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56-478: The Asia Foundation (TAF) is a nonprofit international development organization focused on improving lives across Asia. Its programs operate in various sectors, including governance, women's empowerment and gender equality, inclusive economic growth, environmental and climate action, and regional and international cooperation. One of the Foundation's notable initiatives is the "Let's Read" program, which provides

112-471: A class divide by creating demand for more educated people in order to maintain corporate and industrial profitability. Thus the popular demand for education, which in turn drives the cost of education higher through the principle of supply and demand , as people would want to be part of the new economic elite. Higher costs for education lead to a situation where only the people with enough money to pay for education can receive sufficient education to qualify for

168-708: A body of 26 UN agencies that work on water issues, is responsible for the triennial UN World Water Development Report which monitors progress towards the Millennium Development Goals related to water. The World Water Assessment Programme, which produces the Report, has articulated how eight of the MDGs are linked to water resources. This is provision of access to quality healthcare to the population in an efficient and consistent manner and according to their needs. The standard and level of provision that

224-489: A free digital library in local languages to support students, educators, and community leaders in over 20 countries. The Asia Foundation is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It collaborates with a range of public and private partners and receives funding from various sources, including agencies, foundations, corporations, and individual donors. The Foundation

280-597: A less developed society. That is partially why institutions such as the Center for Global Development are searching for "pro-poor" economic policies. Modern poverty reduction and development programmes often have dignity as a central theme. Dignity is also a central theme of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the very first article of which starts with: The concept of dignity in development has been extensively explored by many, and related to all of

336-713: A multi-country review of development progress, improved outcomes on these measures has generally been found to be driven by a combination of smart leadership, policies, institutions, and social networks, according to the Overseas Development Institute . Migration has throughout history also led to significant international development. As people move, their culture, knowledge, skills and technologies move with them. Migrants' ties with their past homes and communities lead to international relationships and further flows of goods, capital and knowledge. The value of remittances sent home by migrants in modern times

392-480: A periodic basis, possibly with a rural clinic serving several different communities. The provision of access to healthcare is both an engineering challenge as it requires infrastructure such as hospitals and transport systems and an education challenge as it requires qualified healthworkers and educated consumers. The fourth Millennium Development Goal is to reduce by two thirds the mortality rate among children under five . The fifth Millennium Development Goal

448-578: A region. More recently, the focus in this field has been projects that aim towards empowering women, building local economies, and caring for the environment. In context of human development it usually encompasses foreign aid , governance , healthcare , education , poverty reduction , gender equality , disaster preparedness , infrastructure , economics , human rights , environment and issues associated with these. During recent decades, development thinking has shifted from modernization and structural adjustment programs to poverty reduction . Under

504-752: A senior advisor at The Scowcroft Group and the McLarty Associates, and a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations . Hass' research focuses on U.S. policy toward East Asia , in particular U.S.-China relations , U.S.-Taiwan relations , the Korean Peninsula , regional security, and maritime issues. Hass holds a BA (2001) from the University of Washington and attended Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies for graduate studies between 2001 and 2002 before joining

560-406: Is acceptable or appropriate depends on many factors and is highly specific to country and location. For example, in a large city (whether in a 'developing' country or not), it is appropriate and often practical to provide a high standard hospital which can offer a full range of treatments; in a remote rural community it may be more appropriate and practical to provide a visiting healthworker on

616-507: Is an engineering challenge, as well as a societal and political challenge as it includes education and behaviour change elements and is closely connected with shelter, politics and human rights. The seventh Millennium Development Goal was to ensure environmental sustainability , including reducing by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and achieving significant improvement in lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, by 2020 . UN-Water ,

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672-457: Is an approach to growth and human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The aim is to have a society where living conditions and resources meet human needs without undermining planetary integrity . Sustainable development aims to balance the needs of the economy , environment , and social well-being . The Brundtland Report in 1987 helped to make

