President Barack Obama declared March 1st, 2011 to be the official 50th anniversary of the Peace Corps. Established by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, the Peace Corps sends Americans abroad in order to promote friendship, peace, and understanding through service. According to the Peace Corps website, since the institution’s inception, over 200,000 volunteers have served in 139 different countries. Peace Corps volunteers work in a variety of fields including HIV/AIDS, business development , education, and environmental issues.

We salute Peace Corps volunteers for not only serving, but also living alongside of those being served. This makes these volunteers more than workers or teachers—they are also global learners, experiencing diverse cultures and building friendship and understanding.

Global Washington members are organizations and businesses based in the United States that work abroad and on behalf of our members, we would like to express our appreciation for these friendships built and the understanding that is established through Peace Corps service. There are also many returned Peace Corps volunteers working at Global Washington member organizations. They exhibit a lifelong passion for global development and intercultural issues, which they bring enthusiastically to the work they are currently doing.

If your organization has a job opening, you it position in the Peace Corps’s monthly job bulletin Hotline by going to www.peacecorps.gov/hotline or post on their listserv by contacting RPCVcareercenter@peacecorps.gov. The Peace Corps is also hosting a career fair in Seattle on April 15th. If your organization is interested in participating, contact Joseph Cozza at jcozza@peacecorps.gov to be put on a waiting list.

If you are a current or returned Peace Corps volunteer, Global Washington would love to hear your story! Where did you serve? What did it shape your life and your career? What are you doing now?

Presidential Proclamation

Peace Corps Official Website

Photo Essay: Peace Corps Memories, from Voice of America

Our thoughts are with the people of Japan in the aftermath of last week’s earthquake and tsunami. The earthquake—a 9.0 on the Richter scale—is considered the world’s 5^th largest in over a century and triggered a massive tsunami that hit the Japanese coast.

We would like to remind you that compassion can be turned into action. We are not powerless bystanders; we belong to a global development community, rich in resources that can be used to aid the victims in this disaster. These resources range from personal finances, to networking connections, to organizational expertise. We encourage you consider how you might fit into the response already being undertaken by Washington-based organizations to assist areas affected by the earthquake.

If you are responding to this crisis, we want to hear about it!

If you are a member organization and are providing disaster relief, we would love to help promote your efforts. Please email megan@globalwa.org with a brief description of your response. After we review it, it will be added to this list.

We applaud these members for their quick action:

Peace Winds America’s mission is “to build capacity, increase collaboration, and empower local communities in the Asia Pacific in order to improve preparedness and provide a more integrated, efficient, and effective disaster response.”

Response: Peace Winds America and sister organization Peace Winds Japan are providing aid in response to the earthquake. Peace Winds Japan has 20 years of experience in disaster response and is one of the largest disaster response organizations in the country.

Mercy Corps “exists to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities.”

Response: Mercy Corps is collaborating with longtime partner organization Peace Winds America to respond to this disaster.

World Vision is “a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice.”

Response: World Vision has a long history of disaster response, including work in Haiti last year. An assessment team is on the ground, coordinating relief efforts for last week’s earthquake. Visit their press page for the latest news and updates.

Microsoft “is committed to serving the public good through innovative technologies and partnerships that contribute to economic growth and social opportunity and by delivering on our business responsibilities of growth and value to customers, shareholders, and employees.”

Response: Microsoft is making an initial commitment of $2 million to disaster relief in Japan and has already started offering support, software, and other technical assistance to help get operations running again.

RenegAID “is dedicated to improving people’s ability to reestablish themselves in catastrophic disasters.”

Response: RenegAID is working with Spokane Falls Community College’s Japanese Club to put together an effective response. RenegAID will fund all administration costs so that 100% of their donations go to the survivors.

Additionally, RenegAID’s Ready-to-Go Bike project for catastrophic disaster response is ready to implement.  If any organization or individual is interested in working with them on this project, please contact Eunice Stime at 509-595-8777.

JP Morgan Chase‘s  “philanthropic goal is to be the catalyst to meaningful, positive, and sustainable change within our highest need neighborhoods and communities across the globe.”

Response: JP Morgan Chase has committed $5 million to relief and recovery efforts in Japan and has also implemented an employee matching program to encourage employees to give as well. The firm has over 1,000 employees in Japan and has invited them to use JP Morgan Chase facilities as a shelter if needed.

Other responses from Washington organizations and businesses:

Mobile Giving Foundation “was founded in 2007 by veterans of the wireless industry who wanted to harness the immense power of wireless communications to empower non-profit organizations.”

Response: Give to tsunami relief by text message through The Mobile Giving Foundation! Please view their news alert to find out how to give quickly and easily to your charity of choice, using your mobile phone!

Medical Teams International’s missions is “To demonstrate the love of Christ to people affected by disaster, conflict and poverty around the world.”

Response: Medical Teams International is working with three partners: Japan International Food for the Hungry, Friends with the Voiceless, Christian Reformed World Relief Committee. These partners are conducting assessments and working directly with local churches to provide relief to victims.

Boeing

Response: Boeing has committed $2 million to relief efforts, which will come from employee contributions and the company’s charitable trust. Boeing contributions will go directly to the Red Cross.

Starbucks

Response: Starbucks and Starbucks Coffee Japan have committed $1.2 million to the Red Cross to help the relief efforts.

Amgen

Response: Amgen is donating $1 million to Direct Relief International and International Medical Corps to be used for survivors’  health services and basic needs.

Weyerhaeuser

Response: The Weyerhaeuser Foundation is contributing $500,000 to the Red Cross for the relief effort.

Cascade Designs

Response: Cascade Designs has donated mattresses, water reservoirs and dry storage bags to Operation USA, which are being shipped to Japan to meet the basic needs of disaster survivors.

Resources:

Kids and activism: A recent blog from The Social Change Collaboratory provides guidance and tools for organizing a fundraising campaign for children who might want to respond to the disaster.

List of Charities: The Chronicle of Philanthropy has a great compilation of U.S. charities and companies that are responding to the quake.

Text your donation: Did you know that you can text your donation to many of the major charities? You can do this through:

• Verizon wireless (for Verizon customers)
• The Mobile Giving Foundation

Verizon Customers and Employees: Verizon is offering its customers free calling to Japan until April 10^th and allowing Verizon customers to text a $10 donation to many of the major charities providing emergency assistance. Verizon will also match employee donations to The Red Cross, World Vision, and Save the Children, up to $1,000 per employee.

The Japan-America Society of the State of Washington: A great place to check back for updates and ways to get involved.

Seattle Japan Relief: “a collaboration of Japanese American and Japan related cultural, educational, and civic organizations standing together to promote relief and recovery following the devastating earthquakes and tsunamis in Japan.”

World Vision’s Japan Press Kit: Useful information, press releases and resources with information on the quake and updates on World Vision’s response.

Donations to Date: The Chronicle on Philanthropy is tracking donations received for the earthquake by organization.

Grantmakers who want to give to the relief effort: The Council On Foundation’s International Grantmaking site is providng  resources and information for grantmakers looking to give to the relief effort in Japan.

The American Red Cross: is supporting the Japanese Red Cross, which is on the ground providing healthcare, supplies, and other assistance to disaster victims.

Thank you all for your concern and your efforts!

Today is International Women’s Day. We join our colleagues in the development field in celebrating the achievements of women, and recognizing the important work being done by development and human rights organizations to empower women worldwide. Research has shown that investing in women and girls is one of the most important components of community development. As women are educated and empowered, they are better able to be change-makers in their families and communities.

