Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Facilitators intros and workshop outlines - Forum 10

Skills Build Workshop A
Ecological Footprinting in Your Classroom: Ecological footprinting is a dramatic way of showing how much nature we need to “fund” our lifestyles. The idea is simple but lends itself to a wealth of ideas that can not only be used in environmental education classes, but also in English-language classes in which teachers may be looking to spice things up a little. Participants will (1) have the opportunity to create materials to suit their own particular teaching situations, (2) find themselves stimulated and shocked in equal measure, and (3) even get to play with bits of string.


Facilitator - Trevor Ballance, Educator and Textbook Developer, Josai International University, Chiba.
Trevor belongs to the department of International Exchange where he teaches courses on NGO activism and the NGO-business relationship. He is also a member of the university's NGO-NPO Support Center, which aims to both support local NGOs and provide opportunities for students to become more fully involved with them. He has been a member of Amnesty International for most of his life, involved in letter writing campaigns and event organizing, as well as, during his time in Japan, doing voluntary work for JUCEE, The Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA), Bridge Asia Japan (BAJ), and The Asia Foundation. Trevor has a Masters in TESOL and is currently working on a MA in NGOs and Sustainable Development. He is the author of "It's Your World...Get Involved: Reading and Talking About NGOs". Trevor spends some of his free time in Ho Chi Minh City at a school for blind Vietnamese where he helps students practice their English, joins them in their music making and, (while mangling the Vietnamese language), marvels at the students' enthusiasm for everything in life.

Skills Build Workshop B
Motvating and Retaining Volunteers
- After reviewing the volunteer management cycle and problems many groups face we will discuss tips for keeping volunteers involved. Groups will review cases studies of difficult situations and discuss how we can address such problems. Everyone will come away with useful links, worksheets and ideas for things they can start doing right away.

Facilitator - Sarajean Rossitto - PSC Convener, Nonprofit NGO Consultant
http://people-for-social-change-forum.blogspot.com/
Sarajean is an activist committed to progressive social change and is currently a Tokyo-based nonprofit NGO consultant. Her current projects focus on three areas: Skills development (doing courses and trainings for JICA, Temple University Japan, The Japan Foundation, The Japan Foundation for AIDS Prevention) and linking organizations (the Asia Foundation CSR seminar series, Morgan Stanley Community programming development). She is the Tokyo representative for a number of US-Japan nonprofit projects and spent close to 4 years coordinating bilateral exchange of community-based nonprofit professionals between the US and Japan for Japan-US Community Exchange (JUCEE).

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Sept 30 Forum 10 speakers

Panelist and Organization introductions:
  • Hiroshi Miyashita, Save the Children Japan (SCJ)
  • Prune Helfter ,Medecins du Monde Japon
  • Masaharu (Marc) Saito, Peace Winds Japan (PWJ)
  • Ai Tanaka, JEN
Hiroshi Miyashita (宮下 礼)
Save the Children Japan (SCJ) (社団法人 セーブ・ザ・チルドレン・ジャパン)
http://www.savechildren.or.jp/

Hiroshi joined Save the Children Japan in 2002 and is currently the Director of Resource Management and Emergency Operations after 2 years work in Myanmar. After completing his masters degree in International Politics and Security Studies with a focus on conflict resolution/peace building, he experienced emergency operations in Iraq, Albania, East Timor, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Pakistan.

Save the Children Japan (SCJ) is a member of the International Save the Childen Alliance and was founded in 1986 aiming to create a better world for children. SCJ has development programmes in Nepal, Viet Nam, Myanmer and Afghanistan, etc, helping children in the worldユs impoverished communities. SCJ develops practical projects which involve children and their families in improving their day-to-day lives. SCJ is also committed to train local staff so that they will be able to sustain the projects by themselves in the future. SCJ has aslo responded to children in emergencies together with other Alliance members in India, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Indonesia (Ache, Nias and Java), Pakistan (earthquake) and is currently responding and developing emergency operations in Pakistan (flood), Nepal, Jordan and Peru.

Prune Helfter (エフテル プリュン)
Medecins du Monde Japon (特定非営利活動法人世界の医療団, メドゥサン・デュ・モンド ジャポン)
http://www.mdm.or.jp/ (Japanese)
http://www.mdm.or.jp/english/ (English)

Prune is the General Manager of the Japanese branch of the international NGO Medecins du Monde. Prune graduated from the Paris Institute of Political Science, Essec Business School and the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations. She has a PhD in Economics and is also a former research student at Kyoto University.

