The European Centre for Development and Policy Management (ECDPM) is an independent foundation established in 1986 to promote cooperation between the European Union and developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific (ACP). Global Washington members heard a presentation by ECDPM’s Senior Executive for International Relations Andrew Sherriff, on the complex interactions between and among European nations, and how EU development policies might have implications for the global development agenda. Andrew asked the members present if there are parallel trends in the U.S. If you would like to share your thought, please feel free to “comment” in response to this blog.

Andrew presented the EU’s current role in providing “Official Development Assistance” (ODA) to the developing world. (By definition, ODA must be provided by the official (government) sector, its main objective must be the promotion of economic development, and it must have a grant element of at least 25 per cent.) The UN has established a target for each developed country to provide 0.7 per cent of its GNP to ODA by 2015. A few countries (Sweden, Luxembourg) have already met that goal. The U.S. is currently at <0.2 per cent of GNP. With the current worldwide financial crisis, many countries are backing off their current commitments; however, the U.K. and the European Commission are bucking the trend and proposing to raise their contributions. Another way to “increase” ODA would be to broaden the categories that ODA can fund. (The U.S. contribution, for example, would be considerably higher if military aid were included.) Some have suggested that support for security sector reform, such as police forces, be included within the ODA categorization.

Another major change that is influencing the EU’s outlook on its contributions to ODA is the rise of the “BRICS” – the emerging market countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. BRICS are investing in Africa in a different way from the EU model of investing ODA in good government; over 37 per cent of Africa’s trade is now with BRICS countries. Much of the BRICS investment is in infrastructure, such as roads and transportation routes to access raw materials that the developing countries have.

A further complication is that the fragile and conflict states, countries which could benefit most from outside investment, are often the least well performing. “How do you spend money well?” in fragile states, Andrew asked.

Andrew presented the conclusions of a European Commission “Green Paper” on Developmental Policy, prepared in 2010. [http://ec.europa.eu/development/icenter/repository/GREEN_PAPER_COM_2010_629_POLITIQUE_DEVELOPPEMENT_EN.pdf] The goal of the paper was to launch a debate on how the EU can best support developing countries' efforts to speed up progress towards the Millennium Development Goals centering on four main objectives:
• how to ensure high EU impact development policy, so that every euro spent provides the best value added and value for money, the best leverage and the best legacy of opportunities for generations to come (Andrew noted that ensuring high impact requires measuring results, but cautioned that overemphasis on short-term results may lead to perverse outcomes);
• how to facilitate more, and more inclusive, growth in developing countries, as a means of reducing poverty and providing a chance for all to have a decent living and a perspective for their future;
• how to promote sustainable development as a driver for progress (but noted that blending loans from the private sector may lead to unsustainable debt); and
• how to achieve durable results in the area of agriculture and food security (without additional “new” money).

However, he also noted that this paper was prepared before the Arab Spring of 2011, which could have long-ranging effects, particularly on Northern Africa.

Andrew ended his talk with the title of his talk: Back to the Future. He asked where the EU might be going “back” to:
• The early 1990’s, focusing on sustainable development?
• The 1980’s, focusing on competition and the Cold War?
• The 1960’s, focusing on economic growth?
• The 1950’s, focusing on the political strategy of the Marshall plan?
Do you have any thoughts? Feel free to “comment” below.

The Millennium Development Goals were brought into the world during the United Nations Millennium Summit eleven years ago for one purpose: “to set our sights on the eradication of extreme poverty in our time”, as explained by President Barack Obama. The development sector stares down the eight lofty goals every day and each bit of progress improves the lives of citizens of the world. By 2015, the hope is that through effective foreign aid, the world will have eradicated extreme poverty and hunger; achieved universal primary education; promoted gender equality; reduced child mortality; improved maternal health; more efficiently combated HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and other diseases; ensured environmental sustainability; and created a partnership for global development. Describing these goals as “lofty” seems perhaps an understatement. In last year’s August Panel hosted by Global Washington, administrator for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Rajiv Shah said that it was vital to demonstrate that the big problems of the world are solvable. So now, four years from the set end date of the summit, we must ask ourselves: what progress have we made? Are these problems as solvable as we would like to believe?

Earlier this year, a Congressional Caucus for Effective Foreign Assistance (CCEFA) was formed by Representative Adam Smith (D-WA) and Representative Ander Crenshaw (R-FL) to address issues with foreign aid and the most effective means to reform. One of their first orders of business was to launch Oxfam America’s updated Foreign Aid 101 report, which was designed to provide a factual overview of U.S. foreign aid. The report designated three major changes to U.S. foreign aid that would lead to broad-based economic growth:

• Fully implementing the U.S. Global Development Policy, which holds aid accountable for fighting poverty first and foremost, and designating more resources to initiatives that will produce sustainable change.
• Modernize the outdated laws, strategies, and structures around U.S. foreign aid. Amendments to the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act have been the main changes to development policy in the intervening years, which leaves many in the community calling the laws cumbersome and ill fitted to 2011 realities.
• Promote local ownership as the most effective path to economic growth.

These sentiments were echoed by USAID in the September 2010 US Strategy for Meeting the Millennium Development Goals. The strategy put forth calls for leveraging innovation, investing in sustainability, tracking development outcomes, and creating accountability on all sides.

The Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development was the first by any U.S. administration. Much of the sentiment previously endorsed by USAID and Oxfam’s report was echoed in the directive. It recognized that “development is vital to U.S. national security and is a strategic, economic, and moral imperative for the United States.” Its approach to global development rested on three main ideas: focusing on sustainable development outcomes, finding new operational models to make the United States a more effective partner, and harnessing development capabilities spread across government. The President too seeks to reform foreign aid into a more effective machine for combating global poverty. His administration’s revitalized operational model has stated the importance of country ownership and has pledged to work through national institutions rather than around them. They have also decided to reallocate resources in support of development initiatives that prove the most effective. It has also been decided that the Administrator of USAID will be included in relevant meetings of the National Security Council. The Presidential Policy Directive acknowledges the need for reform and cooperation within the development sector, with goals similar to those expressed by CCEFA through Oxfam’s revised report.

The Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) was launched by Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and modeled after the impressive Quadrennial Defense Review of the Defense Department. Clinton says the inspiration for the massive report began with a simple question:How can we do better?Under the bold-faced banner “Transforming Development to Deliver Results” the QDDR alongside Oxfam and the Presidential Policy Directive expresses similar needs for reform. The QDDR details changes being made to both State and USAID to make more of our development dollars: USAID will be made the lead agency for the Feed the Future and Global Health Initiative presidential missions. Aid will be made more transparent through the creation of a Web-based “dashboard” that publishes State and USAID foreign assistance data. A development lab will be created at USAID to establish an Innovation Fellowship to assist the best practices that come out of development. The White House, USAID, members of congress, and other massive forces in the development sector are beginning to knit themselves together to better cooperate with governments and nonprofits on the ground. The sector is committing to sustainable, transparent programs driven by recipients of aid themselves.

With such a fertile environment surrounding aid reform, what progress has actually been made towards the Millennium Goals? Between 1990 and 2005, the percentage of the world’s population living on less than $1/day dropped from 42% to 25%. Enrollment in primary education has reached 89% in the developing world. The total number of under-5 deaths decreased globally from 12.4 million/year to 8.1 million/year. UNICEF cites that the number of women dying due to complications during pregnancy and childbirth has decreased from 546,000 in 1990 to 358,000 in 2008. We still have a long way to go until the goals set to us have been achieved. But with the White House, USAID, and members of congress calling out for reformed aid that can demonstrate its own effectiveness and create solutions that sustain themselves, these numbers will continue to drop.

With the recession threatening to be the justification for cutting foreign aid projects, making aid as effective as possible is even more pertinent. Global Washington is providing a venue to discuss exactly this issue. From 3:30-5:30 on August 30th in Kane Hall of the University of Washington, U.S. Representative Adam Smith and Kent R. Hill of World Vision will be discussing effective foreign aid reform. Special Assistant to the President Gayle Smith has also been invited. Come and join us to talk about issues that shouldn’t be overlooked.

“I believe in synergy, the power of collaboration.” These are the words of Bill Clapp, active Seattle philanthropist fighting global poverty, who encourages collaboration between isolated social entrepreneurs so that they may improve the effectiveness and sustainability of their efforts.

On July 27, 2011, Tom Paulson published the first in a series of three articles addressing the opportunities and dangers in Seattle’s burgeoning humanitarian sector on Humanosphere, an online news source focused on the intertwining issues of global health and poverty.

In one article Tom Paulson looks at the influential role Bill Clapp has played in forming and supporting Seattle’s community of people focused on social change. Bill and Paula Clapp have launched or helped to launch several initiatives to promote and support this collaborative humanitarian community – the Seattle International Foundation, Global Washington, and the Initiative for Global Development. Tom Paulson points out that, while these organizations vary in their specific focuses, they all share the central goal of “bringing people together to figure out how to make the world a better place.”

Bill Clapp states that, while much of congress does not realize the practical importance of international development “to our country, to our business community and to improving all aspects of our society,” the Seattle community seems to have strongly grasped this. Over the past decade, this internationally orientated community has dramatically expanded, leading to the creation of hundreds of small organizations focused on global development. While this growing humanitarian sector means greater job opportunities and chances to “do well by doing good,” it also poses the issues of “a plethora of good (or maybe not-so-good) causes competing for funding,… redundancy, lack of clarity as to what really constitutes a “social enterprise,” lack of criteria for measuring success (or failure) and, overall,… not making the most of this opportunity due to lack of collaboration, of community.”

In another of Tom Paulson’s articles, he focuses on the recent collaborative efforts of the Seattle International Foundation, an organization that supports global poverty alleviation through grant-making, and Jolkona, a recent start-up that connects funders with small organizations engaging in meaningful causes. Using the online “deal of the day” website, Groupon, Jolkona fundraised $5,000, which the Seattle International Foundation matched, for iLEAP, an organization working on women’s empowerment. With this money, iLEAP was able to fund a fellowship for a woman working on social change. According to Maurico Vivero, executive director at Seattle International Foundation, “supporting women leaders working on issues of poverty and social empowerment is proven to be one of the most effective means for affecting change in power, or any, communities.” Through effective collaboration, the Seattle International Foundation, Jolkona, and iLEAP were able to quickly raise enough money to fund a fellowship for a woman leader creating positive social change.

The Seattle International Foundation awards grants to many other organizations like iLEAP, yet they are also forced to decline many other requests for support. While, in this region, there exist numerous good intentions to better the world, an effective, sustainable approach is not always taken. In keeping with Bill Clapp’s aim, Vivero says, “we want to bring all these people, and their causes, together and see what happens.”

In Tom Paulson’s last article, he looks at how a sense of community and collaboration between isolated individuals can be enhanced through the creation of a space where these individuals can convene. This is where The Hub comes in. The Hub says on its website:

“We believe that there is no absence of good ideas in the world.  The problem is a crisis of access, scale, resources and impact. So it felt vital to create places around the world for accessing space, resources, connections, knowledge, experience and investment.”

Beginning in British Columbia and Europe, there are now currently three branches of The Hub in the U.S., two in San Francisco and one in Atlanta, and large support for the launch of The Hub here in Seattle. In addition to the efforts of Global Washington, the Seattle International Foundation, and the Initiative for Global Development to bring people together, The Hub may be able to further the creation of a community and its ability to collaborate.

As Seattle continues to grow as a center for international development work, organizations such as Global Washington, the Seattle International Foundation, and the Initiative for Global Development are “increasing accountability and improving effectiveness by building community,” establishing Seattle as a center for sustainable and meaningful international development work.

While much of the country and the world had been focused on whether or not the U.S. debt ceiling would be raised by August 2, the U.S. House of Representatives was continuing its work on discretionary funding for Fiscal Year 2012. The House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on State/ Foreign Operations approved its version of the legislation, which would make deep cuts in State Department operations and foreign aid. While it is not surprising that the Republican-crafted bill includes deep cuts, Democrats such as Nina Lowey (D-NY) noted the impact that the legislation would have on mitigating the current famine in Africa. “This legislation would be a step back from U.S. leadership and substantially weaken the United States’ efforts overseas by decreasing economic opportunity, stability and access to critical services for millions of the world’s poorest people,” Lowey said.

The House subcommittee bill includes a total of $39.6 billion in regular discretionary funding, $8.6 billion or 18 per cent below last year’s level. In addition, the bill includes $7.6 billion for “Global War on Terror” funding, for a total of $47.2 billion.

