Dear friends,
In this New Year, may humanity be blessed with peace and development that will be enjoyed by every family and community, in every nation.
AWCF wishes you a happy and prosperous 2011.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
AWCF attends multi-event affair in Ligas
To show solidarity and support to a gender equality (GE)-friendly primary co-op, AWCF representatives led by Executive Director Ms Salome Ganibe attended the “Harvest Festival cum Blessing and Inauguration of the ARC (Agrarian Reform Community) Ligas Farmers’ Training, Information and Marketing Center December 20, 2010 in Ligas, Malolos City Philippines SCC ) from 2010 to 2012.
The well-attended affair in Ligas, which is a barangay or village, highlighted the need to promote organic farming as a way to empower farmers and help preserve the environment. Aside from the unveiling of the ARC Ligas marker and the blessing of the training center, the event also paved the way for the distribution of emancipation patents to selected farmers and the induction of officers of ARC Ligas Farmers’ Association. The occasion gathered notable personalities from Malolos and Bulacan, and from particular banks, schools, and government offices working with farmers.
AWCF-SCC project holds first monitoring forum
After seven months of implementing the second phase of the “Promoting Gender Equality Among Co-operatives in the Philippines” Project, a joint activity of AWCF and the Swedish Cooperative Center (SCC), AWCF convened the “1st Monitoring Forum” for the Project’s co-op stakeholders. Held November 26-27, 2010 in Sarrosa International Hotel, Cebu, Philippines, the national-level Forum gathered together 31 co-op lea
ders and key management staff—14 men and 17 women—representing 15 primary co-ops that are participating in the Project, five each from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao regions of the country.
In this Forum, the participants shared their gender equality (GE) journey activities and learning, and also gained new insights from the intervention strategies that had presented by their co-implementers. The Project commenced with the signing in April 2010 of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the participating co-ops and AWCF, followed by the conduct of the gender-sensitivity training (GST) for the co-ops from June to September 2010, the GE planning and implementation, and the conduct of the first capacity-building workshop in October 2010.
Other highlights of the Forum in Cebu were the presentation of the consolidated GE baseline survey results of the 15 co-ops that showed the initial manifestations of GE among the concerned co-ops; the input on human resource development (HRD) retooling or strategic HRD for co-ops; the review of GE plan of action and accomplishments; the GE impressions of the Forum participants; and the GE journey sharing of the three pilot co-ops from the Project’s phase 1 vis-à-vis their personal testimonies on what GE had brought to their lives and to the other co-op staff and officers.
Resource persons for the Forum were Ms Salome Ganibe, AWCF Executive Director; Ms Angelita Valdez, AWCF Program Coordinator; Mr. Ranie Catimbang, AWCF Project Assistant; Mr. Alexander Raquepo, Vice Chairperson of Sta. Cruz Savings and Development Cooperative (SACDECO); Mr. George Tadena, General Manager of Sto. Domingo Development Cooperative (SDDC); and Ms Minda Umali, Executive Director of Semantrix Inc, a consultancy firm for human resource management.
The Project is being implemented as part of SCC’s Philippine country programme for 2010-2012, which is the “Advancing Civic Capacities for Effective and Sustainable Services to the Poor (ACCESS to the Poor)" Programme.
More on it@coops shared in Berlin
AWCF always welcomes opportunities to share among co-ops and other development groups its experiences and learning from its activities undertaken toward its advocacy on gender equality in and through co-ops. Another such opportunity came on November 18-19, 2010 in Berlin, Germany, when AWCF Executive Director Ms Salome Ganibe spoke to the development community on the impact and learning gained by AWCF from its “it@coops Project.” This Project was implemented 2004-2007 in member-countries of AWCF in Asia. Ms Ganibe attended the “ICT (Information and Communication Technology) for Rural Economic Development” conference in Berlin, organized by the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
With participants from donor organizations, NGOs (non-government organizations) and the private sector, the conference convened 99 experts to discuss the support mechanisms to be provided to project implementers that will enable projects to reach the rural poor.
