Former LA Deputy Mayor Joins Creative

December 18, 2013

3 min read

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Former LA Deputy Mayor Joins Creative

Cespedes to scale up crime and violence prevention programs

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Dec. 20, 2013 – Los Angeles’s Deputy Mayor/Director Guillermo Cespedes, who played a key role in reducing the city’s gang violence and recruitment, will join Creative Associates International in Washington, D.C., in January.

Cespedes—a leading expert and practitioner in youth intervention—will strengthen Creative’s already vibrant worldwide crime and violence prevention portfolio, as well as lead the development of new programs.

“Deputy Mayor/Director Cespedes will be a valuable addition to our global team of experts,” says Charito Kruvant, President and CEO of Creative. “His proven experience and holistic vision will greatly assist communities in Central America and elsewhere that want to live in peace.”

Appointed Deputy Mayor/Director of the Office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development in 2009, Cespedes was asked by then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to take a new approach to the decades-long challenge of gang-related violence. In 2007, the city reported 7,642 gang-connected crimes ranging from murder and kidnapping to robbery and attacks on police officers.

“When a community feels threatened, the typical response is to use handcuffs and arrest people,” Cespedes explains. “Unfortunately, it didn’t work in Los Angeles. In fact, it only strengthened gang identity and membership.”

In close collaboration with police, parks, schools and community organizations, Cespedes developed a series of innovative strategies and a data-driven model to stem the violence and provide young people with other opportunities. It identified 12 geographic zones that employed new police tactics, increased municipal services and engaged the community in the creation of safe spaces. Learn more here.

The new plan worked. For example, homicides dropped from 1,097 in 1997 (54 percent were gang connected) to 298 homicides (52 percent were gang related). To learn more about the approach, please see this short video.

Cespedes’s role on Creative’s robust team

In his new role, Cespedes will be based in Creative’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., initially focusing on the organization’s current programs in Honduras and El Salvador, which are supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the private sector. Cespedes has professional experience in the region. To learn more, please see our Crime Prevention Brochure.

“Los Angeles and Central America are tied together at the hip, so it is a logical step for me to start with Creative’s work that region,” Cespedes says.

Deborah Kimble, Director of Creative’s governance and civil society programs, says elements of the Los Angeles model will be a good fit with Creative’s existing community-led approach.

“We will introduce the model and work with communities to adapt and build their own version,” says Kimble.

Prior to his position as Deputy Mayor, Cespedes managed programs in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Berkeley and Oakland. He holds a Masters in Social Work from Columbia University in New York, a BA in History from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn., and post-graduate training at the Nathan Ackerman Institute in New York and the Bronx State Hospital Family Studies Unit.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”sidebar-primary”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Volunteering to spotlight youth in Honduras

December 5, 2013

7 min read

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Volunteering to spotlight youth in Honduras

Creative Associates International

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When Eli Pineda began taking psychology classes at the National Autonomous University of Honduras, the homicide rate in neighborhoods a short walk beyond campus was at a record high. By the time he enrolled as a senior this year, it had surged another 30 percent.

Tegucigalpa remains one of the most crime-ridden cities in the world, a designation that mars the daily lives of its residents with fear and loss.

Young people are the most common perpetrators—and victims—of the violence. For 23-year-old Pineda, they’re also the best hope of turning it around.

To do his part in leading positive change in his own community and country, he volunteers with the Youth Against Violence movement that is active in Honduras and six other Central American countries.

The movement is working on the issue of violence prevention, and putting pressure on decision-makers to make changes for the country. Creative Associates International, with the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development, was instrumental in launching the movements in the seven Central American countries.

On this International Volunteer Day 2013, Creative presents a conversation with Pineda about what drives him to volunteer, what the youth movement is doing in Honduras, and what it’s like to be a young person there.

All seven country coordinators from the Youth Against Violence Movement in Central America will be in Washington, D.C. to present their efforts at an event hosted by Creative, USAID, and the World Bank on December 11.

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Creating a safe space on Universal Children’s Day

November 20, 2013

5 min read

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Creating a safe space on Universal Children’s Day

By Jennifer Brookland and Maggie Farrand

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The smiling face of a young child in Honduras at one of Creative’s Outreach Centers. The Centers reduce local crime while providing youth with a safe space to gather and receive training. © David Escobar.

