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International Seminar
Decentralised Co-operation for Human Development
11 to 13 May 2000
Presentation
The last decade of the twentieth century saw a rich debate on new approaches to development co-operation and on development models generally. Decentralised co-operation has emerged from this debate as one of the richer and more innovative approaches and the number of decentralised co-operation initiatives and groups implementing them is growing quickly. But although a growing phenomenon, decentralised co-operation appears to be still marginal within the overall picture of international development assistance.
The 1990s also saw an important series of international conferences, which have addressed different aspects of the new development model. These conferences have been instrumental in creating political consensus on the objectives to be reached. These can be synthesised in the concept of human development. Equitable, sustainable, participatory, decentralised, fostering social integration: these are some of the most important characteristics of the human development concept. There is, however, a shortage of knowledge and experience on appropriate strategies and actions capable of concretely achieving them.
Development co-operation, of course, is insufficient in itself to affect the predominant models of development. It can offer, however, an opportunity for experimentation and innovation. This decentralised approach to development co-operation tends to respond to the debate on development and democracy, to the call for more participatory models of development and with an emphasis on the relations between local authorities and civil society. It is important to consider, in operational terms, which practices and which strategies of decentralised co-operation, do indeed go in the direction of human development objectives. It is thus timely to take stock and orient future direction.
This is the purpose of the process of international consultation on decentralised co-operation for human development, that the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) has been facilitating for several months on behalf of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) with the support of the Italian government.
In preparation for the Special Event, an international seminar took place in Rome on 11, 12 and 13 May 2000. The seminar, held at the offices of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), had the following objectives:
1.To facilitate an exchange of experience and reciprocal knowledge;
2.To discuss the potential and the limits of different practices of decentralised co-operation;
3.To consider aspects of a possible common framework for decentralised co-operation for human development;
4.To produce a document reflecting the consensus of the meeting to be presented at the Special Event during Copenhagen +5 in Geneva, in June 2000.
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