A Global Programme for Change

ACORD learning from 25 years' experience working with the poor and marginalised in Africa has led to an exciting new approach in which its role is shifting from that of practitioners to that of activists. The organisation's focus is shifted from assisting people in their efforts to manage the consequences of injustice to participating with them in researching, analysing and taking action to challenge the systems, structures and causes of their poverty, marginalisation and exclusion.

Vision
The vision of the programme is a society in which all citizens are equally able to achieve their rights and fulfil their responsibilities.

Goal
The programme's goal is social justice in social, economic and political policy and practice, both internationally and nationally. Our vision of social justice is rooted in the definitions of economic, social and political rights defined by international treaties, protocols, charters and development targets developed during the past 50 years. We recognise that those on the margins of society have not been involved in developing such definitions of rights nor in holding those with power accountable for their implementation.

Objective
The programme aims to support the development of African social movements capable of bringing about social justice and rights-based development.

ACORD's Role

• to provide information on international rights and ensure the tools are available to access them.
• to strengthen the capacity of those affected by poverty and marginalisation (the excluded) to bring about change on their own behalf through action, participation and advocacy in common cause with others.
• to develop a cadre of staff who are effective activist agents of change as well as skilled development practitioners.
• to facilitate the participation of some of the poorest and most marginal groups in Africa. To support them to research, analyze and articulate their understanding of the situation and the solutions
• to support the mobilisation of partners and to empower them to constitute a critical mass as part of a global social movement focussed on achieving social justice.
• to advocate directly - not as representatives of the poor and marginalised but as active global citizens concerned for the rights and welfare of all.
• to link with civil society, movement participants and other institutions for development across Africa, and with civil society organisations, Diaspora groups and social movements in the North.
  

Moving from delivering services to levering change
Over the years, many of our programmes have moved away from service delivery and have leant more on research, rights-based, catalytic processes and approaches. The developments in participatory methods have triggered an increasing awareness of the complexity of factors that result in poverty, exclusion and marginalisation, which include global systems of exploitation, manipulation and injustice.

Through the participatory analysis of poverty, exclusion and marginalisation in the context of the processes of globalisation, staff and partners across Africa have embarked on the development of a global programme for ACORD. This was enhanced by presentations at a recent Pan-African workshop of research and analysis into the relationships between gender, conflict, HIV/AIDS 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 people in Africa on their own. The momentum and power needed to challenge local, national and global injustice can only be achieved 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 other groups, unions, academics and NGOs etc.

While there is no single definable African social movement at present, there are numerous disparate social movements in Africa that 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 global objectives, ACORD is restructuring:
It is transforming 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 in a global programme across Africa towards a shared vision of inclusion and global social justice.

It is in the process of moving its strategic leadership, identity and management from the UK to Africa. Organisational direction, policy and strategy decisions will be made in Africa where we work in partnership with civil society groups and participate in Africa social movements. The London office will provide a liaison and funding function, facilitating networking and engagement with donors and Northern social justice processes.

How we effect social change

ACORD's global programme is made up of four components:

Area Programmes
These are aimed at bringing about change in a particular geographical area through a combination of practical activities and advocacy that is appropriate to the context.

Thematic Programmes
These are aimed at bringing about change by facilitating learning, research, analysis and advocacy, both locally and globally, by linking area programmes to each other and to other organisations in the South and in the North. The choice of themes reflects both ACORD's analysis and the priorities expressed by those we work with during the course of the participatory programme design processes. The themes are:

• 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.
• Livelihoods: strengthening the livelihood strategies of people on the margins of African societies;
• Conflict: creating the conditions conducive to reconciliation between war-affected peoples, resolution between warring parties and accountability between international actors and their national hosts.
• HIV and AIDS: reducing the spread and mitigating the economic, social and psychological impact of HIV and AIDS on individuals and communities in Africa.

Social Action Programme
This programme is aimed at advancing a coherent, articulate, dynamic and inclusive social movement in Africa that participates in national, regional and international social action, demanding a fair deal for Africa and the excluded groups within it. Underpinning all our programming works, this programme works with and excluded groups:
to be more resistant to oppression, harness their potential and take advantage 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.

Organisational Development for Social Justice:
This component aims to develop an effective institution with the governance, staff, systems and organisational culture that reflect its commitment to promoting social justice and development, both within ACORD and elsewhere.

Agency for Co-operation and Research in Development

London:

Construction House
56-64 Leonard Street
London
EC2A 4JX
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)20 7065 0850
Fax:+44 (0)20 7065 0851
e-mail: info@acord.org.uk

Nairobi:

ACK Garden House,
1st Floor Wing C
Ist Ngong Avenue
Nairobi, Kenya

Tel: + 254 2 272 11 72 /1185 /1186
Fax: + 254 2 272 11 66
e-mail: info@acordnairobi.org

Mailing Address:
ACORD
P.O. Box 61216 - 00200
Nairobi, Kenya

Local Office:

UK Registered Charity Number: 283302
Web site: www.acord.org.uk