Bio-diversity

The Movement for Cultural Awareness (MCA) is a Culture and Development NGO which has been in existence since 1980. The group originated from the former National Youth Council (NYC) Cultural Committee, but later evolved into one of the premier Development organisations on the island. MCA initially concentrated mainly on developing and strengthening cultural skills among young persons around Dominica - literally from Scott s Head to Capuchin, and all points between and successfully introduced the concept and usage of Popular Theatre to Dominica in the 1990s. The organisation was registered as a Non - Profit Company in 1991. As indicated above most of MCA s past work past focused on Popular Theatre, community mobilization and general cultural development activities. However as a result of current funding realities the organisation saw the need to reorganize itself and adopt a market-led operational approach, rather than depending exclusively on financial support from external Development Agencies as applied previously. This also led to the adoption of a new Culture & Development Program under the theme Culture for Action , which reflects the outlook that cultural forms and features should not serves as mere decorations and distractions to our existence . Rather this resource should be recognised as a valuable tool to effect change at the Grass Roots level by providing a uniquely suited and appropriate vehicle for knowledge transfer and solution implementation. This new outlook also focuses on marketing the strengths and capabilities of individual MCA members in an effort to provide a flexible and multi-dimensional Development Service Package to clients and associates. In this regard the available capabilities in Documentary Production and Development Communication are being applied in this Knowledge Management Project. 2. Project Rationale and Justification The accomplishments and successes of the GEF-SPG and COMPACT programs in Dominica will be promoted and highlighted through the activities to be undertaken in this project. The project is targeted at grantees the general public on Dominica, as well as regional and international associates of the GEF-SPG. 10 This project was developed because it was observed that while the work of GEF-SPG on Dominica has been quite successful to date not enough is known locally, and indeed internationally, about the various projects which have been, and are, being implemented all over the island. Moreover there is also the need to develop a greater amount of awareness, linkage, and networking among grantees, while the invaluable Grass Roots development experiences developed here should be shared more effectively with regional and international colleagues and counterparts. In addition there is the need to generally enhance the public profile and visibility of the local GEF-SGP in order to increase the outreach and impact, and make GEF SGP a household name on the island. This Knowledge Management Project aims to address these issues and will utilize various media - including film, an online publication, posters, and a magazine - to target groups and individuals on Dominica and overseas. It is anticipated that this project will also contribute to strengthening existing projects on the ground through increased publicity and reaffirmation, and engender more interest and support for the GEF-SGP programme on Dominica and attract sponsors and partners for the Country Program and individual projects. In relation to the specific goal of promoting the past and current achievements of the local GEF-SGP and this project will also coordinate activities to commemorate the significant dates related to the programs and special environmental-related Commemorative Dates. Among these are the following: - 40 Anniversary of World Heritage Commission - 10 Years of COMPACT Program on Dominica (2001 2011) - 20 Anniversary of GEF-SPG Global Program - Official Launch of Phase 5 of SGP - Official Launch of SIDS-CBA 3. Linkages to national priorities, action plans/programmes and International Conventions This project is linked to the Environmental Conventions already ratified by Dominica, the UN-designated Environmental Dates, local Protected Areas Legislation, local Environmental Legislation, and related Policies and Actions Plans. Other linkages include the programs of the Environmental Coordinating Unit (ECU), the World Heritage Convention, and related activities. 11 4. Planned Activities (Main), Timeframe, Expected Results & Indicators Overall Objectives: Activity Description Time frame Expected results Indicators Activity 1 Development of GEF-SPG Website September 30, 2012 Functional Website with unique Domain Name, Hosting Plan and appropriate information Online publication of website Activity 2 Revival of Gum La Newsletter September 30, 2012 Online availability of Gum La Newsletter Online availability of Newsletter Activity 3 Production of Educational Posters related to Focal Areas November 30, 2012 and January 30, 2012 Distribution of Posters Availability of posters Activity 4 Production of 30 minute GEF-SPG Documentary December 30, 2012 Completed Documentary on GEF-SGP in Dominica Availability of Documentary Activity 5 Production of 30 minute COMPACT Documentary February 20, 2012 Completed Documentary on COMPACT activities on Dominica Availability of Documentary Activity 6 Publication of Commemorative Magazine November 30, 2012 Distribution of Magazine Availability of Magazine Activity

Dominica