Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace

Sunday, September 18 2005

Report to the 2005 Annual Plenary Assembly
Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops

1 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

Our development program is guided by the theme “Support for the Democratization of Development”,based on the following principles:

“For Development and Peace, democratization is an indispensable means of combating exclusion and poverty, and entails grassroots participation in decision-making.

“Although existing structures favour a concentration of power and decision-making exclusively by political and financial elites, a multitude of groups in every country are attempting to form networks and alliances in an effort to propose economic and political alternatives to the dominant model. Development and Peace supports these forces for social change.

“Over the long term, the program’s impact fosters the emergence of global, sustainable human development based on the principles of social justice, public participation in decision-making, gender equality, and respect for the environment.”

Priority issues are:

1.1 CONTINENTAL SEMINARS

In preparation for the planning of the 2006-2011 program, consultative seminars were held with our partners in each of the continental regions. The week-long sessions in Latin America, Asia, and Africa (the Africa session was held in Montreal) brought together our various partners and networks from the respective regions for reflection and setting of thematic priorities. The results of the seminars were synthesized and formed part of the input to the Orientation Assembly.

1.2 LATIN AMERICA

We continued to support a large network of community organizations and NGOs in their work promoting greater social justice and more equitable distribution of wealth in the societies. To address the serious deterioration of the situation in Haiti we developed and are implementing a plan to contribute our share to the recovery of the situation and the revival of the economic and social life in this country.

1.3 AFRICA

Priority attention was given to situations of conflict and the implementation of the processes of democratization in Sierra Leone, Togo, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo and elsewhere. We mobilized assistance to address the humanitarian crises among the refugees in Darfour (Sudan) and poor peasants in the Horn of Africa.

1.4 ASIA

The tsunami disaster was overwhelmingly the focal point of our work in Asia since late 2004. Our work continued in supporting human rights initiatives and social justice groups in Indonesia, Philippines, and Sri Lanka. Our regional partnership with APHD is being reviewed to develop new strategic initiatives for the future.

2 DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION / SOLIDARITY PROGRAMS

2.1 POPULAR EDUCATION

The Leadership-Membership program continues as our keystone program to nurture members, build leadership in the movement, and to foster diversity in our membership.

A Leadership-Membership pilot project was held in the Archdiocese of Edmonton in July, bringing together 28 people of diverse ethnic backgrounds for a three-day workshop on popular education, facilitated by our partner CANTERA in Nicaragua. The goal was to build community, enhance understanding of popular education, and deepen commitment to the work of Development and Peace.

Other activities within the framework of the Leadership-Membership Program include:

2.2 YOUTH

Our focus on youth is yielding positive results, including:

Other highlights include solidarity missions by youth members to Guatemala and Senegal, as well as the successful completion of more than 100 Thinkfast fundraising events during Lent. Students across Canada were also responsible for collecting over $1 million in funds for the tsunami relief effort in January 2005.

This year, two Development and Peace projects were accepted by the Government of Quebec through the Québec Without Borders (Québec sans frontières) program. Five young people spent three months in Ecuador working with community radio programs with our partner ALER. Eight other youth spent three months in Brazil, working with our partner Landless Peasants Movement.

2.3 SOLIDARITY VISITORS

As part of the 2005 Share Lent campaign, 23 dioceses in Canada hosted the solidarity visits of six different Development and Peace partners from the South, who spoke with Canadians about their work and the importance of the support and solidarity with Development and Peace.

2.4 SOLIDARITY VISITS BY CANADIANS TO SOUTH

Over the past year, members of development and peace from 22 dioceses in Canada participated in five exposure trips to the Global South. These visits enabled Development and Peace members to establish close contact with our partners and build solidarity linkages. The visits also have a very important educational and motivational component, enabling our Canadian members to become effective witnesses and advocates for social transformation.

Members of the Ottawa (Francophone) diocese participated in a three-week solidarity visit to meet Development and Peace partners in Bolivia (La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz). Another delegation from the dioceses of Prince George, Victoria, Vancouver, Nelson, Whitehorse, and Kamloops also visited the Bolivian partners in a separate visit.A youth delegation from the dioceses of Montreal, Quebec, Bathurst, and Moncton visited our partners in Dakar and in Pixin, Senegal, for a study visit of three weeks. A visit to partners in El Salvador was undertaken by members from the dioceses of Ottawa (Anglophone), Alexandria-Cornwall, Peterborough, and Gatineau-Hull.An exposure visit focused on youth members who visited partners in Guatemala. Members of the delegation were from the dioceses of Saskatoon, Calgary, Hamilton, St. Catharines, London, Toronto, and Timmins.

