ICA International

Enjoy catching up with what is happening in ICAs across the globe.....If you wish to SEND a report...send to your ICA contact person OR...go to the members section on the ICA International website

Global Buzz Report: November 2015

To view past issues of Global Buzz: Please see here
To view past issues of Network Exchange: Please see here

To view past issues of Winds & Waves magazine: Please see here
Note: any problems previously experienced with the archived issues of the above have been rectified


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ICAI Board Report:

The ICAI Board at its October Board meeting was happy to approve requests for financial support toward two ICA regional gatherings that are coming up soon.

The ICA Europe MENA gathering to be hosted by ICA Netherlands near Amersfoort from November 20-22 is expecting around 24 participants from most ICAs in Europe, plus ICA MENA from Egypt and ICA colleagues from Poland, Moldova and Kazakhstan.  The programme is planned to include sharing of stories and exploring shared values and ICA methods, as well as preparing for the 2016 ICAI Global Conference to be convened in partnership with Initiatives of Change in Switzerland next year.

The ICA Asia Pacific gathering to be hosted by ICA India near Pune from November 29-December 5 is expecting around 30 participants from most ICAs in that region, plus colleagues of IAF India .  The programme will include training, site visits and excursions as well as workshops in preparation for the 2016 Global Conference. 

It is not too late to register for either event - for details please contact ICA Netherlands or ICA India directly, or contact us

We were delighted to hear during the Board meeting of the successful ICA West Africa regional gathering hosted by ICA Cote d'Ivoire near Abidjan in September.

Also during the Board meeting we began to prepare for the online ICAI General Assembly meetings to be held on Thursday 10 December at 10am UK & 5pm UK time, followed by asynchronous voting over 10 days by surveymonkey.  ICAI members and colleagues are encouraged to save the date, and ensure that their statutory membership dues are renewed if necessary before the GA vote.  We have received completed applications for Associate membership from ICA partners NCOC Kenya and SCR Kenya

Following the Board meeting, Board members spent time familiarising themselves with the workings of the new ICAI website, in order to be able to update their own Board member profiles and support member ICAs in their regions to update their ICA profiles and post news updates.  Meet the first to have done so - ICAI members Emerging Ecology USA, ICA:UK, Bospo BiH, SNF Uganda & Lambassa ICA Benin and ICAI Board members Staci Kentish, Svetlana Salamtova and myself.   News updates have been posted from ICA Netherlands, Lambassa ICA Benin, ORP Institute Korea, ICA Chile and ICA Cote d'Ivoire.  Member ICAs are encouraged to contact us for any support they might need to start using the new website themselves.

Also during the month we have been in contact with partners of ICA:UK and ICA Ukraine interested in starting new ICAs or ToP networks in Poland, Russia and Kazakhstan, and with colleagues of NIRADO Nigeria and Itereleng ICA South Africa working on renewing ICAs on those countries.

We have continued to support the work of the ICAI Global ToP Policy working group and the ICAI 2016 Global Conference working group, each of which met online at least once during October.  The Global ToP policy group has prepared a survey for circulation soon to member ICAs to gather baseline data on current ToP facilitation, training and CTF certification activity and capacity of member ICAs around the world.  The Global Conference working group  is in conversation with the IofC Caux Foundation to identify and invite IofC representatives to join a joint conference team with a view to next agreeing an overall theme.

Martin Gilbraith          president@ica-international.org


WINDS and WAVES Editorial Team:

Submission of articles for our Winds and Waves Magazine
are always welcome

Do you have a story to tell?
Please see here


BANGLADESH:

Shakhawat performed a miracle for the first time by offering a special food basket on the eve of Eid, to be shared among the street kids of ICA’s Phulki School project in Dhaka City. Sugar, milk, rice, and noodles were in the packs. Their teacher got her salary as well, though we are facing fundraising issues.

The children are very attentive to their studies according to the report from their school teacher. Every month we visit and a new team has been formed to monitor the the school activities.

Two executive committee meetings and one general meeting were held in August before Aziz left for Canada to continue his studies. Since then he has been continuously guiding us and volunteering for ICA from Canada. The meetings helped us to develop an action plan. An item on the agenda at each meeting, was for a discussion of the need for fundraising for Phulki and the Ghoramara School, from local and overseas sources.

