Dear Friends and Colleagues,
As we begin a new year, USAID's Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives looks forward to a year of growth, strengthening and expanding the Agency's partnership with local, community, and faith-based organizations.
In this month's newsletter we highlight some recent activities of USAID's leadership, spotlight the important work being done in the field, and offer information on ongoing opportunities with USAID in missions around the world.
We value your ongoing collaboration. Please stay in touch!
Kirsten Evans
Director
USAID Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives
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USAID Administrator Green delivered the
keynote speech
at the U.S. Institute of Peace Conference, "A Governance Agenda for Preventing Peace Violence in a Fractured World."
Photo by
Anthony Guas / USAID
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This week, USAID Deputy Administrator Bonnie Glick visited Krakow,
Poland to attend the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. In Warsaw, she
spoke at the Community of Democracies event
on the importance of protecting religious freedom and
countering authoritarianism in vulnerable parts of the world.
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Last week CFOI convened faith-based and civil society partners to discuss human rights and religious freedom in Nicaragua. This discussion is part of USAID's on-going, critical effort to advance religious freedom worldwide.
Photo by
Anthony Guas / USAID
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This month
USAID proposed a rule
that would clarify the rights and obligations of faith-based organizations that are participating in USAID's programs. The rule is open for comments until February 18th.
Photo by
Michael Stulman / CRS
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CFOI partnered with the Religious Freedom Institute to host a panel of USAID experts who spoke with undergraduate students about the state of religious freedom and global development.
Photo by
Camille Solberg
/ USAID
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USAID Leaders on Social Media
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"It was an honor to represent the U.S. at the 75th anniversary commemoration of the liberation of Auschwitz. I will never forget hearing a survivor recite El Maleh Rahamim and the mourner’s Kaddish moments after we, as nations, committed to fight anti-semitism. #NeverAgain"
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"Religious freedom is a fundamental human right. On this Religious Freedom Day,
@USAID
joins the rest of the human rights and development community in underscoring the importance of religious freedom in all facets of a country's development."
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Below is this month's update on USAID's
New Partnerships Initiative (NPI)
. NPI will allow USAID to work with a more diverse range of partners and provide more entry points for organizations to work with the Agency.
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Bangladesh NPI Award Announcement
USAID/Bangladesh
made its first NPI award
to Relief International. The agreement, entitled Youth Entrepreneurship and Empowerment Support, will work in host communities in Cox's Bazar.
Photo:
Morgana Wingard / USAID Bangladesh
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How does NPI Work?
Read NPI's process and view a step-by-step flowchart
here
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Additionally,
this webinar
breaks down NPI's goals and approaches.
Photo: Matthew Haddad / USAID
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NPI Funding Opportunities on the Business Forecast
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Advancing the Evidence Base and Community Building - Research
The
Advancing the Evidence Base and Community Building - Research activity
is designed to increase the impact that USAID’s education investments have on learning and education outcomes. It will focus on: developing and adaptively managing education sector learning agendas; and carrying out applied research related to those learning agendas. The procurement of this activity will be aligned with the objectives and parameters of the New Partnerships Initiative (NPI).
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YouthPower2: Learning through Action
The purpose of
"YouthPower2: Learning through Action" (YP2LA)
is to advance the global evidence base of effective approaches for cross-sectoral youth programming through investment in positive youth development (PYD) action research and learning. The procurement of this activity will be aligned with the objectives and parameters of the NPI.
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W-GDP_New Partnerships Initiative
Under the NPI,
$10 million is available
for
qualified partners to support
Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment's (GEWE)
work in promoting women's economic empowerment by addressing constraints identified through the
Women's Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative
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Partner of the Month: ALIGHT's Asili Project
Asili (the Swahili word for "foundation") is a social enterprise—a business with a purpose—that is a co-creation of USAID, Alight, IDEO.org, Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI), and most importantly, Congolese mothers and families. Asili sells affordable healthcare, clean water, and mobile charging; and supports agricultural cooperatives in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Since 2015, Asili has celebrated the following milestones:
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- Leveraged more than $3.2 million in private sector funds, along with private sector intellectual capital, from Minnesota faith-inspired business leaders, foundations, and others.
- Five years after the first Asili clinics and water kiosks began, they are providing world-class services at prices local communities can afford, and is now profitably serving 120,000 customers with no further investment.
- The Eastern Congo Initiative (founded by the actor and philanthropist Ben Affleck in 2009) became the majority partner in Asili in October 2019 to help Asili identify new private sector partners
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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 migration.
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Seeking Proposals to Support Higher Education with Science and Innovation (Deadline: January 31)
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Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) Program is Accepting Proposals (Deadline: February 10)
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U.S. State Department's Call for Projects Supporting Religious Freedom (Deadline:
March 3, 2020)
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The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL)
announced an open competition
for organizations interested in submitting applications for projects that support Religious Freedom globally.
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Afrobarometer's Newly Released Report on Religion in Africa
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Afrobarometer's report
, released this week, found that "A
fricans overwhelmingly identify with a religious faith, trust their religious leaders, and express tolerance of people of other faiths. Nonetheless, in most countries a majority of Africans favour civil over religious law as the basis for government. And nearly half say government should have the power to regulate religious speech in the name of public safety."
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Rome Declaration on the Peace Process in South Sudan
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"The
Rome Declaration
signed at the Community of Sant'Egidio Headquarters in Rome this month 'brings together all the major political players of the country for the first time' and is the result of Sant'Egidio commitment in recent years to facilitate political dialogue in South Sudan."
Read more
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