# Live from Ottawa


I’m coming to you live from the Ottawa Congress
Center[](http://www.ottawacongresscentre.com/), where I am participating
in the [International Cooperation Days
2004](http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/cpb/jciicd01.nsf/vLUSiteHomePagesEn/Overview?OpenDocument),
organized by [CIDA](http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/index-e.htm). Today I’ve
heard lectures about the [UN Millenium Development
Goals](http://www.developmentgoals.org/), which is the main focus of the
conference, both in general, and focused on education and international
health.

In education, [WUSC](http://www.wusc.ca/) presented [an interesting
project](http://www.wusc.ca/expertise/projects/girlchild.asp) in
[Ghana](http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghana), where they first developed
and funded a project to increase participation of girls in primary
education. The project, funded by CIDA, proved very successful, and but
because of a change of priorities at CIDA, the project lost funding.
WUSC subsequently tried to get the government of Ghana interested in
taking over the project, and had at first received a very positive
response, although run into a lot of practical difficulties, from which
the speaker drew some “lessons” presented to us. However, I found the
concept of going to a third world country, starting a project, and then
having it integrated into the state sector, with the government paying
for it, was a very interesting case of first world (NGO) influence on
third world policy.

It reminds me of the [Rockefeller
Foundation](http://www.rockfound.org/display.asp?Context=1&Collection=1&Preview=0&ARCurrent=1)’s
work in [Mexico](http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexico), and other
countries, where they would only finance 10-20% of a programme’s cost,
but still remain in control of the policy - thus gaining strong leverage
on a developing country’s agenda, with a relatively small financial
outlay. (See Anne Emanuelle-Birn, The Rockefeller Foundation: Public
Health or Public Menace.
[Abstract.](http://www.jhu.edu/~istr/pubs/voluntas/vol7-1.html)) (I am
not at all critizing WUSC’s project, I want to read more about it, but
it sounds very interesting - however, I find it an interesting and
important topic to be aware of.)

(I will probably write about other interesting points from the
conference later.)

Stian