Thirty-three NGO leaders convened at the Pinnacle Resort Hotel in Chonburi, Thailand last March 1-5, 2005 for the Second Asian NGO Leaders’ Dialogue supported by the OSIDEV. The event was a follow-up to the Asian Leaders’ Dialogue held in October 2003 in Cyberjaya, Malaysia.
The first part provided the opportunity for the participants to deepen their understanding about the negative impacts of WTO on the rural poor through a dialogue with country negotiators to the WTO on Agriculture. During the 1st ALD it was agreed that NGO leaders must increase their knowledge on WTO and advocate for the protection of the rural poor especially the farmers. The dialogue highlighted the need for CSOs build their capacities and to take on a more pro-active role in claiming before governments that preparation for trade talks at country level should carry the voices of the affected sectors.
The second part had the participants sharing on the impact of the December 2004 tsunami disaster. This was started by a moving ritual to commemorate the lives of those who perished and suffered from it. The NGO leaders reflected on the issues and challenges related to the long-term rehabilitation work in affected areas. They also identified options and strategies on how civil society organizations can work in solidarity with disaster victims.
The main and last part focused on the deepening of leadership concepts stirred by the presentation of two documented leadership stories (“How to Raise a Billion Pesos and not Profit from It: the Multi-faceted leadership of Marissa Reyes” and the story of Khun Supachai Srisupa-aksorn, “Achieving Larger Goals”). Opportunity for in-depth discussion and learning on Asian leadership experiences led to a shared understanding of concepts and framework of Asian NGO Leadership. The proceedings of the 2nd ALD, together with documented and compiled Asian NGO leaders’ stories will be published in June 2005.