Purpose of the Network Days (for members only)

During the first two days Esther participated in a series of meetings of the members of the Global Pro Bono Network (GPBN). These network days were dedicated to discussing and agreeing on the next steps in the development of the GPBN, its goals and the directions in which the member organisations want to push the network forward. At a time when the network is evolving from a project run and funded by the BMW Foundation and the Taproot Foundation to a member-driven, self-governing and ultimately self-funded network, it is essential to take a closer look at the network itself. During the two days that we spend together as network members, we only want to deepen our relationships, build trust and have fun, but also spend time on the purpose, value proposition, strategy and priorities of the network, as well as its leadership, roles, responsibilities and processes, all of which enable maximum member participation and future engagement.

The new Global Council

Elections for the new members of the Global Council took place on 7 February and Mamerito Ssenfuma, AMAIDI Regional Coordinator for Africa, was honoured to be elected as the first Global Council representative for the African continent.

Multinational Pro Bono

In addition, Esther together with András (from Önkéntes Központ Alapítvány-OKA) and Tatiana (from the Pro Bono Laboratory) presented the previous results of the working group for the multinational pro bono programme, which was launched at the 5th Global Pro Bono Summit in Lisbon in 2017 and is still supervised and supported by AMAIDI. We are pleased to note that a number of other GPBN members and some companies have expressed their interest in participating in this programme.

Global Pro Bono Summit (official part): ACHIEVING EFFECT, DEVELOPING VISIONS

In the following days, the GPBS was also open to participants who were not members of the network, including local or multinational companies, Indian NGOs and pro bono intermediaries.

In addition, AMAIDI learned more about other GPBN members and became familiar with the efficiency of the Pecha Kucha style presentations to show the impact and benefits of different pro bono models. Five network members had the opportunity to present their organisation and case studies about the success of pro bono models in a Pecha Kucha presentation. The presenters were: 1. Narinder Dhami, Pecaut Centre, Canada 2. Parnita Rane, Empact, Singapore 3rd Sandrine Ramboux, C@rma, Turkey 4. zhai (Robin) Yan, Huizeren

In the afternoon, each summit participant had to choose 3 open sessions from the various options available. AMAIDI chose the sessions “Addressing major social issues with investment in human capital” and “Pro Bono Secretariat for the development of managers and their impact on service recipients and companies”. The workshop tried to find a solid foundation on which to start and establish transformative pro bono partnerships in Africa.

On-site visits and convening of meetings

On the last day of the GPBS we could choose to visit local non-profit organisations or the corporate conference. AMAIDI, which, due to its foundation in India in 2006, already has a quite comprehensive understanding of the Indian NPO panorama. We therefore preferred to gain a broader overview of the current state and level of experience of pro bono engagement of the corporate sector in India by choosing the second alternative.

GPBS was a very stimulating event for AMAIDI, inspiring us to further promote and renew our pro bono initiatives in the countries where we operate. We look forward to meeting everyone again in spring 2019 in New York City, where the 7th Global Pro Bono Summit will take place. Yours Esther