Asia America Initiative

Asia America Initiative
The primary Logo of Asia America Initiative
Formation 2002
Founder Albert Santoli
Type non-profit, non-governmental organization
Headquarters Washington, D.C.

Asia America Initiative is a non-profit, non-governmental organization and, Humanitarian aid organizations with its headquarters in Washington, D.C. and field offices in Manila and war-torn Mindanao in the Philippines. It is dedicated to building international model programs to provide humanitarian aid in under-served communities, improve the quality of public education and promote sustainable agriculture and other forms of livelihood. The aim of AAI is to promote democratic ideals, neutralize corruption and ineffective governance as a means to strengthen international security and mediate in conflict-plagued areas throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

History and Mission

Asia America Initiative (AAI) was founded in 2002 by Albert Santoli, who is a best-selling author of history, a Vietnam war veteran and experienced humanitarian relief provider. Within the year following the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Mr. Santoli resigned from his position as an international policy advisor in the U.S. Congress to create a non-profit humanitarian organization to address inter-cultural and inter-religious hostilities that could be replicated in numerous countries. He utilized lessons leaned from his many years of experience in reporting and humanitarian intervention in areas of armed conflict to create methodologies that could be an alternative to an over-reliance on military force to deter recruitment tactics of terror organizations.

To start the non-profit organization with a tax-exempt umbrella to receive contributions, Mr. Santoli became Senior Vice-President of the American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC) n Washington. Under the directive of the AFPC, AAI was formerly known as the Asia-Pacific Initiative. In 2004, the organization changed its name to Asia America Initiative and officially established itself as an independent nonprofit organization. It has since continued its work in providing humanitarian aid, conducting policy forums, and publishing strategic reports.

AAI operations are rooted in the belief that international security and the defense of human rights are inseparable. Therefore, victory over terrorist movements requires the foresight to provide humanitarian assistance in at-risk, impoverished communities. As a catalyst for policy innovation, AAI's field programs deliver direct aid to populations in need. By integrating human rights, civil society, and livelihood skills as key components for peace mediation, AAI aims to empower communities on the front line of terror to deter violence by building hope.[1]

Programs

Development for Peace in Sulu

In 2002, AAI began working in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in the Sulu Province of the Philippines. Because of the persistent violence caused by militia groups, the area remains one of the most impoverished in the country.;[2] The Development for Peace in Sulu (DPIS) program was created as a model for grassroots development to establish sustainable peace in an area long-plagued by conflict and terror. AAI has partnered with local community leaders to provide material assistance and training in order to improve the health, education, and livelihood opportunities in the region.[3]

During the first full of peace-building operations, the level of violence and inter-religious hostilities in Jolo dramatically reduced, Working with Community leaders and forming committees to address the critical needs of communities DPIS program received a 2003 Presidential Citation from Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for providing over $3 million in medical and educational assistance to the poverty-stricken community of Muslim Mindanao.;[4]

Peace Caravan

AAI conducts a Peace Caravan program aimed at promoting interfaith dialogue and understanding among children. Peace Caravan activities are usually run by a dedicated team of volunteers called Catalysts for Peace, and there are currently over 500 Catalysts for Peace in Manila and Mindanao.[5] The program brings together students from different socioeconomic and religious backgrounds through fun activities, music, and group discussions.[6]

The Peace Caravan acts as a form of non-traditional education and peace mediation. Participants often grew up with fixed ideas and rarely associated with people from other cultures and religious, and many come from conflict-ridden areas. The Peace Caravan program, therefore, seeks to help them find common ground with participants from other backgrounds and challenge divisive beliefs that are perpetuated by conflict and poverty. For example, in a standard trauma counseling "game" activity, students are asked to draw pictures of what Peace means to them.[7] Catalysts for Peace then guide discussions using student-produced imagery to help find commonalities and produce understanding regarding the concept of peace.

