Global Buzz 2016 03 01

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

ICAI Board Report:

At our February Board meeting we were pleased to approve a request for financial support toward the cost of an ICA Americas regional gathering to be hosted by ICA Peru in May, and another toward the cost of producing three issues of Winds & Waves magazine in 2016.

We heard updates on prospective candidates for associate membership in India, the Philippines, Poland, France, Russia and the Czech Republic, and on the work of the ICAI Global Conference working group and the ICAI global ToP policy working group.

We approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Association of Facilitators (IAF) to promote and support greater collaboration between our two organizations, our respective members and our local groups around the world. The first step toward implementation will be to establish a joint working group comprised of three representatives each of ICAI & IAF, to identify and follow up opportunities.

We reviewed and updated our Board plans for 2016 in light of developments since our 2015-16 planning meeting in Tanzania last May. Now that there will be no Global Conference in 2016 at which we might also convene a face-to-face Board meeting, we plan to announce Board elections at a General Assembly in October instead of June (or December). This will enable a two month induction period for new Board members before their terms begin in January. We will explore options and costs for holding a face-to-face Board meeting in conjunction with an ICA regional gathering during that period, for induction and planning as we did last year in Tanzania, and consider including that in a revised 2016 budget for GA approval.

We invited ICAI members to collaborate to draft a statement for submission to the 15th session of the UN Committee of Experts on Public Administration on the topic "Moving from commitments to results: transforming public institutions to facilitate inclusive policy formulation and integration in the implementation and monitoring of the sustainable development goals". ICAI is invited to contribute a statement on account of our UN Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC.

Svetlana continues to host weekly ICAI online dialogues in google hangout, including this month the first of a pair of sessions on the topic of Human Development, facilitated by Martin.

We are grateful to the many ICAs that have renewed their dues to ICAI since the General Assembly in December, and those that have updated and completed their ICA profiles on the ICAI website. We are grateful also to the 64 ICA representatives and other readers who have responded already to our Winds & Waves magazine online readership survey.

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

JAPAN:

Finishing activities with HCDI in Madhepura, Bihar, India

ICA Japan’s project for community development in Bihar, India has come close to finish after 4 years from the start. In the last few months ICAJ and HCDI, a local organization, have implemented seminars for local farmers and women’s self-help group (SHG). In the seminar of SHG, 428 women joined from 10 villages and discussed about how they would continue their activities and achieve their goals after the end of the project on 9th of March. We believe that the end of the project is not the end of development. It is important that locals understand why they need a change and how they can change. ICAJ thinks that this project has helped them realize it and the importance of stainability. Currently, Maki Tuskumoto is there evaluating the project and encouraging the contractor to rapidly finish the construction of the 8th Multipurpose Center. Below are two recent photos of ongoing training in Madhepura.

Nepal Ceremony to begin the major repair of strategic Women’s Center

Shizuyo Sato attended the ceremony at the Embassy of Japan in Kathmandu during which the Ambassador presented to ICA Japan in Nepal the funding to rebuild the Earthquake severely damaged Changu Narayan Women’s Training Center. It is widely known for its activity throughout the region for instigating development activities. Moreover, they will initiate the making of reasonable cost sanitary napkins so that young women can proudly stay full time in school. Presently custom forces them to leave school a week each month because of lack of hygiene.

INTRODUCTION:
As part of the Youth at risk reinsertion project in the region of the Agnéby-Tiassa, project executed by ICA-CI in collaboration with ICA-Japan, Mr. Wayne Co-director of ICA-Japan conducted a mission of 15 days to make a final evaluation of the project.

RUNNING OF THE MISSION:
Activities done during his stay were as follows:
Meeting with the executive management of ICA-CI focused on running project management and year 2 project that will start on March 1st 2016. The arrangements for year 2 project execution and especially the efficiency in management of the three sub-activities. Good control of financial management while respecting the budget lines and providing the right supporting documents for accounting.

The second activity concerned the administration of a questionnaire for the evaluation of beneficiaries to help us to see the rate of our project realization according to our schedule and also to know whether the beneficiaries have learned something from different trainings given by ICA during this year. This evaluation has also allowed us to see if we contributed to the economic recovery of the village and its visibility in marketing terms.

This activity took place in the 6 villages (Bonikro, Ekissiho, Badoukro, Boka-Oho, Aboude-Dadié and Aboudé Boa Vincent) that benefit from year 1 project; we also made field visits to see how palm trees, chickens and vegetables raising are developing.