Ms Ganibe’s presentation at the conference used the it@coops Project as model, wherein she stressed the importance of using information technology (IT) to empower people, especially women, in rural areas, such as what the Project sought to do. Because co-ops abound in rural areas, and knowing that women compose half or more than half of many co-ops’ total membership, Ms Ganibe encouraged the conference participants to help women by supporting the capacity-building activities of co-ops as well as by establishing business development centers (BDCs), particularly because women are, by nature, entrepreneurs. Emphasizing that IT can bring increased economic empowerment to co-ops and their members, Ms Ganibe reiterated the need to allocate resources for IT-related activities.
The it@coops Project or the “Information Technology for Southeast Asian Co-operatives Project,” was a collaborative effort of AWCF and the Capacity Building International, Germany (InWEnt)—an organization that seeks to provide advanced ICT knowledge to Africa, Asia, and the Middle East—with funding support from BMZ.
Philippine co-op leaders visit Vietnam
On November 4-6, 2010, 12 co-op leaders from Lamac Multi-Purpose Cooperative (LMPC) of Cebu and Abra Diocesan Teachers and Employees Multi-Purpose Cooperative (ADTEMPCO) of Abra, both in the Philippines, made a study visit to Hanoi, Vietnam. On their visit to the offices of the Center of Agricultura
l Extension Volunteers
(CAEV), the Ph
ilippine co-operators were welcom
ed by CAEV Executive Director Dr. Bui Quang Toan. Dr. Toan briefed the group on the agricultural extension services of CAEV. Accompanying the group were Ms Salome Ganibe and Ms Angelita Valdez, Executive Director and Program Coordinator, respectively, of AWCF.
To be able to observe the agricultural situation of Vietnam, the Philippine co-operators had an actual exposure to the VAC Farming System in Phuc Thanh and Vinh Phuc provinces of Hanoi. The group was joined in this visit to the provinces by Ms Ganibe
, Ms Valdez, and four CAEV staff. VAC stands for Vuon (gardening or maintaining an orchard, Ao
(fishpond or raising fish), Cuong (provision of animal care and shelter or livestock raising), which is a farming system designed to ensure food security of an agricul
tural household, and to alleviate poverty.
The Philippine co-operators saw for themselves how Vietna
mese farmers practice the different forms of VAC, and, at a visit to a vast green tea plantation, witnessed the actual processing of green tea. They also had the chance to visit a large-scale fishpond and livestock area, all operated by households using the VAC Farming System.
CAEV is a non-profit and non-government organization (NGO) established in 1991 by key officers and staff of the Nation
al Institute for Agricultural Planning and Projection (NIAPP), an agency under Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) which oversees and regulates agricultural co-operatives in the country. CAEV is a member of AWCF. The study visit was organized by AWCF exclusively for the two Philippine co-ops, in coordination with CAEV.
Gender experts build capacity in AWCF-SCC workshop
Identifying techniques in forwarding advocacies and mainstreaming gender in co-ops. Knowing the importance of storytelling as an essential tool in advocacy. Developing training modules and identifying methodologies useful in the conduct of training.
These were among the learning for 35 gender focal persons (GFPs), and gender trainers and advocates who took part in the “1st Capacity Building Workshop” held under the “Promoting Gender Equality Among Co-operatives in the Philippines” Project, October 19-21, 2010, in Hidden Valley Resort, Lamac, Pinamungajan, Cebu province. The Project is being implemented by AWCF and the Swedish Cooperative Centre (SCC) as part of SCC’s Philippine country programme for 2010-2012, which is the “Advancing Civic Capacities for Effective and Sustainable Services to the Poor (ACCESS to the Poor)" Programme. The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) provides funding support. The Lamac Multi-Purpose Cooperative (LMPC) owns and manages the Hidden Valley Resort.
