ISLAMABAD: A two-day national conference on community driven development jointly organised by the European Union (EU) and Rural Support Programmes Network (RSPN) concluded here on Tuesday.
The conference was organised to highlight the importance of local community driven development and its positive impacts on poverty reduction and sustainable growth.
Adviser to the Prime Minister for Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz was the chief guest of the conference and Chairperson Benazir Income Support Programme Marvi Memon was the guest of honour. EU Ambassador to Pakistan Jean-François Cautain, Secretary Economic Affairs Division Tariq Bajwa, Additional Secretary EAD Umar Hamid Khan, Chairman RSPN Shoaib Sultan Khan, CEO National Rural Support Programme Dr. Rashid Bajwa, CEO RSPN Khaleel Ahmed Tetlay, Campaign Director Alif Ailaan Musharaf Zaidi and other social experts addressed different sessions of the two-day conference. Neil Buhne, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Pakistan, was the guest of honour of concluding session.
Chairman of the famous Orangi Pilot Project Karachi Tasneem Siddiqui delivered a memorial lecture on Akhtar Hameed Khan “community driven development from Comilla to today” in the concluding session. Shoaib Sultan Khan gave the vote of thanks.
He said the concept of organising this conference was to sensitise people specially the government, policy makers and stakeholders on the importance of community driven development for bringing about real change in masses’ lives.
Sartaj Aziz underlined the importance of engaging local community in policymaking and implementing the development projects for effective disaster risk reduction as well as meeting the challenges of climate change. He was of the view that chronic causes of poverty could not be addressed without active participation of communities in development strategy at local level. NNI