Global Washington’s mission is to help our  members work collectively to build a more equitable and prosperous world. We would like to recognize some of the important work being done for women and girls by organizations, companies, foundations, and academic institutions that are based in the state of Washingon.

Please consider supporting the missions of these fantastic organizations! 

PATH:  Path focuses on health equity for women, among the world’s most vulnerable—and influential—populations.

The basic protection of vaccines for women and children around the world.

Path’s work helps women take charge of their own protection

http://www.path.org/woman-initiated-protection.php 

PATH has formed a new product development partnership to advance the Woman’s Condom and expand affordable protection options for women. Under a new four-year, €5.1 million award from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PATH is coordinating with the Shanghai Dahua Medical Apparatus Company (Dahua), CONRAD, and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD) on a project called Protection Options for Women (POW).

http://www.path.org/news/an110214-womans-condom.php

World Vision: Recognizing women as critical partners in development, World vision’s trained staff actively and sensitively works to equip and encourage women around the world.

http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/about/press-development-girls?Open&pos=lft_txt_Women-and-Girls

GAPPS: Works on the premise that “Women are at the economic heart of the developing world. And to do all this work, they need to be healthy.” 

2015 Global Action Agenda ( GAA ) on Preterm Birth & Stillbirth, was created by GAPPS at their international conference a year ago. The primary goal of this GAA is to forge a collaborative effort toward achieving common goals to prevent preterm birth and stillbirth, and to improve related maternal, newborn, and child health outcomes. 

http://www.gapps.org/global_action_agenda/

Grameen Foundation: Supports local microfinance institutions and help poor women gain access to information and capital that enables them to create micro businesses and improve their lives.

Highline Community College: Women’s Programs at Highline Community College is proud to be celebrating over 30 years of service. Over the years they have developed many successful partnerships with community agencies to benefit the students of Highline including: co-location of community partners in Women’s Programs including cross-referrals, shared services, and life skills training programs.

http://www.highline.edu/stuserv/womensprograms/index.html

Landesa: Land ownership and secure access to land transforms women and girls from victims to change makers. The Landesa Center for Women’s Land Rights initiatives do this on a large scale, making women and girls powerful and effective tools in the fight against global poverty.

Their Current Initiatives:

In India: The Landesa Center for Women’s Land Rights partners with state governments and local NGOs to help poor women in four states (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha and West Bengal).

In China: With the help of partners, the Landesa Center for Women’s Land Rights is advising on a nationwide survey to learn how current land laws are affecting women’s land rights. This survey, across five provinces, is the first of its kind in China and will give us a better picture of female farmers’ needs and the challenges they face.

In Uganda: They are working in partnership with two local NGOs to help women and girls displaced by more than 20 years of civil war, design a program that provides the women with secure land rights.

Secure land rights will help improve the food security, health, and income of these marginalized women and girls, helping them to become self-reliant and reducing their vulnerability to contracting and spreading HIV/AIDS. In this innovative program, the displaced women are playing an active role in designing a solution to their own predicament.

Landesa has Global Fellowship Program for women: They encourage lawyers and other professionals from around the world to pursue a career in women’s land rights and provide training.

Landesa has E-Library on Women’s Property Rights: They are building a database of formal laws related to women’s land rights from every country in the world. The database will also include research on customary law related to women’s land rights. This helps legal practitioners and women’s advocates create more effective and suitable programming.

http://www.landesa.org/women-and-land/current-projects/

Oiko Credit: Oikocredit places a special empahsis on empowering women in teh developing world. Microfinance provides an unprecedented opportunity for women to take control of their own destinies. One of their important projects is Saadhana – women empowerment at the grassroots. Microfinance institution Saddhana operates through women’s centers in deprived districts of Andhra Pradesh.

http://www.oikocredit.org/socialperformance/en/project-examples/saadhana-women-empowerment-at-the-grassroots

http://www.oikocredit.org/en/who-we-are/empowering-women

Rwanda Girls Initiative: Aims to provide a high quality secondary school education for girls in Rwanda, supporting the ‘whole girl’ through a boarding school environment. 

Rwanda Girls Initiative has been awarded a grant of $15,000 from the Seattle International Foundation Global Program.  This grant will support our investment in training and developing Rwandan teachers and administrators for the Gashora Girls Academy.

http://www.rwandagirlsinitiative.org/article/article_detail/44

Technology & Social Change Group (TASCHA): Immigrant women, e-skills and employability in Europe 

http://tascha.uw.edu/2011/02/another-immigrant-women-video/

Bridges to Understanding: Uses digital technology and the art of storytelling to empower and unite youth worldwide, enhance cross-cultural understanding and build global citizenship.

One of their successful stories is “ Dowry is a Girl’s life.”

http://www.bridges2understanding.org/project_videos/VimeoGallery_public/BridgesIndia_Dowry.html

Crooked Trails : Works with Friends of Maiti Nepal on behalf of Nepali girls and young women who have been trafficked into sexual slavery in Indian brothels. (ANURADHA KOIRALA of Maiti Nepal won the 2010 CNN HEROES AWARD )

http://crookedtrails.com/partners.php

FUSEIQ: They use technology to connect people and bring communities together. Their aim is “A better web, a better world.”

Since 2007 FUSEIQ has been working on the project with Girls Scouts of Western Washington to create a new site to represent the new entity Girls Scouts of Western Washington (GSWW).

The new site serves as a key information resource as well as an effective marketing tool. The Content Management System has improved the organizations efficiency and use of their resources. This has allowed GWWL to focus on their mission to build girls of courage, confidence, and character, who make the world a better place.

Fuse continues to work with GSWW and will soon be creating a custom shopping cart system that will allow users to purchase “goods” for the Girl Scouts, as well as making direct donations.

http://www.fuseiq.com/our-work/girl-scouts-western-washington

Global Team for Local Initiatives: Runs grind-learn-earn project for women of Hamar tribe in remote southwest Ethiopia.One of the staples of a Hamar woman’s day is grinding grain – pulverizing maize between two stones. It is physically demanding work, done in temperatures over 100 degrees, and it takes three to four hours to grind enough grain to feed her family for the day.

Last winter, the Ethiopian government gave the neighboring communities of Wassemu and Dore a diesel powered grinding mill. There was only one problem: the women did not know how to use the mill properly and, within the first 24 hours, it broke.

Enter GTLI – and the Wassemu women’s coop. For over a year the women’s coop had been eager to start a business. Unable to grow enough food, they yearned for a way to buy it. But isolated from the modern world, they lacked both skills and market opportunities.Suddenly, the broken grinding mill presented an opportunity.

 With a grant from Bainbridge Island (WA) Rotary and Rotary District 5020, GTLI repaired the mill – and taught the Wassemu women’s coop how to run it as a business.

 Today, the coop charges 7¢ to grind, in a just few minutes, what used to take three to four hours. With the money they earn, they employ four people – two women and two men – and buy spare parts and diesel to keep the mill going. These are the first jobs in the Hamar community; the community’s first sustainable business.

The new, “extra” hours give the women time to learn reading, writing, math and recordkeeping – skills that will enable them to start other small businesses

Now the neighboring Hamar communities all want their own “grind – learn – earn” opportunity.

http://gtli.us/stories-from-the-field-1/small-project-big-results

Heal Africa:  HEAL Africa’s hospital and community development work address the root causes of illness and poverty for the people of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Some of the Heal Africa Programs for women are : a) Heal Rape Survivors

b) Stand up together

c) Gender justice that supports empowerment

d) Safe motherhood and Micro-insurance- motherhood prenatal care

http://www.healafrica.org/

Mercy Corps: One of the important projects of Mercy Corps for women is Empower Women In India Through Literacy.

