For civil society to counter extremism, insecurity and conflict, societies must have the tools to build a culture of peace. For human beings to be active agents in building free, equitable, secure societies, they must have access to ideas and innovations, as well as to the conditions whereby they can develop their own ideas, questions and criticisms to change the world in which they live. This is the premise from which Ideaccess aims to make valuable social justice-centred resources available to citizens, activists, women’s rights defenders and organized groups by providing professional translations of needed resources into local languages in the Middle East and Central Asia. Ideaccess also actively distributes such resources and facilitates the establishment of Community-Based Libraries (CBLs) where such resources can be accessed easily at the community level. A well-developed programme tying together translation, printing, distribution and accessibility makes Ideaccess a unique network linking activists, students and social movements across communities and borders in the Middle East and Central Asia. Together, the CBLs form a web bridging together those using the materials Ideaccess makes available to them and providing a space for the exchange of ideas, advice and support for each others’ social justice efforts.

 

 

 

IDEACCESS is a joint project of the Canada-based International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (Rights & Democracy) and the Syria-based Etana Press.

 

 

Contact Us:

 

IDEACCESS – Canada Regional Office

Rights & Democracy – Droits et Démocratie

1001 de Maisonneuve Est, Bureau 1100

Montréal, Québec H2J 2W6 CANADA

Tel : (514) 283-6073, ext. 251

Fax : (514) 283-3792

E-mail : loates@ideaccess.org

 

IDEACCESS – Middle East Regional Office

Etana Press

Arnos, No. 7

Damascus, Syria

Tel: +963-11-446 77250

E-mail: maan@ideaccess.org

 

Website:

 www.ideaccess.org

 

 

MANDATE

 

For civil society to counter extremism, insecurity and conflict, societies must have the tools to build a culture of peace. For human beings to be active agents in building free, equitable, secure societies, they must have access to ideas and innovations, as well as to the conditions whereby they can develop their own ideas, questions and criticisms to change the world in which they live. This is the premise from which Ideaccess aims to make valuable social justice-centred resources and human rights information available to citizens, activists, women’s rights defenders and organizations by providing professional translations of needed resources into local languages in the Middle East and Central Asia.

 

 

Ideaccess also actively distributes such resources and facilitates the establishment of Community-Based Libraries (CBLs) where such resources can be accessed easily at the community level.

 

A well-developed programme tying together translation, printing, distribution and accessibility makes Ideaccess a unique network linking activists, students and social movements across communities and borders in the Middle East and Central Asia. Together, the CBLs form a web bridging together those using the materials Ideaccess makes available to them and providing a space for the exchange of ideas, advice and support for each others’ social justice efforts.

 

Making Ideas Accessible to People…

 

 

"The exercise of the right to seek and receive information of relevance to and about them should help women to re-think history as man's signature."

- Jan Bauer, Only Silence Will Protect You (1996)

 

“In promoting human rights information and documentation, due regard should be paid to language diversity and the need for translating human rights instruments and materials into various national and local languages.”

- Malta Recommendations on Human Rights Teaching Information and Documentation (1987)

 

 “The right to seek or have access to information is one of the most essential elements of freedom of speech and expression… Access to information is basic to the democratic way of life.”

- UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression (1995)

 

“In the information age, women face the challenge of developing and systematizing their own knowledge, but also of ensuring that it is employed in their benefit.”

- WomenAction 2000

What is Ideaccess?

 

Ideaccess has four main functions:

• Translations (Central Asian and Middle Eastern languages)
• Distribution of print and electronic resources
• Establishment and operation of Community-Based Libraries (CBLs)
• Facilitating a network of activists in the Middle East and Central Asia

 

Ideaccess translates and distributes social justice related tools on the following topics using a gender perspective and a human rights framework:

• Human Rights
• Women’s Rights and Gender Equality
• Civil Society activism
• Political Development, participation and citizenship
• Peacebuilding and conflict
• Law and justice
• Human security and development
• Curricula, training manuals, educational tools and pedagogy
• Skills development in key areas such as fundraising, capacity-building, administration of human rights organizations, communications, etc.
• Social sciences

 

Who are these resources for?

• Human rights defenders
• Women’s rights activists
• Civil society
• Students
• Youth
• Ordinary people!

Where do we work?

 

Languages of our translations

Dari            Arabic

Farsi           French

Pashto        Russian

 

How are resources selected for translation?

All resources are reviewed by a Resource Selection Committee. Resources that are submitted for review by this committee are considered “priority texts”, meaning that there is an urgent need for the text to be accessible in a certain language. The committee only reviews texts that contribute to the building of civil societies, human rights movements and women’s movements. The Committee uses a set of criteria that assesses the quality of the work, the use of a human rights framework, the presence of a gender perspective, and contextual necessity.

 

Who translates the resources?

IDEACCESS works with translators all over the world committed to human rights and civil society. Whenever possible, translators are based in the countries where resources are used.

Ordering a Resource

 

Publications Catalogue

Ideaccess commissions translations of other publications and distributes resources translated by other institutions. To see a complete list of publications available for order, please send your request to: info@ideaccess.org

 

Electronic

Resources can be downloaded for free from our website. We can also mail the resource on a cd, or email electronic documents by request.

 

Print

You can order a print resource by sending your request, name and complete mailing address to: printresources@ideaccess.org

You may also send a written request to us by mail.

 

Print resources are free for individuals or institutions in countries in Central Asia and the Middle East.

 

Bulk Orders

If you are part of an institution and would like to discuss making a bulk order of resources for distribution in your community, please contact us.

 

What’s on the Website?

A database of resources:

• In the following languages: Farsi, Dari, Pashto, Arabic, English, Russian and French.
• Organized under the following categories:

-Women’s Rights and Gender Equality

-Law

-Human Rights Theory

-Skills-building and capacity development

 

www.ideaccess.org

 

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