Slovenian EU Presidency - SLOGA project

On 1 January 2008 Slovenia took over the presidency of the EU for a six month period, the first new member state to do so. During this period it will represent the almost five hundred million EU citizens. The EU countries account for more than 50% of the resources coming from the developed world to encourage cooperation with developing countries. Since development is one of the EU's most important policy areas, Slovenia will also leave its mark in this area.

During the Slovene presidency, SLOGA – the platform of non-governmental organisations for international cooperation and humanitarian aid – in cooperation with more than 20 Slovene NGOs, is planning activities designed to raise public awareness and directed at development education.

Through the project “YOU TOO! are part of this world” SLOGA wants to encourage the inclusion of development content in both formal and informal education and to make people more aware of the need for “global solidarity”. At the same time, the platform wishes to strengthen cooperation between NGOs from different areas and those involved in development, as well as increasing the recognition among the Slovene and European publics of the importance of development cooperation.

In the project, SLOGA will focus on the themes emphasised in the presidency manifesto:
- climate change and its effects on developing countries,
- intergenerational dialogue or focusing on the problems of older generations, who often take on the role of caring for children whose parents have the HIV virus or have fallen ill with AIDS,
- unaccompanied children and the advocating of their needs,
- trafficking in women and girls
- economic migration, focusing on children and women.

One of the project emphases will be a discussion among NGOs of the effectiveness of development aid; SLOGA will present a report at the international forum in Accra, Ghana, that will take place during the French presidency of the EU.

"Slovenia is not burdened by a colonial past, but for this very reason is faced with public opposition to any particular emphasis on development cooperation. If we want to overcome this opposition, we must combine the knowledge of specialised NGOs, institutions and individuals with the experience of development NGOs", says Marjan Huc, SLOGA coordinator.

SLOGA expects that the success of the project “YOU TOO are part of this world” will provide additional encouragement to NGOs to connect what they are doing in their particular field to a development cooperation perspective (for example, climate change does not effect only Europe, but will have much greater consequences for developing countries and their further development).

"YOU TOO are a part of this world and responsible for it”.

Download the presideny manifesto from:
http://www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/manifest_vzorec_slo1.pdf (Slovenian)
Find an English translation at:
http://www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/manifesto_english_prevod.pdf


Information provided by Marjan Huc, SLOGA coordinator, info@sloga-platform.org
More on: http://www.sloga-platform.org/

Read about the SLOGA development education conference in June in the Events-section of this TIS.

New TRIALOG study on development cooperation in Lithuania

A TRIALOG country study, written by Annika Kool, on the state of development cooperation in Lithuania is now available.

It covers the Official Development Assistance (ODA) as well as NGO activity in international development. Special attention is given to NGO engagement and the platform building process.

The study gives a good insight into the state of development cooperation in Lithuania.

Download the study on Lithuania from:
http://www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/lt_countrystudy_final_dec2007.pdf

Read also the recently published TRIALOG Country Study on Estonia (see December TIS): http://www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/ee_countrystudy_final_dec2007.pdf

A country study on Latvia will be available soon as well. Visit http://www.trialog.or.at/

Trainings on open EC development education call

Before Christmas, the EC launched the Call for Proposal (CfP) 2007 on "Public awareness and education for development in Europe" within the thematic programme "Non-state Actors and Local Authorities". Preference will be given to "cross-border/multi-country and multi-actor initiatives" as well as "special attention will also be paid to awareness raising and development education in the 12 new member states" (NMS).

As the first deadline for the two-stage Call is on February 19, 2008, TRIALOG already in January realised four trainings in NMS on how to develop interesting, innovative and at the same time realistic development education (DE) projects to sensibilize the public in the NMS.

The trainings started with an introduction to the concept of DE and the "Guidelines" of the CfP - the main document on formal requirements, priorities and objectives.

Then the participants discussed the specific situation in each country, the problem analysis included various aspects, such as: history as a challenge, the complete lack of information on the issue of development, the concentration of activities on one specific target region (especially on governmental level), but also the reality of a very different economic situation in the 12 NMS compared to old member states (OMS).

In the trainings, the NGOs elaborated DE projects, proposing different actions, how individuals can contribute to the eradication of poverty and to fairer relations between developed and developing countries.

50 participants from Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania worked on the Logical Framework of their projects, to be able to submitt a well prepared Concept Note to the EC in February.

TRIALOG keeps fingers crossed for NGOs from NMS to be successfull in presenting concept notes, to be pre-selected and invited by the EC to submit a full application in the second stage of the CfP.

For NMS NGOs: If you have any further questions regarding your EC proposal, don´t hesitate to contact our capacity building officer Petra Kreinecker at p.kreinecker@trialog.or.at

For information on NGOs which currently search for partners for a joint development education project, please turn to the section "Partner search for joint projects" in this TIS.

For information on the open EC call, please see "Funding opportunities".

Oxfam’s Website for Teachers

In autumn, Oxfam has relaunched its website for teachers at http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education to offer more support and ideas for teaching about global issues and developing a Global Citizenship approach across the curriculum.

Oxfam’s website offers free online resources, lesson plans, case studies, assembly ideas, and support and guidance for education practitioners, including:
- ideas for cross-curricular teaching on hot topics including climate change, war and peace, Fair Trade, diversity and identity
- photos and case studies from Oxfam’s work around the world
- award-winning interactive resources, including Mapping our World, BAFTA
- advice and support for tackling global issues that affect pupils’ lives

For more information visit http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education

Information provided by Anna Luise Laycock, Oxfam Development Education, alaycock@oxfam.org.uk

Website Announcement: Whither EC Aid?

ECDPM and ActionAid have launched a website for their joint project ‘Whither EC Aid?’ The main objective of the joint ECDPM-ActionAid project WECA is to re-position the debate on monitoring the effectiveness of EC development cooperation and develop evidence-based, common understanding of the characteristics, added value and impact of EC development cooperation.

The first part of the project, an initial discussion note on EC Aid, is based on a review of available relevant literature and a series of interviews with around 30 decision-makers and experts from both Europe and developing countries.

A series of roundtables and an online consultation form the second part of the project, whose main aim is to broaden a debate about the role and effectiveness of EC Aid.

On the basis of the outcomes of the research and consultation phases, a final report on “Whither EC Aid?” will be written and completed in spring 2008.

Find the latest information about the project at:
http://weca-ecaid.eu/

To contribute directly to the debate and participate, turn to:
http://weca-ecaid.eu/2007/12/17/participate/

Information provided by Gwen Corre (ECDPM) and Joanna Maycock (ActionAid)

New Direction for EU Enlargement Policy?

Elmar Brok, a German member of the European Parliament, and rapporteur on enlargement, has announced his intention to produce a report calling for a change in EU enlargement policy. He argues that the EU will not be able to continue enlargement the way it has over the last 20 years if it wishes to remain a “political project”. According to Brok, “Even though enlargement policy is without doubt one of the most successful of the Union’s foreign policies, we need a time-out, a period of consolidation.” (Agence Europe) He believes countries in the EU’s neighbourhood should have options other than accession open to them. In particular, he is attracted by the idea of “concentric circles” of different levels of engagement with the EU itself. Countries could use these concentric circles to get closer to the EU without necessarily expecting to eventually become members. As well as proposing a new direction for the EU’s enlargement policy, Brok is criticising the current situation, in particular with regard to the European Commission. According to the MEP, there is a lack of coordination between DG Enlargement and DG External Relations.

The report will be published by the summer, and the working document can be found here: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2004_2009/documents/dv/699/699736/699736en.pdf
Information provided by Rebecca Steel, TRIALOG

February 26-28, 2008: Conference - Development Studies in Europe

The Department of Development Studies at Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic, is preparing a conference on Development Studies, with a focus on how Central European universities can contribute to development studies.

Find the preliminary programme at:
http://www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/conferenceprogramme.pdf

For more information please contact Petra Krylova, ARPOK: petra.krylova@arpok.cz

2008 - European Year of Intercultural Dialogue

This year, 2008, is the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. In relation to this initiative, the European Commission’s external cooperation info point organised a conference ‘Culture: a new pillar for development?’ in the middle of January.

The conference was the first time representatives from four Directorates General (DG Development, DG External Relations, DG EuropeAid and DG Education and Culture) had gathered to talk specifically about culture and development, from their different perspectives.

Mr Xavier Troussard (DG Education and Culture) started by noting that culture has only recently been on the European agenda as a priority. This came about following a communication ‘on a European agenda for culture in a globalizing world’ in May 2007.

Mr Daniel Guyader (DG External Relations) built on this and added that the reason culture had not been a priority was the weak legal basis, which has gradually been strengthened over the last fifty years. There are now cultural aspects included in agreements reached with partners countries (including ENP - European Neighbourhood Policy- Action Plans for those in the EU’s neighbourhood).

Mr Anthoney Crasner (DG Development) underlined the fundamental importance of culture to development. He said that communication was important, and open to misunderstanding even between individuals of the same culture, so when different cultures are involved it is vital. He gave examples of EU actions in different countries, where culture had provided a barrier to communication and understanding.

Ms Nathalie Legrand (DG EuropeAid) summarised the budget that is for the promotion of culture in developing regions, and spoke about the 9th and 10th EDF (European Development Fund), which include funds for the promotion of culture. She talked about the place of culture in regional programmes, including in the EU’s neighbourhood.

The conference provided an opportunity for NGO representatives to put questions to the four speakers, and a range of topics were raised. One problem that was not explicitly noted was that the term ‘culture’ had not been defined at the outset, so different speakers were referring to different concepts – culture as societal rules and behaviours; or culture as promotion of the arts.

Further information about 2008, the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue can be found here: http://www.interculturaldialogue2008.eu/


Information provided by Rebecca Steel, TRIALOG

PASOS Report on development aid policies of new EU member states

The Policy Association for an Open Society (PASOS) has published a study on the challenges of the new EU member states (NMS) with respect to implementing EU development cooperation policy. On 5 November 2007, PASOS Executive Director Jeff Lovitt presented to the European Parliament Development Committee the conclusions of the PASOS report, commissioned by the European Parliament.

This report sets out to provide an overview of the core priorities and strategies of the 10 (2004) NMS, the levels of ODA they have funded in recent years, and the planned commitments they have made in the years to come. The PASOS report points out the experience of the new Member States, in particular of transition to democracy, and stresses that good governance must be one of the priorities in the area of development co-operation.

The PASOS report includes a set of recommendations, pointing to the need for:
• A concerted public awareness campaign to gather political and public support for increased official development assistance (ODA) and an understanding of the UN Millennium Development Goals and development targets
• Combining the existing comparative advantages in the eastern dimension with the application of select expertise in less developed countries
• Co-operation among the new member states (NMS) to strengthen the flexibility of the EU towards eastern European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) neighbours
• Improving civil society and expert capacity in NMS to transfer know-how to ENP and less developed countries
• Strengthening co-ordination agencies in NMS and between NMS and other EU member states
• Setting of a target date to untie aid
• Making good governance a priority contribution of NMS to European Development Co-operation Policy (EDCP)


Many of the recommendations of the PASOS report, which was delivered to the development committee of the European Parliament on 4 October 2007, are reflected in the draft of a subsequent report by the development committee, which will be issued soon.

The full PASOS Report is available at: http://www.pasos.org/content/download/20717/100076/file/PE+385540+EN.pdf

For more information visit: http://www.pasos.org/

Information provided by Krista Baumane, PROVIDUS; vice-chair of the Latvian NGDO platform LAPAS; and Divna Popov, TRIALOG Intern

Learning by seeing: Baltic-Slovenian Study trip to England

For five December days a group of six Global Education practitioners from the Baltic states and Slovenia had a chance to visit Development Education centres (DEC) and different NGOs in London, Reading and Oxford to learn more about the theory and practice of „the global dimension“ in the UK education sphere.

Highlights of the trip included visiting a „global school“, St. Mary’s and St John’s elementary school, where global was present in the school ethos and practice in a very natural way through cherishing the ethnic and religious richness of the pupils and making links between local and global in the study work. This school was one of the pilot schools in a project by the RISC (Reading International Solidarity Centre), an inspiring centre in itself to see – a living example that you start from very little and gradually build up something sustainable and remarkable: a centre with a restaurant, global shop, study centre and so much more (worth a visit: http://www.risc.org.uk/). However, as the participants also learned in a national seminar for DECs on the final day of the trip, „Global schools“ are piloted also by other DECs, and the concept could become a national standard in the long term.

The assessment on the relevance and usefulness of the trip was very positive among the participants: it gave better idea on what Global Education means in practice, examples of methods and materials that work well in formal and in adult education, new contacts between Baltic, Slovenian and UK organisations, and ideas on how to organise a Development Education training and resource centres. And, inspiration and motivation to work in this field. As a follow-up there will be articles on the UK experience in education related journals in the respective countries, thus contributing to a better understanding of global education among teachers and education administration in countries where the whole concept of global education is completely new.

The trip was organised by an Estonian NGO, Jaan Tõnisson Institute, in close cooperation with Oxfam UK Education team and supported financially by TRIALOG.

Information provided by Johanna Helin, Global Education project manager, Jaan Tõnisson Institute

March 5-13, 2008: ONE WORLD International Film Festival, Prague

ONE WORLD - International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival is an international festival of feature-length and short documentary films and videos, retrospectives and tributes, educational screenings, workshops, debates, concerts, photo exhibitions, and other events dealing with the issue of human rights in Europe.

The jubilee 10th One World festival will be held in Prague from 5 to 13 March 2008 and will also take place in a further 28 towns and cities throughout the Czech Republic during the month of March and April. The One World is organized by the People in Need Foundation, under the auspices of Václav Havel, the Minister of Culture Václav Jehlička, and the Mayor of Prague Pavel Bém, as well as in cooperation with local NGOs.

Within the Festival, there will be presented new program section - audiovisual works produced by humanitarian, development, ecological and human rights non-profit civil society organizations. The aim of this project is to show how these organizations use audiovisual communication for building awareness, lobbying, campaigning or mobilizing support for their activities.

For more information on past festivals and award winners, visit website at: http://www.oneworld.cz/

Information provided by Olga Belskaya, People in Need / Clovek v tisni

NGOs searching for partners for open EC development education call

Visit the TRIALOG website at http://www.trialog.or.at/start.asp?ID=126 for more details on the following NGOs which are currently searching project partners for the open EC development education call with deadline in February 19, 2008:

The Austrian organisation "SOL - People for Solidarity, Ecology and Lifestyle" is looking for 1-2 partner organisations from the EU for a joint development education project. Read more...

The German organisation "Weltfriedensdienst" (Civil Peace Service) is looking for partner NGOs or associates (from Poland, Czech Republic, Austria or other EU countries) for two project proposals to the EC within the open call for public awareness and education for development. Read more...

The Romanian NGO "ADO SAH ROM" is searching for projects partners and a lead agency in other European countries for submission of a joint proposal to the EC. Read more...

The Austrian NGO "Frauensolidaritaet - Solidarity among Women" is searching for a project partner from new EU member states for the open EC development education call. Read more...

The Dutch organisation "Edukans Foundation" is also looking for partners in EU countries for the open EC development education call. Read more...

Post your Partner Search for Joint Projects on the TRIALOG site!

NGO searching for project partners to promote European citizenship

The Danish organisation AOF (Workers Education Association) is looking for project partners from Bulgaria and Poland for a joint project to promote European citizenship (the call deadline is on February 15, 2008). For more information, please see: http://www.trialog.or.at/start.asp?b=85&ID=138

For NGOs searching for project partners within the open EC development education call, please see: http://www.trialog.or.at/start.asp?ID=126

Post your Partner Search for Joint Projects on the TRIALOG site! More information on: http://www.trialog.or.at/start.asp?ID=117

Workshops at Czech universities

In November and December 2007 workshops at Czech universities were carried out by the organization INEX-Association for Voluntary Activities.

Christina Plank, Eliška Steklíková and Šárka Cihlářová, who took part in Eurizons, a campaign for global responsibility and a project of GLEN (Global Education of Young Europeans), continued to work on this year’s topics of the campaign. As a result, workshops about the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) and the EPAs (Economic Partnership Agreements) - both seen from a critical point of view - were worked out and realized at three different universities: the University of Economics, Prague, the Czech University of Life of Sciences Prague and the Faculty of Humanities of the Charles University.

One important part of the workshops was, on the one hand, to inform about EPAs and MDGs and to provide an overview about the topic. On the other hand, the main tool was to have an interesting discussion from different perspectives. The students were provided with a handout in advance in order to give them the possibility to get prepared and to work deeper on the topic. While discussing about the EPAs the participants were acting out roles in favor and in contrast regarding the EPAs. Concerning the MDGs, the students were given criticism from the Southern, feminist and an economic perspective.

Furthermore, one workshop took place in the Eurocentrum Praha and was combined with a photo-exhibition from the Czech GLEN-participants.

More information on http://www.inexsda.cz/, http://www.glen-europe.org/, http://www.eurizons.net/

Information provided by Christina Plank, INEX-SDA

Official registration of the Lithuanian NGDO Platform

On 15 January 2008 the Lithuanian NGDO Platform was officially registered with 17 member organizations on board.

The principal mission of the Platform is to influence the Development Cooperation policy and to enhance its implementation through professional experiences of its member organizations.

The main objective is to bring together development stakeholders, in particular NGOs and state institutions, governing bodies and local authorities, for joint actions and exchange of experiences and views on global development issues.

The Lithuanian NGDO Platform faces the double task of supporting and strengthening its member organisations (information, training, work with donors, politicians and the media) as well as representing them and promoting their values to the public both in Lithuania and abroad.
The main field of activities of the Platform is networking, with a focus on awareness raising and development education.

Currently the Lithuanian NGDO Platform joins 19 NGOs with major competences in policy development, democracy building, strengthening of civil society, social issues, poverty and social exclusion, equal opportunities, sustainable development, environment protection, capacity building/training, humanitarian aid, fair trade, health, human and children’s rights:

Find a list of the member NGOs at:
http://www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/lithuanian_ngdo_platform.pdf

Information provided by Dalia Cymbaliuk, Lithuanian NGDO Platform Board

Download the new TRIALOG country study on Lithuania (published in December 2007) from: http://www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/lt_countrystudy_final_dec2007.pdf

CONCORD wins the Excellence Award

Remember last year when CONCORD and GCAP members contributed to the “Aid watch report”? It aimed to alert stake-holders from European institutions, Member States and G8 countries on how European Development aid figures had been inflated in 2006 and to convince them to fulfil their commitment to deliver more aid.

The pan-European press launch of the report made a loud bang in the blue sky of European Affairs. 189 hits in all-kind media, humorous demonstration in front of the European Council, publications on blogs and websites of NGOs asking citizens to send mails to their government, comic strip on the central pages of ‘European Voice’, the newspaper most read by stake-holders, etc.… Even Misters Barroso, Louis Michel and the President of European Parliament mentioned the report asking the Member States and G8 to deliver more aid.

Cherry on the cake, this pan-European press launch received in December in Berlin the “European Excellence Awards 2007” rewarding excellence in communicating the European vision, in the category of non profit organisation (more info on: http://www.excellence-awards.eu/).

In all, 50 networks and organizations from the 27 Member States, representing a total of over 2,000 individual NGOs, participated in the pan-European campaign. Thanks to all of them. This success is theirs.

Information provided by Agnes Philippart, CONCORD

Read the CONCORD Aid Watch Report:
www.trialog.or.at/images/doku/hold_the_applause.final.pdf

March 11, 2008: RPP Workshop on ‚Crossborder Networking’, Vienna

The aim of the Workshop, organized by the Regional Partnership Programme(RPP), is to reveal the great potential and increasing necessity of international networking of development NGOs. The workshop will contribute to a better understanding of how NGOs can have a bigger impact on government’s development policy and practice. Participants will learn how organisations can increase their program and fundraising work through learning from others.

Richard Bennett, an experienced networker and former General Secretary of the British platform BOND, will facilitate the workshop. Representatives of 3 cross-border networks (Greenpeace, Internat. Disability and Development Consortium, WIDE) will present and share their networking experience and the benefits to their members.

The workshop will be held in English. Invited are staff members of development NGOs in Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Czech Republic. The number of participants is limited to 25 (5 per country). Registrations until February 23.

Find more details about the workshop - invitation, registration form etc. - on: http://www.eu-platform.at/english/start.asp?showmenu=yes&fr=&b=872&ID=120346

March 26-27, 2008: RPP Advocacy und Lobbying Workshop, Vienna

The Regional Partnership Programme (RPP) is inviting to the Workshop ‚Advocacy und Lobbying’ on 26/27 March 2008 in Vienna.

The workshop will allow participants to learn about advocacy, lobbying and campaign approaches. They will find out how to place the various approaches in a conceptual and strategic framework and how to transfer this knowledge into their daily work.

Invited are staff members of development NGOs in Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Czech Republic who want to put their advocacy and campaigning work into a strategic context. The workshop will be held in English and facilitated by Ian Chandler, a trainer with longstanding experience in advocacy and campaigning. The number of participants is limited to 25 (5 per country). Registrations until February 23.

Find more details - the invitation, registration form, travel application form etc - on:
http://www.eu-platform.at/english/start.asp?showmenu=yes&fr=&b=872&ID=120345

Call for health NGOs to join a new database

The NGO European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) is creating a searchable tool of NGOs active in the health field that will feature in the European Commission's EU-health portal to encourage networking between NGOs at the European level.

In practical terms, this means that a visitor of the Commission's website interested in mental health could find out which organisations work on mental health in its own country and have an immediate access to a database to find useful partners or organisations.

As the largest network of NGOs working on health, EPHA was contracted to put together a database framework and gather the data. EPHA is discussing with the Commission the technical formats that could be used for the database, but EPHA's approach is that software should be open source, inter-operable and user-friendly.

Given the fact that health includes quality of social and emotional experiences, organisations operating in the social and development field are welcome to register.

Being EPHA the contractor for this project, the ownership of the final database will remain with the European Commission , which means that it will not be used for commercial purposes.

If you would like to have further information, please do not hesitate to contact Daniela Negri, EPHA policy assistant, on +32 2 233 3886 or at daniela@epha.org.

Information sent by Daniela Negri, EPHA

EC call for development education

The EC published the call on public awareness and education for development within the new budget line "Non-state actors and local authorities".

Deadline for applications is February 19, 2008.

Here the links to the call documents:

Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in Development-Public awareness and education for development in EuropeReference: EuropeAid/126341/C/ACT/Multi

Guidelines for Grant Applicants
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/tender/data/d50/AOF81250.doc
Annex A-Grant Application Form (Parts A and B)
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/tender/data/d51/AOF81251.doc
Annex B-Budget EN
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/tender/data/d52/AOF81252.xls
Annex C-Logical Framework
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/tender/data/d53/AOF81253.xls

All documents can be found on the EC website http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/cgi/frame12.pl.

In the left-hand menu, select:
Search Type: By Programme
Search By Programme: OTHER
Status: open
Type: grants
Region: all
Country: all
Then scroll down to the "ALL"- section, where you will find the call.

For further information on the "Non- State Actors and Local Authorities"-budget line, download a recently published CONCORD update note and presentation from http://www.concordeurope.org/ (scroll down to popular downloads on the English version of the starting page).

EC Calls for actions in developing countries

The former PVD calls (for actions in developing countries), now calls within the new budget line "Non-state actors and local authorities" are open:

- Call for Proposals - Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in Development - Actions in partner countries (In-Country)
Reference: EuropeAid/126342/C/ACT/Multi

- Call for Proposals - Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in Development - Actions in partner countries (Multi-country) (former PVD block grant, i.e. projects in minimum two or more developing countries)
Reference: EuropeAid/126340/C/ACT/Multi

Deadline for both calls is on February 11, 2008!

Please find all the call documents on the EC website:
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/cgi/frame12.pl
In the left-hand menu, select:
Search Type: By Programme
Search By Programme: OTHER
Status: open
Type: grants
Region: all
Country: all
Then scroll down to the "ALL"- section, there you find both calls almost in the very end.

For further information on the "Non- State Actors and Local Authorities"-budget line, download a recently published CONCORD update note and presentation from http://www.concordeurope.org/ (scroll down to popular downloads on the English version of the starting page).

Other open EC Calls: Moldova, Croatia, Ukraine, Belarus etc.

Visit the EuropeAid website to check out the latest EC Calls for Proposals: http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/cgi/frame12.pl
(In the left-hand menu, select: Search Type: By Programme; Search By Programme: OTHER; Status: open; Type : grants; Region: all; Country: all)

Contact your national NGDO platform to receive regularily the CONCORD EU Monitoring newsletter which - among other useful information - always includes an update on the recently published EuropeAid Calls for proposals.

Open Calls are for example (this is not a complete list!):

Thematic calls:
* Investing in People - Access to local culture protection and promotion of cultural diversity; Reference: EuropeAid/126415/C/ACT/Multi; Budget EUR: 4300000; Status: Open (until 12.02.2008)
* Thematic programme of cooperation with third countries in the areas of migration and asylum – Deadline for submission: 14 February 2008
* Environment and sustainable management of natural resources, including energy – deadline for submission: 21 February 2008
* EIDHR – Support to Human Rights and Democracy Actions – Human Rights Defenders – Deadline for submission: 4 March 2008
* Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in Development – Coordination, Cooperation, and Networking Activities in Europe – Deadline for submission: 2 April 2008
* Call for Proposals - IPA Information and Communication Programme - Support for actions promoting a better informed public debate about EU enlargement; Reference: EuropeAid/126488/C/ACT/Multi; Status: Open (until 17.04.2008)

Geographic calls:
* Romania & Moldava – Neighbourhood Programme Romania and Moldava 2004/2006 – Deadline for submission: 15 February 2008
* Moldova: Support to Moldova in Prisons System upgrading and Penal Reform; Reference: EuropeAid/126555/L/ACT/MD; Budget EUR: 1000000; Status: Open (until 14.03.2008)
* Kenya: Non-State Actors in Development Actions in partner countries - Kenya; Reference: EuropeAid/126564/L/ACT/KE; Budget EUR: 3375000; Status: Open (until 17.03.2008)
* Croatia: – Enabling the Civil Society Sector for active contribution in the pre-accession process in the Area of Democratisation and Human Rights – Deadline for submission: 31 March 2008
* Bosnia-Herzegovina: EIDHR- Country Based Support Scheme 2007; Reference: EuropeAid/126466/L/ACT/BA; Status: Open (until 01.04.2008)
* Cyprus: Call for interests - European Community scholarships programme 2008/2009; Reference: EuropeAid/126128/C/ACT/CY; Status: Open (until 04.04.2008)
* Ukraine: EIDHR Country-based Support Scheme 2007 for Ukraine; Reference: EuropeAid/126448/L/ACT/UA; Budget EUR: 1200000; Status: Open (until 07.04.2008)
* Cyprus: Promotion of Youth Exchanges and other people-to-people contacts; Reference: EuropeAid/126444/C/ACT/CY; Status: Open (until 10.04.2008)
* Belarus – Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in Development – Deadline for submission: 16 May 2008, 17:00 Kyiv time
* Vietnam: EIDHR country-based support scheme for Viet Nam AAP 2007 call for proposals; Reference: EuropeAid/126566/L/ACT/VN; Budget EUR: 300000; Status: Open (until 30.05.2008)

For a complete list of all open EC calls for proposals and all related call documents, please use the EuropeAid weblink given above.

Source: EU Monitoring Newsletter (30 January 2008) and http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/cgi/frame12.pl

EADI Prize for Development Studies 2008

The European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI) announces the 2008 prize for excellence in development research. The prize, worth EUR 1 000, will be awarded for an essay on an issue of development studies in any field of the social sciences submitted and written by a postgraduate student from an EADI member country or attending a programme at an institutional member of the Association. Subjects may be chosen from any field of development studies, but an essay will be subject to scrutiny by one of the EADI Working Groups prior to being sent on to the jury.

The Jury for the 2008 EADI Prize for Development Studies will make its decision known in June 2008. The prize winner will be invited to the 12th General Conference of EADI (24-28 June 2008, Geneva) where the award ceremony will take place.

A list of the Working Groups and the submission criteria can be found on:
http://www.eadi.org/detail_page.phtml?&username=guest@eadi.org&password=9999&groups=EADI&workgroup=&page=pages
Articles should be submitted as e-mail attachments in Word format to prize2008@eadi.org

Deadline for entries: March 1, 2008

For more information visite the EADI website: http://www.eadi.org

Information provided by Divna Popov, TRIALOG Intern
Source: http://www.eadi.org/detail_page.phtml?page=eadi_prize_2008

Latest WIDE newsletter, December 2007

Women in Devepment Europe (WIDE) is a European feminist network of women’s organisations, development NGOs, gender specialists and women’s rights activists. Through the dissemination of research and analysis, WIDE promotes gender equality and social justice.

The latest newsletter of WIDE from December 2007 is available for download at: http://62.149.193.10/wide/download/2007_News_11.pdf?id=561

From the newsletter content:
-WIDE on the road to 2008
-Financing for Development´s Road to Doha
-The case of policy coherence development in the European Development Days
-More news on the Aid Effectiveness process
-JOINT CSO STATEMENT around EU-Africa Summit "betraying Africa", Lisbon, 8-9 December
-CSOs call for a moratorium on EFTA bilateral free trade agreements with developing countries
many other issues…

For more information on WIDE, please turn to: http://wide.gloobal.net/

Information provided by Gea Meijers, Network officer WIDE

UNICEF Report: Progress for Children

The UNICEF report “Progress for Children: A World Fit for Children Statistical Review” issued on December 10, 2007, analyses progress at global, regional and country levels, and it highlights disparities within populations. This statistical review is structured around the Millennium Development Goals as thay are currently the focus of the world’s development efforts.

UNICEF special edition analyses progress towards the Millennium Development Goals in four priority areas for children: promoting healthy lives, providing a quality education, combating HIV and AIDS, and protecting against abuse, exploitation and violence. The World Fit for Children agenda also includes vital issues for children that not covered by the MDGs.

Progress for Children: “A World Fit for Children: Statistical Review” is the sixth in a series of Progress for Children reports released by UNICEF, since launched in 2004.

Download the full report “Progress for Children: A World Fit for Children Statistical Review”: http://www.unicef.at/fileadmin/medien/pdf/PFC6_FINAL_2_Nov.pdf


Source: oeza aktuell Nr. 87/Jänner 2008