On July 11, 2011, Health Ministers from the BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—came together in Beijing for the BRICS Health Ministers’ Meeting. The primary focus of the meeting was to discuss these countries’ role in providing wider access to quality and affordable health care around the world. The meeting concluded with the Health Ministers signing of the ‘Beijing Declaration,’ which called for collaboration with international health organizations, as well as with each other. These collaborations would hopefully yield the promotion of technology transfer and accessibility to “affordable, quality, efficacious, safe medical products and other health technologies” in developing countries. The Declaration also stressed the importance of reforming international organizations like WHO in order to improve transparency, efficiency, and accountability.

The Health Ministers collectively acknowledged the lack of access to health care and affordable medicine in their own countries, and recognized the benefit of this collaboration and technology transfer to significant portions of their populations. UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé, who also attended the Ministers’ Meeting, spoke to the unique position of BRICS nations of being “a voice with incredible economic, technological and innovative strength…[that is] intimately connected to the needs and interests of the developing world” (unaids.org).

The increasing economic power of the BRICS countries in the global economy does place them in an interesting, new arena of foreign aid. These five nations account for 40 percent of the world’s population, 18 percent of global trade, and 45 percent of current growth. However, in four out of five of the BRICS countries, two thirds of the people who need HIV treatment are not receiving it. Are these countries really in a position to bring about real, substantial change to the way health care is accessed in the world?

Sidibé says yes.  “It will help us to change the course of debate on public health by bringing to the center the voice of the poorest segment of society by making sure that social justice and the redistribution of opportunities will become a major aspect of the way we deliver public goods to the people,” he says. South African Health Minister Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi stated that the BRICS countries could form a strong partnership with international health organizations because they are the ones that have the “most of the affordable drugs… to supply the developing world.” An example of this is the new meningitis conjugate vaccine developed by the Serum Institute of India, with an estimated cost of only 50 cents a dose. Because these countries share similar health care challenges in their own countries, they have the unique understanding of the problem of accessibility. This could yield a more informed and effective approach to efforts of improving health care systems worldwide.

In light of the recently approved legislation from the U.S. House of Representatives that proposes deep cuts to the foreign aid budget, the entrance of the BRICS nations into the foreign assistance arena could not come at a better time. As these countries seek greater influence in the global development community, the world could see a significant shift in how international aid is administered, and ultimately, what this means for the overall global economy. It is up to us to decide what the role of the U.S. will be in that change.

For more information on the first BRICS Health Ministers Meeting, go to <http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/BRICS-countries-vow-to-help-poor-nations-in-health-1460626.php>.

Some of the most amazing people I know on this beat — covering Seattle’s role in global health and poverty reduction — are named Bill.

There’s Bill Gates, of course, his bold and insightful (and often funny) dad Bill Gates Sr., Bill Foege, the local doc who figured out how to beat smallpox, and then there’s Bill Clapp.

I can’t really quantify this, but I don’t think many would argue with me if I said that Bill Clapp has probably done more than any other single person (named Bill or not) over the years to try to promote the culture, the emerging community, of do-gooders in Seattle and throughout this region.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is the 8,000-lb gorilla on the scene today, of course. The Gates Foundation and its primary mission of global health tend to dominate the do-gooder conversation and media coverage.

But Clapp and his wife Paula were active philanthropists fighting poverty years before Bill and Melinda Gates got into the act — and well before most of us were really paying that much attention.

This is the second of three parts in a series aimed at how Seattle’s burgeoning humanitarian “sector” is coalescing, coming together. As noted in the first post, it’s a bit of a hodgepodge right now, with hundreds of groups working on their own, often unaware of others with shared interests and missions.

Moving from this creative chaos to community has long been one of Clapp’s primary aims.

“I believe in synergy, the power of collaboration,” he said.

He and Paula have launched or helped launch several initiatives aimed at creating this kind of synergy — the Seattle International Foundation (subject of my first post), Global Washington and the Initiative for Global Development.

Arguably, all of them are different means to the same end — bringing people together to figure out how to make the world a better place.

The great-grandson of the timber baron and Weyerhaeuser Co. co-founder Matthew Norton, Clapp has always been wealthy, business-minded and one of those old-school (moderate and reasonable) gang of Washington state Republicans like former Sen. Dan Evans. He certainly wasn’t always philanthropic.

As this Seattle Times article by Carol Ostrom quoted him describing his pre-philanthropy stage:

“I didn’t know what I wanted to be doing, because I hadn’t done anything socially redeeming, I guess you’d say, for most of my career, other than trying to do a good job at my work.”

A trip he and Paula took in the early 1990s to El Salvador changed all that.

Seattle had strong connections to El Salvador, Nicaragua and other Central American countries in part because we were a sanctuary city for many fleeing the numerous civil wars (some of them funded or supported by the U.S. government). In 1992, the Clapps were asked by some anti-poverty advocates to join them on a trip down south.

“I was just stunned, appalled really, to see what conditions were like down there,” Clapp said. “Just two hours outside of the U.S. and here were people living in shacks with dirt floors, in severe poverty.”

With the end of the conflict in El Salvador, he said, the U.S. government also apparently lost interest in sending any more money down there. The war had ravaged this tiny country but few were working to rebuild it.

That motivated the Clapps to move into microfinance, the anti-poverty scheme that involves giving small loans to poor people allowing them to grow their businesses or otherwise get themselves out of poverty. A year or so later, they started Global Partnerships, Seattle’s oldest and largest microfinance organization.

“We worked hard at this but eventually realized that much of what U.S. government was doing wasn’t supporting what we were trying to do, and was even sometimes at cross-purposes,” Clapp said. So he and some of those other old Republicans — Dan Evans, Bill Gates Sr., former Nixon EPA director Bill Ruckelshaus, etc. — launched the Initiative for Global Development.

“These were all people who understand, practically and not ideologically, why international development is important to our country, to our business community and to improving all aspects of our society,” Clapp said. Unfortunately, he added, many in Congress these days don’t seem to understand this.

“Our community has, for some reason, always been very aware of this,” Clapp said. “Historically, we were the first to open up trade with Japan, China and Russia. We took in a lot of refugees during the wars in Central America. There is something about this place.”

