|
Who we are? |
 |
The Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA) is a private, not-for-profit,
organization concerned with the human factor in world development.We
facilitate positive change in communities, organizations and individual
lives by helping people find their own solutions to problems and the
means to implement them.We discover what is useful and look for relationships
beyond current recognized limits. We integrate approaches which make
transformation practical, appropriate and accessible. We operate as
partners in change, learning with our client groups and help others
learn how to do our process. Finally we operate with an open spirit
enabling ourselves and others to move to simpler, more effective ways
of thinking.
The ICA uses highly participatory techniques
to foster creative thinking, consensus-based decision-making and team
building. Its methods produce ownership, create clear goals, open lines
of communication, broaden perspectives and motivate people to adapt
to their changing environment while honoring the cultural traditions
and diversity present in any group.
Incorporated in 1972, ICA Taiwan currently operates autonomously as a registered member of the ICA International (ICAI) centered in Brussels, Belgium. ICAI acts as a coordinating body for the 35 independent ICA affiliates located throughout North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. ICAI has Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (Category II) and with UNICEF. ICA has helped effect change within governments,
local communities, corporations, volunteer organizations and community
development groups. We have helped demonstrate that a program's effectiveness
increases when the people affected are part of the development and implementation
process. ICA acts as a catalyst in areas such as leadership mentoring,
education, training, organizational transformation, democracy building,
neighborhood improvement and particularly in fostering the art of facilitating
diverse often conflicting constituencies. Why Choose Us? Nearly
thirty years of methods testing and refinement enable ICA to create
and sustain a variety of programs which invoke one common principle--to
release the creativity of the people involved by allowing them to help
shape their own destiny. ICA facilitates this creative process in such
a way that people can learn for themselves how to think, plan, lead
and implement. |
