Capacity development - Strengthened partners in Asia

Background information

Mission 21 has many years of experience in Indonesia, Malaysia and Hong Kong in working with church and Islamic grassroots organizations that are committed to peace work and women's rights. This has resulted in trusting relationships, sound contextual knowledge and networks that are well anchored in the region. All of this forms an optimal basis for the implementation of locally supported and supraregionally coordinated interreligious projects that sustainably improve the situation of women in the family and society.

Our special task in working with partner churches today is to train leaders in aspects of good organizational management or Good governance. At present, the focus is particularly on finance and human resources, project management and the prevention of sexualized abuse of power. Mission 21 verifies compliance with regulations and applies the internationally valid principles of accounting and financial reporting.

Mission 21 has also repeatedly supported capable young people who could not have afforded to study with scholarships. This tradition was later continued by the partner churches that had become independent. Today, they themselves are responsible for the renewal of their cadre and award scholarships that are co-financed by Mission 21.

Project goals

The regional coordination and the partner organizations of Mission 21 have motivated and qualified staff to carry out the projects and programs of development cooperation in a well-organized, effective manner and according to international standards.

Target group

Senior staff and middle management of our partner organizations - especially women and young professionals, pastors - as well as organizations that can be reached through the interfaith and inter-institutional cooperation of the churches. Through their dedicated work and by ensuring high standards in administrative areas, we reach the target groups of our development projects and programs: socially discriminated or marginalized groups, including women, indigenous people, the poor, the sick, migrants and their children.

Activities

• Church Fights Corruption Campaign (PGI and Member Churches)
• Platform with workshops on burning issues of good organizational governance, with all project managers and leaders of the partner organizations involved in the Cooperation Program Asia (regularly annually, January 2019 in Bangkok).
• Regular audits and subsequent support in the implementation of recommendations (for the Indonesian Federation of Churches PGI and partner churches GKPI, BCCM-BM, PCS, GKPI, as well as Sabah Theological Seminary STS).
• Advise and support capacity building of partner churches BCCM-BM, PCS, and GKPI toward theological, staffing, and financial self-sufficiency.
• Scholarships for further training of staff of partner organizations (as part of support for capacity building of partner churches and as promotional scholarships).

Project progress

All partner organizations have worked actively to improve their organizational governance. Following the example of Mission 21, each has developed and adopted its own code of conduct to overcome corruption for its employees. On this basis, with the support of experts, several project partners have already developed a complete anti-corruption policy, including a complaints office and procedures. The prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment is a new focus of work, and several partners have already created a corresponding code of conduct for their organization.

Efforts to improve organizational governance are ongoing. Capacity building of the partner churches BCCM-BM, PCS and GKPI towards theological, personnel and financial self-sufficiency is being completed in the current program phase. Former Mission 21 scholarship holders have been elected as hopeful "Agents of Change" in leadership positions of their churches and affiliated institutions or are doing valuable work directly in the communities to improve people's lives.