Mission

Building Better Futures

by strengthening democratic

local government

VNG International are experts in strengthening democratic local government in developing countries and countries in transition.
Local governments play a key role in the provision of basic services including water, waste management, health care and housing. They have a profound impact on areas such as safety, food security, rule of law and women’s rights. This is how our projects contribute in a sustainable way to better futures for people, communities and countries.

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‘Two decades of work in the field have demonstrated the crucial role of local governance for social justice and development. Even if national governments are ineffective, local authorities are well-poised to still help constituents access basic rights and inclusive public services.’

Monique van Es,

Senior Project Manager

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‘To me, VNG International is a home full of experience, where I learned a lot about how people can contribute to making a difference in society and improve the quality of life of their community.’

Walid Matouk,

Libya Field Team Manager

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‘For me, the impact of VNG International’s mission comes from the diversity of our projects. From supporting governments in rolling out decentralization reforms, or the coaching of mayors, municipal officials and citizens on their legal rights and competences, to the implementation of pilot projects.

And more specifically in Egypt: from providing technical assistance in topics ranging from water management to real estate taxation to private sector development to training of young leaders.’

Sanna Hyotylainen,

Project Manager

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‘Knowing what needs to be done or having the technical capacity to do what needs to be done is not always enough. The persistence of co-operation with diverse stakeholders, discovering differences in perspectives, and learning from each other’s experiences enhances trust in democratic processes at local level’.

Ülge Ugurly,

Chief Technical Advisor

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‘What inspires me, is VNG International’s approach to build on the energy of those that are disappointed by the dominant bad governance practices, and to revalue, recreate, rebuild good democratic goernance practices’ Thierry Kambere,

Local Governance Senior Expert

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‘Unlocking the potential of local governments drives me every day in the projects that I’m working on. There is so much to gain with stronger local governments in areas like security & rule of law, the provision of basic services, and citizen participation. By doing so, I hope to help towards better futures for people, communities and countries.’

Robert Meerman,

Project Manager

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‘All of the current global transformative agendas need a close involvement of local governments. They translate ‘far away’ international agendas into very concrete measures: waste management systems, health care for everyone, housing opportunities etc. I am personally very motivated to showcase the local efforts at international conferences at UN or EU level; the magic really happens in local communities.’

Jessie Post,

Project Manager

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‘Being part of VNG International allows me to contribute to the strengthening of local governments to develop long-term solutions to the challenges they face in planning, service delivery, and local economic development, and to the strengthening of the local government partnerships with their communities to ensure sustainability.’

Malaz Kawas,

Project Front Officer

Bekaa-Lebanon

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‘The motto ‘nothing about us, without us’ is crucial for interaction between local governments and their citizens, but also in our project management.
I firmly believe in the relevance of our work, because local inclusive governance processes promote peaceful societies and can help achieve stability and human security.’

Sanne van Amerongen,

Project Manager