Though most of my projects are generally a combination of editorial and design work, I have also sourced images and written articles and books for the SADC Secretariat based on research and interviews.

SADC MAJOR ACHIEVEMENTS AND CHALLENGES -
25 YEARS OF REGIONAL COOPERATION AND INTEGRATION
(Book - 90 Pages - October 2005)
Rama Arya and An Snoeks

Chapter 1. Introduction
A Region with Potential
The Southern African Development Community comprises of Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It is a diverse group of nations, ranging from least developed countries, small island and land-locked states to countries with vast land masses and resources and with considerable potential.

SADC nations represent a growing family with dynamic complementarities and the potential to become a united trading block, ready to take on the opportunities and challenges presented by globalization and the multilateral trading system. SADC also represents a union of countries determined to forge ahead towards a brighter future...
 

TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE REGIONAL FOOD SECURITY
(Article - January 2007)
Rama Arya

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations defines Food Security as “existing when all people, at all times, have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. It describes a situation in which people do not live in hunger or fear of starvation.”

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is fully cognizant of the need for sustainable food security in the region in order to achieve its vision of economic well being, improvement of the standards of living and quality of life, freedom and social justice, and peace and security for the peoples of Southern Africa. The mandate of SADC’s Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (FANR) Directorate is consequently to develop, promote, coordinate and facilitate policies and programmes aimed at increasing agricultural and natural resources production, and productivity and trade with the overall goal of improving food security and fostering economic development...
 

SADC AND HER INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL COOPERATING PARTNERS
(Article - March 2006)
Rama Arya

SADC’s International and Regional Cooperating Partners have always played an important role in the success of the organization. The founding fathers of SADCC held the view that the organization’s objectives could be achieved faster if development were to take place within the context of global cooperation. One of the principal objectives of SADC over the years has, however, been to make sure that SADC itself established its development priorities and placed primary responsibility for decision-making on the Member States.

In recent years, SADC as a region has undergone major changes. These include the restructuring of SADC Institutions, a process that has seen the streamlining of institutional structures responsible for implementing and coordinating the SADC Common Agenda; the development of the Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan (RISDP) and the Strategic Indicative Plan for the Organ (SIPO). The RISDP and SIPO are structured and aligned to respond to the wider goals of supporting SADC Members States achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and poverty reduction strategies being implemented. In addition, they integrate the goals, objectives and implementation framework of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), fully subscribed to by SADC and the Member States...

rama.arya@gmail.com