Development Cooperation
It is the vision of a better world that inspires the Palme Center's development cooperation, the vision of a peaceful world where democracy is the ideal and respect for the individual is the rule. A world where people are not the targets of oppression because of their political beliefs, religion or sexual orientation.
Solidarity is the driving force for our work, the desire to contribute to real results and concrete change. We believe that it is through contact and cooperation that lasting change is achieved. Our work is long-term and rests on the local desire for reform. It is about true solidarity, which liberates the recipient rather than creating a dependence on assistance.
Every year the Palme Center and its member organisations carry out around 300 development projects around the world. The extent of our work has grown rapidly in recent years. What characterises our projects is that they contribute to political and social change, and that respect for human rights is pervasive. Our target group is the poorest of the poor, which also includes poverty in power, the inability to influence one's daily life. The Palme Center also has projects in areas marked by conflicts and political and social instability, such as the western Balkans and the Middle East.
We work together with popular movements and other forces striving to strengthen civil society. We believe that broad popular involvement, through strong trade unions and political parties, are key tools in the long-term work to strengthen and protect human rights.
The Palme Center and its member organisations don't come with ready solutions, but instead with support that is adapted to actual needs. In some cases this involves relatively small contributions, while major projects can go on for longer periods and can involve many participants. This could be financing cooperative projects for women or the difficult task of creating free trade unions in former Communist countries. It can range from education programmes for people taking part in free elections for the first time to creating a coordinated plan to meet the threat of HIV/AIDS.
Cooperation means that a Swedish organisation and a local organisation carry out the project together. Projects often begin on a small scale, with joint planning, defining needs, strategies, and goals. Often the project becomes a force which contributes to real changes in society at large. By cooperating people gain the tools they need to continue to work after the project comes to an end.
Everyone grows and learns in the encounter between those involved in the project, both those in Sweden and those in other parts of the world. An important aspect is ensuring that the experience of new Swedes is taken advantage of. This is how we worked in the Balkans, and this is how we continue to work with organisations, in Iraq for example. By taking advantage of their linguistic abilities, their knowledge of Sweden and Swedish popular movements, and their knowledge of their own countries of origin, we can increase the pace of transformation.
The Palme Center is also responsible for the Social Democrats' democracy assistance to political parties, which is intended to support the creation of democratic political parties. Sweden has long experience in organising elections, building up organisations, and achieving gender equality in political activities. This is an important part of our work to strengthen democracy.