The Devonshire Initiative (DI) describes itself as "a forum for leading international development NGOs and mining companies to come together in response to the emerging social agenda surrounding mining and community development issues." It was founded in 2007 following a workshop in Toronto about conflict diamonds and the Kimberley Process. Its aims are to share best practices and lessons learned, foster new relationships, and act as a unified voice to external actors including the government of Canada. All workshops and discussions take place under Chatham House Rules. This allows it to be an effective forum where people feel free to share their opinions and trust can be built.
At the DI Summit in 2011, Bev Oda announced three pilot projects where NGOs would partner with mining companies: WUSC and Rio Tinto in Ghana, Plan Canada and IAMGOLD in Burkina Faso, and World Vision and Barrick Gold in Peru. These projects are still underway, and are receiving increased attention since CIDA announced a shift towards more projects of this kind in November.
The DI has conducted a number of workshops, summits, and published two reports. These and more information about the DI and what it does and does not do are available on the website here: http://www.devonshireinitiative.org/
That's all for now.
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