Shakhawat Hossain           shakhawat.cps@gmail.com


COTE D'IVOIRE:

English

Le mois d’octobre, mois d’élection présidentiel dans notre pays n’a pas freiné la volonté des agents de ICA-CI et des bénéficiaires du projet de continuer les activités. Surtout que nous avons reçu la visite son Excellence Monsieur Kawamura Ambassadeur du Japon en Côte d’Ivoire le 29 septembre 2015 pour nous motiver dans notre recherche de contribuer avec l’appui financier de son gouvernement pour l’exécution du projet de réinsertion des jeunes de l’Agneby-Tiassa.

Le personnel a durant ce mois travaillé sur le deuxième cycle des élevages de poulets, des mises en place des serres et de l’entretien des plantations de palmiers.

Le village d’Aboudé Boa Vincent a commencé à vendre ces poulets du deuxième cycle d’élevage de poulet, tandis que les poussins d’Aboudé Dadié sont à plus 15 jours. Pour les autres villages ils attendaient les résultats des élections présidentiel pour passer les commandent de leurs poussins.

Le programme de culture maraîchère se poursuit avec les cultures sous serre et la construction des serres dans deux autres villages. Les premières plantes se développent bien et les citrouilles sont rentrées en fleurs. Au niveau de l’agroforesterie les bénéficiaires sont en pleine préparation pour la culture du haricot et l’installation des grillages pour la protection des plants de palmiers contre les rongeurs.     

Bien sur le mois de septembre qui a été très riche en activité, nous avons eu la formation en développement communautaire, donné par monsieur Wayne du 09 au  14 septembre 2015 aux bénéficiaires pour leur permettre de savoir faire un plan d’action et voir qu’ils peuvent planifier eux-mêmes leurs activités avenir grâce à leur volonté d’apporter un changement dans leur communauté.

Nous avons aussi pu tenir la conférence sous régionale au tour du thème Développement Communautaire Facteur d’Intégration Sociale et d’Emergence Economique. Cette rencontre sous régionale qui nous a permis de réfléchir sur ce grand thème et ses sous thèmes, a donné l’occasion aux différents Directeurs présent de mener une réflexion sur le principe de l’intégration sous régionale à travers l’exécution d’un projet commun.  Les trois rencontres que nous avons eu entre nous directeur à permis de ressortir une idée de projet intégrateur, qui se résume en trois volets à savoir : l’éducation de base (préscolaire et primaire, l’agriculture et la santé primaire).




October was the month of the presidential election in our country and it has not dampened the willingness of ICA-CI agents and the beneficiaries of our projects to continue their activities. Especially the Ambassador of Japan in Côte d’Ivoire, his Excellency Mister Kawamura who accepted an invitation to visit us on 29 September 2015 and to motivate us in our quest for help, with the financial support of his government, for the implementation of youth reintegration projects in Agneby-Tiassa. During that month, the staff worked on the second cycle of chicken farms, set up a vinyl house, and maintained the palm plantations.

The village of Aboudé Boa Vincent began selling the chickens from the second chicken farming cycle, Aboudé Dadié also started their second cycle over the past15 days. For other villages they have to await the results of the Presidential elections to pass control of their chicks.

The vegetable farm program continues with a vinyl house and the construction of greenhouses in two other villages. The first plants are growing well and the pumpkins have been in bloom. At agroforestry beneficiaries, they are in full preparation for the growing of beans and the installation of netting to protect the palm seedlings against rodents.

The month of September was very rich with activity, we had a training session in community development, that was given by Mr. Wayne, from September 9 to 14. This was given to the beneficiaries to help them form an action plan, and to see that they can plan their own future activities through their willingness to make a change in their community.

We were also able to hold the regional conference under the theme around the Community Development and Social Integration Factor of Economic Emergence. This sub-regional meeting that allowed us to reflect on this great theme and sub themes provided an opportunity to present different directors to reflect on the principle of sub-regional integration through the implementation of a project commune. The three meetings that we had between us helped us form the idea of an integrative project, which can be summarized in three parts, namely: basic education, (preschool and elementary, primary agriculture and primary health).

Eugène KOUAME           konaneug@gmail.com


INDIA:

Financial Support Report

Adivasi Ashram Shalla in Chikhale Village

March 2014 – August 2015

This report outlines the scale and utilization of the financial support sent to the Adivasi Ashram Shalla in Chikhale Village by Emerging Ecology during the period March 2014 through August 2015.  Nelson Stover, President of Emerging Ecology, and Vijay Lokhande, Chairman of The Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA) India, prepared this report for distribution to the friends of Emerging Ecology board and the US donors who support the Adivasi Ashram Shalla through the auspices of Emerging Ecology.

