The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) presented three strategies and conducted a consultation on the draft of the IDB's climate change strategy during its Tenth Annual Meeting with civil society organizations, held on Nov. 4 and 5 in Quito, Ecuador.
More than 150 representatives from 26 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean participated in the dialogue about the Bank's new corporate strategy, complementing the ninth IDB capital increase approved in July by the Bank's Board of Governors.
Participants presented their comments on the Draft IDB Integrated Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, and Sustainable and Renewable Energy. They also discussed with IDB officials the strategies that will guide Bank operations in other key areas: institutions for growth and social welfare, social policy for equity and productivity, and competitive regional and global international integration.
Other topics of discussion included the Bank's new access to information policy and civil society's participation in the activities promoted by the IDB in the areas of youth, education, and diversity and gender in the region.
Roberto Vellutini, IDB Vice President for Countries, chaired the meeting and stressed the importance of an ongoing dialogue with representatives of civil society and of disclosing more information about the Bank's strategies in the region.
Vellutini noted that the Bank and civil society groups had succeded in implementing their agreements established a year ago in the Guadalajara meeting and he highlighted the need to strengthen communication among the Civil Society Consulting Groups (ConSOCs), established in all 26 country offices. Sixty representatives from the ConSOCs attended the Quito meeting.
"This has been an important opportunity to continue promoting the dialogue. Through the ConSOCs we have a more versatile platform for dialogue that brings us closer faster (in real time) to civil society organizations in each country," said Vellutini.
The vice president said that the IDB continues to expand its openness toward civil society and to strengthen the consultation process through the ConSOCs.
Vellutini expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to share experiences and foster the dialogue with civil society groups in the region and welcomed their effort in traveling to Quito.