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International Links

As an extension of his normal research and development activities for the Center, the Director is responsible for the development of International and Inter-university programs for Medgar Evers College. The Center, accordingly, is represented by the Director and a team of Senior Fellows in the following major international collaborations:

(i)

The Peoples of the Americas Consortium

of Research Centers and Universities for Sustainable Development

(UNIPOP)

The Consortium, also known as La Universidad Popular de Desarrollo Sostenible de Las Americas, is an international umbrella organization that serves the global communities represented by the Southern Caucus of NGOs for Sustainable Development, and the Multi-Regional Partnership of NGOs in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the other islands of the Oceans and Seas. The Consortium is constituted by universities and research centers which provide affiliation and collaboration in academic and research opportunities globally. The common denominator of the Consortium members is their commitment to the sustainable development of under-privileged and marginalized populations of the region and the world.

The purpose of the Consortium is to provide mechanisms for institutional collaboration in research, publications and affordable distance education that would serve to empower people by helping them to determine their own destinies through sustainable economic, environmental and social development.

The Consortium envisions a world with a narrowing gap between rich and poor, in which the disadvantaged groups and communities are able to respond to, and participate in opportunities resulting from globalization, and in which individuals, families and cultures are able to survive and determine their own destinies.

Mission

The mission of the Consortium is to provide affordable and accessible higher education of quality to marginalized local, national, regional and multi-regional communities through distance education, technology exchange and capacity building in a network of universities and research centers that function independently and collaboratively, using communications and digital media resources to achieve those ends.

Vision

The purpose of this network is to bring sustainable development closer to the peoples of the world by equipping them to be owners of, and partners in, the planning and implementation of their own development process. The underlying principle is to engage communities in direct participation in determining their own destiny, confronting the obstacles and monitoring their progress in achieving the millennium goals and targets of the World Summit for Sustainable Development, WSSD.

Website: www.southngocaucus.org

(ii)

The Southern Caucus of NGOs for Sustainable Development

(SOUTH CAUCUS)

The Concept of the Southern Caucus of NGOs for Sustainable Development originated at the Peoples Forum held in the parallel meetings to the Small Island Developing States Forum held in Barbados in 1994. At that time, the organization was called the International Network of NGOs and Indigenous Peoples (INSNI). Subsequently all NGOs from the developing countries and the Diasporas of those developing countries of the World (Those Sustainable Development NGOs based in developed countries were accepted) and INSNI became the Southern Caucus of NGOs for Sustainable Development. (The Caucus).

The term South as used in the expressions of the Southern Caucus refers to those countries in the world that have suffered disinvestment and retarded development over time, due to the effects of colonialism and neo -colonialism.

The overarching reasons for forming the Caucus were:

· to create an International Organization of Southern NGOs and Other Southern Stakeholders according to Agenda 21 that could enable effective collective response to issues raised in International Meetings related to any and all aspects of Sustainable Development and to insure adequate independent representation of Southern Major Groups in International meetings.

· to provide members of the Caucus (Through a Clearinghouse) with Sustainable Development related information on an ongoing basis that could be useful in their attempts to collaborate with the National and Regional Action Plans for Sustainable Development of their Governments.

Starting in 1999 in national, regional and multi regional consultations, and culminating with a Southern Caucus NGO Partnership Summit in Algiers, Algeria in the year 2002, Southern NGOs

for Sustainable Development have evaluated the results of the first decade of sustainable development and have come to the following conclusions:

Peoples and communities impacted by the existence of high indices of poverty and the community based NGOs that currently strive to serve them can play a major role in the eradication of poverty if genuinely given the opportunity to participate in all aspects of the effort, if given access to a small part of the donor resources allegedly currently disbursed on their behalf, and if they have access to capacity building, technology exchange, digital information and the ability to give real time feed back to regional, multi regional and international structures that make decisions that can affect their work positively or negatively. Since the Earth Summit in 1992 several approaches to solving issues of poverty have failed and the new partnership initiatives will also fail unless the following obstacles to development are addressed.

Obstacles to Development:

inability and/or failure to involve affected communities and NGOs for sustainable development in the process of developing their communities and failure to support independent self organized Southern NGO structures for collaboration with and provision of real time two way feed back on regional and multi regional levels;
the existence of attitudes of racism or ethnocentrism or class on the part of those in government and the ruling class of societies that prevent the application of human centered development with maximum feasible participation of the target populations for eradication of poverty;
lack of commitment locally and internationally to giving communities and peoples impacted by poverty, adequate direct access to opportunity, grants, venture capital, capital and credit for the development of micro businesses leading to productivity and economic self sufficiency;
overt action by the sectors of society in control of the economic wealth of the country to prevent community economic empowerment because of unwarranted fear of competition if members of poor communities are given the opportunity to compete and do for themselves.

