DEVELOPMENT EXPERTS. XU-GLI director Dr Dixon Yasay (second from right) poses with fellow resource persons and panelists at the 2016 International Conference on Urban Development in Pasay City. Photo by Alex Brillantes.

Report by Wilson J Hormeguera

Xavier University’s Governance and Leadership Institute (GLI) director Dr Dixon Q Yasay served as member of the panel at the recently-concluded 2016 International Conference on Urban Development organized by USAID through its Strengthening Urban Resilience for Growth with Equity (SURGE) Project in Pasay City.

Yasay’s talk on Promoting Innovation through Human Capital Development encouraged participants to put premium value on human resources as the “main drivers of sustainable growth and development of the organization.”

The conference, according to SURGE Project acting chief David Grossman, was the country’s biggest international confab on urban development geared towards addressing the urbanization challenges of emerging secondary cities.

More than 1,200 experts, business leaders, change-makers in government, representatives from donor agencies, professional organizations, civil society groups, and students of urban development interacted with chief executive officers from different Philippine cities and representatives from international sister cities as well as thought leaders from the United States of America, United Kingdom, India, Mexico, and the Netherlands.

USAID-SURGE, a five-year US$47-million project, aims to foster the development conditions for broad-based, inclusive, and resilient economic growth for a critical mass of cities and surrounding areas outside Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao.

The said international confab was organized in partnership with the World Bank, United Nations Human Settlements Programme, National Competitiveness Council, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government. ∎