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Our members: Mensajeros de la Paz and alliances to multiply impact

During 2021, Mensajeros de la Paz accompanied Mastellone Hnos S.A in the development and launch of its Corporate Volunteer Program. In six month the alliance managed to implement the plan, recruit volunteers and establish a strategy that would enhance the impact on the community of one of the leading companies in Argentina.

Until 2020, Mastellone had carried out random volunteer actions, but did not have a formalized corporate volunteering. Motivated to add value to their teams and the community, Mensajeros de la Paz was called in to provide advice. Work was carried out throughout the volunteer start-up process and a strategy was established in tune with company policy. In this way, instances of presentation to the Board of Directors and Management were carried out, in order to involve human capital at all levels, in addition to a review of previous initiatives to identify the potentialities of the program. In the second phase of the project, face-to-face and virtual training was carried out, where resources were provided to articulate with the communities and project the first volunteer actions within the Program.

Thanks to this initiative, more than 40 company employees decided to join the Program and expressed their interest in doing so on a regular basis and outside of working hours. During 2022, the Program foresees the development of at least 4 volunteer actions in synergy with existing Programs and with a greater impact on the community of General Rodríguez.

IMPACT

“The Mastellone & Mensajeros de la Paz alliance makes visible once again the importance of executing volunteering and social responsibility actions between civil society organizations and companies, with a strong perspective on the interest and knowledge of the community to provide value and ensure a real shock.” mentions Darío Pompilio, executive director of Messengers of Peace Argentina.

The Asociación Civil Mensajeros de la Paz Argentina has more than 15 years of experience in corporate alliances, as well as in the planning and execution of volunteering at a national and international level.

In a context in which the importance of human capital and cooperation is increasingly highlighted, at Mensajeros de la Paz we promote initiatives together with companies to continue empowering and promoting resources that allow growth in the most vulnerable communities.

About Messengers of Peace Argentina:

Messengers of Peace is an international humanitarian organization with a presence in more than 50 countries around the world since 1962.

Since 2002, it has been working in Argentina for the promotion, protection and restitution of the rights of children and the elderly in situations of social vulnerability. Our commitment to the most vulnerable communities extends to the entire life cycle: from childhood to old age.

Contact:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mensajeros.AR

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mensajeros_ar?lang=es

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mensajeros_ar/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mensajerosdelapazar

Does your company want to start a Volunteer Program and need advice to enhance the impact in your community? Write to companies@mensajerosdelapaz.org.ar 

 

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The Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives is now open!

The Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives is now open! It will remain open for the submission of projects from civil society organizations in Argentina and Paraguay until February 28th, 2022. This Thursday, February 10, we will be hosting a webinar to present the terms and conditions of the call, answer questions and queries.

Purpose

The Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) program is designed to support small-scale, high-impact projects in developing countries that are aligned with Global Affairs Canada’s thematic priorities. The program targets projects conceived and designed primarily by local partners. The FCIL also supports bilateral relations between Canada and recipient countries and their civil societies by building and strengthening contacts and supporting local efforts.

Thematic Priorities

All projects must be aligned with at least one of the following FCIL thematic priorities:

  • Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls
  • Inclusive governance, including diversity, democracy, human rights, the fight against corruption and the rule of law
  • Environment and climate action focusing on adaptation and mitigation, as well as on water management
  • For the current CFLI cycle, a thematic priority was added for projects led by Venezuelan refugee and migrant-led organizations implementing projects in line with Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy as well as local women’s organizations supporting migrant and refugee populations and host communities, with a specific focus on women’s rights.

Eligible recipients include:

  • local non-governmental, community and not-for-profit organizations
  • local academic institutions working on local projects
  • international, inter-governmental, multilateral and regional institutions, organizations and agencies working on local development activities
  • municipal, regional or national government institutions or agencies of the recipient country working on local project
  • Canadian non-governmental and not-for-profit organizations that are working on local development activities.

The call is open to organizations in Argentina and Paraguay.

