Welcome Address by Convenor at Meeting
Content
Welcome Address by Convenor at meeting of civil society organisations with
UNSRVAW, Ms Rashida Manjoo
Welcome Address by Convenor, CSCHR (Dr Laifungbam Debabrata Roy) at the NE
Regional Meeting of Civil Society Organisations and Victims with UN Special Rapporteur
of violence against women, its causes and consequences, Ms Rashida Manjoo which
commenced at 0900 hrs today (28 April 2013) at Classic Hotel, Imphal.
“A very good morning to everyone here. As the Convenor of the Civil Society Coalition on
Human Rights in Manipur and the UN, I am extremely honoured and pleased indeed to
welcome a most distinguished visitor, guest and friend to Manipur and the North East
region.
“Madame Rashida Manjoo, we the peoples of this region and especially the peoples of
Manipur warmly welcome you. As the present mandate holder of Special Rapporteur on
violence against women, its causes and consequences, the coalition particularly
acknowledges your magnanimity and response to our invitation to visit our land during
your mission to India.
“We place our highest confidence and trust in you today, Madame, as you convene this
historic meeting in Imphal. Yesterday, our people remembered the day, 123 years ago,
when the independent state of Manipur lost her sovereignty and the Union Jack was
unfurled in the holy citadel and fortress of Kangla Pungmayol in Imphal on 27 April 1891.
This sovereignty has never been regained till today. In this context, your historic visit is
most significant for us in Manipur.
“I also take this opportunity to warmly welcome Madame Jarjum Ete, my friend and
colleague from Arunachal Pradesh – leader among our women in the region. Dear Jarjum,
we are honoured to have you here this important day. We are grateful for your gracious
acceptance to moderate this historic meeting.”
Welcome Address by Dr. Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, Steering Committee Convenor
at the Conference on Indigenous Philanthropy (Islamabad, Pakistan)
16 October 2000
Bismallah Al-Rehman Al-Rahim
Your Excellency President Rafiq Tarar,
Your Highness the Aga Khan,
Honourable Ministers,
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
A Salaam Aleikum.
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you, on behalf of the Steering Committee for
Indigenous Philanthropy to this historic conference, the first ever on this topic in
Pakistan. At the beginning of any feast, the cook should contain his anxiety and say as
little as possible by way of introduction. So I will try to be brief.
We are highly honoured that President Rafiq Tarar is among us today and will
inaugurate the Conference this morning. The Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf
will deliver the concluding address tomorrow. This encouragement from the highest
echelon of the Government, plus the valuable support of several ministers and many
senior officials, testifies to the importance that the Government places on indigenous
philanthropy.
We must also acknowledge the support that the Steering
Committee for the Initiative on Indigenous Philanthropy has
enjoyed from His Highness the Aga Khan. It was he who first
challenged us to explore the potential of indigenous philanthropy
as a resource for sustainable national development and a means to
reduce dependence on external aid.
As the Steering Committee began its work, it faced a quandary: there was very little
relevant data about philanthropy. There was no published analysis. Different
stakeholders and interest groups did not pronounce publicly on this subject. We knew
from our faith that it is fundamental to who we are, individually and as the Umma, but
there were no markers or measures to guide us as we applied our minds to the
challenge of enhancing philanthropy. So we began this serious task by undertaking
original research and a series of surveys, roundtables and focus groups. The extent of
this work became far more than we initially contemplated.
I'd like to recognise especially the serious commitment of the members of the Steering
Committee in preparing for this Conference. Their active leadership - through some
thirty months of meetings, research studies, stakeholder consultations, and
international review of international mechanisms to promote philanthropy, conference
planning, fundraising (of course, somebody has to do it!), and all manner of other
activities - has been critical to our achievements to date. They are, ladies and
gentlemen, not only great promoters of indigenous philanthropy but also - through their
voluntary service - great philanthropists themselves.
From its earliest research and outreach activities, the Steering Committee found a
broad and deep excitement among all stakeholders about indigenous philanthropy. We
are a people who respond to suffering, who give in the way of Allah, and who give
generously. In 1998 our aggregate giving totalled Rs 70 billion, of which two-thirds was
by way of material resources and one-third by way of volunteer time. This is many fold
what is received annually in grant aid from foreign sources and nearly equals
Government budgets for health and education. In some ways, even more impressive
than the total is the figure that 34 percent of all such giving comes from those in the
lowest income strata of our society.
In per capita terms, giving in Pakistan is higher than many industrialised countries. The
Steering Committee then came to the conclusion that we can and must build on this
great tradition of giving. We can ignite the spark into a great flame, and thereby
enhance the quality and quantity of our philanthropy, such that it attacks the causes as
well
as
the
symptoms
of
our
many
social
afflictions.
