estregia_cuadriptico_ingles.qxp 24/10/2007 19:36 PÆgina 2 INSTITUTIONAL STRATEGY 2006-2012 BROADENING HORIZONS INSTITUTIONAL STRATEGY 2006-2012 Ayuda en Acción is an independent, non-party and non-denominational NonGovernmental Development Organisation (NGDO), created in Spain as an Association for International Cooperation in 1981 to promote structural changes aimed at the eradication of poverty and injustice in the world. Our objective is to support the development of the most deprived children, families and communities in order to improve their living conditions. With the aim of bringing an end to poverty, we support comprehensive, long-term development programs that promote action in the areas of health, education, infrastructures, financial and economic initiatives, food safety and community-building. We also promote awareness raising, education for development and advocacy campaigns aimed at impelling social and political changes that benefit the people with fewest means. © Pablo García Mateo www.ayudaenaccion.org C/ Enrique Jardiel Poncela, 6, 1ª planta. 28016 Madrid. 902 402 404. informacion@ayudaenaccion.org C/ Javier Lasso de la Vega, 3, bajo. 41002 Sevilla. 954 21 51 63. informacion@andalucia.ayudaenaccion.org © Ayuda en Acción Bolivia C/ Balmes, 32 3º-1ª. 08007 Barcelona. 934 88 33 77. barcelona@barna.ayudaenaccion.org C/ Maestro Clavé, 10, puerta 2. 46001 Valencia. 963 10 61 21. informacion@valencia.ayudaenaccion.org Av. del General Sanjurjo, 64. Bajo izq. 15006 A Coruña. 981 13 37 37. informacion@galicia.ayudaenaccion.org Pl. Sarrikoalde, 3 (entrada por Av. Lehendakari s/n). 48015 Bilbao. 944 47 96 77. informacion@euskadi.ayudaenaccion.org C/ Cimadevilla, 15. Esc. A, 2º E. 33003 Oviedo. 985 21 47 25. información@asturias.ayudaenaccion.org In 2006 we undertook off a thinking process to reflect on our lines of work, leading to the development of our new institutional strategy: Broadening Horizons. This strategy encourages us to undertake new challenges while reaffirming our determination to eradicate poverty and inequality. This document, which will guide our steps and lines of work over the following years, is a result of experiences and contributions from communities in the South and Ayuda en Acción's own teams, sponsors, collaborating institutions and volunteer groups. It is an abridged version of our institutional strategy, summarising our commitment not only to defend people and their rights the cornerstone of our work - but also to promote active societies which demand human rights compliance from their governments, to strengthen development processes in Southern nations and to consolidate and increase our international presence. 19:35 PÆgina 1 © CONGDE 24/10/2007 1. Our view of the international context The world today is marked by inequity between rich and poor countries; between men and women; between rural and urban areas and regions; and between ethnic and social groups. Millions of people in America, Asia and Africa live in a state of poverty which prevents them from taking part in development processes and denies them access to dignified living conditions. Ayuda en Acción believes that democratic systems are the frameworks to build societies being capable of offering opportunities. However, democracy has not yet been consolidated in many of the countries with the highest rates of poverty and inequality and their processes and mechanisms for social participation remain weak. It is therefore crucial to support people empowerment processes to enhance their social, technical and political capabilities, allowing people to exercise their rights and obligations as the driving force behind active civil societies, which will in turn strengthen public institutions and help to consolidate democracy. © Omar Ayyashi © Omar Ayyashi © Iciar de la Peña / Ayuda en Acción estregia_cuadriptico_ingles.qxp Institutional project: Ayuda en Acción uses supportive links and child sponsorship as tools to foster direct relationships between the people and communities in the North and South through mutual understanding and joint responsibility in the struggle against poverty. Intervencion model: Ayuda en Acción carries out comprehensive, long-term actions to advance peoples' education and skills to ensure sustainable local development processes beyond our Organisation's presence, together with awareness raising and political impact activities both in the North and South. 3. Our model of work In this new period, Ayuda en Acción is going to impel its work alongside Southern communities from a rights-based approach. This implies the acknowledgement that the poor are entitled to demand that measures to ensure development and dignified lives are effectively put in place. Ayuda en Acción promotes actions to ensure that these rights are fulfilled, especially for women, children and youths. Citizens are increasingly aware of the need to change international policies. They seek Development NGOs leadership in political and social areas, commending these organisations to ensure compliancy with the international agreements set out to protect every individual's human rights. Our model of intervention spans several areas in local, national and international spheres. Our Organization will continue to support development processes alongside communities and will coordinate them with actions on a nationwide scale. We will also promote social participation both in Spain and in the countries where we work in the construction of a fairer world by means of awareness raising and policy impact actions and we will enhance our institutional capacity to build alliances and strategic partnerships with other organisations. Mission: To improve living conditions