We are thrilled to announce that IACD has appointed two new Country Correspondents and one new Youth Correspondent.
Indonesia
Nurhadi is a name that might be familiar to frequent readers of the IACD news page — Nurhadi led a delegation of colleagues from Indonesia to visit the IACD offices in Scotland in October.
We asked Nurhadi to describe the community development work he’s been involved with, and his response is below:
I am a lecturer at the Department of Social Development (focusing on community development & social policy); teaching students of bachelor and master programs in community development. I have been doing research on community development, mainly in the area of corporate-driven community development (CCD). I have been also serving consultation and training on CCD for corporate workers, mainly people from community development section (CSR).
I have been graduated from Bachelor in Social Development (UGM), Master in Sociology (UGM) and PhD in Social Policy and Social Work (Univ of York, UK).
I am a vice president of Indonesian Association for Social Development (2018-2021); an association for scholars and practitioners in community development and social policy in Indonesia.
South Africa
Xabrina-Michel’li is already a star at IACD, and now she is our newest Youth Correspondent. Xabrina joined us as a student member and wrote to us right away to talk about her experience, background, and plans for the future.
Xabrina told us more about her background and commitment to community development:
I am a graduate of one of South Africa’s leading girl’s schools, Epworth High School. I have acquired a number of gemological and jewellery related qualifications through the Gemological Institute of America and am a student of their Graduate Gemologist program. I am the recipient of the Womens Jewelry Association Gabriel Love Foundation Scholarship for 2019 and the Accredited Gemologists Association Educational Scholarship for 2019. I am also the first member of the Womens Jewelry Association and the Accredited Gemologists Association in my home country of South Africa.
I work in the jewellery industry and as part of my duties and responsibilities I have travelled widely, particularly in Asia and the Far East, marketing and sourcing jewellery products. In this process, I identified a business opportunity in the pearl market which I researched and introduced to my employer.
Once qualified I plan to establish a Womens Jewelry Association Chapter in South Africa, to empower others through skills transfer and raising awareness for the opportunities in this field, by making gemological and jewelry related courses available to people from previously disadvantaged backgrounds, people like me.
I have made application to the University of South Africa for the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Community Development and if I am accepted, I will register in 2020.
In October 2019, I joined the International Association for Community Development (IACD) and was graciously granted my first year of student membership free. Also, the IACD Membership Secretary Ms Meredith Greta asked me to submit an article for the IACD monthly newsletter, and I was privileged to have my article published both in the monthly newsletter and on the IACD website.
Tajikistan
Finally, our third Country Correspondent will also be a familiar name, particularly to those who attend the 2019 Inclusive Practices Festival in Ureki, Georgia this autumn. Farrukh Ahrorov was the winner of the IACD Special Prize for Best Inclusive Practices of the Future with his project titled, ‘Prospects for Implementing International Standards for Community Development in Tajikistan on the Example of the Project ‘We are the same as everyone’ by the public organization ‘Journalism and Democracy.’ The full text of his article can be read and downloaded below, and you can read more about the festival and competition here.
Farrukh’s project also has a video which can be watched below:
Applying to be a Country or Youth Correspondent
If you are already an active member of IACD and you want to take on a larger role within the organization, consider becoming a Country or Youth Correspondent for your country.
An IACD Country Correspondent is an individual or organizational liaison between the IACD and community development activists, practitioners, academics and organizations in their home country. It is a voluntary role. S/he has an active and important responsibility in bridging these local professionals who have a passion for and commitment to community development through the IACD with the global community development profession.
The key responsibilities of this role are as follows:
- Be a member in good standing of IACD
- Liaise with the membership of any national network affiliated to IACD to gather news
- Send or post community development news items and events from their country to IACD to be included in IACD’s e-bulletin or other media
- Channel feedback from the development community field in their country on matters of local, regional and international interest so that through IACD’s advocacy role and its consultancy status with the United Nations, IACD can better represent and advocate for the regional and global positions of the community development field on the international stage
- Make use of opportunities available through their personal and professional networks to share information on IACD’s work and their peers in other countries
- Respond to requests for information about the IACD from within their country
- Promote the IACD and encourage community development academics, practitioners, activists and organizations to join the IACD as members
- Maintain regular communications with your Regional Representative
- If possible, serve on one of our IACD Committees
To apply to become a Country or Youth Correspondent, please fill out the application form below. Please note that to take on this role, you must be a current member of IACD, and you must be willing to commit to the responsibilities outlined above.