While the world of organised philanthropy was new to us, and at times we felt like
pioneers entering uncharted lands, we soon learned that we were in fact merely
rediscovering truths and practices that are literally hundreds of years old. The further
out we looked the more we found that all roads lead to us - not to Rome but to home: to
our faith, to our Islamic culture. To give you a sense of what I mean by this, let me read
to you from the journal of the famous fourteenth-century traveller, Ibn Battuta, who
marvelled at the extent of organised philanthropy in Damascus over six hundred years
ago. He says:
The variety and expenditure of waqfs [that is, charitable endowments] at Damascus are
beyond computation. There are endowments in aid of persons who cannot undertake
the pilgrimage to Mecca, out of which are paid the expenses of those who go in their
stead. There are other endowments for supplying wedding outfits to girls whose
families are unable to provide them, an others for the freeing of prisoners. There are
endowments for travellers, out of the revenues of which they are given food, clothing,
and the expenses of conveyance to their countries…. The people of Damascus vie with
one another in building mosques, religious houses, colleges and mausoleums.
The members of the Steering Committee, like Ibn Battuta before us, were deeply
impressed by the philanthropy that we discovered in Pakistan, when we began to look
around us. While we may not have the powers of observation and description of Ibn
Battuta, we have tried to capture what we have learned in our publications and in this
Conference programme. To prevent any risk of indigestion, we have restricted the menu
for your consideration to three items.
The first main recommendation of the Steering Committee stems from a vital question:
How can our Government encourage citizens to give money and volunteer time to
private development organisations? As is the experience everywhere, without such
citizen support, and at a massive scale, there can be no sustainable development. It is
as simple as that. Our recommendation upon considering this question calls upon
Government, business and civil society organisations to come together in a multistakeholder consultative process with the goal of building consensus and confidence in
a new, more enabling regulatory and fiscal framework.
The second recommendation to the conferees is for a special initiative by the media
and other agents of public understanding to raise the level of public awareness of the
citizen self-help movement. How is indigenous philanthropy covered in the media
today? What lessons can we draw from the dramatic divergence between the Englishand Urdu-language coverage? What efforts are required from citizens' organisations to
improve media coverage and raise societal understanding of their work?
Thirdly, the Steering Committee believes that a permanent institutional vehicle to
enhance philanthropy as social investment could make a significant contribution to the
nation. Do the conferees concur that there is such a need? If so, what form should that
institution adopt? What should be its programme priorities?
I know that all of you are keen to begin the main meal. But in concluding this
introduction to the Conference, may I express on behalf of the Steering Committee our
heartfelt gratitude to the sponsors of the Initiative on Indigenous Philanthropy. I wish
also to recognise the philanthropists who have so generously pledged support to a
Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy, should one come to be established as a result of this
Conference. I wish to thank these far-sighted Pakistani benefactors, most of whom are
present here today, and assure them that their contributions are reserved for that
purpose. Their social investments in a new institution to promote philanthropy in
Pakistan will not be applied to the costs of this Conference. Fortunately, these are met
through generous support from the Canadian International Development Agency and
the United States Agency for International Development, which I would like to
particularly acknowledge here today. The Aga Khan Development Network has provided
both technical and financial support to the Initiative, mainly through the Foundation.
This Conference is dedicated to the idea that persons of goodwill can come together,
breathe life into a spirit of self-reliance, and reduce our dependence on external
benevolence. It affirms the notion that we can enhance the experience of philanthropy
for Pakistanis in a way that will contribute to sustainable national development.
There are always obstacles in the way of endeavours such as this. We do not yet have a
fully enabling regulatory and fiscal environment. We face a crippling lack of trust in our
institutions. This became abundantly clear to us when we spoke to potential indigenous
philanthropists, who unanimously voiced the need for some mechanism to sort out the
good, the bad and the ugly from among those organisations seeking their support.
While recognising this need, the Steering Committee took a firm position that it was not
its job to make such judgements; instead, it has encouraged civil society organisations
to be proactive in raising their standards of accountability and transparency.
Its three recommendations now before you are also crafted to help you understand
these obstacles. As you settle down to this dastarkhan I invite you to look around, to
appreciate the diversity that is represented here. Within our Steering Committee, we
found that the fact that we came from such diverse backgrounds as business, public
service, health, education, rural development and law was our greatest asset. When we
come together from all three sectors of society - business, civil society and Government
- we work to create trust, and in so doing, we work from a basis that can sustain
national development over the long haul. When we gather here together in our
diversity, as we have today, we may find - Inshallah - that indigenous philanthropy is
one of the keys to unlock a better tomorrow for all our people.
In closing, may I return to the greater purpose that has brought us here: to alleviate
suffering and to advance sustainable development. As Allah reveals in the Holy Quran,
"For those men and women who give in charity and loan to Allah a beautiful loan, it
shall be increased, and they shall have besides a liberal reward."
