- Email: [email protected]
June 1987
World Development, Printed in Great
Vol. Britain.
15. Supplement.
pp. 251-253.
o3o.5-7sowx7
f3.ou + 0.00
1987 Pergamon
Journals Ltd.
19X7. 0
Appendix II: Forum of African Voluntary Development Organizations: Observations of the Dakar Conference, May/June 1987 HUSSEIN ADAM* Somali Unit for Research on Emergencies and Rural Development and L. DAVID BROWN Institute for Development Research, Boston
tary development organizations in Africa, within the region and with other NGO networks in the North and South; - to provide a forum for mutual support and cooperation among African voluntary development organizations through effective mechanisms for exchange and sharing of experience, expertise, resources and facilities; - to assist African voluntary development organizations in the identification and mobilization of resources for development activities, and to provide guidelines for the rational utilization of such resources; - to create an environment which is conducive to voluntary development initiatives; - to support and facilitate concerted initiatives by the African peoples, in areas of development priorities, towards the solution of common problems; - to establish an effective channel of communication with governments and inter-
The Dakar Conference brought together representatives of indigenous voluntary nongovernmental development organizations from 18 African countries. This Conference was the culmination of a series of efforts by African voluntary development organizations to participate in the search for solutions to the social and economic crisis facing Africa. It built on the base established by African NGO meetings in Nairobi in April 1986, and the presentation on NGOs and the African crisis at the United Nations (UN) in May 1986. The document prepared for the UN Special Session, “The Declaration of the Nongovernmental Organizations on the African Economic and Social Crisis,” was used as a background paper for this Conference. The Conference also built on the discussions at the ODI/ World Development Conference on NGOs in London in March 1987. That Conference was followed by a special South-South Cooperation Conference, funded by the African Development Foundation, and the document from those discussions also contributed to the Dakar Conference. During the first five days of the Conference, delegates discussed the urgent need for concerted efforts to deal with the African Crisis and the importance of coordinated efforts by African voluntary development organizations. The delegates agreed to form a Pan African umbrella organization to be known as the Forum of African Voluntary Development Organizations (FAVDO). Conference delegates adopted the following objectives for FAVDO: - to establish effective communication and solidarity among the various functional volun-
*Hussein Adam was a delegate to the Conference from the Somali Unit for Research on Emergencies and Rural Development. He served as a consultant to the planning process for the Conference and to the preparatory Executive Committee, especially in the capacity of Rapporteur-General for the London South-South NGDO Cooperation Conference. He is currently a visiting scholar at the International Relief and Development Project, Harvard University. L. David Brown was the delegate from the Institute for Development Research (Boston), and acted as the northern Rapporteur during the Conference discussions between northern and southern VDOs. He is also Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Boston University School of Management.
251
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DEVELOPMENT
governmental organizations for the purposes of advocacy and partnership in development; as well as - to develop and adopt a set of principles to which all member organizations will subscribe, and which will guide the conduct and performance of their operations. The Conference created committees on FAVDO structure and organization, on program and plan of work, and on relations with nonindigenous NGOs, southern NGOs, governments, and bilateral and multilateral donors. The Conference also approved a proposal to provide non-voting consultants to the council, including Dr Marie Angelique Savane (Senegal), Professor Victor Johnson (Sierra Leone), Professor Michael Omelewa (Nigeria) and Dr Hussein Adam (Somalia). A 15 member Governing Council was established with the following officers: Mazide Ndiaye (Senegal), President; Paul Wangoola (Uganda), Secretary General; Pastor Sam Yameogo (Burkina Faso), Honorary Treasurer; Mrs Bisi Ogunleye (Nigeria), Vice-President/West; Dr Abdallah Suleiman (Sudan), Vice-President/ North; Simon Muchiru (Kenya), Vice-President/ East; Mrs Vangile Titi (Zimbabwe), VicePresident/South; Charles Karamano (Rwanda), Vice-President/Central; and members at large Mrs Alice Nkhoma Wamunza (Tanzania); Mme Augusta Henriques (Guinea Bissau); Mme Alimatou Traoure (Mali); James Sarpei (Ghana); Ambrose Gama (Swaziland); Akpalo Kouassivi (Togo), and Mrs Marion Morgan (Sierra Leone). The Conference recommended the establishment of a small and flexible secretariat, headquartered in Dakar. Initially RADI, the primary host of the Conference, will serve in this capacity, with the understanding that the secretariat will be kept as small and efficient as possible. The second half of the Conference involved representatives of other southern NGOs, northern NGOs, African governments, and bilateral and multilateral donor agencies. Several themes emerged from these discussions.
