By Gisa Hartmann
Last month, Mike Frick introduced our approach on conflict management in workshops. But what if you face the opposite problem – no one talking at all? Facilitating a lively discussion also requires that facilitators provoke new thinking by breaking down barriers and ensuring everyone feels that their voice counts.
By Sara L.M. Davis
In his recent New York Times op-ed, Paul Farmer calls for increased funding for
the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. He’s right, but to
really put muscle into the fight against HIV/AIDS, the Global Fund also needs
to change its top-down approach to funding, given the reality that HIV/AIDS
specifically targets the most marginalized people in any society.
China Program Officer Mike Frick produced a snapshot of the current state of health rights groups in China, based off information gathered from NGOs that participated in Asia Catalyst’s coaching program. China’s civil society sector has grown rapidly over the past ten years, but it is still in an early stage of development. Because most grassroots NGOs are unable to legally register, and because most founders have little to no prior NGO or management experience, they face numerous challenges in the effort to professionalize operations while providing needed services and conducting policy advocacy. Read the full report here.
By Sara L.M. Davis
In November 2006, Chinese AIDS activist Li Dan sent me an email in New York. I had met this young Chinese PhD student turned AIDS activist once or twice, most recently at a dinner honoring him as a recipient of the Reebok Human Rights Award.
“We’re thinking of starting an AIDS law center in Beijing,” he wrote in his message. “Do you know anyone who might be interested?”
I did – in fact, I had just come home from having coffee with Jonathan Cohen of the Open Society Institute, who had mentioned an interest in funding an AIDS law project in China. That project launched both Li Dan’s Korekata AIDS Law Center and Asia Catalyst.
CELEBRATING OUR FIFTH ANNIVERSARY
In 2012, Asia
Catalyst is celebrating five years of partnering with grassroots groups in East
and Southeast Asia. In a challenging environment, this new generation of
leaders is developing innovative ways to meet the needs of marginalized
communities. Most of our partners are small start-up groups in Asia and as part
of our 5th Anniversary Campaign, we are asking for donations to help Chinese
health rights advocates to make their voices heard at the International AIDS
Conference in Washington D.C. this July. Please make a tax-deductible
contribution here.