The Project contributes to the Programme clusters on organizational development/capacity building and on advocacy and networking. The Project objective is to strengthen local capacities and create favourable policies for the promotion of gender equality (GE) among co-ops in the Philippines, to benefit 15 co-ops in the Philippines’s three island groups of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
The October Workshop was the first of the Project’s series of capacity-building activities to enable participating co-ops’ GFPs, and gender trainers and advocates to deepen knowledge and skills on GE, and also to enhance their communication and facilitation skills in conducting gender training in their respective co-ops; and to develop gender training modules suitable to co-ops’ needs.
Ms Bonnie Bërnstrom, Gender Consultant of SCC from Sweden and one of the Workshop facilitators, introduced various techniques in forwarding advocacies and mainstreaming gender in co-ops.
She informed the participants about some legally binding international declarations that promote and sponsor GE as a cause, such as the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The learning from this session will strengthen the participants’ platform or basis in forwarding the GE advocacy.
Ms Bërnstrom also made the participants compare the Gender Gap Index between Sweden and the Philippines, and to assess the areas of strength and weakness of the two countries in terms of politics, economics, education, education and training, and maternity and childbearing.
To focus on what is and how GE advocacy should be promoted, Ms Bërnstrom discussed the value of the core message, the use of “handbreaks” or learning when and when not to say something, and process questions that create better understanding of people with different worldviews and to explicate the underlying reasons of a person’s belief or disbelief of a concept or an issue.
Ms Bërnstrom also stressed the importance of storytelling as an essential tool in advocacy. How stories, as a combination of facts and emotions, send the message across and how they appeal to people of different culture and orientation.
Meanwhile, the Workshop’s session on developing training modules and identifying methodologies useful in the conduct of training was facilitated by Ms Salome Ganibe, Executive Director of AWCF. The session’s outputs were a) development of different training modules on GE; b) enhanced use of different training methodologies, such as role plays, buzz sessions, group discussions, and storytelling; and c) listing of various unfreezing activities and their description.
As the Workshop exemplified participation and teamwork, daily host team-members co-managed the day and evening social activities to perk up the learning sessions.
Important guests accentuated the Workshop’s significance. Pinamungajan Mayor Geraldine Yapha graced the opening program, and LMPC Chairperson Delfin Tuquib and Lamac Parish Priest Fr. Dennis Acedo were present in the closing program.
The next capacity-building workshop of the AWCF-SCC GE Project is slated for the first quarter of 2011.
AWCF shares its FK project learning in Singapore
AWCF, through its representatives Ms Salome Ganibe (left in photo below), AWCF Executive Director, and Ms Natchamon Thali (right in photo below), from the Credit Union League of Thailand (CULT), an AWCF member-organization, were among the resource persons in the “FORUM IVCO (International Volunteer Cooperation Organizations) 2010” conference held October 3-6, 2010 in Furuma City Centre Hotel, Singapore. With the theme “Innovations and Challenges in International Volunteerism and Development–an Asian Perspective,” the conference discussed key contemporary issues besetting volunteer-driven development projects. The conference was organized by the International FORUM on Development Service (FORUM)—the most significant global network of IVCO, and the Singapore International Foundation (SIF), a non-profit organization in Singapore. The FORUM aims to share information, develop good practice, and enhance cooperation and support between its members. In this annual conference, heads of IVCOs and delegates from agencies across the world gather to discuss key and current issues in international volunteering and development, and share good practices in a supportive environment.
In two forums (plenary session and world café) of the October conference, AWCF expounded on its learning and experiences from its exchange program partnership project being implemented since 2008 with Fredskorpset (FK) Norway.
In the plenary session, Ms Ganibe together with Ms Nita Kapoor, Director of FK, talked about FK Norway’s exchange program as the reciprocal model to volunteer work wherein volunteers/exchange participants exchange knowledge and skills through learning and teaching. Ms Ganibe and Ms Kapoor emphasized that this exchange approach encourages national and regional networking because partner organizations themselves administer the project and the funds. Thus mutual accountability and equitable partnership are promoted in volunteer work. Benefits derived from this approach will redound not only to the exchange program participants but also to their host and home organizations.
