AUSTRALIA:
Location: Sydney
We are making up for lack of regular Buzz contribution, so this is a brief
report highlighting some activities of many members of ICA Australia.
As many
of you know we are an ICA made up of voluntary members, and much of our work and
activities are done in and through our volunteer study or work places. Many of
these activities may seem small, and are just part of what we do, but then they
all add up to making a difference!
Members have spent more time in Melbourne
working on the archives for ICAA. Members have been actively involved in
launching the Global ToP Research gathering in Taipei in September. The Sydney
Development Circle hosted a lively Forum last month on Indigenous issues facing
Australia, with ICA A members leading this and other Indigenous initiatives. ICA
A members are assisting Zambian-Australian colleagues with strategic planning
and fund-raising for educational projects in Zambia, through the collection of
unwanted 5 cent coins..JUST A 5 CENT COIN! The innovative 0-5 Early Childhood
Program run by Good Beginnings at Ashfield Public School, was the location for
the launch of NAPCAN 's National Champion for Children program, a role taken up
by Therese Rein, our Prime Minister's wife. Students, staff and parents enjoyed
rubbing shoulders with the pollies for the morning!
As an organisation, ICA
Australia continues to specifically support the work of our colleagues in the
Sub-continent and Timor Leste. The ICA A Faculty group continues to hold ToP
module courses, refine the modules, and train new facilitators. Apart from all
this we enjoy a fair bit of inter-town, inter-country visits and gatherings
between various colleagues. You are always welcome.
Robyn Hutchinson rjhutchinson@optusnet.com.au
BANGLADESH:
Location: Dhaka
On 22nd July our current treasurer Moniruzzaman Ripon lost his mother. We were
deeply shocked at the death and consoled him, praying for her departed soul. Aziz,
Faruk, Fuad, Kabir, Manik, Nurul visited him offering their condolences. On 25th July we
attended the religious event for the occasion at their residence in Mirpur.
On 25th
July Aziz met ICA adviser Dr. Mahbub and Dr. Aman at Dhaka University. Aziz,
Fuad and ICA adviser, Mr. Tayebur Rahman visited NGO Affairs Bureau to pursue the
foreign donation registration program. Mr. Tayebur Rahman introduced ICA to his friend
in the Bureau and requested him to accelerate the clearance process .
Staff admin@ica-bangladesh.org
PERU:
Location: Lima
The staff had an intensive week in Lima preparing for a continuous stream of
programming beginning in four weeks, with a holiday week in between. The AVANZA
PERU curriculum was reviewed again, and adjustments made in preparation for the
next program. Several participants were contacted for their reflections on the
program after putting their learnings into practice for several months, a
process which keeps us constantly in contact with the reality of the communities
we serve.
Also, major curriculum work was initiated this week for the DUPLIQUE
SUS RESULTADOS program in December for professional field staff of our partner
institutions. We have 7 staff members involved in this large upgrade of our
curriculum to make the 3-week program an impactful event for these more
experienced participants.
Meanwhile preparations were going on for next week when
Peru celebrates its independence and things pretty much shut down for the week.
The staff is taking discontinuity for 5 days, and then we are all going to
Azpitia for the final weekend to do a workday and have a great celebrative time
together. More about that next week!
Staff admin@ica-peru.org
ICAI:
Location: Montréal
Last week we were busy interviewing candidates for the Development and Communications Officer position and we were fortunate to meet a number of very interesting, talented and motivated candidates. We hope to welcome a new member of staff to support development and communications functions in the very near future.
Renée has been busy supporting fundraising efforts for two different projects: the Schools Program and the HIV/AIDS fundraising event. She has confirmed the venue for this event - the Montreal Intercontinental Hotel – and is working with outside volunteers on arranging the food and entertainment for the evening. In addition to raising money for HIV and AIDS work, the event promises to raise the profile of ICAI in the local community and help spread awareness of the Institute’s work around the world.
Nicolas has continued to support translations of key documents into Spanish, and is also working on a proposal to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to join the International Youth Internship Program, a program which places highly educated and motivated young Canadians in overseas placements.
Next week we welcome Duncan Holmes from ICA Associates to the office for a visit, and look forward on sharing recent news with him. We have also set aside a full day for planning where we will look at the work plans that will take us until the end of 2009.
Staff info@ica-international.org
