17 November, 2001---On November 17, Seminar on “Capacity Building in Poverty Reduction” took place at the Malayan Plaza Hotel in Manila, capital of the Philippines. This training activity was sponsored by IPRCC, organized by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Asian Department Bank (ADB), and supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges (CICETE). 15 officials responsible for international poverty reduction training programme from IPRCC, CICETE and 6 provincial poverty alleviation offices and autonomous regions took part in this activity.

Ms. Parisya Hashim Taradji, Assistant Secretary of DSWD addressed the opening ceremony, and IPRCC Assistant Director General Wang Shu also delivered a speech on behalf of the sponsor and all trainees.

Lasting for 15 days, the training activity focuses on sharing experiences and knowledge in international poverty reduction in Asia, and it covers three parts including special lectures, case studies and field trips. With regard to the first part, scholars and experts from ADB, the Philippine governmental departments and research institutions will give brief introductions over different topics such as poverty reduction and inclusive growth in Asia, national poverty reduction strategy, organization and systematic framework of the Philippines, social security system and the efficiency of the Philippine’s policies on poverty reduction and development. Case studies cover the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) projects, community-based demonstration projects, rural disaster prevention and reduction projects and featured disaster prevention industry projects. In addition, delegates will make a field trip to the Province of Aklan to visit the country’s typical poverty reduction innovation program with the purpose of getting a thorough knowledge of the design proposal, implementation plan, organizational system, implementation model, practical outcome of each project, and having in-depth discussions with project-related personnels.

This training activity will deepen the knowledge sharing and experience exchanging between China and the Philippines in the area of poverty reduction. It has offered a learning opportunity for officials from various level of poverty alleviation departments, and promoted the team capacity building in the field of poverty alleviation.