Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
13 June 2018
Post No. 43
The Week’s Contents
• Creative Economic Development month
• Human Responsibility on the Environment
• Project 16.4: CENFACS’ Sedecim
… and much more!
Key Messages of the Week’s Contents
Our Creative Economic Development month continues as planned. We are as well keeping on working on Arts and Design for Poverty Relief and Sustainable Development. Because this week is of celebration of the 16 years of CENFACS, we are as well working on arts-based development initiative to remember CENFACS as a creation. This remembrance of CENFACS as a creation is at four levels:
√ CENFACS as a not-for-profit creation (that is a creation driven by selfless and altruistic motivations, unlike for-profit creations)
√ CENFACS as a creation for the relief of poverty and hardships (that is a creation dedicated to helping poor and vulnerable people and communities)
√ CENFACS as a sustainable development creation (that is a creation striving to meet the needs of the present without compromising the generations to come to meet theirs)
√ CENFACS as a creation or model of working together with local people (that is a creation operating with local people as one and leaving the ownership of the solution to the poverty issues to them)
The remembrance of CENFACS as a creation adds value to the main 16.4 project that deals with the 16 years of CENFACS.
For those who are making cards that apply to the Arts and Design project, we have provided under the Main Developments of this Week’s Contents some basic clues to use.
The Human Responsibility on the Environment continues this week by focusing on human efforts made in tackling desertification and drought. This work is a preparation towards the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. As part of this preparation, we are revisiting the case of desertification and drought in the region of Sahel in Africa. This is a continuation of previous advocacy works carried out within the context of our Rebuilding Africa Campaign and Programme.
To raise awareness of human responsibility on the environment in order to help reduce poverty and combat desertification and drought with CENFACS, please contact CENFACS.
Project 16.4: CENFACS Sedecim
This 13th of June 2018 is the start of four days of celebration under the project 16.4. Because this year has been dedicated as the Local People’s Year at CENFACS, we have found more appropriate to focus on local people of CENFACS than celebrating CENFACS otherwise. Additionally, this choice echoes our motto which is:
Working in partnership with local people to develop sustainable initiatives.
For more details about each of the four days of CENFACS Sedecim, please refer to the Main Developments of the Week’s Contents below.
Main Developments of the Week’s Contents
Making and sending a card in the context of Arts and Design project
For those who are trying to design and send a card as a way of participating in the Creative Economic Development month, please make sure that the poverty relief message you are conveying is without confusion.
When designing a card, it is better that your art or design work
• contributes to inclusive and sustainable development goals
• is a driver and enabler of sustainable development processes
• is evidence-based as an expression of local realities
• is capable of leading to new pathways for local creative economy
• reflects on local creative economy
• connects with the different sectors of creative economy
• is conducive to new opportunities for sustainable development
• is supportive of local learning and innovation for poverty relief and sustainable development
• opens up a possibility to working together
• develops culture of poverty relief and sustainable development
To create and send your card or support CENFACS’ creative economic development month, contact CENFACS.
Project 16.4: CENFACS Sedecim
The contents of this week’s observance under the project 16.4 are as follows.
Four themes for four days of observance for the 16 years of CENFACS
1st Theme (on 13/06/2018): Local people as project initiators and suppliers
CENFACS’ approach to poverty relief and sustainable development is based on helping people to help themselves. Following our approach, local people initiate or generate project by telling us what the needs within their community are. In doing so, they supply us with information and data about their needs.
Together we plan and develop sustainable initiatives to respond to their local needs. This model of working together with them has been going on for the last 16 years. This is what we are celebrating.
2nd Theme (on 14/06/2018): Local people as change makers
Over the last 16 years of CENFACS’ registration, local people have been able to bring small change that produce BIG differences or impacts. They harnessed both social change in their community and change to themselves and other poor people’s life. Our local change makers helped us to achieve changes that help not only them but reach out to many unserved and underserved people.
We are remembering them as social change makers and poverty alleviators. Any change, however small it may be, could have only been done through them, the forces of relieving and ending poverty.
3rd Theme (on 15/06/2018): Local people as project implementers and delivers
Getting local people to get involved in our programmes and projects as volunteers and administrators, has enable us to better implement and deliver them. Because they have the local knowledge, are aware of local values and culture where the projects and programmes were located; they were able to facilitate our work on the grounds.
In some cases, they were designated the role of project implementers as they were in a better position to carry out the implementation phase by contributing to produce the desirables. In doing so, they made the project visions and plans become reality. We are venerating them as our project executors in this respect.
4th Theme (on 16/06/2018): Local community and sustainable development initiatives
During the 16 years of CENFACS, we planned and executed many local community and sustainable development initiatives here in the UK (Croydon) and in Africa. We did it with the support of local people. To name five of the projects, we can mention
∗ Two projects in Africa (Income-generating Activities against Child Trafficking in Zakpota, and a Health Centre in Kewarla);
∗ Three projects in the UK (Free Employability Training project, Basic Skills Development project, and Project for Sustainable Skills for Employment)
It is these projects and other not mentioned here as well as the outcomes achieved in delivering them that we are looking back as the history of the last 16 years of CENFACS. And of course, this is an opportunity for CENFACS to draw lessons for learning and development in the future.
Thank you to Sedecim supporters and makers (16/06/2018)
The last day of our celebration will also be about thanking all those who helped us to complete the 16 years of CENFACS. We cannot do anything alone. We needed more hands in our poverty relief journey as we could only achieve what we managed to achieve with the support of other people and organisations.
We would like to indistinctively thank all those individuals, organisations, volunteers (current and past) and our members for developing CENFACS and making it an organisation as it is today. Thank you very much!
Thank you for visiting CENFACS website and reading this post.
Thank you as well to those who made comments about our weekly posts.
We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support during 2018.
With many thanks
