SUSTAINABILITY
PDP’s approach to sustainability
The Participatory Development Programme’s expected impact is to improve living conditions and prospects for individuals in informal areas in Egypt, on a sustainable basis. That involves communicating knowledge that enables people to shape their present and future on their own – by considering the needs of present and future generations.
Sustainable development is more than just sustaining the outcomes of a project after completion. It is a process of searching and learning – not a final state to be reached at some point in time. In this respect, sustainability of urban upgrading is fostered not only by reaching concrete results, but also by sensitively shaping the way to those results.
The programme operates in partnership with multiple stakeholders – government agencies, NGOs, private local businesses, and the local population, working to integrate different policy fields and areas of state, civil society and business. The PDP work aligns with governmental policies and agendas, such as the 5-year plan and links innovative mechanisms to already existing structures and networks. The PDP also strongly cooperates with international donor agencies to harmonise strategies and methods.
PDP acts as a moderator in negotiation processes among the involved parties vested with conflicting interests. By creating transparency, interests are made negotiable. The PDP strengthens the ownership of the stakeholders by applying participatory methods and by working to institutionalise that process within the administrative system.
The PDP team believes that diverse interests can be reconciled most effectively and fairly in democratic societies under the rule of law. Therefore, the PDP gears its work to the principles of good governance, decentralisation, the promotion of gender equality, environmental sustainability, and internationally recognised fundamental values such as respect for human rights.
