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Inside
this issue :
New Decade of Strategic Visioning: LEAD Envisions New Logo
After a decade of working as a leadership development organization, the LEAD International Board and several Member Program countries have initiated changes in LEAD programs and strategies. As the LEAD mandate broadened and developed, the logo had to reflect the change. The old logo was an ancient Chinese symbol for the earth, and this has been modified and made more streamlined and refined.
For the next decade, we at LEAD Pakistan plan to further broaden our activities. We will strengthen our capacity building faculties and will go into project management, monitoring and evaluation, institutional systems and communications for sustainable development. We will renew our commitment to strengthen our network of Associates, Fellows, faculty and friends of the organization.
To keep the network of Fellows and Associates updated on the changes and to acquire their visions and thoughts, meetings of LEAD clubs were held in Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi. In these meetings, Fellows and Associates were introduced to the new logo and strategic changes made globally in the organization were discussed. In the meetings, the Fellows and Associates decided that LEAD Pakistan would officially adopt the new logo and the strategies at the All Cohorts Meeting later this year.
A strategic assessment within LEAD Pakistan was done to identify the following strategic areas of importance for LEAD’s work for the next three years:
- Demonstrating state-of-the-art management and delivery of projects;
- Building institutions for monitoring and evaluation of external projects, leading to 3rd party validation;
- Capacity building and facilitating stakeholder dialogue for sustainable development;
- Improving external communications and knowledge management;
- Strengthening internal systems.
Lahore LEAD Club
The Lahore LEAD Club (LLC) organized a meeting on March 7, 2005 at the WWF Office to welcome the new Associates of C 11 and discuss the new strategic visioning of LEAD International. Among those present were Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, National Program Director, LEAD Pakistan, and LEAD Fellows Hammad Naqi, Asad Sumbul, Dr Fauzia Khan, Tariq Zaman, Nazakat Hussain, Rubina Tariq, Rina Saeed Khan and Mehjabeen Abidi-Habib.
Ali Tauqeer Sheikh opened the discussion with an introduction to the new logo and strategic visioning for the next decade of LEAD Pakistan. The members of the club discussed some issues regarding the All Cohorts Meeting, which is tentatively scheduled for November 2005 in Islamabad and to which LEAD India Fellows will be invited.
LLC members informed Ali Tauqeer Sheikh that an LLC sub-committee, consisting of Rina Saeed Khan, Khalid Sherdil and Asad Sumbul, is dealing with cross-border collaboration with India to invite the Indian LEAD Fellows to the ACM.
LLC briefly discussed the two projects that it is trying to influence: Kahoon Valley Cement Plant and New Murree Tourist Resort. LLC has a wide outreach to influence the form that these projects take, but the political and bureaucratic obstacles posed by these unsustainable mega-projects are substantial. Sub-groups in LLC are tracking progress on both projects.
Mr Sheikh suggested that in order to make the LEAD Clubs more action oriented they might become involved in the trainings for Cohort 11. He also suggested that interested Fellows sign up for the group in which LEAD provides voluntary services to provincial governments by giving technical assistance to the EIA process.
The LLC members also brought up the possibility of decentralizing LEAD by empowering the clubs. This work falls into the LEAD mandate of nurturing the network of Fellows. LLC will meet on the first Monday of every month, usually at WWF – Pakistan, Lahore.
Islamabad LEAD Club
The Islamabad LEAD Club (ILC) meeting was held in LEAD Pakistan head office in Islamabad on March 11, 2005. LEAD Fellows welcomed their new Associates. The NPD LEAD Pakistan, Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, briefed the participants on the new logo of LEAD, celebrations for 10 years of LEAD Pakistan and the All Cohorts meeting (ACM).
The NPD proposed that ILC might consider holding stakeholders’ dialogues on various issues. In these dialogues, relevant authorities from government, non-profit sector and affected communities may be invited. To materialize the process, LEAD Pakistan will facilitate the club members. In addition to this, ILC may focus on institutionalizing its activities with the passage of time.
Conservation issues related to Margallah Hills were discussed at length. The club members reviewed the master plan of the capital city. Some members of the group wrote a formal letter to the Capital Development Authority chairman to address the issue of the planned tunnel through the Margallah Hills.