They teach hundreds of Indian women to read and write, boosting their self-esteem and empowering them to open bank accounts, start small businesses and participate fully in their households and communities. So far they have met their $50,000 goal for this project — but every additional dollar we raise will help even more women learn to read and write!

http://www.mercycorps.org/projects/indialiteracy

New Course: They are currently working with partners in five countries to bring resources that empower women, and conserve critical ecosystems. Botswana, Tanzania, Republic of Congo, Democratic republic of Congo,Madagascar.

http://www.anewcourse.org/Our_Work/Current_Projects.aspx

Pre Vent :  Their  mission is promoting and supporting maternal, neonatal and child  global health programs through partnerships for education, prevention and innovation.

Pre- Vent has technical partnership with Merlin to promote the training and retention of local women as healthcare workers in rural areas of Africa.

http://www.pre-vent.org/partnersandprograms.html

Pre-vent in partnership with HAPCSO promotes education and preventive measures to reduce the rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS at the community health level and their satellite offices.

http://www.pre-vent.org/partnersandprograms.html

Pre-Vent works towards improving maternal, neonatal and child health (MNCH) through innovative programs of education and prevention to achieve the following Millennium Development Goals:

MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women.

MDG 4:  Reduce child mortality

MDG 5: Reduce maternal mortality.

MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other major diseases.

http://www.pre-vent.org/mission.html

 Programs under consideration: a) Training of community midwives in Obstetrical Surgery to perform essential and emergency Cesarean Sections at rural based community health facilities. This can reduce maternal and infant mortality dramatically. This program is under consideration for technical support in Sub-Saharan Africa.

b) Training of Registered Nurses to become Family Nurse Practitioners and serve their local community-based health care facilities. This program is in it’s planning stages in Guatemala and emphasizes teaching of women and young girls in topics such as sanitation, clean water, nutrition, pre-conception counseling, healthy pregnancy, and healthy newborn as well as the established curriculum for family nurse practitioners.

http://www.pre-vent.org/mission.html

Results: REF has initiated two major projects that ally with organizations in numerous countries: The ACTION Project and the Microcredit Summit Campaign.

The Microcredit Summit Campaign is working to ensure that 175 million of the world’s poorest families, especially the women of those families, are receiving credit for self-employment and other financial and business services, and that 100 million families rise above the US$1 a day threshold by 2015.

http://www.results.org/about/major_projects/

Richard’s Rwanda is a group of Seattle students who are working together to support Rwandan girls’ education. They provide financial support to low-income girls in the rural area of Nyamata to enable them to complete their primary education and 6 years of secondary school.

Their Accomplishments:

·  Raised nearly $80,000 to support girls in Rwanda to finish their primary and secondary education;

·  Awarded a $25,000 matching grant from Paul Allen Foundation;

·  Annual fund-raising events by Seattle students;

·  Expansion from original chapter at Seattle Girls’ School to six additional high school chapters;

·  Developed a partnership with a local Rwandan girls’ school FAWE (Forum African Women Educationalist Girls School) to establish their own chapter of Richard’s Rwanda IPMUHWE to provide mentoring to low-income girls in the impoverished rural area of Namata; The program has officially been incorporated as part of a community service program for the FAWE School. (See below for more details).

·  June 2010 twelve founding members of RRI (from various member Seattle high schools) traveled to Rwanda to teach English literacy to impoverished high girls in the rural district of Nyamata and strengthen collaboration with their peers at FAWE. They had such a successful experience that a cross-cultural trip is now an annual program. They will offer a trip to Rwanda every summer for the Seattle members of Richard’s Rwanda-IMPUHWE to teach English and connect in person with the girls in Nyamata.

http://www.richardsrwanda.org/?page_id=71

http://www.richardsrwanda.org/

Uplift International: Their mission is to advocate and promote health rights for vulnerable women.

Uplift International and Aim for human rights have been working with six civil society organizations (CSOs) from different parts of Indonesia for the last year on a project that helps promote women’s health rights. 

http://upliftinternational.org/2010/07/advocating-and-promoting-health-rights-for-vulnerable-women/

Washington Women’s Foundation

Engages women in the power of collective giving. Through informed and strategic grant making, their members expand women’s knowledge, invest in the life of the community and demonstrate leadership through effective philanthropy.

http://www.wawomensfoundation.org/

Women’s Enterprises International

Women’s Enterprises International is dedicated to creating opportunities that equip women in developing countries to overcome poverty and transform their lives and communities. They do this by partnering with indigenous women’s groups in development projects that provide solutions to three systemic causes of poverty; lack of access to water, lack of access to business capital and limited access to education for girls.

http://www.womensenterprises.org/

-Compiled by Anamika P. Ved, Global Washington volunteer

A group of fifth graders is ready to make change—by collecting it. I was impressed by this story, reported in the Longview Daily News about fifth grade girls who approached their principal about doing something for the people of Afghanistan. The request corresponded with a local Pennies for Peace campaign, leading up to a visit to Longview by Greg Mortensen, Nobel Peace prize nominee, author of Three Cups of Tea, and founder of the Central Asia Institute (CAI), which works to promote education in Pakistan and Afghanistan. A program of CAI, Pennies for Peace provides school curriculum on cultural issues and philanthropy in conjunction with a penny drive. The Longview school that raises the most money will get to send a delegation to meet Mortensen and give him the check.

The article indicates that the girls not only understood the work that Mortensen was doing, they were also excited about the prospect of meeting him and proud of the chance to help bring education to kids, especially girls, on the other side of the world.

At Global Washington, we are thrilled to hear that young students—tomorrow’s leaders—are aware of global issues and are already enthusiastic about making their world a better place. As participants in a broad-based, statewide coalition of academic institutions, non-profit organizations, and leading businesses, Global Washington members are uniquely positioned to coordinate and build a shared strategy for international education.

Since 2008, Global Washington has convened education experts from across the state to identify avenues for collaboration around this important topic. Our education working group is currently focusing on three areas: world languages, building a global classroom in the U.S. and abroad, and pedagogy and competence building.

We are convening three task forces around each of the education focus areas. We are also planning an International Education Conference in September and developing an advocacy plan to ensure that the development of a cohesive international education system is a critical policy issue for the state of Washington.

Please contact us if you’d like to get involved in our education work and help transform Washington State students into responsible global citizens and peacemakers.

These Longview students have the right idea. What are some of yours?

Read the full article on the Longview “Pennies for Peace” drive

Pennies for Peace

Central Asia Institute

Global Washington International Education Resources

With passage of the Fiscal Year 2011 Continuing Resolution appropriations bill in the House of Representatives, consideration of the stop-gap measure moves to the Senate. With the bill, the ever-growing debate on what to cut from the budget also heads to the Senate. Unfortunately, the U.S. International Affairs Budget lies directly in the cross hairs of the deficit hawks.

Maybe lawmakers scrambling to find budget cuts are emboldened to target foreign aid programs because the American public erroneously believes that 25% of the federal budget is spent on foreign aid. In fact, approximately 1% of the U.S. budget is committed to the International Affairs Budget.

Or, perhaps, as former Bush Administration speech writer Michael Gerson suggests, our elected officials are misguided in thinking our current budget crisis is because of spending “too much on bed nets and AIDS drugs,” and not because of “entitlements and aging population and health cost inflation.”