Medecins du Monde (Doctors of the World) is an international NGO whose vocation is to provide medical aid to the most vulnerable populations in the world: victims of natural disasters, famines, epidemics, infectious diseases (malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis), armed conflicts, political repression, minorities as well as to street children. M仕ecins du Mondeユs additional missions include speaking out against those who attempt to be obstacles to the access to healthcare, as well denouncing those who violate human rights and dignity.


Masaharu (Marc) Saito (齋藤 雅治)
Peace Winds Japan (特定非営利活動法人ピース ウィンズ・ジャパン(PWJ)
http://www.peace-winds.org/jp/index.html (Japanese)
http://www.peace-winds.org/en/ (English)

Masaharu joined Peace Winds Japan (PWJ) in 2002. He is currently in charge of the Liberia program, part of the Afghanistan program, and the disaster response program in Japan within the Program Unit, at the PWJ Headquarters in Tokyo. He was engaged in Japanユs ODA program for ten years while working with JICA between 1987 and 1997. Masaharu completed a masterユs course in international affairs at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University in May 1999.

As a staff member of the Program Unit, PWJ, Masuaru has been strenuously engaged in emergency relief and reconstruction assistance activities in Afghanistan, Indonesia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Japan for five years. Based on his experience with PWJ, he would like to explore how we, as members of civil society, can work together with people on the ground, and make a difference in their lives.

Peace Winds Japan (PWJ) is an NGO, dedicated to the support of people in distress, threatened by conflict, poverty, or other turmoil. With its headquarters in Japan, PWJ has been active in various parts of the world. It was founded over 11 years ago, started by offering aid to Iraq in 1996, and has since spread its relief work to 15 countries including Pakistan, Indonesia, Kosovo, East Timor and Afghanistan. Support activities of PWJ are roughly two-fold: one is emergency humanitarian relief, aiming to secure the safety of lives and to provide the basic necessities. The other is assistance for restoration and development of ravaged areas, aiming at retrieval of self-sustaining livelihood. Furthermore, in Japan, PWJ is performing advocacy activities which include generating awareness and betterment of understanding among general citizens of the situations in which PWJ works.


Ai Tanaka (田仲 愛)
JEN (特定非営利活動法人 ジェン(JEN)
http://www.jen-npo.org (Japanese)
http://www.jen-npo.org/en/index.html (English)

Ai joined JEN in 2005. She is currently in charge of the Pakistan program as well as part of the Sri Lanka and Niigata programs, after one and a half years of working in Sri Lanka for the Tsunami rehabilitation project as a Head of the JEN Colombo Office. Since completing her masterユs degree in Educational Administration, she has worked on education projects as well as livelihood support, vocational training, psychosocial support, water and sanitation, and disaster preparedness in disaster/conflict affected countries in JEN.

JEN was established in January 1994. The mission is メpost conflictモ assistance, focused on restoring communities affected by disaster by fostering self-support both economically and mentally, while trying to fully utilize local human and material resources. JEN provides goods necessary for survival and the minimum infrastructure for living. JEN also acts as an advocate for the victims by sharing the situation with the world. JEN believes that メevery human being has a precious life of equal valueモ and hope to realize a work where people respect, understand and support each other as well as live with self-confidence. Current projects are ongoing in Afghanistan, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Sudan and Niigata Prefecture, Japan. In the past JEN has also worked in former Yugoslav countries, Iran, India, Mongolia, Chechen, Eritrea and Lebanon.


Sunday, May 13, 2007

Speakers for Forum 9: Sunday June 3, 2007

Panel Discussion: Local Action on Family Issues

Speaker and Organizational Profiles

Tomoko Yoshida – QQ and Respect Campaign: Dealing with issues involving international community health education, youth and HIV-AIDS.
http://qqsite.org/respect2006.html

Tomoko became interested in HIV/AIDS during college. She studied International Community Health Education at New York University and harm reduction in the Harm Reduction Coalition. Tomoko also interned at the International Organization for Migration in Cambodia. After coming back to Japan she took a job with Sunstar (private health care company) but continues her work as a youth-oriented health educator. She organized the first AIDS youth forum in Japan in 2003, and followed by organizing the RESPECT Campaign in 2006.

QQ* and Respect Campaign is a one-year long awareness raising campaign on sexual health and rights among young people. It focuses on empowering young people to RESPECT their body as a part of their life-decision through youth-oriented fun events and parties, as well as outreach in schools and on the website. The strength of this campaign lies in the think tank/laboratory approach, where youth implement their own ideas into events. One event was a club event with dancers, singers and other discussion took place. To encourage young people to be prepared when they go out, the entrance fee to the club event was reduced if youth brought a condom. They aim to educate in a fun way that directly relates to their target audience.

