Welcome again to all our readers, supporters and partners. To the
communities with whom we work in each country, we value your
mentorship and to those we have not reached, thank you for your
patience. Your hope is our strength; your aspirations continue to
guide us in our journey together.
As the
Executive Director of this dynamic organization and network, I
continue to ask myself one fundamental question: "How can FSPI most
effectively support our staff in their own development"? The basis of
this question comes from the need to value people above all else, even
when the going gets tough. It's about nourishing people and creating
an environment that encourages strong and sustainable organizations
that are able to respond meaningfully to community needs. To do this,
we need to focus on the following four facets of the human person.
Attention to the BODY: more income (to meet basic needs such as
water, food, clothing, housing and sanitation);
Attention to the HEAD: more learning (to foster creativity,
innovation, challenge and competency);
Attention to the HEART: more belongingness (to ensure
compassion and identity, trust and confidence, organizational
sentiment and human relationships);
Attention to the SOUL: more meaning (to encourage a focus on 'mana'
and spirituality, dignity and values, human rights and
responsibilities).
Believing in people, sometimes even more than they believe in
themselves, helps to build human and social capital. Most people are
like unlocked treasure chests, all they need is someone with the key.
The key to personal and professional development involves unlocking
the four gateways to the body, head, heart and soul.
As leaders, our challenge is to create and sustain living, learning
organizations that ensure each individual's potential is fully
realized. Energy comes from constantly discussing the meaning of our
work and by acknowledging the "higher purpose". Almost everyone wants
to be part of something bigger than him or herself. We want to make
the world a better place. We want to work with others and to be part
of a team with collective energy and wisdom. We want to be part of a
legacy. To accomplish this, the FSPI network must adopt practices that
reflect our values and make use of a spiritual or values-based
approach to community development. Our relationships must be founded
on mutual trust and respect. If trust and respect are not reciprocal,
confidence and motivation can erode.
The values-based approach employed at the regional secretariat
reflects the philosophy inherent within the wider FSP network. For
instance, the introduction of the FSPI Code of Conduct reflects the
network's desire to achieve consistent standards and excellence in all
aspects of our work. In designing, implementing and managing projects
as well as in our own personal lives, we must reflect and practice
these principles.
FSPI's signature program, "Voices and Choices: Gardening Good
Governance and Democracy in the Pacific", currently operates in Fiji,
Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Kiribati. Supported by
DFID,
NZAID and
ADB
this is an innovative community-based initiative aimed at empowering
marginalized grassroots groups to be engaged in decision-making in
areas that affect their lives. Actively engaging communities in
participatory learning, action and planning processes will achieve
this goal. As the project name suggests, good governance, human rights
and democratic principles need both vertical and horizontal support.
Visually, the Gardening Good Governance program looks like two
inverted ice cream cones. The diagram below illustrates how
participatory, people-centered development is a bottom-up process; the
reverse of a top-down approach. This paradigm involves developing
linkages and strengthening relationships at different levels. It
includes relationships between people and their governments (at
national, sub-national and local level) and with civil society
organizations and the private sector. It also involves ensuring that
there is congruence between community action plans and policy
frameworks handed down by government officials.
I believe that the decentralisation processes being initiated by some
Pacific Island governments provide a welcome opportunity to put the
"two ice-cream cone" approach into practice. It links devolution with
local level planning to address common governance concerns. This model
also promotes development of appropriate regional and national policy
frameworks aimed at poverty reduction. Actions taken by community
groups can be used to inform pro-poor policies and help to ensure fair
sharing of development benefits. In using the values-based approach,
we hope to clarify and strengthen the application of the communal
values related to good governance, human rights and democratic
principles. We anticipate that working from the "bottom-up" will bear
fruit at both the local, national and regional level. We recognize
these are ambitious goals and we know that success depends on the
collaborative efforts of many diverse stakeholders. Clearly, the time
to develop and sustain "smart partnerships" is now.
In late 2002, FSPI was pleased to introduce two new marine
conservation projects sponsored by the European Union. This included a
Coral Gardens initiative "Poverty Alleviation through Capacity
Building in Community-Based Fisheries Management and Coral Reef
Restoration" and the SMART Project "Sustainable Management of Aquarium
Reef Trade". Coral Gardens provides support and expertise to help
communities conserve, manage and restore their coral reef resources.
Program activities include assisting community-based conservation
through marine protected ("tabu") areas, introducing active coral
planting methods for habitat enhancement and coral restoration, and
providing sustainable income-generating incentives such as coral
aquaculture and eco-tourism. The SMART Project will focus on
economically disadvantaged coastal fishing communities in Solomon
Islands, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Fiji, Tonga, Federated States of
Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Palau and the Cook Islands.
In addition to our work with the FSPI network, the organization also
sees itself as playing an important and catalytic role in working with
external stakeholders to strengthen partnerships and solidarity within
the Pacific NGO community. Along with other regional NGOs, FSPI signed
an MOU in October 2002 in support of a Regional Strategy for NGO
Capacity Building in the Pacific. I believe this historic event is
evidence of the growing maturity and solidarity within the Pacific
civil society sector.
Rex S Horoi
Executive Director
FSPI Secretariat
