Building Resilience through Innovation, Learning and Inclusion at APAC Forum

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Building communities’ resilience through innovation, leaning and inclusion will be key to the approach of Australia’s international development sector going forward, according to World Vision’s new CEO Claire Rogers.

Speaking after the opening of this year’s Australian NGO Cooperation Program (ANCP) Partner Agency Cooperation (APAC) Learning Forum on resilience, Ms Rogers said the challenge of developing both individuals and communities’ ability to cope with the shocks and stresses of natural disasters, climate change, conflict and vulnerable economies, are increasingly the focus of the work of Australia’s aid and development agencies like World Vision.

“Innovation, learning and inclusion have always been hallmarks of World Vision’s approach to development but they are now more widely and urgently demanded in all our work.” 

“I’m delighted that some of our top innovators are representing World Vision at today’s forum. It’s a great opportunity for dialogue within the sector on the pressing issues facing our work with communities around the world,” Ms Rogers said.

World Vision is sharing its latest work to take Local Value Chain Development (LVCD) and Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) to scale in Indonesia and Timor-Leste.

The LVCD project model helps producers increase their incomes by working together in groups to better understand and connect to markets.

FMNR uses simple agro-forestry techniques to repair degraded farmlands in order to increase food production and incomes for poor farming communities. 

“Our colleagues from Vision Fund International will also be discussing an exciting pilot insurance product aimed at facilitating recovery lending,” Ms Rogers said.

Opening the Forum, the Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, said that Australian NGOs play a pivotal role in strengthening community resilience.

“Australian NGOs work closely with the Australia Government to assist our partner countries to strengthen community resilience. They play a pivotal role on the ground, helping to prepare for, and often respond to, both slow and rapid onset disasters and other shocks”

Australian Non-Government Organisation Cooperation Program (ANCP) through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), supports 54 accredited Australian NGOs to deliver poverty reduction programs. The 10 ANCP partners, also known as the APAC group, hold an annual Learning Forum on key topics relevant to Australia’s aid program.

Held in close cooperation with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT), this year’s key themes include innovation, evidence and learning, and new partnerships. The Forum will also focus on inclusive approaches to community resilience, particular in relation to gender inclusion. Attendees include DFAT staff, APAC members, other Australian NGOs, ACFID staff, managing contractors and academia. 

Discussions at today’s forum will be used to develop and guide current and future resilience programming for enhanced impact in aid and development delivery.

Learn more about Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration visit or Local Value Chain Development

Media Releases, Africa, Asia and the Pacific, ANCP, Australian Government, Claire Rogers, Disaster, Drought, Emergencies, Emergency, Environment, Famine, Farmers, Flood, Humanitarian, innovation, NGO, World Vision

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