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Memoria inglés-ok 3/8/07 10:44 Página 1 Annual report 2006 entreculturas Memoria inglés-ok 3/8/07 10:44 Página 2 1 Letter from the Director 2 In a few words 4 About us con- 8 Our work in the South 20 ...and in the North 42 Good practices, an obligation to development 48 Clear Accounts 56 2006 Projects tents 74 Our gratitude t Edition: Entreculturas. C/ Pablo Aranda 3, Madrid 28006. Tel. 91 590 26 72. Fax: 91 590 26 73. E-mail: [email protected] Página web: www.entreculturas.org Memoria inglés-ok 3/8/07 10:44 Página 1 ___1 Agustín Alonso SJ Entreculturas Director letter from Dear Friends of Entreculturas: Since last year’s letter, many people have come our way, both in Latin America and Africa. My most vivid image is of the boys and girls, 11.000 in total, at the Refugee Camps in Rwanda, where the education given by the Jesuit Refugee Service will be the only belonging they will be able to take back with them when they return to their home countries. There is a face, a story, behind each person. Hundreds of faces who are friends, new opportunities to meet, to accompany and to work with, side by side, in a world in permanent evolution; sometimes with the joy of achieving hopeful changes and sometimes, simply accompanying the pain and trying to make it hurt less. “People in movement” has been the motto of our National Encounter, mainly focused on the African continent. Movement and Africa, an attitude and a reality that have marked our activity during this past year. Movement and opening to Africa. We have worked, together with Fe y Alegría, on how to support education in the African continent, especially with the Jesuit Refugee Service. To accompany, serve and defend those who accompany, serve and defend is the task of Entreculturas and our way of being present in Africa. The Fe y Alegría schools advance in their opening to society. This was agreed at the 37th International Congress of this Movement in Bolivia under the title “Education and Community Social Promotion”. This line of work is recommended by us in our report “The Official Aid for Education in Spotlight” a first analysis of the Spanish official cooperation on education in the framework of our advocacy work in the North. Many friends from Latin America have visited us this year, sharing their concerns and projects and our work and worries with us. Many of them have also come from Africa, increasingly present in Entreculturas. Last of all, our permanent internal thinking and discussion to increase and improve our work. Improvement regarding the management of our projects, the education given in the schools we support and our internal work, keeping a permanent attitude of transparency and open to what our collaborators have to say to us. All of this will make up our future Strategic Plan 2008-2012. We try to walk this path with our local partners and the populations we support, side by side, feeling their setbacks and joys. Because, in the end, this is the only way that the building of a local and global fairer world will be able to answer to the different cultures, concerns and realities that live together on earth. the director Memoria inglés-ok 3/8/07 10:44 Página 2 in a fe What do we do in the South? We aim for education to reach the largest number of people but always improving its quality and aimed at social change. For this purpose, we support initiatives that promote the education for the less favoured in Latin America, Africa and Asia. We not only carry out specific projects but we also accompany educational programmes and procedures. Education and community promotion are complementary in advancing towards civic, labour and social participation and democratic behaviour. Building classrooms, educating teachers, supporting radio based education programmes, labour skill training centres or promoting education in refugee camps are among the activities we carry out. What do we do in Spain? A change of conscience in the North is the key to end the unfair international relations. We carry out campaigns on education, communication and research to make the Spanish society aware that education is essential for development. We also work on public advocacy in order to make govern- ments meet their international commitments for a world with more justice. In 2004, we were named representatives of the Development NGOs in the Development Council together with four other organisations. Our work in Spain is possible thanks to the efforts and enthusiasm of hundreds of volunteers who make this objective a worthy cause of self engagement. Why is the lack of education a priority problem? Since 2000, 30 million more children go to school. But progress is too slow. At this rhythm, many countries will not succeed in having an Education for All until 2150, leaving way behind the engagement of attaining the goal by 2015. This limitation will determine their lives. We believe education is a key tool in order to reduce the vulnerable position of millions of people in the world. The education we believe in enables job opportunities, self esteem and social awareness for change. words Memoria inglés-ok 3/8/07 10:44 Página 3 Our Partners in the South Our main partners in America and Africa are the popular education movement Fe y Alegría and the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS). The quality and seriousness of their work has been proved for decades. Entreculturas is one of the members of the Fe y Alegría network, one of the most relevant worldwide educational organizations in 17 countries with 1.200.000 students. The JRS promotes education in the very difficult environment of the refugee camps and displaced populations as a consequence ew of the many armed conflicts, unstable political situations and natural catastrophes that take place nowadays. Do we have network initiatives? We are firm believers in networking with other social agents as enrichment both in thinking processes and in the impact of projects and promoted activities. We work in close collaboration with Alboan and other Spanish Development NGOs. We belong to the Xavier Network (European NGOs network closely related to the Society of Jesus). We support joint Campaigns with the Spanish Development NGO Coordinator, CONGDE, regional and local coordinators and with the REDES Platform which we currently preside. We are members of the Global Campaign for Education, the Spanish Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers and the “No doubt, no debt” campaign. How do we control the actual distribution of our funds? All our accounts are audited by an external audit firm on an annual basis which is included in this report. The audit for the year 2006 has been done by BDO Audiberia. In order to ensure our good practices, we submit to the evaluation of the Follow Up Commission of the Code of Conduct of the CONGDE, of which our Deputy Director is a member and Fundación Lealtad analyzes our degree of transparency. This Foundation’s report, for 2006, has established once again that we comply with all the required maximums. Finally, all donor institutions control the final destination of their contributions and make their own evalua- tion of our joint projects. Our accounts In Entreculturas we are making a major effort in order to increase donations from members or donors who wish to share our project. During the year 2006, 53% of our funds have been raised by our contributors and there are increasingly more people who support our work in a continuous way, convin- ced that the real commitment for development cannot be the result of responding by impulses to concrete actions. The other donations received come from public entities such as the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI) through Programmes and Agreements for Latin America and other institutions such as the municipalities and regional governments. 92,8% of total funds received has been used in projects in the South and for development aid education and social awareness education in the North. How can you help? We suggest you join as a member, giving a donation, enrolling in our volunteer programmes or participating in the campaigns we promote either individually or collectively. Another very useful way of collaborating is to be well informed on our reality, the causes of unequal situations and injustice and communicating that access to education abolishes unequal situations and transforms vulnerable realities. If you are interested please contact us trough our web www.entreculturas.org or by telephone 902 444 844. Memoria inglés-ok 3/8/07 10:44 Página 4 about Entreculturas is a Development NGO promoted by the Jesuits. It is born in the South and believes that education is a key tool for development, transformation, social change and intercultural dialogue. This is why we support education projects among the excluded populations of Latin America, Africa and Asia. Our engagement also leads us to raise awareness among the Northern population so as to enable them to change structures and act as change agents for the South in favour of justice. Memoria inglés-ok 3/8/07 10:44 Página 5 us An international Network Entreculturas is a member of two international networks with roots in the South. Fe y Alegría is an institution, which since 1955, aims for education to reach the less favoured populations in all Latin America. It works to educate in all dimensions promoting a free and responsible individual; an education striving for change from and with the communities to build a fairer, fraternal, democratic and participating society.