Placed
under the label of dialogue and philanthropy, the first edition of the
Addhope Forum kept its promises by offering a space for exchange and
discussions on the keys to successful development partnerships. On this
occasion, 145 participants coming from NGOs, the private and public
sectors, as well as academia, shared their experiences and best
practices on the matter.
M. Zhang, Chairman, Sinopec-Addax Petroleum Foundation
and CEO, Addax Petroleum Corporation, opened the forum emphasizing his
strong conviction that the foundation’s initiatives are deeply rooted in
the Corporate Social Responsibility strategy of its Shareholder, the
Sinopec Group.
“Philanthropy
should not be limited to its financial engagement” commented M. Zhang.
“In order to be efficient, philanthropy should go beyond the pecuniary
aspect and rather take the approach of sharing competencies. As a famous
Chinese proverb goes ‘Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.
Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
”That
is why we are all gathered here today. We have gained a lot of
experience working with our NGO partners over the years. But there is
still room for improvement, and we can get even better at what we do by
maintaining the continuous dialogue we have with partners from every
sector. ”
In
his opening address H. E. Haitao Wu, Deputy Permanent Representative
of the Chinese Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, Chargé
d’Affaires a.i., Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary for
Disarmament Affairs, highlighted the efforts undertaken by China, the
largest developing country in the world, to meet the Millennium
Development Goals objectives.
Plenary
and interactive sessions took place throughout the morning and offered a
forum where participants – organisations and individuals concerned by
public good and the issues linked to partnerships between NGOs and the
private sector – could openly share insights and experience.
“As
often in life, a partnership is not a given” commented Marie-Gabrielle
Cajoly, Executive Director of the Sinopec-Addax Petroleum Foundation.
“On the contrary, it is a trust relationship, based on mutual
engagement, comprehension and dialogue.”
“We
invited representatives from all horizons, and in particular a large
number of NGOs, to join us for today’s forum. Their enthusiastic
participation was fantastic and a strong sign of everyone’s interest in
both the topics discussed and the approach taken.”
Indeed,
the foundation was keen to give the floor to all actors involved on a
wide range of themes such as: the opportunities and risks linked to
multisectoral partnerships; how to monitor and measure projects more
efficiently; how to best communicate around the work undertaken; and how
to identify the changes in the developing landscape occurring today in
order the adapt to them in the best possible way.
Finally,
an important focus was given to NGOs, especially in the interactive
sessions, where they were invited to present more specific elements of
their work.
Distributed by the African Press Organization on behalf of Addax Petroleum.
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