Keeping in view the concerns and interests of Islamabad LEAD Club Fellows/Associates, LEAD Pakistan organized a small discussion forum at LEAD House on March 18, 2005. Sardar Asif Sayal, an environmental lawyer from Lahore, was invited to guide Fellows/Associates in addressing environmental issues legally and deciding what measures to take. Several organizations like The Network and Margalla Hills Society were invited to this forum. Mr Sayal gave a brief overview of the laws encompassing environmental issues in Pakistan and spoke of the required measures to address them.
It was agreed by the participants that in future ILC would take up specific issues and start its campaign for their resolution by organizing stakeholders’ dialogues. In this context, the issue of conservation of Margallah Hills was given top priority. LEAD Pakistan assured its full support in these efforts.
ILC LEAD Fellows Munir Ahmed, Aftab Rana, Azhar Qureshi and Nasir Mahmood represented LEAD Pakistan in the stakeholders’ dialogue on ‘Margallah Hills Integrity’ at Marriott Hotel, Islamabad, on March 29, 2005.
Karachi LEAD Club
The Karachi LEAD Club (KLC) organized a meeting on March 22, 2005 at IUCN Office, Karachi to welcome the new Associates of C 11, discuss the new strategic visioning of LEAD and formalization of the Karachi LEAD Club. Among those present were Dr Saeed Ismail, Sualeh Ahmed Faruqui, Dr Suleman Otho, Nasir Ali Panhwar, M Arif Baloch, Shahid Ali Lutfi, Rafi Ghaus, Umar Farooq, Mazhar Shaikh, Hina Lotia, Samra Hanif, Ali Tauqeer Shaikh and Zohra Khatoon.
Ali Sheikh opened the discussion with an introduction to the new logo and strategic visioning for the next decade of LEAD Pakistan. The role of LEAD Clubs was discussed. It was recognized that these are voluntary groups that help to organize LEAD Fellows to work in issues regarding environment and sustainaible development. KLC nominated Suleman Otho as their coordinator/focal person and Shahid Lutfi as Knowledge Manager. IUCN and HANDS volunteered as institutional hosts for the meeting. Mr Otho will be responsible for gathering the group for meetings and writing their minutes, as well as arranging activities for KLC members. Shahid Lutfi will be responsible for sending out articles or news of interest to KLC members. These articles can pertain to any issue related to Karachi, Sindh or anywhere in Pakistan. In this way KLC members will get an idea of where their work and areas of expertise can be utilized.
Ali Tauqeer Shaikh encouraged the KLC members to meet regularly and get to know each other better and think of a project they can do in collaboration with LEAD. Suleman Otho suggested initiating meetings for recreation so that potential partners for projects can be identified. Mr Sheikh requested Nasir Panhwar to arrange a KLC group visit to mangrove forests. He also told the Fellows that in order to strengthen the network, LEAD Pakistan should appoint a Board member from among its Fellows every term. In this term Sheraz Manzoor Haider and Dr Jehanzeb Khan are LP Board members whereas Mehjabeen Abidi-Habib represents the LEAD International Board.
KLC agreed that the members would meet on the first Tuesday of every month. Members of KLC who live away from Karachi (in areas such as Hyderabad, Khairpur and Gawadar) do not have to attend each meeting but if they can plan some official visits to Karachi in such a way that they can be in the city for the meeting, it will be beneficial. Otherwise they will be sent minutes of the meeting for their input. The next meeting is scheduled for April 5 2005 at the HANDS office. One of the agenda items will include getting suggestions from Fellows on the kinds of events that can be organized by the Karachi LEAD Club and LEAD Pakistan.
Unique, innovative approaches to impart environmental education are the best way to raise environmental awareness among children. We need to help children become more friendly towards nature and the environment.
Keeping this in view, Dr Amina Hasan, LEAD Fellow, Cohort 7, conducted her LEAD Associate Project on ‘Children’s Environmental Awareness’ to help children identify environmental issues in their surroundings and devise possible solutions for the problems. Through her LAP, she has taken the example of a school in Sandrana Village, Sialkot.
