Development Entrepreneurship Mentoring Conference Features Range of Policy reforms, Growing Community of Practice

The Asia Foundation, through its Coalitions for Change program, with the support of the Australian Government, recently held the Development Entrepreneurship Mentoring Conference at the Discovery Suites in Ortigas, Pasig City.

The conference was the culmination of a successful six-month collaboration between learners and experienced policy reformers in pursuing policy reforms. Mentees received one-on-one guidance from their mentors and learned to identify, clarify, and pursue reform ideas using the Development Entrepreneurship approach. Throughout the conference, mentees had the opportunity to share the reforms they are working on and reflect on how the mentoring program helped them navigate opportunities and challenges. This second cohort of mentees comprised development professionals from academia, faith-based and non-government organizations, the private sector, and the government. There were mentees from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, as well as from Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. The mentees presented an impressive range of policy reforms at the national and local levels, as well as within national government agencies.

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Myn Garcia, The Asia Foundation’s deputy country representative, acknowledged the growing community of practice that has organically arisen from the Development Entrepreneurship online course and its accompanying mentoring program to now include the latest batch of mentees. “Although mentoring often starts with imparting technical knowledge, it expands to awaken interest and action to pursue larger interests and development issues, such as health, peace, and education. It is transformative more than it’s transactional.”

Thanh Le, Counsellor for Development of the Australian Embassy left an invitation for the mentees. “I do hope we will hear not only about the policy reforms you were able to make but also for you to ask: ‘can I join your program as a mentor?’. That to me is a great indication that this program is successful, and that it continues to move forward.”

For more information about learning opportunities, email: [email protected].