33197 INTERNATIONALBANK FOR WORLD BANK R E T C N O E N STRUCTION PM AND DEVELO March 2005 No. 65 A regular series of notes highlighting recent lessons emerging from the operational and analytical program of the World Bank`s Latin America and Caribbean Region INDIGENOUS PEOPLES LEADERSHIP CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM FOR THE ANDEAN COUNTRIES Jorge E. Uquillas Rodas 1. Background -To encourage the sharing of experience and approaches The Indigenous Peoples Leadership Capacity-Building Program among those responsible for indigenous policies, pro- for the Andean Countries (Andean Program) is the result of an grams and projects, initiative of the Fund for the Development of Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean (Fondo Indígena), -To promote the use of new information and communica- supported initially by the governments of Ecuador and Peru and tion technologies (ICT), and later by the main national indigenous organizations of the Andean countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and -To establish a network of institutions oriented to the for- Venezuela. Responding to this interest, the World Bank (Coun- mation of indigenous leaders. try Management Unit for the Andes) started a participatory process to identify the demand and the most important themes 2. The implementation process which would be the basis for a capacity-building program. As a consequence, training modules on governance, development The Andean Program promotes and reinforces partnerships with with identity, indigenous rights and the use of technologies of the Fondo Indígena whose own main strength lies in its power to information and communications (ICT) have been prepared and activate indigenous leaders, government representatives and validated in a series of workshops held since 2003, with the international donors. In addition, the regional focus of this participation of indigenous lead- project supports partnerships be- ers. tween the Bank (Social Develop- ment Sector Management Unit, The Andean Program attempts to Country Management Unit for enhance the ability of indigenous Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Ven- leaders to play an active part in ezuela, and World Bank Institute) the formulation of public policies and indigenous national organiza- designed to promote the develop- tions. Other important partner- ment of their countries and in- ships developed in the process are crease their participation in local, with the Andean Community of regional, national, and interna- Nations, the Spanish Secretariat tional affairs, and especially in of Iberoamerican Cooperation discussions of state policies, the (Secretaría de Cooperación design and execution of develop- Iberoamericana, SECIB) and the ment projects, and regional eco- Belgian Government. nomic integration efforts. The Andean Program provides The more specific objectives of the program are; multi-country benefits such as the generation of curriculum materials for regional use. It contributes to the Fondo Indígena -To devise training programs on democracy, good gover- strategy to create an Andean School of Governance and an nance, public policies, social management, project man- Indigenous University. Furthermore, it is embedded in the agement, leadership, and other topics. framework of the Andean Community of Nations, being devel- oped with the input of indigenous leaders from the five partici- 1 pating countries. The Andean Program is serving also as a annual operating plans of partners, terms of reference, and global pilot for indigenous leadership capacity building reports submitted as well as in the development of the training which could be replicated elsewhere in the future. curriculum with WBI and in the technology for distance learning both with WBI and the Development Gateway. Bank The development of the Andean Pro- staff also attend the periodic capac- gram has already helped to attract ity building events. The Fondo new donors. The Swiss Government Indígena is responsible for general has already contributed funds during communications in Spanish and FY04 and is expected to continue public relations. In financial terms, doing so; the Belgian Government the FY04 program was imple- (which has a strong relationship with mented with resources both from the Fondo Indígena) has expressed the World Bank (Development solid interest in supporting Schools of Grant Fund and Swiss Trust Funds) Government in Ecuador and Peru. and the Fondo Indigena. The combination of a field presence with strong indigenous professionals 3. Preliminary results in the Fondo Indígena and the techni- cal and economic expertise of the The Advisory Board of the Andean World Bank creates an opportunity to leverage resources for Program had two formal meetings. One meeting took place in the benefit of many indigenous communities, and builds La Paz, Bolivia, on April 1 and 2, 2004, to analyze the FY04 interest in contributing among many in the international action plan of the program, including a revision of the process donor community. of selection of consultants, facilitators and assistants, as well as the methodology for case studies carried out prior to the The Andean Program is externally managed by the Fondo workshops. The second meeting took place via