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The mission of the Social Integration and Community Development Association (SICDA) is to promote social integration and community development, in order to improve the quality of life of people belonging to local communities and in particular to immigrant communities and to promote sustainable human development especially in the areas of health, education, social integration, environment and social culture and social competence.

CURRENT PROJECTS

EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The Association has developed a new project called World Education for Sustainable Development. The project intends to initiate and support higher and professional education initiatives focused on areas necessary to further sustainable and comprehensive development with focus on local and regional educational needs and at the same time promoting world class best practices in areas of governance and sustainable development. Project is based on the U.S. unique academia, professional, training and research cadre as well as educational and developmental concepts, which potential is still not fully discovered and exercised. Project fosters thinking on long term U.S. strategies in higher education, furthers the vision of education for the sustainable future and competitiveness of the American higher education offer.

EDUCATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT - AFRICA

With target on Ondo State, Nigeria the project intends to initiate collaboration, faculty/student exchange, joint research programs between the Adekunle Ajasin University, Nigeria (AAUA) and its U.S. counterparts; as well as to assess and assist to the needs of the AAUA.  General framework of the activities will be sustainable socio-economic growth of local areas. Within the scope of the project there is as well academic collaboration between Ondo state and State of Maryland universities.  Project beneficiaries shall be municipal and state administration, local business initiatives, students and faculty members of local university. One of the intended results will be creation and transfer of knowledge on sustainable comprehensive socio-economic development for benefit of all parties involved. This initiative will be implemented through partnerships with local (state and municipal) governments, governmental agencies and educational institutions within both the United States and Ondo State, Nigeria.

For more, including videos from the first mission, please visit here.

CONFERENCE

THE SOCIAL INTEGRATION OF IMMIGRANTS IN MARYLAND: A NEW COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH

September 22nd, 2009 (9.15 am – 5.30 pm), Governor Calvert House, Annapolis, MD

For further information, abstracts, bios and more, please click here or see below:

The conference has been held on September 22nd, 2009 (Tuesday) in the Governor Calvert House (58 State Circle, Annapolis, MD 21401). It was a joint effort of the following organizations: Social Integration and Community Development Association (SICDA), Maryland Office for Refugees and Asylees of the Government of Maryland, Asian American Studies Program of the University of Maryland and the GRL (Global, Regional, Local) Development LLC. The Conference was second in the series of conferences devoted to the issues of immigration to the United States. First conference was held in Washington. D.C. (Phillips Collection) on October 10th, 2008 with more than 200 participants and 18 speakers exploring the influence of the immigration policies of the United States on the country’s social and economic development.

Best practices will be shared and themes were examined that link the efforts of governmental, non-governmental, academic and business sector interests related to immigrants’ social integration. A comprehensive, development-based approach to managing the challenges of social integration and the benefits to local and national structures to improve our sustainable social and economic development has been explored. We hope the conference will mark a new beginning in thinking about social integration and its role in the wider goals of the host communities on local and regional scales.

For more, inlcuding videos from the conference, please visit http://grldevelopment.net/Current_Projects.html