News from the Constellation for AIDS Competence

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-119645272012-01-10T12:25:29.747+06:00News from the Constellation for AIDS CompetenceThis blog is hosted by the <a href="http://www.aidscompetence.org">Constellation for AIDS Competence</a> which aims at fostering AIDS Competence around the world and connecting local responses globally. It serves as a news outlet to post all the activities taking place on the Constellation's growing platform.marlou de rouwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06079136598280793187noreply@blogger.comBlogger321100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1164361281002426392006-11-24T13:44:00.000+06:002006-11-24T22:27:21.453+06:00Life Competence: the Diabetes example

Many of us, since beginning the journey towards AIDS Competence, have come to realize that this process is applicable to other health and social issues. The Roll Back Malaria programme has spearheaded this new development by adapting the AIDS Competence Process to Malaria in November 2005. For some months, the Constellation for AIDS Competence has been working with Handicap International on

Luc Barriere-Constantinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545329969272441134noreply@blogger.com429tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1147941873283564012006-05-18T14:43:00.000+06:002006-05-18T14:44:33.296+06:00RDC Competence

Today Jean-Louis is on his way back from a 2 weeks mission to RDC. I joined him overthere last week. Wished I could share with you electronically the amount of energie that is put in creating Aids Competent Societies across the country.After a sharing and learning week three months ago, now a young and energetic team of 4 from the Belgium Cooperation (BTC) in collaboration with the national

marlou de rouwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06079136598280793187noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1146170566079372652006-04-28T00:44:00.000+06:002006-04-28T02:42:46.136+06:00A SALT in Lyon

Since end of 2003, I have had the chance to be involved with the City-AIDS project and the CIFAL Lyon and Atlanta. Most of you may remember that City-AIDS was one of the reasons why the AIDS Competence programme was developed; because UNITAR wanted to address the HIV/AIDS issue with Local Authorities and Cities, we proposed an approach which was inspired from the lessons Jean-Louis and some of us

Luc Barriere-Constantinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545329969272441134noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1144221748398784752006-04-05T10:47:00.000+06:002006-04-05T13:37:32.950+06:00Different social systems, governments and cultures can be a limitation to create your own ways of working

Yesterday the Secretariat Office in Chiang Mai, Thailand, had the opportunity to welcome a visiting group from the HomeAIDS Organization from China which Ian recommended.Together we visited the Ta Wangtan Community in Saraphi District and Pimjai's Community Health Project in Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai. We learned from the communities, but also learned a lot from each other. One thing that I got

Lawan V.http://www.blogger.com/profile/04636452738975076035noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1139885744350762782006-02-14T08:49:00.000+06:002006-02-14T08:55:44.366+06:00Quote from the Business World

This is the reason why we should always take time to reflect on our actions regarding AIDS Competence and what we know, what we want to learn and where we want to go:"It's hard to share knowledge if you don't have enough time to reflect on what you know or what you need to learn. Most companies have squeezed almost all of the reflection time out of their business processes."--John Old, knowledge

Alex Osterwaldernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1138707338923135092006-01-31T17:29:00.000+06:002006-01-31T17:35:38.936+06:00Reflections on 2 Support and Learning Team Visits in Northern Thailand in January 2006

Here are 3 thoughts that come from the 2 visits to communities that we made during our visit to Chiang Mai and Phayao last week. I’ve not found them easy to write about and I am not at all sure that I am being fair, but perhaps it will stimulate others to add their thoughts and thus provide a more balanced view of the visits. After the 2 visits, I remembered what Alison Campbell of the Salvation

Philhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06511479991742444237noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1138262672464709522006-01-26T13:19:00.000+06:002006-01-26T14:06:32.166+06:00Malaria Competence Guinee: Bien Reussie

*****Message from Idrissa Souare (UNICEF, Guinee Conakry) in English below*****Chers Amis de la Constellation, bien a vous,Il m'est agréable de vous faire savoir que le Bureau Unicef Guinée a présenté (au Bureau Régional et au siège) dans son "Rapport Annuel 2005" les résultats de la "Malaria Compétence" comme une innovation bien réussie.Depuis, ce volet fait l'objet d'un grand intérêt à ces

marlou de rouwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06079136598280793187noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1137382782514248512006-01-16T09:32:00.000+06:002006-01-16T10:36:13.190+06:00Access to Treatment & Money is NOT Enough