Indígena, in cooperation with an Advisory Board which has videoconference on July 7, 2004, in order to evaluate the been established to provide overall supervision and quality results of the Andean Program. Representatives of the Fondo control of the program. The Bank and the World Bank Indigena, the World Bank and WBI also participated in the Institute (WBI) serve as observers on the Board. Annual evaluation meeting. Plans have been developed, reviewed and agreed upon by the Board. A Letter of Agreement has been developed with the The Andean Program is consolidating a process of intercul- Fondo Indigena to guide the work. The WBI helps to tural exchange and mutual learning among indigenous lead- coordinate with the Andean Program in the delivery of the ers of the five countries involved, promoting analytical work curriculum modules. and discussion of themes of high relevance to indigenous peoples and their organizations. It is formulating teaching For the Andean Program, consultants are hired by the Fondo modules to be used for future training in the Andean School Indígena to carry out the curriculum development, capacity of Governance, associated with the Fondo Indigena, as well building, information sharing and brokerage. Indigenous as in similar endeavors at the national level. Some of the consultants are identified and hired strategically, in a manner specific products delivered during FY04 are: consistent with Bank policies and procedures. Regional Bank staff are involved in the review of the Letter of Agreement, -Selecting and contracting consultants, country coordi- nators/facilitators and assistants in the five Andean countries -Adaptation of two training modules (on governance and on information and communication technologies) -Preparation of two new training modules (on develop- ment with identity and on indigenous rights) -Carrying out over 15 case studies on topics of gover- nance, development with identity and indigenous rights -Implementation of the 10 training workshops (two per country), lasting 6 days each in close coordination with national indigenous organizations -Capacity building of 195 indigenous leaders -The participants were for the most part people with 2 current leadership positions in indigenous organizations, local governments, national government and congress. -Preparing 5 country workshop reports -Preparing a final report of the Andean Program The module on governance has focused on the current situation of the Andean countries, particularly the crisis of the political party system, the emergence of indigenous move- ments and their participation in the electoral process. The discussion of governance at he local level has dealt with issues such as institutional development, social audits, par- ticipation, intercultural relations, local development, decen- tralization, and technical reports. The module on indigenous rights has focused on the concep- tual framework of indigenous rights and their relation to human rights and indigenous legislation, making a clear technologies is used transversally to deepen the treatment of distinction between the latter two concepts. In addition, it has the previous modules, particularly of governance and anticor- analyzed the degree of inclusion of indigenous rights in the ruption practices. It teaches peoples how to access information government in general and the administration of justice in and data bases from the internet and electronic mail, how to particular, complemented with case studies of the Andean create and disseminate information about indigenous peoples countries. One of topics highlighted in the discussion is that, and form electronic networks for the sharing of information on even though some multi-cultural societies such as those of broad issues such as indigenous rights, small enterprises, the Andean countries, recognize a broad set of indigenous marketing of indigenous products, etc. rights, the implementation of indigenous rights is deficient not only because la lack of political will or institutional 4. Conclusions and recommendations mechanisms for their application but also because there is not an adequate understanding of the nature of those rights. The Andean Program has been evaluated by the participants The module on development with identity starts summarizing and by the Advisory Board, having both the Fondo Indigena, the main theories of economic development and ends with the World Bank and WBI as observers of the later process. formulation of a conceptual framework of development with identity. It briefly discusses the concept of ethno develop- From the participants perspective, the main conclusions are ment, used by the World Bank (particularly in the context of the following: its Indigenous and Afro Ecuadorian Peoples Development Project, PRODEPINE I) and of the process of globalization. ·There is a general consensus that Andean Program In contrast to those theories of development which give responds to the legitimate need to form indigenous excessive weight to individual initiatives and the accumula- leaders in the countries of the Andean region. tion of economic surplus, the conceptual framework of development with identity emphasizes the role of the indig- ·The Program's methodology, using a participatory ap- enous community