There always has been a strong international mindset here, Clapp said, and this has exploded in scope over the past decade.The Gates Foundation is highest-profile, he said, but there are literally hundreds of other small organizations — many of them launched by young “social entrepreneurs” — out there also trying to do their part.

What’s lacking, Clapp said, is a coherent community. The global health community has come together, he said, but global health really is just (or should be) a subset of development, of the fight against poverty. And the rest of the Seattle do-gooder community remains a bit fragmented, working in isolation.

“I would like to see other aspects of international development gain the same momentum global health has gained, thanks to the great work being done by the Gates Foundation,” Clapp said.

The Clapps are on a roll, creating organizations like Global Washington and the Seattle International Foundation, aimed helping support and grow what could someday become the world’s biggest community of do-gooders.

A(nother) Guy Named Bill Creating Seattle’s Do-Gooder Community
Tom Paulson | Humanosphere | July 29

Welcome to the July 2011 issue of the Global Washington newsletter. If you would like to contact us directly, please email us.

IN THIS ISSUE

• Note from our Executive Director
• Featured Story: Global Washington Expands Career-Focused Programming
• Featured Organization: Give2Cuba: A New Model For Engagement And Philanthropy
• Changemaker: Clean water, social justice, and sustainable business: Rick McKenney of Water for Humans
• Welcome New Members
• Announcements
• Global Washington Events
• Other Events

Note from our Executive Director

Greetings,

In this issue you will read an announcement about our new Career Center. By providing this critical resource, our goal is to continue to provide the tools you need to build your capacity. Global Washington continues to support the building of this sector by helping to mentor and build the skills of up to 20 interns during each quarter. We see a great deal of value in helping to support these future leaders of global development.

We will be working with academic institutions in Washington State to build our Career Center as a central clearing house for student interns. We will be getting consultant recommendations from member organizations to help you find highly capable professionals that you can work with. And we will also be offering a monthly discussion group for young people entering the field of international development.

The rest of this year will be very busy for the staff and interns of Global Washington as we prepare for the our upcoming third annual conference: Opportunities and Obstacles in Turbulent Times. Opportunities and Obstacles will build on the success of the previous years’ conferences. The first annual conference in 2009, A Blueprint for Action, convened over 300 people to build a strategy for collaborative work in the sector and discuss Global Washington’s role as a convening body. The 2010 Conference, Bridges To Breakthroughs: How Partnerships And Innovation Are Changing The World was attended by over 400 people and focused on new ideas and the role of cross-sector, cross-issue collaborative efforts in development work.

This year’s conference will explore the challenges and opportunities of development work in a world characterized by rapid innovation, political instability, and shifting priorities. Keynote speakers will include national experts on the role of development in the current geo-political climate and visionaries with innovative approaches to its most pressing challenges. Other conference sessions will focus on turbulent regions of the world, current trends in the field, and sector-specific innovations. The conference will also give select local organizations the opportunity to showcase their work and will provide all attendees with time to connect with each other and collectively brainstorm solutions to problems.

The annual conference is an important milestone in Global Washington’s work to convene, strengthen, and advocate on behalf of the global development sector in the state. Diverse players will find opportunities for collaboration and high-caliber speakers will provide valuable insight and the latest knowledge. All of this increases the impact of the work being done around the world, and enhances the reputation of Washington State as an international hub for innovative and effective development activity. Small and large organizations, businesses, government, academic institutions, and interested individuals are all encouraged to participate, joining our mission of working together to create a more equitable and prosperous world.

We hope to see you at some of our upcoming member meetings and look forward to your participation in our many programs and our annual conference.

In unity,

Bookda Gheisar, Executive Director

Featured Story

Global Washington Connects Members To Talented Professionals

Global Washington is thrilled to announce the launch of our new Careers in Development Center on our website. The Career Center is both an online job bank and comprehensive career resource center, which helps job seekers find work opportunities in the global development sector. It is also an important tool for our member organizations, connecting them to valuable candidates, volunteers, consultants and potential board members. Global Washington’s career center goes beyond the typical job bank by providing additional resources tailored for this sector, including salary ranges, educational information, and interviews with people working in the field. The Career Center is part of our larger focus this year on training young leaders to enter the global development field, thereby enriching our members and the sector as a whole by helping them find quality staff, volunteers, consultants, and board members.
As a statewide association for the global development sector, part of Global Washington’s vision is for our state to lead the way, both in institutional global development work and in the global and cultural competency of our workforce as a whole. We hope to see our state’s employees—in both the public and private sectors—set an example for how to successfully navigate the challenges of working in our globalized world. We also want to increase the impact of the important development work that Washington organizations are doing around the world, which will open up new jobs locally within these organizations, and will build stability abroad, thus creating new markets and better trade opportunities.

We feel that one of the best ways to accomplish this goal by helping the young people in our state develop into responsible global citizens and competent professionals in the international development field. Our new career center is just one of the ways that we hope to provide resources to these future leaders. Some additional projects we are working on include:

• Our Global Education Initiative: Washington State is already recognized as a world leader in many global arenas, including health, technology, and aerospace. To maintain and strengthen this position, we must prepare our K-20 students to be global citizens. Our vision is for Washington’s students to build critical skills and prepare for success as competent, knowledgeable global professionals and leaders in Washington State, nationally and internationally. We are achieving this vision by creating a comprehensive global education initiative for our state’s education system—from primary education through university— that will ensure that Washington students enter the workforce with the international and cultural skills that they need to thrive in a global community.
  • As part of the Initiative, a Global Education Summit on November 18 at Seattle University will convene 200 policy and education leaders and global education practitioners to provide insight into the barriers and strengths of the state’s current global education offerings, gather feedback on draft policy recommendations, and create an advocacy plan.
• Global Washington Internships: Formal education is only the first step towards a successful career in the global development field. Global Washington is focusing special attention on young emerging leaders by providing up to 20 intern/volunteer positions each quarter to help students with a passion for global development gain real-world experience and exposure to the sector. Interns will have the opportunity to work in cross-discipline teams on exciting Global Washington projects and to develop relationships with each other and with our member organizations. For the bios of Global Washington’s current volunteers and interns, visit: Current Volunteers.
• Young Professional Networking: We are also launching a series of networking events for young professionals working in or hoping to work in the development sector. These “happy hour” style events will be led by Global Washington interns and will provide a peer-learning environment for participants to connect to each other. There will also be opportunities get advice from more experienced global development professionals on how to advance one’s career in this field. The first event will be held on July 27th at Earth and Ocean in downtown Seattle.