But why should Americans be interested in saving foreign aid programming in such a dire fiscal situation? Much is said about America’s moral imperative to invest in development programming. As a super power with the world’s largest economy and which is undeniably linked to the rest of the world, Americans have an obligation to look out for those less fortunate than ourselves. Those who, try as they might, are unable to break themselves from the cycles of poverty, disease, and violent conflict that ravage the developing world. We must help those that are at a distinct disadvantage from their counterparts in the developed world to continue America’s commitment to humanitarian values.

But let us forget for a moment that roughly 1 billion people live on $1.25 per day. Forget that 33.3 million people are currently living with HIV around the world, 1.8 million of which died in 2009 because of their disease. Forget that rising global food prices are the cause of 925 million people worldwide suffering from debilitating hunger. And let us certainly forget that through its foreign aid programs the United States can do something about it.

Instead, let us consider the value added to the American public through strong investment in global development. Without humanitarian values to back up our foreign aid budget, what is there to encourage lawmakers to fully fund global development activities? In other words, in such a difficult economic situation, what’s in it for us?

First, investing in the International Affairs Budget means investing in national security. By investing in programs such as Peacekeeping Operations, International Military Education and Training, International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement, and Nonproliferation, Anti-Terrorism, Demining and Related Programs, the U.S. is strengthening its national security and saving on costs of military engagement. These programs help cultivate strong diplomatic relations, stabilize conflict areas, and reduce the threats of terrorism and drug trafficking on America’s doorstep.

Military professionals and civilians alike agree that our development funding is a vital component to national security. In a letter to Congress in support of the International Affairs Budget, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen reasoned “the more significant the cuts, the longer military operations will take, and the more and more lives are at risk!” In an editorial published recently, Representative Steve Rothman went so far as to claim that because of the national security component of the development budget, “our foreign aid and diplomatic budget has a return on investment that is at least a thousand fold.”

More importantly, investing in the International Affairs Budget has a decided economic benefit for American businesses and the economy at large. Ensuring economic growth in the developing world opens markets to international trade. Because of the investment in out development programs, American businesses are able to penetrate these new markets more readily.

Take for example, the US Trade and Development Agency helps American companies to break into new markets by establishing links between the companies and potential export and trade opportunities. In 2010 alone, the USTDA funded activities that accounted for $2 billion in U.S. exports. The Overseas Private Investment Corporation finances and insures U.S. business ventures in emerging markets, at no cost to American taxpayers. Both of these agencies are vital components of the U.S. foreign assistance strategy as they are integral to economic growth in the development world as well as economic prosperity and job creation in the United States.

Without a robust International Affairs budget the United States is at a severe disadvantage in its quest for national security and economic prosperity.  We must combine these two reasons with the American legacy of humanitarian responsibility to truly harness the world’s potential and create stability. Because, in the end, a stable and prosperous world is a safe a prosperous United States.

If you walked into the dimly lit, wood-paneled room and listened to the fast-paced talk by Cynthia Koenig, you might be forgiven for thinking she just sounded like another one of those young, profit-oriented entrepreneurs looking for money from venture capitalists or other kinds of investors.

Koenig is, actually, one of those money-seeking young business types, except that the primary goal of her proposal is to make life a lot easier and safer for millions of poor women around the world.

Hence the Wello, a kind of goofy looking water-carrying wheel-barrel (no, that’s not a typo) that she and her colleague, Colm Fay, at the University of Michigan’s business school want to sell to poor people.

Saving time and money, for $25

Water collection and storage, it turns out, takes up a lot of time and resources for people (usually women) in poor communities around the world. The Wello is aimed at saving both, as well as providing a handy storage unit.

“We’ve identified India as the first market we’re going to enter,” she said during a pitch Thursday at the University of Washington.”We think this is rapidly scalable … with a social return on investment of $178.65.”

Okay, I admit I didn’t always follow everything being said. I know vaguely what is meant by a social return on investment, but I didn’t have time to ask Koenig how the Wello, which she estimates will initially sell for about $25, is calculated to have a social benefit of nearly $180 to an individual.

I didn’t have time because Koenig was just one of an amazing array of social entrepreneurs at the UW’s Foster School of Business’ Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC). The event ran all week and ended Thursday.

Koenig’s Wello won the “global health” prize of $10,000 from the UW Global Health Department.

“Grand prize” for perhaps the most unpleasant presentation

Do you know what the phrase “flying toilet” means? Ugh.

For proposing a business-like approach to the global problem of poop, and the fact that people use plastic bags when no toilet’s available, David Auerbach and Anirudh Vallabhaneni, both from MIT’s Sloan School of Management, took home the $12,500 top honor, provided by the Seattle International Foundation and Microsoft.

Sanergy is the name of their project. Their idea, already being launched in the slums of Kenya, sounded a bit like how Starbucks would approach the problem — of figuring out how to make money from something that had for years been neglected (a cheap cup of coffee) as a major business opportunity.

“Our toilets have three key elements that users in slums say they value most,” said Auerbach, describing their market survey results from really crappy parts of Nairobi.

The MIT gang likely won because they seemed to have answers to all the judges’ questions about their business model, competition threats, pricing and logistics. The idea, which you can read about at their web site, is to set up numerous for-profit businesses that reward building public toilets, collecting waste and using the waste to create fertilizer and (through methane) electricity that can be sold back to local utilities. Very impressive.

Other impressive competitors at GSEC included:

• A gang of UW engineering students, represented by Pranoti Hiremath and Christopher Mount, devised a method for adapting cellphones for use as diagnostic devices in poor communities.
• A team from UC-Berkeley, NextDrop, also wants to use cellphones to help people in India find out (through text messaging) when the water utility will turn the water on. Intermittent water access is a big problem. The Berkeley team did win an award, sponsored my Microsoft
  for telecommunications strategies.
• Students from Dhaka, Bangladesh, proposed a business to manufacture inexpensive inhalers for the many poor people (several hundred million) who are impaired in their daily activities by asthma.

Wren McNally, who coordinates the competition for the UW’s Global Business Center, said interest in the GSEC contest has exploded in the last few years. Started in 2005, McNally said, the idea is to stimulate innovative and cross-disciplinary ideas aimed at enlisting business to solve some of the world’s toughest health, environmental, social and justice problems.

“In the last two years, we’ve seen a huge increase in applications,” she said. So far, McNally said, more than 1,400 students from 41 countries have participated in the contest.

Something is going on with this generation, she said. They’re not just interested in getting jobs, raising a family and collecting the standard assortment of material goods.

“They really do want to make things better,” McNally said. And one way do it is through business.

Young Biz Entrepreneurs Compete For Social Good
Tom Paulson | Humanosphere | February 18

Earlier this month at the Global Chiefs of Mission Conference, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah spoke to 300 U.S. diplomats, who were brought home from around the world to strategize diplomacy and development goals laid out in the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR). During the conference, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton highlighted diplomacy as the front line of American foreign policy; Shah complemented her remarks by explaining the current goals of USAID and how US diplomats can help implement them.

Shah stressed the importance of development work, calling it “the forward defense of our national security.” He mentioned amazing progress in Southern Sudan, an 85% reduction in narcotics trade in Colombia, and the continued work towards an exit strategy in Afghanistan as examples of development work’s stabilizing effects on volatile nations. He also highlighted development in terms of future economic opportunities for the United States, saying “the bottom billion” will eventually “represent a large and growing middle class and will require us to be competitive in that context in order to have real economic opportunities.”

