Dear Friends and Colleagues,
The new year continues to be a busy one at USAID as we outreach
to faith leaders and local communities, navigating topics as diverse as inter-faith reconciliation in the Balkans, the cross-section of technology and human rights, and partnering with USAID.
Please read below to learn about opportunities to get involved, including an education research opportunity, a call for WASH interventions in Nigeria, and a free online course on effectively negotiating the complex intersection of government and religion.
As always, we are grateful to work alongside many of you to achieve shared development goals through the transformative power of faith and community initiatives.
Kirsten Evans
Director
USAID Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives
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This month, USAID Administrator Mark Green met with Theophilos III, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, to discuss the value of faith-based partners reaching vulnerable religious and ethnic minority communities throughout the Middle East.
Photo: Anthony Guas / USAID
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USAID Deputy Administrator Bonnie Glick
visited Bosnia and Herzegovina
, where she toured religious sites with leaders of the Inter-Religious Council. She congratulated the Council for their efforts to set a positive example of tolerance and collaboration across faiths by engaging citizens of different ethnic and religious backgrounds. She also participated in a signing ceremony to launch a USAID-funded initiative that will respond to attacks on religious sites.
Photo: USAID/Europe and Eurasia
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Administrator Green joined U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See,
Callista Gingrich
, for the dedication of a mosaic crafted by Iraqi Christian refugees in Amman, Jordan. The mosaic is now displayed in USAID's lobby as a monument to those who protect and promote religious freedom worldwide.
Photo: Anthony Guas / USAID
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CFOI hosted a roundtable to discuss religious freedom and digital authoritarianism in China.
U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Chair Tony Perkins
shared opening remarks
. Speakers and panelists discussed how the Chinese government's high-tech surveillance obstructs freedom of expressions, including religious freedom.
Photo: Camille Solberg / USAID
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CFOI Director Kirsten Evans presented to partners of USAID's
American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) program. She thanked ASHA's faith-based partners for their contributions to global health and education, underscored the value of engaging faith-based organizations, and shared ways that ASHA partners could collaborate with CFOI.
Pho
to:
Jim Stipe / CRS
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Faith-based and community organizations
interested in working with USAID can use the Forecast and conference call to learn about potential future funding and partnership opportunities at USAID.
Photo:
Jim Stipe / CRS
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USAID Leaders on Social Media
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"Wonderful to meet a diverse group of young people from across the country to discuss their vision for building inter-religious tolerance among
#BiH
youth and to view their documentary, '
Connecting the Dots.
'
@PerpetuumBL
"
- USAID Deputy Administrator Bonnie Glick
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"I was fortunate to be able to visit the Great Mosque of Kairouan in
#Tunisia
. Founded in 670, this ancient mosque is one of the largest Islamic monuments in North Africa.
@USAID
is proud to be a supporter of religious freedom across the globe."
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Below is this month's update on USAID's
New Partnerships Initiative (NPI)
, which is designed to broaden and diversify our partner base by lowering the barriers to working with the agency.
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New NPI Grant Opportunity: WRM-WASH in Nigeria
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Under the NPI, USAID
launched a call for concept papers on Water Resources Management for Enhanced Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WRM-WASH) interventions that build on USAID's efforts to reduce waterborne diseases in Nigeria.
Deadline to apply:
April 6, 2020
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NPI Funding Opportunities on the Business Forecast
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The
Business Forecast
displays
potential future funding and partnership opportunities at USAID.
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Advancing the Evidence Base and Community Building - Research
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YouthPower2: Learning through Action
YouthPower2: Learning through Action (YP2LA)
is
a program to augment
the global evidence base of effective approaches for cross-sectoral youth programming through investment in positive youth development action research and learning.
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Partner of the Month: World Vision
World Vision
is a
Christian relief, development and advocacy organization that serves families and communities worldwide regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender. From disaster management to social accountability,
World Vision's work spans all major development sectors. The common goal across their programs is to guarantee the sustained well-being of children, especially the most vulnerable.
For example, the USAID/Ethiopia READ II project aims to improve students’ ability to read, using World Vision’s
Unlock Literacy
program. This multi-faceted approach involves teachers, parents, and the community to help create a culture of reading.
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Sara, a Community Literacy Leader for the READ II project, organizes students into activity groups at a reading camp.
Photo: Michael Greer / World Vision
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Free Online Course on Religion and Development
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Fabo has released a
free online course
on the interaction between religion and development. The course explains how to build effective multi-lateral partnerships and plan and implement programs that are faith- and culture-sensitive. The course is for anyone engaged in advocacy, development and humanitarian work, at both faith-based and secular organizations.
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American Academy of Religion - Call for Papers
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The American Academy of Religion's International Development and Religion Unit
released a call for papers
for this year's annual meeting (which will be held in November). Select papers will be used to inform a panel titled, "Theologies and Ideologies of Faith-based Humanitarianism and Development." This panel will explore how faith-based humanitarian and development organizations negotiate, (re)configure and communicate their theologies and ideologies in the multiple interactions that shape their work.
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USAID is making approximately
$6 million in Disability Funding available for agency programming.
Qualified organizations interested in this funding opportunity may find more information
here.
Interested organizations should also
contact their local USAID field Mission
for additional details and a deadline for concept papers.
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Religious Freedom Research Opportunity with the U.S. Institute of Peace
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The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is
hiring a Research Assistant
to support the project, “Closing the Gap: Analyzing the Relationship between Religious Freedom and Political and Economic Development.” The goal of this initiative is to create more nuanced, strategic, and impactful policy and practice related to religious freedom through rigorous statistical analysis and field research.
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USAID and IDB Accepting Applications to Help Address the Venezuela Regional Crisis
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USAID and the Inter-American Development Bank are partnering for the
BetterTogether / JuntosEsMejor Challenge
, a global initiative to crowdsource, fund, and scale innovative solutions from Venezuelans, wherever they are, and innovators worldwide to support Venezuelans and
host communities affected by the outmigration of millions of victims of the Maduro regime.
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