CRIN Mail Arabic issue 14

Qatr'n Nada 11

Haqqi 17

ARC is a regional non-profit independent organization founded in 1988 by thirteen persons working in several countries and in various professional fields of development, who convened in a workshop in Cyprus to:

• agree a pioneering and integrated programme of resource production,
• establish a board of trustees,
• delegate to a team of coordinators from among them to manage the organisation.

ARC works with partners in several Arab countries (e.g. Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Yemen, Egypt and Sudan).

ARC’s mission is to build on the capacities of each person and on people’s experience in order to develop knowledge and translate rights into reality. It adopts a holistic and integrated approach to development, and practices collective work through consultation, networking and partnerships.

ARC’s objective is to produce resources, build capacities and generally nurture the resource culture in Arab countries. Working with partners, ARC contributes to better childhood, health, education, communication and community development by producing reference books (such as the Arabic edition of “Where There is no Doctor”), training manuals, newsletters and other educational materials and by convening workshops and training programmes to build the human resources.

ARC’s programmes cover
1) Early childhood care and development;
2) Children’s rights;
3) The child-to-child approach;
4) Mental health for a new generation;
5) Youth and healthy living;
6) Disability, special needs and inclusion;
7) Health for all through primary health care, women’s health and rational use of drugs;
8) Digital solidarity with deprived communities;
9) Information and communication technologies for development; and
10) Training, learning and communications.

ARC's Progress through 2004 – 2005
In their current cycle, the childhood programmes have each introduced new trends, bringing the Arab Resource Collective (ARC) closer to the work of partners at field level, with a greater emphasis on capacity building to increase the pool of professionals and trainers. New capacity building programmes are being implemented in different countries. The adoption of the digital solidarity programme in 2004 has highlighted the importance of enhancing the role of ICT, both within ARC and in our work with partners. The concept of ICT for development (ICT4D) has been developing ever since, and a newly formed ICT programme has injected a vigorous process of upgrading ARC's own efficiency in the use of the digital medium for development, as well as in the approach to working with partners, with a promise of transforming the very nature of ARC's operations.
The primary health component is expanding and contributing its own innovative approaches, particularly in packaging knowledge for individual adolescents in attractive hard and soft formats. A new regional programme on Mental Health was initiated in 2005.

ARC is thus entering a period of consolidation of approaches for the largest possible expansion of outreach. The governance is trying to rise up to the challenge of programmatic renewal as well as the need for structural adaptation identified by external reviews and urged by internal dynamics. All this is already bearing fruit and holds the promise of further transformation.

Child Rights (CR) programme
2004 marked the tenth anniversary of the launch of the child rights (CR) programme, while 2005 is the fifth in a five years’ plan within the framework of the childhood unit.CR programme continues to be implemented as a joint venture with Save the Children Sweden, with support from Education Action International.

Highlights (2004-2005)

• Training workshops were convened: “advocacy for CR” were held in Lebanon and Yemen; innovative child rights based programming regional workshop, and Child Rights monitoring and reporting regional workshop.
• The 2005 thematic workshop- a joint childhood event-tackled the child protection policy towards developing the internal ARC's code of conduct.
• Field visit to Yemen, has been conducted in March 2005, mapping child-focused NGOs needs and concerns. A number of field visits were conducted in Lebanon to scope relevant stakeholders and map the NGOs working in the field and assess their needs.
• Two manuals were being developed on “advocacy for Child Rights”,, and “child rights based programming”, adapted translation of an existing resource(the new version of Save the Children handbook on CRBP).
• The material of the existing training kit “ formerly ISCA kit” has been updated and made available.
• A first edition of a childhood bibliography has been published, and is being updated digitally.
• Two issues of the newsletter Haqqi were produced in Arabic and English.
• A first edition of ARC’s youth and childhood glossary has been published on net. The glossary is being updated.
• ARC also contributed to the process of drafting the Lebanese national (joint) report on the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), as well as the Palestinian alternative report.
• Anthologies on CRBP, early marriage and CR & Islam are being considered.

ARC continues to be in the management of CRIN.The involvement in “Education for All”, both at the regional and international levels, was sustained through resources and networking.

-- A considerable number of the programme's documents, resources and newsletters (i.e. Haqqi, bibliographies, EFA, etc...) have been posted on ARC's website .CRs material digitization will continue. --

Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) programme
This is the largest single programme in ARC. Over the years it developed quite an effective participatory approach to the development of human and material resources in several Arab countries. The outputs include basket of awareness raising material on the importance of ECCD, an acclaimed training manual, and a set of varied longer term capacity building processes with four networks of ECCD networks in three countries.
Highlights (2004-2005):

• An ECCD Team of 5 persons is in place together with a core team of trainers of trainers.
• Ongoing: capacity building prgrammes in Lebanon (2 longer term processes), Sudan and Syria including TOT.
• Sustaining the work of the Lebanon ECCD Group.
• Publishing a working edition of the Arabic translation of Early Childhood Counts.
• A childhood bibliography containing sections on ECCD published.
• Working witk UNICEF on the translation and adaptation of trining manual “Resorce Pack”.
• Contributing in more than one country on the development og national ECCD Strategies.