Website: www.southngocaucus.org

(iii)

The Southern Diaspora Research and Development Center

(SDRDC)

SDRDC has been the principal partner of the Caribbean Research Center in the implementation of its international agenda. SDRDC was established in 1997 to facilitate opportunities for people of African descent from the United States, Panama, Latin America and the Caribbean as a way of participating in Sustainable Economic Development issues. The Southern Diaspora Research and Development Center was incorporated in New York as a not-for profit organization with U.S. 501 C 3 status, and is accredited to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). It provides secretariat services for the Southern Caucus of NGOs for Sustainable Development with affiliated organizations in most f the developing countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America, The Oceans and Seas and in the Southern Diaspora.”

The objectives of The Southern Diaspora Research and Development Center are:

engagement of a group of creative and high-level professionals experts in various technical and scientific fields of expertise, including management personnel who are committed to the design and planning of different projects for development.
promoting a new bottom-up approach for broad advocacy for sustainable development through research, feasibility studies and impact analysis.
actively supporting creative and inspiring initiatives through networks of community-based organizations, academic institutions and People’s Universities, governments, private sector through information management facilities.
bringing higher education to African-descendants through “The Peoples of the Americas Consortium of Research Centers and Universities for Sustainable Development” (The Consortium) to provide them with the knowledge and tools as a way of empowering them on how to implement sustainable economic development initiatives through virtual and distance learning.
adding value through sharing complementary expertise, exchanging experiences, creating synergies and broadening networks at national, regional and multiregional levels.

Website: www.southngocaucus.org

(iv)

The International Center for Sustainable Development

(CIDES)

CIDES is a global entity born out of the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002, but with headquarters in Panama. It is a tripartite body comprising International and Government representation, academic institutions and community organizations. Its mission is to provide leadership in research and development strategies for addressing problems of poverty, racism and underdevelopment globally.

Vision:

To be a leading international organization and a model of excellence for the integrated management of knowledge aimed at promoting sustainable development in the tropics.

Mission:

To develop, validate and transfer knowledge on environmental, economic and social matters in order to help participating stakeholders in development processes, including decision-making, policy formulation, programs and actions that support sustainable development in the tropics.

Website: www.cidesint.org

(v)

Association of Caribbean Universities and Research Institutes

(UNICA)

UNICA is a voluntary non-profit organization of universities and research institutes from all the language groups of the Caribbean Basin, including the mainland littoral areas and the Guyanas, working to provide practical linkages, channels of communication and strategies for collaboration. As a regional body, it upholds the principle of regionalization of higher education in the Caribbean, without ignoring the strengths to be found in local customs, history, interests and autonomy.

It pursues collaboration in information dissemination, public administration, health, agriculture, science and technology, administrative technology, library services, natural resources management, student and faculty exchanges, and the prospect of a Virtual Caribbean University.

Website: www.unica.edu.org

(vi)

Caribbean Inter Collegiate Debating Competition

The debating competition was initiated by the University of the Virgin Islands in 1989 and includes the following Universities:

College of Bahamas
Inter American University, Puerto Rico
Medgar Evers College, City University of New York
University of Guyana
University of the Netherlands Antilles
University of Technology, Jamaica
University of the Virgin Islands, St Croix
University of the Virgin Islands, St Thomas
University of the West Indies Cave Hill, Barbados
University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica
University of the West Indies, St Augustine, Trinidad

Medgar Evers College hosted and won the championship in 1997.

Website: www.uvi.edu/student life and development

(vii)

Foundation for the International Institute for Technology

Exchange and Capacity Building:

(ISI)

WHO WE ARE:

The Fundacion Instituto Superior Internacional de Intercambio Tecnologico y Capacitacion (FISIITCA) is a private institution of higher education incorporated in Panama as a popular initiative to foster community participation in sustainable development. It is a founding member of The Peoples of the Americas Consortium of Research Centers and Universities for Sustainable Development, also known as Universidad Popular de Desarrollo Sostenible de las Americas.

WHAT WE OFFER:

Courses:

English for Professionals, Tourism, Commerce, housewives, children and the public.
Degrees in Sustainable Development – Associate (Tecnico.) and Bachelor’s (Lic.)
Degrees in Human Development and Labor Relations – Associate (Tecnico) and Bachelor’s (Licenciatura).
Certificates in Small Business Development (Mini-micro Empresas)
Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Development (9 credits)
Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Development (18 credits)
Master’s in Sustainable Development (30 credits)

Seminars:

Teachers of English as a Second Language – RAPID RESULTS SYSTEM
Community Health Education – HIV/AIDS Prevention and Management
US Trade Legislation – Post 9/11
NGO Management and Development
Environmental Health and Development
History and Culture of Africans, African Descendants and Indigenous Peoples
Master Planning for Sustainable Development
Mini and Micro Enterprise Development

Research, Publications and Consultancy Services in Master Planning and Sustainable Development.

Other International Linkages include:

Universidad APEC, Santo Domingo, R.D., (UNAPEC)
Universidad de la Regiones Autonomas de la Costa Caribe Nicaraguense, (URACCAN)
University of the West Indies, Mona
University of the West Indies, Cave Hill
The African Union
The Foundation for Democracy in Africa
Western Hemisphere African Diaspora Network
Black Cultural Association in Curitiba/ Parana, Brazil, (ACNAP)
CARICOM Secretariat
Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, (OECS)