Curriculum Vittae

 L.C.D. (Ranjan) Solomon
149/D, Gina, Maina-Curtorim
Salcete, Goa – 403709, INDIA
Telephone +91 – 9881181350 (Mobile) and +91 - 832-2787667 (Home)
E-mail ranjan.solomon@gmail.com

Profile: Committed NGO/ecumenical leader with successful experiences in creating change through advocacy, communications, and issue education with a particular focus on issues of development based on social justice, peace, and human rights.

General experiences

Alternatives-Badayl
Founder/Director, January 2003-May 2004 and Nov. 2006 – Present
Alternatives-Badayl is a Goa-India/Palestine based consultancy, which seeks to support NGOs and Civil Society groups that wish to effect authentic and insightful changes in global society.

‘Alternatives-Badayl’ provides support to Organizational Development processes, Organizational and Project Evaluations/Assessments/Audits, Project formulation/Training in Project writing and the PME method. It also supports organizations to develop Policy papers/Research projects.

Current projects include:

• Write and distribute an e-campaign letter, Palestine Update (95 issues so far)
• Convener, Peoples Collective on HIV-AIDS in Goa
• Consultant to the Council for Social Justice and Peace, Archdiocese of Goa for  human rights based work with coastal communities to oppose the negative impacts of tourism
• Consultant, Organizational Development for the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), Goa Unit, India; and an action-research project on impacts on mining in Goa, India.
• Served as consultant to ‘Jan Ugahi’ – a Child Rights organization based in Goa.
• Designed/carried out courses on ‘Advocacy and Networking’.
• Archdiocese of Goa-Daman-Diu (Developing a State wide policy and practice for responsible tourism in Goa)
• Advisor, Organizational Development Processes of the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), India.
• Consultant, Project to assess the impact of mining on Communities and Environment towards a litigation and mass mobilization process.
• Founder-Convener, Inter-Faith Dialogue for Life – a justice movement of people seeking dialogue for social action.
• Edited “Pilgrimages for Transformation” – Report from an International Workshop held in Alexandria, Egypt, in 2004.
• Edited ‘Combating dispossession’- Towards a Code of Ethics of Tourism in Palestine

Completed projects included:

• Evaluation of an intervention project in Ingushetia, Russia in 2003 and assisted the project (ARD-Denal) in re-profiling their priorities, approaches, and sharpening their goals/vision. The project was operating in a severely affected conflict situation between Chechnya rebels’ ands the Russian army. 

• Evaluation of an intervention in conflict zone of Indonesia where the YEU (Yakkum Emergency Unit) operated a massive relief-rehab-development programme for the people spread across several islands in that country. YEU engaged in a Future Search (Re-envisioning) exercise through which they defined their vision and goals afresh, revised their strategies and approach, created a distinct working profile in terms of human resource development, community organization tactics, organizational development methods, and for YEU to grow as a learning network.

Ecumenical Coalition on Third World Tourism (ECOT)
ECOT is a global ecumenical network which works to challenge the dominant paradigms within which the tourism industry works and mobilize peoples movements, NGOs, academics, and individuals to work for justice, human rights, and benefits for local communities in tourism.
Executive Director May 2004-November 2006

•  Promoted and mobilized global network’s collective action on tourism-related issues including environment, culture, trade, human rights, and disaster preparedness, with special reference to the 2004 tsunami.
• Organized ‘Rallying Base’ at the World Social Forum 2005 and regional preparatory meetings, successfully facilitating participation of marginalized social movements including informal workers, Dalit Movement, Workers Movement, Indigenous Peoples, and Trade Justice Movements.  The result was a broadening of ECOT’s base for action as well as a way of mainstreaming tourism issues into the work of other sectors.
• ECOT played a significant role at the WTO Ministerial in 2005 in Hong Kong in bringing to the fore the ‘Tourism Question’ as a trade issue.
• ECOT helped create a global coalition on the ‘Question of Palestine’ with a perspective on ‘Pilgrimages for Justice’.
• Edited ‘Contours’ – the quarterly publication of ECOT.
• Edited a series of publications and dossiers:
• Small Islands and Tourism
• “Tsunami and the impacts of tourism” - Three dossiers
• 5-part series in “perspectives in Tourism’
• Democratizing Tourism
• Spirituality in Tourism
• Community based Tourism- an Ecuadorian Experience
• Encounters between the wretched of the Earth and the Tourist
• Tourism and GATS
• Pilgrimages for Transformation

World Alliance of YMCAs, Geneva (1986-1992 and 1996-2002)
The World Alliance of YMCAs is an international ecumenical movement spread over 130 countries all over the world which works with youth and other segments of society to bring creative change into social processes and thus help establish a humane world order where there is peace, freedom, and justice for all.

