The mission of IM4DC is to support resource-rich developing countries to transform their extractive resource endowment into inclusive and sustainable economic growth and social development. Previous editions of eNews have highlighted IM4DC delivery statistics in our three and a half years of existence. IM4DC has met or exceeded most of the KPIs set for it at the launch in October 2011.
The success or otherwise of IM4DC, however, will be judged on the impact of IM4DC activities: what participants and their institutions do with the knowledge and capacity gained though IM4DC activities. What also matters is how these impacts can be sustained and built upon. University research commissioned by IM4DC has shown that impacts are diverse, real and are improving mining governance in many countries.
The hub for IM4DC’s ongoing engagement with our Alumni is M4DLink, a dedicated website where more than 1600 Alumni from across the world can communicate, exchange practices and experience, and continue to learn and be motivated to make change. At the Mining for Development Alumni Forum and Conference in Perth at the end of April, IM4DC Alumni from Africa, North Asia, South East Asia and Latin America were able to share graphic case studies of how they have applied learning from IM4DC to improve mining governance and outcomes in their nations.
At country Alumni events in Peru, Zambia, Ghana and Papua New Guinea, and soon in Indonesia and Mongolia, we hear similar stories of practical and sustained impact. The article elsewhere in eNews on the outcomes of the just-completed short course on mining policy and governance provides graphic illustration of how participants plan to implement their learning.
As IM4DC activities come to an end, and to help fill the gap that will ensue until the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade launches a new centre some time in 2016, I am pleased to announce that DFAT and the implementing partners in IM4DC, The University of Western Australia and The University of Queensland, have agreed to sustain the Mining for Development Alumni Network. Dr Muza Gondwe, the current Alumni Coordinator, will expertly run the Network for the next 12 months, which will pursue a range of activities, including country forums to enable Alumni to continue to coordinate their implementation activities within and between their disparate organisations that nonetheless share common goals for mining governance. We all look forward to the Network continuing to facilitate change to achieve lasting benefits from mining for nations and communities.