USEFUL LinkS

 Central America

• Center for Human Progress (Arias Foundation).  The purpose of the Center is to promote equality of opportunities for women and gender equity for the Central American population. It proposes to achieve these goals by means of a process involving research, dissemination, education and communication.

·        Comisión Centroamericana Permanente para la Erradicación de la Producción, Tráfico, Consumo y Uso Ilícitos de Estupefacientes y Sustancias Psicotrópicas –CCP- Permanent Central American Commission for the Eradication of Production, Traffic, Consumption, and Illegal Uses of Drugs and Psyco-tropic Substances.  Based in Tegucigalpa (Honduras).

·        Confederación Superior Universitaria Centroamericana –SUCA- SUCA is the organization created by the Consejo Superior Univesitario Centroamericano (Central American Universities High Council) fifty years ago to channel the integrationist vocation of the Central American public universities to carry out their initiatives, policies, and plans of regional improvement in higher education.  SUCA promotes change and brings together several sectors of society and academic life to bring about economic, political, social, and cultural development.

• Consejo Centroamericano de Instituciones de Seguridad Social –COCISS- The Central American Council of Social Security Institutions was created in December 1992, at the XIII Presidential Summit of the Isthmus, celebrated in Panama.  Its main objective is to achieve an effective support and coordination among the social security institutions of the Central American countries, through communication, exchange and sharing of mutual experiences.  Its main function is to promote the projects and actions to extend the benefits of social security to all the inhabitants of the countries of the Isthmus.

·        Instituto Centroamericano de la Salud The Instituto Centroamericano de la Salud (Central American Health Institute) is a Central American, non-government, non-profit organisation without political affiliations; dedicated exclusively to the improvement of the health of the population of Central America.

·        Instituto de Nutrición de Centroamerica y Panamá –INCAP- The Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama was created in 1946 to contribute to the development of science in nutrition, to promote its application, and to strengthen the capacity of the member countries to solve their nutritional problems.  To implement its mission, INCAP is developing its “Institutional Strategic Plan” for the decade 1991-2000, which focuses on the promotion of food and nutritional security.  Its members are Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Belize (since 1990).

§         Ministries of Education in the Americas and the Caribbean

o       Costa Rica 

o       Guatemala 

o       Panama

·        Organismo Internacional Regional de Sanidad Agropecuaria –OIRSA- OIRSA was established in October 1953 during the fifth Conference of Ministers of Agriculture, ratified in 1987.  It is integrated by Mexico, Central America, Panama and Belize.  Its major goal is to facilitate the economic and social development of the region, through the promotion of quality agricultural production, and an acceptable environment, to satisfy the needs of the population.  OIRSA provides support to governments to help develop their plans of animal health, vegetal sanitation, and strengthening of their productive systems.  It also coordinates and makes recommendations on the needs to prevent and fight plagues and diseases that harm agriculture at the regional and international level.

General

·        American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) Founded in 1930, the American Public Human Services Association is a nonprofit, bipartisan organization of individuals and agencies concerned with human services. Our members include all state and many territorial human service agencies, more than 1,200 local agencies, and several thousand individuals who work in or otherwise have an interest in human service programs. APHSA educates members of Congress, the media, and the broader public on what is happening in the states concerning welfare, child welfare, health care reform, and other issues involving families and the elderly.

·        Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) CLASP is a national non-profit organization with expertise in both law and policy affecting the poor. Through education, policy research and advocacy, CLASP seeks to improve the economic security of low-income families with children and secure access for low-income persons to our civil justice system.

·        Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) ESRI -- A nonprofit, nonpartisan institute, that conducts research and studies directed at enhancing the effectiveness of social programs, improving the way health care services are organized and delivered, making quality health care accessible and affordable.

·        Editions Quart Monde Extreme poverty is a violation of Human Rights Working together against it builds a better future for all. This site is dedicated to the World Day to Overcome Extreme Poverty, celebrated on October 17th. The day, officially recognised by the United Nations in 1992, was born from the initiative of thousands of people who gathered at the Human Rights Plaza in Paris, France in 1987.

·        ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education ERIC, a national education information network, is part of the National Library of Education, U.S. Department of Education. The goal of ERIC is to identify, select, process, and disseminate information in education. The ERIC system consists of 16 clearinghouses, each serving a specialized field of education; adjunct clearinghouses on specific aspects of education; and support services. ERIC components offer products and services including ERIC Digests, major publications, user products, bibliographies, referrals, and computer searches.

o       ERIC/ACVE Major publications          

·        ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) is a national information system designed to provide users with ready access to an extensive body of education-related literature. The ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education (ERIC/EECE) is one of 16 clearinghouses in the ERIC system, which is part of the National Library of Education, funded by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), U.S. Department of Education. ERIC clearinghouses identify and select documents and journal articles, and then prepare entries describing the documents and articles to be incorporated in the ERIC database, the world's most frequently used collection of information on education. Clearinghouses also publish digests, monographs, and other publications; answer questions; disseminate information on the Internet; and represent ERIC at conferences and workshops. See the ERIC System page for more information.

o       Publications

·        International Bureau of Education The International Bureau of Education (IBE) is a UNESCO centre for information and research in the field of comparative education. It focuses on the renewal of education curricula, contents, methods and materials, with particular emphasis on human and civic values.

o       Publications

·        International Council on Social Welfare Founded in 1928, The International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW) is a non-governmental organization.  Our membership consists of global, regional, national and local organizations, of varied backgrounds and expertise, from every region of the world. We are represented in more than 70 countries, most of which are in the developing world.  