• Executive Secretary, Mission and Ecumenical Concerns (1999-2002).
• Executive Secretary for Programme and Communications (1996-1998)
• Executive Secretary, Justice, Peace and Development. (1986-1992)

Was instrumental for taking the World Alliance of YMCAs forward towards addressing broader and crucial justice-human rights questions and linking the YMCA to the wider ecumenical movement/civil society groups/NGOs and their agendas… many of the initiatives taken were unfamiliar terrain for the YMCA and required working at organizational transformation alongside programme development.

Held responsibilities for international relations including relations with the United Nations and international NGOs, global YMCA based human rights initiatives, HR/OD services, Emergency services, and publications.

The work carried out included:

Coordinator of:

• World YMCA interventions in conflict situations- notably Middle East, Central America, South Africa, Sri Lanka. .
• Task Group on Migrant Workers and Human Rights and Global Pilot Projects (1989-1991).
• International Task Group on Migrant Workers (1987).
• Global YMCA network on Landmines.
• Human Rights Programmes and emergency appeals.
• Christian - Muslim Action and Dialogue Project in Gambia (1989-1991).
• Inter-faith Programmes of Action and Dialogue in Bangladesh (1989-1991).

Coordination of World Councils and Assemblies

• Member, Staff Team, 15th World Council and Secretary, Steering/Co-ordination Committee for the 15th World Council.
• Wrote/Edited the 15th World Council workbook including theme presentation and issue papers
• Twelfth World Council of YMCAs.
• World Assembly of YMCAs.

Mission Review

• Secretary Commission on Christian Mission on Ecumenical Concerns and Coordinator, Global Mission Review Process.
• Organized 3rd Global Youth Leadership Forum.

Publications-Communications-Research

• Editor “YMCA World” - quarterly publication of World Alliance of YMCAs. (1988-1992) and again from 1996-1998.
• Edited Week of Prayer publications 1986-1992 and 1996-2002.
• Coordinated and supervised research programme and publications carried on the subjects: Youth unemployment, Feminization of poverty, HIV/AIDS, Regional situations on landmines in Africa, Indo-China, and Central America.
• Editorials of “YMCA World” from 1986-December 1988 before assuming my role as editor of the magazine.

• Week of Prayer and World fellowship

2002 – “Living Together with People of Different Faiths”
2001 - “Equal in the Eyes of God”
2000 –“My Peace I give to you”(perspectives based on Biblical foundations)
1999 – “Economic Justice is a Human Right”
1998 - “Breaking the Silence”- Violence against Women- A Gender perspective.
1997 - “Resistance and Reconciliation”

• Booklets of workshops organized that were published:

• “Ecumenical Task of the YMCA in Islamic Societies”.
• “Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious Context”
• “Ecumenical Task of the YMCA in the Middle East”
• “Ecumenical vision of the YMCA in Latin America”
• “Christian Witness in Secular Societies”
• “What is Apartheid? YMCA tasks on Apartheid”
• “Migrant Workers and Human Rights”
• “2nd Inter-Area Consultation of YMCAs in Developing Countries”
• “Towards a Nuclear Free Pacific”
• “Education for Justice Development”
• “Drugs and Substance Abuse”
• “The Call to Christian Stewardship”
• “Towards World YMCA action on Palestine Issue”
• “An Agenda for South-South Cooperation

International workshops/seminars organized on global dimensions of development, justice, and human rights

