Our Projects
AlterInter at Maghreb Machrek seminar in Rabat- Marocco 5-6 may 2009- and IC WSF meeting
16 May 2009Feroz Mehdi is one of the founder member of Alternatives. He has been working on projects related to the countries in South Asia. He has also been working in education programs in Quebec and Canada organizing conferences and contributing to publication of newsletters and other documents of analysis and information. Since 2007 he has taken the job as General Secretary of Alternatives International.
Since 2003, Alternatives supports many community groups in Iraq. Its work led to the creation of a network of progressive organizations : the Iraqi Democratic Future Network (IDFN).
Meeting the Civil Society Challenge
5 December 2008Since 2003, Alternatives supported many civil society organizations in Iraq which lead to the creation of the main national network called: the Iraqi Democratic Future Network - IDFN. Activities are taken place to strengthen human rights, to promote non-violence and gender equality as well as to insure minority rights.
The consolidation of the civil society is absolutely essential for the future well-being of Iraq. After the American invasion and occupation, Iraq has been split among different clans, and ethnic or religious groups. With the departure of US soldiers, a dynamic (...)
Training of women workers of UNTC
27 November 2008From 2001 to 2005, the CSN initiated a project in Congo aimed at helping women workers, which added 20,000 female members to the UNTC, the national union of Congolese workers (Union nationale des travailleurs du Congo).
Alternatives began its involvement in the project in 2007, aiming to increase female membership amongst those in the informal economy as a way of better informing them of their rights as a worker and ensuring the protection of said rights.
What’s more, for the first time since the establishment of the UNTC in 1967, two women have been elected as vice-presidents (...)
The GOREe-TIC network officially got underway on Friday June 20, after the last day of a workshop on development policies for information and communication technology (TIC) at the Goree Institute near the Senegalese capital. This network will coordinate research projects and advocacy aimed at promoting telecommunications development in French-speaking Africa. The workshop was organised by the Association for Progressive Communication (APC) with the support of the International Development Research Center (IDRC).
“Universal, affordable access to information and communication (...)
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for development and good governance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
18 November 2008Information and communication have a decisive impact on development. In March 2003, Alternatives launched an Internet portal for Congo’s civil society that offered over 400 local Congolese organisations greater dynamicism and visibility.
In 2005, we organised a series of events with technology and communications accessibility as the theme. The culmination of this process was the establishment of a concerted project called the Multi-sector Dynamic on Information and Communication Technologies (Dynamique multisectorielle sur les TIC)
Our 2006-09 program consists of 3 components: (...)
Pork production has comprised the largest segment of Cuba’s food industry since the 1980’s. For the vast majority of Cubans, pork is part of their everyday diet. Raising pigs, however, can carry with it significant ecological and sanitary dangers.
With this project, Alternatives and its partner, the pork industry’s Research Institute (Instituto de Investigaciones porcinas) are aiming to improve the living conditions of rural Cubans by installing bio-digestion systems that recycle pig droppings. This produces two important secondary resources: organic fertiliser for agricultural (...)
Within the framework of the Argentine Solidarity project, Alternatives and the Institute of research and training in public administration at the University of Cordoba have developed a web portal for social economy in Argentina. The site includes the 40 workers cooperatives of Cordoba and Buenos Aires that participated in Alternatives’ social economy project from 2006 to 2008. Many reference, analysis, and research documents on economic solidarity have been placed online, as well as videos and photos of cooperatives at work.
This web portal acts as a networking tool and an (...)
We are witnessing an unprecedented boom in economic solidarity in the Americas. After Brazil’s Workers’ Party came to power in 2003, they inaugurated a national secretariat for economic solidarity while various social movements established the Brazilian forum for economic solidarity.
Argentina, for it’s part, added to the trend when the Kirchner government created the nation-wide Mano a la Obra program in response to their devastating economic crisis of 2001. This program finances the development of labour cooperatives in many economic sectors. In Bolivia, the government of Evo (...)
IT tools to help manage development
11 April 2008Alternatives, in collaboration with the Confederation of National Unions (CSN), is developing a communications project for the Office of Argentinian Workers (CTA). The project’s objective is to reinforce the administrative structure of the office as well as to enhance its abilities to communicate with its members and affiliated unions.
The CTA represents 240 organisations and more than a million workers across Argentina. However, they do not yet have an effective communications system to administer memberships and dossiers. Our project’s aim, therefore, is to establish IT tools, (...)