Chihiro Sakaeda – Resilience: An organization dealing with Domestic Violence.
http://www.resilience.jp/index2.html

Chiharu is a Development Director at Resilience, an organization that supports survivors of domestic violence. At Resilience, Chiharu is in charge of producing and planning various special projects, as well as in coordinating development-related efforts.
Her past experience includes working at the Center for Education and Support of Women for over five years, where she organized trainings and conferences.

Resilience is an organization which aims to raise awareness around the issues of domestic violence. Most of Resilience's work consists of conducting trainings, presentations, and workshops, at a rate of over 100 events a year. Resilience also holds classes at high schools and colleges to promote insight and to prevent abusive relationships among youths. They also organize an annual study tour program to the United States, with themes that range from domestic violence and child abuse to grief care.

Kageki Asakura
- Tokyo Shure: The oldest free school in Japan. http://www.shure.or.jp/english.html

Tokyo Shure was founded in June 1985 when the number of children refusing to attend regular school was increasing. Children who couldn’t handle the pressure of competition at public schools or who did not receive the special attention they required to be successful were often considered problem children. Some endured bullying. Many of them quit the public school system. Keiko Okuchi founded Tokyo Shure as a space where any child can be her/himself and succeed with the support of parents and other citizens. Nowadays, Tokyo Shure is known to as one of the oldest free schools in Japan.

At Tokyo Shure students are encouraged to build confidence and enrich their lives through failures and accomplishments with the support of staff and parents. Freedom and self autonomy are encouraged as well. Each student decides for themselves when to enroll, when to attend, what programs to take and when to graduate. However, most free schools in Japan are not recognized by the government and are not authorized to give certificates.

Tokyo Shure has three campuses in Tokyo. Children from 6 to twenty years old attend from Monday to Friday. There is also a support network, Home Shure, for families educating their children at home. Each month there are gatherings for these families.

Chisato Shiba – JOICFP
Japan Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning. http://www.joicfp.or.jp/

Chisato has a B.A. in Policy Management from Keio University. She also earned a Diploma in Development Studies at the Institute of Development Economics, Advanced School (IDEAS). Following that she obtained an MA in Social Development at Sussex University. After working at a trading company, she joined JOICFP in 2006, following an interest in the empowerment of women in developing countries she developed while studying. She now works at Resource Development and Campaign Division in JOICFP, doing fund raising from civil society and supporting oversea projects from that fund.

JOICFP, Japan Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning, conducts research on population and reproductive health including family planning (FP) as well as maternal and child health (MCH) in developing countries. JOICFP provides subsidies and other necessary assistance for research and other activities in developing countries, thus contributing to the enhancement of the well-being of the community. JOICFP promotes White Ribbon Activities for safe motherhood in countries such as Afghanistan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Tanzania, and Zambia.

Jocelyn Hasumi - The Philippine Women's League of Japan
http://japan.co.jp/~ystakei/pwl1.html

Jocelyn hails from Manila in the Philippines. She is currently the President of the Philippine Women’s League of Japan (PWLJ). She has been living and teaching in Japan for 22 years. She graduated from Polytechnic University with a degree in Accounting and obtained her CPA. She has worked at Fuji Film in the International Sales and Marketing Division and most recently works as an ALT at a Saitama High School. Ms. Hasumi is pursuing a Peace Education Certificate course under Dr. Betty Reardon. She is also teaches community classes on the weekends, and is a member of a variety of associations including Toastmasters, Saitama Association of Global Awareness, and a volunteer at POLARIS, an anti-trafficking group.

The Philippine Women’s League of Japan is a non-partisan, non-political and non-profit Filipino organization of female citizens and former citizens of the Philippines residing in Japan, either temporarily or permanently. It was established in August 1986. Their objectives are to serve as a voice of the Filipino community in Japan; to embark on projects for the improvement of the reputation of Filipinos, especially women living in Japan; to promote goodwill and understanding with the Japanese people and other foreign groups; to help eradicate the negative feelings and attitudes of Filipinos by encouraging the feeling of comradeship and the unique Filipino spirit of bayanihan (empathy) among the Filipinos in Japan; to uphold the ideals and virtues of Filipino womanhood; and to provide legal and other necessary assistance or help to Filipino women in distress.

Although the majority of the members are Filipino women married to Japanese nationals, the organization is open to all women regardless of their marital status, religion, political affiliation, and even nationality as long as they can prove themselves useful in carrying out our objectives for the welfare and interest of Filipino women in Japan.