These concepts were reiterated in the world café of the conference, as benefits derived by the participating organizations and individuals were further explained by Ms Ganibe and Ms Thali, the latter having been an AWCF-FK participant in the first round (2008-2009) of the exchange program, now on its third round. Ms Thali stressed in her sharing at the conference that skills acquired and shared during the exchange program can be stepping stones to future career advancement.
AWCF joins FK activities: Phase 3 of project underway
The AWCF network joined two major activities of Fredskorpset (FK) Norway from September 29 to October 20, 2010, aimed at developing the capacity of FK partner-organizations. AWCF took part in the activities in the belief that young professionals play an important role in the development of any organization. AWCF has been implementing since 2008 the “Capacity-Building for Gender and Co-operatives in Asia” Project funded by the “South-South Exchange Programme” of FK. The Project, which is an exchange activity among staff of AWCF member-organizations, is now on its third phase to be held from October 2010 to August 2011.
The first FK activity was the “Homecoming Seminar (Debriefing)” held September 29-30, 2010 in Rajamangala Pavilion Beach Resort, Songkhla province, Thailand. AWCF was represented by eight participants from the exchange Project’s phase 2, and six representatives from the Project’s partner-organizations in the AWCF network. In the Seminar, AWCF and other FK project participants and partners from CAI (Clean Air Initiatives), Asia and POURAKHI conducted a project review that included a presentation of partners’ and participants’ experiences, learning, and challenges; and a sharing among the previous and new project participants (for phase 3).
The Seminar was followed by the “16th Fredskorpset Preparatory Course” held September 30-October 20, 2010 in the Prince of Songkhla University (PSU), Hat Yai Campus, Songkhla. In this activity, AWCF partner representatives were joined by seven participants for phase 3, representing Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand. The Course was a prelude to the participants’ 10-month deployment to their host-organizations. The Course aimed at letting participants be introduced to FK and its vision; be prepared for living and working in Asian countries; be provided with information regarding development issues in the Asian region; and be enabled to learn through collaboration and peer discussion.
To help achieve the Course goals, the participants and their respective partner representatives attended a participants-partners meeting to clarify matters concerning the Project, the participants’ agreement, and the results-based reporting. They also participated in the indoor teambuilding activities that had hoped to foster camaraderie with the other FK partner representatives.
The next activities were the exchange participants’ attendance to lecture sessions on development topics like poverty alleviation, participatory approach in community development, and gender responsiveness. Other sessions were personality awareness such as personality and self-understanding; effective cross-cultural communication practices; and conflict management and resolution. To enhance the participants’ video-making skills, there was a digital story preparation activity. And to facilitate their understanding of the Asian countries’ culture, there was a country information presentation. Adaptability with Thailand’s culture and customs was also enhanced through the socio-cultural visits and two-day homestay with selected families in the provinces of Trang (Buddhist community) and Satun (Muslim communities), both in Southern Thailand.
Aside from AWCF, also present in the Preparatory Course were 17 young professionals representing four other FK project partners, which are CAI, Asia; Sunlabob, Prosperity Initiatives (PI), and ESCENIC. These young professionals will serve as volunteers—learning and/or sharing their knowledge and experiences—in their host-organizations/-countries from October 21, 2010 to August 20, 2011. After that, they will return to their respective organizations to share their newly acquired knowledge, skills, and orientation as a follow-up activity, from August 21 to September 20, 2011.
Phase 3 participants bared
The following young professionals from the AWCF network are taking part in the AWCF-FK exchange project’s phase 3. They will join the other 15 participants from phases 1 and 2 in the AWCF Resource Pool of experts.
Ms Lilibeth “Beth” Liguden is employed as Business Development Officer of AWCF, Philippines, and will be posted at the Forum for Indonesian Co-operatives Movement (FORMASI Indonesia) in Indonesia also as Business Development Officer. Most of her 16 years of work experience were devoted to the co-op sector, particularly, assisting co-operators on business development, project planning, development and management; co-op and community organizing; and involvement in enterprise, finance, and investment. She also worked with international non-government organizations and a municipal-level local government unit in the Philippines. Beth’s immense experience on business development will be put to good use when she assists FORMASI Indonesia in establishing a business development center (BDC) structure and policy, setting up business initiatives, and promoting the BDC and its services. She will also coach selected FORMASI Indonesia officers and staff in developing and planning project proposals. For her learning activity during her deployment, she expects to learn the agri-based microfinance program and model used by FORMASI Indonesia members.
