Welcome to CENFACS’ Online Diary!
30 October 2019
Post No. 115
The Week’s Contents
• “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature), Note No.4 – In Focus between 30/10 and 05/11/2019: Reduction of the Impacts of Coastal Extreme Climate Events
• History to Skills Development
• Skills for Value Chains Project
… and much more!
Key Messages
~ “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature), Note No.4 – In Focus between 30/10 and 05/11/2019: Reduction of the Impacts of Coastal Extreme Climate Events
Extreme weather or climate in coastal areas has serious impacts like coastal flooding, rising sea level and erosion; especially in the low-lying parts of the coast. To reduce the negative impacts of coastal extreme weather, there is a need to act together. We need to act to both protect vulnerable people and coastal ecosystems while keeping peaceful relationships with the nature.
To do that, there is a number of actions that can be taken. Under the Main Developments section of this post, we have given further information about this note and the kinds of action that can be taken.
~ History to Skills Development
Our History month is ending tomorrow together with this year’s Making Memorable Difference project. We had the opportunity to re-read African Health History. Both the Understanding and Legacies (Gifts) Days helped to push the frontiers of what we already know about African Health History and to acquire further knowledge on what we were not aware of.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who helped in their own way to the History month and to the Making Memorable History project.
After re-reading Africa’s Health History, we are now going to use what we learnt about it to inspire ourselves to try to develop the skills we need for ourselves, for our community and our organisation to further help to reduce poverty and enhance sustainable development.
This transition from history re-reading and making memorable difference to skills development will be done this week. So, the month of November will be of Skills Development as usual.
~ Skills for Value Chains (Skvach) Project
Skvach project was part of the notes making the theme of the 63rd Issue of FACS; issue which was about Economic Value Chains in Africa, what they can reveal for those in need.
In the context and focus of the theme of the Issue no. 63, we tried to find various approaches that could reveal the needs of those living in poverty in Africa and ways of responding to those needs through the creation of poverty-relieving value.
To embrace and survive economic value chains, Africa-based Sister Organisations need to develop some skills related to the types of industry they would like to be part of the chains. These skills are the operational and functional skills such as sale, production, management, fundraising, advocacy, outreach, creative, accounts, administrative skills, above the skills to further reduce poverty.
Under the Main Developments section of this post, you will find the aim and scope of this project.
Extra Messages
~ “Quadranscentennial” (Q) Historicité: CENFACS-Community Groups
The last episode in a series of October 2019 looking back the relations that CENFACS had with other organisations during its 25 years, will be its links with community groups, particularly but not exclusively with the Black and Minority Community Organisations.
In the first episode, we carried out some historical analysis of CENFACS’ model of working with Africa-based organisations. In the second episode, we scrutinized CENFACS’ links with African Diaspora organisations in the UK. In the third episode, we historically evaluated CENFACS’ relations with Non Governmental organisations.
In this last episode, we are conducting a historical justification of the links CENFACS had with community groups. The purpose of this justification exercise is to find out the following:
⇒ How right or not right the link between CENFACS and these groups was
⇒ To what extent the idea of working with multi-dimensional poor and vulnerable people living in deprived wars warranted the means of linking CENFACS with community groups, especially from black and minority ethnic background.
⇒ How historical heritage of CENFACS was and has been linked to that of community groups.
To enable to better search on this historical justification, we shall deal in dept with the following matters:
⇐ Similarities and dissimilarities of way of approaching and responding to issues affecting ethnic minority people
⇐ The share of best practices between CENFACS and these community groups
⇐ The level and health of networking activities and platforms sharing
⇐ Ways of approaching community problems and the philosophy behind actions carried out
⇐ Complementarities of actions to tackle ethnic poverty and hardships.
For further details about this last episode and the previous episodes, please contact CENFACS.
~ Vulnerability testing Week
How vulnerable are you (as an individual or organisation) to poverty?
This week, we are working to find out how vulnerable are our users and Africa-based Sister Organisations in terms of poverty and what can be done to reduce their level of vulnerability to poverty. This work is carried out in the context of CENFACS Analytics Dashboard.
We all are vulnerable to something. Those who may experience or are experiencing poverty may even be more vulnerable than anybody else. In this respect, Vulnerability Testing Week is meant to help them help themselves in understanding and sorting out their conditions of life from vulnerability or vulnerability system.
To check or work with CENFACS about your vulnerability issues linked to poverty and hardships, please contact CENFACS.
~ The Twenty-twenties (the 2020s) Programme
Our conversation about CENFACS’ 2020s programme which will replace the 2010s programme has entered the Autumn phase. In the Spring and Summer phases of our discussions on the 2020s programme, we dealt with the goal, purpose and outputs of this programme. In the Autumn phase, we are working on the activities of this incoming programme in the new year.
To add your voice and or ideas about the 2020s programme, please contact CENFACS.
Main Developments
• “A la une” (Autumn Leaves of Action for the Upkeep of the Nature), Note No. 4
In Focus between 30/10 and 05/11/2019: Reduction of the Impacts of Coastal Extreme Climate Events
“A la une” campaign will cover the following three broad areas of interest regarding the reduction of adverse impacts of coastal extreme weather events:
√ Preparation against these events through technologies and educational programme
√ Weather change-related planning in terms of emergency situations and rescue services
√ Warning with systems to do it.
The purpose of the Upkeep of the Nature is not to explain the impacts of climate change or the functioning of the nature. Its purpose is to take action to reduce adverse impacts from humans and non humans on the nature, in doing so to develop friendly relationships with the nature so that it can be in existence with its balance. So, the reduction of these impacts is within the context of our theme of the Upkeep of the Nature.
Besides the above, there should be action on coastal management. This could include engineering schemes which could be hard or soft or even both, action to protect coastal habitat for both humans and living things.
Finally, this fourth note echoes the UN Sustainable Development Goal 13 related to climate action, that is taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts; and goal 14 which is Life below water. The target 2 of goal 14 recommends sustainable management and protection of marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts.
To support or enquire about “A la une” campaign, please contact CENFACS.
• Skills for Value Chains (Skvach) Project
The aim of Skvach Project
Skvach project aims at reducing poverty linked to is to reduce poverty linked to poor or incomplete skills, knowledge, information and capacities amongst African organisations and those who are running these organisations living in deprived areas and anxious improve their skills in order to enable them to meet the poverty relief challenges of their users and beneficiaries while developing themselves.
This week, we are going further with this project or model of developing skills by dealing with activities related to training, adult education, supporting information and workshops to support these African organisations.
The scope of SKvach project
Skills for Value Chains can help Africa-based Sister Organisations to diversify their activities between primary and support ones so that they can add value to their product in the chain as well as create poverty relief value. Their own benefits could be incomplete unless there are gains for the poor and vulnerable people. In this respect, the development of these provides a good understanding on how poor people and communities can gain from low cost as well as economies of scale and scope that result from organisations engaged in improving their value chains.
Skills for Value Chains project will kick off the Skills Development month or the month of Economics Education and Skill Formation. Logically, we should have developed healthcare skills to follow the logic of the contents of this year’s History month. We are not going to do that. Instead, we are going to deal with Skills for Value Chains project which is one of our Autumn Starting XI projects.
For full project proposals about the Skills for Value Chains project, please contact CENFACS.
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Thank you as well to those who made or make comments about our weekly posts.
We look forward to receiving your regular visits and continuing support throughout 2019.
With many thanks.