There is energy and hope in the smiles of children – even when they live amidst insecurity and violence. Too often, kids are vulnerable to exploitation, at risk of dropping out of school and made to feel small.

Creative Associates International is dedicated to extending access to education for these children. Education is even more important and needed in areas of conflict; that is where Creative specializes, ensuring children have the opportunities they deserve.

Creative’s successful post-conflict education work began in 1989 in Central America, where it used education to complement disarmament, demobilization and repatriation of youth combatants and their families into society.

Since then, it has implemented critical education interventions in more than 26 conflict, post-conflict and crisis-affected countries—including Afghanistan, Iraq, Uganda, South Sudan, Honduras and Yemen. Today, Creative has ongoing education projects in nine countries.

See how Creative’s current projects in Yemen, Central America, Nigeria and Jordan are carving out safe spaces for kids >

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Honduras youth movement wins social entrepreneurship prize

October 11, 2013

3 min read

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Honduras youth movement wins social entrepreneurship prize

By Jennifer Brookland

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Youth in the some of the world’s most deadly cities will have the chance to carry a violence prevention program into new neighborhoods with money from two awards won this week in Honduras.

The young people in the Jovenes Contra la Violencia Honduras (JCVH) Movement won a $2,500 Social Entrepreneurship Award from the Honduran University UNITEC, International Youth Foundation and Laureate International Universities.

“Receiving this award means that our work is well-seen and valued by others,” says Lidia Cálix Santos, a former coordinator with JCVH who now works with its supporter, Creative’s Alianza Joven Honduras Program. “These are little steps that are strengthening our organization.”

The Youth Against Violence Movement provides young people—including those most at risk—with opportunities to participate in public advocacy campaigns to prevent violence in their communities and regionally.

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U.S. Ambassador praises Honduras anti-violence program

August 26, 2013

4 min read

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U.S. Ambassador praises Honduras anti-violence program

By Maggie Farrand

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U.S. Ambassador H.E. Lisa Kubiske addresses a group of private sector employees at two events in Honduras. © Tiempo — U.S. Ambassador Lisa Kubiske addresses a group of private sector employees, urging them to continue their investments in violence prevention. © Tiempo

Addressing an audience of prominent Honduran businesspeople, U.S. Ambassador Lisa Kubiske acknowledged key anti-violence programs and urged the private sector to continue its investments in violence prevention.

“The United States recognizes that the situation in [Honduras] is very difficult, and we support your efforts through law enforcement and prevention programs to reduce violence in your communities,” said Kubiske.

Kubiske highlighted successful initiatives that bring together government, private sector and civil society, including Creative Associates International’s Alianza Joven Honduras-USAID program.

“It is a program we fund directed towards youth. By the end of this year, we expect to create 40 outreach centers in the country’s urban neighborhoods where at-risk youth live and are at risk of falling into criminal activities,” she said.

The Alianza Joven Honduras-USAID program is a two-year initiative that addresses violence prevention through Outreach Centers and partnerships with the Government and the private sector. It is a follow-on to Creative’s successful Alianza Joven Regional USAID-SICA project that reduced insecurity at a regional level.

The Outreach Centers have reached 17,000 young people nationwide.

Now the program hopes to expand support—and ensure sustainability—by finding allies among local and national businesses.

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Creative Celebrates International Youth Day 2013

August 12, 2013

1 min read

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1.3 billion young people are at the nexus of change. They are the entrepreneurs, parents, activists, voters and, indeed, leaders of today and tomorrow.

International Youth Day is an opportunity to celebrate, acknowledge and promote their dynamism. It is a chance to remind all of us that youth have the potential to disrupt inertia and to become a force for innovation and social change – whether it is their neighborhood, country or around the world.

Creative believes young people have the ability to solve today’s most pressing issues. Every day Creative engages young people as key development partners and supports their efforts to realize the positive change they seek.

To learn more, please click on the stories below or contact [email protected] for more information on Creative’s youth initiatives.

