gp connect! april - july report
DESCRIPTION
Consolidated ReportTRANSCRIPT
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SUMMARY
THIS WAS A VERY ACTIVE QUARTER DURING WHICH SFP MADE SOME SIGNIFICANT ADVANCES IN TERMS OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE, PARTNERSHIPS, STAFF DEVELOPMENT, AND PROGRAMING. THE ORGANIZATION HAS CONTINUED TO DEVELOP ITS IDENTITY AS A RESPECTED LEADER IN THE FIELDS OF INTERNATIONAL SERVICE AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.
CELEBRATING THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY
The first phase of our anniversary activities took place in Seoul in May and will continue in the United States in 2012. SFP’s Board Chair, Dr. Mike Lenaghan, circulated an enthusiastic report to all of his friends and colleaguesupon his return to the US. Here is a portion of that report:
“The Tenth Anniversary of Service For Peace commenced in Seoul, Korea May 26, 2011 with adulation and affirmation from individuals and families, corporate leaders, top elected and appointed government officials, secondary and higher education exemplars, social, cultural and economic entrepreneurial organizations and a cross‐section of members from communities of faith.
A dignified and cordial reception, a joyful and inclusive dinner salute with more than 800 guests, two university‐based lectures and a Service For Peace‐sponsored national junior debate championship, as well as several consultations on next steps for sustainable programs among Asian Service For Peace colleagues were realized. These were woven together to anticipate and project the next ten years of "building community across the globe" through successful models of sustainable development and social media platforms, enabled by Global Peace Connect, a subsidiary of Service For Peace, to advance community‐driven social and economic entrepreneurship for human progress when appropriate from the simplest to the very complex human communities.
Our founder reflected upon the extent to which Service For Peace has been a vehicle for neighborhood and community building that not only improved individual and family prospects for progress and prosperity but also facilitated democracy building and sustaining skills through children and youth who became better able to discern, discuss, debate, deliberate, make decisions and take action that puts service above self in society – maybe ultimately collaborating eventually through the Korean peninsula that could newly, peacefully and progressively unite in the near future.”
GPFF, SFP and GPC WORKING TOGETHER
Following the anniversary celebrations in Korea, the staff of Service For Peace and Global Peace Connect gathered in Washington D.C. on June 8 for three days of reflection, discussion and planning. This was the first time that the GPC team had met the broader SFP leadership team so this was an important opportunity to establish our unity of purpose and vision. Tony Devine and Massimo Trombin
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Linking Character Competencies to Community Development
There is now close cooperation between the organizations and the work in Kenya, in particular, offers a very encouraging example of how we can build on the foundation established by the Global Peace Festival. GPFF’s work in the field of character competencies ties in very nicely with the community development focus of SFP and GPC.
The connection between character and economic development has long been recognized but “development ethics” has usually referred to the tasks of combating corruption and ecological damage. With the new focus on community driven development, the question of ethics shifts to the community itself and this is where an early education in character competencies becomes crucial. To be able to work for the benefit of the community, individuals have to put community, and long term goals, above self and immediate gratification. Character competencies therefore have a very direct link to
community driven development, particularly when the experience of voluntary service is part of that learning process.
A Coherent, Unified Strategy
This strategic approach – education in character competencies combined with ongoing community development projects and intensive periods of involvement by international volunteers – holds the promise of being able to revolutionize the field of community development. If we can follow this same pattern after each GPF, building on the foundation of excitement, interest and goodwill that has been established, then we are surely going to have a significant global impact and be able to offer some very successful models. (GPC will play the important role of evaluating and reporting those models.)
At the close of the DC retreat, we set our priorities and for the next 90 days. Since then we have been focusing on program development, resource development, and increasing capacity at the local level.
GPFF, SFP and GPC WORKING TOGETHER, cont.
RAISING YOUNG LEADERS
We continue to see young leaders emerging from the ranks of our volunteers. In May, Janna Gullery completed her master’s degree in Community Development and Planning at Clark University. Janna first came to SFP as a high school student in 2005 and decided on her career after participating in a GPM program. She has been in‐volved in SFP throughout her years in college and has now taken on the role of directing the development of the GPM program. Her recent academic studies, combined with her personal involvement as a staff member in 10 GPM programs, make her the ideal person for this job. At Clark, she won the Theodore Von Laue Endowed Undergraduate Prize in International Development. Dr. Lenaghan served as an advisor on her master’s thesis.
NATIONAL RECOGNITON
In several of the countries where we work, SFP is being congratulated and thanked for its work in these past ten years. In the Dominican Republic, SFP was recently recognized for its work in the field of education over the past six years. The Minister of Education, Josefina Pimentel, and the President of the National Business Council, Manuel Diez Cabral, presented SFP with an award in recognition of our work in improving the quality of education in the country. While presenting the award, the Minister of Education expressed the hope that the partnership between SFP and the Ministry of Education would continue to
flourish and expand. She then signed an MOU that formally establishes the partnership between SFP and the Ministry.
