Strong growth and private sector are keys to stability

mars 28, 2014

5 lecture min.

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Strong growth and private sector are keys to stability

Par Maggie Farrand

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Charito Kruvant (deuxième en partant de la gauche) speaks on a panel at this week's Making Markets Work event, hosted by Creative. — Président créatif & CEO Charito Kruvant (deuxième en partant de la gauche) speaks on a panel at the Making Markets Work event, hosted by Creative.

Avec 80 percent of overseas spending now coming from foreign direct investment, the role of private sector in driving economic development is no longer optional, said former U.S. Ambassador James Michel at the March 26 Making Markets Work événement, hosted by Creative Associates International.

“Private sector engagement has become so important in part because of the shift in development finance," il a dit. To private sector businesses, developing countries are becoming increasingly attractive investment destinations.

Michel emphasized that not just any private sector involvement will do. “Private business needs to integrate with national plans," il a dit. “The consideration of the local environment is just essential, and they have to bring in the abilities of domestic resources.”

Michel joined U.S. Ambassador Robin Raphel and John Sullivan on a panel titled “Governance and the Evolving Role of Private Sector in Market Stabilization and International Development,” moderated by Creative’s Deborah Kimble. It was one of three panel presentations at the event, which marks the one-year anniversary of Creative’s Economic Growth Division.

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It’s Time to Change the Narrative on Women and Security

mars 25, 2014

4 lecture min.

This blog originally appeared on the Building Peace Forum. You can view the original, posted in March 2014, ici.

Cette année, the United Nations declared “inspiring change” as the theme of its activities for International Women’s Day (Mars 8) in order to commemorate the evolving role of women globally. It is especially appropriate since it is time to change the narrative that emphasizes women as victims and passive actors in their communities.

With the attention focused on the protection of women in conflict, specifically from gender-based violence that remains prevalent in many parts of the globe, it is often easy to overlook the on-the-ground realities that women in war zones face daily. Security Council resolutions make it appear that victimhood is the issue. Aside from the landmark declaration of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 in October 2000, which brought attention to the salience of having women at the peace table and in conflict prevention, the focus of this and other non-binding resolutions reflect a strategic blindness about how women actively participate in any society.

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Honduras: Youth centers receive financial boost

mars 24, 2014

3 lecture min.

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Honduras: Youth centers receive financial boost

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San Pedro Sula, Honduras—President Juan Orlando Hernandez presented checks to 14 Youth Outreach Centers here as part of a new and innovative government initiative to use money confiscated from drug traffickers to support prevention programs.

During a March 20 événement, President Hernandez handed out $2,750 to each of the 14 Outreach Centers in this industrial city from the Office for the Management of Impounded Assets. The event was attended by 200 membres de la communauté, elected officials and representatives from the private sector.

Les centres de sensibilisation pour la jeunesse d’Alianza Joven Honduras jouent un rôle essentiel dans les efforts du pays pour prévenir une augmentation de la violence et de la criminalité., and the Office for the Management of Impounded Assets has been working with Creative to support the centers.

Pablo Maldonado, Creative’s Chief Operating Officer who attended the event, expressed his appreciation for the Honduran government’s contribution to the centers.

In addition to the financial benefit, Maldonado said the presidential support of the program triggers “a new modality of partnership with the host country government,” including new levels of cooperation with the Ministry of Security and local governments, and the opening of doors to other prerogatives, such as selected access to confiscated assets.

“We are cognizant that the federal government has limited Lempiras,Maldonado a dit, referring to Honduras’s currency. “For the government to have considered Creative’s program worthy of its support speaks to the value and effectiveness of our prevention efforts. We are honored by the recognition.”

NOUS. Ambassador to Honduras Lisa Kubiske, who also attended the ceremony, applauded President Hernandez’s fight against crime and his support for the Outreach Centers.

“For my government, the topic of crime and violence prevention is a priority," NOUS. Ambassador Kubiske said. “We are conscious of the importance of finding local solutions that can be converted to national responses.”

President Hernandez thanked the United States for its support of prevention programs in Honduras, particularly the Alianza Joven Honduras activities.

