The Sustainable Development Goals are ambitious targets that countries around the world have pledged to meet by 2030. They envision a secure and peaceful world free of poverty, inequality and hunger, with full and productive employment, access to quality education and universal health coverage, gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, and an end to environmental degradation.

All of the projects Heart-Links funds advance one or more of the SDGs.

The five themes of IDW2024 are Gender Equality, Education, Health, Climate Action and Partnership. These are priority areas for Heart-Links, too.

There are plenty of ways to celebrate International Development Week and learn more about global solidarity and cooperation. To get you started, here’s a list of events you might be interested in from organizations across the province.

Or join us this Thursday at Innovation Works for Share the Love. This musical fiesta and fundraiser is a great way to support and learn more about the community-led initiatives Heart-Links funds in Peru. Register for free here!

International Development Week is an annual initiative held during the first full week in February. A uniquely Canadian tradition, IDW was initiated in 1991 by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in order to promote global peace. The Government of Canada, Global Affairs Canada (GAC), civil society organizations, schools, businesses, provinces, municipalities, volunteers and millions of interested Canadians participate in IDW each year.

#GoForTheGoals #IDW2024 #SolidarityMatters

The families of the rural community of San Isidro have come a long way since 2017, when they fled their homes because of floods that damaged or destroyed their houses, lands, crops, animals, irrigation system, and water supply. Today, with support from Heart-Links partner Centro Esperanza, they grow and sell organic vegetables, raise free-run chickens and produce organic eggs for themselves and the market, raise sheep and have planted an orchard that will produce passion fruit and papaya for market.

But it hasn’t been easy. In 2022, fertilizer, food and transportation prices skyrocketed, making it harder than ever to buy food or travel for work. Late in the year, countrywide protests interrupted supply chains, further undermining food security. Despite these challenges, the families of San Isidro made great strides:

• The community received a donation of sheep from another institution which was impressed by the success of the project sponsored by Heart-Links.
• A focus in 2022 was to get youth involved. Community youth learned about organic gardening, caring for sheep, communications and gender equality.
• The community successfully negotiated with municipal authorities for a place in town to sell their produce.
• They also arranged with the nearby Túcume Museum to sell their organic produce on a monthly basis at the site.
• A woman was elected president of San Isidro’s community association.
• One family both produces and sells organic fertilizer.
• The families used some of their earnings to donate educational games to the local school. They wanted to show solidarity as well as the importance of play in learning.
• More community members want to join the association.
• Inspired by San Isidro, a neighbouring community wants to start a similar project.

And there is so much more. But sometimes pictures tell the story better. These photos represent the first six months of this project in 2022:

At a recent presentation to the Rotary Club of Strathroy, Rita Moker, of the Rural Libraries Network of Cajamarca, said these words: “It takes many hands and many hearts to do this work.”

She was referring to the 400 or so volunteer librarians who take care of the books distributed to them by the Rural Libraries Network, who loan them to members of their communities and lead reading circles. She was also referring to the Network’s volunteer regional coordinators, who deliver the books to the librarians, and to the team in Cajamarca, also volunteers, who edit and design the books.

But Rita was not just talking about the people in Peru who make this work possible. She was talking about the Rotary Club of Strathroy, whose members wanted to know more about the libraries and pooled donations from their membership and supporters to help this work continue. And she was talking about you.

This is the essence of solidarity—working together, each contibuting in the ways we best can. Many hands. Many hearts.

The Rural Libraries Network works to advance Sustainable Development Goal #4: Quality Education. One of their most important publications is the Enciclopedia Campesina, is a series of 20 books containing Indigenous knowledge and traditions from this region in the northern Andes. The books preserve, share and value this cultural and communal heritage, which for centuries has been the target of racism, colonialism and neglect. Heart-Links is currently funding a revised edition of the encylclopedia that includes new stories and knowledge drawn from communities that have joined the network since the last edition was published with Heart-Links’ help almost 20 years ago.

As community coordinator Sergio Juamán pointed out during the presentation to Strathroy Rotary, this project is about more than reading. “It’s about why we read,” he said. “We read to foster solidarity, with the people and the world around us.” For the Rural Libraries Network, reading is another way of building community.

