Amid its rich cultural milieu, Paris has seen the rise of many of today’s revered organizations doing aid work. A few have even spawned federations with numerous national chapters in major global regions.
These groups – ranging from donor agencies to advocacy groups and consultancies – are strewn across the city. Agence Française de Développement, the bilateral aid agency, is located in the east, for instance, while the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is in the west, Sofreco is in the northern outskirts, and UNESCO is in the central part of the French capital. Some consultancies are even based in the suburbs.
There are few regular occasions for aid workers in Paris to connect with each other. The government does host a yearly forum called Rendez-vous de l’expertise to allow an exchange among international cooperation practitioners on best practices and their experiences in the field. The event attracts around 300-400 participants, a relatively small number given the hundreds and even thousands that are employed by some organizations listed below.