SHACK, Slum Dwellers International SDI

Linked with Rethinking resettlement in Mumbai, and with Mumbai pavement dwellers finally get their homes.

SHACK, Post Office Box, 14038 Mowbray, 7705 Cape Town, South Africa.

T: +27 21 689 9408, F: +27 21 689 3912, e-mail.

Reports:

Report-links for all Countries, from Angola to Zimbabwe;
A small step towards confederation in India;

New: THE CHALLENGE OF ENGAGEMENT, August 2006:

It is almost 16 years now since the SDI process began to take root. It started with community-to-community exchange programmes between pavement dwellers in Mumbai, India and shack dwellers from the informal settlements of South Africa.

Since then it has grown into an international network of urban poor Federations in 24 countries on 3 different continents. Many of the strategies and tactics for securing land tenure and housing that were developed in the early days remain in place today, although they have been refined and adapted by an ever deepening process of action and reflection.

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Colombian Indian Organizations ONIC

Linked with Hilda Liria Domicó Bailarín – Colombia.

Published in Cultural Survival Quarterly, Issue 8.4, December 31, 1984, By Zornosa, Yesid Campos:

A long process of extermination and reduction of rich and advanced Indian cultures began almost 500 years ago. The Aztec, Maya, Tayrona, Inca and Muisca, among others, had large cities and a wide variety of crops; they Were accomplished artisans, musicians and singers, philosophers and mathematicians, recognized astronomers and scientists. But, the conquest violently altered the dynamics of indigenous America; with it came land seizures, tribute payments and various forms of labor control such as the repartimiento, the encomienda and the mita. Onto Indian society, the colono imposed not only himself but his language, beliefs, customs and personal interests.

Nowadays in Colombia’s multi-ethnic society more than 75 separate Indian cultures (about 2% of the total population) resist the continual besiegement and aggression of the national majority.

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The International Gender and Trade Network IGTN

Linked with Mohau Pheko – South Africa, with The World Development Movement WDM, with The WDM Death Counter, and with New social justice movements in a changing reality.

The International Gender and Trade Network is a network of feminist gender specialists who provide technical information on gender and trade issues to women’s groups, NGOs, social movements and governments. IGTN acts as a political catalyst to enlarge the space for a critical feminist perspective and global action on trade and globalization issues. It is a Southern-led network that builds South/North cooperation in the work of developing more just and democratic policy from a critical feminist perspective. IGTN is organized in eight regions: Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Central Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and Gulf, North America and the Pacific.

About;
Trade Agreements
Economic Literacy
Bulletins;
Issues.

Specially: Gender and Trade in Africa (GENTA):

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The World Development Movement WDM

Linked with Mohau Pheko – South Africa, with The WDM Death Counter, with The International Gender and Trade Network IGTN, and with New social justice movements in a changing reality.

Also linked with Peter Hardstaff – England.

The World Development Movement WDM (Homepage): Founded in 1970, WDM campaigns to tackle the root causes of poverty. WDM believes that charity is not enough and aims to change the policies that keep the developing world poor. It is a democratic and politically independent organisation with 15,000 supporters and a strong role for its 100 local groups across the UK.

The World Development Movement WDM tackles the underlying causes of poverty. We lobby decision makers to change the policies that keep people poor. We research and promote positive alternatives. We work alongside people in the developing world who are standing up to injustice. The world has the wealth and means to end poverty. Yet nearly half of the world’s population live on less than £1.40 a day. And over 11 million children will die from poverty-related illness this year alone.

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The Core Knowledge Foundation CK

Linked with Eric Donald Hirsch – USA.
In 1986, Eric Donald Hirsch founded the Core Knowledge Foundation CK. According to the foundation website, « the ‘Core Knowledge’ movement is an educational reform based on the premise that a grade-by-grade core of common learning is necessary to ensure a sound and fair elementary education. » The intention of this is to create an even amount of information across all children of the same age. An argument against this method is that it does not take individual learning styles into account. Read what the Foundation says about itself:

Dedicated to excellence and fairness in early education, the Core Knowledge Foundation is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan organization founded in 1986 by E. D. Hirsch, Jr., professor emeritus at the University of Virginia and author of many acclaimed books including The Knowledge Deficit, Cultural Literacy, and The Schools We Need and Why We Don’t Have Them. The Foundation conducts research on curricula, develops books and other materials for parents and teachers, offers workshops for teachers, and serves as the hub of a growing network of Core Knowledge schools. As you explore this site, you will find lesson plans, articles, and many other resources to help you use the Core Knowledge Preschool Sequence and Core Knowledge Sequence K–8 in your classroom and school. We invite you to learn more about the model curriculum guidelines developed by the Core Knowledge Foundation, as more schools « share the knowledge, ». (Read much more on their website).

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