Updates from Yangon and Ouagadougou - Two alumnae who graduated from our executive programme on development policies and practices (Executive Master DPP) were recently featured in the media last week.  We take a moment here to highlight their ongoing dedication and leadership in advancing the development of civil society groups in their respective countries, mindful of the significant challenges that lay ahead for their respective homelands.

First, to Myanmar - where our alumna Ms. Nwe ZinWin (in photo above, seated beside US President Barack Obama) attended a High-Level Roundtable as an official representative of civil society organisations, arranged as part of the formal State Visit last week by the US President to Myanmar.  Ms. Zin Win is Executive Director of Pyi Gyi Khin (PGK), a local NGO originally founded in 1997 for improving health status for women and children.  Its grass-roots success in Myanmar gave it the social license to grow into a broader advocacy role for Civil Society Organisations.  A passionate advocate for civil society engagement, Nwe and the network of PGK have helped reform laws on HIV-related human rights, but more broadly they became champions for reforms aimed at the Freedom of Association (achieved in July 2013).  PGK also networked with other CSO groups to engage government and parliament in a new public consultation process, which was unprecedented in Myanmar, resulting in the overturning a former "association law" that had mandatory registrations for CSO groups. Such civil society presentation within Myanmar's systems of governance was a theme of this roundtable with President Obama, where CSO groups gave recommendations for US foreign policy during this important transition for Myanmar.

Nwe's thesis during her executive master's programme at the Institute was on the socio-economic impact on HIV-infected women. Nwe says the particular strength of her organisation has been its capacity to build close and strong partnerships with communities, enabling it to reach out to previously inaccessible segments of the population, in order to provide essential (and in many instances, life-saving) services to the most vulnerable and poorest of the region.  Mrs. Zin Win has been an influential advocate of civil society engagement in Myanmar for many years, having also represented the voice of civil society organisations during an official visit of Mr. Ban Ki Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, back in May 2008.

(The US White House a short video highlighting some of the US President's comments at the end of this roundtable discussion that she attended.)

Next, to Burkina Faso -- where our alumna Ms. Blandine Sankara is only just returning, from recent visits in Europe.  She is the head of Yelemani, a grass-roots initiative with a similar, community-based approach to development.  Blandine campaigns to address the challenges of food security in Burkina Faso, working across socio-professional groups and with rural populations and empowering communities to improve the living conditions of small farmers in Burkina Faso.  The Yelemani association promotes small producers' access to market and the change of behavor of consumers about their choices and responsibilities when buying products and potential impact of their choices on health, environment, local economy.   (photo:  Le Temps)

A passionate and highly engaged alumna of the Institute, Blandine's association recently hosted our current students from the same Executive Master, a cohort which began in West Africa during an August 2014 module in Ouagadougou.  Yelemani created this video (in French) to highlight the occasion.  The video demonstrates her personal leadership approach, driving the agenda of her organisation on behalf of the local community.   

Having been in Europe by chance for meetings over these last few weeks, during the political upheaval of October 2014.  Ms. Sankara says the recent government takeover in Ouagadougou is nothing short of a revolution--which brings new challenges both nationally and very personally for her--as she explains in her recent interview in Le Temps (newspaper in Geneva, article in French).

Her return to her homeland raises many questions for Blandine.  Her brother, Thomas Sankara, was assassinated when serving as a captain some 25 years ago.  His legendary story became an inspiration for many who took up demonstrations in October.  Her very personal reflection about her homeland and her family's experience is captured in the aforementioned article, and while there are high expectations placed upon her family now, says Blandine, she made a conscious choice many years ago to stay away from the political world, in order to make a difference through community-led development.
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Both of these remarkable alumnae embody the values and leadership skills that we aspire to instill among participants in our Executive Master in Development Policies and Practices (DPP), which is the current title and format of the programme that each of these alumnae originally attended (under previous programme titles).  With the ongoing support of the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation, the Canton of Geneva, Avina Stiftung and other private foundations, we have been able to provide scholarships for additional participants from both Myanmar and Burkina Faso, and from other countries in similar needs for capacity-building.

In its current format, the Executive Master DPP is offered concurrently across five regions (Latin America, English-speaking Africa, Francophone Africa, Central Asia and Southeast Asia), and provides both theoretical and hands-on training in the field.  After one regionally-delivered module, participants conduct a 4-month (part-time) applied research project at their place of work, and then groups converge upon Geneva for the programme’s final module, to learn and exchange insights about their projects.

With a few hundred alumni in its ranks, the DPP continues to build its global network of Development Practitioner-alumni, who can exchange best practices and become resources for each other in their future work.