Programs	Activities program 2005 and 2006 Objectives Global strategy

Activities program 2005 and 2006 :

• www.ired.org website maintenance, with special care for INFODOC section (with more than 1500 documents already accessible online)
• IRED's Online Newletter publication
• Address book maintenance for more than 3000 NGO/OP and other worldwide partners
• Booklets, CD and other document publications based on IRED's management handbook and earlier IRED FORUM
• Regional network support and for partners like "Dynamic AC, Central Africa" firstly
• Local training to support institutions and search financing.
• Relationship with other networks and presence at international debats: WTO, ILO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, fao, ETC.

top

Objectives

The first role is to strengthen local associations - people’s federations, unions, networks and movements, both rural and urban. This strengthening process must result in their being able to attain the means to support their own development as well as to have a say in decisions pertaining to their future.

This also involves strengthening the leaders of these organizations, in other words the men and women on whom these changes in attitude, mentality and structure depend. This institutional strengthening and training process encompasses four dimensions:

1. A look at culture. It is in fact at the very root of their culture that the characters of these men and women are formed, and with this the basis for the develop­ment of these organizations.
Social recognition. These men and women must be listened to, in their capacity as representatives of the rural and urban popula­tion
2. Financial autonomy and promotion of economic activities. One of the essential ingredients for these organisations’ financial autonomy lies in management, and therefore much emphasis is placed on training in this domain.
3. The political dimension. Any change necessitates political decisions and action.

top

Ired's global strategy

IRED’s global strategy is based on three processes:

1. Think globally, act locally
    
   One often reads the saying “Think globally, act locally”. Although this strategy is indeed necessary, it is important to note that it entails a top-down approach and therefore tends to impose ideas upon local organizations rather than allow them to generate their own. On the other hand, to think locally and link globally is a strategy based on the participation of local populations aiming to reach the global level and its decision-makers (bottom-up approach).
    
   Practice has shown that neither one of these approaches is self-sufficient. The top-down approach (from global towards local) is often used by administration, unsuccessfully attempting to make local populations participate in its projects. The bottom-up approach (from local towards global) promoted by NGOs and people’s organizations systematically meets barriers at the level of administra­tive, political or military bodies, which prevent it from attaining its objec­tives.
    
   IRED’s strategy is therefore a mix of these two approaches at the regional level, whenever possible, i.e. within the democratic world. This has a significantly larger impact on local development and on populations, as well as on national and global development.
2. The transition from micro to macro
    
   Most development organizations are involved in micro activities at the local level involving the “poorest” populations. Their action is voluntary. Although they sometimes lack techni­cal competencies and financial resources, most of the initiatives taken at the local level are successful because the actions they carry out are adapted to the needs, supported by local and motivated men who are accepted by their own kind. This initiative relies on the people’s active participation. Ideas are conceived together and carried out in a spirit of joint goodwill. This is the key to its success. If, in addition, these initiatives are able to benefit from technical support, financial support, open markets, and can surround themsel­ves with technical competence and high-quality management, they can be certain of their success.
    
   How does one progress from being successful at the micro level, to a larger scale? Some say that you should add up micro successes, whilst others rather believe that you should plan micro-to-macro development and, in this context, study the various stages of this transition and act according­ly.
    
   IRED believes that development must initially be based at the micro level and entail the participation of the local popula­tions. It also believes that a micro success is not enough if it does not present possibilities for expansion and effort to multiply the results on a larger scale.
    
   Lastly, with our ambition being to provide new solutions to development problems, our thoughts and strategies must also be based at the macro level. This is why IRED works hard in capitalizing case studies, and studying those transitions from micro to macro which have been successful. Research-action progra­ms currently underway should provide some useful lessons which will ensure that our successes at the local level can have a more significant impact within other regions or countries.
3. The progression towards autonomy
    
   This strategy has already been covered, but one should be aware that the NGOs and development orga­niz­ations can no longer contin­ue to live under the contradiction of promot­ing a philos­ophy which is based on self-development or self-reliance, when in fact most (80 to 98%) are financed by external aid.
    
   Progressing towards autonomy therefore means the mastering of a certain number of techniques, methods and strategies which will enable development or­ganizations to better collaborate with their surroundings (governments, banks, external aid) and to deal as best they can with the conflict of promoting economic activity within a social environment.

top