One of Alternatives’ philosophies is to always work with local partners, to help them to develop their own country. In Palestine, Alternatives financially supports the Teacher’s Creativity Center to help create and consolidate parent committees in schools.
Parents can then participate to a greater degree in the academic lives of their children. As Palestinian schools lack resources, this project is essential in order to ensure a quality education for their students. What’s more, workshops and conferences are organised to inform parents of the human rights of (...)
Building Peace in Palestine
30 November 2007The socio-economic conditions of the Palestinian population are becoming more and more alarming. Several UN-sanctioned missions indicate a phenomenal regression in the quality of life, education, and support for health care, as well as a rise in poverty and unemployment. Severe restrictions on the circulation of goods and people by the Israeli army are cited as being the main factor.
Supporting the Iraqi social movements
26 October 2006The future of Iraq belongs neither to the American-led occupation, nor to the Islamists and sectarians who are trying to carve out their own power-base, whatever the cost. Alternatives is supporting a wide range of social movements: women’s groups, trade unions, student and youth associations, that are committed to a secular, democratic and progressive alternative for Iraq.
The primary objective of this action is to abate poverty by engaging local communities in the conflict -affected provinces of Central Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua in initiatives that seek to re-establish sustainable livelihoods. This five year project will be a component of a wider program to abate local conflict over resources, increase grass-roots participation in decision-making and environmental governance, and reinforce local economic rights through democratisation at the village, county and district levels. The larger program will bring together resources from (...)
The overarching objective of this program is to encourage and facilitate good local governance around the issue of development of an integrated water management strategy for the Indus delta and the region. The project will target and enhance collaboration between local stakeholders, civil society organizations, environmental agencies and decision-makers. The main activities include:
– Capacity building workshops for local units of the PFF on rights to basic needs and environmental degradation affecting their daily lives.
– Mobilization campaigns to raise awareness of citizenship (...)
The current project, taking place in 2006-2009, focuses on enhancing the skills of independent media practitioners in order to increase their ability to report on social issues essential for peace, reconstruction and democratization of Afghanistan. Democracy in any society needs awareness of realities of the world around them and understanding of basic rights. Over two decades of war and destruction has had its toll in the regions. A lot needs to be done to make the public aware of issues at stake and encourage them in participating in the process of reconstruction. Democratic (...)
More than twenty years of war, repeated drought and chronic poverty have exhausted Afghanistan. Decades of fighting and suffering have exacerbated ethnic strife. The humanitarian repercussions are disastrous. The Taliban regime that seized control of Kabul in 1996 aggravated the destruction of Afghanistan’s social fabric and forcefully dissolved most political, social and economic institutions. Today, the country’s infrastructure is completely devastated. The communication network is one of the least developed on the planet. But most important is the social devastation left (...)
Supporting Peace in Papua
7 April 2004Background
In January 2002 Alternatives initiated the CIDA-sponsored “Supporting Peace in Papua” project, intervening alongside local partners to address the root causes of conflict in Papua and to support local forces that aim to reach a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict. The goal has been to provide timely technical assistance to help consolidate the peacebuilding efforts of faith-based groups and NGOs, and to reinforce democratic reforms underway in Papua and Indonesia as a whole. The success of this program stems from the partners’ strong community mandate, sound (...)
Social communications in Niger
30 March 2004Alternatives has been well established in Niger for more then five years via our partner, the Groupe Alternative, based in Niamey. Formed from the student movement of the early 1990s, the Groupe Alternative benefits a great deal from Alternatives Canada contributions; in particular through our program of institutional development, financed by the program Solidarité Canada Sahel, of which Alternatives is a member.
We have supported the different publications of the Groupe Alternative: Espaces Citoyens, Espaces Femmes and Espaces Jeunes. These monthly magazines, distributed to the (...)
Context:
Argentina is affected by an unprecedented economic and social crisis, resulting from the accumulation of several systemic problems (debt, bad management, bad economic policies, etc). Poverty and social exclusion have reached catastrophic limits. Challenged by such a crisis, the population has mobilized at the community level. Each day, new initiatives are born in community centers and secondary cities to help families survive and send their children to school. These small-scale local initiatives offer structuralized and sustainable responses to the current crisis. For (...)
Context :
The Summit for the Heads of State of the Americas, held in Quebec in April 2001, showed the will of governments in the Americas to bind economic development to social development and democratic participation. The Inter-American Democratic Charter ratified in Quebec is an example of this new order of democracy trying to institute itself on the continent.
