Updated 26 May 2009
On 5th May 2009, The British Department of International Development (DFID) held an event on its public consultation document, “Eliminating World Poverty: Assuring our Common Future”.
This event was attended by the NGO manager Imran Janmohamed, amongst 500 attendees from private and public organisations, local councils, universities, faith based charities, NGOs and the general public. This was an opportunity to present some comments and ideas towards the big questions facing the UK Government and its international partners in our efforts to eliminate world poverty in these times of financial crises. The purpose of this consultation exercise was to chart out how the UK Government will continue to help deliver better lives for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people.
The Secretary of State for International Development, Douglas Alexander, gave a speech giving a glimpse of the British Government’s continued commitment to tackle poverty in face of the economic crises. This was followed by two 15 minute speeches by Save the Children and Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD) representatives. A 15 minute question and answer session was held for the three speakers.
The speeches concluded with 40-minute facilitated round table discussions with a member of DFID, to capture the views from various participants at the table. In these discussions, The World Federation NGO manager mentioned a variety of suggestions, including the need to work with minority and faith-based groups to enhance the impact of the economic downturn for marginalised people. He also suggested the introduction of sustainable microfinance intimacies as a means of tacking and encouraging local economies.
Since March 2009, DFID has held 12 regional consultation events that give organisations the opportunity to ask the DFID Minister questions directly and to take part in further debate. These sessions are open to all interested parties who are requested to attend to voice their opinions.
The document highlights 5 key themes.
- Building our common future
- Global economic growth
- Climate change
- Fragile and conflict-affected countries
- International institutional reform
Click here to view the white paper document
For further information, email ngo@world-federation.org.