Gardens of Peace

While Mindanao is an agricultural "rice basket" in the Philippines, conflict and poverty have prevented locals from utilizing their land and producing enough food for themselves and other communities. Gardens of Peace was organized in order to improve the livelihood and economic stability of Mindanaoans and provide them with nutritious sources of food and vegetables.[8] In addition, it would help to train them to be the catalysts of their own personal, social, economic, spiritual and moral development through engagement in the process of research or situational analysis, planning, implementation, and even in the evaluation with Lanao del Sur as the pilot site for the project. About 2.3 million packets of seeds were to be distributed to this and future sites.[9]

Initial Gardens of Peace were situated in schoolyards and model farms of cooperatives within Lanao del Sur. Through the contributions of donors and partners, tons of seeds and agricultural technology were provided to these sites. The first phase was initiated in December 2008,[10] and the second shipment of vegetables and flower seeds occurred in February 2009. A third shipment was carried out in April 2009. Through monitoring these sites, AAI has discovered that the Gardens of Peace have flourished and are well-maintained by the local communities.

In order to ensure sustainability, AAI launched an orientation program for the effective and transparent monitoring and evaluation of its programs in Lanau del Sur, including the Gardens of Peace, in August 2009.

It is AAI's belief that the Gardens of Peace project, which not only produces vegetables for the nutritional needs of the locals but also flowers that beautify their environment, has been successful in bringing about positive social and economic changes within the communities that have been part of the program.

Adopt a Classroom

The Adopt a Classroom project is a joint collaboration between AAI and the Muslim Women’s Coalition that provides direct support for 25,000 students in more than a dozen schools throughout the Jolo region of the Philippines. Schools and individuals worldwide can “adopt” a classroom by donating money or school supplies. These gifts are then sent directly to schools in Jolo, helping to improve the education system and to build hope in the war-torn and impoverished community.

Human Rights

In response to urgent crises throughout the Asia-Pacific region, AAI partners with other non-governmental organizations to provide humanitarian relief. Past projects have provided medical supplies and HIV/AIDS medicine to Cambodia, funding for the food, shelter, and education of Burmese orphans in Thailand, and an emergency airlift of medical supplies to victims of the devastating 2005 Pakistan earthquake.

AAI also works to support activists and political prisoners dedicated to the cause of universal human rights. Notable efforts have included:

Policy Forums

AAI participates in a number of events dealing with security in the Pacific Rim. In July 2005, Director Al Santoli offered testimony at a U.S.-China Commission hearing on China's Growing Global Influence. The hearing examined China's influence and activity around the world, its energy policy, and its direct and indirect effects on U.S. interests.

AAI has also hosted a number of policy forums with international security experts and political officials touching on issues ranging from Nepal’s Maoist insurgency to the inner workings of North Korea.

Publications

AAI publishes strategic reports that focus on developments and emerging security threats throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Asia In Focus analyzes developments in security, politics and related social and economic issues that impact the stability of the region. In addition, this publication highlights how strategic setbacks in Central Asia can be avoided and how emerging local and international trends have a direct influence on the root causes of terrorism and the flow of arms from the Silk Road to the Southeast Asian island nations.

China In Focus monitors reforms in the People's Republic of China and the issues in Sino-American relations. The report also analyzes China’s rapid economic development and its social and strategic implications.

Staff

Al Santoli is the founder and president of AAI, a New York Times best-selling author, a nominee for both the Pulitzer Prize and American Book Award for History, and editor of AAI’s “In Focus” publications. Over three decades - as a historian, journalist, soldier, national security advisor in the U.S. Congress, human rights monitor, and as a foreign policy expert - Mr. Santoli has directly participated in seeking solutions to some of the most dramatic and complex events that have shaped U.S.-Asian relations.

AAI also conducts an active Education/Mentoring Program, maintaining a team of interns in its Washington, D.C. office for three to five-month residencies. Its operations and programs in the Philippines are mainly conducted by many partnership organizations and volunteers from schools and universities in the country.

References

  1. ↑ About AAI
  2. ↑ National Statistical Coordination Board - 2005 Gross Regional Domestic Product-Per Capita.
  3. ↑ Hawkins, W. R. (2008). Exclusive: The Asia America Initiative: Working to Stabilize the Strategic Philippines
  4. ↑ Testimony Before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission
  5. ↑ Who Are AAI's Catalysts for Peace?
  6. ↑ Peace Caravan Builds Bridges
  7. ↑ Peace Caravan Builds Bridges
  8. ↑ Gardens of Peace
  9. ↑ AAI Gallery
  10. ↑ AAI Gallery

External links