Resource center

Organisation website:
Landesa works to secure land rights for the world's poorest people. In brief "We recognize that a majority of the world's poorest 2.5 billion share two traits:

They live in rural areas, where land is a key asset since agriculture is the main source of income and food
They don't own the land they till

Landlessness is one of the best predictors of extreme poverty.

We believe structural problems deserve structural solutions. Without secure land rights, many important global development investments – education initiatives, micro-finance, global health work – lack sustainability and are more difficult to scale.

Landesa partners with developing countries to design and implement pro-poor land laws, policies, and programs that:

Reduce poverty for individual families
Promote economic growth for communities and countries
Improve nutrition and health
Encourage women's empowerment
Reduce and prevent violent conflict
Foster environmental stewardship."

Organisation website :
Tradeswomen, Inc., California's first organization for women in the trades, was founded in 1979 as a grass- roots support organization. We build community among the growing numbers of women in blue collar, skilled craft jobs.

Tradeswomen, Inc. has three goals:

Recruit more women into building and construction trades.
Promote retention of women in the trades
Develop tradeswomen's capacityfor leadership and career growth, on the job and in their unions

Organisation website:
In brief : "Our mission is to provide a virtual room where women from different cultures come together for dialogue and understanding; where impoverishment gives way to empowerment; and where every woman is awakened to the other. This awakening benefits children, men, the earth and all beings.

We believe that when any woman shows up “as she is right now” -- with her authentic voice, personal story, and wisdom -- and when she is truly heard, a shift occurs both for the storyteller and for the listener. Within this shift lies the potential for relationships and the momentum of moving from inspiration to action."

Organisation website:
Association profile available in 2 languages. ( English, and Arabic). In brief: " Emkan is a Lebanese non-governmental organization (NGO) which provides microfinance services for the economically active poor in Lebanon. Emkan was registered as a local association with the Lebanese Ministry of Interior in February 2008 by the Hariri Group, and began its lending operations in July 2009. In addition to providing microfinance services, Emkan also engages in community development activities through the implementation of sustainable economic development projects and programs."

Organisation website:
Association profile with an overview on services. In brief : "The Lebanese Association for development - Al Majmoua Is an Independent, Non Profit Lebanese Non Governmental Organization.
Started as a micro-credit program by save the children in 1994; Al Majmoua registered under the Lebanese ministry of interior in August 1997 and became fully autonomous on the 1st of january 1998."

Project webpage:
The Syrian Family Planning Association (SFPA), with the technical assistance of the Italian Association for Women in Development (AIDOS), is launching the Project ”Strengthening the capacity of the Syrian Family Planning Association (SFPA) clinics to serve as health counselling centres (HCC) for women, adolescents and men: a pilot experience in the Halbouni Clinic in Damascus”. The Project is co-financed by the European Union, AIDOS and SFPA.
The Project aims at attaining higher standards of physical, psychological and social well being of women, adolescents and men, through the adoption of a holistic approach to reproductive health. This approach is based on the idea that women's well being depends on the balance of physical, psychological and emotional factors. By focusing on actual health care, prevention and education, women's state of health is considered in the perspective of their entire life cycle from the menarche until after menopause.
The Project targets mainly underprivileged women, adolescents and men living in Damascus, its suburbs and surrounding rural areas. The Project will enhance the clinical and family planning services currently provided by the SFPA clinic located in the Halbouni area.

Organisation Website : portal available in 3 languages French, English and Arabic. In brief: "Al Tamkeen is a Lebanese Non Profit Non Governmental Organization (NGO) officially registered in 2002 under notification no. 159/AD. Al Tamkeen aims at improving the social, cultural, and economical and health livelihood of rural Lebanese citizens through providing various types of assistance programs and development projects."

Organisation website:
Association profile available in 2 languages. ( English, and Arabic). In brief : "Makhzoumi Foundation is a private Lebanese non-profit organization, established in 1997 by Mr Fouad Makhzoumi, and chaired by Mrs. May Makhzoumi. The foundation contributes through its programs to the civil society development by providing its services to Lebanese Citizens throughout Lebanon."

Organisation website:
Al-Haq is an independent Palestinian non-governmental human rights organisation based in Ramallah, West Bank. Established in 1979 to protect and promote human rights and the rule of law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), the organisation has special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

Al-Haq documents violations of the individual and collective rights of Palestinians in the OPT, irrespective of the identity of the perpetrator, and seeks to end such breaches by way of advocacy before national and international mechanisms and by holding the violators accountable. The organisation conducts research; prepares reports, studies and interventions on breaches of international human rights and humanitarian law in the OPT; and undertakes advocacy before local, regional and international bodies. Al-Haq also cooperates with Palestinian civil society organisations and governmental institutions in order to ensure that international human rights standards are reflected in Palestinian law and policies. The organisation has a specialised international law library for the use of its staff and the local community.

Project webpage:
In 2009, Seeds of Peace launched the “Women's Leadership Training Program for Greater Economic Participation” to create opportunities for its graduates to contribute to the economic empowerment of women in their communities. This important pilot program puts the role of women as full economic participants at the center of efforts to transform regions of historic conflict into more stable and peaceful environments.