During the period involved, four transfers of funds were made by Emerging Ecology to ICA India.  These funds were designated for use by the Chikhale School and were transferred to the school’s accounts.  Receipt of the funds was confirmed by email and they were converted into Indian Rupees for use by the school.    In total, $8,685.50 was sent for the school.

Emerging Ecology continues to raise money for the school through both personal visits and a donations page on its website:  www.emergingecology.org/donate.html.  Unless otherwise designated, funds go toward cultural enrichment programs and costs associated with upper grade students taking their end-of-year exams.

During his visit to Greensboro in July, 2014, Vijay worked with Nelson to compile a detailed analysis of the school’s annual spending.  Based on these calculations, they concluded that:  a) the average annual total cost for enabling the upper grade students to take their year-end exams amounted to $2,648.00, b) the school spends $6,475.00 on outings and cultural events per year and c) the average annual cost per student for food, staff, materials and all other expenses (excluding major capital costs) comes to $424.00.

The money sent in July 2014 was used to cover a portion of the year-end exam costs for the 2013-’14 school year.

The money transmitted in October 2014 was used for improving the physical condition of the classrooms.  Much of this money was contributed by an American couple who visited Chikhale while they were on a family trip through India.  The money was used to purchase 40 new desk/bench modules at a cost of approximately $50/desk.  This allowed all of the students in the 4th standard and above to have adequate classroom seating. The photo at the right was taken in January 2015 after the project had been completed.

The funds sent in February 2015 were used to cover the travel and related costs for the 2015 year-end examinations.

During his visit to Greensboro in July 2015, Vijay had specific conversations with several people who had previously contributed to the school.  He talked to them regarding upgrading the kitchen at the school.  Due to rising gas costs, the school was in arrears on paying for the gas cylinders used for cooking.  Recently, a new high-efficiency steam boiler had been donated to the school along with special cooking vats (see photos).  However, additional funds were required to install the devices and provide the fittings and insulation for the equipment.  Vijay estimated the total cost for the back-due gas and up-coming boiler installation would total $3,000.  Three families made special contributions for this purpose.  The balance of the money sent in July, 2015 was used for exam expenses and cultural programs for the 2014-’15 school year.

These funds, along with all of the other financial support and encouragement from international visitors and local businesses and service groups, augmented the quality work of the faculty to produce excellent test results at the end of the school year.  All 82 students that completed the 12th grade passed their state exams.  Among the 9 girls and 38 boys in the Arts Section, three had marks over 63%.  Likewise, in the Science Section, 6 girls and 29 boys passed the final exam; three had marks over 63%.  Seventy students (31 girls and 39 boys) took the 10th grade exam and 69 passed.  Three girls had the highest marks, with averages above 78%.  The pride of the students was evident during their parade through Chikhale Village on Republic Day (photo at right).

The school held its 25th Anniversary celebration in January 2015.  A former State Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development for the Government of India served as the chief guest for the event.  After speechs and awards, the students presented a three-hour long cultural program featuring traditional and contemporary dances by students from all the grade levels.  By the end of the evening, the school courtyard was filled with students, their families and many of the Chikhale villagers.  All of the more than 3,000 people had come to enjoy the festivities.         

For additional information about the Adivasi Ashram Shalla in Chikhale contact

Nelson Stover,           NStover@EmergingEcology.org

 

JAPAN:

For ICA Japan, beginning of October started by participating in Global Festa 2015. This is an annual event in Japan for international cooperation and variety of non-profits, embassies, companies, agencies participate. This year we had booth with photos pinned up from our projects in India, Cote d’Ivoire, and Fukushima, Japan. We were very happy to share about our projects and to learn what other organizations are doing in this field.


Fukushima:
Our director and one of the participants from Fukushima horticulture activity presented at International Atomic Energy Agency’s International Conference in Fukui prefecture on Oct5-6th. Also in November, three villages are planning to plant flowers with their residents.

India Bihar:
Second stage construction for the two community centers are almost finished. The third village has just settled the land dispute, and the contractor has just begun on the ground work for the third multi-purpose center. When completed, we will have finished 8 centers and done a variety of trainings in each village.