With this targeted programming, we hope to see the capacity of our member organizations increase through better access to interns and expertise. Our Career Center will increase the visibility and reputation of Washington State’s innovative and influential global development sector as we demonstrate the depth of the work being accomplished here. Finally, the collective power and knowledge of Washington’s global development sector will increase as we support the career development of young professionals and draw more talent and funding to our state. As our members and constituents, we encourage you to take advantage of some of these new resources we are offering!

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Featured Organization:

Give2Cuba: A New Model For Engagement And Philanthropy

By Sandrine Espie

Cuba’s economic and political systems have severely limited its development and greatly worsened the quality of life for average Cubans. U.S. donors and nonprofit organizations concerned about poverty in Cuba have faced a difficult path for engagement, given the complexity of U.S. laws and regulations governing relations with Cuba. This situation is further complicated by the fact Cuba has no real civil sector, since Cuban law limits freedom of expression and association. Because of these legal, operational and political barriers, philanthropy and giving for Cuba have been severely limited. One group, based in Seattle, is changing that and helping donors reach and support the people of Cuba.

Give2Cuba was started by a small group of Seattle residents, including Cuban-American Mauricio Vivero. His day job in philanthropy, and his love of country, inspired him to create Give2Cuba to create a new model for development work in Cuba. ”By definition, almost anything involving Cuba is legally and politically complicated. But, our contribution here is to give donors a simple, legal way to help meet the basic needs of people in Cuba,” said Mauricio.

Recently, there has been more direct contact between civil society in the U.S. and citizens in Cuba, but progress is slow. The Obama administration has been increasing the number of U.S. charities allowed to work in Cuba, and has removed certain barriers for travel and remittances.  But U.S. groups still must receive special clearance from the Treasury Department to transfer funds or conduct work in Cuba.

For many donors, including many Cuban-Americans, this is just too much complexity. When considering philanthropy in Cuba, donors must carefully select a nonprofit with legal permission to work in Cuba, and also understand the limits inherent in working in Cuba, such as the barriers to travel to conduct a site visit. As a result, some donors may become discouraged and decide to focus their philanthropy in other countries. “I would suggest this complexity and need is a special opportunity for philanthropy. What could be more exciting than to help build civil society in Cuba from the ground up?” said Mauricio.

Mauricio was also inspired to think more about his homeland by a special gift from one of his board members.  “One day I received this great painting of Cuba. I was so proud to hang it in my office, but after months of looking at it I said to myself: How can I work in philanthropy and not do something for Cuba. ”

Give2Cuba was launched in 2010, and has already received more than $20,000 in donations. After doing lots of research and talking to their donors, advisors, and development experts, the group decided to focus on the basic needs of Cuban citizens, such as hunger and freedom of expression. Give2Cuba is currently supporting a meals program for seniors, which provides a hot meal for 40,000 residents in Cuba. The group is also supporting a program to give young people in Cuba cell phones, to both encourage more direct communication with U.S. young people, as well as among youth in Cuba.  ”It wasn’t too long ago cell phones were illegal in Cuba. The ability of people to communicate is very important,” added Mauricio. Most Cubans cannot afford the cost of a cell phone (about $40) since the average salary is $20 dollars a month.

Next year the group plans to support a shipment of medical supplies to Cuba, among other projects. To accomplish these goals, Give2Cuba needs to expand the numbers of donors, and work with larger foundations to scale up. “Our goal,” says Mauricio is to “broaden our network and increase interest and awareness about the need and opportunity for aid to Cuba.”

Managed by a small group of committed volunteers, the organization sees a promising future in Washington State. “People in Seattle and Washington State are very globally minded, generous, and open to discovering and engaging with different cultures. Seattle is a great place to start this work,” said Mauricio.

Although philanthropy in embargoed nations such as Cuba is challenging, Give2Cuba is making real progress by focusing on basic needs and partnering with donors passionate about improving lives in Cuba.  For more information about Give2Cuba, email info@give2cuba.org

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Changemaker:

Clean water, social justice, and sustainable business: Rick McKenney of Water for Humans

By Anamika Ved

A social entrepreneur, mechanical engineer, a physicist, material scientist and a keen advocate of social and economic justice are few words that describe Rick McKenney, the cofounder of Water for Humans. Having started his career as a budding entrepreneur during his high school days, Rick’s passion for implementing social change eventually gave birth to the non profit social venture enterprise that is called “Water for Humans”.

In 2006, while traveling in Mexico during the summer, Rick noticed the elderly struggling with water jugs, people getting drinking water out of five-gallon jugs and trucks carrying jugs of clean water. He realized that people understand the value of clean water; they recognize that drinking tap water can potentially lead to serious medical problems and even death. With multinational companies and other private enterprise mushrooming in the profitable business of potable water sales and distribution, Rick saw people spending 25% of their income on buying expensive bottled water. Those with less financial means were drinking water that was insufficiently treated and not safe for human consumption.

He also saw raw sewage flowing directly into the sea and onto farmers’ fields polluting the ocean and human consumption crops. With fields getting flooded by raw sewage, farmers could only grow animal feed commodity, which has less financial value than human consumption crops. His exposure to this socioeconomic reality made him decide to work towards saving people from the deleterious effects of these unsafe water and sanitation practices.

Born in Southern California, Rick was imbued with both the business and engineering skills to start a private enterprise. While in high school he started and successfully operated his own business, a small manufacturing outfit, before he sold it to pursue his undergraduate degree in Solid State Physics and Mechanical Engineering.

After working in military industrial complex where he was “conflicted by the lure of science and the application of technology,” he joined Boeing as physicist and materials scientist. During his eighteen years at Boeing, he worked on many classified projects; however, he wanted to do something in line with his core values. He wanted to give back to the society. As a first step, he went to Vancouver, B.C. and for four years worked at Ballard Power Systems developing hydrogen fuel cell technologies.

Rick was interested in social entrepreneurship from social justice perspective. He wanted to use his engineering and business skills for environmental, economic and social causes. He wanted to do, as he says, “Business for good.” With that thought in mind, he joined Bainbridge Graduate Institute (BGI) in the fall of 2004 to get his MBA in Sustainable Business Practices in June 2007.