Child-to-Child (CtC) Programme
ARC’s CtC programme has been running since 1989, focusing on developing the CtC approach with practitioners in the Arab region, providing tools in Arabic and building capacities of partners. In 2003/04, ARC joined forces with the CtC Trust and three other resource groups (from India, Kenya and Pakistan) to set up a CtC International Network with a view to enhancing and decentralizing capacity building activities and disseminating the CtC approach. This new initiative has injected impetus and a search for better quality in the CtC projects of ARC and its partners. ARC’s own activities have also continued.

Highlights (2004-2005):

• Work with children in Palestine refugee camps in Lebanon in identifying and promoting health messages.
• An international workshop, with substantial regional participation, worked on a compendium of quality indicators, including a draft in Arabic.
• Participation of ARC and regional partners in three international short courses organised by the network in India and UK.
• Participation in the elaboration of a learning strategy.
• Production of one issue of the newsletter Ma’an and an Arabic draft of the presentational document of the CtC international network.
• Five action research sites combined with capacity building activities in five eligible schools in Beirut are ongoing.
• CtC school health applications will be initiated in 2005.

Resources on Mental Health for a New Generation
A new programme was launched in 2005 with the Norwegian Council on Mental Health, “Mental Health for a New Generation in the Arab Region”

Background and Summary:
On July the 1st the program was officially launched. The programme’s long term goals were set as follows:

• To Increase knowledge of and promote positive attitudes towards mental health and other disabilities/special needs within the community by disseminating appropriate information.
• Add to the corpus of resources in Arabic on Mental Health and related issues especially those related to trauma and distress caused by occupation and conflict.
• Systematize access to such resources in multi-media format (including ARC’s own resources on disability, primary health care and general learning fields).
• Capacity-building for mental health care providers to use resources in their work.
• Increase the pool of community actors with an improved knowledge of mental health and other disabilities/special needs.

The project will build on ARC’s cumulative history of equipping NGOs and other professional organizations with knowledge, skills and tools that will enhance the direct impact of their projects on beneficiaries. Such nurturing strengthens their role in raising public awareness, carrying advocacy initiatives, engaging parents and the community in improving health care services and claiming their rights, etc.

Highlights (2005):

• Establishing core and regional advisory groups.
• Consultations with the advisory group to design a mental health operational definition for the project.
• Designing a mental health mapping questionnaire that will help produce a directory of mental health organizations/programs.
• Establishing a network of regional focal points that will help supervise the mapping exercise.
• Preparing a bibliography of all available mental health-related resources.
• Preparing a review of the book ‘Where there is no Psychiatrist’ and initiating its translation.
• Preparing mental health-related articles for publishing in ARC’s newsletters.

Youth and Healthy Living (YHL) programme
Launched in 2002 with the purpose of producing knowledge-focused materials on the physical and social health of adolescents. Young people and youth workers participated in the development and field testing (over 400 adolescents) of the material. The “central resource” is now a series of cartoon-style booklets, each addressing one topic, and targeting individual adolescents.
“Satellite” resources, both in digital and hard copy will provide background basic knowledge for parents and youth workers.

Highlights:

• A print ready version of thirteen illustrated booklets on: boys and girls reaching maturity, hymen, menstruation, masturbation, smoking, nutrition, sports, personal hygiene, acne, AIDS & STDs, addiction, pregnancy, infertility and family planning. Booklet 14 is general introductory tool to the project.
• Orientation on the products of phase one will start in 2005.
• A CD and website containing all the outputs are available as well.
• A third edition of the YHL bibliography with 121 categorized and annotated entries.
• By the end of phase two (funding under negotiation),the central resource: in its final form will be a pack of an estimated 25 illustrated booklets, each addressing one topic of sexual/physical or social health. The satellite resource will be an illustrated guidebook for youth workers and parents on the same topics.

Health For All Program

1. Background

Over the past years, ARC produced a sustained stream of resources in Arabic which created a solid and varied library for health workers in the region (including Where is no Doctor, Where Women Have no Doctor…etc).
At the present time, two programs provide a space for health-based activities with local partners and with other childhood programs:

• The Mental Health program, which was launched in 2005 (see previous section).
• The Youth and Healthy Living program (see next section)

The continuous intention to re-establish a long term strategy for a holistic and integrated health program has so far failed to find the momentum it requires. However, it remains firmly in our sight.

2. Promoting primary health care (PHC)
1. ARC continues to participate in PHM activities in the Arab region through:
• Compiling and translating into Arabic “Health For All Now, Revive Alma Ata”, the documents issued by the PHM to mark the 25th anniversary of the Alma Ata Declaration.
• Adding an Arabic version of “The People’s Charter on HIV and AIDS”, a consensus document officially released by the PHM during the International AIDS conference in Bangkok (July 04) as an annex to the Arabic translation of the book “HIV, Health and the Community”.
  