Moderator:
Sarajean Rossitto - PSC Convener, Nonprofit NGO Consultant
http://people-for-social-change-forum.blogspot.com/

Sarajean is an activist committed to progressive social change and is currently a Tokyo-based nonprofit NGO consultant. Her current projects focus on three areas: Skills development (doing courses and trainings for JICA, Temple University Japan, The Japan Foundation, The Japan Foundation for AIDS Prevention) and linking organizations (the Asia Foundation CSR seminar series, Morgan Stanley Community programming development). She is the Tokyo representative for a number of US-Japan nonprofit projects and spent close to 4 years coordinating bilateral exchange of community-based nonprofit professionals between the US and Japan for Japan-US Community Exchange (JUCEE).

People for Social Change was founded in the spring of 2005 with the aim of getting more individuals involved locally to affect change from the grassroots up. People for Social Change facilitates people moving beyond issue awareness to actualize social change. It does this through forums for skills development, networking events and projects aimed at linking people to social change programs.

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Dec 2, 2006 - Skills Build 8 Speakers

Workshops Facilitators:
Trevor Balance, Educator and Textbook Developer, Josai International University, Chiba.
Trevor belongs to the department of International Exchange where he teaches courses on NGO activism and the NGO-business relationship. He is also a member of the university's NGO-NPO Support Center, which aims to both support local NGOs and provide opportunities for students to become more fully involved with them. He has been a member of Amnesty International for most of his life, involved in letter writing campaigns and event organizing, as well as, during his time in Japan, doing voluntary work for JUCEE, The Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA), Bridge Asia Japan (BAJ), and The Asia Foundation. Trevor has a Masters in TESOL and is currently working on a MA in NGOs and Sustainable Development. He is the author of "It's Your World...Get Involved: Reading and Talking About NGOs". Trevor spends some of his free time in Ho Chi Minh City at a school for blind Vietnamese where he helps students practice their English, joins them in their music making and, (while mangling the Vietnamese language), marvels at the students' enthusiasm for everything in life.

Under the Skin: Bringing Human Rights Awareness into the Classroom

In this workshop we will look at ways we, as activists interested in education, can raise the understanding of human rights among our students. Through a variety of stimulating activities the workshop will show that human rights issues can be introduced simply and effectively into most classroom situations. At the close of the workshop, participants will take away several lesson plans made during the session that they will be ready to try out at the next opportunity!

Sarajean Rossitto,
Nonprofit NGO Program and Organization Development Consultant
An activist committed to progressive social change, Sarajean is currently a Tokyo-based NGO and nonprofit consultant. Her current projects focus on three areas: Skills development (doing courses and trainings for JICA, Temple University Japan, The Japan Foundation, The Japan Foundation for AIDS Prevention) and linking organizations (the Asia Foundation CSR seminar series, Morgan Stanley Community programming development). She is the Tokyo representative for a number of US-Japan nonprofit projects and spent close to 4 years coordinating bilateral exchange of community-based nonprofit professionals between the US and Japan for Japan-US Community Exchange (JUCEE). In 2007, Sarajean aims to do more working connecting international corporations to local Japanese nonprofit NGOs and developing more skills training modules in both English and Japanese, while also doing more writing on the nonprofit NGO sector and advocacy in Japan. She founded the PSC in spring 2005 with the aim of getting more individuals involved locally to affect change from the grassroots up.

Creating Effective Letter writing campaigns
In this workshop we will discuss the basics of letter writing campaign development and then go through the development process in a step-by-step manner. Participants will have time to develop a letter-writing plan, after we review some good practices and common mistakes.

Panel Discussion Speakers:
Nozomi Bando, The International Movement Against all forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR) http://www.imadr.org/
Nozomi is a Program Officer at The International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR). She joined IMADR originally as a volunteer in 2000 and participated in UN conferences related to human rights and racial discrimination later as an IMADR intern. She started working with IMADR as an administrative assistant in 2002. Nozomi is originally from Wakayama and graduated from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.

The International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR) is an international non-profit, non-governmental human rights organization devoted to eliminating discrimination and racism, forging international solidarity among discriminated minorities and advancing the inter- national human rights system. Founded in 1988 by one of Japan's largest minorities, the Buraku people, IMADR has grown to be a global network of concerned individuals and minority groups with regional committees and partners in Asia, Europe, North America and Latin America. IMADR's International Secretariat is based in Japan and maintains a UN liaison office in Geneva. IMADR is in consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Nozomi (IMADR) will focus on Buraku discrimination and the Sayama Case as one of the cases of racial discrimination in Japan, exploring prospects of what both domestic and international solidarity can bring to the movement.
About The Sayama Case
On May 23, 1963, Kazuo Ishikawa, a man of Buraku origin from the town of Sayama, north of Tokyo, was convicted and sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit.
The sentence was later commuted to life with hard labor, and confirmed by the Supreme Court in 1977. After 32 years in prison, Ishikawa was released on probation in 1994. Since his conviction, three appeals for retrial have been submitted in an effort to clear his name. The latest, filed on May 23, 2006, offers a rich body of new evidence supporting Ishikawa’s innocence. His defenders remain optimistic that, this time, the courts will deliver Ishikawa a fair and just trial.


