With the 25th year anniversary of CIPE, we are reminded of the founding principle of the National Endowment for Democracy and its core Institutes — that civil society in the U.S. could work with civil society organizations around the world to support democratic and economic reform. In the current challenging economic and political environment, it is even more important to support this approach since there is a great deal of trust and mutual respect to rebuild. We know that this does not bring quick or easy change, but it’s a long-term investment that deserves our support.
The current administration is also seeking to support citizen-to-citizen initiatives. Recently, Secretary Clinton created a new office to reach out to Muslim communities across the globe, and appointed Farah Pandith to head the new Office of the Special Representative to Muslim Communities (OSRMC). In a presentation at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Ms. Pandith outlined the new initiative and its objectives. Rather than depending on bilateral relationships between the U.S. and Muslim majority countries, OSRMC seeks to work on a people-to-people basis to find solutions to pressing challenges across the globe, such as poverty, illiteracy, extremism, and the marginalization of women.
Ms. Pandith specifically mentioned initiatives they might support, such as addressing youth unemployment by supporting entrepreneurship and creating mentoring programs to connect new entrepreneurs with established businessmen and women. They will also seek to connect communities that do not normally interact, such as students and the private sector, or local government and bloggers.
There is a great deal here that connects with CIPE’s approach – such as entrepreneurship, empowering women and youth, and strengthening private sector organizations to be a driver for change – and we have a great opportunity with an eager partner in the new administration.
Published Date: August 07, 2009