text:
Q: Guessing data type for dataframe Is there an algorithm to detect the data types of each column of a file or dataframe? The challenge is to suggest the data type by having wrong, missing or unnormalized data. I want to detect the data types named in the keys. My first try was to use messytables but the result is really bad without normalizing the data before. So maybe there is an algorithm to get better results for an type suggestion or a way to normalize the data without knowning the data. The result should match the keys from the dataframe.
import pandas as pd
from messytables import CSVTableSet, type_guess

data = {
  "decimals": ["N.A", "", "111", "111.00", "111,12", "11,111.34"],
  "dates1": ["N.A.", "", "02/17/2009", "2009/02/17", "February 17, 2009", "2014, Feb 17"],
  "dates2": ["N.A.", "", "02/17/2009", "2009/02/17", "02/17/2009", "02/17/2009"],
  "dates3": ["N.A.", "", "2009/02/17", "2009/02/17", "2009/02/17", "2009/02/17"],
  "strings": ["N.A.", "", "N.A.", "N.A.", "test", "abc"],
  "integers": ["N.A.", "", "1234", "123123", "2222", "0"],
  "time": ["N.A.", "", "05:41:12", "05:40:12", "05:41:30", "06:41:12"],
  "datetime": ["N.A.", "", "10/02/2021 10:39:24", "10/02/2021 10:39:24", "10/02/2021 10:39:24", "10/02/2021 10:39:24"],
  "boolean": ["N.A.", "", "True", "False", "False", "False"]
}
df = pd.DataFrame(data)

towrite = io.BytesIO()
df.to_csv(towrite)  # write to BytesIO buffer
towrite.seek(0)

rows = CSVTableSet(towrite).tables[0]
types = type_guess(rows.sample)
print(types) # [Integer, Integer, String, String, Date(%Y/%m/%d), String, Integer, String, Date(%d/%m/%Y %H:%M:%S), Bool]

A: Here is my take on your interesting question.
With the dataframe you provided, here is one way to do it:
# For each main type, define a lambda helper function which returns the number of values in the given column of said type
helpers = {
    "float": lambda df, col: df[col]
    .apply(lambda x: x.replace(".", "").isdigit() and "." in x)
    .sum(),
    "integer": lambda df, col: df[col].apply(lambda x: x.isdigit()).sum(),
    "datetime": lambda df, col: pd.to_datetime(
        df[col], errors="coerce", infer_datetime_format=True
    )
    .notna()
    .sum(),
    "bool": lambda df, col: df[col].apply(lambda x: x == "True" or x == "False").sum(),
}

# Iterate on each column of the dataframe and get the type with maximum number of values
df_dtypes = {}
for col in df.columns:
    results = {key: helper(df, col) for key, helper in helpers.items()}
    best_result = max(results, key=results.get)
    df_dtypes[col] = best_result if max(results.values()) else "string"

print(df_dtypes)
# Output
{
    "decimals": "float",
    "dates1": "datetime",
    "dates2": "datetime",
    "dates3": "datetime",
    "strings": "string",
    "integers": "integer",
    "time": "datetime",
    "datetime": "datetime",
    "boolean": "bool",
}


text:
PBGC Expands Missing Participants Program to Terminated 401(k) and Other Plans
WASHINGTON – The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is expanding its Missing Participants Program to terminated 401(k) and other plans in an effort to connect more people to their retirement savings. "PBGC's expanded Missing Participants Program addresses an important problem and meets the needs of our stakeholders," said PBGC Director Tom Reeder. "We look forward to working with employers, practitioners, and participants to help connect people to their retirement benefits."
PBGC is slated to publish a final rule in the Federal Register on December 22, 2017 that opens the current program to terminated defined contribution plans such as 401(k) and profit sharing plans, and small professional service defined benefit plans.
The expanded program is voluntary for defined contribution and small professional service plans and will be available for plans that terminate on or after January 1, 2018. Before the expansion, the program was open only to terminated PBGC-insured single-employer defined benefit plans.
Beginning in January, terminating defined contribution plans will have the option of transferring missing participants' benefits to PBGC instead of establishing an IRA at a financial institution. Participant accounts will not be diminished by ongoing maintenance fees or distribution charges, and PBGC will pay out benefits with interest when participants are found. When implemented, the enhanced program will make it easier for people to locate their retirement benefits after their plan terminates. Because the expanded program is only open to plans that terminate on or after January 1, 2018, PBGC expects it will be several months before new missing participant names are added to the existing online directory.
To reduce burden and enhance effectiveness, the final rule also changes the way the program works for PBGC-insured single-employer plans. The changes relate primarily to how plans determine the amount of money to transfer to PBGC, better protection of key features of participants' benefits, and easing the transfer of benefits to PBGC. The expanded program also covers PBGC-insured multiemployer pension plans that terminate and pay out all remaining benefits.
PBGC adopted the final regulation after first issuing a request for information to assess interest in an expanded program, and then obtaining public comments on a proposed regulation. PBGC coordinated closely with other government agencies to ensure that the final regulation is in accordance with guidance from the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service.
For more information, see PBGC's Expanded Missing Participants Program webpage.
PBGC protects the pension benefits of nearly 40 million Americans in private-sector pension plans. The agency operates two separate insurance programs — one covering pension plans sponsored by a single employer and another covering multiemployer pension plans, which are sponsored by more than one employer and maintained under collective bargaining agreements. PBGC is currently responsible for the benefits of about 1.5 million people in failed pension plans. PBGC receives no taxpayer dollars. Its operations are financed by insurance premiums, investment income, and, for the single-employer program, assets and recoveries from failed single-employer plans. For more information, visit PBGC.gov.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Git always ask for username and password in ubuntu I recently shifted from windows to ubuntu.
I'm working on company's repo as collaborator and I do have all permissions. Git was working fine on my windows machine but in ubuntu it ask for username & password each time when ever i use git pull.
I tried to search different solution on google but nothing works for me.
[Update]

I was able to fix my issue by just signed in into github through visual studio code so i don't have to enter username and password multiple times.

A: If Git prompts you for a username and password every time you try to interact with GitHub, you're probably using the HTTPS clone URL for your repository.
If you're cloning GitHub repositories using HTTPS, I recommend you use GitHub CLI or Git Credential Manager (GCM) to remember your credentials.
GitHub CLI
GitHub CLI will automatically store your Git credentials for you when you choose HTTPS as your preferred protocol for Git operations and answer "yes" to the prompt asking if you would like to authenticate to Git with your GitHub credentials.

*

*Install Github CLI

*In the command line, enter gh auth login, then follow the prompts.
When prompted for your preferred protocol for Git operations, select HTTPS.
When asked if you would like to authenticate to Git with your GitHub credentials, enter Y.

A: I actually experienced this for so long. If Git prompts you for a username and password every time you try to interact with GitHub, you're probably using the HTTPS clone URL for your repository.
Here are the steps to solve this

*

*install gh
sudo apt-get install gh

*gh auth login

*Select if you want to auth to GitHub or GitHub enterprise. to select you to use the error down and enter

*Select HTTPS

*Select Yes

*It will ask if you want to authenticate with the browser or paste tokens. I suggest auth with browser by selecting it

*The one-time code will be displayed in your terminal and your default browser will be opened. then copy and paste them on the tap that is opened

*Everything is good

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
int main()
{
   auto s = School{};

   using namespace std::string_literals;
   s.addCourse("CS1917"s);
   s.addCourse("CS2911"s);
   s.addCourse("CS6771"s);

   if (s.addCourse("CS1917"s) == false)
      std::cerr << "can't add a duplicate course\n";

   // add some students.
   auto tomStudentId   = s.addStudent("Tom"s);
   auto jerryStudentId = s.addStudent("Jerry"s);
   auto homerStudentId = s.addStudent("Homer"s);

   // add students to some courses
   try
   {
      s.addStudentToCourse(tomStudentId,   "CS1917"s);
      s.addStudentToCourse(jerryStudentId, "CS1917"s);
      s.addStudentToCourse(homerStudentId, "CS1917"s);
      s.addStudentToCourse(1234, "CS1917"s);
   }
   catch(const std::exception& ex)
   {
      std::cerr << ex.what() << '\n';
   }

   // try to enroll homer twice:
   try
   {
      s.addStudentToCourse(homerStudentId, "CS2911"s);
      s.addStudentToCourse(homerStudentId, "CS1917"s);
   }
   catch(const std::exception & ex)
   {
      std::cerr << ex.what() << '\n';
   }

   s.printRoll("CS1917"s);

   s.printTimetable(homerStudentId);

   s.assignLocker(homerStudentId);
   std::cout << std::boolalpha
             << "Homer has a locker: " << s.hasLocker(homerStudentId) << '\n'
             << "Tom has a locker: "   << s.hasLocker(tomStudentId)   << '\n'
             << std::noboolalpha;

   // delete a student
   s.expelStudent(tomStudentId);
   s.printRoll("CS1917"s);

   // delete a course.
   s.cancelCourse("CS1917"s);
   s.printTimetable(homerStudentId);