Shah went on to describe “USAID Forward,” which will move away from inefficient practices and instead focus on development strategies that are proven to have long-term, lasting value. He briefly described priorities in food security, global health, and economic growth and said that in these and other areas of focus, USAID is seeking to put in place “more effective, more modern, and more efficient strategies to get better results and better outcomes.” But in order to achieve these results, better partnership is needed; “our diplomats and our development experts need to hold hands and pursue these goals together.”

He concluded his speech by asking the chiefs of mission to engage with USAID activities happening in their countries and to have conversations about development goals with the leaders they encounter. He also asked for their assistance in implementing USAID’s new evaluation policy and procurement reforms, and requested that they think through how science and technology can be used as a tool for improvement.

To listen to or read a full transcript of Rajiv Shah’s remarks, visit: http://www.state.gov/s/c/remarks/155892.htm

Welcome to the February 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: International Education: More Critical Now Than Ever
• Featured Organization: China Tomorrow Education Foundation: A Better Future for Rural China
• Changemaker: Interview with Allan Paulson
• Announcements
• Global Washington Events
• Other Events

Note from our Executive Director

Greetings,

As we look ahead to the coming year I’m excited to give you an indication of what you can expect from Global Washington in 2011, as we seek more ways to support you on the Issues that define and drive your organization.

We continue to define our core purpose as serving as a catalyst for greater partnership and innovation for the Washington State international development community.

For the past two years, Global Washington has been working to highlight your efforts by hosting exchanges between you and other groups. We have seen increasing interest in our growing development community from Washington D.C., public and private sectors, and academia.

Global Washington has more than 130 members, most of whom are associated with one or more of these categories of development:  Education, Environment/Sustainability, Health, and Poverty Alleviation/Economic Development.

In 2011, we’re expanding our approach to provide you with more support around the issues that interest you most. To stimulate more meaningful exchanges and encourage greater collaboration between members, we will identify where your specific sector interests align with other development organizations academic institutions and corporations. We will be providing opportunities for you to exchange information, identify partnerships, and source support from organizations with similar strategic interest in your sector. The survey we sent you recently is an initial effort to assess your interests and priorities.

We have heard from many of you that you are interested in coming together and working in small groups. As a next step, we will create working groups for each sector and host events where you have the opportunity to share greater details of your work. Please feel free to contact me with your interest in contributing to this effort and helping us plan opportunities for this year that will provide you with the greatest benefit.

We will begin this sector work by greater focus on the education sector. As an organization active in the sector we look forward to engaging you to contribute to a more specific agenda on education for Global Washington to pursue . In the coming weeks I will be contacting you directly about opportunities to contribute to our working group and preparations for a summit on international education later this year.

In unity,

Bookda Gheisar, Executive Director

Featured Story: International Education: More Critical Now Than Ever

This year is bringing new and exciting opportunities for Global Washington members to shape a cohesive international education system in Washington State that will serve as a model for our nation.

Our nation’s investment in international education will profoundly affect our ability to address critical issues of global development, environmental sustainability and national security. We must better prepare students to enter the professional world as knowledgeable and competent global citizens. To accomplish this, our state needs a unified strategy and integrated international education system.

Washington’s current international education system is disorganized and segregated: K-12 and higher education institutions are disconnected from one another, without common curricula, benchmarks, requirements and priorities to prepare students to enter a globalized workforce and to become effective global citizens and leaders.

As participants in a broad-based, statewide coalition of academic institutions, non-profit organizations, and leading businesses—and with the support of state policymakers—Global Washington members are uniquely positioned to coordinate and build a shared strategy for international education.

Creating a roadmap for the future

Since 2008, Global Washington has convened education experts from across the state to identify avenues for collaboration to transform Washington State students into global citizens. Already, this group has compiled two invaluable resources (available at globalwa.org/resources/issue-areas/education):

• An inventory of global learning at the collegiate level, highlighting the tremendous diversity of global learning opportunities already available at Washington colleges and universities.
• A set of “Global Learning Goals for Higher Education” that have been endorsed by the presidents of 39 Washington State higher education institutions.

Building on this effort, Global Washington’s International Education Working Group has identified three topic areas critical to developing a cohesive, statewide international education system:

1. World Languages – There is a vital need in Washington to develop communication capabilities in world languages that are most important for the state. This includes identifying language priorities, teaching and learning pedagogies, and curriculum and program design.
2. Building a Global Classroom in the U.S. and Abroad – Washington State students must link with students in other parts of the world. To do so effectively requires:
   • pedagogy and desired learning outcomes for students’ interactions with one another;
   • technology and infrastructure for supporting these interactions;
   • best practices and lessons learned by independent schools in Washington State and transferring those to public school systems;
   • building schools abroad and exchanging educational best practices and lessons learned between Washington State and the developing world;
   • program design to facilitate global student interactions.
3. Pedagogy and Competence Building – As a state we must identify best practices for teaching intercultural skills to students and ensure that teachers are well prepared to provide effective global learning experiences for their students. This includes promoting specific goals, evaluation metrics and a vision for international education in Washington schools.

Mobilizing statewide action

Based on our successful experience to date, Global Washington sees a unique opportunity to emphasize K-12 and higher education as a strategy for fostering global engagement. Our priorities are driven by the statewide sense of urgency for programs that anticipate the future and equip our citizens to thrive and to lead in the coming decades.

But to move forward, we need your participation. There are three ways that you can get involved in this important work:

1. International Education Task Forces: We are currently convening three task forces focused on each of the critical topic areas described above. These task forces will bring together key stakeholders in the international education sector, who will identify the most important priorities in each area and translate those to specific policy recommendations.
2. Global Washington 2011 International Education Conference:Building Global Citizens and a Global Workforce through Education in September 2011. This conference will bring together more than 120 representatives from Washington government, business, non-profits, higher education and K-12 institutions with policymakers and thought leaders who contribute to the international education community. Together we will harness our united efforts, explore the most pressing international educational issues, and create a shared vision for a cohesive international education system in Washington State.
3. Advocacy: We will leave the September conference with an advocacy plan to ensure that the development of a cohesive international education system is a critical policy issue for the state of Washington.

Together we can build a statewide movement to support international education and ensure that our students are prepared to be future global citizens and enhance our collective impact on global development.

To learn more, contact Bookda Gheisar.

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Featured Organization: China Tomorrow Education Foundation: A Better Future for Rural China

“As the smile of a poor little girl living in remote village in China with her cancer afflicted mom and the happiness of the children left behind in the countryside by their migrant parents flash into my mind, I realize how important the gift of education is in bringing about substantive change in people’s lives,” says Dennis Su, the President of China Tomorrow Education Foundation (CTEF).

CTEF believes in giving this gift of education and changing lives; so far the organization has impacted the lives of more than 51,000 children. They fulfill this exemplary mission with the support of their dedicated volunteers and donors. “Donate your time and energy and help kids in rural China” is the underlying theme of all their projects.

There is a wide education gap between the impoverished countryside and the booming cities of China. In rural China, many people with their meager incomes can’t afford to send their children to school. The prospect of earning money forces parents to migrate to cities and leave their children in the home village or towns. Usually these “left-behind children” end up living with their grandparents, who take care of the children’s personal safety and daily living but are unable to address their educational needs. There are inadequate educational amenities in the rural areas and children typically study in stone or brick houses, which have been converted into schools. The schoolteachers in the countryside tend to seek better-paying jobs in cities, which often takes the better teachers away from rural students.