• Christian Witness in a Multi-religious Context in Asia in collaboration with Asia Alliance of YMCAs, Chiangmai, Thailand.
• Ecumenical Task of the YMCA in the Middle East in collaboration with Middle East Committee of YMCA.
• Ecumenical Task of the YMCA in Islamic Societies in collaboration with Africa Alliance of YMCA, Nairobi, Kenya.
• Inter-area Consultation of YMCAs in Developing Countries, New Delhi and Tanzania (1987 and 1990).
• World YMCA Workshop on “Migrant Worker and Human Rights” (1987).
• International YMCA Conference on “Nuclear Free South Pacific” (1989).
• World YMCA Seminar on YMCA as a Lay Christian Ecumenical Movement (1989).
• World YMCA Youth Leadership Institute (1990).
• World YMCA Workshop on Development Education (1990).
• World YMCA Youth Conference (1988 and 1991).
• World YMCA Women’s Meeting (1988 and 1991).
• World Consultation on Leadership Development (1991).
• World YMCA Seminar on Drugs and Substance Abuse (1991).
• International Hearing and Consultation on the Debt Crisis (1991).

Youth, Gender, and Leadership issues:

• International Youth Work Camps at area levels.
• Workshop on “Women in Society” at regional levels.
• Task Group on Leadership Development (1989-1991) and Global Youth Forum (1999)
• Area level Intensive Leadership Development Programmes (1989-1991)/Training in Community Organization

Related ecumenical roles

• Co -founded the Ecumenical Coalition for Alternatives to Globalization (ECAG).
• Member, Trade Strategy Group, Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance.
• Member, Planning process of the EGGYS process (1986-1992)

National Council of YMCAs in India, July 1992 - Dec. 1995              

• Director, National Training and Research Centre

The National Council of YMCAs is a National Federation of YMCAS in India which covers over 700 YMCAs all over the country which works to bring creative change into social processes and thus help establish an India where is justice, development, and equal rights for all people, especially the disadvantaged and marginalised sections of the society. 

• Main task was to re-structure the profile, methods, and curriculum of the Centre to give it a broader mandate (an ecumenical training center for youth workers).
• Initiated a research component/documentation centre/continuing education for YMCA staff.

Organized:

• The one-year postgraduate training course in ecumenical youth work -1993-1994 and 1994-1995.
• “Continuing Studies” programmes for Middle and Senior level YMCA secretaries.
• A Management Development Programme for YMCA secretaries with 12-15 years of service in the YMCA.
• An Orientation Programme for YMCA secretaries who newly joined the YMCA.
• A National Consultation on “Communalism in India”.
• Coordinated a National Research Project on “Communalism in India - perspectives from the youth.”
• National Workshop on Community Organization and Social Analysis (1993).
• National Training Workshop on “Disaster Preparedness” (1994).
• National Consultation on Communalism.(1994)
• National Workshop on Management Development (1995).

Publications brought out by the Training and Research Centre during the above period included:

• A handbook for YMCA secretaries (edited).
• A reprint of “100 Years of History” by Jack Dunderdale.
• The Ecumenical Movement - some Asian perspectives by Dr. Rosario Narchison.
• A workbook entitled “New Frontiers Demand New Challenges” (edited).
• Three research papers of trainees of the 1994 - 1995 batches.
• Women, Communalism and Fundamentalism.
• Youth Agenda and Strategies for Social Transformation.

            * Street Children: a Problem Associated with Modern Development.

 Asia Alliance of YMCAs, Hong Kong, July 1982 - Dec. 1985
Executive for Development - coordinating a regional Development Education programme and managing the Asia Development Fund.

The Asia Alliance of YMCAs is a Regional Federation of YMCAS in India which covers 22 National  YMCAs all over the Asia region to bring a sense of relevance and identity to YMCAs in the region through programmes in the areas of human rights, justice, development, gender justice, and youth empowerment. Work carried out included:

• Co-ordination of an Asia-Pacific wide programme of development education.
• Receiving, scrutinizing and recommending funding for Asian YMCA Development Projects.
• Conducting development education programmes in the countries of the Asian-Pacific region. Co-ordination and directing Youth-in-development Project of the Asian Alliance of YMCAs.
• Organizing regional and inter-regional level programmes.
• Asia YMCA Consultation on Development (1982).
• Asia - Canada Working Conference on Development Corporation (1983).
• Asia YMCA International Youth Conference (1985).
• Asia YMCA Consultation on Urban issues (1985).
• Asia YMCA Consultation on “Women in Society” (1985).
• Member Programme Planning Committee - First Consultation of YMCAs in the Third World.