728-446: Is another important aspect of international development. It is a good example of how the focus today is on sustainable development in these countries; education gives people the skills required to keep themselves out of poverty. International development is related to the concept of international aid , but is distinct from, disaster relief and humanitarian aid . While these two forms of international support seek to alleviate some of

784-404: Is concerned with ensuring that a development project or programme is of the correct scale and technical level, and is culturally and socially suitable for its beneficiaries. This should not be confused with ensuring something is low-technology, cheap or basic – a project is appropriate if it is acceptable to its recipients and owners, economically affordable and sustainable in the context in which it

840-431: Is executed. For example, in a rural sub-Saharan community it may not be appropriate to provide a chlorinated and pumped water system because it cannot be maintained or controlled adequately – simple hand pumps may be better; while in a big city in the same country it would be inappropriate to provide water with hand pumps, and the chlorinated system would be the correct response. The economist E. F. Schumacher championed

896-573: Is much greater than the total in international aid given. International development and disaster relief are both often grouped into sectors, which correlate with the major themes of international development (and with the Millennium Development Goals – which are included in the descriptions below). There is no clearly defined list of sectors, but some of the more established and universally accepted sectors are further explored here. The sectors are highly interlinked, illustrating

952-448: Is one which will be able to carry on indefinitely with no further international involvement or support, whether it be financial or otherwise. International development projects may consist of a single, transformative project to address a specific problem or a series of projects targeted at several aspects of society. Promoted projects are ones which involve problem solving that reflects the unique culture, politics, geography, and economy of

1008-580: Is the condition of lacking economic access to fundamental human needs such as food, shelter and safe drinking water. While some define poverty primarily in economic terms, others consider social and political arrangements also to be intrinsic – often manifested in a lack of dignity . There are a number of theories about how desirable change in society is best achieved. Such theories draw on a variety of social scientific disciplines and approaches, and include historical theories such as: International development institutions and international organisations such as

1064-437: Is the true measure of human development. The concept of participation is concerned with ensuring that the intended beneficiaries of development projects and programmes are themselves involved in the planning and execution of those projects and programmes. This is considered important as it empowers the recipients of development projects to influence and manage their own development – thereby removing any culture of dependency . It

1120-596: Is to reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio . The sixth Millennium Development Goal is to halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and to halt and begin to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases . Reaching these goals is also a management challenge. Health services need to make the best use of limited resources while providing the same quality of care to every man, woman and child everywhere. Achieving this level of services requires innovation, quality improvement and expansion of public health services and programs. The main goal

1176-637: Is to make public health truly public. Examples of organizations working in health are: Ryan Hass Ryan Hass is an American foreign policy analyst currently serving as director of the Brookings Institution 's John L. Thornton China Center and the Chen-Fu and Cecilia Yen Koo Chair in Taiwan Studies. He is also a trustee of The Asia Foundation , a nonresident affiliated fellow at Yale Law School 's Paul Tsai China Center,

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1232-554: Is widely considered to be one of the most important concepts in modern development theory. The UN System Network on Rural Development and Food Security describes participation as: one of the ends as well as one of the means of development Local participants in development projects are often products of oral communities . This has led to efforts to design project planning and organizational development methods, such as participatory rural appraisal , which are accessible to non-literate people. The concept of something being appropriate

1288-620: The Asia-Pacific region . The Foundation's staff work on a range of development challenges specific to each location. In addition to its offices in Asia, the organization maintains offices in San Francisco, California, and Washington, D.C. The Asia Foundation's work in governance focuses on encouraging: Through its LeadEx program, The Asia Foundation invests in equipping and developing emerging leaders in Asia, as well as seeking to encourage greater understanding between Asians and Americans with

1344-569: The CIA was covertly funding a number of organizations, including the Asia Foundation. A commission authorized by President Johnson and led by Secretary of State Rusk determined that the Asia Foundation should be preserved and overtly funded by the US government. Following this change, The Asia Foundation was classified as a private, nonprofit, nongovernmental organization under the section 501(c)(3) of

