Asian Workshop on Poverty Policy and Practice Successfully Completed

　　From June 8th to 22nd, 2006, IPRCC convened Asian Workshop on Poverty Policy and Practice to honor the commitment made by the Chinese President Hu Jintao at the Summit of Fundraising in the 60th Anniversary of UN that China would offer to train 30 thousand talents for developing countries within the next three years. The workshop was also a follow-up to the International Workshop on Chinese Experiences with Poverty Reduction which was hosted in December last year, both serving the purpose of disseminating Chinese experiences, expanding collaboration and fostering friendship with other countries. The following is a summary of the workshop:

I Basic Facts
　　First, enormous number of applicants. As stipulated by the Notice on Holding the Asian Workshop on Poverty Policy and Practice by the Ministry of Commerce, the participants should number at around 20. In the late of April, the Bureau of International Economic Cooperation with the Ministry issued the enrollment notes through the information exchange system for home and abroad. To ensure sufficient participants and launch on time, IPRCC has also adjusted the thresholds for enrollment. With joint efforts, one week before the workshop, IPRCC received response from Chinese embassies in which Indonesian applicants amounted to 7 of whom IPRCC decided to accepted no more than 5. The total of 25 approved participants came from 10 Asian countries like Georgia, Indonesia, Laos, Iran, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines and Vietnam. This was the first visit to China for some of the participating countries. Therefore, the workshop can do a lot in expanding Chinese influence with poverty reduction and furthering collaborations among countries.
　　Second, logical design of curriculum and diversified activities in field trips. Poverty reduction in China is a large-scaled, sustained and all-dimensional campaign. The determinant of success to the workshop is how to showcase Chinese experiences and achievements vividly to the first time China visitors so that these can be repeated in their countries and developed as a new area for Chinese cooperation with Asian developing countries. In this light, we decided to split the workshop into two sessions, respectively in Beijing and Shaanxi where poverty has been remarkably reduced. The courses were composed of Economic and Social Development in China, Review and Prospect of Agricultural Issues in China, Retrospect and Prospect of Poverty Reduction in China, Relation between Globalization, Growth and Poverty, Compulsory Education in Rural China and NGO Roles in Poverty Reduction, altogether 10 topics. IPRCC has also invited practitioners at the first front in Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Chongqing provincial office of poverty reduction to present three cases respectively reflecting the projects of village-based development, training for labor transfer and industrialization. In the field trip to Shaanxi Province, the workshop participants covered exemplary sites of poverty reduction projects in Xi’an Municipal Areas. The trip was also accompanied with presentations of local case studies.
　　Third, powerful teaching resources and diversified forms. The resource persons for the workshop included not only famous scholars like Ke Binsheng and Li Xiaoyun but also government officers and project managers long engaged and experienced in poverty reduction, like Zhang Lei, Managing Director of IPRCC, Ding Xuedong, Division Chief of the Ministry of Finance, Wang Changqu, Director of Chongqing Provincial Office of Poverty Alleviation, He Changxin, Deputy Director of Shanxi Provincial Office of Poverty Alleviation and Director of Foreign Capital Project Management Center and Wang Xingzui, Secretary General of China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation. A number of international organization officers studying global development and country issues like David Dollar from Bureau of China and Mongolia, World Bank also joined the lectures. Besides, the workshop was proceeding in various forms, for example, lecturing, experience introduction, case study, field trip and participatory discussion. Apart from lectures by Chinese teachers and international organization deputies, the participants or trainees from Asian countries have also shared with the specific experience in their countries.
　　Fourth, well-arranged logistics. IPRCC input a lot to the logistics for the workshop. Each of the participants was picked up in the airport where IPRCC staff took turns to wait for four days. The delegation to Shaanxi was accompanied by doctors nurses in case of any diseases. On June 17, as Ms. G.Davaa-Suren got sick under the local high temperature in the tour to a project site of migration project in Xi’an City, the doctor and nurses treated her without any delay, which has impressed the whole participants. At the same time, the awareness of respect to religious and ethnic custom was established in IPRCC which guided us to better accommodate the participants from different Asian countries especially in the arrangement of meals. The hotels in Beijing and tour sites purchased muslin food and accepted only the meat being quarantined.