Ms Piranrut “Poo” Thoykham works at the Credit Union League of Thailand (CULT), Thailand, as Credit Union Development Officer. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics of Cooperative Science. She also has some Master of Business Administration units on Co-operative Management from some of Thailand’s prestigious universities. Poo will be deployed to the Socio-Economic Development Organization of Cambodia (SEDOC), Cambodia. As Credit Union Promotion Specialist in SEDOC, she will teach SEDOC staff about promoting, setting up, and managing a credit union. She will also assist SEDOC staff in identifying programs and services to attract primary credit unions to be members of SEDOC. As her learning activity in Cambodia, she will get to know about the credit movement, and gender mainstreaming in credit unions.
Another phase 3 participant is Mr. Somantri, currently working as Information Technology (IT) Specialist in FORMASI Indonesia. His knowledge and skills on Informatics Management and Information System will be useful on his assignment as IT Specialist in CUPC. He will be conducting computer training and providing technical support, troubleshooting computers, and monitoring and evaluating a management information system (MIS). He is also expected to assist in producing financial records and data using the MIS application. He also looks forward to learning CUPC’s programs at the grassroots level, particularly, savings mobilization, loan services, children’s savings, and gender training.
Ms Pakialakshmi “Pakia” d/o Maniam, is a General Clerk from Koperasi Kredit Pekerja-Pekerja (KKP), one of the two major grassroots-based credit union organizations of the Credit Union Promotion Club (CUPC), Malaysia. Pakia can converse in English, Bahasa Melayu, Tamil, and Hindi languages, and knows a little Mandarin. Assigned to be a Communication Specialist in AWCF, Pakia’s main task will be to gain knowledge and skills on documentation and publication. She will study how to compile, write and edit reference materials in English; catalogue documents; and prepare a documentation inventory. She will bring this knowledge back to CUPC, especially since the organization intends to set up a documentation center.
Ms Janjila “Kook” Nuansri currently works as Chief Education and Development Officer at CULT’s central branch office. Kook is a Mass Communications graduate and has been doing public relations work for CULT’s head office for almost 14 years before she moved to CUPC’s central branch office. Kook was heavily involved in setting up new credit unions, promoting co-op activities and events, and designing promotional materials. Kook will be posted as Credit Union Promotion Officer in AWCF. She will be visiting selected affiliate-co-ops of NATCCO (National Confederation of Cooperatives), Philippines, to learn about setting up and managing a co-op branch office, managing a BDC or a co-op enterprise, and mainstreaming gender in co-ops.
Ms Mary Dilanie “Mygirl” Llarenas is a Project Development and Documentation Officer in AWCF, Philippines. She has degrees in Nursing and Business Administration. She has extensive exposure on managing agricultural co-ops, and her project development skills were honed when she worked with a multi-purpose co-op. Assigned to the Center of Agricultural Extension Volunteers (CAEV), Vietnam, also as Project Development and Documentation Officer, she will help CAEV identify priority/potential areas for project development, and coach the staff in developing proposals as well as documenting their good practices and success stories. In Vietnam, Mygirl will also learn CAEV’s farming models and also their good practices that she can, in turn, share on her return to the Philippines.
Ms Charisse Anne “Cha” Fernandez is AWCF’s International Relations Officer. She has a five-year working experience with non-government organizations and international marketing and/or tourism organizations. Her core competencies include events management, media relations, sales and marketing, and promotions. Her expertise will be very useful during her deployment in CULT where she can help out in developing the international relations (IR) staff and also the other CULT staff especially when she starts her English writing courses. Furthermore, she can help the IR staff in implementing international relations activities. In turn, Ms Fernandez looks ahead to learning the Thai language, culture, and practices. She will also learn how gender equality is promoted at the primary credit union level.
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