   // if we delete homer, what happens to the locker he owns?
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
ICVA Working Groups
Navigating change: cross cutting issues
Regional Hubs
About the regional hubs
Asia Regional Hub
Africa Regional Hub
Middle East and North Africa Regional Hub
About ICVA's Learning Streams
Navigating Change Learning Stream
Civil society space
Learning Opportunities and Resources
Demystifying the Humanitarian, Development and Peace Nexus
Demystifying Humanitarian Coordination
Demystifying Humanitarian Financing
ICVA Resources
ICVA Annual Conference 2020
ICVA Annual Conferences
About ICVA
Call for Requests for JIPS support in profiling displacement situations
Civil Society Open Letter Election IOM Director General
Human Rights and Humanitarian Action: A review of the issues
Dialogue on Protection at Sea and Statelessness
ICVA Bulletin - November 2019 - Arabic
International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA)
Positive Disruption? China's Humanitarian Aid
ICVA's pledge for the 2019 Global Refugee Forum
ICVA Bulletin - December 2019
ICVA Annual Report 2003
ANNUAL REPORT 2003 International Council of Voluntary Agencies Conseil International des Agences Bénévoles Consejo Internacional de Organizaciones Voluntarias ICVA Mission Statement Adopted by the 12th ICVA General Assembly, February 2003 ICVA  An Advocacy Alliance for Humanitarian Action The International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) is a non-profit global association of nongovernmental organisations that works as a collective body to promote, and advocate for, human rights and a humanitarian perspective in global debates and responses. The heart of the ICVA mission is to support NGOs to protect and assist people in need, to address the causes of their plight, and to act as a channel for translating patterns and trends into advocacy. ICVA seeks to strengthen NGOs as part of civil society through the relationships among member organisations from around the world. It facilitates the sharing and creative use of practical experience and strategies to promote and protect human rights, including those of refugees and displaced peoples, and to provide humanitarian assistance from the perspective of justice and sustainable development. ICVA fosters partnerships among agencies for the sharing and dissemination of information to attain consensus among member agencies on prioritised issues in order to effect change, particularly at the international level. ICVA advocates vis-à-vis governments and international agencies for a strong NGO role in efforts to secure human rights, prevent conflicts, prepare for disasters, and improve humanitarian responses to distressed populations. Through its cooperative and catalytic nature, it gathers and exchanges information and raises awareness on the most vital matters of humanitarian concern before policy-making bodies. ICVA has been in existence since 1962. It works to secure the commitment of the world community to address injustice, ensure dignity and rights, and promote international strategies that attend to human needs. Today's NGO members are strengthened in their missions to provide global assistance through the power and persuasion of the ICVA alliance. Tomorrow's members will continue to enrich the network with experience and opinion and will strengthen the impact of this alliance in bringing about a just world. CONTENTS 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 15 16 Foreword from ICVA's Chair An Introduction to ICVA The Role of NGOs in Challenging the New World Order The State of Protection in the Humanitarian Sector Debating the Future of Humanitarianism Protecting IDPs Continues to Remain a Challenge Improving Refugee Protection Talk Back ICVA Conference Agenda  NGOs in a Changing World Order: Dilemmas and Challenges ICVA Executive Committee and Secretariat Finances ICVA Members 17 18 20 FOREWORD FROM ICVA'S CHAIR The ICVA Conference in February 2003, on the theme of "NGOs in a Changing World Order: Dilemmas and Challenges," included plenary discussions on the increasing presence of military forces and the independence of NGOs, on the effects of the changing world order on the protection of displaced persons and migrants, and on so-called "forgotten crises." Unfortunately, during the course of the year, all three of the issues highlighted in February became more troubling. The 19 August 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in Iraq, the targeting of foreign aid workers, the increased blurring of humanitarian and military action, and the continuing "forgotten emergencies" are all indications of the deteriorating environment for humanitarian action. The context in which humanitarian assistance is carried out has become more complex, more difficult, and more dangerous. The "war on terrorism" has introduced new levels of restrictions on the movement of people and a further blurring of humanitarian and security concerns. Long-established humanitarian principles are being called into question. The actors in humanitarian assistance are becoming more diverse. Along with the UN agencies and international and national NGOs, military personnel, for-profit humanitarian actors, and a host of new NGOs are now providing assistance. In this context, it is more important than ever that ICVA offers a forum for discussion of key burning issues The difficult climate for humanitarian work also presents new opportunities for ICVA to become even more active in the international policy debates. At a time when there are so many questions about the future of humanitarian action and where no one has clear answers, NGO contributions are increasingly valued. ICVA'S OBJECTIVES Within the framework of ICVA's mission statement are definable objectives, which are aimed at the members and also at the Secretariat. While these objectives are quite broad, they are to be read in conjunction with ICVA's mission statement. Enhance the ability of NGOs to follow and influence current themes and practice in the humanitarian sector; Bring field-based perspectives into international policy and decision-making bodies and forums; Ensure that international policy and discussions inform field practice through the translation of those discussions into practical relevance; Enhance the capacities of members by having them work together; and Ensure full transparency and accountability of the functioning of the Secretariat. 2 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF VOLUNTARY AGENCIES ICVA continues to be an influential spokesperson for the NGO community in various international forums, including UNHCR, OCHA, and the Inter-Agency Standing Committee. ICVA's unique NorthSouth membership has enabled it to speak not only on behalf of large international NGOs, but to express the concerns of smaller organisations in the South that are rarely able to be present in UN meetings. In particular, ICVA made substantial contributions in the course of the year to the continuing debate on internally displaced persons. The ICVA Executive Committee (EXCOM), elected at the February 2003 General Assembly, has worked hard this past year. In addition to engaging in substantive discussions on humanitarian work, the EXCOM spent considerable time on ICVA's always difficult financial situation and a new membership dues policy was adopted. In spite of these difficulties, it has been a good year for ICVA, with new initiatives undertaken and with growing recognition of its role as a credible NGO spokesperson. These accomplishments are due in large measure to the dedicated work of the small staff of the ICVA Secretariat, as well as to the strong support of the membership, partners in the NGO and UN communities, donors, and the dedicated members of the Executive Committee. With gratitude for your continued support of ICVA. Elizabeth Ferris Chair, ICVA Executive Committee ICVA'S PRIMARY FUNCTIONS Together, the objectives and the mission statement serve as the signposts that guide the five primary functions of ICVA: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Information-sharing; Advocacy, particularly in terms of putting issues on the international agenda; Strengthening the NGO community; Facilitating relationships with UN agencies and other international organisations; and Enhancing NGO visibility through representation. ANNUAL REPORT 2003 3 AN INTRODUCTION TO ICVA With approximately half of ICVA's membership of humanitarian, human rights, and development NGOs based in developing countries, ICVA is the only network focusing on humanitarian and refugee policy issues with such a broad membership. ICVA attempts to influence policy and practice to reflect humanitarian principles and human rights through information-exchange and advocacy. In 2003, ICVA's members came together for the 12th ICVA General Assembly in Geneva and adopted a three-year work plan for the network, as well as a mission statement reaffirming ICVA's direction. The strength and importance of such a network was reiterated and the commitment to working together as NGOs was renewed. One of ICVA's greatest strengths is the ability to bring the field-based perspectives of its member NGOs to various international decision-making bodies and to enable those decisions to be subsequently translated to the field level. Individual NGOs are often not able to access such forums, but through a network like ICVA, NGOs are able to consolidate their input and use ICVA as a vehicle or channel for NGO views in the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC  the UN's humanitarian coordination body) and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' Executive Committee (EXCOM), for example. In terms of refugee policy issues, ICVA is in a unique position vis-à-vis UNHCR. ICVA continued to coordinate NGO input to UNHCR's Standing and Executive Committees and to co-host the NGO- REACH OUT  CONTRIBUTING TO BETTER REFUGEE PROTECTION? ICVA continued to participate in the inter-agency Reach Out Refugee Protection training project, particularly with a greater commitment to help in the management of the project towards the end of 2003. An external evaluation of the project found that the project had essentially achieved what it set out to do in terms of training, but that certain improvements could be made. At the same time, a number of areas for future development were identified. As such, the Working Group overseeing the project decided to continue the project until the end of 2005. The two-year extension was agreed so that the project could, inter alia, continue to provide targeted trainings in regions that had not been sufficiently covered; ensure a smooth exit strategy allowing for the training materials to be housed in appropriate locations; and to look at developing materials that would target senior managers in organisations. 4 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF VOLUNTARY AGENCIES UNHCR Pre-Executive Committee Consultations. There is also an ongoing relationship between UNHCR and ICVA through which ICVA constantly works to improve partnership between UNHCR and NGOs in order to enhance refugee protection  on the ground and through advocacy. A key function of ICVA is to share timely and accurate information on humanitarian affairs with, and among, its members to better enable them to take informed decisions with regards to their operations and/or advocacy. ICVA's information tools are well-known: a website (www.icva.ch) with a members' only section; an electronic newsletter, Talk Back; meeting reports; and regular notes for the file or updates. On the website's members' only section (accessible with a username and password for all staff of ICVA member agencies by writing to webmaster@icva.ch), documents can be found that require members' input, feedback, or discussion and that are not (yet) available in the public domain. UN agencies or governmental actors often turn to ICVA as a mechanism for "consultation with NGOs." While the ICVA Secretariat repeatedly resists being seen as speaking on behalf of all NGOs or even of its whole membership, the importance of a mechanism that brings together NGOs that can act as an NGO representative at meetings where access is limited and that can refer governments and international organisations to the role and experiences of its members has been widely recognised as a role fulfilled by ICVA. Despite these initiatives, the outstanding question does remain as to how much of an impact a training project can have on refugee protection. While training is very much needed among humanitarian workers, translating that training into longerterm institutional change is a challenge that NGOs and the Red Cross movement still have to tackle. Reach Out has, however, helped to at least get many organisations thinking about protection  a necessary step to more permanent inclusion of protection considerations in programming. ANNUAL REPORT 2003 5 THE ROLE OF NGOS IN CHALLENGING A key-theme for ICVA in 2003 has been the implications of the post-11 September 2001 political agenda for NGOs, in general, and for ICVA, in particular. In his report to the General Assembly held at the end of February in Geneva, the outgoing ICVA Chair, Anders Ladekarl, noted that "instead of believing in the strengths of our democratic institutions, the rule of law, international cooperation and fighting the root causes of the threat, we accepted to fight the war against terror just the way that the terrorists expected us to do  by going to war." Two days earlier, at the ICVA Conference preceding the 12th General Assembly, "NGOs in a Changing World Order: Dilemmas and Challenges," the keynote speaker, Iain Levine of Human Rights Watch had expressed similar concerns: "An anti-terrorism policy that ignores human rights is a gift to terrorists. It reaffirms the violent instrumentalism that breeds terrorism as it undermines the public support needed to defeat terrorism." As defenders and promoters of the fundamental international standards of human rights and humanitarian action, NGOs need to reflect on the implications of this new context for their positions, policies, and programmes. In offering a venue for such a reflection, the ICVA Conference, held on 14 and 15 February, presented several challenging questions and dilemmas for NGOs. A special issue of Talk Back was produced for the Conference, which provided background papers to stimulate thinking and debate. These included the question of what position to take on the (then imminent) war in Iraq, the politicisation of humanitarian action, the relationship with military forces, and the impact of the war on terror on the rights of migrants and refugees. Among the many thought-provoking speeches and debates, Professor B.S. Chimni's introduction was certainly one of the most controversial presentations of the Conference. In pointing to the dominance of hegemonic Western States, he challenged the position of humanitarian NGOs, citing them as "an integral part of their [the hegemonic states'] global strategy to give violence and injustice a human face." "Humanitarianism is the ideology FORGOTTEN CRISES The 2003 ICVA General Assembly selected the theme of "forgotten crises" as a main priority for the network. Many humanitarian crises are, in fact, more ignored than forgotten. The main reason for using the term "forgotten" is to highlight the inequality in addressing humanitarian need world-wide because of the lack of international attention, money, and/or strategic interests. From a moral, if not principled point of view, humanitarian NGOs cannot accept these differences. 