2006 Fundraising Gala

In honor of our 55th anniversary, CHF International hosted a 2006 Fundraising Gala to invite both our new friends and long-standing supporters to come together and celebrate the diversity of ways international development efforts are transforming lives of millions of people in low-income communities around the world.

> When: Thursday, November 30, 2006, 7:00-11pm
> Where: East Hall, Union Station, Washington, D.C.
> Keynote Speaker: Former Senator George Mitchell
> Entertainment: Performers presented music and entertainment from around the world, representing the regions where CHF is active.

Santa Fe International Folk Art Market 2006

The Santa Fe International Folk Art Market was begun in 2004 by a group of volunteers who banded together to form the Market Committee. They had a vision to bring a handful of living masters of folk art to Santa Fe to share with a small audience of collectors and community members. The first market wildly exceeded their expectations, with more than 60 folk artists selling to an audience of over 12,000 people. The market grew in 2005, its second year — artist revenues increased by 46% and the audience went from 12,000 to 18,000.

In 2006, Miram Adam Atim Abbakar, an internally displaced mat and basket weaver from Darfur, Sudan, was hosted by the Crafts Center at CHF International to attend the Santa Fe International Folk Arts Market 2006, held June 7-9, 2006, where she shared her story and her craft with as many as 20,000 artisans and buyers in attendance.

Read more.

CHF/Serbia Celebrates 1,000 projects

On Thursday, May 25, 2006, CHF International/Srbija celebrated the initiation of the 1,000th CRDA project in Serbia. A range of panel discussions were attended by representatives of Southern and Eastern Serbia communities, municipalities, Community Development Councils, Enabling Economic Environment Working Groups, local non-governmental organizations and CHF International/Srbija were present at these discussions. Find out more about this event at http://www.chfserbia.org/. 

The Community Revitalization via Democratic Action (CRDA) project is five-year program designed to work with democratically organized Community Development Councils to increase civic participation through community-driven processes, improve social and physical infrastructure, stimulate dialogue across ethnic lines, generate employment and economic development opportunities, and improve environmental conditions while increasing environmental awareness and sensitivity.

Leadership in Fragile States: A Panel Discussion

Tuesday, June 13, 2006 
9am – 12pm 
Gold Room, 2168 Rayburn House Office Building,
Washington, D.C. 

An interactive panel discussion sponsored by CHF International and the Center for Creative Leadership, featuring opening remarks by Congressman David Price (NC-04).

This half-day workshop will explore the importance of supporting local leadership in fragile states such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Colombia and Sudan, and seek to identify best practices.Two panels of experts representing the donor, academic, and NGO communities will share their experiences with and strategies for supporting local leadership as a building block toward stability societies.

Complete Details: http://www.chfinternational.org/content/news/detail/3387/

Symposium on Economic Opportunity and Stability in Haiti

On June 7th and 8th, CHF International hosted a symposium in Port-au-Prince focusing on issues linking economic development and stability, with a particular focus on the Artibonite and Bas Plateau Central departments, areas with both high potential for economic growth and with histories of instability. Over two days of dialogue, participants shared information on community needs vis-à-vis grassroots economic development and obstacles to economic development, and ideas for initiatives to generate employment and economic opportunity. There was a particular focus on strategies for catalyzing economic opportunity for Haitians struggling to make ends meet, and who are vulnerable to violence – both as victim and as perpetrators – if they cannot achieve sustainable livelihoods.

Find out more at: http://www.chfinternational.org/content/news/detail/3368

Community Development Conference in Serbia

NISKA BANJA, December 16, 2005 – The Community Development Council (CDC) conference “500 Days towards a Sustainable Community” was held on Friday, December 16, in the Partizan Hotel in Niska Banja. The conference was opened by CHF International representatives. The representatives of 20 CDCs from Nisavski, Zajecarski and Pirotski districts, CHF representatives and guest lecturers participated in the conference that featured workshops, presentations and lectures covering topics related to CDC activities. These events focused on the economic program and the possibilities offered as part of the program carried out by CHF, as well as on democratization, community development and economic development action planning.