CTEF was founded by a group of American Chinese to address this problem of inequality and unreasonable distribution of resources. Their resolve to help the children in rural China was also in sync with the acclaimed 1999 Chinese movie “Not One Less.” Beautifully filmed in a neorealist/documentary style, the movie showcased the difficulties in providing rural education in China. The movie was shown internationally and according to Dennis Su, served as an important tool for attracting the attention of the people towards the issue and fundraising in the initial days.

Since 1999, the China Tomorrow Education Foundation is on a mission to improve education in rural China and prepare the children to become responsible global citizens by renovating schools, establishing libraries, providing teaching equipment, training teachers, funding scholarships, and promoting public awareness of the education conditions in rural China. They work towards this mission through their 100% volunteer and donor-based programs.

CTEF provides financial assistance and moral support to poor students. Their 1+1 student sponsorship program, focusing on high school and college students, provides micro grants to deserving students for up to 50% of their subsistence and school admission costs. To sponsor a student, you only need to donate $150 per student per year for high/middle school students and around $400 per student per year for college students.

CTEF aims to give a more personal touch to its volunteer and donor programs. All volunteers are committed to donating their time and resources and covering their own administrative cost. This ensures that 100% of your donation will reach the students.

The 1+1 sponsorship program allows donors to select a student a list on the 1+1 sponsorship discussion board. The sponsorship discussion board includes information about the students, which enables the donor to make a judicious selection of the student to be sponsored. Once the student is selected from the list, CTEF sends the money to the student and facilitates direct communication with the student sponsored. Donors can personally talk to the student and keep track of his or her progress in school and life. Thus, CTEF helps donors establish personal relationships with the recipients of their donations and directs the money and care towards helping poor children improve their lives.

CTEF has laid down certain criteria for the students listed for sponsorship, which ensures that your time, energy, and money go to those who are bereft of all essential educational aids and resources and are truly deserving. The candidates are mainly selected by CTEF local volunteers, for example, teachers from rural schools. The students then fill out the 1+1 program application form. The information is validated by CTEF volunteers and finally posted on the 1+1 forum.

CTEF also recognizes the fact that access to education includes making significant changes in physical infrastructure and ensuring an adequate supply of needed materials to the children. With the help of a network of trustworthy volunteers, CTEF runs a school renovation program in rural China. The volunteers send first-hand school information and a building proposal. The proposal is evaluated by CTEF and if it’s well-planned for a limited budget and meets the criteria, CTEF goes ahead with the renovation. CTEF has funded 152 of school projects in 13 provinces, worth over $1.4 million (USD).

One of CTEF’s ongoing projects is ShangGang elementary school in GuangXi Province in China. The existing lecture building of this school is not safe for the students in the event of a natural disaster. Due to insufficient funding to construct new building, the children have no other choice but to study inside the old building. Any amount you donate to CTEF goes towards the construction of a safer school building.

CTEF has done commendable work when it comes to areas affected by earthquakes. A few of its earthquakes projects were in Sichuan and Gangsu, the most recent being the Yushu Earthquake Relief Fund. Any amount you donate to this project is used to rebuild schools, school libraries, and student scholarships and contribute towards educational advancement of the school children in earthquake-ravaged areas.

CTEF also gives donors the option to support the sponsorship program in general, simply by donating via the CTEF donor tool. The amount donated is pooled in with other donors to help the students in the program. Thus, you can contribute $1 to a fund for books in the school library, $15 to $20 to supply desks and chairs, $2,500 to $ 3000 for a standard classroom, and $6000-$10,000 to build a single-room rural school. If the donation is $6000 or more, the school is named after a group or individual donors.

CTEF’s success in carrying out volunteer and donor-based projects in rural China can be largely attributed to the support it gets from local communities and corporations in Seattle. Microsoft is one of its biggest corporate allies. Through donations of cash, software and volunteer work, Microsoft helps CTEF achieve its mission. It provides software that improves service delivery and reach, websites and databases to personalize interaction, and communication and collaboration tools to improve coordination and delivery. Receiving software from Microsoft allows CTEF to work more efficiently and keep their operations running smoothly and securely.

In addition to Microsoft, CTEF receives help from employees at Amazon, ARM, Boeing, Goldman Sachs, Google, Honeywell, Merrill Lynch and other companies.

CTEF also works in alignment with sister organizations like OCEF (Overseas China Education Foundation), Sowers Action, Interglow and The Zigen Fund.

As one of the member organizations of Global Washington, CTEF looks for new opportunities for growth and collaboration with diverse groups and people working in global development. Through Global Washington, CTEF gets a platform to connect, share, and strategize with diverse entities and direct their energy and resources towards promoting child education. We encourage you to contribute your time and energy and help CTEF in this noble cause. Donations to CTEF help bring about meaningful change in innocent children’s lives and leave a row of smiling faces.

To know more about how you can make a difference, please visit http://www.ctef.org/Involve/donate.aspx

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Changemaker: Interview with Allan Paulson, President of Pangea

Impassioned by social justice and equity, Allan Paulson, a former consultant in leadership and development, decided to retire from his consulting career to engage on a path of global development work.  In 2003, Allan became President and founder of Pangea, a “hands-on” organization that raises money for grass roots organizations located in Asia, Central America and Africa. Pangea brings donors together, provides educational trainings and on-site visits to funded projects, and makes small grants to support the goals of small communities. Allan’s decision to participate in global development was crystallized after September 11th, when he and others imagined a better way to do philanthropy to create greater change in undeveloped communities all over the world.  “Communities lack financial and knowledge resources. We want to encourage people, to give them a boost and to help them accomplish their own goals,” said Allan. “This is not about us, donors, feeling good; this is about people improving their lives…Relationship with grantees and trust are in the earth of the grant process. We are a learning community. We want to be helpful in the ways they need us to be helpful.”

When I asked Allan about his greatest achievement, he mentioned the name “Raphael Okumu,” one of Pangea’s grantees, and now one of Allan’s good friends.  When they met, Raphael was 27, and had received a grant from PATH to learn how to use “social drama” to educate people in the street to prevent HIV/AIDS. Raphael was from Kenya and had a great idea for empowering youth in his country through the arts. Allan has been mentoring him ever since, and Pangea funds a part of his project.  Raphael has now created an arts academy. With admiration, Allan describes Raphael’s tremendous vision and “his spiritual commitment to support the development of youth of his country.”  Mentoring Raphael taught Allan about the importance of the arts in engaging youth. He has also realized just how critical the issues that youth currently face are (unemployment, unequal access to education).  For Allan, the work is much more that being a donor or a coach; it is about building relationships and knowledge. “We want to learn from others; we want to learn how to become better partners.”

Pangea values knowledge as an essential resource for community development. Pangea is unique in the sense that it promotes education for both donors and grantees. Based on its members’ interests, Pangea organizes educational workshops about various global development issues. The goal of these workshops is to increase donors’ awareness on specific topics (e.g. strengthening the role of women as agents of change, evaluation).  Similarly, during on-site visits of funded projects, Pangea works collaboratively with grantees to design leadership trainings or other workshops, according to the needs of communities and NGOs’ they partner with.

