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This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
Remarks of J. Brian Atwood, USAID Administrator
at the Swearing-In Ceremony for
John Grant as USAID Mission Director, Bulgaria January 25, 1999
Thank you, Don. John, I wish to extend my warmest congratulations to you and your family. I’m sure that this is a very proud moment for them.I think that it might be an understatement to say that development runs in John’s blood. He is the fourth generation of his family to devote his career to serving the people of developing nations.
John’s great-grandfather was a medical missionary in China, and his grandfather was a pioneer in international public health -- working in China and India.
I was fortunate enough to have known John’s father, Jim Grant. Jim worked for USAID and the State Department for almost 20 years before leaving government to found the Overseas Development Council. Many of us knew Jim Grant best as Executive Director of UNICEF where he launched the Child Survival revolution and provided dynamic leadership to the international development community for more than 15 years. We are fortunate that John decided to continue this illustrious family tradition.
I want to highlight the fact that John has already made his own distinctive mark on international development -- and has much to offer the ENI Bureau and the Bulgarian program.
Don Pressley has just commented on John’s extensive experience in India, Togo and Latin America. I would like to say a word or two about his accomplishments in his current job as director of the Office of Private and Voluntary Cooperation, which we call PVC.
As most of you know, PVC is USAID’s lead office for work with the private voluntary organizations (PVOs) and cooperative development organizations. I consider it one of our most important offices in Washington. With an annual budget of more than $55 million and programs in more than 120 countries, directing it is a major responsibility.
John has brought vision, leadership and tremendous energy to this important job. He recognized the enormous potential of the PVO community and has reached out to strengthen USAID’s partnership with the community in a broad range of areas. Under his leadership, the PVC office has become a center of innovation where USAID and the PVO community are working together on a series of cutting edge initiatives. These range from establishment of a Corporate Community Investment Network for partnering between PVOs and business to the development of creative new tools to assess PVO organizational capacity. Under John’s stewardship, the Advisory Committee On Voluntary Foreign Aid (ACVFA) has been a dynamic forum and an important source of advice and guidance for me and my senior staff. ACVFA has focussed on critical policy issues of importance to USAID and the PVO community – including our systems for reporting results and our approaches to working with civil society. Unfortunately, Bill Reese, the Chairman of ACVFA, could not be here today, but asked that I bring you the following message: "John, my fellow ACVFA colleagues join me, resoundingly in wishing you the very best as you head off to Bulgaria."PVC is the central point, the key pivotal engagement point, for the AID-PVO partnership. Your 'open door,' your energetic manner, your receptive mind, and your commitment to action have helped the ACVFA -- and the whole PVO community -- tighten and strengthen its working relationships with USAID. Bill concludes his message by saying, "You go to Sofia with our respect, affection, and loyalty."
As many of you know, I tapped the leadership of the last ACVFA to enrich USAID’s senior management team by bringing both Tom Fox and Vivian Derryck on board as Assistant Administrators. John has a particular passion for strengthening the capability of local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the developing world. He has provided important leadership in this area for the agency, the PVOs and the international development community. He also has actively encouraged U.S. PVOs to partner with local NGOs through his grants programs. He was one of the key instigators, along with Cathryn Thorup, of our New Partnerships Initiative. This initiative seeks creative ways to strengthen NGOs and other civil society organizations and to promote more active collaboration between NGOs, government and business at the local and national levels.
John has also been a driving force in organizing the new International Forum on Capacity Building for Southern NGOS. This forum brings together more than 150 major donors and NGOs from around the world for a frank dialogue on how we can do a better job as a community of responding to the strengthening needs of NGOs and other civil society organizations in the developing world.
This experience has great relevance for Bulgaria, where one of the cornerstones of our strategy is to strengthen emerging NGOs and civil society organizations. We are striving to build their capacity to engage effectively in the political process and to help sustain the economic and legal reforms after USAID leaves the country. Bulgaria has also been one of the Agency’s leading edge missions in the New Partnership Initiative, focussed on strengthening the ties between local government, business and NGOs at the local level – making John and the mission a perfect fit. John, as you know, you are going to Bulgaria at an exciting and propitious time. A progressive government is in place and pushing forward on both economic and social reforms. Our program is well positioned to support that process. At the same time, we recognize that the path to market reform is a long and challenging one and the Bulgaria program will need all the talent and energy you bring to it.
We all wish you the very best as you take up this exciting new challenge.
Presentation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Last month the world marked the 50th anniversary of the United Nations’ approval of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. To commit USAID firmly to the principles of human rights, as an essential foundation of our work, I have directed that a special copy of the declaration be presented to each new mission director. As with every mission director, John, I now ask you to seek every opportunity to incorporate human rights principles into the institutional framework and daily development activities of your mission. John, it is a special pleasure to present this copy of the Universal Declaration to someone whose life and family tradition is deeply committed to the principles of the Universal Declaration.
Ambassador Dimitrov Introduction
We are honored to have Ambassador Phillip Dimitrov here with us today. Ambassador Dimitrov played a pivotal role in organizing Bulgaria’s democratic reform movement and served as Prime Minister of Bulgaria during a crucial period in the early 1990s. He has only been here at his new post for a few days, and we are delighted to welcome him to our country. Ambassador Dimitrov --
This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.
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Last Updated on: July 12, 2001 |