1400-1133: The Internal Revenue Code . The foundation began to restructure its programming, shifting away from its earlier goals of "building democratic institutions and encouraging the development of democratic leadership" toward an emphasis on Asian development as a whole (CRS 1983). Terrence B. Adamson William L. Ball, III Robert O. Blake, Jr. Karl Eikenberry Stephanie Fahey Daniel F. Feldman Winnie C. Feng Badruun Gardi Kelsey L. Harpham Ryan Hass Lin Jamison Stephen Kahng Eun Mee Kim Debra Knopman Frank Lavin Clare Lockhart Meredith Ludlow Jacqueline Lundquist James D. McCool Lauren Kahea Moriarty Ted Osius Mary Ann Peters Ruby Shang Calvin Sims Harry K. Thomas Jr. Deanne Weir International development Historically, development

1456-575: The Millennium Development Goals (2000 to 2015) and the Sustainable Development Goals (2015 to 2030). The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) served a successful framework to guide international development efforts, having achieved progress on some of the 8 goals. For example, by 2015 the extreme poverty rate had already been cut into half. Other targets achieved include access to safe drinking water, malaria, and gender equality in schooling. Yet, some scholars have argued that

1512-766: The Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved by 2030. For example, the Sustainable Development Goal 17 advocates for enhanced international support for capacity building in developing countries to support national plans to implement the 2030 Agenda .   Rights-based approach to development has been adopted by many nongovernmental organizations and the United Nations as the new approach to international development. Rights-based approach combines many different concepts of international development, such as capacity building , human rights , participation, and sustainability . The goal of

1568-586: The U.S. Department of State . Hass joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 2003 as a consular officer in the US Embassy in Seoul and subsequently served in a variety of positions, including Political-Military Officer in the Office of Taiwan Coordination (2005–2007) and political officer in US Embassy, Beijing (2009–2012). Between 2013 and 2017, Hass served as Director for China, Taiwan, and Mongolian Affairs at

1624-607: The Committee for a Free Asia was renamed the Asia Foundation (TAF) and incorporated in California as a private, nominally non-governmental organization devoted to promoting democracy, rule of law, and market-based development in post-war Asia. Among the original founding officers of the board were presidents/chairmen of corporations including T.S. Peterson, CEO of Standard Oil of California (now Chevron), Brayton Wilbur, president of Wilbur-Ellis Co., and J.D. Zellerbach, chairman of

1680-634: The Crown Zellerbach Corporation; four university presidents including Grayson Kirk from Columbia, J.E. Wallace Sterling of Stanford, and Raymond Allen from UCLA ; prominent attorneys including Turner McBaine and A. Crawford Greene; Pulitzer Prize-winning writer James Michener ; Paul Hoffman , the first administrator of the Marshall Plan in Europe; and several major figures in foreign affairs. In 1966, Ramparts revealed that

1736-604: The ICE's 2009–2010 president Paul Jowitt , are representative of a change of approach in the UK at least to start drawing together the huge capacity available to western governments, industry, academia and charity to develop such a partnership. International development also aims to improve general government policies of these developing countries. " State building " is the strengthening of regional institutions necessary to support long-term economic, social, and political development. Education

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1792-544: The MDG agenda, 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were created, with 169 indicators. UN resolution 70/1 adopted on September 25, 2015, was titled "Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development", solidifying 17 new goals that had been in motion since 2014. The goals came into force in January 2016, focusing on areas of climate change, economic inequality, democracy, poverty, and peacebuilding. Although

1848-534: The MDGs lack the critical perspectives required to alleviate poverty and structures of inequality, reflected in the serious lags to achieving numerous other goals. As the MDG era came to an end, 2015 marked the year that the United Nations General Assembly adopted a new agenda for development. Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon referred to this as a "defining moment in history" calling on states to "act in solidarity". Succeeding