Chris Pitts, Amnesty International Japan http://www.aig78.org/,
http://www.amnesty.or.jp/

Chris is a volunteer and member of Amnesty International Japan (AIJ) working full-time job as an English "professor" at a women's junior college. He has been organiser of Group 78, Tokyo's English-speaking Amnesty group, for about ten years. Chris joined AIJ as a way of being active in Japan without needing to speak or read Japanese. He found that his previous experience of involvement in trade union work and single-issue campaigns (e.g. against British military action in Ireland, cruise missiles, the Malvinas War) was relevant and transferable to building an active and diverse AIJ group.

Amnesty International is a worldwide campaigning movement that works to promote internationally recognized human rights. Amnesty International's vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. Our mission is to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of our work to promote all human rights. Amnesty International has more than a million members and supporters in over 140 countries and territories.

Amnesty International's nerve centre is the International Secretariat in London, with more than 350 staff members and over 100 volunteers from more than 50 countries around the world. The Japanese section of AI was established in 1971, and as of 2005 had more than 6,500 members in about 110 groups nationwide. Group 78 is one of two English-language AI groups (there are also 22 Japanese-language groups) in Tokyo.

Chris will talk about the AIJ and human rights as a growth industry. Human rights abuses occur as a result of war between and within nations, as a result of the scramble for profits internationally (globalisation), as a result of the drive to control and suppress working people's attempts to organise, and as a result of poverty and despair. When Amnesty International was founded over 45 years ago, its work focused on individual cases -- the so-called prisoners of conscience. AI still deals with individual cases, over 45,000 and counting, but nowadays our work is more and more focused on campaigning on issues.
Chris will review both individual cases, and campaigns in his talk:
- Cases: Gen. Gallardo (Mexico), Amina Lawal (Nigeria), Menda Sakae (Japan).
- Campaigns: Stop Violence against Women; Control Arms; Political Killings in Philippines.
How can you get involved? Join, donate, organise and/or publicize events, administer the website, write letters, join Urgent Actions.

Yukiko Kaname & Akie Takeda , Non-Japanese Sex-workers Research Project/SWASH
http://swash.sakura.ne.jp/

Akie participated in an international meeting against commercial sexual exploitation of children in 1999 and then worked on HIV prevention awareness-raising for Japanese youth. She feels it is very important to link services and people. This year she started doing outreach for a group called Mittkusu, which does HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness projects in Tokyo. The research she is currently doing is also related to her outreach work.

Yukiko has been concerned with the right movement for sex-workers since 1997 and became a SWASH(Sex Work And Sexual Health) member in 1999. From 1999 to 2003, She was involved in various research projects, including a study on the work habits of women in the sex industry, and the awareness and practices related to HIV/STI prevention. Since 2004, she has focused on activities aiming to developing the community and services for people in the sex industry. Yukiko’s main publications include: "Uru urunai ha watashi ga kimeru"(2000, joint worked, Potto Publications) "Sei wo rikangaeru"(2003, joint work, Seikyu Publications) "Fuuzokujyo ishikichousa" (2005, joint worked, Potto Publications).

In 2006 SWASH started research aiming to support Non-Japanese sex workers who work in Japan. The people involved in this project include activists, researchers, NGO members involved in HIV/STI prevention, and writers, all of whom tackle issues related to the sex industry and sex-workers. SWASH is also working in cooperation with overseas organizations that support sex-workers. Besides this project, they are also planning to provide services such as distributing HIV/STI prevention information, teaching Japanese and massage as well as other skills for people working in the sex industry.


TOKYO AMAZONS is a new bilingual (Japanese/English) group aimed at lesbian women, which welcomes women of all sexual orientations and backgrounds to meet together in a fun and safe environment. Our focus is to encourage women to work towards locating and enhancing their inner strength and to develop further skills for supporting themselves and others in their quest to become true warrior women in their daily lives. We meet once monthly usually on the first Sunday, and aim also to serve as a networking service for women's communities within and eventually outside Tokyo.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Sept 23 Speaker introductions

Morning Panelists:
Masaki Inaba, Africa Japan Forum (AJF)
Noriko Takasaki, Association for Aid and Relief (AAR)
Atsuhiro Oguri, African Development and Emergency Organisation (ADEO)
Jane Best, Refugees International Japan (RIJ)
Moderator:
Sarajean Rossitto, PSC Convener

Masaki Inaba, Africa Japan Forum
Masaki Inaba has been working in Japanese civil society since 1990, first in the poor district of day workers in Yokohama as the director of medical team of day-workers labor union, and second in gay and lesbian communities in Japan to advocate rights of LGBTs. As the program director for global health, he has been working in Africa Japan Forum since 2002 to connect global communities and Japanese civil society working on HIV/AIDS. Also, he has been working with African civil society working on HIV/AIDS to scale up contribution of Japanese aid with better quality.