Last Friday afternoon I had the opportunity to visit a community in Lamphun in Northern Thailand. What I learned was that this community had access to treatment and didn't see money as an issue - but still they hadn't "solved" the problem. So what I take back to my work is that while treatment and money are necessary they are by far not sufficient to respond to the challenges of HIV/AIDS in our

Alex Osterwaldernoreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1137146476419007462006-01-13T14:27:00.000+06:002006-01-13T19:36:27.390+06:00Training for the AIDS Competence Process in the City-AIDS project

I have had the opportunity to facilitate a City-AIDS workshop mid-December 2005 in Lyon. As many of you already know, the City-AIDS project aims at building capacities of Local Authorities (City Managers) and stakeholders to develop an efficient response to the HIV/AIDS epidemics. The main strategy of the project is based on Human Capacity Development implemented through the AIDS Competence

Luc Barriere-Constantinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545329969272441134noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1136745172941181502006-01-08T23:39:00.000+06:002006-02-10T03:39:38.366+06:00Smoke-free cities: what can we learn?

On November 28th and 29th, 2005, I have participated at an "Expert workshop" on Smoke-Free satisfying request of the CIFAL Lyon. As I informed some of you in a previous message, the purpose of this participation was mainly to present the AIDS Competence approach to that group, and to see if there is any added-value to develop a similar process for achieving the ultimate goal of "Smoke-Free Cities

Luc Barriere-Constantinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545329969272441134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1136363145997418132006-01-04T14:13:00.000+06:002006-01-04T14:25:46.010+06:00The Constellation facilitates global malaria meeting

On the 18th and 19th of November 2005 the Constellation facilated the core parallel sessions of a global malaria meeting, the Forum V. It brought together an assembly of all partners and constituencies of the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership of the United Nations. The forum was designed around a participatory approach that aimed at giving all participants the opportunity to share their

Alex Osterwaldernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1136362329832741892006-01-04T14:03:00.000+06:002006-01-04T14:46:34.973+06:00AIDS Competence in the Democratic Republic of Congo

In December 2005 the Constellation visited the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to help build a new AIDS Competence Process that will be launched throughout the country. The Belgian Technical Cooperation is sponsoring this process together with the ministry of health to support learning and sharing in existing networks. It will give local responses a boost in DRC in 2006 and will hopefully help

Alex Osterwaldernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1131717234004095642005-11-11T19:45:00.000+06:002005-11-11T19:53:54.016+06:00Network discusses Vulnerability

In the month of October 2005 the members of the Aids Competence network discussed the issue of identifying and addressing vulnerability. Contributions from 18 members were rich and diverse.The members worked on a definition of 'vulnerability' and argued whether we should address individuals, groups or both. The definition that covers all comments comes from the Red Cross Federation, and was sent

marlou de rouwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06079136598280793187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1130498644411817452005-10-28T17:11:00.000+06:002005-10-28T17:24:04.426+06:00Self measurement of AIDS Competence

“How do we know that we are making progress in our response to HIV/AIDS? How will others know?”To answer these questions, members of the Aga Khan Development Network institutions based in Nairobi and Mombasa worked together with the Constellation for AIDS Competence from September 8 to September 10, 2005.The whole M&E industry uses the “factory” or “interventionist” model to propose input-process

Jean-Louis Lamborayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12653769862283221554noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1127797372198083352005-09-27T10:47:00.000+06:002005-09-27T11:04:21.280+06:00Chiang Mai NGOs do their self assessments

On the 21st of September nine organizations from Chiang Mai, Phayao and Chiang Rai gathered to learn about the AIDS Competence Process (ACP). Despite the floods in Chiang Mai there were about 20 participants. The outcome was promising and energizing. People were enthusiastic and are eager to apply the ACP. As a group we agreed to self-assess our organizations and use the tool with communities and

Alex Osterwaldernoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1126847480296476472005-09-16T11:06:00.000+06:002005-09-16T11:11:20.303+06:00AIDS Competence in Papua New Guinea (PNG)

Last week a small team of the Constellation consisting of Alison, Jerry and me hit the sky to follow an invitation by the World Health Organization (WHO) to Papua New Guinea. Our agenda was to build a relationship with the WHO and other partners, to identify members to constitute a core facilitation team, to share ideas and immediately start working. However, things turned out quite differently.