6 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF VOLUNTARY AGENCIES THE NEW WORLD ORDER of hegemonic states in the era of globalisation marked by a growing North-South divide and humanitarian NGOs are its key carriers," he added. He also urged that, "NGOs should avoid becoming an arm of the status quo, rushing towards every new crisis with the salve of humanitarian action, but lacking any broader, more critical, analysis." According to him, this reactive approach may not only improve the situation of the population, but it may also benefit the aspirations of Western States, a dilemma that NGOs need to take into consideration. One key theme raised in this regard relates to the question of independence. According to Chimni, only independent NGOs will be able "to manifest their refusal to legitimise and sustain the changing, but unjust world order." In discussing this point, it was noted that independence does not only depend on the amount of governmental funding, but on a variety of factors, including the particular "personality" and profile of the relevant NGO. The extent to which NGOs are change-focused and not just "followers" was another issue for debate. Adopting a wider connotation of humanitarianism allows NGOs to do more than just respond. Many NGOs engage, nowadays, in conflict prevention activities. They are not automatic upholders of the status quo. Throughout the Conference and General Assembly, it was felt that the new context of the war on terror requires NGOs to increase their collaboration and to form new strategic alliances among NGOs, as well as between NGOs and progressive thinkers within the UN. There was wide agreement that common values and interests will bring us together. As one expression of this consensus, the General Assembly emphasised the desire to increase the cohesion among the ICVA family in an effort to jointly address the contemporary challenges confronting us. In picking up one such situation, ICVA members and the Secretariat brought the crisis in the Indonesian province of Aceh to the attention of the IASC and spoke out against the lack of action on the part of the UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator and other UN officials based in the country to push for unconditional humanitarian access to the area. In September 2003, the IASC Working Group agreed on a strategy to step up efforts to negotiate access with the authorities. While the advocacy of the NGOs can be seen as successful in raising the profile of the Aceh crisis within the UN, there have been few significant improvements on the ground. ANNUAL REPORT 2003 7 THE STATE OF PROTECTION IN THE Over the past several years, many humanitarian agencies have become increasingly aware of their responsibility to not only assist crisis-affected populations through the provision of basic services, but to also contribute to the protection of their human rights. Yet, the operationalisation of protection on the ground still leaves much to be desired. ICVA, therefore, continues to promote, support, and facilitate policy discussions on protection, and to help translate these discussions into practical action. Examples of this involvement are the contributions to the IASC Task Force on Humanitarian Action and Human Rights, the emphasis on protection-focused activities within the response to internally displaced persons (IDPs), and participation and involvement in refugee policy forums, such as UNHCR's Standing and Executive Committees and the refugee protection training programme, Reach Out. More specifically, ICVA also convened or helped to organise meetings or events devoted to protection. In March, the ICVA Secretariat organised a roundtable meeting on the report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty on "the responsibility to protect," a meeting which ICVA co-convened with the World Federalist Movement. This report defines a threshold for military intervention in the case of large-scale loss of lives or large scale ethnic cleansing. As the meeting illustrated, many NGOs find it difficult to take a position on when there is a need for such an intervention. They pointed, however, to the relevance of the debates in the Security Council on the protection of civilians in armed conflict and the need to monitor this process more rigorously. These debates also offer a mechanism for linking the political and humanitarian dimensions of protection. At the end of the year, UNHCR and NGOs met in a retreat to discuss their collaboration in refugee protection. UNHCR's main question for this meeting was what NGOs understand as their role in protection. The NGOs wanted to know if UNHCR is really open to collaboration on protection. The collaboration and coordination on STRENGTHENING THE LINK BETWEEN SPHERE STANDARDS AND HUMAN RIGHTS Significant time and efforts were devoted to the revision of the Sphere Handbook in 2003. The ICVA Coordinator acted as the focal point for incorporating protection elements into the new version. ICVA also helped to organise a meeting between human rights experts and humanitarian practitioners on the "rights" basis of the technical standards in April as part of the revision process. While Sphere has often been cited as one of the examples of a "rights-based" instrument that guides the delivery of humanitarian assistance, there is less understanding of what this actually means. Following the experts' meeting, the new 2003 revised Sphere edition enhances the linkage between the technical standards and human rights by explaining the foundations in international law (human rights law, international humanitarian law, refugee law, and other international instruments) of the various sectors of humanitarian assistance, including water and sanitation, food, shelter, and healthcare. The 2003 edition of the handbook also contains a reference to the collection of humanitarian information, for example through needs assessments and continuous monitoring, and that this information may include human rights indicators that should not be forgotten. 8 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF VOLUNTARY AGENCIES HUMANITARIAN SECTOR protection activities between UNHCR and NGOs seem to be more ad hoc and/or personality driven than mainstreamed and part and parcel of the organisational culture, in spite of earlier commitments made. UNHCR and NGO staff must be engaged in a continuous dialogue, on an equal footing, to discuss their differences and to explore their commonalities in the protection of refugees. More needs to be done, however, in order to operationalise protection on the ground. More UN agencies and actors need to step up their role. Also in 2003, ICVA continued to push the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to become more active in collaborating with humanitarian agencies. The Office should ensure that mechanisms for collaboration with operational agencies are put in place and that human rights monitors are deployed in a timely manner in crisis areas. Priority also needs to be placed on ensuring that humanitarian coordinators do not ignore, or, worse, avoid their responsibilities in protection. The several studies on the response to IDPs in 2003 showed that, too often, these high-level officials leading in the coordination of the humanitarian response do not want to engage in protection and human rights issues. Protection needs to be an integral part of all inter-agency coordination meetings. Fortunately, more and more inter-agency protection working groups are emerging on the ground. These groups, however, are not an option, but a necessity. For 2004, ICVA has set the priority to take stock of the state of inter-agency processes and initiatives on protection to date. While much work has been done at the headquarters level, the priority now must be on implementation at the field level. Experience shows that emergency response is still largely dominated by the hardware of full cargo planes, four-wheel drives, and bladder tanks. When do we start sending out armies of protection officers to join our logisticians, field officers, doctors, and nurses? RESPONDING TO ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION Following the reports of sexual exploitation in refugee camps in West Africa, there has been an increased focus on the development of codes of conduct or standards and complaints mechanisms that cover the behaviour of field staff of humanitarian agencies. Mechanisms for investigations looking into allegations of abuse and exploitation by field staff have received lesser attention. In making an effort to deal with this issue, UNHCR, in particular its Inspector General, requested the secondment of an NGO gender and child specialist to the Investigation Unit to build additional expertise. The International Rescue Committee, an ICVA member, provided an initial secondment for the development of a handbook on how to conduct investigations into allegations of staff misconduct. During 2003, the ICVA membership demonstrated a great deal of interest in such a project and in becoming involved. In addition, other (UN) agencies, such as Unicef, were supportive of the idea to further develop this initiative into an inter-agency project. As a result, it was decided that ICVA would become the host of this inter-agency project. A project full-time staff member will be recruited in 2004 who will complete the handbook and lead a training process. ANNUAL REPORT 2003 9 DEBATING THE FUTURE OF HUMANITARIANISM The devastating bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad on 19 August 2003, as well as a series of other attacks on aid workers in Iraq and Afghanistan, prompted a serious reflection on the security of humanitarian staff within the humanitarian community in the second half of 2003. Questions were being debated in humanitarian forums, including the IASC and others, such as: what are the reasons and factors behind these attacks? Are the security problems specific to the context of Afghanistan and Iraq? And, how to respond to these new challenges? The debate, loosely labelled as "the future of humanitarianism," about the new security challenges cannot be separated from the more fundamental issues relating to humanitarian identity and principles. As the nineties saw a huge increase and proliferation in the numbers and types of actors calling themselves "humanitarian," it is thought now that the term has become too much of a catch-phrase for all sorts of actors and activities that, in fact, do not adhere to or conform with humanitarian principles or the Red Cross/NGO Code of Conduct. In particular, the encroachment of international military forces on the humanitarian sphere has caused anxiety among many humanitarian agencies. These agencies fear too close an alignment or association with these military forces and/or the countries and the politics from where they come. Many NGOs feel that the blurring of lines between political and humanitarian action has created serious access and security problems. They are also critical of the UN's coherence agenda and trend of setting up "integrated missions," which bring political objectives and humanitarian concerns under a single structure. In this context, the ICVA Executive Committee decided in October 2003 to engage in a project to mark the 10th anniversary of the Red Cross/NGO Code of Conduct in 2004. This project, which is carried out jointly with the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR), not only aims to reinvigorate the Code, but also seeks to support and promote a better understanding and application of the Code by humanitarian agencies in general and the ICVA membership in particular. In this sense, it is hoped that a better application of the Code could contribute to more clarity over who is who in the humanitarian sector. The findings of the Project may also suggest particular changes that could improve the Code. NGO-UNHCR PRE-EXCOM CONSULTATIONS Once a year, NGOs and UNHCR have the opportunity to sit down to discuss various aspects of refugee protection and partnership between UNHCR and NGOs. The Pre-EXCOM Consultations of 2003, for the first time, had the agenda set in broader consultation with NGOs by asking their opinions on possible topics that they would like to see discussed. The result was an agenda that reflected the interests of a broad range of NGOs. ICVA also provided an introductory briefing/orientation for interested NGOs prior to Pre-EXCOM that also allowed UNHCR and NGO staff to make contacts. 