1. The potentiul for mutuul learning in SouthSouth VDO contacts. The two-day London South-South Cooperation Conference emphasized the importance of continued interaction among southern colleagues. The delegates to this Conference from other southern countries reiterated that conclusion. There are important differences in different areas of the South. In most African countries, for
example, VDOs seek to work in partnership with their governments. In some other southern countries, in contrast, delegates conceived of the nongovernmental sector as an alternative power base to the public sector. In general, however, delegates thought there was much to be gained from further discussions and exchange of concrete experiences among southern colleagues.
2. The importance of partnerships between northern and southern VDOs. There was general agreement that new partnerships are and should be emerging between VDOs from northern and southern countries. The movement towards more balanced relations identified at the London Conference in March received further support in Dakar. But the anticipated shift in relations requires more than rhetorical support. The shift toward partnerships requires more equally balanced power relations between the North and South. The traditional delivery of services by superior northern agencies to subordinate southern recipients is not consistent with genuine partnerships. An important theme of work group discussions in Dakar was funding arrangements that reduce power discrepancies between northern and southern partners. Grants in place of loans, institutional funding instead of project funding, -and direct funding to southern NGOs instead of their northern partners were discussed favorably. Conference participants also discussed accountability of northern and southern VDOs to grassroots beneficiaries and the importance of a code of conduct to guide work in the field. Many participants are in fact experimenting with codes of conduct (several delegates came equipped with draft codes), and several funding agencies are explicitly experimenting with alternative funding approaches.
3. The desire for cooperative southern VDOgovernment relations. The working paper prepared for the Conference emphasized the necessity of partnership between African VDOs and their national governments. The decision to refer to themselves as “voluntary development organizations” was taken in part to reduce the likelihood that some governments might interpret “non-governmental organizations” as “anti-government.” For some southern and northern participants accustomed to seeing NGOs as an alternative to government action, African interest in partnerships with their
THE DAKAR
governments was unexpected. But the Conference organizers explicitly invited African government participation, and devoted a full day to discussions with government representatives. Many African delegates believe that solving the complicated problems of development will require partnerships that involve both public and private sectors along with VDOs.
4. The need for improved development in the North.
education
Northern NGOs expressed concern about development education in their countries and the need to develop more economic and political support for their work in the South. They were very interested in collaboration with African VDOs to help educate the North about the realities and needs of the South. Since northern government policy and support for development is often closely tied to the concerns of voting publics, further expansion of resources for development turns in large part on expanded and more effective educational efforts.
CONFERENCE
253
5. The central role of institution building in VDOs.
The reports of many delegate working groups explicitly recommended more emphasis on building institutional capacity in the South to carry on development work. Recommendations included increased emphasis on training and human resource development, automatic inclusion of support for local institution development in all projects, and many other approaches to creating organizations and human resources for development work. Participants expressed hopes that northern partners would gradually move out of operational roles in development projects and be replaced by indigenous agencies. More generally, the Conference reiterated the interest expressed at the London Conference in an increased role of the NGO sector in development work. Delegates were concerned with the problems of scaling up successes at the micro level to national and international levels but they were also convinced that in Africa, as in other regions, NGOs and VDOs have a great deal to contribute to solving development problems in general and the African crisis in particular.