We also made visits to the 5 new villages that were selected for the second year: Andepo, Mr. Mure, Segbevi, N'chompo and Dè-obodjè. His visits were intended to increase sensitization started since August 2015 in the new villages that were selected for Year 2. The sensitizations essentially carried on the three activities (vegetables raising, Agroforestry and chickens raising) contained in the project of reinsertion of youth at risk. In addition to these activities, we told them about the different trainings that will support their reinsertion through the project funded by the Japanese government.

From 23 to 24 January 2016 we conducted a mission in Brobo to see that the activities initiated by ICA-CI were carried out in some villages from 1996 to 2003 with funding from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications of Japan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Tokyo Union Church and AICAF.

The team visited the tomatoes fields in Pindikro and CAPMR, where young people are engaged in this activity with their heart because they realize many personal projects from the income of their tomatoes productions.

Visit of tomatoes farms vast production in Pindikro

Visit to Mr. Amani’s field of 2 hectares of tomatoes

The delegation visited the village chief, Nanan Brobo TCHIDJI Marie, and Mr. Alexis ESSI, the Resident Mayor, the two authorities have expressed the wish to see ICA-CI resume its activities in the region to support and train Ahaly’s youth at risk..

This will for ICA-CI’s return is due to the fact that there is no company throughout the region to employ Ahaly’s youth to contribute to the reduction of the unemployment rate.

Visit to resident mayor of Brobo Visit to Nanan Tchidji Marie Chief village of Brobo

Wayne said that the visit of our delegation is also part of the objective of the resumption of activities in the region and also the reopening of the ICA-CI School to mark its effective presence in the region.

The delegation thanked the authorities and promised to do everything possible so that the youth could benefit again from ICA-CI's support through ICA Japan and their partners.

In February, Shizuyo Sato conducted training for Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation, did a 1st year evaluation, and visited the 5 new villages.

Below:
Second day of training workshop in leadership giving by Shizuyo Sato in Agboville

ICA Japan’s Strategic future:

We are exploring several new sites with trusted colleagues. With HCDI, we would like to continue working in Western India on Climate Change and transforming Agriculture so that rural people can joyfully sustain their lives and become engaged it the global society. This requires removing their blocks to living graciously and advancing to the new paradigm.

Similarly, OPAD (former ICA Zambia) has written about their opportunity to work on similar projects, and has asked us to consider funding with JEF, JICA or MOFA for Zambia. We have enjoyed reviewing photos of our work in Zambia about 15 years ago.

Shankar’s recent report about training at the EEC in the future enables people to advance in a similar direction. We hope to share and present this curriculum to several countries.

South Sudan, in the mid north region is ready for emergency aid, and Meshack has been working there last year. So we will consider this opportunity carefully.

Staff r.g.icai.comm@icajapan.org

NEPAL:

Global Buzz: March Issue 2016

The month as planned was fully dedicated to the major International Training sessions as we hosted two of them this month with 20-25 participants in each of the sessions. They were

successfully conducted. ICA Nepal in coordination with Global Facilitators Serving Communities (GFSC) Asia conducted the three-day workshop on Facilitative Crisis and Disaster Intervention from 9th to 11th February followed by the two-day workshop on 19th and 20th February. Both the training sessions were facilitated by international facilitators. The workshop was facilitated by Mark Pixley, who is an experienced facilitator and organizational change consultant with LEADERSHIP INC, a leading provider of facilitation services to the corporate community in China and Asia. The workshop witnessed an overwhelming participation of people from different backgrounds and had left a very positive impact on the participants as it dealt with the new ways and new models in facilitation as well as the recovery process and served unique ways to engage participants throughout the workshop.

Whereas, Entrepreneurship Development Training was facilitated by Dr. V.K Arora,

who is a Trainer/ Resource Person associated with the Management Associates Private Limited, India, and is an Accredited Management Teacher from AIMA in entrepreneurship and a life member of IETE, CSI and NHRD, who also conducts Career Counseling through career management and psychometric testing. The participants were equally enthused and grateful after the completion of the training. We even received a thank you note from one of the participants for organizing such a powerful training here in Nepal.

This kind of response from the participants and well wishers have given a boost to our motivation and we’re very much energized to bring even more similar trainings among Nepali people in days to come.

At the end of the month, a team of two members from ICA has left for far-western

districts of the country in order to conduct the ward level planning workshop. As per the plan, within this four months period, ICA Nepal will mobilize local communities in 24 wards and develop ward level plans. Implementation of the second phase of the project entitled, ‘Facilitative and Leadership Development in Far-western and Mid-western districts of Nepal,’ supported by MISEROR will also take place shortly.

As ICA Japan Received INGO status from the Social Welfare Council of Nepal last month, Ms Sizuyo Sato from ICA Japan is here. ICA Japan is supporting the reconstruction of the ICA Learning Centre in Changunarayan of Bhaktapur District.