CSOs from Palestine Learn from Philippine Experience in Development Work

They say that experience is the best teacher and that true learning is tested in the ability to share and teach others how to do it. It was in this spirit of sharing knowledge that CODE-NGO gladly welcomed the request the NGO Development Center (NDC), based in Ramallah, Palestine, to host and organize for them an exposure to the Philippines last Dec. 8-15, 2012.

Owing to decades of persistent operation whether the socio-economic-political environment is supportive or repressive and to its successes in self-regulation and constructive engagement with government, Philippine CSOs have a rich history and experience in development work. Similar to CODE-NGO but younger, having only started operations in 2006, NDC is an umbrella organization of NGOs, local cooperatives, unions, and networks. The ten (10) delegates of the exposure trip to the Philippines, representing General Union of Charitable Organizations, General Union of Palestinian NGOs – Gaza, Palestinian National Institute for NGOs (PNIN), Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO), and Palestine NGO Development Center (NDC), met and talked to CSO leaders and government officials in the Philippines, covering the various aspects of development work organized into the following learning tracks: networking, advocacy, regulation, and engagement and partnerships with government, business sector, and other civil society organizations.

Coincidentally, CODE-NGO also assisted the Aga Khan Development Network, a development organization working in Asia and Africa, in the same capacity back in 2009.