1904-514: The OECD, IMF and World Bank) The MDGs have catalysed a significant amount of action, including new initiatives such as Millennium Promise . Most of these initiatives however work in small scale interventions which do not reach the millions of people required by the MDGs. Recent praise has been that it will be impossible to meet the first seven goals without meeting the eighth by forming a Global Partnership for Development . No current organisation has

1960-480: The SDGs were built on the foundation of the MDGs, there are some key differences in both processes. Before adoption, unlike the MDGs, the SDGs had been in discussion for months, involving civil society actors, NGOs, as well as an opening summit involving intergovernmental negotiations. The new global development agenda places a greater emphasis on collective action, combining the efforts of multiple stakeholders to increase

2016-770: The UN promote the realisation of the fact that economic practices such as rapid globalisation and certain aspects of international capitalism can lead to, and, allegedly, have led to an economic divide between countries, sometimes called the north–south divide. Such organisations often make it a goal and to help reduce these divides by encouraging co-operation amongst the Global South and other practices and policies that can accomplish this. International development can also cause inequality between richer and poorer factions of one nation's society. For example, when economic growth boosts development and industrialisation , it can create

2072-449: The better-paying jobs that mass-development brings about. This restricts poorer people to lesser-paying jobs but technological development makes some of these jobs obsolete (for example, by introducing electronic machines to take over a job, such as creating a series of machines such as lawn mowers to make people such as gardeners obsolete). This leads to a situation where poorer people cannot improve their lives as easily as they could have in

2128-408: The capacity to dissolve the enormous problems of the developing world alone – especially in cities, where an increasing number of poor people live – as demonstrated by the almost nonexistent progress on the goal of improving the lives of at least 100 Million slum dwellers. The Institution of Civil Engineers Engineering Without Frontiers panel and its recommendations, and the 2007 Brunel Lecture by

2184-435: The cause of appropriate technology and founded the organization ITDG (Intermediate Technology Design Group), which develops and provides appropriate technologies for development (ITDG has now been renamed Practical Action ). The concept of right-financing has been developed to reflect the need for public and private financial support systems that foster and enable development, rather than hinder it. Sustainable development

2240-442: The complexity of the problems they seek to deal with. In development, this is the provision of water and sanitation ( toilets , bathing facilities, a healthy environment) of sufficient quantity and quality to supply an acceptable standard of living . This is different from a relief response, where it is the provision of water and sanitation in sufficient quantity and quality to maintain life. The provision of water and sanitation

2296-403: The concept of human rights. The first seven Millennium Development Goals present measurable goals, while the eighth lists a number of 'stepping stone' goals – ways in which progress towards the first seven goals could be made. Each goal uses indicators based on statistical series collected and maintained by respected organisations in each relevant field (usually the UN agency responsible but also

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2352-414: The concept of sustainable development better known. Capacity building (or capacity development, capacity strengthening) is the improvement in an individual's or organization's facility (or capability) "to produce, perform or deploy".  The terms capacity building and capacity development have often been used interchangeably, although a publication by OECD-DAC stated in 2006 that capacity development

2408-627: The development sectors. For example, in Development with Dignity Amit Bhaduri argues that full employment with dignity for all is both important and possible in India, while the UN Millennium Project's task force on Water and Sanitation links the sector directly to dignity in the report Health, Dignity and Development: What will it take? . The Asian Human Rights Commission released a statement in 2006 claiming that: Human dignity

2464-571: The different sectors above. Some of them are: An interesting way of seeing development is through modernization. This includes electronification of households and increases in phone plans. This does not accurately convey social development although it is hard to precisely measure, and institutions differ greatly in their methods. This goes into the debate on whether economic growth causes social growth or vice versa. Indicators of social change can be used to complement economic factors as indicators of development and in formulating development policies. In