There were ninety students in the school. An important aspect of the project was to sensitize the teachers to the severity of environmental issues and to use the issues as a means to take up activities with the children. The village selected was far from the city and the level of cleanliness in the village was poor. Therefore, there was a dire need for environmental awareness among the villagers. The methodology adopted by Dr Hasan was to arrange and provide interesting, relevant and appropriate information related to the major environmental concerns in Pakistan through lectures, poster competitions and by conducting various drama performances related to the environmental threats, their causes and their remedies. She conducted formal meetings with the teachers to give them the direction for a plan of action, and informal meetings with the children to assess the impact of awareness created among them.
To widen the scope of the project, Dr Hasan compared and evaluated the level of understanding developed among the children with that of children in other schools in the village. The result showed the positive outcome among the children as well as the teachers, such as creation of environmental awareness and understanding of their surroundings. The effort also played a part in creating an overall understanding of the hygiene and sanitation conditions prevailing in the village and how each one of the children can contribute towards improving the prevailing conditions and environment in the village.
LEAD Fellow, Munir Ahmed of Cohort 7 has achieved the National Rural Support Program (NRSP) Institute of Rural Management merit scholarship for Postgraduate Diploma (PGD) in NGO Leadership and Management.
Mr Ahmed has been working for the last two decades in the media sector. About two years ago, he launched DEVCOM-Pakistan (Development Communications Network, www.devcom.org.pk), with the help of some LEAD Fellows and media professionals.
Mr Ahmed says: ‘Since the launch of DEVCOM, I have been facing challenges to make it a dynamic organization. Although I had ample experience in all related sectors of media and communication, I still felt that I needed more knowledge. Therefore, I looked for an opportunity to enhance my knowledge base of the development and management of NGOs and their programs. When I found this scholarship in NGO Leadership and Management, I felt that it was the right time to opt for improving my leadership and management skills so that I could run my organization in a better way. There was only one scholarship being offered and I was the only one to receive it. I hope that the PGD in NGO Leadership and Management will help me to bridge my knowledge and skill gap in the processes of strategic management, decision-making, staffing and human resource management, and it will also give me an insight into an overall NGO setup. I believe that after this course, I will be able to render my services to the development sector more effectively.’
"Dr. Fauzia Khan ( LEAD Associate, Cohort 11 ) shares her first experience with LEAD network."
A professional communication workshop was organized by the training division of Indus Foundation in Lahore. It was attended by professionals of public functionaries, development sector, civic society organizations, corporate sector, academia and local government.
As a LEAD Associate, it was my first experience to interact with professionals of development sector organizations. Another LEAD Fellow, Mr. Javaid Cheema from LLC also attended the workshop. It was a real learning opportunity and I appreciate LEAD-Pakistan and LEAD Fellows for contributing to further the process of sustainable development in Pakistan.
Sustainable development through human empowerment” is the motto of Indus Foundation for Human Development (IFHD), a civic society organization established by a group of philanthropists, one being a LEAD Fellow, Mr. Sajjad Haider (Cohort 9). The foundation is striving to improve the educational, health and socio-cultural status of society by providing quality training and research facilities.
The Democratized Education Management and Ownership (DEMO) project is being implemented by LEAD Pakistan with the financial and technical support of ESRA/ USAID in the districts of Khairpur and Sukkur in Sindh since September 2004. The project is aimed at strengthening the civic infrastructure available to the communities, nurture a culture of dialogue and negotiations on education management by the community, and enhance the abilities and competencies of the community to rationally identify issues, articulate vision and challenges, and plan their human, institutional and financial resources for continual improvement of the educational system in general and community schools in particular.
Under the DEMO project, a stakeholder’s visit was organized by LEAD Pakistan to monitor the progress and impacts of the project in Khairpur and Sindh from March 23 to 25, 2005. The stakeholders included representatives of UNDP/GEF, IUCN, WWF – Pakistan, SZABIST, SEF, Thardeep, DTCE, BP, OMV, Beaconhouse School System and LEAD Pakistan. LEAD Fellows Nafisa Shah Jilani, Zahoor Bazai, Naseer Memon, Ali Ahmed Jan and Rubina Tariq played a major role in the exposure visit. The objectives were to:
- Showcase the work being done by ESRA and its partners for promotion of primary education with the involvement and participation of local communities as beneficiaries, and government and non-governmental organizations as stakeholders;
- Share experiences, lessons learnt and problems faced during the implementation of the project and seek guidance of the stakeholders in improving the process further for best services delivery to the community;
- Promote the agenda of education and facilitate possible interventions by the stakeholders to further the agenda by developing synergy among different partners.