10 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF VOLUNTARY AGENCIES In the debate in the IASC on the security of humanitarian staff, ICVA's contributions have focused in particular on the differences in how the UN and NGOs approach the issue: the UN is more risk-averse while NGOs try to manage risk and, hence, their security. Central in this management for NGOs is the relationship between humanitarian needs, (in)security, and risk. The greater the needs of civilians and the greater their insecurity, the greater the need for humanitarian assistance and the greater the risks that many humanitarian NGO staff are prepared to accept. Another crucial aspect on which ICVA has insisted relates to the inclusion of national NGOs and national staff of international agencies in the security debate. Too often, the debate focuses exclusively on the security of Western expatriate staff, whereas national NGOs and/or national staff are key actors in maintaining close relations with local communities, and, because of these relations, may have a different perspective on the security situation. The issue of perceptions in this regard is equally important. The more an NGO's background is understood by the local population, and the more the behaviour and lifestyle of NGO staff reflect local norms and standards, the more positively the NGO may be perceived by the local population. However important these points are, it should also be realised that humanitarian action will always be disputed or challenged as it often takes place in highly political settings. Moreover, the humanitarian community is far from homogeneous and there will always be differences of opinion in terms of compromising on some humanitarian principles for the benefit of having access. In this respect, as was said during an ICVA EXCOM meeting, we may never come up with all the answers to the questions we have relating to our identity and the relevance of our missions. The key point is to identify the right issues, to be frank and open about our problems and dilemmas, and to be transparent in our choices. ICVA has created a section on the Information Resources page of the ICVA website (see "Issues") on "The Future of Humanitarian Action": www.icva.ch. One of the closing sessions of Pre-EXCOM saw the Inspector-General of UNHCR, Dennis McNamara, reflect on the state of humanitarian action following the tragic bombing of the UN office in Baghdad in August 2003. He raised a number of questions that both UNHCR and NGOs needed to tackle, including: how to avoid being too closely associated with political or military interventions; how to decide when to continue providing humanitarian assistance in an insecure environment; and do we need to reassert humanitarian principles and values in light of a situation where humanitarian action is being used as a fig leaf. ANNUAL REPORT 2003 11 PROTECTING IDPS CONTINUES TO REMAIN Efforts to make the collaborative approach to internally displaced persons (IDPs) work continued in 2003, but with some major indications that the response is still inadequate. The Protection Survey, undertaken by the inter-agency Internal Displacement Unit (IDP Unit) and the Brookings-SAIS Project on Internal Displacement, examined the response to IDPs in various countries. The findings pointed to a lack of leadership among Humanitarian Coordinators (HCs)  a key element if the collaborative approach is to be effective. The Response Matrix, undertaken by the IDP Unit and which mapped the response to IDPs in various countries, also indicated that there were still major gaps in the response, with protection being the most glaring gap. Throughout the undertakings of both these studies, ICVA continued to play a facilitating role to ensure NGOs engaged in the processes and were aware of the findings. The leadership role of Humanitarian Coordinators is key to ensuring that the collaborative approach to IDPs works. Without a strong HC that has an overall perspective of where the gaps in the response to IDPs are, there is the tendency for those gaps to remain unfilled. In light of the Protection Survey and Matrix, there was a recognition that more needed to be done to ensure that HCs are aware of existing IDP policy documents and tools. ICVA continued to participate in the Senior Network on Internal Displacement, which acts as an information exchange and advisory body for the IDP Unit, along with the lead ICVA member on IDPs, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). Efforts were made in the second half of 2003 to revitalise the Senior Network and the improvements have been seen in 2004 with work around the revision of the IDP policy package. There was also work within the context of the Senior Network, with ICVA playing a strong role, to formulate what has been termed the "Procedural Road Map," which lays out the steps to developing an IDP response. The road map was adopted by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee in 2004. OCHA AND THE IASC PROCESS The appointment of the new Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland, in August 2003, raised expectations of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) as the facilitator and coordinating office for the inter-agency coordination process, the IASC. NGOs were particularly encouraged by his appointment as they were assured that IDPs, humanitarian access, staff security, and "forgotten crises" would be among the new ERC's priorities. The appointment of Egeland came at a time when the functioning of the IASC was undergoing a thorough, external review. As recognised in the external review, the ERC's leadership in the IASC is vital to moving this body forward. The IASC must 12 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF VOLUNTARY AGENCIES A CHALLENGE Through e-mail updates and contact with ICVA members and other NGOs, ICVA, in consultation with InterAction and the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR), continued to ensure the involvement of NGO participants in inter-agency IDP missions. In addition, updates were sent out to NGOs on activities of the IDP Unit, as well as its missions, so as to ensure that NGOs were able to provide their views to the mission participants. In 2003, the only inter-agency IDP mission that took place was to Afghanistan in May and had an ICVA Secretariat staff member as the NGO participant. NGO participation on such missions may help to improve UN-NGO dialogue and collaboration in IDP operations. It may also reveal, however, fundamental differences in how the UN and NGOs view the priorities with regards to responding to IDPs. In the case of this mission, the NGO participant from ICVA put a disclaimer on the mission's report as it did not prioritise protection, but was too focused on furthering UN and other international agencies' interests in the situation. An external evaluation of the IDP Unit concluded that the Unit had done a fair amount of work since its creation at the beginning of 2002, but the results had not amounted to much. The evaluation recommended the focus be changed in order to ensure that an improvement in the response to IDPs is made. The Emergency Relief Coordinator, Jan Egeland, who began in September 2003, realised the need to reinvigorate the work being done on the collaborative approach. He has since worked on expanding the Unit  making it a Division  and brought in a new head of the Division (which started to function in July 2004) in order to give the collaborative approach another, and perhaps final, chance. Various documents related to IDPs, including the inter-agency IDP mission report, are available on the Information Resources page of ICVA's website (www.icva.ch) under IDPs (see "Issues"). become more efficient in addressing systemic coordination problems, such as the lack of competent Humanitarian Coordinators, the failure in the response to IDPs and in addressing mandate gaps, and developing system-wide policies. In order to ensure that the IASC is reflective of the humanitarian community, the review also highlights the need to more directly include NGOs and their operational experiences within the IASC process. The monthly NGO-IASC meetings that ICVA organises in Geneva are one example of such NGO participation, with NGOs presenting issues for discussion. Minutes of these monthly meetings are available on ICVA's website (www.icva.ch) on the Information Resources page. ANNUAL REPORT 2003 13 IMPROVING REFUGEE PROTECTION NGO Input to Convention Plus and Other UNHCR Initiatives ICVA's role of facilitating NGO input to UNHCR's various bodies continued with its usual coordination of NGO statements to the Standing and Executive Committees of UNHCR. NGOs are allowed to make one intervention per agenda item and, as such, ICVA sought to ensure that NGOs attending the meetings and those unable to attend the meetings were able to provide their input to the statements. Usually a lead NGO is identified to draft the statement, taking into account opinions and information from other NGOs. ICVA continued to provide a final editing and quality check on the statements, which are all available on the Information Resources page of ICVA's website (www.icva.ch). In addition, ICVA also facilitated NGO perspectives and views on the "UNHCR 2004" process initiated by the High Commissioner. The 2004 process was meant to look at how UNHCR is situated "within the United Nations system and vis-à-vis States and partners." The process was to identify ways in which UNHCR could better carry out its mandate in light of the "challenges of modernity" and focused inter alia on the mandate, the governance structure, the migration-asylum nexus, as well as partnerships. A report was presented to the General Assembly (A/AC.96/ 980) outlining the results of the process and the various actions to be taken forward. For the first time, NGOs were invited to participate in the informal consultations that UNHCR has with donors every year. The consultations looked at the case study of Kenya where, for the first time, the budget was based on needs as opposed to resources  a change in approach for which many NGOs have long advocated. The differences in the two types of budgets became very obvious to donors. There was a discussion around how partnerships can better contribute to covering the assessed needs. Later in the year, an instruction was sent by the High Commissioner to all field offices on "Better Meeting Needs of Refugees through Strengthened Collaboration with Operational Partners." The instruction noted the need to ensure the "full participation" of operational partners as opposed to just consulting with them. June 2003 saw the start of the High Commissioner's Forum and his process known as "Convention Plus," which was set up by the High Commissioner to "inject more predictability into the system, and adjust it better to today's realities, in the interests of both States and those who need international protection." The first of the three strands under Convention Plus to really move forward was the Resettlement strand. NGOs were invited, through ICVA, to provide comments on the various drafts of the document that eventually became a Multilateral Framework of Understandings on Resettlement. ICVA would not only provide consolidated NGO comments to the co-chairs of the process, UNHCR and Canada, but also provide NGOs with notes based on debriefings provided by the co-chairs. 14 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF VOLUNTARY AGENCIES TALK BACK The Newsletter of the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) Volume 5-1, 12 February 2003 SPECIAL ICVA CONFERENCE ISSUE: NGOs IN A CHANGING WORLD ORDER: DILEMMAS AND CHALLENGES CONTENTS SPECIAL ICVA CONFERENCE ISSUE: NGOs in a Changing World Order: Dilemmas and Challenges The Increasing Presence of Military Forces and the Independence of NGOs Case Study: NGO Reactions to Military Intervention in Humanitarian Action in Afghanistan (Paul O'Brien and Barbara J. Stapleton, on behalf of ACBAR) Case Study: MONUC-NGO Relations in the DRC (Stephen Blight, Save the Children UK) The Effects of the Changing World Order on the Protection of Displaced Persons and Migrants Case Study: The Increasing Vulnerability of Refugees in the US (Eleanor Acer, Lawyers Committee for Human Rights) Case Study: A Path Paved with Good Intentions?  Australian Asylum Policy (Ophelia Field, Human Rights Watch) The Strategic Value of Forgotten Crises: The Determining Factor? Case Study: The Rohingyas: Unwanted, Unwelcome, Forgotten (Azeen Salimi, former MSF Holland) Case Study: Where Forgetting is Not an Option: Burmese Refugees in Thailand (Cynthia Buiza, Jesuit Refugee Service-Asia Pacific) Case Study: Burundi: Terminally Hopeless, Piero Calvi-Parisetti (former Head a.i. of the OCHA Office in Bujumbura) IN THE NEWS: Iraq: Operational Dilemmas for Humanitarians Short Distances, Big Differences: The Afghanistan/ Pakistan Border (MSF Holland) The Fight Over "Military-Humanitarian" Guidelines ICVA has been producing Talk Back, its primarily electronic newsletter, since April 1999. Back issues of Talk Back are available on ICVA's website: www.icva.ch on the Information Resources page. Talk Back is generally published in English, French, and Spanish. Articles in Talk Back are written with information gathered from various sources, including from member agencies and partners. To subscribe to Talk Back, send an e-mail to talkback@icva.ch with the message subscribe, indicating your language of preference (English, French, and/or Spanish). Comments on Talk Back are welcome: talkback@icva.ch. ANNUAL REPORT 2003 15 ICVA CONFERENCE AGENDA NGOS IN A CHANGING WORLD ORDER: DILEMMAS AND CHALLENGES 14-15 FEBRUARY 2003 Maison des Associations, Geneva, Switzerland Day I  Friday, 14 February 2003 Opening Mr. Anders Ladekarl, Chair, ICVA Executive Committee Ambassador Jean-Marc Boulgaris, Permanent Representative, Swiss Mission Keynote Address and Q&A  NGOs in a Changing World Order: Dilemmas and Challenges Mr. Iain Levine, Programme Director, Human Rights Watch Plenary I  The Increasing Presence of Military Forces and the Independence of NGOs: Panel and Discussion Panellists: Mr. Rafa Vilasanjuan, Secretary-General, Médecins sans Frontières International Prof. Hugo Slim, Oxford Brookes University Moderator: Mr. Edward Girardet, Executive Director, Media Action International Working Groups A  Moderator: Mr. William Canny, Secretary General, International Catholic Migration Commission B  Moderator: Ms Callie Long, Communications Officer, ACT International C  Moderator: Mr. Sean Lowrie, The Sphere Project Plenary Session on Conference Statement Moderator: Dr. Elizabeth Ferris, World Council of Churches, ViceChair, ICVA Executive Committee Day II  Saturday, 15 February 2003 Plenary II  The Effects of the Changing World Order on the Protection of Displaced Persons and Migrants: Panel and Discussion Panellists: Prof. B.S. Chimni, Jawaharlal Nehru University Ms Christina Jespersen, Programme Coordinator for North Caucasus, Danish Refugee Council Moderator: Ms Monette Zard, Policy Analyst, Migration Policy Institute Working Groups A  Moderator: Mr. William Canny, Secretary General, International Catholic Migration Commission B  Moderator: Ms Callie Long, Communications Officer, ACT International C  Moderator: Mr. Sean Lowrie, The Sphere Project Plenary III  The