2520-561: The first time that a holistic strategy to meet the development needs of the world has been established, with measurable targets and defined indicators. Because the MDGs were agreed as global targets to be achieved by the global community, they are independent of, but by no means unrelated to, individual national interests. The goals imply that every state has a set of obligations to the world community to meet and that other states, who have achieved those goals, have an obligation to help those who have not. As such they may represent an extension of

2576-485: The former system, poor countries were encouraged to undergo social and economical structural transformations as part of their development, creating industrialization and intentional industrial policy. Poverty reduction rejects this notion, consisting instead of direct budget support for social welfare programs that create macroeconomic stability leading to an increase in economic growth. The concept of poverty can apply to different circumstances depending on context. Poverty

2632-449: The more holistic and multi-disciplinary sense of human development. Other related concepts are, for instance, competitiveness , quality of life or subjective well-being . "International development" is different from the simple concept of "development". Whereas the latter, at its most basic, denotes simply the idea of change through time, international development has come to refer to a distinct field of practice, industry, and research;

2688-402: The problems associated with a lack of development, they are most often short term fixes – they are not necessarily long-term solutions. International development, on the other hand, seeks to implement long-term solutions to problems by helping developing countries create the necessary capacity needed to provide such sustainable solutions to their problems. A truly sustainable development project

2744-507: The rights-based approach to development is to empower the rights-holders, or the group that does not exercise full rights, and strengthen the capacity of the duty-bearers, or the institution or government obligated to fill these rights. The judging of how developed a country or a community is highly subjective, often highly controversial, and very important in judging what further development is necessary or desirable. There are many different measures of human development, many of them related to

2800-547: The subject of university courses and professional categorisations. It remains closely related to the set of institutions—especially the Bretton Woods Institutions —that arose after the Second World War with a focus on economic growth, alleviating poverty, and improving living conditions in previously colonised countries. The international community has codified development aims in, for instance,

2856-505: The sustainability of the goals. This emphasis on sustainability has also led to more cross-sector partnerships, and combined international efforts across areas of environmental, social, cultural, political, and economic development. In 2000, United Nations signed the United Nations Millennium Declaration , which includes eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be achieved by 2015. This represented

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2912-540: The ultimate aim of contributing toward strengthened U.S.-Asia relations. The Asia Foundation has a more than half-century partnership with the Henry Luce Foundation to administer an internship program in the Asia Pacific for young Americans with leadership potential. Since 1974, the Asia Foundation has developed and overseen placements for hundreds of Luce Scholars in Asia. "The Asia Foundation (TAF)

2968-685: Was established in 1954 by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to conduct cultural and educational activities on behalf of the United States government in ways that were not available to official U.S. agencies. On 1 February 2023, Laurel E. Miller took over as president of the Foundation. She previously directed the Asia program at the International Crisis Group . The Asia Foundation operates at both country and regional levels through its offices in

3024-550: Was established in 1954 to undertake cultural and educational activities on behalf of the United States Government in ways not open to official U.S. agencies." The Asia Foundation is an outgrowth of the Committee for a Free Asia, which was founded by the U.S. government in 1951. CIA funding and support of the Committee for a Free Asia and the Asia Foundation were assigned the CIA code name "Project DTPILLAR". In 1954,

3080-477: Was largely synonymous with economic development, and especially its convenient but flawed quantification (see parable of the broken window ) through readily gathered (for developed countries) or estimated monetary proxies (estimated for severely undeveloped or isolationist countries) such as gross domestic product (GDP), often viewed alongside actuarial measures such as life expectancy . More recently, writers and practitioners have begun to discuss development in

3136-475: Was the preferable term. Since the 1950s, international organizations, governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and communities use the concept of capacity building as part of " social and economic development " in national and subnational plans. The United Nations Development Programme defines itself by "capacity development" in the sense of "'how UNDP works" to fulfill its mission. The UN system applies it in almost every sector, including several of

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