3 ORIENTATION ASSEMBLY 2005

Development And Peace held its Orientation Assembly in Cornwall, June 10 to 12, 2005, selecting as a theme for the 2006–2011 education and action program The Promotion of Sustainable Human Development through Participatory Management, Democratic Control and Equitable Distribution of Resources.About 170 delegates, observers and staff left the three-day meeting satisfied and enthused about using the theme to motivate individual Canadians, governments and international bodies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to adopt policies that promote justice and equality in the Global South. It will mark the first time in Development and Peace history that a five-year program will centre on one continual theme.

The Orientation Assembly is a reflection of Development And Peace’s democratic, grassroots approach to social justice work. The meeting brought together many of the organization’s key stakeholders. Voting delegates include National Council (the organization’s main governing body) and Diocesan Council members; Education Program Committee and Development Program Committee members; representatives from youth groups; partners from the countries of the South and representatives of Canadian social-change groups.

Observers at the Assembly included six Development and Peace partners from the Global South: María Atilano (from RMALC – Red Mexicana de Acción frente al Libre Comercio in Mexico); Ana Mae Dolleton (from the Freedom from Debt Coalition in the Philippines); Ivo Lesbaupin (from ISER – Assessoria in Brazil); Rev. John Patrick N’Goyi (from the Justice, Development and Peace Commission of Ijebu–Ode in Nigeria); Nanfadinma Magassouba (from CONAG-DC / Coalition nationale de Guinée, Droits et Citoyenneté des Femmes in Guinea) and; Francis Wahono (from the Cinderlaras Institute for Rural Empowerment and Global Studies in Indonesia).

There were also representatives present from CIDSE (International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity); CRS (Catholic Relief Services), Development and Peace’s sister organization in the United States; KAIROS (the Canadian ecumenical coalition); and the Quebec-based Réseau oecuménique justice et paix.

Besides helping to define the theme of the organization’s next five-year program, the assembly provided delegates an opportunity to review Development And Peace activities in Canada and the Global South. The last Orientation Assembly was held in June 2002.

4 EMERGENGY RELIEF

4.1 TSUNAMI

The tsunami disaster in Asia, December 26, 2004, has had a huge impact on Development and Peace. During our campaign, which officially ended May 12, 2005, we received total proceeds of CDN$19.7 million in direct contributions, and are eligible for matching funds from the Canadian government totalling CDN$11.7 million. The amount raised by direct contributions to Development and Peace represents approximately 10% of the total amount of tsunami contributions raised through public appeal in Canada by all development agencies and organizations. This unprecedented response by Development and Peacemembers throughout Canada was largely attributable to the special collection called for by Canada’s bishops on Sunday, January 09, 2005.The tsunami campaign was the single largest fundraising campaign in the history of the organization – we have never raised such a large amount of money in such a short time period. Responding to the overwhelming public outpouring of support presented us with a major organizational challenge in developing our programming response. The funds received for the tsunami alone are more than our total annual operating and programs budget. In the regions affected by the tsunami, our partner network is the least developed of all of our program areas, lacking institutional capacity for developing and implementing programs of appropriate scale. We have established a special tsunami team to oversee our reconstruction and rehabilitation programs in the stricken areas in South and Southeast Asia over the next three to five years. Initial projects have already started to help the most vulnerable people in the countries affected. Our Programs teams are working in strategic alliance with other agencies (the Caritas network, Catholic Relief Services, others) to coordinate our longer-term response.

To date, we have disbursed approximately CDN$3 million in emergency relief response through our Caritas associates and direct support to our partner network. A large number of projects are currently being reviewed and developed for future funding support.

4.2 OTHER EMERGENCIES

Development and Peace makes provision for approximately 10% of our funds to be allocated for emergency relief projects responding to humanitarian needs arising from natural disasters. During the past year, we provided CDN$842,000 in emergency relief to victims in various parts of the world.

Our principal partner in emergency response, the Caritas Internationalis network, received CDN$550,000 for emergency assistance projects in 11 countries (Haiti, Antilles, Philippines, Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Mauritania, Benin, Niger, Cape Verde, and Libya).

