| Program
Matrix
| Keynote Speakers| Senior
UN Officials
United Nations Workshops
| Conference
Context and Focus Areas
Program Matrix
(click
here)
The program was designed to provide maximum
learning opportunities, whilst incorporating
many opportunities for delegates to meet and
network with other participants.
Please click
here to view the program matrix.
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Keynote
Speakers
A number of high profile international and
Australian speakers presented at the Conference.
Please click on the keynote speaker’s
name to view their biographical summary and
photo.
Mrs
Mary Robinson
Former President of Ireland & Former United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Currently the Executive Director of Realizing
Rights - The Ethical Global Initiative
Dr
Jose Ramos-Horta
Foreign Minister
Timor Leste
Professor
Stephen Coleman
Cisco Visiting Professor in E-Democracy
University Of Oxford
Ms
Erna Witoelar
Special Ambassador for the Millennium Development
Goals for Asia and Pacific
United Nations
Reverend
Tim Costello
Chief Executive Officer
World Vision
Mr
Olivio Dutra
Minister of Cities
Government of Brazil
Ms
Mavis McDonald
Permanent Secretary
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
Ms
Georgina Beyer
Member for Wairarapa
New Zealand
Professor
Robert Putnam
Peter and Isabel Malkin Professor of Public
Policy
Harvard University
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Senior
UN Officials
The following representatives
of the United Nations participated in the program:
Mr
Kim Hak-Su
United Nations Under-Secretary-General
Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic
and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
Mr
Jomo Kwame Sundaram
Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development
Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United
Nations
Mr
Guido Bertucci
Director, Division for Public Administration
and Development Management
Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United
Nations
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United
Nations Workshops
The United Nations Department of Economic and
Social Affairs (DESA) organised capacity building
workshops in partnerships with UNCRD, ESCAP,
UNEP, UN Secretariat of the Permanent Forum
on Indigenous Issues, the Asian Development
Bank (ADB), the Eastern Regional Organization
for Public Administration (EROPA), the Human
Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission of
Australia, Central Queensland University (CQU),
the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and
the International Fund for Agricultural Development
(IFAD).
These workshops discussed and presented experiences
of community engagement and participative practices
in the areas of public fiscal processes, sustainable
development, new technologies of engagement,
local government and indigenous issues. The
workshops provided participants with the necessary
training, tools and methodologies in these areas,
primarily for the achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) through participatory
governance.
The UN workshops included:
- Decentralization: Poverty Reduction,
Empowerment and Participation by
DESA & UNCRD
- Community Engagement in Public
Finance at the Subnational Governments
by DESA & Eastern Regional Organization
for Public Administration (EROPA)
- Platform for E-Participation
by DESA
- International Information Exchange
on Poverty-Environment Nexus Initiative in
Central Asian & Southeast Asian Regions
by DESA, UNEP, ESCAP & Central Queensland
University
- Engaging the Marginalized - Partnership
between Indigenous People, Governments &
Civil Society by the UN Secretariat
of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
& the Human Rights & Equal Opportunity
Commission of Australia
- Partnerships and Civil Society
Organization (CSO) Capacity Building for Achieving
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
by DESA, Asian Development Bank (ADB), and
the University of Technology Sydney.
- Engaging Communities: IFAD's Experience,
Lessons Learned & Policy Implications
by IFAD
Further details regarding timings of the sessions
of these workshops can be found in the main
Conference program matrix.
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Conference
Context and Focus Areas
People are looking to government and its agencies
for opportunities to shape the decisions that
affect their futures. Both globally and locally
a range of trends and drivers are moving governments
to increase their focus on more effective citizen
involvement in public policy development and
in the planning, decision making and monitoring
of service delivery. Similarly, the private
sector, tertiary institutions, political parties
and community organisations are also under pressure
to be responsive to greater stakeholder engagement.
While change brings opportunities to many,
there is also mounting evidence worldwide of
the impact of rapid social, economic and environmental
change which in some cases is leading to both
increased levels of citizen alienation from
government and higher expectations on governments
and others to work collaboratively to solve
problems. In many countries the challenges of
poverty reduction and the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) equally
requires governance tools that are inclusive
and based on enhanced citizen-government/institutional
dialogue and partnership. These challenges call
for innovative solutions to complex problems
which can no longer use traditional command
and control techniques. The real challenge is
to imagine and create systems of governance
and practical changes to the way government
and other institutions do business, which will
enable citizens to engage more readily and to
participate in the development of policy, programs
and services.
Key focus areas for the Conference
were:
- Community engagement and participative
practices (both generally and in particular
sectors e.g. natural resource management)
- Public participation in public policy processes
- People’s budgeting and public participation
in fiscal policy
- Social accounting
- New technologies and engagement
- Multi-stakeholder partnerships –
the role of the market and private sector
- Good corporate citizenship and engagement
- Community building, active citizenship
and social capital (including measurement
and assessment issues)
- Post-conflict governance
- Inclusive development – working with
the marginalised and disadvantaged
- Sustainable development and participation.
Exploratory points which cut across
the focus areas are:
- What is it and why is it important (definitions,
values, globalisation impacts)?
- What is being done where, where is the
leadership coming from (case studies, shared
learnings)?
- What “works” – how, when
and why does engagement add value?
- What are the theoretical frameworks underpinning
this work?
- Who is doing this work and what are the
capacity building needs?
- How can we do better? What is the evidence
base/evaluation activity which will help us
to learn and improve?
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