Istituto Pace Sviluppo Innovazione ACLI

IPSIA (Istituto Pace Sviluppo Innovazione ACLI) is an Italian non-governmental organisation for development cooperation, promoted by the ACLI (Associazioni Cristiane dei Lavoratori Italiani). It was founded in 1985 to transform the experiences and values of popular associationism into cooperation initiatives. IPSIA first defined itself as an associative NGO and later matured the definition of an association for the promotion of development cooperation. It describes itself as an associative NGO because it is born from the associative world, is an association, has associations and civil society actors as partners, and promotes associating as a mode of development and change. It also calls itself an association for the promotion of development cooperation to emphasise its associative nature, to stress the promotion of relationships, co-operation and change rather than the mere delivery of projects, and to place itself explicitly within Italian civil society, closer to the world of social promotion associationism (ACLI first of all) and further from simple emergency programme agencies. IPSIA's mission is to promote processes of international community co-operation for development. It deliberately uses the term 'co-operazione' (co-operation) rather than 'solidarietà' (solidarity) or 'cooperazione' (cooperation), because solidarity is often confused with benevolent altruism or charity, and cooperation is frequently used to describe different modes of action. The model it chooses is called 'Co-operazione Comunitaria allo sviluppo' (Community Co-operation for Development). By community co-operation it means a cooperation that is co-operation, i.e. doing together; a cooperation based on different local communities; and a cooperation that networks different local communities. For cooperation to be truly community co-operation, the promoting organisation (the NGO) must be rooted in Italian local communities, rooted in the local communities of the other places in the world where it intends to operate, and aware of its role of mediation, facilitation and stimulation of the exchange process between local communities. For IPSIA, being rooted in Italian local communities means being present and active in its own local territory, being part of the Italian civil society network, being in dialogue with local administrations, and being in dialogue with the various other actors present in the territory. Being rooted in local communities elsewhere means building lasting presences (not simply tied to the duration of a project or funding), building solid and mature partnerships and relationships with civil society realities in the places where it intends to operate, and being in dialogue with local administrations there. IPSIA also holds several awareness principles: that cooperation is only one instrument for change and alone cannot bring significant results; that it is necessary first to change lifestyles and production and consumption models of our society; that change processes are necessarily slow and require time, patience, creativity, energy and skills; that it is essential to keep the political level of its action high; that one of the first needs encountered in cooperation processes is the need for recognition of each subject involved; and that the horizon is a cooperation that helps build fertile ground for a political cooperation that strives to be on an equal footing in the face of the problems of our time. IPSIA sits naturally within the ACLI system and within Italian civil society. Directly, IPSIA adheres to FOCSIV, Associazione ONG Italiane, and ETIMOS. Indirectly, at national level, it participates in the Forum del Terzo Settore (primarily through ACLI, secondarily through Associazione ONG Italiane and FOCSIV); it also adheres directly to the Lombardy regional dimension of the Forum del Terzo Settore and to the Crema dimension.

IPSIA (Istituto Pace Sviluppo Innovazione ACLI) is the development cooperation NGO promoted by the ACLI, founded in 1985 to transform the experiences and values of popular associationism into cooperation initiatives. From its origins, IPSIA chose to define itself as an associative NGO and later matured the definition of an association for the promotion of development cooperation. It described itself as an associative NGO because it was born from the associative world, is an association, has associations and civil society actors as partners, and promotes associating as a mode of development and change. It adopted the definition of association for the promotion of development cooperation to emphasise explicitly its being an association, to place the accent on the promotion of relationships, co-operation and change rather than on the simple realisation of projects, and to locate itself more explicitly within the panorama of Italian civil society, bringing it closer to the world of social promotion associationism (ACLI first of all) and placing greater distance from simple agencies implementing emergency programmes. IPSIA's mission is to promote processes of international community co-operation for development. The organisation deliberately distinguishes its chosen model, which it calls 'Co-operazione Comunitaria allo sviluppo' (Community Co-operation for Development), from other forms of action. By community co-operation it means a cooperation that is co-operation, i.e. doing together; a cooperation based on different local communities; and a cooperation that networks different local communities. For cooperation to be truly community co-operation, the promoting organisation (the NGO) must be rooted in Italian local communities, rooted in the local communities of the other places in the world where it intends to operate, and aware of its role of mediation, facilitation and stimulation of the exchange process between local communities. For IPSIA, being rooted in Italian local communities means being present and active in its own local territory, being part of the Italian civil society network, being in dialogue with local administrations, and being in dialogue with the various other actors present in the territory. Being rooted in local communities elsewhere means building lasting presences (not simply tied to the duration of a project or funding), building solid and mature partnerships and relationships with civil society realities in the places where it intends to operate, and being in dialogue with local administrations there. IPSIA also holds several awareness principles: that cooperation is only one of the instruments for change and alone cannot bring significant results; that it is necessary first to change lifestyles and production and consumption models of our society; that change processes are necessarily slow and require time, patience, creativity, energy and skills; that it is essential to keep the political level of its action high; that one of the first needs encountered in cooperation processes is the need for recognition of each subject involved; and that the horizon is a cooperation that helps build fertile ground for a political cooperation that strives to be on an equal footing in the face of the problems of our time. IPSIA sits naturally within the ACLI system and within Italian civil society. Directly, IPSIA adheres to FOCSIV, Associazione ONG Italiane, and ETIMOS. Indirectly, at national level, it participates in the Forum del Terzo Settore (primarily through ACLI, secondarily through Associazione ONG Italiane and FOCSIV); it also adheres directly to the Lombardy regional dimension of the Forum del Terzo Settore and to the Crema dimension. It participates in the Tavola della Pace (primarily through ACLI, secondarily through Associazione ONG Italiane and FOCSIV); in TRANSFAIR (through ACLI, which is among the founders); in CNESC (primarily through ACLI, secondarily through FOCSIV); and in Banca Popolare Etica (primarily through ACLI, secondarily through ETIMOS). At international level, IPSIA participates in CONCORD (through Associazione ONG Italiane and through ACLI, present through the Federazione ACLI Internazionali); in CIDSE (through FOCSIV and directly in the Brazil CIDSE table); in EURALAT (through ACLI); and in IVCO (through FOCSIV). IPSIA's areas of activity are three: development co-operation, international volunteering, and education for just relationships. The organisation presents itself as an association promoting community co-operation for development, rooted in local communities in Italy and abroad, and working through partnerships and networks rather than as a simple project-delivery agency.

• 1985

  IPSIA is founded by ACLI to transform popular association experiences and values into cooperation initiatives.

Associative NGO and association for the promotion of development cooperation, rooted in local communities and working through partnerships and networks.

• Development co-operation

  One of IPSIA's three areas of activity, focused on community co-operation for development.

• International volunteering

  One of IPSIA's three areas of activity.

• Education for just relationships

  One of IPSIA's three areas of activity.

1. 1Istituto Pace Sviluppo Innovazione ACLI - Wikipediait.wikipedia.org
2. 2Wikidata Q3803660wikidata.org