Initiatives

_ – Mending Relations and Building Partnerships Through Citizen Diplomacy
_ – A matter of hands and words
_ – Building institutional capacity for social organizations in Greater Buenos Aires
_ – Women transform the citiesMending Relations and Building Partnerships Through Citizen Diplomacy

With the 5th Summit of the Americas around the corner in April of 2009, the Obama Administration must take up the challenge of renovating America’s tattered diplomatic relations in this hemisphere. Given the precarious conditions of the American economy and deteriorated US standing in the region, figuring out the most appropriate and effective way to engage hemispheric neighbors will be critical. Citizen diplomacy and international service provides the US with an innovative, low-risk, and cost-effective framework to engage Latin Americans in a way that acknowledges the progress they’ve made, emphasizes working in partnership, and allows the US to address development issues at the grassroots. The use of citizen diplomacy can become the basis for a fundamental shift in how America relates to and is perceived by its neighbors throughout the Americas. The Challenge for US civil society is to make sure that citizen diplomacy and regional civil society actors are integrated as part of the re-balancing of US national foreign policy capacity. Presenters will discuss the merits of citizen diplomacy in relation to the up-coming Summit of the Americas and provide policy recommendations for the new administration. On Friday, December 19th, 8:30-10:00 am. At IFES 1101 15th St, NW 3rd floor, Washington, D.C.

A matter of hands and words

A socio-productive experience carried out in the north of the Punilla Department, province of Cordoba, Argentina, by weaving women from the local community –who are assisted by the National Institute of Industrial Technology. The handcrafted textile activity, spinning and weaving, is the productive axis of very low income women who are organized on the basis of profitable and competitive handcrafted textiles production, ensuring a fair distribution of results along the entire textile chain (from the fiber local production to the marketing of the finished product). This is an approach for local economic development that bears in mind gender issues, preserving production in the household sphere, encouraging diversity and supporting deals that are solely backed by the word given. It implies a substantial change of paradigm in the practice of “technological extension” by dealing with new links between the community and public service support that is far from the traditional model “automatic executing technicians-passive beneficiaries”. [More information.->http://www.enredando.org.ar/noticias_desarrollo.shtml?x=33894]

Building institutional capacity for social organizations in Greater Buenos Aires

This is an initiative conducted by Fundación Defensores del Chaco in the province of Buenos Aires. On the basis of work carried out with Street Football Leagues, of cultural activities and of civic and legal literacy programs, the foundation started to develop institutional networks on a neighborhood, district and regional scale, that are capable of viewing community problems as a whole, streamlining the use of existing resources and managing other resources concerning health, education, infrastructure, housing, economy and work. Strengthening the institutions provides continuity to the interaction with other organizations and systematizes a participatory practice whose main support is a greater capacity to access previously acquired information and knowledge of one’s rights. [More information.->http://www.vinculaciontecnologica.org/mediawiki/index.php/Categor%C3%ADa:Fundacion_Defensores_del_Chaco]

Women transform the cities

The project “Women transform the cities. Municipal services for women”, was awarded a prize in the contest on “best practices concerning twinning for development”, sponsored by the European Union. This initiative was proposed and coordinated by the Municipality of Quito with the support of the Municipality of Saint Denis, partner city of the project. [More information.->http://www.quito.gov.ec/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=45&Itemid=1]