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Creative celebrates every day champions on International Youth Day

August 12, 2013

2 min read

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Aug. 12, 2013 – In celebration of International Youth Day on August 12, Creative Associates International salutes its staff, partners and donors who are working together to provide opportunities and hope to disadvantaged young people around the world. (www.CreativeAssociatesInternational.com)

“The young people we work with, particularly in conflict and post-conflict areas, have amazing resilience and motivation,” says Charito Kruvant, President and CEO of Creative, a global development organization. “When young people feel a sense of ownership and empowerment in their lives, they can achieve so much for themselves and for their communities.”

Initiated by the UN in 1999 as an annual day of recognition, this year’s International Youth Day theme is “Youth Migration: Moving Development Forward.” There are some 27 million migrant youth, the UN estimates. Today, more than half of the world’s 7 billion people are age 30 and younger.

Creative’s Youth Programming

With 37 years of implementing global development programs – particularly ones that improve education – Creative is proud of its youth-centered initiatives that equip beneficiaries to lead the way in addressing violence, poverty and unemployment. (www.CreativeAssociatesInternational.com)

For example, Creative has established “Por mi Barrio” (For my Neighborhood) outreach centers to reduce crime and violence in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Panama. The centers provide youth with a safe space to gather, receive training in marketable skills, access academic tutoring and volunteer. Read more.

“Integrating youth is a key component of creating viable and sustainable development solutions,” says Kruvant. “They can be the most creative forces for social change.”

About Creative Associates International

Creative Associates International works with underserved communities by sharing expertise and experience in education, economic growth, governance and transitions from conflict to peace. Creative is the second-largest company owned by women that works with the U.S. government.

Based in Washington, D.C., Creative currently has field offices in 23 countries. Since 1977, it has worked in 85 countries and on nearly every continent. Recognized for its ability to work rapidly, flexibly and effectively in conflictive environments, Creative is committed to generating long-term sustainable solutions to complex development problems.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”sidebar-primary”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Creative welcomes Rose Mary Garcia, Director, Community Economic Development

July 2, 2013

1 min read

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Creative welcomes Rose Mary Garcia, Director, Community Economic Development

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Rose Mary Garcia is a versatile economist, evaluator and manager who brings more than 20 years of applied international development experience to Creative.

She has supervised programs on creating businesses, strengthening institution in conflict-prone areas, improving
fiscal governance, reforming tax systems and M&E of economic growth projects.

Rose Mary has consulted on economic growth for a wide variety
of multilateral organizations, including USAID, the World Bank, the IDB and MCC. Her country experience includes Afghanistan, Armenia, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Guyana, Nicaragua, Peru, the Philippines, Venezuela and the
West Bank.

She teaches at Johns Hopkins University. Previously, Rose Mary taught at the U.S. Naval Academy and Georgetown University, where she earned her Ph.D. in Economics. She is bilingual in English and Spanish.

Welcome to Creative, Rose Mary![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”sidebar-primary”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Creative is pleased to announce the launch of the new USAID Crime and Violence Prevention Project in El Salvador

April 1, 2013

1 min read

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Creative is pleased to announce the launch of the new USAID Crime and Violence Prevention Project in El Salvador

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Creative is pleased to announce the launch of the new USAID Crime and Violence Prevention Project in El Salvador. This project will build on USAID and Creative’s previous prevention programs in Central America with the aim of increasing citizen safety in El Salvador. Creative will work to support the Government of El Salvador’s national level prevention efforts, as well as the expansion of municipal-led crime and violence prevention programming.

Congratulations to the entire proposal and technical team and to our leading international and local partners: the Institute for Research and Development for Violence Prevention and Social Coexistence (CISALVA) and the Foundation for the Support of Municipalities of El Salvador (FUNDAMUNI). We look forward to working with USAID El Salvador, our partners and a number of local stakeholders toward reducing the incidence of crime and violence in El Salvador.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”sidebar-primary”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Honduras: Youth Drive a Future without Violence

March 4, 2013

2 min read

Last week, Youth Alliance Honduras representatives gathered from all over the country for the first National Meeting of Outreach Center Coordinators and Partners to discuss common challenges, best practices, and value added within communities. Each participant shared experiences from his or her outreach center, facilitating a dynamic and productive dialogue about the Youth Alliance Outreach Center program in Honduras.

