Message-ID: <36EC7D53.364433C3@idn.org> Date: Sun, 14 Mar 1999 22:24:03 -0500 From: Christopher Byrne <mailto:info@IDN.ORG> Subject: This Week at the International Development Network To: mailto:INTDEV-L@pete.uri.edu
Apologies for any cross-postingThis week the International Development Network at http://www.idn.org/ continues to track agencies efforts to tell their stories and USAID still lags far behind (hopefully they will turn this around). You can see this information at the "Transparency: By the Numbers" Section of the IDN Home Page.
Here is what else is new at the IDN Web Site this week:
NEW MEMBERS
The IDN is pleased to welcome as new members Mr. Milton Lawrence and Mr. Patrice Backer.
Mr Lawrence, from Dominica, holds a BSc degree in Food Science and Management from the University of London and an MBA degree from the Cranfield School of Management in the UK.
He spent nine years in senior management in a career spanning the public, non-profit and private sectors.
He was Regional Director of the East Caribbean Organisation of Development Foundations (ECODEF), a regional NGO that fund-raised and advocated for, and providing institutional support to, its member National Development Foundations (NDFs) in the Eastern Caribbean. [NDFs are involved in the provision of credit, training and technical assistance to micro and small businesspersons]. Prior to that, he served as Executive Director of NDF Dominica. He also worked in the Ministry of Agriculture of Dominica for six years, first in the Produce Chemist Laboratory as a researcher and then later with the Pesticide Control Board and the Agricultural Extension Unit.
He has served on various boards and committees at local and regional level, including the Roseau Cooperative Credit Union (largest in the OECS), The Dominica National Development Corporation, NDF Dominica and USAID Regional Advisory Committees for its Caribbean Policy and Small Enterprise Assistance Projects.
Mr Lawrence is currently pursuing a career as a Business and Management consultant.
Mr. Backer, from the USA, holds a bachelor's degree in Engineering Sciences from Harvard University. He also holds a joint MBA in International Finance and MA in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton School/Lauder Institute.)
Mr. Backer's career in the private sector was spent mostly at J.P. Morgan & Co., a Wall Street investment bank. He was an investment banker and securities trader for the firm and focused on Emerging Markets (Latin America, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa.) He has extensive experience in the banking, oil and gas, and telecommunications sectors as well as an intimate knowledge of the financial markets of many developing countries.
Mr. Backer currently works as an independent consultant, mostly for financial institutions in developing countries or for US organizations working in these countries. For example, he is an advisor to Banque Nationale de Crédit, Haiti's third-largest commercial bank, on the restructuring of their credit department (organizational structure, loan portfolio, etc.) On the development side, he has worked with the Cooperative Housing Foundation (Silver Spring, Maryland) on innovative USAID-funded micro-credit programs in Jordan and Lebanon as well on housing-related projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. His interest is to work with financial institutions, from small community-based micro-finance institutions to full-fledged commercial banks, in two areas: (1) restructuring or strengthening of their institutional and financial structures and (2) development of customized solutions to extend credit to disadvantaged entrepreneurs.
Mr. Backer is fluent in French (native), English, Haitian Creole, and proficient in Spanish.
Their CVs are available for download at http://www.idn.org/members/index.htm
Information on how to become a sponsoring member of the IDN may be found at http://www.idn.org/membership/index.htm _______________________________________________________________________
TOOLS YOU CAN USE
This week's tool is the web site for Business Opportunities with the New Zealand Official Development Assistance Program.
Last week's tool was the web site for Microcredit Information on Brazil and WorldWide. The site includes texts on microcredit, in Brazil and in the world, in Portuguese and in English. _______________________________________________________________________
QUICK LINK OF THE WEEK
This week's quick link is to the web site for the Fortieth Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank and Fourteenth Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Investment Corporation being held this week in Paris. The web site includes live and summary video feeds from the meetings.
Last week's quick link was to web site for the AusAID Meeting on "Development Cooperation: Responding to the Asia Crisis", held this past March 5 in Sydney. _______________________________________________________________________
NEW LINKS
American Jewish World Service - a non-profit organization dedicated to providing nonsectarian humanitarian assistance and emergency relief to disadvantaged people in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, Russia and Ukraine.
Asian Institute For Development Communication (Aidcom) - works towards furthering the knowledge of development issues through the promotion of effective communication. Aidcom was formed in 1986 with the mandate to strengthen the link between communication and development in Asia.
Center for Citizen Initiatives (CCI) - is a San Francisco-based non-profit organization dedicated to empowering Russian citizens to take responsibility for their personal futures and assisting Russia in its transition to a market-based economy and a civil society.
