Through an analysis of poverty, exclusion and marginalisation in the context of the processes of globalisation, staff and partners across Africa have embarked on developing a global programme for ACORD. This was enhanced by presentations at a recent Pan-African workshop on research and analysis into the relationships between gender, conflict, HIVAIDS and livelihoods and globalisation. The result was the emergence of a global programme for social justice that makes ACORD a programme in its own right rather than an organisation that delivers them.

ACORD recognises that individual organisations, however large, cannot bring about sustainable improvements in the rights of poor and marginalised peoples in Africa, on their own. It is only by participating with those on the margins of societies to analyse the processes that result in their exclusion and increasing poverty, to develop and implement action plans, and to find common cause with civil society organisations, unions, academics and NGOs,  that the momentum and power needed to challenge local, national and global injustice can be achieved.

While there is no single definable African social movement at present, there are numerous, disparate social movements in Africa which this programme will seek to learn from, support and strengthen. For ACORD staff and programmes, this means moving from being instruments of project implementation to agents of progressive change who promote a shared vision of social justice, good governance and mutual accountability.

To achieve its many new objectives, ACORD is currently restructuring. It is transforming its 47 discreet local interventions in Africa into 10-12 larger area programmes and four cross-cutting thematic programmes (conflict, gender, livelihoods and HIV and AIDS) that work together across Africa towards a shared vision of inclusion and global social justice.

ACORD is also in the process of moving its strategic leadership, identity and management from the UK to Africa. Our London office will continue to manage the finances and funding functions and facilitate networking and engagement with northern social justice processes, but direction, policy and strategy decisions are being made in Africa where we work in partnership with civil society groups and participate in the Africa social movement.

There are four components to ACORD's global programme:

Area Programmes: aims to bring about change in a particular geographical area through a combination of practical activities and advocacy that is appropriate to the context.

Thematic Programmes: aim to bring about change by facilitating learning, research, analysis and advocacy by linking Area Programmes to each other, ACORD with other organisations in the North and in the South and levels to each other, from the local to the global. The choice of themes reflects both ACORD’s analysis and the priorities expressed by those we work with during the course of participatory programme design processes. These are:

Livelihoods: strengthening the livelihoods of people on the margins of African societies;

HIV and AIDS; reducing the spread and mitigating the economic, social and psychological impact of HIV and AIDS on individuals and communities in Africa;

Conflict: creating the conditions conducive to reconciliation between war affected peoples, resolution between warring parties and accountability between international actors and their national hosts;

Gender and Social Discrimination: enabling those we work with and ACORD itself to work for gender equality and to overcome other forms of discrimination and social exclusion

• be more resistant to oppression, harness their potential and take adavantage of opportunities within existing sound policy and practice.  
• to seek alternatives to unjust policy and practice by becoming visible actors in advocacy for social justice and sustainable development. 

This aims to develop an effective institution with governance, staff, systems and organisational culture that reflect its commitment to promoting social justice and development both within ACORD and elsewhere.

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