Masaki will talk about two HIV/AIDS programs of Africa Japan Forum. The first one is capacity building of Japanese NGOs on infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and Malaria in Africa and other developing countries. The second one is supporting African migrants living with HIV/AIDS in Japan. When these migrants return to their mother countries, it's necessary to ensure continuity of access to treatment between Japan and these countries. AJF has been working to realize the cross-border continuity of access to treatment between Japan and African countries.

Africa Japan Forum
, founded in 1994, is a coordination mechanism of Japanese NGOs working on African issues. It has been working to promote activities of Japanese NGOs working on Africa by information exchange, setting lobbying and advocacy activities for Japanese government and aid agencies, and organizing opportunities of capacity building. Also, it has been working for promoting better understanding of Africa in Japanese civil society by seminars and telephone counselling, and supporting African migrant communities in Japan especially in the field of HIV/AIDS.

Jane Best, Refugees International Japan
Jane lived in Zambia for over three years in the 1970s working as a British Volunteer. She has been in Japan for 22 years and worked with several NGOs during that time. For the last seven years she has been Grant Director for Refugees International Japan, monitoring the programmes to be funded. She visits project areas every year and has been to West, East and Southern Africa on RIJ business. She has just been appointed President and CEO of RIJ, while continuing her responsibilities with the programmes.

Jane's talk will look at the work that RIJ funds in Africa with particular emphasis on capacity building and repatriation. RIJ is currently funding twelve projects in Africa. I will highlight two projects: a youth project for Angolan refugees and an income generation project for female returnees to Eritrea. The youth project began in a refugee camp in Namibia and was so successful that the implementing organisation requested funds to continue a similar scheme in Angola to help youth re-integrate upon repatriation. The Eritrean programme offers training in business management for female-headed households in areas where refugees have returned. Both programmes have been successful but have different problems which present useful comparisons.

Refugees International Japan is a volunteer, independent, nonprofit organisation that raises funds to assist refugees around the world. RIJ also raises public awareness of refugee issues, regularly involving the local community in many of its fundraising activities. RIJ is staffed entirely by volunteers from the Japanese and foreign communities in and around Tokyo and to date has distributed over US$7 million to more than 500 refugee projects in over 40 countries worldwide.

Atsuhiro Oguri, African Development and Emergency Organisation (ADEO)
Atsuhiro is a Senior at Tokyo University majoring in Social Sciences. He originally joined as an ADEO intern in Kenya 2003~2004. He has worked as Documentation Trainee Officer, coordinating HIV/AIDS youth programs, and writing proposals for VCT projects. He also helped establish ADEO Japan in Japan in Oct. 2003. since joining ADEO Japan he started up the HIV/AIDS projects targeting Japanese youth, has worked to send Japanese students to ADEO-Africa and has been the Tokyo Representative since April 2006. He also is a Board member of YDP Japan Network, a network of more than 60 Japanese youth organizations.

In his presentation today, Atsuhiro will introduce two of ADEO Japan's key programs. The first will be about the exchange work they do with youth in Japan and several African nations. He will also introduce the HIV/AIDS project targeting Youth in Japan.

African Development and Emergency Organisation (ADEO) is an African non-religious, non-sectarian, non-political and gender sensitive NGO, operating in Africa. ADEO was established in 1998 by African professionals with substantial experience in both relief and development in the Eastern Horn of African region. To provide primary Health Care including HIV/AIDS and Education services in relief and development to the disadvantaged populations in Africa. ADEO Japan aims to contribute to the development of Japanese and African society through the stimulation of people's understanding and behavior change towards global and cross-cutting social problems.

Noriko Takasaki, Association for Aid and Relief
Noriko currently serves as a Programme Coordinator at the Association for Aid and Relief, Japan (AAR JAPAN). She has a BA in both Management Studies and Psychology from Leeds University. Noriko joined AAR JAPAN in October 2004, and currently in charge of programmes in Sudan and Zambia and she is based at the Tokyo Headquarters. She previously worked in Burkina Faso for 18 months assisting in the development of HIV/AIDS programmes for Africare, a US-based NGO.
(talk details forthcoming)

Association for Aid and Relief, Japan(AAR Japan) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) aiming to provide emergency assistance, assistance to people with disabilities, and mine action, among other operations. It was established in 1979 as an organization with no political, ideological, or religious affiliation. AAR currently has offices in eight countries and works in 10 countries worldwide.

