BANGLADESH:
Location:
ICA members and staff are back from Eid vacation. Pintu and Fuad have been doing office work regularly as of December 5th.
Nurul got married on the 4th of December.
Aziz met Valerie from Labopharm at the Hilton Hotel on December 1st in Toronto. They are exploring opportunities for a partnership project on a health clinic in Bangladesh. This meeting was the consequence of much correspondence over the past several months.
Aziz visited the ICA International office in Montreal on December 8th and handed in the workshop report funded by the Global Forest Coalition as well as a book on deforestation and forest degradation in Bangladesh. He officially handed this in to the Director of Programs, Michael Watson. He also had the pleasure of meeting Flora Rosenow, one of the interns.
Aziz took part in an international conference on December 7-9th at the Centre Mont Royal in Montreal hosted by the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC). He had a chance to meet its executive Director on the 9th of December and he also represented ICA Bangladesh in its research and community program interventions.
Staff admin@ica-bangladesh.org
ICA ASSOCIATES INC. (Canada)
Location: Canada
John Miller facilitated a planning workshop with the Canadian Environmental
Grantwriters Network.
Bill taught another Community Development module with the
Greater Toronto United Way. He also taught Group Facilitation Methods in our
training centre. We added an extra course in our public training schedule order
to keep up with the demand for the course.
Lucille Michaud, one of our ToP
Facilitation associates will begin sponsoring public ICA courses for leaders of
Aboriginal Communities and Organizations in Northwest Ontario and Western
Manitoba. Lucille is a Certified ToP Facilitator and is preparing to be an
accredited ToP Trainer.
Jo Nelson taught a Group Facilitation Methods course as
the first course in that series
Wayne Nelson wnelson@ica-associates.ca
NEPAL:
Location: Kathmandu
This week, the ICA Nepal staff was busy organising an interactive event in Changunarayan, Bhaktapur. Mr. Sudan Paudel, Treasurer of the organization led the event. ICA organized a one day fair with interaction, cultural shows, local visit etc. More than 400 local people visited the programme. The programme was carried out as a part of TUC supported activities. TUC Japan through ICA Japan has been supporting the Centre for the last 7 years. Mr. Deepak Bhattarai, Dean of the local Engineering College, and other dignitaries shared information about the importance of local development and highlighted the role of ICA in community transformation. Mr. Sudan Paudel, of ICA, reiterated the importance of participation in local development and stated how ICA tools helped in transforming the Changunarayan community. ICA Nepal has been implementing a series of development activities in the area.
See more photos here:http://icai-members.org/buzz/7daysupport/pics-pages/nepal-01.htm
ICA Nepal also participated in a 5 day long 'alternative book exhibition' organized by Himal Associates as a part of 'International Mountain Festival' which started on Dec.10th. Along with ICA, 15 other leading NGOs participated in the book show which was visited by more than 50 000 people. In Far Western area, ICA has been carrying out massive community development activities through leadership development, strategic planning and project implementation. In the last few weeks, ICA organized 12 events, which ranged from 2 to 7 days, at different locations. ICA also organized World AIDS Day and Human Rights Day activities which were attended by thousands of people in the community. In some areas, people told how they were participating in that kind of programme for the first time in their life. With the help of MISEREOR, ICA is involved in community transformation activities in one of the most remote and poorest areas of the world.
Tatwa ica@icanep.wlink.com.np
TAIWAN:
Location: Taiwan
We celebrate the completed life of Evelyn's father as she and Larry go to
California to be with family and stay through Christmas. Larry picks up a lot
of air mileage as he does a second Leadership Training Module for a long-time
multi-national client in Korea, Begins a series of programs with a new client
back in Taiwan, and as he and Laura travel to Washington DC for a reflection with the
UN training team, Then to New York for a 3-day UN program, to Northern
Ireland where he joins Martin Galbraith for a program with ICA UK, and finally
to Geneva for another UN program.
In Taiwan we continue with facilitation
colleagues and clients in coaching and healing sessions, host the monthly
Dreamwork group, use the book Real Power for our monthly FCP learning session,
and facilitate our newly revised Dialogue Course.
Dick joins the Springboard
group in the book study on Global Shift. Two major events have been our annual
Thanksgiving Party, with some 70 colleagues, for turkey, dressing and all the
other goodies that appear in a pot-luck, and the receiving of our renewed 3-year
work permits and visas.
Gail icataiw@ms69.hinet.net
ICA International:
Location: Montreal
Lambert continues to attend the 15th Conference of Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he and colleagues are advocating for an ambitious, fair, and enforceable post-Kyoto agreement. The meeting runs from the 7th to the 18th of December, and representatives from every government on the planet, including many heads of state, are in attendance. Through its first week the meeting has had ups and downs, and the outcomes are still very uncertain. Much will happen in this final week, and much depends on what key countries, such as the United States and China decide to do.
Many countries are realizing that a strong international agreement is not an option, but a necessity. According to a report on www.350.org “Countries on the front lines of climate change--like small pacific islands and many drought-inflicted African countries--are taking stronger stances and refusing to accept the limp compromises currently on the negotiating table. There is a growing understanding that simply getting a deal in Copenhagen is not the point--that any deal that does not point us towards 350 is, in a very real sense, a failure.” (350 parts per million is the concentration of C02 in the atmosphere that is considered the safe upper limit above which serious consequences occur. We have already passed 350ppm – the goal now has to be to reduce and stabilize).
For clear and objective daily reports of the event, please visit: http://www.iisd.ca/climate/cop15/
You should also visit http://www.panda.org/how_you_can_help/greenliving/footprint_calculator/ to calculate your footprint and see how you can reduce your impact. You can also visit www.350.org to join a campaign to reduce the climate crisis.
Every voice counts – please ensure that you contact your local leaders and tell them that you want action on climate change, and think about what you and your organization can do to reduce your carbon footprint.
Michael returned this past week from Barcelona, where he was attending the EIBTM meeting professionals trade show. Michael was sponsored to attend by the organizers and was joined by a number of colleagues from other Montreal-based organizations. The event allows those who are involved in organizing and planning meetings and events to build connections with and learn from others in the industry. There were many representatives from cities and meeting venues, as well as suppliers of technology and solutions.
Flora and Peter have been working hard on further refinements to the Working Gifts site, and the hard work is paying off, as many customers are buying gifts! Flora is also working to wrap up all of her tasks, as her internship comes quickly to a close: this week will be her final week at ICA International.
This week we also say goodbye to Julia Bergel, who has been our office manager this past year. Julia quickly became an integral part of the team, and her organizational skills, good humor, patience, and willingness to learn made her a wonderful addition to our staff. She will certainly be missed. Julia thanks all her colleagues at ICA’s around the world with whom she had the opportunity to work.
She will be leaving to work with her family business, and will remain in Montreal. We thank her for her wonderful contributions, and wish her all the best in the future.
On Friday afternoon we hosted a small gathering at the office to welcome new interns, to say goodbye to Julia and Flora, and to thank current and former staff and local volunteers. It was a wonderful opportunity to bring people together to share some food and conversation and to celebrate the holiday season.
Staff info@ica-international.org
