What is AsiaDHRRA?

AsiaDHRRA is a regional partnership of eleven (11) social development networks and organizations in ten (10) Asian nations that envisions Asian rural communities that are just, free, prosperous, living in peace and working in solidarity towards self-reliance.

All partners are involved in the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas, which accounts for its DHRRA names.

What does AsiaDHRRA mean?

AsiaDHRRA means “Asian Partnership for the Development of Hurman Resources in Rural Asia”

What is the history of AsiaDHRRA?

AsiaDHRRA traces its earliest roots to the 1974 Development of the Human Rural Resources in Asia Workshop (DHRRAW) which was held in Swanganiwas, Thailand. About o­ne hundred and twenty (120) rural development workers and practitioners gathered to engage in dialogues that focused o­n the challenges and responses to rural development. At the end of the eventful three-week workshop, a call for continuous dialogue among the participants was made. As such, a support structure, the Center for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Asia (CenDHRRA), was created to facilitate the sharing and exchanges across the Asian region. Since then, different forms of dialogue and sharing were done to strengthen the movement. In 1994, the movement which was effectively supported by CenDHRRA formally evolved into its present state, a regional network of country DHRRAs known as AsiaDHRRA.

After more than two decades, the regional network is now composed of DHRRAs from Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, South Korea, Taiwan-ROC, and Japan.

What are AsiaDHRRA’s Vision, Mission and Goals?

Vision
AsiaDHRRA envisions Asian rural communities that are just, free, prosperous, living in peace and working in solidarity towards self-reliance.

Mission
To achieve this vision, AsiaDHRRA?s mission is to be an effective

1. Promoter and catalyst of partnership relations as we create opportunities for genuine people-to-people dialogue and exchange;
2. Facilitator of human resource development processes in the rural areas; and
3. Mobilizer of expertise & opportunities and facilitator of processes for the strengthening of solidarity and kinship among Asian rural communities.

Goals

These roles interplay as AsiaDHRRA pursues its two-pronged goals of:

1. Strengthening of members and network relations, and
2. Building of Asian rural solidarity.

What are the Focus of AsiaDHRRA’s Programs and Projects?

Guided by our vision and rooted in the needs of our partners and members, we pursue our work according to five program areas.

Leadership Development. As the world continues to struggle with age-old problems of poverty, strife, and inequality, the Asian leader is challenged to listen to people?s contexts and facilitate the process of problem solving and if possible, consensus building. AsiaDHRRA contributes to this by providing opportunities for rural leaders, both farmers and development workers, to develop not just leadership knowledge and skills but also the relevant orientation necessary in today?s crucial social dilemma.

Our Leadership Development Program aims to enhance the knowledge, skills and attitude of its leaders so that they can perform their roles as visionaries, network builders, consensus builders, synthesizers of information, advocates, and keepers of the covenant. It also aims to popularize emerging Asian leadership practices and models.

Regional Policy Advocacy and Movement Building. We believe in taking an active role, both at the local and regional levels, in advocating for the rights of farmers and rural communities to access to land for production and decent living amidst the frenzy towards industrialization and economic integration. We also believe in the strength of their solidarity and potential contributions to genuine sustainable development for after all, the rural poor comprise the majority in Asia.

As such, AsiaDHRRA?s Regional Policy Advocacy and Movement Building program aims to promote and advocate for the network?s rural development agenda and alternatives while actively facilitating the formation and strengthening processes of the Asian Farmers? Alliance for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA).

Constituency Building and Resource Development and Management. Although Asia remains to be a predominantly agriculture-based region, o­nly a handful of its population can be labeled as aware and supportive of issues such as agrarian reform and rural development. AsiaDHRRA anchors its human, material, and financial resource mobilization strategies o­n its belief in the effectiveness of the dialogue and exchange processes. Creating better awareness, understanding and appreciation of rural development issues and promising initiatives is a challenge AsiaDHRRA is determined to respond to.

