Western philanthropers invest in Arab world

Western philanthropers look towards the Arab world for top-bottom change.  Social entrepreneurship in the Arab world, promoted by outside foundations was one of the latest developments in foundations’ activities which was put forward at the EFC annual meeting in Rome.

The conference kicked off with a widely reported speech by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano creating headlines all over Italy and beyond.  Indeed in his opening speech addressing poverty, the Italian President made links between poverty and integration, pointing to a specific example of Italy where “public rhetoric includes xenophobic overtones”, he stated.

True?  You decide for yourself, but one thing is for sure: the comment certainly put the European Foundation Centre annual meeting on the wider road map.

The actual theme of confronting poverty from all its angles, not only its economic one, was picked up and ran with by a conference assembling more than 600 delegates from 60 different countries.  Its title “Fighting Poverty. Creating Opportunities” was a good pointer as to its aim.

“Foundations are in a unique position to promote innovation, to develop effective solutions, to support the empowerment of people living in poverty and contribute to creating new opportunities”, officials at the European Foundation Centre, based in Brussels, said.

So it is with these ideas in mind that the conference brought together not only people, but ideas, examples of concrete projects, new ways of thinking poverty and therefore new ways of fighting it.

Dozens of sessions were organised consecutively over the course of three days, leaving participants with an “embarras du choix” to pick according to specific interests. 

“Social entrepreneurship in the Arab world”, presented by The Synergos Institute, attracted many a curious participant.  The panel was made up of people talking first hand from both ends of the spectrum of promoters and promotees.   They highlighted the great potential of foreign investments into individuals, or “social changers”, developing new and creative solutions to fight poverty and inequality within their own Arab communities.

Empowerment was an overlapping topic, with sessions dedicated to the meaning of empowerment itself, as well as the specific empowerment of women and children. 

Poverty was obviously another focus, although effective financing, and best practices in philanthropy equally dominated as practical subjects for a foundation-based audience.

The event was also a great networking opportunity, as testified by Filippo Adarii our blogger and Director of  International Leadership at ACEVO.

“I attended just a day, came back with a loot of business cards, and already fixed some meetings”, he says in his latest blog on the event.

Time well spent for all it seems.