The Sustainable Development Goals are ambitious targets that countries around the world have pledged to meet by 2030. They envision a secure and peaceful world free of poverty, inequality and hunger, with full and productive employment, access to quality education and universal health coverage, gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, and an end to environmental degradation.

All of the projects Heart-Links funds advance one or more of the SDGs.

The five themes of International Development Week in 2023 are Gender Equality, Education, Health, Food Security and Climate Action. These are priority areas for Heart-Links and our partners, too.

Every day this week, we’ll profile a different partner and the projects and programs they run with your support. You can check back here to learn more about their work. We’ll also send two more newsletters this week to your inbox.

There are plenty of other ways to celebrate International Development Week and learn more about global solidarity and cooperation. To get you started, here’s a list of events you might be interested in from organizations across the province.

International Development Week is an annual initiative held during the first full week in February. A uniquely Canadian tradition, IDW was initiated in 1991 by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in order to promote global peace. The Government of Canada, Global Affairs Canada (GAC), civil society organizations, schools, businesses, provinces, municipalities, volunteers and millions of interested Canadians participate in IDW each year.

#GoForTheGoals #IDW2023 #SolidarityMatters

• No poverty
• Zero Hunger
• Good Health and Well-being
• Quality Education
• Gender Equality
• Sustainable Cities and Communities
• Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

To celebrate, organizations across Canada are taking part in a host of #IDW2022 activities, and starting today, you can, too! Here’s are some events to choose from:

SUNDAY

Bidding is open now at Heart-Links’ Share the Love @ Home online silent auction. Win spectacular prizes and support Heart-Links projects in Peru. It’s a win-win. Auction closes end of day Thursday. START BIDDING HERE

TUESDAY

Centennial College is hosting a conference on Building Back Better through “Inclusive, Diverse, and Equitable Partnerships within Development.” Panelists will discuss approaches to adapt international development cooperation through power shifts; decolonizing aid and localization; addressing climate change; as well as policies and programs that seek to transform gender relations and promote equality.

Anthony Peña, who coordinates Centro Santa Angela’s Men for Gender Equality program, is one of the speakers for the conference’s Prioritizing Gender Equality session, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Don’t miss out! REGISTER HERE

WEDNESDAY

Join the Kawartha World Issues Centre (KWIC) at 7 p.m. via zoom for “Climate Action Through the Lens of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP)” and explore the importance of UNDRIP as a framework for meeting climate targets and creating a more sustainable world. REGISTER HERE

THURSDAY

It’s finally here! Share the Love @ Home starts on zoom webinar at 7 p.m. sharp. Flor Reaño, of Latidos; Erla Hoyos, of Centro Santa Angela; and Lola Paredes, of the Rural Libraries Network, will join us live from Peru to talk about their work to reach the Sustainable Development Goals in their communities. There will be music, too, by jazz pianist Anthony D’Alessandro. REGISTER HERE

FRIDAY

CUSO International is hosting Youth Speak Up? Youth will share perspectives on international development such as meaningful engagement with Indigenous perspectives, diversity and inclusion, and the global goals. REGISTER HERE

A final extra-special event involves Heart-Links’ partner the Rural Libraries Network. The House of Peruvian Literature (Casa de Literatura Peruana) has awarded its annual prize in Peruvian letters to the network’s director Alfredo Mires. The award ceremony will stream live (in Spanish) at 7 p.m. EST on the Casa de Literatura Peruana’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT WEEK,
FROM HEART-LINKS TO YOU!

Erla Hoyos, of Centro Santa Angela, and Ruth Taylor, of Heart-Links, speak with Safa Shahkhalili about the Canadian-Peruvian partnership that is fostering a new kind of leadership in Peru. All accompanied by beautiful illustration by Amanda Schutz.

You can listen right here:

Or you can listen on Spotify (here) or Apple Podcasts (here) or wherever you like to listen to podcasts: Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Podcast Addict, Podchaser, Deezer, Listen Notes,  Pocket Casts, Castro, Castbox.

Remember to follow or subscribe to listen to all the episodes in the series. You’ll hear stories from Bhutan Canada Foundation, CAP Network, Canada-Mathare Education Trust, Inter Pares, Partners In Health Canada, Rayjon Share Care, YMCA of Greater Toronto and their respective international partners.