More than eight years have passed since Allan started to volunteer for Pangea. For him, everything happened “smoothly” and it has been a “wonderful experience” so far.   One reason for this success is that despite the diversity of members’ interests, all try to maintain a culture that promotes consensus. Fulfilling Pangea’s mission and maintaining an efficient “process” (promoting education, philanthropy, equity and strong relationship with grantees) is paramount.  As the organization is growing, challenges are mounting. Allan mentioned some of them: implementing a realistic evaluation program according to each community’s political, social, environmental context; incorporating new members into the learning process; and building stronger relationship with the grant partners though “liaisons.” Allan mentioned the need for maintaining and increasing each member’s cultural competency: “we want to respect our grantees’ culture; we want to learn how to support them.”

Pangea’s openness attracts an increasing number of members, now counting 45 individuals and couples. Allan found a supportive community in Washington State. Since 2003, members have partnered with 39 grassroots organizations in 9 countries and awarded grants totaling $477,603. Despite this success, it was with a lot of humility that Allan described his work.  For Allan, reinforcing relationships between staff and grantees, keeping learning about communities’ needs and improving the grant process is what matters the most.

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Announcements

Global Washington Membership Survey

We are working to improve our programs and add more value to your membership. If you work for one of our member organizations, we want to hear from you! You should have received a link to our member survey in your email, and we encourage you to take 5 minutes of your time to complete it. If you didn’t receive the link, email admin@globalwa.org and we will send it to you. Thank you for supporting Global Washington!

Global Washington Directory

We have recently completed a review and restructuring of Global Washington’s online directory database. Following this work we are renewing our invitation to the Global Development community to be listed in our directory. This service is free and is open to anyone with a presence in the state of Washington that is working actively in the global development sector. A big thank you to everyone who has already added or updated their listing! To view our directory please visit: https://globalwa.org/resources/directory/advanced-search/. To add or update your listing, go to https://globalwa.org/resources/directory/add-listing/. For problems or questions, email admin@globalwa.org.

Communications Workshop

Do you ever feel that your organization could be more efficient in communicating to your constituents? Do you ever suspect that not everyone in your organization is clear about marketing objectives and priorities? Do you ever wonder about the long term impact of your organization’s communication efforts and contemplate if there are missed opportunities?

If your answer to any of these questions is “yes”, then your organization might benefit from the development of a strategic and integrated communication plan.

Global Washington is offering a three-hour communications training session with Claudia Ender, who will guide you through the different components of communication planning, and will give you an opportunity to start your own plan with hands-on exercises. At the end of the training, you will have developed a first draft for your organization, and you will be confident about finalizing it with your respective stakeholders. You will learn how to define your audience, set goals, and decide on the most effective marketing mix (PR, advertising, social media, direct marketing, events, etc.) depending on your organization’s business objectives.

The session will be on April 13th and registration will open on the Global Washington website on Tuesday, February 22nd. You’ll be receiving an invitation with more details next week!

News from RESULTS

World TB Day: RESULTS encourages you to plan on outreach event on March 24^th–World TB Day. To help you, there are resources available here. RESULTS has TB experts and patient-advocates available for your local events (community forums, university panels, rallies, TB walks, media events, or congressional meetings). Contact RESULTS Outreach and Advocacy Associate Crickett Nicovich if you have an upcoming event where you can utilize the skills of these experts. There are also mini-grants available: apply for one, or find out more!

Face-to-Face Meetings: RESULTS wants to see 70 face-to-face meetings with legislators by the end of March. Congressional recesses are happening February 21 – 25 and March 21-25. For tips on how to schedule a meeting and build your agenda,  see “Meet Face-to-Face with Your Member of Congress” or contact Ken Patterson, Global Grassroots Manager, or Lisa Marchal, Global Grassroots Associate, for extra support.

NGO Roundtable with Congressman Adam Smith

Congressman Adam Smith is hosting an NGO Roundtable on Friday, February 25^th at the Kent Library’s Large meeting room (212 2^nd Ave N, Kent, WA 98032).  The invitation from Congressman Smith reads, “As a Member of Congress, I recognize the important role played by NGOs in global development. The Puget Sound region is home to a number of terrific organizations working tirelessly to improve access to health care and education, and improving the infrastructure and opportunities for economic development around the globe. I appreciate the opportunity to meet with these groups and others interested in international affairs for a roundtable discussion to share insights and opinions, and discuss the important issues moving forward.”

RSVP to Matt Perry at (253) 593-6603 or by e-mail at matt.perry@mail.house.gov

InterAction’s 2011 Foreign Assistance Briefing Book is Now Available

InterAction has just announced the release of its second biennial Foreign Assistance Briefing Book (FABB). The book covers 16 critical topics, from climate change to agricultural development and health, as well as countries deemed important to U.S. national interests, including Afghanistan. The 2011 FABB presents the unified voice of the U.S. NGO community on foreign policy issues expected to draw attention in the 112th Congress. Browse the comprehensive FABB online by visiting InterAction’s FABB webpage.

InterAction member organizations worked together to develop succinct yet informative policy papers, compiled by the best thinkers in the community, drawing from expertise and lessons learned from working in the developing world. All of the policy papers include recommendations for U.S. policymakers that we believe will help to shape a more just and stable world while also improving the effectiveness of U.S. foreign assistance.

Landesa (formerly Rural Development Institute)

Momentum is a word we use frequently at Landesa – our recent growth is a big part of that, but more important is the growing awareness within the international development community about the key importance of land rights for sustained advancements on behalf of the world’s poor. We think there’s never been a more important time to elevate the cause of land and property ownership.

In the midst of this momentum, we have all kinds of changes to celebrate. Our new name links the ideals of “land” and “destiny,” and will serve us better as we use our voice to champion land rights with our development colleagues. We’re also growing in numbers. Our staff has more than doubled in the past year as we scale to accommodate increased capacity.

This growth has led to expanded program impact. Working closely with government partners, Landesa helped extend legal access to land to more than 2.4 million impoverished families in 2010 alone.

By 2014, our goal is to help 20 million rural families – from India, China, and six countries in sub-Saharan Africa – to receive secured rights to plots of land where they can live and work. You can learn more about how millions of families received legal control over their land last year in our 2010 Impact Report.

We’ll celebrate these milestones and call attention to our work aimed at advancing women’s land rights at our 5^th Annual International Women’s Day Luncheon: Seed the Change. We hope to see many Global Washington friends join us on March 15^th.

Landesa (then called Rural Development Institute) was founded in Seattle four decades ago by University of Washington emeritus professor of law, Roy Prosterman. The approach he designed – to partner with governments to facilitate land rights for the poor – remains the cornerstone of our mission, and will continue to guide us in the decades to come.

Visit our new website at Landesa.org to learn more, and we encourage you to join us on Facebook and Twitter for timely and useful resources on land rights and global development in general.