Strategic Value of Forgotten Crises: The Determining Factor? : Panel and Discussion Panellists: Mr. Keshav Gautam, Regional Programme Director, ActionAid, China Mr. Larry Thomson, Refugees International Moderator: Mr. Jeff Crisp, Head of Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit, UNHCR Working Groups A  Moderator: Mr. William Canny, Secretary General, International Catholic Migration Commission B  Moderator: Ms Callie Long, Communications Officer, ACT International C  Moderator: Mr. Sean Lowrie, The Sphere Project Closing Session Papers presented at the conference are available on the ICVA website, as is the Conference Report: www.icva.ch. 16 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF VOLUNTARY AGENCIES ICVA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND SECRETARIAT ICVA Executive Committee Members until 17 February 2003 Chair: Mr. Anders Ladekarl, DRC Vice-Chair: Dr. Elizabeth Ferris, WCC Treasurer: Ms Roswitha Dinger, LWF Mr. Kebede Asrat, CRDA Mr. Jim Bishop, Mr. Rick Augsburger, InterAction Mr. William Canny, ICMC Mr. Thomas Getman, WVI Mr. Paul Meijs, CARE Mr. Mamadou Ndiaye, OFADEC Mr. P.M. Tripathi, AVARD ICVA Executive Committee Members as of 17 February 2003 (following the elections at the 12th ICVA General Assembly) Chair: Dr. Elizabeth Ferris, WCC Vice-Chair: Mr. Mamadou Ndiaye, OFADEC Treasurer: Mr. Thomas Getman, WVI (interim from February to June) Mr. Paul Meijs, CARE (interim July to 31 December 2003, pending appointment of CARE Director in Geneva) Mr. Jan A. Erichsen, NRC (current as of 1 January 2004; NRC was co-opted at the end of 2003) Mr. Joseph Aguettant, IRC Mr. Saman Amarasinghe, NNCSL Mr. John Damerell, LWF Mr. Keshav Gautam, ActionAid Mr. Thomas Getman, WVI Mr. Paul Meijs, succeeded by Mr. Guillaume Aguettant, CARE Ms Ann Mary Olsen, DRC Mr. Sayed Fazlullah Wahidi, ANCB ICVA Secretariat 2003 In 2003, the ICVA Secretariat worked on the basis of a 3.2 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff for half the year and then 2.5 FTE staff for the latter half of the year. The positions at the Secretariat were filled by: Mr. Ed Schenkenberg van Mierop, Coordinator Ms Manisha Thomas, Humanitarian Affairs Officer Ms Dominique Gilliéron, Secretarial Assistant (until July 2003) Ms Tina Pfenninger, Finance Officer Ms Lieske Pott Hofstede, Programme Advisor (voluntary position) Mr. Jan Ven, Programme Advisor (voluntary position for the General Assembly) ANNUAL REPORT 2003 17 FINANCES MEMBERSHIP DUES At the 12 th General Assembly, the membership requested the ICVA Executive Committee to revise the membership dues policy. The EXCOM adopted a new membership dues policy in late 2003, which attempted to bring about a more equitable distribution in the payment of dues between members by bringing the categories down to four from seven. The policy was implemented as of 1 January 2004 with the goal of raising a greater percentage of ICVA's core costs from the dues than the approximately 35.5% of income for which dues accounted in 2003. STATEMENT OF INCOME AND EXPENDITURES 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2003 with comparative figures (all figures in Swiss francs) 2003 INCOME Membership fees DANIDA via Danish Refugee Council (DKK 400,000.00) Norway - Ministry of Foreign Affairs via Norwegian Refugee Council (NOK 250,000.00) Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs SDC UNHCR, Switzerland (USD 35,000.00) Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (EUR 60,000.00) World Council of Churches, Switzerland Participations in Support Services from Projects Reserve liquidation IM World Aid loan-related adjustments Ford Foundation, USA project balance to core Stichting Vluchteling, Netherlands project balance to core OHCHR, Switzerland project balance to core WHO-OMS, Switzerland project balance to core Conference Registration fees Grants for Conference Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs SDC Danish Refugee Council Ford Foundation, USA Individuell Människohjälp, Sweden Adjustment on payables Exchange rate gain and bank interest Miscellaneous Total income EXPENSES Core salaries Consultancy fees Social Charges Provident Fund Other Personnel charges Website related charges Executive Committee Conference/General Asssembly Office supplies/equipment/maintenance Travel and representation charges Publication and translation costs 186,975.44 82,533.90 46,375.00 100,000.00 45,427.50 93,540.00 12,000.00 0.00 0.00 3,340.00 0.00 4,705.81 17,527.40 1,385.90 3,902.55 50,000.00 10,000.00 4,050.00 1,400.00 417.65 76.10 1,044.85 664,702.10 255,597.85 7,434.35 56,236.55 31,957.10 130.00 5,174.75 10,114.15 59,918.43 28,433.55 17,958.87 3,404.70 2002 186,413.17 78,000.00 39,400.00 50,000.00 32,288.30 0.00 0.00 25,720.94 20,000.00 77,131.25 10,968.07 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 890.64 102.65 6,296.55 527,211.57 269,446.10 12,280.75 65,065.55 34,222.50 875.00 10,896.64 18,844.90 1,682.00 18,016.81 12,505.06 11,795.22 AUDIT REPORT ICVA's full audit report is available upon request: secretariat@icva.ch. 18 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF VOLUNTARY AGENCIES Office rental and utilities Postage and telecommunication costs Audit and legal fees Bank charges, exchange rate adjustment 40th Anniversary ICVA NGO Liaison Officer charges Miscellaneous Total expenses Excess of income over expenses or - expenses over income 40,174.50 18,263.47 3,000.00 2,274.41 0.00 11,582.55 1,985.32 553,640.55 111,061.55 40,821.90 19,603.91 3,000.00 8,294.64 9,123.00 0.00 290.00 536,763.98 9,552.41 NOTES TO 2003 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 1) Restricted funds represent CHF 26,343.00 Sustainable Development Case Studies balance. 2) The accumulated deficit carry over includes the net loss still outstanding from the initial ICVA deficit first incurred in the 31 March 1997 audit report. 3) Having faced a cash shortage during 2003, ICVA was obliged to refrain from carrying out, or reduce, certain of its activities throughout the year. As some donors only confirmed their contributions to ICVA in December, it was not possible to spend these funds during the current period. However, in accordance with these donors, the funds are to be used for ICVA's main activities as enumerated in the Annual Plan. BALANCE SHEET STATEMENT as at 31 December 2003 with comparative figures (all figures in Swiss francs) 31/12/03 ASSETS Petty Cash Cash in bank accounts UBS CHF UBS USD (USD 0.00) Accounts receivable and prepaid expenses Accounts receivable Taxes on interest income Prepaid expenses Guarantee deposit 296.15 52,108.26 0.00 95,876.60 148.25 0.00 1,005.45 149,434.71 19,363.26 139,125.00 44,500.00 26,343.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 79,896.55 149,434.71 31/12/02 337.40 3,079.48 4,849.85 6,195.33 123.55 3,326.00 0.00 17,911.61 12,742.60 145,465.00 700.00 26,343.00 17,527.40 4,705.81 0.00 0.00 1,385.90 190,958.10 17,911.61 LIABILITIES Accounts payable IM World Aid (member loan due 31.12.98) Accruals & Provisions Restricted Funds /reserves OHCHR, Switzerland Stichting Vluchteling, Netherlands (USD 0.00) Ford Foundation, USA (USD 0.00) Wellspring Advisors, USA WHO-OMS, Switzerland Accumulated deficit carry over at 31.12 (1) (2) ANNUAL REPORT 2003 19 ICVA MEMBERS IN 2003 MEMBERSHIP Membership in ICVA is open to international NGOs, regional NGOs, and national NGOs that have linkages with local NGOs (i.e. networks and consortia). Details on membership requirements, as well as membership application forms, are available on the "Member Agencies" page of the ICVA website: www.icva.ch. ACTIONAID, UK Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA) Afghan NGOs Coordination Bureau (ANCB) Africa Humanitarian Action (AHA), Ethiopia African Council for Adult and Continuing Education (ARCACE), Kenya All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), Kenya AMEL Association (Lebanese Association for Popular Action) (AMEL) American Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) Anatolian Development Foundation (ADF), Turkey Asian Institute for Rural Development (AIRD), India Asociacion Nacional de Centros de Investigacion, Promocion Social y Desarollo (ANC), Peru Association Béninoise de Lutte Contre la Faim et la Misère du Peuple (ASCOFAM), Benin Association of Development Agencies in Bangladesh (ADAB) Association of Voluntary Agencies for Rural Development (AVARD), India Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) (as of 10 March 2004; formerly known as Australian Council for Overseas Aid (ACFOA)) British Refugee Council (BRC) Burmese Border Consortium (BBC), Thailand Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) CARE International (CARE) Caritas Internationalis Chinese Refugees' Relief Association (CRRA), Taiwan Christian Aid (CA), UK Church World Service (CWS), USA Christian Relief and Development Association (CRDA), Ethiopia Community and Family Services International (CFSI), Philippines Concern Worldwide (CONCERN), Ireland Consejo de Instituciones de Desarrollo (COINDE), Guatemala Danish Refugee Council (DRC) Disaster Mitigation Institute (DMI), India EMO-BARAKA, Union Pour la Promotion du Paysan (EMO-BARAKA), Burundi Federacion de Organismos No Gubernamentales de Nicaragua (FONG) Fundacion Augusto Cesar Sandino (FACS), Nicaragua General Union of Voluntary Societies (GUVS), Jordan Human Appeal International (HAI), United Arab Emirates Human Rights First (HRF) (as of 30 January 2004; formerly known as Lawyers Committee for Human Rights (LCHR), USA Indian Institute of Youth and Development (IIYD) Individuell Människohjälp (Swedish Organisation for Individual Relief ) (IM) InterAction (American Council for Voluntary International Action) 20 INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF VOLUNTARY AGENCIES InterAid International (IAI), Switzerland International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) International Islamic Relief Organisation (IIRO), Saudi Arabia International Rescue Committee (IRC) International Save the Children Alliance Islamic Relief Agency (ISRA), Sudan Italian Consortium of Solidarity (ICS) Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Lebanese NGO Forum (LNF) Liaison Unit of Non-Governmental Organisations of Seychelles (LUNGOS) Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Mauritius Council of Social Service (MACOSS) Médecins du Monde (MDM) Media Action International (MAI), Switzerland Mission Armenia (MA) National NGO Council of Sri Lanka (NNCSL) Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Office Africain pour le Développement et la Coopération (OFADEC), Senegal Oxfam GB (OXFAM) Refugee Children and Vulnerable Citizens (RCVC), Tajikistan Refugees International (RI) Rural Development Foundation of Pakistan (RDFP) Salvation Army International (SA) Sarvodaya Shramadana Sangamaya Inc. (SARVODAYA), Sri Lanka Sierra Leone Association of NGOs (SLANGO) Stichting Vluchteling (SV), The Netherlands Télécoms sans Frontières, (TSF), France Union for Support and Development of Afghanistan (VAF), Germany World Council of Churches (WCC) World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), UK World Vision International (WVI) NEW MEMBERS AND OBSERVERS IN 2003 Christian Aid (CA), UK Community and Family Services International (CFSI), Philippines Concern Worldwide (CONCERN), Ireland Human Rights Watch (HRW), USA Oxfam GB (OXFAM) World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), UK A number of agencies left ICVA or their membership was discontinued in 2003 for various reasons, including non-payment of membership dues for a number of years and a lack of communication with the ICVA Secretariat or closure of the organisation. PERMANENT OBSERVERS Human Rights Watch (HRW), USA International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Médecins sans Frontières International (MSF) International Council of Voluntary Agencies 48, chemin du Grand-Montfleury 1290 Versoix Switzerland Tel: +41 (0) 22 950 9600 Fax: +41 (0) 22 950 9609 secretariat@icva.ch www.icva.ch
ICVA Annual Report 2003 101.39 KB
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ICVA Annual Conference 2020: Protecting principled humanitarian action: an honest conversations on risk
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HR typically enters employee data into the payroll system and accounting handles the monetary calculations.
2 What Is the Difference Between Accounts Payable & Payroll?
3 What Is the Title of Someone Who Does Payroll?
Small businesses that don't have a human resource manager or HR department have accounts payable oversee payroll. In some small companies, HR either has an accounts payable manager on staff or reports to finance, which settles the "who should oversee payroll?" question. But despite who's in charge of payroll, HR generally enters employee data into the payroll system, and accounting calculates the dollars associated with taxes, wages and benefits.
Payroll is essentially a monetary function comprised of employee data. And since HR is the keeper of most of this information, it sometimes oversees the administration and, if necessary, outsourcing of payroll. HR managers in charge of in-house payroll systems use human resource information systems, or HRIS, technology to manage information. This data-entry software lets HR input information on employee bonuses, promotions and benefits. Although HR usually administers compensation and benefits programs, which set pay rates and healthcare benefits costs, accounting factors in the payroll dollars attached to these programs.
When accounting oversees payroll, it generally leaves data-entry functions, such as entering staff additions and mailing-address changes, to HR. Small businesses without an HR function often assign administrative staff to input data. Or they outsource payroll by contracting the services of independent certified accountants. Accounting issues paychecks, handles payroll taxes and prepares end-of-year W-2 forms. It also calculates numbers for deferred compensation for eligible employees, Social Security and Medicare taxes, retirement-savings plan contributions for 401(k)s and other paycheck entries.
Proformative: Poll - Does Payroll Report to Finance/Accounting or HR Dept?
Bolden-Barrett, Valerie. "Does Payroll Fall Under HR or Accounts Payable?" Small Business - Chron.com, http://smallbusiness.chron.com/payroll-fall-under-hr-accounts-payable-59665.html. Accessed 18 April 2019.
When Does a Company Need to Hire a Payroll Manager?


