On July 19, MASHAV and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United nations signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in Eastern Africa, to promote strong technical collaboration as well as the development of capacity building strategies that will benefit government services, the civil society and the private sector in Eastern Africa.

The MOU was signed following an overall agreement on cooperation signed on November 2008 in Roma, FAO headquarters with the aim to assist developing countries to achieve the Millenium development goals (UN MDGs).

In historic move, UN creates single entity to promote women’s empowerment

UN News Center, July 2nd, 2010. A very welcome initiative!

In a bid to accelerate the empowerment of women, the General Assembly today voted unanimously to create a dynamic new entity merging four United Nations offices focusing on gender equality, a move hailed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other senior officials.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=35224&Cr=gender&Cr1

Israeli eye camp in Georgia, June 2010

Nice pictures from the last eye surgery camp who recently (June 2010) took place in Georgia. A delegation of Israeli ophtalmologists sent by Israel's Agency for International Cooperation Development- MASHAV- in cooperation with the Israeli organization "Eyes from Zion"- gave a new hope for dozens of Georgian citizens suffering from eyes deseases.

Ministres israéliens et allemands à Jérusalem pour réparer le monde

Yesterday, MASHAV and the German INWENT debated on aid effectiveness in a framework of 1-day seminar in Shefayim, CINADCO-MASHAV's agricultural training Center.
I already found an article, for our french-speaking friends, on the JSS blog.

Le vice-ministre des Affaires étrangères Danny Ayalon a rencontré aujourd’hui Dirk Niebel, ministre fédéral allemand de la Coopération économique et du développement, qui est en visite en Israël à la tête d’une importante délégation.
Cette visite fait suite à la signature de l’accord pour l’aide aux pays en développement par Ayalon et le ministre Niebel et Janvier dernier. Israël attache une grande importance à la coopération avec l’Allemagne sur les questions de l’aide, qui ont augmenté énormément ces derniers mois. Cette coopération représente une composante unique et importante dans le développement des bonnes relations entre les deux pays.

http://jssnews.com/2010/06/22/ministres-israeliens-et-allemands-a-jerusalem-pour-reparer-le-monde/

previous to previous...DevCom seminar, Haifa, 31/5 - 1/6/2010

Doing a lot with little
I have just received this great post published by Julia Chandler from the British Aid Agency (DFID) on the Haifa seminar last week. Julia was one of the speakers at the conference. She gave a very interesting presentation on the British case study.
Thank you!
http://juliac2.wordpress.com/2010/06/06/doing-a-lot-with-little/

By the way, you are invited to watch these videos about the conference and what means doing a lot with little...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqgq2-ZFSqo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I54R0vz32nk

Cooperation agreement between Israel (MASHAV) and the Organization of American States (OAS)

Israel and the Organization of American States signed a memorandum of understanding consolidating decades of development cooperation.
The agreement signed Monday at OAS headquarters in Washington pledges to advance existing collaboration on education, environment, economic and social development, poverty, gender equity, disaster prevention and relief, agriculture and crisis management. from JTA two days ago.

http://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/05/18/2394852/israel-signs-development-mou-with-oas

Eight Things You Never Knew About Feeding The Hungry

Nice article from the UN world food program: Eight Things You Never Knew About Feeding The Hungry: Nearer than you think, Yaks on track, Perfect altitude, Build what you need, Almost perfect, Maximum impact, Twenty-four hours, Fast food.

MASHAV at AIPAC- great speeches and clip

great speeches and clip (immediately after the speeches) on Israeli humanitarian activities abroad. http://www.aipac.org/PC2010/webPlayer/mon_israel10.asp. There is also an interview with Haim Divon, Head of MASHAV, and Mazal renford, Director of the Carmel Training Center.

World Cup-bound Norwegian cyclist teaches Eritrean refugees about the internet

Pupils at the Eritrean Refugee School in Sudan are learning internet and social media platforms with a former professional football player! another way to reach the outside world.
http://www.unhcr.org/4b9fb8cb9.html

International Water Day

MASHAV, in cooperation with the Israel's Water Authority, held yesterday a conference in Shefayim for the celebration of the International Water Day with a panel of Israeli experts and representatives of the Governmental sector. Shefayim MAHSAV's Training Center hosted a delegation from the World Bank, in Israel for the presentation of the WB new report on climate change and its implications in developement. In the afternoon, WB delegation visited the desalination plant in Hadera.

