BANGLADESH:

Location: Dhaka

Dhaka ICA has finalized the dates, 26 November - 9 December 2007, for the 4th Sub-Continental Annual Meeting, ToP Training, and Regional Gathering in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Based on Skype conference and e-mail correspondance the dates and content were set. Representatives from 3 sub-continental ICAs - Nepal, India and Bangladesh, Taiwan, Japan, ICAI are expected to join the event.

Dhaka ICA members attended a discussion meeting on MDGs at the Bangladesh Office of Hunger Free World in Dhaka. Executive Director of Hunger Free World Bangladesh - Ataur Rahman Miton, had  a talk with ICA Bangladesh Executive Director Azizur Rahman, about ICA work, at his office and he informed that HFW Head Quarters Japan already expressed huge interest in ICA. He also shared that HFW wants to work with ICA.

During his visit in Philippines and Japan in July 2007, Ataur Rahman Miton wishes to visit ICA Japan considering. Aziz hopes Ataur will pass our regards to ICA Japan on our behalf as the guardian of Dhaka ICA. In a offer for a pedagogy training for capacity building of ICA faculty members on ToP, Dhaka ICA has got acceptance from HFW. HFW expressed their interest to develop a strategic plan whch will be done during the training.

Aziz           marahman1976@yahoo.com

ICA ASSOCIATES INC. (Canada)

This was the week of the Art and Science of Participation, our 6 day advanced facilitator training program. In addition to the 11 participants, one of our associates, Jerry Mings, joined the training team as a personal deepening exercise.

Having completed the Art of Focused Conversation for Schools CD ROM, Wayne and Manfred worked on turning it into a website that can be accessed by those who purchase the second edition or used on their own computers as a -local- website.

Staff visited with travelers, Gordon and Roxanna Harper and Jim and Judy Wiegle, who came to Canada for the -Springboard- gathering at Abbey North.

Wayne Nelson           wnelson@ica-associates.ca

JAPAN:

Location: 2008 Conference Prep

The 7th Global Conference on Human Development

We visited Atami again, and began arranging site visits within two hours of Atami.  They are considering about a dozen exciting places.  We found three more hotels, all exotic, with beach fronts, beautiful grounds, ocean swimming.  One is called Akao Kindom, and it is better than Harry Potter!  The only problem is,  would we have time to be serious about the conference?

Now, with such fine cooperation with ICAI, who is going to recruit the participants with our focus on hotels, site visits, and budgets?  I guess that will be next August!  Oh, that's in just a week!  Here we go!

International Project Proposals

We received three quality proposals, form Benin, Peru, and Zimbabwe.  And we have Indonesia ready, and Sri Lanka ready for an update.  And Naomi promised one more for Kenya.  A busy summer, neh?

Wayne Ellsworth           wayne@icajapan.org

NEPAL:

ICA Nepal along with Rotary Club carried out few interaction programme for general public on Constituent Assembly. ICA Nepal which is the initiating organisation of Facilitators Association of Nepal shared about the Social Artistry leadership among FAN members.

This week ICA attended a meeting regarding implementing social artistry and MDG project in Nepal which was participated by UN Habitat Nepal and Japan. Today ICA Nepal's Tatwa, Madan and Atma are leaving for India, Singapore and Malaysia for exposure visit and IAF confernece in Kuala Lumpur.

Tatwa P. Timsina           ica@icanep.wlink.com.np

UNITED KINGDOM:

Martin has been facilitating events with Wigan local government and the George House Trust- an HIVAIDS charity, Amelia has been delivering a variety of youth focused events and Jonathan has been taking various bits of work forward from behind his desk!

Jonathan Dudding           jdudding@ica-uk.org.uk

ICAI:

A very exciting, full week as two new staff members came on board and we prepared for a fundraising and outreach trip to Europe.

The new conference website is up at www.japan2008.org, as well as an online store: www.cafepress.com/icai.

We also had the pleasure of visiting Judy Harvie in Kingston to thank her for all her support to ICAI.

Remember that stories and photos for the September Network Exchange are due August 1.

Much more to come!

Staff