Vol. Britain.
15. Supplement.
pp. 251-253.
o3o.5-7sowx7
f3.ou + 0.00
1987 Pergamon
Journals Ltd.
19X7. 0
Appendix II: Forum of African Voluntary Development Organizations: Observations of the Dakar Conference, May/June 1987 HUSSEIN ADAM* Somali Unit for Research on Emergencies and Rural Development and L. DAVID BROWN Institute for Development Research, Boston
tary development organizations in Africa, within the region and with other NGO networks in the North and South; - to provide a forum for mutual support and cooperation among African voluntary development organizations through effective mechanisms for exchange and sharing of experience, expertise, resources and facilities; - to assist African voluntary development organizations in the identification and mobilization of resources for development activities, and to provide guidelines for the rational utilization of such resources; - to create an environment which is conducive to voluntary development initiatives; - to support and facilitate concerted initiatives by the African peoples, in areas of development priorities, towards the solution of common problems; - to establish an effective channel of communication with governments and inter-
The Dakar Conference brought together representatives of indigenous voluntary nongovernmental development organizations from 18 African countries. This Conference was the culmination of a series of efforts by African voluntary development organizations to participate in the search for solutions to the social and economic crisis facing Africa. It built on the base established by African NGO meetings in Nairobi in April 1986, and the presentation on NGOs and the African crisis at the United Nations (UN) in May 1986. The document prepared for the UN Special Session, “The Declaration of the Nongovernmental Organizations on the African Economic and Social Crisis,” was used as a background paper for this Conference. The Conference also built on the discussions at the ODI/ World Development Conference on NGOs in London in March 1987. That Conference was followed by a special South-South Cooperation Conference, funded by the African Development Foundation, and the document from those discussions also contributed to the Dakar Conference. During the first five days of the Conference, delegates discussed the urgent need for concerted efforts to deal with the African Crisis and the importance of coordinated efforts by African voluntary development organizations. The delegates agreed to form a Pan African umbrella organization to be known as the Forum of African Voluntary Development Organizations (FAVDO). Conference delegates adopted the following objectives for FAVDO: - to establish effective communication and solidarity among the various functional volun-
*Hussein Adam was a delegate to the Conference from the Somali Unit for Research on Emergencies and Rural Development. He served as a consultant to the planning process for the Conference and to the preparatory Executive Committee, especially in the capacity of Rapporteur-General for the London South-South NGDO Cooperation Conference. He is currently a visiting scholar at the International Relief and Development Project, Harvard University. L. David Brown was the delegate from the Institute for Development Research (Boston), and acted as the northern Rapporteur during the Conference discussions between northern and southern VDOs. He is also Professor of Organizational Behavior at the Boston University School of Management.
251
252
WORLD
DEVELOPMENT
governmental organizations for the purposes of advocacy and partnership in development; as well as - to develop and adopt a set of principles to which all member organizations will subscribe, and which will guide the conduct and performance of their operations. The Conference created committees on FAVDO structure and organization, on program and plan of work, and on relations with nonindigenous NGOs, southern NGOs, governments, and bilateral and multilateral donors. The Conference also approved a proposal to provide non-voting consultants to the council, including Dr Marie Angelique Savane (Senegal), Professor Victor Johnson (Sierra Leone), Professor Michael Omelewa (Nigeria) and Dr Hussein Adam (Somalia). A 15 member Governing Council was established with the following officers: Mazide Ndiaye (Senegal), President; Paul Wangoola (Uganda), Secretary General; Pastor Sam Yameogo (Burkina Faso), Honorary Treasurer; Mrs Bisi Ogunleye (Nigeria), Vice-President/West; Dr Abdallah Suleiman (Sudan), Vice-President/ North; Simon Muchiru (Kenya), Vice-President/ East; Mrs Vangile Titi (Zimbabwe), VicePresident/South; Charles Karamano (Rwanda), Vice-President/Central; and members at large Mrs Alice Nkhoma Wamunza (Tanzania); Mme Augusta Henriques (Guinea Bissau); Mme Alimatou Traoure (Mali); James Sarpei (Ghana); Ambrose Gama (Swaziland); Akpalo Kouassivi (Togo), and Mrs Marion Morgan (Sierra Leone). The Conference recommended the establishment of a small and flexible secretariat, headquartered in Dakar. Initially RADI, the primary host of the Conference, will serve in this capacity, with the understanding that the secretariat will be kept as small and efficient as possible. The second half of the Conference involved representatives of other southern NGOs, northern NGOs, African governments, and bilateral and multilateral donor agencies. Several themes emerged from these discussions.
