Participative Evaluation of HIC

In this edition:

1. Welcome to the 2006 HIC Evaluation!
2. Preparative towards WSF of Nairobi 2007
3. Housing and Land Rights Campaign 2006
4. Results of the Electoral Processes of HIC Latin American Representatives
5. HIC at MINURVI
6. Mission of the Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing to Spain in November
7. Recent events
8. Highlighted events

After 30 years of life, campaigns and advocacy in favour of sustainable policies to resolve habitational issues, HIC once again has the opportunity to conduct a participatory evaluation. The purpose of this evaluation is to revise the mission, objectives, strategy and impact that HIC has as a global coalition of civil society organizations. It revises the whole Coalition focusing particularly on three structures: the General Secretariat, the Francophone Africa region and the HLRN network.

The evaluation will aid in the identification of the Coalition’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as enhance our perception of our challenges and the best way to meet them on different levels: strategic, organizational and operative. This way, we will be able to proceed in ways that will maximize our awareness and trust of the Coalition’s members so that we may better use the added value of pertaining to HIC and therefore continue its construction.

We want this evaluation to be a means for you –HIC member- to communicate your aspirations and concerns in relation to the organizational future of HIC as well as to suggest your proposals for ways to strengthen the organization and better its functions.  

The evaluation is composed by the following activities/components:

ACTIVITIES:

• Internal questionnaire for HIC members

• External questionnaire for organizations that have dealings with HIC, interviews with organizations that for whatever reason could relate with HIC but have not done so yet.

• Workshop in Latin America, Francophone Africa, HLRN and groups of organizations depending on availability of funds and opportunity.

• Detailed interviews with some of the Coalition’s key references.

• Initial report with preliminary suggestions that will be discussed in the HIC Assembly and Board Meetings within the framework of the WSF in Nairobi.

• Final Report

Click here to fill out the questionnaire!!!

Evaluation Workshop in Latin America

A first contact between the region and the evaluator was inscribed in the HIC-AL activities in Montevideo, supported by FUCVAM in the framework of the Housing and Land Rights Campaign 2006 and in the annual meeting of housing authorities and ministries (MINURVI), 3-5 October.

A second workshop will take place at Mexico, DF in the last two weeks of November.

África francophone workshop

In the framework of regional meeting in Dakar about “Risk prevention since local” (Perspectives locales sur la réduction des risques de catastrophes en Afrique), a workshop will take place on November 4.

Housing and Land Rights Network workshop (HLRN)

It will be developed at Nairobi in the framework of HIC activities in the 2007 WSF (January 20-25).

HIC will focus this year on two main thematic axes: Housing and land rights, in the context of the initiative of Human Dignity and Human Rights Caucus, and an Urban Spot in alliance with many different networks.

In the framework of the initiative on Human Dignity and Human Rights Caucus at 2007 WSF, HIC propose to share “Human Rights Struggles over Land and Habitat” in their multiple dimensions especially exploring contentious issues, competing interests, human right dilemmas and problem-solving strategies.

The 2007 World Social Forum in Nairobi will articulate its thematic activities around 9 objectives. These objectives cover a wide spectrum of issues; however so do urban themes. As in Porto Alegre 2005, urban dwellers and actors from any city –and this time, especially from Africa– should be able to find a place where they can refer to urban topics and avoid having them spread throughout.
In relation with the urban rights HIC propose a URBAN SPOT. This proposal seeks to create a reference point in the forum that addresses specifically urban issues through different activities and diverse representation under a single spot, tent or space, depending of the physical planning of the activities and venues at the Moi Stadium in Nairobi.

Read here the complete propose

Housing and Land Rights Day (2 October 2006)

• On World Housing and Land Rights Day, HIC called to stop forced evictions and stop the habitat privatisation. More than 40 actions or events have been organized by national and local social movements and housing rights groups on 23 countries. see: http://www.hic-net.org/eventsHD.asp

• As part of this campaign, HIC launched a map Housing and Land Rights Alerts 2004-2006. This map is only one view of the broader state of violations to housing and land rights, and indicates the need for civil society's need for more unity and more-complete monitoring and reporting globally. The map is a product of Habitat International Coalition's Housing and Land Rights Campaign 2006, and is based on information received at HIC-GS from January 2004 through September 2006 and includes incidents leading to forced evictions and/or demolition, privatization of social housing, massive displacements and the denial of disaster victims' right of return. Violations to secure tenure (both in housing and land) are on the rise, which means that most countries not only will be unable to fulfill their Millennium Development Goal commitments of improving the conditions of 100 million “slum” dwellers by 2015, but demonstrates how violations of citizens rights to housing and land are deteriorating living conditions in many countries.

The map is part of a ongoing process in which HIC members around the world are documenting housing rights threats and violations with monitoring tools developed by HIC-HLRN at its' "Urgent Action Appeal System" and "Violations Database."

Click here to view the map

The electoral processes of the HIC Latin American representatives for HIC Board were successfully concluded. Both, postulation and voting were made through electronic means, especially e-mail.

Five people were nominated by representatives and members of HIC. Out of the 121 organizations that constitute the voting roster, 45 participated from 13 different countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Cuba, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Dominican Republic and Uruguay.

Félix Yáñez and Anelise Meléndez will be the title members to Coalition Board, and Leonardo Pessina y Carmen González will be the alternate representatives.

We thank the participation of all HIC members. Our special congratulations to the elected representatives and our warm thanks to the Electoral Committee and the focal point for their good labour.

Enrique Ortiz, President of HIC, in representation of HIC-Latin America, attended the regional meeting of housing authorities and ministries (MINURVI) that took place the 3 to 5 October in Montevideo. During the meeting he presented the issue of Social Production of Habitat - Strategic Component of Housing Policies and Urban Development.

Click here to read the complete document in Spanish

After many obstacles from the Spanish government they have finally agreed to allow the Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, Miloon Kothari to carry out an official mission to Spain. Dates are not yet confirmed, but the Spain government invites Miloon Kothari to be in the country at the time of the EU Housing Ministers Conference. Probably he will be in Spain for a ten days period within the last two weeks of November, 2006.

It is not by chance that this Mission of the Special Rapporteur will be held now that an important campaign for adequate housing is taking place in the country. For further information see (in Spanish) www.vdevivienda.net

Symposium "Las ciudades que deseamos. Una visión desde el género"

The symposium was organized by CISCSA - –Coordination of Women and Shelter Network LAC, and supported by UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women) and AECI (Spanish Agency for International Cooperation).

Panel Discussion & Interactive Dialogue
HABITAT PARTNERS for HABITAT-WATCH with UN-HABITAT, NY in Celebration of World Habitat Day 2006: Cities - Magnets of Hope & The GA Consideration of Human Settlement.

II International Forum: City and urban poverty
In the framework of World Habitat Day, the event will take place in the Peru Legislative Palace, Sala Quiñones, on November 6. Alejandro Florián will represent HIC with the paper “The city, the Social Production of Habitat and the BID-World Banc programs”.

Session on Women's Space in City Master Plan at India Social Forum
Consult for Women and Land Rights (CWLR) is organizing a session on Women's Space in City Master Plan at ISF. The venue for the event is Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.