Supporting Korea's aim to step up humanitarian aid
Experiential study tours for aid managers and cultivation of North Korea-origin young leaders boost Korea's increasing role in development cooperation
We partner with Korean government agencies and NGOs to improve aid effectiveness and facilitate regional knowledge-sharing. The Foundation organized dialogues in Sri Lanka and Cambodia between country-level representatives of the Foundation and KOICA, the official Korean aid agency, to explore ways of cooperating on the ground. Working closely with Foundation staff in Colombo, we arranged for Korean aid managers to travel to Sri Lanka to observe effective programs for strengthening local governance in post-conflict areas. Sri Lankans then traveled to Korea to study the country's recognized expertise in promoting public-private partnerships to accelerate development. We are expanding our working relationship with the Korea Development Institute to launch a dialogue among aid experts in Korea, China, India, and other emerging Asian donor countries; recommendations on aid effectiveness resulting from this process will be shared at the November global conference in Busan. Meanwhile, in spite of tensions, we continue to facilitate opportunities for North Koreans to participate in practical regional exchange activities. For example, along with the China National Rice Research Institute we organized a workshop in China with North Korean rice scientists on low-input rice farming as a way to address the chronic food security crisis in the North. We are paying special attention to cultivating leadership potential of North Korea-origin young people who have taken refuge in South Korea, by facilitating access to special educational opportunities.