To enhance the international cooperation and global outreach capabilities of NGOs in the province, the “First Jiangsu-ASEAN Exchange Conference for Civil Organizations Seminar on ‘Going Global’ by Civil Organizations in Jiangsu” convened in Yangzhou City.
According to the Amity Foundation, on September 20, 80 attendees participated in the meeting, which included 30 representatives from 11 civil organizations in ASEAN countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Additionally, representatives from organizations in Japan, Germany, Argentina, and other countries, along with members of a Jiangsu NGOs alliance for international exchange and collaboration, were also in attendance.
At the seminar, Ling Chunxiang, secretary general of Amity, and Thay Bone, executive director of Cambodia's Life with Dignity (LWD) organization signed a memorandum of cooperation regarding the next phase of the photovoltaic campus project in Pursat Province, Cambodia.
During the conference exchange session on public welfare, She Hongyu, associate general secretary of Amity, Mrs. Arshinta, director of Public Health and Humanity Development (PKMK) YAKKUM from Indonesia, and Thay Bone, executive director of Life with Dignity from Cambodia, discussed the opportunities and challenges confronted by ASEAN countries such as Indonesia and Cambodia in public welfare and livelihood development. They explored how the Amity Foundation and its partners in ASEAN can collaborate to address challenges related to sanitation, clean water, and climate change while expressing anticipations for future cooperation.
In the seminar on Jiangsu civil organizations’ “Going Global,” Secretary General Ling provided a comprehensive overview of Amity’s international development efforts, mainly sharing its experience in the “internationalization of institutions and globalization of projects” with relevant suggestions for NGOs to enhance their capabilities on “going global.”
Rev. Dr. Brighton Katabaro, head of studies at Mission Academy at the University of Hamburg, Germany, a partner of Amity, used the water shortage problem in his home country, Tanzania, as an entry point to share insights on the various collaborations between his institution and the Amity Foundation.
