Month: March 2022

Learn about the activities we carried out last year!

CONVENINGS

During 2021, work was done to enhance the actions and impact of Civil Society by building a culture of networking. RACI grew in its number of members, managed to incorporate 22 new CSOs, reaching 167 members of the Network. In addition, two new working groups were created: the Diversity Group and the Projects Group.

It is very important to highlight the new alliances established: RACI was selected as host of the AGNA coordination, a unique opportunity to continue deepening networking and the articulation of international networks. Other new alliances this year have been with GlobalGiving, with whom RACI has managed to become a permanent partner, and with CAF America, joining the CAF Global Alliance international network. Lastly, RACI was chosen to carry out the sub-coordination of the Regional Innovation Center for Change.

INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

During 2021, in contribution to strengthening the organizational structure of the social sector, RACI promoted the mobilization of resources thanks to the launch of the 2021 Innovation Fund, in addition to the co-management of different funds, thus collaborating with the allocation of resources to Civil Society. Argentina, mobilizing a total of more than 375,000 US dollars.

Seminars and workshops focused on strengthening the capacities of CSOs were also held, in which Organizations from different countries in the region participated. In addition, internal training webinars and attendance at training seminars by the RACI team were organized.

ADVOCACY

RACI works to generate a suitable enabling space for Civil Society based on the articulation of different activities. Therefore, during 2021, 5 campaigns, 66 events and more than 700 meetings with different actors in society have been carried out. Among them, the participation in the spaces of the C20, the Reconstruction with a lasting character project, in the hands of CIVICUS, the Working Group on Financial Disclosures Related to Inequality, the Conversation on the status of the 2030 Agenda in Argentina and, together With Red Civil Society, RACI has worked on the Better Rules for Social Organizations campaign.

In addition, almost after two years marked by the Pandemic, the RACI team, together with other Social Organizations from Argentina and agents linked to sustainable development, attended the first face-to-face meeting between organizations and the new British Ambassador, Kirsty Hayes.

RESEARCH

In this aspect, RACI seeks to generate data, produce tools and disseminate relevant information for Civil Society and for this purpose, during this year it has carried out more than 1,400 surveys and has several publications in progress. The first, Regional Civic Perspective, which sought to study and better understand the Social Organizations of the region, and Visible Diversity, inviting reflection on the situation of diversity in the field of CSOs.

We invite you to read the full yearbook!

In 2021, RACI collaborated with the co-management of the New Zealand Embassy Fund in Argentina and Paraguay. RACI received a total of 269 applications from Argentina (230) and Paraguay (39).

Of the project proposals received, the largest number of applications corresponded to the “Economic and Social Inclusion” axis, followed by “Gender Equality”, “Community Development (particularly indigenous and rural)”, and “Climate Change and Resilience”.

Once the project evaluations were completed, the organisations selected by the New Zealand Embassy were Tierra Libre – Instituto Social y Ambiental; The Foundation for the protection of children, educational development and the scout movement – Fundemos – Fund Scout; the Guarani Indigenous Women’s Organisation of Macharety; and the Civil Association Taba Isiriri – Pueblos del Arroyo.

Tierra Libre – Instituto Social y Ambiental presented the project “Advancing the water security of the families of the Nivaĉle ethnic group of Bajo Pilcomayo, Chaco Paraguayo”, with the aim of reducing the water stress in the community, complementing the infrastructure to increase the water reserve, in order to prevent critical situations due to droughts in this community.

The Foundation for the protection of children, educational development and the scout movement applied with the project “Building in Menstrual Health” which seeks to strengthen the economic independence of menstruating people, understanding menstruation as a matter of equity, social and environmental justice; and to generate in the Community Management Centres a space for accompaniment and support for women and the LGBTQI+ community.

The Guaraní Indigenous Women’s Organisation of Macharety presented the project “Sustainable Bee Honey Production and Conservation Practices for the Chaco Environment” focused on developing a model of sustainable production and commercialisation of honey in the forests of the Macharety community based on the traditional knowledge of the women.

The Civil Association Taba Isiriri – Pueblos del Arroyo presented the project “Collection and purification of rainwater and use of alternative energies in Almafuerte, Misiones”, which seeks to promote access to safe water through the implementation of a rainwater collection and purification system in family homes and educational institutions, and to socialise access to alternative energies, with the installation in public spaces of light columns and the charging of mobile devices with photovoltaic solar energy.