and the importance it places on equality, proach which combines case studies, direct training and solidarity, communal work, informal exchange of goods, and exchange of experiences using videoconference facili- mechanisms for the redistribution of economic surplus. ties, is innovative and apt for the purpose. Finally, the module on information and communications ·The training modules are of excellent quality but they need to be further refined and adjusted to the comprehen- sion level of the majority of participants, being less academic and more focused on the specific country The Indigenous Leadership Capacity-Building Program for contexts. Andean Countries is currently part of a larger World Bank initiative know as the Global Fund for Indigenous Peoples. ·The program is allowing a critical, innovative and For more information, please visit comparative analysis of topics deemed of great impor- http://www.worldbank.org/indigenous tance to indigenous peoples, namely governance, devel- http://www.developmentgateway.org/ipp opment, indigenous rights and the use of ICT. http://www.worldbank.org/wbi/governance/indigenas/ http://fondoindigena.org/pflican ·The Andean Program has giving indigenous leaders an opportunity to strengthen their cultural identity and to 3 develop positive attitudes and an openness to dialogue and intercultural relations. LatinAmerica and Caribbean Region Sustainable Development Working Paper 20 The main recommendations follow: Lessons of Indigenous Development in Latin ·The Andean Program needs to be continued because America thus far it has been developing and adapting teaching The Proceedings of a World Bank Workshop on modules and trying a cutting edge methodology, both of Indigenous Peoples Development which need to be further consolidated. Edited by: ·The didactic materials need to be improved, taking into Shelton H. Davis consideration country contexts and the level of educa- Jorge E. Uquillas tion of the participants. Melanie A. Eltz ·Given the lack of sufficient time to discuss matters of The World Bank relevance to participants in each of the countries in- Latin America and the Caribbean Region volved, there is a need to reduce the use of Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Develop- videoconferences and to have more direct training. ment Departament (LCSES) September 2004 Consequent with the above, the program is planning a decentralization of the training process towards country-run Abstract programs. In addition, in each country, grater efforts should During the last decade, the World Bank has steadily go to the creation of networks for the exchange of methodolo- increased its attention to indigenous peoples of Latin gies and experiences; and more efforts need to be directed to America, as a result of its poverty alleviation mandate have a good gender balance in the future. and its indigenous peoples policy. The Latin America Region of the World Bank has both improved compli- The Advisory Board highlighted the importance of the part- ance with the safeguard provisions of its indigenous nerships formed in the process of implementation of the peoples policy and adopted a proactive approach to- Andean Program, particularly the opportunity that indigenous ward the promotion of indigenous peoples develop- leaders had of using advanced communications technology ment. In addition, the Bank has carried out an effective for face to face interaction, complemented by the more capacity building program, working with indigenous traditional methods of direct training. Reflecting the partici- organizations and indigenous affairs agencies in twelve pants views, it maintained that the topics should be further countries of the Region (including a tripartite dialogue developed and adapted to the particular circumstances of the among indigenous peoples, oil companies, and govern- countries, including discussions of current affairs. In addi- ments in the Andean countries); it has supported the tion, the Advisory Board recommended that future events preparation of national indigenous peoples profiles in should have more time for planning and preparation, that Mexico and Central America as well as studies of the workshop materials should be delivered well before the actual legal and policy framework on indigenous peoples and events so that participants had time to review them. The on the life strategies of urban indigenous residents in members of the Advisory Board also advocated for a decen- Peru, Mexico, and Ecuador; and it has invested in tralization of the program and for the inclusion of new topics specific projects targeting indigenous peoples and such as land regularization, public policies on indigenous other ethnic groups in Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, peoples and intercultural relations. Bolivia, Brazil, and Argentina. At the closing of the United Nation's Decade of Indigenous People, the World Bank is proud to present this volume on the "Lessons of Indigenous Develop- ment in Latin America," based on the experiences of different projects and programs targeting indigenous peoples. About the Author Jorge Uquillas is Senior Sociologist with the Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Departament of the World Bank's Latin America and the Caribbean Region. 4