The Human Development International though was founded in 1990 in Tokyo by John Ryan Largo a communications consultant/lecturer at the United Nations Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific; its conceptualization has gone years of metamorphosis. It started when the Founder established the Media Research and Promotions Philippine, Inc., in 1982 that specialized in “development communication” whose activities were focused in Davao City at a time when it was made as an experimental ground by the communist on its urban guerrilla movement that put the city into chaos and economic stagnation. It was a city under siege where people lived in constant fear and whose “dignity as human beings” has become meaningless as executions were a daily occurrence. This was aggravated by the tyrant dictatorial regime of Ferdinand Marcos where human freedom was suppressed and a regime besieged by insurgency, separatist movement, economic crisis and people losing confidence in government. It was under these circumstances where the Human Development International started to evolve.

This was further fueled in 1985-1987 when the Founder served as a United Nations Volunteer Specialist at the Open University of Sri Lanka (UNDP-UNESCO Project) where he found himself amidst people suffering from grave socio-economic deprivation that was exacerbated by fighting between the government and the Tamils Separatist,. These experiences got a boost in 1988 when he was posted at the United Nations Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific in Tokyo where he had accessed to statistical information on socio-economic situation of countries in the Asia-Pacific, participating countries in Africa, South America and the Middle East; and the breakaway Republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic where the institute was tasked to strengthened its statistical capability. The amalgamation process got its final punch when the Founder became a staff of UNDP “Human Development Program” in Tokyo that gave him a good grasp on the “human development concept” that put people as the central focus and ultimate end in development; and further being a film maker of the United Nations on human development topics such as poverty, women count but are not counted, infant mortality, and many others that were used in the national statistical training centers in the ESCAP Region (Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific) and other collaborating governments. This gave insight as to the name of the organization and concretized the whole organizational concept that eventually led to its establishment in 1990.

All these human experiences of the Founder from 1982 to 1990 that cover his travels, service as a United Nations Volunteer Specialist and Consultant, interaction with people of different races, nationalities, religion and culture in many countries have led to the establishment of the Human Development International that supports United Nations thrust on volunteerism and sustainable human development. HDI metamorphosis did not stop when it was established in 1990 but continued through the years as it solidify its ideological concept and strengthen its approach to suite the ever changing challenges as it moves forward with mounting momentum as mover for change toward the promotion of peace consciousness, human development and the preservation of Mother Nature.

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