Presentations in the USA
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Presentations in the USA |
Six years in sixty minutes or less. That’s what we did this past March. In the space of one week, we made three presentations to different audiences about the BCN program. Though these presentations were not of a definitive, end-of-the-program variety, they did attempt to condense in a short amount of time the essence of the BCN program -- now over 6 years old -- and to present some preliminary results from the analysis BCN and its partners are conducting.
More than anything, the presentations -- which were held at World Wildlife Fund-US, USAID, and The Nature Conservancy-US offices -- were intended to signal to the audiences that (a) BCN is entering the final, analytical and communications phase of the program (so stay tuned for a series of products that will appear on our web-site and in various publications); (b) BCN’s staff levels are falling and its overseas offices, with the exception of Jakarta, are phasing out; and (c) a lot of excellent work has been done by BCN and its partners over the last six years, with experiences and knowledge that will prove useful and important for future conservation efforts.
But, as we often do with our "communications products," we also used the presentations to allow audiences to hear the voices of our project partners themselves. In their case, it was a matter of condensing 3-4 years of project experiences in 3-4 minutes, by integrating their projects into the flow of the overall presentation. A tough task, of course. But the project representatives not only did it, they also were willing to field questions following the formal presentation. Therefore, we want to take this opportunity to express our great appreciation to Kamaljit Bawa (University of Massachusetts/TERI-India), Ann Koontz (Enterprise Works Worldwide-Nepal and India), Gabriel Campell (TMI-India), Mark Leighton (Harvard University-Indonesia), Chuck Berg (CI-Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands), and Madhu Rao (Wildlife Conservation Society-Papua New Guinea). Their presence made the presentations much richer by grounding them in the day-to-day reality of making conservation happen.
As for the audiences -- each was engaged, asking well-informed questions, providing positive, constructive feedback and, on occasion, calling BCN to task on a few of the more controversial and difficult elements of the program, each of which BCN staff and the project representatives answered (or tried to) with candor and care. We appreciate their attendance and trust that it was time well-spent to become acquainted with the work being done in the field (the practical lessons learned at the project sites) and in the office (the analytical distillation of those lessons).
In the end, though, one of the most important messages, that came out during the presentations (from both BCN staff and the project representatives) is that the majority of the projects supported by BCN since 1994 will continue to do good work even after support from BCN ends. The BCN program is ending, not the individual projects. No doubt you’ll continue to hear from and about these projects in the future.
Biodiversity Conservation Network
1992 - 1999
Views from Experience in Enterprise-Based Conservation
Enterprise-based conservation experiences
will be presented and discussed.
Please join us with several partners from our
projects in Asia and the Pacific.Date: 24 March 1999
Time: 3:30 - 5:00 pm
Place: WWF, 1250 24th St., NW, Washington, D.C. - Conference Room 5AB
Reception: 5:00 - 6:30 pm, Atrium of the WWF Building
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