The commencement of the Free Trade Area of Americas (FTAA) will have a large impact on the political, economic and social realities in the signatory countries. However, although initiatives to consult with civil (...)
In the context of the crisis in Argentina, Alternatives is currently working to develop a project that will permanently decrease the food deficit of children and young people in two underprivileged districts of greater Buenos Aires. The support of Alternatives and its partners will allow the communities targeted to offer more and better quality meals. Moreover, this assistance will make it possible for the collective kitchens to improve their working space. That is particularly important given professional artists and neighbourhood groups use the space for training activities (...)
ONJILA: Rehabilitating the Education System in Angola
30 March 2004The prolonged war in Angola had a serious impact on the quality of its schools.There is limited pedagogical material available and during recent years continuous flight from combat zones has limited the ability of parents and teachers to ensure an education for their children. This situation threatens the country’s potential for human development, social dialogue and ultimately, the strength of Angolan democratic institutions.
Program ONJILA is set up by Angolan Alternatives and our partner ADRA (Acçao para O Rural Desenvolvimento y Ambient - Action for Rural and Environmental (...)
Strengthening of Economic Networks in Rio Grando do Sul
, 29 March 2004A project with the workers school Escolas de março is currently in preparation to improve training skills and to set up a network linking co-operative, self-managed producers and consumers in the working-class economy. It should affect improvements of the living conditions of the residents of six areas of the State of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil where there are already projects developing direct economic links between producers and the working class. Alternatives and it’s partners are also helping organize a range of sectoral and regional networks through both the development of (...)
Rehabilitating Social Infrastructure in Burundi
1 March 2004History:
Classified among the poorest nations of the world for several years, Burundi has been, since 1993, in the grips of a war that has seriously affected all sectors of society. Other unfavorable factors include displacement of refugees, a severe malaria epidemic and repetitive droughts which have contributed to the spread of poverty.
Project:
Alternatives and its partners implemented a rehabilitation project in the provinces of Kayanza, Muramvya, Bururi and Bujumbura. This project seeks to rehabilitate the social infrastructure in these provinces by encouraging a long (...)
Micro Company Producing Cashew Nuts in the State of Ceará
, 29 February 2004Context:
Drought is a regular and frequent occurrence in the North East of Brazil. For the inhabitants in the semi-arid areas of Brazil, droughts have brought a great deal of hardships, in particular by destroying local ecosystems causing the subsequent loss of biodiversity. At the economic and social level, the dryness has also had various societal effects. Small farmers who do not have the necessary large scale means of production do not succeed in meeting the needs of their family. These families migrate towards other areas of the country, which spawns other social (...)
Alternatives helped support the organization of the Panamazonien Social Forum which was held in the town of Belém in Brazilian Amazonia in January 2003. The themes of this forum, which fell under the mobilization around the World Social Forum (WSF), allowed representatives of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyannes, Surinam and Brazil to share their analysis of the issues affecting Amazonia, one of the greatest reserves of natural resources in the (...)
Participation of Canadian NGOs in the World Social Forum (WSF)
, 29 February 2004By supporting the participation of 14 members of Canadian nongovernmental organizations in the events surrounding the third World Social Forum (WSF) in Porto Alegre (Brazil) held between January 23 - 28 2003, Alternatives and its partners wished to support the efforts to reform and develop Brazilian governmental and nongovernmental organizations in the public and social sectors
Supporting local development in Cuba
27 January 2004Background
The Cuenca del Rio Cauto area is in the east side of Cuba, historical area, where the first people of the Island settled. The area, directly concerned by the project, where there are the people’s councils of Palmarito and Bungo-La Venta, has however experienced a slower development, from the point of view of the population’s growth and the economic one as well, if we compare its development with the one of other areas in the east side of the country. It can be explained by its geographic position, it means in the centre of tropical forests, making really hard the way (...)
Strengthening Peace in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia
27 January 2004Background
Indonesia’s attempts to apply democratic reforms are at risk from religious and economic polarisation and smouldering regional conflicts. In Poso, Central Sulawesi there is an unstable peace after 5 years of violence that killed over 2,000 people and displaced up to 100,000 more. Alternatives is engaging in a conflict transformation project that will stabilise the peace by encouraging dialogues, increasing capacities for responsible media and supporting peaceful resettlement of the internally displaced persons (IDP).
Reconciliatory dialogues will be lead by (...)
