Annual Consultations with Non-Governmental Organizations 29 June - 1st July 2010 CICG | Palais des Nations • Geneva, Switzerland Partner profile In Brief Annual Consultations with Non-Governmental Organizations 29 June – 1 July 2010 CICG - Palais des Nations – Geneva, Switzerland PARTNER PROFILE In Brief The purpose of this booklet is to facilitate networking and to help you identify organizations with similar or complementary areas of interest. This initiative stemmed from comments from Partners attending previous Annual Consultations about facilitating newtworking and knowing “who’s who”. The registration form for the 2010 Annual Consultations with NGOs contains two parts. Part I of the form asked for information regarding the participant, such as name, functional title, etc and Part II asked for background information pertinent to the organization. This booklet is a consolidation of the Partners that completed Part II of the form giving details on the history and purpose of the organization, its structure and activities. The information has been extracted from the form as provided. Some formatting was necessary in view of space constraints; however, no details were edited. The Inter-Agency Unit would be happy to hear from you regarding the usefulness of the booklet, its format, the content and any other points you think important. Please send your comments to [email protected]. Abkhazintercont Ninoshvili street # 101 E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +995 8231 6 48 61 www.aic.ge Kutaisi Web: Fax: Georgia HISTORY; PURPOSE: Mission statement “ABKHAZINTERCONT” (AIC) is Georgian, local, non-governmental, non-for profit, non-political organization. It provides support to civil society development and community development and strives to improve the social-economic conditions of vulnerable IDPs and locals. AIC, together with other members of sivil sociaty is participating in peaceful regulation of Georgian-Abkhazian conflict. “Abkhazintercont” (AIC) started its activities in 1997 and according to the Georgian legislation it was registered at the Ministry of Justice of Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia on May 5, 1998. AIC was created by the people who were devoted to their jobs and who were familier with the socio-economic problems of IDPs and vulnerable people. AIC is the member of the IDP NGO network (CYNERGY) as well as the member of the Association of Business Consulting Organization (ABCO). The main objectives are: • Vocational skills training for IDP and locals, their employement opportunities and improvement of their economic life conditions. • Community mobiulization and their involment in civil society development. • Active participation and support in Georgia-Abkhazia conflict peacful regulation. STRUCTURE: Technical Facilities of AIC and Its structure AIC is a well established and experienced non governmental organization with the contemporary office equipments, furniture set, 3 vehicles, 20 PCs and resource centre. In the main office of AIC there are 8 basic (full time) and 18 on-contract employees. Chairmen of board, together with board members manage the organization. There are two units in the organization, one is an Administration unit and the second is a Financial unit. There are two sectors which are responsible to implement different types of projects. The first sector is a "Sector of IDP Community Development" and the second sector is a "Sector of Agriculture development and small business development". These two sectors implement projects and report to Donors as well as to a board. The main office of AIC is located in Western Georgia. Besides, it also possess offices in Ambrolauri and Tsagery districts, therefore the geographical area of AIC activities covers Imereti, Samegrelo, Racha-Lechkhumi and Lover Svaneti Regions. ACTIVITIES: AIC is implementing an Income Generation project funded by UNHCR. The project goal is: To improve economic conditions of approximately 134 IDPs through income generation activities and to assist them getting an easy access to the commercial market. Project objectives are: IDPs are actively engaged in addressing their economic needs. IDPs accomplish business training courses and apply to the loan program. IDPs advance their skills through the vocational training and ready to address their livelihood needs. AIC prioritizes two key areas in the project: Business trainings followed by low interest loan application and Vocational training followed by employment opportunities. For the small business opportunities, selected IDPs are invited to AIC training center for the business training classes. IDPs are engaged in a series of learning events, conducted by qualified consultant professionals, focused on two major areas, skills training and building the capacity to access small business opportunities. The latter will include small business sessions highlighting tax implication information for individuals and businesses, financial management to track revenue and expenses plus learning to analyze financial data, business planning, learning about the loan process, and how to complete a loan application. For IDPs choosing to begin their own small business, after successfully completing the learning series, AIC refer them to AIC’s loan program. For the skills training, AIC undertake an assessment of the labor market and offer IDPs a list of professions from which to choose the training in or re-launching of a career. IDPs either select a vocation in which they already have some skills and wish to obtain advanced skills or a new vocation in which to start a new business. The apprenticeship opportunities are in-depth as needed, offering a variety of professional choices and of sufficient duration to allow beneficiaries to become more qualified. Action Contre la Faim 4, rue Niepce E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +33 1 433 588 88 www.actioncontrelafaim.org +33 1 433 588 00 75 014 Paris Web: Fax: France HISTORY; PURPOSE: For over 25 years, Action Against Hunger has been at the forefront of the fight against hunger and malnutrition worldwide. In the most affected countries, its teams do their utmost day after day to ensure that people are given access to the most basic of human rights- the right to food. STRUCTURE: Action Against Hunger is an international, non-governmental, non-religious organisation that was created in Paris in 1979. Since then, the organisation has developed within the framework of an interdependent international network, with head offices in the UK (London), France (Paris), Spain (Madrid), Canada (Montreal) and the US (New York). ACTIVITIES: Action Against Hunger implements activities in 5 different fields: Nutrition We set up therapeutic feeding centers to treat malnourished children and adults. We also help control and prevent malnutrition through child-growth monitoring, nutritional surveys, and public education. Our therapeutic feeding centers, at the heart of our emergency programs, save children who are between life and death. Food Security To protect food security in the long term, it is essential to support local agriculture and economies by ensuring access to new resources. ACF distributes seeds and tools as well as conducting training programs in income-generating activities such as farming, gardening, animal breeding, and food conservation. Our food security programs put people on the road to self-sufficiency. Water & Sanitation Clean water and sanitation prevent the spread of disease. We provide access to safe drinking water by drilling wells, tapping springs, and installing water systems. We train local teams and whole communities to maintain equipment and about the importance of clean water and sanitation. Page 1 of 107 Health A vicious circle exists between disease and malnutrition. A malnourished child is more vulnerable to diseases than a well-fed child. A sick child, weakened by illness, often becomes a victim of malnutrition. It is therefore necessary to fight disease to combat hunger. We set up mother and child health centers to provide immunization and pre/post-natal care. Our public health programs train medical staff, provide medicine, monitor and control epidemics, and rehabilitate clinics. Advocacy Action Against Hunger raises awareness on man-made hunger and seeks to alert the international community, in the manner most appropriate to the situation, when human rights and especially the right to food are violated. Action Against Hunger denounces the use of hunger as a weapon against civilian populations. The organisation publishes a bi-annual report, analysing the mechanisms of hunger and studying ways of finding real solutions. Adult Multicultural Education Services, AMES Level 5 E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +61 3 9926 4696 255 William Street www.ames.net.au +61 3 9670 8573 Melbourne, Victoria Web: Fax: Australia HISTORY; PURPOSE: Adult Multicultural Education Services (AMES) is a not-for-profit organisation enacted by an act of Parliament. In 1951, AMES began providing English to new settlers in Australia. More than half a million students have attended AMES programs and services since its post-war inception. AMES has grown to provide settlement, education and employment services to our culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) clients. Today, AMES is the largest provider of English language and Settlement services in Victoria, in addition to being a major supplier of specialist employment and training services in Melbourne. Every year, AMES successfully enrols and supports over 40,000 people with starting their new homes, settling into