Global Buzz 2013 12 01

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ICAI Board Report:

November has been a busy month for ICAI, and December will be busier. We have been preparing for the three online regional gatherings and General Assembly scheduled for December - see below for further details, and please join us if you can! Draft agendas were first circulated to members for consultation when the dates were announced in September, and revised drafts were circulated with further details this month. Please ask for details if you are interested to join.

Also we have been busy following up the last few responses to the ICAI global membership survey that remain outstanding in advance of these meetings. We are grateful to the 34 ICA locations that have already responded, and are urging the last remaining locations to share their responses now. Responses from the first 30 locations were circulated to members this month. These suggest (among other things) that we have at least 152 full-time and 112 part-time employees worldwide, over 170 Board members and 251 ToP trainers; and that over 2,544 people were trained in 193 public ToP courses last year. ToP training and group facilitation are the most common programme areas of ICAs (23 & 25 locations respectively) followed by education, leadership development and community development (20 locations each).

We have updated the global network email list according to the survey responses, and launched new ICAI groups on LinkedIn and Facebook as additional forums for discussion. Working with the global communications team we have drafted a site map for a new, simpler & cleaner ICAI website to be developed next year. Meanwhile the team has been working on the new December issue of ICAI's Winds & Waves magazine.

The December regional gatherings & General Assembly are now only a couple of weeks away. Everyone with an involvement or interest in ICA worldwide is welcome and encouraged to attend and participate in the regional gatherings, so please join us if you can. Voting at the GA will be restricted to one vote per statutory member ICA. Please complete the doodle poll at http://www.doodle.com/yur3hedn4n6r9t8p to see your own local times and to register for the meetings you plan to attend (scroll down for meeting aims):

·         Europe Africa – Mon 9 Dec 12 noon UK time
·         Americas – Tue 10 Dec 3pm UK time
·         Asia Pacific – Wed 11 Dec 10am UK time
·         General Assembly (GA) – Mon 16 Dec 12 noon UK time

Each meeting will last for up to 90 minutes, and each will be preceded by a pre-meeting 30 minutes in advance for orientation to the online meeting technology and for technical support. The meetings will be held on Adbobe Connect, and log-in details will be circulated the week before.

Regional Gathering Aims

1. to connect ICAs and ICA colleagues with each other, and help to build & strengthen relationships between them
2. to share information and facilitate peer-to-peer support and collaboration among ICAs and ICA colleagues
3. to hold ICAI accountable to its members, and seek input & support to strengthen our global network and advance our global mission

General Assembly Aims

1. to take ICAI membership decisions, including approval of Associate & Statutory memberships
2. to take ICAI strategy & policy decisions, to direct the work of the Board and to guide & support the peer-to-peer collaboration among ICAs
3. to hold the ICAI Board accountable to the membership, including by receipt of an annual audited finance report

NEPAL:

November was the month for lights, colors and an election. The result of the election has provided hope for Nepali people and hopefully long term peace should prevail in Nepal. Between the ongoing series of public holidays, festivals, strikes and election momentum, ICA Nepal managed to continue its work in human development through collaboration with various other social organizations and clubs.

Community Development Project:
In the first week of November in Bhalakhala and Challing VDC Bhaktapur, ICA Nepal conducted, Total Sanitation Campaign in coordination with Progressive Women Group and FSA, groups working at the local level. Mr. Ram Prakash Singh, Sanitation Expert facilitated the program. Similarly, the Hand Washing Campaign was organized for the community of Challing VDC where the Rotaract Club of Manohara under the supervision of ICA Nepal facilitated the workshop.

On the second week of November, in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Rudramati and the Centre of Excellence for Ph.D. Studies, ICA Nepal hosted a talk program on the Drinking Water and Sanitation Project in Bhakatpur. The objective of the program was to share the ongoing activities and achievement of the project till date. In the program, the possibility of starting water filter in enterprise was also explored.

Training and Facilitation:
At present, Dr. Job S. Ebenezer, the President of Technology for Poor, is working with ICA Nepal in Appropriate Technology. He is a former director of Environmental Stewardship and Hunger Education at The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). In association with the Rotary Club of Dhulikhel, CDRA and the Chamber of Commerce Banepa, he facilitated a workshop from Nov 24 to Nov. 28 on vertical farming and appropriate technology in Kavre District. From Nov. 30 to Dec 3, he will be facilitating a workshop in Bhaktapur and Kathmandu on the same technology.

From Nov 11 - 14, ICA conducted a 5 day long in house training entitled, Time Management and Motivation for Room to Read, in Bardiya. In coming days, ICA is going to organize several training courses in, Social Mobilization, Result Oriented Leadership & Management, Social Artistry, Facilitation Skills, Gender and Development for Handicap International and ILRA Project GIZ.

The ICA Education Foundation was established as a part of ICA Nepal. Last week the ICA Education Foundation was formally established in Kathmandu. The Foundation aims to provide support to disadvantaged children, particularly those conflict affected, and those orphaned, for their education and accommodation. Dr. Tatwa P. Timsina, Kushendra B. Mahat, Nabraj Baral and Kiran Kasaju are the key office bearers of the Foundation. Juju Raj Tuladhar, Mohan Karki, Krishna Ram Deupala, Hemant Niraula and Ram K. P. Shrestha are the invited members. At present, more than 30 students are supported for their full board and study.