Thank you.
UNSRVAW, Ms Rashida Manjoo
Welcome Address by Convenor, CSCHR (Dr Laifungbam Debabrata Roy) at the NE
Regional Meeting of Civil Society Organisations and Victims with UN Special Rapporteur
of violence against women, its causes and consequences, Ms Rashida Manjoo which
commenced at 0900 hrs today (28 April 2013) at Classic Hotel, Imphal.
“A very good morning to everyone here. As the Convenor of the Civil Society Coalition on
Human Rights in Manipur and the UN, I am extremely honoured and pleased indeed to
welcome a most distinguished visitor, guest and friend to Manipur and the North East
region.
“Madame Rashida Manjoo, we the peoples of this region and especially the peoples of
Manipur warmly welcome you. As the present mandate holder of Special Rapporteur on
violence against women, its causes and consequences, the coalition particularly
acknowledges your magnanimity and response to our invitation to visit our land during
your mission to India.
“We place our highest confidence and trust in you today, Madame, as you convene this
historic meeting in Imphal. Yesterday, our people remembered the day, 123 years ago,
when the independent state of Manipur lost her sovereignty and the Union Jack was
unfurled in the holy citadel and fortress of Kangla Pungmayol in Imphal on 27 April 1891.
This sovereignty has never been regained till today. In this context, your historic visit is
most significant for us in Manipur.
“I also take this opportunity to warmly welcome Madame Jarjum Ete, my friend and
colleague from Arunachal Pradesh – leader among our women in the region. Dear Jarjum,
we are honoured to have you here this important day. We are grateful for your gracious
acceptance to moderate this historic meeting.”
Welcome Address by Dr. Shamsh Kassim-Lakha, Steering Committee Convenor
at the Conference on Indigenous Philanthropy (Islamabad, Pakistan)
16 October 2000
Bismallah Al-Rehman Al-Rahim
Your Excellency President Rafiq Tarar,
Your Highness the Aga Khan,
Honourable Ministers,
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
A Salaam Aleikum.
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you, on behalf of the Steering Committee for
Indigenous Philanthropy to this historic conference, the first ever on this topic in
Pakistan. At the beginning of any feast, the cook should contain his anxiety and say as
little as possible by way of introduction. So I will try to be brief.
We are highly honoured that President Rafiq Tarar is among us today and will
inaugurate the Conference this morning. The Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf
will deliver the concluding address tomorrow. This encouragement from the highest
echelon of the Government, plus the valuable support of several ministers and many
senior officials, testifies to the importance that the Government places on indigenous
philanthropy.
We must also acknowledge the support that the Steering
Committee for the Initiative on Indigenous Philanthropy has
enjoyed from His Highness the Aga Khan. It was he who first
challenged us to explore the potential of indigenous philanthropy
as a resource for sustainable national development and a means to
reduce dependence on external aid.
As the Steering Committee began its work, it faced a quandary: there was very little
relevant data about philanthropy. There was no published analysis. Different
stakeholders and interest groups did not pronounce publicly on this subject. We knew
from our faith that it is fundamental to who we are, individually and as the Umma, but
there were no markers or measures to guide us as we applied our minds to the
challenge of enhancing philanthropy. So we began this serious task by undertaking
original research and a series of surveys, roundtables and focus groups. The extent of
this work became far more than we initially contemplated.
I'd like to recognise especially the serious commitment of the members of the Steering
Committee in preparing for this Conference. Their active leadership - through some
thirty months of meetings, research studies, stakeholder consultations, and
international review of international mechanisms to promote philanthropy, conference
planning, fundraising (of course, somebody has to do it!), and all manner of other
activities - has been critical to our achievements to date. They are, ladies and
gentlemen, not only great promoters of indigenous philanthropy but also - through their
voluntary service - great philanthropists themselves.
From its earliest research and outreach activities, the Steering Committee found a
broad and deep excitement among all stakeholders about indigenous philanthropy. We
are a people who respond to suffering, who give in the way of Allah, and who give
generously. In 1998 our aggregate giving totalled Rs 70 billion, of which two-thirds was
by way of material resources and one-third by way of volunteer time. This is many fold
what is received annually in grant aid from foreign sources and nearly equals
Government budgets for health and education. In some ways, even more impressive
than the total is the figure that 34 percent of all such giving comes from those in the
lowest income strata of our society.
In per capita terms, giving in Pakistan is higher than many industrialised countries. The
Steering Committee then came to the conclusion that we can and must build on this
great tradition of giving. We can ignite the spark into a great flame, and thereby
enhance the quality and quantity of our philanthropy, such that it attacks the causes as
well
as
the
symptoms
of
our
many
social
afflictions.
