BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Rebuild Afghanistan Summit History
A large number of SF Bay Area non-profits who work in Afghanistan have come together once a year since 2004 to present their work to the community. The purpose of these events is to raise public awareness and garner support. As the year 2008 draws to a close the efforts to rebuild have become dangerously hampered by increased instability in Afghanistan. This makes the need for increased public support even more crucial as time has once again become a factor in the race to assist this country .
Background: The San Francisco Bay Area is home to thousands of the Afghan Diaspora. Many non-profit organizations have been established whose missions are to help with the rebuilding of Afghanistan. These efforts include projects to empower women, plant trees, build schools, assist with medical care, implement satellite teaching programs, donate wheelchairs, institute micro-lending programs and upgrade the country's infrastructure (build bridges, dig wells etc).
The scale of these projects varies but in the beginning all of the organizations faced similar difficulties with logistics. For example, those trying to rebuild had to find reliable people within the country and/or establish offices, deal with the nascent government and its requirements and overcome the problems of shipping (or lack thereof). Even the simple actions of emailing, faxing, making phone calls were sometimes difficult.
In the past few years many of these logistical problems have smoothed out considerably, a factor in helping these organizations get their work done. One key area where help is still needed is increased public awareness and support, not just from the Afghan American community but the entire San Francisco Bay Area.
Rebuild Afghanistan Events: The Rebuild Afghanistan events were organized by Masood Sattari, an engineer who lives in the San Francisco area. Concerned about the fragile state of Afghanistan and the huge effort needed to rebuild the country, Masood wanted to mobilize the Bay Area to increase the response and get more people active.
The first event was held in Fremont, California in 2004. A second was held in 2005. The format consisted of each participating organization giving a short presentation of their work. These events were successful in terms of generating wider community support although the
majority of the audience members were friends and family of the organizations involved and/or members of the Afghan-American community.
A third event was held in 2005 at the Oakland Public Library. More advanced publicity was done and a broader public turnout resulted.
The fourth Rebuild Afghanistan event was held November 4, 2006 at California State University, East Bay. Billed as the Rebuild Afghanistan Summit 2006 , fifteen organizations presented their work to a capacity audience. Another ten organizations had tables at the event. Keynote speaker, Dr. Nake Kamrany, an economics professor from the University of Southern California, discussed the overall picture of rebuilding Afghanistan. Awista Ayub, from the Embassy of Afghanistan, spoke about the responsibility of U.S. citizens and Afghan Americans to help with rebuilding. Some good press coverage was gotten and overall the event proved to be the largest and most successful to date.
The fifth event was held on December 15, 2007 in a large venue, the gymnasium of Centerville Church in Fremont. The Keynote speaker was the President of Cal State University, East Bay, Dr. Mo Qayoumi. The Summit event had now grown to the point that two presentations were given simultaneously in separate areas to accommodate all the groups participating. In addition to the presenters workshops where added so attendees could learn more in-depth facts from those who have worked in Afghanistan. These workshops included Working with the Government and Travel Issues, Grant writing, Human Rights and more.
The sixth Rebuild Afghanistan Summit on October 12, 2008 was held at Dominican University in San Rafael, California and featured workshops, presentations and keynote speakers. Thirteen Bay Area Afghan organizations and over 100 people participated in the event. Emmy award winning news anchor Dana King of CBS 5, San Francisco talked about her observations on her trip in 2004 to Afghanistan and the current situation there. She urged continued advocacy on behalf of the Afghan people. King reported on the A4T schools when she visited there in 2004. Keynote speaker Dr. Nake Kamrany, PhD, international development and economics professor at University of Southern California, discussed the challenges that Afghanistan faces politically, economically, and socially.
Leading non-profits' presentations about their work included education, healthcare, agriculture, micro lending, job training, and land mine removal. Workshops covered health, human rights, tree planting by volunteers, archeology, fundraising, and Afghanistan's Islamic and cultural traditions.
Please join us Sunday, November 1, 2009 for the seventh annual Rebuild Afghanistan Summit. Your interest and support are needed in this huge effort to assist the people of Afghanistan. Find out what local non-profit organizations are doing right now and see what you can do to help. We look forward to seeing you there.
The Rebuild Afghanistan Summit Planning Committee
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