Reflections on reform with Bjarne Christensen

Bjarne Christensen

Secretary General of the Danish Family Planning Association

Transcript

Hello I am Bjarne Christensen, Secretary General of the Danish Family Planning Association, since 1998.

Having been part of IPPF for the last 20 years I was really shocked when I got the message that Western Hemisphere wanted to leave the Federation. 

When I got the message that the director general and senior staffs wanted to leave and latest when I saw the results of the survey given round to the MAs and volunteers all over the world, actually having such a huge number of critics of how IPPF was functioning right now and before. 

I think the task of coming up with a new solution of how IPPF could get on its feet and reorganise itself seems very, very huge and quite impossible within a few months’ time. For the last four months I will say that it is quite encouraging actually to have been involved in discussions with colleagues from MAs all over the world in the region and in our own MA and really felt the energy and the will to find solutions of how IPPF could come out as a stronger Federation in the future.  I think we have never discussed IPPF as much as we have done in these past few months and never had so many interactions between ourselves and MAs all over the world. 

I have just sent in our comments to the survey and to the suggestions from the two commissions, and let me start saying that I would really like to thank the commissions for the great work they have done.  I think it’s a few tasks that they have taken on and they have really come up with some fine drafts we can comment on. 

Of course, there are still many issues and many questions which need to be clear and clarified and there are some decisions that we need to take, but all-in-all our judgement is that the proposed model actually could work for IPPF.  As we see it, it puts MAs more at the centre of the Federation and it increases the possibility of stronger links between different entities and the MAs in the Federation.  It provides clear clarity on the roles and responsibilities of the various layers of governments.  It has the potential of diffusing regional power games, it appears more lean and those potential (2.48) ******* with the critical of IPPF’s ability to respond to ever changing needs and priorities and the focuses on competencies and diversity in the Board of Trustees is also a strength. 

Many questions still need to be answered and developed but I do hope and believe that this will be possible.  Not only because I really fear for what will happen to IPPF if we don’t find the answers but more because I also see that this has the potential for getting a more stronger and much more forceful IBPF who can fight for reproductive rights and sexual rights all over the globe.  So, I really hope together that we can make the new IPPF come out of this.

Warm greetings to all of you and I look forward to seeing many of you in Delhi, India in a few weeks’ time.  Thank you.

If you would like to share a video relating to the reform proposals, please get in touch with the reform team: ippfreform@ippf.org