The Institute of Cultural Affairs: Japan Global Partnership Center
Member profile
The Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA) is a private, non-profit organization concerned with the human factor in world development. At the heart of ICA's work is the belief that long-term, sustainable development happens only when people grasp the significance of their own lives in the larger scheme of things -- when they actively participate in the changes taking place around them instead of merely being targets of that change. Based on its unique Technology of Participation (ToP) methods, the ICA seeks to integrate the methods of human consciousness and organizational transformation to maximize the participation of grassroots people in taking responsibility for their own lives and for their community as a whole. Through town meetings and leadership training programs the ICA helps communities to achieve consensual decision making, team building and long-range planning, making it possible for local residents to implement projects that they have created themselves, rather than the ICA itself becoming the driving force.
Main activities
Nationally chartered and registered ICAs in 30 nations around the world are linked through ICA International (ICA:I). The ICA international secretariat is based in Brussels, Belgium. ICA:I is registered with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) as an NGO with UN advisory status. ICA:I is involved with supplying information to ICA's and individual members, sponsoring international conferences, publishing books and articles and training volunteers. ICA Japan began in Kobe in 1970 and was formalized as a membership organization in 1982. Besides support for international projects, its main activities in Japan focus on development education and the promotion of environmental awareness through slide shows, international conferences, photo exhibitions, videos and publications, and our homepage. ICA Japan offers a number of seminars on facilitation methods training and personal growth. Vocational and youth training is popular n Zambia and Cote d'Ivoire.
Links to the health workforce crisis
Working in partnership with local ICA staff in developing countries, ICA Japan's international effort is focused on the implementation of comprehensive human development projects that emphasize basic human needs and protecting the natural environment. ICA Japan's recent international partnership projects have included the building of basic infrastructure such as schools, health care centers, and water and sanitation systems, the fostering of economic self-sufficiency through small-scale business development and job training for women and youth, appropriate technology transfer through the dispatch of technical advisors and international study tours, and natural resource conservation through reforestation and sustainable agriculture education. ICA holds study tours to our partnership sites, complemented by cultural activities. These tours are a chance to go beyond your usual travel experiences and see a country from the inside, while helping out with ongoing work. On one such tour NTT Union members visited Vietnam where they planted 2,000 trees, held a Japanese Sports Day, and interacted with countless local people. Even with little language ability, the efforts of ICA project staff and local organizers make these an experience to be remembered for life.
Call for knowledge information:
Alliance Members are invited to submit any relevant knowledge products such as documents, reports, tools, multimedia, links to specific project web sites by sending an email to ghwa@who.int. The Alliance Secretariat will publish relevant products on the Member's page.
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