While the world of organised philanthropy was new to us, and at times we felt like
pioneers entering uncharted lands, we soon learned that we were in fact merely
rediscovering truths and practices that are literally hundreds of years old. The further
out we looked the more we found that all roads lead to us - not to Rome but to home: to
our faith, to our Islamic culture. To give you a sense of what I mean by this, let me read
to you from the journal of the famous fourteenth-century traveller, Ibn Battuta, who
marvelled at the extent of organised philanthropy in Damascus over six hundred years
ago. He says:
The variety and expenditure of waqfs [that is, charitable endowments] at Damascus are
beyond computation. There are endowments in aid of persons who cannot undertake
the pilgrimage to Mecca, out of which are paid the expenses of those who go in their
stead. There are other endowments for supplying wedding outfits to girls whose
families are unable to provide them, an others for the freeing of prisoners. There are
endowments for travellers, out of the revenues of which they are given food, clothing,
and the expenses of conveyance to their countries…. The people of Damascus vie with
one another in building mosques, religious houses, colleges and mausoleums.
The members of the Steering Committee, like Ibn Battuta before us, were deeply
impressed by the philanthropy that we discovered in Pakistan, when we began to look
around us. While we may not have the powers of observation and description of Ibn
Battuta, we have tried to capture what we have learned in our publications and in this
Conference programme. To prevent any risk of indigestion, we have restricted the menu
for your consideration to three items.
The first main recommendation of the Steering Committee stems from a vital question:
How can our Government encourage citizens to give money and volunteer time to
private development organisations? As is the experience everywhere, without such
citizen support, and at a massive scale, there can be no sustainable development. It is
as simple as that. Our recommendation upon considering this question calls upon
Government, business and civil society organisations to come together in a multistakeholder consultative process with the goal of building consensus and confidence in
a new, more enabling regulatory and fiscal framework.
The second recommendation to the conferees is for a special initiative by the media
and other agents of public understanding to raise the level of public awareness of the
citizen self-help movement. How is indigenous philanthropy covered in the media
today? What lessons can we draw from the dramatic divergence between the Englishand Urdu-language coverage? What efforts are required from citizens' organisations to
improve media coverage and raise societal understanding of their work?
Thirdly, the Steering Committee believes that a permanent institutional vehicle to
enhance philanthropy as social investment could make a significant contribution to the
nation. Do the conferees concur that there is such a need? If so, what form should that
institution adopt? What should be its programme priorities?
I know that all of you are keen to begin the main meal. But in concluding this
introduction to the Conference, may I express on behalf of the Steering Committee our
heartfelt gratitude to the sponsors of the Initiative on Indigenous Philanthropy. I wish
also to recognise the philanthropists who have so generously pledged support to a
Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy, should one come to be established as a result of this
Conference. I wish to thank these far-sighted Pakistani benefactors, most of whom are
present here today, and assure them that their contributions are reserved for that
purpose. Their social investments in a new institution to promote philanthropy in
Pakistan will not be applied to the costs of this Conference. Fortunately, these are met
through generous support from the Canadian International Development Agency and
the United States Agency for International Development, which I would like to
particularly acknowledge here today. The Aga Khan Development Network has provided
both technical and financial support to the Initiative, mainly through the Foundation.
This Conference is dedicated to the idea that persons of goodwill can come together,
breathe life into a spirit of self-reliance, and reduce our dependence on external
benevolence. It affirms the notion that we can enhance the experience of philanthropy
for Pakistanis in a way that will contribute to sustainable national development.
There are always obstacles in the way of endeavours such as this. We do not yet have a
fully enabling regulatory and fiscal environment. We face a crippling lack of trust in our
institutions. This became abundantly clear to us when we spoke to potential indigenous
philanthropists, who unanimously voiced the need for some mechanism to sort out the
good, the bad and the ugly from among those organisations seeking their support.
While recognising this need, the Steering Committee took a firm position that it was not
its job to make such judgements; instead, it has encouraged civil society organisations
to be proactive in raising their standards of accountability and transparency.
Its three recommendations now before you are also crafted to help you understand
these obstacles. As you settle down to this dastarkhan I invite you to look around, to
appreciate the diversity that is represented here. Within our Steering Committee, we
found that the fact that we came from such diverse backgrounds as business, public
service, health, education, rural development and law was our greatest asset. When we
come together from all three sectors of society - business, civil society and Government
- we work to create trust, and in so doing, we work from a basis that can sustain
national development over the long haul. When we gather here together in our
diversity, as we have today, we may find - Inshallah - that indigenous philanthropy is
one of the keys to unlock a better tomorrow for all our people.
In closing, may I return to the greater purpose that has brought us here: to alleviate
suffering and to advance sustainable development. As Allah reveals in the Holy Quran,
"For those men and women who give in charity and loan to Allah a beautiful loan, it
shall be increased, and they shall have besides a liberal reward."
Thank you.