   
YMCA Hyderabad     Mar. 1980 - June 1982 
Secretary for Development and Social Concerns with responsibilities for Rural Development Programmes and an Urban Community Development in slums.
The Hyderabad YMCA was one of several YMCAs in India with a strong focus on work with the rural poor and urban poor. Its department of Development and Social Concerns had an extensive programme of work in many slums in Hyderabad, and in remote villages as well as villages affected by cyclones- a periodic occurrence in the region.

YMCA Bangalore         July 1975 - Mar. 1980             Secretary for Student Work
Secretary for Programme Co-ordination (Special responsibility for Youth and Student work, rural and urban community development and Special Literacy Projects)
The Bangalore YMCA was well noted as a Centre for Youth and Student leadership Programmes.

YMCA Jaipur                  Mar. 1972 - Oct. 1973 Founder Secretary

YMCA refugee services in West Bengal, Sept.71- Mar. 1972
Assistant Secretary for work with Bangladesh refugees

Experiences/skills pertinent to advocacy roles

• Advocacy, Campaigning, and Coalition building on the Palestinian issue
• Addressed public and smaller groups in India on the Palestinian issue
• Writing and distribution of an e-campaign letter, Palestine Update (97 issues so far)
• Creating a global coalition on the ‘Question of Palestine’ with a programmatic focus on ‘Pilgrimages for Justice’ through ECOT.
• Advocated on issues of human rights, justice, conflict transformation, development projects, and emergency assistance. 
• Coordinated the International YMCA Task Force on Justice for Palestine for 6 years
• Led delegations to Palestine-Israel with a view to framing a response which would take up the Question of freedom and justice for the Palestinians. 
• Worked with a Global Network on Third World Tourism and promoted study and action on issues including tourism and environment, tourism and culture, tourism and trade, tourism and human rights, tourism and disaster preparedness (special reference to the tsunami of December 2004)

Experiences/skills pertinent to Communications roles

• Edited booklets, reports, journals covering a wide range of subjects
• Edited YMCA World – the official magazine of the World Alliance of YMCAs.
• Edited Publications of the Ecumenical Coalition on Third World Tourism including three dossiers on the tsunami and tourism for three years.  
• Compiled Dossiers, Workbooks, for World Level Assemblies of International Organizations.
• Currently Co-Editor of a Goa Journal on Science-Religion-Society and free lance writer on socio-economic issues

Experiences/skills pertinent to Organizational development and Strategic Planning

• Experiences in facilitating the development of Strategic Directions
• Worked with a core group to develop Strategic Directions and a Global Operational plan in the World YMCA. The focus areas of this work included:
• Evolving Mission-Vision clarity
• Developing viable organizational tools for Capacity Building (Setting parameters for Leadership Development of staff and volunteers, Financial development. and management)
• Creation of a Governance Policy Agreement- equivalent of a Social Contract between the various international structures of the YMCA and its worldwide constituencies.
• Institutional Development- Policies and practices based on ethical values and bases.

Experiences/skills pertinent of Human Resource and Capacity Building/Organizational Transformation

• Coordinated a Human Resources Development strategy for YMCAs at global, Asia-Pacific, and national level in India. Including programmes for Training of Trainers (TOT) ( Between 1982 and 2002)
• Facilitated regional development processes notably in the Caribbean region by coordinating the drawing up of a regional strategy for the development of the YMCA in the region in the spheres of leadership development, strategic planning, and programme and financial development in line with emerging needs.
• At Asia-Pacific level, coordinated assistance in training for all national member YMCAs in social research methods, social analysis, and development education.
• In India, experiences were in the area of Training and Research for youth workers. Developed training modules for staff and volunteer leaders on questions of the social dimension of YMCA mission through addressing such issues as urbanization, gender questions, street children, methods in community organization etc.
• My experiences in organizing “Management Development” programmes in collaboration with centers/persons of management excellence enabled my organization to understand that an effective social development agency requires sound institutional/management policies and practices in order to serve with efficiency and with results commensurate with inputs.
• Worked closely in support of organizational review processes of the YMCAs in Sri Lanka and East Jerusalem. In each situation my role was to coordinate and facilitate international support towards a re-envisioning of the work of the YMCAs which had suffered organizational lapses and required fundamental revisiting in terms of defining mission-vision, retooling, and restructuring, given the new and emerging challenges. Each required “Future Search” processes (Organizational re-envisioning) involving all stakeholders- a form of organizational renewal.
• Initiated a fundamental organizational transformation in South Africa from a white-dominated YMCA into a multiracial movement for justice and reconciliation in South Africa. This was a global team effort and brought into play a variety of multidisciplinary forces for change.

