FOR YOU SPECIALLY
Call for Papers On Local Poverty Reduction and MDG Localization Initiatives
Despite commendable efforts by countries in the Asia - Pacific region to achieve the MDG of halving poverty by 2015, extreme poverty remains a major development challenge. Since the Asia - Pacific region is home to more than half the world’s population, rapid progress in poverty reduction in the region is crucial for achieving the first MDG. The focus thus far, has been on the effect of macroeconomic policies on poverty alleviation, with little attention given to the impact of local level initiatives. However, because the level and impact of poverty differs among different social groups: women, rural and urban poor and the disabled to name a few, often poverty may be viewed more as a micro level or local issue. In such cases, targeted interventions at local level are more desirable, being more appropriate to the specific needs of these aforementioned groups.
Over the years, innovative local initiatives have been developed world wide to achieve the MDGs. These “good practices”, often un-shared, have the potential to provide innovative and creative solutions to the problem of poverty. Because these practices are context specific, they are both sustainable and replicable in similar environments. Documented, they can serve as models for designing initiatives and policies elsewhere. To that end the UNDP Regional Centre in Colombo (RCC) intends to produce a publication on Good Practices in Local Poverty Reduction and MDG Localization.
To ensure that the publication contents are relevant to the work of Country Offices (COs) in the Asia and Pacific Region, a request for identification of themes or cases in the area of Local Poverty Reduction and MDG Localization was sent out to them in early April of this year. In response to that request, COs in the region provided us with ideas which were classified into the broad themes listed below. Our next step is to develop good practice cases relevant to these themes, which is the purpose of this call.
The submission can be from a UNDP CO*; UN partner organization, non-government organization (NGO); civil society organization (CSO) or institution with extensive experience in or knowledge on, local poverty reduction initiatives that have made a difference. We intend to present and discuss your submissions in a Regional Workshop at the end of October or early November (the venue and location to be determined) after which these will be published by the RCC. The purpose of the workshop is to provide an opportunity for all the authors to participate in an exchange of knowledge and experience with other practitioners.