Alex Osterwaldernoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1126460561434016272005-09-11T19:38:00.000+06:002005-09-12T14:34:10.586+06:00ACP Evaluation

Finally, the results of the ACP evaluation have been officially presented! Many of you may remember that in July 2004, while the joint UNAIDS/UNITAR AIDS Competence Programme was unfolding in a number of countries, the Exd UNAIDS requested an external evaluation in order to assess the value of the proposed approach.This evaluation was commissioned by the UNAIDS Evaluation department and carried

Luc Barriere-Constantinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545329969272441134noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1125664184109616222005-09-02T18:27:00.000+06:002005-09-02T19:42:38.896+06:00Aids Competence Network sythesises the learning

"I want to say that I am indeed enjoying this exercise and though it was my first time to synthesize notes from such a forum, I hope I will be able to do much better in future", Onesmus Mlewa wrote to me this week. " I loved the experience to not only participate but learn from others views", was the reaction from Jane Macharia.With four members of the Aids Competence network we have been working

marlou de rouwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06079136598280793187noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1125395690215924202005-08-30T13:56:00.000+06:002005-08-30T19:49:08.270+06:00City AIDS in Atlanta

In June 2005, I have had the chance to facilitate a workshop in Atlanta where 20 cities from South America, Central America, Caribbean and North America shared and discussed their experiences re HIV/AIDS. The City of Durban from South Africa also participated. The workshop was organized by CIFAL Atlanta with support of UNITAR and UNAIDS. There was an active participation and in spite of the huge

Luc Barriere-Constantinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06545329969272441134noreply@blogger.com57tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1124960249725805082005-08-25T14:48:00.000+06:002005-08-25T14:57:29.733+06:00ACP in Uganda

Jennie van de Weerd is working on Aids Competence in Uganda. This week she shared the Uganda experience on the Aids Competence eWorkspace. Please enjoy learning from her contribution below.**********The AIDS Competence ProcessCombining learning from local responses to HIV/AIDS with the knowledgemanagement expertise and the experience of human capacity development,the AIDS Competence Process (ACP)

marlou de rouwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06079136598280793187noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1124344545701506562005-08-18T07:16:00.000+06:002005-08-25T16:35:46.916+06:00Connecting local responses electronically

This summer we revived the electronic discussion on Aids Competence. Now, more than 200 people, living and working in all continents are connected through the Aids Competence eWorkspace. The group links coaches for aids competence, people who are actively implementing the process and those who want to learn more.The communication started with a warm introduction round, where members introduced

marlou de rouwhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06079136598280793187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1124166082252894712005-08-16T10:16:00.000+06:002005-08-16T10:53:25.363+06:00From AIDS Competence to Malaria Competence

In some countries accepting deaths from malaria is a fact of life; it is the normal order of things. But it doesn’t have to be. People may soon consider any such death as unacceptable, anywhere, any time. To achieve this turn around requires the powerful articulation of a vision for success, one which comes from recognising and appreciating people’s strengths while responding to their

Alex Osterwaldernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1122608990568346182005-07-29T09:49:00.000+06:002005-08-16T10:50:22.323+06:00Inspired work by the Hua Rin Temple

When we founded our organisation, The Constellation for AIDS Competence, we stressed our roots in communities and our commitment to a people-based approach. We also committed to continuous learning as individuals and as an organization. We went as far as putting the requirement "to belong to a community process" into our charter. The idea behind this was to stay connected with reality, to

Alex Osterwaldernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1121301608348772642005-07-14T06:33:00.000+06:002005-08-18T07:21:36.706+06:00Malaria Competence for the Health and Peace Initiative (HPI)

The Constellation for AIDS Competence facilitated a meeting of health Ministers from eight West African countries (Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, The Gambia) who met in Banjul from 20 to 22 June 2005.They adopted a short-term action plan in support of accellerating implemenation of malaria control in their countries (see Banjul Declaration ( en/fr and