We supported Jesuit Relief Services with a grant of CDN$200,000 for its programs with internally displaced persons and refugees in disaster areas.

Three special appeal campaigns were initiated and conducted to provide emergency assistance in Haiti, Iraq and Afghanistan. The Canadian public responded with donations of CDN$1,225,565 to Development and Peace for these campaigns.

CDN$455,000 in unsolicited donations designated for specific projects was received from Canadians to support relief programs in Iran ($305,000 for the victims of the Bam earthquake), Sudan ($100,000 for drought victims), and Zimbabwe ($50,000 for internally displaced refugees).

5 SHARE LENT

The annual Share Lent collection represents the single most important fundraising event for Development and Peace in the year, accounting for approximately 40% of our total annual revenue. The support received from Canadian Catholics through this special collection is the foundation of our movement and our work to promote development and social justice throughout the world.

5.1  2004 COLLECTION

The 2004 Share Lent collection yielded $9.464 million, a slight decrease from the previous year (2003 – $9.505 million). Our Share Lent proceeds have plateaued over recent years at approximately this level, indicating both an ongoing consistent level of support from Canada’s Catholics but, at the same time, a need for review of our outreach and awareness-building activities.

The support of our bishops is critical for the success of this annual collection. There has consistently been a direct positive link between the active involvement of the bishops (in the form of pastoral letters or discussion and promotion of the collection) and the amount contributed to our work. Development and Peace is very grateful for this support and encouragement.

5.2 2005 COLLECTION

The annual Share Lent collection (Solidarity Sunday) was held throughout Canada on Sunday, March 13, 2005. Definitive results of the collection are traditionally reported in August of the year of the collection, after contributions and receipts from all dioceses in Canada have been received. There has been speculative concern this year that the extraordinary response of Canadian Catholics to the Tsunami Campaign will have a negative effect on the Share Lent campaign proceeds, as the Share Lent collection took place only three months after the launch of the Tsunami Campaign.To date, there has been anecdotal suggestion (from some early-reporting dioceses) that Share Lent proceeds will be moderately reduced (approximately 5%) from previous years. However, complete results of the 2005 collection are not yet available, as results from several dioceses in Canada are yet to be reported.

6 FUNDRAISING

Fundraising activities outside of Share Lent are increasingly important to Development and Peace, accounting for 16% of our budgeted revenues this year (slightly over $4 million).  The main programs are direct donations and planned gifts.

The direct donations program centred on the mailing of quarterly letters to our donor base of approximately 40,000 individuals. Special mailings were also sent out to prospect for new donors among the general Canadian population, as well as in follow-up to the 2004 Fall Action campaign (English Sector), and the tsunami emergency.

The direct donations program yielded $1.6 million in revenues from 34,000 gifts and adding 273 people to our Share Year Round monthly giving program. The results of several years of work in our Planned Giving program are becoming evident: as of April 30, 2005, we received approximately $180,000 in bequests and estate gifts, and $110,000 from other forms of planned gifts (stocks, annuities and life insurance policies).

The remaining fundraising revenue ($812,000 as of April 30, 2005) consists of general donations from parishes, individuals and religious communities throughout the year.

7 ADVOCACY

7.1  WATER – LIFE BEFORE PROFIT

The advocacy campaign on water issues is entering its third and final year, the first multi-year campaign conducted by Development and Peace. The theme of the campaign has resonated well with the Canadian public, with more than 225,000 individual Canadians signing the Action Card calling for action by the Government of Canada (through the Minister of Finance) to advocate at the World Bank to end a practice that places conditions on loans for poor countries in the Global South − especially policies that directly or indirectly promote the privatization of public water systems. The petitions also urge the government to ensure that World Bank loan practices promote meaningful participation by civil society and communities in setting water policies.

The signed Action Cards were presented to the Hon. Ralph Goodale, Minister of Finance, in his home riding in Regina, Saskatchewan, and at his parliamentary office in Ottawa by delegations from Development and Peace.

The third year of the water campaign will focus on the bottled water industry and the policies and projects of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) relating to water.

7.2 LIAISON WITH WORLD BANK

In conjunction with the successful advocacy campaign on water issues, Development and Peace prepared a special case study report on some of the negative consequences of World Bank policies that promote privatization as a pre-condition for obtaining loans — particularly the privatization of public services such as water distribution. In June 2005, a Development and Peace four-member delegation visited the World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C., to present the report to the office of the Canadian Executive Director of the Bank.