1. The potentiul for mutuul learning in SouthSouth VDO contacts. The two-day London South-South Cooperation Conference emphasized the importance of continued interaction among southern colleagues. The delegates to this Conference from other southern countries reiterated that conclusion. There are important differences in different areas of the South. In most African countries, for
example, VDOs seek to work in partnership with their governments. In some other southern countries, in contrast, delegates conceived of the nongovernmental sector as an alternative power base to the public sector. In general, however, delegates thought there was much to be gained from further discussions and exchange of concrete experiences among southern colleagues.
2. The importance of partnerships between northern and southern VDOs. There was general agreement that new partnerships are and should be emerging between VDOs from northern and southern countries. The movement towards more balanced relations identified at the London Conference in March received further support in Dakar. But the anticipated shift in relations requires more than rhetorical support. The shift toward partnerships requires more equally balanced power relations between the North and South. The traditional delivery of services by superior northern agencies to subordinate southern recipients is not consistent with genuine partnerships. An important theme of work group discussions in Dakar was funding arrangements that reduce power discrepancies between northern and southern partners. Grants in place of loans, institutional funding instead of project funding, -and direct funding to southern NGOs instead of their northern partners were discussed favorably. Conference participants also discussed accountability of northern and southern VDOs to grassroots beneficiaries and the importance of a code of conduct to guide work in the field. Many participants are in fact experimenting with codes of conduct (several delegates came equipped with draft codes), and several funding agencies are explicitly experimenting with alternative funding approaches.
3. The desire for cooperative southern VDOgovernment relations. The working paper prepared for the Conference emphasized the necessity of partnership between African VDOs and their national governments. The decision to refer to themselves as “voluntary development organizations” was taken in part to reduce the likelihood that some governments might interpret “non-governmental organizations” as “anti-government.” For some southern and northern participants accustomed to seeing NGOs as an alternative to government action, African interest in partnerships with their
THE DAKAR
governments was unexpected. But the Conference organizers explicitly invited African government participation, and devoted a full day to discussions with government representatives. Many African delegates believe that solving the complicated problems of development will require partnerships that involve both public and private sectors along with VDOs.
4. The need for improved development in the North.
education
Northern NGOs expressed concern about development education in their countries and the need to develop more economic and political support for their work in the South. They were very interested in collaboration with African VDOs to help educate the North about the realities and needs of the South. Since northern government policy and support for development is often closely tied to the concerns of voting publics, further expansion of resources for development turns in large part on expanded and more effective educational efforts.
CONFERENCE
253
5. The central role of institution building in VDOs.
The reports of many delegate working groups explicitly recommended more emphasis on building institutional capacity in the South to carry on development work. Recommendations included increased emphasis on training and human resource development, automatic inclusion of support for local institution development in all projects, and many other approaches to creating organizations and human resources for development work. Participants expressed hopes that northern partners would gradually move out of operational roles in development projects and be replaced by indigenous agencies. More generally, the Conference reiterated the interest expressed at the London Conference in an increased role of the NGO sector in development work. Delegates were concerned with the problems of scaling up successes at the micro level to national and international levels but they were also convinced that in Africa, as in other regions, NGOs and VDOs have a great deal to contribute to solving development problems in general and the African crisis in particular.