LEAD gathered a group of professionals from all over the provinces to discuss and understand issues concerning sustainable development in Sindh. Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, National Program Director, LEAD Pakistan, mentioned the merits of LEADnet which binds all people as its members, Fellows, Associates and staff.
Syeda Nafisa Shah Jilani, a LEAD Fellow of Cohort 4 and former journalist with a strong political background, heads the District Government of Khairpur. During the last four years of her government, district Khairpur has become a model of civil society institutions and devolution initiatives. For long term planning she has insisted on projects like DEMO. She said that the capacity development and skills enhancement of the youth would eradicate the unemployment in the country and frustration among the youth.
Other stakeholders also appreciated the work being done and thanked the organizers. Naseer Memon, LEAD Fellow, Cohort 8, took the participants on a visit of the project sites and offices and briefed them on targets, approach and achievements of the project since its implementation. Regarding external monitoring of the project, Mr Memon said that the project is being monitored at two levels: ESRA office through monthly meetings, and district government through a steering committee.
The delegation also visited a primary school newly opened for girls by the local people, as an impact of the DEMO project team’s interventions and interactions with the communities. The visitors were also exposed to various other sites where they could analyze the situation and give their recommendations for better outcomes.
The outcomes of the visit can be summarized as:
- Since all the stakeholders have direct and indirect interventions in the districts of Khairpur and Sukkur, the stakeholders should establish a formal network to share the information;
- UNDP/ GEF and IUCN will explore possibilities to initiate a process of undertaking a project for environmental improvement with the involvement of local communities. The research project undertaken by UNDP with the local people will be replicated on a large scale;
- DTCE intends to share resources with schools and CCBs in Khairpur and Sukkur, which would give local people access to financial and material resources to meet their needs;
- LEAD Pakistan will continue exposure visits to monitor the progress and impacts of the DEMO project in Khairpur and Sukkur;
- LEAD Pakistan will organize exposure visits of social mobilizers to the Northern Areas, specifically Hunza, for experience sharing.
April 22, 2005 is the 35th Anniversary of Earth Day
Earth Day, which began in 1970, is now celebrated by millions of people worldwide. This year is its 35th anniversary, and around the world, hundreds of thousands of nongovernmental organizations, governments, teachers, among others, are making plans to declare that they are part of something extraordinary: a worldwide movement to protect our planet, our children, and our future.
This year, Earth Day Network’s theme is "Protect Our Children and Our Future." Despite the extraordinary and often false obstacles that we face in our efforts to protect our natural resources and our biodiversity, few will dare argue with the moral imperative to protect our children from harm. As a consequence of that imperative, we call on governments, corporations and all people in our troubled world to work with us to ensure that children everywhere are healthy, educated, and free from oppression.
Events Dates Venue Lahore LEAD Club Meeting April 4
Lahore Karachi LEAD Club Meeting
April 5 Karachi PERT: Health Care Waste Management April 12 Islamabad PERT: Ecosystems/Natural Resource Management/ ISO April 16 Abbottabad PERT: Health Care waste Management April 20 Quetta Islamabad LEAD Club Meeting April 22 Islamabad Orientation Training Session April 23-27 Islamabad DTCE: Certificate Distribution Ceremony April 25 Islamabad PERT: Ecosystems/Natural Resource Management/ ISO April 30 Rawalpindi
Editor : Nida Khan
Layout By : Imran Butt
Editorial Committee : Zabreen Hasan, Samra Hanif
Fellows and Associates can send us details of their job achievements, job alterations or any other news they wish to share with the LEAD Family. All contributions will be an asset to the bulletin. Write to us at ldp@lead.org.pk
For up-to-date information on LEAD Pakistan activities and services please visit our website www.lead .org.pk
© LEAD Pakistan 2005