The Asian Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (AsiaDHRRA) organized three sub-regional cluster meetings of its DHRRA members from the sub-region Mekong (Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam), Southeast (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines), and Northeast (Korea, Taiwan) on 14, 15, and 17 November 2022, respectively, via zoom. The objectives of the series of meetings are to update each other on the result of respective assessments of, trends and priority agenda of member DHRRA’s, and their strategic plans vis-a-vis the network’s Strategic Action Plan (SAP) 2021-2025. The meeting also served as a venue to level-off strengths and areas for growth and potential sub-regional or bilateral cooperation. Prior to this, the DHRRAs were bilaterally provided guidance by the HROD team of AsiaDHRRA to go thru national level reflection, assessment, and planning.
DHRRAs in each sub-region presented the status of their governance structure, membership, strategic plans, and involvement in multi-sectoral engagements and networks. They also highlighted current partnership-building opportunities, joint resource mobilization, organizational strengthening, and continuous monitoring and support from AsiaDHRRA’s programs and projects., They underlined the challenges faced in response to COVID-19, in the sustainability of operations, and other difficulties in the country context, which will require organizational development and capacity building for better provision of their services to members and partner rural people’s organizations. Likewise on what AsiaDHRRA could improve on in support of it to their work on the ground.
The sub-regional assessment serves as a preparatory activity for the planned 13th General Assembly on January 2023, focusing on looking beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, identifying opportunities, and setting the network’s role and approaches to better contribute to rural transformation in light of the newly approved ASEAN Master Plan for Rural Development, which AsiaDHRRA helped anchor the development, together with the ASEAN sectoral body for rural development and poverty eradication and the ASEAN Secretariat.