text:
Q: Sending XML in SOAP with PHP I'm want to send the following XML file to http://lite.realtime.nationalrail.co.uk
<soapenv:Envelope xmlns:soapenv="http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/" xmlns:com="http://thalesgroup.com/RTTI/2010-11-01/ldb/commontypes" xmlns:typ="http://thalesgroup.com/RTTI/[put your version here]/ldb/types">

  <com:AccessToken>

     <com:TokenValue>XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX</com:TokenValue>

  </com:AccessToken>

  <typ:GetDepartureBoardRequest>

     <typ:numRows>10</typ:numRows>

     <typ:crs>MAN</typ:crs>

  </typ:GetDepartureBoardRequest>

But I'm not really getting anywhere, nearest I get to any data is a HTTP Error 405

A: Did you try using the native SoapClient class in order to send a SOAP request? It requires that you define the WSDL path. Then each parameter can be sent with an array or objects.
In order to ease you all this you could use a WSDL to php generator such as WsdlToPhp at wsdltophp.com


text:
Episode Archives
About the Artist / Writer
Meet the Cast of Kyle's B n B !!!
Get NOTIFIED for New Episodes!!!
My Figure Drawings
Become a Supporting Member!!!
Kyle's B&B PERSON of the YEAR
And now there are FIVE! (Plus, a special SIXTH book... of figure drawings!).
All 5 books are available at Amazon.com, (links are below, next to each book).
You could also get them at your local bookstore, (if your bookstore doesn't have
'em in stock, just ask the bookstore to order them for you!). And just to clarify,
the first two books are in black & white, and the 3rd, 4th and 5th book are in
full color. (However, there's also a special black & white edition of book 3, also
available at Amazon, for those of you who love their B&B in B&W!).
Greg Fox also has authored several non-Kyle's B&B, non-comics books.
One about figure skating, one about angels in classical art, one about the male nude
figure in classical art, and even one about poetry! Below are links to each of the books
on Amazon, first the Kyle's B&B books, and then the others. (And if you're interested
in getting autographed copies, please visit my Etsy Shop to order those by clicking here) :
Additionally, there is also a book of figure drawings of one of Kyle's B&B's most
popular characters, Drew Danvers. This book includes 50 high-quality pencil drawings
of Drew done in a classical style, (featuring full-frontal nudity... this book is for 21 and
over only).
As mentioned, there are also several non-Kyle's B&B books authored by Greg Fox.
One about figure skating, one about the male nude figure in classical art, one about angels
in classical art, and even one about poetry! Below are links to each of their listings on
Amazon; please click on any of them to read full descriptions!
If you'd like an AUTOGRAPHED copy of any of the Kyle's B&B Collection books,
they are available at my Etsy Shop, which you can access by clicking here.
Autographed copies of the other, non-Kyle's B&B books can be ordered directly from me.
Just e-mail me at the following address for details:
Special note: If you're ordering the books on Amazon, you may come across an old, out-of-print edition of the first book, published by Kensington Books. Don't order that! It's now ridiculously expensive due to its out-of-print status, and, more importantly, the new edition, published by Sugar Maple Press, is much higher quality.... larger episodes, crisper print quality, and ALL the stuff that was in the first book. Just better! (And a lot cheaper!). The link on this page will take you to the Sugar Maple Press edition.
And, in case you prefer the classic black & white look to the current color versions of the Kyle's B&B episodes, here's the link for the black & white edition of book 3, (and no, there are not any plans at this time for b&w editions of book 4 or 5 or any future volumes of the strip).
ORDER the KYLE'S B&B BOOKS from AMAZON!
Legion of Super-Heroes Fans!!!
I now have a separate website for my valentine/tribute/fan-fic/parody comic strip "Work That Flight Ring"
HEY, GUESS WHAT....
PLEASE VOTE HERE ONCE A DAY!
Watch an INTERVIEW with Greg Fox on YouTube!!!
Just click on the pic!
"DRAWINGS OF DREW" IS NOW AVAILABLE!!!
The book inspired by the storyline in Kyle's B&B, featuring 50 8" x 10" delightful figure drawings of Drew! Just click on the book cover to order at Amazon!
Look What's NEW!!!
Get 'Em While You Can!!!
THE HUNGER SITE
Click to donate food...for FREE!!!
Episode # 583 - January 11th, 2022
Subscribe To Kyle's B&B !!!
Search the Kyle's B&B Website
Are YOU on the NOTIFY LIST?
Want to be notified whenever a new episode is posted? Just click here and add your e-mail address at the official Kyle's B&B Notify List site!!!
Greg Fox © 2021
All content on this website, including comic strip episodes, Kyle's B&B characters, text, artwork, and all Kyle's Bed & Breakfast images are copyright Greg Fox © 2021, and MAY NOT be used, copied, published, distributed or posted online in any form, without written permission from Greg Fox.


And that's where diabetes begins.
This is where our community comes in.
And the damaging articles win.
To that place we find strength deep within.
Our support on each other. Our friends.
Beep, Beep, Beep! Nine Years of Blogging. A Day Late, an Islet Short. Looking Back: Language and Diabetes.


Imagine waking up one morning to find your crops—the food that keeps you alive—completely submerged in water and entirely destroyed. This is exactly what happened along the Sinú River in northern Colombia, a region that has supported a diverse community of indigenous people for generations. The Zenu and Embera people who live by the Sinú banks depend on the river for fish, irrigation and drinking water. But in 2000, the Urrá Dam, built by a consortium of Colombian, Swedish and Russian companies, submerged over 7,400 hectares of land, crops, homes and sacred sites. The dam displaced 2,800 people and continues to threaten the lives of 70,000 by altering vital food supplies. Areas of severe periodic flooding and drought caused by its flow have stymied traditional farming practices. Compounding this reality is the construction of a new dam—many times the size—by the Colombian government, presenting a constant looming threat over this beleaguered rural community.
In response to the radical changes brought about by the dam, a local NGO—Association for Community Development of the Cienaga Grande (ASPROCIG)—is working to restore the ecology and agricultural productivity of the region by helping farmers along the Sinú develop agriculture and aquaculture farms suitable to the changed environment. With AJWS's support, ASPROCIG-supported farmers are establishing 175 agro-ecological farms in the Lower Sinú region.
Check out the video above from ASPROCIG to learn more about what's happening on the ground in Colombia.


