Wednesday, August 24th, 2005
Japan’s ODA Task Force Seminar Begins
Programs Designed to Strengthen Policy Making Capacity
How can development assistance be carried out incorporating "human security" perspectives to meet Millenium Development Goals? Questions such as this prompted a lively discussion between Bolivia and Tokyo during the first distance seminar for Japan's ODA task force, held on August 24, 2005. The JICA office in Bolivia and the TDLC were connected, bringing together speakers in Tokyo with participants in Bolivia including Japanese Embassy and JICA staff members who contributed first hand knowledge of Bolivia's development assistance needs.
The distance seminar was organized by the Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development (FASID), which conducts various training programs for Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ODA task force, established in 2003 by the Ministry and active in over 60 countries, is comprised of Embassy, JICA and JBIC staff members who are tasked with discovering and analyzing local assistance needs. The seminar was designed to help strengthen the task forces's policy making and implementation functions.
Following opening remarks by the Japanese Ambassador to Bolivia, Mr. Mitsunori Shirakawa, Mr.Takuma Momoi, Secretary at the Embassy of Japan in Bolivia, gave a presentation on ODA policy talks with the Bolivian government and efforts to meet Millenium Development Goals with a "human security" perspective. From Tokyo, Mr. Kiyoshi Wada (Global Issues Department, Global Issues Policy Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Mr.Koji Makino( Human Security Group, Planning and Coordination Division, JICA), and Mr. Naoto Noda (Hito no Mori) spoke from their experiences with "human security" issues. Discussions focused on both the top down and bottom up approach to human security, and participants in Bolivia reported that the Bolivian government had included the concept in its national development strategy for 2005.
According to FASID, several more ODA task force distance seminars are planned for the next year, connecting countries such as Bolivia and Bangladesh. FASID plans to keep a record of seminars and relevant documents on their website, which will be accessible to other task forces around the world.
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