Topic-Focused E-Mail Groups covering a wide range of programmatic and administrative skills for successful civic action, community service, and development efforts can be accessed at: https://www.angelfire.com/ca4/yourturf/civactnet.htm#Topic-Focused In the Links section of each Group, respectively, a wide range of relevant informational resources will be found.
Extensive information concerning non-profit organizations that are conducting assistance operations can be obtained from the following directories: 1. USAID Private Voluntary Organizations Directory http://pvo.net/usaid/ 2. InterAction -- Where Member Organizations are Working http://www.interaction.org/member-directory 3. Idealist -- Where Member Organizations are Working http://www.idealist.org/if/as/Org/npo 4. Taking IT Global -- Directory of Organizations http://www.tigweb.org/resources/orgs/index.html
Civic Action E-Mail Groups to serve any region and/or nation can easily be created. Persons who desire to accomplish this have the option to set up a Civic Action Group themselves, or may request that one be established as part of the World Educational Civic Action Network. We'll be pleased to respond to all such requests, which should be directed to the Free University's Facilitator, at: civact3@yahoo.com.
One of The Civic Action Free University's long-term objectives is to gradually assemble the best links for for each nation's non-profit civic action, community service, and/or development organizations. If you have web sites to suggest, please e-mail the Facilitator.
1. If your agency's service area and clientele are multi-ethnic, multi-racial, and/or multi-cultural, make sure the programs being carried out are not mono-ethnic, mono-racial, and/or mono-cultural in character. Take appropriate steps to ensure that your Staff, Management, Board, Clientele, and your programs are reasonably representative of all client groups in the community. Celebrate diversity; encourage everyone concerned to gain skills in cross-cultural communication, understanding, appreciation, and (if necessary) problem resolution. 2. Inventory your agency's Staff, Board, & Service Area for persons with language, foreign nation, and/or cross-cultural knowledge and experience. Are there any former Peace Corps people among your co-workers -- or ex-military who've had considerable overseas experience ?? The internationally relevant skills and assets already available may suggest geographic and/or programmatic areas where activity by your organization could have a positive international impact.
3. Inventory local colleges and universities for seminars, courses, or degree programs they offer in foreign languages, area studies, student exchange programs, and/or overseas learning or service experiences. Encourage agency Board and Staff members to take advantage of any such opportunities that are of interest to them.
4. Sponsor "Distinguished Visitor Orientation Tours" of Community Action Agencies by foreign students (particularly those from developing nations) who are attending local colleges and universities.
5. Explore possibilities for establishing a professional internship program that would place selected foreign students in Community Action Agency Staff or Managerial positions for sufficient periods of time for them to become thoroughly familiarized with CAA organization & operation.
6. Explore the possibility of having your organization listed with the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, at:
...as a place to bring visiting foreign governmental officials who are interested in learning about American community service and development programs. Prepare a high quality tour itinerary, and be fully prepared to provide such visitors with a in-depth introduction to -- and overview of -- American-style Community Action.
7. Explore possibilities for developing local activities and projects in coordination with programs of the U.S. Institute of Peace:
8 If your locality has an overseas "sister city," the Community Action Agency could become actively involved in the various kinds of interchanges that take place -- with particular reference to establishing meaningful communication with counterpart community service and development organizations in the foreign city. Further information concerning activities of this sort are available at: Sister Cities -- A Global Citizen Diplomacy Network:
9. At State or regional levels, it might be possible to put together mobile teams consisting of outstanding selected community action Staff and Management personnel that could be called upon to perform short-term overseas community service & development training missions. If "Urban Search and Rescue Teams" can do it, why not Community Action Associations ??
10. From the Links section of the CA4YT International Training and Service E-Mail Group, at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ca4ytinternationalservice
...identify a non-governmental organization (NGO) that's doing overseas work you find particularly interesting and worthwhile. Contact the organization in question, and discuss the various possibilities that might exist for your agency to interact with the NGO in some mutually beneficial way. Explore possibilities for temporary duty assignments of your agency's staff with the NGO, and similar opportunities for NGO staff members to join you local staff for short-term learning and "cross-fertilization" experiences.
11. Members of your organization's Management & Staff might be interested in considering the possibility of short-term overseas "service vacations." See the excellent collection of resources published in the Chronicle of Philanthropy's August 10, 2000 issue, entitled: "'Volunteer Vacations' -- Sources of Information," at:
http://www.philanthropy.com/free/articles/v12/i20/20003401.htm
Additional useful information regarding volunteer and/or service vacations can be found at the following web sites:
Volunteer Vacations -- Charity Guide
http://www.charityguide.org/volunteer/vacations.htmGlobal Volunteers
http://www.globalvolunteers.org/Volunteer Work and Vacations Overseas -- Transitions Abroad
http://www.transitionsabroad.com/listings/work/volunteer/index.shtmlAdventures in Service -- GlobeAware
http://www.globeaware.org/12. Local Army Reserve and National Guard units throughout America are being increasingly tasked to perform limited duration overseas missions related to peacekeeping, disaster response, humanitarian assistance, and civic action. Community Action personnel who wish to join the units in question are likely to have access to high quality training concerning mission performance, foreign areas and languages, and cross-cultural skills. More information on these topics can be found in the Links section of the CA4YT Military Civic Action and Peacekeeping E-Mail Group, at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ca4ytmilitarycivicactionnet
Information about current opportunities in specific Reserve units can be found at:
http://www.goarmy.com/reserve/nps/find_a_reserve_center.jsp
and
http://www.civilaffairsassoc.org/html/caunits.html
An overview of National Guard activities of the sort in question can be found at the National Guard Bureau's Office of International Affairs, at:
http://www.ng.mil/jointstaff/j5/ia/default.aspx
13. Establish contact and become familiar with immigrant and refugee organizations in your area. Is your agency interacting with, and serving, these groups ?? If they have their own "Mutual Assistance Associations," is your organization communicating, coordinating, and interacting with these entities in beneficial ways ?? Further information may be found in the Links section of the CA4YT Immigrant / Refugee Services & Assistance E-Mail Group, at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ca4ytimmigrantrefugeeservices
14. In any community economic development activities undertaken by your organization, explore possibilities for international trade & commerce. Are your projects producing products or services for which there is a likely overseas market ?? Could you be directly importing goods or services useful to your community, thereby eliminating costly "middle-men" ?? Engaging in international trade may help to build "bridges of understanding" between communities that would otherwise have little knowledge or concern about each others' existence.
15. Explore the possibilities for your agency to support or assist student overseas exchange programs, and/or participate in hosting visiting students from other nations.
16. Explore possibilities to encourage international interchanges between local scouting organizations, sports teams, artists and theatrical groups, or music performers such as bands, orchestras, and choruses.
17. To identify potential sources of funding to support any or all of the types of activity suggested above, visit the collection of "grantpersonship resources" in Section A. of CA4YT Links Page 01, at:
https://www.angelfire.com/ca4/yourturf/ca4ytlinks01b.htm
18. Do you have additional ideas, suggestions, and/or personal experiences to add to this list that would enable domestic civic action and community service organizations to have an increased positive international impact ?? If so, please consider e-mailing them to your "HF" (Humble Facilitator), so they can be included.
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