Washington, D.C., June 16, 2006—Yesterday, Amir Dossal, executive director of the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships, gave the keynote address at the Hudson Institute's panel discussion, “Real Poverty, Real Solutions: The New Face of Global Giving" in Washington, D.C.
The conference brought together members of the development community from both the private and public sectors—with a focus on how the two can work together to reduce poverty.
What creates prosperity in the developing world? What helps the poor escape poverty for good? Recognizing that private investment and good governance are the engines of growth in developing countries, many believe there are new ways of delivering foreign aid that are proving to be effective, and that foreign aid can be more effective through private giving, volunteerism, and international partnerships that involve joint projects with bilateral and multilateral organizations.
Panelists from the U.S. government, corporations, and foundations also addressed new data and analysis of the magnitude of private giving, as shown in the new
Index of Global Philanthropy.
Carol Adelman, director of Hudson's Center for Global Prosperity, said that, “I am heartened by the success of public-private partnerships and their growing importance in the U.N. family. As we demonstrate in the
Index of Global Philanthropy, the most enduring economic bridges between industrialized countries and the developing world are built on private investment, philanthropy, volunteerism, and collaboration between the public and private sectors. It is these public-private partnerships that can create the lasting institutions necessary to alleviate poverty and create prosperity.”
As Amir Dossal noted: “In recent years, the boundaries between social and private sectors have become blurred, globalization has shrunk the world to a very small place—what happens in Beijing and Darfur affects everyday lives across the globe—the twentieth century has seen the most prolific economic and technological advancement—the public and private sectors have a key role to play to address global challenges, therefore it is imperative that we discuss ways in which we can jointly improve the quality of life for the underprivileged.”
The Hudson Institute if a non-profit policy research organization. The goal of Hudson's Center for Global Prosperity is to document and advance the central role of the private sector in the creation of economic growth, social welfare, and prosperity throughout the world. Visit
www.global-prosperity.org for the
Index of Global Philanthropy.
The United Nations Fund for International Partnerships (UNFIP) is the gateway for partnerships with the U.N. family. Established by Secretary-General Kofi Annan in March 1998, UNFIP is an autonomous trust fund set up to serve as the interface between the United Nations system and the United Nations Foundation (UNF), the public charity responsible for administering, over a period of 15 years, Ted Turner’s $1 billion contribution in support of United Nations causes. Visit
www.un.org/unfip
For more information contact Samantha Grayson, Hudson Institute, at
samantha@hudson.org or
202-974-6453; or Camilla Schippa, chief of office, UNFIP at
schippa@un.org or 212-963-3441.