Partnerships are a key part of AIC’s work to combat poverty and build a fairer world, and for this reason one of our Priority Line of Action for 2023-2026 is to “Move forward together”. Partnerships can take the form of cooperation with local authorities or with other branches of the Vincentian Family. Twinning projects can also be set up between AIC groups from different countries, allowing both associations to learn from one another. The importance of partnerships between many stakeholders around a common issue is also a topic of discussion within the United Nations, where AIC recently co-sponsored an ECOSOC Partnership Forum Event on multi-stakeholder partnerships. AIC representative Dr. Linda Sama shares some of the key takeaways from this event.

On January 30, 2024, AIC representatives to the United Nations in New York co-sponsored an event at the ECOSOC Partnership Forum at the U.N. titled “Shaping a Resilient Future for People and the Planet: Transforming Landscapes, Lives, and Livelihoods through Multi-stakeholder Partnerships”. The eight-speaker panel discussion was hosted by the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, where AIC is represented. The focus was on how multi-stakeholder partnerships have contributed effectively to addressing the challenges faced by those living in poverty.  The discussion emphasized that successful cooperation of multi-stakeholder partnerships involves government engagement, industry collaboration, community development, academe, civil society, and NGO engagement as partners.

The eight speakers highlighted several key points:

• Multi-stakeholder partnerships allow us to tackle problems collectively and systemically.
• Public government organizations currently dominate multi-stakeholder partnerships and it is important that more organizations working at grass roots level (such as AIC) become involved in this type of partnerships, so that their experience on the ground is also taken into account.
• Harmonization across sectors and ministries – breaking down silos – is a challenge that we need to overcome. In other words, the different partners need to have similar strategies, objectives and impact measures to be able to work together and analyze the results of their work. This requires partners to share information and agree on priorities.
• Building relationships is key to creating strong partnerships and engendering trust.
• Successful partnerships leverage the knowledge of local and indigenous populations.

The speakers also underlined the impact successful partnerships can have:

• Improving the living conditions and well-being of people living in poverty;
• Giving voice to the marginalized, especially women and children;
• Providing agricultural assistance to farmers;
• Promoting sustainability, gender equality, food security and health;
• Getting those living in remote areas access to digital and educational resources.

Source: https://www.aic-international.org/es/2024/03/06/evento-ecosoc/