail transit cars. Tendering for the additional buses and light rail component began in the fourth quarter of 2012. The deadline for submission of bidding document will be on October 03, 2013. Interested suppliers, contractors and consultants should contact Mr. Ibrahim Evrim, Deputy Secretary General of the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality at ibrahim. evrim@gmail.com. ■
Reducing energy loss in Tajikistan The Open Joint Stock Company Barki Tojik (BT) intends to use a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to rehabilitate low- and mediumvoltage distribution networks in the Sugd region; install electricity meters with ancillary equipment to allow demand side management; reduce distribution network losses and increase energy efficiency. The project is to be co-financed by European Investment Bank (EIB) complemented by a grant from the EU Investment Fund for Central Asia (IFCA). The project targets the key area of energy efficiency by reducing distribution network losses and increasing collections. It builds on the experience of a recent loss reduction project funded by the World Bank and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs. The proposed project has a total estimated cost of about EUR 21 Million equivalent. Tendering for the Contracts commenced during first quarter of 2013. Deadline for the submission of bidding document will be on 25 October 2013. Interested suppliers, contractors and consultants should contact Mr. Mahmadamin Aminov at elrpbt@gmail.com. ■ www.asianngo.org
15
eture C o u nfterayt u fr ea
Governance by participation: the case of Save the Children
(L-R) C2C members culminating a public discussion on children’s issues in their local community in Manila; children at a parade calling on public officials to integrate more child-related issues in their legislative work last March, leading up to the mid-term elections in the Philippines in May; and participants to one of the workshops hosted by Save the Children.
Save the Children-Philippines has been doing Children Talk to Children (C2C) project since 2009; along with Samahan ng Mamamayan-Zone One Tondo, Inc. (ZOTO). Raising awareness on the UN-CRC (Convention on the Rights of the Child) and capacitating children in child rights monitoring processes, the project enables youth organisations to participate in national-level governance. Youth-led groups have gathered data from their local communities on key priority issues: corporal punishment, early pregnancy, child labour, poor education and lack of participation in governance. Their first CRC monitoring report that came out in October 2012, in a colourful child-friendly magazine, will form part of a more conclusive version to be submitted to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2017. C2C members distributed the magazine to organisations nationwide. In their own communities they led group discussions, public presentations and street theatre to open talks on children’s rights and issues among their fellow children, their parents and government officials. At a national
level they presented their findings on early pregnancy to a network of women’s groups that is now starting a campaign against adolescent pregnancy. They also participated in legislative hearings and written position papers using the information from their research. A member of the Project Team, Kim, 17, from an urban poor community in Metro Manila, says of her experience in participating in legislative advocacy work: “When I was invited to present our position during the Senate hearing on the AntiCorporal Punishment bill, I told the Senators present what forms of punishment we experience[d] at home and in school, based on what the children that we interviewed had told us.” In addition, C2C organised activities around the May 2013 mid-term elections in the Philippines. In November 2012 C2C children urged the [candidates] to prioritise children’s issues in their platforms. Subsequently in March this year, C2C jointly organised the nationwide campaign Bata Muna (literally translated as ‘child first’) to call for the inclusion of children’s rights issues in political platforms. It was joined by NGOs and children’s organisations around the country. As
Fullpage ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
16
a result, children from the campaign were able to present its agenda for political candidates right before the election; and follow through with three of the now-Senators’ promises of prioritising bills for children. C2C has come a long way since its inception: it is now recognised by national government bodies and line agencies as a national coalition of children’s organisations advocating to address children’s issues. The Philippine government also showcased C2C as example of good practice in effective participation during the visit of Cambodia National Council for Children in Manila in June. C2C members met with the delegates and youth representatives; and shared their experiences in forming groups, raising awareness about children’s rights, CRC monitoring and how they hold the government accountable to children’s rights implementation through advocacy and participation in legislative processes. This also gave C2C the opportunity to exchange ideas on youth issues in Cambodia and of the efforts of the Cambodian government to mainstream children’s participation in governance. ■