|
|
|
In
Acord
Newsletter
Issue 1: February 2001 Article 7: ACORD's annual region meetings focus on process for change ACORD's process for change and the implications these changes will have for each of the regions were some of the key considerations at ACORD's four annual regional meetings in November and December 2000. The Horn of Africa regional meeting at the Fairview Hotel in Nairobi (5-10 November) started with a workshop on micro-finance and change. The workshop launched with short presentations on ACORD's micro-finance work in Eritrea, Sudan and Ethiopia. These covered the history of ACORD interventions in each of the countries, the main features of the schemes and the problems encountered in each of the areas. This was followed by an organisational perspective on micro-finance, poverty alleviation and gender and the future of micro-finance in ACORD. The workshop continued with a discussion on micro-finance as a distinct theme for ACORD, including the use of micro-finance in conflict and post-conflict situations. There was also a discussion on ACORD's proposed micro-finance conference scheduled for June 2001. The workshop was followed by a briefing by ACORD's Executive Director, Dave Waller, on the organisation's process for change and a discussion on the implications of the changes for ACORD's programming in the Horn. The meeting concluded with an analysis of potential area programmes in the Horn and short briefings of programme developments from each of the country teams. The Southern Africa regional meeting at Bentley's Lodge in Pretoria (14-18 November 2000) included a three day workshop on funding and grant management as well as nightly seminars on capacity building. The workshop was aimed at improving grant management within ACORD and at increasing the confidence and ability of country and programme co-ordinators to raise funds locally. It focused on methodologies and tools to increase local fund raising, systems for ensuring quality of work and communications issues. The workshop participants agreed that ACORD should focus on the need for better communications both within the organisation and between itself and its donors and that it should improve its systems (design, use and management) to improve accountability and meet donors' expectations. The workshop was followed by a presentation by Mike Hammond, DFID-SA on the issue of dealing with donors. The meeting concluded with a presentation on the process for change and a discussion on the region's strategic directions. It was agreed that the Southern Africa programmes would focus on 'HIV/AIDS and Gender' and 'Governance, Civil Society and Ethnicity' as their key thematic areas. The West Africa regional meeting in Paris (21-24 November) coincided with a Focus meeting with a number of donors. The East Africa and Great Lakes regional meeting at the Lake View Hotel in Mbarara, Uganda (3-7 December) began with a workshop on working in and on conflict and concluded with a presentation and discussion on the process for change. A report of the conflict workshop appears here.
|
