A Blueprint for Building Global Partnerships
By MARCO CACERES

Posted on Sat, Nov. 03, 2007
www.projecthonduras.com

Within the communities dedicated to poverty alleviation, social justice and economic development throughout the world, people are focused on the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals. The idea of halving extreme poverty by 2015 has been pushed by celebrities such as Bono of the rock band U2 and actress Angelina Jolie, as well as academics such as economist Jeffrey Sachs, who has popularized the cause with his book, The End of Poverty.

The eight goals seek to vastly improve the lot of those on Earth who are barely able to survive, much less be healthy and productive citizens. Of the eight, I believe that the most important one is No. 8, which seeks to ``develop a global partnership for development.''

Its importance lies in that it is really less a ''goal'' and more of a vehicle by which to facilitate the attainment of the other seven goals. If we can successfully develop a true global partnership for development, then everything else suddenly becomes so much easier.

Think about it: Everybody everywhere working selflessly hand in hand to empower our less fortunate brothers and sisters, regardless of race, creed, nationality or political party. It's a great concept, a wonderfully idealistic vision of how to fix what ails and endangers our planet.

Everybody talks enthusiastically about eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases such as malaria and ensuring environmental sustainability. But the conversation seldom revolves around building global partnerships.

Yes, there are vague acknowledgments that the goals will be achieved only by working together. However, nowhere have I heard or seen a blueprint, a strategic plan for implementing the development of these partnerships . . . at least not outside of Honduras.

There are thousands of civic clubs, universities, churches, government agencies, medical brigades, companies, hospitals and other groups providing support to the Honduran people and covering all the areas specified by the U.N. goals. A sizable portion of these groups are from Canada and the United States, several particularly from Florida. Most of them generally do not coordinate or share resources with each other. Sadly, this is the norm worldwide, rather than the exception.

The difference is that in Honduras there already is a dedicated movement intent on changing this situation where social development professionals, community leaders, humanitarians and volunteers are working in isolation.

The movement is being fueled by the online network projecthonduras.com and the annual Conference on Honduras in the town of Copán Ruinas.

A total of eight Conferences on Honduras have been held, attracting more than 1,000 individuals who represent more than 500 organizations. All the conferences have focused on education, healthcare and community building, with the central purpose being to better understand the projects underway and to find ways to complement efforts and learn from each others' successes and failures. The latest conference took place in mid-October.

The Conference on Honduras 2007 brought together more than 230 people from some 115 groups, including Rotary Clubs, the Episcopal Church and the U.S. Army. The event, whose theme was ''Caring for the Children of Honduras,'' featured more than 50 speakers as part of eight panels and three stand-alone presentations.

Unlike many conferences that seek to address national issues and problems, the Conference on Honduras is not about what needs to be done. It's rather about how what is currently being done can be improved, carried out more efficiently by sharing our ''human capital'' -- things such as time, energy, contacts, experience, expertise, knowledge and talents. The conference is all about this extremely underrated concept known as ''networking'' and creating partnerships, which is precisely what goal No. 8 seeks to achieve.

The reality is that the blueprint for this most important of the eight Millennium Development Goals exists -- and Honduras is the model.

Marco Cáceres is co-founder of projecthonduras.com, an online network dedicated to coordinating education, health and social projects in Honduras.