Since August 2006, Creative has partnered with USAID through the USAID-funded Youth Alliance Program to establish over 100 “Por mi Barrio” (For my Neighborhood) Outreach Centers to prevent crime and reduce violence at the community level in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Panama. At the core of the program’s success is a critical partnership with local communities to address widespread challenges with gang-related violence. The centers provide a safe space for youth to gather, receive training in marketable skills, access academic tutoring, gain economic opportunities for employment and volunteer.

The recent meeting of coordinators and partners from all the Youth Alliance Outreach Centers in Honduras proved particularly meaningful, as it provided a forum for representatives to exchange experiences and establish objectives aimed at increasing the sustainability of the centers’ work. One of the main features of the event was the “Mi CDA en un Minuto” (My Outreach Center in One Minute) video competition. Outreach center volunteers from across the country produced short films to highlight their outreach center.

For an intimate glimpse into their world, watch the winning “Mi CDA en un Minuto” videos:

The Nueva Capital de Tegucigalpa Outreach Center film won first place. Dania Romero, the Center Coordinator, presented the film, which was produced with a song composed by youth from the center.

The San Vicente de Paul de San Pedro Sula Outreach Center won second place. Héctor Campos, the Center Coordinator, presented the film on behalf of the center.

Lastly, honorable mention was awarded to the San Martín, Tegucigalpa Outreach Center for its creativity and to the Búfalo de La Ceiba Outreach Center for its message of prevention.

Taking new knowledge and ideas home, outreach center coordinators and partners continue to inspire and catalyze positive change in their own communities.

CENTRAL AMERICA: Empowering Youth as Catalysts of Change

February 20, 2013

4 min read

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CENTRAL AMERICA: Empowering Youth As Catalysts of Change

By Linda Adami and Carlos Muñoz Burgos

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Music is one of many out-of-school activities offered to youth at outreach centers.

More than half of the seven billion people in the world today are under the age of 30. The majority of this demographic also happen to live in the developing world. Consequently, we can no longer conceive viable and sustainable development solutions without integrating youth as a key component of development strategy worldwide.

In October 2012, USAID published the first Youth in Development Policy to engage youth, improve their capacities, and enable their aspirations, so they can play an active role in the development of more stable, democratic, and prosperous communities and nations. Investment in youth potential undoubtedly has a positive, long-term, and comprehensive impact on development outcomes. At Creative, we have experienced this impact firsthand through our work over the years. Our most recent, tangible experience seeing youth benefit from capacity building programs and take ownership of these initiatives within their own communities is through our work with youth in Central America.

Outreach centers provide a safe space for youth to gather.

In August 2006, under the USAID-funded Youth Alliance Program, Creative began establishing outreach centers in Central America to provide youth with a safe space and with opportunities to define their own future. Under this program, Creative set up its first outreach centers in Guatemala in August 2006 to engage youth to prevent crime and reduce violence at the community level. Creative has since partnered with USAID to open outreach centers throughout Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Panama. December 2012 marked the opening of the 100th outreach center in the region.

In Honduras alone, outreach centers have reached over 14,000 at-risk children and youth from the most violent and vulnerable communities. The centers provide a safe space for youth to gather, receive training in marketable skills, access academic tutoring, gain opportunities for employment, and volunteer, empowering them as catalysts of positive change within their own communities. At the core of the program’s success is a critical partnership with local communities to address widespread challenges stemming from gang-related violence.

The outreach centers are staffed by youth who work as volunteers and mentors, creating opportunities for young people to become leaders in their community and encourage their peers to disengage from violence. The volunteers who engage with youth at the centers have themselves benefitted from the program, strengthening the message. This pattern of giving back results in youth taking ownership in their communities and acknowledging their responsibility to enact change.

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Believing in the mobilization potential of youth in Central America, Creative assisted a group of youth in Guatemala to establish the Youth Movement Against Violence in 2009. Today the Movement, an advocacy group, which promotes a culture of peace, develops public policy recommendations, and carries out activities to raise awareness of the problematic crime and violence. The Youth Movement Against Violence has become a regional endeavor with chapters in all seven countries of Central America. In December 2012, representatives of each of the seven Central American countries gathered in Managua to present regional public policy recommendations on prevention at the Central American Presidents Summit.