Experiences and skills pertinent to Emergencies and Refugees

Emergencies and Refugee assistance

• Evaluated Project work of ARD-DENAL, Ingushetia, Russia, and Yakkum Emergency Unit (Indonesia), on behalf of Kerkinactie, ICCO, and CORDAID. Report that followed suggested future Organizational Methods-Institutional Strategies-and Capacity Building Processes.
• Coordinated global appeals for emergency relief especially in Asia-Pacific and Africa in coordination with regional structures. Field visits in follow up of such appeals and the fund raising that accrued were geared to assisting project implementers in project writing, programme development, networking among various project holders working in similar situations, reporting, monitoring, and evaluation.
• Carried out emergency relief, and rehabilitation services in Andhra Pradesh, India in disaster-prone areas following cyclones in the State. Some of these projects grew into development projects with the most marginalized groups.
• Worked with national structures to facilitate support to YMCAs in war torn/conflict situations. Such support has been both in the form of immediate relief to victims of war and their families along with longer term rehabilitative processes e.g.: work with war widows, socio-psychological counseling of children, appropriate recreational services for youth. Conflict resolution-management-transformation is a field in which I have also gained substantive experiences.
• Organized two separate Disaster Management programmes, one for field workers/policy managers in South Asia and Youth workers in India and am familiar with concepts and trends in disaster management.
• Jointly coordinated a post-war response to the war in Central America by the creation of YMCA structures which would respond adequately through viable organizational capacities to serve refugees, returnees, displaced peoples, and children traumatized by war. This entailed putting together fund raising initiatives, study and investigative teams, and participatory processes involving people at al levels to create relevant programmes/projects.
• Acquired useful experiences in working at the level of refugee camps during the Bangladesh liberation struggle in West Bengal, Krishnagiri District. The tasks involved working with children and young people through vocational training, recreation, and cultural activities.

• Management of Development Funds
• Managed the working of an Asia-Pacific based Development Fund. The fund was designed to support YMCAs in developing programmes of relevance at community level including training/leadership development/human resource development. Experiences gained have enabled me to assess project submissions, oversee disbursement of the funds, monitor their progress, and engage in on-the-spot evaluations of selected projects.
• Served as staff coordinator for an evaluation and reformulation team of a Global YMCA fund geared to assist YMCAs overcome their institutional deficits and reorganize and restructure themselves as viable and effective units of mission in their countries. The fund works across all regions- Africa, Asia-Pacific, Caribbean, Latin America, and Eastern Europe.

• Grassroots experiences
• Project based development work have equipped me to be sensitive to the problems and needs of people serving with people in, what are often, difficult situations. This has come from several years of coordinating a development Project in 21 villages around Hyderabad (Nalagonda District) in India. It has also included transformation of relief projects in cyclone affected projects in the State of Andhra Pradesh in the same period. Additionally, I am also sensitive to the needs of the urban poor having learned from work in several slums through functional literacy projects and non-formal educational education in night school projects for young girls and boys.

Education

• B.A. - Philosophy, Economics, Commerce (1967 - 1971).
• Completed a Post-Graduate Diploma course in Youth and Community Work at the Vishwa Yuwak Kendra (International Youth Centre, New Delhi, 1970).
• Completed an Eighteen-month Post-Graduate level course for Lay Persons (YMCA professional training) at the United Theological College, Bangalore, India (1973-1975).
• Completed the two-month-course - Asian Secretaries Formation conducted by the World Student Christian Federation in Asia Pacific Region (1981).
• Numerous short term Seminars/Training Programmes in Community Organization/Social Analysis/Development Studies.