In 2021, RACI collaborated with the co-management of the New Zealand Embassy Fund in Mexico. 

RACI received a total of 278 postulations from: Mexico (203), Guatemala (18), El Salvador (28), Nicaragua (5), Costa Rica (5), Panamá (2), Dominican Republic (14), y Cuba (3).

The proposals were evaluated with the same punctuation system, analyzing the following categories: organization profile, project viability, rigurosity, impact and budget analysis.

From the project proposals received, the greater number of requests correspond to the themes “Development of communities (particularly rural and natives)”, followed by “Climate change and resilience”, “Education”, and “Sustainable and Agriculture Development”. The Fund of the New Zealand Embassy 2021-2022 also included the themes “Migration” and “LGBTQ+ Communities”.

Once the evaluations of the project are done, the organizations selected by the New Zealand Embassy were: Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación y Desarrollo Alternativo U Yich Lu’um AC; Asociación Balam para la Conservación de los Recursos Naturales y Culturales Integrados; Asociación de Desarrollo Integral para el Pueblo Maya AQ´AB´AL (Asociación AQ´AB´AL); Awe Tibuame A.C.; Fundación Pro Zona Mazahua I.A.P.; Fundación Étnica Integral; Nature Power Foundation; y, Centro de Estudios y Acción por la Justicia Social AC.

The Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación y Desarrollo Alternativo U Yich Lu’um AC presented the project “Collective construction of the alimentary sovereignty through the Maya agroecology”, with the objective to consolidate a agroecology center for the alimentary production and the integral capacitation of the community as strategy for confront poverty and vulnerability of the Mayan people.

The Asociación Balam para la Conservación de los Recursos Naturales y Culturales Integrados postulate the project “Promotion of the Development of Rural Women, in communities of the Guatemala-Belize adjacency zone, strengthening their productive capacities and their inclusion in community decision-making spaces”, who seeks to increment the capacity of the organize groups of women and youth in the rural communities in the zone of adjacency in Guatemala-Belice for the development of sustainable life and spaces for inclusive public participation.

The Asociación de Desarrollo Integral Para el Pueblo Maya AQ´AB´AL presented the project “”Strengthening Indigenous Systems for Sustainable Food Production as Resilient Measures to Climate Change in Poaquil Chimaltenango”, dedicated to reinforce the capacity of adaptation and resilience of the agriculture system, maintaining the diversity of the agroecology system, the increment of the alimentary production for the contribution of a healthy and culturally appropriate family food security, reducing soil degradation and favoring its conservation.

Awe Tibuame A.C. presented the project ““Traditional Rarámuri garment, a way to preserve the cultural identity and promote the economy of the Mogotavo community”, who seeks to promote the production of textile garments by the native community raramuri in Mexico.

The Fundación Pro Zona Mazahua I.A.P. presented the project ““Access to water, health and traditional knowledge for indigenous Tzeltal girls and boys from Chiapas, Mexico”, who seeks to provide members of 3 Tseltal indigenous communities with continuous access to water through cisterns and greater sanitary capacities through training in traditional medicine and community gardens.

The Fundación Étnica Integral presented the project “Human Rights and Social Integration Project for Immigrant Workers and their Families” which aims to improve the living conditions of migrant workers and their families living in the Dominican Republic, especially in communities with the highest concentration of migrant population. 

Nature Power Foundation presented the project “Nature Village II: Clean Technologies for Sustainable Rural Development in the Dominican Republic” dedicated to building a micro solar plant that will provide energy for the first time to poor rural families, allowing the production of energy without connection to the grid and generating income for isolated and rural communities in the border region of the Dominican Republic.

The Centro de Estudios y Acción por la Justicia Social presented the project “The LGBTIQ+ community in prisons in Mexico. Initiatives to reduce the differentiated impact and consequences of the abuse of the penal system” to respond to the problem (needs, criminalization, impact and consequences of the disproportionate use of the penal system) suffered by the LGBTQ+ population in prisons through knowledge, awareness and training of leaders, social organizations that focus on improving the conditions of this sector of the population and/or people in prison in Mexico.

