| CRESP Senegal is an independent affiliate
of the American NGO Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy
(CRESP), Ithaca, New York. The executive board of the Yoff Eco-Community
Program (EcoYoff) created CRESP, Senegal, as an institutional
support for EcoYoff's expanding activities. EcoYoff is a sustainable
development program formed in 1996 jointly by Yoff's community
based organization (CBO), the Association for the Economic,
Cultural and Social Promotion of Yoff (APECSY).and the local
government Commune d'Arrondissement of Dakar - Yoff (CAY). CRESP
provides NGO status and supervision for the projects of EcoYoff,
which include the International -Arts Festival of Dakar -Yoff,
community projects, study programs, and international research
and internships. Since 1997, CRESP/EcoYoff
has created a Popular Information System (SIP), in collaboration
with community associations and local governments, and other
internet initiatives, supported by the Region of Dakar, the
United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR),
the Fondation du Devenir (FdD), the Canadian International
Development Research Center (IDRC) and the World Bank. These
Internet capacity building programs extend CRESP's activities
to the national level and to other African countries.
CRESP's activities are many and varied. As noted
they fall primarily into the areas of low cost social development
applications of information technology and sustainable community
development. They include projects in education, urban agriculture,
health and nutrition, sanitation, and an ecological housing
settlement. They favor job creation, and low income women,
children, and families.
CRESP Sénégal works with partners
sharing similar commitments, ranging from local municipalities,
community associations, universities, students, interns and
volunteers to international assistance agencies, corporations
and other NGOs. It uses participatory methods of needs assessment,
analysis, and definition and trial of solutions (favoring
recent advances in action research and project management). |