Characteristics of the fund

  • The deadline for applications is February 28, 2022.
  • Project activities may begin as of June 1, 2022, and should be completed by February 28, 2023.
  • The average funding for each project is Can$25,000.

On Thursday, February 10 at 15hs (Argentina) we will be hosting a webinar to present the terms and conditions of the call, answer questions and queries. Those interested in participating should register through the following form

To register, applicants should send an email requesting the application form to BAIRS.CFLI-FCIL@international.gc.ca to access the online application. 

For inquiries, please write to BAIRS.CFLI-FCIL@international.gc.ca.

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Get to know the winning projects of the Innovation Fund!

In September 2021, the implementation of the winning projects of the Innovation Fund for Latin America and the Caribbean began. This fund was intended for civil society organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean that work to strengthen civil society through innovation. Five organizations from the region were selected and received up to USD 10,000 each to address challenges related to one or more of the following areas: Sustainability; Transparency and Social Responsibility; and, Promotion of the Enabling Space.

Continue reading to find out more about the winning projects!

Transparency Brazil (Brazil) set out to create a Chatbot for Access to Information:

 “Considering that the volume of negative responses to requests for information filed based on the Brazilian Access to Information Law has been increasing and, therefore, the ability to prepare and file an appeal is critical, we created repLAI, a chatbot that automatically identifies the arguments presented for the denial of information and provides an appeal template to counter it. The user just has to paste the (often complicated) response received and repLAI will know what the appellant should say.”

Pueden encontrar el repLAI en el sitio web de Achados e Pedidos: http://achadosepedidos.org.br/.

El Observatorio de políticas Públicas de Guayaquil (Ecuador) decided to provide training on the construction of the participatory budget in Ecuador:

 “The Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc in all dimensions of social, political and economic life. And as such, it has also affected the relationship between governments and civil society due to the physical restrictions that have weakened the processes of citizen participation. Considering this public problem that affects transparency, accountability and democracy in general, as Observatorio de Políticas Públicas de Guayaquil we thought about how we could contribute to provide an innovative solution to this negative situation so that citizen participation, and especially the construction of municipal budgets, could be strengthened.

Thus we devised this project that sought to train in inclusive methodologies and digital collaborative technologies to be used in the construction of participatory budgets in 10 municipalities of Ecuador by the year 2022.”

To learn more about the organization, visit their website.

The Red de Innovación Local (Argentina) executed the project “Local Innovators Contest”:

“The Local Innovators Contest is an initiative that accompanies teams made up of municipal leaders and social innovators from all over Latin America to co-design a transformative solution to a local problem based on the systemic methodology, related to diverse topics such as citizen participation, waste management, environmental issues, social inclusion, health and food security, among others.

A total of 80 teams made up of approximately 290 people participated in this competition. More than a thousand citizens and other local representatives accompanied the process. They also had the support and advice of more than 50 experts in each area. As a result, 50 solution initiatives were obtained in 46 cities in 11 Latin American countries. These projects were the final representation of the collaborative work between two sectors: social and municipal, added to the contributions of the population affected by the problem.”

For more information, click here

Accionario (Mexico) focused on creating an online platform to accelerate campaigns:

“In recent months, Accionario has been working on the design and launch of “LabCamp.org”, a free, open and collaborative online training platform designed by and for activists in Latin America who need to learn how to design and implement advocacy campaigns in an agile and simple way. The platform has micro-videos (1 min) and materials such as work canvases to facilitate the learning of Accionario’s campaign acceleration methodology. Starting in February, we expect hundreds of activists, organizations and movements to access the platform and together we will generate a community of people who seek to generate change in the region.”

To learn more about this initiative, please visit the following link.

