July 28th, 2005
How can we engage poverty target groups? How should poverty be defined? How can we ensure that funds for poverty reduction are being used appropriately?
These are some of the questions that policy makers, community leaders and NGO members will tackle through the newly launched “ASEAN-World Bank TDLC Learning Program on Rural Poverty Reduction and Development”.
The series follows up on various joint activities carried out by ASEAN and the World Bank to “mainstream” social development into the national development agenda. Scheduled to run until April 2006, it will cover 3 themes chosen in response to learning needs identified by ASEAN members: (1) Community Driven Development, (2) Understanding Poverty from a Holistic View, and (3) Analysis, Transparency and Accountability/Impact Assessment of Poverty Reduction Programs.
The learning programs take a blended approach, combining 2 to 3 video conferences per theme, with face to face meetings at the national level in between conferences and e-community discussions through an interactive website.
The first program on “Community Driven Development” began with a video conference on July 28, 2005, hosted by Moe Thuzar from the ASEAN Secretariat and the TDLC. 7 ASEAN member countries were connected, with 4 sites participating—Cambodia, Lao PDR, Indonesia and the Philippines—and 3 sites observing—Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.
In this session, two poverty reduction programs incorporating principles of empowerment and community involvement, the Kecamatan Development Program from Indonesia, and the KALAHI-CIDSS Project from the Philippines, were presented as case studies. To augment discussions, 2 questions were posed to participants at the end of the session: What tools can be used to target the poor? What alternative approaches are there in countries where decentralization of government has not taken place?
Members of each country team were asked to meet and prepare a response, which became the focus of discussions during the second video conference on August 18, 2005. 2 more case studies were introduced on this occasion, with Cambodia sharing its experience on a decentralized approach to rural development and poverty reduction, and Vietnam on participatory rural development.
The second learning program series will commence in November 2005 with a different group of active sites.
Through these programs, participants will be able to acquire knowledge for capacity building activities in their respective countries, such as training, seminars and workshops. Also, a network of participants, communities of practice and other interested parties will be created, to facilitate an exchange of ideas, expertise and experiences.
Tokyo Development Learning Center
A Japan/World Bank Distance Learning Partnership Project
The World Bank • Fukoku Seimei Bldg. 10F • 2-2-2 Uchisaiwai-cho Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 100-0011
Tel: +81-(0)3-3597-1333 • Fax: +81-(0)3-3597-9161 • E-mail us here