Please join the Washington Network on Children and Armed Conflict for a discussion on the forthcoming report, “What Are We Learning About Community-Based Child Protection Mechanisms? An Inter-Agency Review of the Evidence From Humanitarian and Development Settings.”
As the first global review of its kind, this report aims to strengthen practice and policy by providing evidence of the effectiveness, cost, scalability and sustainability of externally initiated community-based child protection groups. Our guest speaker and the lead consultant of the report, Michael Wessells, will discuss the methodology and key findings of the report as well as recommendations for practitioners and donors.
Please join us Thursday, December 10th at Search for Common Ground as we host the lead consultant of the study, Michael Wessells for an eye-opening conversation on the development of the community-based child protection approach.
GUEST SPEAKER:
WNCAC Guest Speaker: Michael Wessells, PhD.
Lead Consultant for the Inter-Agency Report
Michael Wessells, PhD, is a professor at Columbia University in the Program on Forced Migration and Health as well as a professor of psychology at Randolph-Macon College. In these capacities, he has conducted extensive research on the impact of armed conflict and forced migration on children. In addition, he served as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Task Force on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings which developed the first consensus guidelines in the field. Dr. Wessells regularly advises UN agencies, donors, and governments on the situation of children in armed conflict and issues regarding child protection and well-being. In countries throughout Asia and Africa, Dr. Wessells helps to develop community-based, culturally grounded programs that assist children, families, and communities affected emergencies. For his contributions to the field, Dr. Wessells was awarded the 2009 American Psychological Association International Humanitarian Award.
Please send your RSVP to wncac@sfcg.org to attend this event.
This AED Knowledge Series event examines the effects of economic strengthening on children, featuring Mike Field (ACDI/VOCA), Margie Brand (AED), Jason Wolfe (USAID), and Michele Akpo (AED) discussing experiences from the field.
For more information, please contact Jennine Carmichael at jcarmichael@aed.org.
Following the introduction in the US Senate of the Global Food Security Act, USAID and development implementers will soon be faced with new policy and program choices.
On November 3rd, at the outset of the SEEP Annual Conference, AED and the USAID FIELD-Support Program will host a day of workshops, panel presentations and debate on food security, livelihoods, and economic strengthening. FIELD Day will include a track of sessions on how the topic affects child and youth well-being.
At the close of FIELD Day, please join the Children, Youth and Economic Strengthening Network for a reception celebrating the first anniversary of the CYES Learning Platform.
Registration for FIELD Day and the SEEP Annual Conference is open at the link below.
Please contact Jennine Carmichael at jcarmichael@aed.org for more information about the CYES reception.
The SEEP Network’s HIV & AIDS and Microenterprise Development (HAMED) Working Group is holding a weeklong online conference that addresses savings-led approaches in HIV & AIDS integrated programming. Discussion will be facilitated by HAMED members with the expert assistance of a panel of Savings-Led guest ‘speakers’ who will draft expert posts during the course of the weeklong conference. This conference is designed to be an open dialogue space for interested MED and public health professionals, a learning platform, and source of virtual peer review.
On Friday, December 12th, WNCAC will hold a discussion on Child Soldiers and Small Arms with guest speakers Rachel Stohl, Senior Technical Analyst at the Center for Defense Information and small arms specialist; and Jimmie Briggs, journalist and author of Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go To War, whose current work focuses on violence against women in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The event will take place at at Search for Common Ground (4th Floor Conference Room, 1601 Connecticut Ave. NW) from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. RSVP to wncac@sfcg.org if you would like to attend.
Unite For Sight’s conference convenes a committed vanguard of thousands from more than 60 countries. The conference challenges students, professionals, educators, doctors, scientists, lawyers, universities, corporations, nonprofits, and others, to develop innovative solutions to achieve global goals.
The conference will feature 200 Speakers, including Keynote Addresses by Dr. Jeffrey Sachs, Dr. Sonia Sachs, Dr. Susan Blumenthal, and Dr. Harold Varmus. Social innovation sessions by CEOs and Directors of Save The Children, Partners in Health, HealthStore Foundation, mothers2mothers, among others, are planned. In addition, “Young Leaders of Social Change” Speakers are featured on the agenda.
On November 4th, at the outset of the SEEP Annual Conference, AED and the USAID FIELD Program will host a day of workshops, panel presentations and debate to get to the “how” of microenterprise development. In the age of websites, portals, social networks, and blogs, development practitioners are inundated with success stories, research, listserv posts and other information that could improve their practice – if they had time to digest any of it. FIELD Day aims to translate some of these stories and research pieces into learning sessions – sessions at which practitioners will be able to explore new ideas, exchange their own experiences and enhance their skills through panel presentations, small group discussions and dynamic workshops.
The Children, Youth and Economic Strengthening sessions at FIELD Day were facilitated by Margie Brand of AED & EcoVentures International and Ben Fowler of MEDA. The agenda for the day proceeded as follows:
Session 1: Children, Youth and Economic Strengthening
- Welcome and Introduction, Margie Brand & Ben Fowler
- Examples of Effective Programming (Small Group Work), Ben Fowler
- Common Challenges in Youth Programming, Margie Brand
- STRIVE Program Overview, Margie Brand
- Overview of forthcoming USAID MicroReport on understanding the impact of employment, entrepreneurship and training programs on youth, Jason Wolfe, USAID/Microenterprise Development office
- Monitoring and evaluation for youth economic strengthening projects, Anthony Leegwater, IRIS Center at the University of Maryland
- Youth Emploment and Wellbeing Scorecard, Devorah Miller, Christian Children’s Fund
- Children Youth and Economic Strengthening (CYES) Network Learning Platform, Jennine Carmichael, AED
- Wrap-up, Margie Brand
Session 2: Tools and Approaches for Children, Youth and Economic Strengthening Programming
- Welcome and Introduction, Margie Brand
- Cataloging Tools, Materials and Approaches for Youth-focused Economic Strengthening Programs (Small Group Work), Ben Fowler
- Market Development Approach to Youth Employment, David Sturza, EcoVentures International
- Value Chains and Adolescent Girls, Victoria Francis, Emerging Markets Group
- MEDA’s Approach to Youth-Focused Microfinance, Ben Fowler with Jared Penner
- Children Youth and Economic Strengthening (CYES) Network Learning Platform, Jennine Carmichael, AED
- Wrap-up, Margie Brand
For more information, and materials discussed during the sessions, please see the links and files below.
External Resources:
FIELD Report No 2: Economic Strengthening for Vulnerable Children: Principles of Program Design & Technical Recommendations for Effective Field Interventions
AIDS 2008 will provide many opportunities for the presentation of important new scientific research and for productive, structured dialogue on the major challenges facing the global response to AIDS. Conference organizers are developing a wide variety of session types that meet the needs of various participants and support collective efforts to expand delivery of HIV prevention and treatment to communities worldwide. Central to many of these sessions will be the transfer of knowledge and sharing of best practices.
In addition to the conference sessions there are a number of activities, including satellite meetings, exhibitions, the Global Village and the Cultural Programme, that are integral to delegates’ experience at the conference.
Many proceedings of and materials from a range of sessions will be made available on the Conference website during and after the Conference.