Cote d’Ivoire:
Community Development and Action Planning were held in all 6 villages of the project. After learning the Economic Principles, the villagers changed their minds, and build big plans that they could implement themselves, including raising enough more crops to fund building pre-schools in three villages.


Cote d’Ivoire continued:
The structures of the vinyl house for growing vegetables are done in a couple of villages. Most of the participants sold their chickens locally, and some already started their second raising of the chicks.

In parallel to these activities, the first ICA Regional Conference was held for six ICA’s and Associate ICA’s in September. They had workshop reports for Sustainable Community Development, Advanced Agriculture Technology, and Transformed Education, with plans they are sharing across Western Africa.

Nepal:
Our government has officially approved a new project in Nepal. We plan to restore the community center that ICA built years ago but has been damaged due to the earthquake this year.
This center will be used to support the victims of the earthquake, especially women, children and elderly by several activities. Shown is the inauguration in 2003, and we will both restore the building to its former greatness and also add many new facilities to care for children.

Reported by staff           staff@icajapan.org


NEPAL:

Amid chaos, when the whole country is reeling under a fuel crisis owing to the unofficial blockade of the border points, we celebrated our biggest festival, Dashain, this month.

ICA Nepal had been working with ICA Australia and various other generous people in order to build a permanent facility for people with difficulty at DSC (Disabled Service Center). At the end of October the facility has been completed and the members at DSC are all set to settle there. They are however awaiting the time to move in.

The devastating quake of April 25, which left the country shattered, had also destroyed the house in which PWDs had resided. With continuous effort of ICA Nepal and financial support from ICA Australia, in collaboration with various other generous donors, ICA Nepal started the reconstruction last month and now the construction is complete. The house which has six rooms altogether: two bedrooms, one for male and one for female, a toilet and a kitchen, was constructed using prefab technology and is earthquake resistant. The new facility can house 20-25 people.

On 4th of October, ICA Nepal in collaboration with the Saipal Cultural Art Centre, and Mr. K.B. Simple, organised a one-day Social Artistry Training on Chhapudi and women's health. It was carried out in the farflung village of Hildim-9, Simikot, Humla. Chhaupadi is a very common practice plaguing the heavenly beautiful district of the Karnali zone and especially Hildam. Women are forced to live as animals for 4-5 days a month during their menstrual cycle which is known as Chhaupadi. The tradition is deeply rooted in the rural community and lack of awareness and illiteracy, are held responsible for the continuity of such an extreme tradition.

The training was aimed at raising awareness and collecting positive suggestions regarding women health and also minimizing the impact of Chhaupadi in the remote parts of Nepal. Altogether 33 women and 7 men participated in the training.

Prepared by, Bnita Subedi          subedibinita93@gmail.com


TAIWAN:

ICA Taiwan Report for September and October 2015

Events September
-Strategy Workshop with Trend Micro in Okinawa, Japan Sept.  Larry and Evelyn
-Dialogue Course Hong Kong 18 people Sept. Larry and Evelyn
-IAF Hong Kong Facilitator Forum on personal planning Larry and Evelyn
-Transformational Action Planning in Taipei on 12 September Larry and Gail
-Bangkok UN Module I, September  Larry
-Open Space Exchange monthly meeting held Gail and Dick
-Truth About Life Dick and Gail
-DreamWork Saturday with Bill Stimson at ICA Dick
-Mentoring and Personal Planning Dick

Events October
-UN OCHA New York Larry
-Dialogue on Haiti in Brooklyn Interchange Larry
-Transformational Scenario Planning and Participatory Strategic Planning presentation (12 villages and 4 dept. multi discipline approach) for Tainan Cheng Kung University – Larry & Yahui
-Dialogue & Compassionate Listening teacher prof. dev. Day at Tainan CKU Larry & Evelyn
-Larry Philbrook accepted into International Association of Facilitator’s Hall of Fame for 2015
-PSP held in Beijing with Paulina Hsu and Larry with 19 people
-Facilitator Forum IAF team Beijing 40 people on Song, Story and Symbol-LP
-Dialogue Course Taipei: 25 people. Oct. LP, Frieda, Paulina, support Eric/Evelyn
Open Space Exchange monthly meeting held Gail and Dick
-Truth About Life Dick and Gail
-DreamWork Saturday with Bill Stimson at ICA Dick
-Mentoring and Personal Strategic Planning Dick
-Non-Violent Communication, Evelyn attends C.P. Yen Foundation, Sisters of Good Shepard, and law firm sponsored program for two days called “Heart of the Matter”.
-Open Space with 85 HS and College students sponsored by Ministry of Education Youth Development Association on future of Education Gail and Shu-fang