The Constituency Building and Resource Development and Management Program aims to expand the support base of rural development in Asia and at the same time generate much needed resources for the network sustainability.

Management Information System Program. The role and contribution of information in today?s society is undisputed. Each development player has an ability to produce relevant data and information crucial to major analytical and decision-making processes. AsiaDHRRA harnesses its own information resources and shares it in aid of effective advocacy. Whether through its printed publications or electronic databases, the network offers not o­nly information but also relevant insights from experiences from the field.

This particular program area aims to provide timely and accurate solutions to information requirements of the network and its partners while ensuring the development of systems and technologies that can be made available to AsiaDHRRA members and stakehodlers.

Organization Development and Management Program. Ours is a regional partnership – a regional network whose strength lays in the unique and creative capacities of its member-NGOs and partners found in ten Asian countries. While striving to be both effective and efficient, AsiaDHRRA works to ensure organizational relevance. This program looks at both membership concerns and network operations.

It aims to strengthen membership relations towards a common network goal. The program also aims to ensure AsiaDHRRA?s institutional linkages are relevant and complementary to its network agenda while at the same time organizing development opportunities for the network leadership that will facilitate organizational efficacy and efficiency.

How is AsiaDHRRA being managed?

Network directions and operations are steered by an active leadership in partnership with the secretariat. At the helm of the regional network is the General Assembly (GA). Composed of representatives from the member-DHRRAs, the GA is convened every two (2) years and its major function is to determine the network’s strategies and directions. In between the assemblies, governance is in the hands of the Executive Committee made up of the Chairperson and three Vice Chairpersons with the Secretary-General as an ex-officio member. The latter, o­n the other hand, is in-charge of the daily operations of the AsiaDHRRA secretariat. An operations mechanism o­n sub-regional clustering is also adopted by AsiaDHRRA to facilitate the integration of unique local input and insights in program implementation.

Where is AsiaDHRRA’s office located?

The AsiaDHRRA Secretariat currently is located in the Philippines. Our office is located at

Room 201 Partnership Center, 59 C. Salvador Street, Loyola Heights 1108, Quezon City, Philippines

Phone (632) 436-4706, (632) 426-6739
Telefax (632) 426-6739
Email asiadhrra@asiadhrra.org
URL http://www.asiadhrra.org

Who are the members of AsiaDHRRA?

1. Binadesa (InDHRRA)
2. CamboDHRRA
3. DHRRA Malaysia
4. Philippine Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (PhilDHRRA)
5. ThaiDHRRA Foundation
6. Vietnam Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (VietDHRRA)
7. Japan Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (JaDHRRA)
8. Korean Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (KoDHRRA)
9. MyandDHRRA-SAAM
10. Taiwan Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (TaiwanDHRRA)
11. Centre for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Asia (CenDHRRA)

Who is the Secretary General of AsiaDHRRA?

The AsiaDHRRA secretariat is currently led by Ms. Marlene Ramirez

Who is the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of AsiaDHRRA?

The AsiaDHRRA BOT is currently headed by Datuk Marimuthu Nadason

Who comprises the AsiaDHRRA Executive Committee?

Chairperson: Mr. Marimuthu Nadason
Vice Chairperson, Southeast Asia: Mr. Jaybee Garganera
Vice Chairperson, North Asia: Dr. Sung Lee
Vice Chairperson, Mekong: Mr. Sil Vineth
Women Representative: Dr. Wenchi Huang and Ms. Dwi Astuti
Secretary General (Ex-Officio): Ms. Marlene D. Ramirez

Who are the current staff of the secretariat?

Secretary General: Ms. Marlene D. Ramirez
Program Officers: Ms. Elena V. Rebagay, Ms. Lorna M. David, Mr. Florante Villas, Mr. Jose Angelo D. Hermida
Finance Officer: Ms. Lorna M. David
Accountant: Ms. Jocelyn D. Dalino
Contracted Services: Samuel Maduro, Rey Encarnacion