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WHEREAS: 

The Inter-American Children's Institute is a specialized organization of the Organization of American States with the objective of promoting the creation of an alert awareness of the problems affecting children in the Americas through the cooperation among the countries of the American Continent, addressed to improve the situation of children, youth and the family in the health, education, social, juridical and cultural areas in general.

The Directorate of Gender Affairs is the national machinery responsible for promoting the advancement of women in Antigua and Barbuda.  The main objective is to support and initiate efforts that would improve the situation of women and girls and to empower them through education and training to advance their status.

The Inter-American Children's Institute and the Directorate of Gender Affairs have common purposes in some areas, particularly in connection with the search for and adoption of measures oriented to the solution of problems affecting the child and the family.

The importance of cooperation among related organizations, particularly within the Inter-American System, for the purpose of reaching a greater and more effective utilization of their resources on behalf of the countries in the hemisphere, thus contributing to the development of the national ability of responding to the needs of their children and families.

THEREFORE:

The Directorate of Gender Affairs. (hereinafter known as the DOGA) and the Inter-American Children’s Institute (hereinafter known as the IIN) agree to create a National Information Center on the Child and the Family in Antigua & Barbuda, as part of the Inter-American Information Network on the Child and the Family (RIIN), that the IIN is developing in the countries of the Inter-American System.

FIRST CLAUSE

 Objectives

The general objectives of the National Information Center on the Child and the Family to be established by the  DOGA and the IIN are:

Article 1. To obtain, select and systematize every information and documentation published in Antigua & Barbuda related to childhood and family, referring to the juridical, social, education, drug-abuse and health areas, having as its axis the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Article 2. To obtain, select and systematize any referential information on institutions and events related to the subject matters defined in Article 1.

Article 3. To disseminate in Antigua & Barbuda the information produced in the region, and any other information obtained through the CIC (Information and Coordination Center of the IIN) from other parts of the Americas, as well as the documentation from outside the region that may directly or indirectly contribute to improve the living conditions of children and families in Antigua & Barbuda.

Article 4. To send to the CIC, on a regular basis, the information and documentation obtained by the DOGA in order to make it available to all the users of the  Inter-American System.

Article 5. To provide the users in Antigua & Barbuda throughout the Inter-American System the original documentation, or copies of it, based on the mechanisms jointly agreed upon with IIN.

Article 6. To articulate and coordinate its activities on systematic information management with other Information Centers to be created in Antigua & Barbuda.

SECOND CLAUSE

Terms of the Agreement

Article 1. The IIN will make available to the DOGA, under a "license for use", the special version of the OPD System programmed by the IIN for its focal centers,  as well as its documentation.                       

Article 2. The IIN will provide training and technical support as required for an adequate operation, as well as to train its staff as required. The scope of the staff training will be determined jointly in each case. 

Article 3. The IIN will donate a computer for  the DOGA to be used by the National Information Centre. 

Article 4. The IIN undertakes to make available to the DOGA any new version of the OPD System to improve the services of the National Information Center, as well as to train its staff as required. The scope of the staff training will be determined jointly in each case. 

Article 5. The IIN will make possible the participation of the DOGA in any joint activity of the National Information Centers tending to exchange experiences as well as to evaluate their working methodology. 

Article 6. The IIN will be able to use the information available at the databases, as contribution to global databases that manage child and family information. 

Article 7. The DOGA will be responsible for the adequate operation of the National Information Center and depositary of the software and any information managed by the PIINFA. 

Article 8. The DOGA will cover the expenses incurred the installation and maintenance of the National Information Center, and will create the necessary conditions to secure the operation of the Center beyond the first period of 24 months. 

Article 9. The DOGA will be able to create nodes of the National Information Center in other cities of Antigua & Barbuda through agreements with the pertinent institutions. This Agreement will apply to said institutions in all its terms, excepting those referring to software support and maintenance which, in such cases, will be covered by the DOGA.           

Article 10. The DOGA will inform the IIN on any activity related to the National Information Center, as well as on the creation of nodes of it. 

Article 11. The DOGA will not pass on any software and related documentation to third parties without the previous authorization of the IIN in writing. 

Article 12. The DOGA will not commercialize the OPD System, either totally or partially. 

Article 13. The DOGA will be responsible for all the documentation to be included in the system in Antigua & Barbuda,  and will not be held responsible for the rest of the information coming from other National Information Centers, nodes or the CIC itself. 

Article 14. The DOGA may copy or transfer information from the system for its utilization in its own database. 

Article 15. The DOGA will be connected to Internet in order to use the facilities of electronic mail, electronic conferences and access to databases, that may permit a fluent exchange of information with the other PIINFA Centers, as well as the access of user institutions to on-line query services. 

Article 16. The DOGA will secure the continuity of the human resources allocated to this Project in order to comply with the commitments arising from this Agreement. 

THIRD CLAUSE 

Final Provisions 

This Agreement will enter into force on the date of its signature by both parties and will be valid for an initial period of 24 months, and may be renewed upon IIN's and the DOGA’s evaluation, with a first express renewal and further automatic renewals for similar 24-month periods. 

This agreement shall lapse only upon the specific request in writing by one of the contracting parties, with ninety days notice. In such case, the programs and database will cease being used by the National Information Center and must be returned to the IIN. The terms of this Agreement may be revised only by express consent of both parties. 

This Agreement is signed by Hon. Dr. Jacqui Quinn Leandro, Minister of Labour, Public Administration and Empowerment, Antigua & Barbuda, and Julio Rosenblatt, Officer in Charge of the Office of the IIN, “ad referendum" of the Directing Council of the Inter-American Children's Institute, in the city of St. John’s ,on 16^th  September 2005.