Cross-sectoral cooperation for disruptive solutions at the regional level to enable communities in Latin America and the Caribbean to build a prosperous future. Based on this premise, the Regional Executive Committee (REC) meeting of the Innovation for Change Hub for Latin America and the Caribbean (I4C LAC HUB) was held on February 22-24. Looking at the achievements made and at the challenges to be solved, social innovation builds bridges in the region.

At RACI, we are part of Innovation for Change (I4C), a global network of organizations and individuals working together to protect and secure our civic space and overcome restrictions on fundamental freedoms. To achieve these objectives, this entity has 7 regional centers around the world. The main objective of this Network is to generate creative solutions to strengthen civil society organizations and coordinate efforts with other sectors such as academia, social entrepreneurs and multilateral agencies.

In the region, Innovation for Change has a comprehensive strategy aimed at its different communities. As part of the intense agenda of the Center, the realization of Innovation Laboratories, Webinars on capacity building, Civic Conversations, Research on the state of civil society and the implementation of the community collaborative economy platform can be highlighted. Together, these projects have contributed to understanding the reality of civil organizations in the region, co-creating solutions and positioning themselves in the global I4C network.

An essential element of this cooperation agenda has been the REC meeting in Buenos Aires, in which representatives of Youth Against Violence (Guatemala), Alianza ONG (Dominican Republic) and Grupo FARO (Ecuador) joined us with their participation. During the work days, we managed to report on the progress made during 2021, plan a joint work path in 2022 and redefine the identity pillars that support said actions. Similarly, this event was intended to renew the dialogue within the Center and with the allies with which we build our projects and thus achieve palpable results in the different communities of the region.

For more information on Innovation for Change and the work being done in the region, we invite you to visit: https://lac.innovationforchange.net/.

In 2017, RACI, together with Cablevisión-Fibertel and the United Nations, launched the SDG Platform, from which it is possible for civil society organizations (CSOs) to visualize their projects in line with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Today, after 5 years of learning, we are in the process of giving it a new impetus and we want you to join us in the transformation.

The platform was created with the aim of democratizing the information about the work of Civil Society Organizations in the country towards the SDGs and making it visible in the eyes of key public and private actors. It should be noted that the SDGs are part of the United Nations New Development Agenda and involve a comprehensive approach to the entire human development process, to achieve fairer, more democratic, and participatory societies. Following this orientation, organizations can register in it in a very simple way and thus obtain greater visibility and impact by bringing information about their projects closer to cooperation agents and the general public. 

Currently, more than 165 CSOs have registered and more than 380 projects implemented throughout the country have been integrated into the portal. About its functionalities, it is possible to group projects or CSOs in the Platform according to different criteria to facilitate their search (objective, target population, SDG to which it contributes, or geographic location in the country). All this fills us with enthusiasm and motivates us to continue disseminating the results of the dedication of each organization in our country and the region. 

After years of growth, it is time to redouble our efforts. That is why we seek from now on to highlight cross-sectoral linkages to achieve the objectives of the 2030 Agenda, in order to inspire an increasing number of organizations who share their experiences, and to promote the Platform’s potential on a regional scale. This is a path that we walk together and we invite you to visualize the multiplying impact of civil society in pursuit of a change of realities.

We invite you to visit our platform and upload your organization’s projects by visiting the website!

Red MAPA was born based on the experience of Fundación Kaleidos and Children Action developing the Jakairá program. It is a project that brings together organizations that accompany maternity and paternity in adolescence, providing training, institutional strengthening and technical support.

Red MAPA works around the awareness of the community and promotion of rights to accompany adolescents in their maternity and paternity, and favor their social inclusion once the child is born. In order to do this, the organizations that are part of Red MAPA work every day with adolescents so that they can develop their personal projects.

In Red MAPA, organizations develop comprehensive work strategies with an interdisciplinary approach, exchanging learning and experiences; while co-creating a set of good practices. In this way, it seeks to restore the basic rights of adolescent mothers and fathers, guaranteeing them education, health and insertion in the world of work.

In Argentina, 7 out of 10 pregnancies in adolescents between the ages of 15 and 19 are unintentional, and 8 out of 10 pregnancies in girls under 15 are also unintentional, but with an aggravating circumstance: the pregnancy is usually the result of violence or sexual abuse. Bearing this in mind, the work carried out by Red MAPA is key to building bridges so that more and more adolescents can be accompanied and achieve their personal goals.

We invite you to visit Red MAPA: https://redmapa.org/!