Established in 1988, the Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID) is a Philippines-based advocacy institution promoting human security, democratization and people-to-people solidarity. IID conducts policy advocacy and campaign programs on Burma, Mindanao, Southern Thailand, West Papua, and East Timor. It established the Asia-Pacific Coalition for East Timor (APCET) in 1994 that spearheaded a regional people’s solidarity movement for the then occupied nation. In 2000, it established the Mindanao Peoples Caucus (MPC) – a platform and network of grassroots organizations, communities and NGOs affected and engaged in the conflict in Mindanao. MPC meanwhile established the “Bantay Ceasefire” (Ceasefire Watch) a network of civilians in the conflict areas monitoring the implementation of the official ceasefire agreement between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). And together with other peace networks, IID led the establishment of the Mindanao Peaceweavers (MPW), the broadest peace network for Mindanao in the country and currently serves as its secretariat.
IID is also the secretariat of the Asia-Pacific Solidarity Coalition (APSOC), Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict – Southeast Asia (GPPAC-SEA), and the Free Burma Coalition (FBC) –Philippines. IID is a co-founder and steering committee member of the Alternative ASEAN Network for Burma (ALTSEAN-Burma) and the World Forum for Democratization in Asia (WFDA); a working group member of the Burma Partnership (BP) and was a lead member of the National Organizing Committee of the Philippine Parliamentarian Caucus on Democracy in Myanmar. IID is also Founding Steering Committee member of the International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect (ICRtoP).
IID anchors and serves as the secretariat of Asian Circle 1325, a loose network of women partners in the region from conflict-affected areas, that promotes the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. It is also a founding member of the national network on women, peace and security called WE Act 1325 (Women Engaged in Action on UNSCR 1325).
IID’s network and coalition-building thrust reflects its grounded and broad presence in both the macro (regional, international) and local (MPC, MPW) arenas.
Networks and Linkages
The networks and linkages IID have established or become a part of reflects the breadth and depth of IID’s engagement in varying levels and arenas– be they local, national, regional or global. IID plays a key role in most of these networks being the secretariat of GPPAC-SEA, MPW, APSOC, Asian Circle 1325, FBC-P; its Executive Director elected as Co-Chair of GPPAC and as a founding Steering Committee member of WFDA, SAPA, ALTSEAN, and ICRtoP.
IID is also active in BP as a working group member, in the annual ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC) that shadow the ASEAN summits, a convenor of the Waging Peace Philippines and Kilos Kapayapaan at Katarungan (KILOS- Act for Peace and Justice), which is currently the broadest network of peace-builders in the country.
Programs
Human Security and Peacebuilding
The Human Security and Peacebuilding (HSPB) Program is intended to strengthen human security as a means to build peace. This is achieved through partnership building, policy advocacy, awareness raising, multi-stakeholder dialogues and direct actions. These are done in partnership with grassroots communities, civil society organizations and networks, non-state actors, and multilateral and state bodies. Within and across these contexts, core issues namely armed conflict, impunity, culture, ethnicity and identity based marginalization, culture of peace, citizens’ participation, peace process, and people-centered security are addressed.
Solidarity Building
The Solidarity Building Program (SBP) of IID aims to develop, expand and strengthen people-to-people solidarity in the region. The SBP will contribute to the promotion of democracy, peace and human rights in the region through a heightened engagement of civil society with states, multilateral bodies and non-state actors that results to a reformed policy and practice environment on issues related to democracy, human security, self-determination, human rights and gender.
The SBP will deliver this through the consolidation of its networks, joint and harmonized campaigns on relevant issues among IID’s regional and local partners, and through the establishment of partnerships with other key stakeholders such as academe, media, church, think-tanks and entrepreneurs on specific issues.
SBP will anchor all democracy-related advocacy of IID. In the Philippines, IID is the convenor and secretariat of a country-wide solidarity movement for Burma called the Free Burma Coalition – Philippines. FBCP engages in public advocacy for increased Philippine public support to the cause of human rights and democracy in Burma. Together with the FBCP, IID engages the Philippine government and the ASEAN for a policy shift towards a more pro-active role in improving the human rights situation and to support a democratization process in Burma. IID and FBCP also provide leadership and direction to the regional solidarity for Burma; and engage the democracy activists inside and outside the country through dialogue, in pursuit of a broader cooperation for democracy and human rights.
Knowledge Management and Communications
IID’s rich and broad experience and discourse on people-to-people solidarity are harnessed and imparted programmatically and systematically through organizational learning and knowledge sharing. As IID is committed to being a learning organization, it puts premium on evidence-based work, the development and creative sharpening of its discourse and the mission-driven technology use.
IID seeks to continually deepen the theoretical basis of its work, sharpen its analytical framework and further its discourse through various strategies and approaches including internships and exchanges, people’s diplomacy seminars and workshops, research and strategic communication and production of knowledge products.
Organizing knowledge acquisition and knowledge development for the institution and providing IID the necessary learning tools, training resources and opportunities for knowledge sharing are among the key areas.