RESORCE DEVELOPMENT
SFP is currently preparing a grant related to our Martin Luther King Day activities. The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has announced the availability of approximately $700,000 in grants for organizations to plan and carry out projects that bring Americans together to serve on the 2012 Martin Luther King, Jr. National Day of Service.
Over the years, SFP has established a strong track record of reliability and success and CNCS has encouraged us to apply again this year. If our application is successful, 2012 will be our SEVENTH year as a lead agency for the MLK Day of Service. As a lead agency, SFP provides grants and support to communities throughout the nation. Nonprofits submit their applications to SFP and we then distribute funds pro‐vided by the Corporation while also receiving generous funding for our services and for our own programs.
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PREPARING FOR GPF MONGOLIA
Following the model of the successful follow‐up in Kenya, SFP and GPC are working with the Mongolian staff to prepare sustain‐able programs that will continue long after the GPF. For example, the GPC staff are currently involved in developing the pro‐gram design tree‐planting initiative in the area around Ulaanbaatar and have
Mission: To work with the community and university students of Ulaanbaatar to develop, implement and maintain a sustain‐able tree planting program for environmental, economic, social and public health benefits over the course of two years.
Project Objectives:
Initiate a community led project that will promote ownership of the tree plantation
Build capacities in the local community so that they can take full ownership of project after two years
Identify community leaders (social entrepreneurs, women, young people) which will be trained in the project and can take over the implementation
Build capacities in the local community to deal with donors
Create partnership between volunteers and local community which can be used for other projects
Ensuring Community Involvement:
Establish Project Steering Group: Community representatives; volunteer representatives; GP Connect! (Role of GPFF! Of facilitator, rather than “leader”)
Ensure the community is involved in all stages of assessment/ planning/ implementation/ evaluation
Build local knowledge (of customs, traditions, power relations, gender, youth)
Establish links with various levels in local community (community leaders, women, social entrepreneurs, informal influ‐encers, existing community organizations, vulnerable groups)
Build trust (being respectful, open to listening, sharing information)
By creating clear objectives and structures, we hope to ensure the sustainability of this and other projects.
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PROMOTING AWARENESS ON THE NATIONAL STAGE
SFP and GPC actively participated in the National Conference on Volunteering and Service (NCVS) from June 6 to June 8 in New Orleans. The conference, under the theme "International Service," created a great space for international service leaders to share their experience and discuss ways to work together and improve programs.SFP team members served as panelists in a Pathways of Innovation workshop on June 8, drawing considerable interest from participants. Our networking efforts were helped by the fact that we maintained a live blog on the SFP website throughout the conference.
SFP President Charles Phillips invited conference participants to sign the International Service Declaration promoting the expansion of international volunteering programs worldwide. He also invited them to strengthen the network of cooperation among international service organizations in order to improve the quality of programs and thus increase their social impact in communities they serve. Phil Mlanda, the social media director of Global Peace Connect, gave a presentations on promoting the Declaration on their websites and social media and advocating for increased overseas volunteering.
During the conference, the speakers presented different success models of international service and how those have created a lasting impact in the communities they served, empowering local development and strengthening local volunteer networks. SFP presented our Global PeaceMakers program, which we implement around the world to kick‐start community‐driven development initiatives and inspire communities to help themselves in their own development.
ONGOING GLOBAL PEACEMAKER PROGRAMS
As this quarterly report was being prepared, SFP was running a two‐week Global PeaceMakers (GPM) program in Kenya from June 29 to July 12 while also preparing to launch GPMs in Ghana, July 8 to 21; and Honduras/Nicaragua, July 9 to 23.
The Kenyan project is taking place in our community of peace, "Children's Garden," a home and school for children without parents just outside Nairobi. The program is focusing on improving the DreamCatcher Library that our volunteers set up earlier this year and building a greenhouse in the kids' garden. By creating food security and increasing the nutrition that children receive, they can learn better.
SFP in Kenya has worked with Children’s Garden for two years now, improving the infrastructure of the school and children center, as well as implementing educational programs for the children. Projects carried out so far in the school and home include the renovations of their dining hall, kitchen yard, classrooms, improving their kitchen garden and most importantly initiating a DreamCatcher Library in the facility.
At the close of the DC retreat in early June, the staff of SFP and GPC set our priorities and for the next 90 days. Since then we have been focusing on program development, resource development, and increasing capacity at the local level.
SFP Assistant Communications Director, Alejandro Bonilla,
at the SFP Booth during the Conference.
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