According to Rick, it was the sustainability aspect of the MBA that lured him to join Bainbridge Graduate Institute. At BGI he learned how business could be a powerful force for social change. In studying political economics he was fascinated by the way that political realities clash with economic theory–the co-relation between wages and benefits and the social safety net or the co-relation between inflation and unemployment. He also studied social justice and business and started looking for some ideas relating to it.

In his effort to start a social enterprise for safe drinking water and sewage, Rick was greatly supported and encouraged by Gifford Pinchot, the co-founder of Bainbridge Graduate Institute. Gifford connected him to Paul Hudnut, a social entrepreneur and founder of Envirofit, an enterprise-based model that represents a more sustainable approach to tackling the global IAP/cook stoves problem.

Rick also drew inspiration from Fabio Rosa, a Brazilian social entrepreneur whose initiatives focused on rural electrification and the use of sustainable energy resources. Similar to Rosa’s “The Sunshines for All,” which delivered low cost electricity to millions of rural Brazilians, Rick decided to come up with what he calls “a reliable, low cost, culturally acceptable technical solution that could provide sustainable sewage treatment systems, and access to clean water.” This, he thought, would reduce pollution for people of all economic classes. He also understood the importance of providing a financial mechanism via a social venture enterprise. A social venture enterprise, according to him, was important to ensure that infrastructure, such as sewage treatment systems, have adequate financial resources to provide continuous operations and maintenance for areas where local governments do not have the capacity to deliver such services. This led to the birth of Water for Humans, a social enterprise that strives to insure local public control of water resources and the deployment of low cost water purification systems to the 1.1 billion people in the world who lack safe drinking water.

According to Rick, “the strength and vitality of a community is based on its ability to provide food security and economic vitality to its citizens.” In order to accomplish his vision to bring about social and economic justice, Rick wants to ensure the safety and quality of the local food sources and help local economies thrive.

Rick also stresses on the importance of collaborative working model, which resonates with one of Global Washington’s four principles of aid effectiveness i.e, local ownership. According to Rick, collaboration or partnership with the local communities, NGOs, and government has been the mainstay of their organization’s success. “Strong and deep connections to key community partners have allowed us to grow and increase our impact,” he says. Their most recent project, aimed at designing and building a constructed wetland for sewage treatment in Santo Domingo Barrio Bajo Etla, is an example of such collaboration. In this endeavor, Water for Humans is partnering with a local internationally-recognized NGO, Instituto de la Naturaleza y la Sociedad de Oaxaca (INSO). The goal is to develop this watershed project 20Km NNE of Oaxaca City, as a model that communities throughout the world can study and emulate. In addition, they are also working on a rainwater catchment and water treatment, and composting latrine program within Oaxaca City. There many sections of Oaxaca City that do not have adequate water and sanitation services, and they are working hard with the community to implement a cost effective solution to this chronic water shortage issue.

Rick emphasizes partnerships between small non-profit organizations and agencies like USAID and thinks that Global Washington can help make such connections. He appreciates the role played by Global Washington in increasing the “visibility of the member organizations.”

Excited about launching the first watershed project in the Oaxaca Valley, Rick continues to work towards implementing social change, using his scientific skills and strong belief in social and economic justice. Let’s wish him success in this laudable objective as he fulfills his dream to “affect people in the most positive way.”

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Welcome New Members

Global Washington welcomes the following new member organizations.  Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with these organizations and consider opportunities for collaboration and support. Together we are creating a unified voice for the development sector in the state and are working to build an equitable and prosperous world.

One by One

One by One was founded in 2005 with the singular mission of contributing to the elimination of fistula worldwide. We work to increase awareness and understanding of this deeply troubling condition that affects so many women. Additionally, we partner with in-country organizations to create programs and mobilize the resources needed to support both life-transforming treatment programs and essential prevention work. www.fightfistula.org

Solar Nexus International

Solar Nexus International is an international supplier of solar, wind and micro-hydro electric systems based on Orcas Island in Washington State. We work with NGOs, aid organizations and humanitarian groups to provide reliable solar electric power solutions. One of our key missions is to help improve the quality of solar power installations in the developing world and to drive economic growth by strengthening the local solar industries in the areas we serve. http://solarnexusinternational.com/index.php

Washington Basoga Association

The WBA’s objective is to advance the cultural, social and economic development of the Busoga region, in eastern Uganda. They focus on developing and implementing strategic projects to address socio-economic stagnation in Busoga, as well as identifying strategies to health problems, including promotion of HIV/AIDS prevention and support. http://busoga.org

Washington Economic Development Commission

The Washington State Economic Development Commission was created by the Legislature in 2003.  Its mission and focus were updated by the Legislature in 2007, through SB 5995, to: “provide planning, coordination, evaluation, monitoring, and policy analysis and development for the state economic development system as a whole, and advice to the governor and legislature concerning the state economic development system.”  http://www.wedc.wa.gov/

Individual Members

Jill Satran

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Announcements

Global Happy Hour Adds Some Fun to the Job Search

Global Washington hosts the first of its monthly Global Happy Hour for young professionals (ages 18-35) currently working in or aspiring to connect to the global development field in Washington State. At each happy hour, participants can engage in facilitated discussions about careers in the field.  Our first discussion will cover preparing for the job search and the job interview, and how to advance in your career once you have landed your job.

The happy hours will take place at various Seattle restaurants that cater to our target age range. Join us on Wednesday, July 27, from 4:30pm to 6:00pm at Earth & Ocean (1112 Fourth Avenue, Seattle, WA). No RSVP required.  For additional career resources, visit our online career center at www.globalwa.org.  For further information, contact megan@globalwa.org.

Make Aid Transparent Campaign Update

On July 7^th, 2011, the Make Aid Transparent campaign, handed over its first petition during a meeting of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development, in Paris, France.  The campaign “calls on aid donors to publish more and better information about the aid they give, in line with the international standard.”  Karin Christensen, Director of Publish What You Fund, and Tony Tujan, Chair of Better Aid, presented the petition, fashioned as an over-sized blue greeting card, to the working party’s co-chairs, Bert Koenders and Talaat Abdel Malek, along with Brian Atwood, Chair of the Development Assistance Committee.