MASHAV's updates

This last days, MASHAV published updated flyers on the Israeli activities in the domains of agriculture, medicine and public health, education and community & socio-economic develpoment:

http://www.mfa.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/1FE1E5AA-10D7-49BD-BCD5-3678E9874CFC/0/Medicine.pdf

http://www.mfa.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/1533F394-4272-4864-B434-A29208517251/0/Agriculture.pdf

http://www.mfa.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/6D74BC3A-1111-4927-BD53-2A528716A245/0/CommunityDevelopment.pdf

http://www.mfa.gov.il/NR/rdonlyres/E4716D29-6737-494E-B415-7FE378A53738/0/Educationforall.pdf

More women choosing to work, but gender equality remains a long way off

From ILO website, two days ago.

Despite signs of progress in gender equality over the past 15 years, there is still a significant gap between women and men in terms of job opportunities and quality of employment, according to a new report by the International Labour Office (ILO).

http://www.ilo.org/global/About_the_ILO/Media_and_public_information/Press_releases/lang--en/WCMS_123827/index.htm

school set up among Haiti's ruins

Though the Israeli search-and-rescue team has left Haiti, the Israeli spirit continues to waft through the devastated country. An Israeli delegation to the island country set up a provisional school among the earthquake wreckage.
An article by Oshrat Nagar-Levitt, Ynet 4/2/10.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3842471,00.html

Israel and Germany Sign Memorandum of Understanding

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon and German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Dirk Niebel, signed an MOU in Berlin on January 18, 2010, regarding development cooperation with emphasis on water and agriculture.

Following the cooperation agreement signed between the two parties in March 2008, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs through MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) will join forces to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by enhancing cooperation in the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia with particular emphasis on water management, agricultural development and public health.

Nicole Kidman helps break ground on UN-backed centre to end violence against women

from UN news Center- 8 January 2010 – Actress and Goodwill Ambassador Nicole Kidman is set to help break ground today on a new centre located in San Francisco to combat violence against women, part of an initiative between the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and Family Violence Prevention Fund.
According to UNIFEM, data suggests that up to 70 per cent of women worldwide experience physical or sexual violence from men in their lifetime.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=33439&Cr=violence+against+women&Cr1

Meeting the challenges of climate change in Israel

Based on its rich experience in developing cutting-edge technologies in such fields as water management, recycling and reuse of treated wastewater, desert agriculture and afforestation, the challenges presented by climate change may well serve as a lever to position Israel as a regional and global center of knowledge on adaptation to climate change. Dr. Yeshayahu Bar-Or, Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, strongly believes that "in about 20 years, Europe will experience some of the conditions that Israel faces today. Therefore, Israel has a great deal to offer to the international community in terms of technologies for effluent irrigation, combating desertification, agriculture and forestation in desert conditions and salinity reduction."
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Israel%20beyond%20politics/Meeting_challenges_climate_change-Dec_2009.htm

Third International Renewable Energy Conference to be held in Eilat

http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Israel%20beyond%20politics/International_Renewable_Energy_Conference-Feb_2010.htm

The Third International Eilat-Eilot Renewable Energy Conference will be held in February in Eilat. Organized by the Eilat Eilot Renewable Energy Administration in association with the Technologies Company, the conference focuses on the latest innovations in renewable energy.
The conference is an international forum encouraging discussion and debate of policies, technology, business and investment practices to lead to cost effective, doable solutions. More than 2,000 people are expected to attend the conference, including former US Ambassador to Israel Richard Jones, who is now the Deputy Executive Director of the International Energy Agency; Michael Peevey, President of California Public Utility Commission and Dr. Hermann Scheer, General Chairman of the World Council for Renewable Energy.

Israeli medical team saves sight in Myanmar

NPO organization Eye from Zion sends Israeli senior ophthalmologists to one of the world's most impoverished countries. Two of them offer special insight into their journey .
from Ynet, byDr. Nirit Bourla, Dr. Nadav Belfair

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3825051,00.html

Aid agencies 'must use new tools'

An article from BBC, By Jason Palmer.

The UN Foundation/Vodafone Foundation Partnership report outlines examples of new technologies that mitigate conflicts and save lives worldwide. The "crowd-sourced" data that comes from victims of natural disasters and conflicts is now a crucial part in disaster management, says a new report.

USAID Celebrates 25 Years of Demographic and Health Surveys

USAID Celebrates 25 Years of Demographic and Health Surveys.
http://www.usaid.gov/press/releases/2009/pr091218.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Since 1984, Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), conceived and funded largely by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has collected and disseminated high quality data that provide critical insight for decision makers to plan, monitor, and evaluate population, health, and nutrition programs. The DHS project staff has helped conduct some 260 surveys in over 90 developing countries.