Moderator: Sarajean Rossitto, PSC Convener, founded the PSC in February 2005 with the goal of getting more people involved in NGO and community based work through network and skill development.
http://sarajean-r.blogspot.com/ (Full bio below.)

Concurrent Skills Building Workshops
For students, nonprofit NGO staff, volunteers and anyone interested in getting involved.
Workshop A: Managing volunteers and interns
Workshop B: Effective PR and outreach for nonprofits and NGOs
Workshop C: Creative fundraising

Workshop A: Managing volunteers and interns
Objective:
Review of the cycle for coordinating interns and volunteers, sharing of key strategies for proactive mgt.

Facilitator: Sarajean Rossitto, nonprofit NGO consultant
Sarajean Rossitto, an activist committed to progressive social change, is currently a Tokyo-based NGO and nonprofit consultant. She is the Tokyo representative for a number of US-Japan nonprofit projects including International Global Internships and the Japan Women’s Leadership Initiative. She has volunteered with groups including JVC, TELL, PARC and IMADR. She spent 3 1/2 years coordinating bilateral exchange of community-based activists between the US and Japan for Nichibei Community Exchange (JUCEE). Sarajean holds a Masters of International Affairs degree with a focus on Human Rights in East Asia. Prior to this, she spent 6 years coordinating programs at the Tokyo YMCA. In her first job as a student organizer, she traveled the state of NY organizing lobby visits, issue education workshops, and grassroots trainings. Sarajean founded the PSC with the aim of getting more people involved locally to affect borad based change.

Workshop B: Communicating Strategically, Hints from the Advertising Industry:
Effective PR and outreach for nonprofits and NGOs

Objective: Improve your communications strategy for outreach to diverse audiences
Facilitator: John McCreery, the Word Works
John McCreery is an anthropologist, adman, writer, author of Japanese Consumer Behavior: From Worker Bees to Wary Shoppers (U. of Hawaii Press, 2000), regular contributor to Bestoftheblogs (http://bestoftheblogs.com), formerly International Vice Chair, Democrats Abroad. He has lived and worked in Japan since September, 1980. Was employed as an English-language copywriter and creative director by Hakuhodo, Japan's 2nd largest advertising agency, from 1983-1996. John is currently one of the two principals (the other being Ruth McCreery) who own and operate The Word Works, Ltd., a supplier of consulting, copywriting and fine translation services.

Workshop C Creative fundraising skills
Objective: Learn and share innnovative techniques for raising funds
Facilitator: Daniela Papi, PEPY Ride
As an American teaching English in Shizuoka-ken, Daniela Papi found herself with the time and motivation to work on a variety of NGO projects. Over the past three years, she has fundraised for organizations in Uganda, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Nepal, Cambodia, inner city USA, and of course Japan. Her current project is called The PEPY Ride which she co-founded. The first ride brought together five women and educational resources to schools across Cambodia and raised $35,000 dollars for the NGO Japan Relief for Cambodia. In less than two years PEPY has raised over $100,000 in support of Cambodian education projects. They have also assisted with Hurricane Katrina relief.


Saturday, June 17, 2006

June 24 speaker introductions

10:30 ~ 12:20 Panel Discussion
Making the world a healthier place

Speakers:
Prune Helfter, Medecins du Monde
Makiko Hara, Run for the Cure Foundation
Damion Mannings, PEPY Ride
Nobuhiro Kadoi, JOICFP, Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning

Moderator:
Sarajean Rossitto, PSC Convener, NGO & Nonprofit Consultant

Objective: Representatives from nonprofits and NGOs tackling health issues at home and abroad, introduce their groups, programs, and how to get involved to make a difference. Issues will vary from sexual health to health education issues.

Prune Helfter has been working for Medecins du Monde (Doctors of the World) since September 2005. A graduated from Paris Institute of Political Science, she spent 2 years as a researcher at Kyoto University. After taking an MBA at Essec, she worked at an IT company, in charge of the Marketing Department. She spent 2 years at the French Services of Tourism before joining Medecins du Monde as General Manager

Médecins du Monde is an international humanitarian organization. For the last twenty-five years, its vocation has been to provide counseling, care and support to the most vulnerable populations in the world. The first mission of Médecins du Monde is to provide medical aid to the victims of natural disasters, famines, epidemics, infectious diseases outbreaks (malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis), armed conflicts, political repression, minorities as well as to street children. Speaking out against those who attempt to be obstacles to the access to healthcare, as well denouncing those who violate human rights and dignity are also missions of Médecins du Monde’s. Médecins du Monde condemns all forms of injustice, whatever their origin .

