Ismaili.NET - Heritage F.I.E.L.D.

Thank you so much

As I have done my work, over the past decades, I’ve concluded that one of the most important forces in development is civil society. If you think about the countries around the world which have had fragile governments but which have still made progress, there are umpteen examples of countries which have made progress, because they have had strong civil society.

Government, while critical, can only take us so far. At a time of democratic disappointment, we must re-emphasise the immense potential of those non-governmental institutions that we call “civil society.”

The growing vitality of Civil Society should be a key source of encouragement when it comes to investing in Africa. When it is advanced and enabled, it is the best underwriter of development. It can, I know, be a key force in seizing Africa’s Moment and making the most of it.

There are three professions in the developing world which are undervalued: the first is nursing, the second is education and the third is journalism; and yet all those professions are critical for the development of a quality civil society