ISOA Forms Afghanistan Working Group

By Jeffrey Grieco, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce (AACC)

 

ISOA has formed a new Afghanistan Working Group (AWG) to share information and address Afghanistan-related issues. The Afghanistan Working Group will be a first for ISOA as it tries to address the growing number of requests from members for more and continuing updates on Afghanistan.

Background

The withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops and sudden fall of the elected government in Afghanistan in late summer of 2021 has sent the nation of 34 million people into a period of upheaval and instability. Therefore, ISOA’s AWG will serve as a platform to share experiences, ideas, and calls to action to address the current humanitarian crisis and socio-economic instability in Afghanistan.

What is the ISOA Afghanistan Working Group?

The purpose of ISOA’s AWG is for ISOA members (individual, NGO and for-profit) to convene, share resources, connect, and take action. All activities of AWG will be guided by ISOA members. In this AWG space, members can initiate conversations on how to address current challenges, crises, and other topics relevant to international humanitarian response, international development, and stabilization programming.

While ISOA is well known for the work of its many Working Groups and Regional Chapters, most are formed around key sectoral or programmatic topics. In the case of the Afghanistan crisis, the group is both humanitarian and instability focused, providing members with a unique ability to share data and information about urgent evacuations, relocations, and resettlements of Afghan refugee parolees into the U.S. In addition, AWG will gather for discussions on major program and appropriations decisions affecting Afghanistan programs and provide briefings on critical time sensitive topics for ISOA members. Meetings are held under Chatham House rules with no attribution of speakers or members allowed.

What will AWG do?

The main goal of the Afghanistan Working Group is to meet the communications and informational requirements of ISOA members on the Afghanistan topic.

AWG will focus on holding periodic meetings, most likely to be held virtually. At these meetings, participants will discuss topical updates and information sharing but can also recommend events for the ISOA to undertake, or provide critical business matchmaking with other members focused on Afghanistan programming. AWG may invite outside speakers to address the group informally, in an “off-the-record” setting.

AWG Leadership

ISOA has asked two veterans of Afghanistan-related programs to co-chair AWG: John Gastright of Amentum, ISOA Board Vice Chairman and former Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary of State; and Jeffrey Grieco, former ISOA board member, current ISOA Advisory Board member and former USAID Assistant Administrator. Jeff currently serves as President & CEO, Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce (AACC). In addition, AWG will be assisted by Ginny Maycock and Rob Jeffers of the ISOA HQ team. To be added to the AWG listserv, please register using the form at the bottom of the AWG Resource Page or the form down below.

AWG Meetings

AWG held its first meeting on Zoom on October 19, 2021 and has continued meeting bi-weekly since then. The upcoming meeting schedule can be found on the AWG Resource Page. Zoom links for upcoming meetings are distributed via email several days before the schedule time.

This schedule is subject to change; the meeting schedule is left up to the co-chairs based on the tempo and requirements of the Afghanistan topic.

How can AWG provide the most impact for ISOA members?

AWG works to leverage its leadership contacts and information sharing regarding Afghanistan. AWG can also help launch new ISOA events or program activities, and provide much needed informational resources to ISOA members for their business development and program management, thus extending the impact for ISOA members. In addition, AWG has established a Resource Page for access by AWG members to all the currently available documents, reports, briefings, meeting minutes and other AWG sourced materials.

Thank you to our members who have participated in AWG thus far. If you are interested in becoming involved, we invite you to visit our AWG Resource Page for more information and a form to sign up for our AWG emails, or sign up below.