• Participation in The second People’s Health Assembly (PHA2) in Cuenca, Ecuador (17-22 July, 2005), As part of the People’s Health Movement (PHM) group of PHC activists in the Arab Region
3. Resources
• HIV, Health and the Community: A Guide for Action: Originally published by the Hesperian Foundation, it has been adapted into Arabic and published in digital format and hard copy edition in 2005
• Listening for Health: Originally published by the International Catholic Child Bureau and Child-to-Child Trust, its Arabic translation is also ready and will be published during 2006 with the Child-To-Child program.
• Children for Health: Originally published by Child-to-Child Trust in association with the World Health Organization. The manual will be translated in Marsh 06 with the Child-To-Child program.

Digital Solidarity Project (DSP)
The DSP was triggered in early 2004 by ARC integrating elements of the Across Borders Project (ABP) in Lebanon during a one-year transitional period. The ABP aimed at developing a network of prototype ICT centers in Palestine refugee camps. Interacting with ARC’s long-term goal of developing a “resource culture”, this merger produced the DSP, a new approach to enabling accessibility to and use of development resources in Arabic through digital media. The program works closely with the ICT department at ARC to conduct training of NGO partners’ staff and developing platforms for resource and local content development.

Digital Solidarity Project highlights (2004-2006):

• A study compiled pertinent data on ICT and community development practices in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Palestine. The study presented a model ‘tripod’ centre, developed by the DSP and ICT teams at ARC, which balances connectivity with software-based non-formal education tools within a resources for development environment.
• A literature review, which provided an overview of successful ICT for development case studies in the developing world.
• A baseline survey of users of ICT centers, of DSP trainees and partners in Palestine refugee camps in Lebanon was completed and will be used to assess project impact in the future
• A strategy and a three year logical framework and work plan were developed for 2005-2008.
• A challenges based, community-oriented continuous capacity development program, ‘From ICT to ‘Knowledge Centers’ is ongoing where NGO staff and individual activists in Palestine refugee camps in Lebanon are trained to work towards integrating ICTs into local development practices.
• An open source portal for interactive networking and community voice was created. This portal (fosohat) is scheduled for launch in early 2006 with a targeted group of users who are involved in issues pertaining to Palestine refugees in Lebanon.
• A continuous ICTs skills training program for teams of DSP trainees at the Palestine refugee camp level is ongoing. This training is aimed at producing local content in the form of ‘digital projects’, which will be hosted on the DSP portal (www.fosohat.org).
• An ICTs for All kit which includes 7 major modules pertaining to the integration of ICTs into local development in knowledge-deprived Arab communities is under development. This module is scheduled to be completed and available online and by CD library in October of 2006.

Information and Communications Technologies Programme
The ICT programme began at ARC as a approach to start developing concepts, strategies and tools in the aim of upgrading ARC’s own programmes, methods and approaches through the use of ICTs. Recently the ICT programme has been able to develop and provide solutions for many developmental issues concerning the use of ICTs in local communities and the generation of local-Arabic content.
Highlights 2005:

• Enhancing programmes outreach through newly developed multilingual broadcasting engines and online networks.
• Implementing ARC’s portal, a multilingual content management system, which will allow better access to ARC's resources and the ability to download them or view them online, the POrtal is equiped with several modules that allows collaborative authoring, direct online publishing, online meeting and training spaces, etc... [www.mawared.org]
• Upgrading ARC’s office technology by providing a stable network and communication between staff and ARC’s remote employees
• Developed ARC’s internal electronic resources library, software library, archives and contacts directory
• Developed ARC’s Mass mailing engine which enables ARC to send notification both in Arabic letters and Latin letters to thousands of contacts, in addition it will allow visitors to register online for notification by subject, newsletter, general notifications and specific topic notifications
• Developed RSS engines for ARC’s website which allows the broadcasting of ARC’s portal content through RSS readers
• Mapped a good number of ARC’s old resources and publishing them online
• Designed a process for newly compiled resource collection, archiving and publishing
• Designed a process for digitizing ARC's old print arabic resources to publish them online
• Conducting several trainings in collaboration with the digital solidarity project on:
• TOT: ICT for development concepts and theories
• TOT: Media as a medium for community development
• TOT: Community based media as a catalyst for local development
• TOT: community-based digital projects implementation

Quantitative compilation of resources and events
2004 -2005

• Nine resources (including reports, newsletters, etc.) were produced and drafts of five substantial resources were finalized in preparation for publication.
• Almost 4000 resources were distributed and sold (to the value of slightly under US $11,000).
• ARC coordinators convened nine thematic and capacity building events, including two in the form of a series of workshops (total 14). They participated in eight events (or series of events) organized by others, particularly on the international scene.

لبنان
ورشة الموارد العربية
صندوق بريد: 13-5916 بيروت، لبنان
الهاتف: +961 1 742075
فاكس:+961 1 742077
العنوان:الطابق الخامس، بناية دقيق، الحمرا
بيروت، لبنان
البريد الالكتروني: arcleb@mawared.org

قبرص
ورشة الموارد العربية
صندوق بريد: 27380 Nicosia 1644-Cyprus
الهاتف: (+357) 22776741
فاكس: (+357) 22766790
البريد الالكتروني: arccyp@spidernet.com.cy