Here are some ways you can help keep this important conversation about how to build a more just world going:

• share this blog post on social media and with friends and family
• rate each podcast episode you listen to
• share your feedback, questions and comments (you can email them to info@heart-links.org)

Tapestry 2030 is a podcast and illustration series focused on the future of international cooperation and global solidarity, and the partnerships needed for gender transformative, sustainable development. In it OCIC members and their international partners share stories anchored in the principles for Just Recovery within the context of the global pandemic.

If you’d like to hear more from our outstanding partners about the projects Heart-Links supports in northern Peru, join us at 7 p.m. EST tomorrow at Share the Love @ Home. Register for free here.

• No poverty
• Zero Hunger
• Good Health and Well-being
• Quality Education
• Gender Equality
• Sustainable Cities and Communities
• Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

To celebrate, Heart-Links is taking part in a host of #IDW2021 activities, and starting today, you can, too! Here’s what’s on our calendar:

SUNDAY

Bidding is open now at our Share the Love @ Home online silent auction. Win spectacular prizes and support Heart-Links projects in Peru. It’s a win-win. Auction closes end of day Friday.
START BIDDING HERE

If you speak Spanish, tune in at 4 p.m. today to Radio Western’s La Voz Hispana (94.9FM) to hear Heart-Links chat with guest host José Merino about why international cooperation is important.

MONDAY

The Ontario Council of International Cooperation’s multimedia storytelling initiative Tapestry 2030 launches in the wee hours Monday morning. First up in this series focused on the future of international cooperation and global solidarity is Bhutan Canada Foundation and a conversation about Building Sustainable Tourism in Bhutan. Subscribe to the series here or here or anywhere else you listen to podcasts so you can also catch Heart-Links’ episode when it airs later this week.

If you want to learn more about the series and the multimedia artists and organizations involved, join us and other OCIC members at 12 noon for a lunchtime launch event.
LEARN MORE AND REGISTER HERE

THURSDAY

Listen to Tapestry 2030 to hear Heart-Links chat with Erla Hoyos, of Centro Santa Angela, about Leadership in Action in Peru. The episode airs at midnight here and here and anywhere else you listen to podcasts. (Don’t forget to subscribe so you can hear two episodes a week all the way to International Women’s Day.)

FRIDAY

It’s finally here! Share the Love @ Home starts on zoom webinar at 7 p.m. sharp.
REGISTER FREE HERE

For the first time ever, our partners in Peru will join us for our annual free-admission fiesta: Delicia Romero and Cecilia Odar, of Madre Oliva Association will speak to us from Zaña; Isabel Gutiérrez, of ACIES, will join from Cajamarca, and Fely Ramírez from Centro Esperanza in Chiclayo will take part, too. All four women will speak about the difficult year just past and the needs their organizations hope to address in 2021 as Peru faces the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Live from Zaña, Yim Rodríguez will enchant with Afro-Peruvian music from the region. Both musician and visual artist, Yim is best known in London for painting the mural that graces King’s University library.

This is also the last day for bidding in our online silent auction. Get those bids in—or make a donation. We can get involved and help make this a more just world. Our silent auction closes when the clock strikes 12.

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT WEEK,
FROM HEART-LINKS TO YOU!

Here’s a taste:

With the help of podcaster Safa Shahkhalili and illustrator Amanda Schutz, the series will share stories from Heart-Links and 7 other OCIC members—Bhutan Canada Foundation, CAP Network, Canada-Mathare Education Trust, Inter Pares, Partners In Health Canada, Rayjon Share Care, YMCA of Greater Toronto—and our respective international partners.

A lunchtime launch event at 12 noon, Monday, February 8, kicks off the series. Join us through zoom to

• Reflect on the importance of International Development Week, and why a partnership approach matters
• Hear from podcaster Safa Shahkhalili about her approach to creating the series and engaging with partners around the world
• Hear from illustrator Amanda Schutz about her artwork and artistic process
• Engage with participants about what’s at the heart of their podcast stories

REGISTER FOR THE TAPESTRY 2030 LAUNCH HERE

Two new episodes of Tapestry 2030 air each week. Heart-Links’ episode airs Thursday, February 11, just one day before our own celebration of solidarity, Share the Love @ Home.

Here’s to celebrating International Development Week with you!