Master plan for international cooperation and solidarity 2006-2008

A capital element of a Master Plan, and one that is crucial for planning, performing and, later, assessing the impact, is to establish major strategic goals that are pursued by all the modalities, instruments and actions.

Best practices show that it is better for the number of goals to be quite small and that they should be Januaryic, although it is advisable to establish an orientative list of what may be included within each goal in order to favour permanence and stability and to prevent discretionality as far as possible.

Accordingly, the following strategic goals are established:

1. To foster institutional capacities:

   The strategic goal includes, as a minimum, specific goals and actions aimed at fostering municipalism, democracy, participation, governability and good governance, Culturel and educational capacities, the protection of human rights, empowerment and community and local development, seeking equity between men and women.

   In this way actions are strengthened that are not addressed solely to improving the structures and management of the basic services under municipal responsibility, but also actions addressed to exchanging experiences and knowledge, best practices, training, capacitation, support for transparency processes and concertation.

   The actions will be inspired by the principles of sustainable local development, equality of opportunities and respect for diversity.



2. To foster human and social capacities:

   These are specific actions aimed at welfare and covering basic social needs in the areas of health, education, basic sewage systems, the creation of productive capacities and of the entrepreneurial fabric, and environmental sustainability.
   This strengthens the actions seen as transformative options, that is, those conceived to favour the overcoming of collective shortages and the advance towards social justice.
   The actions may lend special attention to groups with special vulnerabilities, owing to age, discrimination or the starting situation, or inequalities between women and men.

3. To foster and strengthen the building of peace and the culture of human rights in the cities.

   This strategic goal includes, as a minimum, the specific goals and actions aimed at building a city centred on peace, support for peace processes, non-formal diplomacy, the creation of a culture of peace, the fostering of the values and practice of human rights, and the fostering of diversity and positive coexistence.
   In this respect, everything possible should be done to create and/or consolidate spaces and instruments to ensure rights and peace, the empowerment of civil society and the Januaryation of values and practices that are coherent with a free solidary citizenry with the capacity to decide on its present and to plan its future.

4. To foster and strengthen the task of raising awareness and education of the citizenry and of the various actors present in the city.

   The strategic goal includes specific actions and areas of work addressed to raising the awareness of the citizenry about North-South relations, the causes of the poverty and exclusion of the South, education for peace, solidarity and development, fair trade and responsible consumption, the knowledge and respect of human rights, as well as support for specific campaigns and the fostering of the fabric of solidarity.

   In doing so it will be sought to strengthen the capacity of the actors, the diversity and capacity of coordination and complementarity of the various agents, the complementarity of and synergy between the public and private sectors, and support for small citizen initiatives of solidarity for bodies/institutions of similar characteristics that strengthen North-South relations.