The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed left wing Juraj Simek to a one-year, two-way contract today, Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman announced.
Simek, 6-foot, 197 pounds, has amassed 37 goals and 75 points in 204 career AHL games with the Norfolk Admirals and Manitoba Moose. After making his Norfolk debut in 2008-09, Simek appeared in a career-high 75 games with the Admirals last season, setting AHL career-best totals for goals, assists and points. His 21 goals tied for second on the team, while his 36 points tied for fifth among all Admirals skaters. He also tied for the team lead with seven power-play goals and his 173 shots on goal marked the team's fourth-highest total.
A native of Presov, Slovakia, Simek played in his first professional season with Manitoba in 2007-08, notching seven goals and 10 assists in 66 games. That season, his goal total tied for second among Manitoba rookies, while his assist and point totals tied for third among the team's first-year players. He also recorded a goal in one playoff game with the Moose.
Simek played in 29 games over three seasons in the top two tiers of the Swiss League before making his North American junior hockey debut in 2006-07 with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League. He appeared in 58 games with the Wheat Kings and tied for fourth on the team with 28 goals and ranked fifth with 57 points. He also ranked fourth on Brandon and fifth in the league in power-play goals with 17. He finished the year tied for fifth among all WHL skaters and ranked second among all WHL rookies in game-winning goals with six. Simek also appeared in nine playoff games with the Wheat Kings, tying for sixth on the team with six points and tying for second with five assists.
Simek was originally drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the sixth round, 167th overall, at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He was acquired by the Lightning from Vancouver with Lukas Krajicek in exchange for Shane O'Brien and Michel Ouellet on October 6, 2008.


text:
@interface WeatherForecastManager : NSObject
@property (nonatomic,readonly)NSArray<WeatherForecast*> *forecasts;
@property (nonatomic,readonly)NSString* forecastSummary;

+(WeatherForecastManager*)sharedManager;
-(void)callConnectorToFetchWeatherForecast;
-(NSMutableArray<WeatherForecast*>*)composeForecastsFrom:(NSArray<NSDictionary*>*)forecastsArray;
@end


Jamal Al Balushi trained at NHI in 2004 where he completed a NVQ Level 2 in Food & Beverage Service. His on job training at the Chedi was a wonderful experience for him and prepared him well for the future.
He joined Shangri-la at the Al Bandar Hotel as a waiter in the Al Tanoor Restaurant. Over the next few years due to his professional attitude, hard work and development he was promoted in 2007 to Service Leader and in 2009 to Assistant Manager. He has attended several internal courses here in Muscat and at the Shangri-la Academy in China in 2008 and again in early 2010 for his Advanced Hotel Management Diploma.


Superdry women's Jodie boyfriend dungarees. These full length. boyfriend style dungarees feature a single pocket on the front bib with zip fastening. two pockets on the waist. the classic clip and buckle fastening on the shoulder straps and a button side fastening on the waist. The Dungarees also have two back pockets. a leather waistband patch and are finished with a Superdry logo patch on the front pocket.


Even though i truly hate this weather,the worst summer in 15 years for me,the government should keep it's trap shut. We know on a hot day to try and keep cool,we know on a freezing cold day to keep warm. The press just want to sell their rags,the government just want to interfere to try and look good. In this weather if you like it,are sensible then enjoy it! Just the same in Winter for those like myself. For me i'm praying for a breakdown,cooler fresher weather,but i know the coastal trade at just the start of the School holiday season wants the opposite. Each to their own and criticising another's view...nope that's not right. To many on here forget this.
You will have to move hundreds of miles south to even get the 20% chance.
@96hrs big 3 models in agreement, much cooler and fresher. Nice.
I heard a tourism boss from Cornwall was complaining about the heat health alerts being OTT.. however it' the low 20's in Cornwall.
Basically it seemed he thought Cornwall was included, which reflects the 'its hot somewhere so it's hot everywhere' nature of reporting (and possibly that if Wiltshire is in the same region as Cornwall for the alerts so if Wiltshire may scrape the criteria, Cornwall is coloured orange)..
Re the 20% chance of the record on Friday. It might be unrelated in terms of the here and now, but I do recall Sunday 10th August 2003 being preceded by a midweek chance of the record being broken (possibly the Wednesday 6th). It wasn't to be on that first stab and that Sunday 10th wasn't seen to be a chance for breaking the record even in the preceding 4 or 5 days. So what I'm saying is that whilst it will probably not be broken at the end of the week, the building blocks are there for another attempt when the heat reloads after this weekend. A lot of the talk has been about 3rd to 6th August more generally but a lot can evolve in terms of detail over a shorter timeframe as back in 2003. Also depends on cloud cover (obviously!) - I recall when living in Cardiff that a record 34 degrees was forecast on that Saturday 9th but unexpected cloudy skies scuppered any chance that day (record from memory is 33 degrees).
So the next chase for the next heat burst starts at 10 days away, way out in FI.
Lets see if tomorrow the models(some) bring it down to 9 days.
Its strange really, I follow the models or rather they lead me towards the prospect of some snow, usually up the garden path, but with this year being to 'stuck' a one final lethal heat plume is a concern.
Its all very well people wanting 40c+ to hit the UK on the model forum, but do they realise that will literally kill many elderly and vulnerable people?
What we need after this very dry spell is rain, and cooler temps, and we need them badly!
Not wanting it would do the same, if it happened.
GFS pub run into la la land, lets chase that, is it winter?
but in some countries it hits the 40s for months,the elderly do survive the heat there,dont be over dramatic and say many will die here for goodness sake. I'm sure the vulnerable will know how to best cope with the heat,I mean on the news the met office forecasts ,its constantly rammed down our throats ,not to go outside ,put lots of sun cream on if you do,drink.lots of water,etc.They say it all the time,despite the fact its obvious to most people what you need to do in hot weather to stay healthy for goodness sake,instead of the constant need to be reminded what to do!!
I agree. It's the same when they say that in winter. Having lived in Canada in -42oC I can confirm no old person died in my town of the cold.
Well I would recommend reading the book, Heat Wave; A social Autopsy of disaster in Chicago, By Eric Klinenberg The seven day heat wave killed 700 people, twice the number of the great fire of 1871. The book analyses why. Worth remembering heat waves kill more people in a typical year in America than other natural disasters combined.
It's extremely glib to say the vulnerable will know best how to cope with the heat if they are not capable implementing this. Which is why the vulnerable die.
It's a case of preparedness. In the UK we know it sometimes gets very hot but we don't expect it to. And it winter we know it gets very cold but we don't expect it to.
Partly to blame for this is the sensationalistic reporting that always makes things sound a lot worse than they actually are. This ends up with people not paying heed when things do get very bad. E.g. the Express and Sun ramp up *every* hot spell and cold spell to make them sound like the end of days..... When the extremes do come people don't really believe it'll be that bad.
I would guess that the 'some' countries that you mention have close communities and are very family oriented, 'our' society is rather different imo, in that we have a lot of elderly people who live alone and sadly, many have families that don't care enough, or not at all.
Humidity is a big factor here, 40c with 5%, is a world away from 40c with 50%+.
Humidity is the killer,we run training for engineers as part of HsE courses specifically on how to deal with it. The difference a small increase in humidity can make is amazing. It can creep up before you notice it,by then you are dehydrated.
hmmm... is 10 days away 'fi'? in this case?.. this 'next burst' has been widely predicted, and is now firming up. id have thought this 'next burst' is pretty much a given, the only question is how hot will it get?
following patterns of previous long hot summers, early august pretty much always delivers the hottest spell, personally - in confident at the 'next burst' will be the strongest of the year.
people who live in hot countries - 40c+ know how to handle the heat. ive just got back from dubai where temps maxed at a cool 45c...(lol), workers were working on construction sites and gardening. they were all wrapped up with only their faces showing (and hands). humidity was c30% (weather app).
heat and humidity hit us harder because we arent aclimatised to it , and hits the elderly and infirm hardest, hence the spike in heat related deaths?
Well the Met Office were giving it a 20% chance, so maybe not that sensational.
20% isn't probable but it's not negligible either.
They're actually suggesting 30% chance of it being broken. So a headline saying it's possible isn't exactly sensationalist in my view.
IMO, the weather will just do whatever it'll do? The 'probability' is nowt more than a quantification of the forecasters' degree of confidence: in this case, that the setting of new all-time record would require a 'freak-of-nature', something of which the forecasters themselves are blissfully unaware...?
It is unlikely to happen, and I don't think anyone is implying otherwise - but for example if there was a 20% chance of the world ending tomorrow I'm sure that would be a big enough risk for people to be concerned.


MIT Technology Review has named its top 50 innovative companies for 2011, and the Kinect motion sensor for Xbox 360 made the list — just not under Microsoft's name.
Instead, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology gave credit to PrimeSense, the Israeli company that developed the motion-sensor chip inside Kinect. Which I guess makes sense.
MIT seems most impressed by the potential application of PrimeSense's technology beyond gaming — as scores of hackers have done and as Microsoft has discussed since Kinect's release in November. The chip-maker indeed just announced another motion sensor for PCs, manufactured by ASUS.
Amazon.com for the continued surge in e-books.
Apple for its leadership in mobile devices, specifically the iPad.
ARM for its work on mobile-device chips that require less power.
Facebook for its growing advertising platform and spawning of game start-ups.
Google because "it still sets the agenda in Web search" (even though some might argue Bing is leading the way) while focusing more and more on Android.
Groupon for finally finding a successful platform for local advertisers.
HTC for designing the best iPhone alternatives with Android.
IBM for its work in electric grids and traffic-control systems.
Netflix for pushing streaming media and creating a real alternative to cable TV.
Twitter for its widespread adoption and newfound ability to bring in revenue.
Zynga for leading the charge in the new world of social gaming.


text:
Matenský rybník je přírodní památka poblíž obce Ratiboř v okrese Jindřichův Hradec. Oblast spravuje Agentura ochrany přírody a krajiny ČR. Důvodem ochrany jsou mokřadní biotopy se vzácnou faunou a flórou. Prostor památky zahrnuje i horní část stejnojmenného rybníka.

