CBCS KEY LEADERS EMBARKED ON “DO NO HARM” TRAINING

Twenty Five key leaders of the Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society Organization (CBCS) just concluded its training on “Do No Harm” principles held at Estosan Garden Hotel in Cotabato City last November 9 -12, 2010. The participants were headed by no less than its Chairperson Guiamel M. Alim and the members of its Secretariat in the Central Office.

The bulk of participants were composed of Chairmen and Regional Coordinators of CBCS Regional Management Committees (RMCs) coming from the eight Regions covering SOCSKSARGEN, Davao, Lanao, Zamboanga, Sibugay, Basilan and Sulu areas. The input and facilitation of the training was handled by Miriam Riechers, Supervisor for the Do No Harm program of the German Development Services (DED).

The “Do No Harm” principles or framework is already proven important tools in analyzing the impact of projects especially dealing with interventions being made by International Communities in conflict-affected and related to relief assistance all over the world. But a deeper look at the framework as an “impact analysis tool” can be very useful in a wider sense. It can be an effective tool in analyzing impact of individual, group or organization decisions, project, programs or activities.

The core-substance of Do No Harm principle is its very comprehensive “Conflict-Mapping Tools” and the analysis of “Implicit Ethical Messages” of every individual, group or organizations attitude, undertakings or programs. Through this method, one is able to identify the classification of individual or group’s acts and can be either “divider” or “connector” in a conflict situation inadvertently.

By nature, man is born good but more often than not people or group commits error not by intention but as result of hasty decision-making or just simple neglect of other elements which are taught to be of less importance. In principle explicit attitudes or intentional can be easily detected and prevented and therefore the frameworks focus more on the implicit ones which are consequence of unintentional acts and can be considered more dangerous than former.

Guiamel Alim, CBCS Chairperson hoped that the skills acquired by CBCS Key Leaders will be utilized and be effectively applied in every level of interventions on the ground. This he said could be a great help to lessen the burden of managing a complex organization like CBCS which is operating in a network category.