The report – World Bank Conditionality in Water Sector Privatization: Cases from Ghana and the Philippines – was prepared with assistance from Development And Peace partners in Ghana and the Philippines, and documents case studies in both countries. The delegation’s objective was to begin a dialogue with Canadian officials at the Bank and indicate to them that large numbers of Canadians are concerned about World Bank policies that work to the detriment of people in the Global South.

7.3  MAKE POVERTY HISTORY

Development and Peace has lent its active support to the global campaign on the Millennium Development Goals, currently being conducted by civil society organizations throughout the world. The campaign “Make Poverty History” was launched in Canada in February 2005 (coordinated by the Canadian Council for International Cooperation – CCIC, and the Association québécoise des organismes de coopération internationale – AQOCI), with ongoing campaign activities to be conducted over the next year. Development and Peace is also active in the campaign through our membership in the CIDSE network in Europe.

The global campaigns urge governments to undertake urgent and concrete initiatives to:

7.4 WORLD SOCIAL FORUM

The fifth World Social Forum, a global gathering for civil society advocates to strengthen network linkages internationally while promoting the principles of people-based development, took place in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in January 2005. WSF-V involved more than 155,000 registered participants, from 6,872 organizations in 151 countries, in 11 “thematic terrains” offering more than 2,500 activities (seminars, workshops, etc).

Development and Peace has been active in all previous World Social Forum gatherings, as well as in regional and continental discussion forums. A six-person delegation comprising Development and Peacemembers and staff actively participated in this year’s event, joining with members of the CIDSE and CARITAS international network.

8 NETWORKING

Development and Peace continues to maintain active global linkages with international and Canadian development networks and organizations. We are closely linked with and active members of (among others) Caritas Internationalis; CIDSE (International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity); Kairos; the Canadian Council for International Cooperation (CCIC); the Association québécoise des organismes de coopération internationale – AQOCI; Pax Christi; and the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group (ICLMG).

These networks and relationships enable us to work in close partnership with other organizations and leverage our resources to expand our reach and effectiveness in achieving our development goals.

9 INSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

9.1 NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

In November 2004, the National Council of Development and Peace appointed Michael Casey as Executive Director. Originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Mr. Casey brings extensive experience to the organization as a career professional in the field of development, having worked for many years with the Aboriginal Peoples’ cooperative movement in northern Canada, as well as internationally.

Mr. Casey has been living and working in Asia since 1990, involved in community and economic development projects in Philippines, Indonesia, Nepal and other countries.

9.2 RETIREMENT OF DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Father Richard Renshaw, C.S.C, announced his retirement as Deputy Executive Director of Development and Peace in May 2005, after three years of service in the position.

During his tenure with Development and Peace, Father Renshaw provided valuable support to the management team in serving for 10 months in 2004 as Acting Executive Director during the recruitment and transition process for the new Executive Director, as well as serving as Acting Director of Development Programs for five months in 2005.

9.3 INSTITUTIONAL REFLECTION / ORGANIZATIONAL RENEWAL

At their meeting in June 2005, the National Council of Development and Peace approved a proposal by management to undertake an institutional reflection / organizational renewal process with the advent of the new fiscal year (September 2005) to address key challenges facing the organization, including:

10 LOOKING FORWARD

10.1 CIDA PROPOSAL – DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM 2006-2011

The Development Programs department of Development and Peace has begun work on preparing a new proposal to be submitted to CIDA for financing support for a five-year international development program for the years 2006-2011. This program will supplement the activities of Development and Peace and our partnership network in the Global South.

This proposal will be based on the thematic priorities established by our membership and partners to alleviate poverty and promote global social justice. It represents the first time that Development and Peace has prepared a program for a five-year term.

10.2 40TH ANNIVERSARY – POPULORUM PROGRESSIO / DEVELOPMENT & PEACE 2007

In 2007, Development and Peace will celebrate the 40th anniversary of its founding, coincident with the 40th anniversary of the papal encyclical Populorum Progressio. The encyclical serves as one of the key foundation documents and inspirations of Development and Peace and many of the Church-related similar agencies in other countries.

To commemorate the event, Development and Peace is organizing a special anniversary Mass to be celebrated in June 2007 at St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal and televised nationally in Canada by Radio-Canada.

For More information Contact:
Sylvain Salvas
Director, Communications Service
Tel: (613) 241-9461
Fax: (613) 241-9048
salvas@cccb.ca