Reprinted from Caribbean Net News
caribbeannetnews.com

IDB and CDB meet with civil society organisations in the Caribbean
01-27-2007

WASHINGTON, USA: The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Caribbean Development Bank met this week with more than 80 delegates from 17 Caribbean countries during the 2007 CDB/IDB Civil Society Organisations Dialogue in St Lucia.

The two-day meeting was the fourth in a series of annual meetings in the region sponsored jointly by the IDB and the CDB. These dialogues offer an opportunity for the two banks to engage with civil society organisations (CSOs) in the Caribbean on matters of mutual interest and also to provide a forum for regional CSOs to exchange information and experiences.

The central theme of this year’s meeting, Building Local Partnerships for Community Development, was selected following consultations with CSOs in each country. The conference was opened by St Lucian Prime Minister, Sir John Compton, who emphasised the essential role of community level partnerships and participative processes in ensuring equitable and sustainable development. Conference delegates discussed a wide range of issues, including the development of partnership frameworks, mechanisms to ensure meaningful participation, enhancing capacity for implementation, and other factors that can support successful and sustained partnerships.

Leaders from several successful community development partnerships, from across the Caribbean, presented descriptions of projects involving local government, youth organisations, community based organisations and the private sector. Delegates also had the opportunity to visit local organisations in St Lucia that have promoted a partnership-based approach to community development in their area.

These annual dialogue meetings reflect the commitment of the IDB and the CDB to an ongoing engagement with civil society organisations as crucial actors in national development processes. Feedback from participants is used by the institutions to enhance mechanisms for interacting with civil society groups in individual member countries and to identify areas of interest for future development activity.