Alex Osterwaldernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1121301211058632092005-07-14T06:27:00.000+06:002005-07-14T06:33:31.063+06:00The Constellation's Website

We have now finally launched the website of the Constellation for AIDS Competence. It outlines our work and invites you to join either as a support member, a coach or a contributer to its AIDS Competence discussion list and electronic workspace.The website also outlines the AIDS Competence Process and its steps. It offers you a range of background documents to learn more about the process so you

Alex Osterwaldernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1117116139088875992005-05-26T19:51:00.000+06:002005-05-26T20:02:19.090+06:00Connecting to foster AIDS Competence

This week five members of the Constellation for AIDS Competence and one guest met and connected in Chiang Mai. We came together to discuss two project proposals but ended up working most of the time on a measurement framework for local responses.It was at this moment that I really started to understand the value of getting members of the Constellation (that all work in different organisations

Alex Osterwaldernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1115393784137144122005-05-06T21:13:00.000+06:002005-05-06T21:36:24.156+06:00Skyping through our first electronic Membership Meeting eMM

Yesterday we had our first electronic Membership Meeting (eMM) with participants in 5 locations around the world. What an adventure! Kigali, Bangkok, Geneva, London and Nairobi seemed to be only a stone's through away from each other... But in addition to Skype, the free online telephony that allowed us to connect over the Internet, it was our belief in the power of AIDS Competence that brought

Alex Osterwaldernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1113915613431207962005-04-19T18:52:00.000+06:002005-05-17T23:19:44.863+06:00Visite en République du Démocratique du Congo

Fin 2003, la ville de Kinshasa avait été invitée par le Programme ONUSIDA/UNITAR à participer à une réunion d’échange d’expériences pour la compétence face au sida. Au cours de cette réunion quatorze villes du monde ont partagé leurs expériences sur la base de leur autoévaluation de la compétence face au sida. Kinshasa a mené cette autoévaluation, mais n’a pas pu participer à cette réunion.

Jean-Louis Lamborayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12653769862283221554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1112786495121420232005-04-06T17:12:00.000+06:002005-04-06T17:21:35.123+06:00Launch of the Secretariat

The secretariat of the Constellation for AIDS Competence met for a first work session in Chiang Mai in March 2005. Dusit and Usa of the AIDS Eduction Programme (AEP) at Chiang Mai University were formidable hosts and helped us create a great working environment to launch the Constellation's office. Jean-Louis, Usa and I, the Secretariat's triangle, worked from mid-March onwards in order to

Alex Osterwaldernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1112885852914680172005-03-31T20:56:00.000+06:002005-04-07T21:04:33.126+06:00A day with the Knowledge Management Institute in Bangkok

Bangkok, March 31, 2005What an incredible experience!Pr. Vicharn Panich, Director of the Thai Knowledge Management Institute (KMI) invited me to observe and comment on a one day workshop on knowledge management organised by an organisation dedicated to participatory planning by Thai subdistricts.Even if I could not understand everything, the whole process was familiar. Participant groups from all

Jean-Louis Lamborayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12653769862283221554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1112886499205374312005-03-30T21:06:00.000+06:002005-04-07T21:08:19.206+06:00Back from Chiang Mai

On Thai Airways, from Chiang Mai to BangkokMarch 30, 2005So here we are!The vision is slowly but certainly taking shape: a small team based in Chiang Mai that connects networks learning from local responses to HIV around the world ! With Usa as learning facilitator and Alex as business manager, we are making a great team, blending our diverse backgrounds and experience.As I take off from Chiang

Jean-Louis Lamborayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12653769862283221554noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11964527.post-1112887016450719372005-03-14T21:15:00.000+06:002005-04-07T21:16:56.480+06:00Setting up the Secretariat

While members are signing the charter, we are aiming at getting the secretariat up and running in Chiangmai. On 23 March, 2005, we shall have our first Board Meeting in Chiang Mai. Then, we should turn the strategic advice received into the concrete operation of the Constellation. The Constellation Office should be open by April 1, 2005. We'll keep you posted!

Jean-Louis Lamborayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12653769862283221554noreply@blogger.com1