NGO Summit participants pose for a group photo.
The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Philippines and the UP College of Law, in cooperation with Kaisa – Nagkakaisang Iskolar para sa Pamantasan at Sambayanan, hosted the 2016 NGO Summit for Dutch Strategic Alliances on May 30 at the Malcolm Theater, College of Law, UP Diliman, Quezon City.
The event served as a venue for the Netherlands Embassy to present its efforts with non-governmental organization (NGO) partners, and to promote collaboration among government, business groups and civil society organizations in the Philippines.
Prof. Danilo Concepcion, Dean of the UP College of Law, welcomes the participants.
In his welcome remarks, UP College of Law Dean Danilo Concepcion highlighted the role of the academe in fostering discourse and the application of theories and ideas to solve society’s problems.
In her keynote speech, The Netherlands Ambassador to the Philippines H.E. Marion Derckx explained the process of social change and the role of Dutch NGO partners.
Dutch NGO alliances were introduced and break-out sessions were held for the participants to discuss their goals and strategies in applying the theory of change for the benefit of the communities and sectors they wish to serve.
H.E. Ambassador Marion Derckx, The Netherlands Ambassador to the Philippines, delivers her keynote message.
Representatives of the alliances gave a brief presentation of their work: Ms. Czarina Musni for FCAM – Global Alliance for Green and Gender Action; Ms. Shita Lakshmi for HIVOS – Citizen Agency Consortium; Mr. JB Garganera for IUCN NL – Shared Resources, Joint Solutions; Ms. Rosanna Langara for Mama Cash – Count Me In! Consortium; Ms. Ruth Canlas for Milieudefensie – Green Livelihood Alliance; Mr. Colin Fernandes for Rode Kruis – Partnership for Resilience; Mr. Alwin de Leon for Plan – Girls Advocacy Alliance, and Terre des Hommes – Down to Zero; and Mr. Mark Batac for Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict.
Prof. Ryan Oliva of the UP College of Law and Ms. Mary Ann Sayoc of the Philippine-Netherlands Business Council added that youth participation should also be maximized in these many opportunities for partnerships in addressing complex social issues.
Ambassador Derckx also served as the event facilitator, highlighting collaboration, networking and convergence for agents of change to be able to do more for the people in the communities.
