APA 2006 Advocacy Training Workshop Resource
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
During the week of September 18 -22nd 2006, the Asia Pacific Alliance (APA) invited one staff person of each APA member organization from Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Thailand, to Chiang Mai, for a regional advocacy training workshop on the World Bank (WB), Asia Development Bank (ADB), and other international financial institutions.
Background
Population Action International (PAI), one of APA’s American member organisations has been successfully running advocacy training on the UN, and International Financing Institutions for some years in Washington DC, and a number of APA members have benefited from these training courses and rate them highly. At the last APA general meeting in November 2005, it was recommended that some APA funds be allocated to an Asia Pacific regional training course for APA advocates to be conducted in a more accessible place for the majority of members to get to, and for the focus of the training to include the Asia Development Bank as the chief development bank in our region.
Theme
With the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank providing assistance to our partners in developing countries through the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) process, and the Asia Development Bank providing technical and financial assistance in the development of country National Plans, and strategies to achieve them, there are enormous opportunities to influence policy-making at the country level. On the other hand, health is often not included to any great extent in a country’s PRSP, much less sexual and reproductive health and gender, or a focus on youth or environment, and so our issues are left out of the competition for what are already scarce resources. And while international movements to reform, collaborate with, and monitor the influence of the World Bank and the other Bretton Woods Institutions that have been around for decades, these movements have rarely included activists from our community.
As our collective and individual work in 2006 and beyond increasingly moves to the country level, and we are therefore forced to more carefully consider the work of the Banks and their sister organisations, how can we prepare ourselves for the challenges ahead? How can we educate ourselves about the international financial institutions (IFIs), who themselves are undergoing massive change and transformation – some under fairly new leadership like Paul Wolfowitz at the World Bank? How can we reach a better understanding of the difficulties our partners in developing countries face in trying to access both policy formulation and implementation discussions?
The week long strategic training session aimed to increase basic understanding of the Asia Development Bank, the World Bank, the PRS process, and the role sexual and reproductive health has played and might play at the Banks. Participants also worked to improve coordination of their country-level work in 2007 and beyond, so that it truly meets the needs of partners. Lastly there was a commitment made to remaining in contact through APA membership, as learnings were taken back to participants organizations.
Participation
Participants were selected on the basis that they were able to take responsibility for follow-up on the ADB and/or the WB in the future, through the network created at the workshop. They also needed to be senior enough within their organisations to be in a position to make policy and advocacy recommendations re follow up activities. The training group numbered 19 and each person had very good English language skills.
Details
The week included a minimum of four full days of workshop, dialogue and presentations from Bank officials and NGO advocates from the region, with the final day being a debrief, clarification and planning day for future activities.
APA covered all costs for participants, including airfare, accommodation and perdiem for local meals and transportation. A group hotel reservation was made at the D2 Chiang Mai where the workshop was held.
