In partnership with the Government of Vietnam and the Government of Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the World Bank will host the third Asia Regional Conference on Community-Driven Development (CDD). The Conference will be held for four days from Tuesday, June 14 and Friday, June 17, 2016 in Sa Pa, Vietnam. It is a follow-up to the two EAP Regional Conferences on CDD – held in Bali, Indonesia in November 2013, and in Cebu, Philippines in March 2015.
The purpose of the conference is to:
- facilitate a dialogue, building on past exchanges, among different players – policymakers, practitioners, implementers, researchers – working on CDD programs;
- explore in greater detail, as requested in previous events, 2-3 topics of specific interest among the participants and in the region. Based on current interests and challenges of a cross-section of national programs, the topics proposed for deeper analysis are CDD and: (i) Livelihoods/Jobs, (ii) Disaster risk management (DRM), and (iii) Inclusion of ethnic minorities), and;
- further explore and identify actions or mechanisms to advance the concept of a regional CDD community of practice.
Also, as requested by participants at the two previous events, a more intensive one-day field trip will be organized as part of the workshop to visit and interact with communities and local authorities involved in the Northern Mountain Poverty Reduction Project. This would allow for deeper interactions and learning on how the Vietnam program has addressed specific areas relating to inclusion of ethnic minorities, livelihoods promotion, and enhancing women’s participation.
Target Audience and Partner Countries: The primary target audience of the workshop is program staff who are involved in CDD projects from East Asian, Pacific Island, and South Asian countries. Participants from most of the same 15 countries from last year's conference are expected to attend.