“We appreciate the support of [les États-Unis. Ambassadeur] and the people of the United States,” President Hernandez said. “We know that these good practices that we are implementing will help Honduras.”

The Honduran government’s funding will go directly to the Youth Outreach Centers and related municipal authorities, not Creative or USAID, dit Salvador Stadthagen, who leads Creative’s program in Honduras.

The event was also attended by Vice Minister of Security in Prevention Alejandra Hernández, the Mayors of San Pedro Sula and Choloma and 160 other government and Outreach Center representatives from across Honduras.

Creative’s Alianza Joven Honduras program partners with municipal governments to empower youth, their families and communities to prevent and address violence in their neighborhoods.

The Honduran program deepens the achievements of the USAID Regional Youth Alliance Program, which established Outreach Centers in high violence communities in Guatemala, El Salvador and Panama from 2008 à 2011.

Alianza Joven Honduras uses outreach centers to counter identified risk factors that leave youth vulnerable to violence—like low-quality education and a lack of positive role models—and bolster protective factors like values, job training and academic reinforcement instead.

By operating microenterprises like small fitness centers, silk-screening shops and bakeries, the outreach centers not only provide vocational skills and confidence, but profits that make them self-sustaining.

Additional Honduran Support

Separately, the Honduran government is supporting the Youth Outreach Centers through a $1 million contribution, which will be disbursed during the next 12 mois. The first installment of $400,000 was provided in February.

Honduras made financial commitments to Alianza Joven Honduras through an innovative security tax levied on the private sector, which also supports the program in grand scale. Le $1 million contribution is being matched by the U.S. government at a 2:1 ratio.

The Committee of the Tax Security Trust Fund decided to support Creative’s program based on what it deemed a “successful” methodology of engaging youth in educational, professionnel, recreational and other activities, according to the grant agreement. It wrote that additional funds would enable Alianza Joven Honduras to reach a larger number of beneficiaries with added and more diverse activities.

“This is a great accomplishment, and it is important to highlight the new administration’s willingness to cooperate with us in these efforts," dit Stadthagen. “The ultimate beneficiaries are youth, their families, and the communities they live in.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_colonne][largeur vc_column = »1/12″][/vc_colonne][largeur vc_column = »1/4″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id= »barre latérale-primaire »][/vc_colonne][/vc_row]

Le Honduras donne $1 millions pour agrandir les centres de jeunesse

mars 24, 2014

3 lecture min.

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Le Honduras donne $1 millions pour agrandir les centres de jeunesse

Par Creative Associates International

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Tegucigalpa, Honduras—Le gouvernement hondurien a contribué une partie de son $1 engagement d'un million de dollars pour soutenir les centres de sensibilisation des jeunes axés sur la communauté, une initiative conçue pour prévenir la violence en offrant un lieu de rassemblement positif aux jeunes, apprendre et grandir.

Le président hondurien Juan Orlando Hernández remis à $400,000 vérifiez dans un centre de sensibilisation des jeunes dans un quartier de Tegucigalpa appelé La Colonia Los Estados Unidos.

« Nous avons franchi une nouvelle étape dans la construction d’un Honduras différent, un Honduras paisible et tranquille," Le président Hernández a déclaré lors de la conférence de février. 14 cérémonie. "Je sais que ce n'est pas facile d'y penser immédiatement, mais si Dieu le veut, ensemble, nous pouvons le faire.

Les centres de sensibilisation des jeunes ont été développés par le programme Alianza Joven Honduras de Creative Associates International., qui est soutenu par les États-Unis. Agence pour le développement international. La contribution du gouvernement hondurien soutiendra le projet actuel 44 Centres de sensibilisation des jeunes dans cinq villes : San Pedro Sula, Choloma, Ceiba, Puerto Lempira et Tegucigalpa – et contribuer à créer un autre 10.

Les centres de sensibilisation pour la jeunesse d’Alianza Joven Honduras jouent un rôle essentiel dans les efforts du pays pour prévenir une augmentation de la violence et de la criminalité..

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Les programmes de développement ciblés par des femmes sont observés différemment par les chercheurs & exécutants

mars 17, 2014

3 lecture min.

