On 16-17 October 2000, some 300 leading citizens of Pakistan came together in Islamabad in a major national conference. The head of state set the stage. Government ministers, many other senior public officials, and leaders from business, media and civil society organizations conferred vigorously for two days. At the climax of their deliberations, they launched a new national organization. What was the topic that had captured the Pakistani national imagination in late 2000? It was not Kashmir, nuclear proliferation or political democratization. It was indigenous philanthropy – and, specifically, indigenous philanthropy as a resource for sustainable development. Nor is Pakistan …

It is all too easy for a magazine like Alliance to focus on the support given to Southern countries by Northern donors. I recently attended a meeting addressed by Poul Nielson, European Commissioner for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid. He mentioned, as an illustration of South-South solidarity, that the EU has contributed 1 billion euros of unspent money formerly allocated to African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries to the HIPC (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries) initiative – with the agreement of the better-off ACP countries. EU countries have not allocated extra funds. ‘I find that embarrassing,’ said Nielson.  With the world’s …