CESE participates in the meeting of partners of Change the Game in the Netherlands
29 de May de 2019Between May 20th and 24th, was conducted in the Netherlands, the Coordination Meeting of the Change the Game Academy Program. Representatives of Asian, African and South American (CESE) organizations were invited to attend to the meeting by the Dutch agency Wilde Ganzen to exchange experiences and building joint commitments for the next five years.
A diversity of entities has been part of the Change the Game Academy over the past two years from countries such as Uganda, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Tanzania, South Africa, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Nepal. A fair of tastes and knowledges was organized so that all organizations could get in touch with the diverse cultures present, as well as understand how the Program is developed in the territories. Theater performance and group dynamics also fulfilled this alignment role, showing how the initiative was created, its trajectory and challenges until the present time.
The schedule of the meeting was designed from participative methodologies, with dialogue wheels, meetings and dynamics. During the week’s agenda, the following topics were addressed: the political context of the countries that challenges the implementation of the program; how to improve the monitoring and follow-up of the groups that receive online and classroom training; communication strategies of the Program; and, finally, joint elaboration of the vision for the Program until 2025 and plan of action – in relation to institutional development, governance, communication and fundraising.
The morning of the last day, May 24, had as its main activity the evaluation of the Meeting. In the afternoon, the organizations were invited to participate in two events: in Driebergen, with private Dutch initiatives, which dealt with possibilities of support for Change the Game; and in The Hague, where the seminar “Shifting the Power in Development Cooperation” was held with Dutch development sectors on power relations between Southern and Northern organizations.
At the end of the meeting, CESE took part in the North-South cooperation evaluation meeting between May 27th and 28th, together with the Smile Foundation (India), KCDF (Kenya) and WACSI (Ghana).
SEE WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT US
In the name of historical and structural racism, many people look at us, black women, and think that we aren’t competent, intelligent, committed or have no identity. Our experience with CESE is different. We are a diverse group of black women. We are in varied places and have varied stories! It’s important to know this and to believe in us. Thank you CESE, for believing in us. For seeing our plurality and investing in us.
CESE was set up during the most violent year of the Military Dictatorship, when torture had been institutionalized, when arbitrary imprisonment, killings and the disappearance of political prisoners had intensified. The churches had the courage to come together and create an institution that could be a living witness of the Christian faith in the service of the Brazilian people. I’m so happy that CESE has reached its 50th anniversary, improving as it matures.
Over these 50 years, we have received the gift of CESE’s presence in our communities. We are witness to how much companionship and solidarity it has invested in our territories. And this has been essential for us to carry on the struggle and defence of our people.
When we hear talk of the struggles of the peoples of the waters, of the forests, of the semi-arid region, of the city peripheries and of the most varied organizations, we see and hear that CESE is there, at their side, without replacing the subjects of the struggle. Supporting, creating the conditions so that they can follow their own path. It is this spirit that we, at ASA, want you to maintain. We wish you long life in this work to support transformation.
You have to praise CESE’s capacity to find answers so as to extend support to projects from traditional peoples and communities, from family farming, from women; its recognition of the multiple meanings of the right to land, to water and to territory; the importance of citizenship and democracy, including environmental racism and the right to identity in diversity in its discussion agenda, and its support for the struggles and assertion of the values of solidarity and difference.
I am a macumba devotee, but I love being with partners whose thinking is different from ours and who respect our form of organization. CESE is one such partner: it helps to build bridges, which are so necessary to ensure that freedom, diversity, respect and solidarity can flow. These 50 years have involved a lot of struggles and the construction of a new world.