Institute for International Cooperation and Development

Our Mission
Move humanitarian development forward by working towards achieving the objectives outlined in the Declaration of Human Rights.
Influence the future by involving all people in shaping the world.
Stretch the boundaries of human potential and build capacity for growth.
Spearhead the courage to confront risks by challenging the barriers of fear.
Interact in symbiotic relationships with the world around us.
Orchestrate our own life symphony.
Notice that everything is possible and live accordingly.
Equal Opportunities

It's time to put an end to poverty

No-one has a bigger interest in fighting poverty than poor people themselves, who live in poverty every day and have to cope with the many suffocating, humiliating and disastrous consequences.
Poverty is a disgrace to all of humanity and it is time to put an end to it.
We cannot be silent bystanders to see this happening in the world of today, when we actually have the opportunity to do something. With the courses described in this booklet, we call upon all of you who have the same wish to take up the fight against poverty, shoulder to shoulder with the poor, to come forward. Together we can end poverty, one small step at a time.
The causes of poverty are deeply imbedded in many powerful established systems and global structures, which intentionally or unintentionally, not only keep a huge part of the world's population in poverty, but also drive an increasing number of people into poverty.
We do not have all the answers for how to do this, but we know that we cannot stay passive. And we also know the power of ordinary people uniting their forces, sharing their ideas and passions, and going for finding solutions.

We appeal to you to become a "Poverty Fighter" and together with us, with each other and with the poor people in the Americas, take up the fight to end poverty.
If this appeal strikes a cord in your passion then read on and decide how you can be a part. If not, read on anyway and consider where you stand.

IICD - Institute for International Cooperation and Development
- is a private nonprofit organization, registered as a 501(c)(3). IICD is taxexempt, IRS identification number: 22-2778876. All donations to IICD are taxdeductible.

More than 20 years of experience in global education
Since 1987, IICD has trained over a 1,200 volunteers, who have taken part in development and community work with projects in Africa, Central America and Brazil.

 
Why Africa

Africa belongs to the so-called “Third World”, but is in fact part of the same world as the US, Canada, Europe, Japan, or wherever you come from. However, the difference in living standards and opportunities is so enormous that it is hard to comprehend when living in a developed country.

Africa’s 800 million people constitute more than a thousand tribes, each with its own history, language and culture. They live in fifty three independent countries with borders drawn by colonial powers. Thus each country typically consists of a colorful mix of cultures. Independent Africa began after the second world war. Ghana was the first country to gain independence in 1957. The process was completed in 1990 when Namibia, the last colony, gained independence. So the “New Africa” is young and facing huge change and transformation.
Often the images we get of Africa are those of endless doubts about
Africa’s resolve, intention and capacity. However, the truth is that all
over the continent, even in the most extreme of circumstances, Africans
are engaged in endless numbers of initiatives and projects and programs
to enhance life and improve living conditions. The truth is also that the
people of Africa have a lot to cope with. Africa is the poorest continent in the world.

It is a continent that has suffered a history of underdevelopment:
slave trade, colonization, apartheid, war and more; currently a continent that is hardest hit by the worst epidemic in human history, HIV/AIDS. More than half of the population lives on less than a dollar a day and the number of People living in extreme poverty is growing. Facts and figures out of Africa can be depressing, however behind the figures there are human lives; people who, with a unique social network, reach out to care for each other, using all available resources to make the best out of life. Getting to know these people, working alongside them, and creating development together, you realize their strengths and know there is hope. The people of Africa have a huge capacity to cope and a strong will to make things better, but they need assistance from fellow human beings who have surplus - assistance in the form of skills and knowledge so they can expand their capacity, resources and money, and the encouragement and energy it gives to work side by side in solidarity with someone who cares.
This is not about charity. People in Africa do not need charity. It is about human dignity and every human being’s right to live, grow, and fulfill his/her potential.
The Development Instructor Program offers a unique possibility for you
to get involved and be a part of creating development together with the
people of Africa.

Brazil

Following three centuries of Portuguese rule, Brazil became an independent nation in 1822. Brazil is the largest and most populous country in South America.

In 1985, Brazil got civil rule after more than half a century of military intervention. Today Brazil is South America's leading economic power and a regional leader with a large and well-developed agricultural, mining and manufacturing sector. However, Brazil has a great disparity between rich and poor. Less than one percent of the population owns more than fifty percent of the land, while fifty percent owns less than one percent. Brazil is a very dynamic society with almost any nationality represented.

The USA-Brazil courses have this structure:
Period 1: 3 months at the school - Rich and Poor in the Americas
Period 2: 1 month travel in Brazil - Diversity and contradictions in Brazil
Period 3: 4 months work in Brazil - Fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Poor
Period 4: 1 month at the school - Spreading Knowledge in the US on Fighting Poverty
During these periods the course offers you, the participant, to learn and develop in multiple ways: