Vision, mission and aims are three inter-connected aspects of the purpose and intentions of an organization.
- The vision is an image of the future as an organization sees and desires it. It is a shared dream of all members, giving a sense of shared values, identity and purpose.
- The mission is the assignment the organization gives itself to realize its vision, and serves as a source of motivation and guidance.
While the vision describes how the envisioned future looks like, the mission statements are outlining the pathways on which the organisation will get there. - Aims are then the various vehicles (i.e. specific services offered and activities conducted) in which the organisation moves along these outlined pathways towards its vision. In other words, the aims specifically describe how the organisation achieves its mission.
Vision
All persons in Namibia have the resources, knowledge and motivation to ensure food security and optimal nutritional status for themselves, and all children in Namibia are sufficiently well-nourished.
Mission
NAFSAN is part of Namibia’s movement to eradicate malnutrition and to achieve food security. NAFSAN will…
- Provide organisations, communities, and individuals with effective platforms, tools, information and skills to achieve food security and optimal nutritional status for themselves and others;
- Promote nutrition and food science and make such science applicable and accessible to the entire population of Namibia; and
- Advocate and practically support efficient governmental and non-governmental communication and collaboration structures, financial and political commitment, legislation, policies, programmes and actions that ensure food security, and an effective, sustainable and equity-focused approach to improving the nutritional status of everyone in Namibia.
The AIMS of NAFSAN are to...
- Work in partnership with government, private sector, civil society, communities, academia, educators, committed individuals, UN agencies and other international partners towards achieving NAFSAN’s vision and mission;
- Enhance national and sub-national structures and systems for effective, accountable, coordinated and sustainable implementation of nutrition and food security actions by organisations, communities and individuals;
- Raise public awareness of structures, laws, policies, programmes and initiatives that promote sustainable food security and optimal nutrition, and to critically and constructively review them and to advocate for necessary changes;
- Promote learning and innovation concerning nutrition and food security by collecting credible evidence, conducting policy analyses, and providing platforms for communication among the public, partners and relevant professionals; and
- Support civil society and other stakeholders to effectively discuss and take coordinated action aimed at improving nutrition and food security.