The year 2003 marked IFAD’s Twenty-Fifth Anniversary. This was an opportune time to reflect on and articulate more clearly how rural poor people – if empowered and provided opportunities – can overcome their poverty and become agents of change in their environments.

Purpose and Expectation

The anniversary year offered an opportunity to communicate: to reflect on the Fund’s achievements over the last quarter century and to advocate IFAD’s mission – Enabling the Rural Poor to Overcome their Poverty. It was also a time to look to the future and the challenge posed by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of halving extreme poverty by 2015. These activities resulted in a deeper understanding of IFAD’s catalytic role in the reduction of rural poverty.

Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Governing Council Format

The anniversary session of the Governing Council (19-20 February 2003) marked the official opening of IFAD’s Twenty-Fifth Anniversary. The President of the Italian Republic, His Excellency Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr Kofi Annan, and IFAD’s President jointly inaugurated the work of the session launching the one-year anniversary period.His Eminence Cardinal Angelo Sodano delivered a message on behalf of His Holiness Pope John Paul II.

An interactive panel discussion followed on the theme Achieving the Millennium Development Goals by Enabling the Rural Poor to Overcome their Poverty. The discussion looked at how IFAD can more effectively enable the rural poor to overcome their poverty and how it can contribute in coming years to the achievement of the MDGs.

The morning of the second day featured four round-table discussions on the following themes:

• Indigenous Peoples and Sustainable Development
  (Arabic | English French | Spanish)
• Promoting Market Access for the Rural Poor in Order to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals
  (Arabic | English | French | Spanish)
• Transforming Rural Institutions in Order to Reach the Millennium Development Goals
  (Arabic | English | French | Spanish)
• Women as Agents of Change
  (Arabic | English | French | Spanish)

Audience

In order to strengthen commitment and support for IFAD and at the same time influence thinking and policies on poverty issues, the Fund continues dialogue with existing partners and reaches out for new ones. Thus the proposed audience for anniversary activities was IFAD’s Member States, the host country, the development community at large – bilateral and multilateral agencies and non-governmental organizations – the private sector, academics, religious leaders and rural poor people. While IFAD enjoys a close relationship with this audience, it strengthened partnerships and built a stronger pro-poor coalition during the anniversary year.