Peer to Peer,
-Prep  virtual meeting on Asia Pacific Regional Meeting in Pune India Nov. 29-Dec. 4th
-First virtual Global Conf 2016 meeting with J. Dudding held in Sept. to discuss collaboration with Initiatives of Change International and tentative dates for August 6 – 12 Lake Geneva, Switz.
-ToP Policy Group virtual meetings held Sept. and Oct.
-ToP Policy Survey Preparation for all members projected for October and November.

Challenges:
How to movementalize/ deepen the ToP community toward service.

Coming Courses:
Pune-Talegoan Pre conf. ICA Taiwan GFM Training Nov. 27 & 28
Pune-Talegoan ICA Asia Pacific Regional Meeting Nov. 29-Dec.4, 2015
(Mark will train us on post trauma GFC) (Tatwa wkshop on Leadership Development)
Aditi Learning Centre Social Artistry for teachers Dec. 5, 2014 &
Chikale School  Social Artistry  for teachers Dec. 6, 2015
Pune-Talegoan ICA Taiwan Imaginal Learning Dec. 7 & 8, 2015
Taipei ICA Public Course: Spirit of Facilitation December 12 & 13, 2015

Evelyn Philbrook            joyful@icatw.com


UNITED STATES:

ICA GreenRise as a Community Sustainability Hub

ICA GreenRise continues to grow as a demonstration of sustainability on Chicago’s north side, using both its historic building and programming to support local community efforts. GreenRise’s community of tenants is expanding this May, welcoming long-time Uptown fixture Lawrence House Pharmacy. Lawrence House was recently sold to a new developer, and ICA GreenRise is happy to allow the pharmacy to continue serving the community from the other side of Lawrence Avenue.

ICA GreenRise aims to support the family-owned pharmacy and other tenants of the building by connecting them to one another and continuing to grow as a community hub. The 2014 Solar Launch and Uptown Share Fair was a great launch of these efforts.

Another event designed to help build ICA GreenRise as a accessible community space was a CSLN Hub event in March. The event showcased the GreenRise building, screened two separate films as part of the One Earth Film Festival (more on page 5), and finished the day with mini-workshops for hands-on learning.

In addition to single day events, this January ICA convened a cohort comprised of ICA GreenRise tenants, residents, and Uptown community members to discuss ways to build community around health and wellness. The group named itself ‘Nourish Yourself, Your Community’ and co-created a 6 month health and wellness curriculum led by cohort members.

Topics in the curriculum included stress management, meditation, pickling and sprouting, creative storytelling, and intro to improv, to name a few. The project, supported by a small grant from Thorek Memorial Hospital, aims to create a space for individuals to learn more about each other and exchange strategies to help serve themselves and the community more effectively. When the cohort concludes in June, the ICA GreenRise aims to continue to build on the community momentum as a north side sustainability hub. ICA staff and volunteers are currently in the planning process for the first official GreenRise Community Sustainability Hub Day, slated for June 20th.

This Hub day will draw upon local expertise and be centered around experiential learning through skill shares and workshops for attendees. June 20th will serve as the first of four hub days for 2015 which are made possible through a grant from the Seabury Foundation.

Richard Alton           richard.alton@gmail.com




Notices

The ICA Global Archives Project
is sponsoring a 7 session action-research project:
"On Care For Our Common Home" Laudato Si.

Will begin Monday November 16, 2015.
To receive details, materials and to participate
please email Jim Wiegel, Ellen Howie or Steve Harrington at
2012collegium@gmail.com



Steve Harrington




ASIA PACIFIC REGIONAL MEETING in INDIA:

Dear colleagues,

Please find an invitation to the end of year Asia Pacific Regional Meeting in India.  We would love to have representation from each and every ICA in our Asia Pacific region, as this will be a great collaborative peer-to-peer working and learning opportunity.

Please forward this invitation to your colleagues – interested members of ICA or other networks. While the focus will be on Asia Pacific, colleagues from outside of the AP region will be most welcome.
 
Invitation and additional information here


We do hope folk will use the expression of interest link to register interest.

Best wishes,

Shizuyo Sato, VP Asia Pacific Region  shizuyo@icajapan.org