The message on the front of the card exemplified the campaign’s message of transparency:  “76 organisations and 5012 signatures from 115 countries, say Make Aid Transparent.” Koenders acknowledged that such a petition is exactly what is needed to promote the issue of increased transparency. At a later plenary session, Abdel Malek emphasized the “special urgency” this issue now has.

Prior to the handover, the campaign’s animation, which can be viewed at http://www.makeaidtransparent.org/  was screened before an audience of over 150 country delegates. A robust round of applause and requests for copies followed.  The Make Aid Transparent campaign is planning to have more petition handovers this fall, including one in Busan, South Korea.

“Careers in Global Development Center”: Smart and Easy Way to Link in.

Consultants, volunteers, students, and members, are already benefiting from our Careers in Global Development Center, launched in early July, 2011. This easy-to-navigate web-tool is quickly becoming a leading resource to link mission-driven organizations with talented and passionate individuals. What you’ll find:

• For members:  post your open positions, board member positions, and volunteer, internship and consultant opportunities. Search our bank of vetted consultants.
• For job seekers: search positions by subject and position, review volunteer opportunities, and learn more about your chosen field
• For students: track university programs in development and current scholarship opportunities.

For all of us engaged in global development, CGDC enriches our vibrant community and helps promote Washington State as a hub for innovative and influential development work. Visit our website today and find the Center under Resources.  For questions please contact kate@globalwa.org or megan@globalwa.org

Humanitarian Innovation Fund opens 2nd call for proposals

The second call for proposals for the Humanitarian Innovation Fund (HIF) is now open!

The Humanitarian Innovation Fund supports organizations and individuals to identify, nurture and share innovative solutions to the challenges facing operational agencies in the delivery of effective humanitarian aid. The ‘large grant facility’ provides funding to projects up to £150,000 and supports the development, implementation and testing of innovation. The ‘small grant facility’ offers project funding of up to £20,000and is open to proposals at any time.

The fund was created through a partnership between ELRHA (Enhancing Learning and Research for Humanitarian Assistance) and ALNAP (The Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action) and represents a collective effort to enhance the contribution of innovation to improving operational humanitarian performance at the field level.

The selection criteria are the following:

• Relevance / potential impact
• Approach / methodology
• Feasibility / effectiveness
• Team composition / capacity to implement

Deadline for applications:

• Small grant proposals can be submitted at any time until 15^th February 2012.
• Large grant applicants will be required to submit an expression of interest by 28^th August 2011. Shortlisted applicants will then be invited to complete a full application by 16^th October 2011.

Click here for more information about the funding process. To learn more about last year’s funded projects, click here.

Prosthetics Outreach Foundation Walkathon
Prosthetics Outreach Foundation, a Global Washington member, seeks to improve the mobility and independence of physically disabled children and adults in developing countries.  POF invites you to their Make Strides Walkathon on September 24^th. It will be held at Marymoor Park in Redmond and will feature games, yoga, contests, prizes, live music, and refreshments.  For more information visit: https://pofsea.ejoinme.org/2011Walk.  If you are interested in being a sponsor or volunteering for the event, Contact Development Associate, Melissa Winter, at 206-726-1636 or mwinter@pofsea.org.

Oxfam offers free training for Oxfam supporters in the Seattle area
Participants will learn about the GROW campaign, practice some important grassroots advocacy skills, and make plans to address global hunger through action with Oxfam Action Corps in Seattle. Feel free to bring a friend who is equally committed to fighting hunger and poverty.  The training is on Saturday, August 6^thfrom 1:00-4:00pm.  At noon an optional lunch will be offered, with tasty food and a chance to chat informally.

Location: The Gallery, (2^nd floor “Owner’s Lounge”), 2911 2^nd Ave, Seattle, WA 98121

Cost: Free. The training and lunch are both free of charge.  Bring yourself and come ready to participate!

RSVP: RSVP to brawson@oxfamamerica.org.  Specify whether you will attend the optional lunch and if you have any dietary restrictions.  Please be sure any interested friends do the same!

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Global Washington Events:

Wednesday, July 27

GW Event: Young Professionals Global Happy Hour

Tuesday, August 9

GW EVENT: The Dark Side of ICT

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Other Events:

Friday, July 22

THE POWER OF ART: Building Creative Capital through Community Mosaics

Vaccines: The Global Health Miracle

Saturday, July 23

The US-Japan Social Innovation Forum – Panel Discussion & Reception

Monday, July 25

 The US-Japan Social Innovation Forum – Social Enterprise Happy Hour

Tuesday, July 26

Doctors Without Borders: Recruitment Information Session Seattle

Thursday, July 28

“Mojitos Against Mosquitoes” – Uganda Village Project

Saturday, July 30

Annual Garden Party – Days for Girls International

Tuesday, August 23 & 24

VIP Forum with Merck Global Health Innovation

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“What is the strongest integrating force for this young country?”

This question, posed by an audience member, was one in a flurry of audience participation at an event to discuss post-Soviet countries with Global Washington member and volunteer, Liuba Ceban.  Ceban, a native Moldovan and Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow, answered that there isn’t necessarily a single uniting force for the young country. She explained that within the country, some people desire to reintegrate with Romania while others wish Moldova to be a prosperous nation of its own. The country is equally divided on matters of allegiance; arguments often erupt as to whether Moldova was better off under Soviet occupation and whether the country’s current trajectory towards EU membership is wise. Ceban closed the question with a resolute “it’s too soon to tell where the country will end up.”

It’s safe to say that little Moldova has been going through a lot of changes. The country, which historically has been primarily agrarian, has a mushrooming IT industry whose brisk pace left even Ceban surprised. She also mentioned the challenge that growing diversity will pose to Moldova. Today, the predominant faith is Christian Orthodox. But because of the country’s communist legacy, many other citizens still harbor resentment towards religion; the “biggest evil”, as it was sometimes called. Together with the very recent registration of Moldova’s Muslim community, these combating viewpoints have made the issue of religious freedom a very relevant one.

Ceban often returned to the theme “Eastern Europe cannot be thought of as a package.” The issue of religion is just one of many divergent points between the Eastern Europe states. Belarus, a country to the north of Moldova, has political freedom of religion but some intolerance among the community. Ukraine is even freer religiously, and Ceban attributed that to the previous leadership of the country’s more pro-EU policies and agenda. Moldova is also the only former soviet country with a strong, intact Communist party.