·        National Association of Welfare Research and Statistics The National Association for Welfare Research and Statistics is a nonprofit association whose purpose is to exchange ideas for the advancement of research
and statistics in the field of public welfare. NAWRS is organized exclusively for educational and scientific purposes.

·        Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos Para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura –OEI- The “Organization of Iberian American States for Education, Science, and Culture”, is an intergovernmental organization for co-operation in the fields mentioned in the context of global development, democracy and regional integration. The full member-states and observers are all the Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries that integrate de Nations Community: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela. The OEI Secretary General headquarters is located in Madrid, Spain and it has also official representations in Santafe de Bogota (Colombia), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Lima (Peru), Mexico, D.F. (Mexico), San Salvador (El Salvador) and technical offices in Santiago (Chile), Tegucigalpa (Honduras) and Managua (Nicaragua).

o       Publications

·        People 2 People Synergos is an independent, nonprofit institute dedicated to developing effective sustainable solutions to global poverty. Working with partners, Synergos strengthens the capacity of grant making organizations and bridging leaders in Asia, Africa and Latin America to reduce poverty. Synergos works with government agencies, corporations, individuals and the nonprofit sector to strengthen the support and cooperation communities receive from civil society, government and the private business sector. Synergos, headquartered in New York City, is funded by foundations, corporations, international agencies and individual contributors.

·        Regional Education Office for Latin America and the Caribbean The headquarters of OREALC, the Regional Education Office for Latin America and the Caribbean is in Santiago, Chile. Sub-regional offices are in San José, Costa Rica, Quito, Ecuador, and Kingston, Jamaica. It works jointly with the Regional Center for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean in Caracas, Venezuela and with CARNEID in Bridgetown, Barbados, as well as with UNESCO offices in the various countries within the region. OREALC's mission is to support countries in their efforts to improve educational quality and equity, seeking to foster a culture of peace, tolerance and democracy. In so doing, it follows the general guidelines of UNESCO as set forth in the organization's General Conferences as well as in the mandates and recommendations of the education ministers of the countries within the region.

·        The Center on Urban Poverty and Social Change The Center on Urban Poverty and Social Change was established in August 1988 with grants from the Rockefeller and Cleveland Foundations. Located in the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, the Center seeks to address the problems of persistent and concentrated urban poverty and is dedicated to understanding how social and economic changes affect low-income communities, and how living in these communities affects the well-being of their residents. Activities of the Center also reflect an interest in how social and economic conditions can be improved through community generated strategies for change, as well as reforms in the ways institutions and service organizations respond to community needs. 

• United Nations

• The Gateway Page to Social Policy and Economic Development This page has links to the UN’s main environment, human rights, human settlements, narcotic drugs, population, prevention of crime, social development, sustainable development, trade, and women programs.

• Centre for Regional Development The United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD) has been for more than twenty-five years the only United Nations (UN) organization committed to regional (subnational) development in developing countries. Throughout, UNCRD's purpose has remained unchanged: to serve as a training and research centre in regional development and planning and related fields for developing countries which may wish to avail themselves of its services; to provide advisory services in regional development and planning and related fields at the request of developing countries; to assist developing countries in promoting the exchange of data on research, practical experience, and teaching, and other relevant subjects in regional development and planning and related fields; and to assist and cooperate with other organizations, national or international, concerned with regional development and planning and related fields.

• Project Office for Latin America and the Caribbean The principal objective of the project is to promote sustainable regional development in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries, emphasis on urban and regional development planning and management in the context of decentralization and globalization trends in the region. The project aims to assist LAC countries in identifying and building effective approaches to promote sustainable regional development, to assist key policy makers and planners from central, regional, and local governments, and to develop strategies promoting cooperation among LAC countries concerning programmes for sustainable development.

• Commission for Social Development This page provides links to documents that explain the current work of the Commission.

• Economic and Social Council –ECOSOC- The Economic and Social Council was established by the Charter as the principal organ, under the authority of the General Assembly, to promote: (a) higher standards of living, full employment, and conditions of economic and social progress and development; (b) solutions of international economic, social, health, and related problems; and international cultural and educational cooperation; and (c) universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion. [sub-paragraphs a, b, and c of Article 55.  The council has 54 members who serve three-year terms. Voting in the Council is by simple majority; each member has one vote.

• First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty In December 1995, the General Assembly adopted resolution 50/107 proclaiming the First United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty (1997-2006). In December 1996, resolution 51/178 laid down the theme for the Decade as a whole which is "Eradicating poverty is an ethical, social, political and economic imperative of humankind." In addition, the resolution declared "Poverty, environment and development" as the theme for 1997, and "Poverty, human rights and development" as the theme for 1998.

• UNESCO The main objective of UNESCO is to contribute to peace and security in the world by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science, culture and communication in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations.

• International Conference on Environment and Society: Education and Public Awareness for Sustainability A new vision of the role of education and public awareness in achieving sustainability has emerged during the last few years. Education is no longer seen as an objective in and of itself but as a means to bring about changes in behavior and lifestyles, to disseminate knowledge and develop skills, and to prepare the public to support changes towards sustainability emanating from other sectors of society.

• Statistics Education statistics provided by UNESCO.

• United Nations Research Institute for Social Development UNRISD is an autonomous agency engaging in multi-disciplinary research on the social dimensions of contemporary problems affecting development. Its work is guided by the conviction that, for effective development policies to be formulated, an understanding of the social and political context is crucial. The Institute attempts to provide governments, development agencies, grassroots organizations and scholars with a better understanding of how development policies and processes of economic, social and environmental change affect different social groups. Working through an extensive network of national research centres, UNRISD aims to promote original research and strengthen research capacity in developing countries.

• Welfare Related Web Sites This page provides links to welfare web sites.