In the case of Red Uruguaya de ONGs Ambientalistas (Uruguay), his project also focused on the creation of a platform:

“The Environmental Monitoring Platform is a project that was conceived as a tool for citizen environmental monitoring, promoting spaces for dialogue, data transparency and offering a management and exchange tool for public institutions visualizing in an integrated way the environmental challenges and their solutions by the agencies. In this stage of the project, the platform was modernized, generating spaces for exchange with multiple actors, which has allowed us to redesign it to provide greater ease of installation to be replicated in other countries, facilitating integration with other systems. One of the achievements is that it will be part of the implementation of a national environmental complaint management system, which enables the reception of complaints through multiple channels, expands the public information available and allows citizen monitoring of the management of the complaint and its resolution.”

To access the platform, please visit the following link.

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The gates of FNV Coworking Social open very soon!

We are honored to present FNV Social Cowork, a coworking social space destined to provide a temporary working place for the legally registered civil organizations. Next to the Fundación Navarro Viola, we will open its doors on February 14th. 

FNV Social Cowork provides organizations with the opportunity to book temporary working places and meeting rooms. As part of this initiative, we will supply high speed wifi, boards, screens, a projector, break rooms, patios, toilettes and an equipped kitchen. In addition, there will be a reception service and a security system with surveillance cameras. 

Previous to the opening date, on February 11th, an Open Day will take place in which organizations that wish to visit the space may do so. The activity will be broadcasted on RACI’s and FNV’s social networks. Pre-registration will be required. 

The FNV Social Cowork space will be located at Sanchez de Bustamante 191, Comuna 5, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. It is easily accessible by subway lines A and B, the Belgrano train and multiple bus lines that run along Rivadavia Avenue and Corrientes Avenue, in the Almagro neighborhood. 

We hope that this proposal will be well received in order to begin a path of joint work that will lead to the construction of a more diverse future for all people. If you have any questions about the space, please do not hesitate to contact us at coworkingsocial@fnv.org.ar .

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TIFD: Reducing the inequality produced by the private sector

From RACI, together with Rights Colab, PDI and SCIS, we are co-creating an initiative that seeks to reduce the inequality that is produced from the private sector, providing guidance, goals and metrics for companies and investors to manage their impacts on inequality. 

The Task Force on Inequality-Related Financial Disclosures (TIFD) is involving Civil Society Organizations as well as regulators and investors, in order to assess the performance of the private sector and hold companies accountable.

The TIFD project was born to provide a solution to the dangers that occur in the economy, that is to say, to the “systemic risks” that occur in different types of assets, for example, stocks, bonds, foreign exchange and raw materials. To solve this problem, TIFD sees it as central to engaging end-investors at the top of the “capital markets value chain” – assets owners and distributors- to assess their long-term investment goals and how inequality affects them.   

TIFD understands that private actors -civil society, investors and companies must be part of the search for the reduction of inequalities. Because, its framework is based on three fundamental pillars: 1) a focus not only on business activities related to inequality, but also in the investment structures and practices related to inequality; 2) thresholds and targets on which companies and investors can work to alleviate inequality, and metrics to measure its progress; and, 3) an explicit role for representatives of marginalized and vulnerable people and communities as co-creators. 

If you want to be part of this project that seeks to contribute to the reduction of inequality, together with civil society, investors, companies, academics, regulators and policy makers, we invite you to join

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We are presenting the preliminary results of Civic Perspective Latin America and the Caribbean!

In 2021, RACI, with the support of Innovation for Change, conducted the Civic Perspective Latin America and the Caribbean study to learn more about Social Organizations in our region. Among the activities that were part of the initiative, we conducted brainstorming sessions, focus groups, in-depth interviews and we also launched a survey for social organizations that was open in 34 countries in the region. 

On Thursday, February 24, we will be holding a regional meeting to give an account of the field work and research process we have carried out as well as to present the preliminary findings of Civic Perspective. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank each of the people and organizations that co-created, co-designed and collaborated with this regional project.

The appointment is on Thursday, February 24 at 12:00 noon (GMT-3) ¡register here!

Civic Perspective is a periodic study for advocacy developed since 2018 by RACI with the intention of taking the pulse of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) by identifying the conditions under which they emerge, work and develop.