Ultimately, the message that Ceban brought to the discussion was that with the diversity of opinions and backgrounds and the rapid pace of change in Moldova, there’s no telling where the post-Romanian post-Soviet country will end up. But the country’s journey cannot be grouped with Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, and Ukraine, as if they all come from identical history and culture.

Liuba Ceban started a nonprofit called WIN (Worldwide Initiatives Network) Moldova alongside former Peace Corps volunteers, whose goal is to promote partnerships for sustainable change and development in Moldova and to work with at risk children. The institution will be running a promotional event on July 6th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at the Watertown Hotel, 4242 Roosevelt Way NE Seattle, WA 98105.

Hope or Hype? Mobile Phones & Development

In South Africa, human milk banks are a critical component to combatting HIV transmission from mother to child. At these milk banks, staff heat a mother’s milk to a specific temperature, removing HIV from the milk without destroying antibodies critical for babies. While many urban milk banks have sophisticated systems to ensure milk is consistently heated to this critical temperature, rural milk banks often don’t have the resources to be so exact. This is the sort of problem that Gaetano Borriello, a faculty member of the computer science and technology department at the University of Washington, tackles with technology. Using temperature monitors in rural milk banks, Borriello and his team build censors that connect to cell phones. The censors send temperature information to a central quality assurance manager who monitors the heating graph and sends an “approval” back to the rural milk bank – again via cell phone – that the milk is safe for infant consumption.
Borriello was one of three panel members at a recent event, the second  in Global Washington’s series on the role of technology in global development.  This panel consisted of three experts in technology from diverse backgrounds and perspectives: Kentaro Toyama from UC Berkeley and formerly with Microsoft’s India program; David Edelstein from Grameen Foundation’s Technology Center; and Gaetano Borriello from UW. Each panel member discussed his experience in using technology in global development as well as his thoughts on the successes and failures of those attempting to use technology in this way.

Technology can deliver information to a wider audience and allow organizations to track and revise programs in real time but must be adapted to the needs of developing countries

Borriello began by discussing the role of mobile devices in “provid[ing] an opportunity to deliver educational information and decision support to a wider circle of more lightly trained workers.” However, he cautions, “consumer devices need to be adapted to the needs of lower income countries…usage models and business models may differ greatly from one context to another.” For example, with the increased availability of smart phones in developing countries, desktops – particularly in rural areas – are not desirable.
Edelstein discussed the role of technology in disseminating and collecting information via a trusted intermediary with an illustration of a Grameen Foundation program in Uganda. In this program, community knowledge workers – the trusted intermediary in this context – are able to provide information on agriculture to rural farmers. In one visit to a rural farmer whose chickens were diseased, a community knowledge worker was able to input the chicken’s symptoms into a database on her smart phone, diagnose the disease and get information on local, low-cost mechanisms to cure the chickens.
Community health workers, armed with this smart phone technology, are also able to provide the Grameen Foundation with real time data, which allows Foundation staff to track and revise their project as they go.

“Technology only amplifies human intent and capacity”

Kentaro Toyama stressed his conclusion that “technology only amplifies human intent and capacity.”  For more on Toyama’s thoughts on the pros and cons of technology, see an earlier post on a previous presentation Toyama gave to Global Washington members. Toyama asked Global Washington audience members a question to illustrate this point: If Bill Gates and a rural Indian farmer were both given the same smart phone and 24 hours to raise as much money as possible for vaccines, who would raise the most money? The audience agreed with Toyama that Gates would far surpass the farmer. Why? Because smart phones are only a tool which amplify Gates’ wealthier contacts and his experience in fundraising.

How one program can be an example of both good and bad technology use in global development

Following the presentation, Global Washington Executive Director Bookda Gheiser opened the audience discussion with a request that each speaker highlight a good and bad example of mobile technology use in global development work. Among other examples given, Toyama discussed an example that showed both the good and bad sides of technology. A Catholic Relief Services project in Niger, aimed at improving adult literacy via a two year program with eight months of adult literacy education, showed that those in the program who used SMS service progressed further. This was an example of technology as a tool to positively impact global development. But, Toyama cautioned, this can quickly be flipped to a negative example of technology if other global development programs take away the message that “mobile phones help with adult literacy.” This, in fact, was not the case. Toyama argues that without the critical services of Catholic Relief Services and its entire literacy program, one could not replicate the literacy results, regardless of the technology used.

“Key ingredients” for successful technology use in global development

The event closed with each panel member addressing a Global Washington member’s question on the “recipe” for successful use of technology in global development.  “Key ingredients” include:

• – Consider the long-term business model and sustainability plan for the technology’s use
• – Understand the target user and their needs
• – Ensure the ability to continually tweak projects based upon real time results
• – Always be in the field or closely connected to those working in the field
• – Understand the effect of the program with the technology as compared to the program without the technology
• – Align with programs and organizations that have end goals focused on development, versus technology

Global Washington’s mission is to convene, advocate, and strengthen the international development sector in Washington State, with an emphasis on the sectors of Global Health, Global Education, Environmental Sustainability, and Poverty Alleviation.  In this role, Global Washington brings together its members and the community to discuss critical global topics.. Consider attending the next event in Global Washington’s technology series with Kentaro Toyama, “The Dark Side of ICT” on August 9^th. You can sign up at globalwa.org.

Written by Bridgette Greenhaw

Nonprofit organizations often have multiple stakeholders and a set of goals and expectations that are challenging to fulfill. To help Global Washington members and others make sense of this complex landscape, Global Washington sponsored a Nonprofit Management Workshop on June 17 at the Global Washington office.

At the day-long workshop, Oscar Luna of Spinnaker Business Consulting and Dr. Thomas E. Byers of Washington State University first introduced the concept of results-based management, a strategy focusing on performance and the achievement of outputs, outcomes, and impacts. They then led the 16 participants through hands-on exercises related to developing a budget and a monitoring/ evaluation plan using tools that participants could later tailor to their own needs. The presenters offered a follow-up individual discussion with any of the participants as they incorporate the tools into their own organizations.

Global Washington is committed to strengthening our member organizations, in part by providing high-quality workshops like this one. As we continue to build up the capacity of the state’s international development community, we plan to offer more trainings and useful resources to which small and mid-sized NGOs typically lack access. Keep checking our website for the latest presentations and trainings, or email admin@globalwa.org to be put on our email list.