More about CHF International in Serbia

Crafts Center U.S. Market Orientation: February 2006

Sign up now! The Crafts Center at CHF International offered a U.S. Market Orientation February 9-10, 2006 in Silver Spring, Maryland for those interested in learning more about product design, pricing, exporting, sales, and marketing in the United States. The Crafts Center offers members and non-members a hands-on approach to learning about entering the U.S. market for crafts producers through our U.S. Market Orientation.

The U.S. Market Orientation program was conducted by expert professionals in their field.  

Some of the main topics covered were:

• Marketing issues: Establishing your target market, determine product potential
• Business concerns: pricing and costing, packaging and packing, transportation & logistics, business etiquette
• Product development: Custom evaluation
• Trade shows: most popular, how to work a trade show, how set up a booth efficiently and effectively, how to approach potential customers 

For more information, please contact Jennifer Marcy at jmarcy@chfinternational.org or 301-587-4700 x 1827.

Moroccan National Federation of Microcredit Associations 1st Forum

The Moroccan National Federation of Microcredit Associations 1st Forum was designed to analyze the results acheived in Morocco during 2005, the International Year of Microcredit, and discussed strategies for the future growth of the sector.  The conference's theme was Microfinance as a Vector for Human Development.  Specific themes included the state of microfinance worldwide and in the region; making microcredit a more professional activity; evolution of the sector in Morocco, new technologies, financing, institutional development strategies, and human development strategies in the public sector. 

Richard Shumann, CHF International Technical Officer for Housing, delivered a presentation on the results of new housing loan products--that CHF helped design--that are being implemented in Morocco.

East and Central Africa AGOA Regional Sectoral Workshop

Over the last five years, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has opened up new doors for African entrepreneurs who want to export their products to the United States. Established in 2000, AGOA was intended to create incentives for African entrepreneurs to expand to Western markets, and has since enabled businesspeople involved in various sectors to sell their goods in the US without paying duty. The workshop addressed questions about various opportunities and areas of potential business expansion for African artisans.

The René Moawad Foundation Gala

The René Moawad Foundation Gala Dinner
Layalina:
A Lebanese-American Cultural Evening to benefit the Children of Lebanon 
November 5, 2005

Organized by the friends of The René Moawad Foundation- USA, the Gala welcomed master of ceremonies, His Excellency Ambassador Vincent Battle, and honored Mr. Richard C. Shadyac, former CEO/ALSAC St. Jude's Children Research Hospital. CHF International Senior Vice President Judith Hermanson presented Mrs. Moawad with a gift of hand-woven baskets from internally displaced women in Darfur, Sudan. The event also featured a fashion show by lebanese designer Gemy Maalouf and a book signing ceremony of award winning Lebanese author Karim Al Koussa.

USGLC 10th Anniversary Gala

U.S. GLOBAL LEADERSHIP CAMPAIGN
10th Anniversary Gala Dinner
Honoring Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice
Tuesday, November 8, 2005

The U.S. Global Leadership Campaign, a diverse coalition of over 400 U.S. businesses, humanitarian and development organizations--including CHF International--ethnic and religious groups and educational institutions, is dedicated to supporting a strong International Affairs Budget and promoting U.S. global engagement. The coalition advocates support for the U.S. International Affairs Budget as essential to protecting our national security, strengthening our economic prosperity, and demonstrating our humanitarian values.

CHF International Local Economic Development Workshop

On September 12-13, CHF's Third Annual Local Economic Development Workshop convened in Beirut, Lebanon bring together CHF staff from Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia, Georgia, Armenia, Romania, Lebanon, Mongolia, Honduras, Sudan, and Ethiopia to share lessons learned, materials, methodologies and achievements to date in CHF International's progress in creating jobs and economic growth opportunities for thousands around the world. 

While there, participants visited six project sites of CHF International's CEDARS (Clustering for Economic Development and Revitalization of Industry Sectors) program, including sites of improved banana production and marketing; vegetable production under greenhouse conditions; goat breeding and cheese production; creation of agro-processing centers and establishing an electronic agro-products marketing mechanism.

For more information about CHF's Development Finance Expertise, please visit: http://www.chfinternational.org/section/microfinance
For more information about CHF's programs in Lebanon, visit: http://www.chfinternational.org/section/lebanon