ICA is the acronym for Institute of Cultural Affairs. In the phrase ‘cultural affairs’,
culture refers to the images, patterns and shared understandings that allow people
to do something together. It is ICA’s belief that a group’s cultural dynamics must
be considered in order to build any sustainable pattern of change or development.
At the heart of ICA’s work is the conviction that long-term, sustainable development
happens only when people grasp the significance of their own lives in the larger
scheme of things …when they actively participate in the changes taking place around
them instead of merely being targets of that change.
ICA has by this time been emerged as the leading HRD (Human Resource Development)
organization worldwide. It has been working for 45 years in more than 35 countries
building human capacities through participatory training and facilitation activities
and setting up community development programs (www.icaworld.org).
ICA International (ICAI) is an international non-profit association headquartered
in Belgium, which facilitates the activities of autonomous, national member institutes
and their global relationships. ICAI is making its efforts to implement the ICA
philosophy, methods and tools focusing human factor in development. Since its inception
in 1954, ICA has been given emphasis on strengthening of civil society globally.