AWCF holds planning for FK Exchange’s next round

Since 2008, AWCF has been implementing among staff of its member-organizations an exchange activity, done through the “Capacity-Building for Gender and Co-operatives in Asia” Project funded by the “South-South Exchange Programme” of Fredskorpset (FK) Norway. The exchange will have its third round on October 2010 to August 2011. On June 1-3, 2010 at the NATCCO Bldg. in the Philippines, AWCF held the planning meeting for the exchange’s third round. AWCF’s member-organizations, who are the partners for this Project, participated in the meeting. FK Norway is a Norwegian government agency that promotes international understanding and mutual learning through institutional co-operation and exchange of people between Norway and countries in the South.

Through overseas posting of the AWCF member-organizations’ staff in the host-members, the Project seeks to strengthen solidarity and collaboration between and among the AWCF members; enhance members’ capacity in service delivery; and harness young professionals (the exchange staff) in acquiring expertise on gender mainstreaming, co-op services (financial intermediation and micro-finance), sustainable agriculture (marketing and agricultural extension), co-op and credit union development, training and education, and information technology (IT) for development.

At the planning meeting this June, updates about the exchange staff that they were currently hosting for the second round were given by AWCF members Center of Agricultural Extension Volunteers (CAEV), Credit Union League of Thailand (CULT), Credit Union Promotion Club (CUPC), Forum for Indonesian Co-operatives Movement (FORMASI Indonesia), National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO), and Socio-Economic Development Organization of Cambodia (SEDOC). A discussion was led by AWCF Executive Director Ms Salome Ganibe to assess the member-organizations’ needs and objectives for the third round of exchange. FK Asia Program Officer Ms Saowanee Sangsawangsri guided the organizations in making their objectives consistent with the Project’s over-all goals and implementing guidelines as well as in producing the budget and other project documents.

Seven exchange staff will take part in the third round, with three participants coming from AWCF/NATCCO, two from CULT, one from CUPC, and one from FORMASI Indonesia. CAEV and SEDOC will not send out staff but will take part as host-organizations. The fourth round of the exchange will have its planning meeting in May 2011, which will also take up the midterm review of the third round.

Different needs

As expressed in the June planning meeting, the following are the AWCF member-organizations’ needs and objectives for the third round of the exchange:

• CAEV: need for documentation of case studies in agricultural extension models; and project development and management
• CULT: need to learn about branching, business development in terms of co-operative enterprise, and international and public relations to showcase its programs to foreign visitors
• CUPC: need to focus on the operationalization of its newly established Management Information System, particularly its application, monitoring and evaluation, and troubleshooting.
• FORMASI Indonesia: need to enhance capacity of FORMASI Indonesia and its members in the development of business development and fund-raising activities through project development for agri-based enterprises.
• SEDOC: need to learn about CU promotion at it intends to establish itself as a credit union league in Cambodia
• AWCF/NATCCO: need to continue to developing themselves as a resource center in gender equality and co-op development. NATCCO, specifically, wants to learn about microfinance and microenterprise development in agriculture in the third round.