Légende — Les initiatives considérées comme étant coupées et sèches pour réduire la pauvreté ne sont pas toujours comme ça. Rekha Mehra pense que les implémenteurs devraient toujours revenir à la recherche. © David Snyder

En tant que praticien en développement, À quelle fréquence avez-vous souhaité avoir un outil pratique et éprouvé pour réduire la pauvreté? Cibler les femmes a été une stratégie simple et efficace pour atteindre cet objectif.

Des preuves convaincantes de cette approche se trouvent dans les programmes conditionnels de transfert de trésorerie, qui sont maintenant largement utilisés dans plus que 30 pays.

Par exemple, à travers la Bolsa Familia au Brésil, Les ménages pauvres reçoivent des paiements en espèces réguliers s'ils acceptent de fixer des exigences, telles que garder les enfants à l'école et les prendre pour des examens médicaux réguliers. L'argent est fourni principalement aux femmes de ces ménages, car les études montrent qu'elles le dépenseront plus probablement pour les enfants.

Le programme est crédité de la réduction de la pauvreté. Les facteurs contribuant au succès sont une saine mise en œuvre, Échelle de la réalisation 13.8 millions de familles (un quart des pauvres) et la disponibilité des services de santé et d'éducation pour répondre à la demande créée par le programme.

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No books, no problem: Empowering Teachers with Mobile Technology

mars 12, 2014

3 lecture min.

From February 17 à 21, plus que 500 people representing NGOs, gouvernements, private companies and donors gathered in Paris for Mobile Learning Week—an annual conference held by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to discuss how mobile technologies can advance the international goal of Education for All.

The theme of this year’s conference was “Empowering Teachers with Technology.” It focused on exploring how mobile technologies can help teachers work more effectively and, par conséquent, improve learning outcomes.

As part of Mobile Learning Week, Creative presented a demo of CreativeU, le online and mobile learning platform we’ll launch this spring.

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Engagé dans le développement, Malgré le danger

mars 5, 2014

4 lecture min.

Corina López de Mena est la coordinatrice des dons du projet de prévention du crime et de la violence à El Salvador. En l'honneur des femmes internationales’le jour de la Saint-Valentin 2014, nous lui avons demandé son avis sur les femmes de son pays et sur sa profession, et ce qui l'inspire.

Question: Veuillez expliquer de quelle manière votre programme implique les femmes.

Répondre: Notre programme au Salvador El se concentre sur la prévention de la criminalité et de la violence au niveau municipal et communautaire 20 municipalités et plus que 115 communautés à travers le pays.

De nombreuses femmes qui vivent dans ces communautés participent activement à nos activités de programme. Ils identifient les problèmes qui doivent être traités par le programme et les activités qui contribueront à atteindre l'objectif principal du projet, qui est d'empêcher les jeunes de participer à des activités liées au crime.

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An uphill battle worth fighting

mars 5, 2014

3 lecture min.

Noy Villalobos

Noy Villalobos is the Chief of Party for the CONVIVE! program in Honduras. En l'honneur des femmes internationales’le jour de la Saint-Valentin 2014, nous lui avons demandé son avis sur les femmes de son pays et sur sa profession, et ce qui l'inspire.

Question: Veuillez expliquer de quelle manière votre programme implique les femmes.

Répondre: En termes simples, our program would fail without women. Women in the communities we serve are the glue that binds them. The program is promoting the adoption of non-traditional roles for women and emboldening them to become decision-makers. Women as heads of schools, patronato représentants, directors of health posts, church leaders, and members of the police, among many others, are at the vanguard in combating violence at the local level, restoring communities’ sense of normalcy, pride and dignity. Our program recognizes their immense potential, talent and resourcefulness to serve as community mobilizers and build the relationships with government institutions to benefit their development and safety.

Q: En tant que femme, qu'est-ce que ça fait de travailler sur ces questions?

