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Nov 7, 2009

IDB and Civil Society make progress with public consultations and work agenda at meeting in Guadalajara

The meeting served to strengthen dialogue and discuss issues like the capital increase and gender equality policy

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and members of civil society in Latin America and the Caribbean agreed at their annual meeting on a roadmap toward increased transparency and more robust participation by social organizations in the activities of the Bank.

The agenda was agreed upon during the Ninth Annual IDB-Civil Society Meeting, held in Guadalajara, on November 5 and 6. The Meeting was attended by the President of the IDB, Luis Alberto Moreno.

About 140 representatives of civil society from 25 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean took part in the dialogue. The topics discussed were: the IDB’s capital increase process, the Bank’s information disclosure policy, civil society participation in the Bank’s activities, and the IDB’s work with youth in the region.

The new agreement will enhance information disclosure and strengthen the organizations’ participation in the activities of the Bank. This will be achieved by reviewing information disclosure policy and through inputs from the public consultations regarding the capital increase and gender equality policies. Furthermore, the parties will continue to be open to dialogue and plan to establish partnerships to raise the standard of living of youth in the region, along with other initiatives.

The participants reviewed progress on 19 agreements signed at least year’s meeting in Montevideo, where the new agenda, the 2009 Guadalajara Roadmap, was established. 

The Meeting prompted an open dialogue with IDB President Moreno, who responded to the concerns of members of civil society at a session that lasted more than two hours.

"We take all the challenges you have posed seriously and positively,” Moreno said during the meeting. "On behalf of the IDB, I would like to reiterate our commitment to revitalizing dialogue and communication channels with civil society.”

At the Meeting, several representatives of the IDB shared their experiences with civil society.

Roberto Vellutini, Vice President for Countries, spoke with civil society members on the first day of the Meeting. He said that the IDB had increased, and would continue to broaden, its openness to civil society. That included the project-related public consultation processes and their reinforcement in the IDB’s offices in borrower countries.

“We must continue the IDB-Civil Society mutual acknowledgment process so that we can fulfill our responsibilities and improve our performance,” Vellutini said.

Several members of civil society acknowledged progress made in dialogue with the Bank and said they would closely monitor the commitments undertaken by the IDB in the new Guadalajara Roadmap.

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