Before working at Run for the Cure Foundation this year, Makiko Hara was based in Osaka. There she devoted herself to a youth education NGO which she helped start up in 2001. She also worked for 2 years in Zimbabawe coordinating activities in her position as Sports Officer with Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers.

The Run for the Cure Foundation is a Nonprofit Organization that funds Breast Cancer education and awareness programs for throughout Japan. Our mission is to increase awareness of the importance of a positive breast health regimen, to strengthen support groups for women in Japan who suffer from breast cancer, and to raise funds to support and encourage the advancement of breast cancer research. We organize 2 events every year in October, the Run for the Cure and Pink Ball, a formal gala event. Money raised goes to organizations such as Japan Society of Breast Health and Akebonokai for educational and service programs. We need help from caring individuals who believe strongly in our cause. It's our goal to provide a meaningful and fun chance for you to be involved. We appreciate your precious time - currently, we are looking for people who are interested in volunteering on the Race day volunteer for Run for the Cure 2006.

Damion Mannings worked in publishing in Manhattan for six years before teaching English in Japan. He's volunteered extensively in Tokyo, completed the NGO Skills Development program at Temple University Japan. Damion is committed to enhancing children’s literacy, health and nutrition. He’s the current health coordinator of The PEPY Ride’s Chanleas Dia School, a sustainable development project focusing on education, health and environmental issues in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Protect Earth, Protect Yourself: PEPY Ride supports educational projects in developing countries and disaster relief areas with a focus on the relationship between the environment and our health. PEPY encourages adventure travel, which emphasizes social action, responsibility and accountability. We organize volunteer and adventure travel in developing countries and redevelopment areas suffering from natural disasters. The PEPY Ride emphasizes education through action, where participants both learn from and give back to the communities they visit. Daniela Papi and Greta Arnquist founded PEPY in 2005. Health, environment, and education are urgent issues in Cambodia. PEPY was founded to take action to improve these situations.

Nobuhiro Kadoi is currently a Senior Program Officer in the International Program Division at Japanese Organization for International Cooperation in Family Planning (JOICFP). He has been working for and inchrage of Africa programs for JOICFP since 1996. Nobuhiro manages projects promoting integration of reproductive health and HIV/AIDS at country and regional levels. He studied health education at the School of Public Health of the University of Hawaii and obtained Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) in December 1995. He also has seven years of experience in teaching health education in a high school and two year in a university in Japan. He served as an intern for the Waikiki Health Centre in Hawaii in 1995 for the HIV/AIDS program and the Youth Outreach Program. Nobuhiro was a JOCV volunteer in Kenya serving as a Judo instructor in the Kenya Police College from 1983 to 1986.

JOICFP, a Japan-based NGO, is active in the field of population and reproductive health and rights (RH/R) where it works to improve the health status of men, women and young people in developing countries. JOICFP was established in 1968 and grew out of a desire to share lessons of family planning and maternal and child health that flourished in Japan as a community-based movement oriented toward preventive health. JOICFP has activities in over 30 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America where community people remain central to all efforts. JOICFP envisions a world where the basic human needs of individuals and families are met, where people are free of poverty and enjoy good health and welfare. JOICFP sees its mission as enabling individuals to make their own choices regarding reproductive health and rights while ensuring access to quality services and appropriate information. JOICFP enjoys UN/ECOSOC consultative status and works closely with the Japanese government, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). JOICFP received a UN Population Award in 2001.

Workshop facilitator introductions:
Presentation skills:
Dawn Tattersall completed a Masters of Sciences degree in Legal and Forensic Psychology in 2002. She is interested in Human Trafficking and the abuse of human rights that this crime represents, particularly against young people. She has spent a significant part of her professional life in Japan teaching English and Business skills to professionals as well as teaching English for Academic Purposes at various universities. Dawn joined three of the Skills Build Forums run by People for Social Change in 2005 and has been an active member ever since.

Introduction to Advocacy:
Sarajean Rossitto, an activist committed to progressive social change, is currently a Tokyo-based NGO and nonprofit consultant. She is the Tokyo representative for a number of US-Japan nonprofit projects including International Global Internships and the Japan Women’s leadership Initiative. She has volunteered with many different groups including JVC, TELL, PARC and IMADR. She spent 3 1/2 years coordinating bilateral exchange of community-based activists between the US and Japan for Nichibei Community Exchange (JUCEE). Sarajean holds a Masters of International Affairs degree with a focus on human rights in East Asia. Prior to this, she spent 6 years coordinating programs at the Tokyo YMCA. In her first job as a student organizer, she traveled the state of NY organizing lobby visits, issue education workshops, and grassroots trainings.