Winner of the 1996 ESCAP HRD Award

The Award was presented to the Executive Director of the Foundation, Mr Omar Ashgar Khan, on 28 April at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok during the fifty-third session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).

The ESCAP HRD Award was established by ESCAP to encourage exemplary achievement in human resources development. The special theme for the 1996 Award was: "People's Participation in Community Development."

An independent international jury selected Sungi as the winner of the Award because of its innovative programmes to mobilize communities for participation. Sungi Development Foundation is an NGO working in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan. Some 130 village organizations have been established with support from Sungi.

Sungi has been able to make an impact in little time and with minimum resources. This has been possible through its integration of HRD activities, such as training, employment generation, and health services, with a well-designed advocacy programme.

Sungi's advocacy programme includes community action to protect the forest, and the promotion of women's participation in decision-making in the family and the village.

Another factor in Sungi's success has been the partnership it has established with community-based organizations. Villages prioritize their own needs, and design and implement their own activities with the help of Sungi.

Some 100 candidates for the 1996 Award were screened by an independent Jury on the basis of five criteria: Degree of HRD commitment; responsiveness to the needs of the target group; innovativeness; impact; and sustainability.

As first runner-up was selected the Institute of Nutrition of Mahidol University of Thailand. Another organization from Pakistan, the Sarhad Rural Support Corporation, was selected as second runner-up. Third runner-up was Gono Unnayan Prochesta (GUP), an NGO from Bangladesh.

The Award carries a cash prize of US$ 20,000. The 1996 round of the Award was being sponsored by the Government of the Netherlands.

Click here to see a photo portrait of Sungi Development Foundation.

Return to an index of all features on the Award here.