By Annika Schaefer

From November 18th to 22nd Asia Catalyst staff and delegates from four Chinese partner organizations will gather with other advocates from the region at the 11th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICCAP). Delegates will present their work, meet with advocacy targets, and attend community and scientific sessions.  The congress, to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, is the largest forum on HIV/AIDS in the Asia-Pacific region.

Among the expected 4,000 delegates from 22 countries across Asia and the Pacific engaging in ICAAP11, Asia Catalyst staff and partners will each have the opportunity to share best practices and present on their organization’s work, program results, and lessons learned for the future, in the form of abstract presentations, poster presentations, roundtables, and other side events.

Asia Catalyst is supporting members from the four selected Chinese partner organizations with English translation, scholarship assistance, and the coordination of meetings, roundtables and presentations.

Delegates receiving our support were selected by an open application process from organizations we have worked with in the past.  Three members of the delegation are graduate organizations of the Asia Catalyst NGO Leadership Cohort, a year-long organizational management training program for grassroots health rights advocates in China, and several have been working with Asia Catalyst’s Advocacy program.

Asia Catalyst will have a booth in the Asia Pacific Village, an area of the conference that is open to the public for free, and which is geared toward networking, information sharing and joint actions for community based organizations.  The booth will showcase advocacy projects
from partner organizations around the region, including several from the Rights Training Program’s regional network.  It will also showcase Asia Catalyst materials and training programs, and serve as a platform for expanding our network in the region.

Over the coming weeks, we will feature profiles of advocates and their projects on the blog.

Please support our efforts to bring advocates together by making a tax-deductible donation  to Asia Catalyst.

Capacity-builder of NGOs in Asia Welcomes Charmain Mohamed to Team (New York, June 24, 2013)–

The health and human rights capacity-builder Asia Catalyst announced today that Charmain Scheherazade Mohamed will join the organization as executive director.  Asia Catalyst’s core work includes coaching, non-profit survival skills, research and advocacy.

Ms. Mohamed has a long and distinguished history as a human rights activist and humanitarian advocate, with senior positions at Human Rights Watch, with the United Nations, and with the Norwegian Refugee Council. She has more than 15 years’ professional experience, most of which has been spent working on critical human rights issues in Asia.

“Across Asia, the need for training and capacity-building for non-profits is growing,” said Yvonne Chan, chair of the board of directors of Asia Catalyst.  “We are delighted Charmain Mohamed will be leading our incredibly talented team in building a robust and sustainable network of civil society organizations across the region.”

Asia Catalyst has pioneered training and professionalization for non-profits, training dozens of leaders on the right to health, human rights and basic organizational skills.  The organization’s flagship three-volume publication, “Know It, Prove It, Change It,” has become a field manual for non-governmental organizations in Asia and is available in English, Thai, Chinese and soon, Burmese.

During the search for a new executive director, Andrea Worden headed Asia Catalyst on a transitional basis as acting executive director.  Worden, a respected expert, lawyer, and advocate focused on human rights and rule of law in China, will be joining Asia Catalyst’s board of directors.

“Asia Catalyst is deeply grateful to Andrea Worden, who has done a terrific job helming the organization while the board of directors conducted the search for the permanent executive director,” said Chan. “We are thankful for Andrea’s expertise, training and support to our staff and cohort of Asian advocates.”

“Asia Catalyst has a gifted and enthusiastic management team that is making a difference across Asia,” said Chan. “Charmain Mohamed is a recognized leader in the global human rights movement; we’re thrilled to welcome her to the Asia Catalyst family.”

About Asia Catalyst

Asia Catalyst was founded by Dr. Sara “Meg” Davis in 2006 with an initial grant of $50,000. Since then, the organization has provided capacity-building training and support to dozens of grassroots groups in China and Southeast Asia, and has published eight human rights reports. Today the organization has an annual budget of nearly $1 million, five full-time staff and three part-time staff. Staff leadership includes Brian Bonci, the director of finance and operations, Gisa Dang, China program director, and Shen Tingting, the advocacy director. Key publications include “Know It, Prove It, Change It: A Rights Curriculum for Grassroots Groups,” and several reports on HIV/AIDS and human rights in Asia.

Asia Catalyst’s mission is to work with grassroots groups from marginalized communities in East and Southeast Asia that promote the right to health, and to help those partners become leading advocates at the local, national and global levels.

For more information, please see www.asiacatalyst.org.