Strengthening the South for More Effective Aid - Canada's CHF Hosts International Symposium "Capacity Development: New Perspectives in North-South Partnerships"

    Wednesday, April 23, 2008 at the Canadian War Museum, Ottawa

    OTTAWA, April 15 /CNW Telbec/ - There is growing recognition among
international development practitioners and policy makers of the importance of
strengthening the capacity of Southern governments and civil society
organizations to take the lead in their own development.
    To this end, one of Canada's longest standing NGOs, CHF, is presenting an
all-day symposium "Capacity Development: New Perspectives in North-South
Partnerships" on April 23, 2008 at the Canadian War Museum. The media is
invited to attend. A webcast of the symposium will also be transmitted on
April 23 from 9:30 am to 10:30 am, and archived at
http://www.newswire.ca/en/webcast/viewEvent.cgi?eventID=2240700.
    CHF's Capacity Development Symposium will bring together leading
practitioners from Northern and Southern civil society organizations,
government, and academia. It is an opportunity to engage the Canadian and
international community on the practice of capacity development and its
contribution to promoting more meaningful and effective North-South civil
society partnerships.
    The goal of the symposium is to identify new directions in international
aid in the 21st century, calling on aid organizations to strengthen individual
Southern organizations by creating and fostering networks and linking local,
national and international organizations in the pursuit of what are
increasingly common global objectives.
    "CHF's view on international aid is that Canadian NGOs can add real value
in their relationships with Southern partners through the provision of
demand-driven technical support geared to improving project results, while
strengthening their partner organizations as development actors - in their own
right," explains Tony Breuer, Executive Director of CHF.
    The agenda will feature keynote speaker Ian Smillie, and two panel
discussions featuring panelists from Ghana, Bangladesh, Pakistan and the UK,
among others. For more information on the symposium and an updated agenda,
visit www.chf-partners.ca/capacitydevelopment.

    About CHF

    CHF is a Canadian non-profit organization dedicated to enabling poor
rural communities in developing countries attain sustainable livelihoods. It
is headquartered in Ottawa and has field offices in Ethiopia, Vietnam, Guyana,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Ghana.

    CHF
    323 Chapel Street
    Ottawa, Ontario K1N 7Z2
    www.chf-partners.ca

For further information: Suki Lee, [phone],
[e-mail]; Leah Geller, [phone] ext. 208,
[e-mail]