UN: Working on these issues is a remarkable opportunity and an exciting challenge. Leading a team to improve and strengthen the male-dominated security sector through the exploration of new approaches and non-traditional tactics to reduce violence is at times an uphill battle. It requires determination, passion and continued evaluation, assessment and re-direction. The methods used in the past have not proven to be the most efficient or productive, but combined with new ideas, or innovative approaches, we are having a positive effect. In driving these ideas forward, as a woman, I make a conscious effort to be sensitive to the direct and indirect impact of these actions on families and especially women, who are more frequently becoming victims of violence in Honduras.

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Pinpointing risk, strengthening families to reduce violence

février 6, 2014

4 lecture min.

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Pinpointing risk, strengthening families to reduce violence

Par Jennifer Brookland

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Panel at the Youth & Secondary Prevention Roundtable.

A panel of experts exploring youth violence reduction models used in Los Angeles and a new pilot program in Honduras say targeted approaches that focus on at-risk families are more likely to get communities closer to achieving that goal.

« Au fil des années, we’ve looked at the problem through a wide-angle lens and come up with big solutions, and we’ve looked through a close-up lens and come up with individual solutions,” says Guillermo Cespedes, Creative Associates International’s Senior Associate for Crime and Violence and Prevention. “This model also looks in the middle,” referring to an approach used in Los Angeles since 2007.

Speaking at a roundtable organized by Creative, the model Cespedes analyzed is aimed at “secondary prevention,” which targets those at highest risk for gang affiliation—children aged 10 à 15 living in poorer neighborhoods with elevated crime rates.

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Foi, espoir et rollers pour les enfants du Honduras

janvier 22, 2014

4 lecture min.

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Foi, espoir et rollers pour les enfants du Honduras

Par Jennifer Brookland

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REGARDER LA VIDÉO

Can a pair of rollerblades be more powerful than drugs and gangs? Kids in one of the most dangerous cities in Honduras are strapping on skates to fight violence and show their community how young people can be a force for positive change.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][couleur vc_separator = »gris » aligner= »align_center » style= » » border_width= » » el_width= » »][vc_column_text]Father Jairo Guzman is an expert at keeping other people’s secrets. As a priest, he has to be. But the kids he works with at the Cofradia Outreach Center near San Pedro Sula, Honduras have secrets of their own. Secrets like which gang they might be involved with, or even what their real names are.

They keep these secrets to protect themselves and those they care about. That’s why, when one of them was found killed this year at age 19, Pastor Guzman could only identify him by his nickname: La Mula.

Faith_Hope_Love1 What these young people cannot keep secret, cependant, is their need for belonging. It is one of the reasons they join gangs in the first place, along with the boredom, poverty and promises of money, manliness and honor.

So Father Guzman decided to create something else they could belong to. He joined, aussi. And even though he had never been on inline skates before, he pushed past the falls and the bruises and even the occasional jeering to become an active member of Skatebrothers, a club that now sends 35 boys and girls aged eight to 25 zipping around the neighborhood on rollerblades.

“My main objective is to eliminate violence,"Dit Guzman. “But you can’t just tell kids what to do and what not to do. You have to show them.”

Guzman runs the Skatebrothers club out of the outreach center, which has provided about 1,600 youths with a safe space since June 2011. Supported by Creative Associates International’s Alliance de la jeunesse du Honduras projet, the center offers English and computer classes, skills training in things like beauty and baking, and clubs that kids can join to play music or learn modern dance.

Faith_Hope_Love3 All of these activities get them off the unsafe streets and build their abilities. But they also boost their confidence, and help the community see them in a new light.

“Why work with these young people?” neighbors asked Guzman when he started the center. “They’re involved with drugs. They’ll steal things from the church.”

Ever since Guzman opened the center he’s been giving kids the tools to prove those neighbors wrong.

Beyond their academic courses he’s been teaching the youth about values, and how to provide love in their communities—places that are often rife with domestic abuse, violence and broken homes.

Guzman also involves the parents: he makes sure they’re involved in their children’s activities and are aware of their transgressions—and their progress.

When he started Skatebrothers, he gave members identification cards that confirmed their affiliation with the center, and instructed them to be respectful of property and to lay off the graffiti. He made it clear that he was watching them.

Maintenant, community members accept the project, and even serve as volunteers to help run it.

They accept the boys and girls more, aussi.

Guzman says he would have continued the club with or without the neighbors’ approval. But it’s nice to see the impact Skatebrothers is having on the way these young people are increasingly seen as a positive part of the community.

Ces jours, Guzman is asked less about why he’s trying to reach these kids, and more about where they’ve been. When the center ran out of funding, the priest couldn’t afford to buy any more skates, so Skatebrothers has been put on hold. A used pair of rollerblades costs around $30.

The music club is also on pause, after enthusiastic kids played the drums until the instrument was nothing more than a rim and an echo.

But Guzman is working to establish new partnerships and raise money for the center in an effort to get Skatebrothers and the other clubs up and running again.

Après tout, the center and clubs like Skatebrothers are about more than language classes and computer games. They provide acceptance, love and belonging for young people that might not get it anywhere else.

They give Guzman something too, il dit: “hope for youth in Honduras.”

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REGARDER LA VIDÉO

For kids in Honduras, a toy drive fit for kings

décembre 24, 2013

3 lecture min.

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For kids in Honduras, a toy drive fit for kings

Par Jennifer Brookland

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Thanks to young volunteers and one of the biggest private companies in Honduras, kids in poor communities will have new and used toys this Christmas.

Throughout Latin America, Dia de los Reyes celebrates the three kings or magi who traveled by horse, camel and elephant to bring gifts to baby Jesus.

Au Honduras, Lady Lee Corporation, the largest mall operator, is wrapping up a toy drive that will send gifts to at-risk youth in poor communities around the country to celebrate their January 6 arrival, and the Christmastime holiday that grew from it.

The gift-giving is not entirely symbolic: A joint initiative with Creative Associates International’s Alianza Jovenes Honduras-USAID programme, the campaign will send toys to outreach centers that provide youth in violent communities with a safe space to gather, recevoir une formation sur des compétences commercialisables, accéder au tutorat académique et au bénévolat.

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La jeunesse centraméricaine envoie un message uni contre la violence

décembre 20, 2013

6 lecture min.

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La jeunesse centraméricaine envoie un message uni contre la violence

Par Jennifer Brookland

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jvc — Les coordinateurs nationaux d'Amérique centrale’Le Mouvement des jeunes contre la violence a parlé à la Banque mondiale de ses efforts de sensibilisation à la prévention de la violence., et plaider en faveur de politiques plus efficaces et inclusives.

Aleyda Méndez était une nouvelle enseignante travaillant dans les zones rurales du Salvador lorsqu'elle a réalisé que son pays était en grave difficulté.. Lorsqu'elle a demandé à ses élèves de 10 ans ce qu'ils voulaient faire quand ils seraient grands, plusieurs d'entre eux lui ont dit, « meurtriers ».

Méndez était abasourdi. Mais elle a compris. Au Salvador, à cause de la drogue et de la violence des gangs, il était courant pour ces enfants de voir des morts gisant dans la voie publique., et pour que les parents enterrent leurs enfants. Tuer était devenu normal.

Choquée par la façon dont la drogue et la violence des gangs déchirent des communautés comme la sienne, Mendez a commencé à chercher des moyens de s'impliquer dans la prévention. Elle a entendu parler via Facebook d'une nouvelle campagne de jeunesse et s'est rendue à une réunion..

« Nous avons décidé que nous ne voulions plus être des victimes," dit-elle. "Nous voulions être la solution."

Mendez et ses compatriotes ont fondé le mouvement Youth Against Violence avec le soutien des États-Unis.. Agence pour le développement international et Creative Associates International, dont Alliance régionale de la jeunesse Le programme a réduit la vulnérabilité des jeunes à risque face au recrutement par des gangs et a élaboré des politiques nationales et régionales de prévention de la violence..

« La jeunesse a la réputation d’être toujours une partie du problème," dit Méndez. « L’objectif est de sensibiliser le public, plaider en faveur de politiques de prévention de la violence et dire aux citoyens salvadoriens d’écouter la voix des jeunes qui veulent vraiment participer.

Moins de trois ans plus tard, le mouvement s'est étendu aux sept pays d'Amérique centrale, et cette année, Mendez est le président régional tournant de l'ensemble du réseau.

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