II Results
With our efforts and support from the Ministry of Commerce, the workshop were well-organized with remarkable results. The trainers didn’t spare any effort in preparing the lectures and providing the workshop with an abundance of accurate data, case studies and experience introduction, while the trainees participated with great passion and dynamism with no skip of classes in general. The trainees recognized what had been done to the workshop, identification of the topics, design of curriculum, presentations by the teachers and the accommodation. These comments have proved the workshop a success as expected.
　　First, understanding of the basic facts of China and Chinese experience with poverty reduction
　　Presentations by each scholars, case study and exchange, questions and answers and discussions have all helped fostering the understanding of China, especially the economic and social development, poverty issues, agriculture issues, poverty reduction strategies, NGO participation, globalization related to poverty and etc. In the Beijing sessions, interactions between the trainers and the trainees were active after each lecture. The trainees were especially impressed by the endeavor and achievements made by Gansu Province after a video show in class. Mr. Suharta from Indonesia said the progress made in Gansu was a result of three factors, the first is the application of practical techniques, the second is powerful government support and the last is the enthusiasm of the local people.
　　Second, the field trip made Chinese experience visible and tangible.
　　The workshop included a field trip to Shaanxi Province areas covering many exemplary sites of poverty reduction projects and strategy implementation. The participants have learnt the operation and roll-out of exemplary sites in detail. The trip was conducted based on theoretical studies, which helped enhance the practical knowledge of Chinese efforts. This trip to China has brought the visitors to an image that Chinese achievements with poverty reduction was enormous and the benefits that it generated to the poor were tangible. In the trip to Shaanxi, many participants offered to share with IPRCC staff their new ideas about China. Ms. Dolabi from Iran said this was her first time in China and she was shaken by its accompanishments. She insisted that a prosperous and grand China can not be felt and believed without seeing.
　　Third, Chinese experience can be reflected with connection to the local situation in participating countries to develop lessons.
　　The participants said that despite the different national situations and different types and determinants of poverty in each Asian country, Chinese experience over the past two decades is still worth learning as China abounds in the variety of case studies and poverty types. Mr. David from Georgia stated during the field trip that Chinese experience was a great contribution to worldwide poverty reduction campaign, compared with China, the issues in Georgia doesn’t look to have a bright future with limited resources. He added that China has a lot for Georgia to learn from, especially in how to treat the large number of poor with constrained resources. Finally he expressed his will to coordinate relevant government agencies to learn Chinese experience and the spirit demonstrated by the Chinese people after he returned home. Mr. Aryal from Nepal remarked in the visit to a local irrigation project that his country had many areas with similar geographic and natural conditions with this site but achieved little in poverty reduction. He said the local irrigation system was valuable for Nepal to copy. Mr. Thanh from Vietnam was interested in the migration of a local village. As was informed that each migrated household was subsidized 5000 RMB and each migrant was subsidized 1000 RMB by the local government, he said Vietnam is in the similar geographic condition with China, so Chinese experience can be replicated to many other countries.
　　Fourth, it’s widely recognized that China is a friendly, faithful and reliable nation.
　　Some participants said that China is the only country among all those they have visited to treat visitors with such hospitality. They felt really at home in this memorable trip. They concluded from their stay in China that China is reliable, that Chinese people aspire for peace and that Chinese people bear no discrimination to any country, any ethnic groups and any religion. They were grateful for the hospitality and impressed by the work by IPRCC staff .

III Basic Features
　　The workshop was hosted based on the success of the first International Workshop on Chinese Experience with Poverty Reduction. Two features distinguished it from the last one：
　　First, the curriculum and field trip target the participant better. To ensure a complete success with the training, IPRCC has been elaborating on the content and forms of the curriculum. As all of the participants came from Asian countries and most of them have never been to China before, IPRCC added lectures on Chinese economic and social development, Chinese agriculture issues and some others to the core lectures on poverty and made sure they were integrated logically. These supplement lectures provided a general background of poverty reduction in China for the better understanding of the trainees. Apart from that, IPRCC has also studied the selection of project sites for field trips and finally decided upon Shaanxi Province which bear many similarities with many Asian countries in both natural and social conditions, so that the applicability of Chinese experience can be guaranteed.
　　Second, the diversified forms of lectures provided a platform of communication for the participants. The workshop served not only as a rostrum for scholars and experts but also a stage for the trainees. Delegates from Indonesia, Iran, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines and Vietnam delivered keynote speeches in the class and was warmly responded by other participants. Such an innovative way of interaction has increased mutual understanding and knowledge sharing among all the participants.

Ⅳ Follow-Ups
　　For the better functions of IPRCC and higher and sustainable yield of the workshop, IPRCC proposed to the participants for the follow-ups：
　　First, the trainees are expected to transfer the knowledge to local people engaged in poverty reduction after they returned home so that the result of the workshop can be expanded and can fully play its role.
　　Second, the participants are expected to continue the international collaboration of poverty reduction at multi-level and multi-dimension. They can contact the local resident offices of UNDP, WB, ADB and DFID for financial support for more delegations to China. IPRCC should design everything in line with the specific requirements for each of the countries and further the study of poverty issues so as to accelerate the process.
　　Third, the participants are expected to send invitations to IPRCC through their governments or resident offices of international organizations for Chinese scholars and specialists assigned by IPRCC to give lectures in their countries.