Committee for the Promotion and Advancement of Cooperatives - COPAC is a successful and on-going partnership between representatives of the cooperative movement together with farmers' and workers' organizations, and the United Nations and its agencies.
East and Southeast Asia Regional Network for Better Local Governments - showcases individual successful projects and the general management approaches adopted by innovative local governments.
Enterprise Development International - enabling the poor to free themselves from poverty through microenterprise -- small loans, business training and technical assistance provided to those with the ability and the desire to start or expand small income-producing businesses.
German Foundation for World Population - supports the capacity-building of NGOs working in the area of reproductive health including HIV/AIDS-prevention and family planning work for adolescents and young women. (German/English)
International Law Institute - Washington, DC and Kampala, Uganda - The ILI is a non-profit organization dedicated to finding practical solutions to developing county issues. Established in 1955, the ILI trains professionals from developing countries in issues of finance, management and law.
New Zealand Official Development Assistance (NZODA) - provides support for economic and social development in developing countries, especially in the South Pacific and Asia Regions. It is managed by the Development Cooperation Division (DEV) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in conjunction with New Zealand's Diplomatic Posts.
Organizzazione di Volontariato Internazionale Cristiano/Organization of Christian International Voluntary Service - service in the spirit of Christian Doctrine (Italian)
Pan-African Civic Educators Network - 30 organisations from 12 countries involved in civic education in Africa who have formed a network as a necessary step towards enhancing their work in the continent.
WORKAID - UK-based charity that gives tools and equipment to people in need at home and abroad so they can become self supporting. Second hand items are refurbished and given to groups running training projects, mainly in Africa, where they are used to teach practical skills.
These links were added on March 7:
Adventist Development and Relief Agency, Thailand - currently operates in eight of the poorest provinces in Thailand, which are situated primarily in the North and Northeast of the country.
Africa Policy Information Center - primary objective is to widen the policy debate in the United States around African issues and the U.S. role in Africa, by concentrating on providing accessible policy-relevant information and analysis usable by a wide range of groups and individuals.
AgBioForum - A quarterly magazine on the economics and management of agrobiotechnology. AgBioForum is intended for a wide audience including industry, government, media, farmers and academia. It is available free of charge.
Alliance for United Nations Sustainable Development Programs - a network of U.S. organizations and individuals in support of United Nations programs that advance sustainable development globally.
EarthVoice - mission is to work with others to create a humane society by protecting animals and ecosystems, fostering sustainable development, and instilling an earth ethic.
Fulbright Economics Teaching Program in Vietnam - Applied Economics for provincial policymakers in Vietnam.
Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining - responsible for the development, introduction and maintenance of an Information Management System for Mine Action, focused on the needs of the UN.
JMU Humanitarian Demining Information Center - humanitarian demining information from James Madison University.
United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA) - is a nonprofit, nonpartisan national organization dedicated to enhancing U.S. participation in the United Nations system and to strengthening that system as it seeks to define and carry out its mission.
UNA-USA Council of Organizations - These organizations share the common goals of making the American public more knowledgeable about global issues, for informing and educating the public about the United Nations, and for strengthening the U.N. system.
Links with an (*) are modified links or link descriptions. _______________________________________________________________________
NEW PUBLICATIONS
Improving the Quality of Reproductive Health and Family Planning Services
Family Health International has made the Fall, 1998 Edition of Network, their quarterly health bulletin available on their web site. This edition contains stories on ways to improve the quality of family planning services include better staff training and client counseling, as well as offering clients a range of methods from which to choose. Also in this issue of Network, a contraceptive update reviews how different methods affect menstrual bleeding, an important consideration when selecting a method.
Links to multi-language versions of this document are available at the IDN web site. _______________________________________________________________________
NGO/Project Profiles
This week we feature "Now Software To Quench Thirst of Parched Indian Villages".
In Rajasthan, voluntary agencies have worked out a new software program which will help villagers predict their drinking water supplies, and remind us of the receding dream of providing every human being with a reliable and safe source of water.
Find out more in the NGO/Project Profiles section of the IDN Home Page and feel free to send us information on your projects or NGO for posting. _______________________________________________________________________
The IDN plans to continue our growth and to expand the depth and breadth of our information services. If you have not yet thought about a membership/sponsorship in the IDN, we encourage you to consider becoming a sponsor/member of the fastest growing, most comprehensive and current International Development Web Site on the Internet! Information is available at http://www.idn.org/membership/index.htm