Partnership is a core element of Open Forum’s
approach. Vision of partnerships is based on
the belief that the best partnerships are those
bound by common concerns and common vision,
with each partner having clear focus and objectives
that can potentially emerge into synergistic
goals. Open Forum sees itself as a platform
for Information and Communication Technologies
(ICTs) that complements global partnerships
engaged in the realisation of the Millennium
Development Goals while actualising its commitment
to the broader Millennium Declaration of the
UN Millennium Summit. Alliance building has
been aimed towards positioning ICTs strategically
for promoting the voices of the poor and marginalised
on issues of concern.
“Working
in partnership is central to Open Forum’s
approach. Partnerships enable Open Forum
to ensure a lasting and sustainable impact
from our activities, whether it’s
cleared ground being utilized effectively
in a particular context, or that our expertise
is passed on to others. In the past, working
in partnership has been fundamental in
achieving greater impact in areas for
achieving set target for MDGs. These range
from national capacity development to
response, information dissemination, and
other initiatives of Policy advocacy.”
Mr.
Kumar Aman
Chief Executive, Programme &
Operations
Genl. Secretary, Governing Board,
Open Forum
|
|
 |
The challenge is to ensure basic principles
of equity, credibility, joint initiatives for
learning and sharing, as well as transparency,
inclusiveness and accountability. Currently
our partners include civil society organizations,
private sector, government representatives,
Media Organizations, and grassroots organizations
and collectives, who play a crucial role with
regard to content facilitation, knowledge networking,
and joint information and communication initiatives.
Open Forum is well recognized for its advocacy
campaigns and technical capabilities to offer
strategic advisory; to develop technical solutions
for building multi-mode digital content in text,
multimedia, audio and video; and to provide
help-desk on content management, knowledge management,
and other information based services. Our existing
and potential partners have been encouraged
to seek benefit of these capabilities in the
realms of their own work.
Working in partnership is central to Open Forum’s
approach. Partnerships enable Open Forum to
ensure a lasting and sustainable impact from
our activities, whether it’s cleared ground
being utilized effectively in a particular context,
or that our expertise is passed on to others.
In the past, working in partnership has been
fundamental in achieving greater impact in areas
for achieving set target for MDGs. These range
from national capacity development to response,
information dissemination, and other initiatives
of Policy advocacy.
The link with development varies considerably
within Open Forum’s programme areas. Each
response must be tailored to those requirements.
In South East Asia, the main focus tends to
be on longer-term development goals. Predominantly
rural communities suffer from a complex web
of interlinked vulnerabilities and a co-ordinated
approach is necessary to maximize impact. As
a result, a number of projects have been undertaken
in this region in conjunction with local and
international development agencies. These partnerships
allow Open Forum to priorities tasks where post-clearance
development activities have been identified
and verified. In each of these partnerships,
Open Forum’s innovative locality demining
model is used. The model involves the recruitment
of Knowledge Workers from the community in which
they are deployed. This means that Open Forum
recruits KWs from vulnerable and affected groups
in the community, providing them with lasting
transferable skills. The local economy also
benefits from the expenditure of wages within
the target village community. This unique approach
is especially appropriate since each of the
integrated development projects Open Forum works
with emphasises a grassroots approach, with
decisions being made by village development
committees. As such, the locality demining model
is ideal. It allows participation, providing
the community with a sense of control over activities
and a sense of ownership of the project.
