Folks, I have the honor of giving a lunchtime presentation at the United Nations Development Program next Wednesday, November 14th.  Below is the flyer.  It's free, and you can come in person or call in.

The UN Interagency Framework Team for Preventive Action cordially invites you to a brown bag lunch event on:

Bringing it all back home – international development in reverse

 Wednesday, November 14, 2012, 1:00 – 2.30 pm

1 UN Plaza (DC-1), Julia Taft Conference Room, 20^th floor

International development work can be like a funnel. The ‘West’ sees a need in a developing country and pours money, energy, and good intentions into the ‘fat’ end of the funnel. By the time aid travels through the development process and reaches the ground , bad planning, high overhead for international agencies, and cultural misunderstandings often squeeze the funnel’s ‘skinny’ end and reduce the positive impact to a mere trickle.

This session will explore the presenter's efforts to avoid these pitfalls in his work to establish the first locally-run conflict resolution centers in Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, and beyond.  He will also share how these lessons apply here in New York City, through his work at New York Peace Institute – one of the largest community mediation centers in the United States.

About the presenter:

Brad Heckman is the Chief Executive Officer of New York Peace Institute http://www.nypeace.org, one of the largest conflict response agencies in the U.S. Each year, New York Peace Institute gives nearly 10,000 people the resources they need to creatively, durably, and peacefully resolve their conflicts.  He is also an Adjunct Professor at New York University’s Center for Global Affairs, where he received the Excellence in Teaching Award.  Brad was previously a Vice President of Safe Horizon, a leading victim services and violence prevention agency, overseeing the agency’s Mediation, Families of Homicide Victims, Legal Services, Anti-Trafficking, Batterers Intervention, and Anti-Stalking Programs.  Prior to that, he served as International Director of Partners for Democratic Change, for which he developed community peacebuilding centers throughout Eastern Europe, the Balkans, Baltics, South Caucasus, Latin America, and the former Soviet Union. Brad holds an MA in International Relations and International Economics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and a BA in Political Science from Dickinson College.  He blogs at http://thehecklist.wordpress.com.

Please feel free to disseminate this invitation to all interested colleagues.

Visitors without a valid UN pass, must bring a picture ID.  Please be informed that there will be one organized pick-up at 12.45 p.m. in the DC-1 lobby for participants who do not have a UN pass which is needed to enter the building.  We regret that arrivals after that time cannot be picked up and escorted into the building and will not be able to attend.

We have set up a telephone bridge for colleagues abroad who cannot join in person. Please see the instructions below on how to use the telephone bridge:

Call  + 1 212 906 6244

1. Wait till the system prompts you for the conference ID

2. Enter the "Conference ID" 2547, then press #

3. Then the system will ask for the personal code

4. Enter the "Personal Code" 5322, then press #

5. Don’t press anything for the chairperson, just wait

6. Say your name and wait online

7. You are now joined to the conference

To dial the telephone bridge using skype (free of charge), please follow the instructions below:

1. Search then add the “undp.hq” contact in Skype;
2. Once added, double-click on the contact (undp.hq);
3. Click on the green “Call” icon;
4. You will hear an automated operator asking you to enter the extension;
5. Click on “Call” from the top menu, then click on “Show Dial Pad”;
6. Dial the number then wait for person to pick up the phone;
7. Do the same for the telephone bridge (dial 6244; followed by Conference ID 2547; and Personal Code 5322).

UN Interagency Framework Team for Preventive Action

Hosted by: UNDP, Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery

E-mail: framework.team@undp.org