By taking ownership within their communities, youth see the impact of their actions at local levels, which further motivates them to dream bigger and extend this impact beyond the community. Aleyda Méndez, a volunteer in the Youth Movement Against Violence in El Salvador shared her thoughts on the impact the Youth Movements and Outreach Centers have had on her work as a volunteer:

MJCV “The impact is reciprocal. The Movement has given me the opportunity to reach my dreams and elevate my spirit and heart to believe in a cause. The Movement has not only enabled me and given me tools for my work as a volunteer, but also it has given me the opportunity to keep reaching for my dreams, knowing that everything is possible if we are passionate in our beliefs. Thanks to all these benefits, now I can also teach and replicate my lessons learned through the motivation that I now possess. This motivation is contagious to others in the fight against violence and for love and prevention of violence. The Movement has given me the opportunity to support the opening of the Youth Movement Against Violence Nicaragua chapter and to work to create a public policy for violence prevention at the national and regional levels. ”

Investments in youth leaders, such as Aleyda, build the foundation of future government, civil society, and business leaders worldwide who ensure sustainable development outcomes for their societies.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/12″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”sidebar-primary”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

ELECTORAL SECURITY: Addressing Electoral Conflict

February 20, 2013

3 min read

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ELECTORAL SECURITY:

Addressing Electoral Conflict

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Over the last two years in what has been termed the “Arab Spring,” the collapse of long-standing regimes in countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya has created space for political contestation that citizens in these countries had never before experienced.

Having demonstrated their strength through actions on the street, the citizens of the Arab Spring looked to electoral processes as crucial to legitimizing government, promoting accountability and good governance, as well as contributing to national stability. While elections can serve these needs if administered impartially and in a peaceful environment, they can also de-stabilize nations and de-legitimize governments if mired in conflict and violence. What is more, the potential for violence can keep citizens away from the polls and deter candidates from openly campaigning. Recent events in Libya and other countries evidence that, despite forward progress and remarkable gains across the Arab world, these processes and ongoing transitions remain fragile. This has particular implications for other countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region slated to hold elections in the coming months—should upcoming polls experience conflict and violence, transitions risk being de-railed, and the legitimacy of governments questioned.

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Recognizing the threat that violence poses to the integrity of elections, over the past year Creative has been working with state- and non-state stakeholders across the globe to develop strategies to prevent, manage, and mediate election-related conflict and violence. Through a program funded by USAID to help state- and non-state actors in these locations manage potential conflict surrounding upcoming elections, Creative’s Jeff Fischer and Patrick W. Quirk performed electoral security assessments in Afghanistan, Burundi, Guatemala, and the Philippines. In doing so, they used the Electoral Security Framework – Technical Guidance Handbook for Democracy and Governance Officers (Framework), which Creative developed for USAID.

Building on findings from these assessments and extensive interviews with experts across the globe, in January USAID published the Best Practices Guide in Electoral Security – A Guide for Democracy and Governance Programming (Guide). The Guide provides USAID’s development professionals, as well as electoral assistance and conflict prevention policy-makers and practitioners, with a global overview of best practices in programming they may use to devise interventions to prevent, manage, or mediate electoral conflict and violence. Within the context of electoral security, the Guide defines a “best practice” as a policy, practice, or program intervention that has demonstrated measurable results in achieving electoral conflict prevention, management, or mediation. The Guide presents best practices as organized by: 1) electoral phase; 2) thematic area; and 3) policy, practice, or program activity by state and non-state stakeholder.

The Guide is the companion volume to the Framework, which describes an assessment methodology to develop a profile of potential threats to electoral processes so that donors and partner governments can develop programmatic responses to prevent, manage, or mediate such threats. In its work, Creative has used the Framework to perform electoral security assessments in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burundi, Colombia, Guatemala, Haiti, the Philippines, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The Framework and Guide are tools that actors in the MENA region and beyond can apply to devise strategies and interventions to prevent, manage, and mediate violence and conflict surrounding upcoming polls and thereby help ensure citizens have the opportunity to express their opinion and tangibly impact their society’s future.

— Patrick W. Quirk, Conflict Management and Mitigation

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