In the morning, Christina and Jose came to the center and drove us to their facility where the presentation of CIDH and RUMBA took place. El Centro Internacional para el Desarrollo Humano (CIDH) was a non-profit, multidisciplinary, educational and applied research organization based in San José, Costa Rica, whose mission is to promote the sustainability of the development process in Latin America and the Caribbean. CIDH works with international agencies, including the World Bank, UNDP, and IADB, to promote sustainable human development through programs of social dialogue, applied research, and academic exchange, giving individuals and organizations access to the knowledge and skills they need to play a major role in the development process.
For RUMBA, it was affiliated with the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), which
Then, we visited Omar Dengo Foundation (ODF). It was a private non-profit institution which had launched national and regional projects in the area of educational innovation and the social benefits of new technologies. The ODF's projects were varied and benefited a large number of Costa Ricans, especially young and adolescent students, educators, members of the communities, and senior citizens. The ODF had extensive experience in the fields of education, evaluation, research, and the design, management, and execution of projects of an educational and social nature. The Foundation currently developed programs in the following areas, for example, Educational Informatics, Professional Development and Training for Educators, Educational Innovation, Digital Technologies for all, and etc.
After that, we went back to the center due to some NGOs' representatives would like to come see us at the Global College to have a further discussion about their fields of work and also the the application form. Unfortunately, most of the NGOs that visited us at the center were more comfortable with speaking Spanish than English so the Spanish speakers had to be involved in the discussion. And the rest who could not understand Spanish got to write the reports about the NGOs that we had been met in the past 2 days. Nevertheless, we got a good number of NGOs that interested in affiliation with the NGO/DPI as expected. In conclusion, a Breakfast Meeting and the Follow-up Meetings were considered successful and we were glad to see our mission accomplished.
1. Finalize and translate the power point, agenda and registration and application forms into Spanish.
2. Practice presentation
3. Decide on the best content from the UN Website to use with the participants, in response to their queries.
Since the morning, we continued what we have been tasked to do, rotating shift sometimes, and we put together copies of all the necessary documents in a package; ready to distribute to the participants who attend the conference. As a result, we had lunch late and we went home late ~__~!
"All we can hope for is to impress the participants as much as we can…"
We are in good shape!
On 6 June, the phone calling continued, there were several more acceptances to the invitation to the breakfast. Professor Lee and Abdulmohsin went to the Barcelo San Jose Palacio Hotel to discuss and settle all requirements for the meeting. They rejected two rooms before settling on the third. A contract was issued to provide breakfast and meeting facilities for 41 persons. Government officials were contacted by UNDP and our team.
After discussion the following tasks for the meeting were distributed:
1. Registration desk and welcoming of participants by Brenda and Clarice
2. Computer access for participants for questions at the resource desk by Brenda and Clarice
3. Prepare an Informal Translation (into Spanish) of NGO/DPI application form to provide to participants by Brenda and Abdulmohsin
4. Resource Desk and Power Point by Sudarat
5. Filming presentation/interaction by Cindy
6. Informal Question and answers about availability of documents/leaflets/etc.; follow up to our presentation by Cindy
7. Presentation of power point by Fabiola and Abdulmohsin, following an introduction by Phyllis Lee
On 5 June, Fabiola had made about 70 phone calls and had to request (via Sudarat and Clarice and Brenda) Professor Lester Wilson to re-send several invitations by e-mail and by fax. He added a few more NGOs to the list to be contacted. There were few successful responses to the invitation on the first day. Cindy and Abdulmohsin worked all day in outlining the presentation and preparing the first draft. UNDP was contacted and Ms. Sofia Torres helped in finding addresses of NGOs in the list whose address was not clear. The Resident Coordinator was pleased with his talking points.
Deadlines were given:
By Clarice Luzia and Fabiola Knight
Abdulmohsin Al-ojaili, Brenda Monterroso, Fabiola Knight, Saul Weisleder, Clarice Luzia, Sudarat Adirek, Sister Joan Kirby, and Prof. Phyllis LeeMinutes with Ms. Sol Oca from the United Nations Department of Public Information, on Tuesday 15 May 2007 at 4:30 pm. in the DPI/UN Resource Center.
Ms. Sol Oca welcomed the group of graduate students from
Ms. Oca explained that while there are two main UN groups involved with NGOs, DPI is the one concerned mainly about the dissemination of information. DPI and NGOs form a partnership. DPI seeks to relay information about the work of the UN, and the NGOs to report about their work and concerns.
The first step in the process of establishing this partnership is to write a letter to the head of the DPI/NGO Office, Mr. Juan Carlos... stating the reasons why the NGO wants to associate itself to the UN. This letter could include six samples of the work the NGO is doing or has carried out, i.e. a brochure, a flyer, some kind of advertisement, website, articles written about the NGO, information on workshops organized by the NGO or cooperated with, DVDs, or any other tangible proof of its existence or work.
While in
Ms. Oca emphasized the need for NGOs to meet the requirements and the submission of the application and supporting documentation: Financial statements, letters of recommendation, etc… (ensure you have this info from the UN website)
NGOs could benefit from the partnership with DPI/NGOs by:
1) attending the annual conference
2) attending the weekly briefings (or seeing them in the web cast)
3) attending the orientation program for NGOs
4) attending workshops/conferences
5) gathering information from the Resource Center (at Headquarters, or UNIC centers)
6) using the UN website
7) indicating that they are associated with the UN in their activities (use of UN logo required special permission from the Office of Legal Affairs)
8) Disseminating their activities in the NGO Newsletter (forthcoming)
9) Appointing a representative/coordinator in New York
10) Networking with other NGOs with similar interests
11) Participating in regional conferences/workshops
The meeting ended with a discussion on: Requirements to travel, funding made available for the group, logistics about the trip, and on site activities which could be carried out by the ambassadors in Costa Rica to involve the local NGOs and in preparation to the trip.
The following was suggested:
1) To find a slogan/theme for the groups activities: “Solo con su voz” used by the UN to support the work towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (leaflet is already available).
2) To organize a workshop (possible on Wed, 6 June to allow sufficient time to prepare) in cooperation with UNDP/San Jose and other local representatives of UN related organizations and bodies with the theme, “In preparation to the Annual NGO Conference on Climate Change”
3) For this it will be necessary to contact UNDP Office soonest to plan the event and set a date, plan logistics, list of invitees.
4) To contact Costa Rica Government to connect with a Ministry or a Department which could be invited to participate in the event
5) To invite the media/newspapers in Costa Rica to cover the event
6) To contact UNIC centers in Mexico to acquire the application and other material in Spanish
7) To gather posters or leaflets which could be distributed to NGOs in Costa Rica.
8) To ensure that a Press Release is issued about the trip and the event in New York and in Costa Rica
9) To send the letter of presentation to Costa Rican NGOs now, to be followed up by the actual invitation to the event.
10) After the workshop the group will visit sites of NGOs which did not attend the workshop or the ones who invited the group to visit.
11) It is suggested that a “note verbal” be prepared for signature by the NGOs who are to be visited indicating something like: NGO (title) whishes to express appreciation to the Long Island Graduate Students who, in the name of the Non-Governmental Organizations Executive Committee of the United Nations have approached our organization with the intention of informing us about the possibility of establishing a relationship with the United Nations. It has been an interesting exchange of information. Sincerely (signed by the representative of the NGO)
Meeting's Summary by Fabiola Knight
