Welcome to DPI NGO! This is the second of a series of special
blog reports that will be posted over the next ten days about this 64th
Annual DPI/NGO Conference: Sustainable Societies, Responsive Citizens.
Hilary Ratcliffe reports back on the rest of her DPI/NGO experience.
By now, moving towards the end of the third and final day of DPI/NGO, there are a number of important messages that have definitely been hammered home! A key message that keeps coming up – from CSOs, NGOs, Government representatives and UN agencies – is that a sustainable society means working with volunteers and
listening to communities: a bottom up approach. This is exactly how we work. Everything we try to do through our projects is being reinforced here. As mentioned in the news story posted yesterday, the most revolutionary development practices are taking place at the grassroots level, and Soroptimists are a part of this movement for change!
Another insightful comment from the roundtables this morning came from the representative from the Red Cross and Red Crescent societies. She argued that an accountable and sustainable society is one that is caring. Here is her definition of care:
C=credibility
A=accountability
R=responsibility
E=empowerment
What a check list for all our work!
At our briefing session this morning all our
delegates had found something really interesting and inspiring to take home with them. And we keep meeting Soroptimists! For example, a Soroptimist from SI Germany was up on
stage yesterday accepting a special award on behalf of a theatre project
between Israel, Palestine and Germany. Two of our delegation were able to attend and celebrate with her.
We have also been able to input to the
draft document with a second statement, as well as joining in with other groups focussing of particular issues. In our case, I was able to join a group looking at education. I am pleased to report that we managed to get this included in the final draft.
Our fabulous stand is still getting lots of interest and as a result, our networking is going really well. All in all, a great first DPI/NGO experience!
Yesterday was our final evening in Bonn as President Alice and I travel on to Paris this evening to meet with our UN Representatives in Paris. Last night was a real treat for me as President Elect of SIE, Kathy, took us on a tour of Bonn, including a meal
overlooking the Rhine in what was an old railway station, and a trip over the
Rhine on a car ferry. Thank you to Kathy for a lovely evening.
Hilary
SI Programme Director