for children, their families and their communities by means of comprehensive development projects and awareness raising activities, with the ultimate goal of achieving structural changes that lead to the eradication of poverty. Provide humanitarian aid and consolidate prevention work, aimed at reducing the vulnerability of people and communities to disasters and ensuring the continuity of development processes. Promote people empowerment processes to drive their participation in the policy making which shape their lives and to achieve equal rights for men and women, as well as for indigenous peoples and other excluded groups. Promote active citizenship in which citizens share the responsibility to tackle poverty issues and are organised to demand the fulfilment of people's rights on behalf of governments and international bodies. Spheres of our work Lines of action in local development processes Ayuda en Acción has been working for over 25 years to narrow the gap between North and South. In order to consolidate our organisational identity over the coming years, our strategy has identified several key areas: Support access to dignified living conditions which guarantee that basic needs - health, education, housing and clean water - are accessible not only to children but also to their families and communities. Foundational identity: Ayuda en Acción is an independent, non-party and nondenominational organisation whose work revolves around people as rights holders and main actors of their own development. Favour actions to enhance local economies, supporting the improvement of infrastructures, optimisation of production and sales processes, job creation and access to financial instruments such as micro-credits. Our involvement in this area will aim to: Increase our capacity for policy impact among civil society. Our Organisation will increase its presence in cooperation forums and local, national and international decision making spaces and increase our cooperation with local and regional governments. Intensify our public presence to increase knowledge regarding our development work in other countries and our positions in the areas we work in. Open up spaces for the poorest people and groups we work with to communicate with Spanish society with their own voice. One of the basic tools for this activity will be the development of solidarity ties between similar groups. International cooperation policies and the defence of human rights Ensuring people's rights Ayuda en Acción considers that the key for the fulfilment of every individual's human rights is to ensure that the agreements and laws set out by governments are implemented. The agreements themselves should aim to protect these rights and implement measures to guarantee that they are a reality for all of the population, without any kind of discrimination. The Development NGOs should aim to generate and articulate social conscience on issues relating to inequity and injustice, promote awareness and advocacy for these rights and mobilise society to demand them. 2. Mission and identity of Ayuda en Acción Support actions to ensure the sustainability of development processes, by improving people's technical and professional skills and by preparing leaders capable of driving their communities forwards. Coordination of local and international work Promote coordination of local development processes so that our work alongside communities shares common goals and an increased impact, by means of sales and microfinance networks, town associations or local producers' associations. Promote our global policy campaigns locally so as to improve our work in Southern countries. Ayuda en Acción will increase the presence of our international policy and awareness raising campaigns and actions in these countries, particularly of our education, HIV/AIDS and gender campaigns. Increase public spaces for social participation. Ayuda en Acción will support the creation and strengthening of forums and public spaces in which citizens can promote the advocacy of rights such as access to education or gender equality. International cooperation agenda Ayuda en Acción will strengthen its presence in international forums to increase our influence on cooperation policies as well as on other policies which have an impact on the fight against poverty and exclusion. Defending the fulfilment of human rights in international decision-making arenas, Ayuda en Acción's work will be aimed towards the implementation of policies that guarantee the defence of people's rights. 4. Organisational strengthening The implementation of our new strategy will also help us strengthen our institutional model. Among the challenges that lie ahead for the coming years are: Consolidation of institutional presence Spanish citizenry and the development of a fair world Our new strategy will help us increase our awareness raising and policy activities in the Spanish context as one of the cornerstones of our action. Thanks to recent changes made to Spanish cooperation and development policies, as well as those promoted by the Agencia Española de Cooperación (Spanish Agency for International Cooperation), the Spanish setting has become a dynamic and very appealing space in which to promote policy impact and negotiation, backed by the framework provided by European cooperation institutions. During this new stage we will need to consolidate the internationalisation process and increase our networking. Organisational development During the coming years at Ayuda en Acción, we will maintain our efforts to guarantee transparent management, the efficiency of our work and the pursuance of quality in all the processes we implement in both North and South.