Our headquarters in Seattle also has a new office address:

1424 4th Avenue, Suite 300, Seattle WA 98101

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Global Washington Events:

Wednesday, February 23

GW EVENT: Getting Started with Social Media: An Introductory Course

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Other Events:

Thursday, February 17

Symposium on Humanitarian Assistance – Cindy Nofzinger, Schools for Salone

Doctors Without Borders: Recruitment Information Session

Wednesday, February 23

Community Coffee with PATH

Symposium on Humanitarian Assistance – Chris Megargee, Global Partnerships

Symposium on Humanitarian Assistance – Bolivia Smiles Forever (open to dental professionals and dental hygiene students)

Symposium on Humanitarian Assistance – Diana Fletschner, Landesa (Rural Development Institute)

Thursday, February 24

Symposium on Humanitarian Assistance – Student-led NGOs

Monday, February 28

Journeys of Hope: A Virtual PartnerTrip

World Affairs Council hosts Tim Johnson author of “Tragedy in Crimson: How the Dalai Lama Conquered the World but Lost the Battle with China”

Thursday, March 3

World Affairs Council presents The Wrong War: Grit, Strategy, and the Way Out of Afghanistan

Sunday, March 6

Muslims for Loyalty Conference

Monday, March 7

Educating a Nation: Women and Girls in the Democratic Republic of Congo

UW Foster School of Business Global Business Forum – Haddis Tadesse, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Tuesday, March 8

SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL REVITALIZATION/DEVELOPMENT

2011 Celebration for the Health and Dignity of Women

Thursday, March 10

Thrive! with our zoo

Friday, March 11

Kathryn Robertson Memorial Lecture in Global Health “The Health of Our World”, Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter

Saturday, March 12

2011 Steps to Healing Dinner Auction Gala

Monday, March 14

Global Health Metrics and Evaluation Conference

Tuesday, March 15

Global Health Metrics and Evaluation Conference

Wednesday, March 16

Global Health Metrics and Evaluation Conference

Tuesday, March 22

Habitat for Humanity – Building Houses, Building Hope Breakfast

Global Partnerships Open House

Wednesday, March 23

Faces of Hope with Friends of the Orphans

Sunday, March 27

Faces of Hope with Friends of the Orphans

Tuesday, March 29

Faces of Hope with Friends of the Orphans

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Last week, at a foreign policy meeting of U.S. ambassadors from all over the world, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reemphasized the importance of civilian power, especially in light of the recent unrest in Egypt and Tunisia. Clinton and the current administration have made diplomacy and development and integral part of their strategy on national defense, as outlined in the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR), which was released at the end of 2010.

At last week’s gathering, representatives from 260 U.S. posts abroad were brought to Washington, D.C., for a policy discussion in which Clinton emphasized again the importance of civilian power. The political climate in a country can change rapidly, requiring an even greater need for quality U.S. representation abroad. “Diplomats,” stressed Clinton,” are the on the front lines of America’s engagement with the world.” She also encouraged them to represent the U.S. in the digital world, engaging with current social media trends to stay up-to-date on what is being said and to respond effectively.

Clinton called this “a critical time for America’s global leadership,” and stressed again the importance of diplomacy and development alongside of defense as the primary components of national security and foreign policy. “We have spent two years renewing our alliances, forging new partnerships and elevating diplomacy and development,” she said. “ Now as we look to the next two years, it is time to build on that progress and deliver results.”

For more information on Clinton’s remarks and the gathering, see:

Hillary Clinton to diplomats: Respect ‘civilian power’

Hillary Clinton calls historic meeting of U.S. Ambassadors

Clinton: Critical Time for American Leadership

Clinton: American Diplomacy Must Be Accountable

The White House and the House Appropriations Committee have both released important budget documents in the last few days: the President released the 2012 Budget Request, and the House Appropriations Committee released the 2011 CR (Continuing Resolution).  These two documents highlight major differences between the budget plans from the GOP-controlled House and the administration.

Most of the foreign aid spending in the budget comes under the heading Department of State and Other International Programs.  This heading includes funding for USAID, the MCC, the Peace Corps, and other development initiatives in addition to funding directly controlled by the Department of State. 

The President’s 2012 Budget Request for the Department of State and Other International Programs

In the 2012 Budget Request, the President proposes a 1 percent increase from enacted 2010 funding levels in this heading, which is also a 1 percent decrease from the 2011 request.  You can find a fact sheet for the Department of State and Other International Programs on the OMB website here.  The President’s budget focuses on making investments in key areas, such as $1.4 billion to address the root causes of hunger and poverty, reducing malnutrition for millions of children under five years old by 2015 (one of the Millennium Development Goals).  It also makes cuts to certain programs and invests in reducing inefficiencies over time- the budget proposes eliminating foreign assistance to several countries, and changing USAID’s operating model to encourage local ownership, which would result in savings and more effective programs over time.  The budget request also reduces bilateral programs to Europe and Central Asia to focus on regions with greater needs such as in Africa, while cutting funding for the African Development Foundation and the Inter-American Foundation.

The House Appropriations Committee 2011 Continuing Resolution

By contrast, the House Committee on Appropriations introduced a CR (Continuing Resolution) with the “largest spending cuts in history” for the last 7 months of the 2011 fiscal year.  The CR makes large cuts to programs across the board, and the budget for foreign aid is not spared.  Here is the section on State and Foreign Operations from the Committee’s summary of the CR:

The State and Foreign Operations section of the CR contains a total of $44.9 billion in funding, which is $3.8 billion, or 8 percent, below last year’s level and $11.7 billion, or 21 percent, below the President’s fiscal year 2011 request.

In order to provide necessary and critical funding increases of $2.5 billion for national security priorities, including a total of $3 billion of military assistance to Israel and a total of $1 billion for the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund, the legislation actually cuts a total of $6.3 billion in other programs bill-wide. The bill reduces almost all State and Foreign Operations Accounts, except for specific security assistance accounts. The bill reduces programs that have grown substantially since fiscal year 2008, scales back contributions to the United Nations and other international organizations and banks, and eliminates wasteful, duplicative and ineffective programs. Additional operational cuts are taken, which will force agencies to take substantial cost-cutting measures.

The CR supports civilian operations in frontline countries such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan and continues the fiscal year 2010 level of economic assistance to Egypt with the understanding that Egypt will undertake significant economic and democratic reforms. The bill also maintains long-standing pro-life provisions and includes new prohibitions on international family planning.

Compared to the President’s FY11 Budget Request, the 2011 CR would include cuts to the following foreign aid accounts: USAID operating expenses by $205 million; Global Health and Child Survival by $1.5 billion; Development Assistance by $1.2 billion; International Disaster Assistance by $431 million; Peace Corps by $115 million; Millennium Challenge Corporation by $490 million; and Food for Peace by $544 million.

If enacted, these spending cuts would have a huge impact on U.S. foreign assistance around the world, affecting millions of lives.  And the Department of State and USAID only account for about 1% of the total federal budget- so the overall cost savings are meager, while putting lives at risk.  See MFAN’s statement about the foreign aid budget here, written by MFAN co-chairs David Beckmann, George Ingram, and Jim Kolbe.

What Next?  The Budget Process

While the CR represents a very strong statement about the foreign aid budget from the House, it is by no means a done deal.  There are still many steps to this bill’s passage.

A CR, or continuing resolution, is a bill that continues funding for the federal government for a set period of time in the event that regular appropriations bills aren’t passed by Congress in time for the fiscal year.  This happens in Congress almost every year- sometimes appropriations bills are passed for some parts of the budget, and all the other parts get rolled into an omnibus CR.  We are currently in the 2011 Fiscal Year, which began in October 2010 and ends September 30, 2011.  There have already been 4 CRs this year, which will cover the federal budget through 3/4/11.  You can find a chart on the status of appropriations bills for FY 2011, including all CRs, here.

The latest CR, HR 1, was introduced by the House Appropriations Committee on Friday.  In order for it to pass, it will need to be passed by both the House Appropriations and the Budget Committee, and then the full floor of the House.  The Senate Appropriations Committee and the floor of the Senate will also need to pass this bill, and in the process they may make modifications to it.  After it has passed both the House and the Senate floors the bill will move into Conference, where members of the House and Senate will work together on a compromise between the two versions, which will then go back to the House and Senate floors for a vote.  After all this, the President must sign the bill in order for it to become law.
 

For a breakdown of the President’s budget request for international affairs and more information about the House proposal, see the USGLC analysis here.