"Learning Across Borders: Effective Partnerships for Empowering the Poor", the World Bank's capacity building program for Asian NGOs including NGOs from Japan, was held recently in Sri Lanka. During the workshop, the participants engaged with practitioners involved in participatory approaches for empowerment of the poor, learning from each others' experiences, skills and knowledge, as well as the good practices of several projects in Sri Lanka. "Enhancing partnerships among various stockholders, in developing and developed countries, is critical to a successful program for poverty reduction," said Yukio Yoshimura, World Bank Vice President and Special Representative, Japan. "In this regard, I am particularly happy to note that this workshop engaged Japanese and other Asian Pacific stockholders to discuss community driven development."