Odkazy

Reference

Literatura

Související články
 Seznam chráněných území v okrese Jindřichův Hradec

Externí odkazy

Přírodní památky v okrese Jindřichův Hradec
Chráněná území v Křemešnické vrchovině
Chráněná území vyhlášená roku 1998
Rybníky v okrese Jindřichův Hradec
Rybníky v Křemešnické vrchovině
Louky v okrese Jindřichův Hradec
Louky v Křemešnické vrchovině
Mokřady v Křemešnické vrchovině
Povodí Nežárky
Příroda v Jindřichově Hradci
Ratiboř (okres Jindřichův Hradec)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Today was a pleasant afternoon out of with the boyfriend, despite the harsh winds blowing, that the North of England is presently experiencing. After making the boyfriend's wake-up potion, consisting of dark rich cocoa powder, Carte Noir coffee and a dash of bovine milk, essential for any nocturnal creature to awake. We venture to a Christmas fair, and afterwards to the Cluny's Beer and cider festival to part take in the merriness of the holidays.
The Christmas fair was held at Bensham Grove, a delightful and charming two-hundred-year-old Quaker Cottage, a hidden gem of Gateshead. Bensham Grove is a community hub that host arrange of adult learning courses, support groups, interest groups, toddler and services for over ninety years.
The house was built by Joshua Watson a Cheese Monger, who built the country house situated in rural countryside allowing for a healthy lifestyle for his family.Over the years the house continued to thrive and expand over the generations, the family continued residing there until 1919.
After the death of Robert Spence Watson wife's Elizabeth, the house became an Educational settlement centre. The family established a trust to instrument educational courses. Lettice Jowitt, one of the main wardens, opened the home where people rented a room and space. Jowitt worked with the Gateshead Medical Health Officer to establish A Mother and Child Welfare Clinic that also included Midwives and Health Visitors. The Health visitors visited the local community and offered to train mothers, who lacked knowledge of child care, this lead to creating a network and helped to establish the North East's first Nursery School.
A lot of Benshams Grove values, beliefs and services have been inspired by the Quaker principles. There has a rich history of arts and crafts as the house was opened to Pre-Raphaelite painters and William Morris, concededly the house even contains Morris's fireplaces and stained glass.
The house has always adopted a tolerance and respect for Multiculturalism through Quaker beliefs remained to this day as the centre welcomes everybody. It was inspired by Joseph Watson the second generation to reside at the residence believed in the ablation of Slavery and often invited fugitive slaves including William Wells Brown and Frederick Douglas.
The centre has always promoted and believed in education from all walks of which is still being carried on to this day with the venue hosting Adult learning courses and supporting disabled students. Robert Spence Watson, third generation, believed in Education should be open to the working class, and he provided urchins with cleaning materials to shine shoes as a way of providing an income.
Bensham Grove held the Christmas fair as a way to raise vital funds for so many public services has been offloaded through cuts to local authority funding. I wanted to show my support by attending the event. The centre is where I attend my sewing class, and my sewing tutor informed the group of the event. Bensham Grove was an ideal place to hold a Christmas fair as in the spirit of the arts and crafts movements the vendor were local crafter selling their handmade and unique craft.
I thought they would be a larger turnout of vendors; still there were reasonable numbers of selling various goodies. However, there was a good turnout from the local community and users of the centre showing their support. Also, many of the stall vendors were offering workshops on trying out different crafts including card making, jewellery and even some proggy mat making.
One of the vendors at the fair was Sam one of the lasses who attends the sewing group. Sam runs Pikku Panda Designs designs and make bespoke jewellery and decorations out of perspex plastic and engraves personalised designs by laser cutting. I even commissioned a necklace myself, I fell in love with one of Sam's design and donned. I fell in love with the necklace instantly, it was amazing to see the final product; I opted for a sparkly black perspex engraved with a design similar the image of an atom. The design makes me think I'm looking at a picture of stars. Sam offered me a choice of chains, but I opted for a 40-inch chain that adds to the ethereal hippy look I like. I even bought a pair of butterfly's earrings or the boyfriend bought a pair for me.
I even bought a couple of items a stained glass mistletoe that was perfect for decorating my upcycled Halloween tree and a homemade candle.


If you're like me, you probably install & uninstall software on your system on a a fairly frequent basis.
One of the things that really annoys me when I install software is when it automatically takes over a file extension association that was previously registered with the system.
This happened a while ago when I installed some IBM software for work … the .scr extension was taken over completely. '.scr' is normally associated with windows screen savers, but now it's associated with the IBM CODE/400 editor (which I don't use).
This restores the association of .scr files to the system's screen saver mechanism.
This entry was posted in Things to remember... and tagged file extension, scr, screen saver, Windows on 13-November-2007 by David.
Here's my contribution to spreading the word.
This entry was posted in Politics, Things to remember... and tagged Climate, video on 10-November-2007 by David.
Spring forward and fall back.
Don't forget to set your clocks ahead one hour (like I have on more than one occasion).
I'm off to change the clocks RIGHT NOW.
This entry was posted in Life, Things to remember... on 1-April-2006 by David.
When going on a photo safari, make sure you have a memory card in the digital camera.
Ginny and I went out to the Morton Arboretum today to wander around and take some pictures.
After walking about 3/4's of a mile on one of the paths, I wondered why my camera didn't have the normal 'number of shots left' display.
I tried to preview the shots I had taken and I got the disheartening message "NO CF CARD".
I had thought I had taken about 30 pictures already … some of which I had high hopes for. Sadly, the camera transfered them to /dev/null.
Luckily Ginny had a spare 256mb card with her … so I was able to get SOME shots.
This entry was posted in Shutterbug, Things to remember... on 30-July-2005 by David.
Ryan told me that my blogs (both this one and IMHO) were not displaying properly when viewed with Internet Explorer. Every time they visited a page, IE wanted to download the page instead of displaying it.
I had just made some tweaks to the web server, so I figured I had screwed something up.
I searched and searched, but couldn't figure out what I had broken.
I decided the best way to figure out the problem would be to sniff the line with an ethernet sniffer program to see what was actually being sent down the wire.
When I did, I noticed the http 'content-type' header was blank.
Turns out the WordPress configuration option that contains the content-type value was empty. I had neglected to run the upgrade script on the WordPress database when I finished the upgrade to version 1.5!
After I ran the upgrade script, the pages displayed fine in IE.
This entry was posted in Blogs, Things to remember... on 2-March-2005 by David.


text:
Robert Bettmann
Somatic Ecology
Tag: Bejart
Myths vs. Storytelling – Bejart
From the prior posts: I think my understanding of myth is somewhat personal.
What is the difference between a myth and a story?
Is is the presence of archetypal vs. 'human' characters?
Is it the presence of non-human, magical characters – like Sylphs?
I remember reading some Joseph Campbell when I was growing up – the Hero's Journey, and some analysis of Star Wars… I don't know. Didn't really stick I guess.
Two years ago I went to Paris for a week to research Marie Taglioni at the Garnier Opera Archive. I was staying with a young scholar I had met in New York (we met while we were both working in the NY Library for the Performing Arts.) I was researching ballet families (Vestris, Taglioni, Coulon) and she was researching Balanchine.
While I was over there, we went to see Bejart Ballet.
Bejart passed away in late 2007. Here are a few excerpts from Lewis Segal's obituary. (Bear with me – I know this seems disjointed: it comes together.)
Although he began his ballet career dancing the 19th century classics in pristine versions staged from the choreography notebooks of what is now the Kirov Ballet, Bejart eventually developed a complex style of contemporary ballet. It incorporated movement influences from a number of cultures, along with a flamboyant theatricality very much in the neo-Expressionist tradition of Western Europe but foreign to classical dancing. A key element of that new style was its refusal to accept conventional notions of what kind of dancing, roles and prominence "belonged" to males versus females.
Contrary to their original versions, Bejart cast a man in the title role of his "Firebird" and in "Bolero" created a sexually indeterminate ballet: It is danced with 40 men and one woman, 40 women and one man or with an all-male cast.
"I and a few others have fought for men's liberation in ballet — true equality," he said in a 1985 Times interview, "though, of course, it is normal when you fight for equality that it looks like you are too much on the other side." Above all, his approach to ballet was personal and intuitive, insisting, as he said, that "dance is a tool for expressing myself totally, for being, breathing, living, becoming myself."
……. [C}ritics often disapproved of works that were long on philosophical and dramatic content but short on pure dance — particularly ballets that emphasized sensual and often openly homoerotic male dancing.
In hindsight, many of the attacks seem to be barely veiled homophobia, but Bejart took them in stride. "A creator who does not shock is useless," he said at the time. "People need reactions. Progress is only achieved by jostling."
Maybe myth is the difference between jostling, and attacking, an audience. One of the uses of myth is to create that slight distance necessary for audience comfort.
When I saw Bejart's Ballet Mechanique, and his Bolero, I saw today's myths. I saw the use of a highly dramatic, romantic peice of music, and a slowly expanding spot of light, to explore idealization, division, remove, and – what's that word – ah yes, obsession.
I feel like I'm in good company with certain realizations about character/gender.
Maya Plisetskaya version of Bolero – 1st part:
Someone else – 1st part of the dance:
What are the myths of today? What are the lessons that we need to learn? Are they the same as the lessons transmitted by the greeks?
Have you seen today's visions?
The ones that reflect and remove today's barriers?
Who here got something from Balanchine's Prodigal Son? Who here got something from Graham's Errand into the Maze? Limon's Moor's Pavane?
Bejart has passed, joining Balanchine, Graham, Limon…. What's next?
Author Robert BettmannPosted on September 14, 2008 February 1, 2009 Categories Art, Fiction, PoliticsTags Bejart, Communication, Dance
Through funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, Humanities DC, Brink Media, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, and DCRE Residential I'm currently directing the DC Arts Writing Fellowship on behalf of the non-profit Day Eight.
To read the articles I've assigned and edited through the fellowship -- which started June 1, 2016 -- visit Artapedia.com
Read the arts magazine Bourgeon here.
(Bio photo: Joanne Miller)
Tweets by @rbett
Activism by Auction
I Don't Want to Paint the Fence
Madoff, Rodriquez, and Jones
Pain and the Dancer
Three Wrongs Make A _____ :
What Artists Need to Make Enemies and Influence People
DC theaters face 'catastrophic' economic impact if coronavirus causes prolonged ticket sales decline
Opportunity for Jewish Artists: Authenticity and Identity Exhibition
Celebrated artist Robin Bell helps Corcoran look back on tumultuous time
Jewish Identity Development in Experiential Pluralistic Environments
DC's Own Alma Thomas Rises to New Heights in the Art World
Exhibit Documents Historic Neighborhood Change, Successful Collective Action
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